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Klang Bak Kut Teh in Connaught, Cheras

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After we have had a long day strolling in the mall, we went to Taman Connaught for Bak Kut Teh. We have been there a couple of times and things seemed a little different this time. It was full, more brightly lit and busier.

A girl no older than 25 took our order with a tone of voice that was much older than her looks. She was expressionless, quick and forward, staring down the note pad while penning down our orders. She looks like she was in charge of the running of the humble eatery with the way she waves her order sheet and checking things around.

We were sitting across the cooking station where a young lad took charge of the incoming orders. Tall, skinny and an oily face that is on the verge of breaking out. The lad is probably in his late 20s. Based on the incoming orders, he organises the ingredients in a small bowl before putting them to boil.

The soup is as clear and as tasty as I’ve tasted it before. I absolutely love the combination of stomach, intestine and ribs. I was hoping there would be yao char kwai, maybe I should have brought my own. I am just wondering why there is no enoki mushroom since it’s a popular demand.

While waiting for our order to arrive, I find it amusing observing this lad at work. He is totally undisturbed by his hair, which practically covers 3 quarter of his face. He flicked it sideways whenever he needs to look up. Otherwise, his concentration is all on the pots of ingredients and the sheets of incoming order.

When I was his age, I used to see his station being a throne to some mid-fifties with a pot belly. And today, the scene has aged in reverse. Although this young lad is running a task that is traditionally mastered by seniors decades older, he is no less efficient. In fact, his meticulous measurement of the ingredient is probably one of the secrets of the eatery’s success. He constantly wipes his station with a damped cloth, a task of the least priority for the mid-fifties pot bellies.

The servers who run around the floor were much younger too. A much younger girl, probably in her late teens was tending the cash register. A foreigner in his late 20s was drying dishes on the side. Although young, but these group of people showed no infancy services but are assuring and determined as their seniors.

I think I am witnessing a time of change where the generation my age has come up to take over a dominant economic role. Looks like the moms and dads can take a much deserved break now.

The stall also serves steam fish that appears in every table, quite a popular dish here.

口香正宗吧生 Bak Kut Teh
Price Range: RM10 per single serving with varieties of ingredient except for mushroom. Need some luck to get Yau Char Kwai though.
Business Hours: Opens daily (Night)
Address: 147, Jalan Sarjana,  Taman Connaught, Cheras
Coordinate: 101.737053°, 3.082333°

15 Ways How NOT To Get Bitten By Leeches

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Prevention

Leech Socks
Wear it like how you would wear a sock and tie it just below your knee, this will prevent the leech from getting in between your toes and feet. The socks are generally light colored, which also makes it easier to spot leeches climbing up from the feet and looking for skin to attach to.

Tobacco
Get yourself a small bag of raw tobacco leaves which you can get from the market. Soak it inside the water, transfer it into a small bottle to carry around and spray on your clothes and pants. The smell of the tobacco is able to slow down the leech and ultimately intoxicate it. But it takes time, there’s no immediate effect.

Salt
Apply salt or water mixed with salt onto your hands or any exposed area. Remember not to apply any salt to any leech if it is already sucking your blood, this causes the leech to regurgitate its stomach contents into the wound and quickly detach.

Tobacco Socks & Armcover
Put some tobacco in a container and add some water (but not too much). Soak the socks / armcover in the tobacco & water overnight. The next day let the socks / armcover dry out. To certain extent, it should prevent leeches to cling on your socks, but according to some, it doesn’t stop leeches from doing so. You can use the same procedure with salt as well.

Bath Soap
Mix a bath soap with water and then rubs it on your skin. Spray if you can, since it’s easier and covers your exposed area much more evenly. Bath soaps are alkaline and it will prevent leeches from having direct contact with those areas.

Insect Repellant – Mozzi-Guard
It is an insect repellant but its Eucalyptus extract can prevent mosquito, as well as leech attack up to 6 hours. Click here for the full article. The effect of insect repellents is disputed, but it is generally accepted that strong (maximum strength or tropical) insect repellents do help prevent bites.

Stocking
Tightly woven lady stockings (to prevent penetration) and light colored (to enhance leech visibility), to be worn over outer garments, serving as a barrier.

