Wednesday August 6, 2008
Two friends open restaurant serving western and eastern cuisine
By JADE CHAN
STEP into Frames Café and your eyes will immediately be drawn to the shelf and wall displaying framed photographs featuring a variety of themes, including landscape, architecture and nature, in both colour and black-and-white.
“We wanted to create a place where people could come with friends or family and, upon seeing the photos, reminisce about the past,” said Mark Foong, who, together with university classmate Xanthus Kong, is a director of the café.
“We were brainstorming for concept ideas when we thought of the photography community who usually spend a lot of money on their hobby but have no space to display their work.
Creating memories: Frames Café has a chic black-and-white décor jazzed up with purple cushions and colourful framed photos. “Our present collection features 200 to 300 photos by three or four photographers, all of which are available for sale.”
Frames Café’s menu has a mix of Western and Eastern flavours, from salads like Thai Papaya Salad, Egg and Potato Salad and Balsamic Mushroom Salad, to main courses like Chicken Tikka, Sambal Udang, Cheeseburger and Rack of Lamb.
The Balsamic Chicken Salad features a generous serving of grilled chicken in balsamic vinegar dressing on a bed of mesclun, while the Rack of Lamb offers grilled lamb rack in rosemary sauce, served with gratin, corn on the cob and baby carrots.
Pasta fans can opt for classics like Lasagne, Penne Carbonara and Aglio Olio, or try the Mushroom Mascarpone, Italian Herbs Pesto and Tri Colour Pasta.
Something healthy: Balsamic Chicken Salad. Those who want to combine seafood and spiciness can go for the Pasta Diablo — a serving of fresh seafood sautéed with spices and olive oil tossed over fiery spaghetti.
For dessert, savour a slice of yummy Dark Chocolate Cake or Classic Tiramisu.
Kong recommends the (non-alcoholic) mocktails, Italian sodas and frosties as thirst quenchers.
Popular mocktails include Laura Lora, Rhizomus, Blue Annanas, Apple Grappa, Ice Berg, Tropicana Cooler and Red Sangria, while it is Lemon Twist, Orange Twist, Watermelon Lychee and Signature G-Frost for the frosties.
For Italian sodas, choose a glass of Deep Ocean, Berrae, Gramoluchi, Highlander or Deep Purple.
Running their own restaurant was a natural progression for the two friends in their mid-20s, who enjoy food and meeting people.
Foong said they had initially put their dream on hold to work in the corporate world to gain experience while being able to network and explore their options in the food business.
“We gave up our jobs to gain some hands-on experience in the food industry by taking up management trainee positions at a popular restaurant franchise.
“Within three months, we had learnt everything from taking orders to customer service and managing a restaurant.
Combination of seafood, herbs and chilli: Pasta Diablo features fresh seafood sautéed with spices and olive oil tossed over fiery spaghetti. “We concluded that the franchise model wasn’t what we wanted, and chanced upon our present premises,” he said.
“We saw a lot of potential in TTDI Plaza because it is accessible, located in a prime spot and has ample parking. Plus, we have a niche in selling food as it is mostly pubs within TTDI Plaza.”
The casual dining Frames Café has a chic black and white décor jazzed up with purple cushions and colourful photos.
Kong said the café’s menu was crafted with their previous restaurant experience in mind.
“It’s a basic menu with a good backbone for future additions like sandwiches and more Asian dishes.
“Our desserts feature mostly chilled homemade cakes at this moment, but we’re planning to expand it to include more warm items.”
- FRAMES CAFE, B-1-3 TTDI Plaza, Jalan Wan Kadir 3, Taman Tun Dr Ismail Kuala Lumpur (Tel: 03-7722 5784). Business hours: Daily, noon-11pm. Kitchen closes at 10.30pm.
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