The Singaporean invasion advances: Sarnies, a sandwich-&-coffee specialist in the southern city-state, has subtly but surely pounced into the Klang Valley this month, opening Jump Cafe _ an unexpectedly exemplary eatery in PJ's industrial territory.
Many thanks to Perng of Standing Theory for pointing us to Jump Cafe, tucked within the recently launched Jump Street Asia (Malaysia's first indoor trampoline park). The cafe, located very near Jaya One, welcomes walk-in customers; no entry fees are levied against folks who hop in to eat & drink at this exuberantly colourful venue.
Eric, one of the linchpins of Sarnies, made the leap from Singapore to KL this year; he's spent the past two months ensuring that Jump Cafe sprang to life with a top-flight team that includes reputed ladies' man Jing & other friendly baristas such as Leo.
Conversations about Jump Cafe should catapult first toward its coffee; the baristas take special pride in meticulously selected single-origin beans roasted at Sarnies' Singaporean site & sent over to PJ.
We really like the coffee here; every cup ranks among the most captivating we've had this month. Deep, complex & nuanced; from start to finish, memorably satisfying in taste, texture & temperature. All this, in a trampoline park (!); the back-story is that Jump Street's founders were fans of Sarnies & urged the Singaporeans to look north.
Sandwiches & wraps are Jump Cafe's bread & butter; mercifully, they're fun & fairly priced. A combo of Cajun-spiced roast chicken, cheddar, mozzarella & guacamole clocks in at RM12.
Recommended wraps include hearty components such as falafels with creamy hummus, cucumber, tomato & greens (RM10).
Slow-roasted lamb (meaty & pretty tasty) with harissa & feta; the balance of flavours works well, though some tweaking might be needed in how these are warmed up & served, since they're not prepared to order for now. RM13.
Desserts, exclusively made for Jump by home baker Lisa, include orange-poppyseed muffins, pandan cakes & carrot cakes.
Our only possible regret about Jump Cafe is that it's rather warm in here, especially amid the current heatwave. Thankfully, the chilled beverages are mighty refreshing here; try the thick & tangy Banana Blast or the 'Thunder Juice,' a nutritionist's fantasy, comprising a blend of beetroot, ginger, celery, carrots, apple & more.
Sarnies' ringleaders have nefarious schemes for further infiltration, possibly launching their own roastery in the Klang Valley later this year & a few more cafes. With PULP by Singapore's Papa Palheta at Bangsar also becoming a force to be reckoned with, the gauntlet has been thrown for Malaysians.
This sandwich-&-coffee bar feeds off the energy of the jumpers here; it's one of 2014's most intriguingly distinctive cafe stories. Expect to hear more about this not-exactly-hidden, not-quite-in-plain-sight cafe in the months to come.
This post was typed to the sultry sounds of Miranda Lambert's new CD Platinum (what doesn't kill you only makes you blonder). We'd happily spend an hour at any cafe that chooses to play it.
Jump Street Cafe
Jump Street Asia, Jalan 13/6, Section 13, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Inside the Bosch factory compound.
All day long, everyday. At least between 10am-9pm.
Stay up to date: The Eat Drink KL newsletter is sent by email to subscribers every Monday; it's the Klang Valley's foremost weekly round-up of new restaurant openings (even before they're featured on this blog), F&B promotions & other tasty tidbits.
Subscribe to Eat Drink KL Weekly for free via this following link:
Note to subscribers on Gmail: The newsletter will be in the Promotions folder of your inbox.
Sausages to sambal. Muffins to marshmallows. Peanut butter to mango chutney. Cornflake ice cream to honey aloe yogurt. Lavender-laced lemonades to lychee-&-guava juices.
Eat Drink KL: Small Businesses, Huge Flavours is the first eBook to help customers navigate the diversity of independent F&B entrepreneurs who bake & boil in their own kitchens, offering some of Malaysia's finest, most fascinating food products.
This is a catalogue of insights into what inspires our contemporary culinary craftspeople, from Elsie & her sister Jennifer's experiments with tong yuen at home to Eugene & Emrys' escapades with hand-crafted sodas in Tokyo.
This resource will be continuously updated with new listings, so bookmark the following permanent link & check back regularly to find out what's fresh: www.eatdrinkkl.publ.com/businesses
Also, take a look at the latest edition of Eat Drink KL: 100 Favourites, completely redesigned with a revamped look, featuring 100 recommended restaurants for April-June 2014, including more than 30 new entries for this quarter. This eBook is available to read or download at this link: http://eatdrinkkl.publ.com/Eat-Drink-KL-100-Favourites-Apr-Jun-2014 (Link expires June 30, 2014; see blog entries after that date for new link).
