Wanderlust

Fresh off closing Departure Lounge at Solaris Mont Kiara, the owners rolled out Wanderlust – a total overhaul of their previous venture that looks much sleeker (blue walls, wooden chairs and bottles-as-lights dangling overhead). A rebranding demands a menu revamp, and their new, pork-free gig delivers: Crisp-as-chips chicharróns (fried chicken skin) with Sriracha aioli, slow-cooked beef as well as Earl Grey poached pear all sound like a dreamy brunch you never want to wake up from. A Taiwanese gua bao without pork belly sounds treasonous but the unorthodox version at Wanderlust demonstrates why pork – dare we say it – doesn’t matter sometimes. The witty reimagining of the dish – moist chicken, black olives, herbs and Chinese parsley bursting out of a fried or steamed man tau – can easily unseat even the most stellar BLT on any menu.