Tag Archives: Ipoh

Golf Getaway

15 Jul

It has been ages since we last participated in an away Interclub golf game organized by our Club. Over the last two years of living with the pandemic, strict SOPs made interstate travel and activities with large crowds difficult. All these are a thing of the past now.

If I remember correctly, interstate travel has been allowed since May this year, and golf tournaments are happening again. There are fewer restrictions, although we still need to mask up, especially in enclosed public areas. So it is nice to represent the Club for the away game, going for the trip via a chartered bus.

We are traveling to Penang first for a social game amongst ourselves. Then on Saturday, the entourage will leave Penang and travel to Ipoh for the Interclub game. Ipoh again – just last week, we were there for lunch!

Well, it is a nice change to play two rounds of golf outstation and not have to drive. I hope the trip will be a good and memorable one. Good outing, good company, good games, and good food!

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Short Excursions, Part 3

11 Jul

The short excursion plan continued over the weekend, but this was a little more than a short drive outstation. We decided to visit hubby’s parents up North.

The weekend was yet another festive holiday, and with Monday being a replacement holiday, traffic would be heavy. So, we left on Friday instead of Saturday, which turned out well for traffic that morning was not too bad.

As always, we detoured to Ipoh for lunch. But this time, we opted for something else instead of the usual Chicken Rice and beansprouts that Ipoh is famed for, and it was a pleasant change. Although our Nasi Ganja portion was not excessive, it was just enough for us. I have to say the coffee was excellent.

Nasi Ganja and iced black coffee
Curry noodles and Nasi Lemak for breakfast

For once, we did not play golf and just savored food that was under our radar previously. We even drove to the north-most state, Perlis, which I have never been to in my whole life. But sadly, there was nothing much to see there.

My first time visiting Perlis
A quick hello and goodbye

The weekend came and passed quickly. All too soon, it was time to return. The drive home was equally pleasant, without traffic jams on the highway. I’m glad we made the trip to see the folks who are well.

Love the green of the padi fields

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First Road Trip Post-MCO, Part 2

20 Jul

The weekend’s post-MCO road trip was nice. The drive up North was pleasant and didn’t take too long. As always, going away is about food. Our first stop was in Ipoh for lunch; we had Chicken Rice and bean sprouts.

The must-eat choice when in Ipoh

After lunch, it was smooth sailing all the way and we arrived by mid-afternoon. The folks are fine and doing good. But weather-wise, it rained a lot so we couldn’t go out. Anyway, with social distancing still in practice, we didn’t want to and was contented just to laze at home.

Before we knew it, it was dinner time! We decided to have Thai food at the restaurant that we visited the last time and discovered the restaurant has changed its name! Despite the change, the food quality was still good.

Previously it was called Khun de Thai

Saturday was our customary golf day. We make it a point, every trip to play at Darulaman Golf Club, which is a short drive away. And I am pleased that this round, I played so much better than all previous games.

After the game, we got boba teas!

The weekend quickly passed with another sumptuous dinner on Saturday night with the parents and an Aunty before we left on Sunday morning. On the way home, we opted for noodles instead of the usual crab porridge at Nibong Tebal and I must say, they were good choices.

The dinner spread for six
Lunch at Nibong Tebal

The journey home was peppered with rain now and then, but not too heavy until it made the drive tiring. It was a good weekend away.

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Smooth Sailing

28 Jan

The weekend passed by quickly and this morning we said our goodbyes to the parents and left at 8.45am. In anticipation of heavy traffic ahead, I packed lots of snacks and drinks to keep us fueled. But we were in for a surprise, it was smooth sailing!

It took us the normal two and a half hours to reach Ipoh, which was good. But we joined a long slow crawl after Ipoh. A quick check on Waze showed an accident further up. Oh dear.

Nonetheless it’s an okay pace because half the journey was completed already. Even if we arrived home by two, we’d still have done it in good time.

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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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Boxing Day

26 Dec

It’s Boxing Day and we left town to continue on with the food trail. After the sumptuous Christmas Eve dinner, we spent a very chilled Christmas Day at the mall and checked off a few more items on the ‘To Eat’ list.

