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A Little Bit of Everything

21 Dec

Saturday was a little bit of everything. We had a leisurely breakfast, then we walked along the beach enjoying the breeze and watching the busy activities. As we strolled along, we discovered a pod-like jelly creature, which we initially thought was a jellyfish pod carrying eggs. How ignorant we were.

Accordingly to the local chap who came up to us and educated us on this creature, it is not a jellyfish but something else, and it’s not poisonous but edible! One should just gut its innards out and then throw it into a Kerabu salad. Hmm… Interesting but I don’t think I will be adventurous enough to try this. Furthermore it’s a little too slimy for my liking.

After the stroll, we went back to our room and packed, getting ready to check out. As much as we enjoy Penang, it’s time to say goodbye. But not before making a stop at Kuantan Road to buy some ‘Beh Teh Saw’ biscuits and then to Sunshine Farlim Mall for another biscuit purchase. 

We decided to have an Assam Laksa, Chee Cheong Fun and Chendol lunch before we left the island. After all, these have yet to be checked off the ‘to eat’ list.

By two, we left the island and headed further North to visit hubby’s parents. We had a good dinner with his parents that evening since it’s hubby’s birthday and it’s been awhile since he last celebrated this occasion with his parents.

By Sunday, we had to make our way back home, detouring to Ipoh again – this time to buy a Salted Baked Chicken for dinner. The drive was rather tiring because traffic was quite heavy along certain stretches and it rained every now and then. Traffic on the highway will get worse as Christmas draws closer with loads of holiday makers on the road.

It has been a whirlwind week with M1 back; we’ve literally covered from South to North of the Peninsular. This week, we are staying put in town to finish my Christmas shopping and to fulfill M1’s checklist of ‘food to eat’, ‘people to see’ and ‘things to buy’ before she returns to university.

Yes, it’s a short time we have with her but better to have something than nothing at all.

  

Incoming para-sail!

   

Check those innards out!

  

All line up please

 

 

Everything was so good!

 
 

Brinjal, Tofu, Steam Fish, Chicken & Veg

 

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The Sun is Out!

21 Dec

It’s a good start to the day as after breakfast, I lounged by the poolside with the sun beating down. Let’s see how long I can endure baking under the sun while the girls went exploring along the beach. So did my tan even out? Nope. It got too hot!

A very lazy day, hubby and I went for a massage too while the girls just hung out by the pool after their beach stroll. Without any solid plans, we just chilled and then had lunch at The Bungalow again because we were not in the mood to drive out. We had the Lone Pine Sandwich, a Chun Piah (like a giant chimichanga), Inchi Kabin and of course, a nice cold beer.

By mid-afternoon, we decided to venture beyond the Ferringhi area. Perhaps some shopping and eventually dinner! I anticipate street food and definitely looking forward to it.

We ended up at Sg Pinang Food Court, meeting up hubby’s sister and her family. It was a good catch up time although we saw her not too long ago during the wedding several weeks back.

As far as food was concerned, more items were checked off M1’s list as tonight, we covered Char Kueh Teow, Prawn Mee, Chicken Wings, BBQ Stingray, Grilled Squid and Lobak. Burp…

All in all it’s a good end to the day. Tomorrow we leave Penang and head further north to visit Hubby’s parents.

   
   

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Noo… It’s Raining

17 Dec

Lone Pine is nice, very nice. It’s actually one door away from Shangri-La Golden Sands Resort and a much smaller outfit than Golden Sands; in other words, less crowded which suits us fine.

Our room is great! Comes with a balcony and big enough to fit four, it’s definitely comfortable. The sun was out only for a short while and by dinner time, it rained. I guess we will just dine on premise at The Bungalow and later enjoy the room. Tomorrow I hope the weather will be kind and let the sun come out!

  

  

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Eat Again!

17 Dec

It is literally a gastronomic adventure. We detoured to Ipoh for their famed Chicken and Beansprouts Kueh Teow. Stopping at Restaurant Lou Wong, which we did several months back when we came to Ipoh for golf, we can never be tired of this combination. Ipoh has the best beansprouts!

Coupled with Fish Ball soup and Chicken Feet, all I can say is burp!

As we make our way slowly into the island, just catching the rush hour traffic, the warm sun greeted us. I am simply dreaming to be by the poolside with a cold beer in my hand. Mmm…

Lunch in Ipoh

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Penang Again!

17 Dec

I’ve lost count the number of trips we’ve made this year to Penang! But it doesn’t matter, the place is awesome. 

I must say it’s not a habit that we practice often to have back-to-back trips, it’s just too tiring. But here we are, doing a back-to-back road trip, with a day’s rest in between upon returning from Singapore. All for M1 because she’s back for a break from university.

Our last back-to-back trip was early this year: flying off to Hua Hin/Bangkok for golf and then a week later, to Tawau in Sabah, East Malaysia also for golf.

Penang is a food haven. It is for this reason we are going there. Forget my scale’s wrath. I should live life to the fullest, eat and worry later! Otherwise when M1 returns to the US, I’d just go play golf more to work off all the intake.

This trip we are not staying at our usual Shangri-La Golden Sands at Ferringhi but at a different hotel. Looking forward to sun, sand, surf and of course, food!

Almost reaching the island. Yay…

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A Food Trip

17 Dec

Singapore was exhausting, filled with lots of walking, eating and very little shopping but we had a good time. We left the island on Tuesday to come home, having a huge Nasi Lemak for breakfast to kickstart the journey. And we had a lunch stop at Tangkak for beef noodles after an hour or so into the drive. When we were arrived home by six, a good rest to recharge and we were out again at the mall for some shopping and dinner; choice of porridge this time, with Kung Po Frog, Fu Chok and a side of vegetables.

I know my scale in the bathroom is just fuming at me, with all this intake. So to kill the guilt, we actually had a gym session last night to work off the Roti Bom breakfast and Steam Chicken, Siew Yoke, Char Siew Rice/Noodles lunch. As there’s less walking somehow when we are back home, a more conscious effort is needed to burn all those calories.

But it doesn’t stop here! Surprise… Surprise…

We head up north to Penang today for more foodie adventure and hopefully some sun. It rained the whole time we were in Singapore. A good tan would be nice especially with all my uneven golf tan lines but I suspect we are all looking forward to the food more than the sun. With a planned lunch stop at Ipoh, it will indeed be a gastronomic trip!

 

Biggest Nasi Lemak pack in Singapore!

  

Claypot Beef and Beef Koay Teow

  

Porridge time at One U, LG Level

  

Very good Siew Yoke in SS2, PJ

 

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What to Do in Singapore

15 Dec

It has been a precious family time together in Singapore doing what we normally do: eat, shop and enjoy the attractions. 

It used to be we would take in the zoo or Night Safari (when the girls were much younger) or simply enjoying Orchard Road for its shopping and Christmas decor, this time it’s different. With the new Gardens by the Bay, we spent quite a fair bit of time at this new attraction.

Not to mention, the food that we savored, all for M1’s sake, nothing was holding us back. Not even the daily rain. I remember when I first came back from college for my holidays, Mom and Dad would indulge me when it came to food. Likewise, we are doing the same now as parents for my firstborn.

The list is rather long to check off but we are managing. Although we leave Singapore today, it is with fond memories that the last three days has been wonderful as far as food was concerned.

 

Food court in Bugis Junction for dinner

      

Gardens by the Bay

 

 

Parma Ham pizza and Bento box dessert for lunch

 

Choices for dinner at Satay by the Bay

   

Mee Hoon Koay and Singapore Laksa for breakfast

 
    
 

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A Long Day

14 Dec

Saturday had never felt like such a long day. We had a hearty Indian breakfast before leaving home, taking a leisure drive to Singapore to meet M1, due to touchdown pass midnight at Changi Airport.

Along the way, it rained making the drive not so pleasant but we prevailed and got to the hotel by mid-afternoon. After checking in, we rested a bit but then decided to head out to kill time. Can’t be cooped up in the room twiddling our thumbs while tracking her flight path. She was delayed at Narita. This was what I had feared earlier. The 50 minute gap is just insufficient but thankfully, her ETA stated half an hour late.

It was only six o’clock and we still had seven hours to kill. We had local food at the food court in Albert Centre, close to where we opted to stay this time, Ibis Bencoolen. Away from our usual choice of Shangri-la, Bugis Street was a new place to explore.

The shops along this tourist attraction reminded me of Chatuchak in Bangkok. The only difference being here, the overall place is smaller and most stalls have air-conditioning. We explored as much as possible but there was only so much walking we could do and decided to head back to the hotel. 

By nine, hubby and M2 were sleepy but we had to stay awake. One decided to watch a movie, the other gave in to forty winks.

In the end, the anxiousness got the better of us and we left Ibis at 10.15pm. We decided to take the SMRT to the airport and then later, catch a cab back. By 11.15pm, after one train change at EW4, we arrived at the airport.

Changi is huge. We had to walk quite a distance to get to T1. In the process, all three of us got hungry! Well, dinner was at 6.30pm earlier so that can’t hold the tummy with all this extra walking and anxiety.

ETA showed 0057am, Sunday morning. We still had time to kill. Gosh… It’s rather excruciating when every minute stretched and felt like an eternity. We found a great spot at Starbucks, overlooking Belt 20 where the flight’s bags would come out. Tick… Tock…

By 0056am, her flight from Narita touched down! Yay… finally. It took a while before we spotted M1, sauntering cooly towards Belt 20. She didn’t look tired or zombied after that 24-hour journey. Phew. After lugging her bag off the conveyor belt, and in a blink of an eye, all that waiting and worried thoughts (especially on the delay) vanished when she came through the doors and we hugged her. Relief and happiness set in but the day was not done yet!

We took a cab back to the hotel and with all this excitement, it was hard to wind down. But when it finally did, it was 3.45am when I hit the pillows.

What a long day.

Together again!

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I’m So Excited

11 Dec

It’s so cliché to say how fast time flies but it’s true. Tomorrow my M1 returns from the USA for her Christmas holidays! Whee… and when she comes back, she has gotten this whole lot of Oreos for us! Double whee…

We will of course be tracking her flight and arrival. It will be an anxious time especially when she has that connecting flight to take at Narita International Airport with just a 50 minute gap. I don’t want to dwell on this and just hope no delays in between.

Can’t wait for the moment when the family gets to hug her again. And all that glorious Oreo… Wheee…. 

 

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Can’t Have It All

23 Nov

Kuching was enjoyable but one can’t have it all nice and comfy. On Day 1, we had rain and soggy conditions on the fairways when we played at Kelab Golf Sarawak (KGS); on Day 2, we had lovely cloudy conditions at Damai Golf and Country Club and beautiful seaside surrounding to bask in and on the last day, it was scorching hot at Samarahan Country Club. And during the trip, we have to wake up at the usual 5.00am every morning; in fact on the day when we departed, I had only two hours of sleep while some of the others did not even sleep!

All three days, the hosts from all the three clubs were amazing. They took care of all of us and made the golf outings most enjoyable. Each of the courses had their own challenges and we also had the weather factor. The camaraderie was good and the golf fun.

Amazingly, I came back a nett winner on the first day. Our host was most gracious to give prizes to both clubs, for men and women categories – gross and nett best players. I seem to do well when I am in KGS as this is my second win on my second visit. But the same can’t be said for my game on day two and three. Put it this way, with three different weather conditions, I played as varied as the weather. 

Food wise, I ate so much, I could feel my waistline expanding and true enough when I got home last night, it was a horrible moment standing on the scale. Super sigh. When you think you cannot eat anymore, something nice is served up and it’s not nice to decline.

Well, it’s back to reality. Can’t have it all.

 

Day 1 at KGS


 

Day 2 at Damai


 

Day 2 dinner

 

Day 2 supper

  
 

Day 3 at Samarahan

 
  

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