Sleeping under the moonlight directly shining on my bed right now. Feels tired but not sleepy but I gotta force myself to sleep. Gonna wake up early tomorrow for an event at Batu Gajah.
It's been a hectic weekend for the last few days. 3rd aunt passed away on Friday. It's just so sudden that non of us were prepared for it. Even the doctors said she can be discharged on Saturday. Life is so fragile.
Someone's loss might some other people's gain. It's like a family reunion today where everyone sat down chat and eat together. The feeling was great. I guess only occasions like these will get us all together, even during Chinese New Year we seldom get together coz everyone lived far apart.
The greatest highlight of the day was that my aunt (dunno what number) and my youngest uncle finally in talking terms since like 20yrs ago. Dunno their history and don't intend to know.
According to mom, grandma got a total of 16 children. Dad was the oldest. Very productive of grandpa and grandma...
It was a very tense funeral this morning. Tears are flowing freely. My emotions were steady though. Weird eh? I too didn't shed a tear when dad passed away, maybe I was expecting it.
Anyway may my aunt rest in peace and dad has a new mahjong kaki up there.
Up and Up Restaurant at Jalan Yang Kalsom... This restaurant has been here for ages, it was one of the so called "expensive" place to eat back then. I remember dad use to "tah pao" the curry fishhead for us in a Milo tin. Back in those days, they don't have plastic big enough to accommodate the while fish head.
Woke up early this morning and prepare myself to "meet" dad after 4yrs. Went for breakfast at Salam with family before heading to Tambun where the medium is.
We reached Tambun at around 8:30am but the medium has yet to arrive. Called up the person in charge and says 9am. So then we got back into our car and drove around back to where we used to lived.. Taman Cempaka. Many flashback of old memories there especially the thoughts of dad.
Went back to Tambun, waited for awhile till the caretaker came. Gave him dad's details. 10mins passed and the medium came, a plump lady dressed modernly. We waited for her to prepare herself where she changed into an all white robe. The atmosphere was tense as we dunno if she could "invite" dad after so long since the last time we communicated through the same medium 100days after dad passed.
She started with the basic burning of incense and chanting while spreading some rice onto the porch. Chanting intensifies and she got into a trance. A pleasant speaking "took over" and greeted us. Then came 2 children running in and called her "god mother". After asking some details from us, which we never gave her was the "address" of dad's resting place in Paradise Memorial. She got the address right. Weird...
Well then after the medium chatted with some guardians which we can't see... Dad "came"!! 2nd sis started crying. I guess dad is very happy to see us. He knows who were there at that moment, he can tell who is who but maybe he is forbidden to say out our names. "here is my wife, my son, my 2 daughters, my half-son(my bro in-law" and my grandson".
A series of questions were asked just to prove the authenticity or if the right person was "invited". Mom's first concern was dad's health, the first time we communicated with him, he was very weak and can't walk. Surprising dad says he is fully recovered! Great news to all. He says the "doctor and nurse" we "burnt" for him helps him heal a lot since then. What a relief for mom. He even say sometimes he even walk to temple nearby to chat with friends and the "doctor" won't let him use the wheelchair we "burnt" for him. He continues to say that he can walk fine now. No more flam and cough like last time. Can even smoke timm... So then we passed a cigarette and a lighter in from of him. He picked it up and lit the cigarette. I say "this is HOT cigarette not MENTHOL" he says "Menthol smoked until die jorr in real life" -.-"
Everyone was eager to ask questions but dad wants to hold everyone.. He was holding mom's hand while chatting with us. Then he called for my nephew from US a.k.a his grandson. "wahh so big and tall now" and my nephew stood there numbed coz he doesn't understand Chinese. Then dad says... "dook guai shu" Chinese also dunno. Then say why never call Goong-Goong where my nephew obediently obliged.
So then we asked "have you seen other relatives around? How about grandpa and grandma?" Dad says he met them all. Grandpa and Grandma is very old now. And all those uncles are around. He even mentioned about our aunt (grandma's sister) who recently passed away. But say she is still in "inside" and not yet come out. [inside] is referred as the heavenly hospital where the sick had to stay until they are well enough to join the "community".
I asked dad "how's the environment that you are staying there right now? Is everything sufficient?" Dad replies, he has everything there. Big house, but lonely when having dinner at first coz the "maids" and the "servants" only stood there when he eats. He doesn't want that and asked everyone to join him at the table during meals. He says he has 8 people at the dining table with him. 4 servants, 1 doctor, 1 nurse, 1 driver and him. Then I asked "do you have Astro there?" He says got Wah Lai Toi and other channels too. Sometime watch till fall asleep which become the TV watch him and when he wake up, he'll continue watching again. Mom also asked "how is he getting along with the people there?" Dad says it's more or less the same as in our world but the people the are not realistic, uses little money as amnesties are provided by the temple. "people" there are friendly and they live in unity. He also stressed that he couldn't find any Indian barber to cut his hair as there are only Chinese in the "community" no Malays or Indians.
