The whole truth about Kayu

I must be suffering from cranial diarrhea. Someone stop this brain from working into the witching hour (without using a gun thank you).

I swear this is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I went to visit my grandma who is 91 years old, who lives with my uncle Frank and aunt Eve in Petaling Jaya SS2/4. It is my grandma's birthday next month. I am visiting from the UK in April for business and pleasure. It is natural to visit grandma, bring her some ang pow and bird's nest for good health.

It started with a simple question from my aunty: "Had lunch yet?" I said: "No." She said: "I will get some." I said: "Something simple will do, like char kway teow." My uncle said: "Kayu is quite good around the corner." I said: "Nasi campur would be nice." 15 minutes later, my aunty is back. She is sweating from the heat outside. 5 minutes later, this happened:


I ate this on Saturday lunch time. It is Sunday evening. I swear I can still taste the curry fish head, fried chicken with curry leaf & bawang, beef rendang, char kway teow and biryani rice. My uncle raved about the fried chicken, crispy curry leaf and bawang. He started to tell their maid how to replicate the dish. The char kway teow is good too. The curry fish head was really good. Grandma already had lunch at 11am but decided to join us. This was around 2.30pm. She has an amazing apetite and i would like to think it had to do with my visit. I am chuffed. I am stuffed.

This is extra sensory perception in its most lucid moment. 11.30pm on a Sunday evening after a weekend of gastronimic delights. Life is good.

The Good Food Time Traveller

So I am on a roll. A second post in one night. I might go for a record third post.

I am traveling back in time for this one. Food again! I still remember what I ate and the taste lingers. It is Caesar Salad with grilled chicken with poached egg and anchovies. In south-east asia, it is hard to find a good salad. At "Delicious", a trendy chic restaurant at Bangsar Village II, the Caesar Salad is as good as it gets. At 12 noon, it was filling up. It was nice to see at three generations sat at a table nearby - grandmother eating what looked like posh nasi lemak, grandchildren eating pasta and mum/dad having modern deli fare.

Earlier, we shared some chunky chips with a spicy mayo dip and some flat bread with a trio of dips - i think it was pesto, tomato and a sweet peanut dip. The flat bread was delicious. The chips perfectly cooked, not over salted and the mayo dip had just enough ginger and spice to complement it. A good start to the meal. Yum.

John had a cheese burger and here is the proof. That is naughty food.


Jennifer had the curry mee. Julian and I had a small bowl to taste some - it was good.


Julian had the chicken and leek pie - it came with a small milk jar filled with chicken gravy. Open the top of the pie, add the gravy for a delicious gravy soaked pie. John told me the crust is lovely - he knows because he had the pie the day before. (hmm...pie and cheese burger back to back - too much carbo don't you think?) Somehow I failed to take a photo of Julian and chicken leekie pie. Instead, the photo of Julian looking forlorn after the chunky chips are gone. (Who ate all the pies?)


The restaurant had an decor and style which would not be out of place in the Sydney cafes. It was light and airy, the atmosphere was convival and the cake counter was unmistakably yummy.


Unbelievably, we left the restaurant without a piece of cake - leaving behind Chocolate Banana Cake, Apple Crumble, Banana Pudding and Sticky Date Pudding with a selection of chocolates. Life is full of regrets!

What we want is good food...!

I forgot about this blog I created in 2007. For me, it is unnatural to print your naked thoughts on the web. Thoughts are private, random and often times unreliable.

What you see, experience and taste is more reliable. As I am writing this, the taste of Penang prawn mee i ate about an hour ago is already fading fast. I wonder how long the taste of good food lingers? We know the taste of bad food lingers a long time e.g. garlic after taste.

Tonight, we ate at a branch of Penang Village (http://www.penangvillage.com.my/). Mainly because it is nearby about 5 min drive. And we were after unfussy simple and well cooked food.

At the restaurant, our friends had Penang Fish Ball noodle, and Penang Kway Teow Soup. We shared the Kuay Pie Tie, Baba Chicken and fried kai lan with salted fish. John had Penang Beef Ho Fun (in cantonese "Wat Tan Hor"). For RM$110 (incl. drinks).

Yes I realize you can probably get a better bowl of prawn mee or wat tan hor at a nearby food court for RM$3 or RM$4. On this evening, we were not after a high end restaurant or a hawker stall rather something in the middle. Penang Village managed to fill the spot. Good enough is good enough.

It has taken me 20 mins to write this. It seems like an extraordinary amount of time. Not much content. Not much thought. I like it. Perhaps I will write a bit more...

Sometimes we forget what we have because of what we want

Our brains are spilling over with memories. We live rich and full lives by extraordinary means and measures available today. We only need the slightest reminder to reboot the memory of days gone by. Photos do this in the most tender, remarkable way. Small memories ignited by the spark of recollection, a dash of color and a smile in one captured moment. It comes flooding back like a tidal wave. These are my memories - some of the very best. They make me laugh. I ache a little for things I lost on the way. I fill up with things I hold dear. Sometimes we forget what we have, because of what we want. These are memories.