KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — Get your chopsticks ready for Simply d, the latest spin-off eatery from The Delicious Group. Their newly minted outlet which opened on June 29 at Nu Sentral is perfect for fast casual fare, whether it’s a bowl of noodles or a grab-to-go sandwich.
Its fast casual concept is the brainchild of The Delicious Group chief executive officer Steve Allen. “My inspiration behind it was a Malaysian cafe, like a modern kopitiam.” Its name was thought up by Eastern & Oriental Berhad’s deputy managing director Eric Chan. The Delicious Group is under Eastern & Oriental Berhad.
About eight to nine months ago, when Steve first dreamt of the fast food concept, his original idea was to serve sandwiches and wraps, good for a quick meal. Once Steve looked around though, he noticed that the fast food eating habits here were very different. Unlike his home country England,
where a sandwich for lunch was often the norm, people preferred cooked food.
“They don’t have time to go to Delicious for a 1 ½ hour lunch but people like their food in a bowl, served hot and quick.”
He also carried out various food promotions in Delicious with pasta, burger and wraps to test the waters. The pasta promotion took off, while response to the burger and wrap promotions lagged behind. “I don’t think Malaysians are ready for wraps just yet.”
Most importantly, looming behind Steve was the spectre of the once failed D’lish. Previously located at Bangsar Village, D’lish was an express cafe concept launched under the old management of The Delicious Group. Even though the cafe lasted for a few years, the general public did not warm up to the place. “I never want to make the same mistakes they did in D’lish.”
The menu at Simply d is a unique one, where you can custom make your meal to your needs. You’re encouraged to mix and match your meal and drinks. All you need to do is choose a cooking style from a selection of sauces or soups, and pair with various pastas or noodles. Adventurous eaters can even combine half portions of sauces with various pasta. Even your drinks can also be mixed with different flavours with options for less sugar and ice.
Steve wanted to give his customers the option to choose what they want.
“Everyone said to me, lose the pasta and noodles customisation, but I’ve been around and I notice people love to customise their items.”
The astute Steve picked this up just by observing his girlfriend’s custom-made Chatime beverage – a strange combination of aloe vera with milk tea that she loved. “The point is people like to choose what they have and they want to be unique.”
Initially, people unfamiliar with the concept would often stick to suggested menu combinations. Moreover, the menu selection would often take a long time. Usually the person taking their order would make suggestions to assist their decision.
According to Steve, as more customers grew familiar with the concept, they have started becoming adventurous, mixing for instance, fusili with spaghettini or even half carbonara with half spiced red pepper and tomato.
One popular pick is the soba noodles since its buckwheat content makes it a healthier choice. You get combinations like soba noodles with carbonara sauce! One of their bestsellers is an interesting mix of sweet basil and cashew nut pesto combined with soba noodles. “Everyone has their personal favourites and I’ve even got my own secret customised menu.” Service is also quick and efficient, since customers walk up to the counter to order their own meal, which cuts down time for service.
“I’m not doing anything rocket science here or creating the next big thing. We’re just serving unfussy food that follows the trends of what people have.
I believe this is our strong point for Delicious and we put it together in a small cafe.”
Inspiration for some of the menu items also came from Steve’s personal food experiences in Malaysia. For instance, he first tasted salted egg pumpkin at the economy rice stall in Jalan Chan Sow Lin, near his office. “Salted egg on its own is disgusting but it’s nice cooked.”
Even his love for tea eggs often found at a popular tea shop in the shopping mall is incorporated in the menu. The difference is Simply d’s tea-infused egg has a soft egg yolk similar to what is served in a ramen shop.
Their chilli chicken “pastamee” is their version of the popular hawker favourite chilli pan mee. In their interpretation, Simply d uses al dente cooked linguine to mimic the slightly firm handmade flat noodles.
Formerly a chef who trained under Gordon Ramsay, Steve is adamant that he will not introduce any weird creations at Simply d. For him, the salted egg pumpkin is as wacky as they will get. “We’re keeping by my rules, which is keep it simple and get it right. If I’m going to do something wacky, no one will get it. It’s my Gordon Ramsay training.”
In addition to the pasta and noodle selection, they also have a small selection of salads and sandwiches that includes one of their bestsellers from the Delicious wrap promotion, the chicken avocado and pine nut tortilla wrap. “My sandwiches are simple but I believe they’re good sandwiches. My burger does not have a charcoal bun but I put in what I believe a burger should have inside it.”
A lot of their menu items is also healthy, since nothing is deep fried. “It’s not healthy healthy but it’s a lot healthier in comparison to other fast food places.” Their menu choices also include lots of crispy crunchy vegetables to keep the offerings fresh and inviting.
For sweets, in addition to their selection of cakes, you can also enjoy their soft swirl ice-cream served in a cone or a cup. “We use a skim milk base and add fruit purees, fresh pandan juice or even coconut milk.” The flavours change every three days but the best seller is their pandan and coconut ice-cream.
The cafe also boasts a distinct personality in terms of looks with a palette of orange, brown and blue. “We wanted a vibrant colour scheme and to link it back to Delicious in some way.” That connection is the blue colour even though it’s a different shade.
“It’s not the same shade as we found that this blue stood out more.” Steve also borrowed a few Peranakan elements as seen with his decorative floor and wall tiles, to create a different look from other cafes. “The problem with all these new cafes coming up these days, they all look the same as they use the same lightbulbs and metal chairs.”
Colours also play an important role here. Not only does it create a bright vibrant atmosphere, Steve also believes there’s a link to your appetite. “I researched this, colours like orange, red and yellow make you hungry. While blue does not make you hungry, if you put something on a blue plate, it makes it look appetising.”
Keeping true to his modern kopitiam approach, food is served in melamine bowls and plates. “I visited an SS2 mamak stall and everyone was okay with eating spaghetti from a melamine plate.” Some furniture and equipment have also been repurposed from other Delicious outlets, like the tables and wooden boards.
Steve’s idea also included fun food quotes all around the cafe. “My main thing was how was I going to get people to take photos.” Rather than incorporating the quotes all around the cafe, they’re imprinted on the top of the stools that make them perfect Instagram tools with your bowl of custom made noodles or pasta.
The cafe’s design was also done internally, without any interior designers, taking about two weeks to outfit and finish the place. “We decided to do it ourselves, no designers involved but just someone to sketch out the ideas.”
Even though Steve is happy that the Simply d is finally up and running, he won’t have much time to rest. In August, two more Simply d outlets will be opening at Avenue K and The Curve. By the end of the year, they expect to have a total of five Simply d outlets around the Klang Valley.
Nothing stays static with Steve who is constantly on the move. Next, there’s plans to revamp the menu; he expects to make changes to it every two to three months. “We don’t want to do a drastic change as some people will want certain items but we want to change it up.”
Simply d, Lot G9, Nu Sentral, No. 201, Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Kuala Lumpur. Open daily: 8am to 10pm. https://www.facebook.com/simplyd.my
