Game for home-cooked delights

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TUCKED away among a row of unassuming shoplots facing the Atria Shopping Centre in Damansara Jaya, Petaling Jaya, is a cafe serving home-cooked dishes.

The Mage Café, run by Azlina Tracey Chow and her son Ryan Hui, is unique because it is also a haven for card and board game enthusiasts.

“This was a gaming place before we took over about two and a half years ago,” Chow, 46, explained, “but we now put more emphasis on the food.”

With cosy red sofa sets, a homely seating area with wooden tables and chairs, and a selection of more than a hundred card and board games arranged neatly on the shelves, the café exudes a welcoming ambience.

Sweet temptations: Among the cafe’s specialties are the Apple Pie with Ice Cream (front) and the seasonal Durian Crepe Cake.

Whether it was for the food, the games or the company, Chow said, she had many regular customers frequenting the café.

She had previously run her own computer store but the tiresome routine got to her.

“I’d always loved to cook, so I thought, why not give the food business a try?” said Chow, who cooks most of the food listed on the menu.

Chow said the house specialty was the authentic Penang Assam Laksa (RM7.50), which she learnt from her Nyonya godmother in Penang.

“Everything is made from scratch using fresh ingredients. The other version is the Penang-style Thai Laksa, which has santan (coconut milk) in it,” she said.

She also recommended the Oriental Chicken Chop (RM11.90), which was a Hainanese-style chicken chop topped with a tomato-based gravy.

One of the specialties of The Mage Café which, according to Chow, brings regular customers back for more is the Petai Fried Rice (RM8), which is fried with cili padi and ikan bilis.

“Those who like petai would like this fried rice. The petai we use is less pungent than the regular ones,” said Chow.

Those who enjoy a bowl of boiled Chinese soup, like lotus root or watercress soup, would also want to drop by at the café from Tuesdays to Fridays, as Chow prepares a different type of soup each day, boiling the ingredients for more than three hours in a clay pot.

There is also an interesting selection of drinks, like First Love (carbonated Ribena with lychee) and Milky Way (rose syrup topped with milk, longan and cincau).

Laksa for different taste buds: Popular among the customers at The Mage Cafe is the Penang-style Thai Laksa (front) and the Penang Assam Laksa.

Besides a tempting selection of desserts like the homemade Apple Pie with Ice Cream and the Banana Cream Pie with Whipped Cream, Chow has also started to bake cakes to sell in her outlet and the seasonal Durian Crepe Cake is a must-try for those who cannot resist the king of fruits.

Made with fresh durian spread between layers of crepe, the price varies depending on the type of durian used.

For a simple teatime treat, The Mage Café offers a set comprising a slice of cake with coffee or tea, priced from RM5.90.

Gamers playing in the cafe are charged RM3 per hour for each person while customers who order food and drinks above RM10 can play the games in the café for RM5 with no time limit.