My Perfect Weekend, and Kedai Minuman dan Makanan Ah Fatt

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“What’s your idea of a perfect weekend?” Toygirl recently asked me.

“What do you mean by perfect?” I asked her.   “Do you mean something achievable, or do you mean my dream weekend?”   As this juncture, the idea of sitting by the beach with a book and a cocktail and a tanned masseur kneading my knotted muscles seemed highly desirable.

“Something achievable.   Something you can do on a normal weekend,” she replied.

“Oh,” I was brought back to reality.   “I suppose it would be spending time with my husband,” I said, matter-of-factly.

We were at a brunch party with close friends, and the wafting smell of a batch of freshly cooked pancakes tickled our noses.  Laughter abounded.

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Black Velvet
Brunch collage
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“Actually,” I added, “this is an example of a perfect weekend for me.”

She smiled, because I think she felt the same way.

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And after all that food and wine, 8 hours later, nothing beats a satisfying meal of hokkien mee and fried chicken.  Call me weird, but I prefer tar-pau‘d hokkien mee.  The braised glistening dark noodles would have had ample time to absorb all the sauces leaving a reasonably dry, slippery dish that is smoky and fragrant with the smell of pork and lard.  And fried chicken with crispy skin that crackles under the molars, and flesh so tender it literally falls off the bone – it’s the perfect companion.

hokkien mee
Hokkien mee

hokkien bee hoon
Hokkien bee hoon

222 fried chicken
Fried chicken

Kedai Minuman dan Makanan Ah Fatt
42, Jalan 14/48 (near the 222 Shell station)
Petaling Jaya

(Note: Thank you, FBB for yet another wonderful party)

Pork noodles at Restoran Makanan Sun Sea, Taman OUG

I’m fraught with guilt at the thought of blogging about food at a time like this.  Freedom of expression has taken a completely new meaning in our country.  My friend, Joan, quoted this passage in her article in The Malaysian Insider, and I’ve taken the liberty to reproduce the passage here:

“Hell is a world gone mad where we do not understand our neighbours; where politicians can declare crusades and holy wars against an idea…

“The way out of hell is love.  Love is the recognition of the Other; the acknowledgement that the person before us is a fellow human being whose life is an abundant store of emotions, feelings, memories of hope and loss, tears, smiles, laughter.  Love is the prerequisite of communication, even when that communication is difficult and one is not always understood.  But love dictates that we need to understand, or at least make the effort to understand; and not to demonise, to scapegoat, to sully, to abuse.  Love is the thing that stops the finger as it presses on the trigger; it is the thing that stills the hand before it reaches for the knife.” – “Qu’ran and Cricket” Written by Dr Farish A. Noor in 2007.

I really need to get the book.  For now, I’m blocking every other thought from my mind as my prose dwells on sustenance of a different kind.

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Sustenance, not for every soul, but definitely for mine.  Hor fun tossed in dark sauce, an enticing agglomeration of lard and minced pork.

Picnik collage

Soup, a melange of minced and sliced pork, pork innards, squid, prawns and a whole egg (poached in the soup).  The ingredients flavour the soup and make it sweet.  There is only a bare hint of MSG.

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Crispy lard makes a world of difference.  Recommended, only if you are able to ignore the grime on the floor.

Restoran Makanan Sun Sea
(Opposite OUG Wet Market)
Jalan Hujan Rahmat
Taman OUG, KL

Closed Wednesdays.