My Stupidity, The Alchemist & Arabic Food

My Stupidity. The Alchemist. Arabic Food. Seemingly, there's no connection, right? Well, this is how the story goes ....

I don't know why I kept thinking that my flight was 11.15 a.m. when it was stated clearly in my notes that it was 1.15 p.m. As a result, I got to KLIA at 10.15 a.m. I did not even realise my mistake until I caught sight of my mobile boarding pass. It stated there "Boarding Time 12.45". At once, I cursed by stupidity!!

What was I going to do for 3 hours? I tried to linger at Duty Free, but there was nothing that caught my eye. Perhaps because I was not planning on buying anything. Then, at the Flying Emporium, where books and magazines were sold, I picked up a copy of The Alchemist by Paulo Cuelho.

This book had been in my reading list for a long time. I had been meaning to read it, but somehow I just never got my hands on a copy. I read the first few pages, and decided that I could read it and so I bought it.

Well, it is an easy read, ab0ut a shepherd boy named Santiago. Readers follow Santiago as he searches for his treasure. It is a tale about seeking one's dreams and aspirations. If one really wants something, all the universe conspires in helping him or her to achieve it.

I loved the many layers of of meaning that are interwoven in the book, that makes this simple story a very complex, yet meaningful one. Thankfully, reading the book helped to pass time quickly. And thankfully, the flight was on time.

I thought this flight was more enjoyable than the many flights that I've flown on MAS. Perhaps the flight attendants were extra hospitable. I could feel their sincerity as soon as I walked into the plane and when announcements were made.

Indeed, as soon as we were on air, pre-meal drinks were served. I thought pre-meal drinks were a thing of the past, when inflight services were first-rated.

Then, the food cart was rolled out and we were offered an Arabic fare for lunch. I opted for chicken kebab instead of beef stew.

This is one of the more elaborate meals that I have been served.
Compare with this.


Chicken Kebab with Steamed Rice

I do like the chicken kebab, as it was not too heavily spiced. I have no idea what was the sauce that coated the meat, though. It could have been cheese or something, but anyway, it did go well with the chicken. Besides the mains, there in the meal box was a piece of cake. It did not look appetising, but in fact it did tasted good. It was soft, and rather rich and moist. There was also a Cadbury Gold chocolate.

After lunch, we were each given a Magnum Mini. That made me really happy. Meanwhile, the flight attendants continued to ply the passengers with drinks - tea or coffee, juice, water of soft drinks. They were so hospitable that before we even realised it, we were going to land. Awesome, I wish every flight would be like this. My heartfelt thanks to the crew members, led by the leading steward, Raju (I think that's his name ;p).

Well, it was a wonderful closure for my holiday, I would say.

Longchamp Le Pliage

I don't even know how to say the name properly. I first heard of it a few years back. But I did not pay any attention to it till end of last year, when it started to become popular in Malaysia and Singapore. My cousin told me that it was so popular in Singapore that almost everyone seemed to be carrying one.

Hence from then on, I coveted a Longchamp folding bag. It is made of vinyl and has leather trimmings. It looks casual, yet elegant. Maybe that is why it's popular.

At first, I wanted a Medium shopping bag, but when I went to the store at The Gardens in April, the colours they had left were black, lagoon, and palm green. I wanted mine in navy. So I did not buy one then.

Immediately after that visit, I started to take a liking to the small bag with short handles. I went to the store at The Gardens again in May, and they had plenty of colours to choose from but there was none in navy, which was the colour I wanted. However, ironically this time they had the Medium shopping bag in navy and black. But I no longer wanted the big bag. Again, I did not manage to buy my bag.

This time, I went to the Longchamp outlet at Isetan KLCC. Again, I asked for the small bag in navy. They too did not have this in stock. It was the most popular colour, you see. Therefore, the salesman tried to talk me into getting a limited edition piece, which was navy and had pretty embroidery on one side - The Tree Of Life. I hesitated because it was so much more expensive compared to the classic bag. Plus, my cousin had that same piece, but in white.

