ANOTHER PROMISE KEPT

Many months ago, I promised someone for a treat after the help given during the chess competition at district level. I decided to meet Mr. Hazmi, an ex-student of SMK Dato' Jaafar who played chess for the school and represented Johor Bahru disrrict after unexpectedly winning the first runner up.

He will be going for his foundation course in UiTM Dengkil next week so it had to be today, or else only God knows when I would be able to meet him again for the promised meal. Luckily, when contacted and asked, he was free before 4.00 p.m. as there was an online class to be attended. It was Texas Chicken fried chicken at Midvalley Mall for our lunch date this time.

Wishing Mr. Hazmi the very best of luck in his future undertakings and hope to still be in touch after this.

A SPECIAL BOOK FROM A FRIEND

I rarely get parcels unlike other people as online shopping is not my cup of tea. The last time I bought face masks from the internet, I was scammed. However, a small package arrived for me in school. It contained a book from a friend, an ex-coursemate of UPM TESL class of 1993. The long awaited gift is entitled: "Kee Thuan Chye: Just In So Many Words". It is not a new book but it is significant as at one point in my university life, my friends and I had to do an assignment on the author of the book and then put on a small exhibition about him at the school library. [READ HERE]

Thanks a lot Mr. Shazreen Mohd. Shah for the kind thought and gesture. The arrival of the book really made my day. 😊 And I promise I will finish reading this book... one day.

A CELEBRATION FOR THE SCHOOL'S DEBATE TEAM WHICH HAD BEEN LONG OVERDUE

This was a lunch gathering to celebrate the success of SMK Dato' Jaafar's English Debate Team for the year 2019. Yes, it had been one year - too long an overdue but as the saying goes: better late then never. The decision was made to have it after school on Sunday afternoon as this should be the only time when everyone was available. One of the hardest things in planning is to get a suitable slot when everybody could turn up. 

SMK Dato' Jaafar won the district's level of the English Debating Competition and was chosen to represent Johor Bahru to the state level. We unfortunately went through only to the quarter final but that to me and Puan Suhaida, the other teacher adviser, was already a huge achievement. This year it seems there is not going to be any debate competition as the COVID-19 pandemic has stalled all the school co-curriculum activities in schools. On a brighter note, we are still the district's reigning champion until a new winner emerges. 😁 But for one thing, how long do we have to wait for the same thing to happen again.

I hope the lunch treat at Seoul Garden, Plaza Angsana, would be a memorable event for them, especially to Mr. Amirul and Mr. Azmeel who will be going for their matriculation/foundation courses real soon. We would also have thank Mr. Faizal, who is Mr. Azmeel's father, who had given his support for the team throughout the debating competitions, right till the very end which had assisted us in many ways to go this far.

For one thing I am sure the time the boys spent together as a team will be something they will treasure in their hearts.

_______________________________

FOOTNOTE: Seoul Garden in Plaza Angsana has sized down its seating capacity for its in dine in customers. The buffet spread has also lessened so people have less choices of food on the counter. We were there on a weekend (for the private sector) so lamb was available. You could no longer pick your own food from the fresh meat/seafood/vegetables section. The person in charge has to serve you by putting all your selections in your plate so not like last time, you will have to make a return trip to the food counter to get more things to grill and boil. I already miss the old normal in Seoul Garden.

MY WEEKEND'S BIG BREAKFAST OUTSIDE

I rarely have breakfast outside but today it was a big one and was accompanied by a friend/colleague after the plan to get supper the night before was cancelled.

We decided to meet up at Selera Johor Food Court and I was glad to introduce this place to Mr. Wan Mohd, Nazri.

There were not many people eating there and we were among the early birds. We just had the usual Mee Rebus Johor (with meat balls), Teh Tarik and Keropok Lekor for the first round.

ex-colleague and ex-student of SMK Taman
Universiti, husband and wife

The heavy breakfast was then complemented by Chocolaty Avocado drinks and beef sate.

This should be one of the heaviest breakfasts I had ever had and I just prayed I would not grow fat overnight. It was good though to sometimes enjoy hefty food for breakfast once in a while and it was quite an achievement to eat all that during the 2-hour breakfast session. I should be more adventurous to either try other food or visit other eating place in the next gastronomic adventure: breakfast edition.

"NASI LEMAK ROYALE KEDAH" FOR THE AFTER SCHOOL GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURERS

There is this new restaurant in town: Nasi Lemak Royale Kedah. Colleagues (and an ex-colleague) of SMK Dato' Jaafar had already planned to visit this place last week when we were still in an eating place called Zainal's Place. There were less people for today's activity but we could not wait for everyone to agree to make it happen. We just wanted to eat. 😀

We were there at about 2:45 p.m. so people would already had had their lunch earlier, hence there were many empty seats. Visitors started to queue right at the entrance where the food counter was located and orders were made there by choosing the dishes on the shelves.

an ex-student of SMK Tmn Universiti,
Mr. Afiq [SPM batch 2002]

You could also order food ala carte if you do not wish to get the already cooked meals on the counter.

