Malaysia (Post Covid 19 - My Staycation No 38 Kajang Heritage Walk & Satay Eating, Selangor) August 31 2023 (National Day)

The History of Satay in Kajang 
National Day Aug 31 2023 Visit 

Tin Hong Si Temple, Kajang, Selangor 
Kajang Heritage Walk

Chua Lam Chinese Calligraphy 
Sin Chew Jit Poh, Petaling Jaya 

" Century Egg. Foul Smell Tofu. Fusion Food. Biodynamic Food. Holistic Food. Robotic Served Food  ... what else ? But I enjoyed eating Musang King Durians, Kajang Satay, Cendol, Rojak, Bat Kut Teh, Hokkien Mee & Steamed Fish Head with Ginger Paste  .... Eat to Live or Live to Eat ? Just find the Right Balance in order to live a healthy LIFE " 

My little LIFE pleasure in the months of August & Sept 2023 making my retirement days productive, meaningful & colorful (full of surprises & new experiences) !  

Living From Moment To Moment

Sunday Sept 3 2023 (10.00 >11.00) - visited Mr Chua Lam's Chinese calligraphy exhibition (for charity cause) in Sin Chew Yit Poh Complex, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Mr Chua Lam is a Singaporean columnist, food critic & occasional television host  based in Hong Kong;  very impressed with the various calligraphy works on display & the selected words of wisdom, each carrying a price tag for sale to the public ! A number of his calligraphy art pieces have been booked & sold at the exhibition ! A very productive Sunday weekend indeed for me to show up in this exhibition in Sept 2023 ! 

Friday Sept 1 2023 (10.30 > 13.30) - my solo visit to MATTA Fair in MITEC Complex, Jalan Dutamas 2, Segambut, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's largest International Travel Fair starting on Sept 1 - 3 2023, 235 exhibiting companies including foreign tourism boards participated, large crowds were seen in Domestic & International Halls offering visitors promotional & attractive package tours, discounted air tickets & tourism advice etc 

1) Free shuttle bus services from KL Sentral > MITEC for visitors to attend the MATTA Fair

2) MITEC Complex (Malaysian International Trade Exhibition Centre) & the surrounding - an iconic building. 

3) MATTA Fair 1-3 Sept 2023 - front entrance via MITEC Selatan South. 

4) Level 1 (Domestic Hall), MATTA Fair, MITEC 

5) Level 2 International Hall, MATTA Fair MITEC

6) Level 3 International Hall / Foreign Tourism Board, MATTA Fair, MITEC 

Friday Sept 1 2023 - bought home a pack of Durian 88 variety from SS15 Wet Market, Rm27 per kilo, a small treat for my wife & myself, our first tasting of this durian variety, overall happy with the taste, slightly bitter which suite my taste bud ! 

Durian 88 - 1.7kg (Rm47)

Thursday August 31 2023 (National Day) - My Staycation No 38 to Kajang, Selangor for satay eating in celebration of the 66th National Day of Malaysia, also went for a Kajang Heritage Walk & walkabout in downtown Kajang followed by a visit to Taman Rektreasi Sungei Chua before heading home - another meaningful & small LIFE pleasure for our group of 5 (my wife & sisters Inn, Peng & Mei). 

1) Satay eating in Restoran Sate Kajang Haji Samuri, Selangor (a well known satay eatery stall in Kajang) - roaring business after the restaurant opening at around 11.00 on the National Day - a public holiday ! It is interesting to note that Kajang sate was introduced by a Javanese from Java, Indonesia in 1917 - so over a century of history ! We were glad to show up in Restoran Sate Haji Samuri, the biggest sate establishment in Malaysia !  Happy satay eating, KM !

History of Kajang Satay

Restoran Sate Kajang Haji Samuri
Kajang, Selangor

Chicken Satay Rm1.50 per stick

2) A stopover for lunch, each of us ordered a plate of braised pork (Rm10) / char siew (Rm8.50) steamed rice & enjoyed the meal in an old established food stall ie Kedai Makanan Cham Kee, near Pasar Kajang Wet Market

3) Metro Point Complex, Jalan Jelok Indah, Bandar Kajang, Selangor - my first visit, just window shopping & enjoy the cool air inside this modern shopping centre !

4) Pasar Kajang (Wet Market), Kajang, Selangor 

5) Kajang Heritage Centre, Selangor - closed at the time of my visit due to a public holiday ! 

