Review – Happer Restaurant & Bistro

[Food & Beverage]

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Nestled in the neighbourhood of Damansara Jaya since August 2013 is Happer Restaurant & Bistro and it’s sister outlet O&I Wine and Spirit which has been around since 2010. O&I Wine and Spirit is an alcohol retailer that offers liquors, wines, and spirits at very competitive rates (think supermarket prices) and they’ve expanded to include Happer to provide an environment for customers to enjoy the products on the spot for a very reasonable corkage (we’ll get to this in a bit).

The two (2) outlets can be utilised in tandem, ie. purchase a bottle from O&I then sit down in Happer, pay the corkage and enjoy it. Alternatively you can opt to pick up a bottle at O&I and open it somewhere else, perhaps at a party or even at home. Beats going to the supermarket, finding a parking space, and queuing up at the cashier. Don’t want to open a bottle? That’s fine too! You can have some food and beers or non-alcoholic drinks at Happer.

BTW if you were wondering, here are the corkage charges:

Wines and champagnes: RM25.00 nett

Sake (standard size, not the huge bottle): RM25.00 nett

Liquor: RM65.00 nett

For example:

A bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label costs RM152.00 nett at O&I. Should you want to enjoy it in Happer just pay the corkage charge of RM65.00 nett at Happer. That comes up to a grand total of only RM217.00 nett which is cheaper than most establishments.

I found some wines which are priced at RM59.00 nett, add-on RM25.00 to that and it’s still way cheaper than the “other” wine outlets in town. BTW the wines available are not low quality wines. Each bottle on the list has been selected against the strictest quality criteria, and are displayed and categorised by regional producers. Don’t know much about wines? That’s ok as you can obtain more info on it by simply scanning the bottle’s barcode with the customised bottle library scanners available in the outlet. Still can’t make up your mind? You could always ask the friendly staff there for assistance.

I did notice though that most of the customers opted NOT to go for the cheapest wines/ liquors and instead choose to enjoy something a level above what they normally drink. What do I mean by that? Well say you’re used to opening JW Black Label which in other bars would probably cost you around RM250 – 300 a bottle. Well at Happer you could get a bottle of JW Green Label/ Gold Label Reserve for less than RM300! So you could choose to spend less or spend the same amount and enjoy a higher grade drink!

I just love this concept!

BTW…you’ll be super spoilt for choice at O&I because there are hundreds of bottles to choose from including some single malt/ blended whiskies that are not commonly available in the market.

The main dining area which also doubles up as an event area and is equipped with a projector which syncs to an app in the iPhone enabling live feed from the phone to be displayed on the screen!

Our drink for the night – sake!

Italian Style Tomato Soup - RM6.50 & Pumpkin Soup - RM6.50 - flavourful and pretty nice. The food at Happer is pretty decent but don't go expecting fine dining or anything. It's decent fare to accompany your drinks. — Italian Style Tomato Soup – RM6.50 & Pumpkin Soup – RM6.50 – flavourful and pretty nice. The food at Happer is pretty decent but don’t go expecting fine dining or anything. It’s decent fare to accompany your drinks.

Fried Oysters - look out for this dish soon on the menu! Crispy and savoury - a fantastic accompanyment for beer! — Fried Oysters – look out for this dish soon on the menu! Crispy and savoury – a fantastic accompaniment for beer!

Pork Knuckle - RM38.00 - one of the most affordable pork knuckles in town! The meat is tender while the skin is crispy! Share this between 3 - 4 pax. — Pork Knuckle – RM38.00 – one of the most affordable pork knuckles in town! The meat is tender while the skin is crispy! Share this between 3 – 4 pax.

Rosemary Chicken Breast with Salad - RM18.50 - not bad. Good for those on a diet I guess. — Rosemary Chicken Breast with Salad – RM18.50 – not bad. Good for those on a diet I guess.

Chicken Maryland - RM19.50 - this one is a favourite among Happer's customers. I observed almost every table having at least one of these. — Chicken Maryland – RM19.50 – this one is a favourite among Happer’s customers. I observed almost every table having at least one of these. It’s a pretty good portion of crispy chicken with potato wedges on the side.

Smoked Duck - RM25.00 - this one is a hidden gem. It was not on the menu when I visited but Happer is revamping their menu to include this dish which is another crowd favourite. My pick of the night! Flavourful and juicy duck with a lovely and tangy lemon sauce and some vege on the side. — Smoked Duck – RM25.00 – this one is a hidden gem. It was not on the menu when I visited but Happer is revamping their menu to include this dish which is another crowd favourite. My pick of the night! Flavourful and juicy duck with a lovely and tangy lemon sauce and some vege on the side.

This is a specially customised beer tower which hangs from the beams on the ceiling instead of sitting on your table taking up space and blocking you from seeing the person in front of you.

Look out for this wine dispenser system which uses a pre-loaded card which stores your credit to be operational in the months to come. With this device, you can drink up to eight (8) different wines instead of opening a bottle.

tomcat says – I’m really happy that I now have another drinking establishment option that’s close to my house and one that offers liquor/ wines at normal retail prices. A plus point is that they also serve decent food so you can have your meal there when you’re over for happy hours! If you’re a beer drinker, the outlet serves Tiger and Guinness at competitive happy hour prices.

Happer Restaurant & Bistro and O&I Wine and Spirit are located at:

No. 54, 56 & 58, Jalan SS22/25,

Damansara Jaya,

47400 Petaling Jaya,

Selangor,

Malaysia.

(It’s in the row of shoplots that surrounds where Parkson and Atria Shopping Centre once stood. It’s a one way road so just drive along the outer ring of shoplots and you’ll eventually find it)

Parking: Ample free parking right outside after office hours

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/happer.damansara

Telephone: 01110811012

On Christmas eve I decided not to get stuck in a jam going to KL and instead rounded up my friends to have dinner and drinks at Happer. Turned out to be a good decision as they atmosphere was very festive and there was a lot of eye-candy as a bunch of Mabel’s friend’s female friends turned up to celebrate there as well!

Among the bottles that we opened was this bottle of Nikka Whisky from the Barrel which had a 51.4% alcohol content but was very smooth to drink although it was rather spicy. This one’s for the more adventurous whisky drinkers!

Photo credits: The photos of the dining area and the beer tower were provided by Happer Restaurant & Bistro. The rest of the photos (including those of O&I Wine and Spirit) were shot with the Sony NEX-5T. More info at https://timchew.net/2013/10/01/sony-new-camera-2013-launch/ or http://www.sony.com.my.