STARMETRO, SATURDAY 6 MAY 2017 Business 21 The chicken Amma's Modern Kitchen started in 2015 in Sydney, Australia satay. By ZIEMAN [email protected] THE appeal of Amma’s Modern Kitchen in Home-cooked Malaysian Toongabbie, in the suburb of Sydney, Australia is not only in its delicious food. The charm has enticed Malaysian tourists and locals alike, who are full of praise for the exotic food. favourites in Sydney Like any true Malaysian, founder and owner Amy Ramachandren, 39, craved for home-cooked food when she first arrived in Sydney some 10 years ago. But when the Owner from Penang finds niche offering banana longing became too much, Amy decided to open a restaurant. leaf concept and Asian staples in Australia Although there are a few Malaysian res- taurants around, Amy wanted the Malaysian-Indian food with a South Indian twist. The only place she could get the fix is at Kammadhenu Restaurant in Homebush, cooked by Sandra Ponniah. “I miss my kind of food, so while working as an Account Receivable @ Order Processing Clerk at a public-listed logistic company in Sydney, I started planning to set up the Malaysian-Indian restaurant,” said the businesswoman, whose real name is Tamilarasi. Char kuey teow is a hit with customers at Since she used to run a fish-head curry Amma's Modern Kitchen. and crab masala restaurant back home, Amy knew how to set up a restaurant. And so, she called Aunty Ponniah and her broth- er, Devan Vallipuram to start Amma’s Modern Kitchen in Homebush, Sydney. “I chose the name Amma, which means, “mother” in Tamil. There’s nothing like mum’s cooking and you just miss it wherev- er you are and that’s how I want the taste to Amy says her ultimate dream is to open the be,” said Amy who now operates her res- first drive-through Malaysian restaurant in Chicken Briyani as served at Amma's Modern taurant at Aurelia St, Toongabbie in Sydney, Australia. Kitchen. Australia. The place, which caters for 60 people, serves Malaysian curries, South Indian and chefs to ensure the authenticity of my Sri Lankan street food, freshly made para- Malaysian food. Currently, I have three tha, roti canai, murtabak and also Chinese- Malaysian students as service staff and Malaysian staples. She opened her restau- three Malaysian chefs including myself. rant in 2015. “The ingredients are sourced from the The front of the restaurant is a takeaway Asian groceries near my house and also in counter with various curries, deep-fried Sydney, which has the biggest market. Some snacks like vegetable/lamb/chicken rolls, of the stuff is imported from Malaysia. chicken scotch eggs, masala vadai with “At times, we have to substitute certain chutney, ulundu vadai, fish cutlet, chicken/ ingredients but we try to do that sparingly. fish patties and Indian sweets. Only if it gives similar quality because we During weekends, customers can look don’t compromise on the quality of food,” forward to salmon fish-head curry with said Amy, who bought some banana leaf-de- okra and tomatoes. signed plates during her recent trip home. “Our curries are different as we don’t use Due to popular demand, Amy hopes to coconut milk but they’re still creamy. Red expand Amma’s Modern Kitchen to a chain Snapper fish-head curry is also popular restaurant. among Malaysians and Singaporeans. Our “We get a few big groups sometimes but cooks are well trained and able to whip up because of the lack of space, we have to good stuff in the kitchen,” said Amy who turn some of them down. And this happens used to be an accounts manager for Karpal mostly on weekends. We hope to get a big- Singh & Co. ger place and introduce more variety on Their banana leaf concept together with the menu. the other ‘must-have’ Malaysian dishes like “Only then we can start thinking of open- The Vegetarian Nasi Lemak is special in its nasi lemak, mamak mee goreng, Penang ing the second branch. Making Amma’s own way. char kuey teow, satay, rojak, mee rebus, Modern Kitchen a chain is my ultimate ABC, cendol and briyani are also a hit with dream and hopefully we can make it the customers. first drive-through Malaysian restaurant in She spent her teenage life in Sungai “It’s not easy to be popular overnight Australia,” she said. Buloh and Bangsar among other places, as especially to be recognised as the first Over the years, the place has been a her father worked with KTM Berhad. Malaysian-Indian Restaurant in Sydney. meeting point of sorts for Malaysians. Despite her success, Amy still thinks fond- “Thanks to the word-of-mouth promo- “You get Malaysians all under one roof ly of home. tion, which has drawn more customers here. They get to know each other and “I love and miss Malaysia. I try to come from Sri Lanka, China, Singapore, exchange phone numbers while waiting for back at least once a year. My recent trip Philippines and Indonesia. Our merged the food to be served. was last January after a four-year gap. I kitchen concept – Take Away & Dine-in is “I feel blessed whenever my customers spent a month back home this time. also a hit among locals,” said the mother of say they love coming to my restaurant. We “But how I wish I could spend more time three children, aged 13, 15 and 17. are in no competition. there. Then again, that would be impossible Amy hopes to put all the special items in “Our food is like what our mothers would as it can affect my business,” said Amy the daily menu and available on all days, so cook at home. I want to reach people’s whose daily mantra is; whatever the mind as not to disappoint anyone. heart through my food,” said Amy who was of man can conceive and believe, it can “I also prefer to hire Malaysian staff and born and raised in Mount Erskine, Penang. achieve!” said Amy..