Malaysia's first military concept cafe, TOKB Café open on 28th May 2016. Short for Taste of Kota Bharu, the café serves up tantalizing Kelantanese dishes prepared by the two head chefs, namely Puan Norma Binti Salleh from Kelantan, loving dubbed Kak Ma by all who know her, and Lucas Lee, one of the two founders of the café.
The history behind this café literally got its beginnings from ‘history’. “On 8 December 1941, Kota Bharu was invaded by the Japanese. Unbeknown to most, the infamous attack on Pearl Harbour only took place 70 minutes later, and World War II was declared. This point is left our in many history books and we feel that TOKB Café provides an opportunity to learn more about the major role Kota Bharu played in the early years.” said Bernard Tung, Director of TOKB Café.
Part café and part viewing gallery with various wartime memorabilia, TOKB Café focuses on serving authentic Kelantanese fare such as Nasi Kerabu, Nasi Dagang, Laksam, Nasi Rocket (Nasi Tumpang), and Teh Atom (Teh Tarik Madu) flanked by Japanese and Western tidbits like Edamame and Smoked Salmon canapes, demonstrating the presence of the two ruling parties who may have introduced their flavours to Malaya, however, they did not affect the original tastes of Kota Bharu.
Teh Atom
Nasi Kerabu tasted really delicious.
Laksam
Nasi Roket was good and it really looked like a rocket.
Ikan Patin Masak Tempoyak was cooked with durian.
Gulai Udang prawns were fresh and the sauce was delicious.
Ayam Masak Merah chicken was soft and nice.
Bent on ensuring the authenticity of the dishes, partners Tung and Lee scoured the small town of Kota Bharu for someone who could create mouthwatering Kelantanese dishes whilst invoking the comfort of a lovingly prepared home-cooked meal and this is when they stumbled on the perfect individual – Kak Ma. Proudly cooking the traditional recipes passed down through the generations from her ancestors, she has been sharing her soul-soothing dishes in a small ‘warung’ (stall) for over 30 years. Such is the secrecy of these recipes that many of the ingredients used at TOKB Café are sourced directly from Kota Bharu.
Bernard Tung, Kak Ma and Lucas Lee
Prices of food and drinks here are very affordable, prices start from RM1.20 and go no higher than RM17.90. Spanning over 6000 sq ft, the café has a semi-outdoor area for alfresco dining, an indoor
air-conditioned area and a cosy mezzanine floor, all in all seating around 100 diners comfortably. And for private functions, the area can be further extended to accommodate up to 300 pax.
Located at Section 13 in Petaling Jaya, the café occupies a fair area of the Ground floor of the newly built 18-storey Avenue D’Vogue and has ample parking space in the basement with some lots reserved for café diners on the ground floor. Fans of the café can opt to join the Loyalty programme which will see them accorded with their very own engraved military ‘dog tag’ bearing their key personal details and ranking from Sergeant to General, depicting their discount entitlement beginning from 8% all the way up to 22%!
The café is open for dining from 12:00pm to 9:00pm daily with take-out options. Delivery services are not yet available but will be in the near future.
For more information about our TOKB Café or to make a dining reservation, please email
tokbcafe@gmail.com or visit us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tokbcafe/
