New favourite Mont Kiara restaurant – Ra.ft

Mont Kiara folks have long felt sidelined with trendy cafés serving avo mash on sourdough popping up virtually everywhere else. They are now rewarding Ra.ft Café and Bistro with steady foot traffic – this Mont Kiara restaurant has full house at lunchtime and weekends.

One of the first tenants of Arcoris Plaza on Jalan Kiara, Ra.ft has all the ingredients to become a true neighbourhood bistro: all-day breakfast, great coffee, alcoholic drinks and a simple menu with changing specials.

Ours was a lunchtime visit with a baby in tow, so we started with juices, a Liver Cleanser and Sunny Day. A great vitamin booster for kids and adults alike!

The coffee is roasted in-house, and was up to the very high standards of these mums with a lot of café hopping under their belts.

We happened to get sated at the table right besides the small play area, which was great for the youngest member of our group. The area is tiny and has only a few toys but enough for a wriggly baby to be freed from the high chair. However, if you are seated in any of the other tables, you won’t be able to see to the play area.

They have outside seating in the pedestrianised area in front of the buildings, which should be a great spot for dinner with a bit older kids who need a game of tag in between courses. Inside is light and airy thanks to the high ceiling and large windows, but as with most new cafés in town, it does get quite noisy when full.

I opted for the vegetarian dish, The Botanist, a slice of bread loaded with green stuff and poached eggs. Mine had collapsed during the journey from the kitchen, but you get the idea: lots of greens.

The others went all chicken with the Stuffed Caprese – with mozzarella, pesto and a side of vegetables.

The early birds will be pleased to know that the Ra.ft opens at 7.30. We liked the look of the breakfast options sweet and savoury, and as a bagel-lover I will be coming back to try out one of the bagels on the menu.