A gastronomical odessey

Heidelburg theory or whatever it is called. I got it from the TV series called Num3ers. About this maths genius guy who helps his brother, an FBI agent, solve crimes using mathematical formulae. Anyways, this genius guy says that when the watched knows it is being watched, it behaves like it is being watched and in anticipation of what the watcher might do.

It is like now I know WHO actually reads my blog, I tend to censure myself. And since there are some things I would like to share only with some people and not others, I might need to resort to sending mass mails again. Which was what this blog was intended to replace.

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It started with Ivy calling on Wednesday night about a girls’ night out to Zouk. I had earlier told Cheeks I don’t like clubbing and so declined. Since two persons called for the same Mambo Jumbo, I decided to go. It turned out to be quite fun because 80s music are. Besides, Ivy and gang = 5 girls, and Cheeks and gang= many guys. Who knows, I thought.

Cheeks and gang was surprised that church going, cell-group going girls go clubbing. But two of the girls got sick and they left early. Good thing I only had my usual (NOT vodka with OJ).

It was also so packed you really could not dance without elbowing people. I got stepped on five times. Will wear sneakers next time. (Next time??? I have exceeded my clubbing quota for this year!)

It was drizzling outside Zouk when Cheeks and I arrived at 11:30. He wanted to have dinner first and return his DVDs at Asia Café. There was this humongous crowd outside, made up of mostly under-aged persons I was certain. They weren’t going to let anyone in anymore. Frantic calls from those inside. We decided to wait 20 minutes and checked out the candies. Cheeks got a sweeter deal than I.

We made it in after a while.

Left Zouk about 3am for A&W in PJ. There were six of us, but we somehow managed to order seven set meals, not including mine. I was thinking this is really going to screw up my day (thank goodness it was a holiday!).

The guys decided it would be fun to go to Klang for Bak Kut Teh the next morning, at 7:30 am. I had 3 hours of sleep and wore my sunnies during BKT even thought the sky was overcast.

Cheeks, the Klang champion, got rapped.

Nicole: Do they have mushrooms?
Cheeks: No
Nicole: What? No mushrooms????!!! (There turned out to be mushrooms, one per person)
Sze Wei: Got yow-chow-kuay ar?
Cheeks: No
Sze Wei: Huh??
Eric: Hey man, can we ask for cili padi and garlic?
Cheeks: They don’t have them
Unison: WHAT????
Eric: We should have gone to the one under the bridge!!!

BKT was good in itself. But the crowd was not quite satisfied.

Breakfast Round Two. Ding!

Eric saw a Chinese kopitiam a few doors away. Our search was for yow-chow-kuay and egg tart. They serve cheese cakes instead. We had toast and half boiled eggs (pas moi). Later on, my cousin Lee Hui, another Klang champion, said we really should have tried the famous cheese cakes. Bummer.

Got home and slept. Lee Hui came to pick me up at 3pm to go back to Ipoh for granddad’s birthday meal.

See, dad left ahead of us and called back to say that traffic was not so free-flowing on the highway. The message was passed to me through sis and mom, which became “Dad said the highway is very, very jammed up lar”. The same message was echoed to Lee Hui and so we took the COASTAL ROAD home. It took us 3.5 hours to reach TAPAH!!!!!!

Dad got back to Ipoh in 2.5 hours.

Made it for dinner JIT. The usual full course, or course. Granddad and I share the same love for roasted suckling pig. I am sure the dish could qualify for a Fear Factor challenge. Woosie Mat Sallehs! Dessert was the best. I loved the crispy on the outside soft on the inside lotus paste bun. I had two. So please was I that I even had Red Bean soup.

Friday- finally made it to the gym. Spent some extra long duration to make up for gluttony. And the upcoming meal with Moto.

House of Tea Kings. Delicious food (no MSG), wonderful tea, enjoyable music, and even better company. This deserves a blog on its own.

Got drunk on tea by 12:30 midnight and couldn’t sleep most of the night.

Morning. Breakfast with Yiap Loong who announces that he is leaving for UK the next day! Went to KLCC to get my rollerblades but just my luck that Studio R and Kinokuniya were shut for electrical failure. YL said the Cineplex was smoking the night before. Go figure. No blades. CH came to join us for lunch.

Saw Qiwen and Yangyang in the foodcourt! Qiwen was visiting from Singapore and naturally, every tourist must see the Twin Towers.

YL says I should get that lilac suede bag from Mango that costs just as much as the blades. I got neither. (Still thinking about the lilac suede bag)

Yangyang, his wife, Kelly, Qiwen and another friend took me to a place near Jalan Imbi for Beijing hotpot. Sis was asking why would I take my Chinese friends for Chinese food? I said THEY were taking ME!

Loved the meal…… slurp. Especially that thin-sliced mutton cooked in (VERY) spicy soup and dipped with sesame paste and garlic sauce. Mmm…….

And the Chinese drink like a fish. Every ten minutes it was bottoms-up. I sipped. It was further encouraged by the owner of the restaurant, who joined us. Qiwen says that’s how you make friends in China. I said I would be very lonely. She said that’s how you make deals, too. The more you drink, the bigger the deal. I said I would be very poor in China.

Can’t wait to meet Qiwen again in Singapore later this month. She stays at the East Coast!!!

It is Sunday evening and I am thinking of work, again. That article on software for industrialised building systems was weighing on me the whole time and I should get it done tonight.

I shall reassess my work habits at the end of the year.

p/s I also had a premonition moment while having dinner last night.