Meal For One: Humongous Fried Cheese Burger @ Caffeinees Puchong

“Never trust a place that serves a lot of dishes.” 

I can’t remember where I heard this pearl of wisdom before, but I agree that it has merit. Some restaurants specialise in one or two dishes, so you can trust that they’ve honed it to perfection. With a resto that serves multiple items, however, it’s harder to gauge if the food is ‘good’ per se. For instance, a chef might be good at making Western food, but they might not necessarily know how to make good Chinese food – unless you have a big kitchen with different chefs with different specialties.

Caffeinees is one of those places with an extensive menu. Known for its fusion cuisine served in a high-end setting, the brand has two very popular outlets in Kampung Pandan Cheras and Sunway, and they’ve recently opened up a third on in Puchong Utama’s Industrial Park area. Aside from European-inspired dishes like pizzas and pastas, you will also find tower burgers, rice, noodles, sushi, coffee, wines… you name it, they probably have it!

I came here for lunch break during one of my WFH days. Parking is a bitch so either come here early, or you’ll have to park across the road.

The interior features dim lighting, dark furniture, a chandelier and a bar – which would have looked classy if not for the packed seating arrangements. I can imagine the resto being quite noisy and crowded during peak hours. That being said, they cater for private events like product launches, birthday parties, weddings and more.

I like the bar area. Classy!

Prices are above average, so be prepared to fork out a little extra. They offer a wide selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, including milkshakes, fresh fruit juices, coffee and wines. I got a glass of chocolate milk shake (RM16), which was decent – smooth, creamy and not too sweet. I wish the serving was a bit bigger though.

Okay, so the reason why I came to Caffeinees was because I saw this post on FB right before lunchtime, lol. (Who says advertising isn’t effective?)  So despite the variety of items they had on offer, I went straight for the “I Feel Skinny Today“ – stretchy fried mozzarella cheese  topped with deep fried chicken thigh, covered with Carribean sauce, nacho cheese sauce and a huge amount of caramelised onions. You can opt for a 60g block of fried cheese (RM28), or a 120g (RM30).

In terms of size, the burger certainly did not disappoint. It was nicely wrapped for convenience, but eating it was still a messy affair as the filling/sauces kept spilling everywhere.

As for taste, it was decent. Buns were soft, chicken was moist and cooked thoroughly –  but I felt the sauces were too overpowering, which masked the flavour of the mozzarella cheese.  Wouldn’t say it’s bad, but wouldn’t say it’s the best either. Definitely not something you eat every day – maybe a once-in-a-blue-moon treat if you feel like gorging on something really unhealthy and calorie-laden lol.

This is not a review per se since they have so many items, it’d be impossible to try everything (hence, this meal-for-one post). So I’ve decided to rate it based on the following:

Price point: Above average (RM20++ for most dishes, but they also have items like lobsters and king crabs which are obviously much pricier)

Ambience: Comfy, but if you like peace and quiet, this is not a place to hangout especially during peak hours, due to the acoustics.  If you come in the mid-afternoon on weekdays, I think it would be much quieter. They have power points so you can plug in your devices/ laptops.

Service: Average.

Food: Can’t say much coz I only tried that one burger and a milkshake. Both were decent. They have a huge variety of items – breakfast/brunch sets, pastas, pizzas, Asian cuisine, lobsters, king crabs, even hi-tea sets.

Convenience: Location is not central; you will need to drive to get here or take a GRAB. Parking is very inconvenient – you either have to be extremely lucky to find a spot within the area, or park across the road.

CAFFEINEES (non-halal) 

Industrial Park, 23, Jalan PPU 2A, I-32, Taman Puchong Utama, 47100 Puchong, Selangor

Opening hours: 11AM – 1AM (daily)

caffeineespalace.com