No Pok

I realise this post might be a bit sensitive in nature, but please bear with me

I went for dinner one evening with my brother and housemate to PJ State. We wanted some good ol' Hokkien Mee from a shop we went to a few months ago. But after we reached the shop, I realised something was amiss. The tau keh nio was wearing a cloth on her head. A family that would typically not go to a Chinese stall was sitting nearby. There was a picture frame with some calligraphy in it.

It then dawned upon me ..

...No Pok...

Oh well, we ordered our usual Hokkien Mee nonetheless. It did taste a bit different compared to the original because of the absence of lard and pieces of crispy pok fat. 

Today I had lunch at D' Fish Cafe, formerly known as Chan Tong Kee. I immediately noticed the fine print on the menu cover - Halal certification pending. I then asked 'Do you still serve pork here?'

The waiter responded without hestitation..

Sorry sir, no pok

Not again ! My heart missed a beat.

So then, I ordered my usual dish - ying yong. So instead of pok, it was replaced with chicken. It still tastes as good as before. I guess the owner decided to upscale his business to attract the folks from all walks of life. Of course with the renovation and halal certification, comes an increase in price. Instead of the usual RM 5.80 with a cup of cold chinese tea, the current price is RM 6.60. Sigh... inflation...

I guess I can kiss good bye to my Char Siew and Siew Yoke combo from Chan Tong Kee. *Sniff*

Pok is getting scarce in KL. I can't expect to get it at our 5 star hotels, and only certain outlets in shopping malls serve it (eg. the 'hawker center' in the basement of Lot 10, and its friggin' expensive).

I wonder in the future ...

Can I still get lap cheong with my favorite claypot chicken rice?

Can I still get the fantastic char siew from Toast and Roast?

Will the heart-attack-inducing bak kut teh still be easily available?

And the horror of horrors...

What will happen to my favorite kolo mee without pok ?

Frankly speaking, it seems that the future of pok in Malaysia is bleak despite our PM desperately preaching 1 Malaysia to the Rakyat. I hope I can still have my favorite bowl of kolo mee (along with the rest of my favorite Chinese dishes) in the near future in peace... with pok.

Cheers.