Penang

Penang

Last September 2016

Last September,an opportunity came for us visit Penang. It must have been ages the last time I was in Penang. This was the first trip there for my sons. Initially decided to drive but ended up flying with Airasia up to Penang. Only 40 minutes, Penang was at our feet. Driving would have taken 7-8 hours. From the airport just hop on the airport taxis or arrange your pick-up with the ride sharing app of your choice. Easy..Public Buses cheap but takes longer to reach Georgetown.

1. Where to stay ? Looking through the various accomodation websites, there was all kinds to meet the desires and fancies of everyone. We eventually decided on a budget hotel call "Armenian Suite Hotel" located on 33 Armenian Street right in Georgetown. We settled for their quadruple room which had two double-decker beds. Its a straightforward airconditioned room with attached bathroom. Reasonable price too.

2. How to travel around Penang? Well there are plenty of options from ride-sharing apps, taxis, free loop buses and the lot. We settled with lots of walking and was surprise to find Georgetown to be reasonably safe for that. Lots of tourists walking around.

If you want to travel beyond Georgetown, what we did was to purchase 
1-day tickets on the HOP-ON HOP-OFF Bus. We used this service to take us to Penang Hill/Bukit Bendera and other places of interest around the island. 

3. Penang is all about makan. Lots of good makan to be had. However also has its fair share of misses too. From Armenian Suites Hotel, lots of good food within reach..from Nasi Kandar havens, to excellent Char Koay Teow and much much more. However for me, there was one place that touched my taste buds in all the right places. It was a coffee shop called "Kafe Ping Hooi" corner of Lorong Melayu/Lebuh Canarvon. Go early for breakfast or brunch. What I loved eating there was two things. The Tiger Char Koay Teow fried with duck egg and the super delicious Lor Bah that has mini octopus and all sorts. Even writting this, I am recalling the experience there and missing them both much. 

Penang was fun to go. Lots to do besides eating. With my boys, of course the trip cannot be about food only. We also check out Komtar and the Science centre - Tech Dome. Great time there with lots of hands-on stuff to try. We enjoyed it.

ok thats it. Remember if you book your accomodations through the Agoda links on my blog, I do get a certain % . Nothing much though.So yah..other than that..I do this for fun.

God Bless

Edwin Koh (24/1/17)

Homestay in KL

Homestay in KL

22/1/17

Usually when we go to KL, we love to stay at places where places of interests, food or makan places and transport are easy to get to. You know the hotels that are attached to huge malls. We usually look for what's within budget and do that. You see KL is pretty huge place and getting from one place to another can really be a hassle with congestions almost all times of the day.Travelling with kids in tow, we usually think and plan many steps ahead...anticipating every stress points.

This time around, the need to go to KL was sudden and we had to suddenly find a place to stay that was near the meeting place. My wife's friend heard of our predicament and offered to help us out. She told us don't do anything until we hear from her. She got back to us fast enough with a place booked and confirmed. This place is called Gardens Studio at Scott Garden. Located along Old Klang Road/Jalan Kelang Lama. 

We were so grateful that she decided to bless our entire stay too. When I heard it was on Old Klang Road, I quickly check-out eating places around it. If you check out my first travel/food blog post , you will know why.

By way of waze/google maps, its easy to find your way there. The only thing is traffic is heavy at most times as the building is on the main road that leads towards Kuala Lumpur or Midvalley megamall area.In saying that I am sure if you are relying on ride sharing apps ..there would be lots of cars plying the route too. 

Gardens Studios at Scott Garden is a company that has 20 SOHO apartments in this building that have been converted into homestay units to be rented out. We were booked into the studio type unit. Best thing of all the rates are reasonable for a family of four. There was a queen size bed and two single beds. That was good news for me. With kids growing up fast, hotels with rigid settings are getting costly affairs for us. 

The unit is huge, aircons were working well and the bathrooms just all you need. There's also a small kitchen area that you can do simple cooking if you like. Nothing to complain there.

I think one of the best things provided, first time I ever seen in a holiday accomodation was a washing machine. We managed to wash some of our sweat-out clothes and means when we are back in JB..no need to wash clothes. There was also a small rack provided to hang your clothes.

