Tag Archives: Taiping

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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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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New Colors, New Paintings

4 May

For two weeks in a row, we had two three-day weekends. From the work perspective, it’s not good because the work week has been shortened to four days but from the personal perspective, it’s really nice.

The weekend before, we drove up to Taiping and had a really waist-expanding gastronomic trip. But this week, we stayed put which turned out to be a really good thing too.

I bought new colors, 10 tubes to be exact, got an easel as a birthday gift (from hubby, no golf-related stuff this year) and more canvases.

The will to paint was strong and I whipped up three pieces on Sunday, doing another two pieces of the Penang Bridge in two different sizes and started a new subject matter: Uluwatu sunset. And on Monday, we were just chilling at home, I painted another Uluwatu sunset, this time fine-tuned the blending and another experimental color blend piece.

Such bliss.

   
   

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Destination: Taiping, Part 2

25 Apr

Sleep wasn’t the most comfortable but I guess it wasn’t critical when thoughts of what we can eat made up for it. Honestly, it was the pillow and somehow, my little travel pillow didn’t help this time. Sigh…

The day started off early with a trip to the Casual Market for breakfast. Located in the middle of the town, this food court had plenty to offer. A friend highly recommended Stall 64 for the Curry Laksa but it was closed! Oh… disappointment kicked in.

But fret not, there were plenty of other choices and we had our fill. And the day was still young, so we headed back to Taiping Lake Gardens as the skies were clear and perfect to admire the trees.

It was indeed very pretty, all the trees leaning towards the water. The reflection and the surrounding was so peaceful and calming. We sat by the lake just to breathe in the fresh air and absorbed some Vitamin D (the sun).

Then we headed to Kuala Sepetang to visit the Charcoal Factory. It was very enlightening to learn how charcoal are made. After that visit, we went across the road and explored the mangrove forest to pass time so that we can have lunch at Lemon Tree Restaurant nearby (in Matang) for the recommended seafood porridge. Like last night’s dinner, the porridge was very good, and cheap!

Sated to the brim (burp), it was time to leave Matang and Taiping now filled with memories of cheap eats and wonderful discoveries. The drive back was pleasant enough and we decided to detour to Ipoh for coffee! After all, this was a gastronomic journey, why not cap it with some good coffee.

Now you see why the need for stretchy pants?

Closed! Not our luck this time.


But we had all these other options!

  

Feels like entering a long tunnel. Branches are so unique!




  
  

Mr Chuah has quite an impressive charcoal factory!


Mangrove wood are stripped of the bark, sun-dried first and then into the kiln they go


The backyard for all the wood supplies to reach the clusters of factories at this place

  

This kiln has been sealed to further smoke the 1,500 pieces of mangrove wood inside. 


This fella was getting some hot charcoal to actually bake some potatoes!

  

This kiln has yet to be sealed. Smoke coming out is actually the moisture from the wood. Foreground rubber wood are used for burning to smoke the mangrove wood


  

Laden with crab, prawns, fish, scallops and fishballs, best seafood porridge we had!


Iced coffee, iced milk coffee and toast before we head home!

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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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