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.
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.
The couple, ready to tuck into their meal.The front of the restaurant, looking out to the shops across the street.
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.
Our meal order.
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 mee noodles came with a generous serving of char siew. The noodles were prepared in a black gravy sauce. Included in this meal was a small bowl of wonton soup with three pieces of wonton. This meal was topped of with a few leafy green vegetables and a little container of cut, pickled green chilis.Note the cin cau series menu.
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.
Wor-tan-hor (in Cantonese) or kway teow with gravy (in English). It looked so good.
The soup with 3 pieces of wonton side dish.
Now, how did that get onto my plate? Jeannie put some of her wor-tan-hor on my plate for me to try. Yum!Wanna know a secret? (That special word that loses its meaning when it is told to everyone😂). It does not only look good and appetizing, it (the secret) tastes good, too.
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…
This was my iced coffee. The coffee was good. I wouldn’t say it was “super strong”, it was above average. Maybe, if it came in the glass as in the picture, instead of the take away, plastic drink container; it could have been more appealing to my taste buds as “super strong”.
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
For as long as I can remember, the Batik Influencer kept turning on her charm to influence me to take her to the beach. And always, there was something that always seemed to clash with the dates we wanted to go; which weren’t many.
Then, Laura went to Port Dickson (P. D.) (1) with her friend for a wedding. And stayed for the night. And went to the beach the next morning. And spent some time there.
That set Jeannie’s sights to go the very next weekend, which is this weekend, the Chinese New Year hols. Laura booked us in last Tuesday….or was it Wednesday? Anyway, we were set.
Our Sunday itenary was to go for the 8.30am mass at St. Thomas More Church, then go for breakfast somewhere nearby and start our journey to P. D. at 11.00am.
Sunday (that is today), came. We went for the 8.30am. mass at St. Thomas More church. Check☑️I found mass quite entertaining… the Music Ministry…let’s just leave it at that.
We passed by a couple of Indian restaurants with the hope of having roti canai for breakfast. They were closed. On the second day of Chinese New Year! Can you beat that? One would think that they would capitalislze on all the Chinese coffee shops, kopitiams and restaurants that are closed because of the lunar holidays.
Then, we heard bagpipes being played in the distant background…no, our car is Japanese, not Scots. And the bagpipes…imaginary, as we decided on McD’s – reliable for being open everyday.
Jeannie had a “hash brown wrap”, something new to me,
We had a quick breakfast… The Batik Influencer ordered a “hash brown wrap” and iced coffee and I; a sausage with egg McMuffin and iced coffee. It was a quick breakfast. I wanted to go back home for a short rest before going on the fairly long drive. We anticipated that we were going to have more than our fair share of the blazing sun. To give some perspective, P. D. is closer to the earth’s equator than Subang Jaya (2). Hence, it definitely was going to be much hotter in weather temperature.
We started our journey at noon. As we got on the Seremban (3) highway intersection from the highway route that we got on from the Toll plaza, we got (3 “got” [s] ) smack into the usual jam at Nilai. It seems perpetual as any time of the day is a crawl. Got past that jam about half hour later and it was a breeze drive all the way for about 5 minutes.
Now, it was the Seremban traffic crawl heading down South, for as far as we could see. For those heading to Johore (4) and Singapore, you have my sympathy.
As we turned off to the P. D. highway, there were pockets of jams, all a few minutes each. Jeannie insisted we used Google maps and I said I knew the way. However, Google Maps showed the way that was shorter, at least on Google Maps itself. I decided to follow the electronic guide. We didn’t know what was in store for us next.
We followed the directions shown by Google Maps. It took us into one of the small Malay kampungs (villages in English). We went through some very narrow roads (more like dirt tracks) and very tight and bumpy turns. The map showed the sea was so close by.
I kept turning to look at the back seat to see if we picked up some chickens and goats. The movie, “SHADOWS IN THE SUN” was still very fresh on my mind where Welson Parrish drove and crashed the publisher’s car into a chicken coup.
We managed to get out of there without picking up any chickens or goats. If we had gone the way I knew, we could have avoided this “scenic” route.
