Thursday, December 11, 2014

Cycling Around Sekinchan for a Golden Harvest

First of all I would like to thank Kimmiskie for inviting us for this lovely event and Fenn Siah for arranging the accommodation. Paddy Village Hotel is a good place to stay. It is clean and it costs us only RM68.00 per night, it is located at the main trunk road of Sekinchan and most importantly it's within the town itself.
We arrived at Sekinchan around five something in the evening, hoping to catch the sun set and yes we did it. It was on our ride to the fishing village that we managed to captured it.
There are many restaurants in Sekinchan and we were recommended to eat here. I guess the food is about the same everywhere in this small town and the pricing is reasonable. That is why it is attracting people from all over to visit Sekinchan for it seafood and also its many places of attraction. Well done !!! Sekinchan it's now a tourist spot.
After a good dinner at Restoran Wan Lau, we went roaming the small town searching for action. We heard some traditional Chinese opera music around a corner.
Yes, it was an opera show in a temple. We were told that these performers were from China. It is sad to know that this performing trade has died off locally, I used to cycle during my teens' days in Padang Serai to watch Teochew Opera shows in a temple just like this one.. It was then like a fun fair kind of atmosphere and one of the limited entertainments available where I could be thrilled.
Shortly after at the temple, there came an exciting street procession, there were mediums in trance and it was quite a show. After spending some time at the temple, we rode back to the hotel for a good night sleep preparing ourselves for the Cikgu Cikgu's event.
It was raining early in morning but that did not deter us at all. In fact we came with a full force and had a good breakfast at this mamak restaurant. A total of 55 participants took the trouble to wake up early for this event, many drove from Kuala Lumpur and finally we were ready for Cikgu SC Chin and Cikgu Liliana Lee for a tour of Sekinchan and they are the best.
The paddy fields is sited next to the town and it is really a huge field with an acreage of 4,300 acres. We came at the time, it was harvesting season with plain of beautiful golden horizon such a lovely sight in deed. Sekinchan is one of the major rice producing areas in Malaysia.
This is outside a rice factory where we went out to the huge rice harvesters for some photo shooting. The rice factory has been commercialised for tourists with shows and exhibits all for a fee of RM4.00 each. You will also get a free souvenir pack of rice from the ticket. 
The visit to the rice factory was truly educational and interesting, the weather was getting better as we headed to our next destination. 
Mango King is a place to buy big mango and many more local produce like corns, vegetables, big pineapple, etc etc...
Passing by a lady fingers' farm....
I was taking a short ride into a corn farm, the plants seems to be still young with no yield yet.
Another visit to a fruit farm where some went into the farm for more photography while others enjoyed them at the sale counter.
Sekinchan is yielding very well in term of rice producing with a double planting per year.
Unfortunately Malaysia has not achieve self sufficiency in rice but maybe soon with example like Sekinchan.
The afternoon sun was starting to scorch ....
Roaming in the vast land of padi fields away from the city, a life that is simple and relaxing.
By the way the word Sekinchan, which literally means “village suitable for plantation” in Chinese, lives up to its name as the town is the rice bowl of Selangor. Large plots of land are cultivated to produce the staple rice supply of Malaysians. This area is well-known for its high yield of rice and mechanised farming method.
Luck was with us, we were able to witness how the rice being transported from the harvesters to a truck. SC Chin told us the it was rare to see two harvesters connecting together in the loading of the rice.
After we crossed the trunk road (Route 5) into the kampong before reaching a red bund along the coastline. The rocks filled bund is a protection against erosion to the coastline. The change of scenery was breathtaking as we see a different set of scene, we see sea and could feel the breeze as we cruise along the seaside. 
A stop to regroup the 55 cyclists for a rest while some were busy shooting with their cameras.
The ride along the coastline was a short one and we reached a beach called Redang for some drinks. This beach is getting popular these days where visitors would enjoy themselves with picnics under the trees and kite flying is another interesting activity seen at the beach.
By this time everyone was hungry a seafood lunch was just perfect. The seafood at Restoran Township was awesome and the price was very reasonable which cost us less RM17.00 per head.
This is a visit to a fish cracker factory.
The last visit was a shop where we bought the local dry produce such as dried shrimps, archovies, fish balls, yong tau foo and many more. How could we leave the place empty handed...so it's shopping time.
I was glad that Jo was coupling well with the ride, she managed to shield herself from the hot afternoon sun.
From the fishing village we rode back to the town, the only concern was we need to cross the busy trunk road which we were assisted by the traffic lights so it was good for a safety crossing.
The last place was for a good dessert ABC (Ais Kacang Campur) before we go back to Kuala Lumpur. Do check this place out, it is opposite Hong Leong Bank.
Besides the awesome Ice kacang, cycling around Sekinchan to see all the amazing things in the fishing village and paddy fields is an absolute brilliant idea. So get your bicycle there and start enjoying a discovery of Sekinchan. There are bikes for rent too which can be obtained from Paddy Village Hotel. Cheers & have fun.

