Modern cafe for traditional food

 

While heading to the grocers at Sunway Citrine Hub with the main objective to get everything on my grocery list, I have passed the adjacent Sunway commercial square numerous times without noticing the businesses that were opened here since 2022.

 

Facade of the corner cafe, Warung Ekspres

Recently around lunchtime, I was in the Sunway neighbourhood– this time, without any grocery list – determined to explore and experience the lunch options here.

 

Accompanied by Florence, my food-tasting friend who is also my navigator, we obeyed the driving directions set out in the Sunway commercial square which took us around the one-way lanes – more than twice on some lanes – to the look at the cafés, restaurants and kopitiams that were opened for lunch.

 

With no particular destination in mind and feeling not quite famished yet, we also took time to look at the menus provided outside, to consider the food options so as to reach a decision on where to dine.

 

A section of the cafe with a
poster of the Causeway
 and the Johor Bahru skyline

As we surveyed the commercial square, we observed that a healthy number of people were already seated and eating at the kopitiams and cafés – proof of the popularity of the cuisines served – and a positive sign that business was not only thriving but also meeting the tastes of diners.

 

We were delighted to discover that in addition to kopitiam favourites, the cuisine choices here included Malay, Korean, Thai and Peranakan Nyonya food, each with its own merits while some menus were best tasted with a group and not just two diners.

 

As we completed covering all the lanes in our survey of the commercial square, it was time to narrow down our choices and take a pick of which destination for our lunch.

 

When we saw the signboard at the corner café for WARUNG EKSPRES, the smaller print that read, JOHOR BAHRU, along with an illustration of a traditional batu lesung or stone mortar and pestle in their brand identity, caught my eyes.

 

As we walked into the café, I believed the mortar and pestle visual and the name, Johor Bahru, probably made the decision for us.

 

A section of the counter within the cafe

It was simply uncanny that we stepped into this café only to be welcomed in by the Operations Manager, Prakash Nambiar, who was familiar with me from when we met for special events and reviews at Food & Beverage establishments like EightLido and Bottle & Glass.

 

Such a pleasant surprise and a warm welcome simply made Warung Ekspres a good choice for lunch but I wisely held back from forming any conclusion until we had our dining experience.

 

When we were comfortably seated indoors, a glance through the glass-paneled wall revealed that there were tables occupied by diners in the outdoor section.

 

Florence and I took our time to study the menu with photos that listed a selection of popular Malaysian dishes like Nasi Lemak, Roti Canai, Beef Noodles and Lamb Satay along with Johor specialties like Mee Bandung, Asam Pedas Ikan, Laksa Johor and Soto Ayam, among other local favourites.

 

A kids' play area occupies a section of the cafe
 

When Florence spotted her favourite, Nasi Kerabu with Ayam Penyet, on the menu, she did not hesitate to pick this item for her lunch.

 

As for me, it was a matter of making a choice for now because looking at photos of the mouth-watering dishes made me feel rather hungry.

 

I then picked Soto Ayam, a Malay-style chicken broth served with rice vermicelli or rice cubes or nasi impit, topped with shredded chicken, bean sprouts and begedil, a deep-fried meat and potato patty.

 

While waiting for our meal to be served, we arrived at a unanimous decision to come back again to try other choices on this interesting menu.

 

A serving of Nasi Kerabu with Ayam Penyet

Meanwhile, we observed that diners were leaving and arriving – many who appeared to be regulars – so we were pleased to have stumbled upon this corner café that day.

 

With an illustration of a batu lesung designed within their brand identity, I was quite confident that the kitchen with prepare their spices with fresh ingredients from scratch using a baru lesung, no less, to maintain authenticity in local recipes.

 

And when our orders were served, I was pleased to observe that the two different side sauces for Nasi Kerabu and Soto Ayam, were indeed own-made and rather tasty.

 

A serving of Soto Ayam

While we were eating, I could not help overhearing the conversation at the next table between Prakash and the diner who brought to his attention, that her expectation of her dish was not met.

 

From their animated chat, I figured that her order was same as mine for Soto Ayam and that she expected the carb in the chicken soup to be nasi impit but instead, it turned out to be rice vermicelli.

 

Then Prakash politely explained that the White bits shown in their photograph was shredded cabbage and not nasi impit.

 

Prakash Nambiar, hands-on in
serving brewed coffee to us

This episode reminded Florence and I about a previous incident where a reader, who happened to be a friend of Florence, went to a restaurant after reading my review and was disappointed that the dish they were served was unlike that photograph of a dish in my review.

 

I regretted that it was my mistake because the photo was of a special dish the merchant presented at the review and was not available on the menu.

 

Since that unfortunate incident where my photo had misled readers, I made it a point to show photos of dishes consistent with the menu so that diners know what to expect when they placed their orders.

 

Our meal continued pleasantly and later, when Prakash approached us for comments about the food, we were ready to give him our best compliments simply by drawing his attention to our empty plates.

 

After lunch we often enjoyed a good cup of hot coffee so when Prakash modestly suggested the freshly brewed local coffee in their menu, we agreed to have a taste.

 

A freshly brewed hot cup of coffee

He proved to be an experienced and versatile hands-on F&B professional who just stepped behind the counter to personally brew and serve us two cups of hot coffee.

 

By this time, most of the lunch crowd had left the café so while we savoured the exquisite taste of the creamy coffee, we also enjoyed a pleasant catch-up chit-chat about mutual interests and mutual friends.

 

I took the opportunity to quiz him about the café, its set lunch and dinner menus as well as those workstation stalls displayed outside. Just as I thought, he confirmed that these stalls were for live cooking stations when private events were hosted at the café.

 

So even before I paid the bill or stepped out of the café, we were already planning for our next visit, keen to enjoy many other local dishes on the menu.

 

Warung Ekspres is located at Unit 1-01 Laman Niaga Sunway, Persiaran Medini 3, Bandar Medini Iskandar, 79250 Iskandar Puteri, Johor. Open daily from 8am to 8pm. For more info, visit official Facebook and Instagram pages for Warung Ekspres.