Launch of theQguides.com and Best Eats KL

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Congratulations to the team behind theQguides.com for successfully launching an online restaurant reservations portal that is set to simplify the dining process by eliminating inconsistent variables at the booking stage (like recipients at the other end of the phone line who don’t speak a word of English, or missing reservations, or being put on hold while listening to elevator music).  All you have to do is register once, then upon successful registration, you can browse through their “list of bookable restaurants” and with a simple click of a button, the job is done.  When Bald Eagle and I travelled to the UK and Spain recently, we used a similar website in the UK called Toptable.com which helped us save $$ in making expensive phonecalls.  Gotta love the internet.

Also, congratulations to Fay Khoo on her latest concise food guide to KL’s eateries called Best Eats.  When I first met Fay several months back, my initial reaction was – Wow, this girl can talk a monkey into eating its young!  And she can EAT.  There’s nothing worse than a foodie who merely nibbles, but this girl Fay, she loves her carbs.  Great book, looking forward to more guides that cover out-of-KL makan places too.

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The launch party was held at TwentyOne Kitchen+Bar, Changkat Bukit Bintang.   For more pictures and writeup, check out MrCheong’s blog.

Acknowledgement:
First picture – courtesy of Frat Mustard, the face of theQguides.com and the man whose ambition is to grow Malaysia’s food and beverage industry.
Collages – courtesy of Eric Cheong, an amazingly talented photographer.

The Nirvana Bus Tour – Come As You Are

1.

Bald Eagle has a persistent smirk on his face these days. “You’re writing about Spain already, eh? Have you finished writing about Penang? Have you finished writing about Australia?”

Variety is the spice of life, Sir Nag-A-Lot.  Spain today, Apong Guan tomorrow.

2.

If you’re visiting my blog for the first time, welcome!  If you’re curious about the Nirvana Bus Tour, read about it here:

The Nirvana Bus Tour Part 1 – click HERE
The Nirvana Bus Tour Part 2, Prologue and A Nirvana Tribute – click HERE
The Nirvana Bus Tour Part 3, The Tanjung Tualang Chapter – click HERE
The Nirvana Bus Tour Part 4, Street Food in Pulau Tikus, Penang – click HERE

3.

Come as you are, as you were
As I want you to be
As a friend, as a friend
As an old enemy
Take your time
Hurry up
The choice is yours
Don’t be late
Take a rest
As a friend
As an old…
Memoria

Lyrics from Come As You Are, Artist: Nirvana, Album: Nevermind

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you wear.  The coffeeshop is old, bearing scars and marks of days gone by.   On an aside, it’s wonderful to see the preservation of old buildings in Georgetown, Penang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Sai Lam Coffee Shop isn’t devoid of tourists, mostly backpackers, but it is also well patronized by the locals.   The wanton mee here is springy, cooked al dente, and is served either with beef tendons or with char siew.   If you can look past the rather ordinary tasting char siew in a deep red hue, I can assure you that you’re in for a treat with the darling looking wantons – little pillows of minced pork, unadulterated and absolutely delicious.  Freshly made, take 5 or 50.  Now tell me, don’t you just want to caress them?

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Sai Lam Coffee Shop
307 Chulia Street
Penang.

What would it take to make a dining experience pleasurable?

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Fine dining. We’ve all had bad dining experiences before.   In a fairly recent post, I mentioned my unhappiness at a particular restaurant where the food was very good, but the service lacking, thus marring a potentially enjoyable celebratory evening.   I am generally fair about eateries, and in most cases when I have had a bad experience, I normally revisit to see if the problem is recurrent.  In the case of that particular restaurant, I did not revisit, but chose to voice out my angst primarily because it was an event night where I had higher expectations and the issue was one towards which I have less tolerance – substandard service.  Firstly, when a dinner is touted as a food and wine event, based on my experience in other restaurants, there is a knowledgeable person (dare I suggest a sommelier?) who describes the wines and explains the reason for the pairing.  Was there one?  No.  Secondly, when food is placed in front of me and I have questions about it, surely it isn’t too much to ask for more information.   Was information forthcoming?  No.  Thirdly, price plays a part.  In a fine dining establishment, you are paying for the total experience, not just for orgasmic food.

A week ago, I met a chef and an owner of a Michelin rated restaurant, Ms Elena Arzak, who said, “We know that there are people who save up a whole year so that they can dine at our restaurant, and we know that there are people who can afford daily meals at our restaurant, but our policy is to treat everyone the same.”

What I was most impressed with was the imparting of knowledge of the wait staff and the sommeliers and the warmth in the process of sharing this knowledge.  I am certainly not delusional and expecting miracles here; our food is absolutely and undisputedly world class, and I am aware that service comes at a price, but a minimal knowledge of what is served surely cannot be too much to ask, can it?  And warmth doesn’t cost a cent.

My recent trip to Spain was a foodie’s dream, a world of fresh seafood and flavourful iberico pork and meltingly good foie gras and strange sounding marvelous items like kokotxa.   All these, bundled together with great chefs and a man who makes me laugh at every meal made this an amazing and unforgettable trip.  And yes, like it or not, I’m going to tell you everything.  Well, almost.

San Sebastian, Spain
Don’t nod off.