Food | VOIZ asia

The ice cream bell still rings in Bentong

by Stephen Ng | Dec 27, 2017 | Food

Anyone who has visited Bentong will know that there is a coffee shop that is more famous for its ice cream than what its signboard suggests.

After all, who would not have a natural craving for some good ice cream, ais batu campur (ABC) and cendol especially when they have heard so much about the popularity of Kow Po Coffee Shop in Bentong?

It is not only the children, but the adults too enjoy the ice cream here because it is both smooth and silky. What is important is that the ice cream tastes fresh and there is a good variety of flavours to choose from.

They have about ten flavours which include chocolate, pandan, peanuts, coffee, coconut, banana, strawberry and vanilla. If the family is in a hurry, they can also stop by to ask for ice cream on the cone. Each scoop is RM4.

Whenever we come here, we usually go for the Jumbo which is shared out with the whole family, but on my own I would take either their Cendol Kow Po Special (RM5.00), which comes with red beans, ice cream, cendol and attap seeds, or their ABC Ice Kacang Kow Po Special (RM5.00).

The history goes that a Teo Chew man, the late Tan Soon Chuan relocated from Alor Setar to Bentong in the early 1950s. He started the special homemade ice cream business in 1956.

Because business was good, his son Tan Kow Po, now 83, and his wife soon joined the business; before long, he became known as the “Bentong Uncle Ice Cream”.

Most young children in this town have grown up loving his ice cream, which was a rare treat in those early years. To have an ice cream in the 1950s was a luxury that not every child could have.

Image via GoBentong.com

Through word of mouth, soon people from outside of Bentong also stopped by this shop on their trip to the East Coast. This was prior to the development of the East Coast Highway.

Although the traffic has been diverted from Bentong town, most people still make a detour here to just enjoy the ice cream. Last year, they celebrated their 60th anniversary in business.

When we went there two weeks ago at about 3pm, it was initially very quiet and we thought we were the only customers there. We were of course wondering why we were the ones there.

After about 15 minutes, for some reasons, guests just flocked in; before long, the whole place was already packed with people.

From whence they came is a big question mark but I am not surprised that with durians as the biggest attraction to Bentong these days, people come here for both the durians and the ice cream, which is nothing but a perfect combination.

Read my simple analysis of Kow Po’s marketing success formula here.

Kow Po Coffee Shop is located at No 2 Bentong Heights, 28700 Bentong, Pahang.

Tel: 09-222 1258 / 016-931 0391

Business hours: 10am to 7pm every day

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kow-Pow-Ice-Cream-Bentong/155123184564368

Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/kjUydWgk4ns

Waze location: https://www.waze.com/livemap?zoom=17&lat=3.52262&lon=101.91081

Let me tell you one little secret about Bentong ice cream

Oh Raub, your original fish head curry is still mesmerising…

Tanah Aina is about Conquering New Frontiers

Let me tell you one little secret about Bentong ice cream

by Stephen Ng | Dec 27, 2017 | Food

Anyone who has patronised Kow Pow Coffee Shop in Bentong will realise that they have a right marketing formula for success.

Although some may say that the ice cream is pricey for a small town, from the marketing point of view, they have got all three other P’s correct.

Besides the product, location (place) and customer loyalty (mainly domestic tourists), there is also a fast turnover of guests. There is also a lack of competition; after all, people come to Bentong, they are looking for something local that is cheap and nice.

Image via TripAdvisor

Unlike the commercially factory-produced ice creams, here the ice cream is manufactured in small batches using fresh ingredients every day. This helps them to sustain just for the day’s business.

This is important as most customers can feel the freshness of the ingredients that they use; for that reason, they come back for more, bringing their friends along. Cleanliness is also very important when patrons bring their expatriate friends. The word of mouth spreads:

“Whenever you go to Bentong, go for their ice cream.”

The downside is that some of the locals start to boycott the place because they find the prices becoming too steep for them; this is why anyone in the restaurant business must always learn to be appreciative of local support as well. Sometimes, I boycott certain restaurants because of the attitude of its owners or staff, which shows the importance of People in the marketing equation.

Like in Penang, Gurney Drive has become the place for tourists, but domestic tourists like me are avoiding such places because we know the place has become too artificially commercialised. A lack of local fans also show that something may not be right with the prices or the attitude of the hawkers there.

But until there is a stronger competitor, with the right pricing for equally good ice cream and its proprietors are more people friendly, business can only grow stronger for Kow Po Coffee Shop.

