THE TRANQUERAH,
LG09, Lower Ground Floor,
Glo Damansara,
Jalan Damansara,
Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-7732 5633
Business hours: 10am to 10.30pm.
SETTLED in its new location at the Glo Damansara development since March this year, The Tranquerah still retains much of its interior decor and ambience back from its days at EncorpStrand Mall.
Fans will be delighted to find the same old bottles of F&N soft drinks and cigarette tins, and to add to the nostalgia, you can snack on some ice-gem biscuits while waiting for your food to arrive.
The menu is largely unchanged from the last time my colleague Oh Ing Yeen reviewed this place, although there are some changes in taste to certain dishes, such as the Ayam Buah Keluak (RM33 to RM53).
Where the previous recipe was more curry or rendang-based, the gravy texture here is more watery and includes tamarind which shows through the aroma of the buah keluak.
Ayam Buah Keluak has had some changes, but is still a must have.
The highlight of this dish is, of course, the buah keluak (Pangeum edule) itself, helpfully cracked open by the kitchen, and you use toothpicks provided to scrape out the filling.
The aroma and taste of the filling definitely goes well together with the stewed chicken meat.
Leaving aside Peranakan staples such as pongteh, we tried out other dishes such as otak-otak (RM20 for two pieces) – succulent spicy fishcakes swimming in a pool of santan gravy on a banana leaf, best as a starter.
Another appetiser worthy of your stomach is the Seafood Salad (RM35) – a mix of squid, boiled mussels and prawn thrown together with a light, slightly spicy sauce and garnished with mint leaves for some kick.
Sometimes simplicity is the best like it is with the delicious Kerabu Bendi.
The Kerabu Bendi (RM18) is blanched ladies fingers, served with a fragrant chilli sauce topping with shallots, small fried ikan bilis for bite; best eaten upon serving otherwise the mucilage inside might be a little unappetising for some.
The Ikan Goreng Chili (RM35) (top pic) is a dish perfect in its simplicity.
You get to select the type of fish – either tenggiri (Spanish mackerel) for two large pieces, or one whole bawal (pomfret), which is then lighty battered and fried.
This just serves as a backdrop for the chilli garnish of shallots, candlenut and chilli, made to order.
Seafood lovers should also try out the Sotong Masak Lemak (RM28 or RM38), as well as the Tamarind Prawns (RM45 for eight pieces).
For dessert, you of course have cendol, alongside other dishes like sago served with santan and gula melaka.
Sago served with santan and gula melaka with the strong black margarine-roasted coffee.
But one item worth trying out, and a bestseller, is the Melaka Coffee.
Roasted with margerine, the strong black liquid is then served with gula melaka, a pat of salted butter and some ice-gem biscuits on the side.
“This style of coffee drinking isn’t new to the older generation,” said owner Stephanie Chan, adding that this was one drink her father-in-law had insisted on including when they first started the restaurant.
The palm sugar gives off a different sweet note compared to white sugar, but the highlight is the butter. Adding it into the kopi-o adds another flavour dimension while not substantially changing the mouthfeel.
Since then, Chan added, more and more repeat diners have been asking for the drink to round off their meal.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
