ACN's Connecting the Dots - A short tour to KL and Selangor (30 June - 1 July 2018), Day 1 : Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil and Chocolate Factory Ride

Tantalizing sights

Annie, Andrew, Angel, Goh Huay Mein, Cera

Alvin, Freda, Roy, Robert, VT, Philip and Berenda

Cikgu SC Chin and Cikgu Lilianna Lee

Kelvin and Jasmine

Ling Yang, Siew Choo, Carmen, Sharen, JK, Simon, Andrew, Liang and friends

Elena, Hau Yang and friends

Mindy, Philip and friends

Sylvia, Jey, Anne, Samson

Annie, Siew Choo, Ricky, Lilian, Mike, Sin Tai Lim, Alvin, May, Samson, Anne, Berenda, Carmen, Herbert, Simon, Cindy, Mindy, Foo, Kelvin, Jasmine, Siew Yung and friends

At Eng Hup Seng

Frantic purchase

Taste test on 2 year old soy sauce

The lids are placed for the day as the workers sweep the compound

Beautiful Freda!

Tea break after 2 Escape

Tea break after 2 Escape

Early dinner followed by McD's supper

Cruising into Star Avenue this morning, we missed a turn before we finally found Nasi Kandar Penang Kapitan. Located in a fairly new commercial center, adjoined to a shopping mall, we had expected a greasy mamak shop. Instead, what stood before us was a classy joint with its lights, still snuffed out at 6 am!

As the 23 hours signage was not convincing, considering the total lack of activities, meeting Roy at the car park was reassuring! Not willing to go on a ride without breakfast, Claudine checked out their kitchen on the back lane only to find out their business hours start from 7 am! Having no choice, we made a beeline to 7 Eleven’s.

Midway munching through our choice of knick knacks, Mindy came to usher us to a coffee shop located 500m away. Gladly we left with her, just as more and more riders streamed into the parking lots. The perfect host, Mindy was later seen shuttling up and down along the 500 m stretch ushering riders to the new breakfast venue!

Surprisingly, Philip made it as well. Adamant to ride from Subang to Sg Buloh despite Claudine’s advice to call for a Grab service, he arrived at Kapitan right on the dot! The change of breakfast venue pushed the roll out time backwards which works out perfectly for him!

Even with 2 teachers around, our class of 40 students was not easy to organize! Not many were paying attention to the calls for group photo, even when the whistle was blown! Perhaps, a cane and blow horn would have worked better!!!

Rolling out, the garbage truck that followed us from Kapitan continued to shadow us! Mashing the pedals, we soon left the stench and arrived at Elmira; an upmarket housing development, equipped with bike paths, lake and sprawling greenery. As an after thought to our “stinky” garbage collectors, without them (Sewerage and Waste Management) none of this beauty would have been possible!

Getting to Eng Hup Seng Sesame Oil and Soy Sauce Factory was a totally different ball game! Whilst one part of the route cuts through Kampung Paya Jaras which saw narrow roads, chickens and traditional kampung houses; Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh was an industrial estate with heavy traffic!!!

Fighting for space with cars and lorries alike, Claudine had to hone on all her 5 senses to remain safe. Strangely, Siew Choo was caught in a delirious mood as her mini woofer adds to the drowning noise on the streets!

Arriving at our destination, Mr Koh was there to greet us. He walked us through the whole process of sesame oil production from dry roasting to pressing and bottling. Later, he took us to the open yard to learn the intricate art of soy sauce and bean paste making.

Surprisingly, Eng Hup Seng also produces chili sauce. As these are blended, cooked and bottled on the same day, all we saw were the finished products, packed and ready for shipment.

Moving on from the Eng Hup Seng, we made our way to Chocolate Museum, a museum and factory at Sg Buloh. Using the pedestrian bridge at Kampung Selamat’s MRT station, we managed to cross busy Jalan Sungai Buloh safely, thanks to our local experts!!!

