Words: Polly Szantor Photos: Monica Tindall
This restaurant’s sassy name may have raised a few eyebrows when it first opened, but it’s climbing the ranks amongst Bangsar eateries, and certainly gets my vote as one of the best in the area, especially for vegetarian food.
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| WTF Bangsar |
Priti, Shah and Jigna are constantly refining and recreating the menu, which includes North Indian and Western favourites along with innovative fusion dishes. Nine chefs, each with their own specialties, dance around the tiny kitchen to prepare freshly cooked delicacies without the use of MSG, microwaves, preservatives, or artificial colours and flavouring.
We began with Dahi Ke Sholay, fried bread stuffed with homemade yogurt cheese and crispy raw vegetables. It burst onto the tongue with a wild zing of flavours and textures offering a stunning start to any meal. And who would have thought that Chapatti Soup would be absolutely delicious? I’ve never tried it before but this simple combination of yogurt, tomatoes, spices and left over chapattis could become another favourite. I don’t usually like soggy food, but these well-soaked chapattis must be the exception that makes the rule.
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| WTF Dahi Ke Sholay |
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| Chapatti Soup |
The Black Pepper Paneer lives up to its name. It’s basted with black pepper sauce before crisping in the tandoor oven and it has a nice bite to it. The Tandoori Cheesy Ghobi Broccoli was also very savoury and perfectly seasoned to bring out the character of the vegetables.
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| Paneer Tikka Masala |
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| Tandoori Cheesy Broccoli Gobi |
One of the fusion dishes we tried, Italian Pavbhaji, was reminiscent of vegetable lasagna but it was made with a delicious curry sauce rather than a herby tomato ragout. Then there were the Enchiladas, homemade flour tortillas stuffed with spicy beans, corn, peppers and tomatoes and generously topped with cheese. They looked decadent and tasted phenomenal.
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| Italian Pav Bhaji |
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| Enchiladas |
The Nasi Lemak Sizzler (a generous serving for two) tastes as good as it looks, combining a wealth of flavours and textures, including thinly sliced, crispy-fried mushrooms and a tasty sambal. WTF is introducing a new veggie burger, the Falafel Burger, a big-man meal much loved by Caning. We predict that this will become a best seller. And the Crispy Paneer Stuffed with Szechuan Sauce will not be far behind; it’s yet another taste sensation.
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| Nasi Lemak Sizzler |
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| Falafel Burger |
The dishes started coming thick and fast, and I was hard-pressed to keep up with my notes. What to do? Take a tiny taste and write, or tuck in solidly? You can guess which approach won. I can tell you that all the remaining dishes we tried were excellent: Dahl Tirkha, Stuffed Caspicum, Day and Night (the hands down winner for presentation) Palak Chat, Palak Roll and Deep-fried Spinach with Tamarind and Date Sauce. And imagine, this is just a small number of items from the new menu.
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| WTF Stuffed Capsicum |
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| WTF Shaam Savera |
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| Deep-fried Spinach with Tamarind and Date Sauce |
Towards the end of the meal, Monica leaned over to me and said, “Have you ever seen Indian food look so beautiful?” and I completely agreed. Most of these dishes were presented with real flair; they weren’t just slapped on the plate. Many of them were accompanied by a crisp salad of shredded onion, cabbage and carrot with tomatoes and spices in a light marinade, which was crunchy, refreshing and attractive.
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| Lovely Presentation at WTF |
Just when we thought we couldn’t squeeze in another bite, there were desserts to follow, all homemade with less sugar than is usual in Indian sweets. The Mango Kulfi made with fresh buffalo milk was magnificent, while the Rasmallai, Rasgulla and Gulab Jamun were tender and perfect. We tasted a lovely selection of little milk cakes too, which were all excellent. Apparently WTF make my favourite, Jalebi, on Sundays when there’s also a popular brunch from served.
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| Mango Kulfi |
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| Gulab Jamun |
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| Indian Sweets |
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| Indian Sweets |
Throughout the meal we sipped on several items from the drink menu. The Fresh Mint Lemon Soda was refreshing and not too sweet while the Masala Chai was thick, rich and beautifully spiced. The Summer Cooler Health Drink was an interesting combination of milk, almonds, dried fruit and saffron and it left a lovely lingering hint of cardamom in the mouth. The Mango Bliss is an addictive mix of mango purée, basil seeds and vanilla ice-cream somewhere in between a dessert and a beverage. I wish I could have scoffed the lot, but it really was time to stop.
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| Kesar Thandai |
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| Fresh Mint Soda |
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| Masala Chai |
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| WTF Mango Bliss |
WTF is keeping their iconic Specials for those who can’t decide what to eat:
Something RM6
I Don’t Know RM10
Anything RM12
Everything RM20
Whatever RM15
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| Dhal |
Reasons to Visit: to be spoiled for choice by the number of items on the menu; to swoon over the uniquely presented dishes; and to groan at the intensity of imaginative flavour combinations.
WTF (What Tasty Food)
98, Lorong Maarof, Bangsar
59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
+6 019 261 7070
www.wtfrestaurants.com.my
Open Mon – Thu: 11:30 am – 10:00 pm
Fri – Sun: 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
We only have one vegetarian shop (Chinese) here and if it were half as good, I would go every day. Plus it is expensive too! Nice name, the restaurant! 😀
OMG everything is so colourful!
I had some yummy mattar paneer two weeks ago.
So satisfying 🙂
I like the name of this place WTF
What an incredible range of veggie food! I miss this lovely little place..
well, thanks for sharing, my mother like vegetarian very much~
Regards,
(A Growing Teenager Diary Malaysia)
OMG I am so inspired, am gonna drive down there right now and get me some of these tasty morsels…
Okay, I couldn't get exactly what I wanted as the dishes from the new menu are not yet available, but have been assured that if one calls two hours before pick up, they can do it.
Thanks for the feedback Vicki. The new menu was due to start in September…
Do they use onions and garlic?
Hi, Here's the response from the owner: "We use onion and garlic but over 70% of the menu can be made without onion and garlic. The Buddhist community makes up a large part of our clientele."
A very pleasant experience i had other day… I did not like. the "Khaman" I ordered was very great and not up to the mark. … They knocked it off the bill immediately and also served a compliment of Khandvi …. Fantastic Client rapport and customer service !!