Around 11:15 a.m. this morning, I saw a couple of the team members carrying a bowl and pair of chopsticks each. Then someone called out, “It’s here!” Melody from the Panda Club office asked if I’d like some lunch. But I didn’t have my own bowl and chopsticks. Instead, my lunch came in a set of three paper bowls and pair of disposable chopsticks.

The first bowl had white rice, the second bowl a mix of sprouts, stir-fried pork and cold meat, and the third bowl cabbage soup. The fourth bowl, which had white rice buried beneath the sprouts, stir-fried pork and cold meat, was Melody’s. We ate at the coffee table. Levi, with his own metal bowl, was eating at his desk, behind his computer monitor, but soon came to join us. We ate and discussed panda stuff and I had the best meal of my trip to Ya’an, and on the last day, no less.

Wow, “I love yoo” in China!

This selection looks rather pathetic, but there’s a reason for it.

They’re made fresh on-site.

They got me thinking about ours back home. I’m flying home tomorrow night, and right after a shower and long nap after arrival, I expect I’ll be headed out to look for the Malaysian version.

The cafe had been rather unpredictable recently when there would be days it wasn’t opened for business. So yesterday evening, after a good time out (visiting mother and attending a reading at Silverfishbooks in Bangsar), I headed on home, keeping my eyes on the cafe as I drove past to see if the lights were on. They were. Altho that was not guarantee it was opened; I once went by only to find it was opened, but closed for a private function.

Anyways, it was opened yesterday evening. Same menu, but in a laminated sheet rather than in a booklet. Same items. Unfamiliar person serving, tho. I ordered my usual, and settled back to read my purchases from Silverfishbooks.

There was a group of young women huddled over the computer. Soon they were screaming over what turned out to be a Japanese pop concert playing on the computer. Granted the cafe was not crowded for a Saturday night, but it was still unusual for customers to be behaving in such a manner.

I noticed one of the servers going up to another customer with a cupcake. From the look on the customer’s face, he’d not ordered the dessert. Later, after I’d finished my dinner, I was served with a slice of walnut carrot cake, “compliments of the chef”.

When I eventually left – I stayed to read and write a while – one of the women detached herself from the group and walked up to the cash register. “Is this place under new management?” I asked and received a yes in reply.

Oh, that’s why those young women were behaving like they owned the place. They do own the place, but continue to maintain the same menu and prices.

Good idea on the menu and prices. With it, they’ve maintained at least one regular customer. Me.

Yay, girl power!

Speaking of Malaysiakini, I’d called my sister to tell her the good news each time I saw them on Malaysiakini, and her reaction was “are you sure or not?” She had a point. The results on Malaysiakini were mostly unofficial. But it took the longest time for the TV stations to post the official results. And it seemed to me they were only posting BN victories.

If it weren’t for Malaysiakini, we would’ve been kept waiting for the results much longer. Thank goodness for alternative news sources.

Plain porridge with a selection of accompanying dishes.

This is comfort food at its best. Well, almost best. Better than this would be a bowl of plain porridge with Marmite (during times of childhood illness).

The porridge shop also sells duck rice, which I will try another day. I don’t know the name of the shop, but it’s located in the row behind Face to Face.

Oh, the dishes in the picture with the porridge – (left to right) half salted duck’s egg, fuchuk (beancurd skins) in gravy, boiled peanuts in gravy and muichoy (marinated vegetables). Just writing about them is making me drool …