Restoran Makan Makan

From The Star

By JADE CHAN

Restoran Makan Makan
5 Jalan Anggerik Vanilla M 31/M
Kota Kemuning
40460 Shah Alam
Tel: 012-2727862 (Simon) / 012-3796046 (Cynthia)
Business hours: Tues-Sun, 8am to 6pm. Closed on Mon.

Pork free

Eating at Restoran Makan Makan is like taking a walk down memory lane – most of its meals are served on coloured metal plates that are reminiscent of those from our grandparents’ and parents’ generation.

“Our concept is based on the old-school, homestyle cooking, and we specialise in all-time local favourite snacks and comfort food most Malaysians are familiar with,” said Simon Lau.

For the love of food: Cynthia Oh and Simon Lau opened the restaurant to share their passion for eating and cooking, and as an extension of Lau’s in-laws’ tong shui business.

The restaurant, which opened in June 2007, is operated by partners Lau and Cynthia Oh, and occasionally assisted by their respective spouses May Soo and Kaiser Tan.

Lau, Soo, Oh and Tan are a group of childhood friends who grew up in Petaling Jaya, and enjoyed serving guests with their home cooked food.

Soo explained that their restaurant is a natural extension of her parents’ tong shui business, and a way to share their passion for eating and cooking.

“My parents have been operating a tong shui stall called Soh Soo’s Desserts at Kedai Kopi Khoong in Seapark for over 30 years.

Sweet concoction: The Bubur Cha Cha is one of the several types of tong shui served at the restaurant.

“My husband was previously in the pest control business, but we were looking into venturing into something else,” she said.

“He sold off his business, then we roped in Cynthia (and her husband) to open this restaurant that is like a spin-off from my parents’ stall, with more items added to the menu.”

Oh said that most of the dishes were prepared using their own recipes and those from their families.

Some of the restaurant’s bestsellers are Tom Yam Fried Rice, Mee Mamak, Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken, Yong Chow Fried Rice, Loh Mai Fun (Glutinous Rice) and Anson Chee Cheong Fun.

The tong shui, which come in hot and chilled varieties, include Red Bean, Pulut Hitam, Gingko Barley Fuchuk, Bubur Cha Cha and Sea Coconut with Longan.

Thai flavour: Restoran Makan Makan’s Siamese Laksa come highly recommended by their owners.

“Our tong shui is very popular among our customers, especially the Gingko Barley Fuchuk and Bubur Cha Cha. The texture is very smooth and its prepared fresh early every morning.

“We also have special tong shui that is served during weekends, like Mak Chok (wheat cooked with gula melaka), Green Bean and Tapioca,” said Oh.

The restaurant’s Siamese Laksa and Wu Tau Kow (Yam Cake) come highly recommended by their owners.

“We used to cook the Siamese Laksa whenever we had a gathering, and our friends gave us good comments about it,” said Soo, who got the recipe from her sister-in-law.

“The soup is a rich concoction of santan (coconut milk), spices, curry paste and fish stock from ikan kesmbung.

“We serve it with strips of ikan kembung and garnish it with mint leaves, bunga kiantan and cucumber.”

A variety of tong shui: (clockwise, from bottom) Sea Coconut with Longan, Gingko Barley Fuchuk and Pulut Hitam.

“The Yam Cake is a recipe of mine, and we can assure you there’s yam in the cake. It’s a steamed dish served with dried shrimp, spring onions and fried onions, as well as homemade chilli and sweet sauces,” said Oh.

She also makes the kaya for the Toasted Bread with Kaya and Butter snack, a Hainan-style snack that is available throughout the day.

The Glutinous Rice dish features rice steamed with stir-fried ingredients like onions, garlic, dried shrimp and mushroom, then topped with peanuts and spring onions for a crunchier flavour, while the Anson Chee Cheong Fun is a dish of steamed chee cheong fun that has its skin wrapped with dried shrimps and turnips.

“Its named after Teluk Anson (now Teluk Intan, Perak), and a lot of our customers say this dish is very similar to the one found there,” said Soo.

If you have room for more, choose from the wide array of Nyonya Kuih, including Bingka Ubi, Kuih Ketayap, Mochi, Pulut Tai Tai, Onde Onde and Pulut Inti.