KAMPUNGBOYCITYGAL A MALAYSIAN FOOD & TRAVEL BLOG

Merry Christmas to our dear readers! The festive season has left us a pound or two overweight, so an organic post Christmas brunch is just what we needed the most. Even our good friends felt the need to cleanse after the inevitable Christmas excesses too, hence we agreed to meet up at Haven.

Haven is not just a cafe, it is a green space with wholesome food, healthy juices, good coffee, organic fresh produce and even skin/body care:

cafe by Haven Cafe

coffee by RAW Coffee

groceries by Little Green Planet

fresh bread & juice bar

beauty & skincare products by Bodybar

spa treatments by Organique Therapies

mom & baby products by Tiny Tapir

Housed in a standalone building, the casual and family-friendly restaurant features its own private lot with ample parking. It has an outdoor patio outfitted with seating too.

The spacious interior is bright and airy thanks to the impressive front bay glass door looking out onto the garden.

Apart from being a nice, calm place for brunch; Little Green Planet groceries is also available here.

free water

RAW coffee runs a kiosk here, serving fresh roasted coffee using a Kees van der Westen lever espresso machine. The beans were roasted in house too, to ensure the best of quality.

Flat White & Mocha (RM 10 each)

RM10 is a steep price to pay for a cuppa, but not for a cup of small but strong flat white topped with very creamy, well-frothed milk.

Garlic Bread (RM 6); the smell is great and it’s an ideal tummy filler.

French Toast (RM 12); classic french toast made with free range eggs, served with organic jam and raw rainforest honey. Warm, fluffy and absolutely satisfying!

Fluffy Pancakes (RM 12); stack of traditional pancakes served with butter, organic jam and raw rainforest honey. Straight off the griddle and served fluffy and hot with raw rainforest honey, these pancakes were the crowd’s favourite.

Grilled Free Range Chicken (RM 18); warm free-range grilled chicken, organic greens, tangy orange dressing.

Mushroom & Onions (RM14); white button mushrooms, sauteed onions, organic greens.  These fresh, no-frills sandwiches were perfectly toasted on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. My other gripe is the lack of sandwich filling; we were expecting a generous and fuller version for the price which we are paying for.

Have it Your Way (RM18, choose 3 items). We chose fresh mushroom, poached free range eggs  and turkey ham to go with our bread. Our selection was nothing to shout about and and the portion was a tad too small. Smaller portion = Healthier lifestyle?

Chicken & Mushroom Pot Pie (RM 18); kampung chicken, mushrooms, mixd root vegetables, cream sauce, puff pastry. The pot pie reminded us of Dome’s signature Gourmet Chicken Pie. Both version was equally creamy and satisfying.

Gift Exchange Time

Let’s have a look at some happy, jolly festive pictures!

The many faces of KampungBoy

All in all, Haven Cafe serves good coffee, decent food but with pricing a bit on the high side (I suppose organic food is generally more expensive than intensively-farmed food?) The quiet and calm atmosphere makes it a very nice place to chill out and have a light snack too.

Haven Cafe
12, Jalan Ampang Hilir, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-4252-3100
Opens daily from 930am to 9pm.
http://havenkl.com/

Thanks to Chris who discovered Uncle Jang from their Facebook page, the glowing review sparked our interest and our curiosity get the better of us. Hence, we were all set to sample the famous Chuncheon Dak Galbi dish in Ampang few days back.

Dak Galbi is a popular South Korean dish where marinated chicken cubes are stir fried in a go chu jang (chili pepper paste) sauce together with cabbage, sweet potato, scallions, onions and tteok (rice cake) on a hot plate. Dak Galbi originates from Chuncheon, Gangwan Province. Hence the dish is also called Chuncheon Chicken (春川炒辣鸡). It is also known as the commoners galbi or university student galbi because of it’s huge portion and reasonable pricing. So occasionally, tummy fillers like cheese, ramen, udon and rice are thrown in.

One can choose to sit on floor cushions or chairs at this popular no-frills restaurant. Food will be served on a cast iron hot plate that is situated in the center of every table. We were there early, but soon after the place was bursting at the seems with mostly Korean patrons, almost 80% of them – always a good sign.

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It is a hell messy burger, the patty drowned in margarine and topped with cheese, fried egg and big glops of mayo and chili sauce. Available only at Om Burger, Ampang Jaya.

Strategically located in front of 7-11 Lorong Kolam Air Lama 1, Om Burger is a long standing and popular local eatery. Open from 8pm till late, the daily crowds and queues are testament to their popularity.

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Sometimes you just need someone who knows his way around good food in Klang Valley.  It was by chance that our stomachs were still rumbling after an event at G Hotel ,so Ken took us all (C&C, Ivy, Mei Yee and Ah Bok) to this no name tandoori chicken place. Some refers it to Uncle Aru’s though.

Finding Uncle Aru’s stall is no easy feat but if you get all the landmarks right – opposite Ampang Point and within a hawker center next to Galeri Guitar; it will be a very rewarding find.

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Despite reading/hearing good reviews about this “little thai shack from Ampang”, it was until now that we make it a point to drop by. Foodies are all about exploring new flavors and ended up with a protruding belly isn’t it?

From its humble beginnings as a little shack, it has expanded and the place this place is bursting at the seams. We were thinking that the food must be really good so when the food started to arrive rapidly and in a large glut all at once, we soon to realized that we might have a teensy bit too much.

Fiery Flame

Victims in Lines

To cure the hungry pangs, chakoi (deep fried crullers) with pandan kaya dippings were ordered. The chakois were fresh and crispy but the watery and overly sweet pandan kaya never live up to our expectations.

N & J Fried Rice (RM 12), being the best dish of the night is light and fluffy in texture with a vibrant yellow hue. Not to forget the general sprinkling of succulent shrimps too. We were served with some peanut chili dipping that goes really well with the seafood too. Some greens to make us feel better for taking so much of cholesterol laden food – kangkung (RM 9) sautéed with fragrant sweet shallots and piquant shrimp paste. It is that good that we licked the plate clean.

The lala cooked with basil and chili is one of the main favorites. The blatant use of fresh herbs brought out the sweetness of the fat juicy lalas. Some might frowned at the strong flavour of basil leaf though, KampungBoy was one of them. (RM 20 for 2)

Barbecued Squid was one of the most rubbery plates of squid that we have ever masticated through. Other than giving a good jaw exercise, it was bland and dry to the palate. (RM 28 for 2)

Grilled Stingray came wrapping under aluminum foil fared better compare to the other barbequed/grilled seafood. The thick chili paste has complemented the fish strips pretty well. (RM 24 for 2)

We exclaimed when the barbequed crabs (RM 92.40 for 4) comes, the huge fat mud crabs were so kissed by the fiery flame that they charred in a perfect dark brown hue. However, It is such a waste that we don’t get to taste the exquisitely delicate flavour and sweet moist meat of the mud crabs. I guess grilling the mud crabs under charcoal fire has reduced its juiciness, resulting in a rather dry meat.  

Having travel a great distance just to sample N & J’s barbequed seafood, we were fairly disappointed with substandard quality of the seafood. With only certain dishes that make extra miles worth while, there is still more misses than hits in the menu.

Address:
Lot 27363, Jalan Cahaya 1,
Taman Cahaya,
Ampang, Selangor
(From KL and along Jalan Ampang, turn right at the traffic light after Ampang Point towards Kg Pandan. The stall is 1km down on the left near a block of flats.)
Tel : 03 4251 1807