So, I started to seriously consider the other colours available. Black, red, chocolate, curry, lagoon, and palm green were out. I could choose mauve, grey, taupe, beige or graphite. Among those colours, graphite suited me the most. I held it for a long time, and looked hard into the mirror. Hmn. It did suit me. Was it the black top and blue jeans that I was wearing that day that somehow matched the colour of the bag? I could not be certain. The salesman too commented that graphite suited me. Curious, I asked him why he said so. He said he did not know but it was just a feeling. Lol. I guess I exuded GRAPHITE!!

Anyway, after lingering for a long time in the shop and parading around with the different coloured bags, I decided to buy the graphite. Lol.

The paper bag

Folded up

Opened up

So, I have now my first piece of Longchamp Le Pliage small handbag. Finally. Yayy!!

Jin Xuan Hong Kong Dim Sum @ Kuchai Lama

The three of us went for a Dim Sum breakfast at Jin Xuan Hong Kong Dim Sum at Kuchai Lama that morning.

We were quite early so there weren't many customers yet. Otherwise we would have to queue up for a table.

It was my second visit to this Dim Sum outlet. They offered a large variety of dumplings on the menu. Guess that's why I did not mind going back there.

We had some steamed dumplings ...

Prawn dumplings in crystal pastry

Siew Mai

Char Siu Bao
The bao was quite yum. The char siu filling was sweet and gooey.

And some deep-fried dumplings ...

Deep-fried prawns in beancurd skin
This is bro's perennial favourite. The beancurd skin was crispy while the prawns were succulent.

Prawns in pastry

I did not think the prawns and pastry complemented each other. The pastry was rather hard too.

Savoury deep-fried rice cake
I liked this dumpling. The filling of minced pork was savoury, and I liked the taste of the deep-fried rice ball

Not forgetting the must-haves ...

Steamed ribs in black bean
I liked the steamed ribs which were rather tasty

Phoenix claws

The phoenix claws here were on the savoury side, but I think I preferred them to be slightly sweeter

Lotus leaf rice

I liked the salted egg yolk in the lotus leaf rice as it gave it a rich flavour

Lor Mai Kai
I suppose the Lor Mai Kai would taste alright on its own. But if compared to the Steamed Lotus Leaf rice, I think the Lotus Leaf rice was more fragrant and tastier.

The price here is standard. The Dim Sum is categorised into large, medium and small. A large Dim Sum (大点) was RM4.50, A medium Dim Sum (中点) was RM4.00, and a small Dim Sum (小点) was RM3.60. When we asked for the bill, someone would come to the table to calculate the plates and steamers. The boy worked quickly and after he finished, he would then issue a bill and place a Thank You card on the table.


Err, I just wondered why he couldn't just say thank you in person. Wouldn't that be more sincere? Lol. Anyway, all those Dim Sum plus Chinese tea for 3 persons and 5% tax came to RM47.85.

Honey Baked Lamb Chop

Before we parted ways, my friends and I had a meal at Pat Kin Pat Sun 不见不散 Cafe at Taman Shamelin Perkasa, Cheras. They said that this Cafe served the best lamb chop they were able to find in KL. That was a highly disputable claim. But okay, I was interested. I wanted that lamb chop.

It turns out that 不见不散 is a Hong Kong Style Cafe, not unlike so many others mushrooming in town. It is something like Kim Bay, Kim Gary, and Food & Tea, just to name a few. Perusing the menu, I noted that there was an extensive array of items in the menu - from fried rice to sandwiches, cheese baked rice to Hong Kong style Dim Sum.

We ordered 3 sets of Honey Baked Lamb Chop. And while waiting for our orders to arrive, we had some Dim Sum.

Yam Puffs or Taro Dumplings as indicated in the menu

Cross section of yam puff

The yam puff was delicious. Its taste reminded me of my favourite pastry back in Kuching.

