Western value

Restaurateur Kelvin How believes in giving value for money. But, he tells TAN BEE HONG, this doesn’t mean compromising on food quality.

WHEN I passed by D’Fortune previously, I had assumed it was a nonya restaurant. The dark wooden tables and chairs and the rest of the interior smacks of an old time baba home. A short curtain of little twinkling red Chinese lanterns hang over the doorway.

I couldn’t be more mistaken as D’Fortune offers solely western dishes.

“Oh, my partner (George Yau) and I just like Asian antique-style wooden furniture,” explains restaurateur Kelvin How. “Our other restaurant in Pusat Bandar Menjalara, Kepong, is also similarly decorated.”

Malaysians, he says, don’t seem to mind the contrary nature. While How and his wife Florence Kua manage the outlet in USJ, Yau keeps an eye on the main outlet in Kepong.

Following the theme of its name, customers are presented with fortune cookies as soon as they are seated.

Drinks are a big deal at D’Fortune, especially freshly-squeezed fruit juices with choices from orange and apple to water melon, star fruit and honeydew. A regular glass costs RM3.80 but most people go for the super size that’s value for money at RM8.90.

Actually, value for money is what D’Fortune is all about. You can get a nice Roast Chicken Caesar Salad for RM8.50 and Tortilla Sandwich for RM12.50. The latter is stuffed with smoked duck or chicken and mozarella cheese. Yummy when hot and dipped into a tomato salsa. Soups are priced from RM5.50 with choices from Minestrone and French Onion to Creamy Mushroom. An Indonesian-style Oxtail Soup is a spicy treat at RM8.50.

There is an extensive range of main courses that cover fish, beef, lamb and chicken as well as pasta. “We use chilled meats only, never frozen,” says How. “And we don’t use MSG or artificial flavouring.”

Popular choices are the Braised Lamb Shank (RM22.50), D’Fortune Mixed Sausages (RM22.50) and Charbroiled Rib Eye steak (RM29.50). Portions are ample, so small eaters might want to share. The lamb shank comes with two scoops of mashed potatoes, vegetables and an aromatic herbal sauce. While the meat is tender, it still maintains a firm texture and bite.

“We marinate and grill the shank before it is braised for four hours. This way, there is little fat content,” says How.

If you like sausages, it’s a treasure box of bangers in the plate of mixed sausages.

“Our sausages are not the commercial variety,” says How, who admits his favourite is the knackwurst (turkey). There are chicken breakfast sausages, chicken barbecue sausages, thueringer bratwurst, thueringer cheese smoked and a footlong chicken frank. The sausages come with a mustard dip, onion rings and gravy but unfortunately, there is no bread included.

There is also Veal and Beef Sausages Mix (RM18.50) with a combination of veal bratwurst, beef barbecue franks and beef breakfast sausages.

I love the Chicken Cordon Bleu (RM16.80). Unlike most places where the chicken breast is a solid chunk of meat, the chef at D’Fortune prefers to slice the meat very thinly. Spread in layers, the chicken is stuffed with cheese and ham before it’s breaded and deepfried to a golden brown. This way, the meat stays moist and easy to eat. Cut into it and watch the melted cheese ooze out. The aroma is tantalising and so is the taste. It’s served with lots of thick-cut fries and other vegetables.

There’s also Grilled Chicken Chop (RM15.80), Chicken Maryland (RM16.80) and more.

A whole page in the menu is devoted to pasta (from RM9.50). “Oh no, no... we don’t have all kinds of pasta. We only have spaghetti but it comes with the various types of sauces,” says How. “We also offer olio olio although it’s not on the menu.”

This simple dish of spaghetti tossed with garlic and olive oil is spiced with dried parsley flakes. “We have a regular customer who orders this every time together with our Charbroiled Tiger Prawn (RM19.50),” says How happily. “He says the combination is out of this world.”

Seafood Spaghetti comes with a combination of squid, prawns, mussels and clams panfried with olive oil. For something more saucy, there’s arabiatta, bolognaise, carbonara and vongole.

For vegetarians, there’s also vegetable spaghetti and spaghetti bolognaise as well as a mushroom, onion and cheese tortilla.

D’Fortune has a Set Lunch menu at RM16.80 for a drink, soup, spaghetti olio olio and vegetables with a main course of chicken chop, lamb chop or deepfried fish fillet.

And if it happens to be your birthday, you get a gift and eat for free if you come with a party of five or more.

The restaurant is open daily from 11am to midnight.

D’FORTUNE CAFE
2a-3a Jalan USJ10/1J
UEP Subang Jaya, Selangor
Tel: 03-8025 9250
phoenixbee@nstp.com.my