Our Intense Getaway - Malacca First Stop

WHERE WAS I...

My blog was "neglected" for a number of days, that was when the owner had gone away for a four days trip down south to Johor.  It has been nearly two years since I last landed in Johor.  Days before my trip took place, the situation have been very tense.  To go or not to go... to be able to or unable to.... 

Due to our Mr Covid spiking up during the last two weeks, it is not surprising that the Movement Control Order will take place again.  I was quite worried about the Interstate Lockdown whereby when we reach JB, we might end up staying there for a couple of weeks or months like the time in March.  I do not mind staying back, but my two faithful friends who followed me to Johor, they might end up "locked" in our little nest in Johor.  LOL... 

Anyway, as my friend said, "Go in Faith.... " and we did... last Thursday.  We started our journey around 8 in the morning after our breakfast and drove all the way to Malacca to have our lunch.  Waze brought us to Nyonya Lin, half an hour away from Malacca town.  Wrong choice... but then we did not know until we reached there... LOL... 

I think it is a newly developed area...

Most of the shops were not opened yet...

Very quiet even during lunch time.... 

Here is the shop... oh, not actually a shop but a hotel....

Nyonya Lin's Kitchen

Info: It is actually a two-and-a half year-old restaurant ensconced in Kapitan Kongsi, 

a Peranakan-themed hotel in Porto Historia, a relatively new part of Malacca town.

Very "Nyonya-like" feel.... 

Every part reminded me of the series Little Nyonya... 

Upon entering Nyonya Lin's Kitchen... 

Cendol with lots of santan and thick palm sugar.... 

The green cendol is soft and nice.. 

We ordered two to share among us three.... RM5.80 for each... 

These beautiful plates were laid in front of us... 

Ayam buah keluak...

Chicken and what is Keluak, by the way?

We did not know how to enjoy eating the Keluak... 

Ended up putting them aside.... 

Cincaluk omelette... 

And a mixed vegetables... 

The three dishes were okay, okay only... 

Nothing much to shout about really... 

Well, never try, won't know... 

After trying, then we know... 

Then we made a stop to the famous Authentic Nyonya Chang...

Bought some Bah Chang and pineapple tarts from Michelle Soo

and we continued on our way to Johor....

One Day Foodie Trip To Penang

WEEKDAY GETAWAY...  It was last week on a Tuesday when we drove one and a half hours to Penang for a day trip.  We did not stay a night this time, just a few hours in fact, as the Malay saying goes:  Jalan-Jalan Cari Makan.  

If we did not go last week, I guess we would not be able to go from now on till don't-know-when since the cases of Covid has increased drastically for the past few days.  On the positive side, at least now we know where the cluster comes from unlike six months ago.  Anyway, advisable to take precaution again for us all.

Upon reaching Penang, our stomach were crying for food and our first stop is the food court right behind Royal Hotel.  One of the stalls there is famous for Hokkien Prawn Noodles.  The other time we did not manage to eat cos it was sold out.  This time we enjoyed savouring the noodles till the last bit.

Tasty broth with prawns... 

Yummy in our tummy.... first meal of the day... 

After that, we walked round a bit and 

bought some fresh-from-the-oven buns from

Continental Bakery around the corner... 

Second stop... 

Stopped by a shop called Seng Thor Lebuh Carnavon for fried oysters... 

Third stop... Sin Hwa Laksa at Pulau Tikus

Two bowls of Laksa to share...

And two plates of Char Koay Teow.... 

Phew... by then, our tummies could not hold anymore... 

The rest of the time, we bought foodstuff... 

Reached Ipoh in the evening...

And I had a mug of oats for dinner...

Rest my stomach and "detoxify"....

LOL... 

Our Homecooked Seafood Dinner For Four

HOMECOOKED... but not cooked by yours truly!  I rather be a "supplier" than a cook, it is better to stay that way.  LOL... 

Another one Rice-less meal for 4 persons.  All we got to do is just finish the 4 dishes, no leftovers were allowed.  And that suits us just fine!  We had our early dinner as usual, nothing later than 5pm and by 6pm, we would be out walking in the mall to shed off calories.  Alas, it is not going to be like that for this week onwards.  Since another outbreak in Kedah and Sabah last week, we have to be vigilant of our moves again... sigh... so much for thinking that Mr. Covid was under control.... 

This meal was taken way before the Election in Sabah... we were so happy then, we thought of having state to state holiday but now we have second thoughts.  Just when we thought it was safer to move around and now this again.... we have to take extra precaution again.  Less meet-ups and more own home cooking from now on.... 

Four dishes for the blessed four...

Big tiger prawns bought at the night market...

RM45 per kilo and there were 15 big prawns...

My friend cook half and kept half for another day...

Steamed eggplants planted from her own garden...

Eat without fear of pesticides....

Long time I did not eat this type of clams... aka Lala...

My friend did a fantastic job cooking this....

She put in lime, kafir leaves, chilies and coconut water!

So sweet... no gravy left by the time the clams were finished...

Our seafood dinner taken a couple weeks ago...

Now all I can do is to salivate...

When shall we have this type of dinner again???

Our Tasty And Pricey Lunch At Moon Flower Restaurant, Ipoh

PRICEY AND TASTY.... We did not know till we found out when we visited this new restaurant recommended in the one of the social media.  Restaurant Moon Flower is located in Tawas, on the way to AEON Klebang.  It was quite out of the way for us but that did not deter us from going and tasting the food at one lunch hour.  Though it was a weekday, the restaurant was quite full, so the food here must be good?  We waited for half an hour or more before our dishes arrived.... 

