Ra.Ft Cafe @ Lorong Binjai

The cafe was just a little over a month when I visited for the first time...and I'm back, not as often as I would have liked to, but I'm back (though my friends have been visiting more regularly).

Since I enjoyed myself tremendously here the last time out, I wanted to introduce this gem of a place, Ra.Ft Cafe @ Lorong Binjai, to another friend and her family.

We started with an 'old favourite', the Ra-Ft Breakfast @ RM32, which we had the last time we were here for breakfast.  As usual, the platter is filled with two strips of streaky pork bacon, a choice of a pork or chicken sausage, eggs done to your liking (scrambled or sunny side up), smashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, baked beans and a slice of house-made bread with herbed butter.

We chose the pork sausage (again) coz it was soooooooo deliciously fragrant and savoury the last time we had it...and (again) it didn't disappoint.  The dish was picture-perfect in terms of looks and taste.  It's a big breakfast that's difficult to find fault with as it's consistently cooked well.

Since this was our first visit at dinner time, we had the opportunity to choose something other than breakfast items like the Pan-Seared Salmon Fillet @ RM42 which was served with roasted vegetables of sweet potatoes, broccoli, yellow zucchini, baby spinach, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms.

The Norwegian salmon fillet was very fresh and tasty.  Cooked to perfection, with super crispy skin and a drizzle of pesto sauce and balsamic, it was a dish you'd want to dive right in immediately.

Next up was the Ra-Ft Burger @ RM35 featuring a signature mix of pork-beef burger stuffed with mozzarella cheese and mushrooms (the patty was juicy), in between a soft sesame-crusted bun with onions and lettuce, and crowned with a pickled gherkin (or cornichon).

It was served with a side of chips and coleslaw and I have to say that Ra.Ft's fries are really good.  Freshly fried to awesomeness to achieve that lovely crisp on the outside with a soft texture on the inside.

What made me choose the Carbonara Spaghetti @ RM26 was the description of an Italian style pasta with eggs but no cream.  Yay....no cream means no cloying possibility...I like the sound of that!  Yet it didn't lack the texture of creaminess because of the eggs and cheese.

We also tried their Fish & Chips @ RM35 served with fries, coleslaw, mashed peas and garlic mayonnaise.

The plate was filled with generous slices of seabass fillet with a crispy crumbed batter (not of breadcrumbs but one that has a somewhat similar texture to cornflakes) which the kids adored.  The flesh was fresh, flaky and moist....nothing like those...ffff (fishy frozen fish fillets)! ;P

After a few savoury dishes, we went with a couple of sweet choices that also doubled up as our desserts. First up was the French Toast with Bacon & Maple Syrup @ RM21.  Four strips of long French brioche bread arrived with four equally long strips of crispy bacon on top of more bacon bits and maple syrup.  This French toast was super light, extra fluffy and ultra soft...so, so, so desirable! ^o^

I thought their Pancakes with Stuffed Bacon & Maple Syrup I had previously was to-die-for...this was a piece of heaven (or four pieces to be exact)! :P  Other choices include French Toast with Caramelised Apples (RM17) or Banana with Chocolate Sauce (RM17).

Since my friends' kids enjoyed the French Croissant (with Nutella & Almonds) @ RM9 so much on a previous visit, we ordered the same one again for them this time.  Only this time it was 'raining' powdered sugar! O_o The little ones had no complaints of the sugar rush though.

We also added the French Croissant (with Butter and Jam) @ RM7 since there were more kids.  And a good croissant needs nothing more than a simple spread of plain butter and strawberry jam (I actually liked this one more).

Our meal came to a rousing end with an extremely irresistible Ra-Ft's Tiramisu (Italian recipe) @ RM15.  An authentic Italian tiramisu is made with raw eggs as opposed to using tempered egg yolks and substituting egg whites with heavy cream.  Tiramisu is one of my favourite sweet things to eat coz it's coffee-flavoured and uber delicious...and every bite is worth the calories! ^_~

Oh-em-gee...this one was extremely luscious and light with a melt-in-your-mouth softness that made me absolutely delirious! ;P  This definitely goes down as the best tiramisu I've had so far.  This is a dessert that's best not shared...as you'd want it all to yourself....I certainly would...next time! ^_^

What better way to wash down all the good food....with equally good coffees of Iced Latte, Iced Cappuccino & Hot Chai Latte @ RM10.  We also had a Liver Cleanser @ RM16 which is a healthy mixed juice of orange, beetroot and carrot.

