8.25am, Sunday morning. Just managed to park the car in a good spot, about a third of a kilometer away. You don’t really hear people say half a kilometer, or a quarter kilometer or even a third of a kilometer away. It’s usually a quarter or half a mile away. So, many of you must be wondering, “How far is a third of a kilometer in miles?”
The calculation will be 300 metres (0.3km or a third of a kilometre) x (stands for multiply) 0.621 miles (1 kilometer = 0.621miles) = (will give you the answer) 0.2484 miles. To round the answer to 2 decimal places : 0.2484 miles = 0.25 miles, or a quarter of a mile.
You may ask, “Why didn’t I say miles in the first place?” Well, the Americans use the non-metric / imperial system : miles, yards, feet, gallons. The rest of the world or most countries use the metric system: kilometers, metres, kilograms, etc. Now, both sides will get an idea of the distance.
Parking the car this far from church was not really by choice. We, that is, Jeannie and I; left our house later than usual and arrived at church later than usual. Hence, our third of a kilometer or quarter mile walk to church.
We were 5 minutes late. So was the priest as mass had not started yet. He was caught up at the confessional, I think. The Assistant parish priest of Church of The Visitation Seremban, Rev, Fr. Xavier Andrew was presiding at mass this morning. He was at St. Thomas More church to promote Archdiocesan Ministry of Ecumenical & Inter-Religious Affairs (AMEIA). Lively priest. Interesting ministry. I remember working with Rev. Fr. Jojo Fung, SJ; to start up a fairly similar ministry like this on a regional / international scale; somewhere in 1999.
After mass, a leisurely walk back to the car must have created an appetite as we had to decide what to eat…as usual. This time we narrowed the choices down as the figure on the weighing scales was inching (not millimetering) its way up. It would have been a good idea to use A.I. or Artificial Intelligence in weight meaurement. Then, we won’t have to believe the scales.
I am determined to get back down to the weight I set as a goal. By being conscious what we eat, the amounts we eat and the times we have our meals, getting to our desired weight goal is possible.
We decided on the place where all the stars meet, Star Bhavan in SS14, Subang Jaya. (8) We had to go round a couple of times, looking for a car park. We found one about 150 meters away.
The restaurant was crowded. However, we managed to get a table. Jeannie ordered idli (1) and black coffee. I wanted capati (2) (as it is made without oil), but they were out of it. So, I went for their roti canai (3) and an iced lime juice.
Jeannie’s Idli came with 3 condiments: curry, white coconut chutney (4) and a sort of red / orangy chutney / sambal (5). She enjoyed her meal. My roti chanai also came with 3 condiments: fish curry, sambal (chilli) and what looked like a vegetable curry. Our meal was light, yet tasty. It was more brunch for us.
On our back to our car, Jeannie wanted to stop by at the provision shop to buy some Indian Spices. SS14/1 has one long stretch of shops selling all sorts of Indian products. There are many restaurants along this stretch, Star Bhavan being one of them. This is a sort of a mini or micromini of the Mini India found in Brickfields, K.L.; (6) or Jalan Tengku Kelana in Klang (7).
Jeannie did not just stop at one shop. She went into a few shops. I thought it was quite interesting when I walked into a provision shop with her. They had multiple products from India. I guess this would be a one-stop shop to get all the ingredients for an authentic Indian curry. We bumped into Uncle Ronnie, my dad’s youngest brother, who bought a comb of bananas. He was in and out of the shop in a dash. It was good seeing him.
Looking forward to the rest of the day, though at a relaxed pace. Have a great Sunday!
NOTES:
1. Idli or idly is a type of savoury rice cake, originating from South India, popular as a breakfast food in Southern India and in Sri Lanka. The cakes are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils and rice. wikipedia
2. Chapati, also known as roti, rooti, rotee rotli, rotta, safati, shabaati, phulka, chapo, sada roti, poli, and roshi, is an unleavened flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent and is a staple in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa, and the Caribbean. wikipedia
3. Roti canai or roti prata, also known as roti chanai, and roti cane, is an Indian flatbread dish found in several countries in Southeast Asia, especially Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. wikipedia
4. Coconut chutney is a south indian condiment made with fresh coconut, chilies, spices & herbs. Swashti’s Recipes.
5. This is a Kerala style Red Coconut Chutney. Yes, red because of the dried red chilies in it, yet not something that is too spicy to handle! The flavor of this chutney is as beautiful as it looks. Thus, instantly becomes a great pair with Dosa, Idli, Medu Vada, Uttapam and Appe.
Red Coconut Chutney (Kerala Style), Dassana Amit, Dassana’s Veg Recipes, http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com
6. Kuala Lumpur or K.L., is the capital of Malaysia.
7. The Little India enclave, located along Jalan Tengku Kelana in Klang, is the largest Indian-influenced street in Malaysia. Klang City is in the state of Selangor.
8. Subang Jaya is a bustling city in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.