R & R in Pangkor

 During the midterm school holidays we went on a much needed vacation to the beautiful island of Pangkor. We have fond memories of the last time we were there 7 years ago with our kids.

This time we travelled with some church friends, a newly married young couple . We decided to be a little more adventurous and took the trunk road instead of the highway, stopping every now and then to indulge in the favourite Malaysian pastime ~ eating.

We set out at 9am, and our first stop was Kedai Kopi Shin Lok in Jeram which is famous for it's fresh pau and yam puff (woo kok).

This is so unbelievably yummy even though
I'm not a fan of yam

Then we travelled up to Teluk Intan for Rojak Ah Chai which is located near the wet market. 

Despite all the good reviews on the internet
we found it so-so.

Finally made it to the Lumut jetty at around 2pm, parked, bought tickets and had a quick lunch of KFC before boarding the hotel ferry at 3.45pm. 

We all know sand-art. Heard of fly-art?
It's just sticky fly paper stuck to the wall
of the ferry...with lots of flies stuck to it!

Stayed at the Pangkor Island Beach Resort, formerly known as Pan Pacific. It's pretty much like a back-to-nature kind of place surrounded by lush forest with close up views of peacocks and monitor lizards that walk about the resort grounds, hornbills that fly about from tree to tree and monkeys that hang around the balconies on the lookout for food left out in the open.

Peacock that made itself very at home
on our balcony railing, hence the close-up shot

Monkey stealing snacks from the room next door
because they forgot to lock their balcony door!

Tiger toy placed on roof to scare away the monkeys,
not sure whether it's effective or not.

We took to the beach on the morning of day 2. The weather was absolutely perfect, slightly cloudy with just the right amount of sun so that we didn't get toasted. CoolTeen and SweetTeen went kayakking and saw some very large jellyfish through the crystal clear waters.

In the afternoon we did some archery where I found out that I have very poor aiming skills (fortunately I didn't accidentally shoot a peacock or monkey!). The wind was rather strong, so hubby and our friend had a fun time flying kites that we had brought along.

Our kite soaring high in the sky :)

We went to Pangkor town for dinner, at a restaurant recommended by a friend whose husband's hometown is in Pangkor itself. Taxi to anywhere in town is a standard rate of RM6 per person. 

Dinner here on day 1

Dinner here on day 2. Food was good

I must say that I looked forward to the daily hotel breakfast buffet, which had such a large variety of food, both Eastern and Western. 

The morning we spent some time taking photos on the beach before checking out at 12noon. 

Lovely rainbow in the sky after a slight drizzle

Headed to Sitiawan for lunch at a famous restaurant, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone because of the poor level of hygiene observed.

Then it was off to visit Kellie's Castle, an unfinished castle near Batu Gajah. Entrance fee is RM5. CoolTeen was hoping to spot some paranormal activity but everything seemed calm and peaceful.

Reached KL around 7pm and had claypot chicken rice for dinner at Heun Kee. We had to queue but it was worth the wait as my family loves claypot chicken rice and this is one of the best in the city.

It was a relaxing and unhurried vacation, truly what we needed to recharge our batteries before going back to our very busy daily routine.

Kicking Back In Kuantan

Had a 3 day-2 night break in Kuantan during the Christmas week. With the monsoon season in full swing and pictures of floods in the news we were at first a bit hesitant about going, but we had already made bookings for the accommodation and decided to just go ahead. After all, God had been kind in blessing us with good weather up in  Penang a few weeks before, so we trusted that He would be more than able to grant us good weather for this trip as well.

And so He did.

Kuantan town was flooded the day before we arrived but throughout the 3 days we had good weather except for some slight drizzle. Then the rains started again as we were leaving Kuantan town to head back to KL. God is good :)

Puddles everywhere when we arrived.

Bright sunshine and dry ground the next day :)

As is our current trend during family vacations, we went scouting out the shopping malls. The Berjaya Megamall was a bit disappointing. It used to be bustling with activity the last time we went about 2 years ago, but now many of the shoplots are unoccupied. The East Coast Mall is a whole lot better and we managed to get some really good bargains at the Brands Outlet shop. My daughter, SweetTeen, was thrilled to get her hands on her favourite RotiBoy buns as well.

