Grand Opening of NSK Trade City Muar

I got only to the entrace of the parking lot. U-turned and went to Wetex instead. Haha!

So I was determined to check out the NSK Muar opening - and so was the entire city. Of course I expected the traffic. What I did not expect was how hot the sun was, and knowing that I had to walk way too far under it. Hence I went with the traffic flow into the car park, but came to a massive bottleneck and then that's it. Took a whole lot of photos though.

All the races of the world is there. RELA staff was working very hard. They had cars who double-parked, made drop-off, husbands who waited in the car and other kinds of craziness.

Today they open from 8am to 12am (not sure of other days) and gave out voucher for the first 2000 customers - whole chicken for RM1. I've seen photos of this promo from other NSK outlets opening in KL and it is not good. Yes, I am willing to pay more for chicken as long as I don't have to go through all that trouble. 

Anywho, I may try again tomorrow. Or the weekend, hopefully when it's still recent with all the opening promos. But without the massive amount of people. I may also bring my resume, in case there's someone promoting of the NSK Muar vacancy.

Happy shopping guys! 

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Good Morning!

Hi, a very good morning to Muarians, Johorians, Malaysians & citizens of the world. Altho it may be night in your part of the country but just bear with me.

It's a sunny morning & hazy as well, from where I'm standing.

Wishing you a good day ahead. :) 

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A Plain Saturday Evening

Went out to Tanjung Ketapang to watch the sunset today. Sat there just having my moment staring out into the horizon. Watching the flamingos catching their meals, small fisherman boats also catching their meal.

From far I can see a part of Melaka. The tall buildings that's probably nearby Petronas' side of the shore. Pulau Besar, majestically lying bold in the ocean and the ships are way far off. Makes me feel small. And makes me feel calm thinking about my problems. Like, one day I may overcome them all. That's how my evening went. 

....until a couple came down nearby the water right in front of me. Ish! Tanjung tu punya la panjang, depan saya jugak dia nak bermesra.

Anyway, ada 2 orang mat saleh bagpackers tadi watching the sunset earlier on. I guess they went off once it started to get a bit crowded. Nampaknya nama Muar dah semakin naik. Among Malaysians sudah pasti, kalau tak takkan lah every weekend je jam teruk? Singaporeans tak perlu cerita lah, they are as Muar as a Muarian. Nowadays mat saleh pun dah semakin ramai menjelma. Not only as tourists but also sebagai orang yg menetap/bekerja di Muar ni.

I'm proud of my city. ;)

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Of Being Out Of Ideas

Oh my goodness, life has been so hectic with work, personal life, being old & tired (haha!) that leads to me NOT writing.

Uploading photos on social media account does not count! Because that's way too easy.

I'm gonna find a day, maybe duduk kat Tanjung with my feet in the water... and try to blog. See ya later, Muar!

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Muar Satay

If you're in Muar, satay is a must. An absolute must to have it for breakfast. Kalau dah biasa tak sarapan, well, sekali-sekala tukar lah kebiasaan tu when in Muar.

Satay

Ada banyak kedai satay yang beroperasi waktu pagi. And on weekends, manusia dari pelbagai pelusuk Malaysia (ye ye jek) akan datang mengadap. Nowadays yang famous ialah kedai-kedai di Jalan Majidi. Right in town, ada 3 kedai dalam satu deret kedai-kedai (get it?). Maaf saya tak tahu nama kedai-kedai ni. Cuma satu yang saya tahu - Satay Warisan. These stretch of satay restaurants terletak right on the corner from Muar Traders Hotel and on the opposite road that leads to Pejabat Polis & Pejabat Kesihatan. These are some of the landmarks, not that you need any, I guess.

Kalau turun dari Jambatan Muar pula, you'll get to see some. On the opposite of Perhentian Bas Ekspress Bentayan (where you board the express buses), there's one before you reach Sai Kee Kopitiam. My family sometimes place our order from this restaurant because we know the owner, happens to be sedara-mara la jugak (walaupun the relationship tu jauh bebenor). Family diaorg ni memang nak katakan majority berbisnes makanan. Salah sorang lagi ahli keluarga dia used to own a satay shop nearby Stadium Muar - opposite of TNB. 

