I HAD always loved some of the wonderfully not-so-Peranakan nor Eurasian dishes that once slid off the kitchen counter of Casa Bom Vento Restaurant.

INSIDE OUT: An inverted taupok is used here as a skin for this taupok meat roll.

They had a spicy kacang botol (four angled winged bean salad), devil's curry and a pan-fried stingray with peppercorn and curry leaves (add a bite of lime to that).

I consider that a balanced meal.

It left the scene in a puff in 2007. Ouch.

But, joy of joys, in October this year, it re-appeared, though not entirely like before.

'I took some time off since my mother passed away, and drifted into odd jobs in the industry and even attempted to run a coffeeshop in the Jalan Besar area,' admitted Lionel Chee.

SIZZLING: The stingray with peppercorns and curry leaves is no flash in the pan. PICTURES: K F SEETOH

His foray into the coffeeshop business ran into operational problems a few months ago so, with what's left of his courage and bank account, and in the good name and memory of his late mother, he re-booted Mrs Chee's Chicken Curry in a humble coffeeshop space within view of their original spot in Joo Chiat.

It offered only three dishes initially - curry chicken, mee siam and itek tim (salted mustard leaves and duck soup).

And they were sad renditions of what they used to be (nothing much there escapes an East Coast prowler cat like me).

I pressed Lionel for details and he dragged on about how it was difficult to get back on his feet and the 'loneliness' of starting this up all over again, adding that 'cutting up meats and vegetables in the afternoons all alone is mentally straining'.

But some of his old regulars recognised him and started streaming back, albeit slowly.

He struggled with $50-a-day takings and began working on food range and quality, still, all by himself.

And on my third try, last week, things were looking up (for me, that is).

There are now 12 items and my favourite stingray is back!I dived into six.

His kacang botol was as crunchy and sharp as I remembered. He tossed the chopped beans in chilli, garlic and lime sauce with gentle hints of some spices. I like the addictive essence of the rawness in the salad.

Then out came the highlight - the stingray with black peppercorns and curry leaves.

I was home again in Casa Bom Vento.

That each dish is made individually as you order already scored some points for me.

The juiciness of the fish, coupled with the generous sprinkling of not-so-spicy cut green chillies tossed with curry leaves was delightful - not to mention how the whole sensation was lifted with a dash of lime and soy sauce.

Mmm... it was a perfect mate for that plate of steamed rice.

When the ayam buah keluak came, I suddenly recalled what made theirs different - it came without the shell, and the black paste was blended into the very rich, dark and grainy rempah (spice paste). It had pounded lemongrass, garlic, galangal and so on.

Ditto for their signature chicken curry. It's not one of those thick-with-coconut-milk and curry powder offerings and I would not venture to call it a curry - it's more like a pleasing thick chicken rempah dish.

Then he brought out another of my newfound faves - the taupok hae cho (minced meat rolls). The filling was good chunky minced pork with finely chopped greens.

He fries it crispy. Yowl! And the lime sambal dip, light in belacan, did not hurt either.

His devil's curry was deceptive.

One day it came rich and thick with enough hints of tang; on another, the rempah was not as well pre-fried. It has a Peranakan influence and edge in taste, not quite true blue, but pleasing nevertheless.

I will not wax lyrical about his other signature, itek tim. The one time I tried it two weeks ago, it was, in the lingo of the Babas, 'cair' (weak and diluted).

Do work on that Lionel, and please, rename it Casa Bom Vento, as a tribute to the legacy of your late mother.