A quiet morning start. No traffic snarls, no long traffic jams on the road, weather looks like it is giving the sun a chance to do its thing, that is to shine brightly and give meaning to, “It’s a bright and cheery morning, with the sun darting its not-so-hot rays”.

The quiet morning start with no traffic jams is due to the long weekend holiday here in Malaysia. We are into the last of a 4 day weekend. I hear people say, “I can get used this”. Well, maybe a week…or two. A month. Then, you will start fidgeting around. You have been used to a full work day, some stress-filled… but that’s o.k.. Not, this “don’t know what to do with the time on your hands”. We can go into that on another write-up.

The weather has been humid – and that’s putting it mildly. Last night was quite uncomfortable. Towards, the early morning, it let up a bit. Now, it is back at it again. It may be something that we will never get used to since we are living more in an air-conditioned world.

When we mention “air-conditioner”, the picture of the rectangular, average-size 3ft long, by 1 ft wide, boxed machine on the wall comes to mind. However, in its true meaning, air-conditioner would mean “conditioning the air, either cold or hot”. However, when in a country, which has the winter climate, you would say, “Turn on the heater”. You don’t say. “air-conditioner”. So, in Malaysia, you may expect people to say, “Turn on the cooler(?)”. Many people won’t understand what you asked. However, if you say, “On the air-con”; (2) perfect.

Whatever the situation may be, it can always be resolved over food. And, we must eat. Jeannie, my wife and I; decided to take a short drive to Taipan, the “town area” of USJ (1). It is where one has a wide selection choice of what to eat and where to eat; from fast food restaurants to local Chinese, Indian, Malay, western, Japanese, Korean and other cuisines. With such a wide selection to choose from, the proverbial question is still asked; “What to eat?” (2)

Jeannie wanted something “soupy”. Here, she was referring to the food, not the weather (3). Yes, we were having a soupy day, with it being humid as it was. We decided to go to “Taipan City Kopitiam”.

Jeannie ordered “wor-tan-hor” or kway teow with gravy and soya bean cin cau ice for her drink. I went for the wonton noodles and kopi ice.

You can be forgiven to think this place as a fast food restaurant, minus the fancy ordering system because the food arrived before we could say “Road Runner” (with the “beep! beep!).

We were soon enjoying our meal. But, not without a couple (or more) of pictures first.

We sat next to the drinks seller, whom we suspect was the main guy of the restaurant. Interestingly, their stall, which was like an island by itself because it was in the centre, with tables for customers all round it. It was quite a big, stall and ran the length of the restaurant.

Jeannie enjoyed her wor-ton-hor (if you notice, I have mentioned this word multiple times. I think it sounds…cute(?) hor.)😁 Jeannie put some of it on my plate for me to taste. I have to agree with her. It was definitely delicious.

Her soya bean cin cau (It is a black jelly) (4) ice drink looks unusal. It is a nice, cooling drink, popular with the Chinese.

My wonton noodles were as good as always. This stall, like many others in this restaurant, is always consistent with the food quality, their preparation, and delivery from order to reaching your table. My expectations are always met. The noodle meal was lovely.

I ordered the super strong iced coffee; a new coffee variant on their menu. The coffee was nice, I liked it. Though I was expecting “super strong” but I felt that I didn’t get it. Maybe, my coffee tolerance is much higher than most people.

Maybe…just maybe, our meal tasted extra nice because traffic in and around Taipan was light, and parking was almost a synch. Just maybe…

Over and above our meal, Jeannie and I managed to spend a little bit of time together, without work related issues creeping into our space. It was time spent in the “present”. We left the past to the past, and the future to itself. Totally enjoyable.

Many a time, people don’t know what to do with themselves in the present. Maybe, they are afraid. They have never consciously experienced it. Being in the present means that you are in control of your time. Being in control also can be quite scary for the inexperienced.

We were back home within an hour and a half.

NOTES:
1. USJ and Taipan are in the bustling and thriving city of Subang Jaya, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.
2. “On the air-con” and “What to eat?” can be commonly heard in the way people speak English in Malaysia. It is accepted as “good(?) English”. Is it unique to Malaysia? Perhaps. However, a fair observation to note is that we do not speak like that in our household. 😁
3. “Soupy” is generally thought to refer to food. It can also refer to humid (the air or climate).
Oxford, Cambridge dictionaries
4. Cin cau or grass jelly, also known as leaf jelly or herb jelly, is a jelly-like dessert originating in China. It is commonly consumed in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Wikipedia