This cozy kopitiam is operated by the family of a prominent opposition politician, only a few doors away from his party's headquarters.
Nasi kerabu. Bland rice; not moist at all. But thankfully, everything else on the plate _ from the ikan percik to the budu & ulam _ was well-prepared and tasty enough to salvage this.
Nasi lemak. Also unsuccessful, since the rice lacked any fragrance or fluffiness whatsoever, while the fried chicken was tough. During off-peak hours, customers might also be disheartened by cold/lukewarm rice and accompaniments.
Ayam percik (creamy sauce, chewy meat) & fried keropok (crisp, not too oily). Perhaps we were there too late in the evening; things might have been better earlier.
Milo Panas & Kopi Kelantan.
The outlet's business hours are rather inconvenient for most of us who work in the city, since it closes around 7pm on weekdays and isn't open on weekends.
Nevertheless, staff members here are helpful and welcoming. Free wi-fi is available.
White House,
Merchant Square @ Tropicana.
oh this is not good!inconvenience plus bad food!
ReplyDeletecindy: the food probably would be better in the morning or during lunchtime, when it's fresher. sadly, we were here in the evening, less than two hours before their closing time...
ReplyDeletethe name of the place is an irony...
ReplyDeletelooks like its the trend to diversify from their primary activities and go into f&b!
ReplyDeleteHmm, let me take you to You Know Where for some real deal nasi lemak, and maybe you'd end your affairs with other NL places too. Hehe.
ReplyDeletewhy never call me ar :P
ReplyDeleteAt least they have wi-fi!
ReplyDelete@Kenny, are you taking da fler to our place?
hmmm, this reminds me of the rocket cafe in ss2 that screams politics. but the manager's one cool dude, i must say. this does look like a cosy restaurant from your pictures although i am curious to know the reason behind the name "white house". hehe.
ReplyDeletehmm...bleh. inconvenient location, timing and with the food on top, will give this place a pass.
ReplyDeletei remember nasi lemak from kampungs, with makciks selling them and chicken fried on the spot. banana leaf wrapper with newspaper to pack everything up. man...the good ol' times. got me craving for NL now :)
michelle: ahhh, i'll explain the reason for it below :D
ReplyDeletejoe: heheh, but officially speaking, this particular kopitiam has no political purpose =)
lfb: scroll back to the comments of two entries ago and u'll note that u now owe me nasi lemak with a free-flow of hard-boiled eggs :D
ciki: u should be happy that u were spared from tasting dismal nasi lemak!
lemongrass: i actually used this place to test out my netbook. worked like a charm!
hairyberry: ohh, apparently there's a 'white house' eatery in kelantan that's pretty popular, so they decided to use the same name (although this one has no links to the that one!)
elrond: ya, i think it's been ages since i've had really, really, REALLY satisfying nasi lemak. but unlike u, don't think i've ever had it in a kampung though, since i've been a town/city boy all my life :D
@Lemongrass: Haha, I know it's our place, but sharing is caring ma. I've taken tons of friends to this place since we first had a meal there in 2007. :P
ReplyDelete@Sean: Haha, I figured. Jom pegi makan nasi lemak Village Park! (Now you just need to wake up early enough for the nasi dagang, haha.)
lfb: jauh lah this village park. even on weekends, i only wake up for dinner anyway, so i've lost hope about trying the nasi dagang. but i've read about a supposedly good nasi lemak stall/outlet called "baldi place" at taman desa. any idea about that? :D
ReplyDeleteBaldi Place? Pail Place? Er, not heard of it wor...
ReplyDeleteAt this rate, you can only wake up for burger Ramlee at the 24-hour 7Eleven. :P
lfb: kampung baru got lotsa nasi lemak outlets. and so near our offices summore. and with a more authentic 'made-for-nasi-lemak' atmosphere too. hint hint :D
ReplyDeleteYa ain't gonna convince me to be unfaithful. I'm sticking to Village Park. My one and only. :D
ReplyDeletelfb: bleh. well, if u're willing to trudge to go see your beloved on a weekday evening, then i'm game. just make sure they don't run out of hard-boiled eggs by then :D
ReplyDeleteWeekday evenings? May happen, if I'm ever in PJ for meetings instead of KL. Will let ya know. And if they run out of hardboiled eggs, I know a decent Yong Tau Foo place nearby. Also a Hokkien Mee place. And also a... Well, you get the idea. :P
ReplyDeleteNoooo...don't listen to Kenny Mah! They're all bad! (I've done it all with him!)
