ZAINIK CAFE REVISITED FOR A LATE LUNCH

   27th SEPTEMBER 2026    ~ The late lunch on Sunday took place at Zainik Cafe, one of the eating places that we always visit in Gelang Patah. One reason: one could get freshly cooked Malay dishes from the kitchen. Even though it was already late, at about 3:00 p.m., there were still many people dining in when we arrived. Perhaps people eat out on Sundays.

Rice

Tom Yum

Chicken Asam Pedas

Fried Cabbage

Omelette

My friend the regular partner of the gastronomic trips was happy with the food, and so was I. There could be possibilities we would be coming back again to this place some other time.

FOOTNOTE: I had dinner [cum a farewell gathering] after that in the evening at a Mamak in the same area as Zainik Cafe, with my Chess teacher friends. [READ HERE]

THE FAREWELL GATHERING OF A CHESS TEACHER FRIEND

Mr. Ariff Alias, a teacher friend of the Johor Bahru Chess Team, called for a gathering this evening at Al-Safa Restaurant in Gelang Patah. The reason: his application to be transferred back to Terengganu was approved.

This was my first time at this Mamak restaurant. The eating area was huge especially the open area which was supposed to be parking spaces for vehicles but were filled with tables and chairs.

Mr. Ariff will still be here until December so there might be a possibility that another gathering will be called after this. We chess teachers just love to party once in a while.

EXPLORING THE SOUTH GATE OF XI'AN CITY WALL IN THE EVENING - PART 2

CONTINUATION OF PART ONE

   3RD SEPTEMBER 2026    ~ I noticed that we were at the gate where there were not many activities going on, except for the theatre performance in the centre court. Maybe the activities were restricted because of the show. Once the performance was over, more lights were lit up, and the place became brighter. So we continued taking as many photos as possible at different spots and angles.

You still have to be there to observe and admire the beauty of the City Wall at night. The photos I took did not do justice to the spectacular view of the Chinese architecture.

There was another trip to another gate of the City Wall which was in the itinerary. However, that would happen in the afternoon and the vibe would not be the same with what we had experienced in the evening.

THERE IS ALWAYS A FIRST TIME AT TAMAN NUSANTARA NIGHT MARKET

  24TH SEPTEMBER 2026   ~ Someone wanted to get food for his dinner and suggested we go to the Night Market at Taman Nusantara. I happily obliged as I would like to know if there was anything special sold there.

We arrived at about 5:00 p.m. and there were already many people. Most of them were those who was on their way home from their work places and stopped by to get something from the night market.

As usual, there were variety of items on sale, especially food.

It was just another Pasar Malam [Night Market] but I was happy to be there for the first time. I don't mind going again next time.