Klang - 7 to 9 June 2016

On the North-South Highway

We drove up to Klang a week ago, to visit Mother and Susan. We must have driven up at least 10 times in the last 3 years since I found out the way there. And Klang is becoming a very familiar sight to us. There are always plenty to eat and see.

We have always enjoyed the long drive trip. The 5-hour drive to Klang has always been very relaxing, enjoyable, and therapeutic for both of us. Driving back from Klang is, however, quite tiring this time. I think it has got to do with our age.

Usually, we set off at 6 am from our home in the far Eastern part of Singapore and cleared Singapore Custom at Tuas 2nd Link before 7 am. By about 11 am, we would usually have reached Bukit Tinggi; drive around to recce the place; top up my petrol tank; then check in at Premiere Hotel. After refreshing ourselves, we would be on our way to bring Mother and Susan out for lunch. This part of the routine has always been the same. 

For this trip, our stay in Klang was from 7 to 9 June.

On the first day, we brought Mother and Susan for Dim Sum lunch at Sea Lion. We also bought slices of Black Forest cakes and Blue Berry cake for mother - her favourite. After lunch, we drove to Mum's Godson, Ah Boon's coffee shop at Jalan Tun Abdul Razak for coffee. But, the coffee shop was closed for the day. Susan told me that, this is the only coffee shop where Mother would bother to drop by and sit there for coffee.

In the evening, Sue and I went to Restoran I-Dragon at Aeon Shopping Mall for dinner. The food at I-Dragon has always been good. We ordered Seafood Lamian, Cold Fried Brinjal, Szechuan Beef Lamian, and Jasmine Tea with Lemon Grass. The Seafood Lamian and Cold Fried Brinjal were delicious with very good sauce. We hope to bring Mother and Susan here for lunch the next time.

After We Have Almost Finished Eating - Seafood Lamian & Cold Fried Brinjal

Night View of Bukit Tinggi from Premiere Hotel

Morning View from Hotel

The next day, we brought Susan out for Breakfast at Angcle Peoh. We arrived there at 9 am, but, Angcle Peoh opens only at 10 am. So we decided to take a car tour of Taman Chi Liung Wet Market.

There is supposed to be a very good Malay Nasi Lemak Store outside the Coffee Shop (closed for Ramadan)

Angcle Peoh did not disappoint - the Penang Laksa, Char Kway Teow and Curry Noodles were up to mark. Really sedap.

Penang Assam Laksa

Penang Curry Noodles

My Favourite Char Kway Teow fried with Duck Eggs & plenty of 'Wok Hei'

After that, we went down to Mother's place to just talk. We have a good talk. After that, we dropped by Tesco to buy Vit's Penang Assam Laksa, Penang White Curry and Penang Hokkien Mee. The Vit's range of noodles is not available in Singapore yet. I had tried the Penang Assam Laksa which Susan sent me a few months ago, and it tasted authentic and super delicious. And, you know what? We had KFC for dinner. The KFC in Klang is really different from Singapore - bigger, more moist, and super cheap. A huge 5 pieces meal costs only MYR 17+ (less than S$6)

Vit's Penang Assam Laksa, Hokkien Mee & White Curry Mee

Our Vit's Penang Hokkien Mee

Our Vit's Penang Assam Laksa

The next morning, we drove to the famous BT Dim Sum for our breakfast. At 7 am, the place was quiet and peaceful. We enjoyed our Dim Sum and the environment. 

BT Tim Sum -Another of Our Best Find in this Trip

Great Dim Sum - All this for S$11 (including a big cup of Teh Tarik)

Before we make our way home to Singapore, we detour to I-PO to 'Tapau' the famous Ipoh Crispy Roast Duck - freshly cooked for us to bring back to Singapore. On our way, we dropped by Mother's place to say Good-bye. Mother, Susan and 4th Uncle gave us plenty of food to bring back to Singapore - Yam, plenty of them; plenty of Bak Chang; Durians; Nian Gao; and dried Wanton Skin from Ayer Tawar. Look like we have more than enough to eat for the next 2 weeks.

Klang's Bak Chang

Yam from Klang

Our Yam Rice

Stewed Kong Bak with Yam - This is Super Super Delicious!!!

