food

3 cafes for good food and goodwill

BY YAP PIK KUAN
January 26, 2016

Clockwise from top: sweet and sticky Korean fried chicken, nasi lemak with rempah fried chicken and the signature crunch with buttermilk coating with a side of Kopi B at Sentul's Project B. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Yap Pik Kuan, January 26, 2016.​Want to indulge in your weekly cafe visits and do some good at the same time? Here are three cafes that combine food full of heart and soul with a dose of charity and cheer:

Project B, Sentul

Project B is a youth-focused joint effort between the Dignity for Children Foundation, the BIG Group and Berjaya Cares Foundation.

All proceeds from this Sentul cafe are channelled to Dignity for Children, whose main aim is to break the cycle of poverty through education. Some of the activities on their agenda include early childhood to secondary education and teacher training programmes and a football and netball tournament for underprivileged children.

The cafe itself employs some of the older children to work there.

The main focus on Project B’s menu is fried chicken in three different styles: signature crunch with a buttermilk coating, sweet and sticky Korean sauce and hot and spicy berempah. You can opt to have just the chicken (RM10) or in sets (RM15) with fries and coleslaw, kimchi stew and nasi lemak respectively.

The chicken pieces were all juicy and tender. The batter in the signature crunch was fried to a perfect golden crisp and the buttermilk gave it a creamy flavour while the Korean glaze was coated generously with a sweet tomato-flavoured sauce. The cafe also cooks up a mean nasi lemak with salty-spicy sambal and fragrant rice, which was the perfect complement to the rempah (spice) fried chicken.

Caffeine addicts will be glad to know that all their coffees from long blacks to lattes are priced at an affordable RM6. The house special, Kopi B, is a long black sweetened with condensed milk.

Coffee Sprex, Taman Mayang

Located in a half-shoplot near the St Ignatius Church in Taman Mayang, Coffee Sprex is a cosy and quaint cafe opened by deaf and mute co-owners Kent Cheong and Angie Leong. The cafe recruits and trains hearing-impaired staff which gives them an opportunity to pick up new skills and interact with customers.

Where else are you going to find a hearty and wholesome big breakfast for RM9.50 if not at Sprex? – The Malaysian Insider pic by Yap Pik Kuan, January 26, 2016.Ordering is not a problem as there are order chits and pencils on every table. Otherwise, gestures and body language work just as well. If you're interested in picking up simple sign language, there are instructional posters on the walls to learn from. Or you could just ask the staff to teach you!

You'll find one of the cheapest big breakfasts in town at Coffee Sprex. Priced at only RM9.50, the platter of bacon, luncheon meat, eggs, a sausage and bread makes for a homely and hearty meal.

If you come before noon, the set includes a cup of refillable house-brewed coffee.

The blueberry pie (RM8) is a show of Cheong's excellent baking skills. The pastry was buttery and the cheese filling was light and fluffy. It was topped off with a mildly sweet glaze that was just a hint sour. There were still whole blueberries that popped with every bite.

Coffee Sprex's blueberry pie is a delicious dessert or snack for any time of the day. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Yap Pik Kuan, January 26, 2016.Coffee Sprex also boasts a coffee menu with beans from the world over from Vietnam all the way to Brazil and Ethiopia. A simple house brew costs only RM5.50 and is served in a French press which fills three full cups.

There are also non-caffeinated drinks like Milo flavoured with cayenne pepper powder (RM5.50).

The combo works surprisingly well with the familiar sweet taste of Milo giving way to a spicy finish.

Charlie's Cafe, Bukit Desa

Charlie's Cafe sits on the single row of shoplots in Bukit Desa sharing real estate with other cafes, Japanese, Thai and Western restaurants. The cafe, offering a simple menu of local delights like nasi lemak, laksa and more, gives off a real neighbourhood vibe with a comfy, homey interior.

The board in Charlie's Cafe is full of receipts, a show of support for the cafe's pay-it-forward practice. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Yap Pik Kuan, January 26, 2016.What sets Charlie's apart from other eateries is that it adopts a pay-it-forward practice where customers can opt to pay an extra RM5 on top of their total spend to sponsor meals for the underprivileged. The receipt is then pinned on a board in the cafe with a note from the sponsor.

The cafe often invites the less fortunate, children from orphanages and special needs organisations to visit and take their pick from the receipts on the board for a meal.

The food is well-made and we recommend their curry laksa (RM8.90), a generous bowl of noodles swimming in a curry broth that was full of depth and flavour. It came topped with crisp taupok (beancurd puffs), fish cake, fish balls and sliced steamed chicken.

If you love durian, you're gonna love their signature Musang King durian cheesecake (RM15.90).

Creamy without being cloying, it was packed full of durian goodness and a definite must-try in our books. – January 26, 2016.

Project B | Address: 25-G, Jalan 11/48A, Sentul Raya Boulevard, 51000 Sentul Selatan, Kuala Lumpur| Tel: 03-40503387 | Opening hours: 11am – 10pm daily (Closed on Mondays) | GPS coordinates: 3.185757, 101.693194 | Pork-free

Coffee Sprex | Address: Jalan SS25/23, Taman Mayang, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor | Tel: 011-16281235 | Opening hours: 8am – 7pm daily | GPS coordinates: 3.113826, 101.599056 | Non-halal

Charlie’s Café | Address: 29, Jalan Bukit Desa 5, 58100 Kuala Lumpur | Opening hours: 7.30am – 9.30pm daily (Closed on Sundays) | GPS Coordinates: 3.110812, 101.685445 | Pork-free

*This review was incognitor. If you know of a great restaurant, cafe or street stall, send the details over to us at [email protected] and we'll be sure to go check it out.