The Fig Tree Coffee & Restaurant, Damansara Heights

Restaurant offers plenty of choice for Ramadan

By LIM CHIA YING
Photos by ABDUL RAHMAN SENIN

chiaying@thestar.com.my

THIS Ramadan, what better way to celebrate the essence of tradition than to buka puasa the traditional way.

Those who grew up in villages would recollect childhood memories of home-cooked food while many city folks would also appreciate the breaking of fast with traditional dishes.

Digging in: Guests savouring some of the dishes available at The Fig Tree.

The Fig Tree Coffee & Restaurant in Damansara Heights has come up with a special Ramadan menu on a set meal basis that features dishes cooked with traditional recipes.

The set meal kicks off with starters of a choice of either the Spiced Chicken & Potato Soup or the Beef Ball Soup.

Then it continues with the choice of either the Briyani Rice or Nasi Kunyit, with side accompaniments of Ulam Leaves, Pickle Cucumber & Pineapple and Sambal Belacan.

The restaurant's Malay chef Zam Shah Haji Ismail spoke highly of his briyani rice as he had learnt the dish from a Arab chef.

Tasty: The Fish Head Curry is a popular choice.

“Our briyani emphasizes a substantial use of herbs to bring out the rice's flavour and fragrance,” the soft-spoken Penang-born Zam Shah said.

For main dishes, the restaurant has a total of 10 and diners can choose five for the standard set meal.

“The particular course, say chicken or prawns, is cooked in two different styles, so that it gives diners the option to choose one,” said head chef Tony Fu.

The courses start with either the choice of Briyani Lamb Chop or Beef Kurma, the Deep Fried Snapper with Soy and Ginger or the Fish Head Curry, the Fried Prawn in Curry Pulai or the Prawn Petai in Sambal Sauce, the Chicken Kuzi or the Ayam Masak Merah, and finally, the Assorted Vegetables in Lodeh Sauce or the Stir-Fry Vegetables in Soy Sauce.

Zam Shah recommended the Fried Prawn in Curry Pulai, saying it is a Northern-style dish where the cooking approach is dry and without gravy.

Spoilt for choice: The Briyani Rice is cooked with a lot of spices and the chef learnt the recipe from an Arab.

The poultry choice of Chicken Kuzi, he said, is done the Kelantanese way which uses a mixture of curry and kurma seasoning and produces a spicy, sour, and sweet taste.

“For the vegetables, we have the Lodeh Vegetables, whereby greens like long beans, cabbages, and tauhu are cooked in milk,” added Zam Shah.

Dessert is the Sago Gula Malacca, where the sago is first boiled and then left to chill and then poured over with coconut milk. Zam Shah said it is done the Malay version, a twist to the ubiquitous Nyonya style.

Starters: One of the soup choices is Spiced Chicken & Potato Soup.

Guests can wash down their meal with the either Rose Syrup or Bandung.

Fu said not many customers are aware that the restaurant has actually whipped up a special Ramadan menu this month to cater to Muslims or even non-Muslims who are fond of traditional Malay food.

The Ramadan buka puasa set menu is priced at RM39.90++ per person.

THE FIG TREE COFFEE AND RESTAURANT, Ground Floor, Wisma Perintis, 47 Jalan Dungun, Damansara Heights, 50490 Kuala Lumpur (Tel: 03-2089 5231 / 2). Business hours: Daily, 8am to 10pm.