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.

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.

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.

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.