The T Cafe, Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands [Uncle SG]
” Uncle Soon Guan (SG) became a Chartered Accountant to avoid inheriting his father’s business as a noodle vendor which gives only a tough life.
He grew up with operators of all kind of street food (his father’s friends), which has given him an extensive knowledge and love for the subject. ”
From a Cameron Highland website I came to know about this world famous café, the T café. Its along Main Road, Tanah Rata above Marrybrown the fast food restaurant through a side entrance.
On the Saturday we arrived at lunch time, quite a number of tables were full, its business better than the fast food place downstairs. Service was fast. Owner, Terese came to wait on us. Came prepared we wasted no time placing our order. The four of us had chicken chop western style, lamb chop and veg burger, strawberry fruity scone and the original plain scone and slices of chocolate cake and apple pie. Besides a strawberry flavored tea we tried a highly recommended mango Lassi. We did not order soups and many other local fried noodles, available in the menu.
The T café is owned by Terese and her family. Opened some 7 years ago with a certain uncle John, it soon became Terese’s when the partnership did not work out. She was thrown in the deep end as she only had management skills but not those to run an entire restaurant operation. She had to pick up from scratch and also learnt through customers’ feedback to evolve her menu.
The café is so well known that it was listed on a Lonely Planet’s publication. She does not have a great chef nor kitchen staff. Instead it was a true labour of love, straight from the heart. It is a daily process of continuous training for her and her team of loyal staff . Looking at her, a slender smiling lady you would not think she is the owner as she looks more like a dedicated restaurant captain who multitasks and keeps busy without a moment respite. One moment she waits at tables, next she’s printing the bill.
The tag line for the café – “ Enjoy mum’s home cooking in a cozy and relaxed setting” accurately describes it all. Spread in two smaller rooms and a bigger hall are tables and chairs not standard in designs and materials. The hall houses also the food dispensing counter and the cashier’s table. Chairs come in wicker rattan, wood and plastic, no uniformity intended. Small potted plants are placed at window sills. Old furniture like a Chinese wooden food cabinet was used to display books. An ambience of recycling prevails, no old furniture to be discarded. This endears many customers used to such settings in their grandparents’ homes. There were a few bulletin boards with letters, post cards and all kind of notes from happy customers from all around the world!
At first bite, we were not disappointed. My chicken chop was boneless chicken breast meat that came with baked potatoes and vegetable salad. The garlic sauce was just right with the tender juicy meat. Every bite begs quickly for the next one.
The lamb chop was a generous three pieces well marinated, tender and juicy meat. The potato chips that came with it were fatter than the usual ones and crispy, thanks to their quick arrival from the kitchen.
The veg burger made from tofu was unusual but nonetheless, a good item for vegetarians or the more health conscious among us.
The scones came with Devonshire cream, in-house made strawberry jam and butter. We would have liked more cream and butter. The scones did not crumble much when cut and they tasted great with the slightly salted butter and cream.
The apple pie came with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. I liked the not so thick crust and the juicy apple fillings which was not too sweet or sour. The moist chocolate cake was scrumptious. A carb con
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March 5th, 2010 at 9:17 am
I visited there 2 years ago. Unique place, but they definitely need to improve on the customer service.