My workload causes me nothing but stress these days and I was in a desperate need to get away from KL a little bit. But as usual, going for a couple of days getaway is impossible for me right at the moment due to huge work commitment. But then again, I needed to de-stress desperately nevertheless.

So, instead of going somewhere far, I decided to go somewhere near for a little breather instead. So this is how I ended up taking a little ‘back to nature’ foodie trip with my family at BBQ Lamb Kemensah, KL. The place is practically just a couple of backyard away from my home. Located just nearby Zoo Negara, this restaurant and is famous for their river dining.

Yups, you did not read that wrongly. Dining in the river; as in soaking your feet in the river and enjoying your food as the gentle water soothe all your stress away.

I was really excited. Upon arrival, the staff handed us this huge straw hat for us to use. We took the chance to take some family photos before exploring the place further.

Here’s yours truly and her sister-in-law.

I have heard quite a lot about this restaurant via social media, and I must say that I am quite impressed with the place. Apart from river dining where diners can choose to dine in the river, you may also choose to dine by the poolside. Now, I’m all for dining in the river, but if you have babies or toddlers with you, I certainly recommend you to dine by the poolside as it is safer for the little ones and it’s easier to monitor them as you eat.

This is actually a swimming pool. I arrived quite late in the evening and it was getting quite dark during my visit and so, instead of taking a swim, I decided to just dip my feet into the pool. Please excuse the slippers though. I know you’re not supposed to wear slippers into the pool, but I amidst my excitements, I completely forgot to take them off. Thank God they are completely clean as I washed them thoroughly after coming up from the river.

Nightfall at BBQ Lamb Kemensah conjure a really serene and romantic scene. Perfect for candle-light dining and a quiet date with your other half.

BBQ Lamb Kemensah offers plenty of stuff on their menu. Most of them are no-nonsense BBQ and grilled items. Being a first timer there, I asked for some recommendation. I was tempted to try their fish and seafood, but their meat platter came highly recommended and have been quite a rave on social media and we decided to just settle on their new Ramadan Mix Meat platter set, seeing that it comes with all sorts of meat that we can sink our teeth on. This set will be available throughout the month of Ramadan for dinner.

The Ramadan Mix Meat platter set (RM188.00) consists of Tenderloin Beef, Smokey Duck slices, BBQ Lamb and BBQ Chicken and comes with four plates of fragrant herb rice, a plate of coleslaw salad, a bowl of Sup Kambing,  four bowls of refreshing desserts, a small plate of dates and a jar of Iced Lemon Tea.

Comes with refillable ice lemon tea, refreshing dessert and dates

The dates included in this set is the plump and moist type. All things considered, this is definitely a great starter to break your fast with to sooth your hungry tummy after fasting for the whole day.

Sup Kambing. I wasn’t particularly interested in this soup when I first saw it. I’m more familar with the clear type of mutton soup; the one you usually find in local mamak restaurants, but once I had a sip of this, I was practically begging for more. It was not the usual spicy kind of mutton soup, but flavourful nevertheless. It leans more to the creamy and rich side of texture and very comforting on the tummy.

Fragrant Herb Rice. The rice is absolutely delicious. It was really fragrant and complement the assortments of BBQ-ed meat very well. Rice lovers will love this. No worries about the calory intakes, guys. This rice dish was made with the long-grained type, and so they’re the healthy kind of carbs.

Coleslaw was fresh and crisps with slightly sweet mayo dressings.

Mix meat platter for 4 pax. Don’t be fooled by the picture.To be honest, I think the portion is really huge. Perfect for sharing and if you are small eater, I think this set can cater up to six person.

Tenderloin Beef, Smokey Duck slices, BBQ Lamb and BBQ Chicken. Now, everyone have their own taste when it comes to how they like their meat done. I like my beef well done instead of medium rare, so what they served was perfect for me, but if you like your meat a tad bloody, you may request that upon ordering. The Smokey Duck was sensational and definitely a not to be missed item over here. I am not really a fan of lamb as they made me feel heaty after consuming them, but I had a taste of this nevertheless. It’s really nice and have no unpleasant gamey smell whatsoever. Great for those who prefers their lamb without the pungeant smell. Last but not least, the BBQ chicken. I wish I could comment on that but I didn’t manage to eat that as was too busy attacking the tenderloin. My son loves the BBQ chicken though, and seeing how picky eater he is, I guess I can safely say that the BBQ chicken was pleasant on the palate as well. The platter came with 4 types of sauces; mint sauce, mayo garlic sauce, black pepper sauce and soy chilli sauce, but the meat already taste great on their own and I did not want the sauce to overwhelm the original flavour of the meat, so I did not dip any of my neat slices in them. Apart from this mix meat platter, they are also offering fish, seafood, bird and vegetarian set for Ramadan. You may check out the menu and the pricing at their Facebook page HERE.

Overall, dining at Kemensah Lamb BBQ is a great experience. The ambiance is really soothing and relaxing. I find that dining here is thereupeutic on it’s own. Instead of just feeling full and satiated, I feel completely refreshed and energetic as well by the end of the meal. I guess a revisit is in order soon. I highly recommend this place, especially for those who are adventurous in nature.

Here’s some tips to foodies who intend to dine here in the nearest future:

1. BBQ Lamb Kemensah is always swamped with diners, so early booking is recommended, especially if you want to dine in the river.
2. Bring a change of clothes if you plan to dine in the river or plan to swim in the pool
3. While this is a family and kids friendly restaurant, you must remember that your children are your own responsibility, so keep an eye on them at all times while dining in the river to ensure their safety. Please don’t let them run around or leave them unsupervised.
4. Bring a waterproof casing for your smartphones so that they won’t get wet should you drop them into the river.
5. The swimming pool is not a kiddy pool and is deep, so I wouldn’t recommend children under the age of 8 in the pool. But if you do decide to let your little kids swim in it, please make sure to watch them at all times and grab the complimentary tubes for them to use to ensure their safety.

For more information on BBQ Lamb Kemensah, please refer to the details below:

BBQ Lamb KL Kemensah
Jalan Taman Zooview,
Kampung Kemensah,
68000 Ampang, Selangor
For Reservation: 012-211 4100
Operating Hours:

6May~2June 2019
4pm~6pm: River Dining for non-Muslim.
6pm~9.30pm: Buka puasa dinner
Closed on Monday