1) With our exams finally over (for now) and the holidays starting, one of my main objectives was to spend as much quality time as I can with my family. Therefore, my mum came over right after exams for a short visit, and also to help me with carrying some stuff back home. We went food-hunting around Penang, and after three days, returned to Ipoh. It has been a good six months since I last saw home, so I was really glad to be back :)
2) After a couple of days resting at home and generally idling about doing nothing, my mum and I went on a road trip to Kuala Krau with my cousin, Joe, and her family. It was a really fun outing, as Kuala Krau is known for its seafood. Located right next to the Pahang River, it reminded me very much of a typical "fishing village", with fishermen drying their fish in boats, and some of them preserved the fish with salt to make salted fish. We were very fortunate to take many photos, as on the way back it started pouring. Luckily the rain didn't last long and we made it back home safely.
3) I've also made a trip to Beacon Point - a cafe which holds many sweet childhood memories of mine. I used to come here with my family over the weekends after (window-) shopping at Jusco at night, and we'd usually order their famous chocolate brownies with ice-cream. I was surprised to find out that the management has since changed, and while they still serve the same dessert, it no longer has that extra TLC that I was used to haha. Anyway, it was still a very nice experience reliving my childhood memories with my dear family :)
4) A relatively new tradition for us is to spend Sunday afternoon having toast and hot coffee/tea at Coco Cafe - a cafe with a branch in Aeon Klebang. We usually walk around Aeon, have lunch, dilly-dally a bit then sit down to have afternoon tea. So the past weekend, we made it a point to do just that, and ended up taking a nice family picture (the first picture below the text). It is really nice to put my work in Penang aside and focus on spending time with my family...
5) A brand new restaurant selling self-service "lok-lok" has opened up recently. The concept is simple, you help yourself to as many skewers of meat or vegetables that you want, place them in a large hotpot to cook, then dip them into the many sauces and condiments that are available, and enjoy! The prices are based on number of sticks eaten - different coloured sticks have different prices. By providing an air-conditioned environment (as opposed to the usual open-air food truck style), it really makes the experience more comfortable and relaxing! :)
6) Our latest trip was to a small town called Lenggong - where they specialise in "fishballs", which they make out of herring (ikan parang). These fishballs are known to have a bouncy but not overly firm texture, and are really small in size, compared to the regular type. In addition to trying out their fishballs, we ordered some fish, beancurd (tofu), and fried bitter gourd. Apparently, the owner of the restaurant is a rather frail old man, whose knife skills are remarkable!
7) The town itself is unique - with its many excavation sites providing traces of Malaysia's prehistory, including the now-famous Perak Man - the oldest human skeleton found in Peninsular Malaysia, dating back at least 11, 000 years ago!
8) That has been a review of what I've been up to for the past week or so. I'm slowly recuperating at home and replenishing my feel-good meter, before returning to continue with my studies in about two weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to start next semester afresh and eager, as we move from one rotation to the next. But for now, it's happy holidays and here's to cherishing the happy moments here. Thanks for visiting my blog, and have a great week ahead, cheers! :D
Happily reunited with my parents and grandpa - at Coco Cafe @ Aeon Klebang :)
Enjoying a round of "masala dosa" at Pelita (my first day back home ^^)
Chronology of events begins here: with a visit by my mum to Penang
- here we are at Yoshinoya, Gurney Plaza - enjoying a nice bowl of udon :)
Curry beef udon <3
The night view of Gurney Paragon :)
Large chicken rice set
Chocolate banana milkshake at Hoshino Coffee @ Gurney Plaza - what a way to top off the night ^^
The double soufflé pancake with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream was made-to-order and
absolutely worth the 20-minute long wait :))
At the entrance of Hoshino Coffee :)
