CNV @ Base Kitchen + Bar @ Pandan Indah

While driving around our neighbourhood one day, I spotted something new...CNV @ Base Kitchen + Bar @ Pandan Indah.  Wah...kitchen & bar, sounds so fancy already (for a housing area like ours)...I must try.  Maybe it'll be like one of those hip and trendy places you'd find in PJ, TTDI or Damansara.  I can hope, can't I? ;)

But, boy oh boy, was I in for a rude awakening?  First impression, the front portion (it can actually be accessed from both the front and back) was a small dining area and the back portion housed some high tables and chairs for snacking/drinking/smoking, I presume.  It's separated in the middle by the drinks and cashier counters.

We ordered the All Day Big Breakfast @ RM18.80 that arrived filled with ham, cocktail sausages, scrambled eggs, sauteed onions and mushrooms, baked beans, side salad and two slices of toast.

Now, let me break that down for you:

1)  The ham and sausages were the mass-produced kind.
2)  The scrambled eggs weren't creamy nor tasty, overdone was an apt description.
3)  They used fresh shiitake mushrooms (that's cheaper but have no place in a breakfast platter).
4)  The baked beans tasted cold like they were poured directly out of the can without reheating.
5)  The side salad was dressed with a gooey drizzle of mayo.
6)  The store-bought toast was served without any butter!

This breakfast platter is something I'd expect from a western stall in a coffee shop, not in a cafe like this.  I think I can make a better home-cooked version.

Now what cafe serves a big breakfast without butter?  So, I asked for some (and was expecting to see one of those mini butter packs) but got two slices of butter instead that looked like they were cut from a block of butter! :P

I also requested for some black pepper for the scrambled eggs...and guess what?  They had to run to the kitchen to get me some.  Now how can one be in the restaurant business and not have black pepper shakers available on the table or, at least, upon request? O_o

Pork satay is not one I come across frequently, so when I saw it on the menu, I ordered the Homemade Pork Satay @ RM14.80.  It featured five sticks of satay with some cucumber and onion chunks.  I'm not sure what the side salad (similar to the one in the Big Breakfast) was doing on the plate though (a bit of a mismatch, if you ask me).

The bigger-than-usual sticks of pork satay were at least worth the price and had a decent char though not particularly tender nor juicy.  The prep and cooking of it was quite something else though as it took a long time before it was served (and there were only two tables occupied besides us).

The satay sauce was missing the typical traditional flavours one would expect from a satay sauce.  More importantly, I don't know what they were thinking serving it in a shallow and small spoon-like dish making it extremely difficult to dunk your satay meat into the sauce.

The Iced Latte @ RM10 was terrible.  That elicited a look from me at the direction of the drinks counter and I didn't notice a proper coffee machine.  Yikes, no wonder it tasted like what it did.

Even worse was that I detected smoke from the cashier counter, so I thought smoking was allowed in the dining area.  But when my husband went to settle the bill, he told me the smoke was actually from some kind of prayer worship/joss sticks that were partly hidden at the counter.  What's with that in a place of business? O_o  Now I'm certain I won't like this place even if there are some other food that's edible.

My Personal Opinion

How can they succeed in the restaurant business if they don't even seem to know that the tiniest of things matter such as basic must-haves like butter and pepper.

And joss sticks?  What were they thinking? :>(  Perhaps they do need prayers! >_<  Definitely no second visit.

CNV @ Base Kitchen +  Bar
7 Jalan Pandan Indah 4/6A
Pandan Indah
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-4288 2612