malaysia

SIK FUN LA!

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Wha-a-a-a-tt? Got to eat a-ga-a-ai-inn (said in sing-song fashion. Use your imagination)😲🤔? Oh, the chore of it. 😋😂!

Yeah, right! For Malaysians, this is a welcome “chore”. Generally, there are 3 main meals a day. Some people include an afternoon coffee (I prefer to call it this using “coffee” instead of tea for obvious reasons) and supper.

When you attend a convention in Malaysia, you will notice that there is a tea break in the morning and afternoon. This means 5 meals a day : breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, then dinner. O.K. We’ve got to admit that there are six meals (the sixth being supper) a day for the avaricious. Is “Avaricious” (1) the right word to describe the extra-hungry or over-hungry? Just having fun with the English language.🤔😁

We, meaning the Batik Influencer, who also happens to be my wife, Jeannie, as well; and I, decided to visit our nearby cafe restaurant, New Apollos for a bite. (2) If you think this coffee shop is chic… in a sort of way : everyone comes here in whatever style they which to impress on others: the very casual, just out of bed straight to the coffee shop (in pjs galore at times); shorts (here, shorts are taken to a new level of “shorts”), tees and slippers. On the other end of the spectrum are people coming in near full suit (dressed for business meetings and work. Something peculiar though. there are those full suiters who wear slippers instead of shoes. Is that a “photo-bomb” or what (possibly hear this from a young-er person)? We could have walked from our house to New Apollos. However, we decided to reserve our energy for the eating. We drove.😉

We got a table directly under the air-conditioning (3 – blade fan). I choped (3) the table first while Jeannie went to the stalls to order the food. The drinks guy came around. I ordered a kopi peng (pronounced koh peeh peh eng [as in egg]) (4) for myself and a kopi kecil (small in Bahasa Malaysia) for Jeannie. When you order just coffee or tea, it is understood that you want it hot, unless you state otherwise. When you add an instruction of “sikit / kurang manis (little or less sweet in Bahasa Malaysia) or sikit / kurang gula” (little or less sugar in Bahasa Malaysia); ain’t gonna happen. Haha.

Our meal. Clockwise from the drinks: Kopi peng (No guesses for who ordered this drink; hot coffee or kopi kecil (small); roast chicken rice and char kway teow.

Jeannie ordered a roast chicken rice set for herself and for me, char kway teow. Jeannie’s roast chicken rice set had a generous serving of rice, roast chicken and slices of cucumber on a separate dish, a soup that looked like a vegetable soup and not forgetting, a little container of chili, specially made to go with chicken rice. Chicken rice without the chili is chicken rice incomplete.

A closer look at our meal from a different angle. What you will notice is that chili is sort of staple food. It comes with almost every food in Malaysia, except for ice-creams and other cold desserts (to name a few).

The roast chicken and cucumbers came with a sort of brown sauce on them. It tasted as good as it looked – delicious. Jeannie, at times, likes to pour spoons full of soup into her rice to make it “wet”. Dipping the sliced pieces of roast chicken and cucumbers into the chili sauce, then adding rice and eating it – simple food. Satisfying to the tastebuds, satisfying to the senses. Sipping hot coffee with it, Jeannie was happy with her meal.

You have a choice of roast chicken or steamed chicken. This is roast chicken.

Fried kway teow or as it is more commonly known as: char kway teow.

My char kway teow order came in a banana leaf dark green colour plate to give that “char kway teow served on banana leaf” feeling. It looked good…not too oily…well, maybe a tad bit more than I would have preferred. It had tougey (you don’t say, “bean sprouts”. You will see a questionable look on the char kway teow-er’s [cook / frier] face) and a few strands of what looked like egg, vegetables, fishcake, prawns (5)….have I missed out on anything? Oh ya, kway teow, too. Stir fried in a black sauce, charred lightly and accompanied by the staple food of Malaysia – chili sauce.

You may think Malaysia is a mixed bunch – we are. We are inter-wined in our language and culture and are loving it. That extends to our food to where the names of the dishes can be mixed: Indian, Malay, Chinese, English, etc. Take for example: “char kway teow” is Chinese. Char means stir-fried. “Char” is also an English word. (6)

The char kway teow on a dark green plate. It tasted so good. This guy has been operating his stall at New Apollos Restaurant for many years. He has a technique of balancing and bringing out the flavours of all the condiments with the kway teow. He does not add chili paste into his stir fry process (unless you request for it). The chili sauce that comes with this meal is for those who want to tease their tastebuds with spiciness.

I enjoyed my meal. Not too filling; just nice to get by. I sipped at my kopi peng, while savouring the taste of the meal just eaten. We soaked in the atmosphere of the surroundings, peoples’ usual morning hangout, those in for a quick meal before or during work. It had its fair share of business.

Jeannie and I had the next chapter of our day to attend to – looking forward to the future which was the next moment and beyond, ahead of us.

Picture #1

Picture #2

Picture #3

NOTES:
1. Avaricious: showing an extremely strong wish to get or keep money or possessions:
The idea is to shift the bad debts of the avaricious and the greedy onto the shoulders of middle-class people.
She turned out to be a crafty and avaricious politician.
Cambridge dictionary
2. “A bite” means to get something to eat. It refers to food. Grab A Bite’ is an American expression – and it means to get something to eat but to do quickly, because you don’t have a lot of time.
When do you want to go grab a bite?” “I don’t have much time, so let’s grab a quick bite.”
3. Char kway teow (sometimes also spelled as char kuey teow, is a stir-fried rice noodle dish from Maritime Southeast Asia of southern Chinese origin. In Hokkien and Teochew, char means ‘stir-fried’ and kway teow refers to flat rice noodles. It is made from flat rice noodles or kway teow of approximately 1 cm or about 0.5 cm in width, stir-fried over very high heat with garlic, light and dark soy sauce, chili paste, whole prawns, shelled blood cockles, chopped Chinese chives, slices of Chinese sausage, and bean sprouts. Other common ingredients include fishcake and belachan.
Originally developed and catered to overseas-born Chinese labourers in the Southeast Asia region, the dish has achieved widespread popularity within the region from the late 20th century onwards, particularly in Malaysia and Singapore. The dish has also acquired a reputation of being unhealthy due to its high saturated fat content, as it is traditionally stir-fried in pork fat with crisp croutons of pork lard.
3. chop – (From English) Used to tell someone to do something fast. chope – Slang for reserving a seat. Derived from chop; to leave a mark. Malaysians have a habit of leaving objects on seats or tables to reserve places (usually tissue packets). Sometimes also pronounced as simply “chop”.
4. “Kopi” means coffee in Bahasa Malaysia. “Peng” is in Hokkien, a Chinese dialect word for “ice”. 
5. In North America, the term “shrimp” is used much more frequently, while the word “prawn” is most often used to describe larger species or those fished from fresh water.
6. partially burn so as to blacken the surface.
late 17th century: apparently a back-formation from charcoal. (English)
late 16th century (as cha ; rare before the early 20th century): from Chinese (Mandarin) chá .
Oxford dictionary
It looks like the Chinese were using this word first.

