Sometimes it’s hard to say even one thing true
When all eyes have turned aside
They used to talk to you
And people on the street seem to disapprove
So you keep moving away
And forget what you wanted to say
Little bird, little bird
Brush your gray wings on my head
Say what you said, say it again
They tell me I’m crazy
But you told me I’m golden
Sometimes it’s hard to tell the truth from a lie
Nobody knows what’s in the hold of your mind
We are all buildings and people inside
Never know who’ll walk through the door
Is it someone that you’ve met before?
Little bird, little bird
Brush your gray wings on my head
Say what you said, say it again
They tell me I’m crazy
But you told me I’m golden
I know what I know
A wind in the trees
And a road that goes winding under
From here I see rain, I hear thunder
Somewhere there’s sun, and you don’t need a reason
Sometimes it’s hard to find a way to keep on
Quiet weekends, holidays, you come undone
Open your window and look upon
All the kinds of alive you can be
Be still, be light, believe me
Little bird, little bird
Brush your gray wings on my head
Say what you said, say it again
They tell me I’m crazy
But you told me I’m golden
I’m golden
– Lyrics from Little Bird by The Weepies –
We are all multifaceted creatures. There was a time, years ago, when I felt a need to impress, and I hung out at quirky bookstores searching for obscure literary books so that I’d have a topic of conversation should the need arise. What I didn’t bank on was a failing memory, one that would ensure that I’d be tongue-tied when someone finally asked me something that required an intelligent answer and I’d go, “hmmm…that is an interesting question… *long uncomfortable pause*,” and wait for the earth to open up and swallow me. I think age makes you realise that you don’t have to pretend. That people don’t gauge your worth by the books that you read or your degrees or the number of skiing trips that you make every year. And then, there is another side of me. Beneath this ageing figure is a girl who twitters at the sight of pretty objects and is warmed by a shade of pastel blue because pretty colours make her happy. Oh to sit on a deckchair in verdant vegetation in an infinite landscape with The Weepies on my iPod and nothing in my head.
Little things that make me smile. Being presented with a hand stitched menu printed on scraps of cloth announcing simple Japanese offerings like miso soba noodles with egg and chicken katsu curry don. Chicken rolls and okonomiyaki. Tofu cheese cake. The attention paid to detail. A perfectly cooked egg yolk in my miso soup that, upon breaking, oozes out smooth buttery liquid sunshine. Tender pieces of chicken that are breaded and freshly fried and served with thick sweet Japanese kare. Seaweed rolls, with chicken and crabstick, that are far from soggy, the texture so light and crisp, as if shrouded by a blanket of virtual starch. A fluffy and simple okonomiyaki deriving its flavour from eggs and prawns. A tofu cheese cake that is not very sweet, reminiscent of desserts consumed in Tokyo several years back.
There is no rich datin behind the cash register.
Run by a boy, a girl, and a mother, Poco Homemade is clearly a labour of love.
Poco Homemade
1 Lorong Kurau, Bangsar, KL.
Map on website.
Tel: 03-2287 5688
Opening hours: Tuesdays to Sundays. 12pm to 9.30pm. (Closed Mondays)
great minds DO think alike! looks like we ordered almost exactly the same items, except for one! and we had the same sentiments about all of the food! 😀
your post my dear LL, is clearly a labour of love! gorgeous:)
Smooth buttery liquid sunshine. I want, I want. (And you so captured both their labour of love and your own ease of delight in the little things that make life so wonderful.)
I wanna spend a lazy afternoon to myself in this place, wrapped up in a silly little book that no one’s gonna quiz me about. (Then you can come join me after work and I can be wrapped up in you instead. Another excellent, engrossing read.)
🙂
Nice… I love how whimsical these collages are. 🙂
(Yay for the tummy warming liquid sunshine of a perfectly cooked runny yolk! Mmmmmmm)
Sean: Perhaps we were both there at the same time? 😉 Oooooo.
feed the ciki: Sweet of you to say that. 🙂
LFB: You’re definitely my male alter ego. 😛 If you do get a chance to visit this place, you’ll know exactly how I feel!
J: Hehe…you know how much I love to do collages. 😀 You’ll soon get a chance to try the food here! 😀
So gorgeous lah the picture. No time to read now. But will take some time off in the evening to read it later. Hehe
As you are my female alter ego, also. Just finished a book this morning – Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. Any reccie for another good summer read? 🙂
Munkeyboy: Thank you, bff! Take your time. This post will be up for at least another night. Maybe 3. hehe.
