PH Pastry House, KL – More BREADS and CAKES ~!

Undeniably, PH Pastry House is a lovely, lovely place.

From the moment I stepped onto the grounds of this quaint and pretty bungalow everything had appeared promising; from the colourful decor on the walls to the water elements running round the bungalow and the spacious cafe seating. I was immediately put at ease and a smile lighted up on my face.

I pushed open the doors leading inside the restaurant and the first thought that hit me was the spaciousness of the dining area.
It is inevitable to compare PH Pastry House to Levain Boulangerie, which incidentally, is located just a stone’s throw away.

PH Pastry House has obviously placed top priority on the dining area. Majority of the available space within this plot of land was allocated for the cafe. The kitchen and ovens remained hidden while the display area for the selection of baked goods are relegated to a pretty small corner.

Below: Long tables for the big groups.

Below: Plenty of  tables allocated for groups of twos and fours.

Below: At one side, “counter top dining” for the singles/individuals who are here for a quick bite.

Below: Alfresco dining with soothing waters running alongside the perimeter of the bungalow and the gardens.

It is indeed lovely to sit outside, (if the weather permits) as the trees provided natural shade and a soft breeze perpetually caresses your face as you sip your cuppa.

While top marks are awarded for the interior and exterior design, the same can’t be said for their cakes.

Esthetically, they didn’t look too good. And the selections were boring too, with the usual suspects staring back at me; Opera Cake, some green tea cake, Chocolate Dome.. *yawns*.

Moving on…

Below: The only area where the selections of breads are displayed.

Below: Cashier and cakes counter. 

Since the cakes didn’t intrigue, I concentrated on the breads selection instead.

Left: Cranberry Walnut RM4.90. Right: Rosemary & Raisin RM3.90.

Left: Blueberry Danish RM5.50. Right: Croissants RM3.90.

Nuts Butterscotch RM4.90.

Ebi Cheese RM4.90.

Parsley Bun RM5.90.

Left: Custard Raisin Danish RM4.90. Right: Ham & Cheese Roll RM3.90.

Left: Danish Pizza (Tuna) RM5.90. Right: Danish Pizza (Chic) RM5.90.

Left: Pretzel RM4.00. Right: Cinnamon Pretzel RM4.00.

Left: Almond Pretzel RM4.50. Right: Raisin Pretzel RM4.50.

Banana Butterscotch RM6.50.

Baguette RM4.90.

Left: Turkey & Egg RM3.90. Right: Chicken Onion RM3.80.

Left: Veggie Bread RM7.90. Right: Multi-Grain RM7.90.

Left: Brioche RM3.90. Right: Parsley Bun RM7.90.

Queen Bread. RM6.90.

Left: Sausage Cheese RM3.90. Right: Cheese Stick RM3.90.

Cinnamon Roll RM4.90.

Bread Roll RM4.90.

 

Naturally, I gravitated towards the healthier loaves, and bought myself a veggie loaf and a rosemary and raisin bun. Both were decent and substantially aromatic due to the herbs used.

Rosemary and Raisin.

Parsley Bun. RM5.90. This wasn’t bad either.

However, that’s about it. The rest of the breads were disappointingly generic-tasting for the prices I paid. My turkey and egg roll below is RM3.90 and it didn’t taste anymore premium than the ones bought in other large bakery chains out there.

This Almond Pretzel that cost me RM4.50 didn’t taste anything like a pretzel, but more like a white roll shaped into a pretzel. There were barely any almonds either.

Lastly, I tapau-ed a Caesar Salad – RM9.90.

The menu said my Caesar Salad is supposed to come with lettuce, turkey bacon, egg, croutons and the dressing (Duhh!). Luckily I checked the salad prior to paying, as they omitted the turkey bacon, saying that it was unavailable. Mind you, I was probably their 2nd customer for the day at 9am on a Sunday morning.
What I got me peeved was not so much that turkey bacon was unavailable at the start of business on a blardy weekend but more on the fact that I wasn’t informed beforehand, and no substitute was offered. It was only when I asked then they only added in an extra egg and more lettuce.

My verdict in short:
1. Absolutely nothing exciting, and in need of a stronger identity and better quality products if they were to come anywhere near Levain. Levain; although in my opinion is not that great either at least offers better variety and cakes.

2. Prices are not in tandem with the quality of breads offered.

3. Service staff at the cashier counter needs training, for both the ones manning the counter on a Sunday morning were barely helpful. Heck, one of them couldn’t even slice my veggie loaf properly and the end result were flattened and uneven slices.
I spoke to the chief baker for a while as I chose my breads and he couldn’t explain how and why the breads here are priced as such and when I queried further about the flour and ingredients used, he wasn’t able to elaborate much either.

4. Has much potential and better space than Levain. Lovely place to hang out over coffee, which I heard were pretty decent.

BREAD LOVERS check these out! 

Hagen Bake and Brew – Mont Kiara

Craft Bakers Bakery and Cafe – Solaris Dutamas

Breads from Singapore – Gardenia, Bonjour

Levain Boulangerie Patisserie – Jalan Delima

Levain Boulangerie Patisserie- most recent visit!

Yups, my favourite bakery is still Hagen Bake & Brew at Mont Kiara. Too bad Hagen does not have the space like Levain and PH Pastry House. It has so much potential!