Greenhouse by Muir @ Ampang KL (Beside Gleneagles Hospital)

Greenhouse by Muir at Off Jalan Ampang Kuala Lumpur ( beside Gleneagles Hospital ) is believed to bring in new wave to unique modern dining in town, starting from May for the first phase ( Kuroshio Japanese Market, Evendough Cafe, Evendough Bakery), and expect to complete with second phase (Brycg New Orlean Cuisine, Minu Modern Japanese Cuisine) by August this year.

Greenhouse by Muir is housed within a two-storeys bungalow building appears in black from the outside, easily spotted and easily missed out too. It is located beside (or diagonally behind) Gleneagles Hospital KL, opposite to Great Eastern Mall. How to reach Greenhouse by Muir? If you come from the direction with Great Eastern Mall at your left, at the traffic light turn right into a small road across the road. The restaurant should be on your right. If you come from the direction with Great Eastern Mall on your right, turn left into the small road before Gleneagles Hospital entrance.

Parking is scarce here, easily filled up after the 10th vehicle comes in. You can choose to park by the roadside at your own risk, or spare some money at the parking lot beside Greenhouse by Muir. It is expensive, at RM3.50 per hour. Whether you are here early or late, parking is always a issue, since the cafe opened from 10am through 10pm currently.

Despite so, parking problem does not stop patrons from visiting. In fact, Greenhouse by Muir is full house with queue on the first week of operation, experiencing insufficient supply of food to cater the overwhelming response from public.

For now, Greenhouse by Muir is a combination of cafe + bakery + dessert +  mini Japanese restaurant. Evendough Cafe opens at 10am, serving coffee, tea, smoothies like chocomint (chocolate + mint + milk), Mimacha (matcha + milk), honey lemon tea, hot chai tea, loose-leaf tea, latte, cappuccino, mocha, vanilla smoothies, passionfruit yogurt smoothies, etc.. Light brunch menu such as English Breakfast, Egg Benedict and sandwich are available too.

Cakes and tarts from Evendough Cafe dessert counter seem promising, lining up delectable, eye-pleasing selections including Red Velvet Gateau, Lemon Meringue Tart, Green Tea Opera Slices, Chocolate Mousse Cake, just to name a few.

Mimacha RM12

Pay at the counter, take a waiting number with you, drinks will be served to your table once ready. We tried out Mimacha, generally match latte that combined matcha powder with frothed milk. Creamy and milky, easy to drink but lack of matcha flavour, a little too sweet for our liking.

After the cafe counter, there will be a long dining table on your left, starting queue to Kuroshio Market on your right. Not sure why Greenhouse by Muir decided to have only one super long sharing table that can accommodate more than 20 persons instead of smaller, separated tables that can provide more privacy. We only saw two or three tables for 4 at the front side of the restaurant.

Anyway, this shouldn’t be a matter. People who drop by at Greenhouse by Muir is surely more anticipated to check out their Japanese Kuroshio Market than being concern on not having a small table for their own group. Kuroshio Market takes pride on their concept like IKEA food court :  Start by taking a trolley -> pick your choice from the ready to eat food, or place your order by selecting your choice of fresh seafood -> Pay your bill -> Enjoy your meal -> Clean up your table.

One can save the time by grabbing pre-packed sashimi, maki roll, salad, or get the chef on duty to customize your favourite hand roll. Eat here, or indulge at home. Takeaways are always welcome here at Greenhouse by Muir in case you find the place too packed especially during peak lunch and dinner hours.

Prefer hot food? Be ready to get spoilt with Japanese cooked food at Kuroshio Market such as Chicken Teriyaki, Gyoza (RM1.06/pc), Takoyaki (RM1.06/pc) , Grilled Saba Fish (RM7.21/pc), Grilled Unagi, Kabayaki (19.08/pc), Tori Katsu (RM9.35/pc), Ebi Tempura, Shishamo, Koroke Vegetable, Ebi Furai (RM2.65/pc), etc..

Diners can have by ala-carte, or add a scoop of Japanese rice to pair with your lovely cooked food for a more fulfilling meal. Add RM6.36 for a set meal (non refillable soup + vegetable + rice). Our Chicken Teriyaki is alright albeit cold, meat is tender, deeply flavoured with Teriyaki marination, further jacketed with smoky, slightly charred chicken skin.

In case you are not into Japanase sashimi, sushi or tempura, walk straight to the end of Greenhouse by Muir restaurant (passing through the Japanese cooked food section), Evendough Bakery is right there to present more than dozens of bakery goodness. Freshly baked buns, doughy breads, buttery croissant, danish, puffs all stretched out beautifully, waiting for you to pick them up.

Fruit Danish RM6.35

Our fruit danish from Evendough Bakery is lovely! Better than our expectation. The danish base is flaky, crispy with airy thin layering. No trace of over greasy but mouthful of freshness, topped with light cream custard and refreshing strawberries and peach slices. Highly recommended.

Comments:

1. Greenhouse by Muir no doubt has a very good idea in putting a twist to normal self-service dining.
2. The whole concept is organized, but the real condition is messy, probably it is still new.
3. Service is friendly, but clumsy in whole. Staffs should be trained better, as some couldn’t even understand what we said when we asked “where to pay?”.
4. Parking is problematic but diners should tolerate with this, since it is unavoidable.
5. Japanese cooked food section in Kuroshio Market could be better. Actually we did not know these food are cold. Evendough Bakery corner is awesome, great for bread lovers. Beverage from Evendough Cafe is good too.
6. Greenhouse by Muir should place more individual tables for 2 or 4 in future, as we believe not everyone love dining together with strangers.
7. Environment is noteworthy, thoughtfully designed at every corner. Surrounded by lush greenery. Ideal to chill and unwind outdoor during evening.

In short, worth visiting? Actually is YES. Hopefully all flaws can be rectified eventually when Greenhouse by Muir settled down. We rate it as a very potential dining place though our first experience is not exactly satisfying.

Photography: Summerkid
Write Up: Summergirl

Address:
Greenhouse by Muir Ampang ( Beside Gleneagles)
Kuroshio Market, Evendough Bakery, Evendough Cafe
1 Jalan Nipah,
Off Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.
Opening Hours:
Evendough Café (10am – 10pm),
Evendough Bakery (11am-10pm),
Kuroshio Japanese Seafood Market (11am-10pm)