Quite a long check-in line. We got our room pretty quick. Welcome to Corus. In a scarecrow straw hat, caught me at work.
The Batik Influencer said, at least now, I had a story to tell. Possible title, “HATTED WRITER’ S FEATHER IN THE HAT”.
A view from our room.
We’ve checked into our room. I chose to pen this down, while Jeannie does some office work. We’re waiting for the sun to go to the other side of the equator, at least a little bit, when the temperature outdoors will be cooler before venturing to the outdoors, itself; feeling the white sand and the wet sands of the beach, soaking in (that should be from the wetness of the seas of the Straits of Malacca) the many colours and hues of the sky, the sun and the many sounds of humans, enjoying the simple pleasures of life – playing on the beach and in the seas.
In the meantime, let’s make light and easy plans for galavnating around P. D..
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This article would have been published earlier on in the evening, if not for it getting lost somewhere in the back office. I was going to launch it at the same time as the one just before this that was published. I had to seek my daughter, Laura’s help; to try and recover the article.
There must have been a clash of two articles because this which I wanted to publish as I had already seen the final draft, was launched at the same time as the previous article which meant both articles would have been published.
Long story short; I managed to retrieve it from another sector, had to modify it slightly and re-add the pictures in
NOTES:
1. P. D. (Port Dickson) /is a seaside town, located in the state of Negeri Sembilan.
2. Subang Jaya is a city in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.
3. Seremban is a city in the southern state of Negri Sembilan, Malaysia.
“What is her problem!?” I asked Jeannie. The chee cheong fun was not fun at all. It was fiery-hairy scary! It was so spicy (I had to put this in to differentiate between taste and temperature) hot.
Jeannie tapau-ed (packed back [“take away” for some]) a packet of chee cheong fun for me from the food stall at the New Apollos restaurant nearby for my brunch. She said the lady was kind enough to give two packets of chili. Jeannie added both the packets of chili in the chee cheong fun. Well, the chili was extra spicy today…
Typing this on the LRT train as we (Jeannie and I) head down to locally known “Pasar Seni” or Central Market. Jeannie, The Batik Influencer; wanted to check our the batik scene there.
Jeannie, The Batik Influencer; looking very trendy with her Millikin University Blue shades. We are waiting for our ride to show up.
This is what our ride looks like.
She’s giving her one-for-the-camera-smile.
Is she? Is she going to reveal her x-ray vision? Is she? Is she?She loves her Millikin University blue shades.
The train was quite full. It is one of the most convenient modes of transport into and out of town.
As you come down the stairs of the LRT station, heading towards “Pasar Seni” in Bahasa Malaysia, or Central Market, you will see the Klang river on your left. Then, you will know that you are heading towards the very tourisy market.
Crossing the busy traffic street (locally known as “road”) at the zebra crossing, was a bit of a harrowing experience. Vehicles going by had a statement, “every pedestrian or vehicle for his or herself”.
We managed to dash across the zebra crossing with the littlest chance we had, got on the other side, into the Central Market car park. There, gunning the gas pedal in a Saga, a Proton Saga, that is; was a sort of Latino lady, with her right elbow sticking out of the window; with an almost stub-style cigar in her mouth (no, not really); racing through the car lane, jamming on the brakes at the very last split second, and gunning on the gas pedal as she pulled out of the corner. She looked like one of those mean business, drift-car racers. You can see her in one of the pictures posted here, I will leave you to guess which one.
The entrance into this 135 year old venue. It is now a place you can get lots of locally made craft and food. An “excellent must” for local and foreign tourists to visit.
This poster, at the entrance of Central Market; that brings nostalgia to life.
At the entrance of Central Market, we were greeted by a poster which highlighted the holiday period due to our (Malaysia”s) Independence Day. The design of the poster sort of created a feeling of nostalgia as this building was built 135 years ago, in the year 1888.
Initially, in its first 100 years or so; Central Market was a thriving, typical wet market for food produce. That could have been the reason why it was built along the Klang River – so that farmers could travel on the river to bring their produce here, to this market, which probably was the hive of business activity. The building façade as it is today, was preserved and converted as a tourist attraction.
