Shop, Eat and Walk down memory lane with the cousins, JB

This was a planned trip with the cousins. One was attending the BIL's engagement, and another one is to bring the wife to JB for the first time. And since our grandparents' place are in the final process of selling (i'm so, so sad...) we thought we should go and pay our last respect to the good old house. I had so much fun and since we don't get this kind of opportunity very often, i just had to put most pictures in!

The Shopping Activity 

My husband and I arrived a day earlier and met up with Mr. & Mrs. Freen and their daughter, Lil M at JPO (the rave of JB town now, the Johor Premium Outlet). We had sort of a late night at my parents' house, but everyone were so semangat and got up early the next morning to start our activities, especially my eldest brother. We started the day with some retail therapy, doing some DVD shopping at Holiday Plaza. It was 10.15am when we arrived but most shops were still closed! HP is something like Low Yat but with funky disco attire and lots of fake LVs, Chanels, Guccis and the likes, cheap electronic accessories and DVDs are sold. 

At JPO with Mr. & Mrs. Freen and Lil M. I have been here before so i wasn't really checking out the place but merely "teman"ing the cousins and hanging out at the coffee place there and got some candies.

Buying cheap phone accessories and dvds at HP and 2nd trip to JPO.
(Someone burst his button on his pants and had to get one immediately. Lol).

Gastronomic Activity
Another main agenda for that weekend was to EAT! The favourite ABC at Wisma Ayer Molek is always on top of the list among us! Known as "Gerai Batu" by some locals, it's where our late Tok Bak used to bring us for an evening treat! I've blogged abt it here before. We also had the famous Mee Rebus Haji Wahid and some Yong Taufu soup at Angsana. Had Tip Top ikan bakar for dinner too as one of them was craving for it (also featured in the same blog entry as the one featuring the ABC). Husband and i left early after dinner on Saturday as we would have to start our journey back to KL very early the next day. The rest went to Danga Bay for some funfair fun.

Eating our hearts out. One of the must do in JB. 

Visiting the (late) Don's House - probably for the last time.
We started taking pictures in the almost empty rooms, reminiscing old memories, filling in fibs and tales to the inlaws of the happenings in the past that took place in the house as soon as we arrive.. The good old days.. *sniffs

Us taking a picture in late grandpa's room, in the living hall where we used to "tidur lambak" when everyone comes back for Raya or on school breaks and one in the garden where my cousin had to take home a banana tree as requested by the mom. It was successful only after the second attempt. Hehe.

More of us taking fun, silly photos.

Bottom left is a picture of the husband looking on at the 3 cousins posing in the room they used to watch "Ultraman" together! ;) Notice that there's an air quote. Hehehe

The house has been up for sale for a while and it was almost sold some time ago before our grandma changed her mind... I was somehow hoping that it would stay that way as i'd hate to see the place taken over by somebody else and having to see the place being done differently. But now it's finally happening.. I could very much understand how my grandmother feels. She has stayed there for 40 over years! How could you separate with something that has been with you that long? I was in tears too when they told us that they were selling the house at first. How could i not? I practically grew up in that house. My grandpa would take us almost every weekend to stay with them. It's like our (school) holiday house too! Our playground, growing up. It has been a major part of my life and holds so many bittersweet memories... (but that's life right? All these material things will mean nothing eventually, when the time comes to be called to meet the Creator).

I'm sure gonna miss the house so much.
It's a shame the 4th generation of En. Md. Said will never get to know the place.

It was a fun weekend and i look forward to trips like this again, Insya Allah.

Historic Malacca

We've been planning a family getaway since forever but we couldn't get everybody all at the same time till last month. Malacca being the destination for the 2 nights trip.

We stayed at the A'Famosa resort villa. It was ok for me. I would prefer to stay in one of those small guesthouses in town next time if were given a choice, simply for time efficiency and easy access. Unless u plan to spend time (and $) getting involved in the recreational activities they have to offer, the place is just too far off town (i'd definitely want to go explore and sightseeing!). So it was not quite what i had in mind. But of course, on the plus side they have a private swimming pool :)

The highlight for me was the trip to A'Famosa - the fort because i have never been to the place all my life. I know i bore my eldest brother to death as he's not into historical ruins among many other things (he's not a fan of sightseeing what more shopping!) and was only looking forward to the dip in the pool *eyes rolling* though, i did have great fun at that too! Hehehe.

