Restoran Kent, Desa Jaya

By Stephen Ng

The long-forgotten cinema of Desa Jaya in Kepong which existed side-by-side with the wet market some 30 years ago, may have lost its lustre, but not the open-concept Chinese restaurants nearby, which still serve cheap and good food.

In fact, Restoran Seat In Kent, despite having a name that sounds unusual, it is one of a few rare Chinese restaurants that seems to be very successful in attracting even customers from the Indian community.

Regular customer, Jaspal Kaur from Desa Jaya, for example, had no hesitation to admit that she and her family hold nearly all their family functions here. “We like the food and the prices are reasonable,” said the assistant manager of a maid recruitment agency.

For slightly above RM100, one can have a sumptuous dinner of six dishes, which among others, include their signature dish – the Nyonya Steamed Fish.

The proprietress, Chong Chu Moy, 32, from Melaka said they have over 100 different dishes and styles of cooking. Interestingly, there is no standard menu. “This gives us some flexibility to prepare our food to suit our guests’s taste buds,” she said.

Their signature dish Nyonya Steamed Fish is a bestseller. “We only use Red Tilapia, and it is cooked with ginger, chilli padi sauce and lemon grass to give it the sweet and sour taste that our customers like,” she said.

Invited guests for the food tasting session, Jennifer Chong and her husband, Andrew Ong said they liked the Nyonya Steamed Fish and the Vietnamese Prawns.

The Vietnamese Prawns are cooked as a curry dish, with chilli, ginger and carnation milk, instead of using coconut santan.

Living in Taman Bukit Maluri, Ong’s sister, Ong Kwee Mooi, a teacher, and her former school colleague, Martina Ng of Damansara Heights concurred. “The Vietnamese prawns taste good and it is healthier to use milk than santan,” said Ng, who said she also liked the fried tauhu.

According to the chef, Tan Eng Hock, 45, the home-made tauhu can either be fried or deep-fried.

“It is hard to fix one standard menu to suit everyone’s taste,” he said. Hailing from Tanjung Sepat, Tan, who is also known by his nickname, “Chef Ah Fook”, has been a chef for over 20 years.

“Our tauhu is stuffed with fish meat, squid, salted eggs or carrots, and it is a favourite dish for children,” added Chong, who manages the restaurant with the help of her husband, Kent Gan Keng Chai, 42, from Muar, Johor.

Another dish, the Yam Basket with Deep Fried Mantis Prawns is also a favourite among patrons to this restaurant. “It has two different tastes, using the red mayonnaise on the prawns and white mayonnaise for the lettuce underneath,” said Chong. “In fact, we produce our own yam basket in Johor Baru and supply them to restaurants in the Klang Valley.”

The last dish, the Marinated Steamed Pork Ribs is cooked with herbs and served with mushrooms to give it a natural sweet herbal taste. “We have different styles of preparing the pork ribs,” added Chong. “Our customers will usually tell us how they like it prepared.”

Kent Gan and Chong have started operating the restaurant since 2003, after taking it over from the original owner. Restoran Seat In Keat is located at No. 3 Jalan 16, Desa Jaya, Kepong. They are open only from 4pm to 1am, seven days a week, except on Mondays once every fortnight. To check out their location, check their website www.restorankent.com or contact them at 012-6077022 or 012-6694923.

Direction: As soon as you enter into Desa Jaya in Kepong, you will notice the BHP Petrol Station on the left. You can ask the parking attendant here where the Desa Jaya wet market is or just drive behind the row of shophouses beside the petrol station. You will see an abandoned old cinema beside the wet market. Restoran Seat In Kent, a corner restaurant, is just a stone’s throw away from the cinema.

Picture Captions:

IMG7412: Signature Dish: Nyonya Steamed Fish

IMG7359: The Vietnamese Prawns are cooked as a curry dish, with chilli, ginger and carnation milk, instead of using coconut santan.

IMG7368: Yam Basket with Deep Fried Mantis Prawns is also a favourite among patrons to this restaurant.

IMG7372: Marinated Steamed Pork Ribs is cooked with herbs and served with mushrooms

IMG7444: Fried Tauhu is a favourite among children