Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi, Penang

Penang is a melting pot of cultures with east-west influences. Apart from its exotic food, what piques me the most would be their heritage.

The Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi (龙山堂邱公司), or simply, Khoo Kongsi for short, is a clan association in Penang that was built by the immigrants from Sin Kang village in the Hokkien province of China for the purpose of looking after the welfare of their fellow clansmen.

Before my visit, I wonder why many have commented on the elusiveness of its location? It was only when I was there in person that I truly understood what they meant.

The main entrance at Cannon Street bears no clue as to what might be inside as it looked just like any of its neighbors along the entire row of pre-war building.

Happy 14th Barkday!

Some people suffer difficulties

Making friends for life

But when it come to you, my Pal

You're better than a wife!

You're always pleased to see me

You hang onto my every word

You will follow me to the ends of the earth

completely undeterred!

Maybe because you can't talk back

that helps the situation.

But I'll do anything for you, my friend

Without any hesitation.

Gurney Drive, Penang

Gurney Drive

Mention Penang and what comes to mind?

For me, it's the iconic Penang Laksa and Char Kway Teow (Penangites spell it as Char Koay Teow). And where better to enjoy Penang hawker fare than Gurney Drive - home to Penang's most popular street food?

Well, just think of it as Penang's equivalent of our very own Newton Circus.

Flamingo Hotel By The Beach, Penang

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After visiting Kek Lok Si Temple, it was time to check-in to our hotel.

It was already early evening when we arrived. The hotel was situated atop a steep slope but for some reasons, the coach was unable to drive us in and we had to walk in, lugging our own luggage behind us. 

With the horrible experience of our previous hotel at Hat Yai still fresh in my mind, I am wary of what is to come at this hotel.

Kek Lok Si Temple, Penang

In my previous post, we visited the Padi Muzium in Kedah. After that, we are headed for Kek Lok Si Temple (极乐寺) located at Air Itam, Penang.

Kek Lok Si Temple, or Temple of Supreme Bliss, was founded more than a century ago by the benevolent Beow Lean, a devout Buddhist from Fujian province. 

Do you know, the project received the sanction of the Manchu Emperor Guangxu, who bestowed a tablet and gift of 70,000 volumes of the Imperial Edition of the Buddhist Sutras?

Muzium Padi, Kedah

This is a long overdue post!

Remember my previous trip to Hat Yai where I complained about the lousy hotel with cockroach-infested bathroom and being served the same breakfast every morning?

I will be going to Hat Yai again next month and I still have not completed blogging about that trip from 11 months ago!

I gotta stop procrastinating and pick up where I left off to complete this trip!

Check out my last night at Hat Yai here where we visited the Transvestite Show.

So, the next morning, we boarded the coach to the Thailand - Malaysia border where we exited Songkhla to re-enter Malaysia.

Video: The Magic Castle By Dong Woo Baek

Recently, I have fallen in love with this song "The Magic Castle" by Dong Woo Baek.

I got to know about this song while watching Qualifications of Men on KBS Channel when one of the participants they are auditioning for their choir sang this song.

Yes, Qualifications of Men is coming up with their third choir and the theme this time is "Family".

More on that later in another post, but first, let us enjoy this song "The Magic Castle" by Dong Woo Baek.

The Amy Cheong Incident...

The repercussion from Amy Cheong's incident has set me thinking.  

Sometimes, words that come out of our mouth may inadvertently hurt someone without us realising even though the malice wasn't intended in the first place. 

While it is understandable to feel indignant by her offensive remarks (especially if you're a Malay), let's not get too personal over this. Retaliating with name-callings doesn't make us any holier than her.

There's no denying what she has done was indeed wrong, but I wonder have we Singaporeans over-reacted? I mean, is it really necessary to fire her from her job? Would a community work service have suffice?

Whatever the case, she has received her due punishment so let's be magnanimous and move on. 

The lingering shame and ridicule that she is going to live with should be punishment enough, yes?

Cheng Ji - Steamed 'Song' Fish Head In Hot Sauce @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

I first had this steamed 'Song' fish head at the temporary market near the MRT station when Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre was undergoing renovations a few years ago.

I haven't had another after the hawkers have shifted back to the newly renovated complex. That is, until last weekend when Mum had a last minute errand to do at Chinatown and Dad suggested having this as we did not have it for a while.

There were a couple of stalls tucked away at a corner of Chinatown Complex all selling this same dish but from what I observed, only two stalls were doing a roaring business.

One of it was Cheng Ji, featured on Sizzling Woks (煮炒来咯) season 2 hosted by Li Teng and Pornsak while the other stall next to it (separated by a drinks stall) have gone on a cooking segment on Channel 8's Golden Age (黄金年华).

Krispy Kreme Is Coming To Town

Haven't you heard?

The doughnut company has awarded the franchise development rights to Star360 Group, a premier lifestyle leader in Southeast Asia.

And you know what that means? 

Krispy Kreme is finally coming to Singapore and they are opening 15 stores here within the next five years!

REJOICE, Krispy Kreme fans!

Say goodbye to the days of lugging boxes of Krispy Kreme back from Batam or Malaysia!