#chill

EVENING AT TAIPAN CITY KOPITIAM

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

a.k.a. TCP

Being a weekend, one would expect things to be a bit more laid back from its usual uptight, rigid, everything must be done in a hurry to meet ever increasing, closing in deadlines. Even the sun and somewhat the weather; were also on a chill (pun?).

The big, fiery, flame-spewing ball / planet, some 93 million miles away, can be imagined sitting on a long, white deck-chair; donning a pair of C De Cartier Precious Sunglasses (1) (get it? The sun wearing sunglasses!😉😀), sipping on a alcohol-free margarita (alcohol is flammable – the sun), eating kuachi (2); relaxing.

The Batik Influencer, Jeannie; and I, that is “we” 😃; decided on hawker food, at a kopitiam (3) in Taipan, USJ, Subang Jaya (4).

A kopitiam used to be more commonly known as a coffee shop 15 or more years ago. Calling a coffee shop a kopitiam sounds more fanciful and upmarket. However, what seems to be a trend is that the old style “kopitiams” with marble-looking tabletops are more and more popularly identified with owners / businesses who own and even franchise a number (which is growing) of such style restaurants, out.

Here, you can see the drinks counter. The drinks seller is usually the owner of a restaurant like this, sub-letting space to food vendors to operate their stalls.

These kopitiams or coffee shops used to be exclusive to Chinese food. In recent years, the food offerings have widened to include western, Indian, Punjabi and Malay food.

Taipan City Kopitiam is just next to the other coffee chop…er…restaurant (it is part of their name), “New Nanking”. It hosts a variety of different hawker food, mainly Chinese food. It does have one stall offering western food. I had in mind what I wanted for dinner. I have been to this kopitiam several times, but I don’t think I have ever ordered fried kway teow. This time I did.

Milo Ais kaw drink with char kway teow.

When the plate of fried kway teow was served and put in front of me… a whiff of the aroma from it, the hot smoke rising from it as it was just from the cook’s wok to the plate… the noodles were inter-twined with the tougey (bean sprouts in English, kuchai (5) and fried egg. The prawn (6) and lap cheong (7)… it was as though the whole dish was artistically decorated and placed…like one of those top 6 star restaurants whose chefs decorate the sides of the plate with sauces (this one no decoration la. Here you pay only RM9. Those fancy restaurants will charge RM125).

Don’t let it’s looks fool you. Not just another pretty dish. The fried kway teow did not only just look good. It was delicious to the last noodle on the plate.

The meal was finished almost as soon as I started. It was that delicious. I left the prawns and lap cheong for Jeannie, as I am not into that. The meal was good. It looks like there is strong competition between the char kway teow “chef” here, and the one next door at New Nanking.

Here, the lady in green, runs a vegetarian food stall. You can see the owners of the wester food stall, too. For drinks, Jeannie ordered “Limau Ais” (iced lime). I ordered a “Milo Ais Kaw” (iced Milo, strong).

The lady owner of the western food stall, who also serves the food to her customers; is well dressed with jacket, too.

Jeannie’s rice porridge meal.

Jeannie’s rice porridge meal was good, according to her. She ordered a sort of a sweet sour pork, what looks like a big portion of yam and spinach to go with her porridge. And enjoyed her meal, she did.

Jeannie, about to tuck in to her rice porridge meal.

At the back of us, are more stalls, including the one that sells wan tan mee. The wan tan mee here, is really good. You should try it if you get the opportunity.

We finished our meals, minum-ed (Bahasa Malaysia for “drink” in past tense [ed]😊). Jeannie said the next time we come here, we must support the stall that sells vegetarian food. Remember the blond-hair lady in a green shirt? Looks like the “next time” is going to be soon.

NOTES:
1. Cartier Precious sunglasses in rose gold, rimless with rose gold coated lenses. Dimensions: 62 mm lenses, 14 mm bridge, 140 mm temples. Price: US$8,495
2. Guazi (Chinese: 瓜子; Indonesian: kuaci), also called kwasi (Burmese: ကွာစေ့) refers to roasted plant seeds. It is a popular snack in China, Malaysia (kuachi) and overseas Chinese communities, especially in Indonesia. While directly translated as “melon seeds” it usually refers to baked seeds of the sunflower, pumpkin, or watermelon seeds. It is often served as an appetizer during banquets. Wikipedia
3. The term kopitiam in Malaysia is usually referred specifically to Malaysian Chinese coffee shops. Food in a kopitiam is usually exclusively Malaysian Chinese cuisine. Food courts and hawker centres are usually not referred to as kopitiams.
Wikipedia
4. Taipan is a bustling business centre in the vibrant city of Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
5. kuchai is a kind of leek, ranked-scented, green, growing 20 to 40 centimeters high. Bulbs are small, white and clustered.
6. Prawn resembles a large shrimp, many varieties of which are edible.
7. Lap cheong is a dried, hard sausage usually made from pork and pork fat. It is normally smoked, sweetened, and seasoned with rose water, rice wine and soy sauce.

