food, food and food

today we shall leave all the weighty issues aside and talk about happier things......my personal favourite topic - food. yuuuuummy! ok, this is very good for therapeutic purposes....close your eyes and think of your favourite food......the one that you can never say no to even after you are full........quick, what comes to mind?

for me, a whole buffet spread of good food appears to mind. yes, i am too greedy but in this modern age, we live to eat and not eat to live. i love all kinds of food and if i was asked which is my absolute favourite, it will be a challenge for me to answer.

all my loyal readers know that among my favourite stands maggi curry. there is no denying that. but let's move on...there are many more fishes in the sea....there is also our local pride; nasi lemak. *salivating* i was told that there is a dish of nasi lemak going for $60 in the ampang area. yes! $60. i wouldn't even want to imagine what the equivalent sum can buy but i was informed that it is realllly good.....this coming from a foreigner. well, it seems that the rice does not stick together and you can feel the springy bite in each individual mouthful. sounds captivating. but with all the sambal and ikan bilis, i am not sure i can tell the difference. me, i prefer the $1 variety. wrapped in banana leaves. and surprising it may be to some, one pack is enough. when you have too much of a good thing, you are satieted. if you have slightly less, you will be left hungering for more and the appreciation for it lingers. let's move on before my drool drowns the computer...

my next favourite is.......roti canai. full as i may be, if i see some on the table, i need to have at least half a piece. i think it is because i do not have this delicious meal as often as i like. when one cannot indulge one's passion, you will always be wishing for more. this thing packs a punch in terms of calories and fat....enough said.

ok, let's move away from the hawker style food and on to chain stores. anyone tried the 'mark six curry rice' in kim gary? those for a penchant for spicy stuff, grab your wallet / handbag and go try now (wait, don't go.....i mean after you finish reading this post lah). this is guaranteed to make your nose runs and your tongue on fire. imagine, a dish of chicken and pork chops, sausage, hard boiled egg, ham and chicken wing swimming in hot spicy sauce, baked in a layer of cheese. hmmmm......i can almost taste it on the tip of my tongue. i have bad gastritis and it spells trouble for my stomach but each time i go into kim gary, i just cannot pass the opportunity to indulge.

for those who go to midvalley often, please try the carrot cake at the food court, 3rd floor. remember to go for the flat type, not the cubic ones. you have not tasted carrot cake until you have tried these. coated in egg batter and fried golden brown, you eat it with some sambal belacan. it is really to die for.

i can go on and on.....there's fresh popiah, chinese rojak, hot and sweet crab, prawns, spaghetti vongole, wahyu beef steak. and then there's also my mum's johor laksa, "pan meen" (homemade style is the yummmmmmiest), "che hoon ken" (for those who have no inkling what this is, you usually can't get it outside. it's porridge mixed with flour, steamed and then fried with dried prawns, meat and vege.) for those of you wondering, no, you can't come to my mum's place for dinner.

i was invited to shangri-la's lemon garden buffet on sunday. for those who don't stay in kl, it holds the widest selection of local and international food with cuisines ranging from chinese dim sum to indian tandoori.... to fresh oysters and prawns.....to italian finger food.....and japanese sashimi. the dessert corner is equally impressive with its chocolate fountain and wide selection of cakes and fruits. it is not cheap, by the way. but people who are seasoned buffet-patronisers will know that they have to go for the sashimi, fresh oysters and prawns to get their money worth. only idiots like me will go for our beehoon soup, pizza, fried rice, satay and a.b.c. i can almost see the manager standing in the corner, smirking away.

one last point on the topic of food. how do you know if your partner really loves you? when he / she willingly gives you the very last piece of his favourite food, knowing that you love it as much as he does. like mothers.....mothers will always give the best part of the food to their children, even though their saliva may be drooling out from the corner of their mouth. they will say "no, no, no lah, i don't like drumstick...so rough the meat, i like the wings, more to bite on mah...." even though they are eyeing the last piece of .....whatever....and they are willing to trade souls with the devil to devour it, they will still use their chopstick to pick up the last piece and lovingly put it in their child's plate (and when he takes a bite of it and spits out, she will nearly die of frustration). so, does your partner gives you the very last piece? or does he fight with you to the very end?