Superb Sunday: Halloween Trick-or-Treat Session at Straits Quay

Halloween party? Halloween Trick-or-treating? I have no idea with any of these. I just know that Halloween is all about the ghost,bats, blood, vampires... which I was always scared of since I was small. So, no Halloween celebration for me. One thing that I know, Halloween must have carved pumpkins!

Last Friday, my friend Shu-Yin invited me to participate in a Halloween Trick-or-Treat session on 27th Oct 2013 at Straits Quay. Hmm...I was wonder what's that and a bit reluctant to go. But later I promised to go. Actually, trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" In this event, children go in costume from shop to shop asking for treats. The reason I promised to go because I wanted to let my Little Ze to get to know what is Halloween all about. He just read a book which mentioned about Halloween pumpkin. So, it was a great chance to get him to join the celebration and let him experience the Trick-or-Treat session. It was my first experience too!

There was only 3 more days to go. Oh no! How am I going to get Little Ze dressed in Halloween costume in such a short time?  Furthermore, I had something going on within these 3 days. Well, I opted not to spend money for some special Halloween costume. The fastest way was to make a simple Witch's Hat and to find a special clothe that Little Ze had in his wardrobe. Let's see what I found.

A Bumble Bee with bat wings and a witch's hat! 

Baby Hang became a Bumble Bee too!

I did not manage to register Little Ze for the session in the first place. (Only those who registered could have the treats.) We planned to follow the crowd and just walk around in Halloween costume. Luckily, the organizer opened for extra registration on the spot. Yes, I managed to register for Little Ze and another friend of mine. (Sad that Shu-Yin and her family not manage to join us in the very last minute.)

Look at the crowd.

Lots of fancy Halloween costumes! We managed to snap a few only.

Initially the kids that registered supposed to hold the Halloween rope and followed the line to get the treats. But it was not working and due to the big crowd. It was out of control. Those did not register just jumped the queue and joined in.

The session began.

Oh no! It’s too packed. It was tough when you had a stroller and 2 kids to carry with such a big crowd, up and down on the escalator. They started with Quay One. First stop was the Enhanced Education. Everyone just stopped right in front of the center to get the treats. Can you imagine how dangerous it was when people kept coming up but the crowd stopped just right in front of the escalator! Sweat!!!

Then I realized I should prepare a bowl or basket for Little Ze to collect the treats. Hmm…What to do? I turned the Witch’s Hat that I made for Little Ze to a ‘basket’. Little Ze was tired as we had been in Queensbay Mall before we reached Straits Quay. He had no sign of interest. With the ‘basket’, he slowly picked up and showed the interest. He used the hat to get the treats himself and said “Thank You”. He checked at the treats before he transferred the treats to a tote bag. I helped him to get the treats if the counter was too high for him to reach to.

Little Ze enjoyed and had fun. I enjoyed too but I was a bit tired. One thing that I was not happy with was the parents. They should not grab the treats for their children. They shouldn't jump queue. After all that was just treats like candy and chocolate, and they were meant for the children and for fun. In order to enjoy, we stayed at the back of the queue and walked slowly. We let Little Ze to have his treats at his own pace. The crowd was later split into two groups and that made things easy.  Overall, it was fun! Little Ze had a ‘hat-full’ of treats!

Dinner at Uncle Albert’s Traditional English Fish and Chips

We didn't participate till the end but almost done. My boys were tired and we were hungry. We headed to Uncle Albert’s Traditional English Fish and Chips. It was opened in July this year but we didn't notice this shop. We just spotted it during the ‘tour’ of the trick-or treat session. We decided to give it a try.

The restaurant sets in a conducive, cozy atmosphere. The restaurant has air conditioned as well as al fresco dining areas. The walls of the interiors were plastered with newspaper headings. You will be able to view how your meal is being prepared by the skillful chefs at the theater kitchen.

Little Ze was too tired and fell asleep on Hubby Jay’s arm right after we settled down at our table. I was busy breastfeeding my crying Baby Hang after the long walk. Everybody was busy and hungry. Not many photos taken. We glanced through the menu (except me) and felt that they were pricey. We were then told there would be free homemade soup and Irish brown bread, as well as iced lemon tea with every main course ordered. That sounded better.

The homemade soup and Irish brown bread were nice! Normally, the complimentary soup will be in smaller serving but it was not in Uncle Albert’s. 

Here were what we ordered.

Uncle Albert’s Lemon-Grilled Halibut. Served with Mediterranean vegetables and rocket leaves with a homemade vinaigrette. I loved the dish.

Beef Lasagne. Sirloin minced beef in seasoned tomato sauce with layers of pasta. Topped with a light cheddar cheese. Served with French fries. This dish was salty for me. Of course, I loved the fries.

Spicy Prawn. Dublin Bay Battered Prawn, served with fried rice. On the side comes with homemade spicy sauce and homemade tartar sauce. It was spicy for me but I loved it because the prawns were so aromatic and tasty.

Creamy Salmon pasta. Fresh Salmon in a light and creamy sauce with penne pasta. Served with Parmesan and garlic bread.

I have to say that considering the large servings, where we had trouble finishing them all. The prices were pretty reasonable. Guess what. Surprisingly it was only RM153 for 4 adults and 1 kid. The prices stated in the menu were net price, inclusive of tax and charge. The service quality was good too.

