S. Pan Trading sole hat shop in Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown

The wearing of hat has been an important part of traditional Chinese culture. During the Han dynasty (206-220 A.D.), the cap could only be worn by a person of high status; a labourer could only wear a headband which he used to wipe his sweat. Young children wore hats as protection against evil spirits. When a man had reached the age of 20, he had to go through a "Ceremony of the Cap" to indicate that he had reached adulthood, and had the right to wear a cap.

Unfortunately, today, Chinese Malaysians of both gender seldom wear hat as part of their fashion accessory. Even if they do, it is a Western hat like a baseball cap, fedora, felt hat, panama or cartwheel hat. However, I know one person who always wears a Chinese nobility cap (centre pix) during Chinese New Year -- he is Master Chin, a noted fortune-teller in Kuala Lumpur's Central Market.

Looking for a hat shop in Kuala Lumpur is tricky. By serendipity, I stumbled upon S. Pan Trading and almost squashed their hats put under the sun to dry (top pix). They offer quite a variety of interesting hats. The store is located on No. 65, Jalan Tun H.S. Lee, Kuala Lumpur. It is just a hat's throw away from the Sri Mahamariamman Temple. Why not get a hat as part of your fashion accessory? Latest update: The store has shifted to Jalan Raja Laut, just after the Bangunan PAS.

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Gurkha curry worth trying

My posting on Nov, 27, 2009 didn't speak highly of Gurkha food at Restoran Gurkha on Jalan Tun H.S. Lee in Kuala Lumpur. So, to find out whether it was the cuisine per se that was yukky or the restaurant itself lacking culinary skills, I went to The Khukri on Jalan Tun Tan Siew Sin one weekend for brunch. The A4-sized menu listed about 30 dishes in Nepali but they were accompanied by explanatory notes in English. Among the interesting items were the pork and buffalo dishes. In terms of ambiance and furnishings, The Khukri was cosy and clean and air-conditioned.

I tried four items: momo (vegetable dumplings), dheno khano set (chicken curry set) haluwa (dessert) and organic tea. Mildly spicy, the momo awakened my senses, and each dumpling was similar to Chinese choy pau (vegetable pau) but with spicy fillings. The dheno khano set came with rice, fried potates, chicken curry, dhal (Gurkha style so it tasted different from our Mamak version), chutney and soup. I was pleasantly surprised that the curry was in a class of its own. Compared to Indian curry, it was as different as chalk and cheese, and exuded a stimulating zing! Diners with a sweet-tooth will love haluwa (its texture was like that of Chinese fatt ko but was very sweet!). However, I was disappointed the organic tea was just the "twin" of Chinese cha (I had expected an exotic brew from the Himalayas).

Anyway, adventurous gourmets should give this extremely affordable restaurant a try. To get to The Khukri, I recommend you park at Gedung Mydin and take a five-minute stroll there. Bon appetit!

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