Fraser’s Hill Valentine’s Part II: Strawberry farm, Allan’s Water boat paddling, Restoran Nine Thy Eight KKB seafood dinner and a Valentine’s Day present

I’m not sure who Aida Daniya is but she (?) seems to have taken over Fraser’s Hill with a vengeance. Not only does she have a picturesque tea house, said restaurant overlooks a beautiful garden and there’s also a strawberry nursery named after her. We walked down to the garden after lunch at Aida Daniya Tea House – there are well tended flowers and plenty of spots to take the perfect Instagram photo.

Wake up and smell the flowers! Background: I pretended to be possessed by a female ghost on the drive up. I let her come out to play.

My Mandy was very proud of this photo. 💁‍♀️

I tried to recreate her pose. Unsuccessfully. 💁‍♂️

We tried doing this trendy shot at Sekinchan but failed to get a good photo. This is a better attempt.

The flowers here are exceedingly beautiful – it must be the cool weather here. 🌸 The unforgiving sun down the hill tends to wilt flowers.

We headed over to Fraser’s Hill Strawberry Garden (now renamed Aida Daniya Strawberry Garden) but it was unfortunately closed. Luckily the gate was partially open so we took the opportunity to do a little breaking and entering.

The F&B outlets were closed but the nursery was visible. One strawberry fell down from its vine so I thought it’ll be permissible to consume the strawberry instead of allowing it to rot. I did feel mildly guilty about doing so but hey, it’s not like I plucked the damn thing from its creeper. That would delve into morally questionable territory, perhaps even theft by consumption.

It’s not very delicious but grown locally. 🍓

We also went to Allan’s Water. This is a place run by Tourism Malaysia where you can feed fishes and rent paddle boats for RM 8/15 minutes.

We went on a working weekday so there was no one paddling, just a family feeding the fishes. 🐠

The river section you can use is quite large, but blocked at two ends with strategically placed logs and obstructions so you can’t go too far.

It’s far enough to give you a sense of space and privacy though.

I found it very peaceful and the weather at Fraser’s Hill is perfect for this type of activity. The temperature was in the high teens all morning so you don’t sweat. There’s also a cool breeze going on that makes you feel like you’re in a different (colder) country.

My only complaint was that the life vests provided smells really bad. They probably haven’t been washed in years! It stinks to high heaven. Aside from that, paddling in the water under the mild sun and cool weather with my Mandy was perfect.

We decided to head down for our seafood dinner after so we drove to the Fraser’s Hill Clock Tower for some final photos…

…before making the 1 hour journey to Kuala Kubu Bharu (KKB).

We saw a family of monkeys (baboons?) on the windy road down. There was a male who got quite inquisitive and kept trying to look into our stopped car. I think he might have stolen my girlfriend’s handbag had she wound down the window. He looks like that type of monkey. 🐒

Our Valentine’s Day dinner was at Restoran Nine Thy Eight at KKB. Mandy loves crabs and I like Chinese food so a Chinese seafood restaurant was the perfect place to go. This is a sleepy restaurant that serves primarily locals and the occasional out-of-state people heading to Genting or Fraser’s Hill. The owner is very friendly and was happy to recommend several of their signature dishes.

This is Crab Porridge (RM 61.60) which is their flagship specialty. 🦀 It uses a whole crab cooked in very flavorsome porridge topped with some crunchy bits. We hesitated before ordering this coz Mandy likes other ways of cooking crab but she finally decided to give this one a try. It’s what this restaurant is famous for after all.

Here’s what it looks like after it’s been mixed. I’m not a big fan of porridge. I usually find porridge too mild but Restoran Nine Thy Eight does an excellent version of crab porridge. The congee is so flavorful and thick! It’s packed with savory and crab goodness. I finished the lion’s share of this porridge despite not generally liking congee. Delicious!

I also ordered another specialty of theirs – Catfish Steamed with Soy Sauce and Half Boiled Egg (RM 26). 🐟 How unique! I’ve never seen soft boiled egg paired with Chinese style steamed fish. It’s really good! The creamy egg yolk adds richness and mouthfeel to the soft and tender catfish meat. I wish this place was nearer so I can eat this every day. That’s the highest compliment I can give this dish. I want to smash 3 platters of this in a single sitting!

Tofu Cooked with Broccoli and Mushroom (RM 16). 🥦 We ordered this just to fulfil our vegetable quota. It tasted mediocre in comparison to the two other excellent dishes. It probably isn’t bad by in another setting but we’ve just had two superlative dishes so this seemed to pale as a result.

