The Last Teh Tarik
Friday May 9, 2014
I have had an amazing three weeks here, absolutely blown away by the hospitality of my family. They have spoilt me so much, taking me around the city to see the sights and eat the best food, as well as opening up their homes for me to stay. I am well and truly blessed to have them here in Malaysia and I have thoroughly enjoyed this holiday.
The last few days have been quite relaxing. I went to Malacca to visit my auntie after returning from Singapore. I still remember the landscape around her house from many years ago, and was surprised to see the beach that used to be there had been filled in, and the newly reclaimed land had started sprouting apartments and shops. Nevertheless, the day was well spent eating some great nyonya food and catching up with family.
Yesterday was just a flurry from shopping mall to shopping mall, getting some last minute gifts for various people. I even went into an IKEA store, just to see what the fuss was about. We ended the day with a swim at the Tropicana Country Club and then some Thai food from myElephant.
Sitting here sipping my last teh tarik at KLIA, it's almost time to head to the gate. Thank you to all who made this trip so memorable, I have had a great time.
I'll be seeing you New Zealanders soon.
Posted by Jeremy at 12:04am on Friday May 9, 2014 :: 0 comments :: 
Singapore
Tuesday May 6, 2014
Finally got a bit of downtime again to do some blogging. After returning from Penang, my sixth uncle hosted us at his house for a couple of nights, treating us to decadent delicacies from his restaurant chain. We had Kobe beef, Iberico pork ribs, salmon, Peking duck, foie gras, Kingfish head... truly amazing food, the quality unsurpassable by anything in New Zealand.
On Saturday, we went for a walk around the Forest Research Insitiute of Malaysia (FRIM) and explored their famous canopy walk. In the evening we gathered for a big Lai Family feast - Chinese rojak, Nasi Lemak, Hokkien Char, banana and sago cakes, kueh muih, tapioca cake and to top it all off, a rich chocolate cake to celebrate my auntie's birthday. Of course there was too much food, but it was awesome and fun to see everyone again.
We flew to Singapore early on Sunday, with a few dramas at the security checkpoint over the body wash and hair gel in my bag (Jetstar offered to check in my bag for free to avoid me having to throw all of those out, which was extremely fortunate. Hopefully I can do that again). I caught up with Kheng Yong and Ted and we went to Gardens by the Bay to see the last day of the tulip festival. The domes are so nice and air conditioned, if only my leg would have stopped playing up, it would have been much more enjoyable.
We had some Satay by the Bay and some stingray too before playing another Escape Room, which, after three hints, we managed to complete with a minute to go! Ted had to leave us for dinner, so the remaining four of us went to a chicken rice place on River Valley Road to eat, before heading home after a long day.
Yesterday we went to the zoo and walked around for a while in the blistering heat. The last time I went to Singapore zoo was about 14 years ago, and this time, having been to Washington DC zoo and Central Park zoo in New York, I wasn't that enthralled. The animals are all lethargic, probably from the heat, it really is quite unpleasant to walk around, and there weren't many animals that I hadn't seen before. The best enclosure was the polar bear's because it was so well air conditioned, lolololol.
That night, my cousin took us out for some famous Singaporean chilli crabs at the No Signboard Seafood Restaurant in Vivocity. The gravy was rich and spicy and tasty, it was so delicious and I had such a good time slurping the sauce up and sucking the meat out if the crab shells and licking my fingers like a savage. Between the three of us, we had a chilli crab, a white pepper crab and cereal prawns - just perfect.
Today I need to find some plastic bottles for my "airplane prohibited liquids, gels and aerosols" and I'll probably end up wandering around the shopping malls for gifts too. Then it's back to KL for a few more days only :(
Posted by Jeremy at 1:37am on Tuesday May 6, 2014 :: 0 comments ::
Back in KL
Thursday May 1, 2014
Our last full day in Penang was pretty relaxed (which is why I had time to blog about the previous week). We picked up Kiel and Connie for lunch and went to the famous Lorong Selamat char kuay teow place, with the auntie in the red beret. Considerably more expensive than your regular meal in Malaysia but the prawns were huge and the noodles were delicious. Besides, it's still super cheap by New Zealand standards (RM11 = NZ$4!)
We also went to Khoo Kongsi, a large heritage building that is the family house of the Khoo family, and enjoyed a fondue set from Haagen Dazs before trying another exciting room from the Break the Code Escape Room place - this one we actually manage to complete in time! So happy.
