Lucky Garden, Yong Peng (永平) - Garden of Fishes

Location: Yong Peng, Johor, Malaysia

If one was a frequent traveler going back and forth from Singapore to Malaysia, it would not be hard to notice that there is no major town between Johor's northern town of Muar and the suburbs of Johor Bahru.

Vehicles of all sorts lined the area, patiently awaiting the tired drivers and bored passengers before continuing forth to their various destinations.

Hock Soon Temple (福顺宫) Part 4 - Beyond the Temple

Location: Teluk Intan, Perak, Malaysia

What lies beyond the temple proper of Hock Soon Temple? An impressive expanse of nature that is the riverbanks of Perak River. My tour guide who lived here for the early half of her life commented sadly that the riverbanks had been eroding constantly since her time. What was once a large distance between the river and the temple, is now closing in fast. Within the next few decades the erosion will come dangerously close to the temple, and the future of the temple will be uncertain.

This expanse of wilderness was much larger than it is now. If the reader were to zoom out on Google Map, this particular location lies on a bend of the Perak River, in which erosion happens quite readily. The river could be seen in this photo just beyond the patch of greenery.

Hock Soon Temple (福顺宫) Part 3 - Of Gods and Ancestors

Location: Teluk Intan, Perak, Malaysia

Truth is, these items drawn my attention the most when I saw them in Hock Soon Temple: a few props more suited to Chinese medieval courts than a temple. Still, it was quite a memorable sight to see a few stylized weapons standing along with some announcement boards which were employed in those courts to warn the crowd that court is in order.

Does these not remind you of all those Chinese or Hong Kong movies featuring medieval courts?

Malaysia Food Blog - International Buffet Dinner @ Café Laurel, Evergreen Laurel Hotel Part 2

Location: Gurney Drive, Georgetown, Penang Isle

Truth is, I was slightly disappointed with the food there. Not to say that the food was not nice, but the selection of food could do with some improvement. Since this was supposed to be an international buffet, with Italian as a the main choice of theme, the choices were the usual you would expect from any locally planned 'international buffet'.

A dish of yummies, all deep fried to golden crispiness! Maybe I should take back my word on nothing special here... deep fried vegetables were indeed different (it was labeled as 'tempura vegetable').

And what were these...?

Malaysia Food Blog - International Buffet Dinner @ Café Laurel, Evergreen Laurel Hotel Part 1

Location: Gurney Drive, Georgetown, Penang Isle

When I was in Evergreen Laurel Hotel a few months ago (read here for my previous article), I noticed the nicely decorated Café Laurel, but never paid it any thoughts. Now after a few months later, I got my paws on some discounted vouchers and here I am, visiting the hotel in Gurney Drive for a second time.

A dazzling central area of the café where a variety of seafood awaits.

Hock Soon Temple (福顺宫) Part 2 - Incense Filled Hall

Location: Teluk Intan, Perak, Malaysia

According to various online sources, the temple's origin is unknown, but what is known is that it was the gathering place for local Hokkiens during the colonial era. Three Hokkiens, usually businessmen and famous men, would be selected by the locals to act as judge to settle fights and problems.

Coils of burning incense praying for the welfare of the mass.

Hock Soon Temple (福顺宫) Part 1 - The Century Old Temple

Location: Teluk Intan, Perak, Malaysia

I never would have thought of visiting anything else apart from the Leaning Tower when I was in the idyllic little town that is Teluk Intan. As fate had it, I was accompanied by those who grew up there and was introduced to this place of worship which had stood for more than a century.

福顺宫

Mandarin:  fú shùn gōng

Hokkien:    Hock Soon Keong

The main entrance welcomes all to the embrace of the temple proper.

Singapore Food Blog - Sticky - Traditional Handmade Candy

Location: Clarke Quay, Central Business District (CBD), Singapore.

During my recent trip to Singapore, I chanced upon this shop located in The Central, Clarke Quay. It is quite unusual for a shop selling candies to be in the limelight, but the fact that my friend brought me here and a bunch of people crowding the place intrigued me.

You are right - Sticky is a shop selling candies and lollipops in The Central, with another branch located in Cineleisure Orchard. What makes this business so special is not just the candies themselves, but what's within it.

Malaysia Food Blog - Tuck Kee Restaurant @ Yau Tet Shin Street

Location: Yau Tet Shin Street, Ipoh

If you have read my previous article on Mix Fruit Ice and crave for more of Ipoh's more locally available food, then here's another one located just nearby the area. The shop's name may or may not be familiar with most people since there are 2 'Tuck Kee' along the same row of shops... heck, they are practically sister shops next to each other, except for the fact that there is another shop in between the competing business.

