Since:
1. I am bored
2. there is no work whatsoever, and
3. for some reason, I was talking about a lake garden that has a zoo in it, I am gonna ramble on about my favourite fried kuey teow spot.
Whilst the one that I frequent most would be in the SS5 Kelana Jaya area (Restoran Subang Ria near FAM, a comot-looking Ah Yee/”Auntie Gemok” is the proprietor), the one to die for, for me at least, is kuey teow goreng Combat in Taiping. The chap’s called M. Jabardeen whose cooking style includes acrobatic feats involving botol kicap. I’ve been enjoying his kuey teow since I was like 5, when the whole family would make the trip north for family weddings and the like.

His stall is just at the periphery of the Casual Market (I don’t know what they call the market now, as the term Casual Market came from the 50’s/60’s). You’d see it if you walk across the road from the little bazaar. My parents would also have their fare of kuey teow at this roadside Chinese stall in town, which we’d go to on the morning before setting off home. Until the time we discovered he used lard to fry it. Oops.

Anyway, for me, Combat is the real deal. An order of saya punya tak mau taugeh aa? coupled with ayaq nyoq or barley (from the stall next to Combat’s) with shredded ice, I’ll be in gastronomic heaven. The rojak mamak (apa? minum ka?) and popiah basah in the adjacent stalls are great, too. The last time I visited was in February of last year. At that time, Combat was somewhat in semi-retirement, and in his place was his son. One really good thing I can tell you is that Combat handed his skills down well. Passing the pride indeed.