Fooyo Fried Ice Yogurt @ Prangin Mall, Penang

April 1, 2014, 9:30 am

≫ Next: Discovering The Murals Of George Town, Penang

≪ Previous: In Memory Of #MH370

$

0

0

OK, it's back to blogging about my 4-day solo trip in Penang last year.

I went there in the middle of June last year via the Aeroline bus. If you are too lazy to drive or check in at the airport, then the Aeroline bus is a good choice to take you from Petaling Jaya to Penang and back. You can read about my experience taking the Aeroline bus HERE.

On my first day in Penang, I stayed at Hotel Sentral located at Lorong Kinta in Georgetown.



Upon checking into Hotel Sentralat about 5pm, I was confronted with bad news - No electricity!! Apparently, this electricity cut had something to do with repair works being done at Macalister Road nearby due to a horrible tragedy that happened there a few days back.


A note left inside my hotel room

Penang folks will surely remember this horror story - A lightning arrester pole on top of the 21-storey Menara UMNO building had suddenly came crashing down onto Macalister Road during a thunderstorm, crushing vehicles and killing 2 people. The impact also created a five-metre deep crater on the ground. Read about it HERE.

When I was in Penang that day, that part of Macalister Road was still closed as repair works were being done - this probably led to the electricity being cut off.

Staying inside a hotel in darkness and without air conditioning was definitely not my idea of a holiday, so I decided to take a walk around Georgetown.

I passed by the famous Komtar building - the tallest building in Penang.



Walking along Jalan Magazine, I took this picture of the street with the setting sun.



I saw First Avenue Mall and decided to go in.



Walking leisurely inside the mall, I somehow ended at another mall - Prangin Mall. There must be a link somewhere between First Avenue and Prangin Mall, but I could not remember where.





I took a picture of this nice 'shophouse' at the ground floor concourse area.



Then I saw this dessert kiosk called Fooyo. It sells fried ice yogurt!



I've eaten frozen yogurt and yogurt ice blended (which Fooyo also sells) but not fried ice yogurt, so I decided to give it a try. There were many flavours to choose from - mango, strawberry, kiwi, dragon fruit, banana and original. I chose mango.

There were not many customers at that time so I managed to take a few shots of the preparation process. First, mango cubes that were freshly chopped were thrown into what looked like a frying pan together with  some yogurt.



The yogurt seemed to freeze in that 'frying pan' probably due to the freezing temperature of the pan.



The mixture of yogurt and mango were then spread thinly and evenly on the pan, after which it would be shovelled up.



This is the end product - my bowl of mango flavoured fried ice yogurt. Included in the bowl were 'love letter' biscuits rolls, sunflower seeds and raisins. Yummy!



The taste of the sweet mango complemented perfectly with the sour yogurt. At RM8.50 (US$2.60) a bowl, I thought it was slightly pricey, but it's still worth trying. However, it was not so good that it could make me crave for it.



Perhaps if I go Penang again in the future, I might visit Fooyo and try their other flavours.

---

Discovering The Murals Of George Town, Penang

April 3, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: The Steel Rod Sculptures Of George Town, Penang

≪ Previous: Fooyo Fried Ice Yogurt @ Prangin Mall, Penang

$

0

0

One of the main reasons I visited Penang, and in particular George Town, is to take photos of the many murals and street art there.

During my second day in Penang, I woke up early and hit the streets in the hope of taking shots of as many murals as possible. Even then, I did not manage to take all but at least I took some of the more famous ones.

The first mural I took was this famous 'Little Children On A Bicycle'. It depicts a girl taking her younger brother on a bicycle ride.



Located at Armenian Street, it was one of the many murals beautifully drawn in 2012 by Ernest Zacharevic, a Lithuania-born artist, as part of a street art project known as Mirrors George Town.

A real unused bicycle had been strategically placed below the paintings making it a truly amazing work of art in 3D!



Unfortunately, the mural became a victim of vandalism when a few months down the road, someone defaced the mural with a splash of yellow paint right above it. However, it was later discovered that the paint was actually wax. Two siblings, Tan Jia Han and Tan Jia Shin, volunteered to clean up the mess and they were rewarded for their selfless efforts by the Penang Tourist Centre. Read about it HERE.

Next I visited two more Zacharevic's murals which were situated just next to each other at Ah Quee Street. On the left is a 'Little Boy With A Pet Dinosaur' and on the right is 'Boy On A Bike'.



It's too bad that the pet dinosaur was no longer visible. I guess it must have faded with time.
You can see the mural with the dinosaur still intact HERE.

Now why would Zacharevic drew a dinosaur instead of a pet dog or something? I thought that was very creative of him!

Vandalism had once again reared its ugly head when someone scratched on this mural with what appeared to be charcoal lines. What can I say? Malaysia is unfortunately, famous for vandalism!



The boy on a bike was painted on the side door of a shophouse. The boy appears to be sitting on the motorbike and glancing at the pedestrian traffic behind him.

Luckily, this mural was not vandalised. In fact, I was quite surprised that the disused bike which was placed there as a prop, had so far not gone missing! LOL!



Another famous mural drawn by Ernest Zacharevic is this 'Reaching Up' mural located along Cannon Street. It depicts a boy standing on a chair and inching his way up to reach the hole in the wall. And just like the bicycle and the motorbike in the previous murals, the chair here is real.

By the way, did you notice the boy has shadows? How clever of Zacharevic to paint the shadows as well - it made the boy appears real!



This mural of a 'Little Girl In Blue' seemed a little frightening to me at first. Maybe because the girl was huge and she was looking down at me and she was not exactly smiling. LOL!

Located on the wall of a building at Muntri Street, this mural depicts a girl lifting up herself with both hands on the windows. Again notice the girl has shadows? Zacharevic surely has a very good eye for details!



When I was walking past this building along Armenian Street, I did not notice there was a mural there until someone pointed it out to me. The mural must had faded so much due to the wear and tear as a result of exposure to the weather. It was a mural of 'This Old Man' who is actually Uncle Ng, a clog maker who also happened to be the next door neighbour of the artist himself.



There were a few more murals by Zacharevic which I did not manage to see. You can see the complete list at Timothy Tye's excellent Penang guide website. And if you like to do a lot of walking like me, you may want to check out his walking trail guide that leads to all of Ernest Zacharevich's murals in George Town!

Note : All the above murals have no names. I borrowed the names from Timothy Tye who had named them on his website for easy recognition. 

With Zacharevic leading the way, a number of local artists had followed in his footsteps and painted a few murals in Penang. I stumbled upon this Giant Cat mural located on a wall at Armenian Street Ghaut.



Also known as 'Skippy Comes To Penang', this Giant Cat mural is part of the 101 Lost Kittens project to create awareness of the need to protect animals and foster a love for pets. I was so busy taking picture of this cat that I did not notice a Giant Rat mural hiding around the corner!

Check out a photo of the Giant Cat and the Giant Rat eyeing each other HERE.

Take note that the paint used to draw this Giant Cat can only lasts 2 years so make sure you visit George Town and capture a photo of this mural now before it is gone forever!

There's a mural very near to Hotel Sentral where I stayed on my first day in Penang. In fact, it's just opposite the hotel along the same road, which is Lorong Kinta. This mural depicts a Nyonya maiden receiving by basket a meal of noodles from a hawker on the street below. As this recalls the life in George Town in the early 20's, it is known as 'Nostalgic Meal Order' mural.



