Marmalade Kafe @ Bangsar Village 2

This was my third visit to Marmalade. The last two visits were quite pleasant and the quality of the food was consistent too. The decor was ever cheerful and minimally comforting. A quick browse through the food list showed no change in the menu (not that it's a bad thing, though) since my last visit 5 months ago.

I was there for lunch with Cousin Tony and his girlfriend. We decided to settle in Marmalade after a 30 minutes survey of the restaurants in Bangsar Village 2. No particular reason, just based on instinct.

After being seated, we quickly placed our orders. For drinks, we ordered the Iced Lemon Tea (RM6), Honey Latte (RM8.00) and Chocolate Mint Shake (RM10.00).

It didn't take long before the first dish arrived. The spaghetti bolognese (RM19.00). This was not one of Marmalade's signature dish but nevertheless, looked potentially delicious. Generous portion of spaghetti drenched in bolognese sauce and topped with Marmalade's signature alfalfa sprouts. The spaghetti was cooked al dente but the bolognese sauce was rather bland. Perhaps it was due to the lack of MSG since Marmalade promotes healthy comfort food. Since Tony's girlfriend couldn't finish the dish, we concluded that it was not that delicious after all. Looks can be deceiving, ya?!

Next came the Adventure of Arabia (RM17), which consisted of 2 pieces of lamb kofta, 2 halves of pita bread, greens and slices of tomato. The dressing included mint sauce and hummus. One bite into the kofta revealed a dry and hard texture. This was quite disappointing as I was expecting something more tender. The taste, on the other hand, was quite good though. The mutton tasted really fresh and aromatic. The dressings tasted quite alright. If not for the hardness of the kofta, I would have recommended this dish to everyone!

As for me, I went for the safest and most filling dish, the Moroccan Lamb Shank (RM22). This dish never failed to impress as it was always well-spiced, accompanied by lots of vegetables and most of all, filling. The lamb shank was again, tender. I'm guessing it was braised in the tomato-base sauce for a good amount of time. The sauce was rich on spices including cardamom seeds, which provided a hint of freshness into the slightly tangy sauce. Choice of accompanying vegetables was great too! Salad greens, broccoli and potatoes complimented the sauce well. The only complain I had about this dish was the rice. It was hard and almost undercooked. The sauce helped to soften the rice but still, I felt it was hard. Despite that, the dish was again, a winner as compared to the other 2 dishes.

This time around, we didn't order any dessert as we had to rush home for another appointment. But from my previous visits, I must say that Marmalade's Carrot Cake is a really wonderful creation. The generous portion of nuts used provides a wonderful texture and the candied orange peel gives a wonderful aroma and flavour.

Marmalade is a good place for comfort food, but I would say the best bets are the signature dishes. I have yet to try their famous quiche and will do so when I long for healthy comfort food in the future.

Marmalade Kafe
Lot 1F-18, 1st Floor,Bangsar Village II,
2, Jalan Telawi 1, Bangsar Baru,
59100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: +603-22828301