Platform 12

Fishing has always been my favorite recreation and I have been fortunate enough to go fishing with family and friends. This time when I was asked if I would like to fish at one of the platforms of the first Penang bridge, I was very happy and elated, actually. I had packed my usual sea fishing gears and three rods for the fishing trip and I was really forward to a good trip there. Afterall, who would not be excited to have the chance to fish at Penang bridge,man? The stories on Youtube and social media are just so legendary and fruitful while they may be stories of unfruitfulness which were not published either. You never know,right?

Prior to the fishing day, JWee asked me if I was ready to fish at the bridge, I was happy and ready for the challenge. So, the night before the trip, I had rigged up some of my hooks and was getting ready for adventure. The cool thing about fishing is that you’ll never know what to expect from each fishing spot. I guess, our trip this time was like that. It wasn’t easy to fish at a new place and lest, you’ll have to learn the tide and flow of current which will affect your fishing. For me, you need not be an expert in a lot of things but you’ve got to at least know your tides and the rest is experimental as you go out there to the sea. There is no guarantee for a sure catch but you’ll catch something. For me, I was more into the recreational part whereby I could really enjoy the time of peace and calmness while having some fish would be a bonus, actually. We , the four of us namely JWee, Daniel, Ronson and myself boarded the small boat after buying our local roti and prawn baits as supplies for our fishing trip.

The day was hot but not that super duper hot day while the sea was calm. Confident with live bait and a growing confidence of a good catch, we soon made our way to the platforms. Before that, we had enquired from our boatman, Aman which platform would be good for fishing. Young fella, Aman, a Malay youngster, who could speak some Mandarin told us that he would take us further out and we agreed despite him not telling us which platform would be good for fishing. I guess, they, the boatmen just do not want to be scolded or blamed if the catch is bad knowing very well that fishing is not a predictable trait. A good harvest at fishing is dependent on many factors to help it succeed. On that day, I saw a lot of anglers at the platforms , however, I remembered distinctively at Platform 46 that there was a good catch noted on Youtube as I watched it at the night before our fishing trip. Anyway, on the suggestion of the boatman that we get ourselves to somewhere between Platform 13 and Platform 12, we decided to go for Platform 12.

As the boat was equipped with a tied up wooden ladder at the front, we were soon climbing up the wooden stairs and loading up our stuff onto the platform. The platform is huge and has a lot of space. It was a very comfortable platform and it is quite shaded from the sun. That’s a perfect platform, really. The only problem is that you’ve got to bring the fishing rod support or rod holder for your fishing. If not, you’ll be holding onto your fishing rod at all times. Luckily, I brought my 5 ½ ‘ and 6’ rods and so, I did not have to worry much except for some ingenious ideas from Daniel on how to hold up the rods. I immediately rigged up and started to fish from the back section of the platform. Immediately upon the first cast, I know indefinitely that the current was very strong and a heavier sinker weight would have to be used. However, no matter how hard I tried, I knew that it would be futile to use heavier sinkers and you would not be able to get the position that you need to get the fishes. I had also noted that from my homework prior to our fishing, I noted that water level was constant and low tide wasn’t as low it should be but it was predicted to be a good day of fishing between 12.00noon to 2.00pm.

As we had arrived at the platform early, we got ready, rigged up and started fishing. Though there were some teasing bites, nothing concrete was noted. For me, I enjoyed the Georgetown and Bayan Lepas skyline across the sea. They looked beautiful and modern. The young fellas were in their own conversation and just chilling out. JWee struck first with some fishes on his Apollo rig line. I believe, there was a small ikan cencaru and ikan tamban on his line. Soon, all of us switched to Apollo rig lines and started casting out. We moved, jigged and cranked our hearts out that morning. We were rewarded with ikan cencaru ( torpedo scad ) , ikan tamban ( silver stripe round herring ) and some other fishes. Several ikan duris ( marine catfish ) were landed on Daniel and Ronson lines. I guess, for me, the thrill of fighting the fishes were the most memorable moments for me amidst spending time with these youngsters and listening to their thoughts. It was really a good day for me as I really get to enjoy the scenery and Penang backdrops.

Having the sea breeze and the sun gives me that rejuvenated feeling  I can’t explained. I just loved the sea and the sun. It made me feel so…..alive, I guess. Soon, I was pulling up ikan cencaru and ikan tamban that day. All in all, we caught about 15 cencaru and tamban fish mostly palm size ones. It’s quite good, actually but we were more into the bigger fishes but it was not meant to be for us that day. So, perhaps we would fight the bigger fishes another day.