It was painted by a local deaf-mute self taught artist Louis Gan, whose 'Brother and Sister On A Swing' mural had been particularly impressive. Check it out HERE.

Thanks to Penang food blogger Ken who brought me around to taste yummy authentic Penang food, I managed to see two more murals. I probably would not have stumbled upon these murals if I had walked around on foot!

This one is 'Pigeon Boy' mural located at Nagor Road.



Nearby along the same road, there is this 'Shanghai Lady' mural. Notice that those chairs are real.



There are many murals waiting to be discovered in George Town and other parts of Penang. The murals have definitely made Penang more interesting to tourists and visitors. Old shophouses and streets were made alive again with these murals.

Many people have posed in front of these murals and took really funny shots of themselves! As I am a private person and prefer not to show my face online, you won't see me posing anytime soon. LOL!



I may just go on a mural-hunting trip on my next visit to Penang! Meantime, if you plan to go mural-hunting in Penang, here are some tips ....

1. Do your research first before you go and map out the location of all the murals that exist.
2. Start out early (about 8am) as it may get too hot in the afternoon. Evening time after 4pm is OK too.
3. Walking is the best way to check out all the murals. Or you may rent a bicycle. Alternatively, you can ride a trishaw with the trishaw rider as your guide. Driving a car is not advisable as you need to look for parking and you might miss a lot of interesting places along the way.
4. Make sure you put on sunblock and wear a hat, and bring drinking water with you.
5. Wear lose clothing and comfortable walking shoes.
6. Depending on how many murals you plan to visit, the whole trip may take 3 hours or more.
7. Lastly, enjoy the murals, don't forget to take pictures (and pose if you like) and NEVER EVER vandalise the murals!

The Steel Rod Sculptures Of George Town, Penang

April 7, 2014, 8:00 pm

≫ Next: A Beautiful Sunday

≪ Previous: Discovering The Murals Of George Town, Penang

$

0

0

Besides the murals, there is another type of street art in Penang known as steel rod sculptures.

During my 4-day trip in Penang last year, I managed to capture some photos of the murals and the steel rod sculptures in George Town. Read about the murals in my previous post.

The steel rod sculptures are really a collection of caricatures by local cartoonists depicting the history of the streets where they are located. I guess it's more fun to learn about the history of George Town in this way.

This sculpture below is located at Cannon Street based on a caricature by cartoonist Tang Mun Kian. It shows a trishaw peddlar falling into a hole on the ground while the passenger looks on in astonishment. It's actually a comical depiction about a cannon shot fired during the 1867 Penang riots  that made a large hole in this area. Now you know why this street is known as Cannon Street? : )



However, the hole was said to be not on the ground, but on the wall of the minaret of Acheen Street Mosque (Masjid Lebuh Acheh)! I managed to take a photo of the said mosque. Can you see the hole?



I saw this on the wall of Yeoh Kongsi along Chulia Street Ghaut. Based on the caricature of cartoonist Baba Chuah, it depicts a group of newly arrived immigrants received by their host. The Yeoh Kongsi was established in 1836 to look after the welfare of the newly arrived Yeoh clansmen.



Did you know that up till the year 1909, the police in George Town also doubled up as fire fighters? This was clearly depicted in this steel rod sculpture on a wall along Chulia Street Ghaut.



Based on the caricature by cartoonist Tang Mun Kian, this sculpture complete with a red firehose barrel celebrates the Beach Street Fire Station (Balai Bomba Lebuh Pantai) in George Town. (photo below)



There are many shophouses turned budget hotels at Love Lane and this is celebrated with this steel rod sculpture on a wall along Love Lane. Based on a caricature by cartoonist Reggie Lee, it depicts a rather comical budget hotel scene.



My photo is not very clear, so in case you can't read what the cashier said to the tourist, well this is what he said : "Your room is upstairs. Later, if you want a massage, I can do it at budget rate." LOL!

There's another steel rod sculpture along Love Lane which seems to describe this street pretty well. Based on the caricature by cartoonist Tang Mun Kian, it depicts a man climbing down the wall from a window apparently to escape from a raid.



It is widely believed that in those days, rich men who lived at nearby Muntri Street kept their mistresses in the houses at Love Lane.

On a wall facing Muntri Street, I saw this 'one leg kicks all' steel rod sculpture based on another caricature by cartoonist Tang Mun Kian. It celebrates the amah or Chinese housemaids.



These amahs, which came from Guangdong Province in China, did almost everything in the household, from cleaning to cooking to taking care of the children, hence they are known as 'yat keok thek' which in Cantonese means 'one leg kicks all'.

This steel rod sculpture at Sungai Ujong Road depicts two barbers on opposite sides of the then Prangin canal throwing locks of cut hair into the canal, to the bewilderment of a boatman passing through.



Based on yet another caricature by cartoonist Tang Mun Kian, the sculpture celebrates the barbers who lined up on both side of the canal to ply their trade in those days.

There were many more steel rod sculptures which I have missed or did not take photos of because it was too dark by then, but if you are interested, the complete list can be found at Timothy Tye's Penang Travel Tips website.

I still prefer murals compared to these steel rod sculptures but the latter do provide some comic relief during my walk around the streets of George Town.

A Beautiful Sunday

April 12, 2014, 8:30 pm

≫ Next: Walking The Streets Of George Town (Part 1)

≪ Previous: The Steel Rod Sculptures Of George Town, Penang

$

0

0

Happy Sunday everyone!

It's a beautiful Sunday! I woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside my garden. When I looked out of my window, I saw the blue, blue sky and the verdant green lawns.

Somehow, I knew it's going to be a happy Sunday. I could feel it in my heart. And it inspired me to go to the piano and compose this song.

It's gonna be an ultra short post today as all I wanna do is to share this composition of mine with you all, and get on with my beautiful Sunday. Happy listening. Hope you like it! : )


Note : This work and recording is copyrighted. All rights reserved. 

Walking The Streets Of George Town (Part 1)

April 16, 2014, 5:30 pm

≫ Next: Walking The Streets Of George Town (Part 2)

≪ Previous: A Beautiful Sunday

$

0

0

I spent the early morning of my second day in Penang walking the streets of George Town.

My intention was to go on a hunting spree for those famous Penang street art like the murals and steel rod sculptures. But along the way, I also saw a lot of interesting buildings and landmarks in this charming capital city of Penang.

Starting from Hotel Sentral where I stayed, I walked along Kinta Lane and turned left to Macalister Road. I passed by this grey coloured church along Macalister Road.



St. Paul's Church is a Chinese language Anglican church. It has a 5-storey annex on its right.



Directly opposite this church is another church, known as Church Of Our Lady Sorrow.



Situated just next to a national Chinese primary school, this church is a Roman Catholic church for Chinese speaking parishioners. Beside the church is a tall bell tower.



Walking further I reached the junction of Macalister Road, Dato Kramat Road and Penang Road. Here, I saw the GAMA Supermarket and Departmental Store.



I did not go in as it was definitely not opened yet (it's only about 8.30am) but who would want to go shopping inside a building in the early hours of the morning? Interestingly, GAMA is said to be the first supermarket cum departmental store in Penang, starting its business way back in 1980. I wonder how many renovations they did since then?

Across Macalister Road from GAMA is the famous Komtar building but I did not take any photos. This photo below is the one I took the evening before when I was passing by on my way to Prangin Mall to try out the Fooyo fried ice yogurt.



Did you know that this 65-storey building was once (very briefly) the tallest building in Asia?

