Chef Riz's latest project is generating a fair portion of buzz. We check out the place to see what's up. By Surekha Ragavan

Bang in the middle of thriving Bangsar grounds, Flavours is quickly catching talk among diners. Popularly known for its proprietor Chef Riz (son to Chef Wan), the café promises a blend of local and continental fare. In this case, the food here is meant to be both accessible and well-appointed.

We visit the newborn to see if the hype is worth the fuss. At first glance, the café's interior design is feminine and largely white with clean finishes. Though cut out smaller than a café should in such an area, the space allows for intimacy much like Alexis does very well at. The atmosphere is a clear strength of Flavours and due to its girly tones we expect plenty of female post-shoppers to flood the place in coming weeks.

Chef Riz's signature fried chicken

Parts of the menu comprises of brilliant fusion ideas – buttermilk pasta with garlic sauce, chili padi, curry leaves and fried calamari being a favourite here. A small section of the menu takes similar turns with dishes like smoked salmon carpaccio and ulam and crispy anchovies kerabu with apple. It is with these dishes lie Flavours’s selling point but when the menu isn’t promoting the combination of salmon with pegaga, it falls flat.

Chef Riz tells us he loves experimenting with different flavours and the menu is a result of it. While it’s difficult to pick out the levels of experimentation, we hope time will lead him to develop a much-needed boost of maturity in the menu. We point this out because we are reminded of Chef Riz’s penchant for originality with his first project, On The Table. Though we sense a strange form of inheritance here (wild mushroom veloute with Erynghii crostini, Shiitake 'air' and white truffle oil), such experimentation is inconsistent in the menu at Flavours.

Carbonara

Chef Riz also tells us he takes great pride in presentation and this we cannot dispute. His portions are fair and always prettily laid out. Meanwhile we notice the desserts on the display counter at the shop’s entrance are reminiscent of Alexis (mind the comparison again). The pavlovas and cakes are towering sights to behold. To match the suitable décor, we suspect our next visit might consist of a slice of that red velvet cake and a lovely cup of tea.

For more info on venue, see listing.