Let's take a break from all the gear talk and divert our attention to something rather interesting that I have found recently, Project B, a newly opened cafe founded with charitable purposes. I was hungry (literally), I was curious about the initiative and I wanted to find out more about this rather unique, and I believe one of its kind operation here in Malaysia. So one fine afternoon I stopped by Project B at Sentul, KL to see for myself what this was all about, and of course, to fill my stomach.
About PROJECT B
The cafe was fully run by teenagers who are still schooling. The project was founded by the BIG Group and Berjaya Care Foundations, built specifically for the kids who are currently under the programs of Dignity for Children's Foundation. Basically the Dignity for Children's Foundation's vision statement is "to empower underprivileged children to break the cycle of poverty through quality education, positively transforming their lives and the lives of the community around them".
I was told by the supervising staff, Mr Vishnu that the children works a few days of the week, and the remaining days they will be on full time school-style education system. This allows the children to gain working experience, enhance their life skills and also a great opportunity to assimilate them into the society.
Upon entering Project B, I immediately liked how the place was brightly lit with huge glass windows. I have always preferred brightly lit places to hang out, as opposed to impossibly dim cafes. There was plenty of sunlight and I loved that. The dining area was spacious, and the wooden tables are not too small.
The staff was really friendly beaming with bright smile greeting me, and were very helpful too despite their very young age. You have to make your order at the counter/cashier and your food will be served to you at your table. I ordered myself the Signature Crunch, which was Fried Chicken with their signature buttermilk coating, and I had it with sides of coleslaw and fries (total RM15). I was alone so I could not try all the other dishes, maybe I shall do so in my next visit. It took them longer than I anticipated (I was hungry) but when the food arrived, gosh was it worth the wait!
The Signature (RM15)
Cafe Latte (RM6)
Cappuccino (RM6) and Brownie (RM3)
The chicken was delicious. I like how it was not salty at all, which was refreshing since almost all fried chicken I have come across are always too salty. I also like the hint of the buttermilk taste in the batter which was quite crunchy.
After the rather heavy lunch I treated myself to their coffee which was priced reasonably at RM6, considering everything else you find at other established cafes are twice or more expensive than what you find here. Coffee was good, nothing to write home about, and the brownie was very sweet which I could not finish.
The young and friendly staff at Project B
Side Note: This cafe greatly reminded me of "Shelter", another cafe run by Uncle Richard in Kuching, located near my secondary school SMK St Thomas as well as St Mary (though the cafe has been long shut down). It was the ideal place for students to hang out, serve great food and drinks, and also hired teenagers.
I do think that Project B is an awesome place to hang out. I brought my Tablet PC along and spent an hour replying blog comments, emails, and catching up on news. The food was good and the coffee is cheap. All of this and at the same time the cafe is an initiative to help develop our future generation of kids, I think this is a great idea and I hope to see more of similar projects happening around KL.
To find out more you can visit their official Facebook page here (click).
Address: Project B, 25, Jalan 11/48a, Sentul Raya Boulevard, 51000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