One mistake though on our part... we did not ask the price of the fish we ordered... good taste, fresh clams... and the fish itself came to around RM115 or RM135, around there approximately.  LOL... That was when we paid the bill, the total came to nearly RM180 for our lunch of 4.... 

This is the place.... 

And this is the fish.... steamed with fresh clams... 

I give credit for the freshness.... 

Fresh and springy.... 

Don't ask me the name of the fish... 

I can only remember that it is in the "Patin" family 

and much more expensive than the latter... 

Recommended to us is the pork ribs wrapped with this bread.... 

I think it cost RM35

And greens which receives praises from us....RM15... 

Wild ferns in sourish spicy sauce... 

Very appetizing.. 

And their special Lard Rice!

Brings back old memories of yester-years...

My mom used to feed us siblings when we were very small....

Lard, soy sauce and raw eggs... during those day...

But I think this egg is not raw.... 

Anyway, we shared this bowl of rice which cost RM6....

And of course, we had plain rice too... and drinks...

So the total bill came to around RM180....

We might come again, just got to remember to ask the price of the fish first...

Good thing it is not hundreds or thousands as we read in the news!

LOL.... 

Tasty Dishes At Sam Po Restaurant, Ipoh Garden East, Ipoh

COOLING NIGHT...   It has been raining for the last couple of days, cloudy days in the mornings and rains when it comes to evening.  So cooling that I do not need to switch on the air con for the last couple of nights.  Good in a way but not so good when it comes to going out for dinner.   

My friends came to pick me up for dinner around 6.30pm and this time we went to Sam Po, Ipoh Garden East.  The last time I went there was many years ago, maybe around 8-10 years ago?  Not sure, anyway, when they suggested going there, I readily agreed.  Even though it was drizzling, I was surprised that most of the tables were either reserved or already filled with patrons like us.  

For the five of us, we ordered four dishes such as these.... 

Claypot curry fish head filled with vegetables as well... 

Very appetizing!

3 cups chicken... not sure why it is called by this name...

One thing I know is that this dish is filled with basil!

I love the smell and taste of Basil in my dish!

The basil enhances the flavour of this 3 cup chicken.... 

Another appetizing dish!

Yam basket filled with assorted vegetables... 

Beancurd ... I never thought this dish would be so yummy!

Credit goes to the toppings... 

The generous toppings of dried shrimps, onions, garlic and spring onions is the winner!

Overall, it was a very tasty dinner.... 

No one had any negative comment to say... 

Even though the cost of this 4 dishes came to RM90.50 plus rice and drinks... 

Not too bad... 

We might come again to taste other dishes some day!

(Provided no MCO.... so sad!)

My Best Laksa Found At Man CT, Ipoh

WHO LOVES LAKSA?  Ipoh and Penang almost share the same type of Laksa, sourish and spicy unless some states, they call it curry laksa which is similar to just curry in Ipoh.  

Coming back to my post, my friends took me to a new shop called Man CT near Ampang/.  We planned one day in advance, even to the extent of calling the Laksa lady to confirm the time.  She told my friend that the best time to go is around noon... so my friends picked me up at around 11.40am and we reached there around noon to be the early birds.  True enough, the young lady has just opened the stall in the shop.  

The fish balls varieties were all covered, that was the first thing I noticed.  Only when we wanted to choose them, she removed the cover for us.  Since it was my first meal of the day, I picked quite a number of different varieties to be shared among three of us.  Everything looks so good especially when you are hungry!!

This is the shop... 

They have a few different stalls inside.... 

The Laksa and the prices....

And I can only understand the first line.. "Laksa RM5.50"

Now which one do you like to have?

and I picked a bit of this and that.... 

Each of us had a bowl of Laksa...

With generous servings of fish inside the soup....

Verdict?  The best Laksa I have ever tasted in Ipoh.... 

I would like to go there again...

This meal for 3 persons cost around RM31....

When I wanted to pay, I realized that I do not have a single sen in my handbag!

An IOU is verbally sounded.... 

LOL... 

Home Gardening Sunflowers For The First Time

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY.... I think... this is the first time I post up a flower post!

I am not into plants but I do like to plant vegetables though.  Recently, my neighbour gave me some okra seeds to plant and currently, they are still growing in my two pots in front of my house.  That is all I have, two pots of okra and they are still in their "baby" form.  I will show it when they have fully grown, not now... keeping my fingers crossed...LOL....

In this post, I want to share my son's plant, he bought some sunflower seeds online and last month, the package came.  Inside the big package, there are one packet of sunflower seeds, 12 small pots and 4 bigger pots plus a packet of soil.  This is the first time I see my son doing his own "germination" and in weeks to follow, the seeds grew and for the past week, the flowers began blooming!  We were so delighted... LOL... First time in history, we planted something and they bloomed so nicely.  Of course, my neighbour assisted us cos he has green fingers unlike us.  LOL... 

We did an experiment while planting these sunflower.... we planted some behind our house and two pots in front.  Same timing but the difference is a lot.  While the back sunflowers bloom and bloom, the ones in front was just starting to bud.  Needless to say, the stems were different too... those planted behind were "fatter" than those planted in front of my house, they looked "malnourished!"  

Budding.... 

Going to bloom.... 

Bloomed... so beautifully....

Maybe behind the house has more sunlight....

And standing tall too... 1 meter in height...

After a week... it started to wither... 

The head looks larger in size.... 

And here is my malnourished sunflower in front of my house....

It started blooming while the ones at the back started to wither.... 

And it is not as tall as the back ones....

Anyway... 

While one retires, one starts to live... 

at least for a week!