We woke up to a bright blue sky, made more blue by the heat of an unseasonal morning. It had been raining all week, and before that, a time of smog and haze. Dirty, dusty, then wet and woeful. Today, the sky looks like it could stretch on forever, the white blossoms of clouds like small forests playing catch with each other. An incredibly beautiful day. Sunday.
Breakfast is a bowl of barley ginkgo beancurd Devil made the night before. Soft and sublime, this is the best comfort food. It tastes of home, of things being alright. Things may go wrong, but give it time. Things will be okay too. Give it time.
We drive to the city, the old part of Pudu. We found this sweet corner of a café quite by accident when my ex brought us for siew yoke in the neighbourhood once. The owners and baristas are very knowledgable about their coffee, and more, they obviously love their job, given their passion for these aromatic roasted beans. They share the history of every dish of beans we choose, be it a Honduras or a Guatemala; they ask us to bite one and taste its brittle bitterness and its delicate fragrance upon our tongues. We taste the toil of the many, many hands it took to get us this one cup of coffee. There is pride and there is worth in good work. Every sip reminds me there is value in a job well done; that’s all I want, that’s all I want.
Lunch was supposed to be the siew yoke place but it is closed. The master roaster is eccentric and does as he pleases, but his meats are excellent and so the queues do not end till the siew yoke runs out. Or when the place isn’t open, like today. On a whim, perhaps. That is okay. You never know what a whim can get you.
.
Meena calls me. She has just gotten up. The Queen has no plans for the day. Her loyal subjects (or those of us not merrily marooned in the Maldives any way, namely Devil and me) are more than happy to have her for lunch. Since it’s Pudu, she suggests Sek Yuen, that stalwart of old school Cantonese cooking. We hear rumours the old chefs are unable to find any apprentices to pass their skills on to, so we are greedy to sup on their fine dishes while we still can. There is a lesson in this, surely. To learn while we can, while we have the chance. It’s a beautiful and sunny Sunday but I can’t help but preach to myself in my own head. But this is me, the voice in my head continues, embrace who I am. I try. I do.
Simple food. Roast duck, some stir-fried greens and braised pig’s trotters. Plain white rice steamed in aluminium bowls. Simple yet so satisfying. This is all we need, really. We are rejuvenated, our stores of energy and will replenished.
Meena drives us to Haven in Ampang Hilir for coffee after this. We agree more coffee always helps. And it’s a perfect day to have good cappuccino while looking out at a green yard, with strange and stately trees in the distance framing the hot, blue sky. There is a toddler running around, playing with a plastic ball larger than he is. Meena spots a cat in the distance stalking an invisible prey. A pretty waitress with braces on her teeth quickens my heart and keeps a perky smile on my face.
One last stop before we go home. We visit our friends and their baby girl. Adorable and active and a heartbreaker even now (wait till she’s older). As she crawls swiftly from one of us to another and yet another, I think to myself, I am grateful for blue skies and for babies, for good coffee and for roast duck, for good friends and for Sundays spent with one’s partner, for all the love and joy in the world we have always, whether we notice or not.
Don’t miss this, I tell myself, ever. Some weeks may be bad, others may be worse, dreadful. This, too, shall pass. There are brilliant weeks, brilliant days, but be it good or bad, we always have this. Remember.
Copyright © 2011 Kenny Mah Ying Fye. Pictures by Meena P. Amavasai. O how beautiful this day is and how grateful are we.
Kenny Mah believes in the good in people. He has been blogging for over ten years. No, his hands aren't tired. Yet.
I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather spend this beautiful day with. I think God knew that we (you AND I) both needed this and He painted the skies with cheer and joy. Thank you for the company.
@Meena: Aye, aye. This already beautiful day was certainly made more beautiful and meaningful by your company, dear.
*BIG HUGS*
The best Sundays for me are the ones spent with my family :)
@Baby Sumo: I agree! And sometimes family means more than simply flesh and blood, no? There is the family that we make ourselves.
So glad you had a lovely Sunday after the stress of the week, m’dear. :) It’s a new week after all. And thank you for your sms on Wednesday – made my morning. :)
@Spindle Girl: Chatting with you – even if it’s through a truncated flurry of text messages – always help when the week’s a slog.
Thought of you today when we were at Haven for tea – there were some nice gluten-free products there. The prepared food from the menu may not be strictly gluten-free though, from what I understand.
