Expatriate in KL: Noriter Cafe at One Mont Kiara: Birthday Party Review

I first wrote about Noriter Cafe months back, for Mother's Day. Old review can be seen HERE.

Since it was a good experience, I decided to throw my son's 2nd birthday party at their location. It seemed like an easy task, since I can get some assistance from Noriter to organize it.

The birthday celebration was held on a Sunday lunch time, 11am - 2pm. In true Malaysian fashion, most of the people came at about 12 noon already, which was expected. Usually, Noriter rents out for 2 hours, and you will need to pay extra to extend to 3 hours. We had a dilemma as well as another birthday party was booked after us... so it was kind of a rush to pack up in the end.

I'm going to share my honest review of what happened so that people can make their own choices when it comes to your child's birthday party. That way, you know what to expect. I will also give my comparison against the other experiences, where I held a party for my daughter in other locations such as Kids E World in Gardens Mall, as well as J KIDS at Publika.

Things I liked about Noriter:

The owner Jason was very helpful in everything. Even their staff are also helpful and friendly. They have the service to help you organize some of the party stuff, such as putting some signages, setting up balloons, etc. Of course, all that for a reasonable fee.
Location is easy to access. If you are like me, you will most likely want to drag stuff to the party, like your own food, give-aways, etc. You can take the lift (elevator) from the basement parking straight to the cafe area. Likewise if you have tons of gift to bring home afterwards!
The decoration which they already have in place is sufficient for a nice photo opportunity. It doesn't take much to decorate the place up. Great for people who want to have memorable photos and ample lighting (due to the location of Noriter it is near the rooftop and good sunlight during the day time).
They allow you to bring your own food, after you have fulfilled the minimum requirement payment based on the number of adults and children you have estimated. They have a checklist of things if you want to do a party. Talk to them so they can help you plan and estimate it.
They had their own branded plastic bags -- if in case you need (suddenly) to give out additional stuff. I wanted to give away some of the cold-pressed juices, and forgot to bring our own plastic bags, Luckily, they provided it.
They provide easels for you to make your own signage. They also have pillars where you can hang your own birthday announcement. I made all our own signages to ensure the theme was well executed.
Jason, the owner was flexible and agreed to allow me to bring my own cold-pressed juices as I explained that it's my own company and I wanted guests to enjoy the juices that day.

Compared to the children other parties I have made:

Noriter is picturesque and well-lighted
The young kids (from 6 months old - 5 years old) really enjoyed playing in the play area. They all stayed and didn't want to leave yet. The play area is small, but full of interesting toys. It is safe for young kids and one can easily keep an eye on the kids. Unlike the parties at Kids E-World (which is a HUGE place), you can rest and chat with people while your kid is inside the play area. J-Kids at Publika is also manageable inside, as it is not too big, yet not too small. Though so far, this is the best venue for young kids ... and I would recommend it for max up to 5 years old.
One can bring own food here, unlike Kids E-World, which totally disallows everything. They want to charge you for everything there -- inclusive of bottled water, etc. Their food catering was so-so. I wouldn't do it again as I found the food really below par as to what you are paying for. It would have been a good option for them to allow people to pay and also bring their own stuff to add to the food.
For J-Kids, they completely allow you to bring all the food you want! They just want to charge for the venue and the number of kids coming to the party.

Needs Improvement:

The food that we paid for, based on the listing, was below my expectation in terms of execution. The fruit platter was mediocre. The rice ball was okay, though people didn't eat much of it. For the price of the afternoon tea time set, it was also extremely small and mediocre. I guess that is expected perhaps for a captured market? I seriously think they can improve themselves in this area. It would make more happy customers if they placed a little more love, effort and care into what they are charging vs what they are serving.
I decided not to take a photo of the final bill since I was a bit put off about what happened in the ending. I was happy more people came in the end, that what I expected and assumed. Jason, the owner, went ahead to charge me all the additional heads who arrived -- which is okay and fair. However, the charges he did, which should equate to additional food, did not happen. He informed me that it seemed there was a lot of food already, so they didn't prepare anything anymore. I didn't want to ruin a good party and just left it at that. Whoever wants to do a party there, just be informed of the consequences, or perhaps inform him early that if he is going to charge additional heads, he should at least bring out the food which is what you are already paying for.
Back to back parties are really stressful due to the timing, and the need to shoo away all your guests because you need to pack up as well. Though they were quite helpful in the packing up, since they want to ensure the next party will be satisfied with their set-up time.
Air Conditioning at One Mont Kiara (at that Noriter floor) is not sufficient. At that area, it can get very warm and hot, depending on how sunny it is that day. Noriter has electric fans on standby, which is good to cool down the place. Though it kind of blows away those pretty balloons that you have set up.

In conclusion.... would I recommend this place? YES, I WILL. All the guests -- both adults and kids, had a good time. And that is what's important.

Just wanted to share all the experiences, so it may help other people out there.

In terms of expenses, the party at Kids E-World (the Gardens) is the priciest of all. Followed by Noriter. JKids is the most affordable and flexible venue.