COCONUT TART, COFFEE AND TEA

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Alfresco at a kopitiam

It’s another beautiful morning. The 24 inch computer monitor screen stares brightly at me, waiting to display anything that I command it to. The Logitech MX Mechanical keyboard has its keys eagerly waiting in anticipation to be tapped on and, produce corresponding letters, words, paragraphs and essays, to create an article, which is conceived in my thoughts.

Last night, when we turned in to sleep, we switched off all lights, the darkness in our bedroom quickly brought our heartbeats to a resting pace. The air-conditioning above, was blowing a cooling air; silently. The blowing of the cool air was audible enough to be heard. The silence was loud, something that we have been accustomed to as we closed our eyes and fell off to sleep.

The maintenance team / section of our bodies swung into action, replacing unusable cells, replenishing those that have been used; repairing all those areas that need repairing. All this taking place during our rest, preparing us to meet the next morning, lively with energy and zest. This happens every time we rest. It is the purpose of our rest.

We had a very pleasant trip to and from Kay Al (pronounced this way by locals in general) (1), when Jeannie, the Batik Influencer, and I; dropped our daughter, Laura; at work. As we were getting off the Federal Highway and on to the second ramp into Subang Jaya, the second most common question popped up: “Where shall we have breakfast?” The first most common question is, “What shall we eat?”

Jeannie was quick to answer, “Let’s go to Kaw Kaw Pak Kopi in Taipan”. Good suggestion. We got to the restaurant in no time at all. Getting a carpark slot was fairly easy, too.

Jeannie, making the orders; me getting some work done. This was a sort of “alfresco” atmosphere / style. The orange wall is of a building across a narrow lane / road from us.

We both agreed that we just wanted a drink only. However, as we walked into the restaurant, it had rows or attractive pastries that were calling out to us. They all looked so good. We still wanted to maintain the “drinks only” today. The spirit is willing, but our taste buds are weak.😂

We ordered a coconut tart, yes one only. A former Prime Minister in his late 90s, was asked how he kept so slim, fit and healthy. He said, “When you see food that you like, just eat a little of it, not too much”.

The coconut tart. This picture does not do it justice. It tasted better than it looked.

For drinks, Jeannie ordered an iced black tea, no idea what that was; and I, I ordered a “kopi peng” (2). When Jeannie took a sip of her drink, she said that it was very strong. I would presume so. The drink was the blackest shade of black. It seems this drink is one of this kopitiam’s (3) best sellers. Wow!

Jeannie took a first bite of the coconut tart. It tasted not bad (opposite of quite good?😉). The size of the tart does not have room for too many bites, nibbling at it maybe. I took a bite. It was nice. Not too sweet. The crust was firm yet not too hard. It encrusted the coconut fillings well. I savored on the gratings or fibres of the coconut fillings – actual coconut. It was good. The about 3 inch diameter size of the tart was gone before we knew it. Reasonable price of RM2.80 or US$0.60.

My order: “Kopi Peng”

My kopi peng was ok. I did not order kaw kaw (4), thinking it would have come kaw kaw as standard, living up to the kopitiam’s name. I should have ordered kaw or kaw kaw to have more taste of the coffee. Many of these coffee shops or kopitiams, have their own blend of coffee. Besides the different coffee beans used, the method of roasting and the length of time the beans are roasted will provide a wider range of “blends” of coffee for the coffee enthusiast.

The black tea that Jeannie ordered. It was very…er.. black indeed. Too strong for Jeannie to finish in an hour.

Our order: Black tea, kopi peng and coconut tart.

The atmosphere / mood was very relaxed and quiet. I could get some work done while talking with Jeannie. I like the idea of being in a different locale every time, as it adds to my “chest of experiences” of what I see, hear, feel, think and idea create.

Before we realised it, an hour had gone by. The coconut tart was enjoyable while eating it, not too big, just about the size of eating something that we like, but not too much of it. I was done with my kopi peng. Jeannie took her unfinished Iced black tea with her. It was time (which is all the time) for us to move to the future: the next moment.

About a 360º view of Kaw Kaw Pak Kopi

NOTES:
1. Kay Al or K.L. is short for Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. It is one of the many cities and places of attractions in Malaysia for tourists.
A new study has revealed that Malaysia was the most visited country in Southeast Asia during 2023 – further indication of the nation’s recovery and meteoric rise since the end of the pandemic era. Malaysia welcomed a total of 29 million tourists last year, outstripping more established neighbours in the process.
panaroma-destination.com
2. (“ko-peeh peh-eng”)”Kopi” means coffee in Bahasa Malaysia. “Peng” is in Hokkien, a Chinese dialect word for “ice”. 
3. Kopitiam: kopi means coffee in Malay, and tiam is the Hokkien word for shop. Hence, Kopitiam translates literally to “coffee shop”.
4. “Kaw” originates from the Chinese dialect, Hokkien; which means “thick”. When you hear “kaw-kaw”, it literally means “very very thick“. Kaw or kaw kaw is normally used when ordering coffee at the local coffee shop.
Malaysians have taken it to a new level to mean “very serious”. He got into trouble with his employer “betul betul kaw kaw” for losing a big clientele account. “Betul betul” is Bahasa Malaysia for “exactly” or “rightly”.

THE “WHY” IN BEING A FATHER

/ Alan Atkinson / 1 Comment

“Today is my day”. And so I am made to believe. Until…

“You still have not done an article for Father’s Day?”, asked Jeannie.

I thought I get a day off today since it is Father’s Day and on a Sunday; to boot.

We made it to St Thomas More Church just in time for mass at 8.30am. This was even after having parked our car (double-parked in an orderly fashion) about a couple of hundred meters away. Jeannie brought an umbrella with her just in case. Though there weren’t those usual dark rain clouds lurking around, the sun was no where to be seen. The sky had an overcast, with patches of light grey here and there, dabs of white, hints of dull light blue – a bit like the skies of Decatur, Illinois, U.S.A.; after a snowfall (or is it “snowfell”?) morning during winter.

As soon as mass was over, we had to rush to our car so as not to hold traffic up. Then, Jeannie started, “You still have not done an article for Father’s Day?”😅

The reason I am “Dad” / “Father”. Picture of Laura when she was about 2 months old on her baptism day. The other was with her Year 2 class in school. These pictures are placed at my work station.

