#brunch

SUNDAY MORNING INDIAN CUISINE BRUNCH

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

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.

Jeannie’s meal: Idli with side condiments of coconut chutney, curry and an orangy, spicy sambal.

My roti canai with fish curry on the right, sambal and a vegetable curry.

We also bought 3 bean vadai to go.

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.

ALWAYS YOUR CHOICE

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Friday – morning before the afternoon. Jeannie and Laura are on leave from work for the lunar new year (known as Chinese New Year [C.N.Y.]) holidays in Malaysia. The traffic was somewhat more than half, yesterday; meaning that many people have already left for their hometowns just to beat the expected long traffic jams, on the highways.

That is the “secret”. People leave a day or two earlier to avoid the jams and aim at coming back a day or two earlier. Picture this: they quietly leave home to get on the highway. Why is it a secret? It is because everyone thinks they are getting an upper hand on the next person to beat the jam. The only thing is that when get on the highway (“freeway” for the Americans), the traffic is at near crawling speeds – everyone else had privy to that “secret”, too.

back to the “Friday, morning before noon”. Breakfast. Laura is out already. Which left Jeannie and I with the question, “What do you want to eat?” But before that question was asked, I decided that we go to A.Y.C., an Indian restaurant, near our house. A. Y. C.’s tagline is “Always Your Choice” – catchy. Jeannie just noticed their tagline a few days ago. This tagline has always been there, however we never took notice of it until recently. Now, whenever we past the restaurant, the tagline will almost always be the first thing we notice on their signboard.

Parking our car is relatively easy around A.Y.C. and its neighbouring shops in the mornings. As we walk in to the restaurant, the food is lined up on either side of the passage. I saw the “doughnut” (donut for those unsure of the spelling) vadai and the bean vadai, both favourites of mine; on the right row of food. I told Jeannie I wanted one of each. I saw this fluffed up bread called “puri” on the left and wanted that, too. It was the last one on their tray. It was already nearing 11.00am so it is understandable that the breakfast offerings was almost all cleared. The restaurant would start preparing for the lunch crowd. From the dishes they had just laid out, it looked like it was going to be a vegetarian affair. The food looked good.

Jeannie chose a currypuff for her bites. A.Y.C.’s currypuffs are really tasty. The fillings are made from potatoes, marinated in spices, which does make the potatoes spicy, but not too spicy.

We both ordered iced coffees, Jeannie’s was with milk and sugar; mine was black, without sugar.

Simple breakfast. The doughnut vadai (vadai with the hole in the centre [polo?]), bean vadai, currypuff and puri which came with a sort of potato side condiment.

Our breakfast was good. We were relaxed, sitting at a table towards the rear of the restaurant, facing outwards. We always like to face out and watch the world go along with its activities.

I did get quite a few side glances and quick stares. People don’t seem to get to see other people wearing hats, let alone tartan flat hats out to breakfast. I maybe starting a trend for others to follow, who knows.

We were soon back home, as Jeannie then had to go to her mother’s place to help cook the CNY reunion dinner for this evening. At the time this article was getting done, Laura was already at Jeannie’s mother’s place.

Happy Chinese New Year’s eve and reunion dinner to all those celebrating the lunar new year festivities.

What’s For Lunch?

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Monday morning. Second day of Deepavali. I know the last thing i saw before I went to sleep was the clock: 6.02am.

Before I knew it, Jeannie was the majordomo: “10.00am. It’s time to wake up. You have to publish an article this morning”, she said. “Slavedriver”, I said of her. She said, I said, we said.😂

She said it is a holiday. People will have more time to read your articles. That is true, I thought to myself.

The real reason for her rushing me is that she wants to go to Mid-Valley, the shopping mall. We have not been there in a while. So, we will be going.

I am currently working on an article which I titled, “THE LAST LAP”. It is a maybe title. Will see how the article pans out in the end.

