Penang Trip - Day 2

We had our breakfast at the Hotel early in the morning. A hotel with budget room rate inclusive of breakfast, i can't really expect too much. It's a self-service breakfast, with only coffee, tea, bread, fresh fruits, cordial fruit juices, cornflakes, muesli, butter and jam to offer. I ended up eating lots of cornflakes. My favourite.

I was hoping for something like this...

But it turned out to be like this...

Early in the morning. Nearly stepped on dog shit. It was sitting at one end of the zebra crossing in Penang Road. Penang Road is one of THE main road in George Town. With dogs roaming on the streets, one really have to watchout for dog shit.

Penang Hill @ Air Itam


Our first stop was Penang Hill in Air Itam.

Penang Hill is a hill resort comprising a group of peaks, the major hill system of Penang. It is 6km from the city centre of George Town, and stands out prominently from the lowlands as a hilly and forested area. Penang Hill is also known as Bukit Bendera, which refers to Flagstaff Hill, the most developed peak.

We took the Penang Hill Railway ride. Heard much about the tram, we were really looking forward to the ride.

The Penang Hill Railway is a two section funicular railway which climbs Penang Hill from Air Itam. The total journey takes about half an hour, with passengers changing cars at the mid-point station.

I just thought that the ride was slow and boring. But enjoyed the windy cool air when we reached the peak. The view was breathtaking!

Before... It was cloudy & cool, not able to see much.

After a couple of minutes... It was sunny & warm, able to see the view clearly.

We had our lunch near the foot of Kek Lok Si Temple. It's a Chinese restaurant occupying a corner lot with a few hawker stalls.

I forgot to look at the name of the restaurant as we were very hot and exhausted, eagerly looking for a place to rest. Of course we do follow the crowd. The restaurant was "half-packed" by the way.

I shall never forget this lunch as it was the cheapest lunch i have ever had in Penang, some say KL too!

I ordered Hakka Mee and it was only RM2.50. The portion was so so so small. It is served in a mid-size bowl (i seldom see this size in KL, maybe it was meant to be a soup bowl). However, the taste was quite nice. The noodles were very tender.

Some of my friends ordered Char Hor Fun and Har Mee. The taste was not bad as well. They were RM2.50 and RM3.00 respectively. With that kind of (small) portion, of course it's cheap lah! I don't think the food here are cheap. It's cheap because the portion is so small!

Kek Lok Si Temple @ Air Itam

Our second stop was Kek Lok Si Temple in Air Itam as well.

The Kek Lok Si Temple ("Temple of Supreme Bliss" or "Temple of Sukhavati") is a Buddhist temple and is one of the best known temples on the island. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia. Mahayana Buddhism and traditional Chinese rituals blend into a harmonious whole, both in the temple architecture and artwork as well as in the daily activities of worshippers.

We managed to explore the whole Kek Lok Si Temple, including the seven storey main pagoda, the 30.2m bronze statue of Kuan Yin and other various smaller temples. We noticed that Kek Lok Si Temple is still growing as there are additional buildings still under construction.

The new Kuan Yin Temple is still under construction.

Saw this picture hanging on the wall. Kek Lok Si Temple by night is simply incredible!

It was around 1pm when we arrived at the Temple. It was a bright sunny day and the weather was so hot! However, it seems worthwhile as we managed to snap a lot of nice picture.


Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram @ Burmah Lane

Our third stop was Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram in Burmah Lane.

Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram (better known as Sleeping Buddha Temple) is a Thai Buddhist temple, most notable for its Reclining Buddha statue. The temple was built in 1845. The statue is the 3rd largest of its kind, being 33m in length.

In the main shrine in front of the Reclining Buddha there are smaller shrines of different Buddhas and popular Thai deities. Also on the temple grounds many colored statues of Devas and other mythical creatures are on display.

I just thought that the Sleeping Buddha Temple was awesome. However, it's a very uncommon sight to see disco songs being played in the temple's yard, with blasting ear-piercing volume. It just seems odd to me.


Dhammikarama Burmese Temple @ Burmah Lane

Our fourth stop was Dhammikarama Burmese Temple, which is located directly opposite the Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram.

The Dhammikarama Burmese Temple is one of the oldest temples in Penang. It was founded in 1803 and is the largest Theravada Buddhist temple in Malaysia.