But that was only during the height of its construction. By the time it was completed, the title was taken over by Korean Life Insurance Building in Seoul, Korea. But Komtar was still taller than any building in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, at that time. I guess Penangnites must be pretty proud back then. LOL!

After passing Komtar, I continued to walk along Magazine Road (what a funny name for a road, don't you think?) and reached First Avenue Mall.



I had on the evening before, went up to the eighth floor of this mall to visit the open air balcony for a panoramic view of George Town, but to my disappointment, the doors to the balcony were locked. Any Penangnite reading this knows why were visitors not allowed to go to the open air balcony?

From First Avenue Mall, I turned left into McNair Street and continued straight to Carnarvon Street before seeing this interesting building on my right. It houses the office of George Town World Heritage Inc., a company that was set up to manage, monitor and promote George Town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.



Located at Acheen Street (or Lebuh Acheh), which is within the World Heritage Site core zone, this nice looking building was previously known as Penang Heritage Centre.



One of the oldest mosques in Penang can be found at Acheen Street. This mosque is called the Acheen Street Mosque or more popularly known as Masjid Lebuh Acheh. Built by an Acehnese clan leader, the mosque is also known by the name of Mesjid Jamek and Masjid Melayu Lebuh Acheh.

Next to the mosque is Ben's Vintage Toy Museum.



I wanted to enter the museum but it only opens at 10am so it was way too early! Oh well, I guess I had to be contented just looking from the outside.



I could see some of the toys on display at the opened windows on the first floor.



Maybe I will visit this museum on my next visit to Penang.



As I turned into Cannon Square, I saw a row of charming looking shophouses.



In between, I saw the entrance gate to the Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi, one of the most amazing Chinese clan temples in Penang. Unfortunately, it was not opening hours yet, so again I had to be contented just looking from outside.



However, I managed to visit this clan temple the next day so I will blog about it in a separate post.

This is the road where I spotted the famous 'boy standing on a chair and reaching up' mural by Ernest Zacharevic. Can you see it?



The road is called Cannon Street and I will always remember it because of that landmark minaret that belongs to the Acheen Street Mosque in the background. It was said that a cannon was fired during the Penang riots in 1867 and passed right through the minaret!

Read More >Discovering The Murals Of George Town 

There were more interesting looking shophouses along Cannon Street.



I was attracted to two dragon carvings atop the roof of a building.



A closer shot of the dragons.



I was quite sure that the building must be a temple of some sort and I was right! It was the Yap Kongsi Temple.



Located at the corner of Cannon Street and Armenian Street, this green coloured temple has some very exquisitely carved dragon pillars.



A close shot of the dragons from the front.



I did not enter the temple though. My main priority that morning was to hunt for murals before the sun gets too hot, so temples would have to wait. Haha!



Is Penang the only state in Malaysia that juices the nutmeg fruit? I had come to Penang to try their nutmeg juice, so when I saw this sign outside a shop advertising their home-cooked nutmeg juice, I was excited. But of course, it was not opened yet at that hour!



No worries though as I got the chance to try Penang's nutmeg juice during my trip and even bought some home! : )

Walking along Armenian Street, I saw this very beautiful arch leading to a narrow passageway.



It was the entrance to the Cheah Kongsi Temple or the Cheah Si Sek Tek Tong.



I love the intricate and ornamented carvings of this arch!



But I soon discovered that the front part of the temple is actually facing Beach Street. There seemed to be some kind of renovation going on.



This is the beautiful and grand front gate of the Cheah Kongsi facing Beach Street, with two lion guardians at the sides.



Soon I found myself at Victoria Street (Lebuh Victoria) and saw this Ming Xiang Tai pastry shop. Almost wanted to go in and get myself some cakes and egg tarts but I did not. Why I did not I could not remember. Maybe too busy searching for murals to bother about food? LOL!



Hunting for the murals soon led me to Queen Street and it was here that I stumbled upon the Sri Mahamariamman Temple, one of the oldest Hindu temples in Penang. 



Look at those intricate carvings on the gopuram - the tower above the front entrance. How many deity statues can you see on the gopuram?



The front entrance was also flanked by two guardians. What animals do you think they are?



This temple is located at what is known as Penang's Little India.

I did not have time to enter the temple as there were still so many places I needed to visit. And don't forget I was still on my mural-hunting spree so everything else would have to take a backseat that morning.

But isn't it amazing that on that very morning alone, I visited two churches, a mosque, two Chinese temples and a Hindu temple?

Do not miss Part 2 as I continue to explore the charming streets of George Town!

Walking The Streets Of George Town (Part 2)

April 22, 2014, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: My Visit To Fort Cornwallis

≪ Previous: Walking The Streets Of George Town (Part 1)

$

0

0

Continued from Part 1

Walking along Love Lane, I soon reached the junction of Farquhar Street. On my right I saw a church. It's called the Church of the Assumption.



Crossing over to Light Street, I saw the Convent Light Street on my left. It is reportedly the oldest girls' school in Penang and in Malaysia.



This is the Court Buildings along Light Street. By the way, Light Street was named after Captain Francis Light, the founder of George Town.



Further along Light Street, I reached the Logan Memorial, a monument erected in the memory of James Richardson Logan.



James Logan was a lawyer who championed the rights of the non-Europeans in Penang.



This is the Supreme Court building on the opposite side of the road.



Leaving the Logan Memorial behind, I turned left into Jalan Padang Kota Lama.



Here, I saw the Town Hall building which faces an open field known as Padang Esplanade.



Next to the Town Hall, I saw this weird looking structure.



The structure, made from bamboo poles, resembles a ship. Or does it look more like a wicker basket?



I soon learnt that it was an art installation called The Theatre Of Ships by Indonesian artist Joko Dwi Avianto. It celebrates the glorious past of theatres and the performing arts in Penang. It's also part of the George Town Festival 2013 project to commemorate the inscription of George Town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.



I took a closer look at the bamboo structure. Quite unique looking, no?



It was actually built over the City Hall's canteen between Town Hall and City Hall.



Do take note that this structure may be gone by now as these photos were taken during my Penang trip back in July 2013. Any Penangnites reading this know if it's still there?

Next to the Theatre Of Ships is the City Hall of George Town. There seemed to be some kind of renovation going on.



In front of the City Hall building is the gate entrance to Padang Esplanade.



MPPP stands for Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang or Municipal Council Of Penang. 



Nearby at the Esplanade, is the Cenotaph, a war memorial erected by the British to remember those who died in World War I.



Did you know that the Cenotaph was destroyed in World War II and was rebuilt after the war?



I walked along the esplanade enjoying the sea view and the waves lapping on the shore.



The weather was a little hazy. And I thought I had escaped the haze in Kuala Lumpur!



A solitary boat in the sea.



I visited the nearby Fort Cornwallis, a tourist attraction in Penang, but since that will involve a whole post by itself, I will not mention about it here.

After leaving Fort Cornwallis, I walked towards Pengkalan Weld. I passed by the Swettenham Pier.  It is the berthing place for cruise liners that call on George Town.



I could not believe I walked the whole stretch of Pengkalan Weld! Well, not really the whole stretch but a big part of the stretch. Soon, I saw another pier - the Church Street Pier.



Built in 1897, the Church Street Pier is a heritage pier.



Beside the pier is a Nyonya and Hainanese cuisine restaurant. Did not step into this restaurant - wonder if it's any good.



