The Lontong Cap Gomeh was a jerky start to Surabaya's liberal lashings of nerve-numbing chillies. The chicken stew, cushioned by dense rice cakes and sliced root vegetables were a winning and reassuring broth in milky, nutty broth.
I relied on my benefactor's authority to weed out what was good on the menu based on an illustrious outing here not long after it opened. He was generous with his praise for the Gado Gado and he wasn't far off. The combination of just-blanched vegetables enveloped in a disarming creamy peanut dressing, best paired with REALLY hot chilli sauce.
Also highly recommended was the Cumi Goreng. It arrived a rather modest serving of golden brown battered squid in sliced red chillies and garlic. The squid rings were scrumptious, although he felt that it was a step down from what sold Surabaya at his first visit.
He also ordered the Mi Goreng Surabaya, which was truthfully, a bit of a disaster. It looked like mamak mi goreng and tasted no better than a mediocre midnight version, compensated only with more chillies. Definitely not for delicate gastrointestinal systems - we left most of it to waste.
With the tastebud massacre, we were only too happy to neutralise with plenty of liquids. Surabaya's beverage menu is a Technicolour dream, featuring a drink in every shade of the rainbow. We had the Yellow Dennis, a pineapple, lychee and longan brew and the agreeable pink Red Stop, a thirst-quenching blend of watermelon, strawberries and tomatoes.
And so with our hunger placated and our tastebuds anaesthesised by the profusion of spice, we skipped out on the rain-washed roads and headed back to our elusive (one time only!) weekend pilgrimage of pleasure and promise.
Resto Surabaya
No. 18-1, Jalan PJS 8/2
Dataran Mentari Sunway
46150 KL
Two chunks of well marinated, tender thigh chicken meat, swilling in an almost musical broth singing praises for the Saturday morning.
Check it. The location's somewhat challenging (the number on the top left corner of the signboard indicates 21, 273, 28/3) but it's on the main outer stretch, but if you look hard enough, it's there. 
Now we had made this journey for tomyam so imagine our collective anguish when we entered the air-conditioned and empty new space and then told there was NO tomyam served at lunch! Wait staff informed it was "too early, tomyam only from 3PM." Of course, there was the option of leaving and heading somewhere else with tomyam but we concurred with logic - it was 1PM, we were starving and also curious about the commotion going on outside.
The Som Tam was decent too and I liked that they used Thai Eggplant (Makuea Praow) here. The level of spice and zest was a sensible balance. They could've sliced the vegetables a wee bit thinner though - I felt like a goat chomping on these fibrous chunks!
Similarly, it's easy for us to mark down the good-tasting dishes delivered in the wake of the bad at an eatery. Such is a reminder I would like to enlist for Dubrovnik, which delivered more than it failed this one despondent weekend.
Fish in the midst - I ordered a new entrant to the menu, Riba Romesco, baked seabass with breadcrumbs served with a mountain of potatoes. This was commendable - the fish fresh and cooked to a tender quiet, the accompaniment sufficiently light yet ample. Like nights in with a loved one requiring no charades.
We gave desserts a shot and the Apple Pita (Pie) reinstated our faith in the gentleness of flour, cinnamon, fruit and sugar. Same ingredients of a winning concoction to intimacy, really.
The Mille Foglie received lacklustre affection. The pastry sandwiching light vanilla custard failed to provoke the passion so palpable in its predecessor.
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.
Ma Maison offers a RM30 nett meal of a myriad of emancipation from stuffy and restrictive diets and starters. There is plenty ot chew on, from garlic toast to toast with caramelised onions & cheese and egg mayo concoction, salad involving eggplant, pasta and beansprouts and potatoes. We were well sated on the homely fare before the main courses made it to the table.
We ponder in silence upon a totally pretty yet pedestrian visual arrest of the City of Love.
The Duck in Orange Sauce is perhaps the most fitting ode to the marriage vow - obliging and hope-inducing. The sauce is robust enough to pare down the fowl gusto of the duck. Most satisfying, as I am sure the parties of the impending union would concur of each other.
The other main course on offer, Perch in Butter Sauce didn't fare quite as well. The meal owner felt that while the flesh was firm and fresh, the sauce was a too heavy on the cream and didn't do it justice. Hmm... mayhaps a conundrum for marital discourse?
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