dinner in kuala lumpur

tonight i had frog porridge for dinner from a chinese food hawker on jalan alor in central city, only a few minutes from our hotel. it is a very simple version of congee, a traditional chinese style rice porridge. congee is popular through asia for breakfast, lunch and dinner. i understand it to be a sort of comfort food for many chinese - the same way i feel about my mom's chicken and dumplings... anyways, the frog congee, incedibly simple, had really great flavor and texture. the porridge was heated up in a pyrex type sauce pan with a little water to thin it out a bit. it was garnished with some shaved green onions and a healthy dose of dark roasted sesame oil. a few frogs were cut into three pieces each, tossed into another sauce pan with a good amount of hoisin sauce, some soy sauce and chopped green chiles. it was quickly brought to a boil on a wok burner and delivered to our table in the cooking vesel, just like the congee. although she is usually quite adventurous as a diner, alina wasn't too thrilled about my plans for dinner, so i only ordered one portion (assuring her she could stop for noodles afterwards)... however, it was more than enough for two people (for only $2.50 us), which worked out well because she ended up eating it with me after realizing how good it was. the flavors were very delicate, as the congee is pretty bland, even with the sesame oil and hoisin from the frogs. however, as the chiles continued to steep in the hoisin sauce, they got 'nuclear' hot, completely changing the dish towards the end. it was great. the flavors were interesting, the porridge was tasty and filling and the frog was cooked perfectly, tender and moist and super fresh (probably still hopping around this morning in some market in the city...). david