We soon bid farewell to Platform 12 at about 4.00pm that day. We then stopped by for some food and drinks at Kak Eli’s stall. Like I said, sometimes, the best /food comes from the least expected places and Kak Eli’s food and drinks were simply marvelous. I did not eat but had the ever delicious corn & cincau drink which was such a delight for me. The youngsters had nasi goreng, mee goreng and ayam goreng plus their drinks. You could see the very satisfied look on their faces and the smiles says it all, man. All in all, it was a good day indeed. No expectations but loads of rest and fun. Maybe, the youngsters had hopes to catch bigger fishes but for me , I was just very contented in spending time with the young people, enjoyed their conversation, enjoying the sea breeze, scenery and a whole load of peace and quietness. It was unimaginable peace, joy and solitude. Like I said, having some fish to bring home was just the bonus.

Sure, we will fight another day to get the fish and perhaps use a different bait or fishing style. Yes, I would go back and fight the fishes on another day and at a different place. I love fishing because it is so unpredictable and it is always a stroke a good luck in landing a big one. Maybe, it wasn’t my day to land the big on that day. Perhaps, I am still holding on to the fact that I’ll land a big one the next time. It is always good to hope to land a big one someday because that’s what is going to spur you on to learn and do new things in fishing. Wouldn’t you agree? However , spending time with my son and his friends were priceless as I have always wanted to spend some time with him. I may not have been much of a father to my son when he was younger but I am trying my best to be around as much as I can.

Anyway, dinner meals cooked by Felicia, my daughter-in-law that evening is what I looked forward to that evening! Never would miss that and I am certain my palate would be fulfilled indeed! Sure, I was not disappointed and for confirmation, it was a great dinner indeed! Cheers! Sure, I’ll be back!

Culinary food perspective........

 

Being in Penang for holidays had always been a source of happiness for me during the holidays season. That’s before the implementation of the 3^rd MCO, okay?  My family and I would gladly get ourselves to Penang whenever we could. Penang is special indeed. A very special place in our hearts and our yearly calender too. Though I really do have very serious reservations about the mentality of the Penang people plus their horrendous driving manners and skills, I can’t help myself going back to Penang time after time. So, what makes Penang damn bloody special? Well, it’s the food !!!! The ever-consistent way of making simple food very pleasurable and their ingenious way of coming up with new things to eat are truly fabulous indeed!.

 The char kueh teow, for one, is truly uniquely Penang ( no other place in Malaysia does it quite like the Penangite CKT. Hands down, Penang CKT wins uncontested la! Give credit where it is due ,ok? ) while new cafés seemed to crop up (closed up faster too!) with new translation of concept ideas and food. I’ve always enjoyed the grand mixture of new and old concept of things in Penang ( be it in food, architecture or even the cultural aspects of things ) but somehow, my hometown Malacca seemed to be lacking behind in certain aspects of the amalgamation of new and old feel to a city these days.  No discredit to Malacca as the Malaccans are rather sane and courteous when it comes to mannerism and driving ethics while the Penangites are like mobster on adrenaline rush when on the road! I could have sworn that had I not been “educated” well in mannerism by my parents and make my parents proud ( ahem! ahem! ) , I would have given some extraordinary flowery language to these “hell bound “ drivers/motorists.  I do not mince my words for this one and I meant it! It drives me crazy how reckless Penang drivers are ; both car drivers and motorcyclists!

For the past weeks while in Penang, I have come to grasp with the idea of moving about in some streets in Penang and they can be a parking hell but the culinary rewards at the end of that street can be quite exquisite and rewarding. I have come to recognize some streets and how to get there like Gat Lebuh Melayu, Carnavon Street, Church Street, Lebuh Cecil, Beach Street, Chulia Street, Armenian Street, McAllister Street, Anson Road, Pulau Tikus, Siam Road, Nagore Street, Sg Ara, Lipsin, Batu Lancang, Weld Quay, Air Itam etc etc  to get to the food goodies. Like I said to one of my friends recently in regards to food in Penang, don’t ask a Penangite where to go for food. Every one of them has their own favourite place to go for their food fix and so, you have to like what you want and just go for it. In Penang, seven major food fare which will oil your gastronomical veins and stomachs nicely are namely char kuey teow (CKT) , nasi kandar, kuey teow theng ( KT soup), hokkien mee ( prawn mee ), Penang Laksa, Char kueh kak ( fried turnip cake/ char tau kueh ( Southern hokkien slang )  and Penang White Curry mee. These foods are synonymous with Penang and vice versa. It’s like if you need a gastronomical passport to Penang, you need to get all these seven food endorsed in your travel vein and stomach passport, man! Or in my own medical terms, you need to get your food drug fix on these food or else you’ll have to check into the nearest hospital for a cardiac arrest for not tasting them or you will have a confirmed cardiac arrest for having all seven ! Either way, it’s the right ticket to heaven! Die with a full stomach and oil running wildly and nicely in your veins la! Hahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…………….

