Food

THE TWO ALANs, SPARKING WITH JOY, SEIZING THE MOMENT AND EURASIAN FOOD

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

It was a day long adventure at our booth F1. 08 in Amcorp Mall.

Our, that is, my wife Jeannie’s, and my day; was busy meeting our friends and family, while we were there. We made load of new friends, while meeting with old friends and customers, too.

One of the (my) “old” friends that came by was ex-La Salle School Klang boy, Ronald Gomes. He is my junior, and was in my brother, Terence’s class/ year.

He brought over a big packet of muruku which he bought from the Ipoh Muruku guy who had a booth on the same floor as us.

We chatted for a while. He proudly don’s a head of pure white hair. He said it’s natural, not bleached. He left soon after.

“Sultans of Swing” by Dire Straits is being Bluetooth-ed to the Marshall Willen 2 speaker, while I pen (more like thumb-type on my Samsung Galaxy Fold 5) this essay.

We packed up and closed our booth slightly earlier so that we could head back home, freshen up to come out for an invited dinner.

Dinner was hosted by Christopher and Evelina Nelliah, in honour of Evelina’s birthday.

We met at a little cosy restaurant, named “kumi.”; with the period (American) or full stop (British) after it. Located somewhere in Damansara Heights, an upmarket housing neighbourhood, it “sat” somewhere in between what looked like a single row of shops. On a Saturday evening, it was quiet.

Brendan, Evelina’s & Christopher’s son was there. So was Dato Ronald Gomes and his wife, Datin Debbie Gomes. Allen Jolly Sundar was there, too. It was great seeing him after a long time; the last time being lunch at his condo somewhere in the south of Kay El (also known as K.L. to the less “hip” folk or Kuala Lumpur to those who rather be formal). A newcomer to this usual group of ours, this being the first meet up after many, many years, was Kenneth Gomes. Kenneth and the rest of us, with the exception of Allen; are related – our grandfathers (my mother’s father) were brothers.

It looked like Christopher had arranged for the whole restaurant to be for us on that evening, as we were the only ones there. From the bits of information gathered, this place usually has a crowded crowd (? Is there a time when a crowd is not crowded? 🤔) The quiet of the restaurant was really good. It allowed us space to relax, unwind and enjoy the company).

It was good re-connecting with Kenneth, our families connecting from our grandfathers. The family history that we talked about was a span covering about 50 years, which itself, is a pretty vast period.

The food was all good. Very authentic Malaccan Portuguese Eurasian. I had to be specific as this restaurant prides itself in its home cuisine. Here, the emphasis is on “home” besides the “Malaccan Portuguese Eurasian” because the ingredients, spices and whatever else which goes into each dish, is prided to be balanced, meaning that you will get the same level of goodness, each time, every time.

We were met by restaurant co-owner, Chef Rueben Moissinac, who came to chat a bit with us, especially Christopher. Rueben has a history behind him with regards to the dishes kumi. offers and the differentiating factor of preparing these dishes.

We had a slice of suggee icing birthday cake, after singing three verses of “Happy Birthday”. The cake was made by a relative of the restaurant owner. I thought Allen, more fondly referred to as “Jolly” (his middle name); was going to sing an Alleycats number. He is an awesome singer. Don’t let him tell you otherwise.

Allen also acquired a copy of my book, SPARKS OF JOY – SEIZE THE MOMENT. First thing he asked, “is he in the book?” Haha. Allen has got a great sense of humour.

Like all evenings, this one came to a close. As we stepped outside the restaurant, another conversation was started up in two groups, the ladies on one side and the guys in another; like as though we did not have enough to say in the restaurant.

When in Damansara Heights or around these parts and you want to eat; drop in at kumi. Kumi means “eat” in Kristang. Kristang is generally spoken in the Malacca Portuguese restaurant.

Allen, receiving his just acquired copy of SPARKS OF JOY – SEIZE THE MOMENT.

“The moment comes. The moment goes. Enjoy every moment.”

Seated: Birthday girl Evelina and Brendan.
Standing left to Right: Allen; yours truly, Alan😉; Datin Debbie; Jeannie, the Batik Influencer; Christopher, Kenneth and Dato Ronald.

WHERE TO FIND SOME OF THE NICEST NYONYA KUIH

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

It was a holiday in Malaysia (I can hear the “Every day in a holiday in Malaysia… well almost) on this particular weekday. It was one of those days that I didn’t pencil anything in the calendar, except for my usual 10 kilometer daily brisk walk.

Did my walk in the morning and completed it by about 10.00am. After my shower, I did like what anyone else with a smartphone connected to a Samsung Watch 7 Ultra which kept buzzing with notifications do: check the notifications.

