Page 87: Hai Boey Seafood 海尾海鲜, Teluk Kumbar, Penang

End of another year (lunar year; the solar year ended around 3 weeks ago...) & as usual another pre-CNY dinner. This time we went to Hai Boey Seafood Restaurant in Teluk Kumbar. I heard it is pretty hard to find, but in fact the large signboards made it very easy to find your way if you are lost.

First thing you'll notice there is the view. Situated at the beach, you cannot help but take a stroll down to the sand & (if you're wearing sandals & shorts) the sea. There are comfortable deck chairs & also a playground (with a swing & a slide) for your kids' pleasure. I'll let the pictures do the talking...

View of the sea... nearing sunset

The restaurant as viewed from the beach

After a little stroll, comes the food. It has some of the best dishes I've tasted. Most of the seafood is quite fresh, like crabs, lobster & fish (the tanks there prove it) & makes it better... I'll let the pictures whet your appetite...

Hai Boey...

Fried Eggplant in Meatball

This is spinach... cooking style no idea

Some tofu...

Pumpkin Prawns

Kerabu Mantis Shrimp (Hae Kor)

'Kam Heong' Crab

'Pai Kut Ong'

Fried Chicken with Onion Rings

Claypot Steamed Grouper... the whopper...

For 10 persons, all of the above dishes (plus rice & drinks) amounted to RM294.10... The price is up for you to decide but the environment is really a very nice one... always worth a visit.

Page 86: Of Trees, Leaves & Thorns

Imagine coming across a tree. You see that at the very top of this tree there is a leaf that you truly desire to have, to own, to keep, to be made yours. Meanwhile, you also notice that there's a branch with a seemingly ordinary looking leaf at shoulder height. But you ignore it, since your attention is already fixed at the leaves at the very top. What do you do? For most of us, we will take the effort to climb the tree, hoping to get to the top & obtain that leaf that we so much desire...

Nearing the top now, you realize something else. There are thorns surrounding the leaf, this beautiful leaf that you so desired to have. Is it still worth climbing up more & hurting yourself just to get at your target? Or is it better to climb down & have that seemingly ordinary leaf at shoulder height just now?

I can dare say that a lot of us will continue on, hoping that the satisfaction of obtaining that one leaf will overcome the pain you endured while passing over the thorns. But think about it. What if after this leaf has been obtained, after all the nurturing & care you gave to it, it withers in a blink of an eye, without any warning? And what if you realize that the leaf that is at shoulder height, the one you did not have to hurt yourself obtaining, will be the one that will be fresh & green, blooming even, at the end of the day? Maybe if you had obtained this ordinary leaf, you will have grown to love it too in time, just like you had when you first set eyes on the leaf on top of the tree...

Will you make the right choices in obtaining your leaf?

In life there are a lot of thing that are akin to the choices you have in obtaining this leaf. Some things are really worth the effort put in to obtain, but there are a lot of things too that are of more value & are more easily obtainable, even though it seems ordinary at first, ignored by the majority... It is most important that we choose which leaf we want in what aspects of our life... Does your goal pay even when there is a bed of thorns you need to cross to achieve them?

Page 85: December 2011

I have to write something here before it dies due to inactivity, though nowadays I don't have the will or drive to write even my own thoughts here anymore... this journal has become so... lost...

So, anyway... back to reviving...

Recently my standard of English has been deteriorating up the point that when I try to speak English... nothing comes out of my mouth... not even a stutter... maybe that explains why I haven't updated this blog for such a long time...

Oh well... it seems that should be all for today... will be back (hopefully)...

Page 84: It's a Very Small World After All...

I feel that the world is getting smaller & smaller by the day. Lately I keep finding out that people I know have friends or relatives that has some connection to me, one way or another, be it another friend or having went to the same school or university. Some people say that as you go out into the world, the world expands. But to me, as I go out into the world, the world shrinks around me...

Well, holidays are around the corner, but I have never felt such a low holiday mood before... oh well, perhaps it will be over soon...

