"Excuse me, Ms. Taty.  There is a phone call for you from Annie," he said.

The four of us at the table were gobsmacked.  Twinnie blinked in disbelief before following the waiter to the phone.

"Now, isn't that strange?" the rest of us marvelled.  Why would Annie call the restaurant instead of calling Twinnie directly on the phone?

"If Twinnie couldn't hear her phone ringing, Annie could have at least called one of us," I said.

"Yeah, there is no need for her to call the restaurant number," Hath agreed.

Soon Twinnie returned from her surprise phone call and said, "Good news, Annie's able to join us for dinner after all!"

Ecstatic as we were, we still had to satisfy our curiosity, "But why did Annie call the restaurant to get to you???"

"She did try to call me and you girls!" Twinnie replied.

Gobsmacked for the second time, Hath and I hurriedly checked our phones.  True enough, there was not one but two missed calls from poor Annie.

We sent a silent apology to what must have been a frustrated Annie.  Gosh, we really must change our ringtones to something more blaring to avoid such incidences in future.  Sorry, Annie!

Some of you readers may also be wondering - in the sea of people dining at the restaurant, how did the waiter know just who Ms. Taty is?  Mind you, there were 40 tourists from India dining at the same time with us as well as other patrons.  Long story short, Twinnie has visited Gems so often that she's practically a main fixture there already.  Plus, she makes it a point to chat with the waiters - unlike reserved me.  Which may explain why the waiters don't ever remember me.  Even on what must have been my hundredth visit.

No matter.  The food's good.  The company's even better and like it or not, we sistahs have carved a history for ourselves at Gem's.  We ain't going anywhere.

Today's lunch was special.  It was not the first time we visited this restaurant but every time we sink our teeth into their crispy duck, it truly and verily feels like the first time.  So Restaurant Soon Lok has become a rather special place to us lunch partners.

The skin was crispy and covered a layer of translucent fat. As we bit into it, the oil oozes into our mouths just before we hit the tender duck meat. The duck was so good that the whole table fell silent throughout the lunch.  Normally, we chatter quite a lot during meal times.  So this is a big change!  Ed was sighing in contentment and his eyes were glazed as he consumed the duck.

FL happened to be nicely located behind the bowl of spicy and sour vegetables.  I thought it'd make a pretty picture and snapped him.  The acidic and tasty dish was the perfect accompaniment to the rather oily duck.

The total bill was RM31 (the roast duck, the spicy and sour assorted vegetables and tea) for 4 people.  Pretty reasonable for such an amazing meal, I thought.

I walked to the front of the restaurant to key in their coordinates into my GPS when a helpful lady who worked at the restaurant (probably the owner) handed me their business card.  According to Ed, they have another branch just a stone's throw away from this location.  Business must be really good.

Details:

Restoran Soon Lok

77, Jalan Kenari 20,

Bandar Puchong Jaya,

47100 Puchong, Selangor

Tel: 016-3074960 (Lee Wai Seng) and 016-2903100 (Chloe)

We ordered a pot for 5 pax which costs RM50

The so-so Steamed Chicken

The best of the three dishes would be the Cabbage with Dried Shrimps.  I couldn't get enough of this tasty, crunchy and oh-so-scrumptious dish!

Kedai Makanan dan Minuman Kei Heong (21 Oct 09)

Address: 1-1, Jalan SP2/2, Taman Serdang Perdana, 43300 Seri Kembangan

Tel: +603-8941 5894/019-6607027/012=4518339

Opening hours: 9.30am - 10.30pm (daily)

Cost:

BKT (5 pax) = RM50 (7/10) Soup not as thick but the meat is nice and tender

Steamed Chicken = RM26 (6/10) Bland

Cabbage with shrimps = RM10 (9/10)

Meal cost (including drinks) = RM110 (7 pax)

The yummylicious Beef Hor Fun

The Beef Hor Fun's kuey teow was surprisingly minuscule compared to the extremely generous portions of tender succulent beef.  I would say about 65% of the dish consisted of beef.  It was a tasty treat and for RM8 or 7 per single plate, it's truly worth it. 

Unfortunately, I was happily digging into the Beef Hor Fun by the time the Ying Yong (RM5 or 6) arrived that I quite forgot to take photos of it.  Oh well.  Let me try to paint a picture of it for your benefit - with words, of course.  The gravy was oozing with the goodness of egg white, yolk and just the right amount of salt.  The fried bee hoon was not as crispy as I'd like it to be but the freshness of the chicken meat, chicken liver and prawns more than made up for it.

Service was good and fast, and the teh peng (RM1.50) is a delight to drink, too.

Address:

Truth be known, I ain't no adrenaline junkie.

I don't need to get my fix by bungee jumping, going for roller coaster rides or getting into the horrifying ship ride.  I am perfectly happy to get my foodie fix every now and then.  I don't need to watch horror movies every now and then to keep my blood pumping.  I go to the gym or swim instead.

Yet somehow, I look back at the year that is flying furiously fast and marvelled at the stuff I've done that I would have shirked from previously.  I participated in my first 10k run.  Did discovery diving in July and became a certified open water diver in Sept.  And currently learning to develop more water confidence and swimming skills. 

Perhaps next year, conquering my fear of heights will be next in the menu?  If so, then the theme of next year will be 'A Year of Overcoming Challenges'.  Well, we shall see.