Gaya Dine & Café
Blonde: A Devotion to Dining Pleasure Te x t b y S H A H I DA S A K E R I Images by MUHAMMAD HASIF MOHD JELANI
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It’s a tough time for businesses right now, particularly those in the food and beverage industry globally. Closer to home, local restaurants are badly affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) that enforced since 18 March 2020, restaurateurs are expecting darker and dismal clouds ahead.
So, if there ever was a time for us to support local businesses, it is now. Of course, there are plenty of options to choose, but one of my current favourite homegrown eateries is Blonde, brought by the same folks behind the well-loved Serai Group. The restaurant has been a hit from the first day it opened back in September 2019, serving its wellgroomed clienteles with carefully curated selection of flavoursome food. I have fond memories of this restrained-yetaesthetically-beautiful, well-lit corner at the foot of a boutique development called The Republik in posh Damansara Heights. The restaurant’s enormous windows add light and warmth to the main dining space. For a more private and intimate dining experience, Blonde provides another dimlylit space hidden further inside. Every fine detail is meticulously thought after from its gorgeous
entrance, pastel pink along with white scheme tones, and lush potted plants to sophisticated tableware. You see, Blonde is loyally sticking to its concept through and through. Perhaps, this is the result of individuals with years under their belt, exceptional sense of taste and one shared vision to galvanise them all. These people also invested some serious talent in the kitchen, led by the Group Chef of Serai Group, Najib Hamid, and backed by Sous Chef, Sakhawi, who possesses experience and acumen spanning over a decade in the Malaysian food & beverage industry. The level of service delivered by the restaurant’s team of friendly and well-drilled staff earns praises. In fact, during my last visit a couple of days before the MCO kicked in, I noticed that regulars were already addressed by their names, a hallmark of incredible hospitality.