Dear Kenny,
What a lovely, lovely sharing of this beautiful day! :) I finished it with a 7.3km run … :) Disappointed that I thought it was 10km, but better I find out now, than later on race day LOL … :)
What a wonderful, adventurous journey the 3 of you had today … must try this coffee place you mentioned … and that Haven place too … any address? :)
Have a wonderful start to your week ahead my dear friend! :)
Love to you boh,
Ken.
@Kenneth: The first coffee place is called Typica Café. Addresses for both places below – hope you have plenty of fun and coffee! (And you’d do 10km soon enough, I’m sure.)
TYPICA CAFÉ
GL-08, Ground Floor,
Shaw Parade Plaza,
Changkat Thambi Dollah,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
HAVEN CAFÉ
12 Jalan Ampang Hilir
55000 Kuala Lumpur
Kenny: Awwwwww that’s so sweet of you. :) Haven! I will have to remember it. I don’t think I’ve ever been there.
@Spindle Girl: It’s a really nice place; I think you will enjoy it. Perfect for a serene morning/afternoon away from the stresses of the city.
Beautiful post, Kenny. Have always appreciated places like Sek Yuen; how timeless classics like them should be preserved for generations to come.
@J2Kfm: I worry about such timeless classics if the next generation isn’t picking up the skills from the master chefs… Their time may well be running out, alas!
Ah, gingko barley! My favorite thing to eat for dinner!
@Michelle Chin: Dinner? That’d be a first for us. We usually have it for breakfast or dessert. My big belly would need more than ginkgo barley for dinner, haha.
Today is a new day, Sunday is past,
We will look forward to things that last.
Some smiles and some kind words;
A phone call or two.
Love for each other.
A hug for another.
These things may seem small,
To get through today, we need them all.
@jemima: These things may seem small but truly every bit counts. Thank you for sharing, dear. Have a great week ahead!
Beautiful. :)
@J the Chocoholic: And so it is, every single day that we have. We are very blessed.
oh, the torment of contemplating a sunday when one is in the throes of a monday! but i hope today is a better day for you than last monday :D
@Sean: Oh loads and loads better. Sometimes all we need is a good Sunday to make the week.
Someone licked the plate clean!
@William: Make that THREE someone’s! Hehe.
i like that little tagline- “pictures by meena p. amavasai” i think it pays very good homage to Her Highness’ photography skills :D
btw, i dun miss kl food anymore! do u think there’s still a bit of kuala lumpur in me??
@Jun: And those pictures were taken with just an iPhone! Amazing, right? All hail the Queen!
*bows, bows*
Oh I think there’s still plenty of Kuala Lumpur in you. There’s nothing wrong with not missing the food, so long as when you do return to KL you enjoy the food here.
“A pretty waitress with braces on her teeth quickens my heart and keeps a perky smile on my face.”
mmmm :D
and yeah, treasure what we can when we can now
@rokh: “Mmmm” is about right. Hehe.
I do treasure what I have now, but at the same time I do not want to get too attached to “stuff” – we are not the things in our lives.
What a beautiful morning!! I spent my Sunday recalled back what I’ve did on my previous Taiwan trip, oh…I miss Taiwan =.=”
@Choi Yen: I miss Taiwan too! Was just discussing our trip to Taipei with Devil over dinner. We wanna go back!
siew yoke or siew ngap doesnt really matter, it’s actually the friends that you are with that makes the meal so nice and good. I had a terrific weekend too, spent a nite with some of my girlfriends, rented an apartment and just got 2 hrs of sleep. The photos today look a little different..not as sharp as before..
@lena: I agree – it’s all about the company (something I often espouse) when one is having/sharing a meal.
Renting an apartment sounds like lots of fun; was it a slumber party?
And the photos were taken with an iPhone this round, not a DSLR. Rather evocative, no?
Personally, I think Sek Yuen is a better choice compared to the siew yoke place (I think I know which one…hehe).
There’s a reason why we have good, bad, brilliant and dreadful days. It’s to remember a perfect Sunday like this.
@HairyBerry: True also, after a fashion, since the siew yoke place is only known for its siew yoke whereas we get more variety (and decades of expertise) with Sek Yuen.
Every day is worth something, yes. But the perfect Sundays? They last longer in our memories, bless.