Page 83: August

Dear Journal,

Won't life be simple if it were a game of coin toss? Just toss the coin when you reach some crossroads & that's all you have to do. No thinking involved. No feelings involved. No need to think about what will come after. All decisions made for you, even if the decision will screw you up in the end. At least you don't have difficulty in choosing a path to take.

Won't life be simple if it were a game of Snakes & Ladders? Just roll the dice & go where you are supposed to go. Reach the bottom of a ladder & climb to victory, or encounter the maw of a serpent & get screwed. The first one to 100 wins the game.

If only everything is that simple...

There won't be any dilemmas, no heartbreaks, no sleepless nights...

And there will also be no feelings; no love, no happiness, no sadness, no anger, no disappointments...

Alas, this is life.

Dear Journal,

It has also been exactly a year since I started working, & looking back, it seems like only yesterday everything happened. The interview, the first day, the unknown faces I see on my first day. All seems like a blur. Now, it is already August 2011 & I can say that I have changed a lot. I have found a lot of things in this 1 year & though I very much want to say I have found love, it is still the one thing that eludes me.

Maybe I should not fear what is meant to be, but face it with pride. After all, life may just be a game of dice played by powers far more superior than ourselves. Still, change is badly needed for me to succeed in this life. One way or another, change will happen...

Page 82: Malacca Food Diary

That was Day 1. Now for Day 2.

For breakfast we headed to a stall called Bukit Cina Soya Bean House. This little shop sells stuff that has to do with soy beans, primarily soy bean milk & taufufah. The varieties here are also not limited to any normal type of soy bean milk or taufufah, but also has additions to the original tastes, such as Honey Soy Bean Milk, or Black Sesame Taufufah.

Bukit Cina Soya Bean House... the Menu...

Taufufah from Bukit Cina Soya Bean House... very smooth...

Breakfast was brief. Next stop was lunch (yes, you read right. Lunch right after breakfast). This time we went to a small little shop for its Nyonya Food. This shop, called Donald & Lily's, is situated just off Jonker Street & is pretty well hidden. Only the initiated will know that there's a shop there. Also an old house converted to a shop, it will always be full during lunch times.

Donald & Lily's Nyonya Food...

Small lil' shoppe...

Here, we ordered a variety of Nyonya Food, such as Rojak, Mee Siam & (best of all) the Ayam Rendang.

Rojak

Mee Siam

Ayam Rendang

After that short lunch, we headed over for some walk around Malacca. Before heading back to the apartment, we stopped by this shop, Nadeje, situated just outside of Dataran Pahlawan. This shop's specialty is its 'Mille Crepes'. These are basically different flavoured crepes stacked one on top of another & made into a cake... & the flavour is heavenly. There's just so many flavours to choose from, such as Double Chocolate, Tiramisu, Mocha & of course, original flavour...

Nadeje Cafe...

Double Chocolate Mille Crepe...

Choco-Strawberry Mille Crepe...

This is called 'Melaka'...

Mocha version...

I think I will continue the last installment on food in another entry. This entry already seem too long...

Page 81: Malacca Food Diary

I've been to Malacca once before & came back not having tried any of the (reportedly) amazing food there. So when another chance came I jumped straight onto the bandwagon. And it was awesome...

Three day trip, one day spent in the car (to & fro, half day each way), two days spent eating (mostly) & I came back with a lingering aftertaste that will stay there until the day I die (hopefully). The food there makes Penang food look like an amateur chef's fare.

Well, first stop for food is the famous Chicken Rice Balls. Initially the plan was to go to the most famous Chicken Rice Ball stall in Malacca, but following a recommendation we went to another stall, which I have to admit is pretty standard fare.

Nam Wah Hotel Cafe & Chicken Rice, the stall we went to...

The most famous Chicken Rice Ball stall, our original plan... Just look at the queue...!!

Each of us got five Chicken Rice Balls to go with the chicken dish & bean curd/egg in soy sauce. Chicken's nothing to shout about & rice is normal. Maybe this would be a different experience had we gone to the other (more famous) shop, but I'm still grateful I got to taste these Rice Balls again. Good experience...

