Musica Sinfonietta Concert

The day arrived when Ian's hard work re-hearsing since the music camp would come together.

Ian certainly looked sharp!

And he played really well despite some performance nerves.

The after party was catered by Satay Hut. Not bad at all!

~ Shien

Kong Kong Visits Penang to Celebrate His 75th Birthday

And what better way to begin his mega food crawl by eating at the Medan Selera opposite the Floating Mosque.

Next stop was Eryna Cafe in Balik Pulau. 

Dad invited himself to the kitchen--typical behavior, and made friends with the cook, who brought him to the fish prep area where he picked out a fish for lunch!

Dad was actually delighted with the freshness and size of the fish--a feat I rarely accomplish for him! He made the cooks very happy when he complimented them profusely.

Did I ever tell you that my mum (Mimine) adores Gula Melaka so much that she would order an extra portion of it to add to her Chendol? She did not want to waste any so after we all had our fill, she drank up the rest... and enjoyed her sugar-high thereafter.

We had to stop by and say good-bye to the lady at the Nutmeg Farm. She almost cried when she understood that we were leaving!

On the way back, we stopped at the water falls and went to the upper level to have a look.

We were surprised to see some people already there and enjoying their dip in the cool water.

I especially enjoyed seeing the iridescent Treefrogs. As we scurried around trying to catch one, Aria slipped down a long, 8 foot slope and plopped in the water!

Fortunately, she did not hurt herself--not even a bruise or sprained ankle.

Her wet clothes dried off eventually.

We ended that day at the Viva Stalls!

Some time later, we took dad to Kuala Sepatang to sample the seafood--he had been wanting to do so all his life and can now cross it off his bucket list!

In his words, he was pleasantly surprised that the food and location exceeded the hype after being let down by so many more places.

 Dad having fun poking around the kitchen area.

Waiting hungrily for the food.

Unfortunately, they did not have small sea crabs to deep fry today...

Maybe we ate up the fishery the last time we came... ?

Once again, we did not leave much behind once the food arrived...

Benny took us to his Yam Rice spot in Bukit Mertajam as I wanted dad to have a taste of this stuff before he left Penang... he really enjoyed this too,

It was hard to place since there is no direct equivalent in Singapore or anyone , but it was fun tasting familiar heritage foods from a bygone area.

On Monday evening, we got to take Kong Kong and Mimine to hear Ian at his orchestral rehearsal.

Other meals celebrated were Hong Kong Dim Sum at Jalan Macalister

Sushi and other delights at Sushi Tei

Eam Huat Charcoal Steamboat opposite Central Park Condo in Batu Lanchang

All too soon, the time came for them to leave Penang.

And Kong Kong and Mimine presented us with symbolic gifts of their love and prayers for us.

We took some time to pray over Kong Kong

...and hugged them goodbye.

~Shien