Chasing Rocks and Boats at Turtle Estuary

       The little town of Kuala Penyu (which means Turtle Estuary in Malay) is 101.7km away from Kota Kinabalu and entails a drive of 1 hour 48 minutes. It is not popular among tourists, apart from those who are heading for Pulau Tiga or better known as Survivor Island. Kuala Penyu is the gateway to the island, which shot to fame after being the first ever "secret" location of the hit reality series.

Mud spa session in Pulau Tiga

Back in 2002, when I was teaching in Sabah, I organised a memorable trip to Pulau Tiga with my colleagues. I have hazy memories of the sleepy town of Kuala Penyu, from where we boarded the speedboat over to Pulau Tiga.
       

The turtle at the roundabout tells you that you have arrived! (Pic taken from Vicky's website)

        Kuala Penyu may be easily dismissed by tourists but it is the "secret" location of two sites that have been plundered by photographers. And it is the main draw for hubby's visit to Sabah. It certainly was not easy for us to locate the two sites.
        The first site, Batu Luang, was located with some help from Vicky, our hostess at Sawangan Beach Lodge.

It was situated on an isolated beach, about half an hour away, and involved driving on some gravel road. The high lone rock with a tuft of "hair" was indeed quite a sight to behold, but hubby was disappointed to find that the mossy beach rocks dancing around the high lone rock were nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, hubby was still able to capture the photos that he wanted. I was contented to sit in the car, enjoy the book in hand (Dr. Lee Su Kim's "Manek Mischiefs"), marvel at the vivid sunset and tried to imagine the characters in the folktale behind Batu Luang.

Follow this path down to the beach (a glimpse of Batu Luang can be seen).

Behold Batu Luang...the lone rock with the tuft of "hair"!

Batu Luang from another angle

Batu Luang at sunset

        Vicky had earlier enthralled me with the tragic story of Batu Luang, also known as Batu Punggul. A wedding entourage was making its way from the bride's house to the house of the bridegroom. Unfortunately, they were caught in a thunderstorm. So they sought shelter in one of the caves along the beach. When the storm abated, the group made their way out of the cave to continue on their journey. The bride was the last to leave the cave and as she was approaching the exit, suddenly, the cave collapsed. The bridegroom, who was holding on to her hand, tried his best to pull her out. But her hand slipped from his grip, leaving only her wedding ring in his palm. A celebration then turned into a tragedy when the bride was sealed in the cave for eternity.
        The second photography site in Kuala Penyu that hubby was scouting for was the boat graveyard. We tried asking about it and showing pictures to many locals, but no one seemed to know. Finally, we stumbled upon a boatman, who pointed us in the right direction. The sorry sight of dilapidated boats whiling away their last days of their lives in a hidden corner of Kuala Penyu may not be of interest to many. But it was a promising sight for a photographer. Hubby was blessed with another glorious sunset, and he succeeded in getting lovely shots of the forgotten boats.

A desolate sight of forgotten boats

Glorious sunset

        Our two-night stay at Kuala Penyu was fruitful and hubby loved it. Our accommodation at Sawangan Beach Lodge was cozy and comfortable. And I enjoyed my time with Vicky, who was often manning the little grocery shop in the compound and was always eager for a chat.

With Vicky at Sawangan Beach Lodge

Galloping Into Cowboy Village

        Teachers in Sam Tet, both primary and secondary, have been feted annually. In conjunction with the Teachers' Day celebration, the Parents & Teachers Association as well as the Board of Governors have always treated us to 8 to 10 course dinners. It is a heartfelt gesture to show appreciation to the hard work that we teachers put in all year round.
        This year, the Sam Tet Alumni collaborated with the two bodies to organise an even more memorable celebration --- the Founder's Day & Teachers' Day Dinner. And the theme for last night's dinner was Cowboy Night!
        Sam Tet was transformed into Cowboy Village for a night. Images of a typical street in a cowboy town, complete with straw bales and Wanted Person standees, had been put up, offering plenty of photo-taking opportunities. Guests arrived decked in their Wild Wild West attire and were proffered a cowboy hat each. We had tons of fun imagining ourselves as cowboys and cowgirls. 
        It was indeed a very enjoyable and entertaining evening, one that will be long remembered. Yee-haw!

Wanted for being sexy???

With Lee Yuen Keong, notorious for his "crimes" in school!

With a ferocious Red Indian

Trying (and failing miserably) to look like a cowgirl who means business!

Cowboys and cowgirls for a night

With Adeline Fong, the prettiest cowgirl ever!

