Happiness in small pieces of pineapple

One of the highlights this time in Kuala Lumpur has been a Chinese dinner on the streets. Jalan Alor is the place in downtown KL where there are street hawkers and small food outlets that serve food literally on the street. Small tables and chairs spread on the pavement and covering parts of the road make me a bit homesick; they remind me of my birthplace Kolkata and my campus life in Delhi.

I will not talk about hygiene as I have rarely taken ill after eating street-food. Street vendors seem to have an uncanny ability to assess demand and manage inventory; a skill that cannot be taught at Business Schools!

Went with a Malaysian friend, so it helped with the ordering of the food. When the food started arriving, we realized only God could help us. The servings were excellent and we had everything from oysters to pork.

Pork is one of my favourite meats, and the one I miss the most in Malaysia (the hotel serves Beef Bacon, but that deserves a post on its own!). The street vendors however cater to different populations, including the Chinese, and hence have no qualms about serving pork. So I had to go eat here.

What was on the menu? Shredded beef. Oyster omlettes. Pork sweet and sour. Calamari. Clams. Noodles, rice and vegetables.
The shredded beef was good, not great. The oyster omlettes were very good and very unique (for me).
But my favourite dish was the Pork Sweet & Sour. The taste surprisingly was just like the sweet and sour my Mom makes at home. At least what I remember of it. The most surprising bit, rather bits, were the pineapple pieces because I don't know of many people except my family who add pineapple to this dish; and I was very happy that this vendor did.

Reminiscent of childhood days now and amazed at how small pieces of pineapple can make me so happy.