Capucino cafe: good price, still far from perfection

It is usual that whenever we went out for dinner as a family, I tried to go somewhere new. Probably because I believe in being adventurous, at least in the food department. It is also because of that, whenever we go out for dinner, the headache occur. Luckily motormouth's blog was a good way to start to hunt for food, although I may not be total agreement over his palate.

Came across this joint in town, very near to our house, so since we are in the mood of something with a western taste, we decided to pay this restaurant a visit. Capucino cafe is situated in Jln Chung Thye Phin, across Ave Maria school. From Gunung Rapat, once past the town's roundabout, take the 10 o'clock exit, and take the first turning on the left. You will pass though Elim Gospel Hall first. Look out for the billboard where a couple in dark brown having tea. The name on the board may be missed though due to its peculiar font.

Deco is rather homely, spacious with earth colour as its theme. Service is expectedly fair. Seemed to be run by the family. The menu is rather typical of the fusion western oriental fare. The usual chicken chop, steak, fried rice, pasta.... u get the idea. However, what prompted me to come in the first place, was the resume of the chef. Printed over the back of the menu, the chef was working as an executive chef abroad, mostly in Singapore. "This cant be bad.." I thought.

Then came the food. Mother-in-law ordered an usual fried rice (RM5). Surprisingly, it is rather nice. The usual stall type of fried rice with adequate "wok-hei". Nicely done, though not much of meat in the dish. Wife ordered cheese baked spaghetti cooked with chicken meat (set:RM 8.90). It was also nicely done, with tinge of herbs on top. It felt rather stall typed though, the taste leaning towards Oriental style. I still preferred the one served by Airport. It was generous with cheese so I love the dish. I ordered Mongolian chicken chop (set: RM 11.90). The chicken was marinated well, and juicy. The sauce was the one that set it apart from others. Rather creamy with a bit of herbs and spice. Not hot though. I simply love the taste. We also ordered mash potato (RM 3.90 for 3 scoops). It was normal machine churned out mash potato, but the gravy was nice, taste like KFC minus the black pepper taste.

Ah, the taste was simply above average given the price was rather reasonable. HOWEVER, what comes after the dinner was the one to pull it back to reality. We were so thirsty after the dinner, which made me realize that probably much MSG was put into the dinner. Dun get me wrong, I still love the taste here, it is rather special given the normal cafe setting and the reasonable price. But, it is still far from perfection.

ratings: 3 poink!

comments: i suspect much MSG is the culprit, so lower down the scores....but for a cheap set dinner/ lunch, this is really nice.

Capucino Cafe, Jln Chung Thye Phin, Ipoh