Besides me giving them media publicity in most English dailies that I was writing for as a part time writer in the past, there are other newspapers and food bloggers who have given them the boost.

Word of mouth is very important in the food and beverage business. After the articles appear, people will check out the place. When they like it, they will tell others about it (like the ant scout telling its friends where the sweet stuff is) and soon people will follow the crowd.

Today, aided by social media, word of mouth can spread very fast for the better or for the worse. It is a challenge that every restaurant operator faces to ensure that they have their four (some say five) P’s correct – Product, Price, People and Place.

Even I am drawn to this coffee shop every time my family make a trip to Bukit Tinggi or Genting Highlands even if we have to drive another 15 km to Bentong, or like on this occasion after a night’s stay at the beautiful eco-resort of Tanah Aina Farrah Soraya in Raub.

After a short drive to Raub to try out the famous Ratha Raub’s original fish head curry, we checked out Kow Po Coffee Shop, which is located just beside Hong Leong Bank (or opposite the Bentong bus station).

Keeping to just one shop also means that the shop is always packed during peak hours but the number of customers at any one point in time is manageable by the number of staff working.

Most people, especially those from outstation, will tend to flock to an eatery which looks packed than one that is empty. This is why after nearly 20 years of watching their business grow, I have decided not only to write about their ice cream, but make a simple analysis that will provide some good insights for other restauranteurs.

Click here to read about Kow Po Coffee Shop and what it has to offer.

The ice cream bell still rings in Bentong

Oh Raub, your original fish head curry is still mesmerising…

Tanah Aina is about Conquering New Frontiers

A good Milligram for young and old alike

by Stephen Ng | Dec 19, 2017 | Food

Although the façade did not suggest it to be an eatery, Milligram Coffee and Eatery at Taman Mayang (just behind the old Mayang Plaza) is a nice, cosy little place for a good meal.

Or, in the afternoon, instead of having a siesta, it is a good place to hang out for a cup of coffee and some deserts with family or friends. Unlike most indie cafes, this one is different because you can feel their creative juices here. There is even a drink called Obama.

Its owner and co-founder, Robbie Kwong picked the name because they wanted a name that is short and sweet.

“A lot of guests misunderstood a café as either too much of a coffee place or too much of an eating place; here, Milligram Coffee and Eatery adopts a hybrid concept of comfort food and specialty coffees,” he says.

Besides serving artisan coffee, Robbie’s team of young and enthusiastic attendants, barista and chefs concoct new beverages, prepare meals and serve the dishes to guests with a lot of passion. Some of their signature dishes appeal to the appetite of both the young and the older folks too.

For example, we love their New Age Chicken Chop (RM22.25) which is basically a plate of Pan Seared Chicken Chop with assorted sauteed vegetables on carrot puree and black pepper sauce. All three children who joined us in the food tasting said they loved the chicken chop. I personally tasted it and I would also give it the thumbs-up.

Their Pork Bacon Pasta Carbonara (RM22.25) is also recommended. It is cheesy and creamy, and the kids simply fell in love with it.

Older kids with good appetites generally love their Mother Porker Burger (RM26.50) served with Zuchinni fries because it is generally filling enough.

According to Robbie, it is people with the passion that can make a difference to the food here.

“We have a myriad of cooks in the team, three full timers and two part timers currently, all of them which have zero experience prior to joining Milligram,” he elaborates.

“Although they have never attended any culinary courses, we firmly believe in one thing – if you have the passion, you can cook. We always believe the core of our cuisines revolves around comfort food, more like home cooked meals with pork, of course!”

When Milligram was first set up in December 2014 by Robbie and his wife, Trincy, who was working in the banking industry before joining Milligram full time, they had in mind of serving comfort food. Robbie himself was a graphic designer prior to starting Milligram.

This explains why he enjoys serving artisan coffee. Although the place is just a simple eatery with no posh decorations, it has a nice ambience to it that makes guests feel comfortable to dine with their family and friends.

I strongly recommend families, especially those with younger children, to check out their food here.

“We wanted it to be a place which can bring good memories of our childhood days, when we used to have our burgers at the fast food outlets,” Robbie explains. “We want our adult patrons to feel young again, when they eat here; hence, we have names like the Hulk and Lazy Pig to spice up the day.”

The connoisseurs, on the other hand, will be able to tell that the beverages and the meals here are prepared with a lot of passion.

The Hulk (conjuring the image of The Hulk starring, Edward Norton as scientist Bruce Banner who was desperately looking for a solution to reverse the gamma radiation that transformed him into The Hulk in the 2008 Science thriller) is a mixture of coffee and green tea.

