Table Talk
4, Jalan Datuk Sulaiman,
Taman Tun Dr Ismail,
Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-7733 7718
Business hours: 8.00am – 11.00pm
Table Talk is committed to serving fresh and additive-free food.
I HAD no idea what baked egg with cheese would look like, let alone how it would taste but it sounded inviting when I saw it on the breakfast menu at Table Talk, one of the few Western restaurants serving Continental breakfasts in Taman Tun Dr Ismail.
When the dish arrived at my table, it reminded me of a giant creme caramel.
Baked egg with cheese (RM13) camouflages a runny egg under a melted cheese topping. This one had gooey cheddar in the middle and an outer ring of melted mozzarella. Below the cheeses were sauteed sausages and onions in a homemade tomato sauce which I found to be a tad salty. With toast to mop up the sauce though, the saltiness was tolerable. This was a fulfilling breakfast and I wouldn’t mind coming back just for this dish.
Before 11.30am, you can enjoy it as a breakfast set with one complimentary hot beverage (brewed coffee, long black, espresso solo or tea) and you can add a glass of juice for RM3. Baked egg with cheese can be enjoyed until 5pm on the a la carte menu.
The Ultimate Brekkie (RM18) is a platter with a variety of breakfast fare. It comes with two farm eggs (fried or scrambled), turkey ham, sausages, homemade baked beans, rosti potato and lightly sauteed greens served with wholemeal toast.
I only tried the ham and sausages on the platter, which were all right, but the homemade beans tasted “alien” to me.
The restaurant makes the baked beans from scratch with borlotti beans, which are large, plump and pinkish-brown in colour with reddish-brown streaks. These beans have a sweetish flavour and creamy texture.
The rosti potato (pan-fried grated potato patty) was predictable and I thought that for the sauteed greens, healthy spinach (por choy) was an odd choice.
Well, Table Talk wants to promote healthy eating.
This concept is the brainchild of Raymond Tan, 50, one of the partners of the restaurant. He wants to serve nutritious, wholesome meals made with fresh ingredients and wherever possible, they should be free from artificial flavouring, colouring and preservatives. Even the mayonnaise and tomato paste are freshly made in the kitchen.
Such food preparation is time-consuming but the diner is assured that food served here is also free of monosodium glutamate.
If you havea bigappetite, gofor the Ultimate Brekkie.
“With the proliferation of processed food today, eliminating them entirely from the menu is highly challenging,” says Tan. “While we can only profess to use as little processed food as possible, we are dedicated to reducing the percentage over time and hopefully eliminate them totally from the menu eventually.”
The restaurant’s menu is “less formal with more pasta and sandwiches,” says Tan, who insists that the set lunch (from RM13.90 to RM17.90) is a good deal (11.30am to 2.30pm, Monday to Friday).
Table Talk opened last November in the space that was formerly Namaste restaurant. Taking up an invitation to review the restaurant?s offerings, I decided to stop by for brunch.
Before the food arrived, photographer Brian Moh and I shared two beverages.
Granny’s Favourite (RM12) is made from green apple, celery, pineapple and lemon. Brian thought it was refreshing and after downing the shared portion, had a second full serving for himself. I, too, preferred this smooth drink as a thirst quencher over the thick, mousse-like concoction of Anana-Cado (RM12), a blend of banana, avocado, milk and mint. But if you like a high-fibre filling drink, this one is it.
I thought the seafood in the Seafood Broccoli Soup (RM15) was overpowering but it might appeal to other diners.
On the other hand, my main course, peppercorn crusted codfish (RM52), is a dish to rave about. The fillet was served with clams and herbed potato in a seafood broth.
The silky codfish and crunchy, aromatic peppercorns were delicious and the the broth was imbued with a tasty clam juice. The herbed mashed potato was an added bonus as you can eat it on its own or stir it into the broth.
Granny’s Favourite(left) and Anana-Cado.
If you are a seafood lover, go for the giant freshwater prawn linguine (RM28). The grilled prawn was delicious with a rich garlicky and buttery taste, and the pasta was cooked right and flavoured with chicken stock. Having devoured a portion of spinach in the Ultimate Brekkie, I was not too keen on the liberal helping of more blanched and sauteed spinach. Nevertheless, this pasta dish is quite a catch just for the prawn (if you don’t mind the cholesterol).
For nibbles, I opted to try cheesy gnocchi (RM12). The pan-fried potato dumplings with mayonnaise and cheese could not have tasted better.
For dessert, we were treated to pavlova and it signalled a lovely finish to a good meal.
In fact, the red, purplish sauce made with strawberries and beetroot helped cut through the sweetness of the baked meringue “bud” which was crispy on the outside and soft inside.
After sharing the sinful dessert with Brian, I had my (caffeine) fix for the day.
Between making notes, snapping photos with my smartphone and tasting, I must say, I felt really self-conscious. For the first time ever, I had a full audience at a food review. The four restaurant partners turned out in full force together with their public relations consultant and chef, and six pairs of eyes (spectacles not counted) looked at me for signs of approval.
Before we left, I had to find out the brand of freshly brewed coffee I had just enjoyed. Instead of reaching for a pen, I took out my phone to take a picture of the coffee dispenser with the Italian coffee brand on it.
Snap. Got it.
