A Foodful Trip Back Home

Ahhhhh…. Scrumptious Malaysian fusion food, at Kafe Empat Sekawan, Butterworth, Malaysia – Jul 2024

Did it! Here’re all the valuable family photos of our recent trip back home!

It looks like it’s all about food, but it’s more than that. (Although, I admit that we’ve been heaping up on the cholesterol… ahem. Can’t help it. There’s just so much variety, everywhere, and for a fraction of the cost of what you’ll have to pay in friggin Dubai). (No wonder, Malaysia’s the most obese country in South East Asia!!! Sez some report. Not something to be proud of unfortunately). Amazing, how dad and his siblings remained so thin…


First breakfast of our Malaysia trip …Dim Sum at Thong Sum Restaurant, Butterworth. Eat up dad! Match our size, haha!


We, at Gurney Bay, Penang, a new park built on reclaimed land along Gurney Drive. Right after our medical check-ups in the Penang Adventist Hospital. We, typically do a full body check-up, when we visit Malaysia. Dad, Anu and I did it. Hazel was supposed to do it, but opted out due to her period. The results were OK, luckily. (It would’ve been worse, if we did it a week later, looking at all the food that we gorged down in the week ahead, ahem). I prefer the old Gurney Drive promenade to this reclaimed, ‘sanitized’ version. The old promenade was cooler, ermmm… more natural.


More food!! At the famous Teksen Restaurant, Penang …where you’d have to queue up to get a place, even at 5-ish pm. Don’t believe me? Go visit yourself. Heck, even the tourists queued up (it must have featured in some tourist guide). Right behind us in the queue, was a Dutch couple on holiday.


Visiting the Ipoh family. Meet Tuapek, dad’s eldest brother, at the Moonlight Care Centre Old Folks Home. Tuapek is the ‘delinquent’ of the home, well-known for his exploits of trying to escape. Don’t blame him. What’s an old man gotta do to get some freedom? His children visit, but they stay overseas, unfortunately. He’s got a little ‘behavioural dementia’ according to the home. We saw a little of that on the first time we met him, but on the second and third, he was lucidly clear. Just didn’t like the lack of freedom in the home, he said… Pity him, I hope he gets a better deal soon


And this is Tuakor, dad’s eldest sister, 90 years old this year (a year older than tuapek), with son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. Still strong, but thin as a reed. Sure hope they’ll eat more. If only I could give them some of my excess fat…


Ah Yee, my cousin sister from mom’s side, with husband and son, at our Canning Garden old house. Thanks for pandering to my last-minute plea for meeting up!!!


Looking for food in Ipoh. Dad’s a stickler for the tried and tested. But all his favourite food shops were closed! Maybe because it’s a week day. We ended up in Concubine Lane (near where dad grew up in Ipoh), and tried a new restaurant, at our prompting, The One Café, that specializes in Chee Cheong Fun, with multiple flavours that you could choose from. Not bad! “Get out of the way, Jayden!” The photo-bomber of the family strikes again.


Back in Butterworth… another new restaurant, again at my prompting, hehe - King Kong Ramen. See, it ain’t bad, right?


Cheers! First time, in a long time that we had a drink in a pub! The Beer Factory, Butterworth, P Pinang, Malaysia


Time to go! So quick. – Penang Airport. Sure wish we had more time. Hope to visit again soon! Stay strong, stay happy!


We’re in Singapore! Hello Justin! We miss you! The Jewel, Changi Airport, Singapore – Aug 2024


Time to tuck in, again. With Jason, at Tai Er Restaurant, a mainland Chinese restaurant which specializes in… wait for it. …Chinese Sauerkraut Fish! Sauerkraut?!? What’s sauerkraut doing in a Chinese restaurant? Sauerkraut’s a friggin German thing! Wait, ooh, it’s only ‘suancai’ or what we called ‘kiam-chai’ in Hokkien (salted vegetable). Kiam-chai therng (salted vegetable soup) was a pretty common dish we had at home, growing up. But who’d have thought of pairing it up with fish! But it obviously worked, or it wouldn’t have grown into this big a restaurant chain, with branches all over! This is their Singapore Jewel Branch. Thanks, Jason, for the treat!


Another meal. This time a Korean barbecue. So that the kids could serve us for a change, haha. They loved the cooking! Seorae Korean BBQ, Compass One, Singapore


Hey guys, family photo time! At Compass One (near Jason’s flat), Singapore, before we fly back to Dubai!

That’s it for our short trip, with lots of errands, but we managed to squeeze in a road trip to Tioman Island, hehe. More on that next time. See ya!