Written by: Chua Jia Ying _{(P.S It’s my birthday)}

Breakfast Thieves was founded in Fitzroy Melbourne, Australia by Malaysian-born co-founders Brandon Chin, Edwin Koh, and Joel Teh back in 2012. The original branch sits in the remnants of an old chocolate factory, serving Australian cuisine with a touch of Asian flavors in an industrial-chic, hipster café. Since 2012, Breakfast Thieves has witnessed overwhelming success, often winning many awards for their unique and scrumptious dishes and it only made sense for the Malaysian founders to bring BT back to homeland. Breakfast Thieves, Kuala Lumpur (BTKL) is the resultant triumph of that success. 

In the heart of Bangsar, in a 63-year-old commercial printing factory, sits the first-ever, Malaysian branch of Breakfast Thieves. The design of the café is essentially a glasshouse with wood boning. The expansive windows and high ceilings let plenty of natural light into the space whilst the concrete floor, exposed piping, metal lamps and naked light bulbs gives contrast to the wooden furniture and establishes the urban-industrial vibe of the café. The moment you enter, you are immediately enveloped by a welcoming warmth and the smell of fragrant coffee beans. 

One thing we noticed about the menu is that a lot of the dishes are packed with flavorful ingredients like a variety cheeses, truffle, and homemade sauces. We were skeptical on whether the ingredients would make the dishes overly ‘jelak’. So, we opted for plain water to cleanse our palates instead.

For our first dish, we started off with Danny Ocean (RM29.00) which is tea hot-smoked salmon, fresh seaweed and poached eggs on guacamole buttered English muffin, topped with brown butter hollandaise and garnished with ebiko and dried seaweed. (Phew, that is a mouthful to say and eat!)

The brown butter hollandaise was easily the most flavor-packed component on the dish. It was nutty and aromatic, adding a completely different dimension and intensity in terms of taste. The light, refreshing crunchiness of the seaweed helped create balance and tone down the hollandaise, whilst the roasted cherry tomatoes and guacamole added a bit of tartness to the dish. Both the egg and salmon were cooked to perfection but compared to the flavors from the rest of the dish, it was nothing remarkably memorable.

Next, we tried Croque Madame (RM27.00) which is an alternative for those who are not huge fans of seafood. Croque Madame consists of chicken bacon which sits atop a bed of cheeses (American cheese, mozzarella, and cheddar), tomato slices, gherkins, and buttered whole-meal bread. A sunny side up egg, roasted cherry tomatoes, parsley and more cheese are added as garnish. The chicken bacon had a similar texture to turkey ham and was a tad bit too salty. 

However, the cheese mix was great. The blend of three cheeses was milky, creamy and salty altogether, with a hint of sharpness to the palate. Although not a fan of gherkins or roasted cherry tomatoes, their sourness really helped tone down the saltiness of the dish.

We were not joking when we said almost every dish in their menu consists of cheese. As if you aren’t tired of reading about cheeses already, the next item we tried was the B. Marley sandwich (RM19.80), easily one of the cheapest items on their menu and also chock full of cheese. B. Marley boasts a blend of parmesan mascarpone, mozzarella, and American cheese, accompanied by roasted mushrooms and black truffle paste sandwiched between ciabatta bread. The parmesan mascarpone was nutty and sweet with a hint of acidity that is enhanced by the mozzarella whilst the American cheese added saltiness to the mix. The black truffle paste enhanced the umami of the dish, but the roasted mushrooms were rather muted in comparison. 

If you’re a small eater (like me), meals here would be on the more filling side, the good thing is there are plenty of photo spots around the café, so you could take a walk around the compound for some light exercise after a hearty meal! Overall, we’re just glad we opted for plain water to cleanse our palates after that flavor-packed and filling meal. Prices are no surprise, as it is one of the more popular cafes in the heart of Bangsar, but the food and ambience certainly made Breakfast Thieves an interesting dining experience.

Our Ratings:

Food: 8/10 

Ambience: 10/10

Service: 8/10

Sharpness of cutlery: -12/10 (An arm workout to cut through that piece of toast!)

And with that, we conclude that Breakfast Thieves is… MONCH Approved!

Breakfast Thieves Kuala Lumpur

Operating Hours: 9am – 5pm (Tues-Sun)

Address: Lot M, 29-5, Jalan Riong, Bangsar, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur.

Contact Number: +603-2201 8829