Chow Kit Revisited

I used to have supper at the nasi lemak stall in front of the City Villa Hotel in Chow Kit (Jln. Hj. Hussein?) when I was a loner in KL in late 90s. The stall's table use to be fully occupied but maybe I was there at an early hour of the night, the buzz is still not that heated up. 

The landscape did changed. There are now stalls selling all sort of things, mostly apparels, ladies bags etc., etc., It is in fact a bit cleaner and more tidy then those days. Just one feature that still exist is the illegal parking attendants. 

The nasi lemak is still as thos days with the small packet, maybe the size of a 32 D (I am not well-verse with bra size, sorry) and hot sambal. Ordered four packets of nasi lemak and it is just freshly packed and the warm condition of the rice is what makes the taste much better. At most places nasi lemak has already turn cold due to it being packed at a much earlier time or maybe some leftover from the afternoon. 

Besides the normal rice, sambal, 1/8th of a boiled egg and one or two anchovy (if you are lucky enough to have it), one can also order side dishes that cost a minumum of RM 3.00 to be paid upfront. Just don't know why. Maybe the lady thought you might run away without paying. 

When I use to frequent that place, I thought that its the famous Nasi Lemak Kampung Baru that people had been talking about. However I later found out the the latter is located somewhere in Kampung Baru itself. In Kampung Baru it is popularly known as Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa because at times International tourist patronise the place eventhough it is far from being equated to high end restaurants. The sambal here is even hotter than the nasi lemak in Chow Kit. 

What took me back to this place was because I visited my niece who undergo an operation for a tumor in her head. This the first time I visited the Kuala Lumpur Hospital since 2003 when my nephew from Sabah was admitted for the same treatment. But he was a bit unlucky because the doctor in the process of finding the symptom of his disorder. However after about a month of being hospitalised, he was discharged without getting proper treatment and sent back to Sabah. He pass away a few weeks later without getting proper treatment except chemotheraphy to reduce the swelling on his right temporal. Alfatihah for him. My niece had undergone surgery and she is waiting to undergo another surgery to discharge some fluid from the first surgery. 

When I was at the hospital, I took a look into myself. How lucky I am that Allah showered me with health up till now. Syukur to Allah The almighty for providing me a stable and good of health at this age of early 50s. Syukur Alhamdulillah. 

When I drive back towards along Lorong Hj. Hussien 2 my nostalgic memories of the 70s struck. Budget hotels line the lane. I use to stay in one of the hotel, Hotel Merdeka in the 70s when I was on transit while travelling back to Sabah or returning from Sabah. The room rate was RM 10.00 per day. The area was part of the red light territory of Kuala Lumpur back then. At night prostitutes ply their trade in the hotels along Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz at a rate of RM 15-RM 25 per session. No!!, I did not go for the shot. Those days, the rate of RM 15 might be equivalent to RM 60 0r RM 70 today. So I just feast the eye. Like one of the Bond movie, For Your Eyes Only.