AN AFTERNOON AT STEEL RIVER

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

2nd Edition, May 2nd, 2024. 8.20pm

It was about 3.30am when I decided to hit the sack or turn in. It was a good evening, where I managed to publish an article and get some other work done. It did not take too long for me to fall off sleep.

I was up bright and early in the morning at 9.00am. It was a public holiday today, celebrating Labour Day. My cousin Chris, and his wife Evelina; was coming to pick Jeannie and I up at 10.30am, and together, we were going over to their friend, Allen’s place. Chris introduced Jeannie and I to Allen when we met at Grand City Restaurant in P.J. (1) a few months ago.

Traffic was quite smooth and after multiple x multiple turns, we arrived. I was trying to get my bearings to see exactly where we were in K.L.. (2) All I knew was that we were somewhere in Sungai Besi. (3) “Sungai Besi” is Bahasa Malaysia for “Steel River”.

It was good to meet with him again. His beautiful condo was definitely a place to unwind, chill and relax. Allen saw to it that it had all the trappings of comfort. In it, included a very large maintenance free, wall mounted aquarium. What else could one ask more of? The aquarium was his tv.😁

We weren’t there for very long as we had to leave, and take a short walk to a cafe for lunch by following Allen. A friend of his was joining us there.

As we arrived at the cafe, so did his friend, too. Introductions were made. Sidney is a very close friend and former La Salle School, P.J. classmate of Allen’s.

The cafe was Called, “Memorie”; with it’s tagline, “Taste of Eurasian”. That was going to be interesting.

The red door entrance. The first thing we noticed about this cafe / restaurant is that it is quite spacious. No knocking of elbows when you want to cut through the food with a knife and fork. Doesn’t it look Eurasiany? Very pleasant set-up.

We sat right inside, which was the front of a ship. No kidding. Jeannie said, we could stand in front of the ship and pretend to fly, like in the film, “Titanic”. Not to mention, sing the song, “I Believe I Can Fly”. Doesn’t sound quite right. I think it’s, “My Heart Will Go On”. Must be because I am not quite a fan of Celine.

Sitting on “deck”, in the front of the ship. Not sure who was going to sing, “My Heart Will Go On”. It is obvious from the wide spread of food on the table, our hearts were going to go on.

Jeannie and Evelina did most of the food ordering. I ordered the Shepperd’s Pie. Allen ordered a green curry noodle (I think) dish, which did not have any shrimp ingredient – just the way he liked it.

Clockwise,7 o’clock, The two “Alans” sitting together: Allen junior; Alan (Senior), also known as the Hatted Writer; Jeannie, Evelina (Christopher’s wife); Christopher and Sidney.
Clockwise,7 o’clock, The two “Alans” sitting together: Allen junior; Alan (Senior), also known as the Hatted Writer; Jeannie, Evelina (Christopher’s wife); Christopher and Sidney.

The food arrived quite fast. It not only looked good, it tasted good as well. The Shepperd’s Pie came with some french fries, some leafy stuff and half a cherry tomato. Yes, half a cherry tomato. So, the focus zoomed in on half a cherry tomato instead of the whole dish. That fact stuck in my mind. The Shepperd’s Pie had the usual mashed potato baked as atop layer of the pie. The pie’s filling was beef. I thought it would come with minced beef. Instead it came withy chunky pieces. Tasted good. In fact, all the dishes were good.

My contribution towards ordering of the food. This is Shepperd’s Pie. Looks good. Notice the half the cherry tomato? Decoration purposes (Only?).

There was lots, o.k., o.k., “multiple” stories told of school days and what they did. I had a little bit to share of La Salle P.J. School days as I studied there when I was in Standard One through Standard Three (Year 1 to Year 3 in “today’s terminology). I still remember when my Standard One class teacher, Mrs. Lee, came to our house one day to complain (share her concern), that I was slow in class. I didn’t think of myself as slow. I just did not want to waste time on trivial matters like Year 1 school work. I had big dreams and I was making plans on how to achieve them.💭😏

The wide array of Eurasian food ordered. Besides my ordering contribution of the Shepperd’s Pie, there was Devil (or is it Debil? Maybe, this is A.I.’s [Artificial Intelligence] way of spelling it, I don’t know) curry (Who in their right mind would come to a Eurasian restaurant and not order this primary dish?), the other two dishes were fish / seafood based). The egg omelet dish had not been served yet.