Dettol
Apply / spray Dettol on your hands, necks and legs. The strong smell apparently keeps the leeches away. You may also soak / spray your socks, shoes, trousers or any exposed areas with concentrated Dettol.

Snuff In Castor Oil
Mix snuff in castor oil or any oil into a paste and apply the paste up to your knee level. With the existence of oil, this “conconction” stays on your legs even if you get into water.

Citronella Oil
You can purchase this from any aroma therapy shops. It is excellent as an anti leech solution as well as for other bugs, and also effective against sand flies.

Rubber / Diving Shoes
Their thickness and material prevent leeches from penetrating and getting a bite off your flesh.

Cover yourself sufficiently
The most reliable method is to cover exposed skin. Tuck your shirt into your pants. This will prevent the leech from crawling to your belly, armpits and anywhere warm. Cover yourself well so that it doesn’t give the blood sucking creature any opening to creep into your body. But long sleeves is not necessary. Tightly woven and light colored materials are the key.

Avoid contact with surroundings
Keep walking and not lean on anything. If you need to stop and take a rest, find a spot with direct sunlight, leech do not exist in dry and hot places. Typically you’ll find brown leech on the ground and tiger leech on the tree leaves as shown above.

Other home remedies
There are many home remedies to help prevent leech bites. Many people have a great deal of faith in these methods, but none of them have been proven effective. Some home remedies include: baking soda, citrus juice, Neem oil, eucalyptus oil or vinegar. Diluted calcium hydroxide may also be used as a repellent, but may be damaging or irritating to the skin.

Alcohol
In the BMJ medical publication back in 1994, Anders Baerheim and Hogne Sandvik said that “Exposure to beer tended to disrupt the leeches’ normal behavior…”. Read the full article here – http://www.donramon.net/articles/articles_level2_007.htm

Removal

Leech Removal Steps

Correct step by step on how to remove leeches from your body parts.

Knife
The easiest way you can get a leech off of your skin is to use a knife and slide it underneath the leech and flick it away. Pocket knives and butter knives work best for this. You will probably end up bleeding, but regardless, make sure you wash the wound out and put a bandage over it to avoid infection.

Fingernail
One recommended method of removal is using a fingernail to break the seal of the oral sucker at the anterior end (the smaller, thinner end) of the leech, repeating with the posterior end, then flicking the leech away. As the fingernail is pushed along the person’s skin against the leech, the suction of sucker’s seal is broken, at which point the leech should detach its jaws.

Leave them to full satiation
An externally attached leech will detach and fall off on its own when it is satiated on blood, usually in about 15 – 20 minutes (but will stay there for as long as it can), while internal attachments, such as nasal passage or vaginal attachments, are more likely to require medical intervention.

DO NOT USE …
Salt, heat, flames, soap, caustic chemical such as vinegar, alcohol, insect repellent, lemon juice, heat rub, or certain carbonated drinks or even other “natural remedies” to get leeches off. Also avoid using heat rub as many believe leeches have an adverse reaction to the menthol contained in it and will detach quickly upon contact with the substance. This causes the leech to regurgitate its stomach contents into the wound and rapidly detach itself. Typically, a leech sucks the blood out and some of its own “stuff” gets into your body. The last thing you would like to happen to you is to reverse this procedure. The vomit may carry disease and increases the risk of infection.

Simply pulling a leech off by grasping it can also cause regurgitation, and adds risks of further tearing the wound, and leaving parts of the leech’s jaw in the wound, which can also increase the risk of infection.

Treatment

After removal or detachment, the wound should be cleaned with soap and water, and bandaged. Bleeding may continue for some time, due to the leech’s anti-clotting enzyme. Applying pressure can reduce bleeding, although blood loss from a single bite is not dangerous. The wound normally itches as it heals, but should not be scratched as this may complicate healing and introduce other infections. An antihistamine can reduce itching, and applying a cold pack can reduce pain or swelling.

Some people suffer severe allergic or anaphylactic reactions from leech bites, and require urgent medical care. Symptoms include red blotches or an itchy rash over the body, swelling away from the bitten area (especially around the lips or eyes), feeling faint or dizzy, and difficulty breathing.