Bask under the gorgeous sunset while waiting for your food to be served at Lepak der Cafe, a cafe with an open-space concept, located next to a child care centre; while being surrounded by butterfly pea flowers which have inspired some of the dishes on the menu as well as being used as a decoration of the food.
The cafe is spacious; even with a full house, you won’t feel as if the place is packed with people. On a Friday night, the team and I were privileged enough to be able to come and review the food here. Served with big portions and beautiful presentations, we definitely went home with satisfaction and full stomachs. Curious to know what we ate? Let’s check them out one by one.
Pea Butterfly
This beautiful lilac-coloured drink is one of the most beautiful drinks that the team and I have witnessed. The lilac drink is decorated with a piece of butterfly pea flower on top, a drop of blue colouring for aesthetic purposes, and a slice of lemon floating in the drink. An added sprite in the beverage makes the drink some kind of soda water. Unfortunately, we took too long shooting the food that when we finally had a sip of the drink, the ice had already melted, which caused the drink to be slightly bland. The only flavour we could pick from the drink was the added sprite.
Cocoa Lover Smoothie
Served in a tall, slim glass, this chocolate-flavoured smoothie is thick in texture with an intense chocolate flavour. Top-notch presentation, this smoothie is decorated with a big spoon of whipping cream, dusted with cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and a chocolate-swirled love letter! Recommended to drink before the whipping cream starts to melt into the smoothie, as some might not like the taste of it.
Laici Gula
Claimed to be the cafe’s signature drink, laici gula has a strong soury soda flavour; might be from the combination of sprite and lime. Even so, it’s a refreshing drink that can clean your palate without disrupting the taste of the other food.
Baked Cheesy Chicken Chop
This chicken shop served by the cafe is unlike any other chicken chop you’ve had. Instead of being covered in black pepper sauce, the chicken is covered with milky cheese, with a scatter of fries under and around the fried chicken. As mentioned before, we took quite some time shooting the food we were served, but the fries remained soft and crunchy! Not like your typical fast-food fries. Aside from that, the team fell in love with the taste of the cheese as it is not too salty and has a bit of spice to it (which reminds us of KFC’s cheese but with a slightly lighter texture). Moving on to the dish's highlight, the chicken is cooked well and did not disappoint! It is crunchy on the outside, even though it has been drenched with cheese, and the texture is not that soft but won’t cause difficulty or unpleasantness when chewing it.
Nasi Goreng Lepak Der
With the cafe’s name put together on the dish's name, you bet this is also one of the cafe’s signature dishes. Aside from the obvious, this dish is served with deep-fried calamari, deep-fried shrimp, chicken tenders, and fish crackers. Recommended to eat the deep-fried calamari while it’s still hot and fresh from the pan so you can taste juicy and chewy squid. However, we warn you that this fried rice is spicy! Personally, I have a low tolerance for spicy food; therefore, this dish’s spicy level is a 6 out of 10 for me.
Lamb Shank
One of the night's highlights was that we were blessed with a plate of delicious lamb shank. The cafe was very generous in serving us with a significant portion of lamb shank, enough for each and every one of the YummyAdvisor team. As usual, a lamb shank is only perfect, with a generous amount of mashed potatoes spread underneath and around the lamb shank. The lamb shank was cooked well, as it was juicy and tender; the mashed potatoes, on the other hand, were soft and had no clumps of potatoes. Definitely recommended!
Asam Pedas Johor
Moving on to the next dish is the asam pedas but cooked according to the Johor recipe. That being said, you can expect a thick consistency of the sauce accompanied by daging dendeng which is thinly sliced meat. Of course, this dish is to be eaten with a plate of rice for better experience. One of our YummyAdvisor team commented that this dish is recommended for those who have never eaten asam pedas or daging dendeng as it will make you want for more.
Aglio Olio
Last but not least is the cafe’s own version of aglio olio, presented with a slice of garlic bread on the side, three pieces of mussels, prawns, and squids. A bite of the squid and you could definitely taste the spiciness of it; however, the squid was soft and easy to chew, compared to the deep-fried calamari from their nasi goreng lepak der. On the other side, the mussels they prepared have quite an ashy texture and flavour. Speaking for myself, I have never been a fan of mussels; therefore, it’s not my favourite. The prawns, on the other hand, were easy to peel in less than a few seconds! In addition, they were very tender and juicy in the mouth, but it’s a bit of a bummer that they were pretty small. Lastly, this aglio olio is a spicy one indeed! Most of our team members acknowledged the spiciness and rated it a 7 out of 10!
At the end of the day, our team had a blast dining here at Lepak der Cafe. The staff were friendly, and the owner was always up for a chat, frequently checking in on us on how the food tasted. This cafe would definitely be one that I personally would recommend to people.
Address: LepakDer Cafe, Jln Kelisa 4, Kampung Sungai Tangkas, 43000 Kajang, Selangor
Operating hours: Weekdays & Saturdays: 11AM-11PM
Sundays: Closed.
