You never know what you have till it’s gone, so they say. But in this case, I had always loved some of the wonderfully not-so Peranakan nor Eurasian dishes that once slid off the kitchen counter of Casa Bom Vento Restaurant. It is difficult for me not to like their spicy kacang botol ( four angled winged bean salad) , the devil’s curry and their killer application, the pan fried stingray with peppercorn and curry leaves (add a bite of lime to that). I consider that a balanced meal. They even bravely marched into town just next to Raffles Hotel two years ago. Then, as famously as they came in 1995, they exited the scene in a puff in 2007. Ouch.

But joy of joys, in October this year, they re-appeared, but not quite completely. “I took some time off since my mother passed away and drifted into odd jobs in the industry and even attempted to run a coffeeshop in Jalan Besar area”, admits an unfocussed Lionel Chee whose founder mother Gladys passed on about three years ago. His foray into the coffeeshop business ran into operational problems a few months back so, with what’s left of his courage and bank account, and in the good name and memory of his late mother, he re-booted Mrs Chee’s Chicken Curry, in a humble coffeeshop space within view of their original spot in Joo Chiat. But it only offered 3 dishes initially- curry chicken, mee siam and itek tim (salted mustard leaves and duck soup). What? And they were sad renditions of what it used to be (nothing much there escapes an East Coast prowler cat like me). I pressed Lionel for some revelations and he dragged on about how it was difficult to get back on his feet and the “loneliness” of starting up this all over again adding “cutting up meats and vegetables in the afternoons all alone is mentally straining”. But some of his old regulars recognized him and started streaming back, albeit slowly. He struggled with $50 a-day takings and began working on food range and quality, still, all by himself. So on my third try at his offerings last week, things were looking up (for me, that is). There are now about twelve items and my favourite stingray is back! And Lionel also gets part time help from his wife Wendy on weekends.

The alluring stingray with peppercorns and curry leaves
is no flash in the pan

I dived into six of them and will revel in five. His kacang botol was as crunchy and sharp as I remembered. He tossed the chopped beans in chilli, garlic and lime sauce with gentle hints of some spices. I like the addictive essence of the rawness in the salad. Then out came a plate of juicy highlight, the stingray with black peppercorns and curry leaves. I was home again in Casa Bom Vento. The fact that each order has to be made individually as you order, already scored some points for me. The juiciness of the fish, coupled with the generous sprinkling of not-so-spicy cut green chillis tossed with curry leaves was delightful. Not to mention how the whole sensation was lifted with a dash of lime and soy sauce. Mmm..mm, it was a perfect mate for that plate of steamed rice. Lionel does not marinate it ahead of time as “it will dry up the stingray”. When the ayam buah keluak came, I suddenly recalled what made theirs different- the nut came without the shell and the was blended all into the very rich, black and grainy rempah (spice paste). I could swivel around the pounded lemon grass, garlic, galangal etc..in my palate. Ditto for their signature chicken curry. It’s not one of those thick-with-coconut-milk and curry powder sensation and I would not venture to call it a curry- it’s more like a pleasing thick chicken rempah dish. Then he brought out another of my new found fave- the taupok hae cho (minced meat rolls). The fillings were just the usual good chunky minced pork with finely chopped greens but it was the skin wrap that turned me in. He uses an inverted taupok and fries it crispy. Yowl! And the lime sambal dip, light in belacan, did not hurt either.

The stunning detail here is the use of an inverted taupok
as a skin for this taupok meat roll

But his devil’s curry was deceptive. One day it came rich and thick with enough hints of tang and on another, the rempah was not as well pre-fried, like on this occasion. I have to admit that his devil’s curry has a Peranakan influence and edge in taste, not quite true blue but pleasing nevertheless. I will not wax lyrical about his other signature itek tim. The one time I tried two weeks back, was, in the lingo of the Babas- “cair’ (weak and diluted). Do work on that Lionel, and please, rename it Casa Bom Vento, for a true tribute to the legacy your late mother left.