Fat Spoon Cafe @ Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya

Located in Damansara Utama, Fat Spoon Cafe is a Halal restaurant specialising in Chinese and Nyonya dishes. It is not the typical Nyonya restaurant that serves traditional dishes but they have a selection of Rice and Noodle preparations which are normally prepared in Nyonya homes and some of these dishes are hard to find these days. 

Fat Spoon Cafe in Damansara Utama

Small Outdoor Seating Space

The Entrance

Small Outdoor Seating Space

Set Lunch

Some of their top sellers

The restaurant is designed to look rustic and there is a small outdoor seating space. To me somehow, the design looked rather cramped.

Indoor Seating Area

Indoor Seating Area

Cutlery

Not only the outdoor seating space, their indoors too was quite cramped with tables being arranged so close to each other. I can't blame them too. The building itself was rather small and the high rental in this area forces them to accommodate as many customers possible at any one point in time. Though they charge a service charge of 10% added onto the bill, their service was nothing great. None of the waiters had a smile on their face and they were all working for the sake of working, without passion for customer service. At the time that we arrived, the restaurant was quite full and they were understaffed. It took them a while to attend to the tables and at that point, I did not see any reason why I had to pay them the 10% Service charges.

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

Their menu was simple but sufficient. They covered a range of Chinese and Nyoya dishes and also some burgers and sandwiches. It is good that they have also included some vegetarian dishes in their menu. It took the waiter almost 20 minutes before he could get my orders, simply because they were understaffed that evening. Their prices seem to be on the high side too, not a place that we could drop by every other day and perhaps only occasionally. 

Cold Water @ RM 1.00

Coca Cola @ RM 4.00

Wow...they are charging RM 1.00 for a glass of water, thats expensive and the price of RM 4.00 for a Coca Cola is almost double that of the market price. 

Homemade Popiah @ RM 8.00

Homemade Popiah @ RM 8.00

The Filling

I love Popiah and whenever I see it on the menu, it is a must that I order it. Here for two average size rolls, they were priced at RM 8.00 which is on the high side. The fillings were good though but it slacked on the sauce thereby making it bland and almost tasteless. I could get much better ones in the food court in SS2 for a third of the price. I would rate this at 3.5/10 .

Fat Spoon Noodles @ RM 10.00

Fat Spoon Noodles @ RM 10.00

Chili

I have heard that their Loh Shi Fun is good here and suggested that to my brother but he was in the mood for some soup noodles and therefore had ordered this dish. This dish again was a disaster. The soup was flat and in any noodle dish, the soup is the one that gives life to the dish. The ingredients were lavish but the flat soup had killed the dish and all other effort that had been put into the dish, had just failed with it. In fact he only had a third of the dish, since he was hungry and left the remaining balance. I would rate this at only 4/10 .

Ulam Fried Rice @ RM 12.00 + Add On Mackerel @ RM 3.00

I ordered the above Ulam Fried Rice which is supposed to come with a piece of Fried Chicken but they had recommended me to upgrade it to a piece of Fried Mackerel for an additional RM 3.00 and so I did. 

Ulam Fried Rice

This Ulam Fried Rice was delicious. Contrary to the earlier dishes, this was really good and in fact, it had been one of the best Ulam Fried Rice that I had ever tried. The flavours were just perfect. I would rate this at 9.7/10 .

Papadam & Long Beans

Good that the Papadam was fresh and hence not foldable he he. The Long Beans were also nicely prepared just the way that it would be in a traditional Nyonya home. I would rate their Long Beans at 9/10 .

Fried Mackerel

This was heavenly. The Fried Mackerel was perfect, just perfect that you would want more and more of it. No wonder they had suggested me to upgrade to this. The flavours were just awesome. I would rate this Fried Mackerel at 10/10 .

Chili Paste

If you love Chili, then this is a must try. It is provided along with the above Fried Rice. The preparation was perfect and the balance of ground chili, Belacan and lime was just splendid. Well done on this guys! I would rate this at 9.8/10 .

Opening Hours

My assessment of this place is that we have to be selective on the dishes that we order. The first two were definitely a disaster but the Ulam Fried Rice was just fantastic. Perhaps, as per the other reviews, their Loh Shi Fun may also be good. 

