KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 30 -- The past year has been one of quiet revelations at the table. Not grand tasting menus or headline-grabbing openings, but humble, deeply satisfying plates.

From roti sarang burung with its twin golden yolks to Penang char kway teow perfumed with assertive wok hei, this is food that reminds us why we love eating out in the first place.

Yet some places draw you back not for a single dish, but for their entire menu. In the case of Ebony & Ivory Coffee in Yulek, Cheras, it's their always stellar and sometimes shapeshifting menu.

Don't just take my word for it; other regulars will gladly vouch for the cafe's all-time bestseller Minced Pork Scrambled Eggs Rice Bowl or the seductive and sumptuous Kurobuta Pork Tonkatsu...