Think Positive, Think Beautiful World!
All's Well That Ends Well is not just a proverb or a play by William Shakespeare. For all you know, it could be a Hong Kong movie. On Sunday, that was a day after our escapade to Kuala Sepetang, Mau Wei, Hoi Thien, Eng Lai and I went to Taiping Sentral to catch a movie. Mau Wei had insisted on watching the Hong Kong movie starring Sandra Ng and Louis Koo Tin Lok, All's Well Ends Well 2009 and so, we settled for this silly comedy. There used to be a Hong Kong movie, All's Well Ends Well 1992 staring Stephen Chow, Maggie Cheung and the late Leslie Cheung and All's Well Ends Well 1997 starring Stephen Chow again, Raymond Wong and Francis Ng and the movies, I suppose were hits with the young crowds. The latest movie must have brought back sweet memories and for ten dollars, that'd probably be worth it. And to add to that, Hoi Thien had treated us to some claypot rice at a coffee shop in town... All's well really ended well!
Mau Wei, Hoi Thien and Eng Lai having claypot rice...
A side dish of bean sprouts... 
Clay pot rice...
Time to go!
The night market in Kuala Sepetang like all other night markets elsewhere in Malaysia always bustle with activities. It is held on a Saturday night and besides clothes,DVDs, there are many types of food sold here. A friend of mine used to sell cakes and pastries here but had stopped doing business since. In the space where he used to occupy, another young hawker was selling cakes. The cakes were very attractive and reminded me of the more expensive varieties from Secret Recipe. After a hearty dinner, Hoi Thien left with her family and friends while Mau Wei, Eng Lai, Mr. How and I took to a stroll in the night market. Eng Lai sprang us a surprise when he bought us some quaint ice creams. As I have said, I like surprises. Most of the time, they are always a joy! And thanks Eng Lai for the ice creams even though they are damn cheap! It is the thought that counts!
At Kuala Sepetang's night market...
A hawker selling cakes...
Some quaint icecreams in an ice cream making machine...
Eng Lai and I returned to Taiping at about nine but technically, our travels did not end there. The next day Mau Wei visited Taiping and on Saturday, we met for dinner in Kuala Sepetang. Kuala Sepetang like Bukit Tambun is a fishing village and like the latter, several seafood restaurants could be found there. A few in Matang, which is on the way to Kuala Sepetang are extremely popular with locals. I invited Mr. How along and Mau Wei had called Hoi Thien who would come later with her friends and family just when we were halfway into our sumptuous seafood dinner. That was a surprise ending, I suppose and I love surprise endings. They are just marvellous!
Mr. How, Mau Wei and Eng Lai enjoying a seafood dinner...
Seafood!
After dinner, Eng Lai drove us to Mau Wei's house. The sky was on the brink of getting dark when we approached her house and from a distance, we could see there were groups of people hanging out everywhere, along the road, in the playground and especially at the gates of houses. A crowd was gathering around a hawker to buy vegetables and the scene was like a bustling night market. There were only three hawkers there though; one selling vegetables, another selling pillow cases and the third selling clothes. Some of the clothes looked rather strange and no wonder, they were not catered for locals. Mau Wei's house was near an industrial area. Many foreign workers worked there and lived together like sardines packed into the houses near Mau Wei's. There were Bangladeshis, Nepalese, Indians and especially Vietnamese that I began to think of the place as Little Vietnam. I suppose you have little countries everywhere in Malaysia!
Mau Wei, at home...
Outside, it was Little Vietnam!
Bukit Tambun has long been known as a seafood paradise. This quaint town is said to be a small fishing village and I suppose it is; for I remember seeing boats anchored in a river there the last time I was in the area and there were cockles being unloaded from a boat too. I also remember seeing a brackish, very polluted river and had in fact been advised not to take crabs or shellfish dished out by the restaurants there. As it is, there are many seafood restaurants in the town and when Eng Lai and I paid Mau Wei a visit on our way back to Taiping after visiting the delightful Penang's Queensbay Mall, Mau Wei would have us ushered to a little restaurant near the Batu Kawan Stadium. According to her, the restaurant is frequented more by Bukit Tambun folks. Outsiders mostly patronise the bigger, more popular and more expensive restaurants in town and the one she took us to was supposed to offer tastier and cheaper dishes. At nearly RM 50 for a dinner for three, I thought the dishes weren't very cheap and they weren't really that tasty, too but thank you, Mau Wei for dinner. It was nice to be able to dine in a restaurant that had been frequented by the ex-chief minister of Penang. Tan Sri Dr. Koh Soh Koon and the former Transport Minister, Dr. Ling Liong Sik but really, it was your hospitability that I appreciated.
In a little restaurant in Bukit Tambun...
Dinner was served...
I suppose there must be at least two Bukit Tambun in Malaysia. Just like there is a Selama, Perak and Selama, Kedah, there definitely is a Bukit Tambun, Perak and Bukit Tambun, Penang. In Perak, Bukit Tambun is in the Kinta District and this is where the theme park Lost World is located. In the south of the mainland of Penang, there is another Bukit Tambun which is famous for its seafood restaurants. Mau Wei and her family had moved into this little town more than a year ago and after Eng Lai had picked me up from Queensbay Mall, we would to proceed to Bukit Tambun, Perak to pay her a visit. I called up Mau Wei just as we were approaching Penang Bridge to tell her of the traffic jam and to expect us later than 5pm. It must be near six when we picked her up and after she hopped into Eng Lai's car, she directed us to some remote area near the Batu Kawan Stadium. From the hustle and bustle in Penang Island, Eng Lai drove his car into a small tarred road and into a little shanty where time seemed to stand still....That probably means there are at least two different worlds right here on earth!
Somewhere in Bukit Tambun, a town stood still...
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