Tecky's Birthday Dinner

TF treated us to a dinner at the Golden Triangle Indochine restaurant at Queensbay on Thursday night. This was not my first time, but were ST's, Huat's and TF's. HC has come before also. We were the first diners there - wanted to get the seaview tables, but apparently were reserved. Shucks, they should have given to us, coz when we left the place, the tables had still to be occupied !

As usual, Ah Huat was the last one there again - this time, he had to drive himself as we supposed to meet up at 6 in Agilent, and half an hour later, we gave up and decided to go first - rumbling stomachs and all. Eventually, Huat arrived, at almost 7:30 ! Ha-ha, we started without him of course, couldn't just stare and smell the pungent aroma of the dishes without eating right !

Started out with some oyster (apparently from U.S. @RM6.80 per piece). It tasted 'normal', but somehow it wrecked ST and TF's stomachs (later), based on this morning's feedback :-). We ordered a bunch of other dishes, including Tom-Yam. Weren't too happy with this signature Thai soup - too much coconut thus it tasted 'heavy'. We also ordered the Crab tang-hoon. Looks good on the menu, but again, not to our expectations - the tang-hoon was too heavily soaked in the gravy, causing it to feel kinda soft and mashy. The crab was ok. Overall, I would say the quality was pretty ordinary and kinda pricey, probably because of the crab tang-hoon and the fish (pretty big, too big actually, as the texture of the meat wasn't tender enough).

Since TF didn't feel like drinking after that (me too, since I've had quite a bit the night before :-) ), we decided to adjourn to Haagan Daz - yes, the premium ice-cream place :-) Actually, I was darn full, so, was busy deliberating what to get. Eventually settle on this combo of vanilla ice-cream with a couple shots of expresso for you to pour yourself. The rest of the guys went for shakes and ice-cream. It was pretty good, but too sweet, even for me (see below).



After chatting there till around 10 pm, we decided to call it a night. Me, I was really tired, and full !

Thanks TF - for the dinner :-)

Cheers !

Ai Ling's Farewell

A handful of us (YP, CC, ST, AL, Felicia, KB, TT) threw AL a farewell dinner at Salsa's, after much deliberation on the venue. It was my second time now, and this time I opted for the Beef Tenderloin set. 5 of us ordered the Lobster set (given my rave reviews :-) ), but sadly, KB has to volunteer to give up his, as apparently there were only 4 sets available ! Well, he was deliberating whether to eat that night, or wait to eat together with his wife. Ha-ha, God's will, I guess.

YP was gracious enough to throw in a bottle of Southeastern Australian Shiraz, and eventually got the major share as AL and TT rarely take few sips of theirs ! Hey, wine's good for you, you know ! After a hearty bout of appetizer, soup, entree and deserts, it was time to get drown in some alcohol ! It's Upper Penang Road, what else to do ! Went in to Momo, as apparently we were told drinks on Happy Hours rate all night long. Duh, apparently it was restricted to the open air section, where we would have to lend our ears to some s-l-o-w Chinese songs played by a band. We wanted to go into the air-conditioned section, so we could shoot some pools, but gosh, the price of the drinks was almost twice as expensive ! And, yucks, ST was questioning the waiter as apparently there seemed to be some vomit (dried up) on the pool table. So, off we left, pronto !

Eventually, we ended up at SoHo, as it was pretty cheap - drinks on Happy Hours rate the whole night (Wednesday nights are Ladies Night in Upper Penang Road, mind you :-) ). The guys and gals had a great shouting time playing foosball - I swear those folks downstairs can hear Felicia's screaming ! Some of us played pool. It was really fun anyway, and amid the air-conditioned environment, the foosball kakis were sweating profusely. CW and Jimmy joined us a little later and now it was a loud 9 pax group :-)

After ST, KB and Felicia left at 10.30, the rest of us adjourned to Glo. I think it provides the best value for the ladies as the bottle beers for the fairer sex is free-flow on Ladies Night ! Thanks to CW's connection, we managed to go in minus the cover charges - for the guys. A totally different environment compared to SoHo, the atmosphere was pretty much the discotheque type. Must be getting old, 'coz the thumping and rumbling bass really gave my ears a great wallop. Well, at least the beer helped to blur the feeling a little :-) CC, AL, YP and I decided to leave after spending an hour plus in Glo. We got kinda tired - partying on a weekday can be pretty taxing ! Overall, I'm sure all of us have had a great time that night - any more farewells 'round the corner ??