The Famous Ipoh Crispy Roast Duck - The Best Buy!

Klang's Bak Chang was very good - the leaves used to wrap the Bak Chang contributed to the flavourful taste. The durian is super tasty - the flesh is very thick and creamy. Very good durians. Sue loves the durians very much. As for the crispy duck - the best of the best - we eat it freshly roasted (they taught us to set the oven to 180 degrees C, and heat the duck for 5 minutes to get the duck in a freshly roasted crispy state!), and the remainder of the duck, cooked in 2 different ways - the meaty part was fried with Beansprout, and the harder part stewed with Chye Sim Kian Chye.

Sue's Super Favourite Dessert - Cold Creamy Durian in Cold Green Bean Soup

7 July 2015 Drive Trip to Klang

Setting off from the Far East of Singapore before Sunrise

This is probably our 8th drive trip to Klang on our own (together with Sue) in the last two and a half years, without any help from Tim. It is a 5-hour slow leisurely drive from our home in the far east of Singapore to Klang. Usually, we set off from home at about 6 am, cleared Singapore Custom at Tuas before 7 am and stopped at Petronas in Jalan Langat to top up our fuel tank before driving to our hotel at about 11+ am. By about 12 noon, we would be on our way to Mother's place to pick Mother and Susan out for lunch at Imperial Restuarant at Jalan Langat. As Mother is not very mobile, bringing her out for lunch, is probably the rare occasion she will leave the house.

A Landmark Near Mother's Place (and a huge new pond beside it!!!)

In a way, we are beginning to feel very familiar with the roads around Taman Sentosa, where Mother's house is located. In fact, we are quite familiar with the lower Klang area now - i.e. from Bukit Tinggi to the part of Klang just below the Klang River. More or less, we know where to shop (Aeon Bukit Tinggi, GM Klang, Tesco, Little India in Klang) and where to eat (Eateries at Bukit Tinggi, Bandar Botanic, Jalan Langat, etc.,). Klang is a lovely place if you are familiar with the 'going on' there.

GM Klang

Security wise, we are also beginning to feel more confident about Klang. The car park at Premiere hotel, where we have always been staying is very safe. In fact, we move around Klang in our car, and park our car at our destinations - Aeon open car park, GM Klang car park, Tesco car park, NSK car park, etc., But, we always lock our car with a steering lock for added security.

A View of the Sun Setting from our Hotel

In terms of value for money, or cost of living, Klang is definitely many times better than Singapore. For example, upon arrival in Klang, I topped up my almost empty petrol tank to full tank for MYR 53 (S$19). In Singapore, I topped up my tank at about S$70 every 5-6 days. And, not to mention, parking is free almost everywhere! except for Aeon Klang. The shocking truth is that - I had a decent haircut at a good salon for MYR 11 (less than S$4)!!! My hair cut in Singapore is S$10.

Sue, Mother, Susan and Handsome

On our first day in Klang, we brought Mother and Susan for lunch at Imperial Restaurant - Mother's favourite. The restaurant no longer serves Dim Sum. So we ordered a 6-course meal for 4-6 persons. The 6-course lunch includes a whole large steamed fish, stewed pork, chicken, etc., and plenty to eat. It cost us MYR 94 (less than S$34), inclusive of GST, service tax, an unlimited serving of Chinese tea, pickles and appetiser, hand wipes, etc., for 5 adults. The amount of food was huge, and obviously, we cannot finish the food, and we have to 'Ta Pau' the remaining of the food back!

Marketing at NSK with Susan

The next day, Susan brought us to NSK - a Mega Mart. The fresh vegetables, fishes, seafood and everything are super cheap there! The quantity for everything is super large. We bought some food and Sue cooked a decent lunch at Mother's place after that, specially for Mother and Susan - Deboned Chicken Wings, Steamed Seabass, Fried Long Beans in Garlic Chilli and a whole pot of Fish Maw Soup. Susan completes the lunch with 2 of her delicious dishes - Crispy Prawn with Mayonnaise and a Thai Durian Glutinous Rice dessert. This is the first time we have a full home-cooked meal at Mother's place.

