Phew! What a hot day, today is! The skies had a bit of an overcast, which looked like a good time to do my 10km walk.

I started my walk at around 2.30pm. The weather was very warm, with times when the sun’s rays (or sunshine) sneaked past or through the overcast skies where the light grey clouds provided the shade. The walk was hot but not as hot as yesterday. Yesterday, was not piercing hot, but dry, humidyfying hot.

It was cooler today, but make no mistake, the humidity was as uncomfortable as ever.

Had a refreshing cold shower when I got back and was ready for the rest of the day.

Picked Jeannie and Laura up from their respective places of work. The traffic was good, not too heavy. The weather was clear all the way, compared to what seemed like torrential rain at this time, yesterday.

We were a few minutes early for Laura. Jeannie walked over to the MyNews store nearby, to get  us a couple of cold drinks. She of course, took the opportunity to buy some of her favourite junk snacks.

Laura and Jeannie both, talked about their day at work. Some ups, some not so ups, busy – their day at the office was good.

Got Laura to the gym just past seven. So, now, “What to eat?” Since we had some grocery shopping to do, we thought we’d have dinner at the SS15 (1) Kwai Sun coffee shop / Kopitiam / restaurant. After dinner, we could walk next door to K. P Mak, the fruit grocer, to buy one whole watermelon. The whole watermelon, even when cut into big, chunky slices; would last us for nearly a week. A refreshing fruit for hot weather like this.

Jeannie order claypot noodles (2) and I, my usual – “Sing Chow Mei Fun” or Singapore fried noodles. (6)

Jeannie’s meal was cooked in a… you guessed it: claypot. I am not too sure whether it is just for style, the noodles being served in a claypot or whether there is a distinct benefit in cooking the noodles in a claypot or whether there is a difference in taste. #2 in the notes, suggest there is. I have yet to try a meal like this.

The claypot noodles is prepared and cooked with a black sauce. It comes with a single-fried egg (3) and lap cheong (4) in the main dish. To me, lap cheong is an acquired taste.😁This meal also comes with a little side dish of cut chili padi in black sauce. (5)

Jeannie said her meal was “a bit on the salty side” (local description for being a “little salty”). This was her main meal for the day as she did not have time for lunch. She visited a relative who is in hospital during her lunch break.

My “Sing chau mai fun” or Singapore fried noodles, tasted good as usual. The meal was not overly spicy this time. The “volcanic heat” spicyness (that is not even adding the chili padi yet) was toned down this time. It sort of made me think that this meal was prepared by a different cook. The guy that usually prepares this dish – you perspire (drip in sweat) profusely just by looking at it. That is how chili hot this meal usually is. You suffer eating it. However, you will come back for more.

Most restaurants, coffee shops or kopitiams prepare this meal with tomato sauce. The taste will tend to be more tomato sauce or sweet in taste. However, here, at this restaurant, you get to taste the noodles as it should be. You can actually taste the noodles with the fried egg in it, long beans, fishcake, 2 small prawns (which I put in Jeannie’s plates as I don’t eat prawns), carrots, bean spouts, cabbage and spinach.

It comes with a small side dish of chili sauce. Don’t let its orange colour fool you. It is really potent and should be eaten with caution. The best way of eating this is to lightly dab your chopsticks in it, then pick an amount of the meal with it that you are going to put in your mouth. In this way, you will safely eat your meal, at the same time get the taste of the chili sauce. It does taste very good.

Kwai Sun Restaurant is the place to come for good “Sing chau mai fun” or Singapore fried noodles, at least in Subang Jaya.

When you ask for “Sing chau mai fun”, the taste and even what it looks like will vary from one restaurant / coffee shop to another. Most of the chefs (cooks, really) are not formally trained. One cook to another will give you what they think this meal should be. Through experience, they improve on their cooking skills. This is one way of trying the variants of this meal.

After our dinner, Jeannie and I walked over to K. P. Mak, nextdoor; to buy a watermelon. We asked their “expert” watermelon chooser worker to pick a good fruit for us; which he did (I think. Hope the fruit is good).

We then stopped by at Jaya Grocer in Empire Gallery Shopping centre to get a bottle of decaf coffee (it has been quite a while since I last had a decaf), and a few other items; which included another cold drink. The temperature seemed to be climbing as the evening wound down. What would be nice right now is to have an A.B.C.…

NOTES:
1. SS15 is a bustling town centre (the first town centre) of the city of Subang Jaya, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.
“SS” or Sungai Way-Subang
The SS in the neighborhood’s name stands for Sungai Way-Subang. Addresses in PJ are standardized. The town is divided into numbered sections (seksyen), which are denoted with just S (eastern PJ), SS (central and western PJ), PJU (northern PJ), and PJS (southern PJ).
2. Claypot Noodle also known as “nga poh meen” or “sar poh meen” is a popular hawker dish in Malaysia. The dish came piping hot, usually served in the individual clay pot the noodles were cooked in. Health Benefits. Despite being relatively low in some nutrients like fiber and protein. marketboy.sg
Is Claypot good for health?
According to Ayurveda Specialist at Dr. Vaidya’s, Dr. Surya Bhagwati, “cooking in a clay pot not only has a variety of health benefits but also makes for an easier cooking process and in the end, a more flavorful and nutritious dish. Due to its numerous health benefits, Ayurveda suggests cooking in a clay pot. mitticool.com
3. In central and northern India’s English-speaking middle classes and mid-level restaurants, “single-fried” refers to sunny side up (also known as a “bullseye”).
4. Lap cheong (Cantonese, or simplified Chinese; traditional Chinese; pinyin: làcháng; Jyutping: Cantonese Yale: laahp chéung) is a dried, hard sausage usually made from pork and pork fat. It is normally smoked, sweetened, and seasoned with rose water, rice wine and soy sauce.
The taste of lap cheong is distinctly different from better-known dried sausages, such as pepperoni, dry chorizo, or dry salami. Instead of a burst of garlic and spice, you’ll get hit with a tinge of sweetness and a bit of saltiness.
5. Bird’s eye chili or Thai chili or more commonly known as chili padi in Malaysia; is a chili pepper variety from the species Capsicum annuum that is native to Mexico. Cultivated across Southeast Asia, it is used extensively in many Asian cuisines. wikipedia
6. Singapore noodles, or Sing Chow Mei Fun as they are commonly known here, or Singapore mei fun; is a very popular dish in Malaysia as well as the US. It is made with thin rice noodles stir fried with a rich savory curry sauce and loaded with vegetables, meat and seafood. It is a matter of debate where this dish really originated.