Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Devi's Corner

This popular restaurant in Bangsar, just a hundred metres from the mosque, offers two pieces of kurma and a little bowl of bubur kacang when you decide to break fast with them. Years of buka puasa at countless mamaks, finally a lovely Ramadhan gesture from one.

29 comments:

  1. Hey!

    A bunch of non-Malays business people gave the Malays two pieces of kurma and a bowl of pea porridge (bubur kacang) to break their fast and the Malays are happy, but wake up the next day to see their country, kampungs, GLCs companies, their beautiful islands (Redang, Tioman and Pulau Duyung)for example gone!!!!
    This is a sorry sad pathetic state and raison det're of the Malay race. It doesnt take much to lull them into complacency and into the never never land and no wonder even many of them even disowned their religion! Sigh! Sigh!
    Rocky! I see where you are heading for in you latest posting but you too?! Pathetic!!

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  2. Anonymous12:54 am

    Noble gesture indeed. I'll drop by. Thanks for the tip. Bubur/porridge/congee is my favourite buka puasa dish. Very light on the digestive system.

    I'm curious as to the definition of 'mamak'. I thought it refers to Muslims of Indian descend. Devi's Corner is Hindu.

    No, I don't have problems with eating at non-Muslim-owned establishments at all.

    Please excuse me for my ignorance but can you enlighten me on this?

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  3. i'll take 2 kurmas from a non-Malay than a thousand kurmas from a Malay traitor, pasquale! because if this country - the kampungs, GLCs, the beautiful islands - is gone tomorrow, it's because there will always be Malays who will betray this land and sell it off to foreigners.

    in any case, if you change your mind and find that it's not pathetic after all to have the bubur kacang, you might be interested to know that you can have coffee at starbucks, which is just across the road. spend rm9 for a latte afer terawih and help donate to the jews, what say you?

    and anon, i'm sorry. it could be my mistake calling devi's a mamak restaurant. but in singapore where i grew up (i am a malaysian, though, and i wasn't born there as some thought, pls remember) we called the indians who run restaurants or stalls "mama" (the k is silent), whether they are muslims or hindus or of other faiths. i suppose that's why i called devi's a mamak restaurant just as i would call raju's another mamak restaurant.

    selamat bersahur!

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  4. Pasquale,

    In this time of Ramadan, perhaps it is time to reflect on the basic doctrine of one of the oldest religions in the world - Zoroastrianism. "Good thoughts, good words, good deeds".

    If only everyone could live by this precept.

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  5. Anonymous9:33 am

    Whey... pasquale.

    Between Israeli kurma and your fellow non-Malay countrymen's kurma, take the latter one's lah...

    Why make your life so difficult by finding Malay kurma? People pity you so tired after puasa you still think of something sinister.

    Ini pun mau bising-bising.

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  6. Anonymous10:06 am

    *TypicalProgrammer*

    Pasquale, cool it dude. It is nice to see some nice gesture from different races albeit it was for fnancial gain. It is smart of them to implement the freebies and thoughtfull of them to treat them as repespected customer. Dont blow a small gesture into something big. In the lower level of society we still have respect for one another. Let's not drag ourself so low to politician level like the son in law who scapegoats another race.I believe a majority of readers here are above that. You have a valid and very good point but a kurma freebies has no association to your remark. I admire your determination though.

    Rockybru,
    I like your blog but your comment on Jew is a bit hyprocrite I might add. Lets not condemn a race, but the individual. I bet some how and some way every race has contribute to make your life and our life better including the malay, jews, chinese and countless more. I can understand if you are condemning starbucks owner but not the race, it's just not rational. The definition of racist is being unfairly bias towards a race even though it is only one race. Still I believe you made a mistake in your comment, someone who has the courage to acknowledge the shortcoming of one own race and see through the value of another race cannot be be a racist. Hopefully I am right by assuming your post is incorrect or at least inaccurate.

    Have a nice day.

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  7. Thanks, but I was just reminding Pasquale of the boy's Schindler's list when I mentioned Starbucks, Typical Programmer. As a matter of fact, I had a latte at the place after breaking fast at Devi's. I am still an Austin Chase man but Starbuck's latte is, for a change now and then, more than OK. I take your point on generalisation of race/gender; I share your views on the merits of taking on the individual rather than the group he belongs to. I also believe there are always exceptions to the rule.

