Whenever I am around in Mont Kiara area, I like going to my friend’s café.

Oops! Except for the way it is called – for which the correct name should be ‘Friends of Mine Café’ – most people would believe that the café is operated by some friends of mine.

It is the ginger that gives the same old pasta dish the new ‘oooumph’ that the tomatoes and mushrooms fail to provide.

Although it is no longer my favourite these days, as my taste buds have gotten used to it, it is still one of the favourite dishes I would recommend to people who want to check out the café.

Yeo, who is now a friend after so many visits, is not the typical chef that you expect to meet. Although she has a kitchen helper, Yeo prefers to cook most of the dishes herself.

At the latest food tasting session, I would rate their Chicken and Cranberry Sandwich (RM13) as No 1 or my favourite. It is not the kind of food that you would want to just taste, but something that you would not mind eating till you have your fingers licking good. Yeo confides with me that she uses her homemade mayonnaise.

No wonder it is also a best seller with the students from Sri Garden International School just across the road. Yeo’s other two dishes namely the Kung Pow pasta salad (RM19) tastes good mainly because its Kung Pow chicken cubes which taste unique, while her kampung-style fried rice is a matter of preference, whether you like it more spicy or less.

For foodies who want to try the food here, my only warning is to make sure that you call them before coming over. Since their business is mainly targeted at the international school just opposite the café, they can afford to close on most of the other days.

Even though the café is also my wife’s favourite and she had asked to eat there whenever we passed by, it is not easy to find a right time when I can bring my family there as the café is closed on public holidays and Sundays.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in all sorts of gastronomical delights – Western, Middle Eastern and Asian.

Teow Chew Meng Restaurant in SS2 Petaling Jaya is a Teochew restaurant, while Ah Meng is just a common nickname in Penang.

For those who did not know, this was how the name of the restaurant came about. Simple, but it reflects beautifully the beginning of a restaurant that would serve just ‘the kind of food that you can’t find elsewhere,’ as its owner, Steven Seow puts it.

The restaurant which was set up as a family business by Seow’s father-in- law, Tan Thean Choon was among the first to popularise the signature Hokkien dish, known as the Mee Sua Tow.

In fact, there is a history behind the late Tan’s Mee Sua Tow which is still a bestseller after nearly 20 years. Strangely, for those who know, Mee Sua is always linked to the Hokkien, but why is this Teochew restaurant promoting the Hokkien dish?

For one, it is because there is hardly one Hokkien restaurant around the country. Secondly, it was a trip to China back in 1998, when Tan had tasted one of the best Mee Sua Tow in Xiamen.

Upon returning, he could not find a restaurant that could serve such good Mee Sua Tow that he decided he would start one selling it. This signature dish was what made Restoran Teow Chew Meng famous.

The original Mee Sua Tow that we know is plain and rather bland in taste, but with some creativity, Tan made it a lot tastier by adding sharkfin, garoupa, prawns and scallops in the Mee Sua Tow (now priced at RM13 per pax).

This was one of my favourite, especially when it is served hot and eaten with a little black vinegar. Normally, I would prefer the original tastes of things but in this case, without the black vinegar, it is somewhat incomplete.

Their other signature dish is the stir fried spicy lai fun. This is the lai fun which is used mainly for preparing laksa noodles, but instead of laksa ingredients, they use prawns, scallops and some minced pork.

“The closest that you can get in terms of the taste of the noodle is the Japanese udon, but we do not use the same ingredients as udon,” Seow elaborates. “A lot of people also love this dish.”

Their Braised Oyster Noodle (RM15 per pax) is also another signature dish to try especially for those who love the taste of oyster sauce. And, based on the season and the availability, he would also serve baby optopuses on a plate (RM13 per plate).

They also have the seafood rolls (RM13 per plate and Prawn Pan (RM12 per plate) which are mainly for the children.

One other item worth mentioning is the “O-Nee”. Teochew guests who walk into this restaurant would be happy to learn that they also serve the yam-based “O-Nee”. “This allows our Teochew guests to show to their friends how a Teochew dessert tastes like,” said Seow.

