SHAH ALAM, April 10 -- "You like fastidious artisans, eh?"

My instinct was to loudly protest, "No!" and to bring up many substantiated examples of not liking particular eateries that my partner had designated so.

But it slowly drowned in the sinking realisation that, yes, I actually do. If I recall correctly, my words to her at the time were, "I see a certain romance to them."

Which is why, on a recent weekday, with plenty of better things to do, I embarked on a 30-plus-minute trip to Setia Alam with a friend in search of one thing, and one thing alone: Taiwanese braised pork rice.

In all honesty, the dish - also known as lu rou fan - is easy enough to find in the greater Petaling Jaya/Kuala Lumpur area.

But I'd heard tales of this s...