I once had a delightful pair of twins in my English tuition class – Judy and Julia, who were always amused by the fact that I could never tell one from the other. Maybe I still can’t…but I have not seen them together since that time when I was teaching them. Judy is now in New Zealand – not too far away from Wellington where my daughter is currently…and she was home for the holidays at the end of last year. We did get to meet then when we went for lunch here and she was at my birthday dinner too.
Julia is presently home from Glasgow, Scotland for her summer holidays and we got together for lunch here together with Alfie. I had the set lunch (RM9++) and from the options given, I chose the curry sotong (squid)…
…which was very nice. It came with rice, a slice of cucumber and some nasi lemak sambal on top and fried paku (jungle fern)…
…which tasted really great and I liked the fish ball/salted veg soup as well…
All that came with a complimentary drink – an orange cordial but I had to have my kopi-o-peng (iced black coffee)…so I ordered that as well.
Julia had the Singapore fried mihun (RM9.00++)…
…which did not look that appealling but she said it was not bad.
Alfie had the tom yam spaghetti (RM12.00++)…
…which looked even worse. This used to be my favourite and in the past, they had the spaghetti tossed in very nice sourish and spicy tom yam sauce, not drowned in all that gravy like this. The presentation was nicer then too – with the mussels and prawns and chili on top…not buried underneath the pasta. But Alfie said it was all right.
Hopefully, the two were not just being polite (and headed for kampua noodles right after that) but whatever it was, I really enjoyed meeting Julia again after all these years, and Alfie too, and had a great time chatting with them. I certainly hope the feeling is mutual.
Well, the summer hols would be quite long so who knows, Julia and I may get to meet again – maybe when Ryan’s home from Russia. I wonder when he will be back in town…
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Judy, Julia.. twins. Sweet. the food looks pale, but i guess since they said its nice, then its nice lo! Lol!
Wah! FC!!! First time, first commentor! What are you doing awake at this hour? It’s Saturday – the weekend’s here. I thought you’d be sleeping…and getting up late? Ya, since they say it was ok, ok lor… 😉
Hahaha, yea first commentor indeed. I’m so proud! Does a happy dance around. 😛
I was awake because I did not sleep till 6am. 😛 felt good staying up whole night. Lol! Actually it was to get the ChurpOut post out at around 3am, then tweaking with my blog. My Facebook “Like” button not working! Sad 😦
Poor thing…you work so hard on these things – I guess the benefits are worth it. Too bad…I don’t get anything from blogging. 😦
Sure you do… u get nice friends all over Msia… or rather, pest like me. LOL! Wakakakaka…
True! True! 😦 Don’t know why I bother doing this day in, day out…
meh! “It’s alright” Hahahaha!!
you’re so close to your students huh. Rarities nowadays…
Ah well…I’m such a nice guy mah…and I get along well/better with young people. Maybe an occupational hazard – after all the years of teaching, mingling with those in their late teens…but not all of them though. Just a few of them who care enough to keep in touch. Most are not bothered… 😦
i think the kampua there is nicer. =)
Yes, I had that before – very nice. The Foochow mee sua too…and I love the crispy seafood tomato kway teow. Best in Sibu!
aiyoo… seems like the food quality drop liaw hor… maybe they changed chef? hmmm…
That’s usually the case – the new one may not be able to cook the same thing (so well) but it is already printed in the menu. But there are some things that are quite good – probably the new chef’s specialties. You win some, you lose some… 😉
Yea my mum said they changed their chef. But it was all right for me! Thanks again mr wee! Meet up again soon! =)
I see. Yup…we’ll get together again sometime. Your family has a share in the hotel? Wink! Wink! I’m a regular at the cafe – must give me special privileges. LOL!!! 😀
Sotong…lol just had sotong with that Eli last night.I like the look of the pucuk pak. Not too overcook nor too raw
It was really very good – the best that I’ve eaten around town… Hope they are consistent where quality is concerned. You can never tell…at places where there are more than one chef especially- one may cook something well, another may not be as nice. 😦
God must have been really kind to me… kakaka… since I had sotong last nite, now see this one tarak drool. LOLOL!
…or as the English proverb says,”Every dog has its day.” Muahahahaha!!! 😀
Hmmm….teacher & student meet up sessions again. Judy & Julia, identical twins are hard to differentiate. There are twins that don’t look alike and some are what they called husband and wife twins (meaning to say a boy and a girl).
I like the curry squid but it looks like sweet & sour to me. Would prefer midin to paku. The tom yam spaghetti doesn’t look appealing but if it is nice then it is worth eating.
I like both – paku and midin…but fried with sambal hay bee. The squids were nice…and the soup too. I would say the set lunch was good. Annie-Q’s twins are not identical – one like the mum, the other like the father.
Hi! Long time no blog hopping for me….how are you?
I like squid dishes even in pasta. The last dish looks quite unappetizing to me…
Yes, long time no see! Fine here, hope you are too. I’m ok with squid – prefer prawn or crab. Precisely, when it was served, I was quite put off… Presentation is important especially at such places where you pay a lot more than at the humble coffee shops or stalls. 😦
You really must have left a wonderful impact on your students.. so many of them coming back to cari you!!
As for the food, my option will be like yours.. sotong and the ferns are definitely more appetizing to the mihun and the spaghetti… so … did they really run for the kampua noodles after that? 🙂
LOL!!! Even if they did they would not tell me – they’re all very nice and polite…all very good, well-brought up – those are the ones who would take the trouble to come back and say hello – shows how much they appreciate… Yes, I believe my choice was definitely a better one…
I love paku fried with belacan… Yummy
Me too. But over your side, I often see it served as kerabu – not so keen on that. 😦
When I read the title, I thought you’re gonna write something about Julia Roberts or something. Tsk… too much of her movie last nite!
First and last movie I saw with her in it – “Pretty Woman”. You saw her in that Larry something movie, I guess…with Tom Hanks?
No la… old movie… the one with Richard Gere in it… ‘Runaway Bride’. LOL.
Pretty Woman also with Richard Gere… Runaway Bride not with Hugh Grant?
hmm garden hotel’s food quality macam down a bit already.
…and prices up! Well, I know a few items that they have on the menu that are nice…and I like the place – quiet, nobody/not many people…and can sit and chat for hours. Fee wifi too, I think – get the password from the reception counter. 😉
oh..i missed sotong!
Lots around here… Cheap!
Is Tom yam spaghetti a soup? I’ve had tom yam soup before.
Looks more like gravy than soup… Would probably look nicer if it had been soup. When I used to eat that and loved it a lot, it was just sauce – red, and they tossed the pasta in it, giving it the taste and the colour. Very nice.
The sotong is tempting…
Not coming here anymore – I think the chef has left. Food not so good anymore.