We (my wife and 11-year-old son Ryan) woke up this morning finding a lot of time on our hands. It wasn’t the usual Sunday morning routine to rush and attend the 10:00AM church service. We attended service the previous evening.

So my darling wife and son decided to pop by the club for some exercise while I went about some chores in the house – dusting, vacuuming and mopping. Yeah … no maids to help (we had a few nightmares before with these domestic helps and finally decided that we don’t want anymore ’surprises’ to spice up our otherwise quiet life); so someone’s gotta do it. It was my turn. And with Lite FM to keep me company, I went about the cleaning.

At 11:10AM, the exercise duo arrived home and declared that their stomachs were growling. I was busy cleaning, so there was no grub prepared in the kitchen. For a quick fix since kitchen’s closed, I suggested checking out the Food Foundry for brunch. My creative producer Yan Sean suggested I try it out Friday evening before I left the office. So off we went. It was a beautiful sunny day.

We left the house at 11:16AM, paid the stupid toll at the Penchala Link (one ‘Uncle Sam’ decided it was perfectly okay to raise the toll by 60 percent earlier this year; but that’s another story), and arrived at the Food Foundry just a little after 11:30AM. We were the first customers that morning.

And true to the description on its website which said, “We’re not situated anywhere fashionable. We’re not sandwiched between a hip bistro and a swanky bar. You probably won’t see anyone famous having an over-priced cup of coffee here. And you definitely won’t overhear any of our customers speaking in inconsistent accents or exclaiming “dahling” while blowing air-kisses. Thank goodness, we say, because we’re not into fake or flashy, and we’re certainly not into charging the earth. What we do like is a little peace and quiet, excellent service and good food at affordable prices,” Food Foundry was exactly what it is – the friendly neighbourhood food provider!

It was nostalgic for me to be back in Section 17’s Happy Mansion – I stayed there for a few months as a student in 1981. What used to be my stomping ground more than 25 years ago remains a quaint neighbourhood with all the trappings of the ideal haven for weary souls seeking refuge from the stressful city life.

As we were sitting down, an eager, young waiter promptly brought the menu and left us with a quiet moment to decide on what we wanted to indulge our taste buds with. Ryan insisted he wanted to try the Beef Lasagna, even though we dutifully reminded him that it was the main contributor to Garfield’s weight problems. My wife, Choon Poh, ordered the Slow Braised Lamb Shank with Honey and Spice Sauce and I took the Beef Aglio.

The lamb shank promptly arrived since we were the first ones there. It had a nice portion and the three of us happily dug in. The meat was succulent and tasty. If there was something to ‘complain’ about, I would have preferred the lovely sauce to be a little thicker.

Next came Ryan’s beef lasagna. For a ‘first-timer’ on lasagna, he gave a thumb’s up. But he was quickly suggesting that we try out lasagna elsewhere to make a comparison. The best lasagna I have tasted was prepared by Janine Givens (my host family when I was a student in the U.S.). To date, I have not tasted one quite like Janine’s. The Food Foundry’s lasagna could use a little more ground beef and a thicker version of the rich tomato sauce. Nonetheless, it was tasty, and that’s what’s important.

My beef aglio was nice, oily and spicy. I didn’t ask, but I hope it’s olive oil. The beef was tender and juicy. But I would have preferred the pasta to be spaghetti rather than fettuccine – nothing special … just a matter of preference.

Now for Ryan’s best part of the meal … dessert. We ordered Food Foundry’s legendary and highly recommended Mille Crêpe with Strawberries and Cream to be shared by three. The taste … simply heavenly. Clearly not satisfying enough and wanting more … Ryan suggested we try the Chocolate Mille Crêpe, which was screaming out at us to try it from a bunting nearby. The bunting said it succinctly: “A Slice of Heaven.” Truthfully, it was not as heavenly as our earlier slice with strawberries and cream. Maybe it’s just a matter of “different strokes for different folks.” We will definitely drop by to try out the vanilla and ocha mille crêpe at a later date.

And because our bill went beyond the RM60 mark, we were presented with a slice of chocolate cake with nuts (and chocolate sauce) on the house. Thank you guys! The bill came up to RM71.72, which I thought was alright for a weekend brunch with heavenly dessert! We rated the place 5/10 for ambiance, 7/10 for food and 6/10 for service.

As we sauntered out, the little cozy corner was beginning to fill up with patrons just woken up from their weekend slumber.