How many to fix a lamp post in Penang ?

This is Georgetown , Penang .

How much manpower do you think is needed just to fix one single lamp post here ? 

Feminine Cafe - what's in the box ?

Are they macaroons ?  Cake perhaps ?

Well hurry up and open the box will you ?

Tadaaaaa....

Accessorising weekend

Remember this Stefy jacket I got from Guess ?

Nasi Kandar Simpang Ampat

Before you think that I am crazy for liking this place , I want you to take a good look at the server in the skullcap kopiah , and tell me if you see a glowing complexion or not ? Next , take a peep at his helper and see how clean , ironed and neat his clothes are .

USA Pro - Mono Bandana tights

You're seeing my first pair of USA Pro tights right here .

Called the Mono Bandana , when I first spotted this on the rack , my heart skipped a beat , and then when I peered at the size , and saw the number 10 omg , I felt a little crestfallen . While it sure looked small , I defiantly lugged it into the changing room just to see if it could go past my hips .

Man ......it fit so nicely , I was surprised , I was immediately sold !

Alamak Nasi Lemak - Gottlieb Road

On a dark stretch of road , this sign is an attention grabbing tool .

Brands Outlet - quilted mini crossbody handbag

There's a reason why I got two of these mini handbags sold under the Garage label .

One ...size . Small, yet big enough for me to put my phone , purse and tissues in . Plus , a mini crossbody bag of this size , makes it easier for me to hide it out of sight from potential snatch thieves !

Second reason ....when it comes to this store , should I decide to sleep over it and come back another day , there's a high chance it won't be there anymore ! Any bag with a full length heavy gold strap is gonna cost as least 80 ringgit in other stores .

Here ?

Foong Yean - 6 course feast

Best to make a booking before you arrive , as even though the restaurant is not that large , yet this venue is extremely popular due to the remarkable prices and generous portions .

Without further ado , I'm gonna plunge right in and introduce you to the items we picked off the menu .

Take note that all these cost us just 200 ringgit , rice and Chinese tea included .

First up , Indonesian prawns .

Tried this at another place near Bukit Jambul ( they've since shifted to Lembah Permai area ) and I absolutely hated that . However , this is so heavenly , you'll want to suck the roe , inside of the heads and the shell dry of the divinely spicy curry sauce , I'm afraid I'll have to give this a 5 star for amazing freshness ( the meat is packed so tight ! ) and fabulous taste !

Seeking Permission to Perform - Mountain Sea Ying Yang Temple

This post is way overdue . Having problems posting it up partly because I'm not accustomed to these rituals and practices and as such I do not want to make any mistakes nor end up offending any person or deity .

So I guess the best way is for me to post up the pictures by sequence of events first before adding remarks to them where applicable . And when I finish slotting in my remarks , it's gonna come off as pretty idiotic in many instances below , which shows you the depth of understanding I have of the proceedings . Hope you can overlook that but I'm gonna push ahead and post it up anyway because I'm not going to pretend that I fully grasp the event or know which character role is being represented ok ? Bear with me please .

The first picture here is of the altar just outside the Mountain Sea Ying Yang Temple . Basically a Taoist temple , the Chinese opera troupe performers are seeking permission from the resident spirits and deities housed in this temple , in order to get the go ahead , to perform for the King of Hell housed in an adjacent shelter .

Yeah , you cannot just perform as and when you wish ok ?

Permission has to be sought first .

Ikea Sneak & Pick - Batu Kawan

We were contemplating whether or not to come , weather permitting of course , as you can see it was nice and sunny and here we are .

Between both of us , we grabbed an ADDE chair , ROTERA lantern , IKEA PS FÅNGST hanging storage , ORDNING cutlery holder , BÄSTIS lint roller , a JÄLL laundry basket and JÄLL drying rack . Lots of people snapped up the Lack side table , but I really don't need a side table lol , hence we took all the mentioned .

Update : please take note that the event is only limited to the first 400 people , between 10am to 2pm on the 16th and 17th September . Open only to valid MyKad holders above 21 years old .

Hungry Ghost Festival at Lim Jetty - a few of my favourite pics

 I'll begin by showing you some dramatic snaps of the traditional performers involved , before I move onto what I recorded ( yes I will post them up despite them being blurry ) in yet another post after this one .

