eating out at Jalan Alor

Given that I'm not from KL, I'm not very familiar with the ins and outs of the city. I didn't even know Jalan Alor was called Jalan Alor till this September -- I only remember there exist this street full of hawker stalls/local cafes behind Jalan Bukit Bintang. Even mr. boyfriend's dad who has visited KL a few times knows how to find this street without knowing the name as well. I've heard that it's not the cleanest place to eat but it's the most strategic in location and always open...

See! Even tourists know that this is the place for some quick Malaysian food. If you've been out partying in KL city and craving for food on your way home in your half-drunk stupor, you'd probably stop by here for a quick bite too.

I took my colleagues from the other offices to Jalan Alor for dinner. Not exactly the best Malaysian food in town but hey, it was just a short walk away.

I must say, even for KL, for this quality of food, I really shouldn't be paying so much. Rojak was RM8, which is pretty damn expensive for a plate of chopped cucumbers etc.!!! The penang curry mee was RM5 (not too bad), the oyster omelette was RM13 (not expensive compared to the rojak, but it was a small plate of burnt egg!), the penang char kway teow was RM5 (not too bad).

The best fun of the night was of course, introducing durian to our American colleagues (!!). I'm personally not a huge fan of durian but I still enjoy it considerably...

...and there is some sort of initiation to South East Asia that involves durian and it's true that you've never really experienced South East Asia till you've tried durian. Or so we (my Indonesian colleagues and I) keep telling them to convince them to put it into your mouth!

I guess one really can't make foreigners enjoy durian, not even the Asian-American dude who was born in China! They explained that there's this oily bitterness that they couldn't stand (which is the "skin" or outer layer of the durian flesh) and that they just didn't like the texture. The taste took a lot of getting used to (we convinced them that after the first bite, it gets better...=p) but they were still not a fan. Surprise surprise!

In the end, it was up to us from South East Asia to finish up the durian. Surprise surprise!!

Good job guys! For being so brave to try it and for finishing it up like a trooper!