We adjourned back to Allen’s condo for coffee for some of us, and the hard stuff for the others. Sidney shared a lot about playing squash on wide courts, as he was still playing at tournaments “at his age”. I don’t quite using “at his age”, “at our age”, etc; as it is meant to indicate that we are suppose to slow our pace down, or we can’t do this or that anymore. So, here, when “at his age” is mentioned, it is meant to indicate that he plays in the “Masters” – indicating the seniors’ age group.

The view from the condo was quite breathtaking. It was slightly hazy. We were told that the night view can be spectacular. Looking at the picture below, you can see that construction for high rise buildings are still on the go.

By the time we left, it was half four, or half past four, or 4.30pm in the afternoon for some, and evening for others. We all thanked Allen, who was the perfect host. He invited us to go over again soon for another good “session” like the one we just had.

On our way back, we were met with sputters of rain along the way, nothing much. We reached home at about 5 on the hour. I thought I’d go on my 10km walk. However, the skies thunders gathered and before long, the rain followed.,

The view from Allen’s condo on the 11th floor. Menara Merdeka 118, the world’s second tallest building; can be seen on the far left. The KL Tower and Petronas Twin Towers, both amongst the tallest buildings in the world, can be seen from the left, just after the Menara Merdeka 118. Watching the vehicles go by, minus the pollution and noise from them; can be quite therapeutic.

Addendum (I wonder if we can call it this. By jove, we can. 😁): May 2nd, 2024; 8.20pm:
Allen added that I missed out on mentioning us reminiscing on some of the Malay hits of the ’70s and ’80s by “Freddie & the Flintstones”, “Search”, “Alleycats” and many more. Oh yes, and Allen is quite the singer and dancer: he’s a good singer, he’s nimble and he’s got the moves.

NOTES:
1. Petaling Jaya or P.J. as it is more commonly referred as, is a city in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.
2. K.L. or Kuala Lumpur, is the capital of Malaysia.
3. Sungai Besi is Bahasa Malaysia, which literally translates to “Steel River”. It was a historical mining town with many heavy industries such as steelworks, waste steel plants and other steel industries. Sungei Besi Tin Mine site was the largest and deepest open cast alluvial tin mine in the world and in Malaysia. The town has since developed from a large area of village settlements. wikipedia

AN OUTING AT STARLING

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

I guess it’s one of those days…You know… when something does not go your way… I was working on this article and had put together something. Was half way done. Then, my wife Jeannie had to go on an errand to the shops nearby. I volunteered to go with her. I thought I had saved my work before shutting down my pc. It didn’t save. I think my pc shut down faster than it could save. Well, that means, my re-written / typed / Logi keyboard thumped work, should be better than the first one lost.

It was a good day to start with. It was like a day off with plenty of time…no I will rephrase that, “quite a bit of time”, free. The tasks I set out to do until now, was completed ahead of schedule. So, extra time to spare. After a couple of hours extra rest, I felt I needed to do something.

I have talked in my earlier articles that we may have forgotten how to enjoy the extra free time we have (1) . People become fidgety and load their time-schedule with more things to do and then complain that they are so stressed with too much to do and too little time to do these tasks.

It is something somewhat like the phrase, “No choice”. It is very common among Malaysians. However, there is no such thing as no choice. There is always a choice. Whether you choose to take action or not doing anything is a choice.

Wanting to jalan-jalan (2), my wife, Jeannie, the Batik Influencer; and I, the Hatted Writer😉; decided to take a drive down to Starling Mall in Damansara, P.J.. (3) It has no connection (I think) with Star Bhavan and Starbucks, just because of it having “star” in its name. It was more of Jeannie wanting to go there – change of scenery. The last time we visited the mall was several months ago.

Traffic was slightly heavy. It was smooth flowing. We arrived at the mall in under half an hour. The first thing we got there was to look for food. No wonder I am 76.8kg!

We came across this little restaurant at Foodies’ Nest called “Triple Happiness”. Their menu was basically noodles or rice based. We ordered “Roasted Pork Mihun Curry”. Jeannie and I had a heavy brunch, so we decided to share 1 bowl of this meal.

Roasted Pork Curry Mihun or Curry Mihun with Siew Yuk.

