Finding Random Pleasure on Long Beach

Another ordinary Thursday afternoon at the office with nothing much left to do until the end of the day. Its been an overall hectic and emotional week for me starting with my trip to KL last weekend which didn't turn out exactly as I hoped it would.. but it doesn't mean that it was completely horrible. I did get to catch up with my two BFFs for a bit which is always fun and relaxing to just chill (spoken with the intonation of a Rastafarian lighting up Mary Jane). For me, there is just something about hanging out with really good friends that almost always makes everything feel better no matter what is going on in life at the time. My two BFFs in particular.. Rifhan and Nanee whom I've known for 6 years are just a hoot to be with and exudes as much fun as you can get out of a barrel of monkeys.. Most importantly, they always know how to make me laugh and help me spend my money =P.

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Once such occasion happened only a couple of weekends back when someone (Nanee) decided to go for a weekender at Perhentian Islands. It took her roughly an hour to come up with the idea to go, plan the entire trip and pretty much get everything organized. The hard part I suppose was trying to convince me to go. I must admit it took me awhile before i decided to go on the supposedly random trip. In fact, I did try to avoid the allegedly "gentle" pressure of my BFFs until the very last minute. Truth be told, I was quite worried about my own financial situation at the time with our other holiday plan(a trip to Europe) just looming around the corner. However and happily, I must say that the entire trip wasn't half bad save for the fact that I lost some money (and my wallet) which until now I have no idea ended up where exactly as well as a few nasty tumbles here and there. Oh yes, and perhaps my biggest regret of all which still haunts me every time I look into a mirror.. a severe lack of sunblock!

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It all started with a half day's worth of work for me followed by a somewhat frantic dash to and around KL to make it in time to meet up with my fellow travellers for some odd reason in Greenwood, Gombak to get on the bus heading to Kuala Besut and its jetty. It was my first time to Terengganu and in fact, my first time on the upper side of the East Coast so it was definitely a unique experience.. one which I hope I wouldn't have to repeat anytime soon if going by bus. Word to the wise, if you're to the East Coast.. the best thing is to be fly, don't even bother if going by road. I knew it was going to be a long 8 hour bus ride but what I didn't know was that more than 3/4 of the journey would be on backwater, hilly country roads.

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Our journey started at 10pm with Rifhan and I sitting in the first row with nothing at all to obstruct our view of the road.. and yes, it was like a roller coaster ride in the dark for at least 6 hours.. by far, the scariest ride of my life. The road was nothing less than treacherous.. how the driver can still speed in such conditions is horrifying. Half the time, I tried to just keep my closed as the bus moved rather violently all around according to the hill range the road was on, praying that it would be over soon. Trust me, it was bad but if you like the feeling of having more than a dozen close shaves at a time, then by all means.. go ahead.

We reached Kuala Besut before dawn and still shrouded in the darkness of night, but the peacefulness of the small town did make the bus ride seem less traumatic. We did have to wait for awhile before we actually made our way to Perhentian Island itself because we didn't have any confirmed accommodation at the time.. part and parcel of the trouble you get when travelling in random backpacker mode I suppose. We got to Long Beach on the small island (Perhentian Kecil) just before noon and in the sweltering heat. Unfortunately, our room wasn't ready at the time so we had a quick lunch on the beach as we waited. I can't seem to recall the place that we stayed in but I think it was Matahari. The chalets weren't so bad.. decent digs if you don't mind the fact that they ration the electricity in the chalets according to certain fixed hours which at times, did cause quite a hassle.

The variety of food available on Long Beach could clearly be seen to cater more to the Western palette although the there were some local dishes like fried noodles, roti canai and such. All were fairly priced if you consider the fact that your on an island filled with 90% foreigners. However, if you're watching every sen, then the food is priced slightly above average.. but really, where's the fun if you are stinging on your vacation? Most places serve the same thing but you can never go wrong if you order seafood. You can bet that it's all fresh and very yummy. At night, most restaurants would have a set barbaque menu where you have your choice of grilled seafood with your choice of sauce, side dish and drink (fish lover Rifhan made sure none of us had the shark). A very good deal I must say and the setting was also spectacularly beautiful as you get to have dinner on the sand, by the sea and under a diamond sky (I hadn't seen such a starry night in a very long while). The only drawback I'd have to say is the fact that the lighting at the dining table was quite dim so you can't really see your food. At first, we laughed at the Mat Sallehs' having their dinner with a torchlight but then realized that it was actually quite necessary though silly.

