# 2 The Black Echoes
That irritating sound won’t stop.
It just won’t stop bothering me.
258 was the number of days that I have been counting.
There it goes … I heard the sound again, echoing in the tunnel.
I moved myself to the adjacent burrow. I can feel that it is coming towards my direction. Wait, something is not right here. From the back of my body.
……
Was I dead or did I just pass out in the dark? All I can feel is the numbness in my nerves.
I hate the sound of machine guns.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I grabbed the handle strongly, so strongly that I almost clutched myself to the seat right in front of me. The bus was rocking a hard way through the terribly uneven muddy path.
‘The absorber is worn out.’
Again, my head hit high into ceiling of the bus as it runs over a huge crater on the road.
We joined a day tour to Cu Chi and Cao Dai for less than USD 7. For that price, I certainly didn’t expect a long arse journey on the bus. I think my lungs, kidneys and stomachs sagged by 1.5cm after spending 5 hours travelling on the rocky road.
Our Bobby Chinn look-alike tour guide was very entertaining.
‘Miss, whe du yeu kam frum?’
‘Malaysia’.
‘Ohhh…de land famous for robbers!’
Astounded by his reply, I found out later that he means ‘rubber’. Certainly one of the most interesting remarks in this journey.
The journey throughout Cu Chi was a remarkable one. I was particularly amazed by their perseverance and determination. Imagine a bunch of Viet Cong soldiers living in the dark, humid and claustrophobia-inducing underground. The American troop described the conditions within the tunnel as ‘black echoes’.
We did try to explore one of the sections of the tunnel that has been expanded to accommodate taller/ larger sized tourists.
It ain’t fun.
I was a fool to believe that the tunnel has been enlarged to accommodate the big size us. *imagining walking around the tunnel freely like visiting museum liddat*
Half way crawling through the tunnel (I almost laid flat on the floor and creep towards the end), I was sweating and screaming in my heart…the tunnel seems to be never ending. How did the Viet Cong soldiers manage to survive in the tunnel for 20 over years when I find the dark claustrophobic atmosphere unbearable for mere 2 seconds?
I am a true brat spoiled by modernity.
After the exploration, I found something amusing. I really wanted to try that real thing. At least once. The guy recommended M16, so I bought 10 bullets (USD 17) for that.
It still ain’t fun lorrrrr.
I was a fool to believe that ear muff works. The NRR (Noise Reduction Rating) is close to ‘0’. The impact of the shot was so powerful that every shot leaves my ear drum with a numb (wee wung wung…wee wung wung…) feeling.
I’m glad that I insisted on trying out on our last day despite the fact that we were supposed to rush to the airport.
We ordered “The Legend” which was nothing like the ordinary Starbucks cappuccino. The coffee was really strong and bold, definitely one of the highlights of my trip. *Love*
Later on when we return to SG, we found out that there is actually a branch located at Liang Court, Clark Quay. *Double Love*
*
For now, I’m more than happy to return to my comfort zone, happily munching on my routine subway ham and egg, surfing dumb websites, and crossing the road without the fear of being smashed by 58 motorbikes into a slab of tomato paste in the middle of the road.
Bar none, I still love you, Saigon.
Yellow stars missing in sight …
-The end-
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Sulaiman’s Famous Cendol, Pudu.
During a recent walkabout around the Pudu market (???) area, we were brought to this stall in some alleyway off Jalan Pudu. Only after we were seated, we noted that many locals ordered their cendol in cantonese! Yup, the Indian uncle manning the stall speaks Cantonese. Heh.
The Cendol Kacang (RM1.10) is your usual plain cendol with a serving of kidney beans. The beans were soft and flavourful without being too mushy. And the cendol easily glides down one’s throat. The ratio of gula melaka and the coconut milk here is perfect, resulting in a refreshing, fragrant yet not too sweet dessert.
My favourite however, is the Cendol Jagung (RM1.20). Somehow the dollop of cream corn accentuates the flavours.
Great dessert during these hot days indeed. He also has Cendol Pulut, with glutinous rice and a special version .
Sulaiman’s Famous Cendol & Rojak
Mobile Stall next to Restoran R.S.S Maju,
Pudu Market Alleyway (Jalan Pasar?)
Pudu, K.Lumpur.
other review;
- (in mandarin)
Originally posted here:
The Wok Cafe – Authentic Penang Nyonya & Local Cuisine @ Kota Damansara
The Wok Cafe is a newly opened restaurant at Kota Damansara serving home-cooked authenthic Penang Style Nyonya Cuisine. If you’re from Penang, The Wok might sound familiar because their first branch – Hot Wok is indeed located in Penang along Burmah Road (previously at Tanjong Tokong).
Opened only about a month ago, Mervyn the head cook and owner extended an invitation to me to their restaurant to try their Nyonya cuisine and Penang hawker food. Being an avid fan of Penang hawker food, I was eager to find out if The Wok could live up to the standards.
It was a surprise visit because I happened to be at Kota Damansara for dinner and suddenly remembered about Mervyn’s invitation. After meeting the owner himself and got ourself seated, he presented us with The Wok’s menu, which was extensive and had almost all the Nyonya food I’ve ever known. But I was actually more interested in the Penang hawker food listed in the last page, lol.
