The Niffler, Kiara Park Condo, TTDI
Words: Monica Tindall
Photos: Peter Tan
The quiet, green location of The Niffler inside Kiara Park Condo in TTDI is a pleasant escape from KL’s busy-ness. Serving Western fusion food with Asian roots and kind flexibility in its recipes, the café is welcoming to a wide range of preferences.
The Niffler is a lovely space with glass walls framing the garden and condo pool. We like the outdoor covered patio cooled by ceiling fans, but there’s also air-conditioned seating indoors. There’s a community feel with a shelf of books for swapping and a cute mural of the Niffler painted on a brick wall. Inspired by the “Wizarding World’s long-snouted, fluffy-furred creature that hunts for treasures and gems”, the owners think their setting by the pool is a quintessential jewel. We like their sense of fun. All in all, it’s a relaxed and agreeable vibe.
The team behind The Niffler, Jon and Wen, bring diverse experiences to the café. Jon’s family had a house bakery business for 34 years, and now that his parents are retired, he continues the legacy. Wen was a general surgeon in the UK and Malaysia for a decade, but as they say, she switched her “scalpels for knives” and moved to the kitchen.
Jon and Wen’s philosophy is to make everything from scratch—the pastries, sauces, cakes, bread, burger patties, and even the drinks. Their reputation must be solid, as they also supply a handful of cafes around the city.
The Niffler Menu & Prices
Light Bites
We start our menu exploration with some items from the Light Bites section. The Seafood Chowder (RM27) is a creamy rendition chock-full of prawns, mussels, salmon and chunky vegetables. Chilli oil and Thai basil oil make attractive rings on top of the thick soup, and we can’t wait to break that swirl with the thick slice of sourdough garlic toast that sits on the side.
Mediterranean-inspired, the Chunky Pomodoro Salad (RM 26) is a vibrant bowl of button mushrooms, sweet corn, cucumber, capsicum, tomatoes, roasted cashew nuts, red onion slices, and cranberries. House pomodoro vinaigrette adds powerful flavours to the vegetables with balsamic, capers, black olives, tomato paste, and olive oil. It’s a healthy option and an interesting and delicious combo.
Mains Menu
Niffler’s Beef Burger (RM39) is one of their best-sellers. The Angus beef patty has been made from scratch and is hugged between a soft bun with melted mature cheddar and caper dill tartare. It’s an uncomplicated mix, yet much care has gone into its preparation. Even the bun is made in-house using the Japanese Tangzhong method, which creates a soft, chemical-free bun. Lettuce and a pile of fries sit to its side.
Jon and Wen are fans of shakshuka but often left wanting more from the renditions they found around the city. The best remedy to that is to make your own! The Niffler’s Moroccan Shakshuka (RM 32) is a rich tomato stew with paprika, a runny egg, and chicken bratwurst sausage ringing the plate. The thick slice of sourdough is an essential component.
Serunding Aglio Olio (RM29) is inspired by Jon’s childhood memories and his mum’s serunding with white bread and butter. On this menu, it’s a much more adult version with slow-cooked chilli and dried prawn floss, mushrooms and tomatoes coating spaghetti strands topped with white truffle velouté.
I love the use of laksa leaves in the Twisted Laksa Pesto (RM28). The Niffler’s version of pesto also switches out traditional pine nuts for peanuts. It’s a light coat for the pasta and a delicious accompaniment to the grilled chicken thigh.
The last of our savoury dishes, Grandma’s Thai Laksa (RM 18) has been a family recipe for over 34 years! Jon’s family is from Alor Setar, Malaysia’s north, so many dishes from this region have some Thai influence. Steamed mackerel sits in a tasty coconut broth with rice noodles from Jon’s hometown, egg, and crunchy kyuri cucumber. It’s similar to assam laksa but with just a hint of coconut milk, making it a little lighter.
Cakes
When we entered The Niffler, we were drawn to the display counter holding a range of cakes and pastries, all made in-house, of course. The Signature Blueberry Cheesecake (RM14) is also a 34-year-old family recipe. It’s a rich, thick slice of baked Philadelphia cream cheese topped with blueberry jam. I appreciate that they’ve gone easy on the sugar, making it a pleasant and not sickly finish.
Drinks Menu & Prices
The Niffler’s drinks menu has your usual café faves such as coffee, tea and juice. However, if you’ve come all this way, we recommend you try their house specialities. Basil Lemonade (RM17) sees homemade lemonade poured over Italian basil sorbet, a refreshing bevvie on a hot afternoon and great spicy food companion. The House Butterscotch Latte (RM16) features butterscotch made from scratch, which has a natural rather than artificially enhanced flavour, alongside a well-balanced coffee blend from Brazil and Guatemala.
The Niffler TTDI Review
The Niffler offers a quiet, verdant retreat from the city’s bustle. The menu is packed with wholesome recipes made from scratch and delivered by a friendly team. We’d return again for their garden views, Chunky Pomodoro Salad, Moroccan Shakshuka, Grandma’s Thai Laksa, and their homemade cakes.
Reasons to visit The Niffler: tranquil green location; indoor and outdoor seating; wholesome menu with a variety of western and local dishes; must try the Chunky Pomodoro Salad, Moroccan Shakshuka, Grandma’s Thai Laksa, and their homemade cakes.
The Niffler
178-0-1, Kiara Park Condo, Jalan Burhanuddin Helmi
Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Link to The Niffler on Google Maps
+6 012 2140035 @theniffler.my
*Free parking opposite the guardhouse in an empty parking
**Limited vegetarian and vegan options, but they’re willing to customise with advance notice
***Gluten-free options
**** Kid’s menu & child-friendly
****RM 20 corkage fee
*****All prices are nett
The Niffler Opening Hours
Thursday – Tuesday: 9 am – 9 pm, last call 8:30 pm
Wednesday: Closed
Find more cafes in Kuala Lumpur here and stay up-to-date on the latest happenings in KL’s food and beverage scene here and here.