We are always looking out for an affordable restaurant with delicious food. Luckily, there are still many places that surprise us in a good way in Perlis. South of Kangar towards the highway, while looking for a nasi mandi restaurant, we came across this good Thai restaurant for iftar. We parked by the fields which had been prepped for sowing. It would not be long before a more lively field of green would grow and cover up the brown mud. We discovered that the nasi goreng Thai here was delicious. It has a side of soup and sambal. The nasi mandi restaurant was right across the road. We might return to it later. Here is Irfan posing with the multicoloured lights that marked the restaurant’s location and illuminated the its signage.
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On top of spaghetti all covered with cheese
A list of our family’s adventures through this simulated universe. Strangely, this is represented by several methods. Firstly, my thoughts in words and then a host of two-dimensional images configured for the human visible spectrum. Finally the blog itself as a medium of information. Also, sometimes there is cake.
A Ramadhan Weekend in Sitiawan
The previous week, just after one of my classes I was informed by Atok Irfan that Opah was hospitalised for a because of dengue fever. We headed back to Sitiawan to check up on her in the weekend. After breaking fast in the car along the highway while passing by the Gurun rest stop, we decided to have our dinner in Sungai Petani. Fortunately, Opah was on the mend although the doctor forbade her to continue her fast until she was checked out. Later, we went on a drive around town and watched Solo: A Star Wars Story at the Aeon mall – a second viewing for me since Kuala Lumpur. Hey, it be my old school! Weird thing is that besides very small bits and pieces of it, it no longer on the whole looks like my old school. Yay for progress? This used to be a happening place […]
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A Solo Return to KL
I got a call from Shide with whom I had several work adventures with years ago who needed me to return to Kuala Lumpur for some minor business. He graciously footed the travel bill for me, so after we decided on a flight ticket. So yay! I get to ride on one of these new-fangled flying machines again. The ride was rough enough through storm clouds that some passengers exclaimed loudly. At the airport, Nia came to pick me up. (Aided by Cik Ma and Cik Su of course.) Being the month of Ramadhan, we all went to buka puasa at a Middle Eastern restaurant in Cyberjaya. I kind of like this stuff. I rarely get to sample such food. A post-meal photo was taken. Thankfully I was able to do jama’ ta’khir prayers because of travel considerations. The next morning I drew stuff for Nia while waiting for Shide […]
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Breakfast at Gua Cenderawasih
Sundays can be a great time for picnics. There is no lack of picnic spots here in Perlis if you knew where to look, and we have looked at many over the last three years or so. We decided to visit Cenderawasih Cave Park. It was close to Kangar so it was not out of the beaten path. Cenderawasih translates to “bird-of-paradise”. Sadly there were none present at the park this morning. Here are some photos. Later, he sat on a boulder because it was a cool thing to do.
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Atok and Opah Loves Thai Food
Atok and Opah came to visit from Thursday and over the weekend. We took them to the White Lily restaurant up north at Padang Besar. The restaurant made iced carrot milk that was Atok’s favourite drink there. Here follows a series of photos that documented our visit to Padang Besar. On the way home we stopped for Maghrib at the Uniciti Alam masjid. Then next day we went to Thai-Tanic Station for their signature dish: Nasi Biriyani Ayam which was an amazing Thai dish. Thanks for coming again, Atok and Opah. See you next time!
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The Unofficial Kangar Gunpla Builders Club is in Session
Irfan it appears has become the ad hoc leader for a Gunpla Builders club at his school. Sometimes they would descend upon our house to assemble their plastic models. I wish the group the best in their hobby. Also, I hope they would make it an official thing, like registering it as a club at their school, so they would have support from their teachers.
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A Weekend Without Irfan: Bukit Ayer
Irfan went on a visit to Langkawi with his class over the weekend. So Ain and I explored more of Perlis on Sunday. We found ourselves at the picnic grounds of Bukit Ayer and decided to stop for a bit to check out the site. Here are photos of the visit.
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Here’s the Ohio Crew By The Way
We have been talking to Ayah Cik Vin, Cik Dik, Yaya and Adik the Younger on Skype more these days. Irfan’s cousins are smart and loquacious young dudes and I enjoy talking to them. Yaya is a formidable artist and craftsperson for her age and Adik has a talent for music and languages. My niece and nephew will grow into amazing human beings.