Wading through the sea (or is it pile or heap?) of notifications, “Blue Dahlia Cafe” popped up. “Nyonya kuih”…Section 17…”new kid on the block …P.J. …holiday. Saw some of its pictures Looked interesting for an afternoon coffee (not tea). Asked Jeannie if she was keen on going all the way to P.J. or PeeJay or Petaling Jaya to check out this place. “OK”, she said. Settled.

We decided to go after lunch. The ride to P.J. this holiday afternoon was pretty good. Traffic was heavy (the story of our lives), but it was moving. We got to Section 17… no problem. I thought I knew the area well because Jeannie used to live on that side of P.J. during our courting days. Jeannie was on 17/13; New Dahlia on 17/12. It would be easy to find. No Waze or Google Maps for me.

We soon found out that it was a hidden gem. We turned on all what would consider logical connecting roads from 17/13 to it, but could not find the place. Finally, we decided to turn off logic, and go to the most unlikely streets. Found it! Whoever designated names to the streets when this part of P.J. first came up, was probably stoned.

The streets around there were so narrow and clogged with vehicles, hundreds of them, all trying to either get out of the chaotic traffic jam there or like us, get into it, looking for a car park.

From afar, this looks like a row of double-storey terrace houses which you are bound to miss.

At first glance, you would think this is the back of a row of terrace-houses. You would be forgiven if you made this mistake because of parked vehicles blocking sight of the ground floor.

The signboard is unusually small.

I like the wooded idea. The wood piece candle lamp adds to the decor.

Jeannie and I managed to get a table near the entrance / exit.

She does the ordering, I do the eating. Jeannie, besides being the Batik Influence, is a foo9d expert; having worked in the food industry for multiple years.

Before Jeannie could finish the food order; the food was served. How cool is that? Just kidding. This sweet lady was serving us an earlier order, I think.

This is a kuih made from gula Melaka or brown sugar(?), immersed in coconut milk. It is a sweet cake-like.

Ondeh-ondeh, the light green glutinous-type balls, covered with coconut shavings. In it is liquid gula Melaka. The round cylindrical piece is a tapioca cake. The round – button-type shaped piece is the pineapple jam tart. It was the first time I saw a pineapple jam tart like this. A first time for anything.

The kuih is a bit messy (to me) with the coconut milk. Nonetheless, it was very nice.

Our afternoon “tea” (I had coffee. Definitely no replacement for coffee). You will be surprised where the drinks came from.

Tucked in to this delight. Called, “Taste At First Bite”. Yummy! Notice the coconut filling with gula Melaka.

Totally inviting. A tall glass of iced Nescafe (or referred as “Nescafe Ais” locally and nutterly  covered Ais Kacang or A.B.C. (Ais Batu Campur, literal;ly trasnlated from Bahasa Malaysia to English as “Ice Stone Mixture”).

It tastes just as great if not, better than it looks. I love the colours of this picture. Great contrasts of the light brown coconut and the dark brown gula Melaka, with the wettish look of the pale or olive – green coloured leaf, with a sort of coconut milk spread all over the leaf. The coconut milk or suntan sort of balances yet not neutralise the taste of this kuih.

Isn’t this the most deliciously looking Ais Kacang / Ais Batu Campur (pronounced as chum-por) (A. B. C.)?

Nescafe Ais, as it is famously known in Malaysia, is “Iced Nescafe” in English. Nescafe Ais is the preferred coffee drink in most local restaurants and stalls.

Teh panas or “Hot tea”.
Ondeh- ondeh’s fillings.
Taste better than it looks, I guess.
About to be dissected, and then makan-ed.
Pineapple tart? First time I am having it in this form.

Sliced open. The tart from the outside looks very neat and presentable. Once cut opened, in this case almost exactly in half.
The stash of Nyonya kuih is in this little showcase. Notice the neat stack of pineapple jam tarts on the left, not in the showcase?

The Ais Kacang was so delicious…every spoon scoop of it…right to the last drop. It neutralised the hot afternoon weather.

PERFECT: CHAPATI AND NESCAFE ICE KAW

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

A day of driving, miles and miles; 2 hours 57 minutes on the road travelling.

Was I travelling outstation, in between towns, from one state to another (inter-state by another description)? You can say a little bit of all of the above.

My daughter, Laura sent me a message that she needed a ride back to her house after work. I immediately agreed. Her office is somewhere North East (depending on where you are at) of Kuala Lumpur at Damansara Heights.

I did the usual (most of the time. How many of you would tell some one who is waiting for you that you are just around the corner, when actually you have not started your journey? ) and left the house 5 minutes to the hour of 5.

Indian delight – curry puff and paruppu (dhal / lentil) vadai.

It had begun to rain heavily. I was hoping that it would stop quickly as I did not want the car to get wet in the heavy rain. I just sent the car for a good wash and vacuum this morning. After about half an hour, the heavy downpour did not look like it was going to let up anytime soon, so I made my way to Laura’s office.

