Food Orgy (Part 7) - One Last Bite

Sunday, 24 January 2010

After a night of unnecessary fright and cold sweat, we woke up feeling unrested and lethargic. It was no surprise that we ended up having late breakfast that morning. However, breakfast was already bought for us the moment we arrived at Eugene's grandaunt's house.

We had curry mee and chee cheong fun for breakfast. If it were any other day, that would have already constituted my breakfast and lunch. But since it was a food trail, we stayed for a home-cooked meal later in the day, ie lunch.

Since we were still bloated, we took the opportunity to head out to explore Georgetown. We made a stop at the Island Plaza and the new Penang Times Square, which really did not have much to see yet. But since we were already nearby, we might as well make a customary visit.

After walking aimlessly around Times Square, I found a brochure about the gazetted heritage perimeters of Georgetown and the places of interest. That was then we decided to look for the Chowrasta market. Initially, I thought I had never been there before, but after walking about the marketplace only did I realise the familiarity of the place.

Both of us ended up buying pickled buah salak and nutmegs at the first stall only to find cheaper bargains further within the market. It was a shame that we could still be so gullible as tourists when we were always reminded of the common rule - Don't buy from the first stall you see.

Yet, we still fell into the trap.

There were many places in Penang that I actually thought I haven't been to until I stepped into the places myself. Memories streamed into my head, mostly of the good times I had with PK. The nostalgic moments crept in silently but they were each full of intensity and fondness. I still miss him, I guess. It's only natural after so many years together albeit it was a long distance relationship.

After a hot afternoon strolling the streets of Penang and the shopping malls, we headed back with a less bloated stomach, set for a feast of home-cooked delicacies. On the table was a spread of asam fish, potato salad, stewed pork, perut ikan, etc. However, the asam fish cooked in laksa-like soup was the best of all! We were drinking up the gravy/soup like thirsty camels.

We have our suspicions that it was the contributing factor to our food poisoning. Of course it could also be the combined impact of the 3-day gluttony. Two piggies fell sick the following day. We had to postpone our drive back to KL because:
1. Eugene was simply to sick to drive.
2. I was a hopeless driver, who also fell sick later in the day.

The last day in Penang left a bittersweet mark on my heart. There was always a flicker of hope to see him again - maybe by bumping into him by fate. And yet, knowing very well that this will never be the case. After all, how many déjà vus can a person have in a lifetime?

Food Orgy (Part 6) - Sleepless in Penang

Sunday, 24 January 2010, Wee hours of the morning

As much as I'd like to say I loved the stay over at Penang, my midnight slumber wasn't as peaceful as I wanted it to be, in spite of the massage. While I laid in bed with the lights off, I was greatly disturbed by some sputtering and rattling sounds coming from the light above the bed.

It got so horribly loud that for a while I thought I saw the light flickering. The sounds turned from annoying to being downright frightening. My heart was racing at the speed of light. Every inch of my skin was crawling with goosebumps as the ends of every tiny little hair stood.

Freaky thoughts flashed across my mind. You see, my mind has a penchant for running wild and more than often, I have a very colourful imagination. I was so afraid that some "thing" was hovering above me like a spook from some Thai scary movie (and I don't mean those of the parody type).

I was drenched in cold beads of sweat as I buried myself deeper under the covers of the king size bed. It got even freakier with the bed being so big and empty, I wouldn't have dared to turn for fear of what could be lurking on the other side. ARGH!!!

And so I prayed and meditated. But the sound never died. I was making my calculated moves to the door. 1, 2, 3. Dash! I grabbed my pillow, opened the door and carefully walked down the stairs to the living room, where Eugene was watching TV. It was way past midnight then. I told him about the noises in my room. Since he has stayed in that room so many times before, he tried to use some logical explanation to the sounds.

Maybe it could be the heated metal piece in the lamp that was contracting after I turned off the lights because of the cool temperature. Maybe, just maybe. But I was adamant to sleep in the living room. However, my brief sense of security was soon short-lived when he told me to go back up because he wanted to call it a night too.

He made a pack with me. We both agreed to leave our doors ajar. I took one step further and slept with one lamp on. It was more comforting knowing that I could run out easily, knowing someone else was just a few feet across the other room. And that I could see my surroundings with the light on.