Jeannie rustled up a quick brunch. Can’t really call it brunch. It is already past 12.00pm. So, it is lunch.

Lunch for today: Chicken sausages, scrambled eggs, archar and baked beans.

Lunch was good. Jeannie walked to Chuan Kee restaurant (coffee chop) nearby here and bought some achar from the lady who sells mixed rice and chicken rice, too. “Achar” is an Indian word for pickles.

When she got back, she scrambled some eggs, got some chicken sausages pan fried (I think. Not sure how many other ways one can do this) and opened a can of baked beans.

I like the scrambled eggs done this way, where it is dry. At some hotels serving scrambled eggs at breakfast, the eggs are very mushy, with some liquid on the plate. Not sure if it is excess milk or water.

The Ayamas chicken sausages are nice. You should get a packet or two to try them out. The baked beans were good, too.

The achar or pickles is a vegetable type with carrots, cucumber and cabbage. It is slightly sweet but very spicy for those with a low tolerance for spicy food.

The achar is very delicious. I thought it as a good “throw off balance” with what would look like a full western meal. Very Asian. It keeps your “food senses” awake. I did not keep the achar for the last but instead, ate it while eating the others on the plate.

And for dessert, canned ring pineapples, soaked in a sweet syrup. The pineapple was nice. I usually like to drink the syrup with it. We (my siblings, included) always did, since our childhood days. The syrup that this pineapple came in, was not too sweet.

Now, that lunch is over, what’s next? Siesta? Should we have some Mexican music piped in to put us in the mood? The Christmas tree lights are on. The afternoon sky is creating a shadowy overcast. Can’t see the clouds from where I am sitting. But the overcast can be felt as I look out the glass sliding doors.

We will have to get going to Mid-Valley soon. I will be working on my “THE LAST LAP” article while making our rounds in Mid-Valley..

I will be putting a bit more work into my book, too. I am building on the characters involved in the book – some real life, some made up. Not sure if I am doing it right: I seem to be starting up several chapters at the same time. Let’s see how this pans out. Putting these “jigsaw puzzle pieces” together is going to be interesting.

Mid-Valley, here we come. If you can meet me there, if you are there, too; this afternoon.

HAPPINESS IS ALL AROUND US

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

It was one of those ordinary mornings… How do I describe an ordinary morning?

Can we say an ordinary morning is when nothing out of the ordinary is happening? We can.

This ordinary morning was more of me having started the day doing some of the routine daily things.

The weather was clear skies but with what looked like rain clouds fast approaching this way. The rain clouds weren’t the stormy type or didn’t look the type to bring a gloomy overcast on this fine mid-morning.

I had to go to the shops which were a distant 3 minute drive or 7 or 8 minute walk. There were a couple of things that I forgot to pick up on my way back home after having dropped Jeannie off at work.

Decisions, decisions. To drive or to walk. Flipped a coin and it landed standing on its edge. Which meant I still had to make a decision. 😉

If I drive, it would mean starting the car, opening the front gate, reversing the car out, closing the front gate, looking for a car parking bay when I get to the shops and paying the parking fees. Run in to the 7-11 store, buy a loaf of whole meal bread and a pack of 4 AAA-size batteries. Get back in the car, drive back to the house, open the front gate, drive in and close the front gate. All this would be around 10 minutes tops, including the paid-for-1-hour but used 5 minutes parking bay.

On the other hand, if I chose to walk: open the front gate (one side necessary only) close it, walk the few minutes distance straight to the 7-11 shop, buy the loaf of wholemeal bread and a packet of 4 AAA batteries and come home.

Note that opening and closing the front gate did not require much of an effort, just press a button to open, and another button to close. It is an autogate.

Between drive and walk, I decided on the simpler of the two: walk. Making decisions or choices is one of the best gifts of life that we have.

Walking meant I had to walk past Restoran New Apollos going to 7-11 and on my way back.

