The Humble Food Company @ Desa Pandan

The Humble Food Company @ Desa Pandan happens to be a restaurant that I discovered recently through ShopeeFood.  With a name like Humble, I'm wondering if I should expect humble dishes, humble prices or humble ingredients?  Lol.

I'm also wondering if they were the same entity as Humble Chef once since their name and menu seems pretty similar.  However, if you check Humble Chef's Facebook, they specifically state that they have only two branches in Damansara Heights and Setapak (and that they've already closed their 3 branches in Desa Pandan, Damansara Perdana and Shah Alam).  Hmmm, we've seen this one too many times before...the parting of ways...very common when business partnerships don't work out.  So, I'm only making a guess here that the parting owners took over the latter 3 branches (only they, the owners, know the real story).

Anyway, for my first order from The Humble Food Company, I immediately wanted the Grilled Fish Set Meal @ RM24.90 as the deliciously looking promo pic of the fish convinced me to give this dish a try.  This was how it was packed (I had to pay RM1.50 for the packaging and requested for no cutleries).

My bad for not reading the fine print description of the dish carefully and was confronted with 4 pieces (two of them pretty small pieces) of pan-grilled dory fillet when I opened the box.  Adoi, I'm not a fan of dory fish (who is anyway!) because of its taste and texture...though I'm a fan of Dory in Finding Nemo (just because it was voiced by Ellen DeGeneres.....lol).  As expected, the grilled dory was pretty much tasteless.....and looked nothing like the nicely grilled fish in the photo! >_<

The grilled fish comes with two sides (a choice of fries, mashed potato, cheese omelette, fresh salad or coleslaw) but no pasta (misleading photo in the food pic again).  I chose fries and coleslaw, the latter of which was just sufficiently dressed and was cold and crunchy.  I can't say the same for the fries as they were no longer crisp (as some smarty-pants decided to pack the fish on top of the fries!).  I would have at least packed the fish on one side of the box and the fries on the other so that the hot fish fillets don't steam over the fries and make them soggy.  The set meal also comes with a free drink (mineral water only) though you can pay extra RM3 (for a can of Coke or Minute Maid Pulpy Orange) or RM1.90 (for Ice Lemon Tea).

Besides the nice coleslaw, there was this little tub of appetite-inducing tomato salsa (don't ask my why it needed to be packed in a separate plastic tub when there's still a vacant compartment space in the box). I would have packed the fries in that extra compartment and packed the salsa tub together with the fish. That's why I didn't realise that the salsa was supposed to be spooned over and eaten with the fish (I would have plated it differently if I had known).  I did eat the very refreshing tomato salsa, with chopped onions and bits of parsley and red chillies, together with the fish since the fish was so bland (sans any sauce) and it did taste a bit better that way with additional cracks of sea salt and black pepper.

Another time I tried the Laksa Goreng Set @ RM9.90 (not inclusive of RM1.50 for packaging) which comes with free mineral water.  This is the petite portion (but portion will not be enough even for a petite person), so better go for the larger portion @ RM13.90.

They use laksa noodles (the same ones as assam laksa), so expect it to arrive clumped together (I loosened it up) as the texture of these noodles are really soft.  It may look a bit uninspiring for its lack of ingredients. You have to treasure hunt for the bits of thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms (other options include minced chicken or chicken breast), finely diced green & red capsicum and daun sup (celery leaves).  It had lightly spicy and sourish notes as it was fried with a tamarind-infused shrimp paste.

Luckily, it tasted better than it looked though some will probably complain that the noodles have no ingredients (do bear in mind that this is cafe pricing after all...and any main dish below RM10 is not the norm).  You can opt to pay an extra RM1 to add-on either prawns, beef or smoked duck (that would hopefully make this dish seem less kosong...but RM1 is unlikely to get you much of anything).  In the end, it was an ok dish if you can look beyond the lack of ingredients.  I would say it's something different from the fried noodles I'm used to.