The bill came up to RM 120 for the food and drinks. I ordered a large beer and Mandy had carrot juice. Restoran Nine Thy Eight does their signature dishes very well. I highly recommend it and will be back if I pass by the area again. I’ll like to try their other flagship dishes. The prices are very reasonable too.

We got back home at around 10:30 pm and I presented my girlfriend her Valentine’s Day gift. I noticed her looking at a Swarovski pendant last month and skilfully brought her to Sunway Pyramid to look at other jewellery to see what kind she likes. It wasn’t very subtle but I got to know her tastes and preferences.

I bought her this gold necklace to go with…

…a golden M from Wah Chan’s official Disney Mickey Mouse collection.

This is what the pendant and chain looks like combined. It cost around 1.2k for everything. The M was supposed to stand for Mickey but here it stands for Mandy. It’s a coincidence they both have the same initial.

Happy Valentine’s Day Mandy! I love you. 💕

Fraser’s Hill Valentine’s Part I: Aida Daniya Tea House, steamboat dinner, a gruesome night drive up

I wanted to surprise my girlfriend with a trip to Pulau Ketam (which was our first trip together) on Valentine’s Day, but I thought going again so soon would be diminish the magic. I decided on Fraser’s Hill instead – a cool hilltop destination about 2.5 hours from KL. She’s never been there before and I booked a nice AirBNB on the top floor of Silverpark Resort with amazing views to spend the night.

She has her off day on Thursday (which coincidentally is 14th February) and I won’t start work until the 18th so it’s perfect for a weekday getaway without massive crowds of people. Indeed, Fraser’s Hill was almost deserted. It was also rainy and misty on the way up and I entertained (scared?) Mandy with ghost stories and pretended to be possessed by a female ghost. She was not amused. 😨

I planned this trip a month back and sent her a Powerpoint presentation to detail what I have planned for Valentine’s. Haha. What a corporate thing to do. It came complete with an itinerary, which we managed to complete!

I also arranged for flowers to be delivered to her workplace. I got her 12 roses.

She finished work at 6:30 pm and I flew in from Pontianak at 3 pm and I timed it so I just had enough time to buy ingredients for a steamboat dinner and pick her up from work. It was 10:30 pm by the time we checked into our apartment at Fraser’s Hill.

The place is very nice. It’s a studio unit with two queen beds…

Two balconies – this is the one facing down the hill (too misty to see anything unfortunately but the view is great on a clear day)

And this is the one facing inwards.

There’s also a full kitchen and I decided to cook her a steamboat dinner since it was so late when we got there.

Here’s the spread for the night! I got pork slices, two types of fishballs, bacon, soft tofu, assorted seafood, sausages, broccoli, eggs and mushrooms.

I used a tom yam – chicken stock base with Shaoxing wine and fish sauce. Unfortunately, I spilled the Shaoxing wine and fish sauce all over the back car cushion on the way up. It smells so bad now. I need to get it cleaned.

I also brought up some Mi Sedaap noodles I got from my recent Pontianak trip to enjoy with the steamboat. This is a new type of Mi Sedaap soup noodles with real egg. Only available in Indonesia.

My babe surprised me with a cheesecake that she made herself! She labored over this a few days ago coz she was thinking of what to get me. This is the first cake she has ever baked.

It’s really delicious! I would have said it’s yummy even if it’s not coz she made it for me, but honestly, this tasted great! It’s been contributing to my expanding waistline coz I’ve been eating it everyday since.

The next day we headed over to Aida Daniya Tea House for lunch after checking out. This place has amazing views and a comfortable balcony where you can enjoy the cool breeze and see the beautiful flowers growing at the cultivated park beneath.

This is the view we had sitting at the tables outside.

I ordered a double cappuccino (RM 15) as my morning coffee…

…and we got another couple to take a photo of us at the balcony.

We also ordered their English cream tea for two (RM 38)…

…which came with scones, clotted cream, jam and a selection of cakes and pies. The highlight was the orange cake, the pie and the other cakes were forgettable and the scones weren’t the best.

We also had something called an Irish Chicken (RM 25) which is a gruesome creation of a deep fried chicken roll slathered with mashed potatoes. It doesn’t taste half bad but it didn’t taste good either. The bill came up to RM 85.80. You pay for the scenic views and the nice ambiance, not so much the food. The food was quite mediocre but I enjoyed the quiet and cool surroundings. Recommended if you want a nice place to chill in Fraser’s Hill but manage your expectations on the food.

I love you my Mandy! <3

Part II of our Fraser’s Hill trip coming soon!

