Mun Coffee @ Cheras

As the year 2020 draws to a close, it's been a year of little cheer and one I'm sure everyone is not going to miss...or forget! >_<  The coronavirus pandemic has wrecked havoc in our lives....and in the process changed the way we live forever.

As sad as the year has been, I, too, will end my blogposts for the year on the same note with a truly sad makan that I consider as one of my worst meals of 2020 (this was in September before the second CMCO was imposed)...and it was at this place, Mun Coffee @ Cheras! :O

I first got a whiff of Mun Coffee (pronounced Moon + there's a crescent moon in their signage) from eatdrinkkl and since Bandar Sri Permaisuri is just about 10 minutes away (from where I live), I thought why not.  Place is comfy enough with cemented flooring + wall dividers, marbled + wooden table tops and rattan + cushioned seating although the 2 (or 3) seater table (where we were seated) was rather small (to discourage you to order too much?...heheh!).

I ordered the Nasi to the Moon @ RM28 (one of their best sellers) which is a platter of nasi goreng kampung, ribeye steak and balinese-style satay with a mixed salad.  The mixed salad were just some salad leaves (from a packet) with no dressing stuck into a piece of fried papadum that was crispy but barely fragrant.

The ribeye steak (250g) was cooked to medium (can't remember if I was asked how I wanted my steak done). It wasn't very tender, in fact chewy enough that I had to ask for a knife to cut my steak into smaller pieces to eat (even though it was already in slices).  Getting the staff's attention was another matter all together.  The two that were behind the counter were fixated on their phones.  I finally managed to get the attention of someone who walked out of the kitchen (a kitchen staff, I presume) to attend to my request (the service leaves much to be desired).  The chimichurri parsley sauce on top of the steak turned out to be super salty that I had to scrape most of it off (must have been a minor glitch in the seasoning department that day).

Next were the two sticks of Balinese-style sate lilit of grilled ground chicken wrapped around a stick of lemongrass.  Only one of the satay stick was well grilled with a faint smoky flavour but the ground chicken was very dry.  I'd rather eat a stick of our local satay from a stall that cost less than RM1 than this! >_<

The nasi goreng kampung didn't taste like a nasi goreng kampung I know but a plain fried rice with bits of egg and chilli.  Again, one can get a better tasting nasi goreng kampung from any warung or mamak stall. Heck, even my home-cooked fried rice tasted better.  As for the fried egg, the runny yolk just about made it!

Overall, I found the dish not cohesive at all.  Each of the components in the dish seemed separate and  there wasn't one common thing that brought the whole dish together.  It was as if the steak with chimichurri and salad belonged to one dish and the nasi goreng, sate lilit, fried egg and papadum belonged to another.

Our other dish was the Pasta Au Ratatouille @ RM17 and, as the name implies, it's a dish made up of vegetables like zucchini (green & yellow), aubergine and sun-dried tomatoes in a house-made marinara sauce cooked with a trio of wild mushrooms (very little of it) that I found a bit too acidic without a well-rounded flavour.

The pasta was topped with a piece of chicken shnitzel, the batter coating of which was quite alright but the chicken breast again came off as dry.  There was also a sprinkling of dried chilli flakes (!), dried parsley/herbs (!!) and grated parmesan (probably from a bottle!!!).  Dried herbs are meant for home cooks only...they have no place in a restaurant-quality dish.  If you can't use fresh herbs, then just don't use any at all.

Another example of a not cohesive dish (in my opinion) would be their dish of Loko Moko (RM20.50)  I spotted on their menu which pairs nasi goreng with a beef patty, sunny side-up egg and cheddar cheese with the whole thing then drenched in a thick (and gloopy, from the looks of it) mushroom gravy.  It might seem original and different...but I think they may have gone a little loco with such a creation.  I'm imagining a beef burger with cheese (minus the bun) on top of rice drowned in mushroom sauce...that can't be any where near delicious, can it?  Oh, and the coffee....just drinkable.

My Personal Opinion

Although I've only tried two dishes here, both selection is not something I'd want to eat again.  Perhaps I made the wrong choices or perhaps I should have gone with something more local like Salmon Bungkuih (RM26.50) with marinated salmon wrapped in banana leaves served with nasi telang (blue-tinged rice), vegetables, sambal and keropok (crackers).  From what I see on their Facebook, their very reasonably-priced weekday set lunch menu (mainly local dishes, changes every week) at RM15 & RM17 looks far more enticing to me.

After a miss of two out of two, I'm not sure if I'll be back...most likely not.  You know the saying....once bitten, twice shy.  It's safe to say....don't fly me to the Mun! ;P

Mun Coffee

R-G-05 Avenue Queensville

Bandar Sri Permaisuri

Cheras

56000 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-9226 4611

For what it's worth, I wish everyone a healing & happier 2021!