The Seremban-born founder and chef of Baba Kuat, Cheah Cheong Wai had a vision of creating something that is out-of-the-norm with a touch of familiarity and authenticity to it.
The menu consists of meals for an all-day breakfast, set lunches that comes with a drink of the day, vegetable dishes, desserts and of course, refreshing drinks. We decided to give their set lunches a try - all sets are served with one of Malaysian’s greatest dish, NASI LEMAK.
Piki Bowl (RM19.90) is a smoked salmon rice bowl. It comes with Norwegian smoked salmon rosetta served with slices of cucumber, Baba Kuat Pesto (sambal) and anchovies. There was also a side of ulam served with ginger flower that had a refreshing tangy taste to it. The fusion to this dish may sound weird at first -- smoked salmon and nasi lemak, really? But it goes surprisingly well together. Truth to be told, it was actually our favourite!
Next up was the Baked Stingray with Baba Kuat Pesto (RM15.90) - a stingray that is marinated with spicy sauce served with a few slices of ginger flower, lime and herbs on a banana leaf. The fish was a simple dish done right, balancing hints of sour and spicy flavours wonderfully.
Last dish, we had the Turmeric Chicken (RM8.90). We had it ala-carte as it’s not part of the set lunch. It was richly marinated with turmeric, and cooked with herbs, spices, and curry leaves. It was a little bland for our taste, but it was definitely creamy and a distinct pleasant flavour of the turmeric.
Enough about food, for now. Let’s get to the drinks!
Instead of the drink of the day that comes with the meals, we tried their special Vietnamese Drip Coffee with an add-on of RM5.00. The coffee was strong yet smooth and decadently rich. Coffee drinkers, you have to try this!
There’s also a pretty special drink that we’ve ordered at Baba Kuat, it is called the Baba Kuat Tonic Mix (RM4.90). It’s a mixture of lime juice and tonic water with cucumber slices and a few kinds of spices such as, cinnamon, star anise and cloves. It was refreshing and definitely served as a thirst quencher as well as a stimulant for the appetite!
P/S: If you’re looking into caterers for events, guess who does it too? BABA KUAT CAFE.
If you are interested to check it out, you can find Baba Kuat Cafe at L0203, Block D, PJ8 Service Suites, Jalan Barat, Seksyen 8, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
They open weekdays from 7am to 4pm, Saturdays 9am to 2pm and closed on Sundays.