Ten Years Resturant - The Best Street Foods in Malaysia under One Roof

Ten Years Restaurant at Sri Petaling

Recently, I visited a restaurant named Ten Years. Ten Years is a family oriented restaurant that sells Top Rated Malaysian Hawker Food all in one place. You practically can't miss the Ten Years Restaurant on the street it is set up on in Sri Petaling. It is a corner lot shop with black walls and the name and logo stand out boldly in white.

Stylized street seating 

Retro styled seating - Suryanh found his comfy spot during the launch

My first question was "Why the name Ten Years? ". Apparently it is sometimes all in the name. You see.. usually a decade defines a sort of lifestyle which includes food, past times, trends, music, movies. For example, when we flashback to the 90's, 80's, 70's and so on we always get a certain sense of nostalgia. According to it's founders, Ten Years was created with the dream to preserve the Malaysian food culture by passing it on to the next generations.

Malaysia's best all in one table

They actually combed the whole of Malaysia in search of the best street food. Only the very best were chosen to be included in Ten Years' menu. The selection criteria includes loooooooooong queues and sold out food, historic figures popular in their states, endorsed by media or popular on social media. How it works is, the original recipe owners sell the recipe and initially coach the team to prepare their dishes. Kak Yati, recipe owner for Nasi Lemak 223 even adds a more personal touch by delivering her sambal straight to the restaurant!

Nasi Lemak 223 - if sweet spicy sambal is your thing you should definitely try this!

Nancy Kitchen Nyonya Laksa - the prawns were very succulent

Other dishes to tickle your taste buds and share with the family include Nasi Dagang Kak Pah from Terengganu, Prawn Mee Jalan Chong Fatt Sze from Penang, Shun Fa Restaurant Chicken Rice from Kuala Lumpur, Tiger Char Kuey Teow from Penang, Nancy Kitchen Nyonya Laksa from Melaka, Nasi Kuning Tawau from (you guessed it) Sabah, Rojak Kepong Baru from (yes, you guessed it again) Kepong. The best part is (or worse part for some), it is all Pork Free! That said, it is a suitable place to hold small business meetings.

Shun Fa Chicken Rice - Suryanh & mom's favourite! We recommend this!

Tiger Char Kuey Teow - Not bad for Pork/Lard Free

 Prawn Mee Jalan Chong Fatt Sze - this picture says it all

Nasi Kuning Tawau - the rice is not so starchy so you won't feel too stretched 

Rojak Kepong Baru - more on the salty side, not so spicy

The CEO Victor Bong has always had a passion for food and had this idea of bringing all the best street food in Malaysia under one roof. He traveled up, down, left and right to personally invite the Original Recipe owners to embark on this journey with him. He would wait in the shops till closing time just to speak to the owner. He was turned down many times but he would try and try again and finally got his team. His main worry was that many of the recipe owner's did not have someone to hand down their legacy to. Their children (if any) were chasing their own dreams. Being a foodie, Mr. Bong wanted to ensure that the generations that follow will always be able to taste these Top Rated cuisines. He adds that Ten Years is open to partnering with hawkers, or restaurant owners owning signature Malaysian recipes, to safeguard their recipes for future generations, as well as developing a financial model for a passive income, while franchise owners are supported by Ten Years’ strong marketing, branding and operation infrastructure.

Mr. Bong and Chef Arthur Lim with the Original Recipe Owners during the launch

I was also lucky enough to speak to their Executive Chef, Arthur Lim. I was wondering how they manage the kitchen with so many Top Rated foods and still maintain quality with so many people handling it. He agrees that it is not an easy task. Do you know why the street stall food tends to taste better? It is always the same guy making the same dish with the same ingredients continuously for years! Chef Arthur says the biggest challenge is trying to maintain the taste of the dishes while utilizing the same ingredients across a few dishes. If you think about it,it's really not business worthy to stock up different rice, different prawns etc. though he maintains that they do their best to preserve the original taste of their offerings.

Chef Arthur Lim, me and Mr. Bong

They have big plans! For the near future this includes 40 outlets by 2017 and in the not so far away future 500 restaurants all across Malaysia so even if you are sitting in Sabah and feel like having some Rojak from Kepong you just have to step in to a Ten Years Restaurant. Ten Years Restaurant aims to serve Malaysian street food to the world by expanding in other ASEAN countries and open 200 outlets in China alone.

Me and my date during the launch

My first visit was with my 3 year old son and this is what he liked:
1. The deco from various eras - he was very fascinated with the vinyl records and biscuits from our childhood. Unfortunately the biscuits were just for display.
2. The pot used as a door handle in the unisex toilet and the make up studio kind of mirror they had in there.
3. The different seating options. He finally settled for the comfy sofa type.

Me and my friend on a more relaxed day

Facilities:
1. Free WiFi
2. Projector & TV available on request
3. Ample parking surrounding the restaurant
4. Unisex toilet

Private Room that can be used for dining, parties or meetings

FYI, don't expect to go paying street food prices for obvious reasons (atmosphere, over head costs, pork free, your travel cost - it's like your favorite food has traveled to you!)

Check out the food yourself or make a reservation for private events:

Address: No 1, Jalan Radin Bagus 6, Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, 57000 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03 - 9054 9688

Website: www.tenyears.com.my

Ten Years - side view 

*Ten Years Restaurant
Ten Years Restaurant is wholly owned by Horsemen Group Sdn Bhd, and is established with the
vision of preserving Malaysian food recipes for the future generation. The new gastronomic
enterprise gathers the most famous cuisines from across cultures, states and traditions, and rebrands
them to cater to modern and diverse tastes. The restaurant also aspires to bring these iconic street
flavours onto the global stage