Phoenix Claws
These were also yum. It was tender, with the flavour of the black beans coming through nicely, and slightly sweet. Just as I like it.

And finally, the star of the meal, the Honey Baked Lamb Chop arrived.

Ta-da!
At RM17.90, there were 2 large pieces of lamb shoulder, grilled and then glazed with honey. Hence, it was on the sweet side. The lamb was served with coleslaw, fries and a small bun. The portion was rather huge, so we thought the price was reasonable.

Well, there seems lots of things to try here at Pat Kin Pat Sun 不见不散 Cafe. I must come again in the future.

Curry Chee Cheong Fun & Yong Tau Foo

What is the food that you look forward to eat when you come home from overseas? Like a true Sarawakian, Bro said with certainty that he would like Kolo Mee. Sis-in-law preferred Assam Laksa. Me? I think I would like to eat Sarawak Laksa or Kolo Mee, like Bro.

We had not eaten spicy food for 10 days, and so my friends were craving for curry. That morning, they brought me to Jalan Damai Utama near their house in Bandar Kinrara for breakfast.

There, at a corner coffee shop, which I had failed to take note of its name, we ordered Yong Tau Foo & Chee Cheung Fun in curry sauce.


I liked the freshly made Yong Tau Foo, and the Chee Cheung Fun was rather smooth. The curry sauce was light, and not too salty. That, and a glass of Kopi Peng Kawww. Divine.

Whittaker's Chocolate

Whittaker's is a chocolate brand unique to New Zealand. Its original product is the The Original Peanut Slab.

Now there are 5 other different types of flavours to choose from - namely Dark Peanut, Almond Gold, Toasted Coconut Slab, Raisin Peanut, Whole Hazelnut.

Well, I'd talked about Whittaker's before. And as I said, I'd buy a few slabs if I happen to see them ;)

Whittaker's Choc Slabs

People tell me that they're actually available here in Malaysia. So I may be looking out for them the next time I'm in KL.

My Favourite Cookie

I love Cookie Time. Each cookie is about 10 cm in diametre, with the average weight of 95g. It is soft and chewy, and has this melt in your mouth quality. The Original cookie has got chocolate chunks in it. The chocolate chunks added texture to the cookie, and are just heavenly.

The Original Chocolate Chunk Cookie

You can have your cookie straight from the package, or you can pop it into the microwave for about 10 seconds. When warmed up, the cookie softens to become like cake.

When I was a student, a cookie was NZD 1.00. Now it's NZD 2.50. Actually, I found the price to vary from place to place, from NZD 1.95 at Pak N' Save to NZD2.50 at The Cookie Time outlet at Queenstown.

There were also a lot more flavours now compared to before, like Triple Chocolate, White Chocolate, Apricot Chocolate, and other fanciful flavours that I had never tried before.

The Original Chocolate Chunk on the left, Triple Chocolate on the right

Somehow, I had never felt the need to try the other flavours, because the Original Chocolate Chunk had tasted so very good.

At the Cookie Time outlet at Queenstown, freshly baked cookies were sold. From 6.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m., we could get 2 cookies for the price of one. How great that was.

A freshly baked cookie

At this outlet, I bought myself a 500g bag of Broken Cookies for NZD 8.00. Well, for consumption purposes, broken cookies were sufficient, as they tasted exactly the same.

Broken Original Chocolate Chunk Cookies

If I did not handle with care, the perfectly rounded cookies would break by the time I brought them back to Malaysia anyway. Lol.

Anyway, Cookie Time was a snack that I had loved and missed. I never seemed to see it anywhere else outside of New Zealand. I don't know when will be the next time I will get to eat my favourite cookie after this. So sad ....

But if you happen to get your hands on the cookie, do give it a try. I'm sure you will fall in love with it in no time. :))

Bats

I squinted my eye and focused on the distinctive shape of their flapping wings. Bats!! Circling above me as I stood at the school courtyard at 6.20 a.m. this morning.

