The two bags of canned goods were weighing us down. I don't think I can walk with them all day, so I suggested we leave them with Sui Fun. From her office, we went to OCBC Bank, and hopped onto a free downtown shuttle bus. We both enjoyed the air-conditioned bus, because it was so hot outside, and since it is free, it made it all the better.
The bus took us to Komtar bus station. Becky and I took a lot of bus trips starting from this station in the last trip. We got off, and waited for Kong Chan's brother, Kong Ming. He came by and took us all to a restaurant called Fong Wei, behind Odeon Theatre where we were a while ago.
I was feeling very thirsty by then, so when the waitress came by to fill up our tea glass (not cup, but a regular water glass. The local drink hot liquids out of the water glass), I downed it right away, so the waitress had to come by to refill it again and again.
We ordered three dishes: a tofu dish with vegetable (Buddha's hand Tofu), white cut chicken, and a NumYu Chi (Buddhist vegetarian dish with NumYu (red fermented bean curds) flavor.) with three bowls of white rice. I enjoyed the Buddhist vegetarian dish very much. Ann had made the same dish on Sunday, and I enjoyed it very much then, as I enjoyed it today. That was my favorite of the three. The chicken was nice too, but nothing spectacular. The tofu was good. It was stuffed with some fish ball kind of stuffing, and the gravy was crabmeat gravy. i find it a little too salty, but otherwise pretty good. I would have liked the tofu to be more plain. This is the custurdy type of tofu, very soft centered, like custurd. The outer skin of the tofu is a little more hardened, so when you bite into it, you can feel the soft creamy feel of the tofu.
After the meal, Kong Chan has to rush off home to teach a tutoring class. I decided to hang around downtown, and wait for Sui Fun, so we parted.
I spent some time at the Prangin Mall, mostly at the computer software and movie DVD stores. I exchanged the MS Visual Studio DVD for another one. The previous one will not finish installing. (Turns out this new one does not work either. I may have to exchange it again.)
Around 4PM, I thought it might be time to go to see Molly, slightly early, but maybe i can go to a coffee shop for a drink. I went downstairs to the bus station, and just missed the shuttle bus. I waited for about half a hour, then decided to just take a taxi to Beach Street.
At Beach Street, I found a store that is called "Books and Tea cafe". What a deal! Read their books, and drink their tea while waiting for Sui Fun to finish work. I walked in. A very nice lady approached me. "Would I like to stay for a cup of tea?" she asked. I said, yes, but meanwhile looke around to see if there is any sign of beer. No.
She led me to a bench near the door. I am to take off my shoes, put them into a black cloth bag, and carry the bag with me to any table I wish. I did, and found a nice leather couch nearby. She proceeded to point out the drinks menu, and waited patiently for me to order. I scanned through the menu very quick, and not seeing any cold drinks or beer, sighed, and asked what kind of tea I may have.
she pointed out a tea that is "rice flavored". I accepted, and meanwhile, saw a listing for cuppaccino, and order one.
The lady explained that there are many books on the shelf (all new) that I may peruse. She proceeded to pick out two that i may want to read, on an auto-biography by Tan Kwan Sun, a man who lost his arms, one leg, and the other foot. He went on to become a very successful and famous artist in Taiwan.
The other is about a blind westerner conquered all odds and climbed Mount Everest. I started with the autobiography of Tan Kwan Sun, and found it very interesting.
The cuppaccino came. A picture perfect cup of brew. On the white foamy cup was a small dash of cinnamon. No bisquit, but a small glass of water on the side. I put in the two packets of brown sugar, gave it a slight stire, and tasted it - Ah, Heaven. In the cool airy room, with a good book, nice comfortable couch, and a good cup of cuppaccino, it was quite an enjoyment.
A while later, the tea came. A teapot and an empty cup. I let the tea brew for a while, and tasted it. It did have a rice flavor to it. Very strange.
My sister called after 5:30, so I quickly finished up and ran over to see her and Peter.
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