Yeah, I know. I can be such a wuss. But I can get away with it because I am a girl... HAHAHA. With the mind in calmer mode, I fell asleep not hearing anything too obvious again. But my body was still tensed from the episode.

Over in the other room, it was Eugene's turn to toss and turn. Apparently, my story had made him more aware of any slight sounds and noises around the room. In fact, he could even hear them. Then, there was a sound of someone breathing. He thought it was the neighbours. But it couldn't be because the sound was coming from within the house. And it wasn't me. Just then, a sweet smelling whiff entered the room and it got him even more agitated.

He couldn't sleep too. Finally, he got out of bed to inspect. Nothing. But the breathing sound came again at alternate intervals together with the sweet flowery whiff of air. In our childhood days, we were told about spirits "visiting" accompanied by a sweet floral fragrance. We were also advised never to mention a word about the fragrance. This became evidently more spooky. Was there really paranormal activities going on in the night?

After a state of mental and spiritual torment, he finally found the "person" who was breathing and "it" was just right outside our rooms. On the table, there sat an automatic air freshener.

-_-"

Next: One last bite

Food Orgy (Part 5) - Dinner Orgy & Anti-Climax Pleasure

Saturday, 23 January 2010, Dinner/Suppertime

In the day, the Pulau Tikus market is a wet market selling poultry, farm produce and perhaps some daily wares. The scene takes a turn at night where it transforms into a bustling haven of hawker fares.

Our dinner consisted of an array of mouthwatering Penang local delights. Since we were craving for duck egg char kuey teow, we had to place an order via phone call to the seller before we got there (It was a privilege because the seller was a personal friend of Eugene's relatives). We were told if we did not order in advance, we'd have to wait for half an hour before we got to eat. That's how popular it is!

I walked around looking for any side snacks to feast on and ended up with mua-chee. His grand-aunt ordered 20 sticks of chicken satay, kangkong sotong, chee cheong fun, prawn noodles. I had leng chee kang ordered from a stall manned by a very pretty girl all dressed up as if she were going to hit the clubs!

It was practically a food orgy for both of us because the rest were not big eaters. I was stuffing myself happily non-stop, and even finished up the satay and glutinous mua-chee covered with crushed peanuts.

After indulging in the feast and resting for a while, 'the night was still young' (as quouted by Eugene's 74 year old grand-aunt). We decided to take a drive to Gurney for rojak. Since we were still bloated and full from our pig-out, we took a stroll along Gurney stretch overlooking the sea, hoping that the walk would quicken the digestion process.

We noticed that Penang people liked to linger on the benches and side walks, either talking, dating, doing nothing, ogling (for the older men seated near the nightclub joints), etc.

By 11pm, we were ready for our rojak, so we walked to the hawker centre to place our order. If you were a true blue local, you'd know that Gurney Drive is a more commercialised area targeted at foreigners. The hawker fare at the Gurney isn't the best around Penang. Nevertheless, it isn't the worse either. However, the Rojak there was recommended by a local, so it was truly a delight to indulge in the thick gravy of the rojak sauce.

We capped the night at Gurney with a feet massage at this place called Solace along Gurney Drive. The massage was quite a letdown although they initially impressed me by giving brief shoulder, back and hand massages. My masseur seemed to be troubled by personal issues and it was annoying when she didn't give my feet the fullest attention they deserved.

I couldn't help but wonder if she was moonlighting as a Chinadoll at night because she kept answering phone calls while massaging my feet - One hand on foot, the other on phone. At one point, she abruptly left my "half done" foot unattended and left the room for a couple of minutes. Talk about being anti-climax or a cruder term "potong steam betul"! Think: Bad sex; you're almost there and it all ends abruptly.

Eugene had a better masseur, but he too, was distracted by my masseur who was making small talk and perhaps complaining things to him. My massage was supposed to be one hour, but it was only 45 minutes or so, and that is not even discounting the minutes she left me unattended halfway and those minutes she was SMS-ing and talking on the phone. Worst of all, mine started later and finished earlier than Eugene's. Like what the...?

It was obvious that they were hurrying to call it a night because the place was supposed to be closed by 12am. Both of us only went in at 11.30pm. Still, they could always say no if they were beyond their last call instead of just providing unsatisfactory and "cincai" service.

Next: Sleepless in Penang