Sight, Sound & Taste of Diwali in Brickfields

I adore everything under the category of Indian food. The sweets, the snacks, the banana leaf rice, the curry, the rotis, the chutney. Yum~ In this time of Deepavali festive mood, I just had to take a stroll along the length of Jalan Tun Sambanthan :D Brickfields is a bust of activities with the street lined up with stalls selling everything from muruku to sarees to cater for this festival.

It is so refreshing to see striking colours in the form of food, clothing, greeting cards and decorations adorn the area. Hip and upbeat Bollywood music fills the air. The crowd, bargaining and walking away with new items in their hands tells you “yup, Deepavali is here”.

laddu

KL Gastro Adventure: Day 5 – Brickfields and Bangsar

Two of us are unrestless when there’s no food surrounding us. We were overnighting in my dorm room where the only thing edible is sadly, dispenser water ;( The next day, we targetted Little India that captivated our tummies with their amazing array of foods before moving on to posh Bangsar ^_^

Indian food in my opinion, is the most flavourful cuisine. Richly characterised by layers of herbs and spices used in their cooking, I love everything Indian food could offer. Even something as simple as this currypuff

to this dhal vadai.. made from dhal pulp and bits of lentils and spices like cardamom seeds, cumin seeds, then fried until crispy golden brown. It is so delicious! Interestingly, most of the Indian eateries have a stall selling these snacks set up in front along the pathway. 70¢ each.

Unresistable Indian sweets are sold at specialty stores and also restaurants. Colourful stacks of vadai, ladoo, halway and burfi in a display case is like naked eyes drawn to diamonds.

Jian had to had their milk cookie! Hehe. 70¢ per piece. Suitable for milk-lover as the flavour of milk is so evident!

I tried their halwa cake which is simply flour and lots of sugar! For a mere 50¢ a piece, it was extremely fulfilling. The texture is very crumbly and hard, nothing like cake :P Do not attempt with denture!

While waiting for a bus to Bangsar, we learned about the newly changed bus system from a lady who’s uncontented with the changes. Apparently, the busses are servicing a wider area now and it takes a much longer time to wait. All the bus numbers have been revised as well. Nonetheless, we made it to Nam Chuan coffeeshop for Sarawak laksa and abacus seeds.

I’ve never tried this Hakka dish before. It’s quite tasteless to me. While Jian thinks the Sarawak laksa is close to Penang curry mee minus the oomph. Haha! RM 3.00 for the abacus seeds dish.

On the way to Bangsar Village, we passed a cendol stall manned by an Indian. We were already bloated, so we asked when he closes. Around 6pm. So, we just have to make sure that we come back here by 6 ;)

We had a bowl of not very satisfying cendol each (RM 1.20). It’s like drinking diluted coconut milk. Fortunately, the putu piring stall we spotted saved the day. By the look of people patronising this stall, we knew it must be good. Standing there watching the mother and daughter team working non-stop, they gotta be churning out 20 pieces a minute. 40¢ a piece.

A road block due to Wesak Day procession led to a longer than usual trip back to KL Sentral. But it was blessing in disguise, as the bus driver dropped the passengers in front of the drop-off/pick-up gate. Just in time, we maneuvered our way passed devotees with candles in their palms and snap away at these beautiful floats!

It was a fantastic day! ^_^

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Day 4 Part 2
Day 4 Part 1
Day 3
Day 2 Part 2
Day 2 Part 1
Day 1 Part 2
Day 1 Part 1

KL Gastro Adventure: Day 4 – Icy Genting & Fire-y Satay

A back dated series post which should’ve been finished by now. I’ve 15 days left in my holiday before moving back to a junk room, getting a new roommate, and lots of cleaning, unpacking to do.

After our market exploration, we rode the commuter to KL Sentral. I was amazed at how cheap it is to get to Genting! I bought the ticket 2 weeks ahead which cost only RM26 inclusive of:

Return bus transfer
Return Genting Skyway transfer
Genting Outdoor Theme Park Day Ride Pass

1 1/2 hours later, we were already standing in line to board the Skyway. We didn’t have to queue to buy tickets. Heehee. The weather was superb when we reached the top. Actually it was extremely cold! But for a change from the stuffy humid weather down there, the freezing windy air feels damn good. Until 2 hours later, when the fog began to thicken and 90% of the rides had to shut their operation.. we waited in line huddled together like 2 lost penguins. We were shivering mad as the cold wind keeps hitting us. Thank God we came out of there alive to catch this beautiful sunset…

Ah, borrowing the warmth from the bakery. They have a sumptious looking selection of pastries. Cost at least RM3 above.

We stopped and bought a pack of RM5 muar chee with assorted flavours – pandan, peanut, original and black sesame. We chose to have only the black sesame. The presence of black sesame flavour was almost undetectable. Moreover, it has this shell of black glutinous flour surrounding a core of white glutinuous flour instead of entirely a ball of glutinous flour made from black sesame paste.

After a frightening bus ride with a puny brained driver who thinks he’s handling a low gravity vehicle, we arrived at KL Sentral in one piece. To soothe our nerves, more food required =D

Jian heard about Gopala’s vegetarian satay from Ho Chiak and we went in search of it along Jln Tun Sambanthan. We had to ask for direction because it was located behind the row of shophouses after walking from the interconnecting walkway to Sentral monorail. We walked through to the back of the monorail station, turn right and found a shop with a satay griller. Bingo!

One taste of the mock meat is all that’s needed to convert me into a vegetarian food lover ;) It tastes so damn good! Even yummier than real thing and satay kajang for that matter. The peanut sauce has curry powder in it which makes it different from the Malay version. Orgasmic stuff, I tell you. However, you gotto eat it fast or the soy bean flavour begins to emerge once cool. RM5 for 5 sticks.

I had a glass of fresh milk which curdles and form a layer of plasticky thing after leaving it untouched for awhile. The milk is so delicious and smells outrageously good. I kept sniffing from the cup after I emptied it. Hehe :P OMG, I have to come back to this place ^_^

Gopala Vegetarian Restaurant
No. 59, Jalan Thambipillai,
Brickfields
03-22741959
gopala_5@yahoo.com

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Day 4 Part 1
Day 3
Day 2 Part 2
Day 2 Part 1
Day 1 Part 2
Day 1 Part 1