It is rare to come across a restaurant proudly accentuating its cooking philosophies from behind the kitchen doors. Hence, when Shirene, Sylvia, Agatha and Edmond shared their fascinating stories behind Joseph @ Kitchen, I soon realised that they have poured their heart and soul into creating culinary delights that would make their customers smile.
The first thing that I asked was “Where is Joseph?”, as I instinctively presumed that Joseph is the real owner of the restaurant. But that wasn’t the case.
It all started when a customer named Joseph dropped by their previous café at KL Sentral to have a meal one fine day. However, by a strange twist of fate, he ended up teaching them how to cook instead. Essentially, Joseph is a man who believes in cooking tasty food using simple ingredients. Now, this is an unfamiliar person that they knew nothing of other than his first name, stepping into their kitchen and generously imparting his knowledge about cooking. The peculiar part of this tale is that they had never knew his full name or his whereabouts. Much like a fleeting breeze, Joseph left soon after teaching them and never came back. Nevertheless, Joseph’s brief visit taught them many things about cooking among which is to always put their heart and soul in cooking. This simple yet profounding statement was the starting point for Joseph @ Kitchen in recognition of his contribution. They hope that by using the word ‘Joseph @ Kitchen’, he would one day find out about the restaurant and come visit them again.
As much as I was fascinated with their story, the food was equally enticing as well. So happened they were doing some in house food photography on that day and I happily helped them to take some food pictures before we sat down to taste the food.
First up was the Magic Bubble Coffee (RM 9.50). Using coffee rather than milk tea, I must admit that the first sip did not go too well with my taste bud due to the bitter taste of the coffee.
However, Joseph @ Kitchen cleverly combined the iced coffee with specially imported black pearls. Unlike the conventional black pearls sold elsewhere, the pearls used in Joseph @ Kitchen has sugar water contained inside its thin layer of jello skin which burst easily in the mouth thus emitting a nice sugary taste to compliment the bitter coffee. It was certainly an interesting beverage and I recommend it to anyone who like something as unique as this one.
Joseph @ Kitchen’s Tomato Pappa (RM 8.00) was certainly full of natural goodness. Using tomato puree and fresh tomatoes, it certainly packed a good punch. I could tell how much tomatoes were used judging by its thick and creamy texture.
Although it was sourish, the soup was a good appetizer to ‘open’ up the stomach for more tantalizing meals to be served.
If there is such thing as food romance, then I had certainly fallen in love with their Waldorf Salad (RM 10). Made from fresh apples, celery, raisins and walnuts, the salad was really appetizing.
The natural sweetness of the apple chunks complimented the slightly sourish taste of the Japanese mayonnaise while the crunchy walnuts provided a contrasting texture to the softer raisins. Highly recommended.
Their Grilled Steak Sandwich (RM 25.00) was another highlight in their menu. Cooked with 180gm patty, the rib eye steak was nicely grilled. The meat was certainly moist, juicy and full of beefy goodness. Instead of using corn flour to thicken the black pepper sauce, I was told that they used a special type of cheese to make the sauce thicker. Apart from being a healthier alternative, the cheese will not coagulate once the sauce has cooled down. Interestingly, I couldn’t taste the cheese which is what made the recipe so unusual. I can’t imagine having a cheesy black pepper sauce which is too bellyful to swallow.
Instead, it has a nice smooth pepperish and tangy lemon flavour. To ensure its freshness, the black pepper sauce will only be prepared upon order and not pre-cooked in a huge quantity
When Joseph @ Kitchen pointed out that not many restaurants out there can cook good spaghetti, I concurred with a heavy sigh. Thankfully, their Mushroom Olio (RM 15) was exceptionally good. Cooked with fresh Shiitake mushroom and herbs, they have competently used the right amount of ingredients to prepare this simple traditional spaghetti.
This yet-to-be-named dish was deceptively simple yet tasted very good. According to Agatha, Joseph @ Kitchen is planning to launch this starter (RM 12.00) in their forthcoming menu soon. During the food photography session, she kept insisting me to taste it as this is one of her favourite dish. After giving it a try, I must admit that it is my favourite too. I was told that the ingredients (prawns, dried chilies, sliced garlic and herbs) cannot be fried too long with olive oil. Otherwise, there would be an undesirable hint of bitterness in the dish.
The Calamari Ring (RM 8.00) was recently improvised to enhance the crispiness of its outer texture. Using a mixture of oats, the calamari rings were still crunchy after some time. I find that it is a light and appetizing enough to fill my stomach before diving into the main course.
Creamy White Mushroom (RM 8.00) is another recommended dish from Joseph @ Kitchen. If you love white mushroom and white creamy sauce, you are in for a treat. The mushroom was certainly fresh while the sauce was not overly creamy. I find that the taste very easy on the tongue.
Using fresh tomato puree, the Seafood Tomatoes (RM 18.00) the first thing that struck me was how fresh the spaghetti sauce was. Again, the dish draws attention to Joseph @ Kitchen’s philosophy in creating simple and healthy food that delights its customers.
Apart from all the meaty goodness, Joseph @ Kitchen does cater for vegetarians as well. Aptly called Veggie Lovers (RM 15), the spaghetti with white sauce does not contain any onion, garlic and egg. Honestly, I couldn’t tell that the dish was vegetarian based since the vegetarian prawns does look like the real thing from a quick glance. In fact, the cream sauce tasted very well despite the absence of garlic and onion. This is where Joseph @ Kitchen’s effort to continuously refine its recipe paid off handsomely as they cleverly used marinated herbs to substitute both garlic and onion.
Meat lovers should give the Grilled Beef Steak (RM 20.00) a try. Using 200gm of beef patty layered with black pepper sauce, I find that the beef was juicy and firm.
The potatoes were prepared using olive oil, herbs, pepper which is definitely a healthier alternative compared to French Fries.
Combining coffee and art, I simply went “Ooh…” when I saw the beautiful leaf pattern on Joseph @ Kitchen’s Cappuccino (RM 7).
The milk, foam and coffee were mixed together and poured onto the cup using a special technique called free pour. It takes years of training for a Barista to master the flair of producing great coffee art. They were nice enough to ask their Barista to show us how the cappuccino is produced.
Free pouring is different from the traditional way to making coffee art as the milk, foam and coffee are already mixed together when it is poured (or what is called ‘pulled’) onto the cup. The cappuccino was certainly smooth and rich with coffee aroma. Although it was bitter, I could taste a tinge of sweetness from the milk.
Another form of coffee art is known as ‘etching’. I took a sequence of shots to give a better idea on how the it was done.
The cappuccino has a sweeter taste due to the chocolate syrup used to make the patterns. It is interesting to know that Joseph @ Kitchen do offer coffee art classes to the pubic. Those who are interested can definitely give them a call to find out when the classes are held.
Suffice to say, Joseph @ Kitchen is a wonderful place to dine with its cozy ambiance and great food. Their passion for cooking is clearly reflected in their range of cuisines that are both healthy and tasty. With the big ‘smile’ on its logo, they have clearly not forgotten that great food will always put a smile on their customers’ face.
Joseph @ Kitchen
Unit 2-7, Second Floor
No.5, Jalan Bangsar Utama
59000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 03 – 2282 2242
Business Hour:
Mon – Fri: 7:00 a.m – 9:00 p.m
Saturday: 10 a.m. -9:00 p.m.
Sunday closed
Website: http://www.josephkitchen.com.my/
Location Map (Behind Bangsar LRT Station)
Paradox of Life 
Recent Comments