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A Wakanda Weekend
We got a bit of a windfall upon my sacrifice of Saturday mornings teaching the previous semester, so I decided we would take a break and head down to the mall in Alor Setar. For the first time since moving here we had food at the Chicken Rice Shop. I think the last time we had some were at Berjaya Times Square. We also caught our first movie of for the year, which is Black Panther. As with other Marvel Studios films, this one also eludes a particular genre being pinned on it. It was definitely more than just a superhero movie. The story is enjoyable. I wish there was a Wakanda sourcebook that features all the peoples and cultural elements they created for the fictional nation. Shuri and M’Baku were scene stealers and I was glad to learn that they would be back in Avengers: Infinity War later in […]
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A Sunday Morning Walk
This morning Irfan, Ain and I went for one of our rare morning walks. We took the path through the kampung and circled back to our house through the countryside. I will let the photos do all the describing.
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Sunset Dinner by the Sea
After I returned home from the academic workshop we decided to have dinner at the beach. So we took a trip west towards the sea. Before exiting the car, we had a video chat with Nia Nia on the phone. Then we enjoyed the sun which was dropping fast onto Langkawi Island, from our point of view. The last time I had some seafood here, by the way, I had a really bad gout attack. So, no seafood for me. So with seafood out of the way, I only had “food” to deal with. This one is quite… gravy-ish. The colours splashed onto the sky and sea this evening was unique, not like any sunset I have seen before. Click on the above pic to expand the photo of the non-binary sunset. Click on the pic above to expand the silhouette of Irfan in the fading light of dusk.
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45 and Counting
I am now 45 years old. For the first time ever my family threw me a small birthday celebration. It began with Yaya and Adik’s family calling from the other side of the planet. We had a good talk. Yaya and Adik had plenty to tell us after they sang me the birthday song. When I got home from work Ain and Irfan sprung me with an unexpected birthday present. Besides the present Ain had also been working hard to make the above when I was at work! This nasi rempah with the spiced chicken lauk was delicious. To cap it all off, they even got me a birthday cake. The present Irfan got for me was a Gundam Super Deformed Sinanju which I thought I would assemble when I have the time and place it on my office table. We have never really celebrated my birthday before because it […]
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Further Gastronomical Adventures with Atok and Opah
More photos from Irfan’s grandparents’ visit chronicled two further sojourn to sample food at eateries nearby. I should think it was a collective celebration not just of their anniversary but also of Sila’s birthday which as you know falls on the same day. Additionally, my birthday would raise its head several days later. First we would treat them. Then they treated us. Bottom line, though, I am still astounded that we are able to afford these types of food these days. Granted they are cheaper than similar food in Kuala Lumpur, but we would not be able to afford these prices back then neither. Enjoy the photos. First we went to Kangar for these dishes. Then we went to Arau for these ones. The next day, Atok and Opah headed back to the hometown.
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Celebrating an Anniversary
Irfan’s Atok and Opah came for a visit this week. And their anniversary will be up in three days! On this fine Friday, and you can tell it’s a Friday because Irfan and I are in Baju Melayu, we went to the food court at Kuala Perlis for an early celebration of their anniversary! Here are some of the selection of food we ordered. Also, Irfan was explaining something and gesturing with his arms when I took the following picture:
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Happy Birthday Ain
Because the extra teaching work I took last semester earned me some extra Republic credits, I was – for the first time in our lives together as husband and wife – able to buy Ain a real birthday present! I ordered it online and it arrived much earlier than it had announced it would. Happy birthday, my darling wife. I love you very much.
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Another January Weekend
Last weekend, we went for a drive. This weekend, it was time for the farmer’s market. There were a bunch of fresh produce Ain wanted to pick up at the market. She knew of cheaper locations to purchase some of the things here, but it has been a while since we visited this market. Lots of green grown were sold here that we could consume to keep our biological avatars running without any errors. Ain pokes a papaya. All this fish gives me an idea for an epic RPG campaign. (No it does not.) There were also flower growers selling their wares at the market. After acquiring the items that needed to be acquired, we headed home where Ain began to cast her sorcery in the kitchen. She used some sort of cosmic powered transmogrifying spell to turn some eggs, greens and mayonnaise into cole slaw. The cole slaw was […]
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