Walking Down the Memory Lane

I went back to my hometown to renew my passport recently. It has been 15 years since I left this small town named Sungai Petani located in Northern Peninsular Malaysia for greener pasture in Singapore.



The ‘dim sum’ restaurant my grand father used to frequent so often had since disappeared. He went there ritually every morning to meet his old friends over a pot of Chinese tea and a plate of ‘siew mai’ (steamed minced meat dumpling). I got to tag along as I was his favorite grand son. I was young then. (And still is :-)) My grandpa had passed on. So did many of his friends and now his favourite restaurant too.


I purposely stopped for lunch at one of the coffee shops located in the town center. The chicken rice still tasted as good. But the price had increased by more than 50%.





And guess what? The driving school that I took my first driving lesson was there waiting patiently for me to come back to visit.

After flying to so many places around the world, I still prefer the familiar old charm of my hometown. The people here are still simple, friendly and down-to-earth. It is a good place for me to lay back, relax and enjoy life. If nothing else worth mentioning, a tasty bowl of ‘Asam Laksa’ (white round noodles in sour minced fish soup) should make your visit here worthwhile.