Being in the car with dad had certainly helped polish our (or rather my) bad history knowledge (obviously i wasn't paying attention in school :P). The Mr. has quite sound knowledge about the history too! Like the story of Hang Tuah, the Portuguese and Sultan Mahmud mangkat dijulang! Salute!

We get to go on a river cruise (yes, in Melaka!) in which we stumbled upon by chance the night we arrive and i was really impressed with the nicely preserved old buildings and charming kampung houses being displayed with splashes of golden spotlights! The pictures just could not do justice (unless we use a DSLR la).

The visit to the A'Famosa fort took place on the second day, after our visit to the Animal World Safari (after another round of swimming session, of course) followed by dinner at Umbai (about 20 minutes from Melaka town), then back to town for a walk in Jonker Street. Menara Tamingsari was under maintenance, so we didn't get to view Melaka from the tower. We were all drained out once we got back to the villa - nak main monopoly pun tak sempat. But i was most disappointed that we didn't get the chance to try out any local nyonya food (at least cendol) and go round the city in a trishaw, added the husband :(

But all in all bolehlah... it was great fun to be on a trip with everybody! That's the whole idea
anyway, right?

The day we "Balik Bandar" (KL-JB)

I always have this little irk whenever someone asks me "Tak balik kampung?" or "Kampung kat mana?". Not because i am ashamed of being called a kampung girl nor am i being a bloody stuck-up girl who has forgotten her roots. It's just not particularly correct because my home in JB is really NOT a kampung and Johor Bahru is a city. Moreover, both my paternal grandparents and my maternal grandma all reside in JB town too. Hence as much as it's merely a figure of speech because we Malay originally are all from kampung, but truthfully, my kampung is actually a bandar.

Anyway, we were really looking forward to this trip since the last time we went back was during Hari Raya and every visit prior to that were all short ones (including the one during Hari Raya) due to our nature of work. So this time, we drove down south for a few days' stay after the last minute two-night stint in KK. We started our journey at 10.30pm from the LCCT Airport and finally arrived at my parents' home at 1am.

I had this idea in mind where this entry would be exclusively about makan-makan because JB is such heaven when it comes to excellent food (i couldn't wait for the indulgence - yes, this skinny girl loves food! And what's more, my little nephew was there too! Mum is looking after him because my SIL was away in Terengganu for a training course). We already had a list of requisite places to visit in our minds, however i would be lying if i say that i am not at all disturbed by the development in JB and i personally feel that i need to have a write-up on this. So this entry will be anything but a short one, let me warn you.
[Sha, if you're reading this, i'm sorry to have to put up more entry on local food].
First, i thought of bringing hubby to a stall, near the fire station in Larkin for their famous Kacang Pol, but when i woke up to hit the shower, i saw Kacang Pol was already on the dining table served for breakfast. Obviously dad had gone out early in the morning to get them. Mum must have told him that i asked about it the previous night. Sigh. Felt kind of bad, but was grateful nonetheless. (But i forgot to take a pix, sorry).

Later in the afternoon, we went to Ayer Molek for an ice kacang session. This is a place where i have been to all my life, along with my brothers and cousins when we were kids. Grandpa used to treat us with the ice kacang after dragging us around JB town (and left us in the hot, steamy car under the scorching sun) while he went off to meet his suppliers and customers. The place is right next to the Immigration office building, opposite the Istana garden. Gerai Tan Kee serves the best ice kacang in the world, seriously! (Ok, i may be exaggerating, but i honestly never tasted any ice kacang that came as close to the one they have here elsewhere). They also offer local desserts and appetisers to die for like the rojak (buah), tahu bakar, sotong kangkung, ice jelly, cikong sejuk/panas other than the ice kacang! Hubby loves the charkueh rojak.. Everything isso yummy! I can drool just by typing about it.. hihihi. We actually made a second comeback on our third day of stay and i wish i had a bigger belly to stuff myself with the cikong. Yummmm... (gluttony alert!!)

The ice kacang yang tersangat sedappppp.

You must think that the above pix was suppose to be the other way round, right?
Well it's no accident, friends. The one below is him gorging on the second helping.. tsk tsk..

The ice jelly.
(It's shaved ice covered with fruit cocktails on top and sweet orange coloured jelly at the base.
Squeeze the lime, and you'll get a heavenly dessert!)

