Owners John and Angelina Branca
Maintaining allegiance to principles can prove problematic for restaurant owners, especially when fear rears its ugly head and the temptation becomes to compromise one’s calling to stay afloat. Knowing the culinary dynasty that has come to dominate East Passyunk Avenue, Angelina Branca felt initial pressure to perform, but in the five months that she and husband John have helmed Saté Kampar, she has never strayed from stressing that being authentic will breed a successful business.
“Our peers set a very high standard,” the 43-year-old said from her first dining venture, 1837 E. Passyunk Ave. “However, I realized we just have to keep doing what we know best.”
For the couple, who recently celebrated its 10-year wedding anniversary, that means executing excellent Malaysian offerings, with Angelina thrilled to honor her homeland’s nutritional chronicles.
“I’d been gone long enough from home to have the desire to have a space that would let me share my heritage,” the Center City dweller, who came to the United States in 2000, said of actualizing a dream that she and her beau had believed would be their retirement endeavor. “We’re thrilled to be here because of the mystique of East Passyunk Avenue and the receptivity to our food.”
The co-proprietor gushed when discussing her Asian birthplace’s inescapable influence on her identity as a foodie, noting that encountering her countrymen and countrywomen in Philadelphia and at her 50-seat dining site makes her feel as if she is interacting with relatives. East Passyunk Avenue won her enthusiastic personality over Northern Liberties and University City, leaving her in an overjoyed state where she feels free to experiment yet never compromise.
“We work with our flavors and find people from every country who can taste our food and identify with flavors from their backgrounds,” Branca said. “However, what we serve here is truly Malaysian, and that has gone over great.”
The eatery’s chief source of renown comes from its meat-on-a-stick options, but other items grant guests a delicious dining opportunity, including Kaya, the recipe for which she chose to share with readers.
“It’s kind of like my country’s version of peanut butter and jelly,” Branca said with a laugh about the coconut custard jam that her maternal grandmother prepared for her every day and that weekend brunch seekers have found irresistible. “It goes well with coffee or tea and just has this ability to help to energize you and make your day go better.”
Ingredients:
1 cup of coconut cream
2 blocks of palm sugar or 1 cup of sugar
5 eggs
8 pandan leaves
4 eggs at room temperature (Put them in boiling water for six minutes.
Immediately remove them, and cool them in cold water.)
2 teaspoons of soy sauce
A dash of white pepper
Directions:
Cut the pandan leaves into one-inch pieces. Combine the leaves, the sugar, and the coconut cream in a blender. Blend to extract the pandan juice, and strain to obtain a cup of pandan-infused coconut cream.
Whisk the eggs and the pandan-infused coconut cream in a bowl. Place the mixture in a double boiler, and gently cook, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens to a custard consistency, approximately 20 minutes. Immediately cool the custard over ice. Store the output in your refrigerator.
For the plating of the kaya and the soft-boiled eggs, begin by toasting four slices of bread. Spread salted butter on one slice and kaya on the other. Make a sandwich, and repeat the process. Crack two eggs into a bowl, add the soy sauce and the dash of pepper. Serve the kaya toast and the eggs together. ■
Saté Kampar
Owners: Angelina and John Branca
Opened: Feb. 10, 2016
1837 E. Passyunk Ave.
267–324–3860
twitter.com/satekampar
Photos by Tina Garceau