Handsome Posing for my Camera

Klang's Food Adventure

In Klang.

In the last 12 months alone, I had made a total of 5 drive trips to Klang on my own. The more recent 3 trips were made with Sue and one of the 3 together with Deb. The first 2 drive trips on my own were very stressful because of my unfamiliarity with the roads and places in Klang, and also not knowing where to eat. Furthermore, the frequent news that I have read about crimes, robberies, carjackings, etc., happening in Klang, were unhelpful. But, for each of the drive trips, we made an effort to explore a little more of Klang, in particular, food and shopping areas around Bukit Tinggi, as well as understand a little more about Klang.

So, my most recent drive trip to Klang with Sue on 18 December to visit Ma, Ah Ching and Susan was a relaxing and enjoyable one. This was despite that my left leg was in pain. We were able to enjoy the drive tremendously even though we missed our exit (Exit 502A) along Kesas Highway when we were on our way to Bukit Tinggi. We ended up in Port Klang but made our way back to Bukit Tinggi effortlessly. Our original plan was to rest a night in Klang after seeing Ma, Ah Ching and Susan, before returning back to Singapore the next afternoon. But, the next morning, my leg condition did not improve. So, we extended our stay by another night to allow my leg to recover before driving back to Singapore. With the extra day, we decided to explore further up North of Bukit Tinggi where the Old Klang is - near River Klang, Klang's Bus Interchange and the Railway Station.

Upon arrival on the first day, we brought Ma, Ah Ching and Susan for Dim Sum Lunch at our now regular restoran at Jalan Langat - Imperial Restoran. Ah Ching gave us a treat instead. It was a good early Christmas Lunch. From the receipt, it seems that the 2 expensive bowls of Hashima Dessert ordered by Ah Ching were on the house - not reflected in the receipt!

A Glimpse of Our Dim Sum Dishes at Imperial

In Klang, it is quite hard to spot any yummy looking, moist, tender Hainanese White Chicken around. Everywhere, in Coffee Shops, Aeon Shopping Centre or Restorans, the chickens on display were mostly quite dry. But we managed to find one opposite Aeon that looked sufficiently appetising. It is a small, clean eating house selling Melaka Chicken Rice Ball. The staff there told me that the eating house was opened a year ago.

We ordered the Chicken Rice Balls, White Chicken, Char Siew, Chicken Innards and Ipoh's Beansprouts. The chilli was super hot. The dishes were acceptable and the price came up to RM 26 (S$10.15). Reasonably cheap. Their best was the cold Sour Plum & Lemon drink - this one is a must try!

Melaka Chicken Rice Ball

Chicken Rice Balls, Chicken Innards, Char Siew, Ipoh's Beansprouts and Chicken.

While we were at Aeon, we had Penang's Prawn Noodles Soup and 'Kueh Pie Ti' for our afternoon Tea, together with an Ice Teh-Si. Both dishes were very flavorful and delicious. It is authentic Penang's food here in Klang.

Penang's Food at Aeon - Prawn Noodles Soup and Kueh Pie Ti - Sedap!

However, our best discovery on this trip was this little Dim Sum Tea House at Hotel Sea Lion located at Jalan Bayu Tinggi 2A, which is just opposite Premiere Hotel, where we were staying. And, it was here that we had our best breakfast in Klang, so far. The ambience was to our liking - clean, quiet, peaceful, comfortable, polite staff, and great Dim Sum at an amazingly good price. The Dim Sum here is definitely better and more consistent than Imperial. For 2 persons, the price came up to RM 29 (S$11.30) - with Century Egg, Salted Egg & Minced Pork Porridge, Lor Mai Kai, Mushroom Siew Mai, Seafood Dumplings, Beancurd Rolls, a big plate of Fried Carrot Cake and free flow of hot 'Pu-er' tea to go along with. We enjoyed our breakfast.

Looking Out From Our Table.

Looking Out To The Open Terrace.

