Dec
14
2009

From Australia to Penang…

2004. Darling and I went on a tour to Australia. We befriended this lovely couple Khaw and Pei Pei. Khaw though acrophobia (afraid of heights), decided to join us for the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb. That morning, he could not have breakfast peacefully as he was fearing for the dreaded climb. Nevertheless, he made it up there and still managed to smile broadly for the group pic :) Back then we were all not married. Just courting couples going for a holiday breakaway..

Fast forward to 2009. Darling and I and not forgetting Ethan flew over to Penang where Khaw and now wife Pei Pei resides. The moment we landed in Penang International airport, Khaw was already there waiting for us. This is the only time we meet again after that Australia trip. And there he was standing, looking as good if not better than ever.

Khaw and the lovely Pei Pei

He took us to this restaurant for our lunch. The moment the food was served and I looked at the soup, I was like… eew.. so not nice looking. It looked oily and all. But then, being a soup lover I just can’t resist to try it. I thought it will be just like any other ordinary soup that comes together with the chicken rice but boy, am I wrong. One sip was all it took to jolt my senses back to life. It tasted kind of sour with just enough of spiciness and extremely delicious. All 6 of us (PJ folks) loved it to the max. The Penang locals calls it “Chap Choy Th’ng”. I simply call it my favourite soup! :D Oh, the combo of chicken, roast pork, char siew and chinese sausage were delicious too, but the soup just took the spotlight on this one!

How much does a meal like this cost in Penang? I don’t know because Khaw settled the bill for ALL of us..

After lunch, Khaw lead us back to our hotel and (being a Friday) headed back to work. I simply love the view from our room. It has a huge and long balcony and we just spend endless hours there enjoying the calm and soothing view…

In the evening, we went to the beach for some beach activities. We chose to ride this motor as Ethan is crazy over vehicles. Oh boy he really loved this one. We got a good deal on this. We were told that we can have unlimited time on the motor so off we took it for a ride. And just as we wanted to fully utilise our unlimited time, my derrier was getting hot. LOL. Seriously, I don’t think we can spend more than twenty minutes on this machine. At least not the person who sat at the back!

:D As much as he enjoyed the ride, he loved it even better when he was alone on the bike :)

And then, I met Eugene. But wait, that will be a whole different story as I will be dedicating a whole post just for him. So fans of Eugene, you’ll just have to wait until I blog about my meet up with this charming dude.. (Oops.. ok ok.. no more spoilers..)

At night, Khaw came again to our hotel with Pei Pei and I was estatic to finally meet her again. She did not join us in the afternoon as she was working. We headed to Gurney and had our dinner there. These are just some of the food that survived before I photographed them.

Going out with non-bloggers, they were all not aware of the ‘protocols’ so ended up walloping the food the instant they were served. But these people are fast learners. After a few minutes with me, I laughed like mad when Pei Pei said, “Here, photograph it first before eating“. Finally, they got the hang of what it’s like being with a blogger! :D

Again, both Khaw and Pei Pei paid for dinner. Thank you so so so much you guys. We ‘lepak’ in Gurney Plaza till very late before bidding farewell to both of them. Sigh, I just can’t thank them enough for their time and everything. Khaw and Pei Pei, thank you very much for your time and chaperoning us the whole day. Without you guys, we’ll be spending more than half of our time just driving aimlessly looking for dunno wat.. :D

About the Author: Merryn Tan

26 Comments + Add Comment

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eugene December 15, 2009 at 1:28 am

You really no good lah, left me with so little time for Ethan to warm up to me, you owe me big big time, sister.to pay back your due, you must come to Penang again,and stay no more in Flamingo by the Beach,instead stay in Hard Rock,Penang. ok.and please tell Ethan that uncle Eugene still misses him, cos the mommy didnt give us enough time to get to now each other better, bad bad mommy

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Irene December 15, 2009 at 1:52 am

nice hotel lah! and the food. eh next time we make trip there together? looks like fun, the last i wen penang was when i was preggers :)

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Irene December 15, 2009 at 1:53 am

btw, i see william & your head in tat pic taken in aussie, i laff till i nearly roll on the floor in my ofis! wahahahhahah!

