Car #2

Since hubby passed, what I most wanted to settle was his car.  It was a huge thing and I'd never driven it.  Well no choice but to keep it active.  It was my weekend job to 'exercise' the car.  The probate arrangements took about half a year so for all that time, I would drive round and round the neighbourhood, tears streaming down my face at the memories and the familiar smell of its interior.  I would talk to hubby mentally and also out loud as I drove.  Oh how I miss him.  The air-conditioning had gone kaput so it would be a hot drive.

The insurance and road tax expired while waiting for probate approval.  So when it finally came through, I had to get the mobile inspection unit to come (inspection being a necessary step before selling) - not cheap at RM500 a car.  Luckily his nephew in the car industry helped to arrange.

1. First visit:  Failed as the car couldn't start and the bonnet couldn't be opened to check the chassis number.  (What?! I was driving it just the weekend before!!)  RM500 gone.

2. Second visit a month later: Failed as his nephew had incorrectly informed there was no need to remove the window tinting film.  Another RM500 gone.

3.  Third visit after another month:  PASS. Phew.  I got the car transferred to my name and bought insurance/road tax. It was a 4-litre car and road tax was over 2k for just 6 months! 

4.  Next, the nephew arranged a runner to drive it for inspection, this time to sell.  The tyres were too bald to pass.  Never mind, the runner got the tyres changed so it could pass.  The engine overheated.  Never mind, the runner sprayed water on it.  Eventually, PASS.

5.  On the drive home, the engine overheated every 20 mins. Oh dear oh dear! 

6.  Next problem, no 2nd-dealer would take it as it was considered a 'high-risk' car which might be difficult to sell.  Hubby's nephew kept trying.

7.  Last problem, the engine temperature shot up the moment the engine was started.  I really didn't know how this car could be sold when it couldn't even be started.

Throughout all this, my anxiety levels were sky-high.  The car rapidly produced new problems.  I got the battery jump-started, but it went kaput and I had to replace it for RM800.  New fault messages kept appearing.  Engine oil leaked.  Leather inside peeled.  The plastic lever to open the bonnet broke.  Fortunately the boss of our nearby car workshop was super helpful.  He advised not to fix things as far as possible. He arranged for towing to his workshop when the battery died, he let me use his hydraulic jack without charge for the mobile inspection people to look at the chassis number under the car.  Of course I made sure to promptly pay for necessary repairs without question.

And finally, there was a buyer for the car.  They were dealers and knew what to do.  It was at a bargain price but I was happy to get rid of the problem.   

Goodbye hubby's car

Ah Mah's Birthday 2026

We celebrated my mother's birthday at Hao Xiang Chi, Setia Alam.  Food was good!  Portions, presentation and prices too!

The feast begins

After that no photos worth sharing because busy eating and chatting. :)

  

Messing around with the karaoke

Many candles to blow out!

As usual, a photo with the grandkids. Minus one who has gone off to university.

Grandparents and grandkids

And a photo with everyone. My sister's MIL joined us as well hence 3 'older' people.

Happy birthday to Ah Ma!

Here's to many more wonderful celebrations!

Oyster trouble

SE had been wanting to try raw oysters.  Finally ordered a half dozen.

Now to find out what this tastes like

JE had oysters before in Japan with hubby - super premium ones topped with uni/sea urchin.  Me and SE had gone back to the hotel earlier.

 

Oysters again

These oysters were fine but we confirmed none of us are big fans.

The following night, I had the worst vomiting-plus-diarrhoea episode in my life!  JE and SE had some stomach issues as well (fortunately far milder) so we narrowed down the cause to these oysters.  I'm surprised at the impact of just 2 oysters 1.5 days after consumption, on a stomach which is normally pretty tough.  

I'm going to be very wary of raw oysters from now on!

Car #1

At the same time the ceiling board crashed down, my 17yo car decided to spring a leak.  Of all the no-good times... sigh.  We were heading out when SE, who was sitting at the back, asked why there was a puddle of water in the car.  I looked back at the next traffic light and GOSH it was a veritable LAKE  with gentle waves!  I hadn't planned on changing this car.  It had been reliable as a spare car when my/hubby's cars had to go into a workshop, and hubby also used it to reserve the parking spot opposite our gate so our neighbour couldn't take it heh.  JE isn't of age to drive yet.  

Following chatGPT's instructions, I tried to find the leak so I could take it to be patched.  An exercise which only succeeded in scaring me that I could be having major problem on my hands.  Later that same day.... I thought why not change this car?  At 17 years, more problems were likely to crop up.  I was getting averse to encountering problems at this point.  And hubby HAD considered upgrading this car some years back (I had replied no need... since I wasn't the one maintaining it!).  So the next day we went to the car showroom.  :)

 

Fortunately there was a 16k rebate on this model going on while waiting for the facelift one.  

