Sunday, December 7, 2014

Organic Freshmart Restaurant, Subang Jaya

Update - 9th December 2014: The figures marked in bold are the new charges for both lei cha and salad sushi.

A word of warning: Some of the words were copied directly or paraphrased from my Writer's Craft portfolio on Organic Freshmart. To those who've read it from cover to cover or seen glimpses of it, please refrain from making remarks about the stark familiarity.



Feeling exceptionally lazy to whip up the dinner, we remained behind in the restaurant after purchasing the bi-weekly ingredients. There may be a belief or stereotype that organic meals are not only pricey but bland, but that is not the truth here; the owner intends to break that label by introducing a variety of healthy, cheaper and tasty dishes for the diners. The atmosphere, on the contrary, is homely and welcoming; it is reminiscent of families coming together at the dining table and sharing the juiciest events of the day. Among the many decorative items reminiscent of it are the gas lamps and wooden table and chairs. The loud buzzing of conversations can be heard as soon as you enter the restaurant. Depending on the hour, you may have to wait before you can be brought to a vacant table, and for all of you, meat and egg lovers reading this post, you'll have to consider giving this restaurant a miss because soy and tofu are being used as meat replacements in the making of all dishes.




Raw ingredients: seaweed, tofu, carrot, corn, rice, cabbage, beans, black wood ear mushroom and tempeh (fermented tofu)

The bowl of lei cha (RM 8.90) [as of 9th December 2014, it is RM 9.90 per bowl] that we ordered was delivered in a matter of minutes to our table with the accompanying soup. The various tastes of all ingredients have been combined into one homogenous blend but the flavors aren't overriding each other or fighting for supremacy; it intermingles perfectly. There are two ways of consuming this: it's either you eat the vegetables and end the meal with the soup or mixing the soup and vegetables together. I personally prefer the second option because we can be greedy when it comes to this dish and like to have a bite of everything.



The lei cha soup contains a refreshing taste as the inclusion of basil herb lays the foundation and the strong scent of sesame oil plays its part by lifting the dishes higher, coating the throat with its whiff. You can feel the ideal tang with each sip (or spoonful).

What about the salad sushi (RM 7.90) [as of 9th December 2014, it is RM 8.90 per plate]?





Well, it is the restaurant's remake of the ever-popular Japanese sushi that contains vinegared rice rolled with cucumber slices, imitation crabsticks and a selected type of fish such as unagi or tuna. In this vegetarian twist, carefully chopped and rotated inside a sheet of Chinese rice roll - chee cheong fun - is a variety of raw, sliced vegetables: carrot, turnip and cucumber. The slight addition of vegetarian mayonnaise, which uses silken tofu and copious amount of soy milk instead, enriches the dish by integrating all of the contrasting flavors into a homogenized one. It surprisingly tastes so great that you will never be able to notice the absence of eggs. A spoonful of sweet acar is included, consisting of sliced and fermented carrot and cucumber with an added punch of chili powder and a slight dash of chopped peanuts.



Name: Organic Freshmart Restaurant

Address: 17 and 19, Jalan SS 18/1B,
47500 Subang Jaya,
Selangor

Telephone: 03-5636 2468

12 comments:

  1. So you're an organic ingredients user too, like moi! Nice!
    I don't like lei cha's mint sauce. Never has, probably never will. I always have lei cha without the soup. If the restaurateur insists on serving, I will just leave the soup alone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I was raised with an organic vegetarian diet since young, so it can't be helped, CL. Mama Carrie is always stocking the cabinets with organic ingredients. =) I do understand; the soup can be a little too strong for some but it is an acquired taste, I think. Usually, if you let the waiter know beforehand, the kitchen will omit the soup.

      Delete
  2. ahhh ... you are making Hakka Lei cha. Very healthy and delicious too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. More like eating it, Chris. =D I don't know the full ingredients for the lei cha soup to make it from scratch. Yup, it is healthy, delicious and satiating too. =)

      Delete
  3. I enjoy these types of restaurants. I haven't found too many good ones in the city centre though. Do you know of any?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmm... Yum List, I'm not too familiar with the ones downtown and the only one I'm aware of - in Bangsar - has since closed down. On the contrary, you can give Simple Life a shot. I know that they have recently opened one in Life Care Bangsar South and have branches in Mid Valley and KLCC. Hope it helps. =)

      Delete
  4. Never had vegetarian before, sure would wanna try.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. STP, the vegetarian restaurants here are mushrooming but only some have managed to remain in business after so long. I'm not sure if Sibu has any organic or vegetarian restaurants, but do try and visit a couple when you find yourself in KL. The ones I can name off the top of my head would be Simple Life and Woods Eco. =)

      Delete
  5. prices are quite reasonable, ya. sometimes there seems to be the perception that many organic outlets might cost too much, but the salad sushi here indicates otherwise :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it is, Sean, and yup, the belief is true in certain cases. The one that I used to go to whenever I'm in Bangsar would leave Mama Carrie wincing whenever she paid for the meal because the dishes that we ordered, though not many, were rather pricey. =/ You should give the salad sushi a try; one of my favorite dishes to order when I'm in the vicinity.

      Delete
  6. Lei cha! I have found a good stall next to where I used to live in 2009 (before I moved twice to 10 Semantan Suites and now to my current place). That was when I was living in Kelana Jaya and I think this place has the right hue to green that I associate with good lei cha.

    I like the way you wrote that paragraph, it totally mesmerized me. I like mixing everything when I eat lei cha too, I was told that was the "proper" way to eat. :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks a lot for the kind compliment, but it took me 2 days for me to write that paragraph, tbh. =/

      By the way, would you mind to recommend the stall name to me, Huai Bin? =D



      Delete

Please refrain from using foul languages - or I'll not hesitate to delete the comment. If you don't see your comments, please inform me about it.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...