Thursday, December 04, 2014

Medan Selera Kheong Heong @ Seputeh, Kuala Lumpur 瓊香茶室

Don't to be mistaken this place to be a food court as the name sounds like one "Medan Selera", anyway it is a great place for a Tai Chow in the vicinity of Seputeh. It is located right in front of the Federal Highway. 9 of us cycled there from KLCC for an evening city roaming with a plan to have dinner somewhere in Brickfields. I found out that Kheong Heong is an old restaurant but have been changing places, the last it was at Lone Pines in Brickfields.
Deep fried Boxing Chicken 铁公鸡 is the signature dish of Kheong Heong, it's a trimmed chicken wing transformed into a mini drumstick and making it easy to eat it.
铁公鸡
铁公鸡
铁公鸡
铁公鸡
铁公鸡
铁公鸡
Seong Tong La La clams in soup of Chinese wine flavour, spiced with chilli padi and fine strips of ginger.
Bitter gourd fried with eggs, simple yet yummy.
Tilapia fish steamed with special sauce was another good dish, a typical Tai Chow dish commonly available in Malaysia.
Stir fried lettuce was our next healthy choice, after all we are cyclists, of green concern ..... hehehehe.
I love this slimy and succulent green leaves which I first learn to eat in Bukit Tinggi Village, Pahang. Over at Kheong Heong it is served with crab meat in sticky gravy but it was delicious.
At last we managed to find a quiet place to eat but instead of in Brickfields we had it at the opposite side of the Highway. Cheers!
Medan Selera Kheng Heong 
1, Lorong Syed Putra Kiri, Jalan Syed Putra, 
50460 Kuala Lumpur 
Tel: 03-22733233
GPS : 3.126729, 101.688494
etable
Medan Selera Kheng Heong
1, Lorong Syed Putra Kiri,
Jalan Syed Putra,
50460 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-22733233
- See more at: http://www.ivyaiwei.com/2013/05/medan-selera-kheng-heong-kl/#sthash.6lIuz2hA.dpuf

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Restoran Sin Kee at Seri Gombak 新记海鲜饭店

It was a Wednesday evening where a group of regular foldies went for a hill climb at Seri Gombak just to steal a glimpse of Kuala Lumpur night scene. 
Fortunately we pained ourselves first by cycling at this hilly residential area of Gombak or else we could not have gone up the hill after a heavy meal. Yes, we had a heavy meal at Restoran Sin Kee and our dinner was super satisfyingly and thanks to Ric Kee for the food recommendation.
The highlight of the evening was this special steamboat simply with its fresh mackerel fish, fish paste "yee wat"and lots of green veg.
A closer look at the the main ingredients for the steamboat, it is probably my first time eating fresh mackerel fish for a steamboat. The soup was super delicious I just couldn't stop refilling it the whole night through. The fish paste was fresh and chewy everyone of us seem to love it so much that we order a second round of this wonderful cuisine. A must not miss kind of choice at Restoran Sin Kee.

The char siu was kinda a starter, it was gone very fast not because it's tasty but we were hungry....
The in-house made noodle is simple but yummy especially with its minced meat sambal ... another must try noodle. It was so delicious that we could not resist to control ourselves from ordering for more .... after all we have burnt lot of calories from our scaling of Seri Gombak hills .... hahaha...
It looks like a chin cai steamed fish by Laomazis and as delicious as Laomazis ... meaty and good!
Happy Cyclists were all geared to wallop the food immediately after the cameras stop clicking. What an enjoyable evening where we started our ride from Lake Titiwangsa to Batu Caves and up the hills of Seri Gombak. Cheers! we shall endorse more interesting eating places via our food hunt by bicycles in Kuala Lumpur.
Restoran Sin Kee
新记海鲜饭店
Lot 8, Jalan SG 1/10,
Pusat Penjaja,
Taman Industri Bolton
68100 Batu Caves
Tel: (03) 6189 7972 / 8972
GPS : 3.239076, 101.697159