BTW, I really love food in Penang and food as a whole. So, testing out new food at new places are a treat for me. On this part, I love the part of going to new places for new food. The only problem is that every time someone posts the new food and the popularity soared, the prices goes through the roof. For example, Ong Cheng Huat Seafood restaurant in Butterworth which serves kay kiah or small fried chicken and other seafood fare. It has been extremely pricey but the crowd still flocked the restaurant doors for their kay kiah and sea food fare. In one of our recent trip there, sure, the food was simple ( fried beehoon, fried mee, half a grouper fish, prawn crackers, sweet potato vegetables plus the kay kiah ) and good but the price wasn’t friendly at all. It’s the same for Khuntai Restaurant, Hai Boey Seafood, Pulau Betung Seafood and Pantai Bersih Seafood restaurant in Penang island have become very expensive for the wallet over the years. 

That’s the part these restaurants tend to lost their customers and soon, they too will fold up in times to come. I believe, I am seeing a trend whereby Penangites themselves are supporting smaller & lesser known restaurants which could provide good food at affordable prices. I am not saying these restaurant can’t earn their keeps based on their expertise but it has to be reasonable, sustainable and affordable. What’s the use being so exclusive while there will always be another better restaurant soon in coming and in greater competition? Just take a look at the restaurants in Gurney Drive. They are only earning tourist dollars but when the tourist dried up, only one table or sometimes, no table is served. It is the same anywhere in Penang whereby this generally happened as the country embraced the hit of COVID-19 pandemic.

Of late, there has been some rather interesting foodie places in Balik Pulau which had caught my attention and mushroomed. One of them is Ah Huat Pek which serves fried hor fun and other noodle fares. Their fried rice is also very good in a way. The fried hor fun is something special and I must say that I loved it! Introduced to my family by Lay Hwa, our family friend, this was a refreshing culinary fare in Balik Pulau. Not only that, the drink Ho Kar Sai, a special mix of coffee, Milo and cocoa, is truly an amazing tasting drink. On top of that, special stalls selling prawn crackers, fried oyster ( this one is good and crispy ) and Thai tang hoon salad were also quite good. Hopefully, they stay affordable in time to come.

Being in Penang, I have no qualms helping out the local food businesses but I find it ridiculous when café charges RM 13 for a cup of Americano. ( RM 7.00 – RM 10.00 is the norm . Even Starbucks charges about RM 10.20 and RM 1.00 off when using their apps! Sure, you can argue about inferior coffee beans, over roasted or whatever but bottom line, it is still coffee, people! ) That’s why these so-called artistic café or instangramable café  ought to have a good look at themselves to stay relevant. Their customers had always been the Westerners and some curious local tourist like me. I was a fool once (many years ago ) for paying  RM 35 for a slice of cempedak cake but I won’t ever do it again nor ever walk into that particular café ever again! Heck, nowadays, I can get a RM 16 cempedak  10”roll from an Ipoh bakery to satisfy that craving. So, you earn my money ONCE and that’s it. How about trying to sustain your cafe business for years to come? That’s why I am particularly irked by cafes ( well-known ones! ) whose proprietors tries to “scam” their customers by making their café “ looked rustic/ old feel/cosy ” but charges their patrons for the “artistic value” of the café through their drinks and food. To me, that’s a moral and integrity scam. It is fair that you want to make money with your café concept but don’t overcharge your patrons and robbed their hard-earned money. Maybe, the money is not so much of a question for the Westerners but at the end of the day, supporting you are still the locals ; one day when the Westerners are not around. I do find some rather good cafes around in the Penang that still maintains the good pricing range and good quality food. Hopefully, people will continue to patron these café and help out their businesses rather than supporting these so -called “ theme based / ambience/rustic/ old feel “ café. My advice: Don’t charge people for the physical or old/antique things you put into your café; charge them rightly for the quality of food and drinks you serve. Believe me, people knows when you serve them inferior coffee and exhorbitant prices for your food stuff especially cakes, breads and pastries. BTW, to be fair , there are still some very good and affordable cafes in Penang that still serves good coffee and great food fare.

