Bee there or bee square

It has some outdoor seats (Apple iPhone 3GS)

Sunday is a lazy day for the PH household and we don't normally start early but today I found myself bargaining with my other half on who should go into the shower first. 10 minutes extra time of slumber could do one a world of good, mind you. Needless to say, it was my other half who got the better end of the negotiation.

Our friend (the one from this post) had invited the PH household for brunch at this outlet called The Bee at Jaya One. So we had to haul up everyone, including the youngest member to get dressed and ready to hit the road before 10.30 in the a.m. To my delight, there was not much of that drama normally associated with cutting short a child's sleep.

Still, running slightly behind, I had to drive faster than usual but at a speed befitting a family man wanting to ferry his family safely to the destination. Much to my annoyance, we discovered that the building owner had added '32' more counts so now it's known as Jaya 33. When did this happen, I wondered.

My other half was quick to cash in on that bubu and declared that I had got it wrong (you have no idea how that felt inside) and instructed me to go to another location: "the mall that's visible from Kanna Curry House," she muttered. I had this niggling feeling that this wasn't the correct place either but decided to keep it to myself. Besides, what other chance did I have? The only way to find out was to drive there, wasn't it?

True enough, a different address greeted us. It was the SSTwo shopping mall. We were now even. I spunned a perfect u-turn, almost horseshoe in shape, just to emphasise how wrong she was.

Jaya One turned out to be located along the same block at KDU College and neighboured with Palm Square on Jalan Universiti, Petaling Jaya.

Our friend was already seated when we got there. The only other patrons I noticed were maybe a couple and a small family. I was smitten by the decor which employed concrete flooring and exposed brickworks. Thick wooden racks lined the naked red wall, keeping windowed biscuit tins and knick-knacks from yesteryears in order. At the other end of the counter was a dark and moody wall with equally dark wing chairs and sofa filling the space. Our friend later revealed that people recite poems there every once in a while.

Very homey feel (Apple iPhone 3GS)

To while away the time, we played Scrabble, the card version (Apple iPhone 3GS)

Jaya One also houses the Petaling Jaya Life Arts (or PJLA in short) theatre. PJLA aims to bring the creative and performance arts to the community. I don't know if it is PJLA's handy work or the proprietor's who makes the recital happens but it's thanks all the same because where else can you listen to live poem declamation and tuck into a juicy, humongous burger at the same time?

Have you been here? Bee is on the left of this picture, not in-frame (Apple iPhone 3GS)

Perhaps my oogling and salivating at the menu was what prompted the waitstaff to point out that they only served what's on the brunch list. Really? Oh, darn that! I had the juicy, humongous burger in mind. Apparently, from 10 am to 4 pm in the weekends, they only do the brunch menu.

Feeling like pigging it out ever since I started the day, my worthy alternative had to be the Bee Big Breakfast. My other half and her sister ordered the Portobello mushroom with Swiss Gruyere cheese omelette. Her nephew, Huevos Rancheros wrap. My elder son's same as mine. My younger boy and our friend preferred the butter cinnamon pancake.

The size of the BBB did not live up to its name. The kitchen manager or whoever responsible should have allocated a double portion for each of the item on the plate. But the smokiness of the chicken sausage, evident in the first through to the last chomp had more than made up the shortcoming in food measure. I didn't remember it tasting like eraser either. This was real sausage. And the scrambled egg was just my kind! Plain yet tasty, runny yet fluffy and wholesome, having it with the toasted sourdough bread was enough to put your sorrows away. Temporarily that is until I dug into the hash browns. There was so much oil you can use it to fry more hash browns. Dabbing this beef patty-like chopped fried potatoes with kitchen towel before serving your customers would do no harm. But maybe some of you out there prefer them oily. For me, the flesh inside should be white, not yellow which meant that it had soaked up all the grease. And the crispy shell should make that cracking sound when your polished teeth crushed into it, not a meek yawn. So, do you still like them oily?

Note the disfigured hash brown at the top of the dish. That's thanks to my other half (Apple iPhone 3GS)

Beans tossed with salsa, that's what beans rancheros were. These came together with the BBB, as much the sausage and the hash. My first time sampling this Mexican treat and I could not decide if they were good or not. For starters, I love baked beans as they are. Salsa too, especially with tortilla chips. The combination somewhat is an acquired taste. I didn't get the tanginess of the salsa as it was reduced by the beans and I wasn't sure if that's what I wanted. The soft texture of the beans in turn fought with the crunchiness of the tomatoes. And you don't see a fiery red dish; instead it's almost crimson in colour. But I think I'm liking this clash of personalities. I think I'm starting to grow on the marriage of the mismatched flavours. I shall attempt my version of beans rancheros one fine day. One fine day.

In between the BBB, I managed to steal some of the omelette my other half was savouring. The mushrooms were chopped chunky and generously strewn all over the rolled fried egg. She was very wary of my action so I only managed two spoonfuls. I loved the salad accompanying the omelette. The dressing was sprinkled rather than lovingly poured so the greens were not completely drenched and still brittle. Upon seeing my constant poking of her delish side (I'm talking about the salad) she promised to leave some behind for me, proclaiming that she did not really fancy the dull-looking fresh veggies. 12 minutes after, she cleaned up her plate! The salad was that good; it woke her up and made her break the promise.

It looked plenty but really the portion was meagre (Apple iPhone 3GS)

While exercising my need to eat, I could not help to notice a black board that had these words written on it: our new flavours, salted gula melaka and pengat pisang. I could be wrong about the flavours as it was a fleeting glance but I was certain they were local desserts. Apparently the flavours were from the homemade ice-cream brand called The Last Polka. Its Malaysian but combines French-styled ice cream with Asian flavours so the USP is that now you don't have to imagine no more. We grabbed french toast, nutella (remember the nutty spread?), salted gula melaka and malt + peanut butter from the nice looking freezer. I don't think Nutella was Asian but I never fancied the hazelnut spread even as a kid so I stayed well clear of it. The salted gula melaka was the one that I shared with my other half but it's really just frozen palm sugar. In addition, it was more frozen-yoghurty in texture rather than ice cream. And I thought the french toast flavour tasted like high grade cooking oil. On its website, I saw a few more 'Asian' flavours like strawberry cream cheese and get this, Guinness. Very Asian indeed. I like the graphics on the cup and the freezer though.

From the freezer... (Apple iPhone 3GS)

...to the table (Apple iPhone 3GS)

I did not get to nick my nephew's wrap because he was seated two seats away from me but he said it was alright. One could specify the egg that came with the wrap, either scrambled or poached. He went for the latter. I don't like the yellow bit (you may call it yolk), especially when it's soft so next time when I do the Huevos Rancheros wrap it shall be scrambled eggs.

The eateries in Jaya One are there to whet the appetites of the office workers, PJLA ticket holders and students from the nearby colleges. For the portion that The Bee serves up, I think it's a bit pricey. My BBB was RM25. The omelette was RM24. The wrap and the pancake, RM17 apiece. If you live to eat and have no qualms about spending, then go. I don't live to eat but don't mind to be in the company of the creative folks who frequent Jaya One so I might revisit!