The trip to Damansara was smooth despite the heavy rain. As I got into the PJ (Petaling Jaya) section of the Federal Highway, the rain had stopped. I got to Laura’s office a few minutes before she was supposed to finish work. She sent a message (or the local term is, “She Whatsapp-ed me”) to say that her boss had called her in for a last minute meeting. Being the great dad I am (pat on my back😇), I said, “No worries. Take your time”. Waiting for her gave me some time to work on an article, no, not this one; on another one. I am working on several articles at the same time. I saw a movie (I forget the name now) once of an artist who worked on several canvass pieces of art at the same time. She worked on whichever picture gel-led (pronounced as “jelled”) with his mood / feelings / thoughts at that time of his work. Likewise, I am doing the same.

My writings / drafts of unfurnished work are all on my ideaSketchpad💡. Some work have been on the backburner for months. Inspiration has not got me to complete them yet.

Laura was done with her meeting within half hour and we headed back to Subang Jaya. As we got into PJ; we hit the traffic jams. We used Waze to get us the shortest route. All of PJ was hit with massive traffic jams, full force. Waze led us through a route that we had never or probably used once or twice before. We were moving – slowly.

We got back to Subang Jaya within an hour which probably saved us half an hour to three-quarter of an hour compared if we took our usual route (which is using the Federal Highway) back. This new route helped us avoid the Federal Highway altogether. We went through SS3, Kelana Jaya, behind Paradigm Mall, pass the Glomac building, onto Jalan Lapangan Terbang Lama (I think), then onto the flyover that went straight into Subang Jaya, pass Subang Jaya Medical Centre, towards the roundabout near Sri KL school. (Those living in and around Subang Jaya will know this route, or at least, most of it.)

After dropping Laura off at her house, I decided to go to where all the stars meet for a comfortable and nice meal – Star Bhavan. Laura could not join me as she had other plans.

Star Bhavan is a restaurant that caters for a meal whether you are alone, or with someone or with a group of people.

Some of the variety of snacks offered by Star Bhavan. They have a large variety of Indian sweets (snacks and cakes) – not many places offers many different sweets and cakes.

I ordered my usual (most of the time) – chapati (such an easy word, yet the spelling can be a bit confusing. Localised [nowadays], it is spelt as “capati”, without the “h”) and Nescafe Ice Kaw. Ever since I started seriously working on reducing weight, I eat chapati most of the time. No diets. I have never been on a diet, at least consciously.

I go for my daily 10 kilometer (km) to 11km brisk walk, everyday; and on most days, I don’t eat lunch. I also minimise my sugar intake as much as I can.

Some of the large variety of sweets and cakes for those with a sweet tooth and more. I love many of them including the Ghee Mysore Pak and the yellow ghee balls (2nd from left, bottom row).

It makes common sense: burn / work off more calories than what you take in to lose weight. No rocket science needed to come up with a “I’m on a diet, too”. So far, my weight has come down by 9kg and fluctuates between the 67kg – 69 kg band. It has been hovering around this range for the last one and a half months. I am still working at it. My target ideal weight is 63kg.

One for the camera.

Back to my chapati and Nescafe Ice “story”.  I often have this meal combination when I am here. It seems light but it’s just nice for me.  Once in a while, I will add on an additional potato or a spicy fried chicken, chicken varuval or a spicy potato dish. Today, is one of those once-in-a-while days.

Dinner for one.

My meal was quick to arrive. There were three small side dishes that came with it – a “set” in the chapati tray. The “set tray” has 4 compartments, if I may call them that – one large and three small. The large one is for the main serving, in this case, it was the chapati. The three compartments were filled with what I call three different curry gravies. No, not right.

The white condiment was coconut chutney. The greenish condiment was some sort of potato dish, maybe it is a green curry. The other was a natural curry. 😀

This is an unusual potato dish with beans. Very spicy. Very tasty.

I decided to “live it up” – I ordered an additional potato dish. This looked like a dry curry dish, promising to take “spicy” to the next level. It was quite unusual. It had big beans (the baked beans type) in it.

Potent stuff. At least to those who are only used to eating 1 or 2 chilis in their food.

Green “curry” dish?

The delicious, spicy, yet not too spicy coconut chutney – sort of a sambal dish.

Capati (pronounced “char-par-tee” [as it sounds])

What can I say about this meal? It wasn’t fanciful nor was the dish patterned with sauces used to design or decorate. It sure was delicious, all the way, right to the last tiny flaked piece of chapati and dried potato curry with beans and coconut chutney. The only thing fanciful about this meal was the price, I guess. It was more than reasonable, I sure was satisfied. It was a good meal. And the Nescafe Ais Kaw – was just right. It complimented my dinner very well. I will be back for more meals in the future.

Spicy potato and large beans dish. Really delicious – one of Star Bhavan’s best, by far.

Bean vadai. Excellent for breakfast, tea or snacking during any time of the day.

