The Ganga Cafe • Bangsar — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Ganga used to be one of my favourite neighbourhood spots — affordable, wholesome, and full of heart. The food had a home-cooked touch, and the service felt warm and personal. Sadly, that experience has changed drastically since Sumon’s departure.

My recent visits have been disappointing: tea served cold or with sugar when we asked for none, nasi lemak heavy on rice but sparse on sambal, and “gluten-free” rotis that weren’t actually gluten-free. Still, I held on to some hope. But yesterday’s visit was the final straw.

I had convinced friends—who initially suggested Mr. Naan & Mrs. Idly in Brickfields—to dine at Ganga instead. We placed an order for three aloo parathas at 10:55 AM. We waited... and waited. We checked on the order at least three times, and each time we were told, “Just 5 more minutes.” When I finally went to stand near the kitchen out of frustration, only one plate came out after nearly 40 minutes. The other two weren’t even ready.

To make matters worse, the tea we ordered (specifically without sugar) came sweetened anyway. At boiling point, we left the restaurant without paying for the tea and patisa. I called Meetha Shah (the owner) while walking out. When we returned 10 minutes later, she said the issue was due to a “system error” — the cashier had apparently not sent the order to the kitchen.

But here's the problem:

Our order was not placed via a machine — it was taken by a staff member, with follow-up questions from three more after that.

The cashier and kitchen are just steps away from each other. If the system really failed, why didn’t anyone follow up?

Frankly, it felt more like deflection than accountability. Sadly, the charm that once made Ganga feel like a second home has been replaced by inconsistent food, poor service, and dismissive damage control. At this point, it’s expensive, basic, and simply not worth the hassle.

A sad but honest reflection on what used to be a great...

As a regular I've always appreciated the yummy food from Ganga over the last 5 years. I have to reduce my rating however because since MCO started in Mar 2020 and every other time I've been, the manager was often not wearing a mask and the team didn't enforce people taking food away while waiting outside the restaurant to wear masks as well.

Attached a sample pic (faces and number plates have been censored) of a couple today who were taking away food; the woman did not even make a move to wear a mask at all despite being near the entrance and other diners. I highlighted it to the staff who didn't understand or just looked uncomfortable about confronting anyone. It's not personal, but we should all do our part to reduce the cases nationwide.

As someone who'd just finished eating at Ganga and needing to walk around maskless visitors on my way out of the cafe, it was very uncomfortable for me and I didn't feel like Ganga's staff was looking out for our health and safety, neither were they taking the necessary steps to safeguard themselves.

The manager, while always friendly and decent to me, again did not wear a mask while talking to me

update:recently we have been charged on the food that we didn't order. the owner were friendly and understanding but the others in the restaurant was another disappointed story. they did not present us any prove of our order taken that day. it took us some time to go back to ask for refund. however it was handled by informing us that the bill was charging according to our order yet we knew what we ordered therefore the food was not on the table. the restaurant agreed to refund that will be made according to the price of the food... Well WAIT! there were 6% government tax and 10% service charge upon the food price. speechless? there in return, a waiter after discussed with cashier handed the 16% amount in cash without any apology but just a harsh word "HERE! ". last word JUST CHECK THE BILL! Previously review: why 1 star given? Because we were charged on the food we didn't order. unpleasantly to suspect either on the restaurant itself who did or probably the cashier or rather inadvertent POS payment system malfunctioned. whatever it was. there OVERCHARGED us in what we didn't order and didn't have any of it on our table. imagine if we were going to your restaurant again in future how we have to take precaution starting from ordering food to making a payment. read other reviews by filtering search "bill" there you will find what happened in past years, Therefore ‼️ CHECK THE BILL‼️ recommendation is to investigate the issue before vindicate oneself. here prices of tasty food and drinks are already higher than other plus 16% tax and attentive service charges in a Non air-conditioning dining room moreover hardly to locate a parking space....