MY HOM,ETOWN GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE STARTED AFTER THE END OF FASTING

My gastronomic adventure with my buddy started on the 9th day of Syawal - 9 days after fasting in the month of Ramadhan ended. My gastronomic adventure buddy, Mr. Redzuan, was also free to go food hunting so I decided to ask him out for my early dinner.

Initially we wanted to go to this one place but it was not opened yet after Eid, or had closed down for the day. It should be operating according to Google Maps but we were deceived by the information. It happened to us recently when the information of an eating place was not correct on Google Map. Hence, we made a return trip to Restoran Tomyam Syafiq in Taman Pulai Mutiara, our second time here.

We had the meal set for two, which was actually quite a lot. The Thai food was good and it was worth the money.

Thanks to Mr. Redzuan for the time. Hope he is ready to start with our regular meeting for all kinds of food after this.

THE 8TH DAY OF EID 1447H

  28TH MARCH 2026   ~ I was invited to the Eid Open House held by an ex-student of SMK Taman Universiti [SPM batch 1999], Ms. Zalila Ali, at her house in Taman Sri Pulai. Her husband is also an ex-student of the same school but too bad, he was working on that day so I could not meet him.

This was the third event involving eating all kinds of food of the day so I could eat that much.

There were also other ex-students of the same batch who attended the Open House. We had planned actually to be there at the same time.

I just got to know the host's younger brother, Mr. Hazli Ali, is also an ex-student of mine.

Thanks to Ms. Zalila for the invitation. Hopefully I will be invited again for other open houses in the future.

GETTING MY ROTI CANAI AFTER ONE MONTH AND ONE WEEK

I completed my six days of optional fasting in the month of Syawal yesterday. The first breakfast I had after one month and six days extra of fasting was Roti Canai [and Teh Tarik]. Accompanied by my assistant [part time] gardener, Mr. Eko, we went to this stall named Restoran Warisan Pak Atan in Kampung Melayu, to try the flat bread for the first time.

THE REVIEW OF THE ROTI CANAI: the flat bread was alright but unfortunately, the dhal gravy was not. It was a bit salty and thin at the same time. I have tasted better gravy at other places. Bear in mind, the gravy is one factor that determine whether the meal set is good or not.

I should now write Roti Canai review at the stalls/restaurants I visit in Johor Bahru after this.

THE 7TH DAY OF EID 1447H

Mr. Raja Mohd. Hilmi and his family members came visiting for Eid today. I only taught him English for tuition classes when he was in form 3 and 5, but he seems to be the only one from SMK Kempas who is still keeping in touch now [after he came visiting today]. The last time I saw him during Eid was back in 2017 [READ HERE]. Nine years ago, he had only two children but now there are already four.

I might be seeing him and his other family members next week in Seremban, and hopefully that will happen.

THE 2ND DAY OF EID 1447H

   22ND MARCH 2026    ~ The very first visitors for Eid this year were two ex-students of SMK Taman Universiti, Mr. Sharmin and Mr. Sharudin Mazlan. They came with other family members, their mother and nephew, and Mr. Sharmin's wife and kids. This is like a regular annual get together for us, and hopefully they will still come to visit next year and the following year after that.

The next group of people who arrived for Eid visit was Puan Hayati Ismail, a friend of UPM TESL Class of 1993, together with her husband and daughter. They are now the residents of Putrajaya who go back to Kota Tinggi to celebrate Eid with their relatives. The other sons, now that they have grown to be young adults, did not follow the parents like they used to.

Puan Hayati and Mr. Faizam are also the regular Eid visitors who drop by almost every year. I got to thank both of them for the kind gestures and may we celebrate Eid together for many more years to come.

THE 6TH DAY OF EID 1447H

Mr. Mohd. Arif and Puan Nurul Ain, who are both ex-students of SMK Taman Universiti, and are husband-and-wife couple, came visiting for Eid today. Their three boys tagged along. The eldest is already 13 years old. The last time they came visiting, the children were smaller and much younger.

It was a pleasure to see the family again and hope they will make a comeback next year and many more years to come.

THE 5TH DAY OF EID 1447H

The first guests of the day were Mr. Ahmad Fadillah Mohd. Aris, my ex-Budiman classmate of SMS Muar, and his wife and two daughters. They were here for Eid and stopped by to visit me for Eid before going back home to Kepala Batas, Penang.

They were still interested to visit my backyard garden under the hot afternoon sun.

The second group that came in the afternoon was Puan Humairah Harun who was accompanied by her husband and four children. Humairah is an ex-student of SMK Taman Universiti [SPM batch 2004, I think] and I taught her English when she was in Form 1 and 2.

It is always a pleasure to see old friends and ex-students once in a while, and Eid is one of the best times to get reconnected.