[Cafe Review] Kona Bakehouse SS2 Petaling Jaya

Cafes are popping up around Petaling Jaya like happy mushrooms, sending crowds of people into the further corners of the suburbs in search for the next it place for their next social media posting. I am no different but there are days when all I want is a quiet cafe with good pastries and coffee where I can spent a hour just chilling and trying not to virtually murder my colleagues. 

Kona Bakehouse in SS2 hits that mark right on a weekday. I imagine on weekends, being right next to the viral matcha-coffee specialist, Story of Ono, Kona would have its fair share of crowds as well. With Japanese in its theme, their main highlight is the shio pan which basically translates to salted bread. And it just so happened, I was hunting for shio pan and to my knowledge, there were only two bakeries that does this quite well. 

Barcook and Kona Bakehouse. 

Wanting a cuppa coffee with my bread, off to Kona Bakehouse I went. Already its neighbour, Ono was already crowded with people on a weekday (people don't need to work ah?). But Kona was perfectly quiet with only a few people sitting outside and enjoying their coffee. After four days of rain, the weather was perfect with blue skies and pretty clouds. 

But I am a diva, not a hipster and wanted air-con so in I went and sat down inside. Their decor was reminiscent of Japan with touches of a back to basic bakery/cafe. Kinda like Kenny Hill's before it exploded onto the masses' radar. The row of wheats along the wall inside was a nice touch. 

Their bakery was in-house and if you're up to a feeling like a creep, feel free to stare at the baker through the glass windows as he worked. The scent of freshly baked bread and pastries was sorely missing due to the windows and the damn face masks but the food on display looked enticing and extensive enough. 

I immediately zeroed in on the shio pan and flat white. At first glance, RM6.50 may seemed expensive for what was essentially salted bread but once I bit into it, I could understand the pricing. Think of a soft fluffy cloud with a consistent crispiness around it. Within hides a generous portion of buttery goodness of very good quality salted butter. The salt on top was the right amount to enhance the flavours. 

Granted Barcook's shio pan is also on par and very much more affordable BUT they don't exactly boost a comfortable sitting space. The Garden's outlet has no sitting space while the Bangsar South's outlet is outdoors only. (Psst: Barcook, if you see this, I love love your parmesan chocolate bun)

 

So if you think about it, the price you pay at Kona covers their rental and utility bills. But to justify it to myself, I sat there for an hour and took videos and photos to convert into this blog post aka content. 

See? I told you I am no different than the rest. Just more self-aware.

Coffee was nothing to shout about. Maybe that's why everyone flocks next door for the drinks and drops by Kona for the dough. I took away one shio pan to eat later and after heating it up, it still retains everything about it that was good and yummy. But for that price, I am going to need that cafe ambiance. 

Will I go back? Definitely and you will definitely see me sitting there, getting my money's worth. 

Kona Bakehouse
Address: 49 Jalan SS2/30, SS2, Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Opening hours: Tue-Fri 8AM-6PM
Sat & Sun 8AM-6.30PM

Pro tip: Check on their Beepit store for what's available or go first thing in the morning before everything sells out.