A Nostalgic Trip to Ipoh

Two weekends ago, we took a drive up north to the town of Ipoh in the state of Perak. It was a scenic 3 hours drive passing oil palm plantations and fruit orchards.

As we neared our destination, we pass the famous limestone hills of Perak.

"Perak" in Malay means "tin". In the early days, immigrants from China mined tin from the rivers of Perak and prospered from the tin trade. The Malaysian pewterware is made from locally mined tin from Perak and Selangor. Tin is not so much in demand now. However, the region has continued to flourish with other types of industries and activities.

Some of the old colonial style buildings and structures can still be seen around the city. On arrival, we headed off for a late breakfast in one of Ipoh's "coffee shops" well-known for its noodles (kway teow) soup, coffee and spring rolls (popiah).

Did you know that "Old Town White Coffee" originates from Ipoh? It tastes so good that tourists even buy packets of it back to their home country. Of course it tastes much better if it is made by the "old master" in the coffee shop kitchen and served in the traditional way.


We preferred our coffee with lots of ice....especially after a long, hot drive. Mmm not too sweet or bitter and very refreshing.

Did I mention the main purpose of our trip? Of course it's to eat the delightful variety of food that Ipoh offers. We moved to another part of the city to sample the most famous dim sum in Ipoh at the Foh San Restaurant. This restaurant is only open till 2.00pm everyday and it's crowded with locals, occasional visitors like us, and lots of tour groups.

You need to find your own table, and most likely you end up sharing a table with other strangers. You even need to serve yourself.

Being rather full after our breakfast, we ordered just a few dishes to try out. The portions are much bigger and prices are lower than in Kuala Lumpur.


Ipoh is also famous for chicken rice. I don't know why the chickens here are more tasty than in other states but I do know that the bean sprouts served with the chicken looks different and tastes much sweeter than anywhere else. Apparently it is because they are germinated using water from the limestone hills.

Lots of restaurants are selling the same but we visited this one as it is recommended by the food critics. Must be among the best.

Here's the dish of chicken that I ordered. Not much of a presentation but the meat is indeed firm and sweet.

And this is the dish of bean sprouts....just blanched with some sauce. Yummy! Notice that the sprouts are unusually short and fat.
On our way home, we stopped to buy salt baked chicken take-away. Again, lots of other shops in this area were also selling this specialty but apparently this one is the best.

First you need to unwrap the many layers of paper around the chicken. The chicken does not look very impressive but the meat is very tender and the salt gave it a special flavour.

I gave some of my ACAP friends packets of biscuits from Yee Hup. As you can see, this biscuit is a specialty from Gunung Rapat in Perak. To some, the biscuit is even better than those from Ghee Hiang in Penang, but I guess it depends on individual preference.


Lastly, I could not resist taking this photo of a crowd lining up in front of a small shop to buy its soya bean drink. What's so special about "Funny Mountain" soya drink? I shall find out on another trip when I am not feeling so stuffed with chicken rice.

STM12 in Malaysia

Several weeks ago I was informed of the good news that Malaysia will finally to host the Twelfth Senior Technical Managers' meeting of EANET. The meeting was held on 21-22 September 2011. The venue was a posh new hotel in Kuala Lumpur - the Royal Chulan. To my delight I received an invitation to attend the reception dinner. What a lovely opportunity to meet up with old friends and ex-colleagues!

As usual, the EANET Secretariat and Network Centre came well prepared to brief the participants on the progress of EANET and latest developments. The representatives from each member country were also eager to share their monitoring achievements.

Chatting with an old friend Jiro Sato-san from ACAP. On my left are friends from Universiti Teknologi Mara.

At the dinner table with Prof. Akimoto (on my left) and friends from Malaysia and other countries. My thanks and gratitude to Prof. Nik (on my right) from UPM for providing support from Malaysia in the organization of the meeting.

This is unique! We were served a choice of white or brown sugar sticks with our after-dinner coffee. If you prefer your coffee sweeter, you just stir longer.

I'm with Aida from the Secretariat and Sinia from MMD. Aida and I first met when we attended the discussions leading to the establishment of EANET and now we have lost count on how many meetings we have attended together in various capacities!

Everyone was happy and relaxed at the end of the meeting. We ladies love to take pictures so we can treasure the memories. I believe the men like to be included too.

Young and old, we've all become part of the EANET family.

Coconut juice

Malaysians love drinking coconut juice. Just the other day, we stopped by at this roadside stall to quench our thirst after a long drive under the hot afternoon sun.

Coconut juice, it is claimed, can cure many health ailments such as gout and lower blood cholesterol too. The coconuts sold at this stall are not just the normal ones. These are the fragrant (wangi) type which are not only more expensive but rarely sold in the city.

You need to be very agile to climb up a coconut tree to cut down the large bunch of coconuts. Some plantation owners use monkeys who are instructed to pluck only the ripe fruits.

Then you need a very sharp knife to slice off the top of each fruit.

Ahh, now to enjoy the delicious juice and eat the soft, smooth meat. However, be warned. Coconuts that are too young have no meat and the flesh of old coconuts are much too chewy!

Sekinchan - the rice bowl of Selangor

My brother and his family visited us last weekend. We decided to bring them for a drive to the coastal town of Sekinchan and treat them to a seafood lunch as well as stock up on some fresh fish. The trip brought back memories of Niigata.