Monday, November 24, 2014

Another Awesome Ride From Rawang (TESCO) to Serendah Waterfall

I have not fully recovered from my lower back pain and I could deny myself from not going to this event. Initially I thought I would just start from Serendah town and follow the group to the waterfall but I will miss the stretch at Rawang-Serendah highway which I do not want to ..... hence I decided to start from Tesco Rawang just like the rest of the people. This group of friends are really fun and easy going and here we were at the highest point of the entire ride taking another beautiful group picture.
The usual Cikgu Chin's starting point at this Mamak restaurant opposite Tesco where we could fill up our stomach before we ride.
There were 46 of us in this ride what a tremendous response from the cycling community and many could have missed it but not to worry Cikgu will be back again for it. So watch out for the next spectacular time my dear leisure riders!
We started moving across the busy Jalan Rawang (the old trunk road to north) into the Chinese village and Industrial area of Rawang which is approximately on the Eastern side of  the town.
Somewhere near an Indian Temple @ Lorong 7 we turned towards the right closing to Rawang Perdana where the climb starts.
Slowly but surely we ascended the elevation of Jalan RP (Rawang Perdana) and turned right into Jalan RP5 comprising of mild climbs and some drastic ones.
It was at the mid-span of Jalan RP5 we turned right into a construction access road where many of us had to dismount our bikes and push to reach the peak.
Even the young and strong ones has to push ... hehehe we got you bro!!!
A highway project by the Public Works Department with a highway linking Serendah to Templer's Park for LATAR highway which leads to the coastal regions of Selangor like for instance Kuala Selangor. This highway will bypass Rawang town and will help to ease traffic congestion in Rawang town.
So before all the fast moving vehicles take over the highway in the near future we were there taking possession of the site.
We had a good and enjoyable downhill roll of about 4 kilometres before we reached the trunk road (Route E1). We had a couple of stops and many photos were shot with lots of fun and sightseeing.
A contraflow ride towards Serendah of less than 2 km that was unavoidable. Carefully, in single file we made it safe and sound to the town.
That is it ... the town of Serendah facing Route E1. At right of these prewar houses you will see a livelier side of this cowboy town.
A stop over at the town to pack some food for our picnic at the waterfall. There were variety of foods for us to choose. Some tapao Chee Cheong Fun, noodles, roast chicken, kueh mueh, cakes, iced tea, kopi "o" and etc etc....
A quick glance at the old Serendah before we moved on.
An educational visit to the Seven Wells of Serendah which is located at the fringe of the town and definitely it's a worthy visit.
We were fortunate to have 3 teachers with us who have given us valuable knowledge of the history of Serendah. Terima Kasih Cikgu Cikgu .. we love it because there is no examination after that... great and we want more.
It was time for the waterfall, over here we were passing by the first fall where we headed straight to the second one which is about another 600 metres away.
Without wasting much time the water fun started immediately and we enjoyed finishing all the food we brought for the picnic. Then finally came the whistle from Cikgu Chin calling everyone out off the water for the next itinerary.
The attempt to visit Sekeping Serendah did not materialised as it was closed due to a full house occupancy.
Another must stop place for a refreshing Leng Chee Kang before we leave the town. Some even indulged in some Thai Tomyam Seafood Beehoon prepared by the Siamese sisters of Serendah. Their tilapia fish and fried chicken are also very popular.
Look out for this structure when you are Serendah, ask for the Siamese sisters & their Leng Chee Kang, you will never fail to find the place.
All feeling afresh and rejuvenated after a good rest at the Sisters' Place we were ready to roll back to Rawang.
But before that a strenuous journey started from here, it was pay back time as we have earlier enjoyed ourselves the 4km downhill roll and now we have to go up and by hook or by crook we have to go back using this same route in the name for a safer journey instead of using the busy E1 trunk road.
The painful push and ascending a distance of 4 km up to the peak before a relief ride back to the base. Photo credit from Anne Cheong.
Some of us did not cross this pedestrian bridge for another food adventure at Kampung Dato Lee Kim Sai for Tilapia Wan Ton Mee.
We covered a distance of 35km which was not far but it was painful due to the severe climb at the Rawang-Serendah Highway but we have enjoyed it and it going to be a memorable one for most of us. I am glad that Jo managed to complete this ride and I hope she will continue to enjoy such rides. 
Thanks to the organisers and everyone who have help to made this event possible. Cheers!!!
See our previous rides at Serendah such as : -