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  8. Anonymous12:10 pm

    Rocky Bru!

    This Malay obssession with bubur is to much to be desired, as bubur personify the race's inability to eat anything else, a definite co-relations between this race economic standing vi-a-vis the country. By now they would have been able to eat balanced food and not high sugar (dates, never mind the Prophet ate it in the Arab world) and high carbo hydrate bubur lambuk (that will make you sleepy and sleep and sleep and be more pathetic to a point when healthy sturdy Temasik people(read Singaporean)took over our asset we will be sleeping. Remember Shakespeare: You are what you eat!
    Rocky I will also gtake two Kurmas from a non-Malays but how sure am I that they will not take away by kampung, islands, GLCs in return.
    You know what the white missionaries did to the natives, eh! They teach them misionary position and gave them religion and they ended up owning th country. Its not the Kurmas Bro!

    P.S. I will have decaf coffee and fresh tuna salad sandwich for my breaking fast at any time at the Jewish owned Starbucks!(and Tesco, and the Cold Storage!)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous12:55 pm

    LOL pasquale...looks like you're the only pathetic dude around.

    You should replace those "them" to "us" if you're really feel for your Malay race.(forget it if you're not a malay)

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  10. Anonymous1:02 pm

    pasquale,

    u r juz a big time loser, no offence i seriously think u are racist too. we r all malaysians, however i'm a bit lost with the definition of malaysian, because this country goes by race, for e.g. u!!! anyway, we r stil malaysians and it's just a kind and friendly gesture and there's no "udang sebalik batu". u dun have to relate this to the non-melayu for using this as a bait, if they happen to take all the GLCs and etc. it's still in the hands of malaysians and that's nothing wrong, unless u see the definition of malaysian differently from me. the one that is pathetic is u and i hope u grow out of it. all u just did is insulting Devi's Corner and the non-melayu + rocky.

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  11. Anonymous1:07 pm

    RAMADAN AL MUBARAK fellow commentators.

    Have your kurma anywhere in Malaysia at any restaurant belonging to any race...

    MERDEKA!

    from
    a bubur pulut hitam fan

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous1:22 pm

    yo, bro..

    remember -- we hate Zionism not Jews.--
    There are bad Jews as there are bad Muslims and Christians and whtever...

    Salam..
    and Have a good ramadan.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous1:25 pm

    if our country "di gadaikan" because of the "muslihat" of some pengkhianat -- then, we must blame the government.
    this government is apathetic. this government is made of politicians who are self-serving.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous2:06 pm

    What is with this moron pasquale huh??
    Are you sure he is not an Indon or out-cast from Canada ? He's making a mountain out of a small pile of his own s*** !He's the traitor to the whole of Malaysia (Which incidently is made up of-( acknowledging the natives of course!!-) 3 enthic races Malays, Indians and Chinese- all born and bred here !
    Get out of this country man if you think this country is what it is today with only the malay race !
    Bro, you really should not entertain this racist on your blog !
    Selamat berbuka puasa bro.and to pasquale- take a long look in the mirror NOW!

    rusdi.

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  15. Anonymous2:14 pm

    the ironic thing about all this is that its not the non-malays who sell the country, kampung and GLC's..its the bloody govt! And I don't need to remind everyone who's pulling the strings!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous2:22 pm

    Without our knowledge, my stupid Malay uncle borrowed RM6K from one china man that he claimed his one and only friend in this world. Who was in the past, always give him goodies and sometimes cash for Hari Raya. For some reasons he couldn’t pay the amount on time and as part of the agreement between them, he had to transfer the title of a piece of his lands to this china man. Since the land is of sentimental value to us and it’s smacked between our lands, we had to purchase it back from this china man at RM 50,000! All within a year!

    And that’s friendship!

    Hantu Gigi Jarang

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  17. Anonymous2:34 pm

    Bro,
    'Mama' without the 'k'is 'uncle' in Tamil. And that IS polite tamil language. You could call your mother's brothers 'mama' or if you are a girl 'mama' would also be used for that potential husband being her mother's younger brother.This is Tamil as spoken by all Malaysians of South Indian desent.

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  18. Anonymous2:54 pm

    Sdr Rocky,

    Pasquale mungkin betul. Orang Melayu mudah diambai hatinya. Apatah lagi kalau agamanya diberi penghormatan.

