At The Ruai

There's nothing like getting to know about new places early. I was driving pass a row of old shophouse near Havana one fine evening when I saw a familiar face sitting next to the open main window of this new establishment. I looked at the humble signage outside and it read 'Ruai Kitai'. I was, admittedly, in the mood for a beer, so I parked and walked in. I was greeted with a glass of 'tuak' and yet another glass of 'langkau'. I knew I was going to be a happy man.

Still, there was something about it that charmed me...maybe the abundance of antiques and works of art on the walls or maybe it was the cheap beer. Or it could be the smell of burning pig face on the barbie outside or maybe just the buzz from drinking on an empty stomach. I decided right there and then that this was to be my place, and I it's champion.

The owner, Peter, is a colourful character. A former civil servant, DJ, singer, antique collector, politician and now a pub owner and chef. Definitely a Rubik cube kind. A person with many facets. So he is handy and creative. He has a good eye for design too. All of that explains why most of his furniture's has been repurposed into something practical to suit a pub setting. The old Singer sewing machine stand now serves as a table footing. And the most interesting thing about the place is that almost everything you see are for sale. Even the chairs. There was an old gramophone that sold for a grand and a half.

Most of the items in here still works. I bought an old lamp last week and this one now hangs proudly at my crib. I got this for MYR120.00 which I thought was a steal considering the fact that the glass cylinder is the most difficult to find. There are many of these lying in longhouses or even back at my village but most are without the very important glass cylinder. Which does not make a complete 'lampu rusa' as it is referred to.

Here's another item of interest you will find on the display shelf. This here is an opium smoking apparatus which was abundant among the Chinese folks who came on the slow boat many years ago. Now, only a few exists. Peter has two and he isn't selling just yet he said. In its original form, it was brackish and dirty but Peter did the most ridiculous thing and polished it.

A bit of Shag Pohon Sagu and a little water introduced into the case afterwards and it worked perfectly. No leaks, no problem and mine soon.

I brought some of my crew down to the place on a few occasion and some liked it while some thought it needed air conditioning. While the rest of the boys may continue to stay at their current drinking place, I would like to claim a seat at the unpretentious short bar over at Ruai Kitai as my new annex.

I present the following justification for this move :-

Proximity: Ruai Kitai is near my salt mine and its about 25 paces from Havana.

Productivity: I can consume an estimated three Tiger an hour, swinging me into a frenzy of uninterrupted work of the conversing kind.

Inspiration: With some beautiful, traditional artwork on the walls, all I need to find inspiration for my own creative work is pull my head up from the beer mug and look around. There's an infusion of creativity here.

Aesthetics: I demand that I have aesthetically pleasing surroundings in a pub because I'm a serious drinker. Everything about Ruai Kitai is easy on the eye, from the aforementioned artwork, to the lovely repurposed furniture, to the nice presentation of the local food.

But really, if the MYR20.00 for a jug of beer doesn't attract you then I don't know what else will. Oh, did I also mention the barbecued pork innards was...schweeeeeeeettttttnessss.