Suppp Kajang!! I come this lovely Saturday not to ravage your satay supply. Nor have I travelled the distance to appraise the merchandise at Billion. I come to learn to eat and dispose, in the friendliest possible way Mother Earth could wish.
Truth is, we consume a lot of crap outside. What you don't know about the food preparation in the back end won't hurt you, but it sure makes you feel pretty damn nasty after. Pure Life Organic's proposition seems pretty straightforward and hard not to like. No preservatives, no additives, all natural, and as much as possible, they practise the concept of sustainable consumption. The menu varies everyday of the week and Saturday's greets us on the chalkboard as we arrive.
The converted residence makes for a casual cafe setting. We could sit and wonder why our tastebuds respond so differently to our bodies - what may taste like heaven to the tongue may very well be the source of some benign, but nevertheless aggravating, physical reaction in a few hours' time. But instead, we grab a staff member and make sure food is on the way.
Pure Life's organic food store in one separate wing of the establishment is busy and frequented by staunch regulars. The friendly and enigmatic owners appear to know most by name, and are always genuinely ready to engage and help. I'd like a store like this in the neighbourhood very much! Somehow, my current fresh mart/ beer guy opposite where I live isn't scoring high points for customer retention.
We have the deceptively-named Caesar Salad to start. Caesar dressing typically goes down all wrong with me. However, no such worries here because the salad is fresh and crisp and lovely with a balsamic vinegarish dressing. It's anything but Caesar!
The Mee Mamak order is a mild, almost better-groomed version than its original street counterpart. The noodles (of the buckwheat variety, I think) are buoyant to the bite and the abundance of crunchy greens and organic tofu uplifts what would have been a muted affair.
What did stay muted unfortunately was the Curry Pan Mee. It comes across as having tried too hard but missing the mark somewhat. The curry broth was a drab watery concoction and anything submerged in it would have basically failed.
We have to give the banana-leaved triangles of Nasi Lemak a shot, even if the carbs, no matter how pure and unadulterated, were starting to weigh us down. The use of brown rice means Pure Life does end up compromising the fluff factor but if we look past that, everything else, down to the sambal, makes for a decent little package.
We come to the last, and what's probably the most worthwhile part of the experience at Pure Life. Patrons are encouraged to clear their tables and take their plates through a waste-friendly 5-basin washing cycle. It begins with a rinse and scrub in the first basin, containing palm oil and coconut oil, before moving to the second basin of oiltea camelia seed powder, a cleansing agent. You repeat in the third and fourth basin before finishing with a clear water rinse in the fifth and final basin.
We think there's some way to go but Pure Life is doing something right here. It's not that hard for anyone half-sensible to appreciate the many reasons for greater personal involvement in changing the way we consume and dispose.
And guess what, the body feels great after. So great that I even pass up on Fat Tulip's offer to stop by for Kajang satay after!
Pure Life Organic
Jalan 1, Off Jalan Reko,
43000 Kajang
Tel: +603-8733 6189
His Neptunian version came with a hefty piece of stingray, cuttlefish and clams. He pronounced the curry opulent and joyfully liberating... kinda like the sea!
Mine was a more subdued but equally sumptuous affair of poultry and cuttlefish. I loved that they had the option of lai fun or laksa noodles because frankly, I don't give two shrimps for the other sort of noodles. The gravy was thick and had a distinct sourish taste - attributed to lashings of lime, perhaps? 
My hot geek friend's intense enjoyment of his bowl of noodles said it all. Yes, he's available, girls! He likes his curry hot and thick, his t-shirts bright and cheerful and his eyewear oversized vintage. He is also a huge proponent of facial hair (on men only... I THINK!) but thankfully, did not find fault with Fushou Lou for the misleading moustachioed appellation.
Penang Curry Mee arrived at the perpetually packed New Cathay Coffee Shop, Pulau Tikus. I like this version because the curry is a notch thicker than average but not as loaded as the curry laksas down south. Cloud Nine mornings are made of this.
To round off this day of eating well in Penang was a serving of Stewed Pork Leg, served with rice. The pork was fatty and invoked varying levels of lust. While not the best around, it was still very satisfying.
Madras Lane chee cheong fun stall, featuring an efficient production line of chee cheong fun.
Now this has been touted as one of the best in KL but frankly, I didn't quite get it. The CCF was cold to begin with, which isn't the way I like my breakfast. The simplicity of the two mingling sauces worked fine, as did the slippery smoothness of the rice noodles, but I would have liked it at least lukewarm.
Curry noodles, the cockles were practically still breathing! Too bad none of us were fans of raw cockles, as I imagine this would've really made the day for one. The curry was thick and nutty, and I liked the fact that the curry came with plenty of long beans and slices of brinjals, upping the veggie content from just the customary toss of beansprouts.
The star of the show at the area has got to be the Yong Tow Foo stall. The stall was completely inundated by patrons, who were jostling and pushing for the attention of the lady boss, a shrewd looking, sharp-mouthed woman presiding over yet another impressive production line responding swiftly to the mounting orders. I'm not a fan of yong tow foo to begin with so the fact that I found the stuffed brinjal palatable when dunked in the chilli and bean sauces goes to explain the queue - they have the goods!
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