Immediately, I took out my camera and started to take photographs. I had to capture this unbelievable moment. In my decade here in the school, this is the first time I'd seen bats hovering above me.

Well, when I went to Mulu, visitors from near and far waited and waited to watch bats stream out of the Deer Cave. It was no certain that they would appear, because if the weather was not good, they would certainly be no show. I remembered that we waited for so long that day at the observatory in Mulu.

But then this morning, bats had appeared unexpectantly, drawing a lot of interest from the whole lot of us. It was really an awe-inspiring sight.

When he saw the bats, my colleague believed it to be a good sign. For him, in fact, there might be a windfall soon. Me? I'm not superstitious or anything, and I don't know what to make of it. But, I am hopeful that it brings good luck. ;p

Day 11 : CHC - KUL

I woke up with a throbbing pain on my knee. Ouch. A check revealed large patches of bruises, purple and blue. No wonder it was so painful.

8 days on and still oh so colourful ...

Thank goodness that was the day to go home! We had to return our car at 12.00 p.m. And our flight D7 2767 was to take off at 3.15 p.m.

That morning, we set our wake up alarm at 7.00 a.m., and finished up everything we had for breakfast. We had ...

Baked beans

Eggs
Loading and unloading our groceries at each hostel meant that some of the things would be misplaced. Throughout our journey, we had misplaced half a packet of uncooked rice, half a bottle of milk, and we thought we misplaced the eggs too. But funnily, the eggs revealed themselves on our last day ... LOL

Pam's gourmet cookies

Chocolate Almond Cookies

All unfinished food would be placed in the "Free Food" basket, where it was free for all hostel dwellers. That was the standard practice at all the hostels we stayed in, and I thought that was cool as it meant that the unfinished items - like cooking oil, table salt, sugar, coffee, and sauces - would not go to waste.

The kitchen

The standard kitchen rules in hostels

We had no specific plans that morning. So off we went to the Westfield Riccarton Mall for some last minute shopping. There were a variety of shops there, ranging from discount stores, a supermarket, men and women's fashion, among others.

After the Mall, we returned our car and headed to the airport. We were rather early. The check-in counter was about to be opened. And the airport officials were rather strict. As we queued to check in, they checked that each of us had only 1 hand baggage not exceeding 7 kg. Mine was 5 kg. They also enquired if we had any liquid in our hand baggage as they knew us Malaysians were fond of buying Manuka honey. Indeed we had! So we transferred our honey into our luggage to check-in.

It was a full flight it seemed, and we were told to go to the Departure Hall immediately. We had a light lunch in the Departure Hall.

Steak, Bacon and Mushroom Pie (NZD5.60) and a Latte (NZD 4.00)
I could taste the bacon bits, but otherwise the pie filling was bland

Before long, we boarded our plane. I was seated on 19C, an aisle seat, for which I was glad. But this time, the other 2 seats in my row were occupied. So no extra space for me to stretch.

Two hours after we took off, dinner was served.

Malaysian Fish Curry
The rice was tasteless on its own, but the fish was lightly flavoured with curry and quite delicious

The thing about an afternoon flight was that people were just restless. They got up and about, and there was a neverending end to the use of the toilets. Because there was nothing to do, people kept ordering food and drinks to eat too! The flight attendants were kept busy dishing out cups and cups of instant noodles, drinks and snacks. Lol.

I was rather restless too! I tried very hard to sleep but I just couldn't. Hence, it was a terribly boring flight for me.

2 hours before landing at 8.00 p.m. Malaysian time, we were served dinner. And dinner was Nasi Lemak. Hmn. This Nasi Lemak did not taste like the Nasi Lemak that I usually have on the plane. It was not spicy at all as the sambal had a strong tomato flavour. I suspected that it was either cooked in NZ or it is cooked to tailor to the taste buds of the NZers. I did not like the Nasi Lemak at all.

