Alfresco at a kopitiam

It’s another beautiful morning. The 24 inch computer monitor screen stares brightly at me, waiting to display anything that I command it to. The Logitech MX Mechanical keyboard has its keys eagerly waiting in anticipation to be tapped on and, produce corresponding letters, words, paragraphs and essays, to create an article, which is conceived in my thoughts.

Last night, when we turned in to sleep, we switched off all lights, the darkness in our bedroom quickly brought our heartbeats to a resting pace. The air-conditioning above, was blowing a cooling air; silently. The blowing of the cool air was audible enough to be heard. The silence was loud, something that we have been accustomed to as we closed our eyes and fell off to sleep.

The maintenance team / section of our bodies swung into action, replacing unusable cells, replenishing those that have been used; repairing all those areas that need repairing. All this taking place during our rest, preparing us to meet the next morning, lively with energy and zest. This happens every time we rest. It is the purpose of our rest.

We had a very pleasant trip to and from Kay Al (pronounced this way by locals in general) (1), when Jeannie, the Batik Influencer, and I; dropped our daughter, Laura; at work. As we were getting off the Federal Highway and on to the second ramp into Subang Jaya, the second most common question popped up: “Where shall we have breakfast?” The first most common question is, “What shall we eat?”

Jeannie was quick to answer, “Let’s go to Kaw Kaw Pak Kopi in Taipan”. Good suggestion. We got to the restaurant in no time at all. Getting a carpark slot was fairly easy, too.

We both agreed that we just wanted a drink only. However, as we walked into the restaurant, it had rows or attractive pastries that were calling out to us. They all looked so good. We still wanted to maintain the “drinks only” today. The spirit is willing, but our taste buds are weak.😂

We ordered a coconut tart, yes one only. A former Prime Minister in his late 90s, was asked how he kept so slim, fit and healthy. He said, “When you see food that you like, just eat a little of it, not too much”.

For drinks, Jeannie ordered an iced black tea, no idea what that was; and I, I ordered a “kopi peng” (2). When Jeannie took a sip of her drink, she said that it was very strong. I would presume so. The drink was the blackest shade of black. It seems this drink is one of this kopitiam’s (3) best sellers. Wow!

Jeannie took a first bite of the coconut tart. It tasted not bad (opposite of quite good?😉). The size of the tart does not have room for too many bites, nibbling at it maybe. I took a bite. It was nice. Not too sweet. The crust was firm yet not too hard. It encrusted the coconut fillings well. I savored on the gratings or fibres of the coconut fillings – actual coconut. It was good. The about 3 inch diameter size of the tart was gone before we knew it. Reasonable price of RM2.80 or US$0.60.

My kopi peng was ok. I did not order kaw kaw (4), thinking it would have come kaw kaw as standard, living up to the kopitiam’s name. I should have ordered kaw or kaw kaw to have more taste of the coffee. Many of these coffee shops or kopitiams, have their own blend of coffee. Besides the different coffee beans used, the method of roasting and the length of time the beans are roasted will provide a wider range of “blends” of coffee for the coffee enthusiast.

The atmosphere / mood was very relaxed and quiet. I could get some work done while talking with Jeannie. I like the idea of being in a different locale every time, as it adds to my “chest of experiences” of what I see, hear, feel, think and idea create.

Before we realised it, an hour had gone by. The coconut tart was enjoyable while eating it, not too big, just about the size of eating something that we like, but not too much of it. I was done with my kopi peng. Jeannie took her unfinished Iced black tea with her. It was time (which is all the time) for us to move to the future: the next moment.

NOTES:
1. Kay Al or K.L. is short for Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. It is one of the many cities and places of attractions in Malaysia for tourists.
A new study has revealed that Malaysia was the most visited country in Southeast Asia during 2023 – further indication of the nation’s recovery and meteoric rise since the end of the pandemic era. Malaysia welcomed a total of 29 million tourists last year, outstripping more established neighbours in the process.
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2. (“ko-peeh peh-eng”)”Kopi” means coffee in Bahasa Malaysia. “Peng” is in Hokkien, a Chinese dialect word for “ice”. 
3. Kopitiam: kopi means coffee in Malay, and tiam is the Hokkien word for shop. Hence, Kopitiam translates literally to “coffee shop”.
4. “Kaw” originates from the Chinese dialect, Hokkien; which means “thick”. When you hear “kaw-kaw”, it literally means “very very thick“. Kaw or kaw kaw is normally used when ordering coffee at the local coffee shop.
Malaysians have taken it to a new level to mean “very serious”. He got into trouble with his employer “betul betul kaw kaw” for losing a big clientele account. “Betul betul” is Bahasa Malaysia for “exactly” or “rightly”.