We had a pleasurable dinner, consider as belated birthday treats for lady and gentlemen in purple shown in the photo. (The birthday guy and women wore the same color! Such a coincident!)

Today we almost travelled all over the Penang Island. From Queensbay Mall to Straits Quay, then to Tanjung Bungah then followed by Farlim to send and pickup things from friends. What a tired but superb Sunday! 

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Uncle Albert’s Traditional Fish and Chips
3A-G-9 Straits Quay, Jalan Seri Tanjung Pinang, Tanjung Tokong, 10470 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +60 4–890 3407 | Fax: +60 4–890 5506
Opens daily from 11am to 11pm

Superb Sunday: Being part of the "Street as Social Spaces Flashmob"

"... 
Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

With what you want to say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave
..."   

Five days had passed. This song (Sara Bareilles - Brave) still keep on playing in my mind. Feel like want to dance. Feel like I'm still enjoying in the Street as Social Spaces Flashmob with my boys. Even my 3 years old boy can recognized this song that we had fun during the Flashmob! I would say my family and I had a wonderful and superb Sunday on 22 September 2013.

I was in a happening celebration, WORLD CAR FREE DAY 2013, held at Beach street last Sunday. Street as Social Spaces Flashmob was part of the event. MMPS was honored for being invited to join the Flashmob by Aida Redza. (Who is she? Google it and you know. She is a leading Malaysian choreographer and dancer!) Yeah! 5 MMPS families were in the Flashmob. The best part was we acted and danced in the Flashmob with our kids! I'm part of them! Both my boys too!

MMPS logo on stage. Can you spot it?

Before the Flashmob

After the flashmob.

The Flashmob had a story to tell. It started with a sketch. 
Mothers and babies, toddlers and kids played in the middle of the street. 

Suddenly, a "car" (pretend by a motorcyclist) barged in. “You’re blocking the way!” the driver shouted. A man in uniform strode up. “Today is World Car-Free Day......." 

Later, the driver moved away. Mothers and babies, toddlers and kids continued playing. Then, a motorcyclist barged in, honking furiously.

                                   "Woi! You’re blocking the way!” the motorcyclist shouted.
                                   "Today is World Car-Free Day. No car is allowed ......." said the man in uniform. 
                                   "This is motorcycle, not a car!" said the motorcyclist.
                                   "Even your motorcycles are not welcome. Get off the street!” said the man in uniform.

The Flashmob then reveled in the absence of cars. Sweepers came in to clean the street. 

After sweeping, it was a street park scene. Fathers, mothers & babies, toddlers and kids and our senior friends happily settled down to mingle and have fun in the middle of the street. 

Dancers, down syndrome friends, church friends and more came in with all kinds of activities such as morning exercise, playing scooter, skating, walking and so forth. 

 

When the song "Brave" started, everybody began to dance. Followed by the song "Safe and Sound". All the great dancers, down syndrome friends, church friends and others started the dance. Mothers & babies, toddlers and kids, our senior friends followed. Of course, the audience also joined in. 

Invited guests, event founder Eric Britton, Dato Anwar Faizal, YB Yap Soo Huey...everyone also joined in!

Who said mother can't dance while carrying baby? Yes, I did! I brought both of my sons to join the event. We acted and we danced! I carried my 4 months old with baby carrier and I danced! Of course I can't jump in the "Safe and Sound" song, but the rest of the simple steps I just followed and danced whatever I can for both songs. Wow! It was really a fun one! We enjoyed! 

 I'm somewhere at the back, right side. 

Must thank to Aida for giving MMPS such a privilege to have had the opportunity to dance and play with great dancers, mothers & babies, toddlers and kids, down syndrome friends, church friends, our senior friends and more. It was a great performance and participation. SO PROUD OF US!!!

After the Flashmob, Zumba Dance & Street Celebration begins. Here's some photo of some street activities.

We hang around the street, let our children played at the street and so forth.

One thing that we did not forget to do: Breastfeed at the street! Yes, we did. We breastfeed our baby at the street. 

After breastfeeding flashmob, we went for our breakfast. Followed by meeting at Youth Park. Due to the hot weather and big crowd at Youth Park, we detoured to Lee Joo's hubby's office for meeting. See...! We had a fantastic Sunday morning! I think everyone were tired and had a long afternoon sleep after that. 

I would like to thank to 3 fathers of MMPS's family - Tony Tan, Vincent Liang and my Hubby Jay for helping us to bring us to the venue of the event safely and take good care of us (mothers and children). Thank you so much for your great support!  

************

WORLD CAR FREE DAY 2013
WORLD CAR FREE DAY 2013 is a happening celebration held at Beach street on 22 Sep 2013, organized by Think City and MPPP. There are a ZUMBA Competition by Zero Fitness Dance Studio, Street as Social Spaces Flashmob, Girl Guides dance and Walkabout, and some street activities such as bicycle rides happening along Beach Street. 

What is Street as Social Spaces Flashmob? 
Street as Social Spaces Flashmob is an arrangement and performance assisted by Ombak-Ombak ARTStudio and PenangPAC AksiSeni team. Aida Redza is the person to create this Flashmob according to a script provided by Eric Britton, the man who founded the World Car Free Day. The theme from the script for the Flashmob is - street as social space and should be safe and inclusive for all.