The shop is nothing to scream about, except for the fact that it has been in operation for a very long while, which lent credit to how popular it is. Another sister shop named 'Sun Tuck Kee' (that's new Tuck Kee for you non-Cantonese speakers) provides similar choices of dish.

Strait's Quay Marina Mall - The Night before Mid-Autumn

Location: Tanjung Tokong, Penang isle, Malaysia

Mid-Autumn Festival had come and go under a cool and windy full moon. There were a few notable differences between this year's Mid-Autumn compared to the rest of those in my memories. For one it was usually hot during this time of the year yet it had been raining for the past few days, although that failed to spoil kids' mood for carrying their brightly lit colorful lantern around. I also recalled that the moon being large and orange like a salted egg's yolk, low above the horizon but the moon last night was slightly hazed over by our polluted air and hanging small over my head.

Since my last article on Strait's Quay, I had yet to walk those corridors of that pristine white building. After a working Saturday and not sure what to do to kill time on a Sunday night, I steered myself unknowingly to this faraway place (it really is far from my rented house) to experience first hand how this establishment celebrate the traditional Chinese festival within a Western architecture.

The canopy sidewalk of Marina Mall was cleared of stalls that night, with only glittering lamps in my company.

Malaysia Food Blog - MichelangelO's Pizzeria - Home of Authentic American Woodfired Pizza

Location: Ipoh Garden East, Ipoh, Perak.

Pizza - I know I will go for Pizza Hut when I am in Ipoh, but knowing a Michelangelo's Pizzeria in Ipoh is quite a surprise to me, more so that it is operated by a Westerner. Still, much thanks to my friends for introducing me to this superb establishment which offered me an alternative to the famous neighborhood pizza franchise, which started to bore me anyway.

Welcome to MichelangelO's Pizzeria! Even without the effects I overlaid  on the photo, the sign does look faded, so you will have to keep an eye open for the shop.

I remember that when we arrived, the owner of the pizzeria was trying to joke with us. Well, I was not quite sure it was a joke then, until he grinned widely at us and ushered us in. That was quite a change of way in greeting customers from the well accustomed Malaysian style. Still, I presume that there may be some who may be confused by his joke, so just be patient and enjoy the moment with him.

By the way, did I also mentioned that if you are asking for a table for multiple persons, you will need to have everyone present before he lets you all in? So no more booking a few tables when only 2 persons are there. Hmm...

The establishment that is Michelangelo's Pizzeria was featured in the papers before, as was evidence in the framed articles outside the pizzeria, the pride of the establishment. 

Malaysia Food Blog - Mix Fruit Ice (杂果雪) @ Ipoh's Dessert Street (Tong Sui Kai 糖水街)

Location: Ipoh, Perak.

You may have seen shaved ice (刨冰) elsewhere, but where else could you find one with so much fruity goodness, topped with a scoop of ice-cream to ward off the hot Malaysian sun?

Going back to Ipoh to spend my holidays does lead me a walk down memory lane. I recall my schooling days, when I used to spend my time with my friends from the Red Crescent Society to have a refreshing cup of drink or a bowl of shaved ice right after an afternoon march under the hot blistering sun. It was a blessing from Heaven to dip into the coolness under the shades of the stalls.

I haven't been back there after my adventuring days with the club ended and I pursued my career and life elsewhere from Ipoh, and I never thought I will miss it so much until I revisited the stalls during these festive holidays. I got to know that the usual stall we visited is no more, but the familiar bowl of shaved ice is still sold by the stalls along the street locally known for its dessert - Dessert Street a.k.a. Tong Sui Kai (Cantonese for 糖水街, Mandarin: táng shuǐ jiē).

Trey Ratcliff's Stuck in Custom

It isn't kidding that this guy is marvelous. A look at a few of his photos and they make me want to cry out in awe. Of course, my gear is nowhere near that of his, but that does not mean that I would not like to take such beautiful shots of memorable places. His website is a paradise for travel photographers.

What I am talking about is Trey Ratcliff, and I stumbled across his photographs in Picasa. His website of travel photography has a full array of his photos from across the world, so do visit his website here: Stuck in Custom.

Malaysia Food Blog - Taipei 101 (台北101)

Location: Bayan Lepas, Penang Isle

No, this is not about that tall building in Taiwan. This is about a shop situated right opposite of Queensbay Mall, with its yellow sign gleaming through day and night. Indeed, the same establishment was originally called Mommy Wang (王妈妈), and after they started operating for a while they switched to this name which you can see across the street from Queensbay Mall's entrance.

