I had read about this place on the web and was most adamant that we had to go to this place for lunch after the cable car ride and before we left for the airport. Luckily, the restaurant was only about 10-15mins drive away from the cable car station (both are on the west side of the island and near enough (about 20mins drive) to the airport which is also on the west side).
This is a picture of the bakery portion of The Loaf.
And a close up of the delicious but very pricy (expensive for Malaysia standards) pastries on the table. I bought about RM 25 worth of pastries - they only cost so little because they were new creations (cranberry loaf etc) going at half price! 1 of the pastries was this nut creation thingy at RM 5 (no discount) from the tray behind the table and that was extremely good! However, my mum said "Aiyah, why you support that man when he always attack us (Singapore and its ministers)?" after she learnt that the Loaf was owned by Malaysia's former Prime Minister, Dr M.
I wanted to buy a loaf of the award-winning fragrant raisin loaf (there were only 3 loafs there) but deliberated because of the price (Rm 18). I remember finally making up my mind to buy one loaf just before our meal was served but by the time we were done eating, I had clean forgotten about it (maybe cos of the huge bill I was presented with - RM 147 including the RM 25 worth of pastries). What a pity! However there is a branch at The Pavilion in KL and I may just fly to KL one of these weekends so all is not lost.
It was broiling hot that day (as are most days in Langkawi) so I started off with a chilled "Luxurious Chocolate" cheesecake which I picked from the refrigerated counter near the cashier. The cheesecake was a tiny thing no bigger than the size of my palm. There are other types of similarly-shaped cheesecakes in the refrigerated counter too which aren't listed on the menu such as "Tangy Lemon" so one should walk over to the counter to check these out.
The first course which we shared was an appetiser - the garden salad with cheddar cheese and field mushrooms. While the dish was delicious with the vegetable being fresh and crisp and the cheese adding a tang to the mushroomy taste, I thought this dish was extremely pricy at RM 24 (SGD 10 for a salad!). We finished the dish in about 4 mouthfuls each - don't be fooled by the picture I took below - the veg is all spread out and the plate is flat.
The menu for the main courses are divided in 3 main sections - one for sandwiches, one for pasta and one for meat dishes. After much deliberation (given the no of oppties I would have to eat here), I settled for the Smoked Salmon Twist which is a pasta dish described as norweigian smoked salmon with sauteed broccoli, asparagus, and mushroom in light soy sauce. The Slog Reviews: 9.5/10. The presentation of the dish (see the pic below) was most asthetically pleasant to the eye as was the case for ALL the dishes we had at The Loaf. The smoked salmon wasn't the least bit fishy and melted in my mouth. It went very well with the light soy sauce and pasta. Well worth the price of about RM 34
The other main course was the Southern Cajun Chicken Sandwich (RM 24) which is described as crispy chicken drumstick marinated with cajun spices and oriental bulb mix. And was it good as it looks in the picture? The Slog Reviews: 10/10. A resounding yes! I'm not a fan of sandwiches or chicken for that matter but this dish totally rocked my socks! The spices which the chicken was marinated in lent the chicken such a richness of flavor that the chicken didn't taste of chicken chicken. An absolutely yummy dish!
We shared the Black and White Lava cake for dessert. Described as rich classic and decadent chocolate cake with premium vanilla ice-cream, the dessert below cost RM 18. Again as you will note from the picture I took of the dish, much thought has gone into its presentation. The Slog Reviews: 6.5/10. I don't recommend this dessert as it didn't taste very good - the chocolate cake was too heavy and moist instead of being rich and I didn't finish most of it. The ice-cream doesn't taste anything anything so I'm not sure what is meant by premium ice cream.
Here is a picture of (me at) the dining area of The Loaf. Each table has a bottle of red wine (which isn't complimentary) as part of its set-up, and with the white crisp linen cloth on each table, this bistro is definitely a restaurant in the sense of the word and a place you could go to dressed up or to bring a date. There aren't that many tables (but then again, there wasn't much of a crowd on a swelteringly hot Monday afternoon) at the dining area so one should make reservations.
The Loaf is located on the ground level floor of a two storey building and the outer walls of the restaurant are painted yellow. As you can also see from the picture below, there is outdoor and indoor dining. Even if one chooses indoor dining (blessed aircon!), some of the tables still have a view of the harbor and the expensive boats docked there.
There are quite a number of other restaurants such as the USSR restaurant which are located along the quay and facing the harbor too. Therefore, if one chooses not to eat at The Loaf, one still has other food choices without having to leave the quay area.
After our lunch, we made our way to the airport following the signboards along the roads. We happened to pass by the Field of Burnt Rice (we only knew it was the field because of a signboard in English that said so) and although we didn't stop for photos because we were worried we would be late for the flight, I snapped a picture of the rice fields from the car. If the rice really was burnt, I wouldn't be surprised given how merciless the sun is in Langkawi. To all who plan to go, do bring a hat, clothes with spf protection and plenty of sunblock - you wouldn't want to be the Person with Burnt Face/Hair....
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