It was so good that we went back there for breakfast again the next morning before we returned to Singapore. This time round, we ordered the Prawn Rolls, Pork Ribs, Chicken Feet, Prawns Chee Cheong Fun, Har Kow, plus our new favourite Fried Carrot Cake, Century Egg Porridge, and a free flow of hot 'Tier Kuan Yin' Tea. The Prawn Rolls were really fresh and good. Ah Ching would definitely enjoy the Fried Carrot Cake, which was fried using their in-house sambal prawn chilli plus Beansprouts. It was really nice because it had plenty of 'Wok Hei'.

The Dim Sum Tea House at Hotel Sea Lion

Sea Lion Tea House's Menu

Half Way Through Our Breakfast - What that is left on the Table.

Fried Carrot Cake with Beansprouts, Eggs and Sambal Prawn Chilli.

Prawns Chee Cheong Fun.

My All Time Favourite - Fresh & Crispy Prawn Rolls.

Klang is actually quite a foodie's place. Plenty of good food from everywhere (Penang, Ipoh, Melaka, etc.,), and at a really cheap price. In fact, one of our all-time favourites is Klang's KFC - very moist, meaty, tasty and much cheaper than Singapore. Another of my favourite is Nasi Lemak with Sotong Merah from Aeon.

In our next trip up Klang, we are going to try the famous Lontong Klang at Jalan Remia 2. We read that they serve one of the best Lontong and Nasi Lemak with Sotong Hitam and Sotong Merah.

A drive Trip To Klang

Entrance to Taman Sentosa, Klang from Jalan Kebun Nanas

A few days ago, we drove up  to Klang to visit Ma, Susan and Aunty Lee Mee. We decided to drive in even though we had just visited them about 2 months ago. This is because both Sue and I will be very busy in the next few months.

This time round, we were more confident to try a new route from E5 (Shah Alam Highway) to Ma's place by exiting at Exit 504, and then driving along the small roads at Jalan Kebun. The new route is straight forward, faster and shorter. Furthermore, the roads along Jalan Kebun and Jalan Kebun Nanas, which lead to Ma's house appear to be newly paved, and so, much easier to drive. We went there with a spirit of goodwill, adventure and discovery. So, even when one of the small roads that we planned to take was suddenly closed off for cars, which can happen once in a while in Malaysia, we did not panic as in the past, we just hugged along the road and made a diversion to get to where we wanted to go.

Restoran Imperial - A Hong Kong Tim Sum Restaurant

Upon arrival, we brought Ma and Susan for a Dim Sum lunch at Imperial Restoran. The Restoran is located prominently at the junction of Jalan Langat and Jalan Gambus. We discovered this Restoran by chance on our previous drive trip up to Klang in July 2013.

The Dim Sum dishes were generally good and the price reasonably cheap. For 4 persons, the total price came up to RM $88.80 (S $35.52) inclusive of government taxes and service charges, with plenty of leftover to 'Da Pao' back. The price also included a free flow of Chinese tea. The dishes we had included - Har Kow (Shrimp Dumpling), Siew Mai (Chinese Pork Truffle), Prawns & Char Siew Chee Cheong Fun, 2 trays of Prawn Rolls (Shrimp Rolls), Woo Kok (Yam Puff), Stuffed Red Chilli Yong Tau Foo, Scallop Dumpling, Fried Mixed Tong Fen with Bee Hoon. Other than the Char Siew Chee Cheong Fun, I was very satisfied with all my orders. Among all the dishes, Ma's favourite was the appetiser - Thai Style Seasoned Lotus Roots. Susan's favourite was the Woo Kok.

What We had at Imperial Restoran - 17 Items.

So far, whenever I drive into Malaysia, I would avoid the small roads as much as I can. My previous bad experience taught me that, for small roads, once you are lost, you are trapped. This is because some small roads are not shown in the street directory. Furthermore, street names are sometimes not shown, and for some that are shown, they may be hidden from view. Take for example, during my first self-drive trip to Klang, I was lost on a small road near Ma's place. So, I looked around for the name of the street to assess where I was. But, the signboard that showed the street name was placed at about a metre high from the ground. And, so, I could not see the street name from my car. In the end, I had to stop my car on the roadside, got out of my car and walked towards the signboard to see the street name.