Most of the joints near or in Queensbay Mall are not exactly for one with is not on a splurge. If you are one of those with a limited budget, and still would like to get a decent meal that is different from your usual ones, then I would definitely suggest Taipei 101.

Malaysia Food Blog - Madam Soon - A New Concept of the Spring

Location: E-Gate, Penang Isle

My old friends from my university years planned for a reunion in E-Gate, but we were not really sure where to head to. We saw Madam Soon right beside Old Town Cafe, and just out of curiosity, we went right in into a world of turquoise and amber.

Although the joint is called Madam Soon, the nice sprawling on the blackboard still tells otherwise.

Straits Quay Marina Mall - A Mid-Autumn Festival

Location: Tanjung Tokong, Penang isle, Malaysia

There may be more than a month before Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节) comes knocking on our door, but somehow the festive mood is warming up earlier than recent years. Stalls are set, decos are set, and everyone is looking at mooncakes everywhere.

A lantern above and a hut below promotes the harmony of the Malaysian races.

Side Bar and List of Blogs

There is major renovation going on in Drafts from My Coffee Table! The blog now features 2 columns of side bar, allowing easier access to more information without the need to scroll down past more than a few turns of the mouse wheel.

2 is better than 1!

In my surf across the web, I came across some interesting blogs on food which I find worthy of sharing with my readers, and here is where I placed them. I have just added a new one: The Princess Diaries - Cheryl's Travels. Do visit them if you are interested. Please do visit and support my other blog, A Book Under the Sun, as well! ^^

Do check out the list of blogs and their updates !

Malaysia Food Blog - Evergreen Laurel Hotel - A Wedding Dinner

Location: Gurney Drive, Georgetown, Penang Isle

Among the numerous hotels along Gurney Drive, Evergreen Laurel Hotel is not one of those which I identified immediately. With Gurney Plaza situated at one end and the hotel situated near the far end of the opposite side, I guess I do not have a chance to get to know it, unlike G-Hotel which I could walk through when I visited Gurney Plaza. I guess my ex-colleague's wedding dinner gave me ample reason to get up close with this hotel situated in the prestigious Gurney Drive.

Red for WEDDING! Congratulations to my friend Poh and his lovely bride for their big day!

Mysterious Photo - July 2011

So here's another photo taken in Penang isle, a restaurant themed for a certain western food. This restaurant is a franchise but not a fast food restaurant. Guess where it is... ^^

As usual, answer to be revealed at the end of the month...

Malaysia Food Blog - Tsurukame Shabu-shabu (鶴亀しゃぶしゃぶ)

Location: Bayan Lepas, Penang Isle

I noticed this shop located on the 3rd floor of Queensbay Mall but seldom pay any heed to it. I was slightly aware that this was a Japanese restaurant, but that was the extent of my knowledge of this place, until I paid it a visit during my girlfriend's birthday. We were thinking of trying something different for her birthday and Tsurukame came to my mind, since we never tried Japanese shabu-shabu before, and so there we went.

Tsurukame Shabu-shabu (鶴亀しゃぶしゃぶ) actually reminds me of Tsuruya Japanese Restaurant (鶴屋日本料理), another Japanese restaurant located in I-Avenue; I actually half expected the same thing when I entered. What Tsurukame offered was a buffet style shabu-shabu, not unlike the buffet style hot pot (火锅) in Chinese restaurants which bloomed recently.

Malaysia Food Blog - Tanjung Bungah Beach Hotel - A Wedding Dinner

Location: Tanjung Bungah, Penang Isle

I may have attended a few wedding ceremonies, but getting invited to one in a beach hotel is a first for me. When I was invited to the wedding ceremony of my German language coursemate, I got my first ever chance to write a piece on the experience of dining in a seaside hotel, more so in an event of holy matrimony. 

The hotel in itself is breathtaking, and a sparse lobby greets its customers. Going past the lobby is the hotel's beach, and since I arrived with my other coursemates in the evening around 7p.m., we were presented with a magnificent sunset view over the beach.

Since we were early, I took a walk around the hotel's lobby area to kill time. The view over the beach was breathtaking, more so with the sun setting. The long stretch of beach was dotted with visitors and guests, all contributing to the lovely view. I especially loved the veranda that stood looking over the beach and across the sea, with benches provided for guests to marvel at the sunset over the beach; this painted an unforgetable picture of a romantic moment I once saw on TV.