Dad says he never gets to drink "tea" during my eldest sister's wedding(married in USA) and elder sister's kenduri(married to Muslim) and also SAY waiting for my "sum pou cha" ok now I feel stressed and pressured jor.
Dad tells mom while holding her hand to go travel... Now that she don't have to take care of him, asked my mom to enjoy more. Say ask [me] yes me Michael Chan to eat outside when mom go travel.
Dad doesn't want anything else but would like some singlets and old fashioned Bermuda shorts( we call them his underwear) so he can wear it at "home". Anyway, that's what he usually wear when he is alive. He got lots of nice cloths and leather shoes there but say there's no party or wedding to attend to so not much of a use.
He also remind us to "burn" a 轿 a.k.a. A sedan chair where 4 people would lift up the carriage and walk. He says this is for his 80th birthday. A ceremony of wealth and good fengshui for his descendants which are us. It is so unselfish of dad. Love you so much dad. It is required said some of the folks in his "community". He was a skeptic when he was alive now he believes it is true that there is life after death. He say he believes when he saw us there chatting with him.
I also asked dad for numbers to buy he says.... He gave it to me last time. Maybe it's the time where I hit 2nd prize few years back. Or is it the number he gave me in my dream? I have no idea.
Sis asked if he has ever came to visit us. Yes he says but both of you are scared even mom too. But mom just told me, she would really love to see dad reveal himself to her one day/night. Sis continue to ask.. "in what form he came back" Dad says in form of a butterfly but he says when he leaves the butterfly will die, I have lived before and know what living means and doesn't want the butterfly to die so he won't come back if it's not necessary.
2nd sis also asked if do receive what we burn for him. Especially the old style fan specially made for him coz it was his favorite. He says he received everything and the fan too.. Green in colour and "square" ... Strangely the one that we burnt was round. He loves to wash that fan when he was still alive. That's one of his past time hobby.
Before long the time has come for him to go back to his world. He wants to hug everyone, we hugged and hold his hand for awhile. He started crying so do both my sisters. He tell us not to cry and take care of mom. I tried my very best not to cry as well and eventually I didn't but this first time u cried during the whole process. In a blink of an eye, the medium came back. It was all over.
I, we, us all miss you dad. My only wish is to come chat with you every year. Well I just seem to hold back my tears now. I miss you so much. Emotions just got the better of me. Till we meet again dad, wait for me there .... Bye
Moral of the day : Treasure what you have, for whatever had is gone, you might not get another chance or replacement
Friday 4:00pm
We had our haircut @ C-Wave in Bercham where BiBi is quite specific on how my hair should be cut. No problem from Joe as well :P
After the haircut which ONLY cost us RM14.00 for both of us, BiBi went to do her toenails @ Top Ten.
Friday 7:00pm
Initially we decided to have our dinner at 1919 Nyonya Restaurant as BiBi wanted to eat Green Curry but they are not selling that anymore. Then we went on to our next [on-the-list-of-planned-food-to-eat] that is the Chicken Maryland at New Weng Fatt but then we are too early as they only opens at 8pm. Nevermind that, so I suggested to eat hawker food at Menglembu Wai Sik Kai but the weather seems really unpromising, wanted to rain soon. Therefore we ended up in Jack Fah for some Nyonya Bo-Bo Cha-Cha and light snacks before going for our double dinner in Ipoh Old Town... Hor Hee! Famous for their fried beancurd skin.
红豆糕~我的至爱之一~但是还是妈妈做得比较好吃~
炒米粉上的辣椒很不错~糖水就还好~
普通中的普通~
只有豆腐皮和辣椒算好吃~
Saturday 8:00am
Woohoo! we really woke up early, Piggy wanted to eat the famous Ipoh Egg Tart, when I say famous I really do mean famous.... few trays would be sold off in a matter of minutes.
酥皮蛋挞！皮酥馅滑~难得吃到的好味道~
老板特别摆新一盘给我拍照~哈哈~
For our REAL breakfast, we went to Kheng Nam Coffee Shop in Greentown for our early fix of Curry Mee, Chee Cheong Fun and a plate of the famous Kaya Glutinous Rice oooooooo ... Heavy breakfast
现在就想吃啊！！！kaya糯米饭~淡咸的糯米饭配香味扑鼻的kaya~赞！！
Saturday 9:30am
Finally we went on our journey after a minor glitch where my car failed to start due some battery problems where I forgot to switch off the in-car lights for 2 days.... RM30.00 gone.
Saturday 11:30am
Touch down!! Ok the first thing we do is head over to Khoon Hiang Cafe for our lunch.... the very very very famous Char Kuey Teow.. Ah Leng Char Kuey Teow. Easy to find only .. using GPS!
As if 1 Char Kuey Teow is not enough .... we went on to Kheng Pin Cafe for another Char Kuey Teow but our primary target is the Lobak!
