Karipap by Kampong Kravers

We drifted into Kampong Kravers after our initial meal at a restaurant here ended on a 'not-so-fulfilled' note.

Kampong Kravers is well known, first and foremost, for its premium spiral "karipaps" or curry puffs and they now offer 14 savoury and sweet curry puff flavours.  The savoury ones include staples like chicken, beef, mutton masala, sambal ikan bilis (spicy anchovies), spicy tuna, sardine, mushroom mayo and sweet potato.  The sweet ones are pineapple, kaya (coconut custard), peanut butter, durian, cempedak and apple custard.

Their signature regular spiral curry puff retails at RM2.20/pc or RM4.90 for 3 pcs.  Based on that price, it's a no-brainer how many puffs one should buy.  I bought one chicken, one ikan bilis and one sardine. 

At about RM1.70 a pc, the curry puff is not very big but the puff pastry was flaky and crispy with a fair amount of filling.  Although the price may seem more premium for a curry puff of that size, knowing that they are freshly made daily with no added preservatives, colouring or MSG and that the oils are trans-fat and cholesterol-free makes the price more acceptable.  Taste-wise, I did like the curry puffs which had a more authentic kampong-style taste to it, like one you'd buy from your neighbourhood "warong" (food stall)...only pricier!  

If these ones are too small for your liking, they do have bigger XL sized ones.  On a recent visit, I got myself some large ones.  This was the XL size chicken with egg and mutton masala @ RM5.20 for two (RM3.10 for one) inclusive of GST.  The puff pastry was extremely flaky and crispy if eaten within the hour.

I think the XL sized ones are better to eat as they seem to contain a sizeable amount of filling.  You can taste the chicken and potatoes in small chunks (instead of all mushed up), with a piece of hard boiled egg inside (though the whites were a tad hard), and a bit of heat in the filling.  The mutton masala puff was alright but I definitely preferred the chicken over the mutton one.

They also sell frozen curry puffs (in a box of 10) which you can take home to fry or bake. 

Other than the curry puffs, I bought a packet of Nasi Kukus Basmati @ RM3.60.  It was nicely packed in a paper cup container.  Their nasi lemak is made with basmati rice for a healthier and tastier version (plus it's more suitable for diabetics compared to regular white rice).  I definitely enjoyed the rice which was fragrant and fluffy with nicely separated grains. 

The fried ikan bilis and ground nuts were fresh and crispy.  It came with half a hard boiled egg and slices of cucumber.  The sambal was quite nice but rather spicy and oily.  The reason could be that they put too much sambal in for so little rice.  I would have preferred a lot less (sambal and oil)...I scooped most of it away :(

I like the fact that their products are nicely packed in environment-friendly paper boxes, containers and bags.  So, I'm ok with the slightly more premium prices based on their packaging and presentation.

They also offer cream puffs in a few different flavours but I think I'll stick to what they do best...and that's their curry puffs! ;)

Besides curry puffs, their other major product line is their curry pastes in flavours of chicken, beef, mutton, squid, shrimp, fish, dhal and sambal....and the latest is "hot bilis" which (apparently) is selling very well.  I did buy one to try...but that will be another story for another day! ;D

In case you "krave" for these puffs and want to give them a try, Kampong Kravers can be found in kiosks and cafes in some of the leading malls like Nu Sentral, Pavilion KL, Lot 10 Hutong, Empire Subang, IOI City Mall and its home café in Damansara Kim ;)