Knowing that I loveeee carrot cake, a friend of ours informed me not too long ago that the carrot cake sold at this 3 month old café is da’ bomb. As excited as I was to try this supposedly ‘sedap’ carrot cake, a visit here had to be delayed as work this month was simply overwhelming. Let’s not forget that I was also under the weather for a bit. Anyways, fast forward a month and here I was, finally dropping by.

Which part of Cheras?? Jen Café is located in Taman Segar, within the row of shops outside Leisure Mall. It may be outside but not near enough to walk from one another. If If I am not mistaken, the café is located above or next to a bubble tea shop – Black Whale. I used Waze to get here and had no trouble at all locating this eatery. Remember, the café occupies a shop lot on the first floor, so do keep an eye out. Parking was pretty easy. As you all most probably know, all around the block there are parking spots. Depending on the time of your arrival, you may have to go a few rounds before coming across an available spot.

The café shares a space with an audio shop?? with the café occupying the front and the audio shop the back. It is a pretty small space but it was warm and cozy. Judging from the crowd though, this café is well liked and the limited space is no hindrance. People kept coming and going, no shortage of customer. If you are on your own, there are smaller tables near the counter and if you come in a bigger group, there are a few long tables in the mid section to accommodate that.

There is WIFI here, I managed to get some work done while waiting for food to arrive.

Customer service was awesome. At the point of our visit, there was only one guy manning the counter and I must say, he handled it all well. It was quiet at first and then several groups came followed by random folks dropping by to get coffee and pastries on the go. Between the welcoming, passing out the menu, working the coffee machine, taking orders, handling the cash … it sure is quite a feat to maintain a certain calmness through it all and this guy did it. I don’t think I have such patience, you’d most probably see me bursting like the Hulk within minutes.

Katsu Curry Ricebowl, 17 ringgit + Shanghai Scallion Oil Noodle, 10 ringgit

Food here was delicious. The rice bowl tasted exactly as it should be. It is not a dish I’d say is common but a number of cafes serve it and it is pretty much similar across the board. So, if you order this particular rice bowl, then you’d know what you are getting. You’d get rice + thick Japanese curry + a portion of chicken katsu + an egg. I’ve always been a fan of this particular dish and the one here was no different. It was yummy and flavorful.

If you want a simple dish, something not too fancy and complicated, then this dish is perfect for you. You’d get a good portion of flat noodles doused with scallion oil + egg. I generally do not like not like not like noodles that are covered in oil just for the sake of it but here, the scallion oil added a rather pleasant taste to what would otherwise be a bland dish. The oil was very complimentary to the dish as a whole. I don’ think I’ve used scallion oil before. I like it. This dish may be simple but it sure was filling as the noodles came in a big potion. So, do not underestimate the ability of this dish to fill you up simply based on its simplicity.

While we were here, we also ordered two drinks. If you saw the image above, the one with the notice board placed at their entrance, it says that if you order two drinks, then you’d get a cake for free. Yay!!! As I mentioned early on, I was looking forward to trying their carrot cake, as my friend suggested that it was good. Guess what my options were – Carrot cake and Lemon Poppy Seed cake yawwww. Lucky me 🙂

Philadelphia Carrot Cake

Man, this carrot cake was da’ bomb, for reals. It definitely was not a ‘basic’ carrot cake. What it was was a ‘VIP’. The upgraded version. This cake was packed with additional ingredients like walnuts, cranberries and this made all the difference. I loved it. It was definitely a good ending to my visit here at Jen Café.