Kampung Agong 2024 - Beautiful Kampung Scene Part 1

 

After our lovely dim sum breakfast, the main event of the outing was to go visit Kampung Agong. I didn't have much expectation for it. In general, I wasn't a fan of instagramable places. I mean, paying money just to go in and take photo of yourself? Pass! But it was part of the day's outing, so I went along, and boy was it fun! And I had so many beautiful photos after the trip too! Thanks partly to my new cousin's better 'eye' and phone at capturing photos of me :P  More on that later. First, the above is kinda like a fish eye view of the resting/eating place at Kampung Agong. Does't it look lovely? Hot! But lovely! 

Here is a more 2D look for the place. So Kampung Agong is basically just a wide piece of land, and it's kept to look like a 'traditional' kampung. That means coconut trees and paddy fields and atap houses. But it also consist of photo spots for you to take nice photos! I think Malaysian needs to pay 10rm for entrance fee to visit Kampung Agong.

I guess it's private property. They kept the place so spacious that it was just so freeing running around this place! You could see Gunung Jerai just nearby! And large paddy fields all over!

Here is another scenic view of Gunung Jerai. As I kid, I would have love staying at such a place. Actually, I don't mind spending a few nights here as an adult here too. I don't really like city life much. This type of place is more to my style :)  Very relaxing! A place that I can run wild in and be FREEEEE!

So here comes some of the cheesy photo spot. Bird nest is a popular spot. You can climb up one and look out of it to have your photo taken. Cheesy! But I guess since I've already PAID 10rm, might as well fully make my money worth!

More cheesy photo spot. But you have to admit, it kinda looks cool. How could you be agree seeing so many heart shape?  <3

Up close view of cheesy heart shape. Love the background of it! Blue and green!

The kampung also have some kampung activities you can try your hand on. Fishing with these basket net was one of them. I was actually amazed that there were actual cat fish inside!

See! I wonder if there is a place they cook them for you! 

What a nice kampung view, a road leading somewhere, dunno where, but with coconut trees swaying at both sides :)

Kampung Agong 2024 - Dim Sum Breakfast

To spend ridiculously amount of money just to fly back for an outing with my cousins! Yes, I finally have cousinS with an 'S'. An unknown cousin who existed wanted to meet me, so I must keep my word for going out with her and my Kak Laz Yeo Beautiful! Hahahaha. What a name. So after rushing back from Cambodia in the evening, I was whizzed away the next morning to the above place somewhere in mainland Butterworth to have a dim sum breakfast. Just by the looks of it, it's nothing special and, to be honest, kinda worrying! But I trusted my Kak Laz when it comes to food!

The dining area we were seated at, a covered platform on the beach overlooking the sea! What a great place for a morning dim sum!

I mean, look at the table view! Those are the first serving of dim sum we had, all three ladies of us. We had just two rounds or so, which was considered little for me and Kak Laz :P  We have a special cousin with us, mustn't show our true self to her yet! Hahaha. Anyway, I did enjoyed the dim sum. I did wish I could have stayed longer there just sipping tea and eating and enjoying the view.

I mean, just look at the sign at the shop! I already love this place as a tea lover, and totally agree with it! I should drink more tea now that I have time AND tea!

A typical tea pot and tea cup used at almost all dim sum place in Penang. 

A cup of roster with my tea. I usually drink Pu-Er with my dim sum.

Best of all were these view! I've never seen Penang Island from this point of view before. As it was a beautiful day, the colour of the sea and sky were just splendid!

From a different view point, we could also see Gunung Gerai in blue too!

I could almost see my house from here!

Anyway, just to note, the dim sum platform was destroyed by strong wind and wave in 2024, around September or so. So we can't really visit the place again. Which just goes to show, you should treasure every single moment as if it is your last. Ichigo Ichie. One Moment, One Chance! Aside from all the drama, the owner did say they will rebuild it again once the monsoon season is over.... So there is hope for the future! But I don't know of an appropriate Japanese saying for hope.....lol

Here is a wefie of all the cousins, from left to me, Kak Carolyn, Kak Laz Yeo Beautiful, and Adik Cordy! 

Cordy Cafe 2024 - Tea

The other obsession I have is tea. Above a rose oolong tea I got from a friend. If you buy me tea, make sure they are oriental tea, and you can't really go wrong. Except maybe jasmine tea, I don't do well with strongly scented jasmine green tea. But if it's faintly scented, you might still win some favours from me :)

 

If I go to Taiwan, Japan, Korea, China, (especially Japan), I would buy tea. Although now I kept telling myself that I don't need that much tea, since I'm overflowing with tea at home, I still end up spending money and time on tea :P Above, Uji tea I got from years back! It's amazing, I'm still drinking these. I've been to Uji twice to-date! And the previous time, I had the most amazing houjicha latte which I still kept thinking about till today. I kept wondering if I could make them myself.....

Above, from last year's trip to Beijing, these are white tea. White tea, is actually my favourite of all teas! But they are kinda expensive, and the fragrance is really faint. And every time I drink them, I felt like it's more of a cleansing ritual more than anything. It's like they are holier than other teas. So I don't really drink them often. My daily tea is houjicha, and pu-er, or oolong. 

I think these are oolong. And scented with a hint of Jasmine. Another good tea I got from a friend. I think he gave me so much tea in once year that I don't need to buy any more tea for myself for the next 3 years at least!

Above, lovely tea box I got for myself from Korea. I love this tea brand. It's just so lovely!