ReplyDeletelfb: sounds like a plan then! 6-7pm: nasi lemak, 7-8pm: yong tau foo, 8-9pm: hokkien mee, 9-10pm champion roast duck. i'll keep a bottle (or two) of white wine handy in the office for the occasion :D
ReplyDeletelemongrass: my taste buds are not discerning when it comes to hawker fare, so it's ok :D
@Lemongrass: The only bad places are those we try together, having not been there before. I've been to these places before la, so they don't bear our united curse. :P
ReplyDelete@Sean: Eating from 6pm to 10pm? Aiyo, and your cholesterol levels are normal? So unfair.
lfb: i suppose we could cut out the yong tau foo if u're worried about over-eating. fish balls and veggies just aren't my thing, heheh. or replace the yong tau foo with damansara uptown's hainanese chicken chop, the dish invented by my ancestors :D
ReplyDeleteAiyo, when the food bloggers invented the food crawl, they were sure thinking of you hor? Just eat and eat and eat and then... eat some more. :P
ReplyDeletelfb: over the years, the true meaning of 'food crawl' has been lost. people assume it's supposed to mean moving slowly from eatery to eatery over the span of an evening. it actually means u eat so much that u can barely crawl out of the final restaurant :D
ReplyDeleteROFL. I bet you could still crawl out though. Cos there's always another restaurant next door... :P
ReplyDeletelfb: btw, i just realized ... the fact that u owe me nasi lemak: does this mean u actually did make (and lose) a bet with me? even after insisting u don't do bets anymore :D
ReplyDeleteThat wasn't a bet. I just promised you the NL if you were right. A bet, I'm sure to win, or at least I play to win. This one, either way you eat Village Park nasi lemak and they do good business and they don't stop making my fave nasi lemak... so it's Win/Win for me. :D
ReplyDeletelfb: ooh, lemme see. a bet = an agreement usually between two parties that the one who has made an incorrect prediction about an uncertain outcome will forfeit something stipulated to the other. in this case, sean and kenny made an agreement. kenny made an incorrect prediction that red wine should be paired with nasi lemak. therefore, he forfeits enough money to sean to purchase nasi lemak with endless eggs. QED :D
ReplyDeleteNo lah. I didn't predict. Was a harmless guess. Heh.
ReplyDeletelfb: ok ok :P btw, that post ended up stalling at 82 comments. i guess we'll have to wait for another entry to hit the 100-milestone, if ever :D
ReplyDeleteThat post? Which post? We are commenting on so many posts, I can't keep track. (I doubt anyone can, haha.)
ReplyDeletelfb: wine actually lah. ya, maybe we should impose a week of commenting silence sometime, to cleanse our souls and detoxify our minds. anyways, i'll be away sept. 13-oct. 2, but have automatically scheduled entries to continue everyday :D
ReplyDeleteHahaha, Eat, Pray, Don't Comment, you mean? :P
ReplyDeleteOh ya. You lucky basterd. Europa, Europa! Hates you.
what are you doing in Merchant Square? Nothing special for you to dine leh..
ReplyDeletelfb: i doubt either of us would be doing much praying :P fate obviously doesn't hate me though. both the pound and the euro have plunged again :D
ReplyDeleteleo: heheh, was just looking for good kelantanese food! they used to serve keropok lekor here too, but that was taken off the menu...
Eeks. So unfair. Hates you.
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, have fun! Take shitloads of pictures and then come back and write all about it. (I don't have to say "eat, eat, eat" cos you've already proven your mettle on this point.)
lfb: i was thinking of video-journaling part of the trip. y'know, every few days, just have my friend record me on the camera, sitting at some cafe and yammering about something or another. and then posting it on youtube, with links to twitter to update everyone back home (not that u'll know about it, since u don't follow me on twitter, ahem). but then, i realized it'd be too self-indulgent, and only two or three people would be interested in watching it anyways, really. :D
ReplyDeleteI don't follow you on Twitter? Sure or not? Then again, I ignore most people who follow me on Twitter. :P
ReplyDeleteOk lah, I go follow you. Do you tweet interestingly? Or mostly rubbish? I follow quality tweets only you know? LOL
I kid, I kid.
lfb: i tweet once every three or four days only, so each occasion is momentous. no 'good night, world' rubbish for sure :D
ReplyDeleteGood night, world! :D
ReplyDeletelfb: good morning, london! :D
ReplyDeleteHates you.
ReplyDeleteBtw, just followed you back on Twitter. :D
lfb: welcome, 80th follower! yeah, i had been thinking of deleting five followers so that u would have become follower number 75 instead, but too late. see, i'm so considerate :D
ReplyDeleteyay kenny!
