With such a feel good name, Good Friends Cafe certainly brought a lot of warmth upon entering this affable lifestyle cafe. Helm by Chef BH Lee who advocates eating healthy food, his cafe has recently moved to the bustling area at Subang Jaya from its former location at Ara Damansara. Having been in the business since May 2012, his cafe grew in popularity and soon requiring a bigger space to accommodate its increasing base of customers. “The current set up is what I have always envisioned my cafe to be. The floor space can accommodate up to one hundred pax and even host a small wedding function”, Lee explained. The cafe was also built with a mini stage in mind to cater for their monthly ‘Open Mic’ event which showcases a pool of local singing talents. “We want this to be a gathering place rather than just about food. In fact, Winnie Ho (何芸妮), a singer and panel judge for 8TV’s Ultimate Power Star (非常好声) is scheduled to perform in one of their ‘Open Mic’ event soon.
Despite not being a trained chef, Lee has a deep passion in cooking and has accumulated a wealth of knowledge about food preparation from his travels. His unique idea of mixing wasabi with mayonnaise dressing for the Smoke Salmon Bruschetta (RM 16.00) is a prime example of his ‘thinking out of the box’ cooking approach. While the fusion of wasabi and mayonnaise sauce certainly came with a tinge of burning sensation in the mouth, it was light enough without overpowering the rich deep flavour of the smoked salmon. The grilled bread provided a satisfying crunch and gave a contrasting texture to the salmon.
Lee was also proud to mention about his scrambled eggs in the Good Breakfast (RM 18.00). “If you notice, the bottom part of the egg is cooked while the top layer has a nice runny texture which is something you don’t see all the time”, he explained. Served with three types of breads; multigrain, brioche and wholemeal, Lee wanted his customers to taste the goodness of the toasts that are made from natural yeast. “Even the sausage is made from real chicken meat stuffed in a lamb skin casing”, he explained.
Adding a Malaysian touch to his dish, the Tauchu Chicken Prawn (RM 18.00) certainly brought a flavour that is closer to our home. Using tauchu or fermented bean, the taste was delightfully salty and savoury which is a welcome change from the usual pasta that are served elsewhere. “We fried the tauchu with fettuccine, chicken and prawn and it tastes a little bit like our local kung po chicken”, he smiled.
Lee also explained that the Baked Egg (RM 16.00) uses marinara sauce that is made from scratch. “We painstakingly slow boil the tomatoes, garlic, herbs and other ingredients together for six hours before baking it with eggs, mixed vegetables, sausage and cheese”, he added. Citing the same sausage and toasts used in the Good Breakfast, Lee pointed out that the Baked Egg is his favourite comfort food that is best consumed by dipping the toast breads with the marinara sauce.
Lee advocates simple and healthy food for his customers using natural ingredients. “We do not serve fried food here since we don’t believe in deep frying”, he said. He also shared his plans for his cafe in the near future. “Right now we are only open until 6:00 p.m. By 7th March onwards, our operating hours shall extend to 10:00 p.m. in conjunction with the ‘Open Mic’ event”, he said. Elaborating his thoughts about the direction of Good Friends Cafe, he does not believe that franchising is the right way to move forward. “While a lot of people said that franchising is the most ideal approach for food establishments, I believe in the principle of ‘Power of One’. Having too many outlets will dilute the quality and the personal touch hence, I would rather focus all my energy on managing one cafe and making it the best”, he explained.
Good Friends Cafe
No. 15 & 17, Jalan SS15/8A
47500 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Tel: 03-5613 1415
Business Hours: 8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. (Daily)*
*Good Friends Cafe will be opening till 10:00 p.m. from 7th March onwards