Bad Experience in Bakar (by The BIG Group)

This post is going to be more wordy as I didn't take any pictures. Didn't intend to blog about this at first but I thought good or bad, it's worth a note :)

One lunch as usual, I went out with Denise for our girly Penang session. We went over to Lorong Kurau to get ourselves some Peranakan food in Baba Low's 486. You guys must all be super familiar with this place already, if not, a single Google search will lead you to hundreds of review about this place. It's really that good, and the price is also very affordable. 

Anyway, this blogpost is not going to be about Baba Low but about my experience to Bakar. The last time I came over to Baba Low, I was already interested in the shop that is under renovation beside it so when I went over and I saw that it's already open, I was excited. Me being me, I have always liked to have my after lunch coffee/dessert in a cafe, and I thought that both Bakar and Hits & Mrs (Upon Googling, I found out that they are all under The BIG Group) would be able to satisfy that craving.

After lunch, we first walked into Hits & Mrs because the place had a lot of buzz back then and I have yet to try. But when we went in and took the menu, it was all set lunches. We told the waitress that we are only looking for coffee and desserts and she told us they only served set lunches. This is something new to me and it made me wanted to try their set lunch (Maybe next time haha)

Image via TheMalayMailOnline

She then told us if we wanted to grab some desserts and coffee, we should try the next door, which is Bakar. I of course excitedly agree since I wanted to try both anyway. When we walked in to Bakar, the waiter already knows that we are there for desserts and at first he told us they only serve popsicles for dessert during lunch. But when we asked further, he assisted us in checking with the chefs and they presented us with more choices, which I was happy cause I am not a huge fan of popsicles.

Denise and I then chose to order 'Baked Cookie in A Pan' (RM25) and I ordered an additional Hot Mocha (RM12). Denise wanted to order ice chocolate as she don't take coffee but unfortunately, they do not serve chocolate drink, which was unexpected. 

When my mocha was served, I was not convinced by the look. It looked a lot like milo, or packeted chocolate drink, which I know it's not because I saw them making it. The mocha was very watery by the look, and the colour is not very appetizing (I wish I had a picture to show). My first sip was a larger disappointment. It tasted bitter, with no coffee taste in it. It tasted exactly like the coffee I tried to make a few days ago with my new coffee machine with unsweetened cocoa powder and milk with some espresso. I paid RM12 for a failed coffee I did at home!

Baked Cookie in A Pan came a while later but there are nothing to shout about on this. It's good, the cookie was very rich in chocolate and the vanilla ice cream on top of it melted and blended together with the cookie as they placed the ice cream on the cookie when it was burning hot. However, it tasted just like any other chocolate brownie with ice cream. Due to the rich and thick chocolate brownie however, it does get very filling by the time you reach half and the other half of the brownie gets slightly tougher to eat. Luckily, Denise and I shared or we would not be able to finish it.

Now now, I know maybe coffee and desserts weren't their specialty because they specializes in cooking with charcoal, the old style way (which is definitely something I'll come back to try). I had high expectations on their coffee and desserts because they are under The BIG Group and somehow, my expectations were there. I believe even if they does not specializes in other things on the menu, they should at least try to make it better, not serving us some half-assed (pardon my language) food or beverages. It was a disappointment in terms of coffee and desserts but I have yet to try their main menu, so I wouldn't know if the rest will do the restaurant justice.