Families with young children would be pleased to know that there's a play area where you can dump (err, I mean park) your kids while you enjoy a cuppa.  But then again, if your children are anything like my friends' children, the play area probably isn't such a good idea as they'll end up making more of a ruckus while playing.

We.....Ate. Drank. Sat. Stayed.

From dawn to dusk light to dark ;P

My Personal Opinion

I was surprised to find the cafe a little quiet on a weekend dinner night as they have such a bustling crowd in the day.  So, if you're looking for a place with a relaxing ambience and a chic setting for dinner (I dare say even romantic to some degree), this will fit the bill.

Of all the food I've tried so far, there weren't any I didn't like but their French Toasts and Tiramisu are must-haves!

This is a feel-good, taste-great kind of place...and rightfully cements its place among my most favourite cafes.

Ra.Ft Cafe
G1, GF & N.2 Ground Floor
Binjai 8 Lorong Binjai
Off Persiaran KLCC
50450 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2181 1091

La Casa @ Mont Kiara

Ever since I saw photos of this place online (especially The Yum List's), I earmarked it as a 'must visit' place in my next "makan" trip with friends.  The place I'm talking about is La Casa @ Mont Kiara.

On reaching La Casa, you'll find abundant parking spaces in the Verve Suites parking lots or, if you're lucky enough, you'll get to park by the road directly facing the restaurant.

Of the many cafes I've been to so far, I've not adored the ambience of the place as much (since Yellow Brick Road) till now plus this one felt more spacious because of the high ceilings and I was happy to see long tables that can cater to larger groups.  There is the indoor dining area but you can also choose to dine in the alfresco area.

La Casa exudes a cosy and casual vibe, yet stylish in appearance, and you can certainly feel relaxed in an environment like this that you'll want to spend many hours here.  Their Facebook Page says that they serve Italian/Western cuisine from thin crust pizzas to pastas, mains, seafood, sweet delicacies, pastries, cakes and macaroons but I also noticed some French dishes on the menu.

Although we were here at lunch time, we could still order from the breakfast menu.  We started with the ever popular and singularly most ordered item in any café breakfast menu...the Big Breakfast which is known by many different names in different cafes.  The one here is called the One Pan Breakfast @ RM32 which comes with a choice of homemade chicken, spicy Italian chicken or beef sausage, turkey bacon, sautéed mushrooms, roasted potatoes, cherry tomatoes, hash brown baked beans, two sunny side up eggs with wild rocket and toast (but we didn't get any hash brown and wild rocket though).

The sausages at La Casa are all made from scratch and the spicy Italian chicken sausage was simply amazing (not to worry, it wasn't spicy at all).  Freshly made sausages are worlds apart from those processed ones.  Everything on the plate, we were happy with....even the toast was soft, fluffy and toasted to a crisp and great accompanied by Elle & Vire French butter (absolutely creamy and decadent).  This is everything you'd want in a pan....and more!

For our next breakfast item, we went on a more Italian route (you could say) and chose the Breakfast Gnocchi @ RM28.  [#Tip: Gnocchi is basically an Italian soft dough dumpling commonly accompanied with melted butter with sage, pesto or some other sauces.]  The ones here were homemade gnocchi with pesto, chicken sausage, egg cocotte (unfortunately a bit overdone) and wild rocket with balsamic dressing.

I requested for the original homemade chicken sausage for this plate since we've already had the spicy Italian chicken sausage with the previous dish.  I definitely preferred the original to the spicy Italian one.  The gnocchi was really nice, well-seasoned, soft and fluffy to the bite.  I enjoyed this tremendously.

After two breakfast dishes, we went with pasta for our next two orders.  The first was the Teriyaki Salmon with Spinach @ RM42 which featured a pan-fried Norwegian salmon on a bed of spinach and garlic pasta finished with a drizzle of teriyaki sauce.

