Orange…

This place (2.314291,111.825939)…

…among the shops at Jalan Bandong here has been around for a while now and everytime I was in the vicinity in the evenings, it sure seemed to enjoy really brisk business and would be rather crowded and for that very reason, I never dropped by to check it out. From what I heard, the lady here had a stall at the Ramadhan Bazaar here every year and what she sold there was pretty commendable.

There is a satay stall in front…

…but I guess it only operates at night. I’ve never tried this one but I like those from another stall close by, just a few steps away.

I noticed lately that it was open in the morning so that day, we decided to stop by…

…for brunch. I gathered that they open from around 8.00 or 8.30 in the morning right through till 11.00 p.m. at night but they close on Sundays.

My missus had the mee goreng sotong, fried noodles with squid (RM5.50)…

…and it was very nice. There was quite a lot of the squid in it…

…and the serving was very generous.

I had the kway teow goreng udang, fried flat rice noodles with prawns (RM7.00)…

…and yes, there were a lot of prawns in it as well, the freshwater variety…

…but these were very small so I do not think they would be as expensive as the bigger ones. It was nice too though I was not all that fond of the excessive use of chili sauce in it, not unlike the one I had here before at less than half the price, minus the prawns. Between the two, I think I prefer the mee.

Incidentally, when I mentioned in my post that day that I asked to lady to just keep the change, everybody seemed to make such a big deal out of it and somebody even commented and said that in giving a tip, I was “spoiling the market“. Well, it was not a complete name, not one that was familiar at all, no blog links and I could not verify the identity using the email address given so of course, I did not approve the comment. I have no intention of taking a risk and ending up with an anonymous spammer, thank you very much.

I know there is an old English proverb that says, “A fool and his money are soon parted,” but it wasn’t all that much, really, less than 5% – whatever that was left of the RM100 after paying for everything. Social etiquette in polite society in the past had it that it should be 10% of the total in the bill but one would have the prerogative whether to give or not to give. That is why I would not go to places where there is 10% service charge on top of the 6% GST – I would not want to be held to ransom like that and reserve the right to give when I truly enjoy the food, the people are nice and the service is great, and the place as well. Neither would I go to places where they actually ask you for a tip with a choice of putting it in the BIG basket provided or putting it in the waiter’s or waitress’ hand…but I would give whenever I see it fitting not just at such fancy restaurants but elsewhere as well, even at petrol stations where there is a ringgit or two change. I must say that with the resulting goodwill thus derived, I do end up getting very much better service, nice smiles and friendly small talk that sure go a long way in brightening up one’s day. In this present day and age in our dog-eat-dog world, we do need that little bit of pleasantry and cheer, I’m sure.

Anyway, going back to the shop that we went to that morning, when I went to settle the bill at the counter, I saw that there was a collection for the construction of a mosque in the Teku area here. Everything including the drinks came up to RM16.10 and I paid RM20.10…and contributed the RM4.00 change to the building fund. Yes, that wasn’t much even though it was definitely more than 10% of the total in the bill but as they say, it’s the thought that counts. Do unto others what you would have them do unto you…