Hagen Bake & Brew, Mont Kiara – one of the best bakery in KL!

24 Oct 2011

Hagen Bake & Brew, Mont Kiara – one of the best bakery in KL!

In continuation of my wholesome – eating post about French chef Lawrence at The Banjaran Hot Springs & Resorts, I’m following up today with this “healthy bread” post. I’m not sure what hit me, but I’m now overcome by a sudden urge to write about healthy food!

**My weekly bread stash –> Yeah, that’s how much bread I eat in ONE week!

My previous article on Craft Bakers at Solaris Dutamas had garnered much response about the lack of good artisan, hearty European-type breads in KL. I find it heartening to know that there are like-minded people who refuse to be subjected to fluffy, empty & commercialized loaves from Bread Story, Gardenia and the likes. Thank god there are still bread lovers out there who value quality, well-baked dough.

What’s even more encouraging now is that there are many bakeries sprouting up in KL that offers good quality loaves at reasonable prices.

My favourite bakery currently is Hagen Bake & Brew in Mont Kiara. This little gem of a bakery cum cafe has an easy enough to find location, though most unfortunately it’s a bit hidden due to lack of signage.

However if you know where Plaza Mont Kiara is, look for the Baskin Robbins opposite it.
Then bingo! That’s where Hagen is located.

It’s entrance is at the side of Baskin Robbins. Hagen Bake & Brew cafe & bakery occupies the whole floor above.

Once upstairs, you will find yourself in a long narrow passageway, with both sides lined with high chairs and tables.

The bakery is on your right, with shelves of wholesome and freshly baked loaves against a wall. A small kitchen that prepares the food served at this small cosy cafe is located on the other end.

I will go into the food later. Right now, feast your eyes & drool over the plethora of baked goods available here!

Let’s start with this amazing PORK BACON loaf. Ok, perhaps it doesn’t quite fall into the “healthy” category but trust me, it’s REALLY good!

Each slice is generously studded with PORK BACON bits and because the loaf is baked with the bacon, every slice is perfumed with the salivating fragrance of pork bacon.
I normally eat this toasted and I’m sure you can imagine how heavenly it must have tasted when it’s nice & toasty!

A normal sized loaf is RM12.90, but Hagen has a smaller loaf as well as a bacon roll version (see below).

Getting back on the healthy breads track, Hagen offers the customary wholemeal & brown bread. Prices for each are as stated on the description card.

When it’s labelled as wholemeal, it is really wholemeal. The ratio of wholemeal to flour was very well-balanced, not too rough with excessive wheat yet substantial enough.

All the baked goods at Hagen are made using imported German and unbleached flour. Each of the buns and loaves are beautifully crusty on the outside yet soft & fluffy inside. I love the texture and taste of all the breads that I have tried so far, which by now is almost 90% of their range!
I find the prices pretty reasonable as well for the quality offered.

The herbs loaves & buns were delightfully aromatic and savoury. Good to eat on its own or with some good old butter.

Below: No cheating here! Actual bits of garlic and generous specks of basil, parsley and chives.

I’m not fond of sweet breads; especially the ones with cherries as they tend to have a weird chemical taste but the one below by Hagen was wonderful.

Very fragrant and slightly sweet with nibs of almonds for a nice nutty texture, I polished half a loaf at one go. It’s sinfully addictive I tell you!

More healthy breads – The Carrot Loaf.

This is Carrot Loaf as well, but Croissant style. Honestly I couldn’t spot a shred of carrot in it; perhaps it’s pureed into the dough?

Oh wait, those tiny brown slivers must be it.

I have yet to try the French croissant as I’m not a fan of pastry (I’m worried about those layers of butter pastry you see) . Hhahahhah…

Moving on…… there are a small selection of German breads of which has names I can’t pronounce..

…and this is German doughnuts, which is supposedly one of their must-try. I promised the owner I’ll try it soon. Deep fried dough and sugar icing on top tends to turn me off.

I’m not sure what’s the different between a bagel vs. New York bagel vs. German bagel. All I know is, from all my prior experiences I have yet to eat a good, dense, chewy bagel worthy of its name. The previous Departure Lounge at Aman Suria serves pretty decent ones, but it seemed that the Uptown branch doesn’t maintain the same quality. Another was freshly baked by the French Chef from The Cuisine Studio, which is unfortunately unavailable for retail purchases.

This is another German specialty – The Marzipan Strudel. Nope, I haven’t tried. Simply cos Marzipan = SUGAR.

And of course, french breads are a must for any bakery.

I could go on and on about the breads here, but you’ll have to try it for yourself! I have bought almost every bread they sold here. But I will be back for more soon!

What’s not that great though –> The cakes and food. This cake was awfully diabetically sweet and tasted really weird.

And my previous visit for dinner was pretty disastrous. The sausages was weird, the grilled skewers were salty, the pasta was oily and bland while the pizzas were decent at best. The duck sandwich was the only saving grace of the lot.

Well that was in August. I will be back for another round as I was informed they have PORK BURGERS now! Hhahah.. so much for wholesome healthy eating huh?

Oh, just a heads up, Hagen only provide brown bags for their breads.