There is a marina connected to the Church Street Pier - it's known as Tanjong City Marina. However, I think it was no longer in use. Wonder what happened to it.



Opposite Tanjong City Marina is Wisma Kastam, previously known as the Malayan Railway Building.



There is a very interesting story behind this building and it's something to do with feng shui. It appeared that when the British built the Malayan Railway Building, it blocked the sea view from the Kuan Yin Teng Temple, thus disrupting the prosperity of the Chinese community at that time.

And to make things worse, a clock tower was built atop the building facing the temple. This was a very inauspicious sign to the Chinese, as if telling them that their time is up!

This green colour building attracted my attention. It's Wisma MTT which houses the income tax office if I am not mistaken.



It was almost time to check out of my hotel so I had to stop admiring any more buildings in George Town and rush back. I did not know how I ended up at Magazine Road, but there I was, taking snapshot of a row of shophouses.



No, I was not leaving Penang. It was just my second day remember? I had to check out of my current hotel at Kinta Lane and check in to another hotel at Gurney Drive for a change of scenery. LOL!

It had been an enjoyable morning walking around the streets of George Town. There were still a lot of places that I had not covered. If I ever visit Penang in future, I will not hesitate to do this all over again!

My Visit To Fort Cornwallis

April 24, 2014, 10:30 am

≫ Next: Penang Laksa And Cendol @ Joo Hooi Cafe

≪ Previous: Walking The Streets Of George Town (Part 2)

$

0

0

Fort Cornwallis is a famous historical tourist attraction in George Town, Penang.

During my second day in Penang, I visited this fort which is the largest standing fortress in Malaysia. It is located near the Esplanade and next to the Victoria Memorial Clock. Some people may think it's not a place worth visiting, but I feel that I must visit it at least once in my life.



If it is your first time in Penang, you should also give Fort Cornwallis a visit. Entrance fee is only RM2.

By the way, Fort Cornwallis is named after the late 18th century Governor-General in Bengal, Charles Cornwallis. The design of the fort is therefore similar to other British forts in India, albeit at a smaller scale.

Originally built by Captain Francis Light for the British military, Fort Cornwallis however, has never engaged in any battle.

This is the entrance drawbridge to Fort Cornwallis. It was originally surrounded by a moat as most forts are, but the moat is no longer there. Perhaps they have covered it up for some reason.



In the distance, I could see the Fort Cornwallis Lighthouse. It is the second oldest lighthouse in Malaysia - second only to the lighthouse in Tanjung Tuan, Melaka. Interestingly, the lighthouse resembles a ship's mast, and it is the only lighthouse in Peninsular Malaysia not serving any navigational purpose.



Inside the fort, I could see an old white colour building - it's the Gunpowder Magazine.



I went into the Gunpowder Magazine to take a snapshot.



The steps leading back outside.



There were several bronze cannons lining the perimeter of the fort.



But the largest and most famous cannon is the Dutch cannon called Sri Rambai. Some locals believe that this cannon possess magical powers - women who place flowers on the barrel will improve their fertility!



Standing there, I could imagine firing this cannon at ships coming in from the sea.



Another smaller cannon inside the fort.



I walked towards the lighthouse but it was all locked up. I thought I could climb the lighthouse but I guess I was not in luck.



A statue of Captain Francis Light in honour of the man who built Fort Cornwallis.



There was a tourist information kiosk, a history gallery and a souvenir centre here but I did not take any photos of them.



I had no regrets visiting Fort Cornwallis, but climbing the steps up to that lighthouse would have made my visit more complete.

Penang Laksa And Cendol @ Joo Hooi Cafe

April 30, 2014, 12:00 am

≫ Next: Penang Food Hunt : Cecil Street Market Hawker Centre

≪ Previous: My Visit To Fort Cornwallis

$

0

0

Penang is a food paradise to many people. So during my 4-day trip to Penang last year, I made sure that I get to taste as much of the yummy Penang food as possible.

Weeks (or was it months?) before I left for Penang, I had already booked Penang food blogger Ken to bring me around on a food hunt. He also invited lifestyle blogger Constance Ann to join in which was really a good thing, since 3 people would definitely be more fun than two!

After checking in at Evergreen Laurel Hotel at Gurney Drive (will blog about this hotel in a future post) on my second day in Penang, Ken (and Ann) came over in his car to fetch me for our food hunt.

They brought me to Joo Hooi Cafe at Penang Road to try the Penang Laksa and cendol.



The asam laksa was yummy! The soup had a good mixture of spiciness and sourness and I could find a lot of fish meat in it! But what differentiate this asam laksa with those in KL is that spoon of thick dark shrimp paste they provided with every bowl!

Although Joo Hooi is called a cafe, it's really more like a normal coffee shop with no air conditioning. Beside the shop along Lebuh Keng Kwee lane were two famous cendol stalls facing each other. If not mistaken, the stall beside Joo Hooi Cafe is known as Penang Road Famous Teochew Cendol and the other stall is simply called Penang Road Famous Cendol.



I was not sure from which stall we ordered our cendol from, but my bowl of cendol tasted really good!

Unfortunately, my tummy was not feeling very good that afternoon, so I decided not to finish up my bowl of cendol. It's OK, I will definitely return in future to try out the cendol from both stalls so that I can make a comparison!

Most people would stand by the stalls to eat their cendol, but if you are willing to pay extra, you can have the cendol inside Joo Hooi Cafe. I did not know how much extra we paid, but I think it's way better to have our cendol inside than standing outside in the hot sun, don't you agree?

Having an upset tummy while on a food hunt was really bad timing but surprisingly, I still managed to eat quite a lot of stuffs that day without any ill effects! And for that, I have to thank both Ken and Ann for bringing me to all those yummy food places and accompanying me the whole day!



Ok, that's the three of us doing a selfie at the floating temple which we visited later. Haha! As usual, I have to pixelate my face to keep myself anonymous. Sorry, but I need to remain private! :)

It was my first time meeting these two bloggers and all I can say is, it had been fun. Do brace yourself for more Penang food posts coming up!

---

Penang Food Hunt : Cecil Street Market Hawker Centre

May 1, 2014, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Penang Food Hunt : Bak Kwa Bun And Duck Leg Wrap

≪ Previous: Penang Laksa And Cendol @ Joo Hooi Cafe

$

0

0

My second day in Penang was very productive and satisfying. After going on a mural hunting spree and visiting some famous landmarks in the morning, I went on a food hunting spree in the afternoon and evening.

Thanks to bloggers Ken and Ann who brought me around, I managed to taste some of the very best food Penang had to offer. Our first stop was at Joo Hooi Cafe at Penang Road to taste the famous Penang Laksa and Cendol. Read about it HERE.

Right after that, they brought me to Cecil Street Market Hawker Centre for some good local Penang hawker fare!



Located at Cecil Street within the Seven Street Precinct (a triangular piece of land immediately south of Prangin Canal), the hawker centre is probably one of the biggest hawker centres in George Town. It actually faces mostly McNair Street despite it being known as Cecil Street Market Hawker Centre.

This is its name in the local Malay language - Pusat Penjaja Lebuh Cecil.



Interestingly, the Hokkien word for Cecil Street is Chit Tiao Lor (means 7th road) so the name of this hawker centre in Hokkien is Chit Tiao Lor Ban San (七条路巴刹).

It was about 3pm I think - way past lunch time - so there were not many people in the hawker centre, which was of course, a good thing. Never like crowds!!