We had a short walk in the Botanic Gardens before it started raining heavily, so we waited in one of the huts for the downpour to finish while Kiel remained trapped under one of the bridges. By the time the rain stopped, it was time for dinner anyway, so we had some curry mee from one of the roadside food stalls in town. Yummo. My last night in Penang was spent wandering around the night markets in Batu Feringghi - much better merchandise than Petaling Street and more variety.
Also, I hate bargaining.
Now we're back in KL and waiting for dinner and karaoke. My uncle partially owns a fancy restaurant chain so I am guaranteed a good time. Woohoo!
Posted by Jeremy at 10:16am on Thursday May 1, 2014 :: 0 comments ::
Penang
Wednesday April 30, 2014
I've finally got a bit of down time to blog. It's been almost nonstop sightseeing and eating for the past few days.
On Friday my cousin took the four of us to Klang for some bak kut teh, then to Batu Caves for some views of the city and the giant statue out front. We were quite amused by the monkeys running around, grabbing any fruits and water bottles they could find as they clambered around the 200 steps to the entrance of the caves themselves. The caves weren't that spectacular, Waitomo Caves have more interesting features and structures, but there are some quaint temples in the deepest section of the cave. I think what disappointed me the most were the cheap touristy souvenir shops at the entrance to the cave, which made the place kind of tacky.
On Saturday, we checked into Park Royal KL and had a wander around town for a bit. I met my aunt on mum's side for an amazing Peking Duck dinner. I ate too much, but it was so goooood.
We were looking around the block for breakfast foods in Sunday when the police started cordoning off the roads in anticipation of the US Presidential Motorcade passin through. Sure enough, "the Beast" - the heavily fortified limousine with Barack Obama - passed through, accompanied with several support vehicles including caterers, bodyguards and an ambulance. Pretty exciting!
We headed to KLCC for a tour of the Petronas Twin Towers just before lunch. The views from the top were spectacular, the observation deck is pretty high up and offers a fantastic view of Kuala Lumpur. Slightly startling is the fact you can look over at the other tower, matching the first's height and aesthetic. It would be cool to see a thunderstorm from that level - especially if lightning hits the second tower - but I think the observation deck is closed during storms for safety reasons. Unfortunate!
We walked around Pavilion and Berjaya Times Square, and took a ride on the roller coaster there before heading back to Pavilion's Tokyo Street to meet Sabrina for dinner. Soft shelled crab tempura for only RM20 (NZ$7)! After dinner, we took the monorail to the Petaling Street night market for a walkabout, but my legs were starting to cramp from all the walking so it was a brief excursion. The shops there are pretty tacky and samey, so there wasn't anything that interested me anyway.
We saw Brobama again on Monday morning just before we left for the airport for our flight to Penang. I must have been so tired because I just conked out for the entire flight, only waking for the drinks and the arrival. After sorting out the hotel and rental car, we picked up Kiel and Connie and headed for some food. Unfortunately it was quite late so all the popular places that close when they run out of food were actually closed, but we found a nice place that had good assam laksa so we settled for that.
Yesterday, we managed to get the famous Air Itam assam laksa before going to the Kek Lok Si temple and Penang Hill. We also caught the uncle famous for his roadside char kuay teow stall on Jalan Siam, and had a look around the snake temple too before going for some satay. We also tried another of those escape rooms before heading down Jalan Burma to the Old Green House for some delicious prawn mee.
The itinerary for Penang seems to revolve around where the best places for food are, and it's no wonder that I am getting fat. I am thoroughly enjoying the food and experiences here, and I am looking forward to the next 11 days.
Om nom nom.
Posted by Jeremy at 2:38am on Wednesday April 30, 2014 :: 0 comments ::
Driving in Kuala Lumpur
Thursday April 24, 2014
We had quite the driving saga today (is saga copyrighted? Can I use that word?) It turns out Malaysia roads are horribly complex and it's difficult for Google Maps to discern the correct route, especially when there are several off ramps criss-crossing over one another. For me, this meant a 7 minute trip from Bukit Jalil to Sri Petaling LRT Station turned into a 30 minute tour of the Putrajaya Highway.
We met up with Kiel and Connie eventually, and because the rain was absolutely bucketing, we decided to go to Sunway Pyramid instead of checking out Batu Caves and the Forest Institute of Malaysia. After successfully turning the 20 minute trip into an hour, AND finding a park, we wandered around the mall for a few hours, enjoying the bargains and sights on offer.
Driving is exhausting.
Apart from that though, my relatives are spoiling me sick, it's awesome to be back home (Home #3) and the food is as good as it's always been. The weather is hot and humid, but thankfully quite wet so it's cooler than usual.
It's going to be great!
Posted by Jeremy at 8:46am on Thursday April 24, 2014 :: 0 comments ::