I picked up some bean vadai and currypuffs to go, for my next morning’s breakfast.

BARE FEET 10 KILOMETER WALK

/ Alan Atkinson / 1 Comment

Not really a good idea. I should have thought of that before I started it this morning.

Early Saturday evening (known as mid-afternoon or late afternoon by some)… We’ve settled in at the hotel. Rested for a while from the drive. My wife, Jeannie; was eager to feel the sands that made up the beach. Looked white (an illusion), initially, it was more a tanned white.

With a little (not much needed 😉) persuasion, I agreed to accompany her on this sandy expedition. Laura, our daughter, said she was good where she was and didn’t want to trade the comfort of her bed and air-conditioning to walk in the sands, more often than on the sand, (Much persuasion. When you get on the bed, you don’t want to get out of it because the weather is hot outside. Have a Spanish or Mexican siesta, perhaps?).

We took a short ride in the lift, down 5 levels. When the lift doors opened, an immediate response that you wouldn’t be faulted for expressing would have been, “this is a secret cave. Maybe it would lead to the Batmobile”.

No such thing. It was the hotel’s basement which they called the “games room”. It had a variety of indoor games and activities that would keep you occupied if you did not want to go to the beach.

Now, you would wonder why people would come and stay by the beach and not want to go to the beach, not wanting to feel the sands and the biting, salty sea waters? I wonder. Not forgetting, have the sun’s rays lash out at you from 93 million miles away. Maybe, just being there, knowing that the scenic view is close at hand was enough. And getting the whiff of the ocean, too; it’s undeniable, the salt that is.

We made our way to the beach which was about a 100 meter walk. The beach was crowded. There was still enough space for more people to get some fun out of it.

Jeannie got into the water after a short walk in the direction away from the hotel. That part of the beach wasn’t too crowded. She was in her element, enjoying the water. I opted to walk on the beach.

I walked at the edges of the waves as they came up the beach. I was ankle-deep in water, whenever the waves breached the unmarked fringes and came past me.

The beach was clean and pleasant to be on. Everyone was happy. Jetskis, and a variety of boat rides were available for those who wanted to “go out to sea”.

I thought I’d do my 10km walk on the beach. I found that sinking in the soft sand was OK, I guess. The “sinking in the sand effect” was slowing down my pace, slightly. This was the dry part of the beach.

After walking a couple of kilometres or so, rain clouds soon formed above us and before we knew it, heavy rain came down on us.

We spent the rest of the evening back at our hotel room. It was one of those rare occasions where we just chill-ed / relaxed, without having to do much. That is the word, “Do”. Sometimes, we just have to do something to be doing something, instead of not doing anything but being the present, which can be considered as doing something.

Breakfast at the hotel was early at around 8.18am. Buffet style, the spread (choice) of food was both local and western. The breakfast hall which had a seating capacity of over 100 people, was crowded with people. We managed to get a table with quite a bit of space around us. I like elbow room. My elbows tend to go up, outwards, when I cut through my food.

The food was good. Jeannie and Laura went for a mix of local and western. Laura had her Nasi Lemak (a must have wherever she goes), and a bit of a western style meal, leaning more to an American breakfast. Jeannie had a little bit of everything, which was quite a lot in the end. I went for some scrambled eggs, a couple of sausages, local fruit, fruit juice and black coffee. The three of us enjoyed our meal.

The Batik Influencer was eager to head down to the beach and into the Straits of Malacca (the sea, which is world renowned and one of the busiest shipping lanes, Straits of Malacca). So, she and I made olur way down to the beach while Laura headed back to the room to chill.

Jeannie wasted no time getting in the water. I started my 15,000 step walk, which would make up just over 11 kilometers.

to be continued…Pt 2

Did I say relax? Therapeutic.

This is how it’s done…without the surfboard.

Footprints in the sand – mine; all 11 kilometers of it. You can tell by the size 8, 9 or 10 (depending which country shoe size measurement).

IT’S OUR 29TH. CELEBRATING WITH FAMILY

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Some of the best moments of life are snap-shotted or roll ’em videoed to preserve them in memory. Preserving these memories for eternity? I think there are cloud services and social media sites that provide (offer) this service where all your content will be maintained for a period of time like a 100 years. For a fee of course. Not sure if it is renewable and who is to check that all content will still be up or preserved in its original form in say 75 years or so.

It was our (Jeannie’s and mine) 29th wedding anniversary. Looking back, memories of our wedding remain fresh in our minds.

It was a Saturday, which I planned to sleep in the morning, as our wedding ceremony was at 3.00pm in the afternoon. Ample time to get ready and get to church well before 3.00pm. However, that plan was dashed with a phone call at 7.00am in the morning.

