Looking Back, Going Forward: February 2013

It is rare that we can get all our Song nephews and niece with their spouses and children together for an outing. This is where social network comes to play and made it possible for us to coordinate the dates and get all on board way before they planned their trip back to Penang. All thanks Facebook.
Note: technology is integral to this blog post ;)

Enjoying "Lam Mee" before the journey starts.

And so the day began with how else but breakfast before the journey. And we rendezvous at Island Glades for the famous Lam Mee. Have to start with makan on a foodie trip right?

We had to go back to Edwin's apartment to get his phone (young and forgetful) and also a change of clothes for one of the kids. Then it's first stop at Bedong just a little North of Sungai Petani. And we were there just for Man Tau and Herbal Tea.

The ritual before any meal. Camera and smartphones eat first!

Steaming hot and fluffy on the outside and crispy and savory inside. Everyone tried to guess what's the ingredient but no winners here as we don't have a clue what's in it that tastes sooooo good. Secret recipe I guess.

Savouring his last bite!

Terence can't get enough of it and it goes so well with the Hor Yan Hor herbal tea with sour plum. Just the appetizer before lunch in Alor Star.

We travelled in 2 vehicles so we used an app called Voxer to help us communicate walkie-talkie style. Hi-tech stuff is just the thing for this bunch. After a leisurely drive where padi fields were the main attraction (you're talking about a group that NEEDS rice) we reached Alor Star, where our Song roots started.

Lunch was at a place where their Ah Kong used to frequent for lunch call Restoran LTK. Typical Alor Star choo char. And what a lunch it was. Evidenced by the plates left after the meal.

Big cheh cheh now got duty. Anthea watching over Emmanuel.

Food almost finish but notice the amount of rice still on their plates.

To work off lunch, the shop guy told us we must visit the Padi Museum when in Alor Star so we thought it's a good idea for rice kaki like us. So we took out Waze (remember I said we're a hi-tech bunch) and set towards the museum, passing Jalan Putra where their Ah Kong and Ah Mah used to stay. It was a longer journey than anticipated and signages were literally non-existence. Had to trust Waze to get us there.

Sam getting his children up-close to Mr. Lion.

Finally we arrived and spend much time (like all the time) shooting in macro mode on ants, flies, eggs, spiders, dragonflies and flowers. The children were fascinated by the lion sculpture at the entrance. Padi was not on the agenda and we cheapskate travelers refused to pay the entrance fee just to see how padi is grown and harvested. Being cheapo must have been a Penang thing ;p.

Shot of the day, the frozen still Mr. Fly.

And these are the very aggressive fire ants. Had to warn the kids not to go near.

And here is the proof. Fire ants that lined the drains and my shot of the day, a close up of a fly, like really really close. But we did find time to take the only group photo for the trip. Tada, two generation of Songs in one picture. Wish Pam, Ky-Shen and Jo Law was here. That would really complete the picture.

These are one of the most well behaved children we have seen. Make traveling with children a real joy!

Next stop is the home I was at as a toddler. It has now become a coffee shop so we decided to stop there for tea and coffee before going for laksa. This is after all a foodie trip right?!

This use to be my home till I was eight.

Terence loved the coffee here but Melinda and I found the tea so so only. Told them who stayed in which room and where the jambu tree and banana trees were. I also went to Flickr (hi-tech wat) and showed them classic black and white photos of the house when we were staying there. It was down memory lane indeed for me.

We decide to go somewhere for the kids as they have been so well behaved even though they are tired following us adults on non-stop eating. So it's to the Alor Star garden.

We walked quite a distance from the car park to get to some Malay stalls that sell laksa Kedah! Must eat whenever in Alor Star. It was just beside a man-made pond, where I used to go steal water plants for my aquarium. Hehehe...Fell into it once!

The long walk in the gardens to get to more food!

Chek chek faster faster shoot. You can see Edwin eyeing mine too.

The laksa coupled with ice kacang were the perfect tea before dinner. All the Songs prefer Malay laksa to Penang laksa because the noodles are made of rice which has a different texture. And the soup, yummy. Sour not sweet. No "Ong Lai".

The kids had some time running around and went on the swings. Poor things, this was the only time they got to have some fun. And they thoroughly deserved it for being so well behaved. Credit goes to the parents! Melinda got to carry Elliot, and at his age, just so cute with his adorable eyes. Heart melts.

Meet Elliot. Dreamy eyes...

By the time we left, the sun has set and it's time for dinner. I wanted to take them to "Hai Tau Kee" but it has shifted so we had to guess the location based on the direction given by the boss of Restoran LTK, where we had lunch. We finally found it on the other side of the river where the old market was. It's now more like a hawker centre but all the stalls are still there.

The place where excellent Alor Star hawker food congregates.

Our must-have orders are Alor Star "Wanton Mee" which is different from Penang's being lightly flavored and no "or tau eiu" and "Ying Yong", which we call "Char Hor Fun" in Penang. Terence loved it and said its better than the one at Bee Hooi. We also had "See Kuo Th'ng" but it is not so good any more with less ingredients. We also ordered "Ban Chean Kueh" and "O-Chean". Another feast and this one is to round up our foodie trip.