Besides being a fishing town, the area around Sekinchan has ideal conditions for growing rice. We drove pass acres of rice fields similar to the scene around Sakai. It was the season for planting the rice seedlings. Most of the planting is done manually although I noticed that some farmers have engaged foreign workers to do the hard work.
The pace of life in this area is so relaxed compared to the city. There were many local stalls along the road selling local grown fruits and vegetables. We could not resist stopping to buy the sweet melons, mangoes, pineapples and guavas.

We dropped by at one of the rice mills. My nephew, being a city boy, was fascinated by the husking machine. I guess this is the first time he has actually seen padi being husked.


After traveling this distance, we had to buy and bring back some freshly milled rice. One of the varieties sold resembles Japanese rice although I doubt that the quality is comparable to the famous brands from Niigata. Due to the hot and wet weather throughout the year, they can produce 2 crops per year.

I bought several bags of their best quality type so I'm pretty well stocked. Hmmm...I wonder whether I can produce my own local sake using this rice?

It's the lantern season

The Hari Raya Aidil Fitri (Muslim New Year) celebrations are only just over and it seems that we are in the midst of preparations to celebrate yet another festival.

The Mid Autumn festival falls in the middle of September. I believe that this festival is celebrated in many countries in Asia including Japan. The shops here are already decorated with colourful lanterns of all shapes and sizes.

Back in the good old days, you would need to use candles to light up the lanterns. Nowadays the battery-powered ones are more popular and easier to carry around. I heard that this year the Angry Birds models are very popular!

In previous years we used to buy boxes of mooncakes to present to the older relatives and friends. However, of late the price of mooncakes have become extremely expensive. Some people feel that we should boycott this product in an attempt to prevent prices from increasing unreasonably each year.

However I will still buy a box for my Mum and perhaps a box or two for my family. I know my Mum would expect that from me.

There are many new varieties in the market but we still prefer the original baked type filled with lotus paste with an egg yolk in the center.

For most of us, the Mid Autumn Festival will not feel the same if we do not continue the tradition of eating mooncakes and sipping Chinese/Japanese tea in the company of our loved ones under the light of the full moon.

A New Job

It has been quite a while since I last updated my blog. I've been so very busy during the past month assisting a friend in the registration of illegal workers under the government's 6P programme.

There is currently more than 2 million legal and illegal foreign workers in Malaysia, mainly from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, and Pakistan. In some areas of the city they comprise a large portion of the population! Frequent police raids have not been able to reduce the number of illegal workers and this has led to many social problems.

Recently, the government decided to grant them amnesty through a nation-wide registration exercise, legalizing those workers that are still required in important sectors such as manufacturing and plantations, and allowing others which are unemployed and have overstayed to return home without being penalized. However, they all need to be registered and have their particulars including their photographs and fingerprints are recorded.

It has been quite an educational experience for me. At times I sympathize with the foreign workers who have left their homes and countries to work here and save enough money to support their families back home. They are willing to do hard labour and suffer long hours.

The registration exercise ended last yesterday. So far almost 800,000 illegals have been registered. Some say that 500,000 have not registered, mostly the plantation workers from Bangladesh who think they can continue to evade the authorities.

As for me, I don't need to work 7 days a week any longer. Hurray! I promised the boss I will continue to drop by at the office to help them out.....but only 3 days a week. I need time again for the home, family and friends. Also, I need to go on holidays now and then.

Penang, Pearl of the Orient

I should not forget to blog about the trip that I made to Penang in early July together with 3 of my lady friends. Penang is that tiny little island on the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. We met up with an old friend and colleague living in Penang who was kind enough to bring us around and show us the best places to eat the local food.

Top on our agenda is a train trip up the famous Penang hill to enjoy a panoramic view of Penang island. The fare for "pensioners" was only RM4 for a return trip, that's less than $1.50!

We patiently waiting in this crowded eating shop to sample their famous duck noodles and spicy Penang "laksa". Had to wait for other customers to finish their meal so we can occupy their table.
In Penang, food is always in our minds since the local food is cheap, unique and very tasty. For dinner, we visited this open air restaurant where we ordered various types of local delicacies from the stalls around.
This is the famous Penang pancakes. These are soft, fragrant and stuffed with sliced banana and sweet corn.
Duck meat porridge and crispy "lobak". It is served with 2 types of sauces.

And here are pictures of two plants with lovely flowers that I saw on the way up Penang Hill. I believe they belong to the orchid family.


July happens to be the peak of the durian season in Penang. We wanted to make a trip to the durian plantation to view the fruits on the branches overhanging the roads. However, as we did not have sufficient time we made a stop at this stall to sample a few varieties instead.
My friend claims she is an expert on durians so we allowed her to make the choice for us.
On our drive back to Kuala Lumpur we stopped by at the historic town of Taiping. The name of this town means "peaceful" but many battles have been fought here in the past. Now it is well known for its scenic Lake Gardens.
Lots of lotus plants growing in the lakes with the Taiping hills in the background. Did I inform you that my family lived in Taiping for several years? I still have fond memories of this town.

My lady friends are already planning another trip to Taiping, this time to climb Maxwell Hill.