Succumbing To Sinful Pleasures

      Taking advantage that tomorrow's a holiday for my school and hubby had a dinner appointment with his colleagues, I made a date with my partner in crime. We were enticed to succumb to a sinful meal at one of Ipoh's latest eateries...a restrobar with a name that conjures up scenes of immorality --- Opëam.
      Fans of Patisserie Boutique in Old Town will be lured to Opëam because they are both owned by Nicole Gan, who is also behind all the luscious dishes and desserts. Opëam operates from a corner lot house opposite DeGarden and lots of parking spaces are available behind the restrobar.
       Learning from a past experience, I made the reservation a week earlier. True enough, even though it was a weeknight, it was a full house. There were not many tables available but it was a cozy dining ambience. Service was fast and most importantly, the food was delicious. As I had such high expectations of Nicole's culinary skills, I was rather worried that I might leave disappointed. My worries were unfounded.
       My partner in crime had previously been to Opëam with her hubby. She must have enjoyed her choice that time around because she ordered the same dish again today --- Giant Scallops & Smoked Salmon Pasta (RM55). One may balk at the price but one look at the humongous scallops, one will know it's worth the price. 

Angeline's choice of Giant Scallops & Smoked Salmon Pasta

        I have always been partial to pesto sauce, so when I saw it being paired with sea tiger prawns (another love of mine), I was drawn to it. The pasta was cooked al-dente, the pesto sauce had the perfect consistency and was not too oily, they were generous with the sea tiger prawns and I adore the pine nuts that were tossed with the pasta. I would not hesitate to order this Sea Tiger Prawn Pesto (RM42) again.

My utterly scrumptious Sea Tiger Prawn Pesto

       Opëam does not have an extensive dessert selection but it's an interesting one. I was torn between the Salted Egg Croissant (RM16) and the Black Cherry Liquour Tiramisu (RM26). Finally, I decided on the latter as I was keen to compare it with my favourite tiramisu at Indulgence. It was definitely a much bigger slice than the one at Indulgence and the taste of liquour was unmistakable. But I prefer the texture of Indulgence's tiramisu, where there's more of the ladyfingers to sink your teeth in, as opposed to the mousse-like mascarpone cheese.

The very decadent Black Cherry Liquour Tiramisu

        Thoughts of the calories that I've packed in were fleeting as the dinner was most enjoyable, because of the company as well as the food. Hmm...perhaps I should work out at the gym for another hour tomorrow after my regular zumba session.

Introducing The Noodles Of Sabah

        My previous post on having Sarawak's kolo mee gave impetus to this post, which is on its lesser known cousin. Many are familiar with both the kampua and kolo mee of Sarawak, and fans are delighted to find them at many places in Peninsular Malaysia. My first taste of a reddish kolo mee was at a coffee shop in Penang, and I have also spotted it sold at a Tanjung Sepat shop that caters to tourists.
     Both kampua and kolo mee are basically springy egg noodles that are made without the use of any alkaline water. Both are traditionally eaten dry, tossed well with lard and sauce. In fact, both the names kampua and kolo mean "dry tossed".  The differences lie in the thickness and texture of the noodles, as well as how they're served.
      As the focus of this post is not on Sarawak's pride and joy, I shall not elaborate on the difference. I would like to introduce their lesser known cousin, the kolo mee of Sabah. From my four-year stay in the Land Below The Wind, I know Sabahans love their noodles and can boast of many different varieties, but have chosen to remain low-profile. Hence, not many people know of the different ways kolo mee is served in Sabah.
      The simple egg noodles are treated differently in different towns in Sabah. Visitors to Sabah are encouraged to try the famous Tuaran mee. The handmade noodles are made using only egg yolks. They are first toasted in oil in the wok to prevent them from clumping together, then blanched to reduce the stiff crunchy texture, before finally stir-fried to a dry finish with eggs, vegetables, and meat or seafood. On our recent trip to Sabah, I took hubby to the town of Tuaran to try its famous specialty.

      Tamparuli, a town that is 12 minutes away from Tuaran, has also garnered fame from its Tamparuli mee. It's very similar to Tuaran's version, but the noodles that are made in Tamparuli are rounder, slightly larger and has a springier texture.  The location of Tamparuli, which is along the route to Mount Kinabalu, has ensured that the Tamparuli mee has its own loyal fans.

Picture of Tamparuli mee is taken from the Internet

       During my four-year stay in the Cowboy Town of Kota Belud, I often visited an unassuming stall hidden behind the UMNO building. It was run by a student's parents. Their version of the kolo mee is tossed with dark soya sauce, served with chicken meat or char siew (which, by the way, is often referred to as sasau in Sabah), a bowl of chicken broth and a small helping of fried shallots on the side. Passing by Kota Belud during our recent drive from Simpang Mengayau to Kundasang, I was busy showing hubby Kota Belud's Tamu, the school where I taught, the church that I attended

My first posting was at this school

St. Edmund's Church, where I was baptised

and the house that I rented. By the time we decided to have lunch, it was rather late and the kolo mee stall had closed for the day.

