Merchant's Lane

Somewhere in  Chinatown Kuala Lumpur, we found the little green teal door which leads upstairs to one of the hippest cafe in town. If you blinked, you would have missed the teal green door. It is sandwiched between shops. My sis and I ventured upstairs and found the quaint little cafe which serves a little of western and Asian fusion dishes.

At first glance, one would think this hipster's cafe is in Cambodia. There is a tree with sprawling roots in the middle of the cafe. I love it. (I wished there is a tree in the middle of my house!)

As we were still full from breakfast, we decided to just order drinks and nibbles. Then I spotted the words, Pandan and Kaya in the same sentence ...oh my Lord... this is a must order!

The "Better than Sex" pandan crepe with kaya toast ice cream was delicious and we enjoyed Pipit's Nest which is the plate of fried onions rings, chicken tenders and brinjal with cheese and mayo sauce.

Merchant Lane can be found at

Merchant's Lane 美真林

No, 150 Jalan Petaling, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Sambal Brinjal and Okra

I found some okra and brinjal in my local vege store after work Friday, so I decided that I must buy some to cook. It's funny, growing up, I never used to like brinjal. It is also known as aubergine or eggplant in other countries. My mum would used it in curries and stir fries. It was the same feeling of distaste with okra, also known as Lady's fingers in the western world. I thought it was slimy and furry tasting and totally weird me out. Now I liked eating it because it takes me home.

Ingredients for 2 diners

• 1 large Brinjal 
• 200 gram of okra
• 1* piece of roasted shrimp paste (belacan)
• 6* large shallots
• 5* cloves of garlic
• 5* red chillies ( I use Habenaro for extreme heat)
• salt and sugar to taste

Method:

1. Grind the chillies, garlic, shrimp paste and shallots to make the spice paste, put aside.
2. Slice the okra, set aside.
3. Cut whole Brinjal into 5 cm length pieces and pan fry lightly on each side to brown. Set aside
4. Stir fry the spice paste in oil in a heated wok. Add in some sugar, allow to melt and watch the paste cooked and changed colour.
5. Tossed in the okra and cooked brinjal into the wok, stir to mix well with the paste.
6. Remove and serve with steam rice.