CHAIWALLA & CO

Hello hoppers!

You know, I don't just blog about food and eateries. I much rather write about the people behind a successful brand. So today, I'm featuring the face behind this cafe, CHAIWALLA & CO.

The driving force behind this successful small-medium business is a Mr Nazrul Hakim, a young lad still in his early thirties. Suprisingly he has no prior experience in the F&B world. He, in fact worked in the shipping industry for more than a decade and climbed the corporate ladder until finally he earned his Masters!

So why opened a cafe, you asked? Well, this business plan was embedded in his mind long long time ago, when he was still an employee. While his friends and colleagues would spend money on luxuries, he saved his own with the vision that he will use this as an investment to open his own business. Fast forward many years later, he felt the time was right to implement his dream and tadaaaa, CHAIWALLA & CO. was born!

Me interviewing the boss

MEANING OF CHAIWALLA:

Chai means tea in hindi.
Walla means someones who serves.

UNIQUENESS:

The look of this cafe is so simple yet compelling. 2 containers stacked on top of the other, the upper one used as storage and the lower one serves as a cafe counter. They are, in fact, the first in Malaysia to implement the container cafe idea! The industrial look is both mod and rad! So original, so creative, I love, love, love their concept!

WHY THE TAGLINE HONEST TEA?

Because the boss loves tea? hehe. And he believes honesty is the most important value in any kind of business. So honest+tea, geddit? :p

FOOD:

CW & Co serves a variety of drinks and pastry. So before you order, you might want to look at the menu at the counter. Too confusing! What do I order? Aha, lemme guide you step by step;

* Choose a BASE - Tea, Milk tea, Coffee, Fresh Milk, Smoothies.

* Choose a FLAVOUR - Caramel, Pure Honey, Saffron Rose, Double Choco, Winter Melon,                                                      Strawberry, Apple, Japanese Matcha, Banana, Vanilla, Mango,                                                              Passionfruit, Pure yogurt, Ice cream, Lemon!

* Choose a TOPPING - Pearls, Grass Jelly, Pudding, Coffee Jelly, Yogurt Pops, Basil Seeds, Nata de                                        coco AND my favourite, PINK POPS!

Vietnamese Coffee

Ice cream Brownie with a dose of caramel

Pies available in mushroom chicken or black pepper beef filling

TEABLES?

It is the name assigned for the group working in the cafe. Hmm why? Oklah I say for the 2nd time, the boss LoVeS TEA and also a fan of the band Beatles. So again we do some math, tea+beatles & jumble the alphabets a bit and you get ........<give yourself a pat in the back!>


VISION & CULTURE:

The vision of Chaiwalla & Co is that they want a brand that engage with the community, the subculture and serves as a platform for fashion, arts & music. And they, as a young company, also aims to educate and empower the young people and aspiring entrepeneurs out there! <1000 rounds of applause!!>

COLLABORATION:

So far, Chaiwalla has collaborated with many like-minded people; the group of architects who will display their creative work at the cafe and they will also be joining forces with the ever so popular band, BUNKFACE! Psst, from what I heard, dari sumber-sumber yang boleh dipercayai, Bunkface will make an appearance on *cough* 2nd November *cough*. Did I hear the squeals of excitement from the girls?

So singaporeans, if you want your tea to be brewed & served by the members of Bunkface, save the DATE & beat that causeway jam!!

What impress me most is that Chaiwalla is shorlisted as one of the top 20 finalists, out of hundreds of submissions, for the Alliance Bank SME Innovation Challenge! What an achievement for a 2 year old brand! True to the intention of the owner, he hopes his success will be an inspiration to the Malay/Muslim community to further involved themselves into the world of business. Kudos to you & your team!!



   Chaiwalla & Co. Container Cafe

1. Address: Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Bandar Johor Bahru, 80000 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

   Phone:+60 17-622 4536

   Hours: Open today · 9:30 am – 10:30 pm

    Note: They also have another outlet at The Curve, Damansara

The Finest Tea Shop

Hello Hoppers!

The cafe that i'm gonna feature today is a small family owned business tucked right in the middle of quaint changi village. I am totally excited about dropping by their cafe because firstly, they serve gourmet tea, ahah I am totally a tea person. Tea has that magic on me whenever I feel sleepy. Yes, not coffee. Funny eh, don't know why my body reacts in an opposite manner, haha!

Secondly they have rainbow cakes! Yay to colorful layers of happiness! Let's see what else, I spotted ondeh-ondeh cupcakes..nutella cheese tart..chocolate banana cake..speculoos..Eh! Are you all drooling or what? nevermind, me too except that I got to taste those heavenly delicacies! :P

Ok ok let me tease you all with the pictures.

