INTRODUCING KACANG POOL HAJI TO A TESL FRIEND

The mission of this morning gastronomic adventure was to introduce Kacang Pool Haji to a TESL friend from Kuala Lumpur. We set to meet at Selera Johor Food Court at 7:45 a.m. as the place was expected to be crowded on Sunday morning.

Fried Oyster Mushroom

Cekodok Pisang
[Banana Fritters]

Kacang Pool Haji

I am glad that Puan Hayati Burkhan liked her first attempt of having Kacang Pool, and she loved the Cekodok Pisang too. Mission accomplished. She and her husband had a flight to catch at 11:40 a.m. so we bade farewell for now. Hope to see them again some other time for other series of gastronomic adventures in Johor Bahru.

HAVING BREAKFAST AT DAPO CIKGU IN PORT DICKSON

  19th OCTOBER 2026   ~ We randomly chose Dapo Cikgu [TRANSLATE: Teacher's Kitchen] as the place for our breakfast in Port Dickson.

This place offered the usual traditional Malay food for breakfast like Nasi Lemak, Lontong and Roti Canai.

We both opted for Mee Kari [Curry Noodles] and it was a wise decision as it was delicious.

To complement the main dish, we also had Lempeng [plain pancake] that was eaten with Sambal Tumis [cooked chili paste that served as a condiment to many Malay cuisines].

Once our tummies were happy, we were then ready to do a bit of exploration and find out what Port Dickson had to offer.

GETTING BACK TO UTM TO TEACH ENGLISH AFTER SO MANY YEARS

 

An old friend who is a teaching staff of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia [UTM] contacted me a few weeks ago, asking whether I would be interested to teach English. My first question was, whether it would be physical or online classes. Once informed the classes would be conducted face-to-face, I agreed without any hesitation.

Today, the first physical class was conducted, on week 3 of the semester. The first two classes were still conducted online as all learning institutions in Johor state were instructed to be closed because of the haze.

After 2 years and 10 months being away from school, I was excited to get into the classroom to do something I do best: Teach.

The lecture was held at T02 block, a new faculty building I had never been to. I arrived earlier and discovered there was a cafeteria on the ground floor. That was good news, now that I know I could always eat breakfast before the class starts.

HAPPINESS: to find Roti Canai and Teh Tarik available, and at reasonable prices.

The class went well despite the technical glitch i.e. the LCD project did not work. We had to resort to plan B, using Google Meet to watch the slide presentations. I was happy that I got to see real students in a real classroom one more time.

As I was about to leave the faculty, an ex-student [of SMK Taman Universiti] appeared out of nowhere. Fans are everywhere. He is now one of the faculty staff and he even helped me to report about the problem I had encountered with the projector to the technician of the faculty.

If you find me busier now, then you should know the reason already. I have another class to teach this Friday afternoon and am looking forward to that as well.

REVISITING WARONG BUNDA FOR THE THIRD TIME WITH ANOTHER TESL FRIEND [AND HER HUSBAND]

   24TH OCTOBER 2026    ~ Puan Hayati Ismail [a friend of UPM TESL Class of 1993] and her husband were in Johor Bahru [with their kids]. A breakfast date was set with the parents and she wanted it to be at Warung Bunda, the place where I had taken other TESL friends before.

I arrived there at 7:30 a.m. and there was already a large crowd occupying all the tables in the main eating area. Fortunately, there were still a few left at one part of the eating place.

Visitors could easily be impressed by the wide array of choices they had in the room where all the food was put on the counters.

Lontong Kering/Darat

everything mixed up

Lontong Kuah

Kuih-muih

We, on the other hand, were not extravagant with the amount of food taken for breakfast.

We could not stay too long in the restaurant as there were people standing everywhere, newcomers eyeing for empty seats. It was always my pleasure to entertain friends from near and far over meals and hopefully we could do this some other time, either here or in Kuala Lumpur/Selangor area.

Warong Bunda's Visit #1 and Visit #2

THE GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE AT A FAMOSA RESORT, MELAKA

   18TH OCTOBER 2026    ~ I am always happy to get the breakfast package when putting up a night at a hotel or resort.  Most of the time, it would be cheaper compared to the walk-in price. We were among the early birds to drive to the Club House of A Famosa Resort for breakfast, the place where we stayed and the same venue for the wedding reception attended the night before.

Omelette

Puri

Pancake + Honey

Tom Yum Noodles

I met two old friends, the ex-Fourth Collegian of Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, who also attended the reception.

All in all, I was happy with the breakfasts served, especially when there were two rare items found for breakfast: Puri and Tom Yum Noodles. Besides, there was a wide variety of food to choose for breakfast from the stations and counters.