In Penang, the Burmese temple and some of the Thai temples had a significant effect on the Malaysians. The Burmese community of Penang built their imposing temples which portray architectural traditions of their home nations.

Personally, i never come across Burmese temple in KL. Therefore, it's indeed an eye-opener for me. The Temple's architecture was magnificent, with elaborate interiors and colourful statues and paintings.

Gurney Drive Hawker Centre @ Persiaran Gurney

Our last stop was Gurney Drive Hawker Centre, the ever-so-popular hawker centre in Persiaran Gurney, Penang.

This hawker centre offers the most amazing collection of food stalls, with earthy regional food served in open air. It was drizzling when we reached Gurney Drive and hawkers started putting up big umbrella to keep out the rain. So it's a bit hot and stuffy.

Anyway, we ordered a good variety of food. Check this out...

Fried Oyster - Very starchy and smell very nice. Lots of oyster. You should check out the queue in front of that stall. I've waited 20 minutes for this dish.

Roasted Chicken Gizzard - Very tender and smell very nice. I would not normally take this, but it was delicious.

Satay - Taste nice as well.

Char Koay Teow - Just average. Taste bland.

Hokkien Mee (known as Har Mee in KL) - Just average.

Roasted Sotong - Just average. Very hard to chew.

Penang Pancake - Just average. Nothing special.

Kon Lou Mee - Nothing to shout about. The Char Siew looks "fake", because it was so reddish.

All in all, you can get a variety of food in Gurney Drive Hawker Centre, but not good food. One really have to make one's way into roadside stand or unprepossessing storefront for good food.

We took a walk briskly along Persiaran Gurney waterfront and headed back to the Hotel afterwards.

Saw this at one end of Persiaran Gurney. It's something constructed to beautify the roundabout. However, you can see that instead of "Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang", only "Majlis Perbandaran Pul" is visible. What a joke!

We had been out for the whole day, from 8.30am until 10.00pm. Hop on and off buses to get to these tourist spot. Rapid Penang have done their job well. The bus service were quite frequent. Better than what we expected. It's a tiring day but very satisfied. Day 3 would be a hectic day as well since we need to cover more places of interest.

[Disclaimer: The opinion expressed here are based entirely on personal taste buds, view and preference and may vary from others.]

Penang Trip - Day 1

I travelled north to Penang 2 weeks ago. It was a 4 days 3 nights trip. All of us decided to stay in this small and cosy budget hotel on the edge of George Town, the island's only large city.

I was shocked by the hallway after i checked-in the Hotel... C.R.E.E.P.Y...

The island of Penang is one of the strongholds of Malaysia's ethnic Chinese community in Malaysia, which account for some 1/3 of the total residents, and is famous for its lip-smacking hawker food.

Wai Kee Char Siew @ Chulia Street

My friend and i arrived in Penang in the afternoon and had our lunch at Wai Kee Char Siew Restaurant.

This old kopitiam is located below Sky Hotel, near Fujifilm building. It was said to be one of the best Char Siew & Siew Bak (Siew Yuk) rice in Penang and only opened for lunch (11.30am-2.30pm).

We were there during lunch hour and it was very packed. Luckily we were able to get a table. We can see that the Char Siew and Siew Bak sold out very fast.

Although they also sell chicken rice, the rice served is normal white rice, not the typical chicken rice. The skin of the Siew Bak is slightly burnt (some even heavily burnt) and the slices is thinly cut (way too thin actually).

The Siew Bak were just average and quite salty but the cress soup was very nice. The Chicken Rice with Siew Bak for 2 pax including soup cost us RM12. Quite expensive if you ask me, considering the small portion.

The only thing that bothers me is that there is a big furry dog walking in and out and around the old kopitiam. Not sure how much the health dept likes that, but it's quite scary and not hygienic to me.



After lunch, my friend and i proceeded to explore George Town by foot. We decided to walk along Chulia Street from the start till the end. We managed to walk all the way to Pengkalan Weld, near the Clan Jetties (traditional Chinese waterfront settlement).

Along the way, we came across Sri Maha Mariamman Temple (Hindu Temple), Kapitan Keling Mosque (Tamil Muslim Mosque), Han Jiang Ancestral Temple (Chinese Temple) and Nagore Shrine (Tamil Muslim Shrine). The places of worship for Malay, Chinese and Indian were actually situated on the same street!

