The Travel Peoples

In 2020, COVID-19 didn't stop us from celebrating our 19th year as a married couple. It was in the middle of a lockdown when my husband and I decided to have a staycation in the city. After all, in recent years pre-pandemic, we usually celebrated our anniversaries by traveling out-of-town or abroad. We, somehow, felt deprived, of our tradition as a couple. To make a long story short, we booked a room at the Shangri-La in Kuala Lumpur to relieve our itchy feet.  The experience was fruitful, to our surprise. We lowered our expectations considering that it was an abnormal time in history. The hotel did not fail to deliver an excellent service despite the challenges and so many changes it had to implement in its amenities and services.  The welcome kit assures we have the buddies that we need. (I love this! Although this is a deviation from the usual fruits or wine welcome gift.)  I was happy that there were very few people who checked in. In fact, it was early afternoon when...

Feeling the need to travel and drink kopi tarik, but the world is still plunged in virus chaos? Fret not because this simple video teaches you how to make that national drink of Malaysia, the kopi tarik. It is also famous in neighboring Indonesia and Singapore.  My husband is a coffee lover. When he came to Malaysia, he could not stop raving about kopi tarik. He does not like to try the instant coffee form or those in cans that are commercially sold. So we watched one kopi tarik vendor how she made it. Then we made one at home using our premium VerraCoffee Benguet variant. Pretty easy. Specially pressed.  According to Google Translate, tarik means "to pull." I just don't know how it relates to making this sweet beverage. Although my guess is that, traditionally, the one who makes the coffee pulls a kettle containing the coffee up in a manner that pours the drink to the mug. This is because the nose of the kettle is long and pointed. But if you don't have that kind of...

  Mention Penang and the locals in Malaysia would equate it to food. Great food, that is. Great food means flavorful dishes that are crazily affordable. Imagine ordering one serving of char kway teow (stir-fried rice noodles with vegetables, chicken, and/or shrimp) for only RM4 or RM5. In Kuala Lumpur, yes you may get it for the same price at some food courts, but with very few ingredients and minus the native touch that every local vendor in Penang has. There is something magical about it. My husband raved about eating the best oyster omelet for only RM 12. The serving was good for two people with a huge appetite like him and my teenage son. So, they shared it for dinner. Read more of our food finds below. Penang is a mix of history with a few traces of modernity. One could do a Chinese history and art walk-through in Penang. We saw old low-rise structures that seemed abandoned, but for posterity’s and aesthetic’s sakes, they just leave them standing there. Some were renovated and...