Venerable Malaysian doyenne Madam Kwan Swee Lian, who is 80 this year, 1st made a name for herself and her nasi lemak running Sakura restaurant in Jalan Imbi from 1977 to 1997. The popular casual-dining restaurant, Madam Kwan's, started in 1999 as a shop in Bangsar and now has six more branches in Kuala Lumpur malls such as Suria KLCC and Pavilion. And its 1st overseas branch opened in Singapore on 19 May so you do not have to travel 5 hours north for your fix of swanky street food. Located on the 1st floor of VivoCity, the 4,000 sq ft contemporary-designed space decked in gold and lots of wood could sit about 200. Most often than not, there would be a queue outside so my dining companion and I considered ourselves lucky there were none (in fact, there were a few empty tables) when we visited on a weekday evening. Despite so, we waited very long to order but food was served fast enough. Chinese tea, a pot each for pouring into a cup or glass with ice – hot/cold, was refilled quickly.