Another good eating spot definitely worth trying out which is more secluded than the restaurants on the beach is the restaurant in Panorama resort.. again, can't really remember the name of it but just head to the Panorama and you wont miss it. The restaurant is probably the best on the island though its location is not as idyllic as the ones on the beach itself. The setting and decor of the restaurant is very Robinson Crusoe-ish, almost like a treehouse or hut on a tropical island with a very earthy feel to it. The food selection is also much more extensive than anywhere else. The prices are still reasonable though service can be quite a pain. It appears that if you're gonna go to Long Beach, the restaurant at Panorama is something that you shouldn't miss out on. After dinner, we usually headed to the Palm Tree Cafe just next to the Panorama and on the beach to either have drinks and dance the night away or umm.. play ridiculous card games?

Overall, it was a good weekend to get high on finger foods (we ate A LOT of sandwiches) and uber delicious fresh seafood of all sorts. However, this is obviously not the best part of the trip. The best part? Is yet to come =)

A Job of Courting

Exhaustion = the only thing that came into my mind as I stepped into my office this morning at about half past 11am after another run around day in court which appears to be more and more the crux of my work life; the daily cycle and drudgery of running around an old courthouse trying to attend to all matters of the day on time (half of which start at the same time) and if possible, in the shortest amount of time necessary. Most of the junior or 'one man show' litigation lawyers are sent (or through their own volition) to go running around in this fashion so its not surprising that you would meet the same people every single day though truth be told.. I barely remember the name of less than a handful.

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I must say that I'm not always resentful of this part of my daily tasks.. Quite often when I take a breather from all that rushing around, I notice the calming sea view front opposite the main entrance which probably makes it one of the more scenic courthouses in the country. The view of the green vastness of the Istana Gardens on the side of the building isn't bad either. I have to admit, I never thought that my hometown could be even remotely scenic before this. The small talk along the corridors of the courthouse is quite interesting as well as I must acknowledge that the lawyers in town are much more friendly and approachable than in KL.. this is an undeniable fact. I suppose in KL, people become more self-involved and rush a whole lot more than those here.. not to finish their cases on time but to beat the traffic during rush hours.. which sometimes seems consist of 20 hours out a 24 hour day. Nonetheless, there are just some days where you can be sick of going to court.. where the waiting is insufferable and the opposition, to put it lightly can get on one's nerves.

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Perhaps it is normal to grow tired and bored of things you do on a daily basis.. such is one of the many pitfalls of working life.. But then again, after being in a semi-monotonous job as well as a job that has flung me all the over place.. I prefer the latter which is more stable.. Perhaps I am more traditional than I ever thought I was or perhaps I am just getting old. Quite possibly, its a combination of both.

Let's Do Lunch..

Another dreary saturday afternoon in the office without a single prospect of anything fun to do.. Not that I'm in the mood for much now at this point as after feeling confident for the past week or so that I had found a legal loophole to help my case that is coming up, I suddenly find that said loophole has collapsed on itself leaving me only with unsettled dust and rubble.. and a case which I have yet to prepare for, all because I was banking on a dismissal based on technicalities. The only thing I would say that I'm looking forward to today is a nice lunch.. by myself. By the way, its not as pathethic as it sounds because sometimes, the best thing to do is just to get away from it all and today is a good day for that not only because I need to nurse a bruised ego but also because my parents have a kenduri to attend so no home prepared meal today.

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As much as I haven't admitted it in the past, there are actually a number of places around town which offer up some pretty decent grub at a not so insanely expensive prince range.. In other words, its not that difficult to find a place that satisfies the rumblings of the tummy without burning a hole in the pocket. The best part is, being in JB which is almost virtually jam free (yes.. after living in KL, I consider JB jam-free) most of the makan places only take 5 or 10 minutes to get to.. bearing in mind, I do live near the town. One such hotspot for a nice lunch would include:

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Mee Rebus Stulang

People say that mee rebus is a quintessentially a Johorian dish although some may disagree. Being a Johorian myself, I would have to agree with the former and that one of the best places of get some is in a shop by the sea on the side of Stulang Laut just before the Singapore Customs checkpoint and the old dilapitated Merlin Inn. I cant recall the name of the shop exactly but since its the only one there that sells mee rebus, you cant really go wrong. Admittedly, despite my status as a born and bred Johorian.. there are certain Johorian dishes which I dont quite fancy.. asam pedas and mee rebus are 2 of them. Simply put, you just wont see me have a hankering for these things but having said that, the mee rebus at Stulang Laut is still quite tasty actually though. Its thick brown gravy is its crowning glory. The hot meat based sauce with just a hint sweetness coats and sticks well to the mee. As the consistency of the gravy is fairly thick, the noodles dont end up too soggy and as such the mee still retains it springy bite. The usuals garnishes for mee rebus would include half a hard boiled egg, some fried tow foo with deep fried onions and kueh just to give it an extra crunch. Beansprouts (unnecessary and does nothing for the taste in my opinion) and a little green chilli are also added especially for those who want to pack on a bit more heat. All in all, the flavours and textures do melt well into each other and make for one very satisying dish.. all for the cost of less than RM5.

