KK - Part 2 for Momma (end of Sept)

Another trip back to Kota Kinabalu for Momma to see my dad.  I flew via Japan again.  And as per usual, hungry before getting on the plane.  Ha!

Here we go again!

I was hoping that I didn't need to swing back to Malaysia this soon but Dad has not been in good spirits.  Hopefully by being back, he will cheer up a bit.

Decent food on ANA airlines:

A quick layover at Haneda airport.  Of course, there's always time for udon noodles :-)

More airplane food - not that great but not bad either:

Back in Malaysia, but only in Kuala Lumpur.  Another quick stop before the 2.5 hour flight back to my hometown of Kota Kinabalu:

Worse teh tarik ever!!

Finally back in KK and gosh, it's been raining so much!  Below is an area by the hospital.  Can't believe it still flood here.  The surrounding area by the hospital has been flooding ever since I was a kid growing up in KK.  At least the main road is clear of standing water, unlike years ago!

Dad started doing more dialysis lately as his kidneys are not going so great :-(  What a complicated looking machine though.  Most definitely able to prolong someone's life for a lot longer than predicted:

Okay, I'm going to have a lot of photos of food.  So bear with me.  Ha ha!

This one is called char kuey teow.  Kuey teow is this type of flat noodle. I suppose the equivalent of fettuccini for the Italians.  My brother was nice enough to drop this off during dad's dialysis since I skipped my lunch time:

Some typical dishes during at my brother's home.  Fish braised with egg plant, veggies, and probably a meat/protein plant towards the back. Our maid has been cooking for us every since I was born. A really long time! 

Anyone having to go to the hospital will know how awful the parking situation is there.  Yup, I'm THAT close to the drain, on the curb.  I actually had a random guy walking by help me look while I turned up the curb as my brother's old car is not equipped with a back-up camera.  

I have to admit, I was shocked to see it SOOOOO close to the drain. It's a good thing the driver's side is on the right side of the car, so I didn't have a problem getting out.  Ha ha!

Some "nasi lemak" which literally translates to fatty rice.  The fat comes from coconut milk in the rice.  There's normally fried anchovies, which I don't see in this particular one.  The red stuff on the left is called "sambal" - a shrimp paste with chili.  Nasi lemak is one of my favorite Malaysian dishes.  Most Malays/locals will eat this with their hands.  I still go with the fork and spoon :-)

I'm staying at my dad's place while I'm back in KK.  So funny how this bird ended up in their living room:

This dish is called Bah Kut Teh.  The soup is cooked with herbs so it has a distinct smell.  All parts of the pig in this dish, if you desire! I keep it simple to just the ribs and meatballs :-)

I can't even tell what this one is... some sort of "Kon lau" which means noodles mixed with soy sauce.  And then you just add whatever meat product on top.  

What is up with these birds...

Not stopping us from having some "taufu fa" (soy) with red beans.  Yummm....

Having dinner at my 3rd aunt's restaurant.  I love her fried mee-hoon/thin noodles (right in photo) and of course, dumplings - both meat and veggies ones. Yummy in my tummy!

My sister and I have some time together during this trip.  We love hanging out at this little restaurant.  They have all sorts of little drinks and snack, including this pumpkin soup with sago and a dragon fruit dessert:

More dumplings! These were homemade by my dad's wife.  Super yum!

Another traditional Malay dish - this one is called Rendang.  I believe we had chicken rendang.  A tad spicy but all the right spices at this fancy restaurant:

Okay, a little side story on my shoes.  I totally forgot how people use shoe cobblers here in Malaysia.  I had the guy glue and stitch up my shoes. Just like new again :-)

I'm trying to go through some of my dad's old photos.  Oh boy, soooo many!  And there were some that were mine too.  Fun times going through memory lane:

Pretty sunset during one of the evenings driving to the hospital:

At the hospital... yup, beautiful sunset tonight:

My sis decides to take the stairs tonight.  Dad is on the 9th floor...

I can't believe for the size of this hospital, there are only 2 elevators and the wait is so long for both.  This sign in the stairwell is not making it any easier.  It's asking if I'm tired. Ha!

One more look at the sunset that night - from the 9th floor:

The stairs down is so much easier than on the way up:

Alright, back to food.  This looks like our traditional noodles - with a pork or chicken broth, topped with sliced cucumbers, green beans, bean sprouts, and not forgetting some black bean paste and minced garlic.  Mmmmm.... so tasty!

Oh, this noodle dish was made special because it was my 2nd aunts birthday.  I was wondering why those bowls didn't look familiar.  We normally eat these noodles at my uncle's house but on this day, we were at my 2nd aunt's restaurant.

Local dessert - cendol (the green stuff) with black jelly, and shaved ice underneath, with milk and sugar syrup.  One of my favorites:

Steamboat with my sister and my younger brother and his wife:

I had to buy some mooncakes as the festival is coming up:

I actually bought a durian flavor one but I probably should have looked at the ingredients, as I did not see any durian in it at all!  But yet, I could smell it??!

The occasional porridge for either breakfast, lunch, or snack time.  Porridge is so dull but so tasty once you add all the fixin's :-)

After all that eatin', we have to make sure our body is handling all of it properly.  My sister and I are getting some blood work done:

More "kon lau" noodles (mixed with soy sauce) with a soup on the side:

We went to have dim sum and this chili sauce was on the table.  So instead of Tabasco, it's called "Sabasco" since it's from Sabah (my homestate).  Not too shabby!

More eating moments with my sister after those hospital visits:

Yup, another cendol - this time with red beans instead:

Another round of trying to finish up with these old photos.  There's sooooo many!

Here's a classic one of my dad - the hair, the dark rim glasses, those bell-bottoms, and how about that shawl?!  This was taken when he was studying in New Zealand:

Here's some Indian roti or bread. With a side of curry - so simple yet so yummy:

I should have also taken a photo of the guys that work at the hospital canteen.  They make roti fresh every day - plain, with egg, or onions, with kaya (coconut jam), or bananas.  And it's so cheap too, for less than a dollar for each roti.  The trick though, is to get to the canteen between 4:30pm and 8:30pm. And it's never easy to meet those hours because we never know what to expect during those hospital visits with my dad :-(

A rainy day on the way home from the hospital. I like how they have added rows of Chinese lanterns in this area: 

I just realized on this trip that I've been referring to this part of the town as "Bornion", when it's actually "Foh Sang".  And the opposite side is actually "Bornion", where my dad had his pharmacy for years too!

I guess I have so many favorite dishes, because here is another one.  Wat Dan Ho... basically flat noodles cooked in a soupy-like style, with an egg:

I decided to buy a plant for my brother.  I was inspired to make it into a bonsai although it already looks like once, so not much to do other than to trim and put it in a pot.  

Even with 3 weeks back home, I didn't have a chance to do all that! So I just dropped it off at his home.  I hope he does take care of it!

Yeah... we eat a lot of noodles - dry and in soup for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  Ha ha!

Catching up with an old friend - eating at a Malay restaurant since my friend is Malay and he can only eat "halal" food.  So that means Soto (malay version of noodles in soup):

Okay, totally shocked by price of fruits that are imported.  For example, avocados imported from Australia are $48.90 ringgit per kg. Yikes!!

 Vs. only $16.90/kg for the locally grown ones.  That's almost 3x cheaper!

One last meal at our favorite duck restaurant, with my brother and his wife:

Thankfully, even after all that food, I did not gain any weight.  Okay, maybe like 1kg - which is about 2lbs.  Thankfully, it's a chore finding a park and walking to the hospital. And don't even get me started with the humidity and amount of sweat/how smelly I get by the end of the day!!  :-P