A spin-off from Delicious, Simply d which opened its first outlet in NU Sentral recently runs on a refreshing concept. CEO of the Delicious Group as well as the driving force behind this venture, Steve Allen thinks it’s a great idea to let the customers decide what and how they want their food done.
“Yes, let them make the decisions, people like to do that, especially when it concerns their food!” enthused Steve. By the way, Simply d has since opened up 2 more outlets – one at The Curve and Avenue K.
So, once you enter the bright cheerful (predominantly orange and blue) cafe, start your mix-and-match game for your noodles/pasta dishes. There are more than 10 styles to choose from, ranging from carbonara, dry-tossed sambal to sweet basil and cashew nuts pesto. I particularly like the “salted egg pumpkin” option. Once you have decided on the style, choose your noodles/pasta… from the nondescripot yellow mee to more canggih stuff like soba or spaghettini. Lastly, the best part: choose your add-ons/toppings from simple fare like ikan bilis (anchovies) to funkier items like grilled lamb kofta, tea eggs or char-grilled chicken.
Wanting to try as much variety as possible, we maxed the options and ended up having their Chilli Chicken Pastamee (RM13) using linguine, Salted Egg Pumpkin with fusili (RM12), Beef Short Ribs Herbal Soup with soba (RM12.50), Vietnamese Salmon Pho (RM15) with flat white noodles and the Simply d Laksa with spaghettini (RM12). My personal favourites are the chilli chicken pastamee, beef short ribs herbal soup and the curry laksa.
Chilli Chicken Pastamee
The pastamee tasted remarkably like our popular local “pan mee” – the texture of the linguine has just the right bite, the minced chicken is well-seasoned and the chilli sambal is decent but may need more heat for that kickass effect.
Beef Short Ribs Herbal Soup
The Beef Short Ribs are fork tender and full of bovine character, enhanced nicely with herbs and spices. Slurping the soba, I can’t help feeling that the dark broth has a very comforting feel to it.
Simply d Laksa
The version of curry laksa here is a bit toned down but Chef Allen is careful to maintain the right balance of spices in the laksa broth. For more oomph, do ask for more sambal to go with this.
For those who would rather not make too many decisions on noodles and prefer a quick sandwich or burger, Simply d has a few to keep them happy. I love the Beef Burger (RM13) with its thick juicy beef patty lodged between layers of cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and caramalised Onions in a brioche bun. Honestly, that’s one of the best beef burgers I’ve had in a long time. For someone who’s not a burger fan, I’ll eat that again when I visit Simply d next!
Beef Burger
If you are on a healthy eating trail, the Chicken Avocado & Pine Nuts Tortilla Wrap (RM12) and Mushrooms, Tomatoes & Pesto Sandwich (RM12.50) are right up your alley. They’re tasty too, trust me.
Chicken Avocado & Pine Nuts Tortilla Wrap
Mushrooms, Tomatoes & Pesto Sandwich
Still on the healthy trend, I like the Caesar Salad that comes with a Tea Egg (RM11). Odd combination, that Chinese tea egg but to me, it works. The unique flavours of the Chinese tea and herbs somehow blend in pretty well with the salad.
Caesar Salad that comes with a Tea Egg
What didn’t work very well is the Som Tam Salad which lacked the requisite flavours. That needs to be rehashed.
Desserts – there is a whole wide range of sweet stuff in the glass case. This is a spin-off from Delicious, remember? From the variety available, I like the Coconut Pandan Cake. It’s a crowd pleaser – there’s nothing not to like when coconut and pandan are fused together in a light spongy cake.
It’s never boring in Simply d – there’s always some kind of promotion going on in there. The Breakfast Menu is available all-day from 10.30am onwards where you can have a toasted egg muffin and a black coffee (8oz) for only RM8. Then there’s the Coffee Break Special (from 3pm onwards) where for a purchase of a coffee (12oz & above), you can get a dessert for RM4!
Coconut tart
Chocolate Brownie
Toast with Pandan & Coconut Ice-cream
Look out for the Monday afternoon (between 3-4pm) promotion of “Pay anything you like” for a cup of 8oz coffee! Yes, any amount, starting from 10 sen. I was told the highest amount paid for this was RM20 and the lowest amount was 10 sen!
Simply d
Lot G9 NU Sentral
201 Jalan Tun Sambanthan
50470 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +6012-512-9221
Opens daily 8.00am-10.00pm