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I must say, eventhough I still dont generally "like" this dish.. if I do happen to by chance find it under the tudung saji, I would not really be one to refuse. But this is not where I intend to have lunch today. Instead, I have somewhere else in mind.. yet another landmark of good food in JB as far as I'm concerned. I've visited it since I was a little girl and apparently its been around town for quite a while.. well over half a decade when my grandfather who has since passed used to take his sons and daughters, one of them being my dad. Unfortunately, as the time is almost 1pm and I only work half day on saturdays, I guess I would have to save the details for another day.

Ye Olde Bakery.. they got it right.

Flipping through the local section of a newspaper the other day, I saw a write up on a couple of pre-merdeka bakeries in the old part of the JB town that were supposed to be quite popular among people around town yet me being typically me, I have never heard of either. So one day, while in that part of town after what was a failed attempt to find any tailor that can make a court robe (Note: As far as I know there are none to be found in JB so if you need one, you'd have to go up to KL.. not that I'm complaining) I stumbled by chance on one of those bakeries called Hiap Joo along Jalan Hiok Nee and decided to see what all the fuss was about. Needless to say, the shop was very small and unassuming but it was packed with at least half a dozen workers all crammed up a bunch of sardines in a tin can forming an assembly line from dough preparing, kneading and baking. They don't actually have a counter or any form of proper display for you to pick and choose your bread of choice like other bakeries but they do have a menu listing out the buns they make.. (something I only realized on my 2nd visit). However, as I was a bit early on that particular day and all that was ready at the time was banana cake so I had that.

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Under normal circumstances, I'm not much of a fan of banana cakes but I gave it a shot anyway because alang-alang lah katakan.. Surprise, surprise.. it wasn't half bad at all. Well, actually.. I sort of figured that it would taste good judging from the big basket of ripe yellow bananas I saw which just arrived at the bakery door. (Signs of fresh ingredients denotes signs of fresh food).

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The banana cake was very light and had spongy texture which is not very usual for this type of cake that is known to be kind of dense. The taste of the bananas and butter from the still warm cake fresh from the charcoal oven were ever present but yet not completely overwhelming or overpowering.. just the right combination of flavour to compliment the slightly fluffy cake. All in all, it made for a very satisfactory morning with another hidden gem uncovered.

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Nonetheless, it must be noted the cake doesn't keep well for very long. If you decide not eat it on the same day you buy it (which is a challenge in itself), it must be refrigerated or else it would go bad.. Keep it out for more than a day and you might as well chuck the whole thing in the bin. Unfortunately, this is what happened when I tried to bring it back to some people during a weekend back in KL.. yes, I really cant stay away from KL too long.. its an addiction. But if all your after is a light snack to munch on then a slice of banana cake from Hiap Joo Bakery could very well fix your day.

A New Beginning.

Saturday, 11 July 2009 - 11.14am

So I finally decided to start a blog as a good excuse to pretend like I'm working on something when I have nothing better to do in the office.. Yes, I am in the office. The working hours of my new firm requires me to work half day on Saturdays, at least until the end of probation. To date, it's been almost 2 months since I started working in my new firm back in my hometown of JB.. 2 months since I left my life in KL along with all the people I've known and things that I love.. and 2 months of just counting every single day to when I can get back to KL again. It might seem a bit like an overreaction.. after all, how bad can my hometown be. But truth be told and unfortunately so that when I left it almost 8 years ago, I burnt down a number of bridges behind me. So now, I start from scratch.. learning to adapt to not just for the most part, being on my own but adapt to the different social scene and lifestyle as well. Undoubtedly, it gets very lonely at times but in my situation or at least for the time being, I have no choice but to persevere. It took 2 months but slowly, I wiped all my tears away and I stopped crying and feeling bad for myself about being in such a miserable lonely state long enough to realize that life is what you make of it no matter where you are and that there is always fun and good things to be had if you just take the time to look a little closer for it. This is my new mission.. to rediscover my hometown, to find out what makes it tick and to hopefully find contentment in being back home in that process.