The Jungle City Kitchen & Bar has been open for less than a month, yet it is operating at full capacity every night. If my memory serves me right, the building that they are occupying now used to be a warehouse of sorts because the area is basically a light industrial zone.
Most of the restaurants that operate in the vicinity never really made it, but the opening of The Jungle City might change that and even benefit the other businesses nearby.
By looking at the facade of the place, you wouldn’t have guessed that the space inside is actually quite charming, warm and relaxing. No wonder it’s packed with people even on a weekday, this is the hippest ‘yum cha’ spot in Kepong right now!
As usual, food is my main focus so lets dive into that shall we? Before coming here, I kept my expectations low as not to avoid disappointment, if any. Unfortunately, we still walked away feeling dissatisfied with the food and the service.
Just to be clear, not everything was bad since we enjoyed the Salted Egg Chicken Chop @ RM19.80. While the salted egg sauce was nothing mind-blowing, it’s good to have something new for a change instead of the usual mushroom/black pepper/brown sauce. If you are wondering, the salted egg sauce tastes exactly like what you get at the ‘dai chao’ restaurants, rich and creamy.
Things went downhill pretty fast from here onward though. Despite being a signature item, the Boxing Chicken @ RM9.80 tasted rancid – like they were fried in reused oil. We sent it back after one bite.
For RM28.80, you get grilled prawns, fish fillet (cheap dory fish that is) and squid in their Neptune Mermaid Delight platter. To sum it up, none of the seafood was fresh and the prawns and squid were borderline gone bad. It’s a dish you need to eat with plenty of chili sauce and mayonnaise to cover up the lack of freshness and flavor.
Even as a durian lover I can’t seem to appreciate their All Season Durian Cake @ RM12. The durian filling just tastes cheap which does not justify the hefty price tag. If you really want to have a cake, maybe the cheesecakes (supplied by Purple Monkey?) are much better alternatives.
The drinks fared a lot better, albeit being normal stuff. Hot lemon tea @ RM4.80 and orange juice @ RM6.80.
When it comes to their service, boy do they have plenty of room to improve on. Dessert was served before appetizer and all the three staff who served us look like they dread being here. Maybe we were just being unlucky, as the rest seem to be quite cheerful and a lot more welcoming. With all said, I foresee The Jungle City will still be a buzzing night spot for friends and family to meet up for a long time to come.
The Jungle City
Lot 37635, Jalan 6/37A, Taman Bukit Maluri, Kepong
Business hours: 5pm to 12am
