When the Going Gets Meta, the Meta Gets Weird!

This gets complicated, stay with me.

The Warungs across the street are open!

Jimmy The Kid is the 3rd Dortmunder book.  Written by Donald Westlake.  Westlake wrote the incredible Parker series under the name Richard Stark.  You should read all the Stark books.  And, I assume I'll say the same about Dortmunder soon.

The Ransom of Red Chief is an American treasure by O. Henry.

I set forth, alas without my phone.  But that is not really key to the story.

Nural Tomyam has been closed but looked tempting.  When I saw signs they'd be open today I decided it would be a good place to try.  Tomyum is something I know from Thai restaurants.  It's the spicy lemongrass broth with yummies in it. Delicious and absolutely the best soup for a head cold.  I've passed enough places here to decide that Tomyam is the Malay spelling of it. 

I've also seen signs for "Mee Celup."  Mee is "noodles."  As in "Mee  Goreeng" - fried noodles.  (Nasi Goreng is fried rice.)  From looking it up it seems like the Thai version of Pho.  That sounds fascinating to me: a Chinese soup (in KL it's known as "Beef Noodle Soup") adopted and made famous by the Vietnamese traveled via Thailand to Malaysia.  I'm pretty damn close to Thailand in a nation that is a famous culinary melting pot.  That seems complicated?  Keep reading... 

I wander across the street, look at the big menu on the wall....Mee Celup Digang.  Digang is beef.  Yes, that's what I want.

So, the nice woman walks over to me and I try to pronounce it...#Fail.

She wanders away.  I start reading.

Jimmy The Kid has the usual Dortmunder mopes in it.  Andy Kelp has just spent 5 days in a "pokey in pokes" and passed it by reading Richard Stark's Child Heist, a Parker novel.  There is no such book. 

I'm a few chapters into it. It's fun.  So I just keep reading. And, chuckling.  I'm in a fine mood.

A young man brings over a printed menu.  I know exactly what I want.  So when the woman looks over I nod at her.  She comes over, I point to the Mee Celup section and the Digang (I do not want Perut - tripe).

This is the actual menu:

She says something quickly and I assume she's got it right.  So, I hit her with a smile and a Terima Kasih.  All good.  I heard the word "goreeng" but didn't understand the context.  She walks away.  Jimmy just reads on.

Kelp has been inspired by the caper in it.  A kidnapping for ransom.  Now, the thing is there is no such Parker book.  Full stop.  But there are excerpts from it in the text.  They're spot on of course because Donald Westlake wrote the Parker series.  He is doing a pastiche of himself.

The food arrives.  It's deep fried beef with veggies.  No noodles.  No soup.  Nuthin.  Huh.  She sees my confusion but I'm not worried.  I have no idea what she's saying...Terima Kasih and a thousand watt smile again.  I try it.  Tasty.

She walks away.  Then the young man brings me a plate of rice.  They were clearly sure that I wanted something in addition to the fry up.  Apparently I said Thank You to an offer for rice.  It was a good call!  The food was pretty salty (I think it was flavored with the internationally famous but ever so mysterious "Maggi" spice.)

I eat happily on while reading.

By now it is clear that the book is funny (as is the series as a whole.)  And, well written.  And, a hidden Parker treasure - 2 "chapters" of Parker are embedded so far.  It's also going to be an homage to The Ransom of Red Chief.

This is all getting pretty meta and very strange.

I eat the whole thing.  Smiling at the situation, the book, and the food.  All.  There was actually laughter coming from me.  Certainly a glint in my eye.  And very possibly, a real smile.  It just fit.

I had Teh-O with it.


Hey, it's "The Tropics" man.

It cost me a grand total of RM 10.  Worth every Sen!

Thankfully, I'm remembering to look right after having looked left when I cross the street. 




I danced across the street like a chicken supremely hopped up on caffeine.

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BTW, it's merely 88F here today.  Wonderfully overcast:

Some places make you pay extra for the view