“We have fans who like the way the Hulk is concocted so much that we are doing well with this drink,” he said. “Others prefer the classic Expresso, Cappuccino or Latte.”

I tried to discourage the children from ordering their orange juice with lime, thinking that it is too common and there is nothing much to write about it. However, to my surprise, on one sip, I think Robbie and his team have got it to near perfection – it is simply refreshing especially on a hot afternoon. This is something that you must try!

I asked Robbie about the Lazy Pig (RM27) and how it came about. All I can remember was when we were young, we used to call our siblings by such nicknames.

“It is a signature dish which is basically the pork shoulder topped with cheese,” Robbie explains.

Again, being more health conscious these days, my personal choice is the Milli Salad (RM16.95), which comes with raddichio, orange slices, romaine, red oak, jap cucumber cherry tomatoes top with vinaigrette and parmesan sprinkle, but I get to taste a little of every dish served.

Milligram Coffee and Eatery is located at No. 8, Jalan SS26/4, Taman Mayang Jaya, Petaling Jaya, 47301 Selangor

Tel: 03-7497 4358

Business hours: 11AM–11PM (7 days a week)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/milligramcoffee/

Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/NPx941VyUP52

Waze location: https://www.waze.com/livemap?zoom=17&lat=3.11659&lon=101.60488

On-Demand Delivery, a new trend to be watched

by Stephen Ng | Dec 19, 2017 | Food

With both parents working these days, online food deliveries are gaining traction fast especially when the food is delicious and appetising to both parents and their children.

The cost of delivery is also reasonable (RM4 per delivery anywhere in the Klang Valley) and the deliveries are made within 90 minutes after the online order is placed. The food come in disposable microwaveable boxes.

Considering that parking is a hassle in most places and petrol prices have gone up, RM4 is affordable for most families and office colleagues who jointly order their lunch boxes.

It is also a great idea for Christmas get-together or Pot Bless (some call it ‘Potluck’) dinners where each family is expected to bring a dish each to share and do carolling together.

Recently, I was offered to do a review of online food by Mammam Deliveries, which has a central kitchen in Petaling Jaya Commercial City (PJCC). I particularly like the idea of their online orders for “dish only” local cuisine which is halal, and the beautiful thing was that it also caters to small group gatherings. Food is delivered straight to the home where the gathering is held.

At a public speaking skills for a group of young children whom I am coaching, parents come together. The initial plan was to meet at 8pm after dinner, but when the offer came from Mammam Deliveries, I thought it was a great idea to have the food reviewed by the mothers and children themselves.

After all, being a working Blue Monday for most parents, Mammam’s signature meals came in real handy. If they had delivered to my home, I would have the hassle of inviting family and friends to come and help finish up all the food.

The response? Generally the feedback from parents and children was positive especially for certain dishes. I particularly like Mammam’s Butter Chicken with white rice (RM15.00), the Chicken Rendang Nasi Lemak (RM16.90) and the Tom Yum Fried Rice (Spicy) (RM13.11).

I would give Mamman Deliveries the thumbs-up for all three meals, especially their Chicken Rendang Nasi Lemak, being a fan of chicken rendang myself.

A pleasant surprise was when a mother, Elaine Xie who hails from Shanghai said that she likes the sambal.

“Although it is spicy, I really like it,” she said,

adding that she would prefer having acar (pickled vegetables) instead of normal vegetables.

Unfortunately, I did not get to taste the Chicken Chettinad (Varul) (RM15.90), the Indian Fish Curry with White Rice (RM17.90), Nasi Lemak Goreng (RM15.90) and Mee Hoon Goreng Tom Yam (RM15.90), but others tried them and their comments are on a simple video that I produced.

Besides over 30 dishes (Vegetarian, Indian, Thai, Malay, Chinese and all-time Malaysian favourite) to choose from, Mammam also has a wide variety of other cuisine and cookies.

Mammam Deliveries can be accessed online at https://www.mammam.com.my/.

Toll Free: 1800-88-6266

Ordering Time: 9.30am to 10.00pm (7 days a week)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mammamdeliveries/

Mobile Phone Apps: Mammam

Energy Bowls to be featured prominently at Coffea Coffee come Dec 16

by Stephen Ng | Dec 15, 2017 | Food

Energy Bowls will be featured prominently at Coffea Coffee from December 16 onwards targeting at the health conscious and fitness fans.

