Swich Cafe @ HP Towers Semantan

Employees at Damansara Heights' HP Towers might seem more fortunate than most as far as lunch options are concerned, thanks to this cool cafe in their office building.

Forget sloppy salads; Swich puts virtuous effort into veggie ensembles. The "Lite Aphrodite" (about RM16) is a hillock of strawberries, carrots, tomatoes, spiced pecans, arugula and romaine with balsamic honey truffle dressing. Add several ringgit for thick slices of smoked salmon.

The Beef and the Barbie: succulent slow-cooked beef (lots of it!) with Swich's house-made barbecue sauce in a sesame bun with apple dijon slaw (about RM18). Prices here are steeper than what char kuey teow might cost, but portions are heftier and arguably healthier.

Swich's chocolate brownie is brilliant, thanks to its mouth-filling, flavor-flooded creaminess. The red velvet cake is less memorable by comparison, but still marvelous.

We've never seen this much cranberries jammed into a carrot-and-walnut cream cheese cake. Every bite was berry-licious! Confession: this visit to Swich was several weeks ago, so some items might no longer be on their ever-changing menu.

To avoid a food coma from all this glorious grub, order some coffee, made magical at Swich with a sprinkling of Valrhona chocolate.

Or have some hot chocolate, made doubly chocolatey with Valrhona too.

Swich's weekdays-only, no-dinner-served business hours are unkind to folks far away. But try heading here for a long Friday lunch if you're seeking someplace different. The service team whispered that a branch in Bangsar Shopping Center might happen sometime this year.

Looking for lunch closer to the city? Acme's weekday afternoon sets might be an option.
Main entries on Acme at The Troika: Dec. 2, Dec. 5, Dec. 7, Dec. 15, Dec. 18 and Feb. 11.

For (an arguably too-steep) RM49++, customers can enjoy a light, well-prepared meal, with salads, soups, main courses and desserts changing each week.

This recent set comprised small cups of a cherry tomato salad and white onion soup with parsley and sour cream, followed by breaded sole fish with mashed potatoes, peas and tomato coulis.

Floating Island meringue-and-custard with pistachios to wrap up what works as a business lunch.

Folks who have too little time for a set meal can opt for something from Acme's Too Late For Breakfast menu, like the double-yolk delight of this turkey ham and cheese bechamel toast topped with fried eggs, beetroot and leaves (RM25++).

Or skip straight to dessert: the passion fruit-strawberry pavlova is nothing but nice.

Acme's cakes are always tempting too, laid for all to see on the counter; the chocolate chip one is OK, though less richly sumptuous than some might hope.

The wicked juxtaposed against the wholesome: Dirty Martini, cold as ice, and Tea Forte Antioxidant honey yuzu tea, hot as a furnace.

Swich Cafe,

HP Towers, Jalan Gelenggang, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.
Acme Bar and Coffee,
The Troika, Kuala Lumpur.