So, the route (all big roads) I took from Ma' house to Imperial Restoran was actually a big loop - from Taman Sentosa to Shah Alam Highway, and then to Imperial Restoran at Jalan Langat. A very long route. Susan told me that she believes that there is definitely a shorter route or shortcut from Ma's place to Imperial Restoran. So, the next morning, Sue and I decided to be adventurous and try out the route as suggested by Susan. Yes, Susan is right about it. It was only a third of the distance of my original route. Furthermore, the shorter route is smoother, less congested, and required less than 10 minutes of travelling time – all small roads – from Imperial Restoran (Jalan Gambus) to Jalan Serunai 59 to Jalan Raja Nong to Ma's place at Jalan Kebun Nanas. What a pleasant discovery.

Short Cut From Imperial Restoran to Taman Sentosa - Credit to Susan

Turn Right to Taman Sentosa

Now, when Sau Ching comes back from Canada, Susan can bring her there for a good Dim Sum lunch.

After the good lunch, four of us (me, Sue, Susan & Ma) drove to Aunty Lee Mee's house in PJ. The roads and sights in PJ are completely alien and totally unfamiliar to me and Sue. And so, driving on the roads there – was quite like driving blindfold. And you get the “Where am I?” or "Blur like Sotong" kind of feeling. Luckily, Sue is quite good with maps. But, in the case of Malaysia, the actual roads you drive on, may not tally with what you see on the map or street directory. So, it took us about 40 minutes, following a street map, to drive from Jalan Langat (Imperial Restoran) to Aunty Lee Mee's house at Bandar Utama. The time included 5 minutes of lost time when we were off track for a while after making a wrong turn.

Our visit to Aunty Lee Mee's house is particularly meaningful to me. It is not something that all of us usually do – for Ma to visit her sister; for me and Sue to visit one of Ma's closest relative; for me, Sue, Susan and Ma to come together on a road trip to visit Aunty Lee Mee and Uncle Lin.

The drive back from PJ to Ma's place in Klang was a confidence-building and map reading exercise for me and Sue. It was a challenge. Just getting out of Aunty Lee Mee's house to the main road was itself a big challenge because of numerous road diversions and the unusual design and layout of the roads. Uncle Lin was a little kind enough to sketch a map to show us how to get out of his place, and onto the main road.

Uncle Lin's Sketch

We were able to reach the Klang's River completely based on our sense of direction. In the end, we conceded to have lost our way when we realised that we were off track by about a km from our planned route. We decided to stop at a BHP Petrol Kiosk along Jalan Raja Muda Musa to re-orientate ourselves and reassess our next course of action. Luckily, a kind soul came along and led us back to our original planned route. This incident reminds me of a similar incident which happened in July 2013 - I was searching for my childhood's house in Ayer Tawar which I had not visited in the last 50 years. I was completely lost, but a kind soul came along and guided me to my old house.

And, so, we were able to reach Ma's place at about 5.30 pm. The total time taken was one and a half hours, including lost time, and time spent in circling around one of the Toll Plaza twice. For Ma and Susan, it was Nap Time in the car.

How We Ended Up Losing Our Way

In our last visit to Klang in July, we wanted to try out the very famous and frequently talk about Klang's Wanton Mee at Wah Chai Restoran. But the restoran was closed when we were there. This time, we were lucky. It was opened. We tried the Wanton Mee. It was a typical Malaysian Wanton Mee version – plenty of lard, sesame oil and black sauce. Very different from the more complex version in Singapore. Wah Chai is also famous in Klang for all kind of noodles and several other dishes – Prawn Noodles, Pork Ribs Rice, Yam Rice, Yong Tau Hoo, Curry Noodles, etc., It is located within sight from our Hotel Room at Premiere (see my previous sketch).

Restoran Wah Chai at Bukit Tinggi

The Famous Klang's Wah Chai Wanton Mee

On our way back to Singapore, we visited GM Klang Wholesale Centre, a new shopping area. As we were just passing by, so, we did not really spend much time there - Just a quick walk around to see what they have there. We will find time to visit the place properly on our next trip.

GM Klang Wholesale Centre

It was a meaningful and adventurous trip, or rather, my best and most enjoyable drive trip to Klang.

A Night View of Klang from the 17th Floor of Premiere Hotel