and now for a different kind of fish food.

kenko fish spa therapy, my new favourite place in the whole hyoooniverse. here you sit in relaxed, simple splendour--all sunny and calm in the day, all moody and calm at night--with your legs immersed in warm waters up to your knees, like summertime on a dock of a country pond.

only you are in the middle of a kicka** shopping mall, in the heart of the golden triangle tourist and entertainment center of kuala lumpur.

and there are hundreds of tiny fish eating off the worst of your dead skin and callouses. wha-!!!

yeeeheeee! once you realize they are not there to eat you alive (although, seriously, at first you have to wonder, as they can be quite voracious), it is a very pleasant (dare i say mirthful?) experience. ticklish, tickly, nibbly, fish-lippy kisses. there are two sides to choose from--one has smaller fish, the other has much larger ones. however, the little fish can be more aggressive than the big ones, but um, you might just want to start with the smaller mouths just the same.

the fish--garra ruffa, more commonly known as doctor fish, more comically known as reddish log suckers--are native to the central and middle eastern parts of europe and western asia, and have long been bred and used in turkish spas as therapy for psoriasis sufferers as the fish eat the affected or dead skin, leaving new, healthier skin to grow. it isn't considered treatment, but i have to say as someone with mild psoriasis, my feet and skin have never felt better. true, a really good scrubdown is all that is really necessary, but a half hour as feeding fodder for the fishies is a far more entertaining option.

i recommend going in the morning, as there can be quite a crowd in the afternoon and nighttime. the water is changed out and ionized at night, so i figure the pools must be cleaner at in the a.m. (although you are required to clean and scrub your feet before entering the spa area--still), and the fish are definitely hungrier. you have been advised.

kenko reflexology and fish spa
pavilion,
168 jalan bukit bintang, lot 5.01.09 (5th floor, near gsc cinemas)
kl(039802) malaysia
tel: 603.2141.6651.

open 10am to 10pm, daily

getting a little fruity in kl.

i had some fun correspondence with the housekeeping staff at my hotel; i would leave them one of the bento boxes from the conference (not bad but i'm in kl--sooo many more possibilities) during the lunch break, then return to find more than my fair share of whatever fruit was on offer from the housekeeping cart. whoo! unnamed housekeepers, you rock! of course, no one left me any durian (shucks), but i saw it quite a bit in the produce stalls around the city; no one wanted to split one, so i didn't try the local version (for the record--yes, i've tried it before, and like it okay. the smell doesn't bother me, but whilst the flavour is complex on the sweet end of the spectrum, it lacks an acidity i look for in most fruit). the mighty mangosteen and prickly rambutan, on the other hand, were bought at any given opportunity, and eaten just as quickly--hence, the woeful lack of photos.

also imbibed whenever possible: fresh coconut water, in the young coconut, served with a straw and also a spoon, to scoop out the tender, sweet flesh; coconut water contains a high amount of potassium (lots more than a banana), and helps a body rehydrate easier than just cold water. also sucked up: sugar cane juice, freshly expressed from the cane, diluted only with copious amounts of ice, and a touch of fresh lemon. cane juice is nowhere near as sweet as you would imagine, as it comes from the younger, greener cane, picked before the sugars develop.

probably my most favourite dessert in kl is the shave ice treats topped with fresh and preserved fruits, but unlike the filipino halo-halo, korean bingsu, or even its regional sister ais kacang, it does not have red beans or dairy added, so it is much lighter on the stomach. too many fruit concoctions and combinations were available; this one had fresh soursop pieces, preserved palm fruit, mochi balls, and nata de coco (fermented coconut water gel) covered in a guava syrup and basil seed syrup. fresh, fruity, sweet, yet sharp, icy and refreshing.

imho, the best fruit brought over by the housekeeping staff was the local wax jambu (if you want to get all latin fancy it's Syzygium samarangense.) it is known in the philippines as macopa, and on the island as simply "mountain apples." i never see fruit as big as this here on island, nor this colour--usually it's white or pinkish here, but in malaysia--where it is cultivated for harvest--it comes in a rainbow assortment from white to yellow to green to various shades of pink and red. the interior is snowy white, with a cellulosey texture and flavour similar to an asian pear but slightly spongy and lighter. as i can only get it on island in the wild or from other people's backyards, i took every opportunity to munch on this simple but satisfying gift.

quickie kuih mueh.

kuih (plural: kuih mueh): local, traditional-style cakes and morsels that use native ingredients and are generally sweet, occasionally savoury, and sometimes both. typical main ingredients are some form of glutinous rice, coconut, and gula melaka (palm sugar). you can find them anywhere there is food; in kl, there is food everywhere.

i had more than my share of different kuihs, not all of them photographed as they were more important as food than as models. here are some of the ones that didn't get gobbled down straightaway.

after our dinner, miss boo took me to a market area of kampung baru, where she bought me putu bambu, very similar to the filipino puto bumbong, which are also steamed in pieces of bamboo. small lengths of bamboo are cut down, and a dryish glutinous rice flour mixture is packed into them. they are placed upright onto a special steamer. once they are done, they are pushed out of the bamboo length, topped with fresh coconut and gula melaka, and the process is repeated endlessly into the night. these were lighter in flavour and texture than the filipino version (mainly because the pinoy version adds ube, or purple mountain yam), but just as delicious.