Hubby tried it for the very first time and concurred that it was indeed very good! We also had tahu bakar but i'm sure you know how they look like. Words can't do justice in describing how delicious the ones the have here. On top of that I had Nasi Ayam Goreng (from the stall next to Tan Kee's) which you can never find at any other place in Malaysia. It's different from Nasi Goreng Ayam, mind you - where you'll get ayam goreng alongside your fried rice. The nasi ayam goreng is fried rice served with chicken (as used in chicken rice) cooked in sambal and served with the chicken rice soup.

That night, we went to another eatery next on the list (it's a steamboat restaurant) called "Rawa" at Taman Pelangi. They serve chinese dishes and the steamboat is gooood! Our fav is the Lemon chicken in which they prepare like no other. The fried rice and Singapore beehoon are awesome too!

on the right is the almost finished Singapore fried beehoon.

We went to Singapore the next day (details on the trip will be posted next).

On the fourth night, it was ikan bakar night at Gerai Tip Top. It's another hawker stall which used to be at the famous Tepian Tebrau. They are now located at a brand new place near the English College at Kg. Mohd Amin. The crowd was already flooded with patrons but we somehow managed to get a seat for 4 as the owner opened a small table specially for us, *grinning from ear to ear*! You can also get similar snacks & desserts as served at Gerai Tan Kee here but as i said, the one at Ayer Molek is the best! They don't even come close though located just a few minutes drive from one another. But the ikan bakar holds a different story altogether. Before, my family and i never actually had ikan bakar at eateries because they tend to smell for not being properly cleaned until being introduced to the ikan bakar here by hubby (then a mere friend of my brother's) years ago and it immediately changed our perception! The spicy sambal is devilishly lip smacking! If you are a fan of ikan bakar and happen to be in JB, you MUST try it!

He digs the crispy baby crabs. The otak2 isn't the typical orange coloured otak2. It's different.
A good different, i mean. Otherwise, tak le tinggal 2 je when the crabs baru sampai ;)

Ikan pari bakar smeared with the marvellous spicy sambal........

On Saturday night (our last night in JB), we get to dine at an old restaurant which serves local dishes as well as Western food. They are well known for their Chicken chop which was featured a couple of times in the newspaper and rated the BEST Chicken Chop in town by The Star in 2003. The cafe is situated in the heart if the town at Jalan Dhobi. I've been meaning to bring hubby to this place for so long and i finally get the opportunity this time round. We were lucky mum made a reservation or else we would have to wait for seats as the place was full!

the place is called IT ROO CAFE, don't ask me why.

Now, this is a before & after pix. It was Deep fried Chicken chop and Chocohcino for me.
Tinggal tulang je on the plate. What does that say??
Yes, i eat A LOT :)

The crowd (with 2 familiar faces).
You can also sit outside if you're a smoker or that if you prefer the "fresh" air.

The walls are mounted with loads of old photos. Old radio, old clock, old F&N bottles are also being displayed as decor....

Oh, my eldest brother (left) arrived the night before to see how his kid was doing. Rindu katanya.. heh

Before i start my ramblings on the heart-rending development of the town, my makan-makan entry ends with breakfast bought from Warung Saga on the morning we were to leave the city. Even though mum said the lontong is no longer as good as before, my say is that it was still much better compared to other places and we picked up 9 pieces of Murtabak from Kg Melayu Majidee the day before to distribute to family and friends in KL. The only thing i did not get to eat was goreng pisang. I know you can get good goreng pisang in KL too but Johorean eat their goreng pisang with sambal kicap. KL takde..

[On second thoughts, think i'll post a separate entry on my observation on the city's dev & infrastructure because it'll be too long an entry here].

Anyway, here's another reason i enjoyed the stay as mentioned earlier:

he's grown so big in so little time!

gerammmmm....!

Camera shy? Kalau ikut mak dia, tak kot... hehehe

Isn't he adorable? Tapi, dua2 pun cute.. that's baby Harris with my atuk.

The day he was posted to the Land below the wind (KL-KK)

He came back one late night from work and told me that he had been called up for tomorrow's duty (he was on standby the next day), that he was to operate from KK and had to stay there overnight. I was told to pack our stuff as we planned to go back to JB for his 6 day off duty and we could drive to JB straight away once we get back to KL. And so i did.