Talking about breads & pastries, I do find Continental Bakery at Nagore Street to be one of the best bakeries I was ever been introduced to. The breads sold there are solid, good weight and tasted so good.  I don’t remember ever being disappointed with the breads I bought from this bakery thus far. The chicken pie is an absolute delight while the other sweet pies and puffs are equally good. I could remember that their mushroom soup was a real delight to me some time ago but it has since been taken off, I believe. Yes, I especially liked the red beans loaf, raisins loaf, coffee loaf and even the chocolate loaf. The peach loaf together with multi grain breads can be quite a fare too. The breads have a good crust and soft inside. Maybe I am biased based on the fact that I particularly like this bakery while I have not tried any other bakery since I was introduced to it. So, do pardon my enthusiasm for this bakery for its breads and pastries. To me, give credit where it is due and this is what this bakery truly deserves, actually. Like I said, this is solely my opinion.   

I am eternally grateful to people like Lay Hwa, Felicia and my sister, Lee Lee for constantly introducing good food to feed my inexhaustive palate. Like I said, simple food meant a lot to me rather than some fancy stuff elsewhere. Sometimes, it is food like simple fried chicken or ayam penyet like the one produced by Kak Eli, near the bridge, seemed to be the best food in the world because of its simplicity and taste. That’s what makes food sensible and relevant in Penang.

Hopefully, I won’t get some ax or machette flying towards me as I write this. I am just being practical and truthful as it is. I do find that paying RM 9.00 or RM 12.00 for a plate of CKT is as ridiculous as paying RM 13 for an Americano coffee or RM 6.50 for a fried kay kiah. I might as well eat the RM 4.50 or RM 5.00 CKT for all I care. Still kueh teow, eggs , bean sprouts and two prawns! Cheers!  

So, the next time you are in Penang, open your eyes and ears widely, there would be winds of whispers for great places to eat and fellowship in Penang. Just stay away from crowded places, use a good amount of sanitizer and wear a mask as Covid 19 is part of the winds and whisker away if we are not careful.

I am sure we’ll survive the pandemic and lined our stomach with great food of Penang! BTW, Lay Hwa’s concoction of energy boosting herbal drinks and heat repelling herbal drinks are a real delight and an essential accompanying healthy drinks for any trip! That’s the benefit of having great family friends in Penang! Yesssssssiiiiirrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…… 

STOP SEXUAL ABUSE !

Today I read with disgust one posting from a notable FB person namely Syed Azmi about a mother who defended her daughter after being sexually abused by a 15 year old relative. I felt so much sympathy , sadness and much distressed for the affected mother and child. According to the posting, the mother of the sexually abused child had taken her daughter to the hospital for check-up and confirmed the abuse. She even went to the police station to lodge a police report which is the right thing to do. However, sadly, her family and relatives are not agreeable to her actions. Instead of supporting her, I guess, they heaped all sorts of “stories” on the mother and so on. This is truly cruel and the type of mentality that bred this monstrous actions on the child. Plenty of cover-ups and "wayang kulit" as they people used to say!

 I stand in condemnation of such actions for not supporting the mother and the abused child. A sexually abused child would not lie about her situation. She ( a five year old ) would tell the truth as that is what children of her age are naturally inclined to say- the truth. Of late, truth had been far away and distorted and deemed a dirty word from our society while the society had turned monsters to children. I am totally and utterly disgusted with people who hurt children whether physically, emotionally or mentally. I deemed these monsters as “musuh dan sampah masyarakat No.1". In a world that is evolving instead of being better people in our society, we have turned into liars and monsters in our sexual desires.