    Sebab itulah Inggeris berjaya mengambil negeri Melayu tanpa melepaskan satu das tembakan pun.

    Yang mereka lakukan adalah menggula-gulakan orang Melayu dan menunjuk hormat kepada agama Islam dan Raja-Raja Melayu.

    Melayu bukan sahaja mudah lupa, tetapi juga mudah diambil hatinya.

    Namun begitu, orang Melayu dan Islam wajar bersyukur, berterima kasih dan bergembira setiap kali penghormatan dan pengiktirafan diberikan oleh orang bukan Melayu dan bukan Islam kepada bangsa dan agama mereka.

    Di Malaysia, kita bersungut dan bersungut. Tiada suatu bangsa pun yang berasa mereka mendapat apa yang hak. Semuanya mahu lebih banyak.

    Tetapi hakikatnya, ketidakpuasa hati pelbagai kaum itu adalah bukti bahawa sebenarnya wujud keadilan. Kalau hanya satu kaum yang puas hati, kesimpulannya kaum-kaum yang lain dianaktirikan.

    Devi's corner dan banyak lagi kedai makan, restoran, hotel dan tempat-tempat perniagaan milik bukan Melayu dan bukan Islam kini mengiktiraf bulan puasa dan sedikit sebanyak amalan puasa.

    Pokok pangkalnya berbalik kepada ekonomi. Kalau orang Melayu dan Islam miskin, daif, papa kedana macam sebelum NEP, Devi's Corner tidak akan menghidangkan buah kurma.

    Devi's Corner hidangkan kurma sebab sebahagian besar pelanggannya kini orang Melayu dan orang Islam. Sekarang orang Melayu dan Islam sudah agak kuat ekonominya sehingga mampu makan di luar dan menjadi pengguna yang mampu berbelanja.

    Devi's Corner is not celebrating Ramadan per se. It is celebrating the fact that more Malays and Muslims are patronising its business. It is celebrating the purchasing power of the Malays and Muslims.

    Tak mengapa kalau Sdr Rocky menjadi agak emosional kerana Devi's Corner menghidangkan kurma pada waktu berbuka.

    Kerana orang Melayu dan orang Islam sudah lebih kuat ekonominya, hatta Cold Storage Supermarket pun menjual pelbagai jenis kurma dari merata dunia yang sangat mahal harganya.

    Actually it's good for all Malaysians -- Malays, Chinese, Indians and on -- to have the majority race progressing economically.

    If Malays are poor, they're not going to prosper the Chinese and Indian traders. Instead they'll become thieves and robbers that terrorise everybody. That cannot be good for anyone.

    So Sdr Rocky, Devi's Corner serves complimentary dates because Malays and Muslims are wealthier and can, therefore, patronise its business. Still Devi's Corner gesture should be appreciated.

    Thank You.

    ReplyDelete
  19. To Thrashed, Shalom Beit!

    I wouldn't know about Zoroastrian I am a Jew!

    There is no such thing as "Good thoughts, good words, good deeds" anymore in this world. And unfortunately the notion of asking everyone to " If only everyone could live by this precept" is bunk, people are nasty especially the Malays, and the Chinese are waiting in the wings to grab, and the Indian, ah the Indian, I wish I knew what their raison d'etre is!

    For whatever its worth have a nice one!

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  20. Anonymous3:26 pm

    My dear Rocky Bru,

    You know me my name is Rusdi Mustapha amd I read your blogsite almost evderyday and I saw this posting signed by "rusdi" reprimanding this regular poster "pasquale". I have read pasquale he is entitled to his opinion, but I hope there is another "rusdi" because to pasquale my name is also rusdi so I hope you don't think its me, and for you to keep on writing!
    Selamat Berbuka Puasa to everyone and Salam Bahagia!.

    Rusdi Mustapha.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous5:09 pm

    Whoa people,
    I think we are diverting from the original spirit of the thread!

    I feel Rocky wanted to highlight where we Malaysians can look for worthwhile places to go..and that includes non-Muslims too. Our well-to-do businessmen, after making a few millions from commisssions selling our assets to others, can jolly well break their fast at some of the 5-star hotels charging over RM100 per person.
    But, poor guys like me, I want to thank Rocky for showing us some good but inexpensive places to go.
    By the way guys, since you frequent Bangsar, check out the stalls along Telawi 3.
    Most of them are average but do try the rojak singapura stall run by mamas, as Rocky puts it. Much better than the rest of the stalls so far.

