Budget Meal

This kedai (restaurant) is right next door to my hotel - serves great buffet style food

At restaurant next to my hotel I bought this meal for 5 Ringit. It was SO GOOD

- a pork steak covered in thick sauce with coriander; Yong Tofo pieces (notice one is a stuffed red chillie); Laksa (notice Tofu pieces); Rice and soup (notice chicken foot in soup). Actually the soup is worth the price of the meal sometimes !!

Pudu Market - Chinese things

Chinese temple - just outside market
Stalls are selling things for Chinese New Year - Red - colour of
good luck and prosperity - dominates the stalls and decorations.

Ice-cream seller passing one of the stalls. He serves scoops of

his ice-cream in bread rolls (see plastic bags at rear).

Crescent Moon - symbol

Coat of Arms of Portsmouth, England

(from Portsmouth City Council website - see below).

Above: Symbol of Malaysia

Below: Pompey Crest on Malaysian Cars

A lot of cars in Malaysia have the national symbols of crescent moon and star on them (this photo was from a taxi near Pudu Market). The crescent and star are typical symbols of Islam.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_star

There are remarkable similarities between the Crescent and Star used by Malaysia and ancient Coat of Arms of Portsmouth England -

http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/yourcouncil/1090.html

The Portsmouth Arms were also a reference to Islam - although in this case it goes back to a fleet that left Portsmouth for the Crusades in 1191. Strange , after a thousand years, some people are still fighting the same battle.

I keep think I am seeing cars of Pompey supporters when I am here in KL. As the club crest is almost identical to that used by Malaysia (apart from number of points on the star)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portsmouth_Football_Club

Jalan Kampung Yap Malaysia ?

or

Yapton Street Portsmouth ? 

Pudu Market - chicken corner

Wasn't too sure if they would mind me taking photos - it was no problem. Unfortunately no birds were killed when I was there. I have seen that before - they cut throat and let it drain into bucket. At least you know where your chicken comes from here ?!?!?

They still use the old Kati (supermarkets dont) , a pre-metric measurement (like stalls in UK still persist in using pounds and stones). Nice to see bloody-mindedness survives here too.

Bit crowded eh ?

Pigeon pie anyone ?

Pudu Market - sea cucumbers

'Buddha Jump Over The Wall' soup

(at my local supermarket , price 20 rigit)

- more of this in a moment......

Woman selling sea cucumbers - she said they make a lovely soup with chicken. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_cucumber

I had already seen cans of 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall' soup (good name eh?) in supermarkets which has sea cucumber as an ingredient. Must try them one day if I see them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha_jumps_over_the_wall

Jalan Pasar (outside Pudu Market)

Gambir from Sarawak (Borneo) - 'obat sakit gigi' (medicine for sore teeth) This man always says hello to me - sometimes he sells bottles of Madu Madura (honey from Madura Indonesia). When he first tried to sell some to me I said "Tidak mau - saya sudah manis!" ('I dont want - I am already sweet' - a humorous retort I use whenever people here are suprised when I order 'kopi o kosong' - black coffee with no sugar - everyone takes sugar here). This apparently made some kind of impression as he always says something like "Kamu sudah manis?" (You already sweet?) when he sees me (I suppose it's not often they get a foreigner saying anything humorous in Bhahasa Malayu - the national language). Anyway today he was selling Gambir and precious stones.

Seems he is originally from Jakarta - so we had a wee chat. He's always very friendly. He didnt mind me taking photos today - but fotos doesnt capture his bubbly personality (some people people just go all 'malu' - shy - when they see a camera). Don't the stones look good !!!

Room with a view - from my hotel room

Budget meal

Amazing for 6 Ringit (95p) - fish, chicken pieces, curry laksa and soup. You'd be lucky to get the soup for that price in UK. For laksa see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laksa

KL skyline from Pudu (video clip)

View from my room - excuse the shake !

Old and New

The old buildings in foreground contrast to the Petronas Twin

Towers in background. Chow Kit KL.

Chow Kit Market KL

Chow Kit market is largest in KL. Vast selection of raw ingredients.

In mainly Malay area of the city.

Daging Lembu (beef)

"Oh you are awful but I like you" (ok it's offal)

Sotong (squid)

The future is orange....

Remember 5 fruit and veg a day......

Thought I'd add a spicey photo......

Sotong lagi (squid again)

Dried fish - mainly ikan bilis (anchovies) for Nasi Lemak

Those jelly things (cendol + agar agar) you come across in an A.B.C (see later)

For more on Cendol see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chendol

Know your onions.....

No durians allowed

Durian sold in 5 Ringit portions at Pudu Market

Durian at Pudu Market -one durian 24 Ringit by looks of it

This sign appears in the lifts of my hotel. It's not some kind of apartheid against the Durian people. It refers to 'The King of Fruits' - the durian - which has a rather strong smell. Love it or hate it - it divides opinion..........

Writing in 1856, the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace provides a much-quoted description of the flavour of the durian:

"The five cells are silky-white within, and are filled with a mass of firm, cream-coloured pulp, containing about three seeds each. This pulp is the eatable part, and its consistence and flavour are indescribable. A rich custard highly flavoured with almonds gives the best general idea of it, but there are occasional wafts of flavour that call to mind cream-cheese, onion-sauce, sherry-wine, and other incongruous dishes. Then there is a rich glutinous smoothness in the pulp which nothing else possesses, but which adds to its delicacy. It is neither acid nor sweet nor juicy; yet it wants neither of these qualities, for it is in itself perfect. It produces no nausea or other bad effect, and the more you eat of it the less you feel inclined to stop. In fact, to eat Durians is a new sensation worth a voyage to the East to experience. ... as producing a food of the most exquisite flavour it is unsurpassed."

Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, is known as The Big Durian !!!

Probably the best coffee in the world ?????

Traditionally, Malaysian style coffee beans are produced by roasting the beans with sugar and margarine. Most chinese coffee houses charge about 1 ringit 10 cents for a cup (about 15p).

Don't drink too many - or you'll be doing hand-stands !!!

KL Views

Masjid Jamek
Mahkamah (court)

Anyone for cricket ? Looks like something from Old Blighty ? Once known as the Royal Selangor Club (1884) - seen across the Padang- now called the Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square). According to historian J.M. Gullick in 'The Story of Kuala Lumpur (1857-1939), published in 1983':-

"Everybody" belonged to the Selangor Club founded in 1884. In 1892 it had 140 members including some who were absent from Selangor. Before there was a club everybody met everybody at Maynards, which was the only European shop in Kuala Lumpur . . . In theory Maynards was a phamaceutical chemist but it also sold liquor and a wide range of other things. Ladies went shopping in the confidencce of meeting friends and lingering to chat. The Selangor Club met a need for a social center as such. . . . It was originally housed in a "little plank building with an atap roof" to serve as a cricket as well as a social club.

To this day one of the favourite disputes among old hands is over the origin of the name "the Spotted Dog" by which the Selangor Club is always known. The most creditable explanation is that it began with a remark that "frequenters of the Spotted Dog pub must accept the company as they find it."