Zest Cafe in Bangsar South: Home-style Wholesome

What: Zest Cafe, The Sphere, Bangsar South, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

When: January 2013

Food: Italian/Mediterranean

Rating: 9/10

It was Saturday, we were hungry. “Where are we going, then?” asks the BF. Where, indeed. I keep a list of places that I have read about on other blogs and want to try out for myself, and the latest entry on the list happened to be fairly nearby; perfect for a quick lunch.

Natural light floods in to the eating area

Thus we found ourselves in Bangsar South, in the compact “mall” (The Sphere) in which various cafes and restaurants seem, sadly, unfrequented and a Carreforre rings its tills with customers. We found Zest – our destination – very easily, and I was pleased with the place from the moment a gentleman jumped up from his lunch (I suspect it was the MD, Ong Beng Chung) to open the door and welcome us in.

The counter top

With three of the four walls being full-length windows, Zest feels more spacious than it is, and the light streams in from the seating area outside to make it a welcoming place for a lunch. There were a few tables already occupied, and the army of staff (I counted nine) smiled and nodded and guided us to any table we chose.

The food is billed as Italian/Mediterranean, and from the first page of the menu it had my attention, proudly declaring the joint to be health conscious, with no added MSG, salt, sugar, no deep frying, and 100% olive oil.

A few people were tucking into breakfast platters (no pork, mind. Chicken sausages all the way) but it seemed that breakfast finished at noon at the weekend (11am weekdays), so we headed towards the normal menu, which was long and luscious enough to keep us momentarily bamboozled.

A Carrot-Milk and Cucumber-Lime refreshing juice

Drinks, thankfully, were straight-forwards. Juices, smoothies, teas, coffees (including Civat coffee), beer, and wine were the choices, and I went straight in for a Cucumber-Lime Cooler (RM6.30), while the BF had a Carrot-Milk Ice Blended (RM6.30), both of which came swiftly and were colourful and refreshingly fresh.

So food food food! Soups, salads, and starters began the proceedings, followed by a range of main dishes: poultry, beef, lamb, fish, rice, pasta, wraps, and a very decent vegetarian section (ten items!). There were also sides such as garlic bread, before desserts crept in at the end. Where to start?

Tubers-Bean Kofta with Mushroom Sauce

Many things sounded good – I had read that the Rosemary Roasted Chicken was a favourite – but I decided to pick something I had never had before and couldn’t make at home, and this turned out to be a Tubers-Bean Kofta with Mushroom Sauce (RM15.90).

This was from the Vegetarian menu, but I was certainly not disappointed I had shunned meat: two large patties were slathered with a rich, warming mushroom gravy (lots of mushrooms), and accompanied by a blob of sweet and gooey mango salsa, sharp tangy pickles, and a gaggle of lettuce leaves.

Tasty, well-cooked, and so wholesomely lovely

The patties (made with potato, beans, and carrot) were perfect; crisply browned on the outside, while the inside was mushy and filling, with a sharp kick of spice within the earthy vegetables that seemed completed with the warming gravy. Add a little touch of sweet salsa and spicy pickle, and something altogether wonderful happened in the mouth and in the tum.

I loved it – even the meat-loving BF enjoyed it – and I deemed it a perfect comfort meal. Filling, warming, yet wholesome and made with a home-cooked touch that made you know that nothing nasty went in to making it taste good.

Pan-Fried Lamb Cutlets

The BF’s choice was not quite so stupendous, but satisfying nonetheless. He had picked the Pan-Fried Lamb Cutlets (RM37), which came with hummus and yoghurt mint sauce. This looked a huge portion – three cutlets nestled atop a heap of chunky vegetables cooked in tomato (as in, REAL tomatoes) sauce, while the hummus came in a separate little bowl.

There was plenty of meat on the cutlets, although cooking length couldn’t be specified and so the meat was a little tougher than we would have liked it. The yoghurt mince sauce was superb and the ragout of vegetables and potatoes was simple yet wholesome and tasty.

The hummus bowl was all mine!

The hummus came my way, and while it had a decent flavour and the signature pool of olive oil on the top, it was a little crunchy and would have welcomed a little longer in the blender.

Both plates were emptied, and both of us agreed that you could taste the difference to other, more commercial places – Zest’s meals were real, they were wholesome, and they tasted like you were sat at home with a great cook in the kitchen. And oh how welcome that is after too many meals that leave me thirsty after all the MSG!

The long menu will be enough to bring me back – I want to try more! – and the prices are reasonable for the portion sizes and the approach. It would be, I decided, the best place to go after a painful day at work, when I needed something comforting and reassuring, yet something with a bit of creative interest for my palate. Plus the staff (the many that they were!) were smiley, attentive, and eager to serve.

To cap it all, parking was free! I think we shall be making frequent trips to Zest.

Zest Cafe

The Sphere

Bangsar South

8 Jalan Kerinchi,

59200 Kuala Lumpur

03.2242 0389

www.zest.com.my 

Open: weekdays 8am-10pm, weekends 10am-10pm

Halal