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