I picked up the groceries from 7-11 and decided to stop at New Apollos for brunch. The rain clouds had approached overhead faster than expected and began to rain a heavy drizzle. All the more reason to have brunch now.

The food offerings were wide! There was Wonton noodles dry or soup, both with char siew, roasted chicken rice, char kuey teow, Penang fish ball kuey teow soup noodles, various types of pau, notably tau sar pau, green and red bean pau, siew pau, kaya pau; chee cheong fun, fried rice, among what was readily available. When the famous spinach swallowing / gulping “Popeye the Sailor man” retired from being a sailor; he opened a stall to sell Penang curry mee. You will see a bright yellow banner : “Popeye Original Penang curry mee”. Here, I am not too sure whether this is meant to mean that he is the original Popeye or the Penang curry mee is as authentic as the curry mee from Penang. I went for the wonton (pronounced as 1 ton) noodles (medium), dry with char siew.

Some stalls with their display food signs. Some signs were up near the ceiling, too.

I ordered a Kopi-o peng (1) from a young lady, that is the drink-order-taking and serving lady. She was wearing a face mask. Even with the face mask on, one could see she had such a pleasant disposition about her. Her eyes were smiling radiantly. Simpleton, yet very happy.

The young, very happy waitress.

The happy waitress soon served me my kopi-o peng. She also pulled out one of the pre-wrapped straws from the side pocket of her apron and gave it to me. The drink came pre-sealed, which I thought was a “neater way” of having them served to customers. These pre-sealed drinks is a system New Apollos recently introduced. While waiting for my food to arrive: I soaked (pun intended) in the atmosphere of the hustle and bustle of this coffee shop / restaurant (spelt “restoran” in Bahasa Malaysia).

While waiting for my food and drink to come, I took pictures.
My kopi-o peng. I’m not sure what the cartoons on the seal are about. Looks Korean. A bit of a fun design.

The famous spinach swallowing / gulping “Popeye the Sailor man” having retired from being a sailor; opened a stall to sell Penang curry mee.

People having their meals, oblivious to the weather conditions. By this time, the rain drizzle was stronger, coming down steadily.

My wonton (pronounced as 1 ton) noodles order came shortly after my kopi-o peng was served. I generally choose this meal because it is the least oily (I think) and not too heavy for me. It did not just look delicious. It was delicious as usual. I think that’s why I forgot to take a picture of it.

Within minutes, the rain became a heavy downpour. The people in the restaurant thought nothing of it. I felt the nice cool breeze that came blowing as the rain pelted down. I thought the pouring of the rain was quite a pleasant site. Maybe, it was because the skies were still bright, not blocked with dark, gloomy clouds. And the young waitress? She enjoyed sticking her hand out in the heavy rain, feeling the drops beat against her hand . She loved it. The simple things in life.

Happily, sticking her hand out in the heavy rain. Enjoying the waterfall-like gush feeling of the water pouring down. The simple things in life.

The heavy downpour was only for a short while and the rain stopped in less than half hour. By then, I had finished my wonton noodles and kopi-o peng. I made my way home soon after. I thought today was more just than another ordinary morning. I was reminded that happiness is all around us. We should not only just see with our eyes, but look with our imagination, too.

NOTES:
1. “Kopi-o peng” is iced coffee, no sugar, no milk; or as I would usually say “coffee with the clothes off”. Kopi-o peng is a mixture or combination of two languages: “Kopi” is the Malay word for “coffee”; and “peng” is a Chinese word in Hokkien dialect for “cold”. THe “o” in the “kopi-o peng” means no sugar, no milk.
2. Wonton noodles dry or soup, both with char siew, roasted chicken rice, char kuey teow, Penang fish ball kuey teow soup noodles, various types of pau, such as tau sar pau, green and red bean pau, siew pau, kaya pau; chee cheong fun, Penang curry mee and fried rice, are all popular hawker food among Malaysians. You may get some, if not all this choices, in most parts of Malaysia.