People patronising the gymnasiums in Desa Sri Hartamas and Mont Kiara would be happy to know that the Energy Bowls will now be available within a few minutes at the café.

And when all four signature Energy Bowls make the debut at two of its outlets (in Desa Sri Hartamas and Subang SS15) come Saturday December 16, you will be able to enjoy its Chocolate Warrior (RM17 inclusive of GST) which tastes like ice-cream and truly my favourite.

What is comforting is that it is not fattening, since the Chocolate Warrior is nothing but a cold (refrigerated) smooth blend of banana, peanut butter and cocoa powder, with toppings of banana, chocolate granola, peanut butter, drizzle, coconut flakes and buckwheat groats.

On both Dec 16 and 17, if you present the discount card (see pic) you will get a discount of 10 percent and tell them that you read about it in Malaysiakini.

It is easy to understand that it is not always possible for cafes and restaurants like Coffea Coffee to go fully on health food, but this new range of health food is a good starter.

Their other Energy Bowls are Sunrise Bowl (what a name!), Pink Flamingo and their Christmas special — the ‘Berry Xmas’ Energy Bowl.

The Sunrise Bowl has all three tropical fruits in the blend – banana, mango and pineapples with toppings of mango, apple crumble granola and coconut flakes and chia seeds.

For those who love dragon fruits, the Pink Flamingo is also a good choice because my children and I have tasted it and found it yummy. It is a blend of pitaya (red dragon fruit), pineapple and banana, with banana, apple crumble granola, coconut flakes and buckwheat groats as its toppings.

For those who love raspberries for health reasons, their Berry Xmas is a good choice. Banana gives it a good sweet base. Toppings include white dragon fruit, granola, coconut flakes and buckwheat groats.

For their usual meals, their Pasta penne with creamy chicken mushroom (RM15) is a favourite with the children, as it is both cheesy and creamy. I tried a bit of all their pasta and found this to be particularly good, and decided to let all four children with me to finish up everything, while being watchful of my cholesterol level, I took the Caeser Salad with Poached Egg and Grilled Chicken (RM12) and tasted a bit of everything.

The Aglio Olio (RM 15) looks good but slightly spicy for me, but surprisingly, the children love it, along with their waffles, which come with either a scoop of ice cream and choc sauce, or with egg benedict, ham and cheese (RM12.90).

For all-day dining (the café is closed at 12 midnight on weeknights and 1am for weekends), their pastry puff with chicken curry (RM11.90) and pastry puff with creamy chicken mushroom (RM11.90) are good to order along with their Latte with Peanut Butter (try this unique cold drink at least once and you will love it).

Since Mont Kiara has a few international schools, Coffea Coffee with its English Breakfast (RM18.90) is ideal for teenagers who want to have a good breakfast before they start school. It is easy to pick up the breakfast pack if you pre-order the food.

They also serve Pasta chicken pesto (RM15), Panini with smoked chicken & cheese (RM17.90) and Lasagne (RM12).

The children love their pasta here and prices for a place like Mont Kiara and Desa Sri Hartamas are still surprisingly below RM20; therefore, this is a good place to stop over either before or after a visit to the National Science Centre

Coffea Coffee Sri Hartamas is located at 1, Jalan 26/70a, Desa Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

Subang Jaya outlet: A-10, Jalan SS 15/4d,, Ss 15, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor

Tel: 03-6206 5510

Business hours: Mon, Tue, Wed, Sun 8 am – 12 am / Fri and Sat 9 am – 1 am

Waze location: https://www.waze.com/livemap?zoom=17&lat=3.1625&lon=101.64855

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoffeaCoffeeMY/

Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/WV9ArdGvd1N2

Aunty Lee’s mesmerising authentic Peranakan Melaka cuisine

by Stephen Ng | Dec 14, 2017 | Food

Aunty Lee’s Restaurant at Plaza Arkadia in Desa ParkCity is frequented by doctors from a nearby medical centre for very good reasons.

These medical professionals have taste buds that drive them to an undisputed signature dish from the entire range of authentic Peranakan Melaka cuisine that the late Aunty Lee has left behind as her legacy.

Expatriates living in Mont Kiara, Petaling Jaya and Desa ParkCity may want to know that the legendary Aunty Lee, who passed on a few years ago, started her restaurant in a simple restaurant setting in Taman Sinn, Melaka in 1997, serving authentic home-cooked Peranakan Melaka cuisine. It has since become one of the most popular places for authentic Nyonya delicacies.

