Slowly getting into the grind

Phew, finally....the school holiday-Christmas-New Year-Chinese New Year back-to-back madness has come to an end. Yesterday was another public holiday, Federal Territory Day, and there'll be another two public holidays next Monday and Tuesday! So many holidays....After next week, there'll be five full and proper weeks of school before the first term one-week break in mid-March. It's hard to get into the full swing of things when there are so many holidays, so much food to eat, so many gatherings, short travels...and now I'm recovering from the consequences of all these -- sore throat, cold and cough. And we've moved into February already!

Here's a summary of what we did between the last blog post and this:

CNY reunion dinner with E's family - lots of food prepared by my MIL, one of E's cousins and his family visiting from Melbourne joined us at the sumptuos dinner. We spent the night at my in-law's home to herald the new lunar year of the Dragon. The neighbours let off loads of firecrackers but C slept through it all. I hardly slept a wink that night as I'm a light sleeper and do not take to strange beds.

The next morning, we went to a special CNY mass at church and received blessings in the form of mandarin oranges and angpows from the church. Then, we went home to have brunch, another round of the same dishes we had the night before. We then left for home in the afternoon. We spent the rest of the first day by ourselves at home, packing our stuff to visit my parents at their  home the next day.

Upon arrival at my parents on the second day of CNY, we went out for lunch. Luckily, my favourite beef noodle shop was open so we had the town's specialty. Unfortunately, that day's serving didn't taste as nice as it usually does. Maybe their regular cook was off celebrating CNY and the stand-in wasn't as skilful in preparing the dish....

Beef noodles at Yee Kee, Seremban

The next day, we made a day trip to Melaka to visit a few of my aunts and uncles. C even belted out a few Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber songs with my aunt's karaoke set! We got home to my parents' house in the evening and proceeded to have dinner at a restaurant. We were lucky that this restaurant could take our reservation. The night before, we checked out three restaurants and they were fully booked, and we had to go to a nearby mall for dinner at Secret Recipe, a local cake-cum-cafe chain.

Here's some of the yummy stuff we ate for dinner at Silver Dragon Restaurant.

Stir fried mixed vegetables

Fried rice

Pork trotters in red wine sauce

Steamed cod

Tofu with minced meat

We returned to KL on Thursday, rested a bit and attended a few more gatherings with family and friends over the weekend. Needless to say, we ate a lot at every gathering! 

Happy Chinese New Year of the Dragon!

Come Monday, we will celebrate the new lunar year of the dragon. School will be closed for the entire week and E has also taken extra days off work to be free for the week. This year, like in past years, we are celebrating Chinese New Year modestly. We exchange food hampers with immediate family, get together for the reunion dinner, give the kids angpows, visit my parents on the second day and meet up with a small group of friends where possible.

I didn't do any special spring cleaning of the house. Neither have we put up any decorations so far! We're even slower in getting into the CNY spirit this year compared to last year. At least last year, we took out whatever little decor items we had in storage and hung them around the house. This year, we didn't buy any and have been too lazy to dig the old ones out of storage. Today, my mum gave me two cardboard cutout dragon motif decor pieces so I shall put them up tomorrow morning. Otherwise, it will be obsolete next year. Two days ago, I went on an express shopping trip to get some new clothes for ACE as a symbolic act of having something new.

It is customary to have as much as possible things that are new in the house and on ourselves -- out with the old, in with the new for a good, fresh start to the new year. Back in the day, the entire house will be washed inside and outside, repainted, old cushion covers, curtains, sheets replaced with new ones, and several sets of new clothes including pyjamas, undergarments, shoes, accessories will be bought or tailored. The kitchen will be bustling and emanating with various aromatic odours of festive dishes and other goodies like cookies, cakes and 'nian gao'. And it is common understanding that all homes are open to visitors so we can just go to our family's and friends' houses anytime we wish.

These days, everything is commercialised from spring cleaning (hired cleaners from cleaning agencies), to new clothes (so many choices from boutiques and departmental stores), to cookies and nian gao (no need to make your own, you can buy them from just about anyone/anywhere). And open houses are 'organised' with invitations for guests to come on a certain day at specified times.

Aah, I could go on and on comparing the CNY I experienced as a child compared to the one C has been experiencing but I guess we've only got ourselves to blame for not carrying on the same practices. It's also partly due to the fact that times have changed.

Whatever it is, we just need to remember that it's not so much the activities of the festival but the spirit of it and more importantly that it's spent with family and friends. And C is definitely getting into the spirit so to speak, as portrayed in this dialogue I had with her a few moments ago:

Me to C who had been watching TV all evening: It looks like you're not going to get any homework done today!
C: Come on, I gotta celebrate....
Me, puzzled: Celebrate what??
C: Chinese New Year!!

So here's wishing one and all a new year of good health, wealth and prosperity, as how it's typically worded for this festive occasion.

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Xin Nian Kuai Le! Wan Shi Ru Yi!