“Coming, coming. First, breakfast (not “breakfast first”😉). We had to go to Court 2 (Goodyear Court 2 in USJ 2) (1) to buy “chee cheong fun” (2) for dad as the Atkinson family was meeting in Klang to celebrate Mum’s 87th birthday (her birthday was on June 14th), Mum’s & Dad’s 68th Wedding Anniversary today and Father’s Day. Dad loves the chee cheong fun from the stall at Court 2.

As we were walking in the restaurant, a very cheery lady passing us by, wished us “Good Morning” quite loudly. Even though she had a face mask on; we could see her face smiling and very friendly. We found a a table quite quickly though the place was quite crowded for the breakfast session.

Many stalls offering a wide variety of food. This is the front view of the restaurant. If you look closely, you may think there are white hanging lights. They are not. They are raindrops creating a special effect 😉 It was raining quite heavily.

Now, this is how to hold chopsticks. The lady, eating what looked like char kway teow (3), seemed to be in ecstasy. The char kway teow here is really, really good. You can tell by the lady’s expression. The guy in the white Tee, showing how to hold the handphone with chopsticks.

Jeannie ordered Wan Tan noodles. A while later, the very cheery lady who greeted us as we got in the restaurant was the one who served us our Wan Tan noodles. I told her that I had to have a picture of her taken with us. She gladly obliged.

The very, very, very cheery and pleasant lady, Amelia. She is a graphic designer by profession. On her weekends and holidays, she helps out in her family business which is running a Wan Ton noodle stall, here. With her top notch PR, people will always to come back here for more.

The Wan Tan noodles came with char siew and siew yuk (additional order). It was really, good.

The Wan Tan noodles was very delicious. The char siew was char siew, and the siew yuk was siew yuk; not just sliced pieces of pork. My kopi “o” ais kosong was pretty decent. Quite good. Breakfast here at Court 2 was good.

The Wan Ton noodles set, which includes wanton soup, and a small container of green cut chili. And my kopi “o” (meaning no milk) kosong ais (and no sugar). “Kosong” is Bahasa Malaysia for “empty”. “Ais” is Bahasa Malaysia for.. you’ve guessed it: ice.

“One, two, zoom!”
He lost.

As we made our out of the restaurant to pick up the chee cheong fun for dad; We passed by the stall where Amelia was stationed at. She introduced us to her parents and her sister. Her father and mother showed us many pictures, stories and satisfied customers’ comments on their phones. They told me that Mr. Kong’s grandfather started the business. Then, his mother took over. Now, he is running it. Soon, the 4th generation will take over.

Mr Kong cut pieces of his best char siew and pork ribs for me to try. They were really good. They definitely have earned and deserve the recognition of being amongst the top 50 Wan Tan noodle stalls in Malaysia.

Amelia’s father, Mt Kong; the head of this business. There is a newspaper article pasted on the side. This Wan Tan noodle stall is voted as one of Malaysia’s top 50 Wan Tan noodle stalls.

The whole Kong family are very friendly. You should definitely visit “Kong’s Wan Tan Mee” when you are in Subang Jaya looking for a reasonably priced meal.

Here, with Amelia (with the yellow face mask) are her parents in front and her sister, standing at the back.

What a great start to Father’s Day.

The “why” Father’s Day (which is every day) is so special to me:

HERE’S WISHING ALL FATHERS A CONTINUING JOYOUS, HAPPY, FANTASTIC AND AMAZING HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!!!

NOTES:
1. USJ2 is part of the city of Subang Jaya in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.
2. It’s just simply a flat rice noodle dish that is normally rolled up and served with simple sauces.

THAT DANGEROUSE STEP!

/ Alan Atkinson / 5 Comments

updated: 3rd day after the fall. I had the dressing changed.

Today was almost a light and easy day. I didn’t have to drive to P.J. (1) and K.L. (2). I went for my usual coffee, meeting up with Chris (my cousin) and Jino, our friend in USJ 17 (3). Got home at about 5pm for a short rest. My wife, Jeannie’s colleague, Soo Yin; who has always been a wonderful, wonderful (repeated deliberately) person, was dropping Jeannie off at the LRT (Light Rail Transport) station, nearby here.

I picked Jeannie up at about 6.00pm and when we got around to the usual question, “What shall we have for dinner?”; I already had fried kway teow (4) in mind. Without saying much, I drove to the coffee shop (now known as restaurant. It is more “upmarket” or a perceived value to be more upmarket than just a plain ol’ coffee shop) in Taipan.

Now, Jeannie and I were quite laid back and relaxed as tomorrow is a public holiday, “Wesak” Day for the whole of Malaysia. Wesak is a celebration of the Buddhists.

After dinner, Jeannie wanted to buy a can of corned beef and luncheon meat, so that we could +have many of our meals at home; which has a huge cost savings benefit. Another thing is I am usually one for quick meals. I decided to stop by at our regular pharmacy to get a couple of things before heading to the quick convenience mini mart to get the provisions.

As I came out of the pharmacy, I looked down to mind my step. There were three steps. The main step, from the road to the sidewalk (and vice versa) is pretty steep; meaning the height of the step is around 10 inches to 12 inches. There is a gradient climb of the road along the width of the step, which means it is not level.

Somehow or the other, I did not clear the main step, and fell, lunging forward onto the road. I saw that step. In my mind I was clearing it, but I didn’t. It was as though I was in mid-air hitting turbulence for a split second.

Jeannie, who was in the car, just parked by another car, saw what happened and came rushing out. At the same time, a gentleman who was parking his motorcycle near there, saw what happened and came to my aid.

First thing I did, like any other normal human being; was to check if my smartphones were ok. Yeah, yeah… I was bleeding and bruised on my leg, hand and palm, but both the phones had to be ok…first?😅

I had to fall in style, where when I fell, I still had my panama hat on my head.🕵🏻‍♂️😁 I was able to get up on my own, check on my wounds and felt that everything else was ok. Since, my leg had my blood dripping from it, Jeannie said she would drive me to the clinic near our house.

I thanked the gentleman for his concern and waited to make sure that I was alright.

At the clinic.

The nurse in charge of that duty shift, attended to me. As she cleaned my wounds, I realized that I had a wound on my palm and some cuts and grazes on my left hand. The doctor on duty attended to me, too. She gave me a tetanus jab.

I grimaced in momentarily pain when the medicines and the sprays were applied to clean my wounds. The sprays were cold, really cold. They felt nice when the cold touched me, then the sting from these medicines lingered on. I think I left the clinic with more pain then when I had arrived. I am grateful to the doctor and nurse. Their kindness. attentiveness and patience reassured me that I was in excellent hands.