Processing took a few weeks.  Two 2nd-hand dealers came to look at the car.  The car had to be sent for inspection ahead of any sale.  I kept praying it wouldn't rain while all this was going on!  This car became a precious princess which had to be parked under shelter.  Once it rained unexpectedly and I ran out to drive it in.  Requested my maid to dry it out.  My dad recommended using a hair-dryer so Precious Princess received blow-dry service.  Finally the deal was struck and the dealer came to take the car.

Goodbye my car

A little sad seeing it leave the house for the last time.  Asked JE to stand beside the car for a photo - found this old post of me carrying baby JE next to this very car (I had cropped the photo and can't find the original).

And now she's a teenager

 

It rained heavily later that evening.  And my thought was, oh no is the car ok?  Both worrying that the dealer would call to complain about a big leak and also... after the weeks of caring for the car, I was genuinely concerned about its welfare!  It had served us well.

The Ceiling and the Water

One day I returned home to find the sky had fallen.  Heh ok ok it was the ceiling board.  JE said she'd informed me ages ago but I had mumbled something about how hubby used to handle repairs and I never had to trouble myself, then I entered the house and promptly forgot about it.  Well apparently it didn't repair itself and this happened.  Fortunately I had a number to call by now from my earlier wall repair.

Before

All fixed for RM3k.

After

Within the same month (August actually), my water bill suddenly shot up to about 30 times the usual.  I was in and out trying o check the problem using chatGPT, didn't work.  :)  Eventually googled for a plumber to come check and got some minor repairs in as well.  No issue was found, must have been a tap was left on while we were away for a week.  Tried to request a discount from the Water department but no luck.   

Fixing

Oh well.  At least the problems were settled.

Melaka Days 3 and 4

Even though 4d3n seemed quite long, it doesn't translate to all that many meals!  We aren't able to eat that much - well *I* can, but I gain weight fast nowadays.  JE and SE have appetites way smaller than mine.

Laksa kahwin (mixed curry and assam broth) and cendol at Jonker88 for is a must-do for me at Melaka.  We shared just one bowl of each...

Finishing off the laksa

... to reserve stomach space for The Stolen Cup cafe.  Coffee was good and also the combo of blueberries, walnut and ricotta drizzled with balsamic vinegar and honey on a bagel.  I was already thinking how to replicate this at home!  The Jamon ham dutch baby also did well though the ham did get progressively salty.  

Blueberry ricotta on a bagel

We returned to this cafe the next day - SE had the green shakshuka which she liked.  My spaghetti vongole was so-so (noting this down for the future)

Same cafe, second trip

For dinner, tried out this place called 'Sua.suana at Bunga Raya'.  We had fish&chips, the udang lemak nenas (prawn and pineapple in spicy curry) pizza and the lava cheesecake.  Not bad but would try other places next time. 

Prawn curry pizza

OK that's all the food I have to document.  I enjoyed this trip, though I was tired after and took a day to recover!  And that was with smooth traffic going home, at slightly over 2 hours.

Melaka Days 1 and 2

Since this was a foodie trip... 

First some freshly-baked pastries 

Daily Fix for dinner:  My fav sweet/savoury pancakes with bacon, sausage and caramelised banana was good as usual.  SE tried the risotto which was decent.  

Happy diners

JE's smoked duck was tasty but way too salty.  They should have served salad with this or halved the duck.

 

Smoked super-salty duck

The next day, tried Wild Coriander since my sis raved about it.  Hmm all the signature dishes were only average.  Concluded my sis doesn't have very good judgement haha.  Messaged her (she happened to have gone to Melaka as well a couple of days earlier) and she complained the standard had gone down.  Oh ok then.

Pie tee

Beef rendang platter and Nyonya laksa

JE perked up after getting a drink.  Tried the new blue drink from Zus.

Velvet Blue Smoothie 

What I like about Melaka is I could book accommodation near the happening Jonker Street, park upon arrival and not need to drive out anywhere. Traffic in Melaka is usually heavy and parking isn't easy to come by.  JE did want satay celup though which was not quite within walking distance.  Taking Grab to Ban Lee Siang cost only RM5, perfect!  The timing of our trip was great - since it was just after the Merdeka PH, the crowds had thinned out considerably.  It was only a short wait before we got our table.

We happily picked out sticks of food to dip into the peanut sauce to boil.  Hey but where were my favourite cockles?!  Sigh.  Probably they were not in season.  Cockles are getting rare these days.  As for the sauce, confirmed I prefer it compared to McQuek's.  Enjoyed our dinner which was cheap at below RM50 (would have been more if there had been cockles for me to pig out on!).

Yum yum

JE tried out the new matcha flavour from Mixue while waiting for our Grab back.

Quite good

So glad we took Grab, worth it as a fuss-free, stress-free solution. 

Melaka trip 2026

I had supposed no more trips within the country.  When the girls were younger, we had rotated between PD, Melaka, Genting and Ipoh for holidays.  Well, they are no longer little kids who enjoyed that sort of outings.  Like SE said, we had visited all the attractions.  Then out of the blue JE mentioned she missed the lime drinks in Melaka and also the satay celup.  So I thought, hey why not?  We were free for the Aug/Sept holidays as JE had exams coming up.  It could be a 'relax, study and eat' trip.  JE liked a change in her study surroundings.  It was tougher to persuade SE though she finally gave in.

