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Sep 28, 2009

What I Ate in KL (1) - Roti Canai, Teh Tarik and Limau Ais by the Pool

Egg Prata Close-up
I watched the cultural theft across the causeway with amusement. For Pedra Branca, we lost our chilli crab and Hainanese chicken rice. Let's see whether we will lose all our food featured in Uniquely Singapore. Of course, the food listed are not uniquely Singaporean, I'm sure you can find them pretty elsewhere. Rather it is the way they are prepared and presented that's unique.

I enjoy my little gastronomic adventures overseas. I discover that other than preparation and presentation, the environment can make a difference to the experience. When I was at Gurney Heights Kondominium, I had good and cheap prata breakfast at the "24 Jam" Restaurant by the pool. It was a novel experience as their only customer, eating prata and drinking teh tarik by a pool of still water.

Gurney Heights and Pool
Breakfast by the still pool. From left to right: playground, 24 hours restaurant, convenience shop.

For such cheap breakfast, the scenery was breathtaking. I could see the KL skyline from my - Alfresco dining - table. The sun was not too high (at 8-9 am) and the surrounding blocks shielded me from the sunlight.

Prata, Teh Tarik and KL SkylineEmpty Plate, Teh Tarik and KL Skyline
Roti Telur and Teh Tarik with KL skyline in the background. Truly Prata breakfast, Alfresco style.


With the waiter back in kitchen, I wasted no time in conducting "industrial espionage". I'm glad to have brought back Restoran Safa Marwah's menu.

Restoran Safa Marwah Menu
Restoran Safa Marwah Menu
Menu Makanan, Menu Roti and Menu Minuman. Food, bread and drinks menu. The menu is in Malay, but not fully. For example all the milk shakes are untranslated.

The food and drinks listed are much cheaper than in Singapore. For example, here's a breakdown of what I sampled and their approximate cost in Singapore dollars:
  • Roti Telur (1.50 ringgit .. 65 cents)
  • Teh Tarik (1.00 ringgit .. 45 cents)
  • Limau Ais (1.20 ringgit .. 50 cents)
  • Teh Ais (1.40 ringgit .. 60 cents)
I love the privacy afforded and the hassle-free breakfast. The air is fresher than in Kuala Lumpur without all the pollution. I felt like an emperor because I was their only customer. The waiter shuffled to and fro to take my and only mine order. A good place to start your day and to plan your subsequent itinerary.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Icemoon,

Nice review on Gurney Heights. Detailed and unbiased. Do come here again as we are improving the condition of the condo now (the pool is clean and crystal clear). I'm also requesting your permission to use some of your pictures at Gurney Heights in our community blog http://gurneyheights2.blogspot.com/
In fact, we've already use the blue-looked KL in our header now but we'll take it out if you want. We'd thanked you in advance and do come again here and maybe we can buy you another hot prata and teh tarik.

From the New Management of GH

Icemoon said...

Hello GH,

Nice to hear from you. Feel free to use the photos. I realize the blue-looked KL is blur in your blog. Do email me if you want the original high res one.

I like the suburban location and environment. Will go again. Looking forward to the prata and teh at Restoran Safa Marwah. :)

peter said...

icemoon,
Kang khor to walk from station or not?

how about chapati for people like me?

Icemoon said...

peter,

Not kang khor. Just one straight road to the station.

Opps, don't see chapati in their menu leh.

Victor said...

Nice shots, Icemoon. But your second shots lately seems to be taken more on the other side of the causeway.

But I guess it's still nostalgic in a way - those food prices have not seen over this side of the causeway since the 1970s. ;)

peter said...

Cost of Malaysian living reasonable compared to singapore - more reason to move to Malaysia for retirement. But from Malaysian perspective food prices expensive.

Icemoon said...

I think the Malaysia retirement plan will get more appealing when the southern economic zone? in Johor is ready. No passport needed, only access card.