Chicken Rice Balls!!

Roast & white chicken...

Another dish... this tastes better than the chicken IMHO...

That was lunch. After that we headed to Jonker Street, not for shopping (yet) but for food (again) at the famous Jonker 88 stall. This stall is famous for its different varieties of Cendol & its Kari Laksa. I really like this stall as it is actually an old antique house converted into a stall, hence the inside of the building still has a sense of heritage of this old city. A lot of antique stuff are also on display so that you can feast your eyes as well as you stomach.

Jonker 88, the heart of Jonker Street

Durian Cendol

Mango Cendol

Kari Laksa

An old chandelier in the stall

Antique Clock

For dinner then, we headed to the famous Capitol Satay stall. One thing hit me when I was there: Malaccans like to queue up for their food. And not just a short queue. Long ones!!

The original & famous Capitol Satay...!!

Line up for Satay~!!

Well, the shop opened at 5 pm & we arrived at 6 pm. Queued up for almost an hour & got tables. This Satay Celup is special in a way that the spices & groundnuts are not mixed into the soup when it first comes. The spices will be stirred in after the soup has been brought to boil. After that, its dipping time...!!

Variety of Satay...

Satay Celup soup... before addition of spices...

Spices & ground peanuts...

Stirring the soup...

Celup!!

There's quite a lot of variety here on display, including fish balls, meat balls, vegetables & yau char kuai. No seafood is on display. But after around 20 minutes of eating, the stall will present you with the reason this stall is the most popular: the employees will give you huge prawns, abalone slices & cuttlefish for the final 'dip'. This supply is normally charged (80 cents per stick) but further orders will cost you RM6/100 g. Wow...

Prawns, abalone & cuttlefish...

That's all... for day one...

Page 80: Nibong Tebal Crab Porridge

Never thought I would return to the place I spent four years at after I left last year. But then who can deny Nibong Tebal does have its charms? Everything is still so familiar (except a huge housing estate project that started recently) & I can still remember it as though it were yesterday...

Well, after having seafood at Pulau Aman, we went all the way down to Nibong Tebal to sample its famous Crab Porridge. Truth be told in four years of my university life I have never tried it before, nor do I even know the shop. But then when I went there last weekend, it all dawned on me: the famous shop is the one that I have frequented several times for its Tomyam!! Coincidence? I think not...

Familiar ol' stall... except for the expansion at the side...

Since there were 9 of us we decided not to order individually, but in a big bowl fit for few people. We ordered four dishes: Pork Porridge (bak moi), Tomyam Mee, Crab Porridge (chim moi) & also the blanched octopus (legs).

The bak moi is nothing to shout about. Though it is better than my own cooking (I can't cook), there are any other places that sell bak moi. Even then, the bak moi here is more fragrant & more filling (it is less watery). The portion we ordered is for 3 people.

Bak moi...

Next came the Tomyam Mee. The soury taste is just as I remember it, but it still lacks the spiciness to make up the whole package. But fear not, the cili padi provided there will make up for it, as one bite on the cili padi will make your eyes water (& probably choke).

Tomyam Mee...

Up next, the blanched octopus legs (or tentacles). At first sight, it is plain old tentacles. But one bite into it will tell you otherwise, as it is blanched to perfection: not too soft & not too hard either. It still retained its 'kiu-ness' & eating it with chilli sauce or rojak sauce is just heavenly...

Octopus legs...!!

Lastly came the Crab Porridge. With fragrance reminiscent of fresh crabs & sweetness of the porridge, what could one ask for more? The portion we ordered, which is for 5 people, had 2 crabs which come readily cracked. It also seemed that one of the crabs had roe... & I was lucky enough to get the shell that had it...

Isn't this just... beautiful...

All of those dishes (together with drinks) amounted up to only RM80+ which is considered cheap. Other than some screwed up drinks order, it is a memorable return to Nibong Tebal... a return to one of the food heavens...