DIET Cafe @ Cheras Business Centre, Kuala Lumpur

When my friend CS waxed lyrical about DIET Cafe's offerings to me, I was a little skeptical since anything with a word "diet" usually meant it won't be very tasty even though it's good for you. Thus, one Saturday morning all of us got whisked away to Cheras. As we approached the cafe and saw their signboard, all of us simultaneously burst out in giggles as we discovered DIET stood for Do I Eat Today? That's when all our fears on eating healthy food flew out of the window...

My friend CS had discovered this small tucked away cafe serving Western meals since her chiropractor was just round the corner from there. She swears by the pesto pasta and the bangers and mash. With so many mouths to feed that afternoon, we had fun trying out various dishes.




The spaghetti with pesto (RM12) got a big thumbs up from everyone that we had to have seconds. It was a custom made order, specially for us since it usually gave with seafood. We wanted to just sample the pesto on its own glory. My only complaint would be the pool of oil left at the bottom but otherwise this pesto came pretty close to what I blend up in my kitchen.





Bangers and mash (RM18) is Splashie Boy's ultimate comfort food. Must be some streak of England in him that he likes this quintessential English dish. Here they serve it with premium chicken sausages that tops mash potatoes. It's all drowned with onion gravy, a must-have. The onion gravy is gorgeous here, with a nice hearty taste to it. The sausages were a little inconsistently cooked though, some were a bit overcooked and dried out while others were juicy. It's definitely one of the better renditions of this particular dish but maybe not the best ever.





A surprise came in the form of the pan fried seabass (RM28). Served with a mustard cabbage and apple slaw, the fish was perfectly cooked - juicy with a crisp skin. I especially loved the mustard cabbage, not overly tangy but still tart enough with the grain mustard to cut through the slight oily taste of the fish. Rounding up the dish was this diced apple slaw that made it really refreshing.





It was a series of hits and some misses. The chunky mushroom soup (RM9) passed our favour but we did find fault in the pumpkin soup (RM8) since it didn't taste anything like pumpkin but orange! The salt beef sandwich (RM18) was pretty decent even though I did think they overdressed the lettuce with mayonnaise. We loved the crispy sweet potato crisps on the side though. The mushroom carbonara (RM16) was simple yet comforting. It was quite light tasting even though it was cooked with cream.





The place has a quirky feel to it, kinda like it is caught up in an English floral landscape with sunflowers and fake flowers. There are also various decorative plates around. The owner obviously has a soft spot for ducks as in one corner, it is dedicated to those feathery creatures.





We finished with desserts including pancakes (RM8) from the brunch menu (yes they do an all day breakfast menu). We love the fluffy pancakes drenched in syrup that is given a nice healthy twang in the form of chopped mixed fruits. The mocha cup (RM10) sounded interesting, their take on egg mousse with chocolate and coffee but it just didn't excite our palate. Instead, what stood out for us were their apple crumble and the caramel banana puff (RM8). Both look similar since it is presented in a filo pastry cup and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream but tastewise, they're different. The apple crumble (RM10) consists of diced apples topped with a crumbly browned pastry topping, while the banana puff is cooked till it is super meltingly soft. We were surprised to discover the caramel had a slight salty kick to it. Both desserts are not too sweet and can be thoroughly enjoyed without going into diabetic shock.





We leave the place with full tummies and vow to return again to try out more items since there's so much to offer in the menu. They also serve various kinds of juices including cute drinks and mocktails like the pinkish dung (their version of bandung).


DIET Cafe
27, Jalan 3/101C
Cheras Business Centre
Kuala Lumpur


Tel: 03-9130 1700


(Pork Free. Open from 10am to midnight from Mondays to Fridays. For weekends, they start from 8am. See my Flickr set for the full set of items including the location map. For more details, see their website and Facebook page.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.