Pick up…

I did drop by here the other day and even though the nice lady boss said that things were starting to pick up again, it did not look all that convincing. Perhaps it was already mid-morning and most of the things were sold out so it appeared to me that they were not getting all those things from their regular suppliers for sale. As a matter of fact, I thought it looked quite pathetic at the time.

Well, I went back there again early yesterday morning around 7 something and yes, I sure felt so delighted that they had most of everything that they used to sell, maybe even more!

Gosh!!! I can imagine how hard it must be to decide which to choose…

…but the instant I saw these…

…I grabbed a pack instantly without any second thought whatsoever.

I don’t know if the old guy is still around or not – at one time, they said that he would just sit there and supervise while the younger ones in his family would do all the work. It did not matter really as their pulut panggang was a cut above the rest, 10 sen more expensive but so much nicer. I cannot remember when it was exactly but I was told eventually that they decided to call it quits – they would not be making anymore.

Imagine my happiness when I saw these and yes, they were still very good. They had the panggang-ed fragrance plus that of the lemak-ness (richness) of the santan (coconut milk) and also, the banana leaf – all the makings of a really very good pulut panggang.

Unfortunately, now that I am on a low-sugar diet, I should avoid pulut (glutinous rice) as it is over-starchy and has a high hidden sugar content and it does not help one bit that unlike the ladies in the house (who would eat it just like that), I must have it with condensed milk or kaya (coconut jam) or sugar. Never mind! I promise I will not buy it again, just this once to buang gian (appease the craving).

As a matter of fact, many of these Malay kuihs are sweet so I should avoid most of them like these coated-with-sugar-and-desiccated-coconut basong…

…for instance and these putu mayam (right)…

…which is eaten with a sprinkling of desiccated coconut and sugar on top. The kuih Melaka or ondeh-ondeh (left) should be fine as they are filled with gula Melaka and I read somewhere that this palm sugar is all right for people with a problem with the level of their blood sugar.

I’ve never seen these…

…before – they look like ondeh ondeh except that they are not ball-shaped and the gula Melaka is given separately, not inside. My guess is you dip the kuih in the syrup to eat but no, I did not buy any that morning. Perhaps I’ll give it try if I see it again.

Their bingka labu (pumpkin cake)…

…is very nice and you get 3 pieces for a ringgit, so cheap. Unfortunately, they are sweet so I will have to give them a miss – please, lead me not into temptation but these roti jala…

…should be fine, eaten with the nice curry gravy provided and these kuih renjes too…

The skin is similar to the kuih jala, made from some bland/tasteless egg batter, and in the case of these, you will find some curried long beans and other vegetables wrapped inside.

Believe it or not, these are just about half of the selections available. I can’t possibly take a snapshot of each and everyone of them as there is still another section with all the stuff that they cooked themselves.

Other than the curry puffs that I bought on my previous visit, they had these fried noodles – the mee, bihun and kway teow…

…and also their very nice mee jawa…

…and their chicken rice and their ayam madu (honey chicken)…

…and last but not least, there was their nasi lemak kukus (steamed coconut rice) with a choice of chicken or beef rendang, daging masak hitam or fried chicken (RM6.00 a pack)…

I bought two packs of the chicken rendang and one with the fried chicken for our lunch.

Of course, the rice was not up to my level of lemak-ness but I did feel that it had an edge over the one round the corner that I had a few days before. The sambal was very spicy and very nice and the rendang…

…was really very good. I shall try the beef and also the daging masak hitam next time.

Finally, there were these packs of nasi lemak…

…if one is thus inclined, wrapped in brown paper or packed in plastic bags. These probably are those home-cooked ones from some people in the kampung, sent here for sale.

Looking at all the yummy stuff all lined up for everyone to pick and choose, I must say that indeed, happy days are here again!!! LOL!!!

KOPI KOPI Café & Kitchen is located at the blocks of shops, at the back facing Bandong Walk (2.313869, 111.825808) and the main road.