WHEN the box of British chicken pies arrived from Homebake Recipes, I couldn’t resist helping myself to one. The small pie was still warm, with a lovely buttery aroma, crumbly pastry and a creamy filling of chicken, potato, carrot and mushrooms.

The chicken pie (RM50 for 12) made a yummy “appetiser” before our actual “Weekend Special” lunch of nasi lemak accompanied by chicken curry, beef rendang and nyonya asam pork. We shared the pies, and I had another one for breakfast the next morning too.

This draggy lockdown has made me crave for spicy food, hence the nasi lemak. It was a well-cooked one from Homebake Recipes, with the richness of coconut milk in the rice. The basic nasi lemak (RM8) comes with vegetables, sambal, ikan bilis and peanuts, egg and potato curry. We had two portions for the three of us, sharing the chicken curry (RM8), beef rendang with Australian beef (RM25) and nyonya asam pork (RM14).

The beef rendang was excellent, tender and flavourful with all the attendant herbs, roots and spices used to slow-cook the meat. The nyonya asam pork was a great combination with the coconut rice. The creamy curry had sour overtones, tempering the richness of pork, and tasted good. The chicken curry was a mild one that even children can eat.

The next Weekend Special offered signature Thai laksa (RM18) and desserts of pandan layer slice (RM8) and coconut longan jelly (RM8 for three cups). We opted for the Combo Deal of laksa and dessert (RM24).Thai laksa has been the signature dish for Homebake Recipes in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, for the past 20 years. The rempah for the laksa and curries are made in-house as Homebake also supplies various spice blends to cafes and restaurants.

The Thai laksa has a flavourful, aromatic broth thick and sweet with fish. It’s garnished with a hard-boiled egg, pineapple, shallots, cucumber, mint and chilli. The smooth and fine laksa noodles are bought directly from Kedah. We liked the lightly sweet and fragrant pandan layer cake and the longan coconut jelly was perfect after the Thai laksa.

Peri Peri chicken (RM75) was also delivered with our laksa. It was for a friend who generously shared it with us. The chicken looked moist, rich and luscious, covered with a thick red sauce and scattered with slices of lime. It was delicious. Charred capsicums for a smoky taste, Cajun spices, smoky capsicums, shallot and garlic paste, lime zest and lime juice are in the marination for the chicken which sits in it for eight hours before being roasted.

I loved the flavours of the sauce embracing the chicken – smoky, sweet and tangy. It’s chicken to eat with your hand and lick your fingers clean after that.

While Homebake Recipes has a la carte dishes like the Peri Peri chicken, British chicken pies, classic lasagna, mee rebus, Thai laksa and dry fried laksa, it also targets small families (enough for four) with its Weekend Specials.

This weekend, it’s roasted lemon chicken and Mediterranean rice bake. For the next weekend it’s about its signature mee rebus, blueberry Philadelphia cheesecake and the best-selling choco-oatmeal cookies.

Teatime treats of cranberry scones, apricot apple pies, yam “orh nee” cake and apple banana crumble are also available.

Homebake Recipes is run by Wen Huey Lau, a former surgeon who studied and worked in the United Kingdom, and has a passion for food. She works with her husband Jon, who has had his culinary training in Switzerland. Porcupine Place in Puchong was their first food venture. Jon has also worked as a chef at Blackbyrd, KLCC. Jon’s parents had been running Homebake Recipes for 30 years.

There’s free delivery for up to 8km, or RM10 off delivery exceeding that with a minimum spend of RM100. “We’re trying our best to figure out ways to help our customers receive food with minimal to no delivery charges,” said Wen.

Homebake Recipes is at 17, Jalan 14/105, Taman Midah, 56000 Kuala Lumpur. WhatsApp your orders to 012-214 0035. – July 17, 2021.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.