THE CENDOL SESSION WITH THE PRINCIPAL

24th JUNE 2026 ~ A  date was set with an ex-colleague of SMK Dato' Jaafar, Mr. Amirulhakim, who is now the Principal of SMK Tun Syed Nasir Ismail, the school which is near my house. The chosen venue was Sofie Cendol at Taman Suria which was also nearby.

Cendol is a beloved, traditional Southeast Asian iced dessert. It is sweet, creamy, and incredibly refreshing, making it a staple treat in tropical countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand.

SOURCE: Google

It was just a short Cendol session as he was on his lunch break period and had to get back to school by 2:00 p.m. Hopefully there will be other opportunity to meet up as he has a very busy schedule.

STARTING THE STAYCATION TRIP WITH THE BREAKFAST SESSION

Teh Tarik

   28th JUNE 2026    ~ The staycation trip was started off by the breakfast session at Gelang Patah. My travel partner wanted to have something light like Roti Canai [TRANSLATE: paratha] so he suggested Malek Prata Stall. We were so wrong as two (big) pieces of the flat bread could last us past the usual lunch hour.

REVIEW: Good Roti Canai with excellent thick gravy for the beef curry. If only the place was nearer to my house, I would be visiting the stall frequently.

We were so ready to start the journey once the tummy was full, and there would definitely more gastronomic adventures happening right after.

BLOGGING FROM PENYABONG, ENDAU, MERSING

I am back in Penyabong, Endau for a [very] short staycation getaway. So far, everything has been good, going to a few spots. We even ventured out into Pahang and stopped at Kuala Rompin before checking in at our accommodation. Praying for good weather for tomorrow and we will continue exploring.

THE BREAKFAST SESSION AT PONDOK SANTAPAN

Eventually we managed to get breakfast at Pondok Santapan in Larkin. It had been Selera Johor for sarapan all this while, therefore we needed a change. Mr. Ridwan Wahid and his family was on a one night weekend getaway in Johor Bahru and it was customary for us to embark on the gastronomic adventure Johor style. We had dinner the evening before [READ HERE] and we met one more time before they headed home to Shah Alam in the afternoon.

We arrived at about 8:20 a.m. and there were still a few empty tables. What a relief.

We had Mee Kari [Curry Noodles], Soto, Laksa Johor, Lempeng Kelapa [Coconut Pancake] and a variety of "kuihs" [sweet dessert].

By 9:15 a.m, diners arrived in bigger number and a few were standing, looking for empty seats. It was time to leave the dining area to give way for the newly arrived. And I was about to introduce them to the Pasar Tani [Farmer's Market] that Saturday morning.

God willing, I will be seeing them again next week in Kuala Lumpur/Selangor.

THE DINNER SESSION WITH AN OLD FRIEND AND HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER

Mr. Ridwan Wahid, a friend of the UPM TESL Class of 1993, was in town with his wife, Puan Suhaila Sulong, and her daughter, Miss Reihana. A dinner date was promptly set once after I was informed of the news.

Mee Bandung

Sate

Seafood Fried Rice

The chosen venue was Grand Almizan Restaurant in Bandar Baru Uda. We all chose Malay cuisines for the evening.

Kuey Teow

Fried Mee Hoon

Iced Milk Tea

We were here in this same restaurant in June 2020, during the Covid-19 era [READ HERE]. That was the time when we had to still wear masks when we were outside, and social distance had to be observed while eating in public places.

The dinner session lasted for about only an hour. It had been a long day for the family. We left the place which was still occupied with diners at about 10:30 p.m. The gastronomic adventure will resume the next morning for breakfast [READ HERE].

GETTING PIZZA FOR THE WEEK'S GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE IN KULAI

For this week's gastronomic adventure, my gastronomic buddy and I drove further to Kulai. The mission was to get Pizza that was home-cooked in a brick stove over charcoal fire, or was it woodfire? The name of the place was Qulai Pizza.

The eating place was actually in the compound of someone's house in a village somewhere in Kulai. There were not many people when we arrived.

the stove

the Pizza

Aglio Olio

Lasagna

The food was served hot from the kitchen and was good. We might get back for the pizza or other food again some other time.

VISITING MUZIUM SULTAN ALAM SHAH IN SHAH ALAM - PART TWO

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