So, yes; Central Market or Pasar Seni which means “Art Market” in Bahasa Malaysia, is well known as a centre of attraction for tourists. They are spoilt for choice as everything, well almost everything in terms of local art and handicraft, locally designed and made clothes and accessories, to food …this is the place that you can get almost anything local. That is why, I guess, it is famous and a favorite shopping destination for both foreign and local tourists alike.
The bazaar happening over the weekend where budding entrepreneurs set up booths to promote and sell their products with the theme “Merdeka Kita Pasar Nostalgia”.
There was a sort of bazaar happening over the weekend where budding entrepreneurs set up booths and sold their products. The booths were attractively decorated. The decoration theme followed through with the “Merdeka Kita Pasar Nostalgia” (“Our independence is a nostalgia market”, or, “We are free to market” google direct translation of Bahasa Malaysia to English, though not entirely correct. It should mean, “Remembering our market on Independence Day”).
One of the budding entrepreneurs with her creations.
The bazaar was thriving with activity and excitement. It definitely was not short of customers and visitors. The entrepreneurs and their booth assistants were literally kept on their toes.
One of the entrepreneurs, Jenni Tan; was promoting her “Sunbaked Daily” brand of cakes and pastries. A very pleasant and friendly person, who was always with a smile; told of why she got into baking cakes.
Jenni was a flight attendant with one of the world’s leading airlines. She was retrenched during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was then that she started baking cakes to sell.
She bakes a wide selection of cakes and pastries. She explained that she uses natural and organic ingredients for all her products. I told her that I would return to her booth later, to introduce Jeannie to her. I also wanted to visit the other booths and main shops, too.
Jenni Tan, with her wide selection of “Sunbaked Daily” cakes and pastries to choose from.
This was how busy the bazaar was.
Rental of these booths for the 3 day weekend was RM1,500 (US$322) or RM500 (US$107) per day – a premium to pay. The entrepreneurs would have done their math (I am sure they would have), and were confident that they would be profitable. It was a happy atmosphere, attracting large crowds to their booths.
As I walked around (yes, me alone. Jeannie disappeared towards all the batik material shops), I came across a store selling all kinds of ladies’ clothes and accessories. I was attracted to this store because I noticed that it had a crowd of ladies gathered there, with a fairly long line of them waiting for something. Being kay-po (1), I wanted to see what this was all about. There was a lady sitting at a small table in a corner, inside the shop; painting or drawing “Henna” (2) on the hands of these ladies, most of them were young ladies.
Ladies, patiently and happily waiting to be decorated with henna. You can see the little sign hanging in front of her shop (Henna Art Drawing).
Me, with the “Jonathan Kher” pose.
I thought this looked interesting – a building within a building. This view gives an impression that Central Market was built, encompassing the shoplot.
The food court is upstairs, the first floor. I could not resist taking this photo. Guess why (3)
Found Jeannie in one of the batik shops, tucked away in a corner, on the other side of the food court.I had to wrestle her away from these shops so that we could make plans on heading back home.
This was on the outside of the other end of Central Market. It is here, on the left side as you come out; that live music performances are staged. We had just missed the performance of the day by about half hour.
The live music performances are staged on the other side of Central Market (rear), in between it and a smaller building, which houses stores where you can buy mainly paintings.
This was on the right, of the rear of Central Market.
Just before leaving Central Market, I took Jeannie to meet with Jenni and also, to buy a cake from her. All Jenni’s cakes and pastries looked simply delicious. I bought the coffee cake with cream. Jenni said the cream was made from coffee. I was eager to eat this cake as I am sure it would taste as good as it looked, or even better. You can check out Sunbaked Daily on Instagram and Facebook.
Bought a Coffee cake with natural coffee colour cream (all ingredients are natural) from Jenni, at her Sunbaked Daily; just before making our way home.The Malaysian Flag – a nice touch to celebrate Merdeka.
With Jenni Tan of Sunbaked Daily, with a wide offering of different types of cakes and pastries. My next cake will be the one with pistachios.On the outside, right of Central Market.
