About 5-10 minutes away from Oasis Ara Damansara is the Dana 1 Commercial Centre – which by the way, I had no idea existed, until now. So, within this commercial centre is where Foremula has set up shop. At first glance, I kindda wondered if this is the place where a cafe could thrive? because it was relatively quiet  – loads of business establishments but it became obvious to me that it’s an area focused on work as oppose to also a place to ‘lepak’ like for instance, the kind of place Jaya One is – get what I mean? and the crowd that I saw while driving through in my car, didnt seem like the kind of crowd that would frequent a cafe but hey, all I care about is the food – I am all up for it.

Parking was easy. Foremula is located in Block D9, so head over to the carpark in the basement and park near the D9 area. Everything is numbered clearly, so it is highly unlikely that you would get lost. Lifts are only for employees so head over to the stairs, which is also available almost everywhere and make your way to the cafe.

On my way to Foremula, I noticed Forefront. Forefront is a creative & digital agency and its kind of like the “mother” to Foremula. More like in a “created and brought to you by” kindda way, lol. As soon as I realized this – I went “Ooooo, so thats why they decided to open shop here”. 

My first thought as I entered Foremula was “Now, this is what you call a ‘happening’ cafe”. It was full house – people everywhere, chatter, laughter, music. It’s hard to explain. When you enter Foremula, it feels like you’ve entered another temporary realm, the kind where everyone knows everyone. I liked it. The chaos, the constant laughters – it felt welcoming. 

The cafe is spaced out. No matter how packed it got, it never got stuffy or overly crowded. The midway of the cafe was accessible to walk around freely. Awesome.

As you could derive from the menu, this eatery offers you Asian dishes with a Western twist and vice versa. Like, for instance ….

Laksa Pasta, 18 ringgit

This was yum yum yummmm, yawwww! By cafe standards, not many eateries can pull of a good laksa but this could be as good as it gets.This dish offers you the whole laksa flavor, ingredients, everything local. The only difference between this and a traditional laksa is the noodles used. Instead of the usual thick rice noodles, here thin Capellini pasta are used. It resembles the rice noodles commonly used in Mee Hoon but taste entirely different.

What you would get in this dish is Capellini pasta cooked in coconut cream + tuna flakes + coriander + ginger leaves + onions + red chillies + mint leaves +  sunny side up egg. I was dying for something tasteful and local today and this Laksa Pasta totally fulfilled my desire. I was slurping and slurping it all up. It was rich, creamy and delicious. Yum!

Grilled Chicken Thigh Satay, 23 ringgit

This was another yummy dish. Loved it. When I saw the word “satay”, I literally thought that was what I was gonna get – chicken on skewers, but nope – what I got was a whole piece of grilled chicken thigh with a generous side of yummy peanut sauce. Nevermind the modern presentation, what matters is wether it tasted like satay – so, did it? Yes! It did. I get a whole lot of meaty and tender chicken with yummy peanut sauce + yummy fries + salad. A truly yummy and satisfying meal.

Would I head here again?

You can count on it. I certainly will. Love the ambiance, love the food, I like everything about my experience here.

Address: D9-01, Dana 1 Commercial Centre,Jalan PJU 1A/46, Ara Damansara

Opening hours: Mon, Wed – Sun, 8.30 am – 5.30 pm.

Signing out now, Ciao.

FoodBunny