The nurse attended to cleaning up the wounds. She had to painstakingly remove all the tiny stones and gravel that were lodged in the wound.

Notice that the Hatted Writer remained Hatted throughout the painful ordeal.

After the clinic, we stopped at the 7-11 a few doors away to buys some buns and other stuff just in case I was going to be awake the whole night and would end up hungry.

The employee there was trying top sell us some drinks and chips that were discounted – the day’s promo. I told him that he was a good salesman. He told us that he was from Punjab and has been in Malaysia for 5 years. Prior to this, he worked as a plumber in Dubai. Come November, he goes home to Punjab and does not plan on another overseas work stint.

As for the steps in front of the pharmacy, I will go to the pharmacy tomorrow to highlight my accident, that this was my second accident there. The first one was a very minor fall with some slight grazes. I hope they will take action in making the path much safer for its customers and all those people who use those steps daily. I will suggest for them to change the smooth tiles which covers the walkway of the pharmacy. Nice to look at but when the tiles are wet from the heavy rains; they become a very slippery, dangerous walkway.

I often come to this pharmacy because the staff there, are very courteous. To me, as a customer; that goes a long way.

Update, May 23rd 2024:
The old dressing was removed and a clean one administered, this afternoon. I will have to go for a further dressing each day from tomorrow, for the next three days.

Removing the old dressing.
About to have the new dressing put on.

Just after the third dressing.

May 24th, 2024; The second update.
After dinner; we, that is Jeannie and I; went to the clinic to change the dressing. The doctor says the wound is healing nicely. Pain is still there, slight pain around the edge of the wound. Once in a while a sharp pain comes and goes in a while. Other than that, everything is good.

NOTES:
1. P.J. or Petaling Jaya, is a city in the central state of Selangor, Malaysia.
2. K.L. or Kuala Lumpur, is the capital of Malaysia.
3. USJ is part of the thriving city of Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
4. Char kway teow is a stir-fried rice noodle dish from Maritime Southeast Asia of southern Chinese origin. In Hokkien and Teochew, char means ‘stir-fried’ and kway teow refers to flat rice noodles. wikipedia

COFFEE SHOP AT PARAMOUNT

/ Alan Atkinson / 1 Comment

Monday morning. Left the house a little later than usual. All of a sudden, I can feel, hear and imagine the shock and horror on your faces; and expression with gasps of disbelief, if I may; (that is the English English’s way of trying to be descriptive, politely). Leaving home later, on a Monday morning? That’s what I said…wrote😏. I would have been stark raving mad to do so! What with having to wade through all that Monday morning traffic of blurry-eyed drivers wishing it was Friday evening again, mentally calculating the hours to Friday evening.

Sabar, kawan-kawan. (It is Bahasa Malaysia for “be patient, friends”). My wife, Jeannie; was on leave today. We only had to drop our daughter, Laura off at work. We had plenty of time.

Traffic on the road and highway (street and freeway for those in the U.S. of A.) was heavy, but moving. It was manageable. We even had time to make a detour, where I dropped Jeannie off at a hospital to visit a relative. Then I continued to our main destination in Kuala Lumpur to drop Laura off at work. I picked Jeannie up from the hospital about an hour later.

Jeannie suggested going for breakfast to Thong Kee Kopitiam in Section 21/1, Paramount Gardens; P.J. (1)

Though it is one of the earliest suburbs of P.J.; it is still a thriving mini business district. We found the coffee shop pretty quickly but had to go round the block a couple of times before managing to get a slot to park our car. It was right in front of a cafe – Kampar Cafe, all the way from Perak, which specializes in the original Kampar Noodle. First thing that crossed my mind was one noodle in a whole ball of fishballs.💭😉

Drove to Kampar? Since it states “The Original Kampar Fishball Noodle (It has to be a really long noodle since it is only 1 noodle by serving) Since 1978”.😉

“Thong Kee Kopitiam” – one of Jeannie’s work associates suggested this restaurant to her.

We had to walk through a “maze line”, the one used for queues. I didn’t see the need🤔 to walk that line when there was no one in front of us, so I cut queue.😂

This was definitely a coffee shop – not air-con (local slang for air-conditioned).

All that I was eating… I had a couple of fairly large cookies (early breakfast) before leaving the house.

I ordered a kari pap (curry puff) and a small slice of marble butter cake as I already had a couple of fairly large cookies before leaving the house this morning.

“1+1” Is this what the Chinese mean by “double happiness”?

Jeannie went for a muffin that looked somewhat similar to the ones at McD’s, but it was not.

For drinks, Jeannie ordered a coffee cham which is known as “1+1” here. It is a beverage that is made by mixing an intense black tea with sugar, evaporated milk, and concentrated coffee.

My drink order was kopi ais (Bahasa Malaysia for “coffee ice”) with sugar and milk.

The order counter.

Kombucha drink. On the left is peppermint flavour, on the right is green tea.
Notice the peek-a-boo from the girl at the back of the counter?

Look at her smile… This coffee shop is high tech – modern food display counters and a couple of wide rows of computer monitors displaying the menu.

Joined by her other fellow employee. Happy. This is life.

While I was looking around the restaurant and taking pictures, there were two pretty employees, with big, bright smiles and happy faces; sporting enough to have themselves as models, included in the pictures. They certainly made what looked like a day about to be rained upon; bright, cheery and happy. If any of you readers need cheering up and want to have a happy day, and happen to be in Paramount Gardens, P.J.; drop by Thong Kee Kopitiam and pay these two lovelies a visit. I know I will be going back there again if I am around the area.

These two girls have the loveliest of smiles in the morning. Very friendly. All the reason for people to come visit this restaurant more often.

Jeannie asked me to try her ‘coffee”. At that point, I did not know what was the drink she ordered. I drew a long sip of Jeannie’s drink to try it. She failed to mention the black tea in it. I thought it was a concoction of different coffees. It was horrible! She set me up. She had a good laugh. No, it is not so much the drink itself. I am just not a “tea” person. And black tea, to boot.

Then, I took a sip of my coffee, which was a contrast to that of Jeannie’s. It wasn’t all that great. I think it had too much of condensed milk that over-powered the taste of the coffee. I think it should be called “Ais Susu Condens Kopi” (Bahasa Malaysia) or “Ais S C K” in short; or Iced Condensed Milk Coffee in English. Before long, it will become more popularly known as “Susu C K Ais”.

No, I don’t think this is the “double happiness”. The drink on the left is my kopi ais (Bahasa Malaysia for “coffee ice”) with sugar and milk. Jeannie’s drink, known as “1+1” is a beverage that is made by mixing an intense black tea with sugar, evaporated milk, and concentrated coffee.