The Spicy Honey Chicken Wings @ RM14.40 (packaging costs a further RM0.50) came with 5 wings and 1 drumette (I'm not sure why they didn't give 3 wings + 3 drumettes equally...fortunately, I like wings more!). Portion size of 6 pcs is good value for the price.

One bite into the wings and I could only taste the crunchiness of the spicy sauce coating (in parts) as they arrived steaming hot/soggy in its packaging.  Perhaps they would have been sufficiently crispy if served on-site.  The amount of chilli oil left at the bottom of the paper tub was worring in the beginning as I thought it'd be very spicy....but no, the spiciness was very tolerable.

The wings were surprisingly very tender and juicy (not sure if it was because of the steam created in the packaging that made it that way).  Flavour wise, I had no complaints (though I didn't taste the honey or any sweetness).  But would it compete with 4Fingers for my affection?  Well, the answer is obviously no....at least not until they learn the secret of how to maintain the crispiness of their chicken wings in the recipe itself or when enroute to the customer (like 4Fingers)...haha! :D

My Personal Opinion

The menu is simple (nothing that'll wow you in terms of creativity) with the usual western food of pastas (some with local twists), chicken chop, grilled chicken, grilled lamb, mushroom soup, salads and snacks.

The food I've tried thus far are pretty standard fare with acceptable tastes (not sure the reasons behind their overly good rating).  The prices seem reasonable (if based on cafe prices) but portions can be a little small (for the lower priced dishes) with minimal ingredients.  Perhaps, it might seem a bit more worthwhile if you're dining in and able to take in the ambience of the cafe? ;)

Besides the one in Desa Pandan, they now have 4 branches including Damansara Perdana, Shah Alam and Bangi (with a new 5th outlet opening soon) if you're interested to try.  In the end, the dishes were certainly humble....the ingredients definitely humble.....the prices maybe not so humble (in relation to portions and ingredients)...lol.  The food experience was just borderline for me though I doubt I'll be wanting anything more from them.

The Humble Food Company

12-G Jalan 4/76c

Desa Pandan

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Roti Bakkwa @ Taman Shamelin Perkasa

Christmas came and went.....and so has the New Year.  No new clothes.....no gifting...no special meals....no get-togethers...well, basically no fanfare (at least for me)!  And I expect Chinese New Year to be pretty much the same.   Let's hope we can get out of this rut in 2022 and finally put all this behind us (though I'm not holding my breath).  This pandemic has changed our lives forever, especially in the way we interact....it has changed friendships, relationships and family dynamics.  We try not to congregate in large numbers (even if it's a celebration of some sort or a festivity) unless absolutely necessary just to be safe...and, after a while, that becomes the norm of what we're comfortable with so much so that I don't even miss not dining out.  And just as we were getting to grips with the highly transmissble Omicron variant, we now learn of the new IHU strain...when will it ever end!

Even though dining out is allowed now, many are still cautious....even my spouse is not so in favour of it.  I don't even miss eating out now although we have started to dine out minimally but are selective.  We only eat at familiar places and tend to choose open-air spaces or non-airconditioned places.  We avoid popular, crowded places and small, confined spaces without well spaced out tables.

Eliminating new eateries, perpetually crowded places and closed-up air-conditioned spaces (in the foreseeable future) + the lack of makan get-togethers (by choice) would mean I won't have much exciting/good food to write about.  Haiz, without good material, I'm not even motivated to write these days coz I feel they'll just be boring posts about boring food.  After all, food photos via delivery or tapau lacks the presentation of dine-in food and wouldn't look tempting at all! :'(

Oh well....so here's my first boring post of the year about some boring food.....Roti Bakkwa @ Taman Shamelin Perkasa which I found through ShopeeFood.  P/S: By the way, the good times have come to an end (as I knew it would) on ShopeeFood.  The discounts have dwindled down (though there are discounts still but only at selective restaurants).  Even my regular shops have mentioned to me they noticed a drop in orders too, so it's more economical to tapau again...though delivery is still practically free and when they no longer are, it's back to considering other delivery platforms again, I suppose.