7 things we did on Valentine’s Day

1. I gave her flowers that lasts forever

blue roses

I originally ordered a bouquet of blue roses but unfortunately, they looked rather worn down and sad when I arrived to pick them up before going to the airport (more about that soon). I wanted to surprise my dear with flowers at the airport but I didn’t want these miserable looking specimens.

forever flowers

However, the place was pushing flowers that lasts forever (or at least a good 3-5 years). These *forever flowers* are real flowers, not fake ones – they have been freeze dried, which preserves them and makes them keep their scent and shape for several years (more if you don’t expose the flowers to oxygen by opening the case).

roses lasts forever

I thought that was a pretty meaningful gift. I had RM 65 credit at the store coz I refused the flowers so I used them on this. I wanted our relationship to be like this too – something real, which lasts forever! <3 2. My dear flew down to Sibu

arrivals

I was still in Sibu at the time coz of my mom so my better half decided to fly down as a surprise and told me to pick her up at the airport! It was just for the weekend, but I’m glad we managed to spend Valentine’s together – she flew in on Valentine’s Day itself (Friday) – and we both flew back to KL on Sunday.

3. We celebrated Chap Goh Meh and Valentine’s Day at my grandma’s place

chap goh meh

Chap Goh Meh is also known as the Chinese Valentine’s Day. My dad was flying out to Singapore the next day so we decided to go to my grandma’s to eat and only celebrate our own Valentine’s Day dinner the next night.

4. We had ice-cream in the car

ice cream

It’s a simple thing to do but it’s one of the things that’s “ours”. It’s a bit of a tradition and something we both like to do.

5. Valentine’s Day dinner

cafe cafe

I brought her out to Cafe Cafe (they also have a sister lounge called The Queen) for Valentine’s Day. It was a day late but we had a great dinner in Sibu. This is one of the better places to go if you factor in ambiance – just get a seat at the back coz the front is really noisy.

valentines dinner

It was wonderful coz we didn’t have a lot of time together (just slightly more than 48 hours before we had to fly back) and the full day that we had was perfect!

6. She mailed me my Valentine’s Day presents

valentines gift

My better half thoughtfully boxed together a care package containing Granola Maple Pecan cereal and an assortment of candy bars, all with their own messages inscribed on them.

granola maple pecan

It was lovely!

candy

She always takes a lot of effort in putting together something nice. I love you dear! *hugs*

7. I gave her a personalized fireworks show

Yup, I left two of my biggest fireworks cakes till she came back on Chap Goh Meh/Valentine’s Day (which falls on the same date in 2014) and let it off for her to see at night.

sparkler

I also managed to convince her to light a few of the less dangerous ones.

I had an awesome 119 shot fireworks cake that discharges all the bomblets in an aerial barrage lasting probably 10 seconds, which is a pretty intense display.

valentines us

It was a great Valentine’s Day and I’m glad I have my dear with me. 🙂

My Valentine’s Day

rainie lunch

I met this girl at TDH last Saturday morning. I was early (actually everyone else was late, I was late by 45 minutes myself) and I got there first. I saw this girl laughing while watching a movie on her iPad so I went over, said hello and ended up talking to her for an hour.

It turns out that her name is Rainie – I added her on Facebook and got her number. I said I’ll call and we’ll meet up for lunch or something next week…and today, that’s exactly what we did. There’s some epicness in the middle but for the sake of length, I’ll leave that out.

rainie

This afternoon, on the 14th of February, I went out for lunch with “the TDH girl” (as she will be affectionately known) and made plans for dinner.

It was very casual, the plan was no plan and we ended up having dinner at Wong Kok Char Chang Teng (of all places!) coz she was sick and wanted to eat porridge. There wasn’t any porridge so she made do with ramen and hot lemon honey juice.

vd dinner 2012

I think we spent 3 hours there talking until the movie started. She’s someone I can click with and there’s definitely something going on here.

She looks different every time I see her! It’s like she turns more attractive each time I meet her. It kinda scares me coz I don’t recognize her for a split second each time she waves at me!

I don’t know what comes next. I won’t pretend I do. We’ll see if this works out.