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  22. Anonymous7:55 pm

    *TypicalProgrammer*

    Pasquale,
    Tough day in the office I presume. I have seen your preious post and deduce you are an analytical person. For you to say there isnt such a thing as "Good thoughts, good words, good deeds" shows more frustration than reason thinking. So enjoy you 'buka puasa'/ dinner with calm mind and know that tomorrow can only better. Not point making a free kurma into a racial discussion right? If you want to have discuss racial I am all for it, but please in a civilise way and a calm mind.

    RockyBru,
    I believe every human is born pure. So I never judge a person by race, nonetheless I respect your view on 'exception of the rule' though I believe a race does not define a person. We can pluck out newborn from any race and make them a thief or otherwise. I will stop here as this is not what you posted, I welcome any response but my sincere apologize if I do not response. We can continue in more suitable discussion.

    As curious said, we are way off topic myself included. Still i would be glad to see Malay stall serving moon cake now because of the mid-autumn festival. I will be glad because it is good business decision, shows a great understanding of each other another race tradition and more importantly a acknowledgement of respect. At the end of the day, it was still about free kurma.

    Selamat berbuka puasa.
    Bon appetite to the rest.

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  23. Anonymous8:56 pm

    Rock my man,

    I hope you will let this post thru. Apa pasal orang Melayu want to eat dates ? It is Arab culture. Apa pasal Melayu nak jadi Arab ? Why cant the Melayu find fulfilment in their own fruits like pisang tali, tembikai, etc ?

    And did anyone really see the prophet eat dates ? We only hear other people telling us that someone told them the prophet ate dates. But we dont really know for sure. No one can guarantee this as fact. It is only a belief.

    And so what if the prophet ate dates ? If the prophet had coconuts around, he may have broken a coconut or two. Imagine 'buka puasa with coconuts' at Devi's.

    I think the prophet would have strongly urged the Melayu to eat their own fruits. Its more healthy. Did you know that fruits and veges grown in your own climate are better for your health ? This is logic and common sense.

    Until recently some Melayu imported camels from Aussie for the Hari Raya Haji. They suffered serious purging problems after eating the camel meat. Camels are not indigenous to our climate and surroundings. Now they dont import camels anymore.

    God has created everything for a purpose. Our fingers are meant to hold things and pick things up. Our eyes are meant to see things. I cant imagine God telling me 'Dont use your fingers for a month'. Or 'dont open your eyes for a month'.

    So what then is the logic of saying 'Dont feed your stomach for a month?'

    It goes against the purpose of God's creating our stomach.

    I am yet to find the command 'Dont eat or drink'.

    Kadir is right that wealthier neighbours (Malay, Chinese, Indian etc) make for good customers. Help your neighbour become rich. It is better for you.

    Keep trying. Rome was not built in a day. Dont give up or sign off on anyone Melayu ke, mama ke, mamak ke, Chinese ke, Zoroastrian or whoever.

    A good bowl of bubur is very Islamic. Dates and camel meat are Islamic in the right climate. Not here. Our equatorial rainforest, humid, hot climate has its own jambu, rambutan, pisang emas, tembikai etc that is Islamic for this climate. Let us eat that. The prophet will surely agree.

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  24. Anonymous11:24 pm

    Kawan2 I kadang2 cakap "Devil's Corner" hehehe Fathi

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  25. Anonymous10:08 am

    pujangga,

    dont be too sure -- and dont speak to soon...

    orang lama

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  26. Anonymous11:40 am

    i like eating at Devi's Corner,heheheh

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  27. i was thinking of giving my malay colleague a box of khurma each.
    but reading the comments given, i have to think twice. it may be misconstrued as something other than a muhibbah i-am-happy-for-you gesture.

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  28. Anonymous3:51 pm

    Pasquale,ur one sick dog bro. wake up and smell the flowers.

    serpico

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous7:27 pm

    Rocky,

    Just wanted to clarify that there is a difference between Jews as an ethnic group and Zionists (as those whether Jewish or not who support the formation and integrity of the state of Israel). The CEO of Starbucks is pro-Israel and for his stance, we should be critical of his donations to israel. But not all Jews are Zionists. In fact, there is growing opposition among Jews (those livigin within Israel and outside of Israel). Sorry to be so didactic about this... It's just because people always make this mistake.

    ReplyDelete