pulut inti is a cute little pyramid of steamed glutinous rice, topped with a mound of coconut and gula melaka. the thing that sets it apart from the rest is the unique shape, and the fairly equal ratio of coconut to sugar to rice.

pulut udang is similar to the pinoy suman, in that it is glutinous rice steamed in banana leaf, but it contains a sweet-savoury filling of chopped dried prawn or anchovy, mixed with a bit of sugar. a little odd, but tasty combination.

my favourite of all of them, however, would have to be the kuih ketayap--a small pandan flavoured crêpe wrapped around a gula melaka and coconut filling. there's something about the moist, spongy pancake in contrast with the nutty, sweet interior that i really enjoyed. if anyone has a recipe for this, send it my way!

i have more photos...somewhere....will have to add them on as i come across them....

a little pick(le)-me-up in kl.

nothing in kl got the chamorros and guambats amongst us in a pickle as much as coming across this preserved fruit stall in one of the many (many) shopping centres, which had a glorious array of tropical and not-so-tropical fruit pickles and preserves. many of us have childhood memories of going to the local mom and pops stores or snack stands and instead of picking up penny candy or sodas, our money would go to plastic sandwich bags filled with sliced green or semi-ripe papaya, green mango, or daigo (daikon radish), in a sweet pickling vinegar liberally seasoned with chopped fierce and fiery boonie peppers (bird chiles). this would often be the second breakfast on the bus to school, the mid-morning merienda, or afternoon snack. the scent of vinegar and chile would linger on our fingers and breath, not to mention our lunchboxes and schoolbags because this was pre-ziplock days....

all it took was one whiff of that pungent vinegar scent to lure us in. it was difficult to decide what to pick, without getting overloaded: there was the familiar green mango, yellow mango, and papaya, the unfamiliar-as-a-pickled-substance green grapes, yellow peach and surinam cherries, and the purely unfamiliar salak (snake fruit) and asam kelubi. luckily, we could pick our mix at whim, and return the day.

also available were a variety of rojak sauces and salty, sweet, spicy, stinky concoctions to dip the fruit in: salt and sugar, salt and sugar and chili, salt and sugar and chili and shrimp paste. we didn't have these as kids, which is a shame. i didn't get a chance to sample anything too whiffy, but there's always hope for next time.

21 fruits store
sungei wang plaza
jalan bukit bintang
kl

market in kl.

well of course i had to go to a market. i went to imbi market, which i had read about on boo's blog, and in the inaugural issue of time out kl, in an article written by eating asia's scribe, robyn eckhardt. our hotel provided complimentary breakfasts (pretty good as far as hotel buffets go), so unfortunately, i didn't go to sample the famed hainan coffee and roti kahwin, just to poke around a bit to see what kinds of fruits and veg were on offer, maybe peek into the wet market (or maybe not), and check out the stalls.

1. imbi market melons, 2. imbi market starfruit, 3. imbi market herbs, 4. imbi market mangoes

1. imbi market steamed rice cakes, 2. imbi market snacks pushcart, 3. imbi market mutton man, 4. imbi market dried seafood

i was v. tempted to bring back some of the beautiful dried seafood on offer--cuttlefish, oysters, and scallops of every size--but knew that cute but pesky US customs dog would sniff it out. i think, though, with a little experimentation i might be able to recreate the bursting bulbs of smoked garlic, which were offered up in various stalls. don't know exactly what i'd do with it besides a smokin' (literally) pot of tau ew bak, a thick, soy sauce based stew like hawaiian shoyu chicken, only with giant, glistening chunks of pork. mmmmm. so not halal.

temptation gave in when i saw the sisters crispy popiah stall. popiah are the regional version of the filipino lumpia sariwa, a savoury rice or wheat flour crepe painted with a sweetish-soy and bean sauce, then filled with fresh vegetables, yam or turnip noodles, prawns, and whatever else to the maker's choosing. i'm not sure why the sisters' version is so lauded, but i wonder if it is the 'crispy' in the name that is unusual; their popiah had a generous amount of batter bits that were indeed very crispy and added lovely texture to the wrap. count me as one of the many fans.

i think my favourite vendor, though, was mr. wong, the owner of the chinese pastry stall (name temporarily escapes me, but i'll have a rummage for the card). an earnest and engaging young man, his father and uncle had popular shop in chinatown on petaling street, but he moved the four-generations-old business to the market when his uncle retired. when he saw me taking photos, he showed me his own digital camera, filled with photos of him making the pineapple jam that filled many of the flaky crusted pastries in his case. it takes him four to five hours just to peel the pineapples, never mind cutting and cooking them down in a giant cauldron. one jam making session makes just enough for four days' worth of sweets, so on top of his duties at the stall, he must go through the day-long process for the jam alone, at least twice a week. it is worth it--the fresh flavour of the pineapple still evident under the caramelization, just a tiny bit tart and not too sweet.

although all the pineapple jam filled pastries were lovely (the one with salted egg yolk and jam was especially interesting), i think his top creation would be the mini-egg custard tarts. the crust is impressively flaky, with a silky, light egginess within; you can easily eat one or two in seconds flat.

or three.