Of late, there has been a number of new additions to The Sphere. Variety of eateries offering variety of cuisine. I am sure if you guys are regulars, you’d notice the same thing as well. They seem to be sprinning up likes mushrooms, lol. It certainly is a good thing though – the variety only add to its charm, don’t you think? One of the latest addition is this nyonya restaurant, Nyonya Tingkat.

This eatery is located next to Family Mart, which was also how I came to knowing about this eatery. I am a regular at this particular mart because it is convenient location-wise and I love regularly getting myself their Matcha softserve/ice cream. Yes, those yummy, decadent, milky softserve is the reason why I pay this Family Mart a weekly visit. As of 2 weeks back, on my way to get that beloved softserve, I noticed that the nyonya restaurant next door was officially open and it was packed, full house. I thought – why not give it a week or two, let things settle in and two weeks later – here I was, for lunch. It was still as packed as it was before. As in every table was occupied and there was literally a waiting line outside the shop, waiting to be seated.

Now this piqued my interest even further …

The eatery sure was colorful, it certainly exuded the nyonya vibe with its brightly colored interior and inspired paintings,pictures.

I was pretty impressed by their customer service. Usually, if the eatery is full house, the service suffers, not here though. Here, they attend to you immediately as you are seated. Their lunch menu did not have an overwhelming number of items, so, it was pretty quick and easy to decide what to eat. Food arrived within 10 minutes, which was pretty fast considering the number of customers they had. Yup, I was impressed.

Lemongrass Tea, 4.50 ringgit + Chendol Klasik, 6.90 ringgit

We were pretty hungry and thirsty when we arrived here, so while waiting for the main meals to arrive, we decided to cool down with a drink and dessert. The Lemongrass Tea was delicious, the taste of lemongrass was prevalent and refreshing. Loved it.

The Chendol was as a chendol should be – with some green flour bits and red beans. If you guys just want a taste of chendol – then, this would do it. Just enough to get you through the day. I most probably will give it a miss the next time I visit because I’ve tasted the chendol at Bansan – Bansan Bistro @ The Sphere, Bangsar South – Good Stuff , which is located just a few doors away and while it cost me an additional 1.10 for the usual and an extra 2.10 ringgit if I fancy my chendol with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, I like the chendol at Bansan a whole lot better. Since I am one of those who has chendol once in a very blue moon, when I finally do have it – I would certainly want the best I can get at that given point in time and between this nyonya eatery and Bansan – I’d go for the latter anytime.

Nasi Kerabu Ayam Perchik, 16.90 ringgit + Nyonya Mee Siam, 10.90 ringgit

20180823_141306 — Nasi Kerabu Ayam Perchik

I liked the Mee Siam. It was yummy. The noodles had a lil sweetness to it that worked well with the chicken curry. The gravy was flavorful and packed with spices, when mixed with the sweetness from the noodles – it was positively appealing. The curry came with 4 tender, meaty bits of chicken, which was as good having it on its own as it was having it with the noodles. Overall, this was a good dish.

The Nasi Kerabu though – I cant really say the same. It was a satisfactory dish, the kind where if you have a craving for this particular dish and dont really mind if it was not utterly delicious – then, this dish would do it for you. Not for me though because I loveee this dish. Well, I guess for 16.90 ringgit, it was a good deal and I had no problem with most of the items on the plate except for one – the Perchik sauce. Let’s just say that their sauce is the milder version of what I’d usually get, way milder than usual. The amount of sauce that would initially accompany the dish was hardly enough, not enough to even cover half the rice, so we requested for more, which they were more than happy to assist. With the little gravy we had at first, we thought that was the reason why it tasted a little mild and perhaps when we added more sauce – it would not be mild anymore. However, that is not the case, which was why we arrived at the conclusion that their perchik sauce lacked flavor. To me, the main star of Nasi Kerabu is usually the sauce/gravy and here, it simply did not do it for me. Hence, I am most probably going to give this dish a miss the next time.

Would I head here again?

I’ve got mixed feelings about this eatery. Some dishes tasted good and some dishes sucked. Yet, they are constantly packed for lunch. Why?? Hmmmm, I can see the appeal to the office crowd. It is strategically located, it offers the much loved Nyonya cuisine, food is affordably priced. Yes, I can see the appeal because food was not finger lickin good, it was okay. Would I head back here though? I dont know. It certainly would not be on the top of my list for the best eateries in town that offers good Nyonya food. Nope. However, if it was the weekend, with nothing better to do, I would not mind giving the other dishes a try.