Eccentric Malaysian Mystic Pizza
Written: Nov 15 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Divine food, you feel like you're part of the family
Cons: Might take a few visits before you're "accepted" by the owner
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| cinimod's Full Review: Kuala Lumpur |
Review Topic: Restaurants
Checkers Restaurant
Checkers is perhaps the best kept secret there is – an obscure little restaurant, tucked away on an obscure side street in an obscure part of an obscure town that I bet none of you reading this will ever visit. And that would be perfectly fine with the owner and chef at Checkers. Because you will be the one who is missing out. Checkers started out as a place called Pizza Attack about 10 years ago, and they had the best American style pizzas in all of Kuala Lumpur. However, getting to order a pizza was a problem. The owner would only serve up a seafood pizza if you promised to eat it fresh on the premises – I once was forced to do so, even though I wanted to take it home and eat it while watching a video. When I tried to argue with him, Mr.Tan said “Go to Pizza Hut if you want takeaway – don’t waste my seafood”. Well you might think that I would never give that arrogant fellow my business again, but I had to – his pizza was far and away the best there is anywhere.
Anyway, after failing to convince other patrons that the benefit of eating at the premises outweighed the convenience of takeaway at Pizza Hut, Mr.Tan decided to change the name of his restaurant to Checkers and concentrate on good old pork ribs and huge steaks instead. The décor of the place remained like a pizza parlour, but the menu changed. Old regulars knew that they could still get their pizza (even though you had to listen to a lecture about the difference between Checkers pizza and Pizza Hut before you were allowed to order!). But Mr.Tan was now able to show off his real talents after ditching the Pizza Attack franchise – out of his kitchen came the best slabs of ribs and steaks with innovative marinades that I have not encountered anywhere else. On each table are a selection of sauces with interesting names (e.g. Devil’s delight) that defy analysis.
As I became a regular and brought many friends over to sample the various unique creations of the brilliant Mr.Tan, he started warming up to me, and now he does not give me dirty looks anymore when I order pizza from him (it’s not on the menu anymore, but he still makes them on special request, and they are still the best in town). The menu changes constantly, and there are more specials listed on the walls of the restaurant than there are on the menu. However, us regulars know that there are only two ways to order at Checkers – one is to ask for Mr.Tan’s recommendation, and the other is to think of what you’d like a day before, then phone in and order it. Mr.Tan loves a challenge – so if you phone in and say “I had the best lamb casserole of my entire life last week in New Zealand – can you do lamb casserole?”, Mr. Tan will ensure that tomorrow, the New Zealand experience will be relegated to second best.
The eccentric Mr. Tan’s personality shows up on everything from the interesting names of his menu items (how about “Grilled expensive mushrooms” or “Hogus Porkus”?) to the politically incorrect jokes lining every free space on the walls. By the time you’re ready to start dessert, Mr.Tan will be in a jolly mood (wasn’t that empty wine bottle in his hand full an hour ago?) - he might even come over and tell you why Swiss women make the best wives or why you should stay away from Australian women. If any of us get insulted (I always warn people in advance) he’ll bring a bottle of rum over, and continue his conversation after the insulted party has had a few swigs and mellowed.
Going to Checkers is like going to your favourite uncle’s place, only with much better food. You can expect to hang around for three or four hours and learn something you never knew before – for instance that watermelon and papaya salad is a great accompaniment to cajun ribs, or that you can make fun of Australian women in the presence of one if you give her a bottle of rum first. But don’t try this at home kiddies, it only works at Checkers!
More information:
Checkers Restaurant,
19 Lorong Setia Bistari Dua,
Bukit Damansara,
50490 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Tel: +60 3 255-3304
Cost of a 3 course meal for two: RM 100-120 (USD 25-30)
Service: Very casual and friendly (the waitress calls me “Big Boss”!)
Décor: Simple pizza parlour décor, lots to read on the walls. Small, seats about 40 people.
Signature dishes: Pasta, pizza, roast meats.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
cinimod
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Member: Dominic Lim
Location: World citizen (in an ideal world)
Reviews written: 42
Trusted by: 53 members
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