Traditional performances used to be the norm before those nightclub concerts .

Meant to entertain those on a one month prison break from hell , so to speak , 

there are rituals to observe before the  actual performance itself and that's what I'm gonna focus on later . 

All , except the last picture was taken around the Suan Hai Ing Yang Tian or Mountain Sea Ying Yang Temple , that faces the sea . It might be of interest to observe that the said temple is dedicated to the God of Hades , thus has depictions of hell on its wall , so you might want to check it out even if you come off season .

Anyway , the last shot , is one of the 2 musicians for the night , where he was seated in shelter housing the King of Hell . Somehow I felt that I needed to snap him , despite him being very humbly clothed . 

Enjoy ....

An eerie coincidence

Last night , I joined a local Hungry Ghost tour led by a volunteer guide simply because I thought that by doing so , it would finally help rid me of an innate fear of the festival .

By doing so , it meant that I was going to break a couple of taboos associated with the Hungry Ghost month .

First , I would be wandering around darkened streets .

Next , night photography would also be involved seeing how I snap almost everthing .

Third . I wore black .

Fourth .....lies in the eerie coincidence snapped in this picture below .

Tajuddin Hussain - mood lifting kandar and briyani

 Many operators claim to offer nasi briyani in Penang , but I've always walked away disappointed . 

 Well , my search ends here . This plate is Da Bomb ! 

Suuuuuper delicious , so addictive and soooooo satisfying , I wish I could eat this everyday without murdering my hips .

Tesco F & F Active athletic wear - some hits , some misses

I do shop at Tesco often . Even when I pop into Thailand , sometimes I check out the stores there as well . 

Actually bought one of my first sports bras from Tesco , a black with mottled pink edging under the Assign label . I'll be very honest about that sports bra . 

Although it did hold my boobs up well , washing was a nightmare . First wash , caused the colour to run and bleed , staining the removable inner sponge to a dirty colour. Ugh . 

Next annoyance was the stitching . The underside where the band is , seemed to crack with each fitting and that really bothered the heck out of me . That initial bra became extremely faded and looked like a very, very sad old rag by the third wash  .

Miss # 1

Miss # 2 is a striped sleeveless mesh tee that turned out to be so ugly , I wonder what came over me . Doesn't deserve any pics either m

Now you're probably wondering why I didn't ask for a refund or shop elsewhere then ? Simple , because I was much larger than I am now , there just wasn't any other option .

Panic caused by a hoodie

Right , I finally picked up a camouflage hoodie . At long last after searching far and wide !

It's made from 100% polyester , and zips up beyond the neck .

When it comes to hoodies , I'm not willing to fork out a hundred ringgit and above not yet . And believe me , I've gone to many shops to try them out , but so far I have not found one that suits me even at a higher price tag .

Whopper of a Black Pearl durian

It's a wet night in Georgetown . Cold , dank and dreary .

Perfect weather for consuming heaty foods .

We polish off the Guinness Stout beef with leeks I personally whipped up in the slow cooker earlier ,before we head out ,in search of some durians to cap off the simple meal .

15 , 20 , 30 - any real Penang durian left ?

Durian season in the northern region has officially ended 2 weeks back . 

Somehow , the fruit hawkers here are still pretending like whatever they are selling is all from Penang .

There are still the odd harvests from this farm and that , but to claim that  all the thorny fruits are from Penang island , now , that's an outright lie .

However most tourists , in particular , those flying in here from mainland China on group tours  , being unable to tell the difference as well as being very hard pressed for time , have been responsible for snapping up every durian in sight ! Bad or good , most times they pay any amount for them and that's so stupid lemme tell you .

Dimsum detective

We popped into our usual dimsum haunt this morning in Georgetown .

Nothing very unusual about the bill , the only thing we did out of the norm was to pick a spot in a completely different part of the large dining area .

Penny Farthing Pastor

Can you believe this ?

I didn't at first. Thought my eyes were playing tricks on me .

Cat with a hangover

It's International Cat Day ( oh really ? ) yet I have to say that I absolutely no idea who the cat belongs to ( obviously someone , hence the collar ) but as I crept up on the meow meow ...