Review: Monkey Garage at Regal Valet, Bangsar

Bangsar’s Hidden Cafes, Part II: This month, Bangsar welcomes not one, not two, but three new cafes hidden in unlikely locations, each extremely different from the others. This one, Monkey Garage, is fuelled by both the passion and the playfulness of its co-founder Farah Janis and her two partners, all of them born in the Year of the Monkey.

Thousands of motorists drive past Maarof’s Regal Valet auto specialist centre everyday, but few might peer deep within and realise that something surprising has stirred here.

Monkey Garage, yet another very friendly cafe, is partly inspired by Farah’s travels, specifically her visit to a cafe behind a train station in Zurich that served Swiss fare in a setting that seemed like a sanctuary for locals.

Daily Specials

The cafe serves daily specials; come on Tuesdays, when a lip-smacking Laksa Johor is available, the straight-from-the-south recipe with spaghetti and creamy fish-and-coconut gravy (RM13.90).

On Wednesdays, there’s a supremely hearty nasi tomato & ayam masak merah (RM16), while Fridays are currently reserved for nasi lemak and rendang.

Sandwiches are offered too, everything from butter gipfel stuffed with scrambled eggs (RM7) to pumpkin wholegrain ciabatta with hot beef salami and baguette with chicken and cheese. Note that not everything is always available; Monkey Garage is not operating at full capacity so far.

Desserts

And of course, desserts. The speciality seems to be the Congo Bar (RM5), basically a nutty blondie with chocolate chips …

… though naturally, there’s also a monkeys-love-bananas theme of a light, smooth cheesecake with bananas and peanut butter and a lovely caramel banana tart …

… as well as milk chocolate cake with marshmallows, banana cakes and other confections to tempt the sweet tooth.

Italian Coffee

Italian coffee, definitely drinkable. Lattes cost RM8 here, edging slightly toward the lower side of Bangsar’s prices.

Hot chocolate hits the spot on a rainy afternoon.

All in all, we spent a very pleasant couple of hours here. It’s a nice place, certainly worth a visit for folks in this neighbourhood.

Location and Contact Details:

Monkey Garage Cafe

Regal Valet, Jalan Maarof, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

Weekdays, 930am-7pm; weekends, 930am-5pm

Tel: 03 2282 1282

Find: Monkey Garage Cafe’s directory listing here.

See Also: 2015 Menu & Wine Buffet: Monkey Garage at Bangsar