Jade Nonya Cafe

Jonathan Wilson

My visit to my hometown this weekend was even more memorable when i could savour the offerings of a fresh coffee house. Lately my hometown Muar has seen the proliferation of several restaurants and boutique coffee houses - the final due toyoung entrepreneurs wanting to modernise traditional establishments started by their forefathers. Who owns the coffee house I was invited to today is really a 22 year old lady who has just finished her apprentiship ; she's named her establishment as “Jade Nonya Café”. Jade Nonya Café differs from another establishments in town in a number of ways. It is split into 2 sections - one serving meat dishes and another serving vegetarian based cakes. Only 100 % natural ingredients are employed ; artificial colourings and flavourings aren't utilised in the cakes made at Jade Café. The flour and palm sugar used are graded as class A. A multitude of Nonya cakes can be found, made fresh daily - included in these are Soon Kueh - a pastry filled up with crunchy sengkuang, Kueh Labu, Kueh Keladi Thailand, Ubi Kayu (tapioca ) , ondeh ondeh ( that is filled up with Class A palm sugar sourced from the factory in Sungai Balang ), Mee Hoon and Pisang Goreng - fried banana - a particular recipe is used, where in fact the banana is first wrapped with popiah skin ahead of being immersed in flour before being fried - the popiah keeps the banana fresh and soft even with being fried. Another unique feature of Jade Café may be the cosy, homely and natural ambience of the restaurant; planned by way of a land scape artist the restaurant is surrounded by mango and palm trees which shades patrons from heat and glare of sunlight. Various kinds of flowering and non flowering plants are scattered round the restaurant, giving an all natural beauty to the area. Bonsai plants and wood carvings are exhibited and offered on the market. Old wooden and stone chairs have already been cleverly arranged to supply sets of visitors privacy because they benefit from the surroundings and the meals. Another service available is acupuncture, supplied by an septuagenarian with 10 years’ experience in the art. The morning spent in Jade Nonya Café was a delicacy for the visual, gustatory and olfactory senses.