From Pici Carbonara to Pork Ragu Pappardelle, Staple Dough in Taman Megah, PJ is a handmade pasta wonderland

PETALING JAYA, Sept 10 — The salty cured pork jowl or guanciale. More salt from Italian cheeses, a hedonic pairing of Pecorino Romano and Grana Padano. A rich sauce made from egg yolks and a creamy crown of 63 degrees Celsius sous-vide egg yolk.

All this to coat thick strands of the hand-rolled pasta known as pici — or as it is sometimes called, “the Tuscan fat spaghetti”. A final flourish with a generous dusting of Sarawak black pepper.

Yes, the Pici Carbonara at Staple Dough in Taman Megah, PJ, is truly a luxurious affair.

Staple Dough was founded by Tan Zheng Yi, 29, who had studied marketing in Melbourne before returning to Malaysia and working in the F&B (food and beverage) industry. He recalls, “Eight months later, I opened a café called Flakes and sold it after four and a half years.”

Clearly Tan isn’t one to stay idle for long. But it wasn’t impatience as much as the Covid-19 pandemic that forced the entrepreneur to rethink his approach.

He explains, “After Flakes had opened for four months, MCO started. During the lockdown, many were stuck at home and our café operation had to be cut down in size. Hence I had a lot of time at home to explore new things.”

This period of introspection, Tan decided to follow his curiosity… and with it his passion. He shares, “I love to eat pasta and saw the market was lacking handmade pasta. So I decided to experiment to make handmade pasta at home.”

The experiment led to a bout of stream-of-consciousness creativity: Tan sat down at his dining table and sketched out the name of his project to sell pasta kits during the Covid-19 lockdown.

He says, “The logo was handwritten before that to show that my pastas are handmade. Why Staple Dough? Because I thought the staple diet for Italians is mostly made with dough, hence ‘Staple Dough’.”

In late 2022, Tan decided that he could transform his home-based business into a proper pasta-centric restaurant, given the lockdown restrictions had eased and the public had returned to dining out once more.

He roped in two co-founders — Shawn Eng, 29, who manages Staple Dough’s finances and front-of-house, and Hii Chuan Jiet (whom everyone calls Chuan), 33, as the head chef.

Staple Dough co-founders (left to right): Hii Chuan Jiet, Tan Zheng Yi and Shawn Eng. — Picture courtesy of Staple Dough

“We then found a new neighbourhood mall in Taman Megah and thought it had high potential as there weren’t any similar products offered at that location. Chuan, having been a chef previously, has a good palate, so we started to R&D recipes at home.”

From simple ingredients such as kampung eggs and flour, there comes pasta of all shapes and sizes. Head chef Chuan rolls out the fresh pasta before hanging them to air dry.

 From ‘kampung’ eggs and flour to pasta of all shapes and sizes .— Picture courtesy of Staple Dough

Head chef Chuan rolling out pasta. — Picture courtesy of Staple Dough

Hanging freshly made pasta to dry. — Picture courtesy of Staple Dough

The cooks are kept busy dishing up the popular Pork Ragu Pappardelle — the pork is simmered for 12 hours in a luscious red wine and tomato-based sauce — and the Prawn & Chorizo Tagliolini, perfumed with white wine and sweetened with cherry tomatoes.

Dishing up the popular Pork Ragu Pappardelle. — Picture courtesy of Staple Dough

The kitchen remains bustling throughout service, continuing to send out orders such as Seafood Stuffed Tagliatelle (with garlic emulsion, herb-chilli oil, balsamic reduction) and Duck Mezzaluna (duck rillettes, red berries jelly, foie gras sauce, toasted hazelnuts).

The bustling kitchen. — Picture courtesy of Staple Dough

With so many pasta dishes, surely it must be hard to pick out one favourite, even for the founder. For Tan, his go-to pasta remains the aforementioned Pici Carbonara.

He explains, “We use guanciale, pici, Pecorino Romano and Grana Padano for our classic carbonara. Pici, in particular, is hardly found here due to it being very labour intensive to make as each strand is rolled by hand.”

Showcasing an easily recognisable pasta dish on the menu might seem a no-brainer but Tan chose it to pay homage to the original incarnation.

“I found there is a lack of restaurants in Malaysia that offer classic style carbonara; what we usually see is creamy carbonara. Hence, we created our version to be as close to the authentic version of carbonara as possible for the local market.”

There are non-pasta dishes at Staple Dough too, from traditional Italian appetisers such as Burrata Caprese and Cold Capellini to sweet desserts like Tiramisu and Limoncello Meringue Tart.

Beyond the pastas, the smaller bites are what might delight the most. This runs the gamut from Chicken & Caviar (fried wings and Avruga Caviar) to Truffle Fries with a hint of kombu (Japanese dried kelp).

Chicken & Caviar and Truffle Fries (left). Truffle Cream Tagliatelle (right). — Picture courtesy of Staple Dough

Still, pastas remain the highlight. The menu morphs over the “seasons” as some pasta dishes come and go. Past hits include the Beef & Porcini Agnolotti as well as the Tiger Prawn and Bacon Ravioli in romesco sauce.

Right now it is truffle season at Staple Dough so regulars make a beeline for their Truffle Cream Tagliatelle. The long, flat ribbons of pasta are coated with a shower of shaved truffles and Grana Padano, and topped with a single kampung egg yolk.

Sounds absolutely decadent but beyond longtime stalwarts, there is a need to appeal to new customers especially those who haven’t been exposed to Staple Dough’s style of pasta.

Indeed, there are inherent challenges in running a handmade pasta business in Malaysia, given the public is still more accustomed to commercial dry pasta that comes out of a box.

Tan acknowledges this: “In the beginning, there were many complaints that the pasta is very tough to bite when it is al dente and that it is expensive. But once we start educating our customers about the art of making the pasta, they learn to appreciate our pasta more.”

Staple Dough has since built a loyal following of steadfast patrons, he adds. “Also, many restaurants are starting to make handmade pastas now. It seems that people are slowly accepting and enjoying the texture of handmade pastas.”

Tan and his co-founders aren’t resting on their laurels and have plans to expand. He shares, “We have our new outlet coming soon in TTDI in October, called Bella. This will be a pork-free outlet to cater to Muslim customers.”

It’s clear the team at Staple Dough will be sticking around and growing steadily, one plate of handmade pasta at a time.

Staple Dough

Lot G2, Megah Rise, No. 3, Jalan SS 24/9, Taman Megah, PJ

Open daily 12-10pm

Phone: 013-475 9859

Web: https://www.stapledough.com

IG: https://www.instagram.com/ssstapledough/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/stapledough/