Anyway take a look at the drinks, can you guess what are they? No they are not teh ais and sirap bandung but soya milk mixed with gula Melaka and rose syrup respectively! I think I have openly expressed my dislike towards gula Melaka before but when combined with soya milk, it was a great and refreshing drink for me. This is so simple you can try making one yourself!
A serving of Otak-otak (for two persons) cost RM5. Under the soft and squishy fish paste was a layer of fish meat. I enjoyed it but I might have loved it more if only it was spicier.
Since Mervyn stressed that they have retained the original Penang cooking style when it comes to their hawker food, the easiest way to verify this claim was to order a bowl of Hokkien Mee (Prawn Mee) @ RM6.
And truthfully enough, the Prawn Mee was of Penang style with light and sweet tasting soup packed with prawn flavor. Interesting enough, some nice and crunchy lard was present in the noodle. Ah.. it has been a long time since I last tasted a good bowl of Prawn Mee like this in KL.
Char Koay Teow, the iconic Penang hawker food @ RM7. There’s simply no other food that can represent Penang better. I particularly ordered this because I had been deprived of a good Char Koay Teow for months, lol.
If you feel RM7 is expensive for Char Koay Teow, well don’t be because that’s the standard price for any restaurants here. Besides, the price is justifiable by the big portion and the four huge, fresh sea prawns. My god those prawns were so meaty and juicy.
The Wok included sliced fish cakes into their Char Koay Teow, which is not a norm in Penang. And one of my favorite ingredients, cockles was missing too. When asked about the cockles, Mervyn explained that the cockles were not fresh that day so they were omitted from the dish. An acceptable explanation. I wouldn’t want any unfresh ingredients in my Char Koay Teow that would spoil the whole dish or, worse still, cause me food poisoning later.
To be honest, it tasted nice for a plate of Char Koay Teow especially those yummy prawns.. simply heavenly. But if compared to the real Penang style Char Koay Teow, I found the authenticity to be lacking due to the lack of the special fragrance and ‘wok hei’. I feel I am very picky, lol.
Just to be fair, it’s not easy to be a master in all Penang hawker food. Even Penang hawkers themselves are specialized in their very own food only. You won’t be able to find a stall selling both great Prawn Mee and Char Koay Teow, would you?
Mervyn then suggested that we give their Penang Hokkien Char a try. Hokkien Char is a fried noodle (usually yellow mee mixed with vercimilli mee) with dark soya sauce and meat, prawns and vegetables @ RM7. Sometimes liver is included as well.
Like the Char Koay Teow we had earlier, The Wok wasn’t stingy with the ingredients. Huge juicy prawns and generous strips of meat were given.
If eaten on its own Hokkien Char seems like a very normal noodle, which is why sambal is so important for this dish. Sambal is like the soul of Hokkien Char, to provide the desirable spicy and slightly sourish flavor to this noodle. Even just a hint of sambal would make all the difference in the taste and open up your appetite.
But not all sambal would make the cut yeah, because only authentic Penang sambal is qualified for the task. Well, I am glad to say Mervyn has managed to cook the Hokkien Char and sambal very faithfully according to Penang style.
Then it was time for desserts. First up was Cendol @ RM3.30.
And followed by Sago Nangka @ RM3.30 too. Both SL and I preferred this to cendol because the jackfruit bits and sago were just much enjoyable compared to starch noodles and kidney beans. This is highly recommended for desserts.
The father and son team of The Wok Cafe has put in a lot of effort decorating the restaurant to give it a 50-60s feel. With many Nyonya decor, antiques, photos around, dining at The Wok Cafe felt like being sent back to the past.
Round marble tables and old coffee shop chairs will bring out the nostalgic feeling in you. Provided if you’re born before or around the 80s lah, else I doubt you would feel a thing lol.
I know Penang Hokkien Char is not easy to find in KL after being here for some time. So, if you’re curious about how Hokkien Char tastes like and not visiting Penang anytime soon, do head to The Wok Cafe to try it. The Nyonya cuisine looked pretty interesting as well and I won’t hesitate to return to sample it. And if you’re staying near Kota Damansara, do know that I am pretty jealous of you because you have easy access to great Penang food cooked by a true Penangite lol.
The Wok Cafe
Authentic Penang Nyonya & Local Cuisine
26, Jalan PJU 5/21
The Strand, Kota Damansara
PS* – The Wok Cafe is located at the newer shoplots across the road from Kayu’s Nasi Kandar. After turning into The Strand from the traffic light, keep left and you will notice a big electrical shop and Alliance bank. The Wok Cafe is just behind.
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Penang Food – Seafood Beehoon and Pork Porridge @Lam Kei
Fancy having a bowl of piping hot seafood beehoon or pork porridge? I had my share over at Lam Kei located in Nam Thean coffee shop along the busy Jalan Jelutong. This stall has been around for thirty-five years with the second generation taking over now. They have another stall selling this similar food inside [...]
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