ReplyDeleteHar? Oh. Ok lor. 80th or 75th, what's the difference? Got prize ar? :P
ReplyDeletelfb: 75 ... sandman ... ring any bells? :P
ReplyDeleteYa, and? Starman ended at 80 issues (aside from an extra 81st issue few years later for some crossover) :P
ReplyDeletelfb: sandman, not starman! u were the one who pointed out recently that 75 had a special meaning for u, cos it was the number of issues in the series. grrrr, maybe u're making all this up as u go along :P
ReplyDeleteI did say all that and meant it. The reason why I mentioned Starman is cos it's a brilliant comic, whole run was written by just one writer, two main artists (with an assortment of guest artists) and allowed to end with issue #80.
ReplyDeleteJust like Sandman.
I think you'd like this. Gotta lend you the first two story arcs in tradepaperback and see if my hunch is right on this. :)
lfb: ahhh. i read a couple of issues of starman (sometime during the first year). and i did like it, but at the time, i couldn't afford to add the title to my monthly comic book purchases. sure, lend me it to me and i'll definitely return it to u before u're even done with 'in the mood for love' :D
ReplyDeleteHaha, you're very likely to be finished with it before I am with your Criterion edition of ItMfL. Now just need to head back to Melaka to get them unless I've already carted them over to KL. (I've only brought up 20% of my comic collection, methinks.)
ReplyDeletelfb: hmmm, that's still a much better percentage compared to me. none of my comic books are in my current apartment. for all i know, my aunt in malacca has sold them to the 'old newspaper' guy!
ReplyDeleteNot the 'old newspaper' guy! Actually, that's where some of my Whilce Portacio-era original team X-Factor went, sniff sniff. :(
ReplyDeletelfb: yikes! if only comic books were sentient, like certain animated movie toys ... they'd have escaped the 'old newspaper' guy and found their way back home to u!
ReplyDelete'Tis okay - I bought a TPB of those missing issues nearly a decade later. The paper quality isn't TPB-quality though, more like the newsprint quality of the actual comic issues from the 90's. Ah, nostalgia...
ReplyDeletelfb: well, better to lose whilce portacio issues rather than walt simonson ones =) actually, TPBs are what have ruined the market for ppl like me who wanna sell off our previously-much-more-valuable collection ... i think i prefer cold, hard cash to nostalgia :D
ReplyDeleteHaha, I know EXACTLY what you mean. Then again, I was the worst sorta teenage comics investor/speculator. I actually sold off my #1 issue of Gen13 cos I thought the art was hideous; only to find, the following month, it was the hottest thing on Planet Earth since Jim Lee's five covers of X-Men #1.
ReplyDeleteSighs.
Still think the art was ugly. Ugh.
lfb: ooh u're the opposite of me, in terms of business savvy. i used to "rent" my comics out to classmates, for probably like RM1 for 5 issues, and charge penalties for any damage. but i agree that gen13 looked horrible (at least its cover did). all those rob liefeld imitators (and i HATED rob liefed in the first place).
ReplyDeleteHaha. That's why you eat foie gras every night now and I eat instant ramen. Such is the life of the Rich and Industrious.
ReplyDeleteRob Liefeld used to draw every character like they were on steroids. I used to think there was some snarky social commentary hidden in those illustrations... but, no. Just musclebound heroes. Cis.
lfb: in fact, i did choose foie gras over lemongrass last nite. does that make me a bad friend? :D rob liefeld was just influenced by todd mcfarlane, rite? i suppose that's the kinda physique that they believe most of their young readers would wanna have in reality? not me though :D
ReplyDeleteI think Todd McFarlane was a tad better than Liefeld, though after what happened with the Medieval Spawn fiasco, I've lost interest in his entire enterprise.
ReplyDeleteAnd I doubt all their young readers wanted to look as though they were on 'roids. At least, I hope I'm right. :P
lfb: have u ever seen this site, the main online listing for best 100 comic book artists of all time: http://www.acomics.com/artist.htm ... am pleased that mcfarlane and liefeld aren't on it. it contains ALL my favorites though: arthur adams, brian bolland, alan davis, george perez, walter simonson, and barry windsor-smith :D
ReplyDeleteAlan Davis! Barry Windsor-Smith!! Happy happy happy Kenny. :)
ReplyDeleteLemme go check out the rest. Wheee.
lfb: i don't quite agree with their choice for no. 1 though ... well, he's the most influential of all time, but the greatest? arguable, i guess...
ReplyDeleteOh I thought it was in no particular order? Anyways, I found my other faves:
ReplyDeleteMIKE MIGNOLA
FRANK MILLER
JOHN ROMITA JR.
