Podgy And The Banker

4-​Stars for not just the coffee, but also the cream puffs that they serve here. I tried one which is priced at RM6, pretty much a fair price for a cream puff in KL, and it was served warm with chocolate sauce covering the top — fluffy goodness with heart warming chocolate sauce that’s not overly sweet. Definitely made it into the list of desserts that I would want to try again.
As you would know, this is definitely one of the hipster café around the hood, and if you are a café hopper, you should also know that this is one of the Podgy branches, and I myself like their interior here a lot. Long tables and squares as well, which makes it suitable for both work or if you are just having coffee alone.
One thing though — they don’t really serve fruit juices here. So I was wanting one but they were only serving this beverage that’s very much like a smoothie. So, you know how to manage your expectations when you’re here.
Parking shouldn’t be a big problem here as there are a lot of parking lots around, but do remember to prepare some coins as you don’t want to walk around and into shops just to get some coins exchanged like I did — not the best activity to do under the hot sun I tell you!

It’s been around for a year plus now and it’s been booming, there are many regulars that visit the place. The staff is extremely nice. Itms unfortunately a self service thing so you’ll need to order and get your order from the counter but they’re pretty quick. There are quite a number of staff behind the bar constantly making coffee, cleaning the tables and taking your order. It’s just a nice place to discuss work over coffee or even get some work done.
There are many corporate customers and customers from all age groups. It’s within a housing area so they cater to a lot of those people living within the area as well. Parking isn’t too bad, there’s usually parking by the side of the road and such.

I’ve heard about Podgy & The Banker for some time, and finally I paid a visit to the café at Desa Sri Hartamas. The café is located among the Sri Hartamas neighbourhood, just a few shops away from My Elephant Thai Restaurant and La Juiceria. It’s perfectly at the corner of the row of shop lots. Just like other cafes, they practise self-​service system where you place your order, make your payment and collect your food at the counter. The best part — they do not charge any taxes here.
The café is bright and cosy, with colourful yellow chairs and wooden tables. The pricing at the café were quite reasonable too. If you are green tea or matcha lover, then you’ll like this — Matcha Latte (RM9). The green tea latte was smooth and creamy with a slight bitter sweet taste to it. The Poached Egg with Spinach (RM10) was a delish too. The eggs were poached nicely (I wouldn’t say perfectly because the yolks were not fully covered by the whites), served on top of the bruschetta and spinach. If you are craving for something sweet, why not try out the French Toast with Nutella/​Banana instead of the usual cakes? They were light and generously drizzled with honey, topped with crushed nuts and you can choose to have it with Nutella or bananas.
The café is definitely worth paying a visit for some simple brunch or tea time. However, the place might get a little bit too noisy during the weekends. Apart from Desa Sri Hartamas, they have opened up another branch at Mont Kiara — Verve Shop.

Ah, Podgy and the Banker. While its name would linger and retain in your mind for a while, the café itself is not as well known as it is, so it is kind of hard to find it.
Until now.
With its cheesecake being one of the better cakes in the café, Podgy does concoct a mean cup of latte, and apparently, they have outlets scattered around KL, which not all of us know because once more, their locations are not as conspicuous as it may seem.
Then again, their quiches and most of their hot food are to die for, and with the ambience catered to humans who rather stare at the ceiling than to stare at other humans, this is the perfect escapade to lala-​land.

One of the best cafes in the Hartamas neighbourhood!
It’s located on the same row as Lim tayar, My Elephant & Fru-​T-​Pop.
Podgy and the Banker is founded by the same people behind Butter + Beans in Section 17.
Kuda Mas beans are used here. Their mocha is my favourite!
The large windows allow in a bit too much sunlight. It gets quite warm in the café during peak hours.
The metal and wood furnishing gives the café a minimalist industrial feel.

This pleasantly decorated café has long since it opened become a popular hot spot in Hartamas. From all around, people drop by for a cup of a mocha or hot chocolate. Both of which are really popular here. Well the mocha more so than the hot chocolate. But I had a taste and it was great (could use a marshmallow or two though)
The background music soothes you as you indulge in their selection of cakes; from cheesecake to chocolate to red velvet cake. I particularly enjoy their hot chocolate here. It’s nothing fancy, but it fits the profile of good hot chocolate in my opinion. The cheesecake I had ordered went well with my hot chocolate. It complemented the weather perfectly at the time.
Don’t let my love for desert confuse you, they do have a great menu here. Dishes ranging from sandwiches to pasta can be found here. I particularly enjoy the great service I get here. They’re always friendly and attentive. It’s an awesome spot for me to read a book, do my work or even meet up with friends. The decoration of the place has that simplistic feel it. Not too posh, not too shabby.
The cleanliness is superb and the service is spot on. I can’t think of anything that would stop me from coming here again. Well sort of, unless a new one opens nearby my place.

Gone are the days of stationing ourselves for hours on end in commercial coffee houses such as Starbucks and CoffeeBean, now it’s the heyday of the homie, rustic and minimalistic cafes that’s winning over our youth. Nestled in Sri Hartamas, Podgy and the Banker is only a stone’s throw away from MyElephant and brings with it a tranquil, breezy setting with a chilled out brunch menu where eggs are the name of the game. While delicious, podgy and the banker doesn’t offer anything innovation from the all too familiar sight especially for most of you who have paid visits to the many brunch cafes on offer in the Klang Valley, and personally I just don’t have it in me to pay RM10−14 for eggs.

I still remember the first time I discovered this spot and how the coffee art drove me crazy (at that time, there weren’t too many coffee shops). I felt like the location was pretty unique. I went there for the hot chocolate since that is (7 out of 10) what I order every time I walk into a «coffee» shop. They have teas, juices and latte’s.
The kitchen serves breakfast like butter croissant with orange marmalade, chicken pie, scrambled eggs with salmon on toast, poached eggs on toast with spinach, french toast, bruschetta, chicken ham and eggs and many more that you can explore. Their sandwich menu is simple yet tasty! From Tuna, Devil eggs, Beef Bacon, Chicken avocado etc
My favorite is the quiche. It has an open-​faced pastry crust with cheese and savoury custard and vegetables. They normally serve it hot but I like mine at room temperature, that way you get to taste the quiche for what it really is.
I recently just found out there are a few «Podgy and the Banker» outlets around town. Be sure to check out the rest when I get the time :)
When you’re there, you can look for Neil or Joel to help you with the menu.
Operation hours: 9am to 12am

This is my hang out place when it comes to good music, good service and good coffee. I came for the opening back in 2014 and met the owner and staff. This café is funded by an investor for 2 partners. The cakes and pastries that they provide is from the investor’s wife who owns a dessert shop and Accidental Bakers.
Their coffee is from Coffex (Sumatra coffee beans) and the barista’s working there are young and ambitious, always giving me the perfect coffee to start of my day. They also provide sandwiches such as salmon sandwich, quiche, cakes and many more. The kitchen close at about 5pm so hurry up and eat!
They currently opened another new branch in Mont Kiara Verve called Podgy and the Banker Plus.
Podgy & the Banker open at 10am untill 11.30pm.
Wifi — Yes
Outdoor Seating — No
Close on Tuesdays
Price Range — Rm10 — Rm22