Lessons Learned (about food) in KL

When we first visited Mooi Lian and Clarence in 2002 I learned that a good host not only seeks out good places to eat but also steers you to the dishes that the restaurant is noted for. The lesson was learned again. On Saturday a.m. we headed out for a local noodle shop - which had signs (in English) reminding diners that it was the authentic X shop. Anyway as usual I am short on the details. The noodles were good and the spicing terrific.

So on to the two lessons. Lesson 1 - you will only get the best meals if you can chat up the owner in his/her native tongue. Each time we ate Mooi Lian, Clarence, and Amanda would engage in a long discussion with the owner. Sometimes, but not always, a menu was consulted. According to Mooi Lian the discussion focuses on what is good and how it should be prepared. On Friday I heard the word "crunchy" a lot. It was in reference to frog, which appeared among our entrees. I can attest that the frog was indeed crunchy. Other than being crunchy in my opinion there wasn't much to recommend it. So no more frog in my life.

Lesson 2 - seafood meals with at least 6 diners. On Saturday night we went to a seafood place with Mooi Lian's parents, Amanda and Aaron (Mooi Lian's and Clarence's son and daughter), Amy (Mooi Lian's sister), and of course Mooi Lian and Clarence. This allowed us to enjoy steamed fish, clams, butter prawns (which I highly recommend), ribs, and soft shell crabs. We also had a vegetable, but my memory has chosen to remember the proteins. While Friday's frog was crunchy and eliminated from future dietary choices I have become a fan of soft shell crabs, which also qualify as crunchy. Unfortunately these were over-salted, which was a surprise and a disappointment.