PETALING JAYA, Nov. 4 -- Stacks of delicate appam. Stir fried snake gourd with dal, mustard seeds and dried chillies. And best of all, nasi lemak, with a choice of sambal prawns, sotong or irresistible mutton varuval. Wouldn't your mouth water too?

They say that nothing tastes quite as good as mum's cooking and Suresh Gnanasekaran will be the first to agree.

The affable 38-year-old is the co-founder of Kadei by Manchula in Taman Megah, PJ; the restaurant focuses on South Indian cuisine "spiced the Malaysian way" which has meant it has attracted fans from all walks of life.

And no one is a bigger fan of his mother's cooking - "Auntie Manchula" to family, friends and the shop's regular customers - than Suresh.

He shares, "Even when we w...