Review: Who?s Bryan, Western Cafe Food in Raja Uda

Sometime last month we were had the opportunity to dine and review Who’s Bryan at the Raja Uda area on the expense of it co-owner, Bryan. We actually got to know about this new place from one of our business acquaintances. It is a typical boy’s interested in F&B line, went for basic training, go to work in cafes and restaurant, then came back and open cafe of his own with his friends or family.

This newly set-upped cafe is located just opposite the Apex cafe in Raja Uda. Upon arrival, the out look of the cafe seems to have brought in some liveliness to the other otherwise dull looking place. It has an open concept with full height glass panels and no doors. It looks like something that one would find shopping malls or upmarket areas. Bryan’s intention is to bring something fresh, good food and enjoyment to the Raja Uda area. We could see that much effort has been put in to refurbish the old and run down corner shop unit, which used to serve as the storage area for a ‘nasi kandar’ business.

But if you are a person who are allergic to the warm and humid weather, then it would be advisable to visit the place during the evening.   It is not hot during the day, but because of the open concept it would not be as cool as in malls. The food that one would find in Who’s Bryan’s menu is similar to those of Dome, Segafrado, and the likes of it. It is mainly fast western dishes like soups, sandwiches, burgers, chops, snacks, coffee base beverages, sodas, etc.

Before we arrived, Bryan had already arranged for some of their specialties for us to sample, which include their coffee and coffee base drinks, a snack and 3 main courses. First to be served were the drinks, all coffee drinks in fact, which I have forgotten their  exact names. The coffee was said to be freshly brewed on order. Presentation wise they look standard, but the taste of the coffee base was a bit bland. It lack that nutty taste and pungent aroma of the coffee beans.

Then we had their Affogato which was served ice-cream and coffee in individual cups. The Espresso tasted a bit stronger than the previous cups but the vanilla ice-cream lack that luxurious vanilla flavor and the ice-cream did not have that rich creamy after taste. Overall verdict on their coffee drink is that effort was put in to present an otherwise common drink to look outstanding, but more care should also be placed on brewing a better cup of coffee and also to look into the beans itself.

A short chat afterwards, their kitchen started to roll out their main courses and a plate of bruschetta Bryan’ style. The bruschetta had raw garlic and a mixture of cheese and mayo, which did not appeal to us as the mayo had overwhelm the supposing rich dairy flavor. But the texture of the bread base was just nice, crisp on the surface and slightly soft inside.

We were also give a ‘preview’ of their ‘Pumpkin Soup’, which look presentable and safe. The texture of the soup was average, but it lack the sweetness of the pumpkin and was bland to taste. I guess the best pumpkin soup we had this year was at Louise Cafe, which we have been to since March.

The ‘Who’s Lamb Shank’ gave me the impression of ‘Lamb Mole’ due to dark brown color of the gravy. The gravy did not stand out from the crowd of lamb shanks that are available at other restaurants, and it was a bit over salty which with some mash potato can help neutralize. Meat wise, it was tender but it did not have the flavor of the gravy infused in to it. Thus, without the gravy this dish would have been bland.

‘Who’s Crumbly Chicken’ is the signature chop. It is different from other chicken chops as the tender boneless whole chicken  leg was encase in a crispy casing of light batter and corn flakes, not breaded or heavily battered with seasoned flour mix. The corn flakes gave it the extra crunch and corny fragrant. And the mushroom sauce was standard with slices of button mushrooms.  After this dish, it struck us that it would more sensible to have the corn flakes downed size a bit to give ease to diner’s chewing motion.

We also had the luxury to try out their homemade beef patty burger with cheese and egg  and fries and salad on the side. It was good attempt on their part. The patty was well cooked, tender and moist. The only set back for this dish was that the minced meat was slightly over minced which led to a finer texture. My preference of a good beef patty is that I could still see and feel the grains of minced beef and its fats after every bite of the burger. Other than that, a look in the seasoning the herbs used should also be looked into. With the suggested tuning of the beef patty, with the well melted cheese to added extra flavor  and well prepared sunny side-up egg to give it some moisture and richness, the burger would give the road side burger stalls a run for their money.

To sum up our experience at Who’s Bryan:

Taste & Texture: 3.2/5 (The chicken whole leg, bread, beef patty were fresh without the frozen meat taste texture, but the tastes of the dishes should be looked into)

Money Value : 3.5/5 (For a place like this and with the price they charge it is considered quite reasonable, but food also plays an important role for our consideration)

Service: 3.0/5 (Their staff would have to pay more attention)

Cleanliness: 3.8/5 (The place is new and well kept, the toilet was also well maintain, but due to the open concept plus the surrounding environment there tends to be flies)

Atmosphere: 3.5/5 (A bit warm for us during the mid afternoon, but the interior looks refreshing for that area)

Address & GPS: 65(GF), Lorong Teras Jaya 2, Pusat Perniagaan Teras Jaya, 13400  Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia.

Tel: +60 (4) 3329097