Seeking an outdoor cafe for cakes & coffee? Houshuen - which translates from Chinese into 'Good Choice,' more or less - might fit the bill, run by one-woman-show Jeannie Tee with a little help from her grandniece & relatives at a rented bungalow.
It's easy to drive past without noticing Houshuen, which opened this month on a slope opposite the Bible College of Malaysia at Jalan Gasing in Petaling Jaya. Note that there's limited parking within the cafe's compound, sufficient for 10 cars or fewer.
Hang loose in the shade of the backyard; on a breezy morning, Houshuen makes for a relaxing hideout from the big bad world.
No fear if the weather's intolerably humid: There's also an air-conditioned area inside that looks like the polar opposite of the Klang Valley's contemporary cafes. No exposed brick walls, no low-hanging naked light bulbs - only furniture that you might find in some family's house. That - coupled with Jeannie's matronly friendliness - could well help customers feel at home here.
The menu's extremely limited - when we visited, only one savoury dish was available: Jeannie's personal recipe of noodles that she made by hand herself, fried with pork, petai & chillies & Chinese cabbage, topped with crunchy lard. RM10; tastes like something that mom might make. On other occasions, visitors might find the likes of chicken rice or spinach pan mee.
Houshuen secures its sweets supply from the excellent California Cookie Company, whose rich salted caramel brownies are well worth sinking one's teeth into. RM8; you can also find CCC's baked treats at Plaza Mont Kiara's Thursday evening market.
Iced latte (RM8) & iced americano (RM6), both enjoyable enough for what they are. Beans come from Artisan Roast.
Deeper inside the bungalow, there's even a Chinese tea retail section, with a private room or two for sipping & sampling. And this seems remarkably random, but a men's shoes sale is also being held here daily, all the way through the Lunar New Year.
Hou Shuen Coffee & Tea
122, Jalan Gasing, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Currently open daily, around 11am-8pm
122, Jalan Gasing, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Currently open daily, around 11am-8pm
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