As we started to make our way back to Subang Jaya, we decided to exit the building from the area where all the art shops were and go around it on the right, to see the shoplots that were in that area. While walking past these shoplots, we came across “Nala”…
to be continued…
NOTES: 1. “Kay-po” is Hokkien (A Chinese dialect) for busy body. 2. What is henna? noun
1.a reddish-brown dye made from the powdered leaves of a tropical shrub, used to colour the hair and decorate the body.
2.the Old World shrub which produces henna, with small pink, red, or white flowers.
verb
dye (hair) with henna. “Renee hennaed my hair the night before the interview”. Dictionary
Today, Henna is mainly used in celebration of special occasions such as weddings and birthdays in the joyous gathering of people. The Henna paste symbolizes good health and prosperity in marriage, and in some cultures, the darker the henna stain, the deeper the love between two individuals. St. Thomas University, Ca 3. Cutlery or “Cutleries”. The noun cutlery can be countable or uncountable. In more general, commonly used, contexts, the plural form will also be cutlery. However, in more specific contexts, the plural form can also be cutleries e.g. in reference to various types of cutleries or a collection of cutleries. wordhippo.com
The opportunity came and we took it. It isn’t often that we get to do “fine dining” (though most of the time we are fine when we dine😂). Here when I say, “We”, I mean my family: Jeannie, Laura and I. Our dinners are usually rushed or “on the go” as we try to meet our scheduled “to dos” planned for, after that. With all the technology, available to us, especially the new buzz phrase, “A. I. or Artificial Intelligence” coming to our rescue or aiding us in freeing up our time each day, we shouldn’t be rushing. However, with this time saved, which we are sold on the idea that it should be for relaxing; we usually cramp more things to do in our schedule. So, we are always rushing.
Earlier on in the Merdeka afternoon, I suggested to Jeannie and Laura that we go for a nice meal since our evening schedule looked fairly clear. The question of where we should have dinner was quickly thrown back to me. It was between “Jake’s charbroiled” in Damansara Medan (quite a distance away), or Las Carretas. I was more inclined to Las Carretas as they are famous for their margaritas. Las Carretas it was. It is also less than 10 minutes away from home.
I want my food!😂 Notice the cactus. Symbol of “Me-hi-ko”.
The very friendly waiter showed us to our table and handed us the menu. We placed our order and had a nice, “slow everything down”, no rush conversation. The setting, the ambience was just right, pleasant and quite quiet, too. There was music, Mexican, that is; softly playing in the background, though it sounded a bit Spanish.
I was also having a short text / messaging / whatsapp discussion with my La Salle school friend of 40 years, Lee Seng; on the side. Its been a long time since we last met in person. The saying, “The apple does not fall far from the tree” has some merit to, it: Both Lee Seng’s sons were top students in school, as was Lee Seng, too. Somehow, in the midst of the non-verbal conversation, I thought of my classmate, Lourdes Nathan.
Jeannie and I met Lourdes with his wife, and another schoolmate, Gilbert Chin for lunch, a few months ago. The last time I met Lourdes was some years back. I was shocked to see Lourdes with a big patch on his neck. He said his voicebox was removed due to cancer. Now he communicates with a device on his throat – and holds a sort of tiny vibrator next to this device when he wants to talk. This mimics his voicebox. Other than that, Lourdes still has his famous smile. He told me that he has read my posts especially about Laura’s swimming and studying abroad. My take from Lourdes is that he keeps abreast with the latest from our schoolmates. He acknowledges he has a health issue, not ignoring it. But he is always forward looking. That’s the stuff that made him School Captain and a great leader.
We did not have to wait long for our meal order. Our orders all came at the same time. The texting with Lee Seng ended then.
One for the Mexican album.
Jeannie’s dinner – “Muslo de Pollo Cocinado en Salsa”
Jeannie had the “Muslo de Pollo Cocinado en Salsa” – a whole chicken leg with Mexican rice, side decorated with jalepenos and lettuce. The chicken was slow cooked, giving it the “roast” look, I think. The rice was a sort of reddish-orange in color. It looked great. Tasted as good as it looked.