It is utterly nonsense that by mere looking at a woman in short skirt gives us unhealthy thoughts and make our dongs go up and our head goes spinning with all sorts of incontrolable desires. It doesn’t matter too that if a woman has bigger breast or if she is wiggling her ass that she is seducing you. To me, that’s a dickhead sick thoughts! Well, I would  suggest you close your eyes or gorge your eyes out as suggested by your own religious faith and go to hell, you bloody pervert!  If by having a banana or a cucumber, an aubergine, a carrot or a radish brings out the sexual desires in you to have sex then you had better be burned in eternal hell for having such thoughts or you should be castrated by Law if there are enough lawmakers to pass such laws. Perhaps, we can have a completely eunuch cabinet of ministers by the end of the year then!  Insolent idiots and morons! So, how does an innocent child brings out the desire in you for you to do such monstrous act? Despicable low life!

I cannot understand any religion in the world that teaches us to have such desirous thoughts and such Satanic views! For many years now, 63 years to be precise and exact, many of us in this country had to endure such narrow, sadistic and perverted views of how we should dress, what we should eat and how we should act in our society. We are and always will be a multi-racial society. Every one of us no matter , we are Malay, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan, Sikh, Iban and others respects one another culturally, way of life and religious faith including understands perfectly what sexual abuse is all about. Every one of us understand what RAPE is and what sexual abuse on children IS! It is horrendously wrong and despicable act of human violation! Sure, there are bad apples of people in every level of our society today but to hurt children is a GRAND NO not just in my eyes but in the eyes of GOD. I believe, every religion in the world teaches us NOT to hurt children. So,  Stop abusing the children. STOP CHILD marriages! I cannot and will not EVER condone and accept any logic that a victim should marry the rapist who physically violated her in the first place! What type of sick mentality are we condoning to? As leaders and people who should protect children and women, we chose to treat these young girls and women like dirt and not worthy of any worth. We, as citizens of this country should be ashamed for every child sexually abuse, any underage girl/boy rape or sexually abused and every woman/man who was raped against her/his will. Instead, we cowardly hide behind our religious cloak and try to sweep everything under the carpet and proclaimed “amicably settled” through religious avenue. Violation of the Law is a violation of the law. There are no two ways about it. Somehow some unscrupulous people who deemed themselves as defenders of the law sometimes goes through the crevices of the weakness of the system to allow such scumbags to go scot free on technicality. I often wonder ………..not insinuating anything though….just my wondering…..  

Goodness gracious, people! Rape is rape and it is a crime. It is punishable by the Laws of this country. What happened to “ Kedaulatan Undang-Undang” as we stand to recite this from 7 years old till 18 years old reciting this week after week during our school assembly? Is this just a phrase or is this the tenets of our Rukunegara?  I find it truly disgusting that the victim is often repelled for being “gatal” and immoral while the perpetrator is often deemed as being “seduced”! To me, such people with such thoughts and ideas should be stoned to death! Yes, it would not be a matter to you if it is not your daughter or your sister or your mother being hurled such names. But if it is your daughter, your sister or your mother, you would quickly jump off your seats and bayed for blood.

It makes me sick that we have a Doraemon Minister together with a string of monkeys and morons running our government system and country today. It is no secret that paedophiles and sexual predators make their glorious home here in Malaysia and South East Asia in particular and prey towards our children and young girls.  What? Airport security or border security could not check on these paedophiles and sexual predators? Come on, we can catch a woman who stole for her starving kids from a supermarket but we cannot detect these sexual predators? Why? International Police or Interpol or FBI, CIA, Scotland Yard, KGB, Mossad or polices around the world are not co-operating or dead?  Yes, we blame the NET for the influences and for practically everything in our failure of parenting but don’t forget that as adults, we have a great responsibility to ensure that these bad influences do not encourage nor reach our children. Some parents don’t even know where their children are every night and yet we easily give up and give excuses that we cannot do anything about our children because of such influences that exists. Shameful is what I would say to them. Look at Mat Rempits. Look at kids wandering in the night and highways with their bikes and so on. I often wonder where are their parents! What insolent parents, really.

I pull no punches and I minced not my words on such acts. If you had travelled down the highways and see those Rempits doing their “stunts”, don’t you just feel for their parents? Btw, some of these Rempits are college/university students, my dear people! How many people are NOT aware of this? It is fascinating indeed when people say they don't know about this. Fascinating or hiding from the truth? People who streamed their lives and pull stunts on the highways are on the taxpayer's money! Your taxes and my taxes! Yeah, gone are the days when these people were easily the uneducated and we would gladly blame it on them for convenience. BTW, even today, the uneducated do not want to do these type of things anymore as living is hard enough while earning a living to sustain the family seemed to be far more important today.  It is these same PTPTN educated buffons that are doing these stunts at the highways and byways, people!  Please, face the truth and this is the stark truth staring straight into our faces. The more we deny it, the more faeces will splatter to our faces and caused us much embarrassment.

