Here he comes…

He comes once a year, my cousin in Sydney, Australia and just like what we did on Christmas Eve last year and the year before, we managed to squeeze sometime in his busy schedule to meet up and this year, we were able to take him for lunch again.

We dropped by here but it was closed all throughout the Christmas weekend so we adjourned here instead. I ordered the miang kam (RM19.90)…

…something he had not tried before and yes, he loved it!

We had this lokan (clam) dish (RM28.90)…

*Cousin’s photo on Facebook*

…before but it had soy sauce in it so this time, we put in a special request for fish sauce to be used instead so my girl would be able to enjoy it as well. Yes, it was very good and to everybody’s liking and we were particularly impressed by those really huge and juicy lokan in the dish.

Yes, he liked my girl’s favourite, the creamy seafood tom yam (RM45.50)…

…and the pad Thai (RM16.90, small)…

…as well.

It sure was good to see him again and because it was an annual thing, there was so much to talk about and after having had our fill, we adjourned here for the local delights – the cendol, the ang tao peng and the bubur cacar but we were all too full to eat anything else while we were there.

He brought us those box of chocolates…

…and talking about something from Australia, this…

…came in the mail a few days before New Year’s Day from my dear friend in Adelaide.

I was thinking that I only had a few days left in the old one she sent me last year…

…when this just-as-lovely one made its timely appearance and yes, she did send me a very nice one for 2016 too!

I love it, of course, and my favourite would be this one…

…for the month of January.

Talking about gifts, my friend, Justin, formerly a student in the school where I was teaching, called me when he was home to attend his friend’s wedding in Miri. He dropped by my house and passed me these beautiful gifts of gold…

He did give me the Amik melon before from the farm that he is attached to in Johore but this was the first time he brought this very special D101 durian, so very rich and so very creamy – it was absolutely out of this world…

I don’t know how he managed to bring it in – he said something about deep-freezing it but he did mention that the last time he tried to do the same with another much-coveted hybrid, the Musang King, it was most unfortunate that it did not get through and was confiscated. And don’t ask me which is better – I have never tried Musang King before even though at one time, it was available here but of course, it did not come cheap, not at all!

Thank you so much. Alister, for the chocolates – it was good to see you again and thanks to you, Jasmine, for the calendar and of course, to you too, Justin, for the durian and the melon. May God bless you all abundantly in the year ahead.

FLAVOURS THAI KITCHEN is located on the ground floor of the ORCHID HOTEL, along Brooke Drive at its junction with Jalan Tunku Osman. You can use its main entrance at the back of the hotel building (facing Brooke Drive) or go through the lobby past the reception desk if you are using its hotel entrance.