Awesomesauce lor mee in Ulu Yam Lama.

My Mom, who is a lor mee connoisseur of sorts has been raving about this restaurant in Ulu Yam for a while. We finally got the chance to check out the place yesterday. It was about 45 minutes drive from Genting.

# – A family of cows walking along the long and winding road.

The restaurant is situated deep inside Ulu Yam Lama and if you’re not familiar with the area, I hope you’ve got a GPS unit or at least would intensely pore through Google Map.

# – Swee Yen restaurant is on the right of these row of old shops, obstructed by a tree.

The restaurant is clean and air-conditioned with seating outside.

# – Check out those cute mini fans hanging off the ceiling.

# – Brilliant way of keeping an old folding table stable.

# – Awesomesauce belacan dip.

We ordered several dishes, with the famous lor mee included of course.

# – Deep fried fish paste. Great as an appetizer, bouncy and light.

# – Kung pow sotong. The bf loved this and he doesn’t even like this type of squid much. The squid was not overcooked, the sauce lovely with a bit of kick from the sliced chillies.

# – Braised terrapin in claypot. I loved, loved, loved this. The gelatinous bits absorbed all the taste of the sauce and although we didn’t eat rice, I could wallop at least 2 bowls of rice with this dish alone.

# – The super fresh stir-fried potato leaves with garlic. Crunchy with not a single unchewable fibre!

# – The famous lor mee. True to my mom’s words, it was fantastic. The noodle was springy and apparently made by Swee Yen Restaurant itself. The uncooked noodles can also be bought from the restaurant so you can go home to make your own lor mee. The soup was surprisingly light and not at all starchy. It’s very flavourful and perfect with a dash of black vinegar. Oooh, and check those pork lard croutons out :D

The bill came to RM85 on the dot inclusive of a pot of chinese tea. Pretty cheap if you asked me. I’d love to go back again for the lor mee and braised terrapin. Damn, my stomach is growling now :(

# – Properly peeled potato leaves make all the difference.

# – Obligatory I-Was-There picture.

Swee Yen Restaurant
No 38, Jalan Besar, Ulu Yam Lama,
43300 Batang Kali,
Selangor Darul Ehsan.
Tel: 03-6075 1123
H/P: 012 360 4837

I don’t feel pretty tonight.

We had a long and cathartic chat last night. We have these conversations quite regularly, I guess you can call them “bonding sessions”. Often times, they would involve me saying really nasty things to him (because I’m hot tempered and brutal like that) and him questioning my beliefs and actions like a jerk (because he’s calm and logical like that).

We would be at it until we have thoroughly immersed ourselves in what each other is feeling and thinking. The accidental byproduct of these lashing-outs is that we inadvertently help each other to trace out what’s been triggering the latest wave of negative emotions or actions. And then we would agree to work on whatever issues.

I won’t say I look forward to these chit-chats but I can’t deny that they really do help in keeping our relationship in check. Every time after it happened, I can’t help but see that a relationship is so vulnerable and delicate. It’s very childish to expect bed of roses all the time, to expect your partner to behave or act a certain way and worst of all, to stay mum when something is bothersome. Silence is a silent killer (omg I’m cheesy as hell).

Anyway, after the emotionally charged discussion, we were happy and all again, he rested his head on my belly and we had one of those tender moments. He suddenly said softly, “I feel like giving you a treat tonight”.

I went all manja and replied, “Eeeee…don’t want lah I don’t feel very pretty tonight”.

Immediately, his head popped up. He narrowed his eyes and asked me, “What has pretty got to do with Spicy Chicken McDeluxe?”. And then he launched into a laughing fit.

# – Not pretty enough for Spicy Chicken McDeluxe.

Now, you can probably see why we need these heart to heart talks.