The kopitiam has food stalls on the fringe of the restaurant, offering a wide selection of food. Looked like I was controlling the camera from the S-Pen of my Samsung S-23 Ultra. I was. For the “professional” angled shot.😀

Another view of the restaurant, with more food stalls. The late morning crowd.

Our breakfast.

The curry puff or kari pap (as stated on the receipt) and marble butter cake were o.k. Nothing really to shout about. It would be more than just “ok” for the folks living around here. It is convenient, as customers rushing to work will either have a quick breakfast or have it as a “ready to go” on their way to work. They look like they are fast sellers.

About the size of an egg McMuffin, the price is about the same, too. However, it is not an egg McMuffin.

I thought this “karipap” was a bit unusual. First time I am coming across with one that is perforated for air ventilation.

I thought the curry puff was a bit unusual. It had neat punctured holes all over it. It was perfectly shaped, the colour was a even, light golden brown. I wonder what the holes were for. Perhaps it was a new technique to make curry puffs, where the holes helped in cooling them don more quickly after taking them out of the baking ovens.

Inside the “karipap”. Basically, a sweetish, lightly spicy, curry-potato filled, and a piece of hard boiled egg.

Biting into the curry puff, I got a nice taste of the spicy, curry potato filling. It had a tinge of sweetness in it. There was a piece of hard boiled egg in it. The kari pap and marble butter cake should be fast-moving-off-the-shelf sellers / “to go” sellers, as they are light, non-messy, easy-to-eat food.

While taking photos of the coffee shop from where we were seated; the “library of books” on shelves, caught my eye. On the metal shelves were rows of “Roti Buku” or “Bread Book” (direct translation), neatly arranged.

The Chinese does not call the bread, “Roti Buku” (Bahasa Malaysia for “Bread Book” in English), for nothing. You can see the library of Roti Buku on the shelves, here.

It is also known as Chinese bread because you can find this bread in many kopitiams. It is usually served as steamed or toast bread with butter or kaya jam. The most famous way of eating this is to have “kopi-o” or black coffee to go with this bread.. This hot, steamed bread with butter, is dipped into the coffee and then, eaten. Out of this world delicious! If you have not tried it, you should add it to your bucket list.

Once we finished our coffee, we headed back to Subang Jaya, to work on all the tasks we had planned out for the day. The traffic was lightly heavy (you will have to figure that one out for yourself).

NOTES:
1. P.J. as it is more fondly called; is Petaling Jaya, a city in the central south state of Selangor, Malaysia.

DINNER: RICE, CAPATI AND BIG GREEN LEAVES

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Oh! Today! It was another day in paradise…

It was traffic as usual on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya. 3 cities next to each other. When you see the sea of traffic as far as the eye can see, you know you aren’t going anywhere much in the next hour or two.

We should think how Blessed and fortunate we are to be caught in such traffic jams like this. Can you imagine places without traffic jams? It means no cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, etc. Not seeing these vehicles in the streets means people are less fortunate, or are struggling.

Looking out the front door of the restaurant.

We decided to go to our now, usual hangout, Star Bhavan, for dinner. When we reached there, we saw that it was closed, with a notice on the door, “Closed for 1 day”. This is the first time in months since we started patronizing this restaurant; that it closed. We though that it was ok for them to close for the day, as they had worked hard since their opening. They deserved the break.

The large green leaves sort of creates a very cosy, enclosed “within a garden”, environment.

We walked over to the restaurant nearby, a few doors away. It was the first visit there for both Jeannie and I. First impression is, that you are sitting in the verandah, surrounded by big leafy plants. The cafe was not air-con (local for air-conditioned), which made the feeling of sitting in the verandah more real.

I would assume those three cone-shaped packets are packets of nasi lemak. You can’t go wrong with selling nasi lemak (1) anywhere in Malaysia.

It is preferred that customers serve (the local term is “scoop”. Example: “Why don’t you scoop some more curry or vegerables?”) themselves from the wide variety of dishes available. These include vegetables, mutton, and fish, to name a few.

Canai Cafe.

Jeannie chose a rice set on banana leaf for her meal. She chose several different types of vegetables to go with the rice. She flooded (literally) her meal with curry. She was ready to enjoy her meal. And she did.

Her rice, vegetables and curry looked so simple, yet good. She enjoyed her dinner, though it was a bit salty for her. She left half of the meal to tapau / pack back / “to go” (2) so that she could have it for lunch the next day.

Meat-less meal. Jeannie’s rice-on banana leaf, with various types of vegetables.

I had two plain capati (3) that came with a curry and dhal (4) condiments. Jeannie says that eating capati is healthy as it is made without oil. While capati may not look appertizing to some, it is a full meal. The curry and dhal was nice, a mix of spicyness from the curry and a not so spicy form from the dhal, which is also a curry. Capati is popular in Indian restaurants in Malaysia. However, capati is usually not available throughout the day as the demand for it is lower than say roti canai, for example.

Both Jeannie and I ordered limau ais (iced lime juice) drinks. It is not lime juice that you will get if you went to a premium restaurant. This drink is a bit of lime juice squeezed in a glass of hot water or cold water with ice; and a limau kasturi (5) thrown in for good measure (not just for decoration😁).

My capati, with curry (on the right) and dhal.

We took a slow walk back to our car to work off our just ate, dinner. Distance to the car: less than 100 meters. I have to keep reminding myself to eat a little bit only, not too much; to bring my weight down to the desired goal. I think 🤔 my weighing scales is broken, The reading just keeps going up only.😅

NOTES:
1. Nasi lemak is a dish originating in Malay cuisine that consists of fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf. It is commonly found in Malaysia, where it is considered as the national dish.
Nasi Lemak is Bahasa Malaysia for “Fatty/Oily Rice” in English. However its meaning relates along the lines of “creamy rice”. TIME Magazine had described the dish as “supremely delicious”.
2. If you are in a café or restaurant and ask for an item of food to go, you mean that you want to take it away with you and not eat it there.
3. Capati (ಚಪಾತಿ):—[noun] a kind of flat, round, thin cake made of wheat flour, baked on a pan.
Chapati (alternatively spelled chapathi; pronounced as IAST: capātī, capāṭī, cāpāṭi), also known as roti, rooti, rotee rotli, rotta, safati, shabaati, phulka (in Marathi), chapo (in East Africa), sada roti (in the Caribbean), poli, and roshi (in the Maldives), is an unleavened flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. wikipedia
4. Dhall or Dal is made with far less spices than most Indian curries! This recipe calls for a simple combination of cumin, garam masala and turmeric. Garam masala is a spice mix found in supermarkets nowadays – it’s like a more potent curry powder. ambitiouskitchen.com
5. Limau kasturi is Bahasa Malaysia for calamansi. Calamansi, also known as calamondin, Philippine lime, or Philippine lemon, is a citrus hybrid cultivated predominantly in the Philippines. It is native to the Philippines, parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei, as well as parts of southern China and Taiwan. Calamansi is ubiquitous in traditional Philippine cuisine. Wikipedia

MY WAY

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

And now, dinner is near…I ate Yau Char Kway…I did it my way (to the tune of “My Way”)

Damansara Heights is a place where the rich tougeys stay…tougey or towkay? Depends on how one pronounces it. However, this is a place, the place where those who are above the affluent status (just being affluent doesn’t cut it.), live.