Photo of Kota Belud's kolo mee is taken from the Internet

Photo of this bustling kolo mee stall in Kota Belud is also taken from the Internet

        Fortunately, I had another chance to revive my memories of Sabah's kolo mee and this was in the sleepy town of Kuala Penyu. I personally think Kuala Penyu's kolo mee cannot hold a candle to Kota Belud's kolo mee. I chose to have my kolo mee with sasau instead of sauyuk (roast pork), while hubby ordered a bowl of Kuala Penyu's egg noodles with seafood in soup, which he enjoyed very much.

Kuala Penyu's sasau kolo mee and seafood mee in soup

       I've been told that other towns like Beaufort and Tawau also dish up different renditions of kolo mee. I guess if one decides to try all the different ways Sabahans enjoy their egg noodles, a visit to almost every town in Sabah would be necessary.

Having The Best Of Two Worlds

        It was a blow to hubby when his favourite wanton mee shop took the Hakka braised pork wanton mee off its menu. Taking pity on the poor man, I decided to replicate this for one weekday dinner. 
      During the weekend, I had cooked the Hakka braised pork with black fungus (for the recipe, visit http://irenechanal.blogspot.my/2015/10/dishing-up-hakka-meal.html) with an extra portion stashed in the freezer. Then upon returning home from work on a weeknight, I heated up the meat. A colleague had earlier given me some dried kolo mee from Sibu, so I decided to have that instead of wanton mee.
      I guess the aroma of the steaming hot Hakka braised pork with black fungus poured onto the kolo mee that had been tossed with sesame seed oil, dark soya sauce and oyster sauce must have wafted upstairs. Hubby commented, "What's that nice smell?", to which I answered, "Come down for dinner, darling."
      True blue Sarawakians may take offence on how their prized kolo mee is cooked in my kitchen. After all, kolo mee is supposedly tossed with lard and served with minced pork and char siew. But I believe a wee bit of ingenuity goes a long way. It's like having the best of two worlds : a much-loved Hakka dish with Sarawak's pride and joy. And most importantly, hubby is all smiles.

Hakka braised pork with black fungus kolo mee

Lavishing on Lobsters in Genting Highlands

       

Located at Level 1 of the new SkyAvenue Mall

        A name that has been generating a buzz in Genting Highlands is Burger & Lobster, a restaurant that was established in London back in 2011. It is the brainchild of 4 schoolmates and was conceived on a rooftop in London. Their plan was to just focus on one or two main ingredients (burger and lobster) and dish up perfect renditions of them. 
        With branches worldwide, in Stockholm, New York, Dubai and others, we Malaysians can  hold our heads high that Burger & Lobster chose Genting Highlands to be the location of its first outlet in South East Asia. Their lobsters are flown in live from Nova Scotia while their burgers are made from supreme halal-grade beef from Australia. 
        A comparison with their London restaurant menu shows that Burger & Lobster, Genting Highlands, has creatively tweaked their menu to suit local tastebuds. Their one-page menu offers 3 types of burgers, 3 different ways of indulging in the lobsters, a selection of 3 lobster rolls, and a choice of 3 desserts to end your meal. For each, there are 2 different prices as the lower price is for GentingRewards members.

This is displayed at the front of the restaurant where the queue is formed. There is also a Chinese version, probably to cater to the many Mainland China tourists.

        On our 2nd night in Genting Highlands, hubby and I joined the 12-minute queue to dine here. Hubby chose to have The Original grilled lobster with lemon and garlic butter. As he's an expert in digging into crabs, ravishing their crustacean cousin was not a mean task for hubby. After all, Burger & Lobster also provides patrons with a lobster cracker and a lobster pick. And oh, by the way, a lobster bib is also handed out so that clothes do not get soiled even when hands get dirtied. I decided to cheat - to have my lobster and yet not having to patiently dig for the meat. Therefore, my choice was the Seven Samurai Lobster Roll.

The crowd at Burger & Lobster

Hubby is poised to feast on his grilled lobster

Can't wait to sink my teeth into my lobster roll

        I usually delight in watching hubby devour his crabs, but that night, I was too enthralled by my own meal. My toasted brioche roll was bursting with the chilled lobster meat that had been tossed well with the seven spices sauce. It was so yummy, and I would not hesitate to order this again on a subsequent visit. When hubby tasted my food, he too agreed it was finger-licking good. He enjoyed his grilled lobster, but conceded that mine was a better deal. 😃
        It was indeed a lavish dinner but most importantly, we both enjoyed it very much. And life is meant to be enjoyed. La Bonne Vie!

