We were to meet my friend, Joon May, at Glenmarie Light Rail Transit (LRT) station. The 30 plus-minute train ride to Glenmarie was a good way to see Kuala Lumpur, the city in which I was born many years ago today. She drove us to a restaurant that specializes in Bak Kut Teh; an herbal broth with ribs and/or pork belly. It was truly delicious and Kenric loved it.
Outside of the restaurant, we bought some delicious fresh made “Rice Crunch”, something like an Asian style Rice Krispies. Joon May got us some fresh jackfruit. It’s that magical fruit that’s been in the news recently for its potential for ending world hunger.
She dropped us off at KLCC where the Petronas Towers are. Just for fun, we went to San Francisco Coffee for our daily dose of caffeine. We went outside and watched some kids playing with their balloons. Later, we had some birthday drinks. Then, we couldn’t find the LRT station because it is not where Kenric remembers it to be from seven years ago when he spent three full days here. ?
We had dinner at a restaurant near the hotel. As we were trying to get the attention of the waiter, an Indonesian young lady who was dining there told us we could just sit down and share the long table. She got up to move the table-cleaning towel from our area, but I did it myself. She gave an old Chinese man who was begging RM 2.00. Two ringgit is about USD $0.50. She spoke to him in Mandarin.
Meanwhile, a working girl seated at the middle of our long table was trying to solicit the foreigner seated next to me. When our Chicken Satay arrived, she and the other girl commented that the Malaysian satay is too sweet for their palate. When she heard me speak in Malay to the waiter, she asked where I’m from. She said her mother is Indonesian, and her father Portuguese. Upon hearing that, the foreigner said, “Como ca va?” to which she replied, “That’s French.” Atta girl! He left shortly after that. She found a customer; they went into the hotel next to the restaurant at 7:45. The customer’s friend waited for him outside.
Our Siakap Tiga Rasa (Three-Flavors Sea Bass) was really delicious and when the chef looked our way, we made sure he knew we liked it a lot. The working girl and her customer came back out at 8:07. She was fixing her hair, and he tried to look nonchalant except he forgot to wipe that smile off his face! She went back in with a different customer 24 minutes later. I hope she makes lots of money and gets to keep it all.
I confirmed with the chef that the three flavors were sweet, sour and spicy. He asked if it was flavorful enough. I said it was very tasty. He was quite embarrassed when we started taking photos. It’s been a real good birthday. It’s been real.
P.S. Please be mindful to not let my mentioning of ethnicity/nationality create bias in how you view them.
Map of Places Visited
KLCC
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KLCC3.156876, 101.712614
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