“The flowers have not arrived”, exclaimed Jeannie in a worried voice. I had to go round P.J. (Petaling Jaya)(1). I called up Brenda Au Yong (one of the two people who would act as witnesses of our wedding), to help me find these flowers. Together, we went to many of the florists we knew in P.J., hunting for these specific flowers. After 3 hours of flower-searching, no luck.

Our wedding, which took place at St. Francis Xavier Church, was beautiful. Jeannie and I were relaxed and enjoyed it. The late Aunty Alzira Gomes (the late Uncle Joseph’s wife), took over the microphone at the choir section and sang “Panis Angelicus” impromptu. It was a welcome surprise.

Then, we had the customary tea ceremony, a Chinese tradition for marriage, since Jeannie is Chinese. We managed to get a couple of hours rest at Brenda’s & Martin’s house, before our reception at Loyola Hall in St. Francis Xavier Church itself. We had a Chef from the French Embassy in K.L. (2), who catered a wide variety of western and local dishes for the dinner. It was excellent.

Fast forward from then on 25th November, 1995; to now, 29 years later. What better way to celebrate, then with family. This time round, we had our daughter, Laura; and son-in-law (Laura’s husband), Praga; to grace this occasion with us.

We met for dinner at Benjy’s, a little restaurant in SS16, Subang Jaya (3). Located in an apartment building, a couple of blocks from AEON Big Supermarket; it serves western cuisine. The food served is good. There is ample car parking space (a big “+” point for Malaysians).

Wedding Anniversary dinner at Benjy’s; with our daughter, Laura; and her husband, Praga; on 25th November 2024.

Jeannie and I got in slightly earlier than our appointed time. Laura and Praga arrived not long after. Being early eaters, generally; we soon got to ordering our food. Another good thing about Benjy’s is that the menu is not complicated and not overly crowded.

Praga’s order: Smoke Duck Pasta Carbonara.

We all opted for noodle meals, our belief is that it was a healthier choice instead of the usual. heavy steaks.

Laura ordered “Bolognaise” pasta, Italian style. It came with a generous serving of mince beef in tomato sauce, with grated cheese on top. We knew it was going to be good because we have ordered this meal multiple times before.

Praga chose to have “Smoked Duck Pasta Carbonara”. It was loaded with carbonara. The presentation was a row of sliced roast duck pieces on top of the carbonara prepared noodles.

Jeannie went for an “Aloha”. It came with a bull’s eye on top of a big portion of chicken breast meat, together with garlic bread, some green vegetables, corn, a large slice of garlic bread and a side dish of black pepper sauce with some white cream (not sure what that was) on it. The black pepper sauce is always served with the white cream on it.

Jeannie’s order: Aloha. I suppose the restaurant named this dish as such because of the “sunny side” up egg.

I, like Laura; ordered a bolognaise meal. I have been downsizing my meal intake in order to reduce my weight. The meals served at Benjy’s are generous portions in size. When, my meal came; it looked delicious. I had to finish it, since I did not want to waste anything. And finish it, I did. I felt really full and “regretted” that I over ate. My regret did not last long enough. I ordered a double scoop chocolate ice-cream. Sigh!

My order of Bolognaise pasta, with grated cheese on top.

Laura ordered Bolognaise, too.

Praga and Jeannie went for apple crumble for dinner; whereas Laura shared a bit of my chocolate ice-cream. I thought the consolation was that Laura will share at least half the ice-cream with me. She only took one spoon full, which meant that I had to eat the rest. I don’t like the idea of wasting any of it. Though I did not say it out loud, I was not complaining.

The chili sauce (on my right)- a pre-requisite for most types of food, except ice-cream.😁

Jeannie, about to start with her meal.

It was a very pleasant evening. Having Laura and Praga join us in celebrating our wedding anniversary. made it all the more special. It has been some years since Laura last joined us in our annual celebration.

Jeannie and I look forward to many, many more years of married adventures together.

NOTES:
1. Petaling Jaya is a city in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.
2. K.L. or Kuala Lumpur, is the capital of Malaysia.
3. Subang Jaya is a young, vibrant city of the state of Selangor, Malaysia.

LIVE FOR YOURSELF

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

PEOPLE ARE GOING TO JUDGE.
DO YOU DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO OR WHAT
OTHERS WANT YOU TO DO?
DO YOU DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO OR WHAT YOU THINK OTHERS WANT YOU DO?
WHICH PROVIDES COMFORT?
ARE YOU COMFORTABLE BEING COMFORTABLE?

LIVE FOR YOURSELF.
PROGRESS IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING COMFORTABLE AND GROWING, DOING THE UNCOMFORTABLE THINGS.