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Merryn December 15, 2009 at 2:02 am

irene, laff all u want.. those were the days lah when i was sporting that freaky 'blonde' looks! hahahahahahha.. i was laffing like mad too when i see back that pic! blame it on loreal lah.. lol..

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Merryn December 15, 2009 at 2:02 am

eugene.. at least u get to carry ethan. he rarely lets ppl not known to him carry him u know. i'll be here waiting for YOUR turn to come down PJ.. hahaha..

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CH Voon December 15, 2009 at 2:13 am

Khaw and Pei Pei are great friend! They still remember you. :)From here, i knew that Eugene is famous blogger in Penang, almost all blogger will meet him when they at Penang.

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mommy to chumsy December 15, 2009 at 2:34 am

ahhh..what a nice getaway. is the hotel nice? i also wanna go to penang :D

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Mummy Gwen December 15, 2009 at 2:52 am

I know you went for a holiday. Wah..the Aussie pic, you and your Hubs looked so cute with matching hair colors. LOL. Wow..such great friends you have. Glad to know you guys had a great time in Penang.

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wenn December 15, 2009 at 5:27 am

interesting..after all these years, u still keep in touch..

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Merryn December 15, 2009 at 5:48 am

mommychums, i'd recommend u go to Hard Rock Hotel. I fell in love with that place immediately. But the one I stayed, Flamingo not too bad oso lah. But I still am so in love with Hard Rock.. :D

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Merryn December 15, 2009 at 5:49 am

Mummy Gwen, :D, at least I can say.. I've been there, done dat (referring to the hair!) lol..

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Merryn December 15, 2009 at 5:50 am

wenn, some friends are just too priceless :D they are worth keeping in touch with for a lifetime :)

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ChloeRuoyi December 15, 2009 at 5:55 am

LOL the hair! If you didn't put those arrows there, I would've asked "which one is you?" haha. It's good that u still keep in touch with your tour mates… such nice people :-)

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Mei Teng December 15, 2009 at 7:24 am

I see so much food!! :)

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mc December 15, 2009 at 7:38 am

mmm, chap choy th'ng! i love it too!

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Mummy Moon December 15, 2009 at 7:55 am

The hotel room is so big eh! As what others had comment, I also cant stop laughing seeing your 'blonde look'

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Merryn December 15, 2009 at 8:27 am

ChloeRyuoyi and Mummy Moon, lol :DA good laffing material there isnt it? I just wondered how I went through that stage with that kind of hair last time.. lol… *shake head* Mei Teng, Penang = food rite? :Dmc.. I'm craving for it again leh.. sigh :)

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cklim December 15, 2009 at 2:23 pm

i miss pg :-p

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Ayie December 15, 2009 at 4:29 pm

It's very nice seeing good old friends. SO nice of them to set time to meet you there =)

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Ayie December 15, 2009 at 4:30 pm

i want to ride that too!

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Ann December 15, 2009 at 7:22 pm

I really love the chap choy th'ng which I call chap sui!!! :)Glad you had a great time in Penang and with Eugene as well.Flamingo hotel looks nice.

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Anney December 15, 2009 at 9:00 pm

What a great vacation! So nice to meet up with old friends.

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Rose December 15, 2009 at 9:27 pm

Wow! Eugene so good entertain you…..I must meet him next time I go to Penang..And Merryn, in case next time you drop by Kuching, please let me know. I would be happy to meet up with you and family, especially litle Ethan.

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Adrine December 15, 2009 at 9:32 pm

I'm salivating thinking of the chap choy t'ng :)

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Merryn December 16, 2009 at 9:18 am

Adrine and Ann, I'm salivating too now :PRose, will do, will do :DAnney, yes. Friends made it much more enjoyable :)CK, you Penang-kia eh? Ayie, I myself dare not handle that bike. I just ride pillion :P

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2ma December 20, 2009 at 5:22 am

i have never ride on the beach motor before. looks really fun lar!

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About Me

Home is where MY heart is.
I am a mother to two boys; Ethan and Ayden and a wife to Darling William. I'm a stay at home mum who blogs to break the monotony of life and to avoid feeling jaded. Would love to get to know all the Super Mommies and Daddies and Babies or Singles out there with the hope that we can learn more from each other. Most of all, I am a happy person, and I hope YOU are too.