will i am's delayed diary

A beef noodles stall at Eng Huat Kopitiam at OUG had upgraded and moved into a shop lot with the name Niu Niu Kulai Beef Noodle . Depending on you preference, you can pimp up your beef noodles with several condiments found on the table. Try adding preserved radish, chopped Chinese celery,  and chili sauce. Truth be told, I found it underwhelming and a tad too expensive. Later in the afternoon, I got my haircut. Left it a bit longer than usual. Perfect timing because I had a BFF birthday dinner later. It was The Chief's birthday. Janvier asked me for a venue and I recommended Shin Zushi , Jalil Link. Kinda regretted my decision because the road heading there was choked up due to the stupid traffic light near the KESAS intersection. Not many turned up for dinner, just Khatijah, JL, SK, KH, and of course Janvier. SK did the ordering, and it ended up a mini salmon banquet. Didn't venture far for our post-dinner coffee session. Walked up to Owl's Cafe and got The C

The morning market was abuzz with Mid-autumn Festival vibes. One vendor sold a giant mooncake in a butter cookie tin! That baby went for MYR128 and contained 8 artery-clogging salted egg yolks. Wonder how many he managed to sell. My breakfast was at Charlie's Cafe to take advantage of the B1F1 Entertainer App promotion. Had a Curry Laksa and Nasi Lemak. In my opinion, the curry laksa trumps the Laksa Sarawak. Quite spicy and comes with a thinly sliced chicken katsu. The Nasi Lemak's rendang chicken was also nice, but it was a modified recipe with the chicken lightly fried before combined with rendang paste. SK organized an early 38th birthday dinner for me to suit her busy work schedule. Mum and KH also joined. We ate at Pier 12 Seafood Tavern , Old Malaya. Got some happy hour cocktails, and shared their big seafood platter. On top of that, we had a delicious crab soup with Indian spices, and some steak. Fired up Google Maps to find a nearby coffee place and we sett

Once in a blue moon, I would order wat tan hor for breakfast. Something that really sends my 'Uncle Meter' skyrocketing. Once in a blue moon, I get to see Paris Fashion Week at the OUG morning market. That was a babysitting Saturday for mum and I. After dropping The Monsters for their swimming lessons, we went over to Mokka Cafe , Jalil Link 2 to chill. Their signature cappuccino reminded me of a creme brulee, and their Pangkor Asam Laksa was kinda interesting.  Light in colour and had squid. Brought the monsters out for sushi at Washoku , BK5 later that night. Bad idea to let them sit next to the kaiten . Ravenous appetite! Luckily it was only RM1.70 a plate.

Every now and then, the folks from Nalanda organize almsgiving events at the OUG morning market. Commonplace in places like Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar, but not in Malaysia. After the event, they leave with van-loads of food products. Hap Tou Sou (核桃酥) is a traditional Chinese biscuit. The aroma and crumbly texture brings back childhood memories. However, the biscuit I bought from the OUG morning market was subpar. Yuck. During a chit-chat session with my ex-primary schoolmate at last week's Raya gathering , she told me that she was looking for an old school spring beater that she needed for her home bakery. She couldn't find it in Kajang, so I volunteered to get it for her. Tembikar Tai Sun really has everything under its roof. The beater at the bottom is from my mum's personal collection. When I was a kid, she used it to make Kai Tan Koh (鸡蛋糕) with it for visits to the Taoist temple. Breakfast was Wantan Noodles from Daniel's stall. That dash of pep

Mum and I returned to the OUG morning market after a short 'holiday'. My fave noodle stall was really on a holiday, so I had curry noodles instead. So thick and satisfying. What was left in the bowl was like chili paste! Also got my Teochew Kuih fix. Mum got her hair done, and great timing too because Cutiepie invited us to a party that evening. It was her darling daughter's birthday. A small affair with a couple of friends and family. Sis and the kids were also invited. Food was catered from a contact on a FB mummies group, a place where entrepreneurial housewives can make an extra buck advertising their services. Big Monster loved the Indian food so much that he had three servings. The birthday girl was kinda moody that night, but she lit up when the time came to cut her cake. Never in my life had I seen a Spiderman guitar cake. Definitely something that everyone needs to see at least once in their life.

Naturally not too long after CNY, Qing Ming comes around, and the seasonal goods sold in the morning market changes tune. Paper offerings for the deceased start to appear, and the variety never ceases to intrigue me. This year I spotted: Haselime Snow - The Hell equivalent of Hazeline Snow. Cerlsberg and Tigor - Carlsberg and Tiger in Hell Miloo - Hell's favourite not-so-healthy drink of Milo Oat DG28 - Granny needs to take care of her cholesterol levels in Hell too, Oat BG28 F&M - F&N expands their market to Hell Had a plate of Daniel's wantan noodles for breakfast, and chicken soup for lunch. And drip coffee during tea time. Gave Fung V , a Chinese restaurant in Equine Park a try. The place was full but we were lucky enough to secure a table. Tried claypot tofu and steamed tilapia. Good food, and the waitress was good in giving recommendations, knowing how to balance between portion, cooking style, and flavour. Not many restaurants give a shit.

