Pigging Weekend in Penang

after that scone treat, its time for penang's famous dish at Jalan Siam. it seems that there's a coffee shop at the corner serving char kueh tiaw but in actual fact the stall is by the roadside opposite the shop

the uncle frying the char kueh tiaw using coal, traditional indeed, and gives extra points to this local delicacy

then its time for a cool off at Chatime at Bellisa Row, Pulau Tikus. i wish there's a branch in Limbang

a variety of bubble teas. Chatime is a chain cafe but there are many other cafes serving bubble teas around as well, even in Kuching and other towns here

Breakfast at the hawker stalls at Jalan Sungai Pinang

with duck mee sua that's cooked with herbs (reminds me of our Foochow version, except that ours is with red wine), loh bak tauhu mix and curry mee

managed tom meet up with bestie pei lian! we both looked very happy in cream and yellow tops

spotted the construction of the 2nd Penang bridge from far

Lunch at Koi Japanese restaurant at Gurney Plaza

prawn tempura, seafood platter, unagi, octopus balls

fresh sashimi, soft shell crab, cold udon, octopus and squid

then Dinner is at East Hokkaido, not very far from Gurney Plaza

assorted starters.. there's deep fried lychee filled with mayonnaise.. interesting..

baked prawns, chicken, vegetable and 'World's Best Fried Rice' (that's what its called there) its delicious coz there's crunchy little bits in the fried rice

looks like tilapia.. and more and more seafood of crab and squid and clams..

another round of dessert at Blackball, famous for the 'Jiu Fen' Yam Ball which i eaten before in Taiwan!this place is also at Pulau Tikus, seems to have loads of dessert places here including Haagan Daaz as well

bubble tea and our own combo of stuff. u can create your own and i wasn't up for yam so we threw in 5 random stuff like pudding, jelly and ice cream.. lol

Breakfast at with instant cook sai tou fish ball koay tiaw t'ng at Sungai Nibong.. not bad unless you don't like mince. the kueh tiaw here is thinner compared to ours, perhaps our broader version is their ho fan. after that we went to Perak, which i will share more in my next post

and that night we had ice cream waffles at Baskin Robbins, the same dessert area in Pulau Tikus. the first time i have this ice cream since i got back. there's always one thing that confuses me here in Penang.. why isn't Pulau Tikus an Island? hmmm

anyway, next stop, Ipoh, Perak!

Afternoon Tea with Scones at Suffolk House

finally a treat that i have been longing for!

Suffolk House, Prince of Wales Island in Penang. sorry, not so interested in the tour of the place, guided (RM15) or not guided (RM10) but i am sure there is a rich history behind this place

 what i was longing for: afternoon tea at Suffolk House Restaurant 2.30-5.30pm.. there's actually guided tours around this mansion (Rm15!) looks like a nice history building though, except the restoration or renovation outside

the afternoon tea set, rm68 for 2! the waiter even advised us how to eat, from the bottom tier first with the chicken mushroom pie and cucumber and salmon sandwiches, then upwards to the scones, and finally the cakes and biscuits

scones (5)! this was a bit crumbly, not bad. they even give 4 types of jam

the full set.. haven't had scones on tiers since UK! and its the 4th time i am having scones in Malaysia.

and a happy satisfied patron.. thanks for the treat! my birthday treat came a bit early this year, eh? :) :) :)

Hari Raya Ramah Tamah Events and 10 000 steps in Limbang

it has been a pretty busy early half of September as the Raya month comes to an end (busy eating i mean)

one of our medical colleague is transfering so we had a farewell for him at Boon Hua Restaurant

on 31st August Merdeka night the local PERKIP (Islam Association) had a raya dinner which i was personally invited (by sms) so i attended

cute door gift (with RM1!) and a couple of my friends won the lucky draw of junk food .. yum..

on Monday the hospital side had their Raya feast

the pharmacist department had theirs on Friday

obviously we Dental have to have ours too!

hard working dental staff preparing all the yummy food

i awarded the APC (anugerah perkhidmatan cemerlang) as well that afternoon as a surprise as no one else knew who the winners were

then its time to dig in followed by lucky draw.. even half a watermelon was one of the special gifts

well on Sunday it was the national level 10000 steps event. a good exercise after all that eating, although this 10 000 steps is nowhere near the required amount of exercise to burn whatever i devoured in the past month.

better than nothing, i'll say.

everyone warming up and getting ready to walk

the dental team before the walk

myself and a colleague with the medical boss aka. organizer and YB, waiting to start walking

walk walk walk.. 1 step at a time..

and in the local papers again, Utusan Borneo on Monday 10th Borneo Post on Tuesday 11th September. time to slow down on food now as i have a 4-day-weekend-feast coming up.. :D

Hari Raya Visiting in Limbang & Lawas

Raya Day-3: after my parents left i went to my hospital boss's house, the 4th house i visited so far. had satay which was yummy, definitely need to find the roadside stall myself, not far from the hospital i heard

Hua Hua restaurant in Lawas selling exotic dishes. the only non-halal pictures in this post. a kind staff of mine treated a few of us to this labi-labi dish (a kind of turtle.. the meat texture is soft actually, better than i expected) and babi hutan/wild boar (haven't had this for some time now) and claypot prawns for lunch

Raya Day-5: and since i was already in Lawas (not on holiday, i had to cover Lawas dental clinic too for a few days) i went to two of my staff's houses. the first cooked soto (stat! meaning almost immediately as she knew i was coming) and its good, and the second cooked rice with dishes like chicken fish vegetables. as much as i like visiting, i feel paiseh if they have to suddenly cook up something knowing that i want to drop by. cakes and cookies is more than enough for me. but i guess they just felt they had to cook something for Raya Open House, probably their tradition.

Raya Day-6: back in Limbang the next day, i continued the visiting not 1 but 4 of my staff's houses, with laksa, curry etc.. by the afternoon i was getting really sleepy. just visiting and having drinks was not too bad but being served heavy food after heavy food nonstop with intervals of cakes and cookies was too much.

"Sekali-kala beraya.. makan lagi makan lagi.." was all i heard everytime i try to resist taking my 2nd or 3rd helpings..

Raya Day-7: 10 houses done and 2 more to go.. this time with penang laksa even! could have sworn my stomach was rebelling already...

Raya Day-9: Monday lunch with laksa and cakes

Raya Day-13/Hari Merdeka: the 14th house so far.. i don't think i visited so many houses for Hari Raya ever! are there more houses to go? hope not, but there's still several majlis hari raya to attend.

i used to think visiting many houses for Chinese New Year was bad enough with the drinks, snacks and cookies, but visiting many houses for Raya is even worst cause every house serves their home-cooked laksa, soto, satay, lemang, curry, rendang, etc.. and home-baked cookies and cakes that its all too irresistable..