As you would expect, everything or almost everything here is at a premium price. The stores are premium, too. When you hear Pavilion; you know that everything here, almost; is ssseesss so hotly expensive.

It was after work for Jeannie. I picked her up from her office and drove up here, to Damansara Heights. Jeannie, my wife; and I, window-shopped at this latest Pavilion premium mega shopping gallery, while waiting for our daughter, Laura; who had an appointment at one of the restaurants. Laura was done within an hour. We decided to have dinner in Pavilion; instead of wading through the traffic jam all the way back to Subang Jaya.

We came across a “I Love You” restaurant. You would think this was some sort of dating restaurant, for romances to bloom and relationships to bond. Not so. They actually serve food like “yau char kuey” and “ham ching peng”. (1)

We have eaten this delicious food on multiple (not many. “Many” is for the commoner 😉😏😅.) occasions at their other outlets in Publika Shopping Gallery and Empire Shopping Gallery, to name a few. However, it has been a long time since we last ate at one of these establishments.

I Love You is sort of a fast food restaurant where you get your food immediately.

I picked a table that was not directly under the air-conditioning. The Pavilion was a tad bit uncomfortably cold, temperature wise. Jeannie and Laura brought our food over.

Me, trying to be inconspicuous and not make it obvious that I am looking at the love sign, not the lady. I am so transfixed on the sign, trying to read the whole poster.

Me: The suave look, with a big bone above my head.

While waiting for Jeannie and Laura to order our dinner at the counter, I was trying to create “the look” which would be used for newspapers, magazines, online publications and social media. So, shoot away. With the smartphone camera, I tried capturing “that angle“. At least that was what people around me must have been thinking; with all those selfies that the camera was taking of me. Haha😂

Made by hand. Made by love. The rest of the poster is kind of gibberish, especially when I am trying to read the message reflected off my phone’s screen in camera mode.

err… what?

Something seems to have caught her attention. What is she looking at? She’s constantly on the lookout for new products for her Business Development unit.

Y-e-e-e-s-s-s?

Laura on the left, the Batik Influencer, Jeannie in the centre, and me, the Hatted Writer. Me, the Hatted Writer; having had experience with former World Ventures; with one of their famous poses and smile / laugh with mouth open.

Laura and Jeannie wanted porridge. It looked yummy as they dipped pieces of the yeow char kway in the porridge, then ate them. I, personally am not into porridge, but I can imagine that it was good, as I saw the satisfaction on Jeannie’s and Laura’s faces as they savored it.

Yau char kway, cut in pieces; ready to be eaten with porridge rice.

I had the butterfly style, and a couple of other types of yeow char kway. We had a large glass of hot soya bean drink, shared between Jeannie and me. You can choose to order the soya bean drink cold, as well. It is just as good. Laura had her Starbucks iced coffee drink with her.

My meal, a mixture of hum ji peng with red bean filling, hum ji peng with sweet glutinous rice and butterfly shaped style yau char kway.
Rich, thick, soya been milk drink. No added sugar. We took it hot. Delicious to the last drop.

The food and drink was really (“really” – should I use this word? There will be a question mark”?”) good. Dinner was good. The staff were friendly, too. If ever you are in Pavilion Damansara; drop by to this restaurant for a good local meal.

After dinner, it was a short walk back to our car, before heading home. The weather was good throughout the evening. It was a pleasant and comfortable evening at the Pavilion. We were at a relaxed pace. Nice.

Our din-din. Looks simple. It is simple. It was delicious. We had more than our fill.

A follow up from the previous article:
http://leatherpotato.com/2024/05/06/a-new-burger-joint-in-town/

NOTES:
1. Yau char kway is an oil-fried pull-apart dough stick popular throughout Southeast Asia. Twinned lengths of wheat-flour dough are fused together, with a groove down the centre making them easy to tear in half lengthways. wikipedia
2. ‘salty fried pancake’, also spelt hum chim peng, known in Singapore and Malaysia as haam ji peng, hum ji peng, or ham ji peng, is a deep-fried hollow doughnut of Chinese origin. Commonly eaten as a breakfast food, it is sometimes fried with a coating of sesame seeds. Ham chim peng. wikipedia.

AN AFTERNOON AT STEEL RIVER

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

2nd Edition, May 2nd, 2024. 8.20pm

It was about 3.30am when I decided to hit the sack or turn in. It was a good evening, where I managed to publish an article and get some other work done. It did not take too long for me to fall off sleep.

I was up bright and early in the morning at 9.00am. It was a public holiday today, celebrating Labour Day. My cousin Chris, and his wife Evelina; was coming to pick Jeannie and I up at 10.30am, and together, we were going over to their friend, Allen’s place. Chris introduced Jeannie and I to Allen when we met at Grand City Restaurant in P.J. (1) a few months ago.

Traffic was quite smooth and after multiple x multiple turns, we arrived. I was trying to get my bearings to see exactly where we were in K.L.. (2) All I knew was that we were somewhere in Sungai Besi. (3) “Sungai Besi” is Bahasa Malaysia for “Steel River”.

It was good to meet with him again. His beautiful condo was definitely a place to unwind, chill and relax. Allen saw to it that it had all the trappings of comfort. In it, included a very large maintenance free, wall mounted aquarium. What else could one ask more of? The aquarium was his tv.😁

We weren’t there for very long as we had to leave, and take a short walk to a cafe for lunch by following Allen. A friend of his was joining us there.

As we arrived at the cafe, so did his friend, too. Introductions were made. Sidney is a very close friend and former La Salle School, P.J. classmate of Allen’s.

The cafe was Called, “Memorie”; with it’s tagline, “Taste of Eurasian”. That was going to be interesting.

The red door entrance. The first thing we noticed about this cafe / restaurant is that it is quite spacious. No knocking of elbows when you want to cut through the food with a knife and fork. Doesn’t it look Eurasiany? Very pleasant set-up.