Today, I stand in support of the mother who is protecting her sexually abused 5 year old daughter to not to withdraw the police report and make a stand. This is a despicable act that should not be condoned in the first place. People will always pry you into the forgiveness stand but remember this, how would you, as a mother, ever explained what had happened to your daughter when she learns about this? Would say to her, “ I did what I am supposed to do which is to forgive because of pressure from family”  or “ I protected you because you are my daughter and I want you to know that I am your mother and I would love and protect you, always.”

I also stand against any parents who would sacrificed their daughters/sons for any sexual favours or favours of whatever means or to consolidate businesses, partnerships or to pay off debts or whatsoever. This is a deplorable act of insanity and a real disgrace. Cultural, choice or whatever, this act is despicable, wrong and humiliating. If you ever create any trouble in your family and your wife and children are at stake, you might as well get yourself a one way ticket to the 6 x4 plot rather than putting your family at stake. You can quote me on that! This is especially for gamblers, loan shark defaulters and whatever trouble you may be in. get your head straight and settle your own problems rather than dragging your wife and children into this. I have seen far too may families literally torn apart by such acts of stupidity and selfishness. If you can dig the problem hole that big, you can most certainly put yourself in the hole and bury yourself in it and drag no others with you! 

My message today is simply this : STOP the sexual abuse! STOP Child Marriages! STOP hurting children!  You bet, I am damn pissed!~

Happy Tripping - Ipoh

Spending time with my son and his wife ( Joa Wee & Felicia ) together with my sister, Lee Lee for some Christmas holiday have always been our family yearly plan. It was no different for 2020 as we got together and planned for a family getaway. In fact, my sister, Lee Lee had been instrumental in ensuring we get to somewhere to spend some good time together. For the year 2020, it was Ipoh that we chose and probably the nearest attraction away from Penang. 

We would have chosen Haadyai, Thailand had the pandemic COVID-19 had not wrecked our plans! This time, we had quite a nice group to travel and to have fun in Ipoh. Felicia’s mom, Molly, sister’s close friend, Lay Hwa and Lai Eng together with my brother in law, Tee and Felicia, our daughter in law joined in for this fun filled time. We were very careful as we masked up (opened only when we take photographs!) and practice the necessary steps and measures of safety like washing hands, sanitizing and keeping apart at all time especially during the difficult times. We really tried avoiding crowds as much as we could.

Our accommodation in Ipoh this time was Kinta Riverfront Suites and the place was really nice, peaceful and quite quiet. Though traffic at this place was slow, Ipoh town was bustling with local tourists and people from everywhere. Despite the raging pandemic, I noticed with utter disbelief that some people just won’t masked up or keep their distance. We truly tried avoiding those jammed packed places and did not mingled too much at crowded places except for some places like the Market Lane and Concubine Lane whereby the crowd must be mad to get crowded there and truly unavoidable for us. We were in and out as fast as we could as the crowd swell in the early evening of the day. Our liquid sanitizers were squeezed out fast and quickly as we moved along these places. Despite all these, we made sure we enjoyed ourselves with couples photographs, “lemak poses “ and even hearty laughter wherever we went.

Our very first place of stop was the Ipoh iconic fruit attraction which is the pomelo farm and we stopped at Tambun Pomelo Agro Farm. It never ceased to amaze me that trees as old as 10-30 years could still yield such massive pomelo fruits. Though there was definitely a galore of fruits at the farm but this was a rather small farm with an assortment of types of fruits grown here. There were commercial guava trees, jambu air trees, medicinal fruit trees, banana trees, lime trees, kaffir lime trees and of course, pomelo trees which were heavily fruiting and ripening. However, prices for these fruits ain’t cheap and so, we only bought what we would consume for the day. 

Then, we were off to Kampung Kacang Putih for some murukku snacks buying. SLing and I led the group to our preferred kacang putih shop namely Enak & Ranggup Shop for some murukku and other Indian light condiments favourites. By this time, the back of the car were about a quarter filled!! Yeah, the ladies sure knows how to shop for good stuff! We were off to lunch next and after a simple meal of Ipoh well-known fare of bean sprouts and chicken fair , we were off to our resting place for some good ol’ rest to our not-so-young supple bodies! This was the time, Sling, Lee Lee and I sneaked out the Nam Heong Coffeeshop in town to get some packed great White Coffee, Portuguese egg tarts and yam friend dumplings with lovely pork fillings for our tea break session. It was fun going out when there was less traffic on the road and less people at the shop in the mid-afternoon.