We arrived at KK around 9am and and waited for the pickup to our hotel. That's when i spotted this beautiful car how i wish it could have been the pickup to the hotel. Hehe..

Looks like a 2-door GS 300, but am not too sure.

Since he had to work at 4pm, (and the F1 race at Sepang was on at 2pm) we did not leave the hotel to wander around the town that day. We just ordered in and took a breather at the hotel instead. It was around midnight when he got back from work (i was already in la-la land). Being in KK, it is a MUST for you to enjoy their fresh, succulent seafood the eateries offer at a much lower price. And since we didn't have the chance earlier during the day, he thought we could do so once he gets back. Indeed we did (even though it was past midnight!) The seafood restaurant next to our hotel was already closed (obviously) but luckily there was a string of stalls just across the road and the food was not at all disappointing. It was actually really good! (the nasi goreng was much better than the one we had for lunch at the hotel). We had chinese fried rice, deep fried sotong (a must have dish), butter prawns (also a must have dish) and sweet & sour garoupa. I didn't snap a shot of the dishes as i was actually half asleep walking across the hotel in the middle of the night. But we finished everything anyway ;)

He told me that if he was not to work the next day, he would want to extend the stay so that we could have some time exploring the place (and have more seafood, of course). It wasn't our first time in KK, we were there last year for his brother's wedding and manage to discover a little bit of the town with the parents. We visited this particular restaurant called the Port View Seafood Restaurant by the sea and i knew there was a big chance he would want to make a second visit to the place given our awesome dinner experience the first time, last year.

The next day he was told to work on the same scheduled time. (So another free stay for us! Yay!). And so, we travelled on foot to the familiar restaurant (i was right afterall..) and found out that the restaurant will only be opened in about half an hour's time (12.30 noon). We then made our way to the opposite building - the Warisan Square to kill time and have a drink before the restaurant opens to starving seafood-craze patrons like us. We had coffee at Big Apple and that's where i befriended Charles & Keith. I was elated! It was just opposite Big Apple. Apparently there are only 2 outlets in Malaysia so far, one in KK & another in Kuching. Made some purchases and i was gleaming all the way to Port View! :D

The restaurant offers a wide array of tasty and a generous helping of seafood dishes with prices ranging from moderate to expensive. There are also cultural dances being performed if you come at night. You won't miss it if you drive from the airport to town using the road by the sea front. The restaurant welcomes you with lots of aquariums be-decked at the entrance, where they keep the terrified sea creatures waiting to be grilled and turned into scrumptious meals. The ground floor is an open-aired space accommodating about 100 people and the second floor is where you can enjoy your food in an air-conditioned private, glass rooms.

Here are some pix taken at the restaurant last year. Just to show you the ambiance as I did not snap many photos this time. (Sorry for the rather dire quality of the pix, though):

at the entrance

the wide eating space. Us with mum & ayah

the cultural performance

Lunch was great, but i think the portion was bigger the last time. Or was it just me?

We had a room change at the hotel due to the unexpected extend of stay and was upgraded to a deluxe room (although i could not see much difference from the other room apart from the mini bar and a little more view of the sea) *eyes rolling*. Once he's off for work, i contacted my Sabahan college friend and she came to pick me up from the hotel straight from work and i accompanied her for dinner at a kopitiam at a mall. I only had a hot chrysanthemum tea as we still have leftovers from lunch and i didn't want to waste the food (unemployed kena berjimat, hehe). We then headed back to the hotel after her dinner for some good gossips and catching ups. He arrived much later than the previous day but i was still wide awake as the friend had only left the hotel 30 minutes ago.

We bade farewell the next day (though, i was actually ready to explore the town by myself should he have to go to work again this day). However, our plans to drive to the next destination once touched down at the airport had to be abandoned as he had to work that afternoon (on his off day!) and our journey to JB started only at 10.30pm that night. I had to drive since he was weary after a day of working.

Doing my thing, minding my own business
Venue: room 935, Promenade Hotel

His americano, my kopi susu (latte) and donuts for later

Dishes (clockwise): butter prawns, sabah vege in garlic, deep fried squids & chinese fried rice.
(told u the butter prawns and the deep fried sotong are must haves!)
Drinks: fresh coconut for me, and pepsi for him.
Venue: Portview Restaurant, KK
Was also my dinner since it was too much for a lunch for two.