Indoor and outdoor dining available

With the lovely managing director, Sharifah Radhiah

I'm telling you, this ondeh2 cupcake is da bomb! I love the fine texture of the cake, the sweetness of the gula melaka filling and the lightness of the frosting! And Chocolate Banana Cake, could you be anymore delicious looking? <sigh>

I am usually not a fan of tarts just because the pastry base are sometimes too thick, the filling too little but THIS Nutella Cheese Tart is so divine! Special shoutout to Madam Nooraini, the mommy aka chief baker, for baking all these Mmmdap pretty food!

At first thought, this two makes a very weird combination for lunch but somehow they worked! 
Pure Ceylon green leaf tea with strawberry, cranberry & passion fruit flavour + homemade Mee rebus.

The different tea leaves and flavours that are available there

Tea Books that are presentable enough to make as gifts.

This cafe will definitely be my favourite weekend hangout. Good tea, delicious cakes, nice people. Hopefully by the next time I come, they restock my favourite Spring Tea, 100% pure ceylon green tea & cherry! (wink to radhiah ;) Just manage to sniff the last of that tea leaves earlier, boohoo! If you guys wanna drop by, here's the address:

The Finest Tea Shop
4 Changi Village #01-2060
(smack right in the middle of those bicycle & picnic tents shops)

Dapur Penyet

Hello Hoppers! 

It's makan time, any idea on what to eat later? I'll give you all some recommendations yeah. How about chicken? Specifically, chicken penyet. This is my go-to dish, my comfort food, my favourite in the whole wide world! Yeah i know, I'm a bit dramatic ;P

Simple dish it is. Just some chicken deep fried and smashed, fried tofu, slices of cucumber, tempeh and sambal. But wait, the ayam penyet served at this eatery is by far the most delicious I've tasted! The meat is so moist, tender and seems that it almost melts in my mouth! Maybe it's the spices that were used, the hours to marinate those chicken perfectly or the right temperature of oil. Hmm, I need to ask Pak edy what is the secret ingredient here!

Speaking of Pak Edy, this young lad is the owner of Dapur Penyet here in singapore and overseas, namely in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. He has that typical personality traits of an indonesian: warm, welcoming, friendly and sincere. I am not overly praising here but thats what I realised about indonesians in general. I have good friends back in Jakarta and Bandung. My grandparents were themselves from Sumatera. Its just that they have this intangible aura that makes you feel right at home, don't they?

Pak Edy and myself

He mention to me that he treated all his staff like business partners. All bosses should have this kind of mentality right? When you have bosses like this, you tend to approach work with more dedication and I think in the F&B industry, when you put your heart and soul to a job, it will show ultimately, in the way you serve your customers. All this will in turn reflect only positive things back to the business. So kudos to Pak Edy, the gorgeous ibu Hilda and the staff at city plaza outlet.

Sulas, besides ayam penyet, what else do they have? Ahh, not only chicken hokay, Dapur Penyet also serves other sumptious food like Ikan Penyet, Oxtail Soup, Soto, Gado-gado and many more. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

AYAM PENYET
Also available with other sambal like Padang Green chilli, Balado and Manado Rica. The chicken meat is oh-so-tender!

IKAN JOGET SUNDA
This smashed fried sundanese dancing fish got the name from the body that curved during deep frying. The fish is so crispy I can just bite on the bones like they are some kind of crackers, haha.

AYAM SAMBAL HIJAU
The basic ayam penyet dish with Padang Green Chilli. The same chicken dish with different type of chilli. I'm not into spicy food but I can stomach this!

EMPAL PENYET GURIH
Smashed fried marinated beef. I like the taste but this is a bit chewy for me.

SOUP BUNTUT
Near authentic taste of oxtail soup. This is a one of the staple dish in indonesia. Comfort food for me when I'm in Jakarta!

AVOCADO JUICE
Some versions out there has a very thick and overpowering scent of avocado but Dapur Penyets' light, delicious and addictive!

BAWAL BAKAR KECAP
Grilled pompret fish with black soya sauce.

All of the above dishes are best eaten with piping hot white rice. I am already hungry looking at all these food photos! You too? There are also more food choices in their menu. I'm aiming to try their Soto Ayam Lamonc-an and Es Cendol next!

