Throat Slitting Taxis in Johor

We haven't had any mishaps before taking taxis from Johor Bahru down to Singapore in our previous trips. But this time it was different. It was unfortunately a Sunday, & that's when taxis are a scarcity. And when that happens, taxi drivers become primal animals out for the kill.

A lot of things in Malaysia are just there for show. For example, the big red letters that say BUDI BAHASA AMALAN HIDUP KITA. When I approached the counter for a ticket, the lady behind the box didn't even want to look at me. I wanted to buy a ticket but she wouldn't sell it to me. BUDI BAHASA my posterior.

You probably can't see the sign below but it says RM15 per person or RM60 per trip to Singapore & that is as clear as broad daylight. It's right in your face.

But when we got into the taxi, they were asking for S$60. That was definitely cut-throat robbery, in clear broad daylight. I was fuming mad. It's ok if they were asking nicely for RM10-15 more on top of the RM60 but this was insulting & offending.

So we got off & joined the rest of the people in the waiting area who were in the same predicament. At that point we felt very lost cos it looked like there was no way we would ever get to Singapore. But we had no intention of feeding these bloodsuckers. Our badly corrupted country needs a major change now more than ever, & we were not about to continue endorsing this criminal activity.

Next to us (a whole bunch of people waiting for taxis) were a whole bunch of taxi drivers sitting there drinking coffee & waiting for suckers & hawking their prices in Sing$ & mocking us - Tak apa. Boleh tunggu. Tunggu lama lama. Mana ada teksi.

I felt like punching them in the face. But they looked bigger than I was, so I let them go.

Then a young couple next to us went up to ask & guess what. The price was now Sing$35 per person. Yes, I know. That was murder. And being principled, the couple didn't yield as well & took us just across to catch a bus.

The bus ride cost RM2.00 to the checkpoint. We got down, went thru the immigration, & went up another bus for S$2.50 which brought us straight to the taxi stand at Bugis Street. No hassle. No waiting. Everything was clockwork.

We were so grateful to the young couple. Apparently the guy was from Johor & the girl was from KK, & both of them were working in Singapore.

That particular experience in Johor reaffirms our belief that there is completely no hope for Malaysia, unless it changes, unless it removes all the corrupted politicians, from the man at the top to the taxi drivers at the bottom, unless it changes its system of administration, enhances & enforces its laws. But meeting a couple like this also reaffirms our faith that there is hope, & there is still really nice & sincere people around in this country of ours.

Coming into Singapore, we felt a huge wave of relief. At last, we were in a safe place where the taxi drivers go by meters, & will take you anywhere you want to go. We were back in civilisation.

Ah Koon Western Knife Fish Balls in Johor: Day 1

This is no kung fu movie although the name may suggest something like that.

We were in Johor Bahru & Singapore for a break about a couple of weeks ago. We normally like to stop by JB to meet up with my ex-uni mates Chia Hwee and his wife Sabrina. This couple is one of the most hospitable friends that we have, always ferrying us around and feeding us all the time. But come to think of it, when they were in Kuching, we were also guilty of feeding them until they exploded. So I guess what goes around, comes around!

As it normally happens with us, we were whisked off straight from the airport to Ah Koon's fishball place. According to Chia Hwee, this place is famous for their sito fish products ~ west knife fish (direct translation).

The eatery requires you to pick your own noodle (dry or soup; thick, rice, vermicelli or lao soo fen), followed by the items that you fancy.

This is one of their specialties - fried fish cakes side order dipped in chilli sauce.

This was what we had:
Dried noodles in soya

Oyster soup.

Soup noodles.

Soup with a variety of yong tao foo items

The fish items were definitely the main attraction here. They were all amazingly smooth and impossibly crunchy. I wouldn't want to imagine what they did to achieve such effects. Let's just assume that it was real culinary kungfu.

This place is supposedly very famous. I saw a lot of photos of Singaporean actors on the wall eating fishballs. But we do find all the items a wee bit too salty for our taste and we could also taste the msg. But nonetheless there were tasty & definitely enjoyable!

This was where we stayed at in JB. It's a relatively new hotel called Paragon (recommended by Chia Hwee).

The tip here is to always go for a newer hotel, as they would have special introductory rates, & newer rooms.

-Nee

Christmas Dinner This Year

The year-end celebration seems to be a funny social phenomenon. This is the time when everyone is celebrating everything possible under the sun - birthdays, anniversaries, annual dinners, promotions, good exam results, & there would be someone striking Jackpot somewhere. And a celebration is not a celebration if its without food. And so begins the race to eat before the end of the year comes.

We, like the rest of you of course, were not spared from this social binging. And when you come from a large extended family like Greg's, there's a tendency to combine ten anniversaries & ten birthdays all in one night's worth of dinner. Things probably start rolling 2 weeks before and cap with his Uncle William's Christmas birthday or is it new year dinner. And not to forget our yearly cell group's dinner too.

We spent Christmas eve at Greg's VERY extended family's, this time at his youngest uncle Francis' home. I made a Shepard's pie & a couple of quiches for my mum-in-law for the pot luck.

Christmas day this year was at our place with my family. I decided to do something just for them since most of the time we're at Greg's VERY extended family marathon-like celebrations. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy the partying, eating, drinking and be merrying without having me to cook up a storm.

This year's preparations where a bit more challenging. I normally have two gas tanks for cooking at the back of the house. Guess what? They both ran out & it was Christmas day.

Guess what again? Santa doesn't deliver gas tanks on Christmas Day.

But fortunately I had the electric cooker & portable stove to rely on. Thank God. But going back to basics was really tiring.

Fortunately these were done on time:

Australian Ham on the bone, complimentary from Roger ~ it was braised again in pineapple sauce.

Braised Lamb Shank ~ which my dad quite liked. Mind you he does not eat western food.

Rissoto with prawns and asparagus.

Chicken mango salad in lettuce cups ~ couldn't find the smaller cups so I had to make do with the less 'refined' version.

How can anyone go wrong with asparagus and bacon wraps.

French beans drizzled with aged balsamic and olive oil.

And this bottle of sparkling wine was really gorgeous. We learnt that we couldn't call it a champagne just because it did not come from the champagne region. Tonight, we're bringing another one to Alex and Jac's party. It's just another excuse to drink.

Cheers to all of you out there. What better reason to celebrate, it is Christ's Birthday!