Of Peranakan Nyonya and Thai ....

There was only the two of us tonight. D**** could not join us as she had some matters to attend to. We had decided to have our dinner at Baba & Siam, located along the row of shophouses just across the bridge on the way to Permy Jaya. Judging from its name, I could expect Peranakan Nyonya and Thai dishes to be served here.

The interior of the cafe was dimly lit, and enhanced aesthetically with a elaborate red lanterns and plum blossoms, it being the Chinese New Year season. I liked the decoration.

Of lanterns and plum blossoms ... 

Instrumental Chinese New Year music also played in the restaurant, albeit a little too loudly for me. Lol. My friend said it was due to age ... the older one got .... the more sensitive to noise they were! I did not like the music to be loud because I wanted to talk to my friend with ease, without having to raise my voice.

Anyway, because it was so dark, no one noticed our silhouette at the entrance. No one greeted us and showed us to our seats. Were they understaffed? Or did they simply not see us?

We noted 2 empty tables, and decided to sit on one at the centre of the cafe.

When he was serving another table, one staff finally took notice and presented us with menus.

"Nobody there," my friend explained, pointing to the entrance. "We just walked in and sat down," she added.

"Sorry about that," he apologised.

We quickly decided on what to eat, and ordered our food. When it arrived ....

This I saw .... 

Frankly, I did not understand why the interior of the cafe HAD to be so dark? Food must not only be pleasing to the palate, it MUST be pleasing to the eyes as well. Because it was so dark, I could not see the play of colours on my food! I could not see the ingredients in my fried rice! I only remember biting into some chicken dices .... and that was about it. So why bother styling the plate in the first place? Wasn't I supposed to exclaim with delight when my plate was placed before me? Wasn't I supposed to drool just by looking it?

Well ... I did neither. For everything looked red. For me, the darkness took some pleasure and enjoyment away from eating. What a pity.

And so ... with my camera flash on, I took some more shots of my food .... so that I could appreciate the composition on my plate ....

 Cincalok with Omelette Tomato Fried Rice Rm13.90

Fried rice with Malacca Cincalok sauce, tomato & fresh chicken wrapped with omelette and homemade dressing

Penang Style Fried Kueh Tiaw, RM13.90

Flat rice noodles with fresh seafood and served with homemade sauce

Hot & Sour Szechuan Soup, RM10.90

So .... my comments on the food? I liked the fried rice more than the kueh tiaw. My friend and I both loved the soup, which had a good consistency and was fragrant and tangy of malt vinegar. Ingredients in the soup was generous as well.

The serving was HUGE! Later, we found out that the two items that we ordered were for sharing.

"We have single set menu too," the staff informed us while we were paying. "That's for one person. The fried rice and kueh tiaw is for sharing among two or three persons."

Well, we sure did not scrutinise the menu enough. Was it because it was too dark? Or was that NOT specified in the menu?

"Will you come back?" my friend asked me later on. She sounded like she wouldn't.

But I said, "Yeah, I want to try the other stuff ...." But I do hope they improve on the lighting. It sure felt like there was a power failure in there!