Update: Tiffin Food Court has been postponed until further notice. Read the full press statement here.
Taking over a 30,000 sq ft disused warehouse in PJ’s Sungei Way Free Trade Industrial Zone and decking it out in neon and bold colour blocks, Tiffin Food Court immediately scores points for cool (no fancy postcode needed for this multi-layered food festival). For three weekends in December (8-10; 15-17; 22-24), there'll be more than 30 vendors at this pop-up food court serving hawker fare, casual interpretations of haute cuisine (seriously, take advantage of this) and cocktails with a creative spin; all while Paras Bunyi DJs provide the thumping soundtrack for the whole do.
We got an invite to the preview of Tiffin Food Court, and here’s what we learnt after checking it out.
1. It's obviously spiffier than your average medan selera and wai sek kai, with Dewakan's Darren Teoh and Sitka Studio's Christian Recomio joining forces to serve simpler (but still as good) versions of their brand of innovative culinary flair at no more than RM25 a plate on the weekend of Dec 15-17 (we stress again, go for this). Malcolm Goh of Define:food and creative dining Pop Up Dining KL will also be hosting a weekend (Dec 8-10), so mark your calendars. What else to expect from Tiffin Food Court: KGB - Killer Gourmet Burgers, Singapore's Tanuki Raw, ramen from Sumo Bar Happy, Kayra’s Keralan cuisine, Softsrve's ice cream and more.
2. Hold it right there with your Instagram Stories; get your food first. Popular stalls sell out really quickly, and we mean really quickly. Take it from us; we found out firsthand that taking our time strolling around scrutinising each vendor’s food was not a good tactic. Think Toridoki's charcoal-grilled chicken thigh skewers with Japanese leeks look good? Get them immediately or risk going back only to be told they've run out and you have to wait half an hour for them to replenish. See a line at Random Food Store for the Thai red lychee curry rice bowl with roast duck? Join the queue. And if you spot people walking about with El Maiz Venezuelan Cuisine's popular cheese fingers, make a beeline for their stall. Then, and only then, should you start posting.
Photo: All Is Amazing
3. If you're looking for drinks, Tiffin Food Court's got your back with the Mezzanine Cocktail Bar. It’s led by 2017 Bar Awards Kuala Lumpur Bartender of the Year CK Kho (of Coley and Pahit – the latter earned a place in our Critics' choice: Best new openings this year), and he'll be mixing cocktails all night long every weekend. We say go for the Borneo Attention with Rinnomato and sparkling tuak infused with lemongrass, although all four drinks on the menu are pretty excellent; after all, this is CK we're talking about.
Photo: All Is Amazing
Photo: All Is Amazing
Photo: All Is Amazing
Photo: All Is Amazing
4. There's no backing out of this: your Instagram feed will look pretty snazzy after a weekend here. It's dripping in neon at Tiffin Food Court – main dining room The Eatery is all swathed in cobalt blue and deep crimson with bolts of yellow; the 1Up Arcade (filled with retro games and happy geeks) in violet and green; and The Red Hall (with pool tables and private tables) in, well, burning red.
Photo: All Is Amazing
Photo: All Is Amazing
5. We also relearned the lesson that cats make anything better. The Lucky Cat Sushi Counter is our favourite with its 49(!) beckoning fortune cats, a large glowing cat-shaped neon sign, and the fact that it hosts Singapore's Tanuki Raw's rolls, donburi, Japanese fusion bites and fun cocktails.
Photo: All Is Amazing
6. Bonus tip: all transactions are cashless; you have to buy pre-loaded wrist tags from Eventbrite and tiffin.my, or get them at the venue itself. No worries about running low on digital currency, as reloads are available on site. While you can’t wear the tags too tightly (it might make it a little tricky for vendors to scan it during payment), remember not to let it dangle too loosely as well; we lost ours mid-party and almost cried.
There’s a whole lot more Tiffin Food Court has to offer, from Pulp by Papa Palheta’s cold brew coffee and even more food vendors to check out, so make your way to this pop-up food court on the weekends from Dec 8-24 (Fridays-Sundays), 5pm till late.
Lot No 1, Jalan SS8/6, Sungei Way Free Trade Industrial Zone, PJ. tiffin.my