So off we went.  :)  First putting a note here for future reference.  The rest-stop 30mins from home offers very decent shops - we could have lunch here next time.  

Hmm not bad

For accommodation, for once I was scouring listings for suitable study places haha.  

And here we are!  "Reserve 40 Melaka" is nice and huge, with plenty of horizontal surfaces.

Long counter here

Dining table here

There are also 2 bedrooms with queen beds and dressing tables, and one more bed in the curtained area next to the dining table.  There are 3 bathrooms (the luxury! haha)

And it is a stone's throw from the happening Jonker Street.

Off to explore the food scene

Minion

Posting a sweet photo of JE with a 'minion'.  I'm not much of a movie watcher but we have gone for all instalments of the Despicable Me franchise so far.

Me with a Minion 

JE is only in shorts as she withstands cold well.  She'd be the one in short sleeves in cold weather whilst SE would be all zipped up in a winter jacket.  My tolerance is in between these two. :)

Ah Kong’s Birthday 2026

My father turns 84 on THIS day, 19 August!

We celebrated last weekend with a Chinese course meal at Oriental Pavilion.

Now what's this? Baby back ribs with preserved plum tomatoes

Food was overall good.  Though the 'cod fish' was served fried in batter and the 'Australian scallop' was mixed like fish-paste - why waste premium ingredients?  Unless they weren't premium to begin with.... hmmmm.  

Dessert of herbal 'turtles' in mango cream

Is there enough space on the cake for the candles?  Oh yes enough haha.

84 times happy birthday!

6 grandkids - 1 has gone off to university

With everyone

My father is having some health issues which don't have clear causes and thus no clear remedies.  Docs are mainly writing it off to 'old age' at this point.  Praying this will improve.  We very much want him around for a long time to come.

Food at malls

Right after our Yunnan trip, I started a new 1-year assignment which entailed going to the client office daily.  After over 3 years of hybrid WFH/office, I could hardly believe having to fight traffic jams daily!  Driving takes up a total of 2.5 hours.  And of course I can't be surfing the net while sitting with other humans!  The work is not my cup of tea either, which is making me seriously think of retirement.  Luckily I managed to get a day of WFH a week for now. 

On to a more enjoyable topic, FOOD.  All these are at malls which win for easy parking, food variety and availability of other shops.  

Father's day lunch (yes this was over a month ago, but refer to my comment that I can't be surfing the net now in the office hehe).  A note that my sis completely misunderstood where to meet and missed this. 

Nong Geng Ji (Chinese): Overall not bad, worth repeat visits

Red Kettle: Dutch baby for me, pork buns/mantao for SE

Chica Bonita(Mexican): Corn looked better than it tasted

Aftermeal: Shaved ice dessert, hojicha flavour

Tea count

Every trip we have been, JE requests to get bubble tea or similar beverage which could have bought one a square meal.  Decided to do a formal count.  We didn't come across any tea shops for 2 days so this started the night of Day 3.

1. Day 3: 'A Cup of Dali' is the name of the shop.  JE says this is local to Dali.  Fine, trying local brands while on holiday makes complete sense. 

This one tastes like Chagee

2. Day 4: JE spotted 'Auntea Jenny' which we also have back home.  JE said something about there being options only available in China.  Well fine then.

 

This one I don't quite like

3. Later that night - she followed Google map to the Chagee shop.  Apparently this drink was only available in China.  

Chagee is the bomb!

4. Day 6: In Xizhou, another Chagee.  I had lost track of the drink names, all are tea of some sort with milk.

Another Chagee

5. Day 7: In Kunming - someone is obviously holding tea.  I had also lost track of the shop name by now.

One more tea

Total of FIVE cups.  This is already with me suddenly becoming deaf whenever she started talking about the possibility of tea shops nearby.

Day7 Kunming

On our last day, the weather turned cool.  So much more pleasant to be strolling around (check out the more smiley faces in this post compared to the previous ones!).  We went back to the Golden Horse archway area.

Us at the Archway

I liked these little baos, delicious and only RMB12/MYR7 for the lot.

Little pan-fried pork baos 

JE's favourite was this halal beef pancake - very good too and cheap at RMB6/MYR3.6.

This beef pancake is the bomb

For lunch we went for simple yet different.  This stall at the food court sold steaming hot bowls of food - you request the seller to put your selections onto your tray then bring it to the cashier.  We picked only a few since we were pretty full.  RMB38/MYR22 for 4 bowls and 2 rice - tasty stuff.

Spicy chicken, pork patties, steamed egg, corn with capsicum

All right, that's all we had time for!  It was a smooth metro ride to the airport.

Try some giant fresh figs first

And a smooth journey back home.

Our loot from China

Yes we did enjoy our trip despite the hot weather.  Green light to visit more places in China in the future. :)