Oh! Today! It was another day in paradise…

It was traffic as usual on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya. 3 cities next to each other. When you see the sea of traffic as far as the eye can see, you know you aren’t going anywhere much in the next hour or two.

We should think how Blessed and fortunate we are to be caught in such traffic jams like this. Can you imagine places without traffic jams? It means no cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, etc. Not seeing these vehicles in the streets means people are less fortunate, or are struggling.

We decided to go to our now, usual hangout, Star Bhavan, for dinner. When we reached there, we saw that it was closed, with a notice on the door, “Closed for 1 day”. This is the first time in months since we started patronizing this restaurant; that it closed. We though that it was ok for them to close for the day, as they had worked hard since their opening. They deserved the break.

We walked over to the restaurant nearby, a few doors away. It was the first visit there for both Jeannie and I. First impression is, that you are sitting in the verandah, surrounded by big leafy plants. The cafe was not air-con (local for air-conditioned), which made the feeling of sitting in the verandah more real.

Jeannie chose a rice set on banana leaf for her meal. She chose several different types of vegetables to go with the rice. She flooded (literally) her meal with curry. She was ready to enjoy her meal. And she did.

Her rice, vegetables and curry looked so simple, yet good. She enjoyed her dinner, though it was a bit salty for her. She left half of the meal to tapau / pack back / “to go” (2) so that she could have it for lunch the next day.

I had two plain capati (3) that came with a curry and dhal (4) condiments. Jeannie says that eating capati is healthy as it is made without oil. While capati may not look appertizing to some, it is a full meal. The curry and dhal was nice, a mix of spicyness from the curry and a not so spicy form from the dhal, which is also a curry. Capati is popular in Indian restaurants in Malaysia. However, capati is usually not available throughout the day as the demand for it is lower than say roti canai, for example.

Both Jeannie and I ordered limau ais (iced lime juice) drinks. It is not lime juice that you will get if you went to a premium restaurant. This drink is a bit of lime juice squeezed in a glass of hot water or cold water with ice; and a limau kasturi (5) thrown in for good measure (not just for decoration😁).

We took a slow walk back to our car to work off our just ate, dinner. Distance to the car: less than 100 meters. I have to keep reminding myself to eat a little bit only, not too much; to bring my weight down to the desired goal. I think 🤔 my weighing scales is broken, The reading just keeps going up only.😅

NOTES:
1. Nasi lemak is a dish originating in Malay cuisine that consists of fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf. It is commonly found in Malaysia, where it is considered as the national dish.
Nasi Lemak is Bahasa Malaysia for “Fatty/Oily Rice” in English. However its meaning relates along the lines of “creamy rice”. TIME Magazine had described the dish as “supremely delicious”.
2. If you are in a café or restaurant and ask for an item of food to go, you mean that you want to take it away with you and not eat it there.
3. Capati (ಚಪಾತಿ):—[noun] a kind of flat, round, thin cake made of wheat flour, baked on a pan.
Chapati (alternatively spelled chapathi; pronounced as IAST: capātī, capāṭī, cāpāṭi), also known as roti, rooti, rotee rotli, rotta, safati, shabaati, phulka (in Marathi), chapo (in East Africa), sada roti (in the Caribbean), poli, and roshi (in the Maldives), is an unleavened flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. wikipedia
4. Dhall or Dal is made with far less spices than most Indian curries! This recipe calls for a simple combination of cumin, garam masala and turmeric. Garam masala is a spice mix found in supermarkets nowadays – it’s like a more potent curry powder. ambitiouskitchen.com
5. Limau kasturi is Bahasa Malaysia for calamansi. Calamansi, also known as calamondin, Philippine lime, or Philippine lemon, is a citrus hybrid cultivated predominantly in the Philippines. It is native to the Philippines, parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei, as well as parts of southern China and Taiwan. Calamansi is ubiquitous in traditional Philippine cuisine. Wikipedia