Back to Bentayan - After Sai Kee Kopitiam, ada lagi 2 kedai. Ini dua kedai ni memang famous gila back in the day. Nowadays maybe dah kurang sikit because dah wujud kedai-kedai di Jalan Majidi tu. Kalau tak salah saya, Sultan Johor kalau di Muar, akan breakfast di kedai ni. They are both side by side. Sebelah kedai ni ada longkang besar and 7 Eleven. Now if you turn the corner of this 7 Eleven, you'll be on the road behind these 2 satay shops. There's another one opposite of a Chung Hwa School. Amacam? Banyak kan?

Belum habis lagi guys! Kat Jalan Abdullah pun ada. Kedai ni is THE shop. I've been eating here for as long as I can remember. Yang masak satay kat sini, satu ketika dahulu, ialah sorang yg our family knows as well. Tapi now dah orang lain rasanya. Kedai ni famous for satay AND mee bandung. Maaf lah, we Muarians, we have no idea what the names of these shops are.. but we KNOW which ones. If you google it, it'll return you Restoran Mee Bandung Abu Bakar Hanifah. Yang masak orang Melayu, yang buat air orang Cina. Ini situasi biasa untuk kedai-kedai zaman dulu kat Muar (and I think anywhere in Malaysia pun sama gak kot). 

Ada satu kedai ni yang my family and I suka pegi makan in the mornings. It's in Bakri. I've no idea what's the shop's name (naturally) and there's no landmark sekitar tu. All I know is kalau you dari bandar, drive towards the new bypass (urrghh! I still fail at figuring out where bypass punya jalan leads to!) and it's somewhere on your right. Maaflah, I seriously taktau cemana nak describe. Kedai ni ramai juga orang pagi-pagi. Yang serve semuanya middle-aged women. Except for the person yg bakar satay - dia ni lelaki. 

"Killer" lontong with teh tarik

Satay and kuih-muih tradisional

Kat kedai ni jugak ada mi rebus & lontong yang awesome! BTW, all satay shops does not just jual satay. They come with mi rebus, lontong and sometimes soto. Mind you, these dishes dah di-Muar-kan. 

Our complete, typical Muar breakfast

Kalau malam, ada juga kedai yang jual satay. Tapi the only one I know is Zali's, opposite Petronas Bakri. There are some others, I believe, tapi tak pasti kat mana. Oh hey - ada satu attached to a restaurant in Jalan Salleh. Again, after googling - the name is Restoran Sri Bayu Muar Tomyam. We've had satay there a few times, not bad juga.

Di rumah saya, satay is equals to ayam, daging dan perut. Always. 

So apa lagi, if you're a satay addict or baru pertama kali nak try satay, mari lah ke Muar. I'm sure you're not going to be disappointed dengan Muar-style breakfast. Yummmy!

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Happy Sunday!

Selamat berhujung minggu!

Oh, tapi untuk kakitangan kerajaan di Negeri Johor ni, it's the start of the week. On the plus side, they get to beat the Monday blues.

Generally di Muar ni, hari Ahad ialah hari yang paling sibuk di bandar. Traffic selalu penuh, queue panjang berjela especially towards the main roundabout - depan Wetex Parade. I usually just sit at home, relax. And if I do need to go out, I'd try my best to avoid going into town. Kalau dah petang takpa, traffic dah kurang. I guess all the tourists or those Muarians yg balik kampung for the weekend dah head back to where they came from.

Birthday party

Niat di hati nak ke Pasar Tani pagi tadi. Tapi we had a birthday party last night kat rumah. Anak sedara turns 8 years old. So biasalah, bila dah berkumpul ramai-ramai, melayan anak-anak kecik, kemas rumah semua... keletihan lah pagi tadi. Maka nampaknya next time je la kita ke Pasar Tani.

Korang buat apa hujung minggu ni? Either you're working or relaxing, I hope you're having a good day.

And oh, kalau nak rasa roti naik kukus yang awesome, do check out my Instagram / Facebook / Twitter for the contact number.

Till then, toodles! ;)

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Tanjung Emas

Tanjung. THE most popular spot in Muar. It's a park by the river. Who doesn't love that kan? Loads of activities boleh dilakukan di Tanjung Emas ni, untuk semua peringkat umur.

Kanak-kanak boleh main di playground atau di Dataran Tanjung Emas where they have those small cars that they rent out for kids. And some sell bubbles and other items to play. Remaja boleh hang out and maybe dip their feet into the water, or take selfies by the awsome old trees. Orang dewasa, selain bertugas menjaga anak, boleh jugak spend some money on food. I know, I'm an adult too, not too much perks for us eh? Dan atok-atok boleh la melayan cucu sambil berehat menikmati udara segar & pemandangan indah tepi Sungai Muar.

