I haven't blogged in almost a year now.......not that I have stopped eating great food, but only that those great meals have not found their way into the digital realm. Well I am blogging today on an incident that occured yesterday morning that made me incensed and permanently put me off a restaurant that I had erstwhile been loyally patronising.
It was 10 on a Sunday morning (24th April 2011). Hubby and I brought hubby's Aussie cousin to Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House at Taman Connaught Cheras to try its exquisite, eggy chilli pan mee, or springy noodles, as we call it. As I entered the restaurant, there was a ginger cat sprawled on the treshold just outside the restaurant, reminiscent of Garfield, except much, much skinnier. It was resting the way cats do - all languid and stretched out on its belly with its little chin on its paws, just watching the world go by, contemplating the lazy Sunday morning in its little kitty imaginings. Such bliss, I thought, as I bent down to say hello to the little sweetheart. Having dispensed with the greetings, I proceeded inside the restaurant to enjoy my breakfast.
I sat facing the entrance of the restaurant, a few tables away from the main door. Barely had I sat down to tuck into the noodles, when I was horrified to see the ginger kitty I had just greeted sent literally flying by an employee of the restaurant, a boy in his teens with a darker skin tone (not sure if he was Chinese or of some other ethnicity). The boy either kicked or physically lifted and flung the cat - end result was, I saw the cat flying above the table level and landing on the road. The boy then just went about his work with nary a concern for the cat - it was as if he had merely casually discarded a piece of used tissue paper, instead of a living, breathing cat that was just minding its own business. I was livid!
I rushed out to the restaurant entrance and there was the poor ginger kitty mewing on the road. It did not appear to have been hurt (at least no wounds that I could detect visually), it must have landed right despite the manhandling by the animal abuser. I patted it and touched it to examine for broken bones, just to reconfirm that it was alright. I then fed it with kitty biscuits that I usually carry around in the car, luring it away from the entrance of Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House to ensure the proprietor would not have any more excuses to abuse and fling the cat at whim.
I was absolutely enraged and wanted to confront the proprietor there and then, but hubby advised that I finished the meal first, to pause and think before taking action. Managed to choke down the meal, but while once loved, the springy noodles have lost their shine in the face of such blatant animal cruelty. I contemplated as I ate.....there were signs pasted everywhere on the restaurant walls stating "No Pets Allowed". I had previously thought that the proprietor must be very concerned about cleanliness - on hindsight it has become clear that the proprietor was, in reality, an animal hater. Who was going to protect the ginger kitty (or any other kitty for that matter) in future? Who was going to defend these harmless, voiceless, timid sweethearts? They can't report their abuse to the police on their own. They can't physically retaliate against people who fling them on the roads. I could not remain silent about the barbaric act that I had just witnessed.
After completing the meal, I spoke to a middle-aged Chinese guy taking food orders, who appeared to be one of the seniors in the restaurant. I described to him what I saw and pointed out the culprit to him. I wasn't sure if he understood me, I spoke English mixed with my mangled Cantonese. An elderly woman whom I assumed was Madam Chiam and the teenage boy (perpetrator) joined in the conversation. The perpetrator pointed his finger at Madam Chiam and told me to go talk to Madam Chiam about his actions. Madam Chiam told me in Cantonese that she had asked the boy to go get rid of the cat. I was indignant and explained that the boy could have just gently shooed the cat away, he did not need to fling and send it flying into the road. She was not apologetic, she tried justifying his actions instead, and gave me the old brush off by turning away to attend to another customer while I was in the midst of talking to her. I decided there was no point in continuing the conversation....I ended it by letting her know that I was going to publish this experience on the internet to bring awareness to all the foodies and animal lovers out there about the atrocious behaviour of Madam Chiam and her employees.
So if you love food, but love animals more, you would join me to spread the word to all netizens that animal lovers the world over should refrain from dining at Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House at Taman Connaught Cheras because the proprietor believes in and actively encourages animal cruelty. I have seen it with my own eyes.
If you are curious to know how the shop and the elderly lady boss I spoke to (presumably Madam Chiam) look like, visit this blogger's website : http://kwongfeimind.blogspot.com/2010/01/mei-yee-pan-mee-madam-chiam-curry.html
Good food turns rancid in the face of ugly souls.
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The wantan tasted a tad too porky for my liking, though. 
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Mango salad which hubby stayed away from because it was too vinegarish.
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Kangkung belacan, we are really learning to be good at this dish!
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We sometimes have one-dish meals too.....vegetable noodle soup with pork chop and fried egg.