We asked for the salmon to be cooked to medium and it was perfectly pan-fried to that doneness.  The salmon was superbly fresh, moist and flaky.  The teriyaki sauce brought some sweetness to the salmon and the dish overall.  Only downside was that the spaghetti was a tad oily (when we got to the bottom of the plate) but it was still a very good dish nevertheless. 

Our next pasta was the Duck Confit & Wild Rocket @ RM29 (as stated in the menu) but the dish didn't contain any wild rocket.  I chose linguine for our pasta and it was tossed with shreds of pulled duck confit, sundried tomatoes and bits of chillies, onions, garlic and herbs. 

The pulled duck confit was rich, tender and immensely flavourful.  We were happy that this turned out to be yet another very successful and delicious pasta dish.

Although my friends and I would be heading elsewhere for dessert, there was no turning back once I took a peek of their cake counter.  But since we did order one main less (as we had plans to go to another two dessert places after this), I thought a few 'extra' desserts here wouldn't 'hurt'.....I ended up ordering three! ;D

I didn't order the Framboisier that I saw as we've already tasted one before in Frisky Goat.  A framboisier is basically a raspberry cake but La Casa describes it (in more detail) as a biscuit joconde infused with raspberry syrup, layered by raspberry butter cream and a thin layer of berries jelly, topped with seedy raspberry jam.  If this one is as good as the one from Frisky Goat, this will be a good cake =)

I ordered the Mont Blanc @ RM13 as it intrigued me from the way it looked plus I've never had one before.  [#Tip: On googling, I realised that it's a dessert of pureed, sweetened chestnust topped with whipped cream.]  Secondly, I picked the Lemon Tart @ RM12 as I was attracted by the shiny, smooth lemon curd on top.

The swirls of pureed chestnut sat on top of a crumbly cake base and the cross-section revealed a filling of whipped cream in the centre.  The dusted icing sugar on top made the cake look like a snow-capped mountain (and hence the name, I presume).  This Mont Blanc was not too sweet and it's not very common to find this cake at cafes, so try it here if you have the chance.

The Lemon Tart was made up of a mini buttery shortbread crust filled with the most luscious lemon custard that had just the right balance of tangy and sweet.  The little specks on top were lemon (or lime) zest which probably intensified the flavour.  The velvety lemon flavoured filling was totally fresh, lemony, zesty, vibrant and refreshing...all at once :)  It was oh-so-good!

Our final dessert was a slice of Sweet Pleasure @ RM14 which was essentially a chocolate cake....but just not any chocolate...it's Valrhona chocolate!  Since I didn't take a snapshot of La Casa's description of this cake, I'm just going to do the best I can with my description.  I can't recognise all the layers but I do see a layer of chocolate ganache and chocolate mousse and three very thin layers of tempered milk chocolate in between (other blogs mentioned a layer of hazelnut praline).

This one piece of cake highlighted various textures in perfect harmony, from the crunch of the perfectly tempered chocolate to the luxurious chocolate mousse and ganache, when you take a bite...and, most importantly, it wasn't overwhelmingly sweet.  It was met with a thumping approval from everyone (in fact, all three desserts did).  Like its namesake...sweet pleasure, indeed!  A slice of heaven, to be exact!

This being our first stop of the day, we had to have our coffees.  And here were the hot ones...Cappuccino @ RM11, Mocha @ RM13 and Flat White @ RM11.

The cold ones...Iced Latte @ RM12 and Iced Hazelnut Chocolate @ RM14 (a bit sweet).  All the coffees were fab!

I like the look of these cute and colourful metal-type seats, so I thought they deserved a few extra shots with my Flat White.

My Personal Opinion

Everything I tried here, I liked....and some I loved!  The terrific homemade salt and pepper breakfast sausages...I loved....they were fragrant and peppery with just the right amount of saltiness.  The gnocchi was manifico....the duck confit pasta was fantastique.

All three desserts knocked it out of the park but, if I really had to choose my top favourite....hmmm, I can't and I won't!

The menu here is quite extensive, so it'll take quite a few trips to sample everything but it's certainly a place worth returning to over and over again.  It's a place where all three components are impressive...the food, the desserts and the coffee.  A trip (or trips) back is definitely on the horizon! ;)

La Casa
Verve Suites Shops Mont Kiara
G-5 Ground Floor
No 8 Jalan Kiara 5
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-6211 8825