THE CHINESE NEW YEAR LUNCH DATE AT A MAMAK RESTAURANT

Masala Tea

   17TH FEBRUARY 2026    ~ I wanted to pass the CNY cookies to Miss Grace Choo, and she suggested we met up for lunch instead. The chosen venue was Q Bistro at Taman Mutiara Mas, a Mamak that I wanted to go as this was one of two branches in Johor Bahru. Before this, I got to eat at three outlets in Kuala Lumpur/Selangor.

Fried Noodles

Miss Grace Choo was the person who had been giving me a lot of assistance when I was still teaching in SMK Taman Universiti. She was always willing to lend a helping hand, especially when dealing with issues involving Chinese students and parents. It was good to have the chance to sit and chat longer as it used to be a "hi" and "bye" kind of thing before this.

I met another students' father who was also eating at the restaurant with his grandson, Dr. Mohd. Fua'ad Rahmat. I taught four of his children when they were in school. He was also one of the Chairman of the school's Parents Teacher Association once.

THERE IS ALWAYS A SECOND TIME AT Q-BISTRO IN LOTUS'S DAMANSARA

   21st DECEMBER 2025    ~ Puan Hanna Sheikh Mokhtar hosted the supper session when I was in Damansara. Her husband, Mr. Azizul was also there and Puan Adila Ahmad with her two daughters also joined the party. Puan Hanna's son arrived a bit later in his Cosplay costume - the more the merrier.

This was my second time at this particular restaurant. The first one happened last October with the same people [READ HERE].

We stayed there until the staff started to tidy the place and rearrange the chairs so as to signal to us they had to close the shop at 11:00 p.m. This was just the beginning, there were still more gastronomic adventures that were going to happen the next day in Damansara.

OF DINNER, SUPPER AND A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

   18TH OCTOBER 2025   ~ After attending the wedding reception in Bangi in the afternoon [READ HERE], a dinner session was set with a few TESL friends. The chosen restaurant was called Santai Kitchen, located on the ground floor of Lotus's Hypermarket which was connected to the mall and hotel where I was staying.

However, only six of us managed to get our food as the restaurant would be closed at 10:00 p.m. and the other group members had not arrived.

We then happily adjourned to the Mamak place next door, supper for us and dinner for a few who had not had theirs. This was my second visit to Q Bistro, but the day before the shop was located at Taman Tun Dr. Ismail [READ HERE]. This one was actually situated just next to the earlier place where we had dinner.

home-made Rendang from Kuantan

birthday cake: Carrot Cake

Coincidentally, it was Puan Suhaila Sulong's birthday and we had a small celebration, by buying a birthday cake and singing a medley of three birthday songs in the restaurant.

It was time to bid "good night" to each other as it was getting late. We would then be meeting again for another wedding reception in Kota Kuala Muda the following week.

THE GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURES THAT HAPPENED IN DAMANSARA

  17TH OCTOBER 2025   ~ When I was staying in Damansara, Puan Hanna Sheikh Mokhtar and Puan Hazlina Aziz, the two UPM TESL friends, played hosts for dinner. Mr. Azizul, Puan Hanna's husband, tagged along as usual. The chosen venue was Homst, a Chinese Muslim Restaurant, in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail.

I remember going to another Homst Restaurant located in Bangi. [READ HERE]

We had a variety of Chinese Muslim dishes eaten with white rice, and we sure had our tummies filled with good food.

However, the gastronomic adventure of the evening did not end there. We then adjourned to the near Q-Bistro on foot for dessert and tea.

We just had one piece of Roti Tissue to be shared by the four of us.

It was already past 9:00 p.m. but the restaurant was jam-packed with diners. Everybody talked at the top of their lungs and we had no choice but to shout as well to chat in order to be heard. This Mamak place must be very popular here.

We had to leave the place after an hour and would be meeting again at the wedding reception the next day. [READ HERE]

WHEN EATING BURGER AND FRIES WAS NOT ENOUGH

   20th SEPTEMBER 2025    ~ When eating burger and fries was enough for lunch [READ HERE], then it was time to get real food somewhere else. Thanks to Mr. Norazman for agreeing to go on another gastronomic adventure in the same day.

The restaurant visited this time was Q-Bistro located in Subang Jaya, which was not that far from the hotel where I was staying.

What a relief it was to get real food for the day.

As I was paying for the food at the counter, someone approached me and what a big surprise it was. My [UPM TESL] and her husband and daughter were also eating in that restaurant, hence an unplanned gathering took place. I had to prolong my stay in Q-Bistro and they even sent me back to the hotel. It's a small world after all.