Sometimes it’s easy to forget the blessings we have simply because we are so used to having them.
I am reminded of this last Saturday night when Devil & I brought two of our friends from down south, visiting Kuala Lumpur for a busy weekend of Chinese New Year shopping and the best food KL has to offer. Unfortunately our favourite Japanese restaurant Hajime had closed down (temporarily, one hopes, and waiting are we for news for their new location) and we were left wanting. Rather than heading to another old favourite, we decided to be adventurous and try a new place. Another Japanese restaurant everyone was recommending and which boasted of rave reviews and awards.
It turned out to be an exceedingly disappointing evening. I do not believe that expectations are ever set too high; that should never be an issue. It ought never be when an establishment firmly places itself as a bastion of fine dining, serving traditional fare of a cuisine, a culture that prides itself on beauty and service.
Oh dear, this is swiftly turning into an unintelligible rant, and ever have I promised myself never to allow myself this. I am rescued by something I shared with my friend Jun —
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I realise the only way of dealing with that is realising there is no way of dealing with it and that I’m better off simply appreciating what I have this very moment. The shit will keep coming but then again, so will the good bits. The bits that make us very, very glad that we are here, feeling this, alive and free, whatever our circumstances are.
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— and it’s true.
So, after grumbling about it for a bit and having a good laugh at our friends for not coming up to KL earlier when Hajime was still open, we thought about other places we frequented for good, unfussy food that have always been dependable and never failed us. Village Park for nasi lemak, said I immediately. Sanuki Udon, the Devil added. Robson Heights Seafood Restaurant for their “one-bone” ribs, salted-egg-yolk squid, clams in superior stock, and all sorts of crabs galore. No fuss, no nonsense, just good food.
And we are adding another to this list, one we have come close to forgetting simply because it’s always been so consistent and available when we need it. We visit it very often on rainy days when the weather has us frozen to our bones, or on days when one of us is unwell and need nourishing and warming soul food, or simply when we are too weary from work and don’t want to go through a million options of where to eat – this will always work, this will always do the trick.
Why wouldn’t it? When you begin with a bowl of steamed chicken soup to warm your body, the clear-coloured nourishment gently eased from chicken which had been steamed for hours with ginger and green scallions. Or a simple platter of stir-fried leafy greens tossed over fire and doused lightly with garlic and Chinese wine – so simple, yet such complete and perfect flavours, so wholesome and satisfying.
A dish of fried rice and pork chop that is neither greasy nor cloying, only hearty and perhaps better shared amongst friends, family or maybe spoonfed to an eager lover. You certainly are not expected to keep to your side of the table here. Talk, laugh, make a little noise. Let them know you appreciate their cooking. Let them know you appreciate their service, for the service is impeccable and what’s more, genuinely warm. You feel as though your comfort and well-being and enjoyment of your dinner is their top priority. It is. You are relaxed because they excel at relaxing you.
There is an art to first-class service with real heart; we don’t see it all that much in Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia and part of the blame, I believe, falls upon us for not setting our standards high enough, or rather setting them too low. What if we refuse to let poor service and lacklustre food be the benchmark? It’s a shame that we may grouse but we allow ourselves to believe this is how things are, couldn’t change.
Devil and I have made a pact not to go back to any restaurant that fares poorly – life is too short for second chances when we ought to be moving forward. And returning to the old guarantees – the steadfast, the simple and the always good.
Whether it’s a plate of the best nasi lemak in town served by bullet-train-speed or the crunch and the sweetness of waiting forty minutes for our claypot crab rice, deliciously addictive down to the last crackling, almost-burnt grain. Or possibly the best xiao long bao in town, all eighteen folds of every soup dumpling announcing the dedication of the chefs, and the happy smile of the waitress as she asks you if you would like some dessert afterwards, when your meal and your conversations draw closer to a most satisfying conclusion.
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DIN TAI FUNG Restaurant • Lot 06.01.05, Level 6, Pavilion, 168 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur. www.dintaifung.com.tw
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Copyright © 2011 Kenny Mah Ying Fye. Photography by Kenny Mah.
Kenny Mah believes in the good in people. He has been blogging for over ten years. No, his hands aren't tired. Yet.
