What a week! Last week was quite an exciting week for our family. We headed back to my hometown on Sunday for a short visit. I wish I could spend more time there but my husband only had a week off and we have to optimize that one week with as many activities possible.
It was scorching hot there. I thank God the Almighty for the invention of air conditioners. Without it I don’t think I could stand the heat wave in Alor Setar. It was hot like a sauna. As usual, a trip back to my hometown would not be complete without the usual makan treat by my mom and relatives. Being the only son in law, my husband is quite my mom’s favorite. Hence, each time we visit home, my mom will cook his favorite food – laksam Kedah. He considers it as a special treat for him. I have yet to master this delicacy simply because preparing its mee is really a pain in the ass (pardon me for the language!). The thought of having to cook the mixture of flour slowly by steaming one small tray at time seems really tedious and time consuming to me. Preparing the gravy on the other hand, is a piece of cake (I think). So, for as long as I have my mom to cook the laksam for my husband, I am safe…
Our visit to my second brother’s place turned out to be quite a treat. He served us with steamed glutinous rice served with buffalo’s milk (note: buffalo not cow – and it’s only for the brave) and eaten with a choice of banana, mango and durian. That was my first and I simply love it. He also cooked fried rice. I don’t know what he put in there but it was simply delicious. Boy can he really cook. I didn’t have time to visit my first brother’s chicken rice stall this round but my two sons did manage to savour their Pak Long’s chicken rice.
We left for Penang on Wednesday. My husband and I wanted to make this trip a really makan trip. So armed with an iphone and a Blackberry, we navigated our way in the island by using the GPS looking for eatery places friends recommended successfully. I’d like to take a moment to salute the people who invented GPS, bravo…2 thumbs up!! What an adventure it was. We tried biryani and murtabak at Hameediyah, nasi dalca Hamid, pasembor and char koew tiew at Gurney Drive and nasi kandar line clear. I actually wanted to try another nasi kandar – nasi kandar beratur near masjid kapitan keling and nasi kandar kampong melayu, but the timing wasn’t right. I learned that in Penang, nasi kandar operator only cook once. And they only cook at a designated time. Nasi kandar beratur for example, is only available after 11pm (yes 11pm at night, who eat rice that late? Only in Penang I guess). There is another operator who uses the premise to sell nasi kandar at different time slot, but we were told that it’s not as good as the original owner which only starts serving his nasi kandar at 11pm. Once finished, they’ll close their shop. This is so unlike in Klang Valley where nasi kandar is available 24/7. Complicated eh? Could someone please explain to me why…
Of all the food we tried, I give 5 stars to Hameediyah. Their biryani is simply heavenly. Even my 8mths old baby loves it. If we had more time, we’d have tried more food that friends recommended. But fret not, there’s always next time…
The damage is only 1kg for me. So, it wasn’t so bad but my tummy has ballooned up to two dress sizes I think. My hubby didn’t even dare to step on the scale.
The kids had a great time too this round. Better the last visit in March. We decided to stay at a much better hotel so that the kids can utilize the better facilities like the nicer pool and the fully equipped kid’s zone. We made the right decision indeed, they didn’t even ask to go to the beach. Even baby Sophie had a great time in the swimming pool. The swimming class has a very positive effect on Harris after all. He enjoys playing in the pool more than before.
Feringgi Beach is as bad, the beach near the hotel we stayed is swarmed by more so called water sports operators. We didn’t even dare to step onto the beach this round. They started shouting (literally!) their offerings at us from afar even before we reached the shore, such an ugly scene... I feel sad for Penang.
The one week travelling (with endless driving) was really exhausting. Perhaps it was the heat wave that made it worse (or is age catching up???). I still feel tired till this very day hence the late update. I didn’t feel like writing when I am tired although I have a lot to tell.
I wonder 10 years down the road, would we still enjoy travelling as much as we did 10 years ago? Would we still have the energy say to take the rides at a theme park? Or would we prefer a more relaxing holiday instead? I hope and pray that I will still have the energy to cope with my kids when the time comes…
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