With just less than a week before CNY, the  OUG morning market was a hive of activity. Even BN Seputeh tried to 'show their concern' by organizing a community event on Jalan Hujan Rahmat 2. They commandeered half of the road to put up a stage and many tables. The displaced market vendors must have been so pleased. Hampers were given out to elderly residents and those with disabilities. And of course there was free food for the public. Senator Datuk Mustapa Kamal also 'turun' padang to distribute free reading glasses ( bet they can detect fake news ). He tried to help mum to get a suitable pair but none they had were suitable. Countless cameras were clicking with his every 'charitable' move. Come evening, I joined SK at a party with her ex-colleagues. A pot luck with lots of food. There was grilled chicken wings, char siew , vinegar pork knuckles, savoury rice, and a birthday cake.  And booze too. Someone brought their kids along, so we even had an 

With just a little over two weeks before CNY, the morning market at OUG had started to go into high gear. RELA personnel were deployed, and Jalan Hujan Rahmat 2 was closed, allowing for temporary stalls to mushroom up all along the road ( most openly selling red crackers ). I wouldn't say that it's a buying frenzy, but people still come to buy what's necessary to prepare for the coming festivities. Everyone is trying to get a bang for their buck. Plenty of biscuits and nian gao  available, a clear indication of supply overshadowing demand. That day, I had a special breakfast appointment with KT and her MiniMe. MiniMe seemed a bit anti-social and was clinging to KT like a koala. It was better when she was distracted with a smartphone. SK was sick after her trip to Copenhagen, so we went to her GP at Bukit Serdang. After seeing the doctor, we went to Restoran Bukit Tinggi for some famous YTF. The shop makes a very delicate spherical tofu, that has a texture similar

Sis and BIL were still hard at work clearing their orders before the end of the year. so the Monsters were with me. Brought them out to the wet market on Saturday morning. To make things easier, mum went to do her thing, while took care of the kids. First thing I did was buy a couple of thick apam balik , then brought them to the stone benches at the entrance of Marketplace OUG. No point dragging them around as they would only whine and complain. Fed them the sweet pancakes while waiting for mum to finish. During the wait, I realized that Little Monster kept singing B.E.R.'s "The Night Begins to Shine", a song that he picked up from "Teen Titans". How bizarre. Once mum was done, we went to have breakfast noodles at our favourite noodle stall at the alley. Back at home, mum didn't want the Little Monsters on his tablet all day, so she armed him with a brush and got him brushing the metal grills of the sliding door. Nothing builds character like child la

Spotted Tank Top Tom in front of Caring Pharmacy, near the OUG Morning Market. He was sitting down to breakfast with his family. I hardly ever eat there because getting a table is a very painful process. But anyway, I was very content to be standing at my vantage point watching Tom flex his arms. A 'nutritious breakfast' for me!

I have a love affair with Teochew Kuih / Png Kueh / 潮州饭桃. This steamed cake is actually rice flour dough over glutinous rice. Practically rice on rice. Sticky rice? Haha. And its shaped like a peach, a very traditional and stylized rendition. I love it savoury where the glutinous is stir-fried with shallots and dried shrimp. If you don't finish it within a day ( unlikely! ), the next day you can pan fry it for a different kind or enjoyment. Anyway, its hard to get good ones in KL. By luck, mum came across a stall in the OUG morning market that sold Teochew Kuih from Tanjung Sepat. In addition to the usual pink ones, they also had some blue ones which had a filling mixed with mung beans ( tau sar ). Those were great too. Now I know where to get my Teochew Kuih fix!

The market was kinda quiet during the Malaysia Day weekend. Less cars, more parking. Tell-tale signs of the coming Mid-autumn Festival was also evident with sale of mooncakes, pomelos, lanterns, and chu chai peng . I wouldn't say that the sale of those items were exceptionally brisk. Kinda expected with the current sluggish economy. During my Friday night paktor session with KH at Kuchai Entrepreneur's Park, we drove past Village Sang Nyuk Noodles . Recognized it from those sponsored posts on Facebook, Gourmet Hunter KL, I Love Malaysian Food, and it's many cousins. Decided to give it a try for my post-market breakfast stop. We ordered both varieties, the Sang Nyuk Noodles ( soup ) and Hakka Noodles ( dry ). If you're the the type who likes the broth porky, then this is the place for you. I disliked the Hakka Noodles because the sauce was too sweet. For MYR7, you get a good portion of sliced pork ( tender and smooth, but the texture is a bit too soft ), intestines, l