“It is very tedious to make O-Nee, which is why most restaurants would prefer not to add this desert to their menu.”

What’s more important is that they do not use any MSG or artificial flavouring to the food.

“Therefore, in order to draw out the tastes from the ingredients the way the customers want it, we have prepare the stock fresh every day,” Seow said.

“Everything is cooked in slow fire for two hours every morning. By the time that the kitchen is open at about 8am, to about 10.30am, the first batch of stock would be prepared. We then remove the ingredients so that they are not left soaking in the stock.”

In order to preserve the consistency and tastes of the dishes, they would start cooking a separate batch by about 3pm for the evening crowd. “Therefore, when someone eats here in the morning, and later decides to come back for the same dish, he will not find the taste different,” he explained. “We do not just add water to the stock.”

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in all sorts of gastronomical delights – Western, Middle Eastern and Asian.

With Deepavali round the corner, we decided to review a few Indian restaurants, starting with Saravana Bhavan in Bangsar.

Especially popular with the last-minute shoppers, Saravana Bhavan, located on the same row as DeGem’s Bangsar flagship boutique along Jalan Maarof, is indeed the other hidden gem in the world of gastronomy that has yet to be discovered, especially by the non-Indian community.

For the Indian community, the cuisines here need no introduction, but for the uninitiated Chinese and Malay families, this is indeed a Muhibbah experience especially with the children.

The impression has always been that Indian restaurants in Bangsar are all fine dining and expensive, or you can get the same things in an ordinary Mamak restaurant.

But the reality is Saravana is an established brand and a global franchise from Chennai, Southern India which serves good vegetarian dishes that are not terribly expensive. And, it is in a conducive airconditioned environment that does not suggest that it is a posh restaurant.

For example, its quick lunch is priced at RM12.70. I like to call it the four-season rice, because it features four different ways in which rice can be cooked and served South Indian style; therefore, it is a good way for diners like me to savour a bit of four kinds of rice in one dish.

That is something to start with, but the list is endless as we begin to discover after chatting with the Managing Director and CEO of Saravana, P.R. Shiva Kumaar, whose visit to this franchise outlet is a bonus to us. We were told that the first Saravana Bhavan restaurant was set up in Chennai in 1968, so by 2018, the
Saravana restaurant chain would be celebrating its Golden Jubilee.

Shiva is the son of the founder, 69-year- old P. Rajagopal, who has been identified by New York Times as the legend who “brought prestige to the vegetarian business.”

Currently, the family has over a hundred franchisees in India and another 72 franchise outlets in 20 different countries around the world. The first franchise outside of India was set up in Dubai in 2000. In Malaysia, its first outlet was open in Jalan Maarof in 2003; since then, another five Saravana outlets have been set up.

Shiva’s task is to visit these franchisees at least twice a year in his international circuit. He personally looks into the nitty-gritty of the operations.

“We believe in serving the food fresh,” he says. “For us, a meal here at Saravana is more than the food itself, it is an experience for the entire family.”

A dosa, for example, is a same dosa everywhere, but the moment the Ghee Roast Dosa (RM10.10) was served, there was the “wow! So Big!”

The crispy pancake-like crepe is not the usual moist dosa that is served ‘flat’ on the plate; it is crispy enough that it can be folded into something that looks like a tunnel, and this is what turns one of the invited guests, Cherise Boey.

For those who want to try out their vegan meat, they have their vegan chicken fry (RM11.70) and vegan garlic mutton (RM12.20). The Saravana SPL (short for Special) meals are priced at RM15.90, which is really about the price of a plate of Aglio Oglio in most Western restaurants.

It is quite an experience for the children to try out the different things in the Saravana SPL – sweet, poori, a side dish, rice, sambar, rasam, vegetables, curries, raitha, curd and appalam and pickle.

This is one good reason why the children can learn something about the Indian culture through its food. The beauty is that Saravana has a wide repertoire of choice, that sometimes, we find it hard to decide what to try out first, but children pick up fast, and they know what to order after a couple of times.