Below the apartment blocks you can do shopping at the Tesco Hypermarket at the basement. There are also plenty of eateries and night happy hour entertainment if that's your kind of thing. We just walked faster or avoided those but they are not a bother.

One thing we did not have time to do was to check out the many road side eateries selling things like Bah Kut Teh, Chicken Rice and if walk further down was Hokkien Mee place that only opens in the evening. Maybe next time.

That's it for this post. By the way, the links provided are just recommendations. I only earn something when a booking is made directly from the links from this blog. Thanks in advance.

Regards

Edwin Koh Boon Leng

23/1/17

Restoran Daun Emas (Gold Leaf)

Restoran Daun Emas (Gold Leaf)

18/1/17

My second food post. By the way, just a disclaimer from here on. Taste is subjective and what I like may not be what you like. I am just sharing my own experiences only.ohh and I do not earn of gain anything from this posts.So here goes post number 2...

Gold Leaf Restaurant  in Taman Perling, JB was introduced to my wife and I many years ago by a Pastor friend where we used to worked. Back then I if I remember correctly, my wife was expecting our first baby who is today a teenager. Wow time flies.

Back to the food. Gold Leaf has been a family favourite when we want to eat "zhi-char" that is nearby, satisfying and with reasonably prices. Honestly we go because this is one place that most times, the portions are good and not stingy.

Located at the corner of Jalan Simbang in Taman Perling in Johor Bahru, parking is easy and plenty. If you go early, food arrives quickly. However if they have lots of customers, prepare to wait but its ok as their sea coconut longan juice is refreshing too.

This time around we ordered three dishes. Dish #1 was the sweet sour pork. This has been my favourite dish anywhere since young. Whenever I have economy rice, sweet sour pork will always be on my plate and my boys love it too. Can't go wrong. Crunchy and tasty. However the pineapples were not ripe. 

]Dish #2 was the Japanese Egg Tofu on a Steel Plate ..Hahaha I don't know whats the name in english. In mandarin translate literally is iron plate tofu. The iron plate, was laid with a fried scrambled egg and topped with the japanese tofu with minced meat sauce. This was gobbled up by my son. Everytime I wanted to take a piece, I seem to see it disappearing faster than my spoon could reach the dish. Must be yummy.

Finally is dish #3 Sambal Kangkung with Stink beans (petai). What can I say, we need out veggies. So have it spicy with yummy umami sambal belacan and added stink beans. Stink beans good to lower blood cholesterol.Yeah right..it taste good.

The bill came up to less than RM50 including drinks. Another satisfying meal at Gold Leaf.

enjoy

Regards

Edwin Koh Boon Leng

 18/1/17 

Trip #1 Kuala Lumpur

Trip #1 - Kuala Lumpur

There is one thing I really enjoy doing when travelling...that is to eat. Being a preacher and when I get opportunities to go places while at "work", it will be an enjoyable one. Food is culture. Often times to eat and enjoy what has been served is to discover people and life even more.

So here is my first attempt here at food/travel blogging. Destination...Kuala Lumpur..From here on, my blog will still have spiritual stuff but it will have logs of my travels and especially eating adventures too !

This trip to KL was more for a meeting and since we had time, we decided to lengthen our stay in KL so we can chill and explore somemore. In past trips to KL, we would often stay at hotels that have a shopping mall below and has variety of easy transport means if we want to go into KL city or beyond. However this time around, we were booked into a homestay situated along Old Klang Road. Old Klang Road is just 5-8 minutes drives from Midvalley and its surroundings would be established areas like Taman Desa, Taman Yarl, OUG and more. Suppose to be foodie haven as the area has a huge ethnic Chinese population.

Good thing to have here is a car and a local guide. We had a car and the only local guide was google. We found out soon enough even with a car...driving in KL can be really challenging and life threatening too but that's what adventures are build on. I suppose you can rely on taxis, and ride sharing apps.

So what did we eat ? Here's a highlight of one experience that was super yummy. Kuala Lumpur chinese cooking styles have a strong Cantonese influence. Johor Bahru is where I am from, is mainly Teochew and Hainanese. I soon found out the difference.