~ ALAN IAN ATKINSON
Writer, Author, Storyteller

MARRIED

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

As we were crossing the very busy street of Jalan Sultan on the overhead pedestrian bridge which connected P. J. State to the Registrar of Marriages building, she put her hand around my shoulder, and I put mine around her waist. We didn’t talk, yet much was said. She knew it. And, I knew it. The beautiful song, “Butterfly Kisses” by Bob Carlisle, did not and could not capture those precious minutes I had with Laura…as her father…

THE FULL STORY WILL BE IN MY BOOK, SCHEDULED TO BE ON THE SHELVES OF BOOK STORES, IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS.

PEOPLE

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Is it the weekend already? You’re supposed to answer the obvious. Unless your weekend starts on a Sunday or Tuesday.

I’m on my one of my 10km walks. The sky is billowing with black clouds, looking like it is about to burst at its seams. A strong drizzle is already coming down and I, cowering under an opened umbrella; must complete my 10km distance. A couple of people pass by. “Raining” one said. while pointing to the sky. Again, it is the obvious. I smiled and replied, “Yes, it is”.

On another of my walks, a neighbour sees me walk by at a fairly brisk pace? “Jogging, ahh?” That got me thinking about the word, “jogging”. Off the bat, I consider jogging as a run, mostly slow run. Small steps, moving 3km/h to 5km/h faster than a general brisk walker like me. Not too fast, but faster than the casual walk. It turns out that Wikipedia agrees with me. 😀(1)

So, the neighbour is quite correct when she asked if I was jogging, because I was not running. However, I was walking faster than my usual pace (which is in itself, quite fast, above the average).

There are multiple other incidents similar those mentioned above. Many are strangers to me. The message. People are kind. People are friendly. People want to make conversation, even though just for a few minutes.

Just a few days ago, as my wife, Jeannie and I were leaving Sunway Pyramid after some light shopping (I did not find the the item I was looking for). Our car was parked on CP3 (Level 3). So, we walked up to the pay machine as we usually did, keyed in our vehicle number, flashed the credit card to clear the transaction, but it failed. After a couple of attempts to make payment, I saw a small sigh above the machine stating that it now only accepts debit cards. We were going to walk one level down to pay with our credit card, when a young couple asked us to key in our vehicle registration number into the payment machine again. When we did, the lady used her debit card to pay. The payment cleared. I tried to pay them back but they did not want to accept it, saying that it was a small amount.

Is this kindness, or caring, or any one of the good words or statements you can think of? I would say a little bit of each. People just do what comes naturally to them, without a second thought.

I am grateful for people. I find them fascinating, don’t you agree? The more I think of it…the more I ask questions…and get answers…, they lead to more questions. Am I becoming philosophical (I can hardly get the spelling right)?💭🤔

Musings

People: Top picture, Left to Right: my late Uncle David Nellaiah, Dad (Eustace Anthony Atkinson) and my late Uncle Joseph Gomes.
Picture taken probably in the 1970s.
Bottom picture, Left to Right: My cousin, Christopher Nellaiah, my late brother, Nigel Edward Atkinson and my cousin Dato Ronald Gomes.
Picture taken around 2020.
The bottom picture are of the sons of the gentlemen in the picture above. Both pictures are of men with amazing people’s skills, friendliness and kindness.

NOTES:
1. Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods of time. Performed over long distances, it is a form of aerobic endurance training. Wikipedia

FIT FOR A KING

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Sunday morning, what a beautiful day. The weather was cool. My wife, Jeannie, and I readied ourselves to go to church. It was 8.03am. We headed off on a short 10 minute drive to church. Traffic was Sunday-ish good.

Mass was good, with Fr Patrick Boudeville being his usual self, peppering his sermon with jokes, with chuckles coming from the congregation and smiles on their faces. Nice.

We thought we’d have a quick brekkie before heading home, so we popped by New Apollos.

Jeannie bought some nyonya kueh from one of the stalls. I had a kopi ais (Bahasa Malaysia for cold coffee with ice), Jeannie ordered a coffee (which is understood to be hot [without the ice…bit]).

Whilst having our breakfast there, we met some friends. One of the regulars was Christine with her three children.

We headed for home a short while later, as we were expecting our daughter, Laura, to be home. Her fiancé, Praga; and his family were come over, and then proceed for an early lunch (brunch?) at Tasty Chapathi.

The diversity family. Back row: Left to Right: Praga, Laura, Praga’s uncle (his mother’s brother), Sotha (Praga’s mother), Praga’s uncle’s wife. Front row: Jeannie, self and Praga’s nephew.

We used to pass by the Tasty Chapathi restaurant with its colourful signage whenever we went to the Empire Gallery Shopping Mall. The signage will definitely catch your attention if you looked left when going past the shopping mall. The restaurant is located at Wisma Consplant 2, an office building.