The Christmas Eve dinner spread

At Din Tai Fung for xiao long pao & other favs

Milk tea ice cream and black coffee ice cream

We then watched the IMAX version of Star Wars the Rise of Skywalker which was very entertaining. Shopping was not on the agenda that much, rather a cold beer was preferred at our favorite haunt that we brought M1 to.

Cheers!

So this morning, we left home at ten and headed for Big Tree Foot for lunch instead of Ipoh this time. We felt a different destination would be nice for a change. But before we reached our intended destination, the Agromall was a must-stop to buy some local fruits!

We bought some fruits

At Big Tree

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It’s All About Food, Part 2

17 Sep

Now that the three long weekends are over and done with, it’s back to work. Sigh…

Over the weekend, we took Friday off again, this time to stopover in Ipoh for a round of golf and a full blown three meals of yummy eats prior to driving up North to see hubby’s parents.

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Nasi Lemak breakfast at the Agromall along the Plus highway

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A little hazy but it didn’t stop us at Royal Perak Golf Club

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Felt like a glutton doing Nga Choy Kai with Hor Fun AND Char Siew at Lou Wong after golf

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Amazed at the White Rabbit sizes! Humongous or Large anyone?

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Had to eat Nasi Kandar before reaching the house

Honestly, the weekend was also all about food, and golf too. And yes, the 16/8 diet was put aside as well. There was a variety of local fare we ate this time, mostly spicy but just as enjoyable.

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Caffe Diem in Pekan Cina was very hip with the decor and ambience

 

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Had dinner with an aunty. Cakes were really good

And the two rounds of golf, at Royal Perak Golf Club (on Friday) and Darulaman Golf & Country Club (on Sunday), was equally enjoyable with both games finishing in three and a half hours as we had the courses all to ourselves. Nice. However, the golf elbow flared up this time! Uh oh… I had to Salonpas it to reduce the pain.

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We had the course all to ourselves!

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After the game…

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After game lunch was a Kueh Teow goreng (top) and Pasembur (bottom)

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Dinner was a Fruit Rojak (top), Nasi Ulam (left) and Thai Kueh Chap (right)

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The Apom was nice while the packet of Nasi Lemak was very little but enough

Well, rest should fix the elbow and no more breaks until October. This has been a good break too like Club Med but the same cannot be said for the drive back this time.

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It felt like a Chinese New Year exodus drive. So tiring!

It was an unbelievable eight hours and 15 minutes to reach home! Very unusual for a typical 4.5 hours journey. Then again, when there’s a long three-day weekend, others are bound to take advantage of it as well, just like us.

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Destination: Taiping

24 Apr

You know you’re courting fatness when you go on a foodie road trip and stretchy pants are intentionally packed along. All those food that will be eaten will surely go to the waist and the stretchy pants will accommodate this indulgence!

Well, with the tennis elbow limiting my exercise, an outstation trip this time is not a golf outing so a food outing is the next best thing. It’s an unexpected public holiday today and we made the most of long three-day weekend with Mom and M2 for the short getaway.

The destination: Taiping this time instead of Penang or Ipoh, our usual go-to places. The little town has a lot of cheap and delicious eats worthy to rival the two other famed destinations.

The drive on Saturday morning wasn’t too bad without the holiday-makers although there were some stretches that were slow and congested. When we finally arrived at Taiping, we looked for a place to eat for it was way past the usual lunchtime.

The Char Kueh Teow we had was good, at a ridiculously cheap price that you simply cannot find in KL – Four Ringgit. Even the Chicken Rice was Four Ringgit, and both had sizeable portions, not less at this price. Food prices in KL has soared so much recently and to find something good at this price was just amazing.

The rain was a spoiler especially when we wanted to see the famed trees at Taiping Lake Gardens. And came down even harder when we made our way to Matang for dinner but we took things in stride. No rush, no hurry, no stress, just go with the flow of the situation.

Our dinner was so so cheap. I seriously think if we ate the same things back in KL, it would cost twice the amount! The portions were big and the taste… Oh so good.