New Tanjung

Dataran Tanjung

Ada juga boat ride, terletak at the corner of tanjung, bersebelahan dengan Kompleks Marina. Dan dengan bangganya I admit that I have been on this boat ride! Masa saya naik tu RM12 for adults and it'll take you from jetty towards Sabak Awor (where the seafood restaurants are) almost nak sampai ke jambatan ke-dua Muar. Selalu lalu atas Jambatan Muar, sekali-sekala lalu bawah jambatan, rasa seram pun ada. But I get to see Muar from a different point of view. Baru lah nampak bot-bot nelayan dengan lebih dekat. Lebih banyak paya bakau terlihatkan di muara sungai. Dan, yang paling best nampak satu rumah besar somewhere after Giant Hypermarket yang ada bot sendiri untuk dia masuk air. Oh besides him, rumah persinggahan Sultan pun ada lah, of course! I'd say, go for this ride. Walaupun anda orang Muar, sila lah naik dan lihatlah Muar from another perspective.

Boats @ Muar River

Boat ride

View of Tanjung dari dalam bot

View dari dalam bot

At this moment when I'm writing this, Tanjung Emas masih lagi dalam fasa renovation. Belum 100% complete, tapi dah boleh masuk dah. Dulu zaman 80an waktu saya membesar, tanjung lah tempat main buai, jongkang-jongket, slide dan sembunyi dalam kolong yg dijadikan tempat mainan. Mainan ni semua covered the whole entire stretch of the playground side of Tanjung. Sekarang ni, semua mainan ni dah dibuang. Digantikan dengan mainan baru, at some corners - nearby jetty & opposite jetty, kat tempat "batu-batu".

"Batu-batu" is what me & my cousins call it. Ada banyak batu besar-besar yang diletakkan together. Dulu tempat ni tertutup, dikelilingi pokok dan ada jalan entrance - selang merah & hijau. Kami selalu main lompat-lompat ikut colors that we were into that day. Sekarang batu still ada, tapi dah takda entrance, pokok pun dah tak banyak dulu. Tempat ni jugak dulu selalu dipenuhi dengan lelaki-lelaki melepak atas motor setiap petang. Sekarang dah kurang, lebih ramai keluarga yang picnic.

Kalau nak picnic tapi taknak bawak makanan sendiri, takpa. Ada van-van kecil yang menjual tidbits. Ada juga a stretch of gerai yang jual makanan. Valid food such as rojak, nasi, asam pedas. Memang ramai yang serbu gerai ni. Terletak di belakang replika keretapi.

Kedai makan behind those nice group of greens

Ini baru satu side of Tanjung. Itupun tak habis cerita lagi. Masjid Jamek Sultan Ibrahim Muar terletak sebelah je dengan Tanjung, sharing the same river shore, of course. Connecting the mosque to Tanjung play area are roller-blading & a reflexology spots. You know, those small stones that you walk on? Yea, that.

Masjid Sultan Ibrahim

And on the OTHER side of Tanjung, you have a golf course. This is the area where joggers come to sweat. And I come to take pictures of sunset. ;)

On this end, there's a place where monkeys used to roam free. There is a jetty to go into the paya bakau area so you'll be a lot closer to the water. This part of the river opens directly to Selat Melaka. You can actually see Pulau Besar from here. And if you turn to your right, you can see Gunung Ledang.

Gunung Ledang dari jauh

Zaman dulu boleh mandi air kat sini, but kat tepi-tepi je lah. Sekarang ni dah tak boleh lah, seram jugak tengok. Tapi it's still is a nice place to be just to be surrounded by nature. And most importantly, tempat paling cun untuk tengok sunset!

Sunset @ Tanjung

Ok lah, panjang lebar cerita pasal Tanjung. Kalau datang Muar, tolong lah give Tanjung a visit. You won't regret it. But keep in mind, traffic selalu pack kat sana. Parking may be a bit of trouble. And to close this chapter, need I remind all the smokers yang nak ke Tanjung... Tanjung ialah Kawasan Larangan Merokok.

Muar bandar bersih

Leave your cigarettes at home, please and keep Tanjung clean! :)

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