LFB: Hmmm….that is an interesting question…*long uncomfortable pause*. *grin* I can think of one book that would be perfect for this setting. Tetsuko Kuroyanagi’s Totto Chan written in whimsical fashion and which is a reflection of the innocence of childhood. Perhaps I should dust the book and read it again. 🙂
Ooh, thanks! The power of Google just revealed this to be Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window and it looks good. Also, considering the book I just finished is also about the innocence of childhood (sorta) but lost, this will be a nice pick-me-up.
From Wiki: “The Japanese name of the book is an expression used to describe people who have failed.” Hmm, interesting…
What a fabulous place! I will need to search this out when I am next back in KL. And beautiful writing and photos.
LFB: Thanks for the Wiki explanation. Poor Totto-Chan the failure. Can we use it as a verb?
ming: Thanks, Ming! I do hope you’ll get a chance to visit this place. Do make reservations, though, as there are very few tables and the place fills up pretty quickly, especially on weekends!
Hmm, like ‘epic totto’, you mean? Hehe.
I have a good mind to dress up my future home with exactly the same whimsical touches, serve myself runny egg on rice and imagine I’m in some beach shack somewhere! And since future home not materialising for a while, I will simply have to hotfoot over to Poco for now!
LFB: Epic totto may not be a verb. Perhaps we can say “You have totto-chan-ed me for not coming out of Taman Desa to have dinner with me”?
minchow: haha. Like you, I have half a mind to paint my walls a tiffany blue but sadly, it won’t go with any of my black and red furniture. Bah.
Who dares totto-chan you by not coming out of Taman Desa to have dinner with Your Highness? 😛
everything seems very nice… since I go to mid valley most of the times, I could drop by on my way back!
LFB: Off with his head. He is a totto-chan!
thule aka leo: Oh yes, this is not that far away from Mid Valley, and you’ll be away from all the traffic as well to enjoy an idyllic afternoon here.
Totally a totto-chan is him, whoever this unnamed person is. Me on the other hand, fancy a date with Your Majesty. Bila free, oi? 😀
LFB: Meet me at Poco. I’ll be holding Totto-Chan.
Yay! That’s a date! 😉
Can i join the date with LFB too? I’ll bring a dunny – like a japanese one! 😛 Hehe. I’m in love with the place before I’m actually there. Time to ditch baba low for the quirky store in the corner. I like. I love. I want.
Let’s open a shop laidat and play The Weepies all day long as we carefreely read artsy books while our customers help themselves to whatever they like. 🙂
wah…poem and food? nice one…
yeah, my boy is growing fast each day…thanks for the compliment.
A Lil Fat Monkey: Oooh a dunny party would be perfect in a place liddat. It’s been a long time since we did that hor. They have lots of quirky books for reading there too. 😀
vialentino: hehe…syiok sendiri. 🙂 So nice to see pictures of your boy on your blog. 🙂
I love those toy houses! Is it weird of me to pay attention to the decor instead of the food? They brought back so much memories! Blue walls and white shutters… so story-book like! On another note, the cake looked delish!
ive been to a couple of your recommendations after reading your blog, and im always impressed with how spot-on you were in your appreciation of the food you experienced there. i beg to differ with poco however, service was crap, they forgot a couple of orders, though they were apologetic enough when reminded. my main gripe would be the food which i found tasteless and soulless. the chicken katsu don was bland accompanied by a very starchy curry sauce which im aware is typical of japanese curry sauce, but ive had much better for much less. this dish came embelished with 1 wilted lettuce leaf ,1 slice of tomato and 1 slice of cucumber for RM14 or 15 bucks. a labour of love it may be for the owners, i cannot say it permeates the food they serve. wont go back.
iamthewitch: Yeah, it’s a really pretty place. It’s not weird at all to like the decor. I’m sometimes like that too!
kaiumanis: Thanks for your honest feedback. I appreciate it. I shall be going there again some time before the end of this week, so let’s see how that visit goes. I certainly hope they’ll take note of your comments.
Looks pretty. Would not look out of place in Cottesloe or St Kilda.
Age and experience play an important role in how we perceive ourselves and others. If I knew then what I know now, life would have been very less angsty. But then again, life’s folly then is what shapes me today. So go figure. 🙂
Gorgeous collages, LL! Love them.
The only labour of love I remember performing… landed my wife in labour…
is this the one toyboy’s friend opened ah? looks so whimsical.
hi…. may i know how you make the photo frame? is it got a special software for it?
Hi Jo Bo – I used Picnik. (picnik.com) Some of the items are free.