This is a blog about art, so this entry should fit quite well with the rest of the fare. My wife and I went to a restaurant recently that is quite spoken of online in food reviews and blogs from just about every imaginable angle. The restaurant is "Checkers" in Damansara Heights. After coming home from there, I just wanted to read some of what is online about the place as I found the experience absolutely extraordinary.
I noticed right away that many of the bloggers had labeled Mr Tan, the owner, as being "quite eccentric". I believe it was Robert Frost who said that "Eccentricity is simply passion that runs so deep and true that it is simply unfathomable to anyone other than he whose every action is testament to it". Within moments of our arrival, having briefly been introduced to Mr Tan, I realized the truth in Frost's words.
When I go to a restaurant, I do not go to have my ego stroked or my backside kissed. I go to enjoy the wonders that good food can bestow upon my palate. Seeing the passion in Mr Tan had my taste buds threatening to mutiny and drag me into the kitchen, tongue first! When the food arrived, we were not disappointed, though I must say there was some severe physical pain involved in the experience. The idea of leaving there once we were finished wrenched at every corner of my body and being.
In other posts here, I have noted what I consider to be the definition of art. Art is those things which temporarily take you out of your own realm of perceptions, and allow you to experience something through the sensory faculties and perceptions of the artist who created it. Art imparts upon the observer the passion, the desire, the emotion of the artist who created it. Given that definition, I cannot help but define the food we had as art, and the man responsible for that food as an artist worthy of the company of Picasso, Rembrandt, Beethoven, and Michelangelo.
We asked what he recommended rather than ordering from the menu, though I have no doubt that whatever we had ordered would have sated our palates, bodies and minds to the same euphoric degree. Mr Tan recommended a pizza for starters, a salad and Jamaican jerk chicken. In the interest of allowing the readers of this post time to sleep before having to head out for their days tomorrow, suffice it to say that the pizza was absolutely and without a doubt the best I have ever had. It could not have been more perfect. The crust just the right thickness to compliment the sauce and toppings, the sauce hand-spiced with oregano and other savory flavors that blossomed upon the tongue as they engaged tastes from the cheeses and other toppings in an intricately choreographed dance on the palate... Oh, how I could go on!
Next up was the salad, a blend of greens and carrot strips, jicama and other tantalizing goodies that grouped themselves together on the plate like the work of a fine architect. Every curve, every line, every color and texture the epitome of absolute vegetable bliss. The balsamic dressing just barely there, bringing out the flavors and textures of the vegetables rather than trying to hide them. In a single-worded description: Stunning! Of course, I now realize that the salad being served between the pizza and the chicken was actually a tactical manoeuver. It cleared the palate as well as a good wine, whilst leaving it's own wonderful mark upon my memory.
The jerked chicken. I say it, and just as I typed it here, I need to add a final punctuation if for no other reason than to allow me a monent to catch my breath. The Jerked Chicken. Fantastically moist in a way that complimented the -VERY Jamaican- spice rub, just a bit salty, very savory, and absolutely perfect with the smoky essence added from grilling rather than baking. Perfection, I think, in jerked chicken, is chicken rubbed just so with Jamaican Rub spices so that the skin assails the palate momentarily, and the only-lightly seasoned meat slowly blends in, calming the storm on the taste buds from a tropical gale to a light mist dangling in the air on a warm day. Only after one has swallowed the mouthful of goodness does he realize how casually the transition from storm to calm occurred; that realization simply adding to the magic of the experience.
If you prefer ego-stroking, flirting wait staff, pictures of old rock and roll icons on the walls and dividers between the booths topped with tropical plants, and food made to directions from a book, then by all means, enjoy yourself at any of the many many chain restaurants around KL. If you're less concerned about the "ambiance" and more into eating a custom culinary creation of symphonic resonance, Checkers is where you want to be tonight!
Seating is a bit limited and reservations are a great idea even on the slowest of weeknights, but think of it like this; for once you'll be calling to make reservations because the food is worth the effort rather than because the restaurant feels entitled to it due to the "status" of being seen there. Enjoy, and keep art flowing free, wherever you are!
You can reach Checkers at 03 2095 3304
Their address is:
19 Lorong Setiabistari 2
50490 Kuala Lumpur
and so everyone can find them, click here --------> http://maps.google.com.my/maps/place?rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&redir_esc=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=checkers+restaurant+in+kuala+lumpur&fb=1&gl=my&hq=checkers+restaurant&hnear=Kuala+Lumpur,+Federal+Territory+of+Kuala+Lumpur&cid=10448993651687675769
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