Trip Down Memory Lane at Pinto Noodles

It has been a roller-coaster ride from 2020 to 2022 with two years of lockdown taking its toll on many Malaysians. When the borders began opening, Inter-States travel resumed, as usual, and workers return to offices with the notorious traffic jams returning to Kuala Lumpur as we enter the endemic phase. Short holidays like Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Hari Raya Aidiladha, Labour Day saw an exponential increase of vehicles on the roads with bumper-to-bumper traffic along the PLUS highways. The tourism industry returns to life, with hotels fully booked, shopping malls packed with the public returning to shop (with a renewed vigour or vengeance I wonder, as if released from the "prisons" of their homes during the lockdowns and making up for lost time), flights overbooked, hair saloons busy with customers (I was turned away with the friendly suggestion that I book a day in advance via Whatsapp message to secure a place) and lakeside park in Kepong filled with walkers on a Saturday. It was a serendipitous moment because I then discovered a place called Pinto Noodle, a Thailand restaurant specialising in Chiang Mai food. Located in an intermediate shop lot within Fadason Garden, Kepong, it was easy to imagine myself being in Thailand when I ate at this restaurant. PINTO is the transliteration of Tiffin from the Thai script (ปิ่นโต). The tissue holder, cutlery box, bottled condiments with Thai fish sauce and pencil holder added to the feel of being in Chiang Mai, the city at the northern tip of the Land of Smiles. I started flipping through the menu, pronouncing the Thai names of the dishes out loud in excitement with my heart bursting with happiness seeing the picture of the Mango Sticky Rice (Khao Miao Ma Muang) as it brought back the memory of the unforgettable dessert I had in a food court in Bangkok's shopping mall, in 2012. I had only visited Chiang Mai once when I was practising as a lawyer in Johor with nature-loving friends from Malacca and Negeri Sembilan and this was years before 2012 (hint - Social media and Messaging Apps such as Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram etc had not existed back then). We had travelled to Bangkok by train from Butterworth, Penang spending the night on the train where the seats were converted to a bed. The train stopped at Haadyai where food and fruit vendors came on board to sell us dinner which we happily bought and ate with relish. The train station in Bangkok had clean bathrooms and we could pay a modest fee for a hot shower before we explored the city through the Chao Phraya riverboats. We travelled by boats, buses and pick-up trucks from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai before returning to Bangkok by bus. It was a nostalgic trip filled with so many unforgettable adventures. I doubt my present circumstances will allow me to repeat the journey to Bangkok by train. To save time, flights to Bangkok and even Chiang Mai would be the only option at this point in my life. Doing my pre-travel planning and homework will be a must and websites like KLOOK could come in handy. In the meantime, I get to imagine what it would be like to visit Thailand again through a simple dinner at Pinto Noodles in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

                                          My imaginary trip to Thailand began when I sat down that evening at this wooden table Pad Kra Pow Moo (Stir-fried Pork Basil with rice & fried egg) on a distinct plate which I ordered was yummy! No room for dessert that evening. Love the frames alongside the wall of this restaurant, colourful sweets & authentic food in tiffin carriers, stupa (with a Buddhist monk & a running dog), Ovaltine & Coca-Cola ads included.  Som Tam salad is prepared by one of these cooks, the traditional way via pestle & mortar. I didn't order any salads this time round, yet.