We went for a family dinner at Khan's in Bayswater. We missed Mamak food actually, so we had a very hearty meal - lamb bryani and tika, mutton bryani, with a side dish of chicken bourgi, accompanied with drinks of lassi and mango juice. Not surprisingly, the restaurant was filled with people of all races, as London is famous for - the locals, the Arabs, the Chinese, Sri lankans and us Malays. The last time I was here in October 2008, the entrance was being renovated. Now the frontage is completed but the inside decor remains unchanged. The bill came to 49 GBP, which is equivalent to RM296! Very expensive, I should think. Kalau makan di kedai Mamak di Malaysia, tak sampai RM50. The same menu at a hotel also would not reach RM150.

Khan's logo is "If you have not been to Khan's, you have not been to London!" Khan's was established in London since 1977, and if Iam not mistaken, there is a new branch, Khan's at Kensington. The interesting thing about Khan's to me is the palm tree motif used on their corporate logo.

Certainly it reminds me of the oil palm, the Golden Crop of Malaysia.

To me, the oil palm, Elaeis guineensis, is a very beautiful palm species. With a thick canopy of leaves, it gives a good shade to the surrounding area. Years ago, I bought a piece of orchard land in Linggi averaging 1.14 acre. The land was a former oil palm plantation and when the developer asked the buyers whether they want to fell down the palms, I insisted I want the palms to remain encircling my piece of land. It turned out to be a good decision because only my lot boasts of the palms and the other fruit trees planted in my lot grew better than my neighbours because of the cool shade provided by the palms.