Station Kopitiam - Cineleisure, Mutiara Damansara

A visit to Station Kopitiam @ Cineleisure Damansara reminded me of the following news on Kosmo not too long ago. This eatery located on the Ground floor of Cineleisure serves a variety of fusion Malaysian and Western food. Reasonably priced and the food did not taste bad at all. The concept is similar to a restaurant on the Lower Ground Floor of Summit USJ. I am not surprised if the owners are the same people but using two different names.

I ordered the Sizzling Chicken Chop with Fried Rice and KN the Black Pepper Steak with Fried Rice. For drinks we both had a glass of Iced Cham each and Red Plum Ice Blended Juice.

Sizzling Chicken Chop with Fried Rice

What interest me most were the waiters - only one was a Malaysian, a girl, who obviously wasn't the head waitress. This was a real turn off especially when you have to struggle when ordering - imagine the waiters speaking very little or no English and perhaps no Malay at all. What we did was point at a photo but the trick came when a waiter had to come back and tell us that the drink we ordered was not available. I suddenly felt that I was perhaps in Bangladesh - how silly being in my own country but having difficulty to communicate in one of the local restaurants. Maybe it's about time we Malaysian learn their language huh? The head waiter who was a Bangladeshi as well wasn't of help either because he just stood there with his back turned to us, minding his own business at the cash register. Every time we call for service using their high tech 'door-bell-like' system, the head waiter automatically shuts the bell down without even turning his head to look at who was calling for service.

Black Pepper Steak with Fried Rice

Lucky for us the food was nice - I hope a local chef prepared it, not that it matters really but I just hope the owners had at least paid a local chef. To restaurant owners, isn't it enough that at one time our petrol stations are dominated by foreign workers, aren't there anymore Malaysians willing to work at your restaurants? Or are you offering too little a wage for any Malaysian to consider it attractive? Think about it. Think about the damage it would do to our tourism industry let alone the annoying experience your local as well as foreign patrons have to go through.

NEGARA

Pekerja asing ‘kuasai’ kafe ala kopitiam

Oleh SAHLIZAH MOHAMED
sahlizah.mohamed@kosmo.com.my

PEKERJA asing ini melayan tetamu di kafe ala kopitiam di Kuala Lumpur.

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KUALA LUMPUR – Jika semalam Kosmo! mendedahkan sebuah kedai kek dihasilkan dengan ‘air tangan’ warga asing, kini rangkaian kafe ala kopitiam terkenal juga berbuat perkara yang sama.

Mereka juga terlibat membancuh air dan menyediakan makanan yang dipesan oleh pelanggan.

Malah, warga asing yang bekerja di situ turut menjalankan tugas sebagai pelayan, walhal permit kerja untuk mereka memang terhad kepada beberapa sektor antaranya sektor pembinaan, perladangan dan perkila- ngan.

Tinjauan Kosmo! semalam mendapati, pelayan kafe itu yang kurang fasih berbahasa Inggeris menghadapi kesukaran untuk memahami pesanan yang diminta sehingga terpaksa berulang-alik ke meja yang sama sebanyak beberapa kali.

Mak Tim Restaurant - Sajian Asli Warisan Johor

This restaurant is located right at the roundabout opposite the Glaxo Smith-Kline (previously Sterling) factory near Taman Sri Keramat. It is at the one end of the DUKE Highway (still under construction). I've been eying this place for a very long time as the tag line 'Sajian Asli Warisan Johor' has been calling for my Johor-food-freak's attention.


The place is actually a corner lot house and you'll be able to see it from the main road. As a matter of factly, parking will have to be by the road sides. Ambiance wise, OK la.. not at all posh, more of a gerai style but at least the sky is covered if it rains but unfortunately the place is less than 50 meters from the DUKE construction site - we were there for dinner so the work had stopped for the day.

Of course, when at a restaurant claiming to be serving authentic Johor food, I would be looking forward to try their Laksa or perhaps Soto Nasi. From a nephew whom we met there that evening, claimed that Mak Tim serves the best Briyani Gam in town so KN ordered a plate of Briyani Gam Ayam and a glass of Watermelon Juice.

Beriyani Gam Ayam

I ordered, what else, a plate of Laksa Johor and Ubi Rebus served with Sambal Tumis and a glass of Air Mata Kucing.

Laksa Johor

Ubi Rebus with Sambal Tumis

From KN's facial expression while eating the Briyani I know that the food wasn't up to expectation. I couldn't agree more with my Laksa Johor. It didn't taste like Laksa Johor at all but what I like about it was the noodle - they use the real home-made Laksa Johor noodle, not spaghetti like most of the shops selling this dish do. The Ubi Rebus was nice except for that it came in cold.


What was really nice that night was the Air Mata Kucing - boleh lawan la the one at Petaling Street! Cayalah!. I am sure there are many more pleasing dishes sold here and perhaps some of the dishes I've reviewed here may turn out just fine to some people's taste buds. I'd say, go try yourself, then you'll know.

Sambal Belacan - My Style

I have always complained that the sambal belacan at the places i've been to are not up to my liking... not my style, especially those served with Laksa Johor at Laksa Shack, AJ Restoran Masakan Melayu Johor ke or Restoran Mak Tim Warisan Asli Johor. So Ka'Ngah was kind enough (again) to prepare me some of my favorite-styled sambal belacan. Ahahaha nak buat sendiri tak reti... Malu je! Komplen pandai!

So I bought Laksa Johor from Laksa Shack with the usual white laksa noodle (the kind served with Assam Laksa) and hentam ate it with lots and lots of my favorite-styled sambal belacan... Huhuhuhu one little secret though (I bought two packets of Laksa Johor and finished both at one go... now tell me why am i complaining about high blood sugar again? - Hope my doctor doesn't read this heheheh)

Ahahhaah Tengok pun Boleh Terliur...