See Ya, Ai Ling ! All the best, and hope to visit you in Malacca, one day.

A 13-Year Retrospect

Today should be a day of celebration, one of the more significant annual joyous diversion, coz this is the 13th blessed year of wedding anniversary between Viv and I. I said 'should' because, due to a more compelling unforeseen circumstance occurred half a year ago, it was mutually agreed that a sacrifice was a necessity, splitting the family back to Ipoh. Don't get me wrong, as Viv and I are not pondering over whether this has been the best decision. Just that, we can't help enkindle the usual "why us" sighs. Viv and I will always abide by our beliefs that we should always give more than we take, and this is what we will strive to continue to uphold. Nevertheless, just being human, sometimes among the sporadic continuum of depression and melancholy that inevitably hit us (like today), we do question and wonder where our holistic actions and decisions will lead us to. The combo of being separated from one's soul-mate and off-springs, coupled with the never-ending unpleasant reality of financial $hort-coming$, can really stress the hell out of one's soul. On some days, I am just trying to hold on to my dear life and how I wish I could just simply pinch myself and wake up in a gusto, from this nightmare. (Sigh) Sadly, it's all wishful thinking. Reality bites, painfully.

Some folks have been actually congratulating me (hopefully they meant it to be a joke) for being a bachelor again ! If this comes from a bachelor, well, I wouldn't fault him too much, but I really hate it, esp. if it orginates from a married person ! No class at all, man ! Zilch, zero, nada. How in the world can you rejoice, for being separated from your loved ones ! Have heard frequent re-assurance blabber that the separation is just 1.5 hours away, but trust me, it does not help much, esp. when it's time to bid our goodbyes, either on Monday mornings or Sunday afternoons. It really hurts, and I shudder thinking about it everytime. Lumbering back to the once merry home, which is all devoid of laughter, shoutings, jokes, etc. now. Every corner of the house evoke memories of Viv, Chloe & Ryan. Gosh, it's so quiet that sometimes I thought I'm hearing my own sighing echo ! For the past few months, having TF around, has been an utter welcome of good distraction and great company, though.

Have been pondering how long this near 40-year old will have to linger around Penang and packing back "Chap Fan" home every evening. Definitely, not something I would have envisioned many moons ago. How long more to go ? A year, 5 years, a decade ? I really hate to be alone, in all honesty, esp. now, it has become indefinite. Bummer.

Cameron Highlands

A little belated, but finally managed to 'harvest' the photos and put them into a slide show. It was not a planned trip, but nevertheless, turned out to be nicer than we anticipated. Viv and the kids had a great time, and promised the kids of another trip, this time with a sleep-over.

Driving up the Sg. Palas BOH Tea plantation was an interesting adventure, coz the road (95% of it) is only wide enough for one vehicle - one side is the mountain face while the other is a sheer drop to deep ravines. Anyway, I just kept honking my way up, and surprisingly, seems I was the only one bother to do that ! My kids kept asking why there was no mirror at the blind corners - ha-ha, couldn't answer them. Probably to cut cost I guess ! Anyway, the 15-20 minutes journey up (depending on traffic) was well worth it, as it opens up to a pretty big parking area with the welcoming view of the huge Tea House with a platform protruding out into open air ! We managed to find one of the best open air seat on the platform, and what a blissful way to sip our teas and eat our scones. Sadly, the scones was a let-down. Seems like the ones at Bala's still the best ! Viv kept reminding me that :-)

After spending some time there, we adjourned to Mountain Strawberry Farm, a pretty new establishment, further up from the Tea Plantation, about halfway up towards Mt. Brinchang, the highest peak reachable by a vehicle. Everyone had loads of fun picking our strawberries, as at the same time, the heavens opened up. Luckily the rain stopped after close to an hour. The kids were having so much fun picking the strawberries, that eventually, we ended up with almost 1 kg of it ! Well, at least the proprietor was good enough to only pack up the 'good' ones for us :-)

