Just after visiting a family member at hospital, the question… that famous question… the one that is easy to answer, yet difficult to get an answer for… that question that passes the buck from one to another (1) … that question that when you get an answer, the reply will be “No, not that”…

“Where shall we have dinner?” That question. This time round, I said, “Let’s go to Grand City”. Jeannie said she had the same thought. Jeannie, my wife; and Laura, our daughter; were with me. I had picked them up from work, then made the hospital visit and now, was deciding on dinner since it was already creeping up to 8.00pm. We usually have our dinner early in the evening around 6.00pm. This was not one of those days.

Grand City Restaurant is about 5 minutes away from the hospital. That would mean that most of its customers would be hospital staff and hospital visitors alike; as the restaurant selection at the hospital itself is very limited.

As we walked into the entrance of the restaurant, a guy sitting at the table just near the door looked up. I recognized him.

“Hey, Len!” Then, I saw Yaakub sitting at one corner of the table, Presnan sitting across him in the other corner, and Len’s and Presnan’s wives were there, too. Len and his wife were down from New York for a couple of weeks.

It was then that I found out that Len, Yaakub and Presnan; who were all my juniors in La Salle School Klang, were classmates. We brought each other up to speed with regards to what’s happening in our lives. All of them knew Laura, the swimmer; from my social media posts and were always up todate with her swim championships.

It was good meeting with all of them. We had quite a few laughs. Len’s father, Datuk Anthony Reynolds Peter; was my History teacher when I was in Form Three. That was in 1973, when I was 15 years old.

We made our dinner orders. Laura chose a rice set which she added curry with potatoes, a spinach vegetable and a fish cutlet. She got her food to the table first. She opted to drink water which she carried with her in a drink flask. (4)

This meal is not offered as a “set” per se. (5) She wanted to have rice, and chose the side dishes. It was ok. Somewhat like Subway sandwiches, or is it the other way round?😉I think Laura finished her meal.

We chose our appetizers or starters, too – vadai and two curry puffs; one with potato filling, the other was with sardines filling.

I had a couple of pieces of potato and a piece of the cutlet from Laura’s plate.

Jeannie chose to have thosai. Her thosai came with a reddish sambal, a sort of dhal curry and white coconut chutney. The coconut chutney is like a sambal, was spicy. Looking at the picture above, the meal looked delicious.

My meal order was Indian rojak. (6) I was a bit surprised when the waiter asked if I wanted a egg to go with it because usually, whenever I order Indian rojak from other restaurants, it is a given that it comes with hard boil egg.

This was an unusual Indian rojak dish, or more likely the sauce or gravy. The sauce looked so thick with crushed peanuts. The taste was different, too. Usually, the sauce is more of the satay gravy sauce. The serving was large. I started eating it. It was ok-a-a-ayyy, unusual for me. I found it too much to finish. The reason I could not finish it is because, I had vadai and a curry puff as a “starter”.

All this while, from the very time we first arrived, the waiters and waitresses were very friendly and attentive. When it came to paying the bill, the cashier gave us nice compliments about our clothes, etc. It was raining heavily. Our car was parked right in front of the restaurant. The waiters, with umbrellas, escorted each one us, under the umbrella, shielding us from the heavy rain. That was what we called, “service”. Their food may be so-so (probably because it was the last of what they had before their closing), but their service was excellent!

By the time we were on the highway, heading back to Subang Jaya, the rain had stopped.

NOTES:

1. If you pass the buck, you refuse to accept responsibility for something, and say that someone else is responsible. 
2. They all mean the same thing, which is this: Thosai / Dosa – A thin crepe originating from South India, made from a fermented batter of rice and lentil. It’s eaten as a breakfast meal and served with three different gravy – chutney, curry and dhal.
3. Coconut chutney is a south Indian chutney, a side-dish or a condiment, common in the Indian subcontinent. The condiment is made with coconut pulp ground with other ingredients such as green chillies, tamarind, salt, coriander and water. Coconut chutney is made with both red chillies or green chillies. Wikipedia
4. Flask water bottles are compact and easy to carry, making them perfect for those who are always on the go. Additionally, most flask water bottles come with a lid that doubles as a cup, which means you can easily drink water without having to pour it into another container. Keeps Water Cold or Hot. Flasks, at one time; used to be only associated as containers for liquor like, whiskey, brandy and rum.
5. Per se means “by itself” or “intrinsically,” and it’s often used to avoid making generalizations, as in I don’t dislike pizza per se, I’m just not in the mood for it.
6. Pasembur is an Indian Muslim rojak popular in Penang, and perhaps Kedah. This delicious salad consists of shredded jicama, cucumber, bean sprouts, eggs, tofu, and fritters. The sauce or dressing is made with sweet potatoes and spices.
   * Rojak (Malay spelling) or rujak (Indonesian spelling), is a salad dish of Javanese origin, commonly found in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. wikipedia. This is more a fruit and vegetable dish with a gravy of a sweet sauce with crushed peanuts (how it is done in Subang Jaya).