After the mouth watering lunch.
Posing at the harbour with the significant other.


Ijan & me
venue: room 327, Promenade Hotel


My best friends who kept me company when he's away at work.


The sun was setting
venue: room 327, Promenade Hotel
(i had to climb on a chair to capture this because the window was all mucky! lol)


muka orang kena kerja on an off day! hehe..


I am looking forward to his next posting to KK for the delightful seafood and also to meet my new wonderful friends, Charles & Keith! Hehehe..


Waiting for the pickup to the airport. Goodbye KK. It was a short but a very tasty stay.

Just a short one

I wanted to put up posts about my being away (KK-KL, KL-JB, JB-SG, SG-JB, JB-KL), but the house is screaming for my attention after being left for a week. Will do it later when i'm done with the crucials :)

Have a good day!

2008 - Visit Kelantan Year

Hubby and I went to Kelantan to visit his brother's family recently. They moved to Kelantan a few months back before the wife gave birth to a baby boy in Jan. The poor baby has been in & out of hospital since the day he was born due to some complication. They did a lumber puncture but still could not identify the problem. He suffered some kind of fits from time to time and at times his face turned all red as if he was choking. But thank god he's all better now. He still have to go for follow ups but he's fine.

Anyways, given that the trip was decided at the last minute, i didn't have ample time to gather enough info as to where we should stay and places we could go. In the end we stayed at this old hotel -Perdana Hotel. Renaissance was out of the question as the rate was RM280 per night. Luckily when we arrived at the airport i found out from the brochures (that's when i found out it was Visit Kelantan Year.. haha) that the hotel was a mere 5 minutes walk to the cultural centre. The events for that evening include top spinning, kite flying and playing the rebana so i thought it was a good idea to check it out and snap some photos. So after lunch at Bro-in-law's place at Kubang Kerian or should i say, Kube Keghie hehehe.. we headed for the hotel. It was a run down hotel and i was already feeling bad because i am guilty for the reservation.. Money not well spent. Note to self: The Grand Riverview for next visit.. if there's another visit.

I must say it was the longest 3-day trip i've ever been on... there's nothing much there (well, not many places to go in JB too). Apart from the cultural show that we were SUPPOSED to go (we fell asleep), we only went to see some places of worship, a pasar malam that opens every night (Wakaf Che Yeh) and the Pasar Siti Khadijah for some keropoks and scarves. I know there are places of bargain like the Pengkalan Kubor and Rantau Panjang but we're not there to shop so those places were not of priority. They have museums of course, but Dad took me there once when i was in Form 1.

That morning we went to the Pasar, i thought leaving the hotel at 9am was a good idea. So after breakfast we went to the city but to my surprise most of the shops were closed! So we decided to have a drink while waiting. By 10.30am, most shops (at the dry market) were still closed so we ended up buying stuff from those that were already open and not to wait any longer. After having done our shopping i was astounded to see the shops were finally opening. That was 12 noon! Berniaga setengah hari je??... that's odd.

We then made our way to Tumpat to visit this 40m of reclining Buddha that is believed to be the largest in Southeast Asia. After studying the map, we made our way to Tumpat and started looking for signages to this temple called Wat Photivihan (given that it's Visit Kelantan Year proper signages are expected to these places of interest, right?.. Well, WRONG!) we never did find it. Instead we found his 2 brothers:

The standing Buddha at Wat Laikatong


The sitting Buddha at Wat Machimmaram
(2nd largest of its kind in Southeast Asia)

No reclining Buddha, just the one standing and sitting. The rest of the evening was spent watching malay soap "Bella" at our little dismal hotel room since we didn't know where else to go. Hahaha.. Oh well.. so much for visit Kelantan year. Some of the other photos taken. Enjoy!

Baby Haziq sleeping

The Buddha we're suppose to go see (pix taken fr brochure)


In-laws making their purchase at Wakaf Che Yeh
I bought a RM10 scarf


The waiting... at Pasar Siti Khadijah
(hubby pandai2 je nak tukar nama to Pasar Fatimah.. kekeke..)


Pose istimewa :D


Us

Navigator at work


Full moon in Kota Bharu


err.. UiTM dihatiku. Right.


We came across this restaurant while looking for a place to get lunch, hihi..
No, we did not dine there.


Lagi pose istimewa.. Goodbye Kota Bharu.