Pollo Loco with black peppercorn sauce, with baked potato.
Laura and I ordered the same, “Pollo Loco” (crazy chicken?😉). It was charbroiled boneless(very important) chicken chop, with a not too pepperish black Peppercorn sauce. It was served with baked potato (we were given the choice of fries or baked potato).
The black Peppercorn sauce was smeared evenly over the whole chicken. The sauce was not over-powering. We still could get the black pepper effect on the chicken. It looked presentable. The chicken was tasty, inviting to the palate. I liked the baked potato minus the sour cream. The taste of the baked potato seemed lost with the sour cream on it. Other than that, it was excellent!
The food was so good that neither one of us three eating, added and salt or pepper or anything else to enhance the taste of our meal.
Mojito is definitely not iced-lemon tea with a mint leaf or two.
I thought we were going to have margaritas after our dinner. I ordered a Mojito by mistake, while waiting for our dessert – “Home made brownie” with ice-cream, to arrive.
The home made brownie
The vanilla ice-cream was a nice touch with the homemade brownie. It came with a bit of a strawberry, mint (mint again?) leave, a squish of whipped cream and zig-zagging of chocolate sauce. Really not too sure why this is done. Presentation on the plate served.
Mojito
The Mojito looked like iced-lemon tea with a twig of mint on top for deco. However, it was not. It had a nice zing of rum, with sugar and lime juice. A good after dinner drink.
The waiters were always checking in on us, once in a while to attend to our needs. They were a bit witty, too. Must have been a pre-requisite when applying for the job.
As we came to the 10.00pm mark, we called up our long time friend, Richard Kok; to come to our house for coffee. He said, “ok”. We made a zig-zag line back home, shortly after that. Maybe, it was more zag than zig, as we had a few turns to make to get to our house. Jeannie was driving, – designated driver.
Have you been in a situation where you had a good time with family or friends? As the day comes to a close, everyone says their goodbyes and bid “fair thee well” (got meh?), the very common statement that springs out from someone or more than one person, we must “ketchup again, soon”.
Most times than none, the “ketchup again”, rarely ever takes place soon enough.
I was on WhatsApp with Sharon and she said we, that is she, Lorraine, Jeannie and I; should meet up since it was over a month since we last met. She was responding to my article I wrote on Jings Specialty Coffee, a nice café in our new neighborhood. She wanted to go there.
I said, “It’s a holiday tomorrow and Jeannie will be at home. Let’s meet tomorrow morning.” She straight away jumped on the idea with a quick “OK”.
“Tomorrow” came. The main event of the morning was my 11km walk. I covered 15,000 steps – my daily exercise – brisk walking.
Sharon and Loraine were at our doorstep (actually Sharon first. Loraine was parking her car in her usual spot whenever she visits us. ) at 2pm on the dot. She suggested we do lunch. However, Jeannie and I had our lunch at noon.
They said they wanted something hawkerish (hawker like) food. And they were looking forward to coffee at Jings.
We suggested New Apollos (definitely not a re-branding exercise by NASA).
New Apollos restaurant – “coffee shop” as they were called back in the days when identification was more simplified. “Restaurant” gives you an image where people are dressed in “chefs'” outfits including the puffed up crooked hat. In ‘restaurants” such as New Apollos, the cooks are usually dressed in t-shirts, shorts and slippers. Their food tastes just as good, if not better than those in their fancy outfits.
It took us quite sometime to get to New Apollos from our house. The four of us: Loraine, Sharon, Jeannie and I had to pile into Loraine’s 2-door, 2+2, sports car first. Then, the long drive of about 2 minutes. Good thing there was ample parking at that time, as the lunch crowd had left.
Jeannie gave them a “tour de Apollos” of the hawker stalls that were still open (their “chefs” were still there).