We actually wanted to go for the Cendol and Rojak at Taman Yarl near Overseas Union Heights Condo, but we were too early. The boss has not open shop yet. So we detoured back to Overseas Union Garden and specifically a Street called "Jalan Sepadu". The main dish we were after was "Fried Pan Mee or hand made noodles". We eventually found Restoran Yong Hua. 

We ordered three main things that we could not resist.

Dish #1 Was the Wantan Mee or as KL folks like to call it Wantan MEEN. You see the wantan mee in JB has different variations. Ones with tomato sauce (pontian), the black sauced ones and the "white ones". I prefer the white ones as it does not have that sweet black sauce but coated with pork fat oil. The one we had at Yong Hua, is wet with black sauce. Actually it was tasty, the noodles were -QQ not mushy which was delightful. But I think in JB the highlight in wantan noodles is the noodles. Here the highlight is the Char Siew or barbequed pork slices given. Thick cuts of juicy and sweet charred pork slices that you just want more off. 

On to Dish #2 The Roast Pork and Chicken Rice.  This was a great choice. The white chicken were juicy and has that olden time taste that we often call how our kampung or grannies used to do. The roast pork was a tad salty but generous in size and fat. It was so good we ordered an extra serving of roast pork to sample somemore. 

And finally Dish #3 which is the dish that brought us here in the first place. The Fried Pan Mee.  In JB we only get the chilli pan mee, soup pan mee or the kan low (dry) pan mee. My wife was adamant we try this. She said when in KL, must always eat the pan mee. OK loh. So we came and tried. What's special about it is that its fried the KL Hokkien Noodles kind of way. Thick black sweet sauce with pork fat oil. The noodles unlike typical hokkien noodles were more QQ (al-dente). A familiar but really yummy taste. Two thumbs up to this dish. Would come back to this restaurant in the future I hope. Why ? because driving in KL is really crazy. Let someone do the driving than that may be best.

Just something additional that's worth mentioning is the scrumptious breakfast at Kanna Curry House, at 109, Jalan Gasing in Seksyen 10, PJ. Now food is subjective to everyone's taste preferences but this place brings back memories for my wife and me.

Bible College of Malaysia's campus is just a few steps away from this small row of shops. BCM was where for nearly 4-6 years my wife and I spent sometime sitting for our ICI/Global University Theology exams. Often times in for lunch or during breaks this was where we would go.

During this trip to KL, we decided to waze our way through the traffic to Jalan Gasing for breakfast. In past experiences at Kanna's we expected typical kind of service which was pretty non-existent. HOwever this time around, service was quick and those waited on us were nice. Maybe was not too busy this time around.

Ok back to the food. What did we have ? My wife and I ordered our favourite Dosai/Thosai Rava. This is normal thosai/dosai filled with sprinkles of onions and other veggies like carrots. We also had a small serving of dry mutton curry. Worth mentioning is the white and orange/red chutneys that you can have with the thosai/dosai..they were flavourful and thick too. The dhall was tasty too. What can I say...it was a delicious breakfast and reasonable price too. 

So that's that. Look-out for my next post on where we stayed and more to come. Will try to update regularly with new adventures as the Lord enables us to enjoy enroute to minister and preach.

Hope you enjoyed this and do try.

Regards

Edwin Koh Boon Leng

15/1/17

The Mission of Word of Life Church

The Vision Grows us

The Mission Guides us

Help Everyone Walk with God.

The mission of Word of Life is simple. For everyone to walk with God. In that relationship with God, He grows us from a worshipper to a disciple and eventually a follower of Christ.

The mission of Word of Life was derived from the story of Lydia and how she responded to Paul's teaching..by responding not to the servant but to whom Paul was serving,talking about..to God.

This is how we fulfill the Great Commission.

Taken from Acts 16:14-15

14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Lydia is what everyone in Word of Life is with God from the start.

#1 She was a worshiper - someone who feared and honored God.
Word of Life as the Church - must be a place where Jesus is the centre of Worship, and all that we do. So people coming can worship and receive from Him. The atmosphere of worship gives God the opportunity to bless people. Miracles takes place in worship. 

As a believer- Get your worship of God right, your life will be put in the right place. You set yourself-up for goodness coming after you. There's a price to pay, but the gains out measure what you choose to let go for Jesus. 