When a group of us were invited to do the food tasting at Aunty Lee’s first licensed restaurant outside Melaka, now located at the posh up-and-coming shopping arcade, everyone voted the Udang Masak Lemak Nanas the No 1 Nyonya dish.

John Ong is a northern Peranakan foodie fan, while his friend, Cherise Boey is a seasoned foodie fan and food critique from Penang. Former Sun managing editor, Lee Boon Siew is born and raised in Melaka, while his wife Ann Lee is also a food enthusiast with Penang taste buds.

They were the ones who picked this signature dish as their No 1 favorite dish, while it took me a long time to decide. After the food had “settled down”, I asked myself, “Now, if I have room for more food, what would I crave?” Always watchful over my cholesterol level, I found myself pointing to this one dish!

The prawns taste fresh, but what is appealing to my taste buds was Aunty Lee’s unique pineapple curry sauce. It was so yummy that I decided to salvage (table manners aside) whatever that was left over after the prawns were gone by asking the restaurant owner, Jackson Tan if I could pack the leftover curry home to enjoy with some bread. Perhaps, because of our suggestion, you will get to enjoy it with mantao soon.

Jackson with his son

It was then that I realised that Peranakan Melaka cuisine had very much more time to evolve, as the Peranakan community in Melaka have been in this part of the world much longer (since the era of Hang Li Po in the fifteenth century) than the Peranakan in the northern region.

And being closer to Johor, which was once a world producer of pineapples, it is easy to understand why southern Peranakan cuisine love to include the sweet tropical member of the bromeliad family.

The pineapple is also used in Aunty Lee’s Kerabu Timun, which is served as an appetizer. It is a mixture of cucumber, shallots, pineapple, galangal flower served with sambal belacan, sugar and lime juice.

The fruit has an “exceptional juiciness and a vibrant tropical flavour” and according to the George Mateljan Foundation, the pineapple is one of the healthiest foods in the world.

The pineapple contributes to the great taste in the Nyonya style of cooking. If I may borrow the famous line from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, “That which we call a ‘ripened pineapple’ (instead of rose) by any other name would be just as sweet”. It brings to mind the caricature of Aunty Lee and her sweet signature smile.

Another of their signature dish is the Cili Garam deep-fried fish topped with Aunty Lee’s special salted chili paste. According to Jackson, his son, Jeremy goes to Kuala Selangor to buy the fish and prawns fresh from the fishermen directly.

The Ayam Pong Teh, which is basically chicken and potato stew Nyonya-style, is suitable for children, because it does not use the chilli. The chicken is a home-cooked Malaccan Nyonya dish using onion, garlic, potato, black mushroom, taucheow (or fermented soy-beans) and braised slowly with gula Melaka.

My Number 2 favourite dish is Aunty Lee’s Otak-Otak. This steamed fish cake is well-spiced and topped with sliced onions and chilies to give it a perfect taste to my taste buds.

For those who love anything spicy and hot, Aunty Lee’s sambal belacan complements some of the cuisine. Before I forget, their Pie Tee is also a good appetizer to begin the meal with, and it is to be eaten with hot braised julienned turnips, condiments, and homemade chili sauce.

The Acar Ikan Asin Kurau is another great appetizer to try out. For the deserts, if it is in season, a scoop of Durian D24 paste can make the difference to the cendul, served with shaven ice, gula Melaka and red beans.

Cincalok, being well-known in Melaka, one may want to try Aunty Lee’s Cincalok omelette as this is not widely offered in other restaurants.

And, as I go through the menu again, I realise that Aunty Lee has a number of other signature dishes beyond just the few that we tried recently. Being located in a posh area, it is understandable that rental has to be factored in. A dinner for six adults and two children with the number of dishes that we had costs about RM500. We felt that it would have been ideal to have another two adults on this food tasting adventure.

Their portions are reasonably large; hence, for a smaller group, instead of the regular size for their Udang Masak Lemak Nanas (RM99), you can order a Small Portion (RM59).

Rightfully, the same dishes could comfortably feed a table of 10 adults, which would average out to approximately RM50 per head. The fresh seafood is about a third of the total cost; this does not take into account the drinks/dessert/taxes/service charges.

Therefore, if a group of colleagues, alumni or friends come together to try out Aunty Lee’s delicacies here and share the cost, it is not too much especially when you can have all the signature dishes here, besides enjoying the camaraderie of good company in the comfort of modern facilities instead of taking a drive down to Melaka.

Come prepared with a camera, as you may wish to take photographs of the cosy ambience of a modern Peranakan home. Read my 9-year-old son’s blog here.