Address: 73, Jalan SS 21/1A, Damansara Utama,

                47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Opening Hours: Tues - Thurs: 1130 - 1500 & 1700 - 2200

                            Fri - Sun : 1130 - 2200

                            Monday: Closed

Telephone: +603 7728 3323

Email: fatspooncafe@gmail.com

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

Ah Tuan Ee's Place @ Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya

Frankie Cheah started Ah Tuan Ee's Place in January 2000 in memory of his late mother Madam Lim Chye Tuan also fondly known as Ah Tuan Ee or Auntie Ah Tuan. Hailing from Penang, their first outlet was started in SS2, Petaling Jaya. Over the years, they have been wining the hearts of some loyal customers with their authentic flavours and when their business started to grow, they started their second outlet at The Curve, Mutiara Damansara. 

At Tuan Ee's Place at The Curve

Outside Seating Spaces

Interior of the Restaurant

Interior of the Restaurant

Interior of the Restaurant

This outlet at The Curve is located on the First Floor on the Western Courtyard. It is not a very large outlet but good enough to handle their usual daily crowd except on weekends when it tends to get very busy. From the outside, it may look like a typical Chinese restaurant but once you are in, the decoration simply brings you back to the Nyonya restaurants of yesteryears. 

The  Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

I love the fact that they have rightfully used the word Nyonya Cuisine instead of Peranakan Cuisine because both are worlds apart and this is a term that is commonly misused. Their menu is quite simple but is packed with a good deal of Nyonya dishes. I also respect the fact that they have included a number of vegetarian dishes in their menu to cater for fellow Vegans as not many Nyonya restaurants out there have catered for that segment. Being a Saturday, the restaurant was quite full despite the fact that we arrived here at only 9 pm. Nevertheless, the staffs were very attentive and managed the crowd well. Though I would have loved to try more dishes tonight, it was just the two of us and both of us were already quite full from a heavy lunch and hence our orders was catered more for a light meal. 

Cutlery

Coca Cola @ RM 4.80

Once the orders were taken, the cutleries and drinks were served. I ordered the above Coca Cola and it was priced slightly on the high side at RM 4.80 per can. My friend had a glass of Warm Water and that was priced at RM 0.80 . Once again, for a glass of water, RM 0.80 is definitely premium price. 

Char Kuay Teow @ RM 12.80

Closer Look At The Char Kuay Teow

The first to arrive was the plate of Char Kuay Teow which was priced at RM 12.80. For this place and the quantity, the price is acceptable. Their CKT was very well prepared. There were loads of bean sprouts, eggs and prawns in the dish. Cockles were not included and I personally would have loved it better if that was included in the dish. The preparation was slightly on the spicy side which is typical of the Nyonya style of preparation and to me, this was a good dish. I would rate this dish at 8.5/10 .

Fried Tang Hoon @ RM 12.80

Fried Tang Hoon

Their Fried Tang Hoon was the next dish to be served. This was not as spicy as the previous dish but had a Serai aftertaste to it. Now, this may be preferred by some and again it is a matter of personal preference, but I found it to be quite interesting and a definite contrast to the Chinese style of preparation which I am commonly used to. A fairly good dish that deserves a rating of 7.8/10 .

Sambal Kiamhoo (Small) @ RM 16.80

Closer Look At The Chunks of Salted Fish

Sambal Kiamhoo is another authentic Nyonya dish which is hard to find nowadays. In most of the Nyonya restaurants that I have visited, this dish is always omitted from the menu for some reason. However, I was delighted to find it here. This dish is typically made of chunks of Salted Fish which is cooked with loads of chili, onions and tamarind. The dish, was acceptably spicy with a definite punch and a taste to remember. I would rate this dish at 9.6/10 .

Chicken Loh Bak (Small) @ RM 17.80

Chicken Loh Bak

This dish is prepared using marinated lean Chicken Meat, Turnips, Carrots and Spring Onions rolled with Bean Curd Skin and deep fried to a golden brown colour. Chili Sauce is served on the sides for those who prefer to dip them and have it slightly more spicy but for me, it was good to be eaten on its own as that brought out greater flavours of the chicken and the other ingredients in the rolls. Another excellent dish here that deserves a rating of 9.5/10 .

Overall, though not being able to try their other signature dishes that go perfectly well with white rice, this was still a satisfying meal for us. I would definitely return here again to try out their other dishes which I missed today. If you are looking for a good place to try authentic Nyonya cuisine, then Ah Tuan Ee's is definitely a great place to visit.

Address: No.155, Level 1, Western Courtyard, The Curve,

                Mutiara Damansara, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Telephone: +603 7710 3603

Opening Hours: 1000 - 2200 Daily

The SS2 Outlet: 74, Jalan SS2/72, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

                            +603 7877 5221 

Website: http://www.ahtuanee.com/my/dsp_home.html