Bangsar is one of my favourites haunts.
Im a regular gym rat but Im more often at 1 Utama then the Celebrity Fitness in BV II. But regardless of my gym schedule, Bangsar is my preferred hang-out area primarily because of the cafes here which offers a smorgasbord of cuisines. More specifically, it is one of the few areas in KL that has a concentrated colony of outlets that offers amazing DESSERTS!
Now I can add another cafe to my list. Cameron Valley Tea Bangsar is a casual dining concept outlet designed for tea lovers and their food here adheres to the healthy, MSG free, homemade sauces and fresh ingredients philosophy.
When I drove past Cameron Valley Tea Bangsar barely a week after it opened, I was immediately tempted to drop in. After all, mention tea and Cameron Highlands together in one sentence and theres bound to be reference to scones. Also, sipping teas means accompanying it with dainty pastries and cakes; all my favourite things!
Blame work, procastination or distraction from all angles, I eventually forgotten about this.
Thats until recently when I was invited to drop in to sample the food (Oh, theres food? was my first reaction) and also for a tea tasting session at their sister outlet; Bubbles which specialized in bubble tea, thus the namesake.
Among all the current mushrooming outlets for bubble teas, I believe Bubbles is the only outlet that utilizes Malaysian grown tea leaves, so heres a big hurrah to Bubbles!
Anyhow, more on that later. FOOD first! 
Open daily from 8am onwards, breakfast sets are predictably on the menu. Cutting through the chase of selection and matching of eggs with sausages or bacon or bread and so forth; we grabbed a breakfast set (RM) that comes with almost everything on the breakfast menu.
For the price, portions and choices were satisfactory enough, covering the bases of eggs, bacon, beans, mushrooms and the works.
Tastewise, it bordered on decent and ordinary. The scrambled eggs, tasty and soft, was one of the better item on the platter.
The salad section caught my attention! with so me pretty novel creations. I opted for the Seafood Garlic Salad (RM26++) which came in a rather generous portion of sauteed prawns, squids, fish and mussels. As befitting of its name, the seafood was sauteed with garlic, while the greens were kept separated from the seafood.
As a manner of preference, a stronger flavoured dressing for the greens would have worked better than the bland one that was doused on our salad. I felt the dressing only served to make the salad oilier than necessary, without much added flavour. But thats just me.
Now this is not something that you see often; a Donut Sandwich!
Similarly to sandwiches, there are optional fillings for your donut. While this is not exactly healthy eating (donuts are deep fried after all), the savoury donut was worth a try as it imparted a different palatability as opposed to an ordinary sandwich.
A well pan seared salmon is a skill, and happily enough the salmon was good.
I liked the mashed green peas, a welcomed deviation from the mash.
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Cameron Highlands is a hill in Malaysia known for its scones (foodwise); while the Himalayas is the highest mountain range in the world near Nepal associated (again foodwise) with the Nepalese dumplings known as momos.
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Momos are Tibetian influenced savoury dumplings which are a staple of the Nepalese community.
At Cameron Valley Tea Bangsar, save yourself the trip up both hill or mountain as both scones and momos are available.
This momo (a combination of minced chicken, ) is a nice crispy snack not unlike our deep fried wantons. Eat it with the sweet, tangy tomato sauce, which we were told to be a hit among their other patrons. I must say at this juncture that though I have not been to Nepal nor the Himalayas, the momos I had at a Nepalese restaurant near Pudu serves it with julienned ginger in soy sauce so I ant vouch for its authenticity.
An egg omelette appeared next (RM) and a local Chow Mein dish (RM) generously piled with fresh seafood looked good though sadly overly salty.
As you would have noticed by now, the menu here is pretty versatile, covering Asian, Western, snacks, desserts and innovative bites such as the donut sandwiches and momos.
Obviously theres something for everyone, and the same concept applies to their tea.
Be a tea snob and stick to the originals, or be adventurous like us and go gaga ordering teh tarik, tea floats and smoothies!
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I opted for a Lychee Smoothie (RMXX) and was most pleased with both the flavour and ratio of tea, ice and milk. I tried the teh tarik too, a worthy contender to some of our best mamak ones, but with better quality tea thus much healthier. A lot of us might not have realized this, but the commercial teas used in mamaks and coffee shops are very astringent and its acidity is detrimental to our stomach linings, among other concerns.
For the hot teas, each order comes in a pot and refillable with hot water upon request. We sampled a few and found them all to be fragrant with a clean crisp flavour and with good body.
Im no tea connoisseur, but I trust the variety and overall quality of produce here should please most tea lovers.
Interior wise, the place was cosy with cleverly segmented sections to cater for different group! s with d ifferent agendas; say from a serious group discussions to a one-one business meeting or just a chill out session with friends. Beanbag corners and sufficient spaces between the tables helps to maintain privacy while giving a feel of roominess. Photographs and graphics on the walls described the history of Cameron Bharat Plantations. A splash of colour here and there conveyed cheeriness and warmth.
I aim to drop in again soon for more of the teas; specially the flavoured teh tarik (strawberry, blackcurrant), Masala Tea and the fruit flavour teas, healthy infused teas, chilled teas, tea floats, tea smoothies. This time, I must sample their scones, vegetarian Red Velvet, carrot cake and the fat muffins! Whos with me??
Check out the Facebook page for meal deals! https://www.facebook.com/CameronValley
28, Jalan Telawi 5, Bangsar
Phone: +603-2202 2155
Email: cameronvalley@bharattea.com.my
Website: http://www.bharattea.com.my
