Anggun Chef Café Restaurant, MITEC

With a vibrantly colourful interior and an alfresco area that offers wide-open views, Anggun Chef Café Restaurant returns with a revamped setting that beautifully complements its creative cuisine. The culinary centrepiece of the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) is now ready to reintroduce itself following months of refurbishment - take a cool marble table by the rattan swing beneath neon-lit lettering and enjoy this venue, a five-minute drive from Publika.

If you love flowers in your photos, Anggun Chef's new decor is set for your snapshots, with lavender-hued petals coiling down from arches of 14-foot-high ceilings. Seating booths surrounded by hydrangeas promise a picturesque peek out of the windows.

While the restaurant is ideal for a casual meal with friends or family, it's also available for parties, product launches and events, with a capacity of 100 people seated or 120 including standing room. A private dining space can accommodate 25 people.

Anggun Chef's kitchen is no less noteworthy, furnishing a contemporary perspective to familiar favourites from Malaysia and abroad. The restaurant's founder, Mimie Azura Mohamed, harnesses more than a decade of experience in running F&B businesses to serve up flavours that are robust without being overpowering, crowd-pleasing for every palate, wide-ranging and wallet-friendly.

Embark on your exploration with Anggun Chef's most prized dish, the Anggun Nasi Lemak Rendang Peanut Butter (RM18), a recipe that the restaurant has successfully fine-tuned over time. Every component has been prepared and cooked separately to showcase its best characteristics, from the emphatically aromatic rice to the extra-special sambal (infused with Cajun spices, for a KL-meets-New Orleans kick), though the star of this platter is the chicken rendang, coated with peanut butter that balances out the spice of the rendang for a rich, rounded texture, with an aftertaste that potently conveys kerisik (toasted grated coconut).

The fusion fun continues with the Anggun Asam Pedas Lamb Grill (RM25), another longtime Anggun Chef creation. This is painstaking to prepare - the New Zealand lamb is marinated with a medley of Asian and Western herbs and spices for two weeks, yielding savoury-sweet succulence. It's served with Anggun Chef's own asam pedas sauce, a thick and tangy match for the meat, lusciously paired with al dente strands of spaghetti and a crisp slice of garlic bread for a double dose of irresistible carbs.

Anggun Chef is not merely about innovation but also execution, reflected in the classic pizza, the Margherita (RM20) - it might not be baked in a wood-fired oven, but it still strives to do justice to Italian traditions, with dough and tomato sauce that are both meticulously house-made, resulting in a fresh-tasting, crunchy-creamy foundation for a back-to-basics pizza that's brightened with edible flowers sprinkled over melted mozzarella.

Similarly, while mushroom soup might sound conventional, Anggun Chef jazzes up its Soup De Champignon (RM13) with plenty of shiitake, white button and other mushrooms, crowned with milky foam for additional dynamics, gracefully laid with more edible flowers. Dunk Anggun's own-made garlic bread into the soup to make a splash.

There's much more to tempt us back - from Nyonya-style curry mee to grilled smoked duck confit with pineapple risotto, Cantonese-style fried yi mihn and Malaya oxtail soup to salmon steak and filet mignon, each with its own twists and flourishes.

Desserts are equally delectable. The popular picks are well-represented and extremely affordable - Molten Lava Cake (RM10) comes crafted with Callebaut Belgian chocolate for that luscious, steaming-hot centre, topped with blueberries, strawberries and strawberry sauce, while the Tiramisu (RM10) layers cream with Anggun Chef's house-blend coffee, finished with ladyfinger biscuits and chocolate sauce. Other desserts to tickle your fancy include Belgian waffles, Creme brulee, and an intriguing Seri Muka brulee with pandan vanilla sauce.

Beverages all meet the mark too - the Cafe Latte (RM10) relies on a house blend of French-roasted pure Arabica beans, dark and chocolaty with subtle hints of spice. An organic roast is also available for customers who favour a fresher, fruitier flavour.

The Cucumber Virgin Mojito (RM12) is the cool thirst-quencher to combat our tropical heat, a mocktail mix of soda water, cucumber syrup, lemon concentrate, mint syrup, lime and lemon slices, plus asam boi for that mouth-puckering local kick. This is also served in four other flavours (original, blueberry, apple mint or strawberry); other mocktails include the Virgin Passion Margarita, the La Vie En Rose, and a Fruit & Spices Lemonade.

Shakes and smoothies are sip-worthy, convenient for having here or getting on the go, spanning the Cookies & Cream Milkshake to the Salted Caramel Mocha Frappe. For a relatively wholesome treat, try the Mango Yogurt Smoothie (RM12), natural fresh yogurt with mango puree, topped with chocolate sprinkles. Alternatively, check out the Do It Yourself orange and lemon juice, enabling customers to squeeze out their own drink using professional restaurant equipment.

Many thanks to Anggun Chef Café Restaurant for having us here.