I bought a ukelele

In the past year, C had been asking for guitar and vocal lessons. We, however, have not granted this request as we felt that she will be biting off more than she can chew. As it is, with long school hours, homework, piano and drum lessons, and Bahasa Malaysia tuition (I've yet to find a new teacher as the previous teacher was no longer suitable), there's hardly time left to play, exercise or do anything else. So any other type of lessons that involve attending formal classes, and the additional costs of fees and driving to and fro for it is out of the question.

I had thought that a compromise would be to get a cheap guitar or ukelele (it's more suitable in size and easier to learn) and let her learn it on her own. The thought had been left idling in the back of my mind until recently when I chanced upon a Groupon offer for a cheap made-in-China ukelele (yeah, we always associate 'cheap' with China right? haha). So we made a spontaneous decision to buy it.

One of C's favourite colours is pink, so we chose a pink one.

Although I subscribe to Groupon and it's email alerts of its offers, I'm usually very disciplined in not buying anything and everything just because it's cheap, although they could be things that I need (like a nice holiday and spa visit) or things that are nice to have (like jewelry, handbags, meals at restaurants, manicures). Lack of spare cash is the main deterrent besides having to travel some distance at times to the outlets to collect the things. Luckily, the ukelele was sold by this music studio that's close by my house and for RM69, it is an item that is educational and lasting, unlike a one-time manicure or meal.

So we now have a ukelele in addition to a few other musical instruments at home. We can learn how to play it through websites and by watching YouTube videos. And when I find a book like 'Ukelele for Dummies', we could learn from there too. YouTube is a convenient place to learn how to do many things, from riding a bike, fixing a leaky tap, cooking a dish, to playing music. One must, however, be smart to know when it is alright to learn through videos and when it is better to learn hands-on through proper teachers.




There are many ukelele artists and bands but they are probably known only to those who are uniquely interested in it. They are not as popular compared to the mainstream popular singers and bands that top the charts.  One of them was Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, a Hawaiian ukelele singer, and in more recent times, our Malaysian songbird Zee Avi, who has broken through the international scene, has given the instrument a bit more exposure to Malaysians.

Ipoh - An Adventure of Sorts

After a gastronomic thrill on the northern island dubbed as the Pearl of the Orient, we headed back south to a town in a neighbouring state known for its tin mining in the past, limestone hills and caves, 'white' coffee and pretty lasses (they say it's because of the fresh spring waters there!?). Ipoh has always been a town we bypassed on the way to Penang. Come to think of it, if not for E having relatives there, I'd probably not have visited it at all. This year, ACE made a record number of three visits to Ipoh - once in August for his cousin's wedding, once in early December for his uncle's 80th birthday, and recently, this food and cave-visiting trip with my parents and younger brother's family that I'm writing about here.

While there are places to see in Ipoh, although not as many compared to Penang, our main intention of visiting this town was to taste the good Chinese food it's well known for. Ipoh is a smaller town compared to Penang and you need not drive too far to get to any good eating spot. We spent two nights in Ipoh going to a few good Chinese restaurants, coffee shops and Ipoh's dim sum 'landmark', a place named Foh San, which is perpetually crowded on weekdays and weekends. We also did not leave out Ipoh's famous chicken dishes - the beansprout chicken noodles and salt-baked chicken. We also bought some Tambun pomelos and 'heong peng'.

Other than our foodie and cave adventures, we took an unexpected drive to Menglembu, about half hour's drive from Ipoh town. What happened was that our car got hit from the back as we were waiting to exit a junction and after a short discussion with the 'lady in the blue car', we tailed her to her home in the 'groundnut territory' (Menglembu is famous for its groundnuts) to collect compensation for the damage she inadvertently caused as she didn't have enough cash on her when it happened. It's a good thing that no one was hurt and other than exterior damage, our car could still take us around for another day and home safely.

Roast pork knuckle - note the size of the bone!

Steamed cod

Pan fried freshwater prawns

Some of the dim sum we had at Foh San

'Chee cheong fun' and fried radish cake

Self service at Foh San, too many, too greedy...

Popiah

A long row of shops selling pomelos

Groundnut sculpture at roundabout in Menglembu!

Ipoh is located in the part of Peninsular Malaysia that is saturated with limestone hills and a number of the caves in those hills have become Chinese (Taoist/Buddhist) temples. They are also tourist and outdoor adventure seekers' attractions. We first visited Sam Poh Tong and the one next to it (Ling Sen Tong). These two temples are very well decorated with colourful temple adornments, statues and figurines of religious deities, plus a reasonably nice landscaped garden. Then on our way out of Ipoh to KL, we dropped by the Kek Look Tong cave temple which had a much nicer natural cave formation. These visits were C's first ever experience of caves, where she got to see real stalagmites and stalactites. We could have taken her to see Batu Caves, the other famous Hindu cave temple which is closer to home but we've not gotten around to that (the 272 steps to climb is somewhat a deterrent!).

Front view and entrance to Ling Seng Tong

Coils of incense

Inside Kek Look Tong

Altars inside Kek Look Tong

Cave opening to 'backyard' garden

The 'backyard' garden

After Kek Look Tong, we headed back into town as it was lunchtime. We savoured some coffee shop fare and finally with a full stomach, we headed for home. Halfway into our journey, we stopped at the Bukit Gantang rest stop which has many shops selling local fruits like guavas, sweet corn, mangosteens, and our favourite, the King of Fruits! We ate some of course!

