Passion for pies

By FARIDAH BEGUM
Photos by RICKY LAI

He started out by eating them, ended up making them, and now this accountant has carved a name for himself as the hottest pieman around.

AS an accountant, Thomas Romal had the luxury of travelling and living in different cities around the world.

And wherever he went, he always took in the sights and foods of the places where he sometimes stayed for long stretches of time.

Say pie: Thomas Romal is having the time of his life, making and selling pies.

It was during his last posting in New Zealand, about a decade ago, that he was introduced to the ritual of eating pies as snacks every other day.

Given his ease in the kitchen, it was just a matter of time before he started making and eating his own pies.

He worked on improving the pastries and fillings and before long he was making pies not only for personal consumption but also for sharing with friends and neighbours.

While in Australia, he saw a notice about a pie franchise. Romal, who was then preparing to come back to Malaysia, decided that it could be the ideal thing to break the monotonous cycle of dealing with figures.

He met the Australian behind the set-up and they talked about possibilities of setting up a pie production company in Asia.

To the Australian, however, Asia meant China so he went on to suggest that both of them each pitch in AUS$1mil and get the wheels of their plan moving.

Romal explained that he meant Malaysia, and even as he said that, he felt a sense of apprehension as to whether Malaysians would actually take to pies.

“Well, everything starts with a dream and if it fails, I can only say I did try,” he said when met at his outlet in the Hartamas Shopping Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

On Sept 1, 2004, he put his plans into action. He began making pies in his kitchen and supplying them to several outlets in the capital.

He also tried to sell them himself at the Mont Kiara flea market on weekends.

“It was really funny seeing people buying several pies and eating them in front of the stall. I would approach them and ask how the pie was.

“They would look at me strangely but open up when I say: ‘Sorry to bother you but I am Mr Pieman’,” he said with a chuckle.

That strategy won fans over, enabling him to open his own pie outlets at the Hartamas Shopping Centre, Mid Valley Megamall, Sunway Pyramid and One Utama.

Romal still supplies pies to other cafes and restaurants although he currently has four outlets and is preparing to open another soon in the KL city centre.

His operations begin at 3am and the last batch of pies are on the road to the outlets by 10am.

The pies are baked fresh daily and if there are any leftovers at the end of the day, they are destroyed.

“Here’s a tip to knowing if you are eating a fresh pie or not: If it’s fresh, the juices or gravy in the filling will flow or drip when you bite into the pie. If they don’t, then it is not fresh,” he said.

There are chicken, beef, vegetable or apple pies to choose from, and these are available in different sizes. There are big pies that would make excellent lunches or dinners with a side of salad and also an array of little pot pies that make great snacks.

Romal also makes potato-top pies or taewas, smaller versions of cottage pies.

Romal also obliges customers’ orders for big pies. He can be contacted at TRC Resources Sdn Bhd, 11-1, Jalan SS 5A/11, Kelana Jaya, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor (Tel: 03-7874 2581).