Sharon and Loraine settled for the “house specialty” – rice, transformed into flattened noodles, fried in a dark source together with some (a little) green vegetables (specially chosen by the vegetable farmer. It can be considered as “organic” as they were grown from the ground) tougey (bean sprouts), kerang (a.k.a. cockle or edible shellfish), a dash of vinegar and some other condiments. What makes this the house specialty is a couple of duck (yes,the quack, quack type) eggs were cooked in this meal. It may sound simple. However, the chef knows precisely how many “klang-klangs” (the sound made when the chef turns over the food in the wok with the stainless steel Chinese Wok turner “spatula” with wooden handle) he has to make before adding (throwing) in each of the condiments. The result: Char Kuey Teow (not sure if it is the “famous” Penang, Ipoh, Klang or Seremban). This meal was served with a little Chili, in a separate section of the dark-green food plate.
We were supposed to have coffee at Jings. Since these two ladies were having their lunch here, I suggested Kopi Peng as a drink while waiting for them to consume their lunch. The three ladies had the same drink. “Kopi Peng” is a combination of languages for “Iced Coffee” with sugar and milk. “Kopi” is a Malay word for coffee; and “peng” is a Chinese dialect (Hokkien) word for cold. Couldn’t get more complicating than this.
After the char kuey teow and kopi pengs; we were quite full and were not really keen on going for specialty coffee.
“Do you eat durians?”, Loraine asked Jeannie and I. Both of us said we do.
Evidently, a truck full of the thorny fruit had caught her eye, their eyes (including Sharon’s). For the benefit of some readers, these are not “duran” (That was a very popular singing group in the 1980s – “Duran Duran”). It is spelt as “d-u-r-i-a-n“.
One would be hard pressed to miss it. It was right in front of the restaurant, parked by the roadside, along the kerb (sidewalk, if you are American).
Durian “Musang King” (Malay way of referring to it) or “Musang King” Durian is one of the top variants of this thorny fruits.
Smiles as we began to take in the aroma that exuded from this fruit.
More smiles.
We were all smiles. Could it have been due to the intoxication of the aroma from this “King of fruit”? Or was it because we were about to enjoy the deliciousness of the various variants of this fruit? Answer: Both.
Loraine giving instructions on how one is suppose to eat the fruit: “First, you have to pluck a seed with the fruit around it, from one of the pods of the fruit. This has to be done gently so as not to drop the fruit as it is expensive.”
Then you eat.
Seriously, this is good stuff!
This durian seller had set up a canopy tent by the side of his lorry (truck). He put out a couple of tables with chairs so that his customers can “dine” with some form of comfort. He provided thin plastic gloves for us to pick the fruit up so that our hands won’t have the lingering smell. This seemed like a novel idea at first. He also provided bottles of water for us to drink.
This is it! Here goes everything!One for the camera.
The evidence is in the pudding….durian.
“Wait, wait; before you start eating this variant, you have to dance the jig. Let me show you how”, said Sharon.
Sharon said, “It goes like this: You put your right foot out…”
The Fredericks sisters were…are a riot. Loraine started giving instructions on the fine art (proper way) of eating durian. For the love of life, I thought we just pluck the fruit out of the pod, put it in our mouth and eat.
Sharon showed us how to dance the jig just before eating one of the variants. Again, I thought just pluck the fruit from its pod and eat.
“To heck with the dance, I’m eating straight away. Gloves off!”
This is how we share the king of fruit.
All contract deals should be decided over eating of durian!
Split it down the middle.
Don’t drop it, not even the smallest piece of this precious fruit.
You eat first. Let me know how it tastes like.Jeannie says, “Here goes!”
“Mmmm”, said Jeannie. “How? How?” asked Loraine; wanting to know how this variant of durian tasted like.
It’s so good! Let’s have another!“Salute”(pronounced as “sa loot”. Italian for “cheers!”)Angelic:Four very happy and satisfied faces + the durian.
We had so much fun that afternoon. We ate, joked and laughed. And ate again. The things Sharon did in school. She was the “Minnie the Minx” of her time. And Loraine, being the elder sister, always got in trouble for not teaching Sharon better. Sharon the angel. Loraine the guardian angel.
Jeannie and I look forward to our next “ketchup” / catch up session.