Why do I like tea so much? I guess it's tied to wonderful memories of hiking with my Dad when I was young. Back then, when you hike up to the midway point of Penang hill, there is an 84 station there where you can have tea for free. And after an exhausting hike, it was such a pleasant feeling to drink that precious tea. Also, tea bring serve hot, just automatically calms you down since you can't drink them in a hurry. While waiting for it to cool, the fragrance of it just really relaxes you. If you put your face near the hot steam, you can even have a brief mini facial! Hahahaha. I also love chatting with good people over a nice pot of tea, or having it by myself in a foreign land. So many memories tied to this beautiful beverage! How could I not love it!

Cordy Cafe 2024 - Snacks

 

A collection of beautiful snacks I had in 2024. Sometimes, it's all about the aesthetics! Like the above, it's just fried egg as the main. But placed in a nice wooden plate, along with a nice plate of mixed fruits, and a lovely black coffee.... Voila! Perfection! Hahaha. Simple. Delicious. And beautiful!  

I've also recently discovered this truffle mayo from Thailand, and they go so well with fries! I can't stop eating them. I don't know why they don't sell these in Malaysia. My husband managed to find them in Singapore though. 

Sometimes you feel like having high-tea, but you looked at the price and it's ridiculously high. So you just buy some scones from the supermarket, and even splurged one a miniature jar of jam. You got the high end tea and high end plates at home anyway! Just assemble a nice high-tea set at home yourself. For less than 10rm, above a nice afternoon snack with some leftover fruits. I think I had it for dinner after a day out shopping in town :)

I also love making these Japanese pancakes at home. They are called Fuwa-Fuwa Pancakes, or Fluffy Pancakes, and one box, which cost less than 4sgd, can make 6 pancakes. They came in 2 packets inside, so you can make 3 pancakes each time, which is just nice for a wonderful breakfast. Problem is, these pancakes are hard to find in Singapore or Malaysia, and sometimes hard to find in Japan too. But I love it and got 2 boxes home in my previous trip. Above, fuwa-fuwa pancakes drizzled with maple syrups and condensed milk, and topped with granola, cranberries and sunflower seed. I even made matcha latte to go along with it. What a great way to start Christmas!

It could be my obsession with Japanese youtube videos and instagram, and booked. I love cooking Japanese food, and platting them. Above are some soup I got: onion, and scallop. They are clear soup instead of creamy, but still taste lovely. I had it with toasted cheese bread. One thing about staying in Penang, I love the cheese they sell at Village Grocer!

Speaking of cheese..... Managed to make some cheese platter last Christmas. I usually get a soft brie, a French roquefort cheese, and a hard cheddar or Emmental cheese. Above plate is with cured slide ham. And below is with smoked salmon. I usually pair these with some crackers, some raisins/cranberries,  dark chocolate, and whatever I might find interesting :)  I should dig up the 3 types of cheese platter I did for 2023 Christmas! They were delightful, and some were Japanese inspired too! I absolutely adore cheese! I imagine it's how an addict felt like when they are high on drugs. That's how I felt when I am eating cheese, and having their fragrance all over my head!

Cordy Cafe 2024 - NoCarb Meals

I first got into no carbs meal in 2024, when a diabetic friend came to stay with me in Penang. Prior to that, I was more of a no meat meal type of person. After spending some time with my friend, I got curious about a no carbs meal, and decided to experiment with it, challenging myself to see if I can survive on this weird diet. Interestingly, I did a two week trial of it (but not daily, just most days of the week), and I managed to hit my targeted weight of 57kg! Just for context, before I stopped working, my weight hover around 62kg. After I stopped working, I managed to get it down to around 60kg. Anything below 60kg was awesome for me. But to finally hit 57kg was quite eye opening! 

So now,  I am quite a big fan of this diet. My no carbs usually just mean no rice, no noodles, no bread. Sometimes I just get away with just low carbs since I mainly eat mixed grain rice anyway. But the good thing is, I was able to eat without feeling hungry, and it does stopped me from feeling sleepy in the afternoon. So now I incorporated it into my lifestyle with a few no carbs to low carbs meal a week. Above, one of my cheat code to feel full is making a big bowl of pork/chicken soup filled with vegetables. For side dish, I love bean curb, and green vegetables. Refer photo above for a sample meal. After getting used to not feeling hungry, I've also managed to sometimes cut off the side dishes. 

Going no carbs also forces me to be imaginative and creative in the things I can cook and eat. Above was one of my proudest meal during the 2 weeks trial. It was at the end of it, and this was actually a reward meal as I've splurged on a piece of salmon! But I split the fish into two meals, and it's air fried along with carrots, cucumber, french beans (cause asparagus are too expensive), brinjal, garlic, and tempeh! The proud ingredient was tempeh in this dish. I also realised that beans keeps me really full. Those are some leftover black beans from my black bean pork soup. As for dessert, I had a lovely slices of mangoes, and for drinks, soya milk! It was a splendid meal indeed!

There are also no-carbs snacks. Like the above, sweet potatoes are allowed! Along with matcha coffee latte. Beautiful in colour, and lovely in taste. I hate eating a meal that consist of only a single colour.

More lovely snacks, these are chicken flavoured biscuits I got from my friend (low carbs), with guacamole, and purple cabbage coleslaw! I know! I didn't even know that could be a thing for me. Actually I love eating coleslaw as a substitute for rice. It's lovely and light, and if I lay off the mayonnaise, it actually taste pretty refreshing! And the purple cabbage makes the meal so colourful, as if I'm eating beet roots, but cheaper! Lol.

 

Platting is also important to me. I think any meal placed nicely will look appetising to me. Above are actually store bought roasted chicken. They are actually leftovers. I just stir fried some vegetables and I got a nice roasted chicken salad. No carbs! The only concern I have with this diet is, am I eating too much protein? And after my health screening this year, I might tweak my meal plans again, and cut down on the protein, increase the soya protein, or beans, and increase loads of vegetables! Here is to a healthier 2025!