Featuring a nearly 360 degree panoramic view of the city skyline of Penang Island - absolutely breathtaking :)
With the Penang Bridge (and Jerejak Island) in the horizon ^
Buffet lunch with mum for Mother's Day <3 <3 <3
Top View Restaurant & Lounge
More panoramic views coming your way hehe
Tuna & egg mayo; sardine & curry chicken sandwiches, as prepared by the friendly staff
The dessert spread :)
At night, we visited Queensbay Mall, which already had decorations for the holy month of Ramadhan
It took us a lot of effort to secure a table at the Food Court, and when we did, I ordered this -
tang yuan (a Chinese dessert made from glutinous rice balls served in sweet syrup)
Home sweet home <3
Monitor lizard spotted at an undisclosed location haha
Last week, my mom and myself went to Kuala Krau with my cousin and her family :)
Kuala Krau is a federal constituency located in Pahang,
just an hour's drive South East of Perak (where I'm from)
A beautiful temple in the middle of nowhere - @ Kuala Krau :)
Ornate paintings adorned the walls of the temple
These people are drying fish in the Sun to make salted fish :)
Having lunch at one of the famous restaurants in Kuala Krau
Very fresh prawns
Freshwater crabs on a bed of steamed egg custard :)
Their signature drink is apparently a mix of Milo and Coffee powder :)
(A nice refreshing kick on a HOT afternoon)
The sign reads "I Love Kuala Kurau"
Picture by the pier :)
Drying shrimp (if I'm not mistaken haha) by the boat
The sign reads "Kurau Homestay" - not that we'd be staying the night haha
A simple life for simple and contented people
My mum's special ABC soup - a welcome reprieve from the weekly Maggi noodle soup that I have in Penang XD
This is my first jog back home in Ipoh, Perak
(pardon the messy hair - I got a haircut the very next day)
A new restaurant/cafe opened up - called North Star, it serves a fusion of Western and Asian cuisine - like this Hainanese style pork chop (which is out-of-this-world amazing!)
Chicken pie at Beacon Point, Ipoh
One of my fondest childhood memories is eating chocolate brownies with ice-cream with my family at Beacon Point!
We've tried to relive those memories, with the only exception being the management has changed, resulting in a strangely similar but still unfamiliar experience :)
Case in point, those days... the chocolate brownies were squares served on a frosty cold saucer, with a generous helping of whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and condensed milk drizzled over it
(this version has the same lovely cake and vanilla ice-cream, sans the toppings haha)
On to breakfast at a restaurant we fondly call "Chubi" - which has some really nice fishball/ meatball soup. It goes really well with a hot plate of dry curry noodles :)
Buttered toast and hot coffee/tea with my family :)
Trying out a new place that serves "lok lok" - skewers of meat/vegetables that you cook for yourself in a large hotpot :)
Waiting for the skewers to cook in the rich chicken broth hotpot
Just yesterday (Monday), my maternal grandmother, aunt, mum, and myself went to Lenggong - a small town with a rich history. Here we are enjoying a bowl of clear soup noodles for breakfast
The entire menu for lunch is in Chinese - and I was really glad to be able to read most of them :)
(These are all the dishes on offer from this simple corner restaurant that caters mostly to the neighbourhood)
One of the regional specialties in Lenggong is the saitou fishballs, made from a certain type of fish called "wolf herring" or "ikan parang" or "saitou" - hats off for being trilingual XD
I hesitate to name the other dishes, but mainly the dish on the left is a type of fish belly if I'm not mistaken, and the dish on top is fried tofu in two ways - one with a mayo dip, and the other Thai-style (with chilli, onions, and cucumber)
I cannot remember the name of the fish, but this was undeniably the star of the show - a whole fish cooked in a simple soy sauce - delicious till the last <3
Back to Gourmet Square (which I've waxed lyrical about since coming back to Ipoh the first time around)
A new Indian curry stall has opened, replacing the Japanese food stall. They serve various curry sets, including this: rendang curry on a faux banana leaf plate. Served with a heapful of rice and gravy, cucumber raita, and a half-boiled egg, this was really wholesome and delicious :)
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