makan trip to ipoh

Yesterday, eight of us went on a day-trip to Ipoh to savour some of the culinary delights the town has to offer. And glad to say that we were not disappointed. Our first stop was the Foh San Restaurant which by the way has moved on to a bigger place on Jalan Leong Sin Nam. It's actually just a short distance from it's old location. The new place is big occupying at least 5 shoplots...with a nice ambience for a dim sum restaurant...but more important the dim sum was as usual tasty and delicious. One item which kind of aroused our curiosity was the dumpling with 'lo mai kai' filling plus shreds of turnip...refer to pic below.

at Foh San...

the old Foh San restaurant...

and of course...Foh San at its new premises...awesome...that's what i call progress

ah...delicious dim sum...

the dumpling that got us curious...


and voila...the mystery is solved...

After a delightful breakfast it was time for a nice cup of white coffee at Nam Heong coffeeshop located in the old part of Ipoh City. This coffee shop is supposed to be the place where Oldtown white coffee came from. The coffee was good...rich...thick and creamy. Anyway we noticed that the shop had many hawkers selling a variety of Penang hawker delights like Penang char koay teow, laksa, hokkien mee and so on...We were quite impressed by the char koay teow and hokkien mee...esp the aroma floating in the air and we told ourselves we must give it a try the next time we are in Ipoh. After Nam Heong we went across the road for another cuppa...at Sin Yoon Loong coffeeshop...just to compare its coffee with that of Nam Heong and I must say it tasted nice too...though not as 'kau' as NamHeong's.

Nam Heong coffeeshop

the white coffee at Nam Heong...

just opposite Nam Heong is Sin Yoon Loong...

the white coffee at Sin Yoon Loong...

Next we moved on to Kek Look Tong...a limestone cave just after Ampang. The cave is quite big complete with all the interesting cave formations. I like the place because it's very serene and cool. And behind the cave you can find a very nice lake with limestone hills as its background. After resting for a while there...actually we were waiting for the dim sum to be digested...we went to our next stop i.e. the Sun Yeong Wai Restaurant which is well-known for its roast duck. And again we were not disappointed as the roast duck was excellent. I'm no fan of ducks but this one was really good and yummy..

the entrance to Kek Look Tong...

stalactites and stalagmites...

the serene lake behind the cave..

Sun Yeong Wai which is well-known for its roast duck...

ah...notice the roast duck...its head...I mean...

And finally after the sumptious late lunch...we moved over a few doors away to Yee Hup to shop for some its famous biscuits especially its charbroiled hiong peah. Soon after that we headed for home...

Yep...it was definitely a great trip...mission accomplished...and my overall verdict...without a doubt...'HOR CHIAK'

Have a great day!

Launching of School Rakan Muda programme

73 pupils and 2 teachers (Pn Jamalia and myself) went to SMK Mengkuang on 18 July 2009 to witness and participate in the launching of the state-level School Rakan Muda programme. Various activities such as a paint-ball competition, rock-climbing, tug-of-war, lawn bowling, traditional games, demonstration on safe riding (motor cycles) and various performances - Jit Sin High School brass band, gamelan, boria, stage performance by Farah, tae-kwondo and silat were held on that day. There were also exhibitions by some government agencies. It was certainly a hot and tiring day but despite all that I think most of us had a nice and enjoyable time there. Check out the pics below...
the 'penghulu' of group A (Sivan) and his followers...

janice and friends...

can u spot the 'penghulu' of group B (Hafiz)?

Farah rendering a song...

the rock climbers...

you can do it...Janice...

performance by Jit Sin High School brass band



paint ball...

Hafiz enjoying his lunch...sedap...

prizes galore...

going to the movies...then and now

Just love going to the movies since I was a boy and that would be in the 60's and 70's. It was a great form of entertainment then and of course entertainment was so scarce in those days...unlike today. We even had a movie club in my primary school...Hutching's School and I was definitely a very loyal member of the club...attended every single meeting of the club where all we did was to simply...watch movies...yeah! Mmm...they don't have such clubs in school anymore, do they? And yes I watched movies of all genres then...spy thriller, horror, adventure, western (cowboys and red Indians), comedies and musicals (The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Fiddler On The Roof, My Fair Lady....) Really enjoyed those movies...

But then the cinema scene in those days was so unlike what we have today. Back then the cinema halls only had one screen each. Seats were quite uncomfortable with wooden arm rest and some having wooden seats. The seats were divided into two main classes...upstairs (called the 'dress circle' then...RM2.00 per ticket) and downstairs. The downstair seats were further sub-divided into 3 classes...first (RM1.40 for a ticket), second (Rm1) and third class (65 sen...yes you heard me...65 sen for a third class ticket!) The cinema floor was quite flat and it would be your rotten luck if you had a tall guy or a couple-in-love sitting in front of you. You will have a hard time straining your neck to the left or right just to follow the movie. Still remember a story told by David Arumugam of the Alleycats whereby he said his hair was full of 'kuaci' skin after he had come out from a cinema hall...David has an afro hairstyle...he still has...and the guy behind him must have vented his frustration on David's hair...

Below are pics of some of the more popular cinemas in Penang in those days...the Odeon Cinema which is still standing and screening movies today...but only Tamil and Hindustani ones I think; the Cathay Cinema building is also there but it has been converted into Mydin Emporium (it was my favourite cinema then...saw lots of great movies there) and of course the Capitol Cinema which has been torn down for the Komtar project. If you look carefully at the last pic, you'll see the Capitol Cinema in the background advertising 'The Exorcist' which was a really frightening movie. Story had it some movie-goers fainted while watching the movie...remember Linda Blair and her head-twisting stunt...gosh! I saw that movie in-between my HSC exam! That was in 1974...35 years ago!


The Odeon Cinema on Penang Road

The Cathay Cinema also on Penang Road

The Capitol Cinema at the junction of Maxwell Road and Penang Road

A cobbler plying his trade ...Capitol Cinema is in the background

But today going to the movies is just heaven compared to what we had in those days. The cineplexes are so clean and comfortable. The seats are fully-cushioned and because of the sloping floor your view will not be blocked even if the couple in front of you decides to be well..kinda intimate...(of course you'll be mumbling why didn't they book a couple seat instead!) And of course the sound system...THX and all those stuff...is simple superb! You have to pay a little bit more for all these...no more RM1.40 seats...but you get value for your money...check out movie day on Wednesdays. To ensure you get a seat, you can even book your tickets online or by phone.

Now that's what I call progress:)

Well I guess that's all for this post...till then...

Have a great time at the movies!

p.s. Looking forward to watching Obsessed, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Public Enemies, The Taking of Pelham 123, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and The Proposal...yep I do watch romantic comedies....