#gym

Dinner at Shaaz. Quick and simple dinner.

We dropped Laura off at Sunway Pyramid. She booked a Spin session at the gym. While we (Jeannie and I) wait for her, we thought we’d grab dinner.

Shaaz is a restaurant on its own, just next to Sunway Pyramid. This is Jeannie’s and my second visit here. The food experience that we had on our first visit was good. Hence, the second visit here.

Jeannie ordered “Mamak Mee Goreng” and I ordered two chapatis. According to Jeannie, the chapatis are usually made with no oil or very little oil, so it is supposed to be healthy or healthier.

For drinks, we both ordered lime juice. This time round, we did not ask to exclude the sugar.

*Lime Juice. It was more like sugar juice. The sugar was not that over-powering. Still, I would have preferred more lime than sugar.*

The drinks lightly tasted like lime juice. There was more sugar in it than there was lime. Still, it tasted quite good. And they sure were refreshing; especially on a day like this. Though the sun was not blazing hot, the day was still very humid.

*Mamak Mee Goreng. It looked pretty oily to me.*

Jeannie’s Mamak Mee Goreng arrived together with the drinks, which was quite fast. It looked good, though slightly on the oily side. It did taste good, spicy enough that Jeannie did not have to add chili to it. It had a generous serving of tofu and bits of vege (short for vegetables. The word “Vege” is quite commonly used here.) This meal proved to be quite filling.

I had to wait about 10 minutes after Jeannie’s meal arrived, to get mine. The ten minute wait seemed worthwhile as the chapati looked really good. No oil, the chapatis came with parapu (dhal or “lentils” in English) and coconut chutney.

*The parapu and coconut chutney was so good, that I had to ask for a refill. The two chapati were filling.*

I was famished. I did not have lunch this afternoon. I was keeping tabs on my weight control. I am quite happy with my weight loss over the past week – good results. Have to keep going at it. Once I arrive at my target, then, the next step is to maintain.

Parapu refill or “tambah lagi”, which means to add more. No, I did not wave the waiters over and did not show the national hand signal in the air for tambah lagi. You have to be Malaysian to know this unique hand signal for “tambah lagi” or “add more”.

The meal was really good. it came up to RM17.40 including 6% SST tax or US$3.73. Simple. The restaurant was nice and comfortable and brightly lit.

After our meal, Jeannie and I went back into Sunway Pyramid, where Jeannie went to tapau (order takeaway) KFC Popcorn chicken for Laura. KFC’s Popcorn chicken is really tasty. It serves as a good light meal. This is one of Laura’s favorite “snacks” or light meals.

We did not have to wait too long for Laura. She finished her Spin exercise session, had a shower and met with us at our usual meeting point before walking to our car.

Sunway Pyramid was quite quiet today. It could have been because it was a week day. Plus, there wasn’t any promotions going on. However, it offered a pleasant experience to shop without having to jostle with the crowds and all their rushing about. I quite like it this way.

Now, to head home, have some rambutan fruit and make a nice mugga (referring to coffee) as in cuppa refers to tea.😁

Do check out Shaaz when you are around this area.

The kopitiam, that is.

It took a long over 2 hour drive to go from our house to pick Jeannie and Laura up from their respective workplaces.

Laura wanted to go to the gym. She was looking forward to a good work out. She had a choice of the gym at Sunway Pyramid Shopping Centre or the one at Empire Gallery Shopping Centre (1).

She opted for Sunway Pyramid as she felt that I would have more stores to visit while we waited for her. However, I was not going to visit the stores there, as I had done so just yesterday.

The traffic in PJ (4) was moving at a breathtaking snail speed. Laura said that if I wanted to drive straight home, it was OK with her. However, she looks forward to working out as often as possible. So, I wanted to get her to the gym.

I drove as fast as possible, within the speed limits to get there. Since it was past 7pm, the “through pass road” from Kelana Jaya (4) across the triple-decker bridge was open.

We managed to get to Sunway Pyramid shortly after that.

While we waited for her, we thought we’d have our dinner. Jeannie and I settled for “Oriental Kopi” restaurant. Laura is at the gym and we are here.

We are at Oriental’s Sunway Pyramid outlet. As you can see from the pictures, this restaurant is brightly lit, very vibrant with lots and lots of customers. We did not have to wait in queue to get in as we would usually have to. However, the restaurant was full. As people left, new customers streamed in. This restaurant is very, very popular.

Jeannie wanted something soupy since it rained heavily earlier in the evening and the weather was generally cold. I thought it to be more gloomy than cold.

Jeannie did not order order anything soupy. In fact, they did not have anything soupy on the menu. She ordered Nanyang Curry Chicken Rice and their traditional coffee.

*Jeannie’s meal: Nanyang Curry Chicken Rice and their traditional coffee. The egg on top of the rice is sort of a bull’s eye – soft and bouncy, until it is broken, where the yolk spills out.*

*My iced coffee with cincau. Quite a nice combination.*

*Getting some work done, while waiting for my order to arrive.*

I went for something light – “Double Butter Kaya Toast”. Jeannie pointed out one of my favorite desserts – Pulut Hitam or “Tang Yuan in Black Glutinuous Rice” on the menu. For my drink, I ordered the “Oriental Kopi Cincau Ice”.

The service at this restaurant is good. We were served our meal orders quite fast. I had to caution Jeannie when she was going through the menu, to order something that would be served quickly. She usually wants to try something new which quite often is not fast moving on the menu. That means she has to wait for longer than the time meals are usually served, as the kitchen has to specially prepare it.

*My pulut hitam with the Tang Yuan (gummy balls?) with green pea paste [I think] fillings.*

*The Tang Yuan in Black Glutinuous Rice”. The white stuff floating on top is santan or coconut milk to add to the flavor. Yum!*

We soon finished our meal. Laura was still at the gym. The Pulut Hitam or “Tang Yuan in Black Glutinuous Rice” dessert in my opinion, was not top notch today, as it is usually. The taste of the pulut hitam was somewhat lost by the overpowering taste of the Tang Yuan.

If you want an unusual, yet nice iced drink I would recommend the “Oriental Kopi Cincau Ice”. I give it a score of 8.0 /10.0. Jeannie said that her coffee was too “kau” (2) for her. I thought her coffee tasted very nice. I drank the whole balance of it.

Both Jeannie and I, decided to get some work done at the restaurant while waiting for Laura. The restaurant was very noisy. But it was a noisy sort of a chorus of people talking, all at the same volume level and in tune with everyone else. It was something like a loud murmur. We did not have to talk on top of our voices to be heard.

*With my Insta360 Go 3. I started on this essay while sipping my iced coffee with cincau or as it is known as “Oriental Kopi Cincau Ice”.*

Laura was done with her workout at the gym a short while later. Jeannie asked the waitress to tapau (3) the balance of her meal that she did not finish, to take home.

The Oriental is…well…oriental, if you are looking for a simple, oriental, style of meal. The ambience also sets you into the oriental mood. You will probably like it.

NOTES:
1. Sunway Pyramid and Empire Gallery are shopping centres both located in Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
2. “Kau” simply means THICK, as in very strong coffee. it is actually a Hokkien/Teochew ( Chinese) dialect.
3. “Tapau” is Malay for takeaway or pack back.
4. PJ or Petaling Jaya and Kelana Jaya are both cities in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.

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The future is now. Live it!

DINNER AT SHAAZ

AN EVENING AT THE ORIENTAL