Ponderosa Reunion

Anybody remember the TV series Bonanza?  There was Ben Cartwright, Hoss, Little Joe, Candy and Hop Sing, among the characters of the popular western series.

Well, the Ponderosa Golf and Country Club was inspired by this TV series.  There's a Chinese restaurant here named after the cook, Hop Sing.  And Ponderosa was the name of the ranch in Bonanza.

The trend before eating a meal nowadays..  The phone eats first.

with Adeline Chng (left) and Zahayu Shima Ayub (right)

Among the three of us in the picture, guess who speaks the most fluent Mandarin?  Yes, you're right.  It is Ayu, a former Johor Bahru Foon Yew High School student.  Foon Yew High is the largest independent Chinese school in Malaysia.

To get away from the hustle and bustle of city life, one can come to the Ponderosa in Taman Molek, Johor Bahru, which has an Olympic-size swimming pool and a 18-hole golf course.

The weekday room rate is RM180 per night and weekend rate is RM210 per night.   

The XO sauce fried rice.

This dish is my absolute favourite. 

Chef Koh Heyau Pang

Chef Koh hails from Pontian, Johor.  He is seen here showing a plate of chicken dumplings.  Hop Sing, does not serve pork nor lard.  It is open from 11am to 3pm for lunch and from 5.30pm to 9.30pm (dinner).  It closes on Monday.

On the far right (picture) is the resort's general manager Ivan Teo,.

Guess which one is Ivan's charming wife?

Oh, she is not in this picture.

The dishes churned out by Chef Koh

That's Josephine Lim on the far right.

The Ponderosa Golf and Country Club

 

With deadlines to meet and errands to attend to, it is hard to find time to catch up with friends.  But it is worth the effort and time.  Let's do this again.