Towards the end of the evening, the sporadic rainfall prevented us from coming out of the car. So we just drove around the town, which had a similar feel to Ipoh. Hubby and I agreed that the town is worthy of a revisit plus a golf game thrown in at Taiping Golf Resort.

We called it an early night as the next day, we had a more comprehensive food trail to do and sights to take in.

   
 
  
   

A fallen raintree that was equally appealing

  

Dinner was so good

 

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Short People Travel Too, Part 2

30 Mar

I must say I was impressed with the ample hooks in the bathroom of Kings Green Hotel at Malacca. It’s rare because most hotels that I have stayed at somehow do not place an importance on their availability, what more on height especially for short travellers. Could this be a hotel star-rating issue? A five-star versus a three-star for such amenities?

I remember when we were in Ipoh in August last year for golf as well, we faced a similar short travellers’ woes…

The hotel we stayed at was boutique-status and you would expect a nicer setup. If having a rain shower facility is considered a nice boutique offering, having no shower curtain certainly spoilt it.  I certainly didn’t place my dry clothes on the covered toilet seat because it’s so close by and water from such a height hitting a body would definitely splash beyond the imaginary demarcation.

In truth, I don’t recall any bathroom hooks (not even on the door) to hang clothes but I do remember the towel rack was placed at such a ridiculous height, it was impossible to use. I understand they may be trying to clear the floor but touching the ceiling? Goodness! How do I place my clothes? Throw them up and hope they land safely on it? Geez.

Maybe the boutique status was more of the coffees and cakes they serve at the lobby? Hmm… Now compare it a five-star hotel…

Several years ago, I was on a business trip to Singapore and stayed at Shangri-La on Orange Grove. Their bathroom was outstanding. Hooks everywhere and at a height a shorty feels right at home. Like I said, are such little details due to the premise’s space and ratings being a higher star-rating with full amenities versus a lower star rating with basics?

You would think that amenities were just stuff in the room and its fridge and bar, but no, additional hooks in the bathroom are actually an amenity too. Think about it the next time you travel…

Society must remember there are short people everywhere and because of this, I think I will start to document this little detail every time I travel from now on.

Ipoh-2016

The square patch above is the rain shower. Too bad I didn’t take a picture of where the towel rack was! 

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3.45am Tops It All

21 Feb

What’s worse than waking up at 5.30am for golf? Waking up at 3.45am for golf! Yes. This tops it all – the 5.30am, 5.00am and even 4.30am in the past.

Over the weekend, I did just that, waking up at 3.45am. It was a day trip from my Club to Ipoh for an Interclub match. With the tee-off scheduled at 8.00am, naturally our entourage had to start the journey early, like in the wee hours of the morning at 5.00am.

But we left the club only at 5.15am and arrived after the two and a half hours bumpy bus ride. With 15 minutes left before tee-off, the tee-off had to be delayed slightly for us to have a decently paced breakfast without choking. And after a quick group photo session, everyone’s off onto the fairways.

It was my first time playing at Royal Perak Golf Club. The past few trips to Ipoh for golf and food, RPGC was somehow never on our agenda. Well, there’s always a first time.

It’s a scenic course with lots of trees, short old ones and tall ones too. The fairways were generally narrow and very undulating. One has to be accurate and straight when teeing off to have a good second shot opportunity. Our flight mates were very serious and good golfers. My partner—another Club member, not hubby—and I totally lost out to them in terms of the golf course knowledge and management.

Did we have a good game? Err… well, I wore my new Adidas shoes and it felt very comfortable. No pruned toes. And I laughed a lot because I felt I was playing jackpot and not golf, raking up several 7s in a row on my scorecard! It’s one of those days that you cannot do anything else but just laugh at yourself.

The Interclub match saw our visiting team losing out to the host team by only four points, 998 to 1002 with a Four Balls, Best Ball format for scoring. Oooh.. ouch, so close. I am sure revenge is on every members’ mind when we host them for a return match in the near future.

We headed home immediately after the luncheon and prize presentation. And in the blink of an eye, another Sunday went by so soon.

  

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