After sharing tea goodies with the rest of our entourage of great people, we were then out to the historical places in Ipoh especially Market Lane and Concubine Lane. It was also the artistry wall drawings at the nearby places that led us to our historic poses and thus called the extra “lemak poses “ or also know as the “hiao poses”. It was such a lovely sight and drew a lot of laughter and cheer to the heart. For me, seeing my sister in her great joy moment or sharing the laughter with her friend, Lay Hwa & Lai Eng and seeing Felicia’s mom,Molly breaking a smile and enjoying herself were priceless indeed. It was also joyful to see my brother in law , Tee in his usual happy & joyous self ; together with the excitement and fun shown by Felicia, SLing and SYuen were indeed priceless. 

The wide smiles etched across their faces together with the evening sweat running down their necks amidst the sardine squad of people and joyous laughter were simply too priceless and meaningful indeed. That evening as we wind down for the day with some simple choo char dinner, we went to bed early with the anticipation of breakfast and looking forward to a great day the following morning. This was, afterall, the prelude to a better day the following day.

Bright and early morning the next day, everyone was looking forward to events of the day. After some discussion and navigation ( thank heavens for Waze! ), we managed to land ourselves at Restoran Choong Kee Pokok Besar in Pasir Pinji for the well-known yong tau fu fare. All of us picked the YTF stuff for us to enjoy and ordered white coffee delights to satisfy our palate that morning. 

After eating our hearts contents, we were off to burn out some calories and headed towards Qing Xing Ling Cultural Village. The entrance fee to this cultural experience was RM 10.00 per head and I must say that it was all well worth the money. If you are ever in Ipoh, please go this cultural village and have a taste of the yesteryears memories. Not only is this place such a beautiful sight amidst the natural limestone hill formation, it also depicts the lovely Chinese cultural lifestyle of the olden days and also some loving memories of what we would do as children. I would say that it is more of a cultural experience rather than a museum. I love the early days rickshaw experience whereby I could pull SLing around as she sits the rickshaw and also pulling her on the olden days wooden cart. 

The visits to the sample Chinese house filled with memorabilia of the past brings lots of lovely childhood memories. Placing oneself in the houses/old houses with the huge serene pond and limestone backdrop can be quite invigorating and refreshing for the eyes and souls indeed. I find it truly amazing that the owners of this place could actually capture the very essence of the culture and way of life of the people of the olden days. A good flight of stairs leading to the olden days shops making up of a drink shop, a tailor shop, a weighing shop, a wedding/bridal shop, a butcher shop, a barber stand, a record shop, a food stall, a rubber tapper stand, an olden day kitchen and lastly, the olden days poop/toilet were indeed a delight to the heart and the poor old soul of mine. Maybe, the younger generation would not have been more enthusiastic as the older people but nevertheless, it was an interesting day of re-collecting one’s thoughts. As we exit the cultural village, everyone seemed happy enough have had that experience of visiting this place. Phew! Job done!

Lunch was stupendously good in one of the restaurant recommended by Felicia. The restaurant served great food with very reasonable prices. Food fare ranges from fried pork knuckle (Thai style) , sweet potato vegetables, pork belly with salted fish, pipa duck, French beans with salted egg yoke and lastly, special sesame bun with pork and sliced onion delight. What a fare indeed! I was really awe struck by the deliciousness of the food fare. A very simple restaurant that served really quality food. I really loved it very much. From then on, it was more goodness after goodness as we stopped by the get some famous Ipoh biscuits and goodies including the salted chicken ( I really don’t fancy much of this but the Penang folks in my group seemed to love them! ) As we left Ipoh that day, I could only say that we have had a good time indeed.

To top off the beautiful day, we made one last stop in Nibong Tebal for some crab porridge. Who in the right frame of mind would come up with such a dish, you may ask. Behold, my dearest friends and family, I must say that it was simply the most ridiculous but most wonderful porridge indeed. The porridge was generously graced with some of the juiciest crabs ever and the porridge was superb but rather pricey though. Someone mentioned to me that some layman once said , “ Cheap not good; good not cheap.” For once, you pay for the quality of the food and I most definitely would not be hesitant to pay for this food. It was superb and everyone enjoyed the meal very much. To top off the nice food, we had boiled octopus tentacles with some concoction of chilied peanut sauce, fishball and lala cooked Thai style.  Super good!

