Chong Hwa Laksa Now In Batu Caves, Sri Gombak

No going away again. The Chong Hwa Laksa's new premises

If your had studied in Chong Hwa High School in the 70s and 80s, you will remember the popular shack opposite the road. Today this shack is now owned by a Malay hawker.

The new premises, just like a modern kopitiam

In the days of yore, there is a popular laksa stall known fondly as Chong Hwa Laksa operated by several sisters and their parents. Then for some unknown reasons, they moved. Speculation was rife that the Malay owners of that piece of land where their stall stood wanted back their land, so they moved.

Besides the signature laksa (top right), you can get nasi lemak too.

Many laksa lovers missed that joint after they moved. Recently, I rediscovered them while on a trip to Sri Gombak, Batu Caves.

Located a stone's throwaway from the Sri Gombak Market, occupying a corner-lot three-storey building, is the Chong Hwa Laksa Restaurant. It now owns the premises.

Doing well now, it is highly popular among local residents and serves several dishes for breakfast and afternoon meals. The signature laksa is still there, and not an ingredient amiss, the menu has been extended to include nasi lemak, noodle soup, porridge, buttered bread and coffee, and even pan mee.

According to the sisters who are still operating there, the recipes have not changed for the laksa and noodle soup despite their having added other items to the menu.

Laksa lovers should check it out. I rate this as one of the best within 10km of the Wangsa Maju area. Ask for extra tow foo pok in the laksa, you wont regret it.

Knuah Nah Keng - Exquisite Carvings At This Temple

IF you use the short cut from Genting Kelang into Air Panas, passing by the Len Seng Bus Depot, you will come across a lovely temple on your left. Opposite the temple is a huge vacant lot where during festivities (on the eighth lunar month of the Chinese calendar) will be filled tables for offerings and a stage for puppet show. On nights when the temple is all lit up, it is a lovely sight. You might want to take some photos such as what I have done here.

Desa Setapak Prawn Mee

I laugh every time I pass by this building.

Why?

Just look at the striking colour! Looks as red as a cooked lobster. And precisely this is what the owners must be looking for to strike a note with passers-by whose stomachs are growling.

According to friends, this place serves 'mee yoke' or prawn mee. This is non-halal of course, as among the condiments used are pork ribs. I won't be writing a review because I have not eaten at this place before.

But I do know of Tan Kee's shop opposite the Chung Hwa primary school in Setapak. It is one of the earliest 'mee yoke' stalls that operate in there and from what I have tried, it is still the best.

Of course, one of these days, I just might pop into this lobster red shop in Desa Setapak. Then I will write a review.

Carrefour Convenience Store

Step aside 7-Eleven. Meet Carrefour's convenience store. This one is located at Section Two, Wangsa Maju, at the new block of shops just before you make the turn into Desa Setapak.

The range is quite good though ranging from household products to sundry goods. Inside, you can't help feeling that it's a miniature of the giant hypermarket. In any case, for residents of Wangsa Maju, when the big Carrefour closes, you know where to head for when you need your household supplies.

Mr Bread - Pork and Lard Free

This bakery is located along the road into Section Two, at the new block of shops to your left as you make the turn into Section Two. The owner looked worried when I took the shot of his shop and the No Pork notice. (Relax brudder, we are just trying to help you.)

Okay, the bakery offers pretty decent range of breads and pastries. If you are looking for breads you have not seen before, check it out. The wholemeal breads are pretty well made, too, quite soft but a little light though.

When I surveyed the place recently, it was having a Buy Three Free One promotion. I don't know if this is on during low-peak hours are an all-day affair. Check it out yourself.

Cheap Food - Taman Teratai Mewah

See this restaurant? No it is not a Japanese seafood or sushi joint. Very much Chinese in fact.

It is highly popular in the evenings on weekends when people eat out. Why it is popular is obvious - food is good and portions are big. Check out their Hokkien Mee and fried rice. You will agree that the extra pork-fat fritters make for good taste!

The restaurant is located along the Gamblers' Row - near the SportsToto, Magnum and Damacai outlets in Teratai Mewah, in Setapak Garden.

Sri Gombak Market - Clean and Nice

Well organised, plenty of parking. The Sri Gombak Market.

If you had been to the markets in Wangsa Maju, ie. Air Panas and Genting Kelang wet markets, and Gombak Market, you will find that they are quite dirty. Of course, if you dont mind - and you shouldnt, markets being markets and dirty afterall - it is one of those things we learn to live with.

Clean or not? Just look at the floor - not wet and grimy. Now, this is one market I want to see in Wangsa Maju area!

But if you want to see a really clean market, check out the Sri Gombak Market located in Taman Sri Gombak, near Batu Caves. This market, operated by both Chinese and Malays, is a model market City Hall should emulate for all markets.

Not only are the prices reasonable and tagged, the place is pretty clean too. Even the arrangements are neat and nice and marketing is a whole new experience too.

This is one of the most popular green grocers here. See the video-cam on the ceiling? I was told that the stall can get so busy that thieves often make off with their vege. Hence the third eye from above!

Sad Sight At Air Panas Market

In blissful slumber, well-sheltered from the harsh reality of life, even for a moment!

This is one sight which will make you wonder if you are of the same human race and are living in the same planet.

This trio was spotted blissfully in slumberland, with nary a care in the world, and totally shut off from the cacophony of the Air Panas market at 7:45am on a Sunday morning.

The central adult figure must be the father - or guardian - and the two youngsters were probably his charges, sons perhaps. One of them has a bandaged upper palm, not unlike that left by the intrusion of a needle (perhaps an intravenous drip or a diagnostic probe) made recently. A sick kid just recovering? Who knows?

Who are they is as good your guess as it is mine. What are they doing sleeping on the sidewalk of the busy market is a million dollar question that begs answering aloud although you and I know it already.

That they are begging for sympathy (perhaps having found none where they came from) at the open market is a possibility - this assumption awaiting confirmation by the presence of the pink red bin by their side.



Life must have been hard, especially so for the deprived and the handicapped. This picture does not need a thousand-word intro to tell a sad tale. And who is to question why the parents choose to bring their children (not one but two!) into this world, this way?

Perhaps procreation is one of the means this stranger (and his mate?) has hoped for to bring him out of the quagmire he has fallen into or even born with. It is not far-fetched, you know. Afterall how many of us place our dreams and pin our hopes on our children to take us out of our own little ghettoes?

Luckily for the trio (although they seem oblivious to it yet but will soon realise when they wake up from their slumber), they have been successful in their quest for sympathy.

Many kind hearts among morning shoppers at the market have been dropping ringgit upon ringgit into the plastic bin since early morning so much so that one is amazed by the outpouring of human generosity. Whether or not a parted dollar is to make up for not having done enough good previously or purely an automatic response to human suffering, only the giver know.

But certainly this is one sight one would not expect to see staring back at one's face on a busy Sunday in a nation as prosperous as Malaysia.

I will certainly hope - nay, pray - that our politicians will take a walk in the streets of their constituencies one of these Sundays and look at the reality of life for what they are. Maybe then they will stop bickering and start working together for a nation where sights like this will be but a page from a forgotten past...



Bless this man for he has a kind heart and for sharing what little he has.