The Pantry @ Bangsar, Taman Bukit Pantai, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Address:
9, Lorong Kurau, Taman Bukit Pantai, Bangsar 59100 Kuala Lumpur (KL)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Sun:
10:00 am - 10:00 pm

Time Visited:
Around 3pm, Sunday afternoon

Attire worn:
Casual

Item(s) Ordered (Photos taken as inconspicuous as possible with my phone):
Latte (hot) and a Red Velvet Cake

So there I was once again at Bangsar and this time around I was giving The Ganga Cafe another try. But it seems that we were never meant to be. I just can't get a nice timing to go to that cafe. Previous experience was not a pleasant one where I visited with 2 of my colleagues and now even though I gave it another try, I found out that it was not meant to be. Another bad experience again. Oh well. Anyway, this post should be about The Pantry.

Unhappy with my meal at The Ganga Cafe, I decided to seek refuge in dessert and coffee. I first scouted out PULP by Papa Palheta which seems to be the famed third waved coffee place to be but after looking for other inspiration, I noticed that The Pantry should be the choice of my visit since it's located at the same row I was in and it's just a short walk away. And so I decided to hop over to it to escape the unforgiving relentless heat of the Sunday's sun.

The Pantry is a quaint looking cafe from the exterior where it has a double wooden door and those olden days that gone by look from the outside but right when you pop in, you see the modern sleek interior design and so I dubbed it quaint meets modern. It was so crowded that day and it took me by surprised. Many were whipping out their cameras taking away pictures and seem to know one another coincidentally having the same idea of going to the same place for some Instagram worthy pics. As for me, I was taken aback by the sheer number of people there but braved myself to pursue a seat to get my coffee fix.

Though I was passed the menu that tells you the different breakfast type dishes they serve there, my eye on the prize was merely towards the cakes and so off there I was ordering for the Red Velvet cake and as usual my favorite type of coffee, the Latte. It seems that in their menu, they stated that they're in collaboration with PULP by Papa Palheta and they're serving a coffee blend which they called it Pay It Forward (PIF) where it consists of Panama Red Trogon, Guatemala Acatenango El Zapote and Tanzania Karatu. Part of the proceeds from this blend is donated to the Kebajikan Suara Kanak-Kanak Malaysia (SUKA) to help underprivileged kids.

Anyway, carrying on about the cafe. Despite the crowded situation there, they were well organized and churned out the orders in a uniformity way. Though it did take a little longer than expected for my drink and cake to arrived, I soon noticed why. The coffee art were a little more complicated than the usual ones that are usually crafted and the cakes were decorated with artsy dots of strawberry compote to go along with the Red Velvet Cake. On top of the cake sits a single rose petal which enhances it's decorative vision as well.

I must say, although the crowded atmosphere stressed me up a bit, the coffee calmed me down considerably. It has a very strong nutty taste and some chocolatey taste to it with mellow coffee aroma. The Red Velvet cake too is no stranger to great taste as it bellows a composition of symphonic harmony from the red pastry cake to the icing cream and if you add in the strawberry compote goodness into it, it greatly elevates the taste to a much higher level. The rosey feel to it makes a really good combination with the nutty and chocolatey-ness of the coffee.

When the day is almost turning into the nights, I retire for home, tired from the moving around for the day.

Total Wallet Damage:
RM29.70. RM12 for the latte and RM15 for the cake. 10% service charge included. Slightly pricier than an average cafe but they do serve quality stuff.

Final Verdict:
7/10. If it weren't for the crowd, I would like it more. But the crowd just seems to stress me out and with not much of space indoors, it just made me a little claustrophobic.