Apart from that, we also came across Goddess of Mercy Temple (Chinese Temple), St. George's Church (Anglican Church), Penang Museum (the State museum), Church of the Assumption (Catholic Church) and Supreme Court Building (easily recognisable Court Building architecture).

Random Snapshots...

Supreme Court Building (Built in 1905).

St. George's Church (Anglican Church built in 1818).

Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Clock Tower (completed in 1902).

Tian Hou Temple (Chinese Temple built in 1895).

Campbell Street Market (Bustling aged-old-but-still-operating wet market in the mornings).

Walking along Chulia Street was a nightmare. I have to look to the left (to avoid being hit by motorcycle) and right (to avoid being hit by motorcar), up (to avoid hitting onto old fuse box hanging on the wall of those narrow kaki lima + to avoid water from air-cond compressor dropped onto my head) and down (to avoid stepping onto dog shit or rubbish).

I just don't understand how come those people can put their goods ON the kaki lima (antiques, rattan furniture, light metal, groceries etc). I also don't understand how come people can park their motorcycle ON the kaki lima (as if there's a parking lot on the kaki lima). I also don't understand how come a tiny room made of concrete can be built ON the kaki lima (for your info, it's a money changer "counter").

We were really having difficulty walking along the kaki lima because people tend to block the kaki lima in front of their shop with goods, motorcycle, iron gate or concrete wall. This is absurd! That is why we were forced to walk along the narrow street and constantly on the lookout.

Chulia Street in Georgetown is definitely not a safe place to walk around. It's simply energy-consuming and strenuous!

Ho Ping @ Kampung Malabar

The rest of our teammate arrived in Penang in the evening. All of us had our dinner at this old restaurant which is located at the junction of Kampung Malabar (also known as Japanese Street) and Penang Road.

Ho Ping Restaurant was full of people when we were there. We were so fortunate to get a table as we have to secure 5 seats for all of us. We ordered Char Hor Fun and Yee Fu Mee.

For the Char Hor Fun, hor fun (flat rice noodles cut in smaller strips) are fried together over high heat first, then served with gravy which is cooked in pork or fish meat, pig's liver, Char Siew, prawns, squids, vegetables and thicken with tapioca flour.

For the Yee Fu Mee, the same ingredients is used, except that it is substituted with deep-fried yee mee (egg noodles) instead of hor fun.

Both the Char Hor Fun and Yee Fu Mee were just average. They were RM4.00 respectively.

There is a myth about Penang Char Hor Fun: you can win your girlfriend's heart with this delicacy. But i seriously doubt whether the one that i had is able do the same. Maybe this is not the best place to have those dish. We went to this shop because all of us were very tired and this shop seems to be the nearest to our Hotel.

We returned to the Hotel right after the dinner. Need to take a good rest and prepare ourselves for Day 2.


[Disclaimer: The opinion expressed here are based entirely on personal taste buds, view and preference and may vary from others.]

Hong Kee Tim Sum Restaurant

Went to ta pao Loh Mai Gai (Steamed glutinous rice with chicken and Chinese sausage in a bowl) at Hong Kee Tim Sum Restaurant last Saturday. The restaurant is a chain of Dim Sum restaurants which consists of 5 branches spread across the major township in Klang Valley.

I particularly liked their Loh Mai Gai, which steamed till moist and soft. It came with chunks of pork, chicken, mushroom and Chinese sausage. The meat was tender and very well blends with the texture of the glutinous rice. A big thumbs-up for this dish!

Rating: Above average


Damansara Branch

Add: No. 18 & 20, Jalan SS 22/25, Damansara Jaya, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Puchong Branch

Add: No. 31, Jalan Puteri 2/5, Bandar Puteri, 47100 Puchong.

Subang Branch

Add: No. 36, Jalan USJ 9/5P, 47620 Subang Jaya, Selangor.

Kuala Lumpur Branch

Add: No. 69, Jalan Pandan Indah 4/3A, Pandan Indah, 55100 Kuala Lumpur.

Seksyen 19 Branch

Add: No. 2, Jalan 19/3, Seksyen 19, 46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

For enquiries: 012-380 9980

[Disclaimer: The opinion expressed here are based entirely on personal taste buds, view and preference and may vary from others.]

IT and Management

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude, spotted a woman below and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The woman below replied, "You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."

"You must be in Information Technology," said the balloonist.

"I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "Everything you told me is, technically correct, but I've no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all. If anything, you've delayed my trip."

