Makan!

Everyone who reads this blog (and my previous one) knows that I am what Alain de Botton describes as a "word-painter". I try my best to capture a situation or an emotion just with words, both due to neccesity in the past (ie. the lack of a camera) and my love for words.

But since getting my camera, I have had the privilege of supplementing and, indeed, replacing those words when they seem inadequate. And some things you just need photos for:


From left top corner (clockwise): Succulent Sweet and Sour Chilli Crab, Fried Glass Noodles, amazing Lai Yau Ha(Milk Oil Prawns?), the perfect blend of flavours in Teochew-style Steamed Fish.


Mother Gluttony, Sister Gluttony and Brother Gluttony: One Happy Family At Home

There is this beautiful restaurant in Klang called the Coconut Farm Restaurant which our family has been going to for years. It is a thirty five minute drive away, past two tolls costing us an additional RM 4.20 both ways, and almost impossible to find - but the food is so good that we keep going back time after time!

We usually order the same things, and the food is always of a good standard, fluctuating between "This is good stuff!" and "Damn! That's amazing!". Yesterday it was pretty much It's-so-good-there's-a-swear-word-for-it-but-I-can't-publish-it-because-kids-might-be-reading-my-blog.

The crab was fleshy and the sauce it sat in was just the right blend of sour, sweet and spicy. Soak that up with steamed man taus and each mouthful is just heavenly!

The Lai Yau Ha was really good as well. Prawns, with their backs open from being deep fried in this delicious coconut-cereal mix, their skins crackly as you bite into them, their heads juicy if you choose to suck out the goody essence!

The glass noodles were pretty good as well, though I think we should have eaten it hot when they first brought it to our table, instead of waiting for the other dishes.

But the ultimate dish was the Chiew Chow style steamed fish - a perfect blend of tastes and colours - a little salty, a little bit sweet, with the saliva-inducing zest of vinegar to give it its wonderful sour taste. And if the fish is fresh (and it was really fresh yesterday), then you have the perfect appetite stimulant when added to your bowl of steaming rice.

And that is why Malaysia is a food paradise, dear readers.

(Disclaimer: The author will not be held responsible for any drool-related damage to your keyboards as a result of reading this entry.)