PETALING JAYA, Dec 13 — Wrapped in beancurd skin and fried to a bronzed crisp, the Penang-style Nyonya lor bak arrives lightly crackling. Aromatic with warm spices and the gentle sweetness of shallots.
We take a bite, and we taste a flavour honed over more than 40 years in a Penang family kitchen.
Yet we are not in Penang but in PJ.
Instead we are catching up with our friend Chai and his girlfriend in her childhood neighbourhood of SS3.
Nestled along a quiet row of shophouses in Taman Universiti, we discover Ben & Col Café, an eponymous endeavour by the husband-and-wife team of Ben and Colina.
Their unassuming shop is cosy and lived-in, less café and more the home of a friend who always asks if you’ve eaten.
Indeed, Ben and Colina take their time with customers, offering suggestions and radiating the sort of genuine hospitality that cannot be faked.
Ben & Col’s menu stretches wide—Penang classics like the aforementioned lor bak and Nyonya kerabu timun; everyday comfort dishes like braised Taiwanese minced pork rice (lu rou fan) or Thai pad krapao, and even Western-leaning plates such as Pork Bolognese Pasta and Pigs in Blanket.
This is not culinary confusion; rather, it reflects how real families eat: a bit of this, a bit of that, all guided by appetite and mood.
The bang kuang char (also known as jiu hu char) furthers this narrative. Arriving modestly—a tangle of jícama and thin slivers of pork belly—it reveals its depth slowly.
There’s that delicate crunch of sengkuang, carrying the smoky salinity of dried seafood until the whole dish hums with gentle umami.
Whether wrapped in lettuce or spooned over rice, it offers a quiet comfort that lingers in the mind long after the plate is cleared.
The cincaluk pork with rice and fried egg, on the other hand, has the unmistakable tang of fermented shrimp. The Malaccan boy in me appreciates the undisguised funk.
The pork soaks up this briny sharpness, turning into a savoury, slightly pink glaze that clings to plain white rice.
Break the yolk of the fried egg and everything softens, melds, becomes something deeply moreish—bold, salty, and made for those who relish the wilder pleasures of fermentation. (Me, naturally.)
Then there is the sambal belacan aglio olio with smoked duck, a playful bridge between Penang and Italy. Each strand of spaghetti is coated with aromatic garlic and olive oil; expect a lively kick from the sambal belacan.
The smoked duck tempers this heat with its mellow, woody richness. For something milder, there is also a bacon-and-mushroom variation.
Fusion, yes—but executed with the clarity of someone who understands both sides of the conversation. (And what conversations we have, bolstered by home-cooked comfort food!)
Finally, the nam yue fried chicken with rice demonstrates how simplicity can be elevated through care. Fermented red bean curd makes every bite of the crispy yet juicy chicken deliciously moreish.
In the end, Ben & Col Café offers more than satisfying meals.
It’s a reminder that fusion doesn’t have to be a bad word; that comforting, home-style of cooking will never go out of fashion; that the genuine warmth of owners who welcome customers like old friends will flavour every dish and make each one so much better.
Ben & Col Café
21-G, Jalan SS 3/29,
Taman Universiti, PJ
Open Wed-Fri 10:30am–2:30pm & 5:30–9:30pm; Sat-Sun 10:30am–9:30pm; Mon closed
Phone: 016-438 3922
IG: https://www.instagram.com/bencolcafe2024/
*This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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