On the first night we had dinner at Pak Su Seafood Restaurant which we had  visited a few times before on previous trips. The restaurant used to be very crowded but this time there were only a few tables of customers. The bill came up to around RM200 for the 7 of us (we usually travel with my parents-in-law and hubby's sis). On the second night we decided to try this restaurant that we had noticed while we were having breakfast, the Alor Akar Seafood Restaurant. This place was very crowded, the food was good and most of all the price was so unbelievable at around RM90...and it was the same number of dishes as the night before!

Steamed fish in sweet and spicy sauce.

Large and juicy 'lala' stir-fried with ginger.

We visited our favourite park at Taman Gelora and walked along the beach at Teluk Chempedak. I posted some pictures in Facebook and my sis-in-law commented that she didn't know Kuantan was so beautiful...it looked like we were in Australia or somewhere overseas!

Gelora Park

Teluk Chempedak beach

One thing I always remember about Kuantan is the incredibly large road signs which I wish we could have in KL as well. I can even read them from afar without putting on my glasses...well almost, since I'm very short-sighted!

See how the road sign is almost as long
as a MYvi?

Eat, Eat, Eat In Penang

Took a trip to Penang with my family and parents-in-law plus sis-in-law. It's been ages since we last went there. When my kids were little, they would always look forward to playing on the beach and splashing around in the sea. Now that they have become teenagers, the beach has lost out to the shopping malls.

So this trip was a little different, with us spending a lot of time shopping and looking for good food.

On the way to Penang, we stopped by Ipoh for lunch at Lou Wong, which is famous for its chicken dish.

Now you see it...

and now you don't!

Reached Penang close to 3pm but our hotel rooms weren't ready yet, so we went in search of the famous Penang cendol. 

Now there's a proper dine-in restaurant at Komtar Walk
although the original stall is still at Lebuh Keng Kwee
off Penang Road

We stayed at the Hotel Sentral Georgetown, a small but cosy and clean place, which was within walking distance of the Komtar building, 2 shopping malls and a lot of places with good food. It's quite amazing what we can find by just travelling around on foot instead of using the car. We were walking past this restaurant when the smell of bak kut teh enticed us. 

Yi Xiang Bak Kut Teh at Macalister Road

Everything is served in dainty little bowls
instead of in a large claypot like what we
have in KL

The next morning we discovered this coffee shop full of customers, which sells fish head beehoon. What we have in KL is fish head beehoon in soup, but this Penang version looks like a plate of fried noodles with delicious chunks of deep fried fish served with a special dipping sauce. 

@ Lorong Baru

Thumbs up for this!

Did some shopping at Prangin Mall, which reminds us of Sungei Wang Plaza back in KL - lots of shops selling shoes and clothes. My son, CoolTeen, managed to get some very nice T-shirts and Bermuda shorts. 

Took a stroll along the beach in the evening

The coffee shops at the Pulau Tikus market has some really cheap and yummy food.

Nyonya kuih at 50 to 60sen a piece.

Couldn't resist the duck noodles...only RM4 a bowl.

Eating at Gurney Drive is a little pricier but
great ambience makes up for it. Haven't had
cockles in a long while...love the sauce that goes with it!

Lovely view of the sunset :)

With each of us having at least one electronic gadget,
this is what happens every night.

 Spent 4 days 3 nights in Penang. Detoured off to Taiping on the way home. My sis-in-law found this little restaurant on the internet, listed as one of the top restaurants to visit up north. The food was good and very cheap!

Restaurant Yut Sun @ Jalan Pasar, Taiping -
Hainanese oriental and western delights

Something unique - Roti Sayur, a thick piece of
Hainanese bread smothered with sauteed vegetables
and topped with a sunny side up egg. Yum!

Chicken chop

We've never eaten so much on a trip before and I think I gained a kilogram or two despite all the walking we did. Will we do this again? Definitely!