As the name suggests, the first one I tried was the Roti Pork Bakkwa & Floss @ RM6.20.  We all know that bakkwa is that ultra-delicious Chinese salty-sweet barbecued dried meat (a very popular snack during Chinese New Year).  The bakkwa may not be the best quality (like the well-known brands) but it still does its job as the meat of the sandwich.  I just love the simplicity of these kind of buns for breakfast...so good! ;)

The bun itself was pretty long as it managed to fill the entire box (at least 6 inches in length, I think). Traditionally, some stalls still toast their buttered buns (sometimes even the slice of bakkwa) over charcoal to give it that smoky, charred flavour but most do it on an iron flat top nowadays.  It still had that nice, roasted flavour (when grilled well) just like if it was toasted over charcoal (like Hainanese toast).

The toasted bun was filled with a piece of bakkwa, chicken floss and crunchy cucumber slices.  It's then drizzled with mayo and chilli sauce.  Even though we have many wonderful western-type sandwiches, this one is just different.  It appeals to our local tastebuds and bring back memories of yesteryears when we used to have it as a kid.

Next, I wanted to try the Homemade Luncheon Meat with Egg @ RM7.50.  It boasts of a piece of homemade luncheon meat, wrapped in an omelette, in between the same fluffy bun with cucumbers, mayo and chilli sauce.

Looking at the size (as in length) of the luncheon meat, I believe this could be homemade (maybe not by them) as it was rather long (judging that the meat reached the end of the bun, I think it reached the other end too).  It tasted pretty good for the price I'm paying (I've had worse luncheon meat from chap fan stalls).

Then there was the Roti Ham with Egg @ RM6.80 which is made up of store-bought ham with omelette....and the omelette is always fluffy and tasty.  I don't mind processed ham (prefer them over processed sausages) and would buy them all the time to make sandwiches at home coz they're the simplest to assemble.

Finally, I might as well go for the Roti Fish Fillet with Egg @ RM7.40 too just to try every version possible...lol.  Just like the earlier luncheon meat sandwich, the fish sandwich was also encassed in an omelette.

As expected, the fish is probably the frozen, commercially-produced kind though it didn't taste like the fried breaded ones that stalls use for our local version of western breakfasts.  The texture of this one was more like fish paste.  I was ok with it but my son didn't quite like it.

To wrap up their choices of sandwiches, they also offer Roti Hotdog with Egg (RM6.80) and Roti Cheese with Egg (RM6.20).  Besides sandwiches, they also have meat & egg, cheesy pork meat and chicken chop burgers as well as cheesy pork or chicken, chocolate banana and smoke duck wraps.

My Personal Opinion

This type of simple sandwiches is a favourite breakfast choice of mine whenever I can't decide what to eat or don't want too heavy a breakfast like nasi lemak or a bowl of noodles.  I'd pick our localised sandwiches over western-type sandwiches anytime especially when the latter involves the use of baguettes which I find crusty, hard and dry.

What is it about these sandwiches that's so comforting to us?  We make these luncheon meat, ham, omelette and bakwa (especially during CNY) sandwiches at home all the time...but having someone make these for me is even better! ^_~

It's becoming more difficult to find makers/sellers of these types of sandwiches nowadays...they're a dying breed.  There used to be a stall (in a coffee shop) selling this in my neighbourhood and a food truck plying this at a nearby wet market but both have disappeared.  So, I'm happy to have found this one through ShopeeFood.....and I've been ordering it regularly.

Roti Bakkwa

One Shamelin Food Court

2 & 4 Jalan 5/91A

Taman Shamelin Perkasa

Cheras 

56100 Kuala Lumpur