As I lay down to sleep that night, I could not stop smiling that it was such a privileged having to spend some great times with everyone. I am happy and blessed that I get to spend time with these beautiful people. I am blessed that they have been happy throughout the trip. It was such a blessing indeed.

Alright, where to next? Only God knows, I guess.

Love Wedding

I never realized how much I have aged until 12 December, 2020 when my son, Joa Wee tied the knot with his partner in life, Felicia. It was indeed a joyous occasion and every parents’ joy indeed. For me, seeing an erratic and difficult young man progressing into a responsible, conscious and capable young man; doing his vows to keep his wife in loving tender care and in love meant a lot to me. It wasn’t always easy for me to express myself but sitting at the row of chairs and seeing the unveiling of a beautiful wedding was indeed a deep sense of joy and accomplishment. They say, we all lived to see the lineage of our grandchildren and beyond. However , for me , it was all enough for me to see my son walk his bride down the aisle of marriage. I could never have been a prouder father that evening.

I guess, when you are at where you are and looking at the unfolding of the events, it was already a miracle itself. I would say that GOD played a big part in bringing these two young souls together in holy matrimony. With the window of opportunity closing for these two brave souls because of the pandemic, prayers and more prayers were the order of the day. I could still remember vividly when I asked both of them whether their wedding would go on as schedule or would there be a postponement but alas, they were persistent on waiting upon the Lord for their decision. I guess, GOD was gracious enough to grant these two people the wishes of their hearts when the MCO was lifted and RMCO was in force. That gave the both of them that window of opportunity to carry out their wedding. In weeks to come, frantic wedding invitation flew out o the hands of the people as fast as it could. Though there were hesitation of some people in regards to the COVID pandemic, I guess, GOD was greater. Thank you, Lord for His grace and mercy. 

As I sent out invitation to friends and family, I was really hopeful for their attendance. However, though some declined politely, I accepted their decline graciously and with great respect as it was difficult times and I truly understand their invitation decline. I was just as anxious as the couple as I wanted them to have a great wedding and wedding dinner. Soon Ling and I never stopped praying earnestly for the safety of everyone who would attend the wedding and wedding dinner of our son. Afterall, they have risked their lives to be with us at this time of joy. I was really glad seeing friends and family rallying support for us and our families. A BIG and massive thank you for friends and family who had supported us throughout the wedding. Anxiety and worries were soon replaced with deep feelings of utter joy and burst of love as the day approached. I am very thankful towards friends who had prayed for us and for the couple as the day approached. We did have a family night together as we sipped out Dimple whiskey and had a merry time of laughing and enjoying the day. Sitting down and seeing family there was just exquisite joy and unexplainable uplifting feeling. Yeah, I am old fashioned and sentimental old fool, I guess. Proud as a bloody peacock as my son was getting married the following day! 

On the wedding day , the female make up artist arrived to doll up the ladies ( She did an excellent and professional job, I must say! ) while the heng tais ( the brothers ) arrived to make sure the groom ( my son ) was ready for his big day. As Joa Wee and Felicia chose the first look ( meaning they have chosen to surprise one another on how they look and what they are dressing up ) for their special day. It was a complete surprise for both of them and they both really knew what they wanted to do for the wedding. In all fairness, they both had planned out what they wanted to do for their wedding. We , as parents, were more than happy to follow what their hearts desires were. I guess, everything worked out well and I am most glad for what had happened. There is no denying that GOD’s great hand was at the wedding and everything went on smoothly. It was a beautiful wedding. The simplicity of things were great and minimalistic. Simple décor and great ambience made it all such a happy occasion. I was more happy to see the people , family and friends coming together to witness the holy matrimony. To me, that open confession of commitment to one another and keeping the sacred vows of marriage to one another in the sight of GOD outweighed all other things. 

To me, that day, I have gained another addition of daughter into our household. I am so glad to have Felicia on board the Foo family bandwagon. What a great occasion! Again, I am blessed indeed and I really am thankful. In my small heart, the joy have been enormous and I will live to remember this day as one of the greatest day in my life. I am one proud father that evening! I believe , I looked good too if you should want to know! Hahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa........