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We didn’t go for seafood dinner as originally planned. The reason was the restaurant (again recommended by Wang Tao, our homestay owner) is very popular and having dinner on weekends spells long wait.

As I didn’t want my kids to wait too long for dinner and on the other hand I wanted to try out local specialties, I asked for alternatives. Without hesitation, Wang Tao recommended a place for charcoal fried kuey teow. At the same place, I could also try out Sitiawan’s popular local delicacy ang chiew mee suah (red rice wine noodles).

The place is located opposite Sitiawan wet market (near KFC) and it is open from evening till early morning. The stalls are modest and we had our dinner at the roadside.

We ordered one charcoal fried kuey teow (RM3.00), porridge (RM5.00), and ang chiew mee suah (RM5.00). Nevertheless, there were other stalls there offering fried chicken and grilled fish.

I must say the red rice wine soup tasted very strong. The char kuey teow smelled excellent (burnt smell what else!) but it was a little soggy. The porridge was excellent too. When you eat, remember to stir the porridge completely as there is a raw egg at the bottom of the bowl. Don’t worry, the egg will be cooked by the hot steamy porridge during stirring.

J and K loved ang chiew mi suah at first sight, so we ordered another bowl. They finished it all.

A few minutes before we left, I felt uneasiness in my stomach. I stopped eating and tried to relax. On the way home, my wife felt a sense of strong feeling rushed up to her cheeks. Same thing happened to J. Everybody was not feeling well and was quiet in the car. We suspected the culprit was the alcohol in the red rice wine.

K was quiet in the car too. Later we heard him burp. In a flash, my wife quickly grabbed a plastic bag and he vomited into it. Then he felt much better. Again, we suspected that K couldn’t take the alcohol in ang chiew mi suah. Lesson learned: it is always handy when you have extra plastic bags in the car. You will never know when you need one.

There’s more. Since K was not feeling well after dinner, while preparing K to go to bed early, he vomited again. He had not thrown out all of his dinner in his first try. Yuck! After that, K was like his usual self running around in the bungalow… as if nothing abnormal happened.

I felt so bad that Wang Tao had to clean up the mess notwithstanding he was helpful.

Next time when you let your children try out ang chiew mi suah, beware of their alcohol intolerance. But you wouldn’t know until you let them try it. So what the heck, just let them try it and take care of them later.

Note: This is the sixth article of Family Weekend Getaway: A Road Trip To Lumut series.

Next: A Monkey Encounter in Taman Paya Bakau, Seri Manjung