Food Blog | Vagabond | Sri Hartamas | Kuala Lumpur
If you frequent my blog, you would probably know that I do go to Sri Hartmas quite a bit for some food hunts, so when I saw a recommendation from IG influencer @qiwiie on a spot in Sri Hartamas that I hadn’t even heard of, I was a bit intrigued and had to have a try. This is what I thought of Vagabond, Sri Hartamas!
This is the brainchild of two chefs’ journey of bringing Melbourne’s delightful culinary culture back to Kuala Lumpur - with flavours absolutely inspired by Kuala Lumpur - with a lot of inspiration taken from both the Melbourne food scene, as well as the wonderful Malaysian - especially Sarawakian influence being evident in every dish.
Is it Halal
This restaurant fits squarely into that definitely non-halal - seeing as they serve alcohol - but also in that area where they serve no pork, no lard. So it is one of those places where I suggest you exercise your own discretion in terms of dining here if Muslim. I think most dishes are probably on the safer end, but do check in with the chefs just in case!
Where it Is
It is located in a more quiet side of Sri Hartamas - what I would describe as the back end of Sri Hartamas, closer to Souled Out. Parking as usual, is horrible here - and I would probably recommend you pay for parking via Setel / TnG if you’re in the area as there are some occasional samans here.
Address: 4, Jalan 28/70a, Desa Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Operating Hours:
Wed-Sun: 11:30am-3pm, 5pm-10pm
Closed on Mon - Tue
What it Costs
I would say pricing is probably just about right - I wouldn’t say it is too high or low, here’s a breakdown of what we had for two people:
Umai Pai Tee | RM16
Ak Chor Mee | RM32
Clam Fried Rice | RM26
Terung Asam Cheesecake | RM24
Yuzu & Honey | RM12
SVC | RM11
SST | RM7.24
Total | RM128.25
Just a note, they DO serve water for free here (although they might ask whether you want mineral water first).
It is in that category of not your every week go-to kind of place, but also you can go here every once in a while, as it doesn’t really break the bank. Of course, my example is probably not a great example for typical pricing as a lot of what I order will also be geared towards making more content. If you want to take a full look at their menu, you can head on right over here!
How it Tastes
I think the short review of what I thought of the food is that among all the things I had, there was nothing that I really had a genuine critique about. Maybe some people (perhaps to a small extent me) will have some comments on the terung asam on the side of the cheesecake, but I’ll save that for when I talk about it later.
Starting off with the Umai Pai Tee, it is a combination of blanched squid, scallop mousse, umai gel, and ikura. What I’ll say is that it really is an explosion of flavour. I would say the second it hits your mouth, really explosion of flavour - and the good kind. It goes away quite quickly in the sense that it doesn’t linger, but really has that good mix of saltiness, tinge of sweetness, and all-around a very nice and appetizing way to start off your meal.
Just note that they do serve their Sarawak Laksa for weekday lunches only - it’s what people rave about - and there is also a miso cabbage dish here that is quite popular and supposed to resemble Lei Cha, but as I’m a Lei Cha hater, that was a pass for me, so do consider those as some popular options here as well.
Next up is the Ak Chor Mee. Having a lot of Bak Chor Mee from Singapore, I think this is still a very nice variant. The noodles are springy and don’t stick together, the duck mince being a very nice pairing with the noodles and the onsen egg really ties together the whole dish with the egg yolk - as it usually does. Overall, for me, this feels like a very homely dish done well!
The clam fried rice is a good example of an elevated fried rice done right. You have Japanese asari clams - I would say its addition is quite subtle but does add a lot to the dish. I think that the standout feature is probably the balachaung - yes, balachaung, not belacan - as it is quite a key component in this dish, adding a bit of crunch and flavour to the dish. I’m personally quite a big fan of using it in their fried rice, as well as their edamame. With fried rice, I don’t really want to go overboard with comments, but it’s a nice variation that is a bit different.
On their Terung Asam Cheesecake. First, I would just say that their Cheesecake on itself is considered decent for me already. Adding the terung asam jam (the yellow bits you see in the photo) is probably the part where it will be controversial. I’m probably on the team of don’t need the terung asam jam, but I completely understand the uniqueness of this dish - I finished a lot of the terung asam jam myself, this more out of curiosity than anything. Overall, I’m 50-50 on whether to recommend this dish, I’d probably recommend this purely out of novelty, but expect it to be a bit weird if you’re not used to a lot of the asam jams.
Star Rating
I’d give it a solid 7.5/10. This is more because I know every other menu item is probably just as good and reliable. I enjoyed all the food and I must commend the service here - lots of energy, really well trained - so it’s one of the rare times I will take my time to write about it here. A place that I’d likely go back to eventually some other day.