We sat right inside, which was the front of a ship. No kidding. Jeannie said, we could stand in front of the ship and pretend to fly, like in the film, “Titanic”. Not to mention, sing the song, “I Believe I Can Fly”. Doesn’t sound quite right. I think it’s, “My Heart Will Go On”. Must be because I am not quite a fan of Celine.

Sitting on “deck”, in the front of the ship. Not sure who was going to sing, “My Heart Will Go On”. It is obvious from the wide spread of food on the table, our hearts were going to go on.

Jeannie and Evelina did most of the food ordering. I ordered the Shepperd’s Pie. Allen ordered a green curry noodle (I think) dish, which did not have any shrimp ingredient – just the way he liked it.

Clockwise,7 o’clock, The two “Alans” sitting together: Allen junior; Alan (Senior), also known as the Hatted Writer; Jeannie, Evelina (Christopher’s wife); Christopher and Sidney.
Clockwise,7 o’clock, The two “Alans” sitting together: Allen junior; Alan (Senior), also known as the Hatted Writer; Jeannie, Evelina (Christopher’s wife); Christopher and Sidney.

The food arrived quite fast. It not only looked good, it tasted good as well. The Shepperd’s Pie came with some french fries, some leafy stuff and half a cherry tomato. Yes, half a cherry tomato. So, the focus zoomed in on half a cherry tomato instead of the whole dish. That fact stuck in my mind. The Shepperd’s Pie had the usual mashed potato baked as atop layer of the pie. The pie’s filling was beef. I thought it would come with minced beef. Instead it came withy chunky pieces. Tasted good. In fact, all the dishes were good.

My contribution towards ordering of the food. This is Shepperd’s Pie. Looks good. Notice the half the cherry tomato? Decoration purposes (Only?).

There was lots, o.k., o.k., “multiple” stories told of school days and what they did. I had a little bit to share of La Salle P.J. School days as I studied there when I was in Standard One through Standard Three (Year 1 to Year 3 in “today’s terminology). I still remember when my Standard One class teacher, Mrs. Lee, came to our house one day to complain (share her concern), that I was slow in class. I didn’t think of myself as slow. I just did not want to waste time on trivial matters like Year 1 school work. I had big dreams and I was making plans on how to achieve them.💭😏

The wide array of Eurasian food ordered. Besides my ordering contribution of the Shepperd’s Pie, there was Devil (or is it Debil? Maybe, this is A.I.’s [Artificial Intelligence] way of spelling it, I don’t know) curry (Who in their right mind would come to a Eurasian restaurant and not order this primary dish?), the other two dishes were fish / seafood based). The egg omelet dish had not been served yet.

We adjourned back to Allen’s condo for coffee for some of us, and the hard stuff for the others. Sidney shared a lot about playing squash on wide courts, as he was still playing at tournaments “at his age”. I don’t quite using “at his age”, “at our age”, etc; as it is meant to indicate that we are suppose to slow our pace down, or we can’t do this or that anymore. So, here, when “at his age” is mentioned, it is meant to indicate that he plays in the “Masters” – indicating the seniors’ age group.

The view from the condo was quite breathtaking. It was slightly hazy. We were told that the night view can be spectacular. Looking at the picture below, you can see that construction for high rise buildings are still on the go.

By the time we left, it was half four, or half past four, or 4.30pm in the afternoon for some, and evening for others. We all thanked Allen, who was the perfect host. He invited us to go over again soon for another good “session” like the one we just had.

On our way back, we were met with sputters of rain along the way, nothing much. We reached home at about 5 on the hour. I thought I’d go on my 10km walk. However, the skies thunders gathered and before long, the rain followed.,

The view from Allen’s condo on the 11th floor. Menara Merdeka 118, the world’s second tallest building; can be seen on the far left. The KL Tower and Petronas Twin Towers, both amongst the tallest buildings in the world, can be seen from the left, just after the Menara Merdeka 118. Watching the vehicles go by, minus the pollution and noise from them; can be quite therapeutic.

Addendum (I wonder if we can call it this. By jove, we can. 😁): May 2nd, 2024; 8.20pm:
Allen added that I missed out on mentioning us reminiscing on some of the Malay hits of the ’70s and ’80s by “Freddie & the Flintstones”, “Search”, “Alleycats” and many more. Oh yes, and Allen is quite the singer and dancer: he’s a good singer, he’s nimble and he’s got the moves.

NOTES:
1. Petaling Jaya or P.J. as it is more commonly referred as, is a city in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.
2. K.L. or Kuala Lumpur, is the capital of Malaysia.
3. Sungai Besi is Bahasa Malaysia, which literally translates to “Steel River”. It was a historical mining town with many heavy industries such as steelworks, waste steel plants and other steel industries. Sungei Besi Tin Mine site was the largest and deepest open cast alluvial tin mine in the world and in Malaysia. The town has since developed from a large area of village settlements. wikipedia

SUNDAY MORNING INDIAN CUISINE BRUNCH

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

8.25am, Sunday morning. Just managed to park the car in a good spot, about a third of a kilometer away. You don’t really hear people say half a kilometer, or a quarter kilometer or even a third of a kilometer away. It’s usually a quarter or half a mile away. So, many of you must be wondering, “How far is a third of a kilometer in miles?”

The calculation will be 300 metres (0.3km or a third of a kilometre) x (stands for multiply) 0.621 miles (1 kilometer = 0.621miles) = (will give you the answer) 0.2484 miles. To round the answer to 2 decimal places : 0.2484 miles = 0.25 miles, or a quarter of a mile.

You may ask, “Why didn’t I say miles in the first place?” Well, the Americans use the non-metric / imperial system : miles, yards, feet, gallons. The rest of the world or most countries use the metric system: kilometers, metres, kilograms, etc. Now, both sides will get an idea of the distance.

Parking the car this far from church was not really by choice. We, that is, Jeannie and I; left our house later than usual and arrived at church later than usual. Hence, our third of a kilometer or quarter mile walk to church.

We were 5 minutes late. So was the priest as mass had not started yet. He was caught up at the confessional, I think. The Assistant parish priest of Church of The Visitation Seremban, Rev, Fr. Xavier Andrew was presiding at mass this morning. He was at St. Thomas More church to promote Archdiocesan Ministry of Ecumenical & Inter-Religious Affairs (AMEIA). Lively priest. Interesting ministry. I remember working with Rev. Fr. Jojo Fung, SJ; to start up a fairly similar ministry like this on a regional / international scale; somewhere in 1999.

After mass, a leisurely walk back to the car must have created an appetite as we had to decide what to eat…as usual. This time we narrowed the choices down as the figure on the weighing scales was inching (not millimetering) its way up. It would have been a good idea to use A.I. or Artificial Intelligence in weight meaurement. Then, we won’t have to believe the scales.