P. CRAIG RUSSELL
BILL SIENKIEWICZ
CHARLES VESS
PAUL SMITH
Paul Smith's art is so simple he tends to be overlooked, but it takes lots of skill to come out with something so basic and perfect, methinks. Not flashy but always fun and fantastic. :)
lfb: it's in alphabetical order on that page, but if u click on each of the names, it'll lead u to pages where they're ranked. jack kirby is no. 1. hmmmm, i don't mind paul smith, but his work just doesn't excite. there's nothing to really stare at and admire in his panels... but yeah, from your list i also like mignola, miller and sienkiewicz (though their work can be a bit too abstract-ish sometimes for me), and of course, john romita jr, though he wouldn't make my top 10...
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Paul Smith's art isn't meant to excite. It's not flashy at all, which is nice after all them Image guys.
ReplyDeleteJRJr! He's always consistent, which is why I adore him. And I like his 'blocky' style of drawing though I know many don't.
lfb: are these guys still even working in the business? i'd reckon that paul smith at least would be retired. hard for them to compete with the current post-millennial trend of super-flashy, computer-assisted artwork, rite...
ReplyDeleteI think Paul Smith still does occasional work. He even had a character-owned series for Image some years back - 'Leave It To Chance', I believe.
ReplyDeletelfb: hmmmm, i kinda think that with comic book artists, they all peak sometime in their career, and their work then deteriorates with age (kinda like how we were talking about actors like robert de niro recently)... john byrne, for example, peaked during his uncanny x-men run, and everything he did after that, with fantastic four and the hulk, seemed sloppy in comparison...
ReplyDeleteHmm, agree halfly. I think Frank Miller got better, post-Marvel and JRJr is super-consistent and always good. But others, yes, maybe.
ReplyDeleteDie lah, those this apply to us as bloggers too? Are we past our peak? :(
lfb: i think i haven't peaked yet as a food blogger, since i'm still a relative newbie. but as for you, i haven't been reading u long enough to know whether u were better in 2008 compared to 2010 :D
ReplyDeleteHeh. Try reading me in 2001. :P
ReplyDeletelfb: based on the samples of old prose and poetry that u recently posted, u were the paul smith of writing in 2001. now u're the sienkiewicz :D
ReplyDeleteROFL. Oh gosh. What day is today? I find it hard to argue with almost everything you say. True, true. Miss the Paul Smith me. These days, instead of writing like Paul Smith draws, I just wear (the other) Paul Smith. :P
ReplyDeletelfb: simplify, simplify! maybe if i take u shopping for seed shirts with me (isetan always has a range of them discounted at half-price for RM59.90), then u could rediscover your INNER paul smith :P
ReplyDeleteEr, no. I'll stick to my Paul Smith and Emporio Armani, thank you very much. :P
ReplyDeletelfb: but to most eyes, those look pretty much the same as RM59.90 seed shirts :D
ReplyDeleteNot most eyes, just yours, my friend. :P
ReplyDeletelfb: think of the all the moolah u could save _ and channel into more amazing adventures abroad _ if u took my sartorial suggestion. :D
ReplyDeleteBut it's on those amazing adventures abroad that I buy myself these terrific threads! :D
ReplyDeletelfb: ergkh. y'know, i come back from each vacation with my luggage lighter compared to when i left. the reason: i barely buy anything while traveling, and i actually take the opportunity to bring a lot of my grubby old clothes on holiday, so that i can discard them along the way :D
ReplyDeleteI can't do what you do cos I have no grubby old clothes. They are all lovely and fine. :D
ReplyDeleteYou might too, if you realise your SEEDs of sin and come over to a more Paul Smith world. Join us...
lfb: ergkh, fashion snob. but what happens to the clothes u've worn more than five times then. surely the orphanages would reject such extravagant ensembles as inappropriate for their wards...
ReplyDeleteThey aren't such anti-fashion snobs lah, unlike some food bloggers *coughseatdrinkklcoughs* I know. :D
ReplyDeletelfb: hmmmm. well, i'll acknowledge that ultimately, it's hard to figure out which is more ridiculous. spending rm150 on a plate of meat or three times that amount on a shirt. (and nope, i don't buy the argument that the pleasure of food only lasts u for a brief time, while clothes can be worn over and over again)
ReplyDeleteLet's agree to disagree. Or if failing that, uhm, you're the bigger snob. So there. :P
ReplyDeletelfb: i'm like the polar opposite of a snob! if gandhi were still around, i'd get his seal of approval for sure!
ReplyDeletelooks like a nice place for some local food and coffee but the name white house is so weird lo.. more suitable for a western restaurant don't you think?
ReplyDeleteeiling: heheh, yeah, but apparently there's also a 'white house' restaurant in kelantan that's famous for nasi dagang, etc...
ReplyDelete