We were all glad when we landed at LCCT. I got myself disembarked rather quickly, but had to wait for ages for my luggage. Then my friends and I jumped into a taxi which took us home. I spent that night at my friend's place in Puchong.

Day 10 : Greymouth - Christchurch

Noah's Ark Backpackers offers breakfast on the house. There were loaves of bread and a variety of spreads for guests to help themselves with. Coffee, tea and milk were also supplied.

After breakfast, We commenced the last leg of our journey. That morning, we were to travel from Greymouth back to Christchurch via State Highway 73, the major East-West Highway.

The highway runs along undulating flat lands ...

Flat land ...

and then climbs up towards Arthur's Pass

Climbing up ...

before descending again to the valley.

Going down ...

Arthur's Pass is set deep within Canterbury's Southern Alps, charaterised by roaring waterfalls, deep ravines, snow capped peaks. At 920 metres, it is the second highest pass that connects the East and the West Coast. The roads were steep and windy. So we were forced to drive with great caution. At times, we could not see very far due to the fog!

Foggy and winding ...

Along the way, there were plenty of ...

Sheep grazing on farmland ...

and there was a place called Castle Hill that showcased limestone rocks ...

Castle Hill

We reached Springfield, about 65 km way from Christchurch, for a much-needed coffee break.

Springfield Cafe & Store

And the specialty there was ...

Care for some?

Lol. Just kidding. That was just a poster that caught my eye in the shop. Doubt they served possum. Lol.

We ordered 2 pies to share. Each pie cost NZD4.90.

Steak Pie

Steak Pie Filling

Lamb, Kumara & Rosemary Pie

The taste of lamb was rather strong, and again we had to eat with lots of black pepper ...

After Springfield, we drove directly to Christchurch, the second biggest city in New Zealand, The Garden City. Christchurch is really a beautiful city. Unfortunately, due to the 22 February 2011 earthquake, the whole of the city centre was closed for reconstruction.

Music Centre of Christchurch

A building completely destroyed in the Earthquake

The Cathedral Square

It's such a pity. In my past visits, I'd always enjoyed strolling around the city centre. After the earthquake, everything was shut down.

While looking for an i-Site or a Visitor's Information Centre, I did not see a ledge, stepped on it, slipped and fell. My left knee was knocked hard against the road. Before I realised what had happened, I heard a lady calling out to me, "Are you all right?". She rushed over and helped me up. I was quite touched by her kind gesture. I wish everyone is as kind back home.

Anyway, I spent the rest of the day limping and hobbling about. Lol.

The Christchurch Art Gallery
It was here that I fell down ... lol ... i felt like a total klutz

Lunch was at McDonald's Eastgate, where I ordered a Grand Angus.

Grand Angus

Guess I was too greedy to have ordered such a large burger. It had a sourdough bun filled with a thick and tender Angus beef patty, red onion rings, cheese, tomato, and gourmet salad mix. A combo meal that came with a medium drink and fries was exactly NZD10.00.

We spent the afternoon visiting the University of Canterbury, and also the Westfield Riccarton Mall.

University of Canterbury, Christchurch

Our accommodation that night at Christchurch was at Around The World Backpackers at Barbadoes Street. The proprietor Geri received us warmly. Her hospitality was commendable. She was friendly, and she even took the trouble to show us around the hostel.

Around The World Backpackers

Yayy! Free wi-fi of up to 20MB

Our room was on the first floor, with 2 bunk beds.

Our room
Normally I would take the upper bunk ...
But because of my slight injury, I could not climb ...

From the balcony, we could enjoy the view of the garden.


And there was a school next door! At 3 p.m., school was out, the kids came out and we just stood they and watch them play before they went home. How fun it must be for them!!

Christchurch East School

Because it was a Wednesday, there was dinner on the house, and the menu that night was Beef and Bean Chilli, with salads and bread. I loved a good old chilli, and Geri's chilli was rather yum. Unfortunately, though, I did not take a photo of the dish. Camera was upstairs.

That night, we packed our bags, ready our flight home the next day.