#2. Lydia's heart was opened by God to Paul's message.- She became a Disciple of Christ.
Word of Life as the Church - must be the place where God's Word is preached, and live by. Those that preach the word, must live by the Word. Why? if the practitioners do not know how to overcome by His word, how can we testify and true witnesses of His power. His word must be our position. Even before we do anything, we must wait on Him for His word. Only then can people see, and know His word and the benefits of faith.

As a believer - Fruitfulness is guaranteed. How long fruitfulness last and how much is determined by how well you receive GOd's Word (Mt 13-Parable of Sower). A disciple grows obedient to the master's teachings and does what the master says because compared to a life without Jesus the living word, we know where we end up. 

#3. Lydia Welcome His servants into her life -She yielded her life to God for His use. She became a Follower of Christ

At Word of Life as the Church- We give it all back to Him. and Say Lord use us all.

As a believer-Just like the boy with 2 fishes and 5 loaves. He did not complain about being the only one God is using. He just obeyed and said..Lord take it all back and use it. Give it all back to GOd for His glory.

Everyone A Worshipper, A Disciple and A Follower of Jesus Christ

that's our mission.
Edwin Koh (8/1/17)

The Vision of Word of Life Church

The Direction and Mission of

WOL CHURCH MALAYSIA

OUR VISION : Walk with God.

People often ask me, what is the vision of Word of Life? That is simple to answer...what is the purpose of God's Church? 

The answer is found by understanding the purpose of being born again and God's kingdom. God created human beings to be His hands and feet to care for all of creation. Is that the purpose? No. that's the fruit of our relationship with Him. The purpose of Word of Life is no different from any other Church of God. 

As Jacob declared "this is the house of God and the gates to heaven" This is where God and His people dwell as ONE. You see being a Christian is not a solo-race to the end. The moment you are born again, you will be brought into a family. GOd's community for every believer. That's the church. To do what ? well to be loved by Him and to love Him in return as one body...that's what's worship is for..that's what prayer is for. That's what we were created to be..people that are loved by the most amazing awesomest God ever !

#1 So the first purpose of everyone in Word of Life - To Connect with God and to get to know Him-- we call this being loved by God.

To be loved by God, helps us to fall in love with Him naturally. 

- LOVE GOD

So prayer,worship, hearing His word..just coming to church to "do nothing or some people call it to REST" with Jesus is the most important thing anyone can ever do for themselves.

Only when we are connected to Him as one Church, can He begin to birth fruits of this eternal relationship. Those fruits should be fruits of blessings to the immediate and to others around us and beyond. That's how the world gets to taste of Him and starts to know Him.

#2 So the second purpose everyone flowing with God connected to God will find connecting with others at Word of Life becomes natural and a simpler process. Do you see how God and His grace brings us through. I have not even talked about discipleship, or bible studies etc...because nothing man can do will ever help you forward...We ALL need to grow fully dependant on God and His word alone. 

Only than the #2nd part of Word of Life-Loving People makes sense. Why ? Because God loves people more than we can ever think or imagine. A sense of compassion will grow in you for others that you never had before. A sense of not just feeling the need to care but to do something about it. This is where we begin to share GOd's love with others..and the respect gained...will help us to have the opportunity to share His salvation with others. 

and now on to the final part #3-Loving Life. You see a life dependant on grace and dwelling in His love, frees everyone from unnecessary bondages and fears. A new vigor to live again...to be free. No longer bounded by cumbersome customs, traditions and people...to start to find yourself..who you are and be just that ...who you are...not what others want you to be. The coolest person is not one who has most...but one who has found himself/herself and love being just that. ..You see in Christ, we can do anything..because He strengthens us. 

So you see that's how we derived the Vision for Word of Life...which is what the Cross is all about..Jesus died for us to be born again into His kingdom. Where we are connected to God and in connecting with Him we learn to relate to all of creation His way..expecting nothing from others but to love..and expecting everything from God alone.

Because we know His Love, only than can we 

LOVE GOD, LOVE PEOPLE, LOVE LIFE.

(Mt 22:37-40 and Mt 28;16-20)

SO how do we start? we start walking with God every single day of our lives and no looking back anymore.

8/1/17

Edwin Koh