The journey from Pee Jay or PJ or Petaling Jaya (in full) after picking Jeannie up from work to Shah Alam was a long one, right from the word “Go!”. So, we decided to grab early dinner. I have to clarify something.

Today, there are more words and phrases that mean more than what you actually intend to say. Here, when I say “grab”, I don’t mean call Grab service or “Grab our meals over to where we are”. I mean to say “get” early dinner. I can hear some of you ask, “Why didn’t he say just that? “Get” early dinner. I used the word “grab” to emphasize that we were in a hurry.

Yesterday, when Jeannie, Laura and I were heading (going, for some) to KFC in Sea Park (I think), we passed by a restaurant called “Seapark Dessert”. It brought back memories to Jeannie and me of some over 25 years ago. “Some Over” is a bit of a stylo description.

Over 25 years ago, Jeannie and I used to work in Kuala Lumpur. By time we finished work and waded through traffic jams, it would be over 9.00pm. So, we’d swing over to one of the eating places in PJ to have dinner. One of those places was “Seapark Dessert” , though at that time, we never really took notice of the name of the coffee shop (now “restaurant”). I love bubur pulut hitam, bubur kacang merah and bubur kacang hijau. And so does Jeannie. We’d usually have noodles for our main course and one of this bubur choices for dessert. It was the coffee shop that we often visited because they were usually open to late in the night. This place was very popular at that time. Many a time, we had to wait to get a table for ourselves.

So, passing this coffee shop yesterday gave me the idea to stop by there for dinner. We wondered if it was as good as the last time.

The restaurant looked pretty much the same as the last time. It was a sort of a split-level, and there were quite a few people already. The time was around 5.45pm.

Jeannie ordered Yam cake and bubur kacang hijau. Jeannie said the yem cake was really good. The texture, the taste, the freshness. I am not a sort of a “yam” person. I will take her word for it that it was really good. Jeannie has been in the food industry line for multiple years. She is one of the most qualified persons in terms of experience to give opinions on food.

Her bubur kacang hijau was quite nice. I had a couple of spoons full to taste it.

The curry puff I ate was nice. It was quite large, tasty, but not spicy. “Spicy” in the Malaysian or Asian context usually means very hot. However, looking back at History during school days, the Portuguese, Dutch and English traders were drawn to this part of the world for its spices, like pepper, cloves and other spices. For the discerning food eater, he or she will be able to detect the spices, which includes but not limited to chili.

The bubur pulut hitam was nice. My mother set such a high standard for the bubur pulut hitam, bubur kacang merah and bubur kacang hijau she used to make. There was hardly ever a time that anyone would come close to how she used to make these desserts. But, we have to settle for what we can get now.

Before long, we hit the road and got to the Stadium Pusat Akuatik Selangor or Selangor Aquatic Stadium in Shah Alam, just after 7.00pm. Lots of good memories rushed back to Jeannie and I. This used to be our “first home” when Laura used to train and compete here as a swim athlete representing the state of Selangor as a state swimmer and as a club swimmer for PADE Supersharkz.

As we walked to the pool deck, we saw both Coach Ong Jin Kooi and Coach Mark Chua. Coach Ong was the first to greet us as we got on the pool deck. It was nice to see him after a long time. He looked just the same. Strict with the swimmers and also father to them.

I thought I won’t know any of the current group of swimmers and I won’t recognise any of them. Surprisingly, there were quite a few swimmers who were just beginners some years back; who recognised us, especially me. They came up to say hello and ask how we were. One of the swimmers who was in Laura’s batch and is now amongst the fastest and most experienced in the country, George Ng; came up to say hello, too. He asked how we were. I think he is still connected to Laura on social media. Good to see him.

Coach Mark was all smiles to see us. It was a long time since we last connected. We sat down in the press room where we talked about old times. He remembered Laura’s 50m and 100m Breast, and 100 free times with accuracy. These are great coaches who are not just only interested in what their swimmers do at the pool and competitions, but also take a close interest in what they do away from the pool. There is that amazing bonding between coach and swimmers and vice versa.

We were happy to hear that Selangor did very well in the recently completed Malaysian International Age Group (MIAG) championships. Never one to take anything for granted, the coaches in the Selangor team, i.e. Coach Ong, Coach Mark, Coach Marilyn (Mark’s sister) and others; began preparing the swimmers again, to be at more than their best, both on deck and off deck.

We brought each other up to speed with where we are now.

Coach Mark and Coach Ong each obtained a copy of my just published book, SPARKS FOR JOY – SEIZE THE MOMENT. There are stories, articles and multiple pictures of Laura in her many years with her team swimmers and coaches.

Get your copy of the fast selling SPARKS OF JOY – SEIZE THE MOMENT at leading book stores in the country. You can also get your copy through me. I will personalize it with a short message for you.