Passion Road

February 2010

Surprise one: a venue that predominantly – in fact almost exclusively – caters for high end weddings and social functions offers a simple, affordable lunch.

Surprise two: That lunch is tasty, generous of portion and dished up sufficiently quickly to easily fit within the hour allowed by most employers.

Surprise three: All this is in the heart of the city.

Less surprising when it comes to a private function venue like Passion Road is that the place settings sparkle and every effort has been made to create an ambience of romance and style. The ‘Secret Garden’ motif is highly evident, nowhere more greatly symbolised than in the ever-trickling water feature that runs at the base of the giant tree at the restaurant’s front.

While there are tables indoors, the atmosphere is in the garden. Even if it also happens to be joined by the warmth and some mosquitoes. Thankfully, fans and coils keep those pair of unwelcome guests under some semblance of control.

There are two lunch menus. One for RM10 and a ‘Premium’ for RM15. Your option (yes, there’s only one) changes every couple of days, which at least has the benefit of you never getting bored with the menu.

The dishes on that menu are a Passion Road interpretation of a Chinese or Malay classic. Recent offerings included a fresh, wholesome vegetarian rice dish served with rich chicken broth, strips of vegetables in spicy gravy and tender chicken bites. I was expecting, given the price, that the meat would have been compromised but the quality was fine. On reflection, perhaps they buy the good stuff for their expensive functions and then roll it out for lucky lunchers.

Either way, that RM10 or RM15 is terrific value, whether lunch means makan with friends/colleagues or a business meeting with clients. Matthew Bellotti