Friday's Lunch at Breeze Bar

Friday is the special lunch at Sunday Breeze Bar. This week was a delicious beef goulash with still the best fries in Kuantan. But the reason for this post is to once more share the view at Breeze Bar.

Enjoyable!

Animal Farm, Malaysian style

We drove to Ombok Surf Cafe today for lunch. The food was very good. We both had the rosemary chicken salad and we definitely enjoyed the meal and the area. Ombok means wave in Malay and the restaurant in close to the beach. Nice weather, good food. This was an enjoyable lunch.

Now, to the animal farm part of the trip.  We saw a cow and a goat freely walking around next to the main road and monkeys close to Ombok and Nutella (aka Sir Lancelot) at Ombok. The cat was there last and came by to visit us.

Be careful when walking

Walking and driving in Kuantan has been challenging, fun, scary, different.

Case in point, we were walking across the street to the mall. Of course, if you are not used to driving on the opposite side, this also applies to looking the correct way when crossing.  That can be challenging.

We pretty much have that part mastered.  Across the street we go, and then we are safely in the parking lot where cars are going slow and stop when you are crossing since there is a lot of traffic.

But today, the Frenchman was run over by a van and a driver busy not looking at the road.  The only thing that save him was quick thinking and cat-like jump over the hood of the van with a hand on the van as a pummel horse.  The driver was apologetic, but that teaches us a lesson that we need to be extra careful, even in the parking lot.

Another night, another movie - Jumanji

As mentioned before, for some reason, movies in Malaysia come to the theater days, if not weeks, before the official US opening date.


Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was no exception. It opens in the US on December 21, 2017 and we saw it in Kuantan on December 15, 2017.

We didn't expect much from this movie, but we were pleasantly surprise.  The movie theater was packed, much more than Star Wars: The Last Jedi.  Come to find out, Malaysia really likes Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson.


The movie was funny, well played, light and dark at the same time, and the audience participation (laughter, oohs and aahs when the Rock appeared) made it even better.


Two thumbs up from the two AIK left here.


Go see it!

No Longer Under Construction

Last year, there was a building under construction not far from the hotel, just to the west of the East Coast Mall.

We didn't realize it and would have missed it if one of the operators at the plant hadn't asked us if we had been to the new Kuantan City Mall.  The building was finished and opened in late October, 2017. It's a mall! About 50 meter from the other mall!

View of the new KCM with the Zenith Hotel behind, from Zam Zam

This is a new mall and not all the shops have been opened yet. So, we have to reserve judgment for the next time we come back, if there is a next time.  Currently, it's missing Christmas decorations.  The lone Christmas tree by the front door cannot compare to the Christmas opulence of the East Coast Mall with lights, decoration, Christmas music piped in, the Christmas shows and visits from Santa and Santarina.  We are not sure who Santarina is but we may be able to go see her on Saturday when she is at the East Coast Mall. We'll let you know.

Funny anecdote about the new mall:

As we are walking through the mall for the first time, we see new stores and new restaurants. One particular one is Johnny's, a hot pot restaurant. When we saw it, we weren't sure what type of food it was since we had never seen it before. We approach and figure out what it was and go on our merry way. We weren't in the mood for hot pot.

The next day, we are walking around the East Coast Mall as we have done hundreds of times by now, and the Elder points, laugh and says: "There is a Johnny's here too!"  We must have walked past it dozens of times if not more and never realized what it was, not made the connection when we were at the new mall!

Power of observance may not be our strong suit!

Jaya Grocer in the basement is a top of the line grocery store with a wide variety of fares, including US favorites. So, if you crave a particular brand of tomato sauce, peanut butter or pasta. You are sure to find it there.  It also has an entire area dedicated to organic food.  The price is a bit more as you would expect and is worth it for a piece of home.

Other notable stores are:

• Yubiso - A dollar store type of store with many trinkets good for stocking stuffers
• Mineyo Korea House - Another dollar store type store
• Brand Outlet and F.O.S - Inexpensive t-shirts and clothing

Dinner at an old favorite

Before enjoying the new Star Wars:The Last of the Jedi movie, we went to Zam Zam, a Middle-Eastern restaurant that was one of our favorites last year.

The food didn't disappoint, nor did the price.

We enjoyed falafel with hummus as a shared appetizer, a chicken shawarma for the Elder and a beef shawarma for the Frenchman.  Accompanied with a side salad and french fries, the meal was delicious and more than enough.

Adding two bottle waters, the grand total was 37 ringgit (that's $9.25!).

The Elder, Falafel & Hummus

SWTLJ

Yes, you had to open this blog to figure out what I am talking about.

One advantage of Malaysia is that we get to go see movies a few days ahead of the release date in the US!

Last night, the Elder and the Frenchman went to see the latest chapter of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (SWTLJ), two days before the US release date. CJ should be seeing it tonight while on vacation.

We would rank the movie two thumbs up. For a 2 1/2 hour movie, the time went by quickly, the story line was engaging, a few predictability that were not to be, plot twists, unexpected turns, cute animals (look out for them at a toys store near you - what would Star Wars be without a few commercial items) and leaving you with wanting more in Episode IX.

Here are the must have items of the 2017 Christmas season

the Porg

the Vulptex aka Crystal Fox