will i am's delayed diary

We were a lot more prepared for All Soul's Day for 2023 ( yes, I know that I have been slacking a lot! ). By 8:30 AM ( the ground was wet and muddy but the sun was shining brightly ) we were already at dad's grave and had decked out all our offerings. BIL brought a foldable stool for Little Monster who was now my go-to candidate for reciting the rosary. Wrapped things up, and by 10 AM we were having a dim sum breakfast at Teck Kee . The place has a weird self-service system. Generally not to my liking with the exception of the lohmaikai and kopi . The boss seems to have a landscaping hobby judging by the entrance that's decorated with all sorts of animal statues, Chinese proverbs, clumps of bamboo.  Then it was off to visit my aunt and cousin, before buying some Liew Kee CCF, and stopping for some cold desserts at Hawaii . So shocked to find a stray hard-boiled quail egg in my cendol . Next stop, Ipoh! Accommodations were booked by my sister at The Tudor , a bungalow in ...

Keeping with my BEC's tradition, Malaysia Day is reserved for our local pilgrimage trip. In 2023, we chose Teluk Intan as our destination. On our way out of Kuala Lumpur, we flew past the famous broccoli-like Giam Kanching trees over the Rawang Bypass and stopped at Kuala Kubu Bharu. We participated in a Malaysia Day mass at St. Paul the Apostle Church , a parish that's as old as Malaya. Fr. VA Michael celebrated the mass, and after that he gave our group a special blessing. On the way out, our bus got caught on a telephone line. Luckily we got hold of some long poles and managed to get ourselves out of the kerfuffle.  Continuing on, we had a short photo stop at Sungai Selangor Dam  before arriving at Church of the Most Holy Redeemer , Tanjung Malim for a private mass. The celebrant was Fr. Vincent Paul. We were a tad late for lunch, but luckily Ban Heong was not far from the church. No complaints about the food in terms of taste and portion.  Pushed on to Teluk Intan, a...

2022's All Soul's Day trip happened on the 29th of October. In a departure from past years, we did not have breakfast at Lorong Maharani, but went to Kedai Kopi Ah Wah instead. Lorong Maharani has already declined to a state where there's not much to eat there anymore. But we still go there to buy Nasi Kunyit for dad. Also stopped by the wet market to get flowers.  Years of rain and shine had eroded the gold paint on dad's tombstone, so we had a touch up this year in addition to the regular grave sweeping, incensing, and prayer recitals. The weather was so hot during the end of October that we actually hid in a Starbucks for a couple of hours. Once we had cooled down, we headed to my maternal uncle's place. Big Monster was elated that my uncle had miku in stock. Lastly, we visited my paternal aunt, and by that time, the kids were already depleted. Before leaving Teluk Intan, BIL suggested that we make a stop at Glutton Square for the famous yutiao at Stall 52 ....

Once inter-state travel was allowed, we made a trip to Teluk Intan on the weekend of All Soul's Day. KH hitched a ride but it was kind of a mistake because I miscalculated how many people could fit comfortably into my BIL's Serena. So it was kind of a squeeze for a couple of hours since my nephews are now the opposite of scrawny. Our routine is always to have breakfast at the food stalls at Lorong Maharani, and then hop over to the wet market for flowers. Sad that we couldn't find anyone selling Liew Kee CCF. This year, I had Little Monster recite the rosary at dad's grave. He nearly made it through the whole decade before he started to complain. Made a short stop at St. Anthony's Church too. The construction of the community center was finally completed. Before leaving Teluk Intan, we raided Sin Joo Heong for some heong peah and kaya puffs.   Our next destination was Ipoh. Stopped by at Asow Eatery Station for lunch. The cafe is actually located beside a large pla...

The second day of CNY fell on a Sunday, so we were at church for the second day in a row. From church, we immediately set out to Teluk Intan for a day trip. My body was creaming for coffee, so we made a short stop at one of the larger Shell stations along the North-South Highway for Costa. Truly an overpriced cup of coffee. Weak. The moment we exited the highway at Sungkai, we saw a huge commotion by the side of the road. Loads of people of were stopping to have lunch at Nasi Bambu Sungai Klah . Heck, why not give it a try. My brother loves Malay food anyway. The place is like a huge mess hall. Although it's open air, the interior was super stuffy. Twin queues start right at the entrance. There's small table stacked with large stainless steel trays in between both lines. Mum and bro took the left queue, while I took the right queue. The right queue was for the grilled section. Among the specialties there were kambing salai buluh perindu , ayam percik , ayam nusantara ...

A month before, received a wedding invitation from a cousin from my mother's side. My mother was amused that when he came, he didn't bother to call up whether we were home. When we picked up the invitation card from the letter box, mum was amused for a second time because she was addressed directly by her name. Rules, rules, rules. Anyway, the wedding was on a Sunday night, so we planned to go after church, and return on the night itself. SK tagged along. It was good to have another driver on such a journey. Before the long drive, we had lunch at Nyiru Cafe , the new name for Cafe Kesom. Food seemed similar. Nasi Kerabu was as good as I remembered it, but the Nasi Dagang sucks. We made good time, and arrived at Teluk Intan during tea time. Made a stop at Alex Tea House , a random choice. The exterior was made to look like an old village house, with the entrance flanked by a pair of mulberry trees. The interior was very dark, and every time the door opened, a slash of s...

Timing was perfect this year because All Soul's Day fell on a Saturday. On Friday evening, Bro, mum, and I attended All Saint's Day Mass, and early the next day, we pushed off to Teluk Intan. We made good time because we started out just a little after 6 AM. No delays at all. In a break from routine, we ate breakfast at Bidor Wet Market. Kedai Kopi Pun Sim was a recommendation from BIL. They discovered the place during one of their many road trips. Go for their fresh YTF, very crispy and delicious. The kopi was a little off though. After eating, mum went exploring in the market. We arrived at Teluk Intan before 9:30 AM. Still had time to pack some CCF and glutinous rice for dad. All Soul's Day Mass was in progress at St. Anthony's Church, while the cemetery was a hive of activity. Not often that we catch the 'rush hour' crowd. After getting dad's grave cleaned up, we presented his favourite food, and lit candles and incense. This year, Little Monste...

Qing Ming is coming soon, and here I am blogging about last year's Catholic Qing Ming . True to our routine, the first thing we did in Teluk Intan was to have breakfast at Pusat Penjaja Maharani . Nothing like a plate of yellow glutinous rice topped with charsiew , accompanied by a cup of kopi o . Even added on some fried crullers. Yummy! Also bought some of my dad's favourite foods to be offered at the grave, for example the famous Liew Kee CCF. Flowers were bought at the nearby wet market. My sister let Little Monster to decide on the flowers. At the grave, we did some cleaning up before putting an array of food and fruits on the grave. The finishing touches were the flowers, candles, and incense. Then we all prayed the rosary, and poured tea for dad. And like past years, we went around lighting incense and saying some prayers for some of dad's neighbours. St. Anthony's Church was undergoing major renovations after managing to raise enough funds to upgr...