Kafe Chendana - First Month of Operation

March came and went, and boy was it an eventful month, full of surprises and a steep learning curve for all involved.

The dressing up this tiny cafe with some decorative touches has gained favourable responses from our customers, who obviously appreciate how much effort we've put in to beautify the cafe, together with: the fresh cream and green colour scheme, the ivy and bird's nest hanging from the walls, the candle lanterns on stands that we put along the road frontage, the prominent banners displaying our special menu items, and the fairy light hung as high as the tree is tall, the clean open kitchen, and the staff in uniform who use trays to serve our customers.

It was also obvious from Week 1 that our Nasi Ayam Bakar and Chicken Chop will be a hit amongst our regulars, some even tapau-ing up to 4 orders at one go, not forgetting our huge charcoal-grilled toast (we serve 2 slices per order at RM2 per order). Of course with any new opening there will be kinks here and there that needs to be ironed our, and i must say that the ironing will be an on-going exercise.

We've also realised that besides Restoran 123 (the corner tomyam joint), we are the only place that shows Astro football programmes in Sg Penchala. During major games over the weekends, we now know how restaurants feel when valuable tables are taken up by hordes of people who only order drinks and sit for 2 hours.

We plan to create a football viewing corner, which only needs an extra tv and some chairs; let's hope business will be brisk so that we can afford to get a decent sized TV. Let's see what April has in store for us....

Kafe Chendana at Sg Penchala - The first month

This week is the first official week Kafe Chendana has opened its green doors to the public. Judging from the sales trend, and the positive feedback from our customers, we must be doing something right.

It is ironic that this very shop is under our management now, the same shop where we spent countless afternoons at the inner tables preparing papers for the Laman project. Now, I am semi-permanently working at the table directly next to the kitchen door.

From the moment of conception, it was agreed that the menu must not in anyway follow or copy the other types of food being offered at other eateries in Sg Penchala. Therefore, we chose a charcoal grill concept, where real charcoal is used to cook food items such as chicken chop, steaks, burgers, fish etc etc. Chef Hafidz came up with the unique and delicious Nasi Ayam Bakar, chicken rice but with charcoal grilled chicken, served with homemade soy and sweet chilli sauce.

It is still early, but I have a funny feeling that this kafe will gain some loyal customers, who are smitten with our brand of service, the delicious food in big portions coming out from Chef Hafidz's kitchen.