As Suanie Sees It

I doubt anyone has any illusions about the current economic situation. It still hits you hard though, and leaves you gasping for breath wondering what the fuck happened to the cost of things. Last week I had to go to my mechanic in Bangsar, and decided to have lunch at a coffee shop. A small bowl of fish paste noodles (with 4 pieces of fish paste, three deep-fried tofu skin, two or three strands of lettuce, some dried seaweed) cost me RM 4.80. A standard glass serving of Nescafe ais cost RM 2. I ate very slowly as to savour every single cent.

Earlier at lunch, I had a peek at the new price list for the Chinese coffee shop operating near where my office is. A small bowl of wantan mee now costs RM 4. I know we should stop thinking about the ‘good ol’ days’, but you can’t help reminiscing a little, especially when the good ol’ days charged you RM 1.20 for a serving of wantan noodles. Thankfully the cheapest (albeit most unhealthy) food, the roti kosong is still priced at 80 sen per piece. I wonder for how long, though.

Have you taken a look at this year’s Ramadan buka puasa buffet offerings in town? Just for fucks, my boss checked out the one at Eastin Hotel. RM 105.80 nett per adult my friends, for a 4-star hotel. What do they cook their rendang with, kobe beef?! How is it possible for one to eat RM 105.80 worth of dinner? If it’s lobsters and oysters and gigantic prawns and truffles all the way, I can understand lah. Somehow I don’t think it’s going to be any of those babies.

Speaking of differences in food, said boss and I were in his car the other day. We passed by this Chinese restaurant and they had this huge banner advertising poon choi. I remarked to him that a dish like that could come up to about RM 500 (less for less stuff and at cheaper digs, more for more stuff) and he was understandably stunned.

We got to talking about Chinese food, Malay food, Western food and Indian food. The Chinese prize things like sharks’ fin, abalone, sea cucumber etc, which essentially have no taste nor flavour of its own unless you braise, boil or double boil them in assorted broth to second death. Bird’s nest? I don’t mind buying it as a present for someone whom I know would consume it, but I’d rather swallow Michael Jackson’s spit (and I don’t want to, really) than eat bird’s nest.

I guess I slightly digress. In my memory, Malay cuisine has always been a simple affair. I don’t recall this or that Sultan having a big feast with hundreds of dishes. The food is delicious with a lot of herbs and spices, but the ingredients are mostly simple and easily accessible. One of Lebai Malang’s two options was gulai daging kerbau. Was it pucuk paku that Raja Bersiong was eating before he turned vampire-ish?

I don’t know, maybe you have a better idea about whatever I am on about. Share, please?

Last one on munchies: look at what Kim and her boo got me from UK

Happiness is Walkers crisps

Thanks babe!

You know, I have this insane craving for grilled eggplants in spicy tomato sauce with lots of garlic and olive oil. Moussandra and La Cocina are a-calling…

My first husband went to London, and all I got was Walkers salt & vinegar crisps! And that was because I asked him to buy them for me!!!

Walkers crisps ftw!

It’s more than awesome, seeing that I neglected to get him anything from Hong Kong, thanks to my no souvenirs stand. He didn’t ask for anything from me also mah…

When I was a kid –> teen, the only crisps flavours I knew were ‘original’ (which means lightly salted, I guess), tomato and BBQ. I don’t consider Super Rings as crisps lah, naturally. The first non-original, non-tomato and non-BBQ flavoured crisps I had was Walkers’ Salt & Vinegar crisps, brought back to tanahair by some awesome people - my ex-boss I think. From then on, I was HOOKED. Where previously I thought salt and vinegar was the weirdest combination to ever exist on planet Earth, well I guess the older I get, the weirder I get too.

I’ve tried different salt & vinegar flavoured crisps brands, but none came close to Walkers. They aren’t available in Malaysia, right? Or I haven’t seen them yet because I am a semi-recluse and I don’t go out of my comfort zone (which is pretty much Centrepoint).

Anyway, thanks Tock2! Heart heart.

And btw Simon, that bag of crisps you devoured at Tock2’s house was MINE! Grrrrr….. die!!!!!