The woman below responded, "You must be in Management."

"I am," replied the balloonist, "But how did you know?"

"Well," said the woman, "You don't know where you are or where you're going. You have risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."

Cupcakes

I used to have a boss who like to buy Cupcakes for his staffs. Those Cupcakes that he bought were petite and exquisite which comes in fine boxes. It surely doesn't look cheap to me. The first time i came across it, i actually asked my boss HOW to eat those Cupcakes because i just don't know where to start! It's just plain stupid.

Anyway, i managed to find a few interesting Cupcakes over the internet...

I grew up watching the ground-breaking children's educational show called Sesame Street which taught me how to read and count. Cookie Monster has always been my favourite character in Sesame Street. I loved him for counting the cookies delightfully before eating it. I loved him for his pursuit of pleasure with a huge sweet tooth. I loved his slightly crazy eyes and unusual way of speaking. I loved him for bursting into tears when confronted with an empty cookie jar. In the moment, i just wanna shout out loud: "Me Want COOKIE"!

During my childhood, i used to have a set of plastic bricks which resemble LEGO bricks, except that it's much more cheaper and "Made from China". Of course, you would realize there is a HUGE difference between ordinary plastic bricks and LEGO bricks. With LEGO, you just say 'imagine a LEGO universe', and people get excited. Building blocks tends to put your personality into perspective. I'm not that into building blocks though. Maybe because of the lack of creativity in me. However, i always get fascinated by those impressive LEGO models built by LEGO fans.

When i was a small kid, my favourite method of eating Oreo cookie is twist it apart, eat the inside, then eat the cookie. It was said that the manner in which i eat Oreo shows that i have a highly curious nature. I take pleasure in breaking things apart to find out how they work, though not always able to put them back together, so i destroy all the evidence of my activities. I deny my involvement when things go wrong. I am a compulsive liar and exhibit deviant behavior. So now you know how bad am i when i was a small kid.

A friend of mine has been complaining to me on how his coursemate in his MBA class showing off his newly-bought iPhone just 2 days after it was launched in Malaysia. It was very annoying as this guy was literally "announcing to the whole world" of his new iPhone. This is what we called the early adopter. An early adopter is the type of person who has to get the newest tech gadgets as soon as they come out. These are the people who waited in line for a long time to get the iPhone as soon as it went on sale. While there's a lot of hype to go with it, i'm still wondering if the iPhone is right for me.

So let's end with this: Killing of Cupcakes. I know some people would shy away from this kind of weird idea, but i do think the Cupcakes above are hideously delightful! I just thought that these eery Cupcakes would be very suitable for Halloween. However, i am just wondering: "Could i actually EAT those?" and "HOW do i actually eat those?"

Permai Utama E Fatt Restaurant @ USJ 1 Subang Jaya

Went to Permai Utama E Fatt Restaurant last Saturday. It is located at Subang Permai Utama in USJ 1, an area which also houses Giant hypermarket and Mydin hypermarket.

If you are coming from Giant and Mydin in Subang Jaya, you will come across two rows of shops on your right, right after passing by Giant and Mydin. Turn right once you see a Shell Petrol Station on your right. The restaurant is a corner shoplot in the first row facing the front.

My friend and i decided to eat wan tan mee. So we went and place our order at the Wan Tan Mee stall. The hawker claimed that it's a branch of Restaurant Fu Wong (富煌) from Ipoh, which i'm not familiar with.

My friend ordered Wan Tan Mee (wet version) @ RM4.00. The taste was only average.

Meanwhile, i ordered Wan Tan Mee (dry version) @ RM4.00. It is also served with 3 wontons in a bowl of soup. The taste was also average. It was not oily, but the noodles were soggy (a bit "powder-ish" if you get what i mean).

The ingredients added for both Wan Tan Mee are basically the same. The portion is considered quite big (especially the noodles) and substantially filling.

Restoran Permai Utama E Fatt
Add: Jalan USJ 1/19, 47600 UEP Subang Jaya, Selangor.

[Disclaimer: The opinion expressed here are based on personal view and preference and may vary from others.]

Apples and Wine

Women are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of the tree. Most men don't want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they sometimes take the apples from the ground that aren't as good, but easy. The apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality, they're amazing. They just have to wait for the right man to come along, the one who's brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree.

Men are like fine wine. They begin as grapes, and it's up to women to stomp the shit out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.