Cocoa Beans

Museum gallery

Chocolate making demonstration

Sales gallery

Owned by DR Holdings Sdn Bhd, this concern welcomes guests who are curious about chocolates. A free and well conducted tour, it gives a thorough introduction to cocoa beans and its origins, the history of chocolates and even went on to cover the whole chocolate making process! Besides importing chocolates, it also produces its own house names like Danson, Farell and Fidani.

Marking the end of our ride with free chocolate samples, we rode the last 4 km back to our cars. While many stayed back for lunch at Kapitan’s, the JB and Singapore group hurried home after a quick lunch at Ipoh Yong Tau Foo. Alvin was to give a presentation on “Why Cycle Laos and Cambodia” at 2 Escape and we can’t have him reeking in sweat!

Philip and Cupcake

Meanwhile, Philip found himself a guardian angel. Taking pity on him, Mindy chauffeured him to 2 Escape and back, relieving him from the stress of catching a Grab!

Many thanks to our friends :

1. Mindy Sim, Best Captain in the World

2. Cikgu Chin, our liaison at Eng Hup Seng Factory and ground planning

3. Freda, Most Patient Sweeper

Photo Credits :

1. KC

2. Mindy

3. Kelvin 

4. Philip

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Urns are labelled for tracking purposes

Bean paste

Dim Cheong

Aged soy sauce

Taste test

Mr Koh's contacts

Fun facts on soy sauce and bean paste making :

1. Washed and boiled soy beans are rubbed with flour and left in a temperate room for 3 days, allowing natural fermentation by yeasts.

2. Beans are then mixed with salt water and transferred to clay urns.

3. A 3 months aging process is now allowed, with daily sun exposure.

4. It is important to raise the urns, allowing ample air flow. This is done by sitting the urns on wooden pellets.

5. After a 3 months aging process, the soy sauce is ready for extraction. The first extraction is considered the best quality soy sauce. Salt water can be added to the soy beans for second and third extraction.

6. If bean paste is to be made, the second and third extraction is forgo. The top layer of dried soy beans are then removed, while a blend of salt water, seasoning and preservatives are added to the beans, allowing a further fermentation of 2 weeks.

7. Some soy sauce are aged up to 2 years. This requires monthly straining to prevent salt crystals from forming.

8. According to Mr Koh, Malaysia produces the best quality soy sauce as we enjoy year round sunshine.

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Eng Hup Seng uses black sesame seeds

Sesame seeds are initially roasted

Roasting pan and funnel

Pressed for oil

Note the oil cakes

Pressing machines

Sacks of seeds

Oil drums

Fun facts on sesame oil making :

1. Sesame seeds are initially washed to remove unwanted products like dust, stones and foreign matter.
2. A dry roasting process proceeds.
3. After roasting, oil is extracted through a pressing procedure.

4. Oil is now allowed to settle before a filtration process to remove seeds and oil cakes.
5. Before bottling, oil needs to be refined.

6. Eng Hup Seng is the biggest sesame oil producer in Malaysia.

7. Besides its own house brand, it also produces sesame oil for other private labels as well.

East Coast Ride (19-31 March 2018), Day 12 : Sg Golok to Johor via Koto Bahru

One for the road before parting ways near the roundabout to Wakaf Baru

Stuffing our faces with yu tiao

Goodbye, Thailand

Hello, Malaysia!

We are going home!

This morning, we spent a leisurely time in Sg Golok. As it was less than 50 km to Kota Bahru, we were in no hurry to leave this little town by the Thai border. Besides, with a night bus to catch, we had lots of time in our hands.

