PETALING JAYA, May 25 — Eating out is often a nightmare for those on a strict Paleo diet where all kinds of processed food is verboten. Essentially, the diet is a balance of protein, fats and carbohydrates.

It’s not possible to omit all carbohydrates since you need it to produce energy for your body. Jonathan Wong, 32, who runs PushMore Fitness Centre at Merchant Square, Petaling Jaya encourages the practice of the Paleo diet with his members.

“Eating Paleo is the guideline to take the right direction in terms of your food and nutrition. What we are trying to do is encourage people to understand what you eat affects your energy level.”

One of PushMore’s members is Raymond Chang who owns Awesome Canteen together with his wife, Diane Ong, 41 and 7 other partners. The enthusiatic

Raymond would often share his Paleo meals from the restaurant on his Facebook page.

This prompted Jonathan to encourage Raymond to introduce the items in Awesome Canteen. Nowadays, it’s probably one of the few places in the Klang Valley that offers a small menu designed specially for Paleo eaters.

Eating a meal here, don’t think “health” but think “delicious.” Awesome Canteen’s chef Jack Weldie, 32, cooks up good wholesome meals with a lot of soul. You also find a few Japanese touches like salmon sashimi (a popular Paleo order) or Japanese curry baked rice, as Jack used to head the kitchen at Tomoe, a Japanese restaurant in Subang Jaya.

Since it started last November, the restaurant kicked off a burger menu. “Although there are many patties outside, I’m not confident what goes inside them hence I decided to DIY my own,” says Diane. The menu also included their first Paleo item, a bun-less burger. “It was not entirely Paleo at the time, we just put two Portobello mushrooms on top of each other and the patty at the bottom.”

In this form, Diane admits the cost was too high to make it sustainable. Eventually it became a permanent item, after some tweaking like adding salad and guacamole. Soon it became a big hit with PushMore members especially after their rigorous workouts.

“They’d come and pack four to five patties at one go even though the guacamole has dairy. As more people came, news about the Paleo burger spread by word of mouth.” Eventually, the Pushmore members became fed up of just one  burger item and clamoured for more dishes.

(From left): Mixing up the tasty salsa with pesto, chunks of avocado and cherry tomatoes. The chicken patty and sweet potatoes are cooked on a hot grill. Jack Weldie plates up one of their signatures, the 240 Paleo Chicken Patty.

Wilkie went back to the drawing board and produced a menu of eight items that includes a salad option with various grilled items like salmon, butterfish, beef and chicken. One of his unusual menu items is the grilled butterfish paired with a honeydew sauce that is caramelised with onions, garlic, cinnamon and herbs to give it depth. The dish is served with grilled sweet potatoes. Previously they used orange sweet potatoes but on the insistence of Wilkie, they switched to the fluffy Japanese variant with purple skin and yellow flesh.

Fresh vegetables like alfalfa shoots are part of the dish (left). The finished plate is a delectable one with a juicy chicken patty topped with the salsa and chopped almonds (right).

Even pancakes have been given a Paleo makeover. The fluffy dessert is made of banana, egg, yam or sweet potato, coconut oil and drizzled with raw honey. Going Paleo for Awesome Canteen was not an issue as Diane explains. “With our restaurant, we don’t compromise and we always buy premium good quality ingredients. The raw materials are all in place so it’s just tweaking it.”

Initially one of their big investment was virgin coconut oil that costs RM60 per bottle. “When our chef saw the oil, he said that his grandmother used to put it on her hair and he can DIY it at a fraction of the cost.” In addition, the kitchen uses ghee or clarified butter, and extra virgin olive oil to cook the food. “The Paleo diet recommends high quality fats that give you good amounts of energy and fill you up faster,” explains Jonathan.

Jonathan Wong, Diane Ong and Jack Weldie are the team behind the Paleo menu at Awesome Canteen (left). Blitzing the pesto sauce (right).

In some dishes, Wilkie includes non-Paleo elements to ease novices into switching to the diet, like the cucumber pickle in his butterfish dish.

“I try to moderate the food in a small way to enhance the flavours for some who are not used to the food hence they can transition gradually,” says Wilkie.

Portions are also kept reasonable for one-person meals, for instance the chicken and beef patties weigh in at 240 grams. For a normal individual, the meal will be sufficient to fill them up. “240g protein is good for a normal person,” says Jonathan. Since most of the PushMore members lift weights and exercise on a daily basis, it’s insufficient. “For the Pushmore people, we always order add-ons, maybe double and triple portions.”

According to Jonathan, the diet does not prescribe fixed portions since everyone has different activity levels. “For Paleo, the focus is what you eat like the omission of processed foods.” Jonathan recommends that new dieters experiment for a week. “After a week of doing that, you will find your balance and how much to eat to be satiated. As you’re consuming good fats, you will feel full faster.”

The Paleo diet also calls for the reduction of wheat. Jonathan advises that not many people realise they have a low allergy to gluten. “For some when they consume too much gluten, it causes low level inflammation. Sometimes when they wake up, their joints will be aching and the body is sore. It also affects the ability to absorb nutrition.” Once you go cold turkey on wheat, your body feels the effect straight away. “You won’t have indigestion, sleep better and after exercising you won’t feel sore.”

The busy kitchen at Awesome Canteen (left). Drizzling raw honey over the pancakes (right).

Even Diane is reaping the benefits of introducing the Paleo menu at the restaurant. “I personally embarked on eating Paleo myself and I saw results even without working out. I felt lighter and everything has changed.” For example, her eating habits. “I don’t eat as much.”

Nowadays, lunch is a Paleo salad and patty that sustains her for 6-7 hours until dinnertime. Previously, after four hours of consuming noodles or rice, she would have an urge to snack. Even her cravings for late-night suppers, like the sinful nasi lemak babi is a thing of the past. “ I have no urge to eat supper.”

With his members, Jonathan’s advice to them is to test out the Paleo menu for themselves and make the change now rather than later. “It’s not easy but it’s a lifestyle change that you do over long term. If you don’t take care of yourself now, maybe 5-10 years later, health issues will affect you.”

He understands it’s not easy to stick to a diet especially since dining out choices are riddled with carbohydrates. “A lot of places have a larger proportion of carbohydrates on the plate as it’s cheaper.” “In the Malaysian diet, he believes it is not practical to omit rice but approach it by balancing out how you eat it.

The warm inviting interior of Awesome Canteen is filled with recycled furniture and Momage light boxes made by the owners (left). End your meal with the light and fluffy Paleo pancakes made with bananas, yam and egg (right).

The Paleo menu is not just limited to dieters and fitness buffs. “In general, people are looking for healthier choices,” explains Jonathan. Some of Diane’s customers for the Paleo menu are diabetic and averse to carbohydrates.

According to Jonathan, simple carbohdyrates pump up the insulin, a nay with diabetics. Even the neighbourhood folks are jumping on the healthy bandwagon. “When the aunties and uncles who live around here scan the menu and see there’s no bread and a lot of vegetables, they also want to try.”

In the future, Diane hope to expand into Paleo catering. Previously, they catered for a CrossFit event organised by PushMore with a good response.

Awesome Canteen is located at 19, Jalan 20/13, Paramount Gardens, Petaling Jaya. Tel:03-78658048. The Paleo menu is offered in addition to their regular menu of burgers and pastas.