再次来这里吃lobak了。。
喜欢吃炸番薯。。
char kuey teaw完全是不行的。。。千万别吃~ Saturday 1:00pm
After all those [yit-hei] hot stuffs, its time for some real cooling refreshments. First stop is the Teow Chew Chendol Ice in Penang Road. We walked there just to exercise a bit ... and it took us about 15mins to walk there.
潮州cendol
依然是那么的好吃~百吃不厌。。
ABC还是回ipoh吃。。好吃很多。。
If that wasn't cooling enough, then Joez Coconut Jelly will sure do the job.... RM3.70 per coconut
没有惊喜
算是便宜。。不过不好吃便宜也没用。。。
Saturday 2:00pm
Check in to the hotel... Not a very good view but at least we can see the swimming pool from our room. Well, this is our Makan trip, so after chilling for awhile we decided to eat Laksa (not in our plan) at Air Itam Market
甜的！！比较喜欢偏酸辣的。。
它不会让我想念。。
We did find ourselves some great snacks there, especially the Fried Bun
Food hunting continues! This time is for our dinner... Drove to Lebuh Kimberley, a place famous for their hawker stalls. Parked our car at Jalan Kuala Kangsar and walked around Lebuh Kimberley, Lebuh Cintra, Lebuh Chulia and Jalan Pintal Tali...
BiBi has a craving for Muachi but we couldn't find that earlier. So we gonna do our last stop for the day at Pulau Tikus Night Market. I wanted to try the Sin Hwa Char Kuey Teow but it was closed on that day.
[BiBi post your pics here and comment a bit]
Sunday 8:00am
We got 2 complimentary Buffet Breakfast at the hotel, so we wanted to check it out... Disappointing anyway but the omelet was nice. Very little food to choose from.
[BiBi post your pics here and comment a bit]
Next up is our plan to eat Roti Babi in Pulau Tikus but we can't find it anywhere. So we adjourned to our next planned destination that is the DIMSUM! Zim Sum Restaurant is the name of the place ... self service dim sum...
[BiBi post your pics here and comment a bit]
Sunday 12:00pm
Check out from the hotel and the first thing we gonna do is head over to Lebuh Chulia for Duck Rice. Upon reaching Sky Cafe, the whole place was fully packed! Some even left after waiting for so long... there was a long queue at the stall. So then we decided to take-away instead of having our lunch there.
[BiBi post your pics here and comment a bit]
Since we can't eat there, we proceed to another famous Duck Rice, Star Cafe, no seats either but got a place to share with an old uncle. He even introduced us some nice food stalls in and around that area. Anyway the Duck Rice here wasn't that great but the roast pork has crispy skin.
[BiBi post your pics here and comment a bit]
Sunday 1:30pm
Next up is the Swatow Lane Ais Kacang @ New World Park. [FULL] carpark so we parked outside and walked some distance to the food court under the hot sun. The food court is quite packed too. After looking around for awhile we finally found what we are looking for ... The Ais Kacang stall. I ordered the all-in package while BiBi wanted the Red Bean package.
[BiBi post your pics here and comment a bit]
Next to where we sat, was a stall selling various snacks such as Chee Cheong Fun, Bachang, Otak-Otak, etc etc. BiBi ordered a plate of Yam Cake and Dumplings and then a piece of Pandan Leaf Otak-Otak.
[BiBi post your pics here and comment a bit]
Sunday 2:30pm
After all those food [BiBi refer those as Rubbish in our stomach] its time for some exercise, we are gonna climb the Kek Lok Si Pagoda!
[BiBi post your pics here and comment a bit]
Sunday 4:30pm
[BiBi post your pics here and comment a bit]
After much huffing and puffing, we are still damn FULL! Initially we planned to eat at TAO Sushi Buffet @ Auto City but we are still damn full! Then we even decided to eat seafood at Bukit Tambun but we are still damn full!! Then why not Jawi Laksa in Jawi? Thats a fair distance away ... but we are still that damn full!!!
Conclusion : We went to Tg. Tualang for our dinner @ Lung Seng recommended by David and its a treat by BiBi. Thank you so much muakxxx
Situated along the Sitiawan coastline nearby Kg. Koh. This is where I had my lunch with my family before sending them to Pangkor Island. When we first arrived, about 11:30am ... the place is totally empty, I thought it was closed. Then the boss came and greet us, introduce some their specialty to us. By the time we finished our meal, the place is already crowded.
The first dish to arrive at our table is the clam a.k.a. LaLa ..... Big in size and most of all its FRESH!!!
Next came the Garfish.... crispy to the bone!
After the Garfish, came the Buttermilk Prawns, though it doesn't look so buttery, but it sure taste better than the ones I had in many restaurants around Ipoh.
And last but not least, the STAR of the day is the Scallop priced at RM5.00 per piece.. too bad there's only 2 piece on that day and I "sapu" all!!
