Kafei Dian @ Pandan Indah

I first got to know about this kafei dian (which literally means kopitiam) when they opened in Chinatown (Petaling Street) in 2019 with their old-school coffee shop vibe of cement floors, wooden chairs, marbled and tiled table tops with lots of greenery.

And sometime last year, they opened a branch in my neighbourhood, Kafe Dian @ Pandan Indah.  My sister-in-law informed me of them coz she happened to pass by and was invited in to try some of their food, yam cake in particular.

One of their most popular dishes is their Nasi Lemak Ayam Rendang @ RM11.90 served with half a hard-boiled egg, crispy ikan bilis & groundnuts, sambal and a refreshing acar (pickled vegetables of carrot, onions, pineapple, cucumber & chillies).

I'd consider the ayam rendang good (but a bit spicy lah) for a Chinese version.  The sambal was also spicy seeing that it's from a Chinese eatery.  The green-coloured, pandan-infused rice didn't have much of a santan aroma and the consistency was a little sticky and starchy.  I'm guessing that there must be some glutinous rice in the mix.  If you're looking for santan-flavoured rice, you won't get it here.

Next, I gave their Nasi Lemak with Fried Ikan Kembong @ RM11.90 a try.  It was served with the same condiments as the earlier nasi lemak ayam rendang.

Their ikan kembong (fried Indian mackerel) was super, super crispy....too crispy if you ask me until it was over-fried and the slit on the fish made the flesh dry out even more.  My preference would be for the fish to be crisp and fragrant around the edges while the flesh remains slightly moist.

And again, I was tempted by yet another fish dish, their Fried Tenggiri Fish + Rice @ RM16.90.  Why not?....since I love fried fish (and I enjoyed this fish more than the fried ikan kembong.

The tenggiri (Spanish mackerel or kau yue) was fresh and nicely fried with some ginger shreds.  I think they can afford to give a little bit more veggie, don't you think?  They call the veggies Penang Mengkuang Char (similar to stir-fried yam bean with dried squid, Chinese mushrooms and shredded carrot).

What I found a bit weird was that it came served with an assam broth (I'm guessing it's the same one you get with assam laksa) as a sauce since, overall, it didn't have any sauce.  This was probably an afterthought to throw in this assam broth since the dish may be difficult to consume (for some, me included) when it's predominantly dry.

The Seafood Fried Rice @ RM13.50 came with prawns, fried egg, fish cake slices and carrot bits.  You can detect a light hint of wok hei but otherwise the rice was just bland.  The prawns texture was the overly crunchy type which didn't have any flavour in them (aka frozen farmed/lower quality prawns).  Let's just say you can get tastier and cheaper fried rice from any siew chow stall and they will be heads and shoulders above this one.

Other than the nice egg layer on top, the Penang Fried Kway Teow @ RM10.50 wasn't very successful either. The noodles didn't look nor taste like they were well fried, so don't expect any charred flavour or wok hei. Again, the dish was accompanied by crunchy, frozen prawns that were devoid of flavour.

I saw quite a few people order the (Dried) Shrimp Curry Chee Cheong Fun @ RM5, so I thought I'd give it a go.  Unfortunately, the curry was not the thick kind.  Don't underestimate the little bit of chilli sauce provided as it packs quite a punch to the overall taste.  It was a just ok curry chee cheong fun but certainly not quite in the league of Yap Hup Kee's chee cheong fun by a country mile.

The Yam/Taro Cake @ RM4.30 (for 2 pcs) had a balance texture of smooth with bits of yam pieces within it.  I was glad to see it come with a good sprinkling of minced dried prawns, fried shallots, fresh peanuts, chopped spring onions and tiny bits of fresh red chillies.  This (incidentally) is not on their menu...you have to get them from the counter already pre-packed.

Though it wasn't the best yam cake I've had, it was still a very decent yam cake by many standards and probably the best you can find in my neighbourhood even though there weren't much fragrance in the dried prawns and the fried shallots were no longer crispy.

Of course, when one comes to a kopitiam like this, an order of Half-Boiled (Kampong) Eggs @ RM3 is a must.....but their eggs were served barely lukewarm.

That tells me it's probably done sous-vide style sitting in a temperature-controlled bath which means no human error of overcooked eggs but also not piping hot fresh out of boiling water.  I like mine so hot it would burn my fingers when I hold on to the egg to try and crack it...lol! :D  If you're one who likes their half-boiled eggs piping hot, this one isn't quite for you. >.<

This was their Toasted Bun with Butter & Kaya @ RM3.  Their inhouse-made kaya was slightly sweet for my taste buds but should be just right for the masses.  The kaya didn't give me that homemade vibe but a decent kaya by commercial standards nevertheless, more sweet than fragrant.

A breakfast of a freshly toasted bun (or bread) lathered with copious amounts of kaya complete with cubes (or slices) of cold butter and enjoyed with a hot cup of coffee on-site (not necessarily this one) is what I miss most with no dine-in. :'(

I can't say I'm totally on board with the taste of their Iced Black Coffee @ RM3.50 nor their Hot Cham (combination of coffee + milk tea) @ RM2.90 though.

My Personal Opinion

Nothing I've tried so far is inedible or bad tasting....but neither could I say that something I had was particularly good either.  The food is generally decent or average at best, so don't have too high an expectation when you dine here.  It's a place where the ambience and comfort is a notch above what you'd get in a typical old-school coffee shop.  Although prices seem reasonable for the type of food charged, some will find the portions a little small (a single dish may not be enough).

I suppose you could say that they're a jack of all trades but master of none as I noticed that they have quite a variety on their menu but you can't put your finger on what they're especially good at since no one dish stood out enough (of all the dishes I've tried thus far) for me to say....yes, this one is better than the other (similar) one I had before.

Still, it has given me and my family an extra option on where to dine for some of our meals.  So, perhaps I'll just say what I won't mind having again here...and that would be the yam cake, toasted bun with butter & kaya, fried tenggiri and ayam rendang.

Kafei Dian

No 1 & 3 Jalan Pandan Indah 4/4

Pandan Indah

55100 Kuala Lumpur