Christmas lunch was at one of the newly established cafes – Alter Ego located at Setia Kenangan 2. The said cafe is located on the same block as The Potters and just right next to The Letterbox if my memory serves me well enough. LOL!
Jennifer and I waited until Sister comes home for Christmas holiday before we try out Alter Ego. We arrived Alter Ego without any reservation beforehand 15 minutes to 1PM and the cafe was only partially filled. I considered calling in for reservation since I was being told that the cafe had always been full most of the time since opening. The cafe was all packed when it was nearing 2:30PM.
Without any further ado, let’s get started with some pictures of the cafe followed by the food pictures.
This is a display of the different types of tea leaves they are serving in the cafe. However, they have unique names for their tea blends and one of which was The Moon Represents My Heart.
I wanted to be seated by the wall where the grand poster is but the seat was taken at the time we arrived. I think that spot will make good pictures. There were quite a number of high tables and stools, not recommendable if you are wearing short dresses or skirts. LOL!
Fortune Cookie Chai | B$5.00
Alter Ego offers quite a unique range of tea blends. One of which I mentioned earlier was The Moon Represents My Heart and some others like Pandan Chiffon Tea if I am not wrong. Sister had Fortune Cookie Chai and she mentioned that it did not have much taste of Chai but Vanilla.
Buckwheat Soba Salad | B$10.90
buckwheat soba, cherry tomatoes, carrots, red cabbages, shimeji mushrooms, edamame, pine nuts, sesame seeds
The three of us did not order much, just an appetizer and a main course each to share as we wanted to save tummy spaces for desserts later on. Most importantly, both Jennifer and I had a wedding dinner to attend in the evening.
Jennifer went for healthier option and ordered this to share. It was pretty good but rather too salty. I liked the flavoring. It was good of sesame aroma and taste.
Chicken Charsiew Ricebowl | B$12.00
all ricebowls come with poached egg, pickle radish, Japanese cucumbers, furikake, bonito flakes, japanese seasoned rice
The Japanese seasoned rice tasted rather bland but it went well with the grilled chicken charsiew. The chicken charsiew was tender, juicy and well marinated. I only had a small portion to taste and I did not get to try the poached egg but it sure looked good to me.
We did not manage to order our coffees at the time of ordering. So, we ordered them when placing orders for desserts after we were done with our appetizer and main course. They did not have an extensive menu for coffees so we resorted to the basics only.
Cappuccino | B$5.50
Latte | B$5.50
Macha Choux | B$3.50
I am a sucker for Matcha flavored desserts and obviously I could not miss this. LOL! Honestly speaking, I do not think that there is anything special about this Macha Choux. The taste of Matcha is not very distinctive and too much Matcha cream for me. However, I do have to agree that the presentation was indeed very appealing.
Petit Antoine | B$8.00
Steep pricing but it was good. Both Sister and I agreed that it tasted extremely alike Ferrero Rocher. The base was made with chocolate rice puffs, followed by a layer of sponge alike cake and a thick layer of dark chocolate.
Gula Melaka Cake | B$7.00
I think I loved this the most among all three desserts that we had the other day. This was butter sponge layers topped with gula melaka syrup in between layers. It was sweet but I liked the aroma and taste of gula melaka. It tasted exceptionally well with a cup of hot coffee.
Verdict: Food wise, I think they were good enough but subjective to personal preference. I wish to try their other rice dishes but some of them were rated spicy. Sister is not a spicy eater as compared to me so I will always play safe when ordering if we were to share our food. Food pricing is steep but their menu options are different compared to other cafes.
Customer service requires improvement. I am not saying that their staffs are rude. They were not rude. However, it took quite an effort to gain the attention of the staffs when you require something. You do not often see their staffs around the cafe unless they are serving food. They should have at least a staff or two on standby by the dining area in case patrons require assistance. I had to approach the staff by the barista counter myself for requests.
Alter Ego
Unit 2 & 3, Block E,
Ground Floor,
Setia Kenangan 2,
Kampung Kiulap,
Bandar Seri Begawan, BB1518,
Negara Brunei Darussalam
Tel: +673-2230388
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