Wednesday, 17 June 2026

Operator 21 : Young People Food

I paid two visits to Operator 21, Uptown 7.

On my first visit, I wasn't sure what to get because there were many items on the menu that looked, well, can I say "unconventional"? to me hah..hah...

Well, as I mentioned, the menu would be considered "young people food". The only section on the menu I am confident is coffee.


I find the decor chunky and clunky but my opinion about the aesthetics is not important. 


Ok. Coffee is the first order of the day.


An ice Latte. One sip and my impression is it needs more coffee. An extra shot of coffee sets you back RM5.00.


They provide water on the house and that is a plus point.

For my meal, I guess the safest thing for me is Big Breakfast. Can't go wrong with that.


It looked almost like the photo on the menu (except for the sausage). Forgive me for my limited vocabulary. This plating looked "clinical" to me. 


Time to dig in.


I found the chicken sausage a bit overpowering as it contained strong herbs. 


Suffice to say, the only thing I enjoyed was the sendiri-smashed avocados on toast. The rest of the items were ordinary.


On another visit (two visits to form an opinion is fair in my books), I tried their ice Americano.


It was not robust and lacked that coffee oomph!

I thought I would be adventurous and ordered the Mentaiko Pasta with Chicken Katsu.


It is Conchiglie Rigata in Creamy Mentaiko Sauce with Crispy Chicken Katsu and Ebiko. I could taste butter and cream in the sauce with the first few bites, which was nice, but after a while it became cloying (jelak).


The chicken katsu was very crispy outside and tender inside and well seasoned. And that was what I enjoyed.

Well, the food here I am sure is appealing to many people but not so welcomed by my more (old people) conservative taste.

So as I always do, I wish all new eateries the best. Good luck Operator 21! I wish you well!


When I exited the cafe, I looked at their opposite neighbor.


The Uptown 7 food court has added more tables to accommodate more diners. I have yet to try the food at Uptown Eats. Maybe one fine day I would!

8 comments:

  1. Hi dear PH, the dishes don't look appealing to me at all. And after having read your descriptions and thoughts, it sounds like you were underwhelmed.
    The avocado 🥑 on toast is the only thing that I would enjoy, I think.
    Thank you so much for sharing, dear friend.

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    1. hah..hah... they tried to drees up the dishes but it did not come through. Yes, I was underwhelmed but that was me, there may be other diners who enjoyed their food.

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  2. Ya, the BB looked exactly like the one in the menu....except, luckily, you got a whole sausage instead of half. The plating looked clinical (unlike fresh food) coz most, if not all, the items on the plate are processed...and, hence, the ordinary taste (actually my go-to cafe in my taman also uses all processed items since they don't have a proper kitchen coz they're just a simple cafe that relies on residents as their customers, and I accept that coz I just use it as a lepak place to get a coffee...also not the best around). I believe this Operator 21 has the same idea, just a place for the pickle ball players to lepak and eat after a game, so can't expect much from the food.

    Heheh, we need our avocados mashed, right? ;) When I see pasta with mentaiko sauce, I would avoid it like the plague coz I find mentaiko extremely creamy, sometimes too sweet as well (just a bit on sushi is what is acceptable, and it must be torched), so I know it will be a bit jelak...and your plate had a lot, more so when they used this type/shape of pasta (like to mini bowl to contain the sauce)! >_<

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    1. Exactly, they hope to have a pool of customers from the pickle ball crowd. I hope that works for them. Mashed avocados on toast is the best! Me too, I am not partial to creamy pasta especially when there is too much creamy sauce. Aglio olio is more my thing.

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  3. Good morning 🌞
    Thank you for the review. I don't think I will visit this eatery. As it is a public holiday today, I am now in uptown, c can c U or not 😂 this morning raining in Uptown. U need to buy food for your mom today also or your brother is off today and can buy lunch for your mom instead?

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    1. Good morning! LOL! I was looking for you too hee..hee... Yes, I bought food for my mum because I decided to go to work as usual. Luckily I did not plan to do gardening since it rained and rained!

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  4. I hardly order bb set coz most things on the plate are processed & normally served in hotel breakfast buffet. I m not fond of those 'experimental unconventional food' in cafes, i think most are crappy just to lure ppl to try once & earn $ from curious customer.

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    1. Ah! I like your description "experimental unconventional food"! It may sound and look interesting buy tastewise not ngam. LOL!

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