WHEN one thinks of a departure lounge, images of an airport will come to mind. Yet the Departure Lounge in Mont Kiara has nothing to do with an airport. Besides, there is no airport in Mont Kiara.
Departure Lounge is the latest restaurant located at Solaris, in the Mont Kiara neighbourhood.
After stepping into the restaurant, one will understand why the place is named as such.
Pictures of famous destinations, tourist attractions as well as images of people and faces from all over the world decorate part of the wall as if to greet customers.
Mexican classic: Chicken Puebla comes with chunks of marinated chicken strips, grilled tomatoes and capsicum rolled in flour tortilla and with lettuce. It is served with nacho chips and salsa.
Then in a corner, there is a reading area complete with chairs.
Rows of various books on travelling, including travel guides and information books by the Lonely Planet fill up the shelves.
There are even memorabilia like wooden clogs from the Netherlands, foreign car licence plates and commercial plane models on display along with the books.
Some of the books and memorabilia belong to the owners, others given by customers.
“These are the things that I love most — travelling, eating and reading.
“And we have them all here, all three subjects combined under one roof at Departure Lounge,” said co-owner Loo Chee Wei.
Being an avid traveller, besides enjoying food and reading, Loo opened the restaurant to share his passion with others.
He said the idea for the restaurant was mooted several years ago, before the opening of the first outlet.
Initially, he wanted to open a bookstore selling just travel related books. But then he realised that the idea might not be feasible as the demand for such books was still limited.
“In England there are bookstores that specialise in selling travel books because of the demand but it is different here.
“But Malaysians love to eat so we decided to open an eatery with a bookstore as part of the offering,” he said.
Together with his sister Annie Loo and two others, he opened his first outlet in Aman Suria, Petaling Jaya three years ago,
His wife, Tan Sheau Yann, and friend Jordan Chin have joined Chee Wei and Annie at the new outlet in Mont Kiara since its opening at the end of last year.
Patrons can browse the travel books and information available at the reading corner while enjoying a cuppa.
“Some of the books have my handwritten notes and which might come in handy to travellers.
“It helps because it contains tips and additional information besides what is stated in the book,” he said, stressing that the books are just for reading. No borrowing is allowed,
If one were to look for local favourites like fried noodles or nasi lemak then they should look elsewhere as Departure Lounge only offers all-day breakfast and sandwiches.
Tempting: Bagel bacon butty with either beef or turkey bacon comes in a choice of plain or bluebery bagel.
“Yet customers have more than 30 varieties of sandwiches to choose from and plenty of breakfast selections.
“Originally we started off with six sandwiches but now it has developed into an extensive listing for customers to choose from.
“Some of these sandwiches were recommended by our customers,” he said.
Some of the regular customers still prefer to have the original sandwiches like classic tuna, roast chicken or simply the grilled cheese sandwich,
The sandwiches are available in a variety of bread, sauces and condiments. During the food review recently, Chee Wei presented the “Do it my way” breakfast - chicken puebla and bagel bacon butty.
He said the Do-it-my-way breakfast was a favourite during the weekend as customers could make their own.
“They can choose to have three, five or seven items from the 13 on the list. All they have to do is tick the items in the order card so that we can prepare them according to their liking.
“It is especially popular for those who want to have a late breakfast or as a meal during the day,” he said.
Patrons can choose chicken sausages, turkey ham, beef bacon, turkey bacon, baked beans, hash brown, sauteed mushrooms, scrambled, fried or half-boiled eggs, grilled tomato, fish fingers or pancake. The order comes with toast.
The chicken puebla makes for a hearty meal. A Mexican classic, the finger food comes with chunks of marinated chicken strips, grilled with tomatoes and capsicum to add more flavour.
Rolled in flour tortilla with lettuce, the chicken puebla is served with nacho chips and salsa.
In the Britain, the word butty itself refers to a sandwich.
And at Departure Lounge, customers who order bagel bacon butty can choose either beef or turkey bacon which is cooked with HP sauce and served with lettuce on either plain or bluebery bagel. They can also opt for English muffin instead of bagel.
“Not many people know what bagel is but it is a common western breakfast.
“Although it looks like a doughnut, bagel is heartier and very filling.
“Usually, people simply take it toasted with cream cheese spread for breakfast but here we have it as a sandwich,” he said.
To complete the meal, one must try the variety of brewed coffee available at the outlet.
The adventurous should try the Black Forest Mocha or the Pink Guava Latte.
Chee Wei said they used raspberry syrup and chocolate sauce for the black forest mocha with raspberry sauce on top and similarly, the pink guava latte also uses pink guava syrup as its ingredient.
Although the name may raise some eyebrows, many of those who have tried these keep coming back for more.
Departure Lounge, No. 10, Jalan Solaris 4, Solaris Mont’ Kiara, 50480, Kuala Lumpur. Tel:(03-6203 0362). Business Hours: 8am - 7pm (Monday-Saturday) and 10am-5pm (Sunday and public holidays).
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