Saturday November 8, 2008
Drink a dragonfruit!
By LIM CHIA YING
EATING OUT
A FRESHLY blended dragonfruit drink has become the iconic item served at an outlet in Shah Alam.
At Pine 38 Restaurant, Cafe, Bistro in Shah Alam, the dragonfruit drink is an apt complement to its menu of mainly Asian dishes plus some Western offerings. It is also a refreshing experience to sip this beverage, which is not usually available at other outlets.
Yummy with rice: The Assorted Wild Mushrooms with Broccoli The dragonfruit from which the drink is made is harvested from a 24.3-hectare (60-acre) orchard in Bentong, Pahang, which the outlet owner co-owns with a partner.
The dragonfruit is of the red-fleshed variety, which is sweeter than its white-fleshed counterpart.
According to the restaurant’s head chef, Ariffin Mohd Hayat, a glass of the drink is blended from a whole fruit.
“No water is added, so the drink is a pure, thick concoction. Also, no sugar is added as it’s naturally sweet,” he said.
Refreshing and pure: The freshly blended dragonfruit drink. Dragonfruit drinks aside, the outlet does whip up some decent and unusual dishes.
The outlet, which is nearly two years old, serves Asian and Western favourites in a family-friendly cafe setting, with something for everyone.
The outlet has two storeys; the ground floor is done up casually with stone tiles on its walls and serves for informal dining.
The upper floor is rather more luxurious, with marble tables fit for fine dining, sofas to lounge in, a pool table, and a bar corner serving non-alcoholic drinks.
Decorating the outlet’s walls are framed paintings by local artist Harris Ribut depicting his signature fat ladies and their graceful movements.
For starters, the Pine 38 Lempeng Kelapa with Sambal, which is coconut pancake with sambal accompaniment, is something unique.
Informal: A cosy and informal setting for friends and families to gather for a nice meal Although only simple ingredients go into making the pancake – coconut, flour, water and salt – the result is quite satisfying, especially when dipped in the sambal.
“It’s one of our house specialties,” Ariffin said. “It reminds one of simple kampung food.”
The Pine 38 Nasi Goreng Kambing offers fried rice with a twist – with mutton cubes added to it for extra taste and texture – something rarely available elsewhere,
Fried rice with a difference: The Pine 38 Nasi Goreng Kambing has mutton cubes that lend it texture. The meat might be slightly dry, but the rice is not too oily and the dish makes an interesting change from the usual varieties,
“We also have our Pine 38 Nasi Lemak, which is favoured for the fried fish that comes with it, cooked a la minute, and sambal sotong, at a value-for-money price of RM10.90,” said Ariffin.
He also recommended the Soft Taufoo with Oyster Sauce, with garlic and salted vegetables lending taste to the white taufoo.
The Golden Creamy Prawns (in which creamy sauce is drizzled over the prawns) and Assorted Wild Mushrooms with Broccoli are said to be two popular a la carte dishes to go with rice.
For some Western fare, there is the Boneless Chicken Chop and Sirloin or Steak with the standard 220g of beef.
Ariffin said customers would often hang out there till late in the night, sipping gourmet coffee or teh tarik.
There is also free Wi-Fi connection for customers to go online. Alternatively, patrons can chill upstairs and enjoy a game of pool in air-conditioned comfort.
The restaurant has two branch outlets, one in Solaris Mont Kiara and the other in Bandar Baru Bangi.
> PINE 38 RESTAURANT BISTRO CAFE (main outlet), No. 1, Jalan Tengku Ampuan Zabedah H9/H, Seksyen 9, 40000 Shah Alam (Tel: 03-5510 8371). Business hours: Daily, 10am to 1am. PINE 38 at Solaris Mont Kiara (Tel: 03-6203 7651) and PINE 38 at Bandar Baru Bangi (Tel: 03-8925 0603).
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