How fortuitous that Devil added me back on facebook last week, since thanks to his Saturday nite update, I don’t have to wonder which Japanese restaurant disappointed you guys. Connect, and don’t disconnect :D
Hajime is sending out SMSes saying it is only closed for “moving.” let’s hope they don’t end up in serdang. Or kepong :p
Admittedly I’ve only been to din tai fung once in my lifetime (when they opened at the gardens, eons ago). I guess that first impression left me underwhelmed, so I never bothered again. But your recommendation signals that I might have missed something … So don’t be too surprised if you spot me eating at the pavilion branch sometime later this year! :D
My philosophy about choices of where to eat differs a lot from yours though (I don’t believe either of us are right or wrong, we just have different approaches that keep us satisfied). I seem to believe that life’s too short to be returning to the same food over and over, when there are risks that can be taken (and of course, those risks may or may not pay off). And that everybody deserves a second chance (though maybe not a third) :D
… Hajime is closed?? *shock/ horror*
I love both Sanuki Udon and DTF… best udon and xlb in town :)
do you think Din Tai Fung’s xiao long bao is better than Dragon-i??? Even though the former is famous for this dish, I somehow think that the latter did a better job in creating this dish!
u are ze best! any advise or plans to makan, pls call 1800-kenny-mah ;p
One of the joys of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends.
Now, what can I say when one blogs about eating? :p
@Sean: Ah, that Devil! Well, that’s social media for ya. Hehe.
Hooray for your news about Hajime! I’m keeping my fingers crossed for them to move to Taman Desa – we certainly have a sizeable Japanese population here and a more-than-sizeable non-Japanese-but-loves-good-Japanese-food crowd here. That’d be perfect!
Indeed, I won’t be too surprised to see you doing the chopstick tango with a xiao long bao or two at Din Tai Fung soon. Hehe.
Trust me, I love your philosophy cos that means we get to read about a new place every day (almost) with your posts. Devil & I love trying new things too (and we’ll continue to do so while returning to old favourites) but honestly, while we are all for second chances for people, for restaurants? One chance is all they get – it’s our time and our money and the first alone is precious commodity. Not one we intend to waste.
@J the chocoholic: Fret not – they are just ‘moving’ (see Sean’s comment above). Let’s hope they have found a new place already!
@Baby Sumo: I absolutely agree!
@Leo (thule): To each their own, my friend. But yes, personally I prefer DTF’s xiao long bao. Also the service at DTF is far superior.
@Jun: Oh no no. Far from it. You’d probably get the same recommendations over and over again – Devil and I do like trying new places but we are far from adventurous! It’d be a very limited pool of choices that we’d present you. Poor Jun.
@jemima: Funny lah you. This one blogs about life, and aye, eating and talking about eating is a big part of that. *chuckles*
when i saw the title of this post, i just remember a mail which a friend wrote to a few of us last week. He mentioned about gratitude, just about the simple things in life and yet how we just tend to forget about them..that we should be thankful not suffering from hunger even if our meals are not lavish, etc,etc. Yeah, sometimes we do take things for granted and what we can do is really maybe a shift in our perception.
@lena: I believe it takes conscious effort on our part to be grateful, i.e. to find time to ponder on what we have and to count our blessings.
It’s a good life, it really is.
I have never tried the DTF in Pavillion but the 2x I ate at its Gardens outlet left me with a mediocre taste of unexciting fare. And becos of that, I have never ventured into their other outlets :P
@Pureglutton: And me, I just ate at DTF again last night, and enjoyed every moment of it! Maybe you should visit DTF with me, dear. For all you know, the magic ingredient is ME! Hahaha…
HAH! Ur such a food blogger lah. Don’t deny it. Ur so deep into food blogging that you don’t even know it.
But here’s a thought, don’t you think restaurants deserves a 2nd chance, maybe 6-months or a year later? I mean, it’s a little harsh just to write them off based on a Once Bitten Twice Shy concept. Where’s the spirit of adventure?
@a lil’ fat monkey: Nope. Not a food blogger. If I were one, I’d probably give name to the Japanese restaurant which gave us such dismal service and ranted further… but I’m not, so it really isn’t a concern of mine.
I do wanna praise our regular favourites, which have been serving us consistently without fail thus far. This post is more about good service and the dire dearth of it locally.
Devil and I are quite happy with our philosophy – life’s too short for restaurants to screw up on us. We rather have more adventures in other aspects of our lives. *grins*
kenny… pls la… i’ve seen more posts abt food here than ur travels (per se)… lols… jz own up n admit it… kekeke
@asstha: LOL. Okay, okay, no more food posts for the rest of the month! Hehe.
nooooo…. den wat do i hv to look forward toooo????
@asstha: Uhm, Chinese New Year? Hehe.
i dun rike CNY… it’s too quiet n hot in KL… :(
@asstha: It’s always hot during CNY in Malaysia… part of the coming of spring, I guess.