We sat in front of this Pasembur stall. And of course, we ordered a plate of Pasembur.



My plate of Pasembur. OK, actually should be OUR plate of Pasembur. It was shared amongst the three of us.



In case you have never heard of Pasembur, well, it's actually a popular spicy salad dish that is made up of shredded cucumber, Chinese turnips, bean curds, potatoes, bean sprouts, prawn fritters, flour-batter fritters, and sliced boiled eggs topped up with sweet potato gravy.

This Pasembur was nice, but I could not find anything really special with it.

Next, I was recommended the Lum Lai Duck Meat Koay Teow Th'ng stall. 



If you are not familiar with koay teow th'ng, it's actually a soup dish comprising flat rice noodles cooked in clear broth and topped with slices of chicken meat, fish balls, and fish cakes. Minced pork are often added in as well. It is also garnished with garlic bits, fried pork fat and scallions.

Of course the one we ordered have duck meat in it. And it's served with a condiment of sliced green chili in soy-vinegar.



I like this bowl of Duck Meat Koay Teow Th'ng. Not sure if it's the best in Penang though, but it was yummy! Oh by the way, this bowl was all mine - no sharing allowed. LOL!

Besides the pasembur and koay teow th'ng, Ken and Ann also ordered the Char Koay Teow and Popiah for all to share.

Our plate of Penang Char Koay Teow. Oily and sinful, but perhaps heavenly to some!



Not sure what is a Char Koay Teow? If you are a Malaysian, you have no excuse, but if you are not, I shall leave you to google about it because if I were to explain about every single food in this post, my blog will look more like a Wikipedia. Haha!

This was certainly not the best char koay teow I have tasted in Penang. I managed to try another one the next day which was much better - will blog about that char koay teow in a future post!

Our plate of Penang Popiah.



This Popiah was delicious. Nice, but probably a little wet. Are all Penang popiah like this? Curious to know what are the ingredients inside? Google it! :)



Ann also bought some desserts. But I was more interested in the onde onde. I was craving for this sweet potato balls which was covered with grated coconut. Unfortunately, it was not good! No gula melaka (palm sugar) oozing out of the balls at all when I took a bite - what a disappointment!



Overall, the food at Cecil Street Market Hawker Centre was not bad. I think it's way better and much more authentic than say, Gurney Drive Hawker Centre, which I felt was too commercialised and aimed exclusively at tourists.

So was that the end of my food hunt? Of course not! I did not travel all the way to Penang just to try a few hawker food. So, where did we go next? That's for you to find out, so stay tuned! :)

Penang Food Hunt : Bak Kwa Bun And Duck Leg Wrap

May 5, 2014, 9:30 pm

≫ Next: Penang Ais Tingkap (Window Sherbet) @ Tamil Street

≪ Previous: Penang Food Hunt : Cecil Street Market Hawker Centre

$

0

0

It was my first time eating Duck Leg Wrap. Never heard of such a thing? Me neither, until Penang food blogger Ken (together with blogger Ann) brought me to this stall located at the junction between Kimberley Street and Cintra Street.



Mind you, this was right after I ate a variety of Penang hawker food at Cecil Street Market Hawker Centre. Did I still have enough stomach space left to try more Penang food? You bet! :)

Besides Duck Leg Wrap, the stall also sells Bak Kwa Bun, Pork Floss and Braised Chicken Wings too.



In case you do not know what a Bak Kwa is, it's a salty-sweet dried meat usually made from pork, somewhat similar to jerky.



I did not find anything special with the Bak Kwa but what made this Bak Kwa Bun so yummy was probably the sauce that was added onto the bread.





My delicious and warm Bak Kwa Bun!  Oh my, I'm so craving for this right now!



On the right is a tray of Braised Chicken Wings and on the left is a tray of Duck Leg Wraps. We did not try the chicken wings as they were pretty common. What we were after was the Duck Leg Wrap.



So what exactly is this exotic food called Duck Leg Wrap? Well, it's actually made up of duck leg, pork, pork liver and wrapped with duck intestines. The wrap is then braised and roasted.

However, this stall's Duck Leg Wrap was slightly different as it used only duck leg and pork. No liver and duck intestines were used.



Biting into the Duck Leg Wrap, I could only say one thing - it was awesomely delicious! The taste was slightly sweet with an aroma that was hard to resist! Can you see the fatty pork meat? Yummy! I give it two thumbs up!



Unfortunately, the uncle who have been operating this stall for more than 40 years had decided to quit the business and sold off his recipes and his stall to a new owner. So yes, even if I were to go back to Penang to eat this Duck Leg Wrap, it may not be the same anymore.

Which is a real pity. Hopefully, the new owner manages to maintain the quality and taste of this unique Penang food.

Coming Up Next : Penang's Window Sherbet (Ais Tingkap)

Penang Ais Tingkap (Window Sherbet) @ Tamil Street

May 14, 2014, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: The Bridges Of Putrajaya (Part 5)

≪ Previous: Penang Food Hunt : Bak Kwa Bun And Duck Leg Wrap

$

0

0

It was first time trying out Ais Tingkap, or Window Sherbet in English.

It looks like a rose syrup drink but filled with coconut flesh and basil seeds. I believe the drink is unique to Penang and you can't find it anywhere else. If the name Ais Tingkap or Window Sherbet sounds weird, well that's because it was originally sold through a window back in the 1930's!



Many thanks to Penang bloggers Ken and Ann who admittedly had not tried this drink before, but was willing to help me search for the stall located along Tamil Street beside Chowrasta Market.

I had the opportunity to see how Ais Tingkap was made. First, the cups were filled with shaved ice, liquid sugar, and syrup made of rose essence. Then a spoonful (or more) of each of these three pre-soaked ingredients were added into each cup - biji selasih (basil seeds), kembang semangkuk and getah anggur.



I'm not sure what you call the kembang semangkuk in English but it literally means 'bloat in a cup' because when soaked for about an hour, the inner flesh breaks through the skin and bloats into a jelly-like texture.

The getah anggur (literally means 'rubber grapes') is actually olibanum gum - a type of resin obtained from a tree bark in India. This needs to be soaked for a day and it will bloat into a transparent, jelly-like mass.

After that, fragrant Indian herbs and root mixture were sprayed.



Then, coconut water was added.



And coconut flesh too. Lastly, the drinks were topped with more shaved ice.



This is my Ais Tingkap drink. See those tadpole-like eggs? They are actually biji selasih (basil seeds) that expanded into these translucent gel shapes when soaked for about 20 minutes.



How should I describe the drink? Well, it was refreshing, sweet, and aromatic with nice chewy texture from the basil seeds and getah anggur. I would say it's a perfect drink for a hot day! And it was indeed a hot day in Penang.



Having spanned three generations, this family business is still going strong. Starting with the grandfather who moved his sherbet business from Sri Lanka to Penang in the 1930's, followed by his son and finally to the grandson and his brothers currently running the business.

Although originally 25 different types of herbs were used, now it is reduced to just a handful due to  the difficulty in getting the supplies from India.

If you ever visit Penang, do not miss this very unique cold drink by the name of Ais Tingkap.

The Bridges Of Putrajaya (Part 5)

May 21, 2014, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: The Bridges Of Putrajaya (Part 6)

≪ Previous: Penang Ais Tingkap (Window Sherbet) @ Tamil Street

$

0

0

I'm taking a break from my blog posts about my Penang trip to continue with my long forgotten Bridges Of Putrajaya series.