Of course, the next stop will be the fresh market, to get our hands (mouths) on the delicious corn, sweet potatoes and fried mushrooms - well, mostly Viv's favorites. Surprisingly, it wasn't as crowded (for a Saturday) as we thought it would be. Traffic and parking was still very manageable. Bought more corns and veges back for my mum-in-law to cook also. We also bought some of the 'Cameron's Apples', only available in Cameron, and tastes like honey dew, provided you got the ripe ones !

On our way back down the hill (one-day trip), we stopped by the Bee Farm, more for their toilet than really visiting it. Pretty boring in my opinion, just seeing some small speck of bees roaming around countless hives in a pretty big plantation.



Cheers !

Hic ! . . . . Hic ! . . . . Burp !

Wow, it has been a long time coming in regards to 'bar hopping'. Ha-ha, thanks to HC (birthday bash), all 6 of us (HC, TF, SH, ST & WC) headed down to Salsa (after a 10 minutes delay waiting for Mr. MSD again) for a pretty value for money Western fare. It was my first time, but definitely, I will go again. Given the location and environment, RM52 is cheap, for a set dinner of Lobster/Chicken as entree, preceded by carrot soup, and a sumptuous serving of appetizer - salad with a slab of salmon and mussel. Also, thrown in, was a glass of ice-lemon tea and a better than expected set of desert, comprising pudding, choc cake and vanilla ice-cream ! Yum-yum ! And, not forgetting our gracious birthday boy throwing in a bottle of Shiraz !

Having got the 'engine' warmed up after a glass of red wine, we went for beer at D-Joint (or something like that). That was about the quickest 4 jug that I ever get involved in (an hour maybe) - 6 of us. I think I got drown in at least close to a jug, as mother luck was not with me the whole night, losing in the card games, regardless of how we played ! Hmm, drowsiness was enveloping fast, with a mix of beer and wine :-(

After that, off we go again, wondering along both the rows of clubs, lounges and the occasional reflexology parlour, and eventually the group decided to drop in at SS to get soaked into some live music. The place was quite crowded, for a weekday. Actually, the entire upper Penang road was more crowded than we anticipated, given it was mid-week ! After much deliberation of what to order, everyone agreed to have a round of Tequila Pop ! Hmm, wine, beer and then tequila, what an interesting combo for the blood stream ! Ha-ha.

After an hour in there, off we straggled to So-Ho, as HC wanted to shoot some pool. Of course, there goes another round of beer, but this time, I just took a sip :-). Didn't think I can gulp in anymore liquid of any kind. We have had some good fun playing pool and table soccer.

Eventually, all 'filled-up' and drowsy, we decided to call it a night and headed home, dreading the early wake-up on Thursday morning. Duh. Having said this, it was really a great night, having lotsa fun with my golf kakis. Looking forward to the next outing, at the end of this month - TF's turn !

Cheers !

A Rush of feel-good movies

August Rush, Martian Child . . . . rings a bell ? Well, not for me, as they sure didn't sound like the major blockbusters as advertised in the media or as highly publicized as the "What's Hot" in the cines around here. How about the titles huh, a sci-fi movie - Martian ? August Rush - some volcanic explosion catastrophic epic ? Ha-ha, of course, NOT ! Well, they're a lot more subtle than the titles suggest, that much I can tell you. Wouldn't want to throw you any spoilers, but, well, ok, one little hint, it's about a home-less kid, a boy to be precise, in both the movies. The themes are a little different, but the plots are refreshingly different. No well-known child actors here (at least not before the movies were released), but nevertheless, excellent castings, what more with good established actors/actresses anchoring them - the Cusack siblings, Robin Williams, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, to name a few.

Btw, August Rush was Oscar nominated for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song. ..... an incredible journey moving at the speed of sound.



Martian Child .... the story of a man becoming a father...and a boy becoming a son.


Cheers !