Hubby made me pose like this...his pet rabbit, apparently!  😜

        

Going Porky in Genting Highlands

                  Besides shopping, our recent Genting Highlands trip enabled us to delight in some good food. My blogger friend, Claire, raved about Go Noodle House and its legendary Chinese Imperial noodles. So I cajoled hubby into having a go.
         As with all the good eateries, there was a queue to gain entry into Go Noodle House, located on Level 4 of the new SkyAvenue Mall. To order your food, firstly, you choose your noodles. There are only two types of noodles to choose from : Yunnan style mi xian (米 線) or meehoon (米粉). Next, you pick your soup. You can opt for either superior soup (三鲜汤) or homemade spicy soup (秘制辣香汤). Finally, you select your treasures (pork balls, pork belly slices, clams, scallops, prawns, fish, etc.).
          Treasures for oink oink lovers like hubby and I would naturally be pork. I ordered the Bursting Meat Ball mi xian in superior soup (RM14.50) while hubby went for Pork Belly Slices mi xian in superior soup (RM16.90), adding another portion of pork belly slices for RM8.50. My Bursting Meat Balls have hot fillings in them, just like Fuzhou fish balls, which are also available here at Go Noodle House.

My Bursting Meat Balls mi xian in superior soup

Hubby's Pork Belly Slices mi xian in superior soup

Our choices must be good as they are featured as chef's choices in the menu

          One bite into the silky smooth noodles, which are completely different from the usual mi xian that you buy from grocery shops or from Sitiawan, and we were both hooked. The flavourful fish-based soup with a hint of Chinese wine was so good that hubby kept slurping it up, long after he had finished his noodles and pork belly slices. Hubby and I often practise barter trade, whereby I offer him some of my food in exchange for some of his. In that way, we can sample more variety. So he had one of my Bursting Meat Balls, which he agreed were really tasty. And I had a huge slice of his pork belly, which was tender and juicy.

           We were excited to note that Go Noodle House has its tentacles at many places, including 1Utama, Pavilion, Avenue K, Mid Valley Megamall, Gurney Plaza and Queensbay Mall. Hopefully, a branch will be opened in Ipoh soon.

Conquering the Genting Highlands Premium Outlets

       Our visit to Genting Highlands after a lapse of around eight years was mainly to see the storm of hype surrounding the Genting Highlands Premium Outlets. Being South East Asia's first hilltop premium outlets centre, the Genting Highlands Premium Outlets is run by the Simon Property Group, which is the name behind Arundel Mills, Chicago Premium Outlets, Napa Premium Outlets, San Francisco Premium Outlets, Johor Premium Outlets and many others.
     

    The Genting Highlands Premium Outlets, which opened its doors to the public on 15 June 2017, features many brand names that caught our attention. Hubby and I were keen to pick up more sportswear so our main focus was on Skechers and Adidas.
     

Whee! Zipping over and past many buildings in Genting Highlands

The cable cars of Awana Skyway

     From our hotel, we made our way through the new SkyAvenue shopping mall to reach the Awana Skyway station. Taking the 10-minute 2.8-kilometre long cable car ride down to the Genting Highlands Premium Outlets was another new experience as the Awana Skyway was only open last year. Previous visits to Genting Highlands involved travelling on the Genting Skyway, which is 3.4 kilometres long. The Awana Skyway has 99 gondolas, 10 of which are fitted with glass floors. We noticed that USB ports are available in the gondolas for charging of smartphones and other devices. The ticket is priced at RM8 for a one-way journey.
     Thanks to my premium outlets-savvy friend, I had earlier downloaded the Simon application onto my phone, registered as a member and received an e-mail verifying my registration. By flashing the e-mail at the Information Centre, I was given a Savings Passport, which entitled me to more discounts at certain outlets.

It's just a leaflet but does offer some good additional discounts.

     Our first stop was at Adidas, which was having a grand sale. So there was a queue to enter the outlet. In spite of the crowd, we managed to find what we wanted. We then turned our attention to Skechers as I needed a second pair of sports shoes. Hubby too was captivated and converted (I still remember how he scoffed at me buying my first pair of Skechers last year). 
     We explored all three levels of the Genting Highlands Premium Outlets, named as High Street, Middle Street and Low Street. It was truly a day of fruitful shopping and we had spent almost 6 hours there!

First day's haul!

The final purchase was an unexpected one. I had not planned on even entering the Coach outlet as there was, predictably, a long queue outside. But hubby literally dragged me to join the queue and we finally left the outlet with a Blake 25 in red bubble leather.

Hubby chose this for me

     Before calling it a day at the Genting Highlands Premium Outlets, I dropped by at the Information Centre again to collect a total of 10 free cable car tickets. Being kiasu, we descended there again the next day but left empty-handed. Hubby had his sights on a Tumi backpack for work and after checking out of our hotel on the third day, we utilised our free tickets to visit the Genting Highland Premium Outlets for the third time to make the purchase.
     All in all, we went (came), we saw, we conquered!