There are altogether 9 bridges in Putrajaya, the administrative capital of Malaysia. So far, I have covered four of them. To refresh your memory here are the links.

Part 1 : Seri Wawasan Bridge
Part 2 : Seri Gemilang Bridge
Part 3 : Pedestrian Bridge
Part 4 : Seri Saujana Bridge

Of all the bridges, there is one that really fascinated me. It's the Putrajaya Monorail Suspension Bridge. This is how the bridge looks like from afar.



Notice something interesting about this bridge? Look closely at the two ends. When I first saw this bridge, I was like, how the hell do anyone get onto it? Yes, it is suspended on both sides.



In case you think it is purposely built that way for some unknown reason, let me assure you that basically the bridge is simply uncompleted. LOL!

In the background is the Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque also known as the Iron Mosque. Do google about this mosque if you are interested to know more.



Located at Precinct 4, the Putrajaya Monorail Suspension Bridge was designed to link the monorail from Putrajaya Sentral to other areas in Putrajaya. It was part of the monorail project that was intended to have 2 lines, 23 stations and 18 km of track.



However, in 2004, the project was halted due to financial constraints. At that time, the Government did not approve further funding as it was thought that the small population of Putrajaya could not justify the viability of a monorail service.



Now a decade later, the city's population had grown but there is still no news about the project whether it will continue or cancelled for good.



So the bridge now stands there across Putrajaya Lake looking all forlorn and empty.



In fact, while I was snapping photos of this bridge, the song "Mr Lonely" kept playing in my head.

Lonely, I'm Mr Lonely,
I have nobody,
For my own
I'm so lonely,
I'm Mr Lonely....



Personally, I think the Government should revive the project and make the monorail system a reality. Putrajaya desperately needs a good monorail system as anyone without a car will attest to the fact that getting around Putrajaya can be really quite tough.



Even former Prime Minister and the brainchild behind Putrajaya Tun Dr Mahathir had called upon the present Government to continue the monorail project as the administrative capital is facing more and more traffic congestion.



It would be pretty sad to see the incomplete bridge abandoned in this way.



On the other hand, the bridge could be a good location for movie making. Maybe Hollywood may want to consider filming a movie here. An apocalypse-type of movie perhaps?



It's still my hope to see a monorail running through this bridge. I am pretty sure that with a monorail system, Putrajaya will get to attract more tourists.

The Bridges Of Putrajaya (Part 6)

May 27, 2014, 12:30 am

≫ Next: Traveling and Eating With The Locals In Bangkok

≪ Previous: The Bridges Of Putrajaya (Part 5)

$

0

0

This is the final post in The Bridges Of Putrajaya series. Initially, I wanted to cover all 9 bridges as all of them were unique in their own ways, but I did not have the time to visit all of them.

You may want to check out the 5 bridges I have blogged about so far ....

Part 1 : Seri Wawasan Bridge
Part 2 : Seri Gemilang Bridge
Part 3 : Pedestrian Bridge
Part 4 : Seri Saujana Bridge
Part 5 : Putrajaya Monorail Suspension Bridge

In this Part 6, I am going to share about the Seri Bakti Bridge.



This bridge connects the Government offices in Precinct 1 to the residential neighbourhood which includes the Deputy Prime Minister's Residence in Precinct 16.



Standing on the bridge, I could see the beautiful scenery of Putrajaya Lake with the pink-domed Putra Mosque in the distance.



The Seri Bakti Bridge comprises a dual two-lane carriageways, 2m-wide median, and 2.5m-wide walkway and cycle track.



Minimalist in design, it has elements of Islamic architecture with a minaret-style pavilion at each pier. Even the lamp posts and railings fit in nicely with the overall design.



Although this bridge is not as grand and spectacular as other major bridges in Putrajaya, I kind of like it! The pavilions with green roofs serve as observational decks overlooking the beautiful Putrajaya Lake. Flowers are planted inside the pavilion to add some greeneries to the concrete structure.



Not satisfied with just walking on the bridge, I walked down the steps to the area below the bridge and took this photo.



I thought it looks pretty charming from down here. What do you think?

And this concludes my Bridges Of Putrajaya series. Which one of the bridges do you like best? Perhaps I will visit the remaining bridges in the future, so you might just be looking at a Part 7 or Part 8! Who knows? :)

Traveling and Eating With The Locals In Bangkok

June 1, 2014, 11:00 am

≫ Next: A Day In Pavilion KL

≪ Previous: The Bridges Of Putrajaya (Part 6)

$

0

0

The very first time I visited Bangkok about 7 years ago, I followed a packaged tour group. That was the last time I ever joined a tour group.

I was in a bus together with all the other tourists and we were brought to some of the famous tourist attractions as planned in our itinerary. Nothing wrong with that, except that we were forced to stop at countless factories and souvenir shops which were a complete waste of time. 

My subsequent visits to Bangkok were all done on my own. I did my own research, planned my own itinerary, and booked my own flights and hotel accommodations. I have to say traveling on my own was ten times more rewarding and satisfying. Besides I get to visit places that were normally not included in tour packages.

Sure, following a tour group would get you to famous tourist attractions like Wat Arun, also known as Temple Of Dawn.



Or Wat Pho - the temple that contains the giant reclining Buddha statue.

Or tourist spots like Chatuchak Market, Floating Market and the Grand Palace.

But you have to follow a strict schedule and you can't linger a bit longer at places that you like. Whereas, traveling on my own gives me the freedom to stay as long as I want at places I like.

For example, during my trip to Bangkok in 2013, I visited the Erawan Museum which is not in most tour agency's itinerary. And I took my own sweet time to explore the place to my heart's content. It was such an amazing museum and I had no regrets at all!



And back in 2012, I visited the Haunted Mansion 7, a boutique thriller mall that looked just like a haunted mansion! Interesting places like these were never really highlighted in tour packages.



Besides that, I also get to enjoy local Thai food by exploring on my own instead of eating at uninteresting restaurants planned by the tour company.

These were some of the food I tried. Unique names like Volcanic Fried Mussels and Oysters. Big juicy oysters and mussels on top of a bed of bean sprout and eggs! Yum!



Boat noodles. Didn't look appetising, but it was delicious!



Grilled fish. Dipping the fish meat into the spicy Thai chill sauce was almost heavenly!



Recently, I discovered an even better way to see and eat your way in Bangkok. Although visiting Bangkok on your own beats going there with a tour company, nothing really beats experiencing the 'real' Bangkok with the locals. If you like to taste authentic Thai food just like what the locals eat, and participate in homestay programs with the locals, then Withlocals offers a great opportunity to do just that!

In fact, I think I will sign up for this and plan for my next visit to Bangkok soon! Can't wait to eat with the locals, wander off the beaten track and uncover hidden gems in Bangkok that only the locals knew best!

A Day In Pavilion KL

June 6, 2014, 11:00 am

≫ Next: Tokidoki Wonderland @ Fahrenheit88

≪ Previous: Traveling and Eating With The Locals In Bangkok

$

0

0

Last Wednesday, I took a day off from work to go shopping at Pavilion KL.

OK not exactly shopping, but more like a meeting up with my sister and nephew. We had lunch at Dome Cafe located at Level 4 of the mall.

Both my sister and nephew had Fish and Chips.



I had Grilled Chicken in Turmeric Sauce. Pretty good!



