THERE IS ALWAYS A FIRST TIME AT MADAM KWAN'S

   5TH JULY 2026    ~ I was on a short trip to Kuala Lumpur, attending a wedding reception of a friend's daughter. To kill many birds with one stone, the first gastronomic adventure started in the evening with a regular buddy.

We decided to visit Madam Kwan's that was located in Empire Mall that was attached to the hotel building where I was putting up the night; The main reason: it was the first time for us dining in the restaurant.

I had Bojari Rice while my friend chose Dumpling Noodle Soup. His food tasted better than mine.

There were still many empty tables when we arrived at about 6:00 p.m. but people started streaming in for dinner after that.

Thanks to Mr. Norazman for the company. Hoping for more gastronomic adventure to happen in Kuala Lumpur some other time, or it could also take place in Johor Bahru.

THE SHORT LUNCH SESSION DURING SOMEONE'S LUNCH BREAK

I attended a JKM activity in school [READ HERE] and decided to pass something to my gastronomic adventure friend, Mr. Redzuan, at his workplace. He eventually decided to go out for lunch during his lunch break instead.

He suggested we went to this place called Restoran Abda in Jalan Abdul Samad. There were not many people yet when we arrived at that place.

Unfortunately, I chose the wrong dish for my rice. The chili clam was too sweet for me.

It was just a short dine in session as he had to return to his office. There will be no gastronomic adventure this coming weekends as my friend needs to go back to his hometown to vote for the state election.

THE CRIME PREVENTION ACTIVITY IN SCHOOL

Pasukan Kebajikan Kanak-kanak [Children's Welfare Team], a sub-division of Welfare Department held a Crime Prevention activity at Sekolah Menengah Taman Selesa Jaya. I was invited during the closing ceremony as I am one of the committee members.

I was first welcomed by old friends who are now teaching in that school as I arrived at 9:30 a.m.

I was actually there during the closing ceremony, to give away token of appreciation to the guest speaker and representative of the hosting school.

This was the first activity and there will be four more schools to be visited after this.

THE GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE IN TAMAN MELAWATI

    6TH JULY 2026    ~ When I was in Kuala Lumpur, one of the compulsory gastronomic adventures would be with Mr. Ridwan Wahid [a friend of UPM TESL Class of 1993] and his wife, Puan Suhaila Sulong. I met them in Johor Bahru only last week [READ HERE AND HERE] and we were out for food hunting again not long after.

This time they took me for lunch at Taman Melawati. This was my first time having a meal in this area. The chosen restaurant was Pandan Dream, which was not actually the original place Puan Suhaila wanted to go.

At 3:30 p.m. there were just us and another group of three people in the dining area.

The portion of the food was big and it was tasty. Despite the fact that we were just trying our luck, the restaurant qualified a positive review from me.

 

SPOT THE ERROR 231

TRANSPOSITION:

wrong word order.

ZAATAR RESTAURANT REVISITED FOR A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

My gastronomic adventure partner celebrated his birthday today. He decided to revisit Zataar Restaurant in Puteri Harbour for the Arab food, and I quickly agreed with his choice.

We arrived at the restaurant at about 2:30 p.m. and the seats on the ground floor were mostly occupied. Guess this place was popular among the locals and visitors.

Apple Juice

Maqluba Rice

Lamb Kebab

Kunafa

The food was good and the birthday boy was happy. Wishing Mr. Redzuan a happy and healthy life ahead and may we continue to embark on many more gastronomic adventures after this.

THE GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE IN ROMPIN

    28th JUNE 2026    ~ Before checking in at the chalet, we stopped by for lunch at Rompin. The name of the restaurant was Wan's Nine Corner. There were still people eating when we arrived at about 1:30 p.m. but less choices of dishes left. Many people might have come earlier.

I had eaten at this place before in December 2022, during a road trip with my ex-colleagues. [READ HERE]

Initially the plan was to eat at this popular spot in Endau but there were too many people when we arrived. Eventually I did not get to eat there and I was truly sad and disappointed.

grilled stingray in "sambal" [chillies]

Lunch was good and the price was reasonable. We did not stay long as the weather was hot and we were already tired. We needed to check in and get a good rest.