Red Brick Kitchen is a new addition to existing upscale dining options in Ipoh. They have a great head start thanks to a boost from social media.
While it’s still new, you can expect many other people to be interested in trying this place out. And thus, it is wise to make a reservation if you have a large group with you.
For further information about this eatery and what it’s like to dine here, read our post below!
Table Of Contents:
About
Officially opened in late August 2023:
Red Brick Kitchen is in Taman Panorama Rapat Indah which is close to Gunung Rapat. Its location is hard to find without a navigation app or GPS system to guide you.
The menu has a lot of interesting items that you don’t usually see in other eateries. Like key lime pie, scallops breakfast, Peruvian chicken, watercress & mussel risotto, roast beef sandwich.
As you can see, the menu covers breakfast until dinner.
Moreover, there are different meat variations for pesto, carbonara or aglio olio. They indicated the spicy and vegetarian options clearly on the menu too.
The drinks menu is quite extensive as well. With categories like soda lemonade, non-coffee, sparkling and smoothies.
Ambiance
Red Brick Kitchen looks as nice as it does in photos albeit a bit smaller. For now, only one of the dining spaces is open. So, it can feel a bit cramped when it’s full house.
The menu makes this place a suitable place for a substantial lunch with friends or a fancy dinner. But you can’t fully appreciate the greenery outside then.
On the other hand, because the dining hall has glass windows on most sides, it does feel warm in the afternoon. Even with their multiple fans and aircons running.
And while it’s a short walk from the car park, there are no covered walkways. You might want to bring an umbrella in the event of rain.
Because the entrance is level with the ground outside, wheelchair users and those with mobility issues should not have trouble entering.
The compound of EFM (outside the eatery) is also flat for the most part. There are no stairs to climb.
Food
For 3 of us, we ordered Grilled Norwegian Salmon, Black Pepper Chicken Chop, and Tex Mex Shakshuka. Our drinks were one iced lemon tea and one iced cappuccino.
The menu features desserts as well although we did not order any.
We do not recommend getting their iced coffee. You can read more about why in the next section. Iced lemon tea on the other hand, was rich and met our expectations.
Their rose latte is a unique beverage – don’t order it if you don’t like floral notes because these are quite obvious.
Black Pepper Chicken Chop comes with its own sauce (separate from the chop). And a rocket salad (you do have the option to change this to a pasta salad instead).
The surprising thing about this main is that it came with mashed potato rather than French fries. We’re not complaining about the mashed potato, this is just an observation.
Mushroom Chicken Chop is good too. Their truffle risotto is very flavorful and tasty.
Portions for all the mains are fair.
Grilled Norwegian Salmon was nicely grilled – it’s not too dry. Both the fish and chicken chop are not salty.
You can choose mushroom sauce or dill sauce for the salmon, and we advise picking the dill sauce. It’s slightly sweet but has an appealing flavor that pairs well with the fish.
Tex Mex Shakshuka features a shallow bowl of the shakshuka. And 4 slices of sourdough bread to go with it. The sauce is almost like a thick soup. It is savory (not too salty and flavorful), and the bread has a lovely texture and taste.
PS: Don’t pick the Tex Mex Shakshuka if you’re hoping for meat in your main. It does have poached eggs, however.
We have tried their spaghetti before and while it’s alright, it doesn’t appear that they make the sauce from scratch. It tastes like a sauce you can get from the supermarket.
Service
There are 5 people in the kitchen, and the others are waiting on tables. There is one guy managing reservations too.
Despite it being almost a full house when we came (weekday lunchtime), the food came within 20 minutes. The last of our dishes was the Grilled Norwegian Salmon.
The wait time might be longer if you order something like risotto instead. But since we were already hungry, we were not keen to wait for it.
We find the overall service welcoming and efficient.
Note: They don’t serve drinking water for free here. Nor is it on the menu which is odd.
Pricing
It’s not at the same price point as fine dining but the prices are higher than elsewhere in Ipoh. Mains costs above RM25. There are options that are close to RM50.
For what we ordered, the bill came close to RM130.
But we don’t see any processed food here. They appear to make their own sauces from scratch too. We also appreciate the use of more expensive ingredients (e.g., rocket salad instead of just lettuce and shredded carrots). This is in line with the pricing.
They are exceptionally generous with pasta portions, but other mains suit small to medium eaters.
A glass of iced cappuccino will set you back for RM12. While iced lemon tea goes for RM9. We don’t think their coffee is worth the pricing – not so rich and the glass is not a big one.
It’s a shame they don’t offer self-serve drinking water here. Nor is it on the menu as sky juice.
Thus, for a meal and a drink, expect to pay RM35 per person. It’s easy to go over RM50 here. Especially if you have dessert in mind too.
Ease Of Parking
You must enter the compound for EFM (Ever Fresh Mushroom Sdn Bhd) before you can park your car as this is an established residential area.
But after the first signage for parking, there’s no clear indication of where to park your car. Since other cars were already there, we just followed them.
There are no parking fees, parking attendants, shaded walkways, or roofs. Follow the small signs if you’re here for Red Brick Kitchen. The eatery is deeper inside the compound past chalets and a building for a wedding studio.
Conclusion
Red Brick Kitchen is doing well for a new café in Ipoh. The food is good, and so is the service and ambiance. Prices are relatively high but if you want to splurge or have an occasion to celebrate, it is worthwhile.
If you have a large group, be sure to place reservations to avoid disappointment. It is full house even on weekdays.
We recommend Opeam if you want food of similar quality. For ambiance, an alternative is ASOW Eatery Station (we don’t find the food as good, but prices are a bit lower). Plan B looks similar too even if their greenery is not as lush.