After a long lunch which we spent entirely eating and chit chatting, it was time for a movie. We watched Maleficent starring Angelina Jolie. I am not a big fan of Disney shows, but since I am a fan of Angelina Jolie, I decided to go for this movie. It turned out to be quite entertaining and Angelina was such a pleasure to watch!

After the movie, we visited the Batman Exhibition at the main concourse of the mall. As I am not a Batman fan, I was not really interested to take any photos. But my nephew was. These are some of the photos he took.



















Do you like them?

For dinner, we went over to Hokkaido Ramen Santouka at Tokyo Street on Level 6 of Pavilion mall. I forgot to take photos of the food my sister and my nephew ordered, so I can only show what I ordered. LOL!

I did not take note of the Japanese name for this set, but it consists of ramen in miso soup, rice with pork, salad, chawanmushi and a cup of tea.



My rice with pork.



Ramen in miso soup. You can choose from 4 different kinds of soup.



We also ordered a plate of gyoza (pan fried pork dumplings) for sharing.



All in all, a pretty satisfying dinner.



And before we left, we shopped at Komugi Bakery as well as Lavender Bakery for some yummy bread and pastries to take home. It was a good, pleasant day for me and I am glad I took the day off!

---

Tokidoki Wonderland @ Fahrenheit88

June 8, 2014, 9:30 pm

≫ Next: Dim Sum @ Grand Harbour Restaurant, Fahrenheit88 KL

≪ Previous: A Day In Pavilion KL

$

0

0

Last Saturday, I went to Fahrenheit88 shopping mall in Bukit Bintang KL with my family for dim sum breakfast. After breakfast, we walked around the mall and that was when I stumbled upon these Tokidoki characters.



For the uninitiated, Tokidoki is the Japanese-inspired lifestyle brand created in 2005 by Italian artist Simone Legno and his business partners Pooneh Mohajer and Ivan Arnold. They produce an innovative line of apparels, handbags, cosmetics, footwear, accessories and other products based on the characters and tokidoki logo designed by Simone Legno.



Frankly, I was not very familiar with Tokidoki, so I did some reading up before writing this post. In any case, I found these larger-than-life Tokidoki statues very cute! The above is Cactus Friend riding on a Tiger.

Below is another one of the Cactus Friends.



Ciao Ciao riding on Unicorno.



White Tiger.



Adios, the Grim Reaper from the Till Death Do Us Part group. By the way, I found out that Ciao Ciao (who is riding on the Unicorno) is his girlfriend!



Kaiju, the equivalent of a monster in Japanese.



Aren't they cute?

For more information of Tokidoki characters, read HERE.

It's not too late to catch up on these cute Tokidoki characters as Fahrenheit 88 is holding the Tokidoki Exhibition which includes a pop-up store and sales of merchandise till June 29th.



Oh wait, did I see a Tokidoki Panda? Now I am really interested! :)

Dim Sum @ Grand Harbour Restaurant, Fahrenheit88 KL

June 13, 2014, 12:00 am

≫ Next: The Floating Temple Of Penang

≪ Previous: Tokidoki Wonderland @ Fahrenheit88

$

0

0

Last Saturday my family and I went to Grand Harbour Restaurant at Fahrenheit88 mall in Bukit Bintang, KL for dim sum breakfast. Located at LG2 floor, it is accessible from inside the mall itself or from the back entrance.



It was my first time parking in Fahrenheit88. Parking fee was RM6 for the first three hours and RM1 for every subsequent hour. Definitely much cheaper than Pavilion KL which charges RM3 every hour!

It was also my first time dining in this Hong Kong-style dim sum restaurant. As there were five of us, we ordered quite a lot of dim sum. These were the food we ate...

Wanton soup



Fresh juicy prawns in the wanton dumplings. Not bad.

Steamed radish cake (lo bak gou)



Did not quite like this one.

Barbecued pork bun (char siew bao)



This was average. The ones at Canton-i were much better!

Cheesy egg tart



Didn't get to try these cheesy egg tarts as we only ordered two. So not sure if they were good or not.

Freshly baked egg tarts.



Yummy egg tarts, but I think Tong Kee's is better.



Quail egg shrimp dumpling



I actually ordered this because it looks cute! Haha! Then again,  I always like quail eggs and shrimp dumplings but I never thought of them in this combination :)

Shrimp dumplings (har gow)



Yummy! My favorites in any dim sum since I like shrimps! Most importantly, the shrimps must be fresh and juicy.

Steamed glutinous rice with chicken (lo mai gai)



This was super delicious! Maybe because I did not manage to find them in other dim sum restaurants and was craving for it like mad. LOL!

Steamed yam cake (wu tau gou)



Did not like this yam cake. Seriously I have eaten better ones at the dim sum stalls bought from the market. OK, my advice is do not order both the radish cake and the yam cake in this restaurant!

Fried radish cake



This was  below average for me. I prefer the ones at Canton-i.

Wa tip



Not sure what you call these in English, but it's basically shrimp dumplings with some fried stuffs sticking to the side. Not sure what to make of it.

Shrimp rice roll 



The chee cheong fun (rice roll) was smooth and the shrimps inside were yummy.

Pork shrimp dumpling (siu mai)



I don't really fancy siu mai but I guess it's a must-order at every dim sum. They were pretty OK.

Water chestnut cake (maa tai gou)



This was my absolute favourite dim sum that day. The best at this Grand Harbour Restaurant! Love the translucent appearance of this cake. There were chopped water chestnuts embedded inside each piece. The taste was not too sweet. Just perfect!



If there is just one item I would like to order again at Grand Harbour Restaurant, it must be the water chestnut cake.

We also ordered a plate of Shrimp fried rice (did you notice we ordered mostly shrimps dishes? LOL!) but I forgot to take a photo of it. There were a few more items we wanted to order like the durian puffs, tea pot bun (lau sar bao), roast duck, crispy roast pork (siu yuk) and wanton noodles, but we were just too full. Maybe next round.

I also ordered their Hong Kong milk tea but sad to say, it was not on par with the milk tea I have tasted in Hong Kong.



Oops! Only remember to take a photo of the milk tea after I had drank it halfway. LOL!

Overall, the Grand Harbour Restaurant is a pretty decent dim sum restaurant (although slightly overpriced) in my opinion, but it still falls short of my expectation. Maybe I should not compare it with the dim sum I have eaten in Hong Kong. If you have not tried the dim sum at this restaurant, do give it a try. Besides, you can take the opportunity to visit the Tokidoki Wonderland Exhibition at Fahrenheit88 and the Batman Exhibition at Pavilion KL across the road after your dim sum meal!

But honestly, can anyone tell me where to get REALLY good dim sum (but will not burn a hole in my pocket) in KL?

The Floating Temple Of Penang

June 19, 2014, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: Reminisce

≪ Previous: Dim Sum @ Grand Harbour Restaurant, Fahrenheit88 KL

$

0

0

It's time to get back to blogging about my Penang trip last year. This post will be about my very first visit to the Floating Temple of Penang.

But first, if you have missed my previous posts about Penang, these links will help you get up to speed.

