The shortest holiday ever!

Jan 27 2013

The family was all excited as we had signed up for the Gold Coast Morib Resort under Groupon.

The holiday was a bargain as it was almost 50% off the rack price and we did not have to pay any surcharge too. So after packing, having a good breakfast at One Nite in Pandan Indah (they serve the best charcoal bread & a so-so cup of teh sie) and arguing about who gets to play what CD in the car (the rule is whoever drives get to play his or her choice of CD or DVD)...we were off to an exciting holiday or so we thought!

We made use of the GPS and road signs and finally found our way to Morib. We started the journey at 12 pm and traveled to Ijok, Banting, Jenjarom and other smaller towns along the way. When we finally reached the hotel a good 2 hours later, we found to our amazement and surprise that they could not find our reservation!

I had called the hotel to confirm our booking and even asked them if we could late check-in. Yet they could not find our booking! Suddenly one bright young receptionist checked for us and realized that our check in date was supposed to be one day later i.e. Jan 28 - not Jan 27!

How embarrassing! I pleaded for a room and there was none. As it was a Sunday, all rooms were fully booked!

I felt so shameful and had to apologize to the children and Tim. How could I have made such a mistake. Blame it on the hormones! Blame it on menopause!

This was in Tim's words "the shortest holiday ever". The consolation was we found a Pasar Segar (fresh market in a warehouse-like building) that sells foodstuff normally used for steamboat. Unusual cuttlefish balls. tri-colored tau foo, star-shaped fish cakes, crab sticks, fish rolls, premium tim sum, udon noodles, watermelons, papayas...all at reasonable prices!

Well..thank goodness it wasn't the day after. If we had turned up one day late, the Groupon voucher would have to be forfeited!

Crabs @ Mughle Azam

8 crabs on beds of egg plant & chilli sauce

Crabs imported from Goa. Cooked only when orders are placed. They are small with thin shells. Very little meat though.....

Naan unlimited.. We had 4 plates of naan.

Amazing backdrop of KLCC taken from restaurant

More shots....

A Melayu in law

My sis called me the other day and asked me if I could attend her step-daughter's wedding.

It wasn't the short notice that shocked me but rather the news that her step-daughter was marrying a Melayu!

My youngest daughter told me at the wedding "I have a British cousin now and I have a Melayu cousin-in-law!" My third sister married a British and had a cute British daughter who lives in England.

Of course I said yes seeing that she was my eldest sister and I rarely visited her (perhaps once a year during CNY). There was a need to keep in touch with news of the family. Also I needed to be there to show my support as most of my family members were in Penang.

In fact, big sis herself married another race - a Punjabi! So my family line is becoming rather 1 Malaysia!

The Punjabi brother-in-law of mine was a divorcee and his first wife was a Chinese. The daughter (my step-niece) looked very much Punjabi (like the father) with very little resemblance to the mum. Perhaps the only feature she inherited was her fair skin. Yes, I met the mum. Typically Chinese looking lady...like me lah!

Being involved in a sea-sports business in Penang with this Melayu guy, they fell in love and decided to tie the knot. Now she is a Muslim and had acquired a Malay name. Apparently they had fought like Tom & Jerry, cats & dogs initially...well.....opposites attract!

The wedding dinner was held in a 5 star restaurant in Shah Alam. It was a buffet dinner with chicken curry (my son's favorite dish) sotong with onions (my favorite dish), dhall & potatoes, mutton dish, pasembur (Penang dish), salads and all kinds of desserts. Although the selection was rather limited it was really the thought that counts.

And yes...I was surprised to see the Melayu couple pouring champagne on the stacked up champagne glasses just like in a Chinese wedding! I have attended Malay weddings but rarely one held in a hotel and in a Chinese restaurant too.

I was also surprised to see a Malay lady wearing a cheong sam!

Crabs @ Mughle Azam

5 of us went for the Groupon deal of Goan crabs at a restaurant called Mughle Azam. Half price off crabs from Goa. Yes, apparently they flew them in from Goa and cooked them fresh upon our orders. No dead crabs please. Live crabs were killed when we ordered them!

Ya...small little crabs slathered in tomato chilli egg plant sauce sitting on big plates were served to us at Mughle Azam as part of the Groupon deal I had purchased.

It was advertised at half price off the rack price. The normal price? RM84. The offer price? RM36 for 2 crabs. The crabs:

• small
• crunchy
• very little meat

The redeeming feature was the lovely chilli and tomato sauce with egg plants on which the little crabs reside. The sauce was lovely. We soaked up the sauce with triangular pieces of naan in respect of which we were allowed unlimited helpings.

As Samuel said "I am full because of the naan". We must have finished 4 big plates of naan between the 5 of us!

Then the ice lemon tea was something else! Unlimited and bottomless they came! We must have finished 10 glasses between us.

The manager was half Italian and Iranian and really friendly. He even allowed us to sample taste the Mughal buffet which was also a Groupon deal although I did not purchase it!

The buffet had servings of egg plants - cooked friend, steamed, crunchy, slathered in sauce, cream cheese.

This restaurant is right smacked in the middle of the town and commands a fantastic view of KLCC!

Sound of snow by Adeline Lew

The Sound of Snow

The sound of snow

Is the sound of silence,

The sound of cars passing in the street,

The steady hum of a heavy laptop,

The growing absence of heat.

 

Snow falls

Like bruised petals of a frangipani

Broken pieces of a cloud that existed

Somewhere in Siberia

Rushed here by a Swedish wind.

 

To lie unblemished near this English bay,

Such a white expanse of diaphanous space.

Tomorrow the Guardian will report a number of accidents,

And the Daily Mail will curse the ‘ineptitude of the Government and the Met’

But for now, there is only the snow,

Small illusions of happiness

Scattered on the ground below.

 

 

 

 

 

Water failure

I can't remember when was the last time there was a water failure at the condo.

So you can imagine my surprise when Tim text me to shower in the office before coming home. Thank God for the gym in my office that came equipped with decent shower facilities. I was able to wash my hair and take my bath before coming home.

Water disruption causes great inconvenience:

• the toilets won't flush
• the clothes can't be washed
• drinking water has to be rationed
• plates can't be washed (water disruption is bad for recycling as we had to use styrofoam)
• trips have to be made to the Bomba to get water (yes, dire situation calls for dire action and the residents of my condo have resorted to taking water from the Bomba downstairs - what to do. The Bomba downstairs consist of a big coil of black hose encased in a red box. It is meant to be used in the event of a fire. I am praying very hard that there won't be a fire in the next few days before the water is restored)
• trips have to be made to the pool to take water (I just took some water from the swimming pool to flush the toilets. I had no choice even though there was a warning that chlorine had just been added. Eh....wonder why my skin is feeling itchy and irritated all of a sudden....)

I called Syabas the water authority and they said that they were repairing the pumps. Looking at their website I realized that it will take another 5 days for the water pressure to be fully restored. In the meantime, it looks like I will have to pack my clothes, toothbrush and toothpaste to my office this morning for my morning shower.

Its 2 am and I can't sleep especially after doing exercise walking up and down the staircase taking water in my small pails from the Bomba. 

Amanda is having her exams so I am keeping her company. Samuel is busy with his hamsters and his wrestling show.....Yawn.....