But Sulas, City plaza is totally out of the way/ I live at the opposite side of the island! Tsk, fret not! Here are their other outlets addresses:

- Clementi Mall Foodfare

- City Square Mall Food Republic

- Tiong Bahru Plaza Kopitiam

- Lot 1 Mall Food Junction

- NUH Level 3
- City Plaza Level 1

- 23 Baghdad Street (coming soon)

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HFH Mmmdap verdict: 9/10

Dapur Penyet restaurant certified halal.

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Pondok Jawa Timor

Hello Hoppers!

So, what is your first impression when you walk by and see a posh looking restaurant; wooden panels exterior wall, fully airconditioned with glass door and dim lighting? That this must be a very high class eatery that charge exorbitant prices for their food? Well, this one is an exception! I am talking about Pondok Jawa Timor restaurant located at 737 North Bridge Road.

In fact the moment I step into this restaurant, with my two hyper children no less, I automatically feel welcomed and at ease from the friendly service of the staff. Pheww! No snobbish attitude here! The waitress are patiently describing to me the different type of dishes that they have and are complying to my kids tastebud-intolerance with anything hot and spicy! They are more into soupy kind of dishes, yeah yeah they got that from me :P

Fortunately they have Sop Buntut (Oxtail Soup) in the menu. Trust me, the sound of this dish is kinda yucky but the moment you tried it, you'll be coming for more. What else did we try? The husband ate Nasi Kuning Komplit while I chose Javanese Chicken Fried Noodle. This turns out to be my favourite! It has so much flavours and not oily at all :)

So when I was invited by the business development manager and the owner to come back and try more dishes, I say why not!

One week later.

Now that I'm alone sans the hyperactive kiddos, I can take better pictures (no fidgety small fingers infront of the lens!) and sloooowly take the time to really taste more dishes! Muahaha! So my first order:

Corn Batter with prawns 3pc (sgd 5.70) 
This is something like prawn fritters except that this has more vegetables and peeled big juicy prawn!
Excellent sides for tea break!

Nasi Uduk (sgd 7.50)
Indonesian version of nasi lemak. Normally I would skip the ikan bilis but the ones here are so crispy and mmmdap!

Nasi Campur (sgd 7.90)
The star item here is the telor balado, hard boiled egg with homemade spicy sambal.

Nasi Rendang Pecel Kediri (sgd 8.50)
The spicy peanut sauce just gives an extra kick to the overall taste of this dish.

Balado Fish (sgd 8.50)

Chicken Satay (sgd 8.90)
No ketupat here but homemade chilli sauce and sweet peanut gravy for you to dip the satay into. This is still my
  STAR FAVOURITE! The chicken meat stays moist and flavourful despite it turning cold.

Es Teler
What can be more refreshing than having this for dessert! This fruit cocktail of avocado, coconut and jackfruit served with milky ice.

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HFH Mmmdap verdict: 8/10
Pondok Jawa Timor is certified halal.

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Hello sunshine! Welcome to my humble blog. Let me introduce myself. My name is Sulas and I am a melting chocolate lava cake addict! Hmm, sometimes red velvet cupcakes, at other times swenson ice cream cake! And yes, if you are wondering, I appreciate other type of food as well, especially when the food is tasty and served with good presentation. I am a non fussy eater, simple like that :)

Why do I start this blog? I always find myself cafehopping, mallhopping, pasarhopping just to look for that place to satisfy the rumbling belly! Even on those satiated times, there's always the desire to lookout for halal delish food or in HFH term, Mmmdap! Of course, the eateries must be halal-certified and/or 100% muslim-owned. So usually after sharing the pictures and location of the eateries in my own personal facebook account, there will be requests from my friends to dedicate a page just for the food posts. So I thought, why not eh, since I'm free and I can type fast, ehem. Aaaand voila, HALAL FOOD HOPPER was born!

My first post on Halal Food Hopper FB page was on Friday, 12 September 2014, 12.20am. Yes I am meticulous in choosing the timing. Bahaha, nah! But I like Friday :), just because it means the weekend is around the corner!

Fast forward 3 weeks & many FB posts later, Halal Food Hopper accumulated 3000+ fans! Woot woot! It meant a lot to me when the information that I've shared got many likes and shares by the fans. It also mean that there are people out there who share the same love for food hopping like me! Yay, shoutout to you Hoppers ;)

Soon, collaboration enquiries and requests from cafes and restaurants to be featured in HFH page flood in. Wow, I never really expect that my humble page would get any attention from them, let alone for them to pay me to write and promote their brand. Truly, opportunities come when you least expect it. 

Enough about me. My next posts will be on the eateries that I've been invited to. Till then, cheerio!