Kedai Kopi Pak Lang
The much-awaited asam laksa treat
Got my fix for asam laksa this afternoon. Unfortunately it wasn't as good as I remembered it to be ..... partly disappointing, but at least I got some me time. We left the kids at the apartment with the maids. Anita went shopping while I walked over to Pak Lang's.
Apparently this is a tribute to Aruah Pak Lang, a Navy Captain, who died in 2006. I don't know the whole story unfortunately. Maybe one day when I have the time, I can talk to one of the waiters and find out a bit more. From my observation, in the last few years, there has been a rise in the popularity of old-style coffeshops, affectionately known as kopitiam. I remember when I was a boy, kedai kopi is where the kampung folks gather. Where is granddad? At kedai kopi. Where to find uncle after Maghrib prayers? Kedai kopi. Where to catch the latest wrestling match on TV - used to be known as WWF, then changed to WWE? Kedai kopi.
Nowadays, there are the mamak shops. But people are clearly growing tired of it. There wanted to try something different from time to time .... hence the rise of the kopitiams! For the yuppies, there are Starbucks and the free internet. Bear in mind though, for the cost of a single mug of coffee at Starbucks, you can get yourself dinner for the night at the mamaks and kopitiams. If the mamaks has tandoori and teh tarik as their specialty, the kopitiams have roti bakar and kopi 'O'! But Pak Lang has asam laksa! Now, that is special!
A picture of Pak Lang
Got a text from my brother-in-law who was on the way back to KL. Apparently he was stuck behind a huge convoy of Negri Sembilan football fans driving up to Bukit Jalil for the Malaysia Cup Final tonight. It was a huge queue, but right at the front, there was a small car waving a Kelantan flag. No worries, there were no accidents!