Back home in KL, we went to pick up Rusty who had been in boarding for a whole week. The poor 'boy' displayed mixed feelings upon seeing me -- excited to see a familiar face yet moody because we left him out of our holiday. All the way home in the car, he was just lying down sulking....

Places we ate and bought food at in Ipoh:

Soon Fatt Restaurant

Mun Choong Restaurant

Kong Heng coffeeshop

Skyway Cafe hawker centre

Coffeeshop opposite Lou Wong chicken beansprout noodle

Cowan Street Chicken Beansprout Noodle

Row of shoplots selling Tambun pomelo and heong peng 

Aun Kheng Lim salt baked chicken

Rusty, on a 'happier' day after a trip to the groomers

(A big 'thank you' to my dear and loving parents for sponsoring this Penang/Ipoh family holiday. We rarely get to holiday together given how our lifestyles are in this day and age!)

Penang - a 'new' revisit

In the late 80s and early 90s, I lived in Penang for four years. Those were GREAT years despite having to share a room with five other girls in the first year, one in the second, and another two in the third and fourth years. I walked miles uphill and downhill at times unless I managed to get a ride as pillion on a friend's motorbike. Life was relatively simple and restricted to limited number of clothes (mostly t-shirts and jeans) which I had to handwash myself, three simple meals a day plus tea/supper at times when I had the time and company, lectures, projects, tutorials, extra-curricular activities, trips to the library to study and 'lepak', and visiting the lab at strange hours like 3am and 6am to tend to the bacterial colonies I was cultivating....ooh, I could go on and on about those glorious days. I'd give this present life to re-live those four years!

Penang was haphazard and dirty then, as it had been for many, many years. I had re-visited Penang as a visitor numerous times since I left in 1992 and recently on 26 December 2011, I went there again. We spent three nights at a newly-opened budget inn on Macalister Road. The streets of Penang are much nicer to walk on now with less rubbish strewn about or clogging up drains. The weather is still uniquely Penang, when it's hot in general elsewhere outside the island, it feels much hotter there. And there seems to be a more orderly feel. The Prangin Road bus terminal looks brighter without its walls coated with the black soot from bus/vehicle fumes and the air seems more breathable. However, I forgot to check if the Yellow Bus company is still operating there! I believe the opposition party has been making a difference ever since they took control of that state.

We made a spontaneous decision at Butterworth to take the ferry across. While the queue was long, we finally got our car onto the ferry and got out for some 'fresh' sea air and take in the view during the 20-minute ride. Unfortunately, the sea air was tainted with the ferry's diesel fumes, but C got to experience for the first time riding on a ferry with our car onboard (her first ferry ride was in August to Pangkor Island).

The ramp for cars to get onto the ferry

Oncoming ferry similar to the one we took, lower deck for vehicles, upper deck for passengers



On the island, we ate to our hearts content and devoured seafood, local hawker fare, Thai food, durians, restaurant and foodcourt fare. We also became tourists and visited the Tropical Spice Garden, Bukit Genting and the Cheong Fatt Sze Mansion (also known as the Blue Mansion).

The Spice Garden was an easy and good introduction to the many different species of tropical plants, some used as garnishes and spices in cooking.

Pandanus sp. by a pond

Bukit Genting is a novelty place for a hilltop view of the south-western coast of the island. The roads uphil and downhill are paved/tarred but rather uneven, narrow, and windy (especially downhill). On the way to Bukit Genting, we did a half round-island drive, stopping at Balik Pulau for some good durians.

The Blue Mansion tour was very interesting with the house guide giving a detailed story behind this mansion -- how this 17-year-old Hakka young man came from China and became a celebrated entrepreneur among the Dutch and British, the special feng shui features of his mansion and how the mansion was restored. The colourful story and exhibits were good enough that it managed to hold C's attention for a whole hour....haha....

This picture does not do justice to the actual grandeur of the mansion

From another angle, photography is not allowed inside 

We also visited a mega aquarium store on Burma Road, CTY Aquarium, touted to be the largest live fish store in Southeast Asia...Besides, fish, they also have birds, cats, dogs, rodents, reptiles and pet supplies.

After checking out of the hotel on the last day, we stopped at the famous Ghee Hiang 'tau sar pneah' place and got some of their goodies before heading for Ipoh, this time via the Penang Bridge.

The places we ate at in Penang (not in chronological order):
Ocean Green seafood restaurant
New World Park foodcourt
First Avenue mall foodcourt
McDonald's (ugh...) at Prangin Mall
End of the World seafood restaurant
Sisters char kway teow and yam cake on Macalister Road
Durian Cap Kaki, Balik Pulau
Bukit Genting Thai food restaurant
Song River cafe kopitiam on Gurney Drive
Cendol stall on Penang Road

Other local fruits at Durian Cap Kaki

Thai-style stuffed crabs at Bukit Genting

Garlic steamed prawns at Ocean Green

Sisters char kway teow and yam cake

Lala (clams) in herbal soup at End of the World

Ice kacang at New World Park