First plus point for this restaurant: there is ample parking available. That itself sets your mood right.😊

As we entered the restaurant, we were greeted with a nice ambience and decor, setting us for the mood of what we would expect as upmarket, exquisite food. Tasty Chapathi serves Northern Indian food. This restaurant had a fairly large main dining hall and several rooms for private functions, some could seat 30 people along a long table. Each room greets its guests with an archway, a continuance of the ambience and decor from the main dining hall. The whole place was not too brightly lit to give their guests that extra special feeling of a touch of class. We were seated in the main dining room. Very comfortable.

There were quite a few waiters at hand to wait on us. The food was ordered, not by Jeannie or I. We left the ordering to the experts, Praga and his family. I would not have known how to order. It’s like going to a French or Chinese restaurant, with its cuisine in French or Chinese respectively, except that this was Indian.

Butter chicken, mutton veruval, plain naan, garlic naan, chicken 65, panu puri, sev puri, tandoori chicken, chicken biryani, the list goes on. That was the meal order. Drinks were fresh lime and watermelon juice.

Paani Puri. An unusual dish of what looked like papadam shaped into balls the size of ping-pong balls. The top was open like the ping-pong balls had their tops broken off. It also looked as though these were shells, after the chicks were hatched. In these papadam shaped balls, was filled with muruku. In the centre of this dish was was a little decanter filled with what look like concentrated plum sauce.
Lime juice

We did not have to wait too long before our food arrived. When the food was served, it looked like it was coming, one dish after another; never ending. We started with the Paani Puri. It was an unusual dish of what looked like papadam shaped into balls the size of ping-pong balls. The top was open like the ping-pong balls had their tops broken off. It also looked as though these were fried small egg shells, after the chicks were hatched. In these papadam shaped balls, was filled with muruku. In the centre of this dish was was a little decanter filled with what look like concentrated plum sauce.

We started by pouring what I believe was concentrate plum sauce in the papadam shell casing. Then, we put it in our mouths. It was really nice. Can you imagine plum sauce with muruku? There’s a first for everything.

“Sev Puri”, a delicious dish with muruku toppings. It looks like a bullseye (egg), minus the yoke, with carrot garnishing and two or three different sauces. Exquisite.

Our next was the Sev Puri, a delicious dish with muruku toppings. It looks like a bullseye (egg white), minus the yoke, with carrot garnishing and two or three different sauces. The dish was served with half a dozen individual pieces as a set. This was another great dish. I think the Paana Puri and Sev Puri dishes were entrees (dishes before the main course).

Going through the menu. very interesting.

This is how its done.

You have to pour this what looked like thick, concentrated plum sauce (I think) onto the muruku filling in this papadam shaped, top-proken off (open), size of a ping-pong ball delicacy.

In slow motion. Easy does it.

I was not sure whether we were supposed to pour just a little amount to savour the sweet sourness, to the muruku and this crust cocoon. I thought since the decanter was full with plum sauce, it would have meant that this sauce was poured in each of the balls and filled to the brim. So, I poured it to the top, drowning the muruku in it.

I could go on and on about each and every dish. Every dish was simply the best. Presentation for each dish was superb, how the garnish and dressing…the finest….right down to the smallest details were seen to.

Biryani rice and chicken curry dishes.

Another superb rice meal set, with its condiments coming in an arch tray that half surrounds the plate. I thought the arc-shaped arch tray was a novel idea.

This is the place to come to for a pleasant dining experience. It did not fall short in any way in giving us that experience. This is a place to come to for total relaxation and great food. I know that we will come here again. That’s for sure.

My order. This is a tandoori chicken set. It comes with 2 pieces of chicken. I like how one part of the chicken was wrapped in tin foil to prevent your hands from getting soiled when holding the chicken. It also comes with 2 large pieces of plain naan, a large container of gravy (I think it was a dhal dish), some cut cucumbers, carrots and large onions, a container of a cucumber salad, and two different types of sauces one green, the other white. I think these sauces were a type of chutney. The white one was made from coconut.

Does not just look absolutely yum, it tastes absolutely yum!

A simple, yet delicious rice set.

“Aloo pranta” – a type of naan.

Aloo pranta with paani puri.

I was working on this article while drinking Essenso 3 in 1 instant coffee, with Microground coffee. This was my first try of this coffee. It claims on its packaging to be smooth and aromatic. It is. This is a nice anytime coffee, drink it hot or cold.
And, my Samsung Watch 7 Ultra kept buzzing with notifications (almost profusely) that kept causing me to stop / start this article multiple times. However, my train of thought was never derailed (pun? train…derailed🤔🚆💭)

NOTES:
Maharaja is a Hindu and Sikh princely title ranked in honour below a Maharajadhiraja and above a Raja. The title referred to a prince during the British rule in India and in medieval northern India, but was equivalent to a ‘Great King’ in medieval southern India and in late ancient India. Wikipedia

T23, PRICELESS!

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Exhaustingly exhausted… That has to be how this day can be summed up. Obviously, I still have some juice…drive…to go on. I am finger-writing this article, am I not (instead of aren’t I)? (1) It has to be published and reach the readers before the day is out.