6) Kajang Shen Sze She Yar Temple (1898), Jalan Mendaling, Bandar Kajang, Selangor  - my 2nd visit ! Another old Sin Si Ya Temple (1883) I visited on August 29 2023 is located in Jalan Tun H S Lee, City Centre, Kuala Lumpur ! So I strike "gold & old" twice on this temple visits within a week during the National Day period ! 

7) Tin Hong Si Temple, Jalan Tukang, Bandar Kajang, Selangor 

8) Taman Rekreasi Sungei Chua, Kajang, Selangor - my 1st time visit & a pleasant morning stroll around the lake ! 

Wednesday August 30 2023 - a side visit to Chinatown area after my Dataran Merdeka heritage walk, now a familiar territory after numerous visits to this part of City Centre in Kuala Lumpur over the last few years !  

1) Kwai Chai Hong, Lorong Panggung, City Centre, Kuala Lumpur - the decor in this Little Demon Alley changes every few months especially during the festive season ie Chinese New Year & Moon Cake festival ! There are a number of old pre-war shops converted into restaurants, cafes & bars for visitors to chill out during the day & night in this City Centre ! 

2) Cityscape, Downtown Kuala Lumpur - a fusion of old & new buildings operating here adopting a business model with a combination of modern, progressive thinking with traditional values  ! 

Sunday Aug 27 2023 - lunch with my wife in a newly opened Lanzhou Ramen Meetarik Restaurant in SS15, Subang Jaya, Selangor - both of us savoured a bowl of beef Ramen (Rm14) & Chicken Ramen (Rm13); Malaysians enjoy drinking hot pulled tea called "teh tarik" & I believe the China Lanzhou beef ramen (halal) or "mee tarik" could very soon become a popular noodle dish in Malaysia too ! In June 2023, my wife & myself savoured a bowl of Omega pork noodle (non-halal), a newly opened pork noodle restaurant in SS15, Subang Jaya, within walking distance from my home place. I really enjoyed eating both these noodle dishes after the initial tasting ! 

Beef Ramen Rm14 (US$3.05)

Chicken Ramen Rm13 (US$2.80) 

Kuey Teow Soup Rm10 (US$2.20)
Takeaway 

My Good Old Days - In May 2015, I made a sole visit to Xian, Lanzhou, Urumqi (Xinjiang), China followed by a land border crossing via Korgas (a border town) from Urumqi to Almaty, Kazakhstan & Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan. I stayed a total of 6 nights in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China & this enabled me to savour the popular authentic Lanzhou ramen noodle (hand-pulled) dish at anytime of the day or evening while doing my walkabout in Lanzhou city, be it as a meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner !  

Map of Lanzhou, Gansu
China (May 2015)

Beef Ramen CNY$6 

Wednesday August 23 2023 (10.00 > 12.30) - meet up with my travel buddy, Thompson Tham in REXKL, Downtown Kuala Lumpur to discuss a proposed free & easy visit to Taiwan during the Sakura season in March 2024 followed by a light lunch (yong tau foo Rm5.90 & chee cheong fun Rm3) in Madras Lane (near Petaling Street), City Centre, Kuala Lumpur. 

1) Friday August 12 2023 (10.00) - walkabout & meet up with my travel buddy, Thompson in Petaling Street (Chinatown) & nearby area, City Centre, Kuala Lumpur to discuss travel opportunities in East Malaysia & Asia for the coming months in 2nd half of 2023 !  

2) Lunch with my travel buddy, Thompson in Soong Kee Beef Noodle Restaurant (established 1945), Jalan Tun H S Lee, City Centre, Kuala Lumpur - each of us savoured a bowl of beef balls soup / dried minced pork noodle (Rm10 = US$2.20)

3) Bus ride (Rm1.50, 1.8km) from Lebuh Pudu Bus Terminal to Hong Thai Tours & Travel (M) Sdn Bhd, Lorong Brunei 3, off Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur to inquire about package tours to China. 

Saturday August 12 2023 (10.00) - state election day for the following states ie Selangor (my home state), Penang, Negri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan & Kuala Terengganu in Peninsula Malaysia, performing my national / civic duty together with my wife to cast our votes in a polling station nearby my home place to elect a new 5 year term State Assemblyman for Subang Jaya constituency in Selangor; low turnouts of voters during the morning session so no long queue & the entire voting process was over within a few minutes !