Kapital (Vegetarian) Kafe @ Pandan Kapital, Pandan Indah

Pandan Kapital is a rather rundown shopping complex in Pandan Indah.  You don't find many shoppers here and I'm amazed that they're still in operation until now.  People don't really visit Pandan Kapital to shop other than to buy groceries from Giant, one of the tenants.  I come here for only one reason...and that's to eat at Esquire Kitchen which has a branch here.

And it was because of such visits to Esquire Kitchen that I noticed this Kapital Kafe @ Pandan Kapital as you have to walk past this eatery to get to Esquire Kitchen.  They're not an enclosed eatery but a set-up of what I'd call an inside alfresco with seating out in the open on the floor space of the shopping complex.  Although I've been aware of the existence of this restaurant for a while, it used to serve Malay food as I recall.  I don't know when it was changed to this vegetarian restaurant but I noticed they were gaining more customers (even Malays eat here since the food is vegetarian), so we decided to give it a go one evening.

Let's start with the so-called meat dishes aka mock meat-lah.  First up, Special Fried Mushrooms @ RM14 in a sweet and sour sauce that's always a favourite.  The batter coating was surprisingly crisp but I don't think I've ever had dried shiitake mushrooms deep-fried before.  I thought the flavour of the dried Chinese mushrooms was too intense for this dish and the sweet and sour sauce was a bit too sweet but I did love the inclusion of pineapple chunks in the dish.  The earthy mushrooms were also very meaty making this dish rather filling.

The Salted Egg Mushrooms @ RM14 fared much better than the previous mushroom dish.  The taste of the salted egg (wished there was more) and the fragrance of the curry leaves made this dish very appetising.  Not sure what type of mushrooms were used but they certainly tasted better than the dried shiitake mushrooms. They were probably eryngii (or king oyster mushrooms) though it was listed as enoki (probably wrongly translated since the menu was predominantly in Chinese).

Of all the mock meat dishes, I enjoyed the recommended (aka with a thumbs up on the menu) Butter (Vegetarian) Fish @ RM12.70 the most.  They managed to get the batter on the mock fish light and crispy with the butter sauce slightly sweet and tangy.

Of course, tofu is expected to feature abundantly on menus of any vegetarian restaurant.  We had the Guai Ma Tofu @ RM10.60 (no idea what guai ma means) which (to me) is similar in looks to any braised tofu dish (minus the meat) but with vegetables instead (of cabbage, carrot, long beans, peas and mushrooms).

We also tried the recommended Jiu Yim (Pepper Salt) Tofu @ RM10.60 that was stir-fried with red and green bell peppers, cabbage and onions.  Although I was happy with the silken tofu cubes that had a crisp outer layer while the inside remained superbly soft, they were not only dusted with salt and pepper but also tossed in five-spice powder before frying which left the tofu with an overwhelming taste of five-spice for me (but my family enjoyed it).

Since this is a vegetarian restaurant after all, vegetables would certainly be expected to feature abundantly in many of their dishes like this simple dish of Fu Yue Yau Mak @ RM10.60 (stir-fried romaine lettuce with fermented bean curd).

We also loved the Claypot Curry Mix Vegetables @ RM12.70 which is a favourite order of ours here (and even at non-vegetarian restaurants).  At tai chow places, they usually do it with fish head (or fish meat which we prefer) but with solely vegetables is our no. 1 choice (since my family don't like to eat fish all that much nor deal with fish bones).

The one here, filled with vegetables of long beans, eggplant, ladies finger, cabbage, potato and tofu puffs, was very satisfying with well balanced flavours in the curry, just missing a bit more of that creamy santan that I crave.  I especially liked the addition of chunky and adequately soft potatoes.

But I have to say the Yin Yong Kai Lan @ RM12.70 came out top of the list (for me) and that's because they do it two ways here (I guess that's why it's referred to as yin yong).  It's similar to the kai lan (Chinese broccoli) dish I first had many years back at a Chinese restaurant (not sure who came up with the idea of doing it two ways first which was later copied by many other restaurants and tai chow places).

The leaves are deep-fried till super crispy while the stems (sliced diagonally and somewhat thinly) are stir-fried and remained crunchy to the bite.  You can't see much of the stems as they're hidden beneath all the leaves.  I don't buy kai lan to stir-fry at home often because I don't like to eat the hard-textured stems but seeing how they treat the stems here, I'll be encouraged now to buy those thick-stemmed kai lan...and copy them.

The kai lan was a little salty and a little sweet, so I'm guessing some sugar was used in the cooking of the dish (probably to take away some of the bitterness from the kai lan).  We would order this dish each time we're here...and based on the three photos, it's obvious we've been here three times by the time this post was written. :P

The restaurant also offers various types of fried rice and noodles (like this Ginger Beef Kway Teow @ RM10.40) as well as single vegetarian dishes with rice.  I don't mind paying a bit more for the Chinese Tea (RM1.50) here since it tastes a lot better than many of its equivalent.

My Personal Opinion

I can't say I'd go out of my way to seek out vegetarian restaurants even though I do love to eat vegetables as I'd still prefer to have some proteins at the same meal.  Having said that, a vegetarian meal every now and then wouldn't hurt anyone and finding this decent one in our neighbourhood was a welcome surprise.

A dinner of four dishes for a family of three cost only around RM60 (including rice and drinks)...and that, to me, is what I call super value at very affordable prices.

I won't say everything is good here but there are enough choices to make for a decent vegetarian meal when we feel like it and I can foresee us coming back here regularly for some of our no-fuss family meals when the cook isn't cooking! ^_~

Kapital Kafe

60GF Pandan Kapital

Jalan Pandan Utama

Pandan Indah

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 013-277 7727