It’s safe to say that the café scene has almost reached saturation point now in the Klang Valley. Cafes now are a dime a dozen and a new one pops open every other week. I sometimes wonder how the café owners survive, given the keen competition everywhere. It must be pretty tough, especially in thriving neighbourhoods like Kota Damansara. And this is exactly where 3 Bags Full is located since it’s opened last December. To stay relevant and ahead of the competition, this cosy little café delights its customers with tasty food that’s a bit more sophisticated than the usual brunch items and pedestrian pastas that’s so commonly served in cafes these days.
While the deco gives some immediate welcoming vibes from the simple rustic wooden theme, it is the affordable above-average offerings that bring in the crowd. I was there on a week day and the place was decently busy.
It’s not often that I see escargots on the menu of a casual café and 3 Bags Full’s Escargots at RM17 is pretty affordable. Delectable escargots baked in herb garlic butter with cream and blue cheese in a shallow dish and served with bread sticks – now that’s a very decent starter.
Apple Mint Lamb (RM16) – lightly marinated lamb shoulder, cut into bite-sized pieces and served with apple yoghurt mint sauce
The Sizzling Prawn Platter (RM26) had medium-sized succulent prawns baked in garlic butter milk served in a hot skillet with fried crispy seasoned shrimps and chicken floss. The chicken floss was a bit too sweet for me though.
The other appetizers I had were Wild Wings (RM15), tossed with Thai chilli sauce and served with house dip and White Bait (RM12) lightly coated crispy deep-fried silver fish served with house-made tartar sauce. The wings fared better than the white bait as I found the little fish to be rather bland.
Deep-fried White Bait
Stuffed Button Mushrooms with Feta (RM13) – batter coated mushrooms stuffed with herbed feta and blueberry mascarpone. This prettily presented starter would go down well with cheese lovers.
Spaghetti Aglio Olio Duck (RM25) is tossed with smoked duck and ginger, olive oil, ginger, sun-dried tomatoes, herbs and chilli peppers. I always prefer my pasta done aglio olio and this version here is certainly note-worthy.
The slab of Black Angus Ribeye (RM87) weighed 280g. The grain-fed ribeye Angus beef was minimally seasoned with traditional dry-rub and charbroiled to a perfect medium-rare. Sweet beefy jus oozed from the pink tender meat and no sauce was needed for this excellent cut.
Sheep in the House (RM57) French cut lamb ribs marinated and roasted with minty herb crust served with crosstrax potatoes and side salad. This was another winner.
Air-flown from Atlantic waters, the Griddled Salmon Fillet (RM39) was crunchy and charred at the sides and I was happy with the avocado mash and drizzle of red pepper pesto.
As mentioned earlier, 3 Bags Full has its brunch fans and to satiate them, the brunch/lunch menu has some pretty promising stuff.
Pay a mere RM26, and you get their Signature Salmon Croquette (RM26) Essentially a French toast, it’s served with pan seared salmon, spinach, mushrooms, poached egg, fried peach, shot of infused Guinness and red wine reduction. Now that is what I call a one-helluva toast!
More toast? This French Toast Kebab (RM17) made its entry as skewered nutella French toast with turkey ham, banana, strawberries topped with pepitas seeds and a touch of red wine reduction. It’s refreshing and so healthy, of course.
Spaghetti Aglio Olio Seafood RM29 assorted seafood, poached egg, garlic, chilli peppers, basil and olive oil
For desserts, I had the Mochi Mochi Waffle (RM14) with green tea gelato. The toppings were plentiful: almond flakes, pepitas seeds, ground peanuts and almond biscotti drizzled with black sesame sauce.
The Sizzling Brownies (RM17) was an attention grabber. House-made brownies with chopped roasted walnuts, French vanilla gelato came on a cast iron skillet and the sauce was poured onto it at tableside causing the sizzling effect and stopping conversation for a while.
I was told that their Chef Beljian Neo is still fine-tuning the menu, so expect some new exciting stuff making their appearances soon at 3 Bags Full.
3 BAGS FULL
No. 38A-1, Jalan PJU 5/10
Dataran Sunway Damansara
47810 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03 6150 2831
Business Hours:
Brunch/Lunch – 11.00am to 5.30pm
Dinner – 5.30pm to 11.00pm