Lovely sunset view over the beach behind Tanjung Bungah Beach Resort

Mysterious Photo - June 2011

I had this idea when I started aiming my camera everywhere, capturing moments for me to experience later. There were times when I saw a particular photo later and forgot where it was from. So I thought of posting some photos of usual dining spots in Malaysia and see whether everyone could guess where it was from.

This first photo is taken in Penang isle. Make a guess on the place's name... ^^

Answer to be revealed at the end of the month...

Malaysia Food Blog - Sugar Dynasty (糖朝)

Greetings from Sugar Dynasty

Location: Georgetown, Penang Isle

When I started off working in Penang, my colleagues and I used to organise a "makan-makan" trip to sample food from different corners of the isle. I was new then and had no inkling of where what was, but I do recall vividly this shop. When I tried to work my way around the twisting roads of Georgetown (pardon this fellow who has trouble around Georgetown even after 3 years), I finally managed to revisit this small shop located in one of the locations listed under World Heritage Site - Nagore Road.

The name Sugar Dynasty is actually a homophone in Mandarin. The name in Mandarin, 糖朝 (táng cháo) is a homophone of Tang Dynasty, 唐朝 (táng cháo), and truly, the shop is a haven for lovers of the Chinese style dessert. Sugar Dynasty greets its customer with a menu filled with 4 pages worth of dessert of your choice, and most of them are less than RM5.00 per bowl. Some of the choices cater for those with exquisite taste, with expensive traditional Chinese herbs like swallow's nest (燕窝) used as the ingredient, and costs more than RM30.00 per bowl. 

Contaminated Food Products from Taiwan

With the recent news on the ban of Taiwanese food due to the involvement of an illegal element, I have tried to look for more information on this. I find it surprising that the coverage was quite limited in local news. Some online search shows more scattered coverage around the world, with most concentrated around Taiwan itself.

Taipei Times:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2011/05/29/2003504450
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2011/06/05/2003504998

Focus Taiwan News Channel:
http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?ID=201106040009&Type=aTOD

News Straits Times:
http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Taiwanfoodcheck/Mobile/article_html

Self-made Flavored Coffee

My personal cup of Hazelnut coffee,
with strawberry UHT milk added to
grant a strawberry flavor.

Ever went to your neighborhood café to fancy yourself a sip of smooth flavored latte, took one look at the price, and wished that you could whip one back home without leaving the comfort of your room and spending RMs just to satisfy your desire for flavored caffeine? Well, why don't you do so?

Flavored coffee usually get its flavor either from the roasted beans treated with chemical flavorings or from syrup added into the cup; find out more from About.com. Die-hard coffee drinkers may not find this notion acceptable, with the additional flavor "contaminating" the smell and taste of a bitter cup. Well, I am not really a faithful drinker and I find that strong taste a little unpleasant, so I prefer my cup to be blessed with some sweetness and flavor. I have tried some flavored coffee from different cafés, and sad to say that not all are up to my expectation, including those from the famous ones (your favorite neighborhood 'S' and 'C', pick one).

Malaysia Food Blog - Hidden Recipe café

Location: Sungai Dua, Penang Isle

A shop which unabashedly copy the famous brand of Secret Recipe? That was my first thought, but a visit to the shop shows that it is anything but. Although it shares a word in its name with your favorite neighborhood confectionery shop, a taste of its food does give credit to its namesake.

The shop has a tropical outlook, and the interior is lined with wallpapers of bricks with photos of happy visiting diners decorating a portion of a wall. Glow of yellow light beckons lovers to spend a romantic dinner or the occasional passer-by to spend a relaxing night, although the interior is a little packed from the cramped arrangement of tables and chairs. Since it is strategically located just a few blocks from USM and with its offer of 10% discount off of set dishes for students of USM and INTI college who can show his student pass, you can expect this spot to be frequented by students.



Welcome to Hidden Recipe! Greetings from a tropical outlook and well-lit interior...

Malaysia Food Blog - Fatty Loh Chicken Rice shop

Location: Georgetown, Penang Isle

When I first heard of the comical name Fatty Loh (大肥罗), it was because my colleagues said that it is one of the must-visit shops for chicken rice enthusiasts. His name resounds throughout my colleagues, and by chance I managed to visit the shop in a sunny afternoon when I drove past the street. And what do you know, if you read its logo carefully, it does say "Penang's Most Famous Chicken Rice".

Chicken rice may not be any extraordinary dish for Malaysians, but it is not easy to find a decent one anywhere. With stalls sprouting anywhere a shop is located like mushrooms after the rain, the dish is enough to satisfy one's belly but not one's taste buds. For this shop, they serve enough to satisfy both.