Restaurant manager, Rangasamy Dorairaj says families can ask for a set of quiz questions for their children to attempt to learn something about the Indian vegetarian dishes served.

“When they are able to answer all the questions correctly, with some help, of course, they will get a little surprise gift,” he said.

Moreover, for those of us who have not tasted what a good Indian vegetarian restaurant can offer, Saravana offers more than just the food. It is the experience. The entire family need not travel as far as to Chennai to try out some of the best cuisines that Saravana serves here.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in all sorts of gastronomical delights – Western, Middle Eastern and Asian.

At The Vergine (Italian for ‘Virgin’), they like things fresh from the oven.

Anything fresh and “virgin” such as the virgin olive oil and virgin coconut oil, is supposed to taste better.

In fact, after two years, The Vergine has decided to launch a fresh new set of dishes. This has brought delight to regular customers such as Jenny Ngiam, who has tried nearly every dish at the Vergine.

“Now, that they are starting to serve sea bass, I like the way they prepare the Pesto Mint Oven Baked Seabass (RM22.00) served with baked potatoes,” she said.

Taste is very subjective. I personally prefer their Lemon Dill Pan Seared Seabass (RM24.00) with sautéed vegetables and mashed potatoes. When I find the fish is too bland, I like some good gravy that goes with it.

The other new dish is the Lemon Honey Glazed Pork Chop (RM26.00) with sautéed vegetables and crinkled fries. Portion is a little too big for one person, but before long the whole piece was gone as different people had a piece each. The way it is prepared makes the pork chop a lot juicier than what I had expected on first impression.

For starters, I particularly like their Prosciutto Ham Crostini (RM14.00) which comes with wholemeal bread tomato, basil, pesto and ham. It is what gives me the oooumph for a salad, so if I decided for the day to eat nothing else, this would it! They also have from their old menu, the Tropical Salad (RM10.00) which is a mixed salad with a honey dressing, orange, dried cranberries and honey dew.

Worth trying out from the old menu which I hope will remain is their wild mushroom soup (RM10.00) which is rich in mushroom, which I thought would give me the real oooumph if they put a little more salt and perhaps pepper to it. But it is really up to one’s preference. For that same reason, given the new soup on the menu, I would go for their Minestrone Soup (RM15.00), because I also enjoy the way the croutons are prepared.

In fact, I think either one of these two soups goes well with their Creamy Pork Pot Pie (RM15.00) – where the pork sausage is served with mixed vegetables with cream. I give this the big thumbs-up, especially when it is still fresh from the oven and hot. As they always say, ‘The proof of the pudding is in the eating’ – wait till you try it!

The biggest disappointment I would say is that this signature dish had to be shared between three of us, but that means when I get to go back to this family restaurant at Desa Aman Puri again, I would order the same dish with no hesitation. This time I will make sure it is all for myself.

Jokingly and feeling nostalgic of childhood times, one of the food tasters said: “Pot Pie by Popeye (referring to the cartoon character of Popeye the sailor man) definitely tastes yummier than what Bluto could offer today! Darling Olive, I wonder if this will make me strong like the good old spinach.”

Children who have never watched Popeye should be given to the introduction to it, as the Popeye episodes are now available online to understand their grandparents’ era.

So, despite the launch of a new set of dishes last Sunday, their old repertoire of dishes remains, as they have already their own followings. I cannot agree more.

Good thing is that, according to one of the partners Patrick Tam, the new launches are only part of their soft launch.

“We are gathering feedback from our clients to further improve ourselves,” he said.

You should also try their Al Pesto Spaghetti (RM15) which comes with pesto, chicken and mushroom. Their Bacon and Potatoes (RM10.00) which comes as baked diced potatoes with bacon and rosemary can also be a good starter.

For lunch, when you feel like taking nothing but salad, try their Grilled Chicken Salad (RM15.00) which comes with chicken, capsicum, onion and honey mustard dressing, when you feel you have the appetite for something heavier, ask for their Lemon Thyme Chicken Chop (RM18.00).

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in all sorts of gastronomical delights – Western, Middle Eastern and Asian.