1. Taking The Aeroline Bus To Penang
2. Fooyo Fried Ice Yogurt @ Prangin Mall, Penang
3. Discovering The Murals Of George Town
4. The Steel Rod Sculptures Of George Town
5. Walking The Streets Of George Town (Part 1)
6. Walking The Streets Of George Town (Part 2)
7. My Visit To Fort Cornwallis
8. Penang Laksa And Cendol @ Joo Hooi Cafe
9. Penang Food Hunt : Cecil Street Market Hawker Centre
10. Penang Food Hunt : Bak Kwa Bun And Duck Leg Wrap
11. Penang Ais Tingkap (Window Sherbet) @ Tamil Street

So after tasting the Penang Ais Tingkap, I visited the Floating Temple with the help of Penang food blogger Ken and lifestyle blogger Ann, both of whom acted as my tour guides. Also known as the Hean Boo Thean Temple, it is called the floating temple because it appears to be floating on the sea.



Located at Lebuhraya Merdeka off Weld Quay in George Town, the temple is actually perched at the water's edge within the reclamation area of Yeoh Jetty. To get there, you need to park your car at quite some distance and take a walk along narrow lanes.



That's Ann in front of me with Ken further ahead.



Soon, we reached the entrance to the temple with its beautiful arch.



The temple consists of two stories. This is the main hall as seen from the front.



Lots of red lanterns hanging from the ceiling.



The pillars supporting the temple's front porch are decorated with hand-crafted dragons swirling around them.

A closer look at one of the dragon pillars.



Originally, the Hean Boo Thean Temple was just a simple wooden shrine on stilts, perched over the sea. It was often inundated during high tides. In 2012, it was reconstructed and expanded to become a 2-storey concrete temple.



I have no idea how they build the temple. As you have seen earlier, the lane leading to the temple is pretty narrow and it's quite impossible to move large concrete objects across it. Perhaps they transported those materials with boats at sea?



A lotus mural can be seen at the center of the temple compound.



There are two pavilions - one on the right and the other on the left side of the temple compound.



One of the Pavilions where you can sit down to enjoy the view of the sea.



There is a staircase with two arches above it going down to a lower platform heading towards the sea. Perhaps that's where people can arrive at the temple by boat.



Ken was taking a photo of Ann at the lower platform while I was taking a photo of them! LOL!



By the way, during high tide, the sea would flood this lower platform. That would be interesting to see, but during my visit, the sea was at low tide.

Flanking both sides of the staircase and the double arches are large lotus flower pots.





A close shot of a lotus flower.



To the right of the staircase is a High Lantern Dragon Column.



In the middle of the staircase at the lower platform, there is an altar though I am not sure what this altar is for.



Closer shot of the altar.



The second arch at the lower platform nearest to the sea is known as the Dragon Gate. According to legend, if a koi fish were to jump over the Dragon Gate, it would turn into a Dragon.



Perhaps this was why this Dragon Gate was constructed at this lower platform. Since the platform would be flooded during high tide, there is perhaps a small chance that a koi fish from the sea would get to 'jump' over this gate. LOL!



On the second floor of the temple is the main shrine of Guan Yin, the Goddess Of Mercy.



On the roof top of the main shrine are two prancing dragons and three Taoist deities Fuk Luk Sau. Fuk represents good fortune, Luk prosperity and Sau longevity.



The front part of the main shrine is lined with 24 figurines (12 on each side) depicting 24 Tales Of Filial Piety.





The view of the first floor or the lower deck from the the second floor. Can you see the lotus mural, the staircase with the two arches leading to the lower platform and flanking on both sides, the Pavilions and also the High Lantern Dragon Column on the right?



It would be interesting to see how this Floating Temple looks like when lighted up at night!

Reminisce

June 22, 2014, 8:00 am

≫ Next: My Simple Apple Kuzu Dessert

≪ Previous: The Floating Temple Of Penang

$

0

0

Sometimes I like to daydream, and at other times, I love to reminisce about the past.

Do you reminisce about the good old days too? Well, I do indulge in this habit, though not excessively, and I don't know if it's healthy. But I don't think there's anything wrong as long as you don't indulge too much, right? 

As they say, the present is what really matters. The past is gone, and the future has yet to arrive. But what you do now will determine your future. So yes, the present is most important. But there's no harm in going back into the past once in a while and reminisce about some of the memorable events that happened to you. 

And while you are reminiscing, perhaps you want some music to accompany you. Well, I have composed just one song on the piano for this purpose. I titled it Reminisce. And I composed it while reminiscing about my childhood days! If you listen to the song carefully, you will hear that not everything that I thought about were happy thoughts. Some were sad, but they were all part of my memories which I treasure. 

To appreciate this song, you will need to choose a quiet time, away from all the noise, away from work stress, away from the TV and radio, and even from Facebook or Twitter. You need to just close your eyes, relax, and immerse yourself in the song. I hope in this way, you will find it a beautiful experience. 

Thank you so much for listening. I had a great time composing it, and I really have no idea where I got the inspiration from - perhaps it was God that brought the music to me - for this I am very grateful. Happy listening and do leave a comment if you like it :)

Note : This work and recording is copyrighted. All rights reserved. 

My Simple Apple Kuzu Dessert

June 24, 2014, 12:00 am

≫ Next: Joez Coconut Jelly In George Town, Penang

≪ Previous: Reminisce

$

0

0

For the very first time in the history of my blog, I am going to talk about a recipe haha! Ok, so this is a very simple recipe to make your very own Apple Kuzu Dessert.

This is supposed to be an ideal warm dessert for the cold winter so it may be totally inappropriate for the hot weather spell we are experiencing in Malaysia lately. But don't let that stop you from trying. LOL!

Firstly, The Ingredients ....

1 red apple (preferably organic)
1 pint apple juice (optional)
1 teaspoon Kuzu
1 tablespoon cinnamon (optional)

The above portion will be adequate to serve 1-2 people (in fact, I think it's just enough for me alone!) so if you want to serve more than 2 people, adjust the amount accordingly.

Next, The Method ....

1. Cut the red apple into small cubes.



Note that I suggest using organic apples because I include the skin as well which may contain pesticides if you are not using the organic ones. Alternatively, you can exclude the skin if you wish, but including the skin will give you better texture when you bite into the apple cubes.

By the way,  how large or small you cut the cubes is up to you. I just seem to prefer smaller cubes.

2. Add water (preferably filtered since we are already talking healthy here haha!) and make sure the apple cubes are entirely covered with the water. 



Alternatively, you may want to use apple juice which you can buy from shops, or you can make yourself using your own juicer at home.

In my case, I only use filtered water. No apple juice. Too lazy to juice the apples! LOL!

3. Boil the apple chunks in water or apple juice for about 5 - 8 minutes. After that, turn to low heat and let it simmer. You may want to add in the cinnamon at this stage. In my case, I did not add the cinnamon as I did not have any in my kitchen! LOL!

4. Take out 1 teaspoon of kuzu and mix it with 1 tablespoon of water to produce a smooth paste. 



OK, I'm using a tablespoon instead because I wanted a bit more. Haha.

Not sure what is kuzu? It is a kind of climbing plant native to Southeast Asia. Some spell it as kudzu, like this packet which I bought from the Woods Macrobiotic shop in SS2. You can buy kuzu from organic shops or health food stores.



Kuzu has many health benefits too long to mention here - you may want to google it. Kuzu can also be used as a thickening agent in place of cornstarch or arrowroot powder.

After mixing with water, this is how my kuzu paste looks like.



5. Add the kuzu paste into the apple cubes and water or apple juice mix, stir for a while and turn off the fire. The liquid will thicken a little.

6. Your Apple Kuzu Dessert is now ready to be served warm! Enjoy :)



Didn't I tell you earlier that this is a very simple recipe? Haha! Try it and let me know if you like this Apple Kuzu Dessert!