Tag Archives: food

New Discoveries

3 Oct

Over the weekend, we visited hubby’s parents for a quick escape. The trip also became a discovery for new food along the way. Typically, we would stop over in Ipoh for lunch, but this time, we opted to stop in Taiping instead.

We went to a new restaurant as the one we had in mind was closed. It was a pleasant discovery – the lunch was very yummy even though they were simple choices!

Fried mullet and seafood porridge. Yummy

As for the drive, it was tedious because there were a lot of cars on the road. It’s strange, considering the weekend was just a normal one, not a long public holiday stretch.

Heavy traffic on the way up North!

And it was the same tedious drive on the return journey the next day, albeit a little longer. It was akin to driving during the festive holiday, clocking in six hours towards North and eight hours on the return. Nonetheless, the visit was good.

Return journey was worse!
Flavorful dinner at Tapah.

We stopped at Tapah for dinner and discovered new dishes at our regular stop. The choices were very satisfying for the palate and easy on the wallet too! Before we knew it, the weekend was over, and here we are, back to another busy work week ahead.

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Progress After the Food Trail

10 Jan

We have dived straight into our 16/8 diet this week and pleased to say we are holding up okay. There’s no withdrawal symptoms from the change in pattern nor from the diet that now consists of minimal meat/protein, some carbo and lots of fiber.

I have gone back to my usual tea only in the morning before the salad lunches and healthy home-cooked dinners at home, all within the eight hours window to eat and no further intake during the 16 hours except for one night where we had fruit cake and tea at a friend’s.

I am also mindful to move to burn some calories but exercising has been a challenge when every evening I’d sit at my little corner to work on my carvings. I’m not too worried though because this would be resolved once we go back to playing golf.

But of late, the endometriosis attacks have been rather frequent and the pain level ranges, it’s unbearable and hard to do much. The night when we were at the airport, I had to take my painkillers twice in a span of three hours apart because the pain was simply horrible. There’s no words to describe this. Sigh…

Other than this problem of mine, I’m glad to say the both of us have adjusted after the food trail, with our weight almost back to pre-M1’s arrival.

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Now We Wait

6 Jan

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We thought it was rather cute to stand in front of KFC’s Fun Land signage at KLIA.

Last night, we sent M1 off. The two and a half weeks of wonderful quality time together has come to an end, so has the gastronomic food trail too. She had a long ‘To Eat’ list and we got most on it covered. But towards the last few days, hubby and I surrendered and was glad her friends took her out for a couple of dinners giving us a breather.

Now we wait, having heard from her this morning when she arrived in Incheon Airport on time and departed for Narita two hours later. Soon we will hear from her when she arrives in Narita to complete her second leg. After that we will have to wait until the wee hours of Tuesday morning (or Monday past midnight) when she lands in Portland to hear from her again. Long wait. Long trip.

No tears this time and like I said, acceptance. And quietness all over again at home. Sigh… best if I channel my focus now towards preparing for Chinese New Year.

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Playing Tourist

30 Dec

I had a good night’s rest on Saturday night after we returned from our trip because it’s back to the familiar – my bed and pillows. And Sunday was a day to play tourist besides just eating to check off M1’s ‘to eat’ list.

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Glass noodles, crunchy honey bacon and crispy fried kailan. So good!

We started the day with a late lunch then we visited Batu Caves! The last time we were at this tourist spot was when M1 was just slightly a year old (but we didn’t bring her along). Now 21 years later, we revisited and with her this time.

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Crowded but not overly so at Batu Caves

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It’s so bright and we were all squinting!

Initially we all felt climbing the 272 steps wouldn’t be daunting even though it was hot and humid. But at mid-point I was sweating buckets and decided to check my heart rate; it spiked up to 144 bpm! Wow… a little more taxing than I thought. Even M1 and hubby had to stop every now and then for a breather. But we persevered and finally made our way up to see the shrines inside.

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Almost there!

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The main temple area

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The second temple, up the stairs from the main section

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Looking up at the limestones from the second temple

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View from the second temple down to the main temple

I think we stayed on a while longer to recover from the climb more than to take photos before making our way down the rainbow steps again. I must say, the going up and coming down stressed different parts of the body – up affecting the heart and thighs, and down, the knees.

When I reached the bottom, the legs were not so much jellied but instead the knees felt painful from the weighted grind of the bones as a result from the descend. We thought it was a good overall workout burning some calories especially when we have been eating so much.

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A well-deserved banana leaf rice, butter naan, paper thosai and condiments, complete with resam and lassi to drink

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Frozen mugs of beer and a mouth-watering molten lava cake

We ran some errands after the unplanned tourist stop and time passed by quickly. All in all, it was a good day and ended with a hearty banana leaf dinner, followed by a cold beer each and dessert at our favorite watering hole again! That night, my legs were so sore to the core, sleep evaded me. Sigh… I hope I can sleep better tonight.

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Revisiting Some Attractions

28 Dec

Since we came to Matang for lunch, we thought visiting some of the local attractions would be a good experience for M1. The last time we were here, M2 and my mom was with us while M1 was still in the US.

We covered the Charcoal Factory first as it was the closest. The place despite being hot and humid, was a nice revisit for me at least. To see the giant kiln again and although understanding only 70% of the process because the guide spoke in Mandarin and I’m not so well versed in that language, it was sufficient.

One kiln can fit 1,500 pieces of mangrove logs and they would stay in there for 24 days to be smoked and dried. After 24 days, they’d remain inside for another eight days for the heat to dissipate and the logs to cool down before being removed. There’s actually more to the process but as the guide went on and on in Mandarin, I lost him towards the end. Oh well.

We left the place to head for Taiping next and it rained. Heavily too! Haish. How to see the giant rain trees surrounding Taiping Lake?

The giant being propped & the road perpetually closed

We almost gave up but luckily the rain dwindled and we managed to come down to take some nice photos. Once the photo ops were done, we decided not to stay the night in Taiping but drive home instead. It will be late by the time we get arrive but it’s okay, we’re in no hurry and it’s been a good getaway.

Local fruits at the rest stop along the highway

More local fruits! Can you name them?

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A Leisurely Drive

28 Dec

The goodbyes were swift and short. We left at ten to fill up the petrol tank before hitting the highway. Traffic was not that heavy and you could say it was a leisurely drive.

It’s always nice to drive past the paddy fields

I took another painkiller, this time more for the headache developing from the lack of sleep and not for the endometriosis pain which subsided. It’s going to be a long day and I didn’t want to be in any discomfort throughout the journey.

We decided to go to Matang for seafood porridge instead of crab porridge at Nibong Tebal. And it was worth the detour, Matang being further from the highway compared to Nibong Tebal.

Satisfying loaded seafood porridge

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Unexpected Attack

28 Dec

I had a horrid unexpected endometriosis attack last night! I suspect it could be due to having the extra sips of the boba drink that triggered it. The Xin Fu Tang was all milk and cream and it was actually very nice – not too sweet as we thought. So a couple more sips was all it took and I suffered the consequences. Sigh…

The pain was building up before dinner and I took a painkiller before going out. We had Thai food which was actually very nice but the pain by dinner time overshadowed the food. When we got home, I had to take another painkiller and it didn’t help. Almost keeled over. What a spoiler. Hrmph.

This morning I am feeling slightly better despite a restless night. The worst is over. Phew.

We say goodbye to the (grand)parents today to continue on with the food trail to other parts of the country. I need to be more careful on my food intake to avoid another unexpected attack.

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Non-stop Eating

27 Dec

After the morning market excursion, we decided to drive a distance away to eat Ah Cheng Laksa. This name has become a franchise brand and they have shops everywhere but we hardly eat this back in KL.

The humble beginnings of a franchise

However today felt like a good day for Assam Laksa. And apparently this stall in front of the house (presumably Ah Cheng’s home?) is the original beginnings of the brand and we were not disappointed.

Cold desserts for a hot day!

Assam Laksa (top) and Prawn Mee (bottom)

The desserts were very yummy. And both the Assam Laksa and Prawn Mee were very flavorful yet not too overpowering and the portions were just nice so we didn’t feel overly stuffed. Which was a good thing because we went for a body massage after that.

I opted for a head, neck and shoulder massage while M1 did a full body massage. Unfortunately there wasn’t enough masseurs working, so hubby just waited for us.

My masseur wasn’t the best I must say. Half the time, she was just pressing my shoulders, messing my hair, pinching and squeezing my arms instead of working the knots and veins. I felt both my arms were being bruised from her actions.

And the chair that I sat on when I had to switch places for her to work on my back, oh my goodness! It squeaked every single time when she pushed rather than massaged my back. Not quite what I had hoped for… thankfully the session was only an hour and not more.

After a quick stop to get a boba tea, we came home to rest and planned for dinner. I feel so bloated just thinking about it. We have become eating machines with all this non-stop eating!

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An Interesting Morning

27 Dec

The al fresco breakfast place was a short drive away. Tucked in a corner of the parking lot adjacent to the housing flats, we found a table. While everyone had coffee and Roti Canai, I took only two bites of Roti and had a cup of hot tea, served with ice on the side. Interesting.

Nasi lemak, Roti Canai, a frothy milk coffee and my tea, ice on the side

M1 decided to try the packet Nasi Lemak which turned out to be more of a Rice with Curry Chicken than Nasi Lemak with the usual cucumber, anchovies, peanuts and egg condiments.

After breakfast, we drove to the morning market for some fresh coconut and to our delight, the fishmonger was in action, descaling a huge 18 kilos grouper. What a sight! It has been an interesting morning.

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About Last Night

27 Dec

Big Tree Foot was basically an eatery place under a big tree. The place was packed but we managed to get a table. Hubby and M1 joined the long queue to choose the Yong Tau Foo choices and we waited for half an hour, despite being super fast and efficient, before the order came.

Dragonfruit juice, noodles and Yong Tau Foo

The Yong Tau Foo was something different from the usual Chicken Rice fare if we were to stop in Ipoh town, so a good choice. The Chee Cheong Fun was very nice. After lunch, we bought some snacks from the Indian uncle and also went to the famed confectionery shop nearby, not to buy but to see the queue line for the peanut brittle candy. The things people endure for food. Amazing.

We arrived at hubby’s parents house by 4.30pm and had a good rest before venturing out in search for dinner! Goodness, I feel like a glutton.

Otak-otak, Satay, noodles, grilled squid & stingray and popiah

Dinner was a good spread of several choices. Thankfully, we had three others joining us (the parents and an aunt) for the occasion otherwise we wouldn’t have ordered so much. Still… burp.

We are now on the way to breakfast and I’ve decided to just take photos and don’t eat because I am still full and need to digest last night’s intake. It’s been a packed food trail!

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