Eat Drink KL: Jam & Kaya Cafe @ PJ Palms Sports Center

Monday, December 30, 2013

Jam & Kaya Cafe @ PJ Palms Sports Center

Jam & Kaya brings the Klang Valley's best year yet for independent cafes to a triumphant close; visiting this winsome venue is a potent reminder to value the people who pour their hearts into creating these places. Dismissing these cafes without knowing their stories is blatant disrespect.

Jam & Kaya represents the friendship of Janice & Karen, who studied in Melbourne this past decade & left with the dream of running the kind of cafe they cherished there. Janice's subsequent stint learning the art of pastry-making at Le Cordon Bleu Paris supplied the culinary foundation for the two to open Jam & Kaya this month by the pool of PJ Palms Sports Center.

Brunches are a treat here; the Eggs Royale (RM21) feature irresistibly delicious poached eggs, resting atop thick slices of smoked salmon & crisp leaves in a croissant.

Available through 5pm, so late risers like us can mercifully still have breakfast for lunch.

The menu remains a work in progress, but it's excellent to see these baked eggs that borrow inspiration from the Tunisian-origin recipe of 'shakshouka' ... 

 ... creamy with a thick, tomato-rich base that conceals soft chunks of eggplant. RM18.90. Dinner specials include chicken ballotine, beef stew with potatoes & salmon with couscous.

 Pancakes are a pleasure here: try the one with salted caramel & macadamia nuts (RM16.50). Other varieties come with caramelized bananas & yes, even jam & kaya.

Save space for dessert; these babies are a star attraction in their own right.

Praline cheesecake, very rich, sumptuously smooth. Gotta try the tarts next time.

Coffee's constructed with Colombian beans; not a bad latte, definitely.

Love the hot chocolate here, mixed with tiny, crispy chocolate balls for extra enjoyment.

One of Jam & Kaya's charms: It isn't trying to be cool. Its musical selection of Peabo Bryson & All-4-One might send hipsters screaming out the exit.

All in all, Jam & Kaya has the potential to become a firm favorite, surmounting its relatively hidden location & avoidance of advance publicity. It's our top cafe recommendation for December (followed extremely closely by Damansara Uptown's Ecole P).


Jam & Kaya Cafe
PJ Palms Sports Center, Lorong Sultan, Petaling Jaya
Open 10am-10pm, Tues-Thurs, 8am-11pm, Fri-Sun

The latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favorites for January-March 2014 is now available online, featuring 100 pretty nice eateries, including more than 20 new entries for this quarter. The eBook can be read & downloaded for free, convenient reading on computers, tablets & smartphones. 
Please click here: http://eatdrinkkl.publ.com/Eat-Drink-KL-100-Favorites-Jan-March-2014 (This link expires April 1, 2014; see blog entries after that date for new link).


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