Damansara City, Damansara Heights 

Technically this is not a ‘Travel Anecdote’ but rather more of a local anecdote. I am proud to say that my neck of the woods has made it to Lonely Planet’s World’s Top 10 Neighbourhoods (though we share the same list with Tooting of South London so am not sure how glamorous this list really is). We’ve made a base here since 2015, and I categorically became a local this year. I love that it is quiet and ‘village-ey’ but at the same time close to all the necessary facilities. The new kid on the block is the Damansara City complex which is a development comprising of office towers, an F&B ‘mall’ and a 5 Star Hotel (Sofitel).

Since taking on a work from home project this year, I’ve been hanging around some of the restaurants in this complex as a way to work close to home but also still feel somehow connected to society (and not just the walls of my home ‘office’). This year, the following 3 dining spots have kept me cozy while I hammered on the laptop and chewed on their offerings. (Edit – the initial post also featured Ours Eatery and I Love Pho but both restaurants have now shut down and are no longer operating in DC City).

Birch

From the guys that brought you the super-trendy Huckleberry Cafe in Bukit Damansara, Birch is yet another notch up in the category of instgrammable hip-luxury eateries. It describes itself as ‘inspired by the laid-back cool and bustling eating houses and bars in West Hollywood’ with an Asian-Western fusion menu to dazzle its patrons. My to go for dish is the Japanese Miso Porridge – it’s a combination of all my favourite comfort food lumped in one bowl – porridge check, miso soup check, seafood check. They don’t scrimp on the seafood by the way, and the salmon chunks always feel so meaty and satisfying. If I start my working day at 10 am, I have this as my brunch on the side, followed by their watermelon and basil fizzy drink.  Since opening its doors to the public, Birch has been super-crowded by the high end crowd and I’ve never actually been able to get a seat in the morning without a reservation. So it would be wise to do an online booking before dropping in.

Final Words

Damansara City Mall pitched itself as a Food and Beverage outfit to cater for all the office employees surrounding the area. It is more on the upmarket side – local fare are in a restaurant setting and there are also a collection of high end fine dining offerings such as Nero Nero (Italian), Erawan (Thai) and Royal Canton (Chinese). The ambiance of the place gets a cool factor on Friday nights and Saturday brunches and nights but for the rest of the week it’s mainly the office crowd. For me it’s a neighbourhood mall but for those not in this territorial radius, I would recommend Birch for the novelty menu and ambiance.