Mother's Day - An Unusual Redemption

The cool "jam session" setting at d'Cengkih, TTDI. The musicians (I bet there were grandpas among them) rocked bigtime!

I've had a most unusual Mother's Day - a skewed one bordering on the surreal - and I have fellow blogger Mamasita, the one with the widest grin this side of Suez, to thank for it.

It started innocently enough; the good Datin had asked me to join her for lunch at d'Cengkih, the restaurant specializing in Johore food, which opened its doors in Taman Tun Dr Ismail about a year ago.

Those of you longtime readers of Kata Kama would probably remember the unflattering review I gave this outlet subsequent to our unforgettable maiden visit some time in June last year.

Be that as it may, Mamasita read me well. She knew I wasn't the kind to harbour ill-feelings for long, so she waited for the right time to re-induct me into d'Cengkih.

She must have banked on my mellowness in the light of my Hajj and Umrah. Oh, the wiles of that woman knew no bounds!

I remember being very creative with excuses on the few occasions that she brought up the subject of having a meal with me there. Believe me, Mamasita, Cheshire Cat grin et al, wasn't to be denied.

Anyway, I finally agreed to meet her at d'Cengkih for lunch today. She was slightly late (having driven all the way from Kuantan) but her significant other, blogger Sakmongkol, was already there waiting, with fellow blogger Aspan Alias.

I was a tad apprehensive as I set foot inside, remembering how annoyed we were during that first visit almost a year ago. We left hungrier than when we arrived, and the kids too were late in returning to office after their lunch break due to the fruitless wait.

Guess what? Time heals. And with d'Cengkih it healed good. The old saying that everybody deserves a second chance holds true and I'm glad I did what I did, that I decided to return, even if it was originally only for Mamasita' sake.

Not only did the place look different, it WAS different from the 'old' d'Cengkih. Gone were the Thai menu; in its place was an array of authentic Johore delicacies and they were well-placed for patrons to select what they wanted.

In the old days it was a la carte and you had to wait eons for the food to materialise. Gone were the sullen waitresses; now they had pleasant-faced young fellas who seemed very efficient in doing about their work.

I was already warming up to the atmosphere when Mamasita sauntered in 10 minutes later. With three hours of non-stop driving behind her, the poor woman looked somewhat zonked, but recovered her vitality and zest after a while.

Since I was on a no-rice diet, it was steamed pulut (glutenous rice) with durian sauce and a couple of kuihs for me. The lauks (accompaniments to rice) looked very tempting but I had to resist, Mother's Day notwithstanding.

It was thumbs-up for the pulut dish, anyway. The kuah durian was decidedly rich and very yummy. The proprietor (Tipah, as Mamasita addressed her) later served us seri muka (on the house too!); the pandan-flavoured topping was thick and sinfully creamy.

When I walked into d'Cengkih today, the first thing I noticed was a seasoned musician (in both age and experience) on the keyboard and a younger chap on the guitar. The keyboardist (I later learned he was affectionately called Pak Wan) must be in his late 60s and his playing was simply superb.

Someone I recognised as Sam, Pak Abu's old College mate, was on the microphone, his voice mellowing beautifully as he crooned Widuri. My heart leapt. Ahah, a jam session! Nothing could be better than this!

Apparently, d'Cengkih had been having these sessions for quite a while now. As we talked, jammers arrived with their instruments, hooked them up and started playing. And patrons were welcome to the microphone. Sing your heart out; the audience was appreciative enough.

I was told the sessions were previously held only in the evenings. Over time however, they became very popular that now they are held on weekends (noontime Saturdays & Sundays).

True to form, Mamasita whispered to Aslini, the lady in charge of the jam session, that I would be made to sing for my supper. Over some (ahem..) lame protestations, I yielded.

Alahai, there I was, a karaoke kaki, having to sing with a 'live' band. I had not jammed since the 1970s (here and here), and that was 35 long years ago! Then again, if one is already familiar with the tempo, it isn't hard to get into the groove once the music begins.

And so it was; 'Sway' took off beautifully, after which seven (yes seven, I couldn't help it.. hehehe.. ) more songs followed, including a request for P. Ramlee's 'Ibu' in celebration of Mother's Day.

Bless you Mamasita for a most meaningful Mother's Day ever. The children had asked me days before what my Mother's Day plans were and I told them I just wanted to stay home and catch up with my blogging.

As God wills it, this is the blog entry that I had wanted to stay home and write. Only that I had to redeem myself by being in d'Cengkih to write it. Happy Mother's Day!