I thought I would eat Nasi Lemak and I ordered Nasi Lemak, but the food eaten was NOT Nasi Lemak. If you are looking for the usual traditional Malay dish-  rice cooked with aromatic coconut milk and its compulsory "sambal" (ground chilies), eggs and cucumber slices, then you would be disappointed real bad.

The definition of Nasi Lemak Royale Kedah was totally different from what I already have in my schemata. It was actually Nasi Kandar - yellow rice with variety of side dishes like chicken, meat, fish, eggs and a lot of curry.

the most expensive choice:
a large squid (but not mine)

My plate of (yellow) rice consisted of a piece of fried chicken and hard boiled egg [the very first pic]. I did not take the vegetables as I thought the dish would be complemented with cucumber slices. (I really thought I would be eating the real Nasi Lemak, remember?) The rice potion was actually quite small for me, I was already thinking of something else to eat after that. I think people were expected to get more side dishes to go with the rice, and too much rice is not good for health actually. That whole plate and a glass of iced water cost RM8.50 inclusive of tax. That should be a reasonable price when one ate in a place like this. It was still a big regret not to have any vegetables on my plate.

Nasi Kandar lovers have now a place to go to, and as for me, at least I know one spot. I don't mind going back here one day when I have a craving for good curry arises. I should thank all my adventurous friends for suggesting this place which I should add in into the list of places I could take other people for lunch.

Our field trip would be put on hold as most of the members will be going back to their hometowns for the Eid ul-Adha short break next week but we already have a few names of eating places to go for our next adventure.

Those who can, cycle/run.
Those who can't, eat.

😁

REWARD TIME FOR THOSE WHO COMPLETED THE ENGLISH HOMEWORK DURING MCO

I just decided to reward a few students of the two English classes I am teaching for their success in completing all the 35 quizzes on Google Classroom during the MCO period.

The students had to stay at home for more than 3 months so all the homework had to be streamed online, with the hope that they would not lose touch with any lessons.  I personally feel kids nowadays are much luckier as learning could still take place without going to school for a long period of time, and thanks to the Internet.

While many come up with thousand of excuses for not completing the assigned tasks, there are still people who take studying, revising and doing homework more seriously even though there is no real school session going on.

Everyone was only given a mini Snickers Oats bar each, a small one nonetheless, but I hope that should make them happy.

TEXAS CHICKEN FOR THE WEEKEND'S GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE

It was Texas Chicken's fried chicken for the weekend's eat out session this time. I used to get the food from this restaurant when I was in KLIA2. I wonder if there is any other branch in town.

I was lucky as an ex-student of SMK Taman Universiti, Mr. Syazwan Shavarein, agreed to eat fried chicken at Midvalley Mall after work. We actually had another place in mind but that would have to wait for the time being.

This should be another option one has for fried chicken instead of the usual KFC's or McD's. The chicken was delicious and we chose two types of side orders which were mashed potatoes and nuggets. I found that the price was surprisingly reasonable. I won't hesitate to eat here again, considering the fact that it is not that far from school.

GETTING RECONNECTED WITH A FRIEND OVER SUPPER

The MCO that was imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19 had actually separated friends. Now that the threat has lessened and the the government has allowed more socializing activities, the time had come to get reconnected with an ex-colleague of SMK Taman Universiti, Mr. Masrizal Sayute.

We went to our usual meeting spot at this Afra Restaurant, which is a Mamak's, near Senai International Airport, which was convenient enough for us. Unfortunately, at 10.00 p.m. only limited choice of food was available for supper. There are now less people getting out of the homes, I supposed.

We had to part ways before the clock struck twelve and before the carriage turned into pumpkin. It was a short meeting but it was worth the effort driving there. Hoping for more supper sessions in the future.

TWO EX-STUDENTS CAME VISITING

The initial plan was to have an eat out session at Kampung Melayu but the offer was made at the eleventh hour so it was convenient for me. Then the two girls decided to just pay me after their ABC [shaved iced with variety of other items like syrup, red beans and jelly] dessert and I welcomed my two ex-students of SMK Taman Universiti [SPM batch 2006] with open hands.

It was only a short meeting someone has to go work the next morning. Thanks Ms. Khaulah Abdul Rahim and Ms. Noorul Nasuha Atan who was back in JB from KL for the weekends (because of work related matter).  Please make sure for a gastronomic adventure will happen for the next gathering.