It did not just look good, it tasted great to the very last drop of the curry. Simply delicious. It came in a normal size noodle bowl. There was a generous serving of big pieces of siew yuk, half a hard boiled egg, tofu, green long beans, bean sprouts and spring onions. The meal was spicy, but not to the extent that you would perspire profusely. It was so good to the very last drop. It is a “must try” for those who can eat this. After our meal, I went up to the lady at the Triple Happiness restaurant and complimented their food as “excellent!”. She thanked me for the compliment.

The Curry Mihun with siew yuk. It tastes better than it looks.

Seated with a “scenic view”.

At the Foodies’ Nest.

The whole setup is very oriental.

After our meal, Jeannie and I will usually go our separate ways – she to the stores she likes, and I, to the ones I like (which were very few). However, whenever we come to this mall, we will together, visit “Tiny Bench” first. It is a store that was started by two young ladies, selling local leather products. When I last spoke to one of the owners a few years back, she said they put in many a day with very long hours. They have done well for themselves.

The first product I bought: an A5 6-ring note binder in 2015.

The first product I purchased from them in 2015 was an A5 notes 6-ring binder which I still have today. My decision to buy this leather binder was because I was impressed by the quality build and the leather materials they used for their products. Their prices were reasonable, too.

Over the years, we have bought more leather note binders for Jeannie and Laura, leather key-rings, leather bookmark tags and other items from Tiny Bench. They have an interesting range of multiple product lines and have opened several branches in various shopping malls.

The smaller leather note binder is the right size for me to have it with me in my carry bag wherever I go.

Note the key-rings, and bookmark tags, too.

Neatsfoot oil leather preserver.

Jeannie shopped for some clothes and got something for Laura, our daughter. It is a local traditional outfit in a very nice, striking, elegant shade of red.

We spent another hour or so at Starling before heading back home. Our ride home was smooth traffic all the way. It was a very pleasant and enjoyable evening.

I’ve completed this essay, and saved it, too.😅

NOTES:
1. http://leatherpotato.com/2024/03/10/lemon-coffee/
2. Jalan-jalan is a Bahasa Malaysia word for travel.
3. P. J. short for Petaling Jaya, is a bustling city in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.

THE PEOPLENESS OF PEOPLE

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Light bulbs of various shapes, sizes and brightness, hanging at different heights from the ceiling.

Guess where?

Iced Lime juice – strong.

Fans, many fans, all turning at full speed, keeping it cool.

A loud sound of large air-conditioning blowers, enveloping whatever space is not filled or taken by things…or even people.

A large, mural picture of an old man, to keep me company.

Lights, “blaring” from lots of hanging lightbulbs – different shapes and sizes; different heights, hung from the ceiling. The Celebrity Fitness bag – an “off topic”; adds and becomes a contrast to what seems as “a night out in the evening”.

Working on work in a different sort of environment.

I have developed a headache, more of a nagging headache, a sort of a nuisance in a way. Hope it clears soon.

I thought I’d get some work done while waiting here.

This different space, place or environment, whichever way you may want to look at it; sort of let’s me see people, same people from everyday walk of life, but from a different perspective. Meaning same props, different background.

I find people absolutely fascinating. Then again, if I was in a different scene, environment or place; these people may pass me by without me even knowing it.

People don’t seem to realize how fascinating they are or can be.

I believe that as every moment pass us by, we are older by a moment. Our characters may change, our lives are constantly evolving. I am not sure if our minds can process changing thoughts every moment that goes by. I believe that it can, but I can’t prove it…yet. This means I have gotten the answer to the question but am not quite sure as to how to explain the workings. I wonder if Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers or Alexander Graham Bell, were in a similar situation as I, when they were busy inventing their inventions.

If everyone were to treasure their “peopleness”; we will have world peace. Treasuring their “peopleness” means seeing life in each and everyone. Now, wouldn’t that be dandy?

NOTE:
This article was written as an abstract. Just letting my mind wander…and see where it goes. Having a bit of fun. The headache could have been the cause.😏

Along the LRT way

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Just hopped onto the LRT. Best mode of transport to KL Sentral.

My ride has just arrived. Did not have to wait long for it.

Getting some work done while on the journey.

Got a passenger sitting opposite me to take this picture.

The train was not crowded. Quiet. Clean, air-conditioning was good. Conducive for working.

Working on  a new article on the Fold 3 while on the move.

On the way to meet an old friend at Nu Sentral. He is on one of his visits from Perth, Australia.

Coffee Break at AEON

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

We had a short coffee break before we split up to do our “rounds” at Sunway Pyramid.

Laura had curry puffs… Well…actually 1 only from a pack of 3. I had to eat the other two.