I am determined to get back down to the weight I set as a goal. By being conscious what we eat, the amounts we eat and the times we have our meals, getting to our desired weight goal is possible.

We decided on the place where all the stars meet, Star Bhavan in SS14, Subang Jaya. (8) We had to go round a couple of times, looking for a car park. We found one about 150 meters away.

The restaurant was crowded. However, we managed to get a table. Jeannie ordered idli (1) and black coffee. I wanted capati (2) (as it is made without oil), but they were out of it. So, I went for their roti canai (3) and an iced lime juice.

Jeannie’s Idli came with 3 condiments: curry, white coconut chutney (4) and a sort of red / orangy chutney / sambal (5). She enjoyed her meal. My roti chanai also came with 3 condiments: fish curry, sambal (chilli) and what looked like a vegetable curry. Our meal was light, yet tasty. It was more brunch for us.

Jeannie’s meal: Idli with side condiments of coconut chutney, curry and an orangy, spicy sambal.

My roti canai with fish curry on the right, sambal and a vegetable curry.

We also bought 3 bean vadai to go.

On our back to our car, Jeannie wanted to stop by at the provision shop to buy some Indian Spices. SS14/1 has one long stretch of shops selling all sorts of Indian products. There are many restaurants along this stretch, Star Bhavan being one of them. This is a sort of a mini or micromini of the Mini India found in Brickfields, K.L.; (6) or Jalan Tengku Kelana in Klang (7).

Jeannie did not just stop at one shop. She went into a few shops. I thought it was quite interesting when I walked into a provision shop with her. They had multiple products from India. I guess this would be a one-stop shop to get all the ingredients for an authentic Indian curry. We bumped into Uncle Ronnie, my dad’s youngest brother, who bought a comb of bananas. He was in and out of the shop in a dash. It was good seeing him.

Looking forward to the rest of the day, though at a relaxed pace. Have a great Sunday!

NOTES:
1. Idli or idly is a type of savoury rice cake, originating from South India, popular as a breakfast food in Southern India and in Sri Lanka. The cakes are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils and rice. wikipedia
2. Chapati, also known as roti, rooti, rotee rotli, rotta, safati, shabaati, phulka, chapo, sada roti, poli, and roshi, is an unleavened flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent and is a staple in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa, and the Caribbean. wikipedia
3. Roti canai or roti prata, also known as roti chanai, and roti cane, is an Indian flatbread dish found in several countries in Southeast Asia, especially Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. wikipedia
4. Coconut chutney is a south indian condiment made with fresh coconut, chilies, spices & herbs. Swashti’s Recipes.
5. This is a Kerala style Red Coconut Chutney. Yes, red because of the dried red chilies in it, yet not something that is too spicy to handle! The flavor of this chutney is as beautiful as it looks. Thus, instantly becomes a great pair with Dosa, Idli, Medu Vada, Uttapam and Appe.
Red Coconut Chutney (Kerala Style), Dassana Amit, Dassana’s Veg Recipes, http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com
6. Kuala Lumpur or K.L., is the capital of Malaysia.
7. The Little India enclave, located along Jalan Tengku Kelana in Klang, is the largest Indian-influenced street in Malaysia.  Klang City is in the state of Selangor.
8. Subang Jaya is a bustling city in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.

THE STAR: LOTS GOING FOR IT

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

The Monday after Taylor Swift was in Singapore. No, I did not go for her concert. However, (I replaced the word “but” with this. “However” does not sound brash like the word “but”) it is the Monday after Taylor Swift performed her week long string of concerts in Singapore. I am not really a Swiftie fan like the Australian Prime Minister. I like more than “some” of her songs; not all of them.

On our way back from K.L. after picking my wife, Jeannie, and our daughter, Laura; up from work, we were caught in the usual snail pace traffic jam. One would think; after going though this daily evening task for months and years, we would be used to it by now. Well, traffic jams are one of those things that we do not want to get accustomed to. We are a nation of motor vehicles. Our roads, streets, highways…are not coming on stream fast enough to cater for this blizzard of motor vehicles.

So, what do we do? We chug along, impatiently patiently to get to out destination with our nerves intact (sometimes – barely). The car radio is kept off since there is more noise from it with its constant advertisements than from the traffic outside the car.

As we are meter-ing (We are averaging speed momentum at around 6kph to 8 kph), the question of what would we like to have for dinner. We want some place that is air-conditioned as the humidity is still high, though a bit lower than last week. So, we want comfort. Then, the offerings of what type of food, if Indian, will it be at the Taj or the Star, if Chinese food, will it be the coffee shop in SS15 or Kar Heong for their chicken rice and siew yuk, or do we go for Scottish food at McD’s?

We (Jeannie and Laura) quite quickly decided on the Star (Star Bhavan) because the restaurant is air-conditioned, clean, brightly lit, fairly easy to get parking (this is where the Taj loses out – parking is limited). Most important the food is superb and at decent reasonable prices.

Laura’s rice “set”, with masala chicken, potato, curry and papadam.

As we walked in to the restaurant, I noticed all their vadai, currypuffs and other snacks. I immediately chose 1 of each variety (a total of 5), packed them in bags (self-served) for takeaways as breakfast for tomorrow.

Indian doughnut (“donut”, American spelt), known as methu vadai.
Parapu vadai and a sort of kueh ringkas style in a ball.
Two different types of currypuffs.

Laura went for a rice set. She chose rice, masala chicken, potato and papadam. Here meal did not only look good, it tasted good, too.

Jeannie’s order of roti canai telur (egg). You can see the egg on the left, bottom, of the roti canai telur. It came with a spicy curry and what looked like dhal gravy.
My order of Nescafe ice, kurang manis (less sugar).

Jeannie ordered a roti canai telur (1). She ordered a hot tea to go with her meal. The tea looked good and I’m sure it tasted good, too. I am not a “tea” person.

Jeannie’s ordered tea.

This was the third time I ordered roti canai sardine; 3 visits in a row. It must have tasted so good that I had to keep ordering it. It did! This simple, yet fabulous meal, was served with a spicy curry and dhal gravy. RM5 or US$1.07: that was how much it cost.

Star Bhavan is clean and brightly lit; making it a pleasant experience each time we dine there. The food is consistently good. You are most likely going to come out of there each time, a happy and satisfied customer. This restaurant has its star shining brightly, for sure.

My order of roti canai sardine, with a spicy curry and dhal gravy.

Right to left: Laura in white, me, the Hatted Writer; and Jeannie.

NOTES:
1. Roti Canai telur. “Telur” means egg in Bahasa Malaysia.
2. Star Bhavan is in SS14/1, Subang Jaya. Subang Jaya is a bustling and lively city in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.