This reminds me of the time when I was in La Salle School, Klang, in the early 1970s to mid-1970s. It was the time when “The Star” newspaper publication was published in Penang. (2) My schoolmate and buddy of that time, Duncan Calvin La Brooy; was a reader of that publication and used to bring it to school almost everyday. We are in school before 7.00am each school day, and he has the newspapers. He said the newspaper would be delivered to his house the late evening, before the next day. This means for example, if tomorrow is September 3rd ( it is…it really is)🤔😏, then, tomorrow’s newspaper which will be dated September 3rd, will be delivered this late evening of September 2nd. Cool or what?

Well at that time, there were no mobile phones, tablets (the big rectangular, portable flat screens…not the ones you swallow when you are ill), computers, internet…; it was awesome… to think that we were getting tomorrow’s news today.

In a way, I am preparing and publishing tomorrow’s article today.

We, meaning Laura, Jeannie and I, were deciding on dinner for this evening. This is usually one tough question to answer or one tough decision to make. We were already in the final quarter of the day. Making decisions or answering really (as in honestly, truthfully…haha. Got to watch what we say.😂😁😇) tough questions other than work related, at this point of the day, is something that many of us try to avoid. We are in “chill” mode, at least for a few hours before we are magnetically drawn to our screens or home work stations.

My mixed plate of food (I skip the basic rice as I don’t eat rice).

T23 was on my mind. “T23” sounds like a model number of one of Russia’s military fighter or bomber aircraft or one of their armoured tanks. None of the above.

Here, you can see a couple of slices of pineapple on top, with mixed vegetables and some potatoes underneath.

T23 in Taipan is an economy jaahp faahn (mixed rice) (3) popular restaurant, USJ Subang Jaya. (4) It offers a super wide variety of delicious food at reasonable prices (though cooking on your own and eating at home is much, much cheaper. However, these meals are cheaper than most of what you can get from other restaurants.). The food is delicious. You can come here everyday and have a different choice of food. The good thing is you don’t have to buy groceries to prepare these meals yourself, cook, clean dishes, etc.

On this side, of the same plate, you can see a sardine, slices of potatoes, Japanese tofu on the right of the picture, white tofu with mince meat (towards the central top left of the picture).

You choose your meal, cafeteria style, you walk along the long 3-tiered row of dishes, choose the types of dishes, serve the quantity of the choices you made, walk to the cashier who determines how much to charge for the meal, you pay, then take your meal to an adjoining dining room with rows of tables and chairs. You pick an available empty chair or chairs (like Jeannie, Laura and I were together) and sit there. You can serve yourself free soup and iced or warm water. The dining area is air-conditioned with fans as well, which can be rather cold at times.

A better view of the sardine, together with the potatoes, Japanese tofu, mixed vegetables and white tofu with mince meat.

Their staff / cleaners, are very fast in clearing tables and wiping them clean, after people have left . This is to help facilitate the high volume of people who come, eat and leave. The seating area can accommodate more than 100 people. There is hardly an empty place for long, as people just keep coming, eating and then leave.

Jeannie’s meal – was chicken prepared in a sweet sauce, dark green vegetables, rice and a bowl of soup – a simple choice. Laura went for rice, fried chicken, luncheon meat, curry and potatoes.

Jeannie’s meal – chicken, dark green vegetables, rice and a bowl of soup (bottom picture).

I went to town on my food choice. Pineapple, luncheon meat, Japanese tofu, sardine, white tofu with mince meat, mixed vegetables and potatoes. Simply delicious.

In this picture, you can see their luncheon meat specialty, pineapples, Japanese tofu and mixed vegetables.

The most important part of the evening was our family time between Laura, Jeannie and me. The screen gadgets were not on the table or within clear view. From all our busy “doing things” work and others, every day, here, we sat and enjoyed the company of each other in the present – priceless!

NOTES:
1. “Am I not?” is a question phrase favouritely used by Rev. Fr. Simon La Brooy; a popular Catholic priest in Malaysia.
2. Penang is a northern state of Peninsula Malaysia, Malaysia. It comprises of the island of Penang itself, and Seberang Prai (formerly known as Province Wellesley); which is a section on the peninsula. Penang is a popular tourist destination for both local and international tourists from the world over. It has many heritage sights. One of the main attractions it offers to tourists are its beaches. Lots to do in Penang. Lots of excitement. Don’t forget to bring your sunblock.
Penang is also one of the world’s leading high-end, sophisticated, semiconductor manufacturers.
3. “Jaahp faahn” or economy rice is known by several other names, and in general conversation it is rare for anyone to refer to it as such, even though many stalls tend to proclaim “Economy rice” on their signboards. wikipedia
4. Subang Jaya is a bustling and exciting city in the central state of Selangor, Peninsula Malaysia, Malaysia.