Sweet Chat Café

Sweet is potent.
It makes you beg, it makes you crawl.
Like the taste of your first kiss, it brings you down on your knees.
Masochistic, yes.
Face it, you can’t help but fall in diabetical love with it.

I, for one, am not a sweetie (sour at times, even).
I prefer my Hokkien mee with lard crumbs.
Unromantic, I know.

But with a name like Sweet Chat, I’m sure sweeties will be tempted to, well, at least look at the menu. My friends did. Created by the people who brought us The Chicken Rice Shop, this café serves a wide variety of Hong Kong-style dishes with emphasis on desserts. And did I mention it was halal? Now, that really got us intrigued.

One of the sweetest noodles I ever had. The Spicy Oriental Spaghetti (RM8.90). The sauce tasted like an elaborated version of the char siew marinate. The julienned carrot and cucumber strips sided the salad-like ensemble. Interesting but sweet. Do they ever serve this in Hong Kong? Mou tai gor leh (I've never seen this before in Cantonese).

Not quite a MOS burger, the BBQ Burger (RM9.90) was basically a slab of grilled chicken breast sandwiched between a halved, warm burger bun. The taste was, well, you've guessed it. Sweet. Another char siew-like sweet marinate. The mayonnaise provided a slight tanginess to the breast, chicken breast. The accompanying tortilla chips were tad soft while the salsa was bland. We'll do just fine with flavoursome potato chips, thank you.

By now you would have guessed how the last main dish tasted like, right? Bingo! It was sweet. The BBQ Chicken Meat Toast consisted of char siew (again) flavoured minced chicken meat topped with a layer of melted cheese. Despite the sweetness, the toast was quite good as it was soft and warm. The cheese provided a much needed savouriness.

The toast, with a bowl of Sweet Potato Soup and a selected drink cost RM12.80 under the Toastie Set. Not quite soft, the potatoes were forgettable. However, I was surprised that they included ginger in the sweet soup. "A" for effort.

The Pulut Hitam (black glutinous rice) and Mango dessert (RM5.90) was a dish that could do without the mango, I think. When it comes to mango, the accompanying ingredients should be on the bland side to etch the flavoursome characteristics of the mango. The pulut hitam and coconut milk ensemble was already sweet and rich by itself. A distraction (I think). Less is more, sometimes.

Wait a minute. A Hong Kong dessert? I came to my senses as I tasted the pandan (screwpine) flavoured jelly strands of the Sago Cendol (RM4.50). Perhaps the only dish that was appropriately sweetened that day. A huge portion too, I'd say.

I heard the Durian Pancake is rather good. But durians and I, well, are not on talking terms. I don’t like fruits with body odour. So, do check it out if you like durian desserts.

The food was commendable but there should always be a certain level of appropriateness when it comes to taste. The desserts were sweet, as they ought to be. No complains. But to inject extended sweetness to savoury dishes, I’d say no, no, no. Exploitation of sweetness. Diabetical love gone bad.

Throughout the meal, the discussion was mostly on the sweetness of the dishes. "Sweet chat" indeed. Perhaps that was the hidden concept of the cafe. Now, pass me the Hokkien Mee. Faster, please.

Sweet Chat Café
Mid Valley Mega Mall
1st Floor, South Court
Tel: (+603) 2287 2798