Jeannie had a sort of bun with sunflower seeds. Looked good.

I had a chocolaty chocolate cream puff bun…filled with super rich kezillion calories… Yum! I washed it down with black coffee with sugar.

Whenever I come here, I usually have black coffee…no sugar. I have to say that the coffee here is most times, terrible. That is why I asked it to come with sugar this time. Slight, just very slight improvement. However, the next time I have coffee here, it will be back to no sugar. I will stick it out with the less than nice taste.

We are spending limited time here. Laura just sent me a reminder text that we leave at 5.00pm.

About to have a chocolate overload…

As I took the first bite of the chocolate overloaded creamy puff / bun; I could feel the zillions of calories laughing and cheering, saying, “We’ve got you now!”.

I did a brisk, 15000 step walk this morning. So, a workout of sorts. The rest of the day, I will be on a careful food intake watch.

Now, to look for a good selfie stick to purchase and possibly a camera. All this to add “more color” to the essays… maybe… 😀

Exercise by Retail Therapy

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Quite and eventful outing. It was about 3.00pm. Jeannie and I decided to go to Mid-Valley Shopping Centre. I still had not gone for my daily 10,000 step walk at that time.

So, I decided to window-shop all the shops in The Gardens and Mid-Valley Shopping Centre itself. Managed to complete the 10,000 steps while Jeannie went to several stores, the last being Metrojaya.

On our way home, we decided to swing by The Social at Empire Gallery, Subang Jaya; for cake and coffee. Good thing I did the 10,000 steps. The white chocolate…something cake which Jeannie chose; had a kezillion calories in it.

Initially, when the cake was first served; I not having paid much attention to it, thought it was a serviette dispenser. 😂

BOOK OUR TICKETS

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

As I wonder what to write, I look out of the glass panel walls of The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf; watching the rain beat down hard on the sloping, well manicured lawns of what  looks like a park. Yes, it is raining as usual.

I was enjoying the view until Jeannie called and asked to meet her at the Scottish restaurant.

It is Jeannie’s and my first visit to Desa ParkCity. It is a centre of restaurants, sort of an upmarket place in the middle of “no where”. It has a couple of grocery stores, pharmacies and a few odds and ends stores. Not a real shopping center per se. “No where” is because it is so far away from Subang Jaya.

What would get your attention when you first come here, is that dog-owners get to bring their dogs here. Fairly big dogs and lots of small, indoor-home type of dogs. The dogs all seemed well behaved as they weaved in between visitors at this food court? And they were all on leashes.

I am not too sure if the dogs were given sedatives before they were brought here because I did not hear any dogs bark. Interesting.

While walking around this place; you will have to watch out for puddles of water, no not from the rain but that of dog’s pee. I would think that since dog-owners are allowed to bring their dogs here; there should be some arrangement to mop up these puddles quickly instead of leaving them unattended – dog pee puddle-bombed. And on a day like today, which is a public holiday; this place was crowded with people.

I wonder if all the dog owners managed to get their pets and themselves out of the rain by either going home in time or crowding the restaurants that allowed dogs in their premises.

Mcd’s, the Scottish restaurant; is on one end of the building complex, with a drive-thru’ ordering facility. That seemed convenient. For customers on foot, entering in the restaurant was a bit of a challenge in the very heavy rain. The restaurant is in the middle with the drive-thru’ going around it. There are railings on the other side of the drive-thru’ to protect people against the moving vehicles. A big section of this area is exposed to the heavy rain and other weather. People wanting to enter the restaurant would have to get caught in the rain, to get past the walkway opening of the railings. Or do like what we had to do, bend down half way to get in between the railings. Then, get across the pathway while watching out for moving vehicles. Was what we did called the “Scottish jig”? I wonder. I think that is a bit of a design flaw that Mcd’s has accepted and is living with it.

The name of this shopping mall is “Waterfront @ Parkcity”. You would think there is a big lake or a river running along it. We didn’t see any. I am beginning to wonder if the heavy rain all around us was the “waterfront”. Actually, looking at a picture on their website, there is a lake nearby. It was unfortunate that we missed that area.

Would I recommend people to visit and spend their time here. “Yes!” It is a well thought out mall with the slight exception of getting into Mcd’s. It is a happening place, a building surrounded with lush greens – lawns and trees, giving you a feeling of space. For people residing in the surrounding areas; it is a nice place to come to when you want to get out of your home once in a while, have a bit of a stroll and come for your breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Jeannie and I will not be frequenting this place as it is quite a distance from where we live. But we did “book our tickets”. More about this to come…soon.😉