I’m just glad:

  • I went to TDH last Saturday at that particular time
  • I made it to lunch today
  • We spent 6 hours together on Valentine’s Day night despite work tomorrow

…a lot of things would have been different if any of those decisions were made differently.

rainie hb

I’m just glad things turned out the way they did. 🙂

The most romantic Valentine’s Day ever!

us

My relationship status went from “Single” to “In a relationship” during Chinese New Year – just a couple of days before the august celebration on the 14th of February.

airport

I spent Valentine’s Day on a 9 pm flight from Sibu to KL while Jeanie took the 10 pm from Miri to KL. It was past midnight when we met up at the airport (waited about an hour for her) so we decided to celebrate it the next day.

flowers

I sent flowers to her office several days ago – on the first day she was due back at work as a surprise since I knew we wouldn’t be able to meet on Valentine’s Day itself. We were pretty much bushed by the time we arrived on the 14th (technically 15th) so we woke up early (relatively) the next day and went for:

lunch

Dim sum at Grand Imperial, Bangsar Shopping Center!

movie

It was a holiday so we pretty much spent the whole day at MidValley – caught a movie together – a rather cheesy HK production which turned out to me more self-parody than movie but it has its moments. I remember watching a movie with her at our first date several years ago, which was rather disastrous.

I think she told me I was an asshole before slamming the door on me after that, which was pretty funny in hindsight. smirk

couple

Anyway, we also did the fresh romance thing and ended up buying one of those couple t-shirts. Heh!

dinner

Dinner was a quick one at Delicious – both of us were feeling very sleepy – before heading home.

his

His.

hers

Hers.

bed

We ended up camwhoring and talking most of the night and woke up a couple of hours later for…

breakfast

…breakfast in bed. :p

She had a training session to go to this morning so I drove her down and somehow got a punctured tyre in the process. >.< punctured

It’s a good thing this was near the Sg Besi toll coz I didn’t have a jack so I couldn’t change it – I went to borrow one at the toll booth and they sent the PLUS highway patrol over to help me change it.

patrol

I managed to get her there just in time.

I thought it was a rather interesting Valentine’s Day – I nearly couldn’t drive coz after the flat tyre fiasco coz I managed to get my car keys stuck in the boot. How?

boot

There you go. It’s a good thing a little elbow greese pried my car keys loose from the jaws of the car boot.

Oh well, at least no religious police came knocking on my doors. smirk

kissing

Happy Valentine’s Day, Jeanie! <3

The best Valentine's Day gift ever!

vday gift rx

I just received the best Valentine’s Day gift of all time from the most unlikely candidate – my doctor. He was kind enough to write a prescription for DF-118 from another pharmacy to get me through the week until his supplier comes again (it’s not the usual practice here) since he ran out of stock.

vday gift df118

Rx for DF-118 x 30 tabs (no repeat authorization) for Poh Huai Bin.

vday gift

I drove to the pharmacy (most clinics and pharmacies here don’t carry DF-118 coz it’s restricted) and got my medication. 1 tablets of DF-118 (dihydrocodeine tartrate 30 mg) to be taken when necessary. I love DF118 coz it only contains DHC 30 mg without other active substances.

vday df118

Nothing says “I love you” more than a prescription. 😉

Disclaimer: I have a legitimate prescription for DF-118 for my end-stage testicular cancer. That usually shuts people up, coz nothing is manlier than a man telling someone he has testicular cancer. 😉

P/S – Don’t panic, I don’t really have testicular cancer, mom and dad. My family jewels are perfectly fine and in good working condition last time I checked. It’s actually for my back pain.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all readers of sixthseal.com!

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Happy Valentine’s Day

valentine entreprenours

The photo above shows the enterprising people of Kuching setting up
stalls selling Valentine’s Day goods along the major roadsides to
remind forgetful people that today is V Day (and also serves a life
line of the tardy ones among us who waits till the last minute). It’s
along most of the city roads, there’s even cars stopping on roadsides
with speakers on full blast and the occupants selling flowers. It’s a
booming business, or so it seems. 😉

Anyway, here’s ours:

For Her

hb present

It’s one of those gigantic cards. I put the present in it, since it fits. 🙂

For Him

ll present

that’s a customized keychain with our names on it. 🙂 This is not
the present though, it would be a little late due to Amazon orders, but
it’s “Good Chemistry: The Life and Legacy of Valium Inventor Leo
Sternbach” – the hardcover book that came out recently that I’ve really
wanted! Thanks! =D Happy Valentine’s Day and I love you, Louisa!

Here’s a alternate link for those of you who do not like the commercialism of Valentine’s Day:

Sucessfully bribing the nurse after failed doctor shopping [castitas.com]

Here at sixthseal.com, our aim is to cater for everyone. 😉

castitas.com is still alive, I’ve decided not to let it go into
hibernation. I’ll post there under the “veritas” nick once in a while
and announce posts here, but only about legal things like
benzodiazepines.