Morning street view of from restaurant

Flowers and gifts sold for children graduation

Kids in their graduation robes

First restaurant in front of the school @ https://maps.app.goo.gl/271CYsbRUaTRyMPd7

First breakfast

Khao Tum @ https://maps.app.goo.gl/kCEK5wPFdVDi7LKX8

Khao Tum

Yu Tiao

Meeting the gang for a second breakfast, VT found a nice shop selling khao tum, yu tiao and soy bean not more than 200m from Greenview Hotel. Before that, he had gone out with Claudine, landing themselves at a coffee shop right opposite a primary school. Dining over hot bowls of pho served with roasted pork and khao tum, they had watched the school’s graduation in process. The roads leading to the entrance were blocked with securities on alert whilst vendors ply bouquets of flowers and soft toys on the streets.

When we were done with breakfast, we started our journey home only to be alarmed by Mr Lim. He could not find his passport! The search party which extended back to the hotel turned up empty as well. Thankfully, we did not have to leave him in Thailand for after the umpteenth search, his little red book turned up, tucked away in a different compartment of his bag!!!

Still adamant to check out some bike shops in Sg Golok, we followed the instructions given by the hotel reception, landing ourselves at a local bike shop not more than 400m away from Greenview. Striking up a conversation with a friendly local bike tourer we found out he has a brother living in Kota Bahru. As there was a grey line on border crossings back in the olden days, families were not compelled to choose sides. Choice of stays weighed heavily on economic viability until they found themselves separated by lines set by governments!

Sg Golok’s close proximity to Malaysia sees some cultural blending. With a good presence of Malay ethnicity, Bahasa Malaysia is widely spoken as in the case of the bike shop owner; not forgetting Mandarin as our medium of command with our local bike tourer.

As our new friend had suggested another bike shop near a 7 Eleven not far away, we went in search but what we found were more of the latter store! Along the way, we lost ourselves in the pub districts which were surprisingly quiet in the morning. Coming to a dead end, we made a U Turn before making our way back to the main road and the CIQ.

Back on Malaysian soil, we rode rapidly along Route 3, focusing on an early arrival in Kota Bahru. Right after the Kelantan River, we took the left fork for Route 130’s Jalan Salor -  Pasir Mas, which runs parallel to Route 207’s highway. A treat indeed as the route took us on a quiet road, passing kampung houses and a school.

Just before the major roundabout, we had a tea break before splitting up. York Fuan, KC and Jenny left for Wakaf Bahru, hoping to catch the train home whilst the remaining team with pre-purchased bus tickets headed for Kota Bahru.

In Kota Bahru, VT, Mr Lim and Claudine checked out a few budget hotels near the local bus station before settling down at Suria hotel. At RM 50 per room shared amongst 3, they were grateful for the hot shower before boarding the night bus home. Besides, it provided a safe place to keep their luggage while they went on to explore more of Kota Bahru.

That afternoon, while Mr Lim met an old friend for tea, VT and Claudine explored Siti Khadijah’s market. Other than the conventional wet market on the ground floor, the second level comes with a huge eatery with stalls after stalls offering amazing Kelantanese delights. Almost every stall have a good following which explains the mountains of food offered. When lunch was done, the duo lost themselves in the abyss of the dimly lit dry market, buying bags of keropok ikan.

Keeping in touch with the rests on whatsapp, they found out Jenny and KC did not make the train journey as bikes are not allowed on trains. York Fuan though managed to win a plea bargain with a smile and a promise to keep her tiny Brompton in a bag.

Offering their rooms for Jenny and KC to take a shower, it was politely declined. No, they prefer to wait out the time at Aeon rather than come over….

Duhhhhhhh………

Then…..it dawned on them that the intercity bus station was not the same as the local bus station!!! Oops!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Luckily, the journey to the “other” bus station was not far. Arriving in the new part of town, they managed an early dinner at a malay restaurant before proceeding to the “correct” bus station, bumping into KC and Jenny who had bought tickets with another bus company. Goodbyes were made with promises to keep in touch.

As they boarded their respective buses, VT, Mr Lim and Claudine soon learnt that not all bus drivers allow bikes on board, even when “coffee money” is offered. They prefer to earn a second income as couriers, transporting keropok ikan and the likes!!!

Photo courtesy :
KC