I was having breakfast with dad and I asked him if he thinks it is okay for me to go over to the island and back. He said it is alright. I have been wanting to go to Jaya Grocer at Gurney Paragon and at the same time also want to check out Gurney Plaza.
I told my sis about it and instantly she came up with a grocery list. Ingredients that ran out over at the mainland supermarkets. I for one wanted to get whipping cream and cream cheese. These 2 commodities (yes they are now commodities) ran out throughout the entire MCO and CMCO.
I parked at Gurney Paragon about 10am. There was a moving queue into its multi storey car park. Turns out there is a security man checking each car's driver n passenger's temperature. I found it to be a good idea but impractical. Usually around 10 could see most of the lower level parking taken up but not today. It is unusually quiet.
As I entered the mall, not all shops are opened yet even at 10am. I quickly made my way to Gurney Plaza before it rains. At Gurney Plaza, my temperature was checked and I used the hand sanitiser provided. Let's see how many times I did this throughout my time in both malls. That was the first hand sanitising (HS) and 2 body temperature checks (T).
It was a good walk with some breeze by the sea. G Hotel is now blocked off from anyone using its lobby to go to Gurney Plaza. I reached the mall and went down to basement. Another round of T and HS. So that's 3T and 2HS. Most restaurants at the basement are opened and some allowed dine ins. Tables were marked with X to follow social distancing guidelines and you could also see stickers on the floor marked 1m apart for visitors to wait in the queue at a safe distance.
I entered Watsons and another round of THS. So 4T and 3HS. Got my dad's trusted Mopiko and I got some diarrhoea pills too. Never had stomachache that often before. I left and then wait on to queue at Mercato to get some groceries done. Long queue and the line were in a maze. But it wasn't that long of a wait as I got to enter about 15 minutes later. Another round of T and HS making it a total of 5T and 4HS checks. As usual, I checked the fridges first.
To my dismay, cream cheese and whipping cream were sold out. Mercato is one of the high end supermarkets in the country and they too ran out of stock on these. I went to get other things for my BIL, dried thyme leaves in bottle and Japanese curry sauces. Sage leaves went out too. Surprisingly. I am happy to see the Japanese food section all full and stocked to the brim. Now you know what and where to get when other cuisine ingredients ran out.
Paid and left the Mercato then proceeded to Padini to get some clothes for my niece. Another round of T and HS so it is 6T and 5HS done. Jeez. Trust issues too much. Anyway, I managed to grab a dress and a pair of top n shorts for the cheeky girl. Most of the boutiques now control their crowd or shoppers by limiting entrances and exits. All into one only.
Next I went up to Mothercare and again my T was checked and i used the HS. So 7T and 6HS. Got onesies for my sis as per her request and went down quickly to make a return to Gurney Paragon.
At this time point, I am feeling really tired from all those wait and walks. I have not walk around malls for over 2 months now. The walk back was tiring. Drizzling a bit and as I entered Gurney Paragon, the foreign security staffs welcomed me with a gun on my head. Kidding. Infrared thermometer. So one more round of T and HS making it 8T and 7HS. My hands got really dry at this point. Tip, time to wash hands with soap to get rid of all the sanitiser before putting more.
Finally, I waited in the queue for Jaya Grocer. This time it is near 11.30am and queue was quite long. They only allowed few people to go in at a time. After T and HS (9T and 8HS to date), I grabbed a basket and got some greens at the fresh produce counter. Then proceeded to the fridge. I found it.
Whipping cream and cream cheese. But, 1 litre and 2kg respectively. OMG. Haha..
I bought the whipping cream as it is harder to locate than the cream cheese. Mascarpone cheese is exhorbitant too at RM36.90 for 250g only, Galbadi brand. They ran out of 500g ones. So my sis said is ok. Need not buy. Too expensive for a tiramisu. But I found ricotta cheese for my BIL. Forgotten totally about the sage leaves. I'll look for them locally.
Anyway, I felt extremely tired and it began to rain heavily. But I stopped over La Vie En Rose for their croissants. Talked to cafe owners about how difficult it is to source baking supplies and they felt the same. They had even more difficult time n price to get them due to logistic issue experienced by their supplier. I thanked them and they wished me safe. Support local small businesses and they need us!
As I drove home I did a quick detour to Macallum to see if the Hock Seng rojak is opened. Ah, its closed and I just drove home straight.
It was a smooth drive. No traffic jams. Malls were empty. Streets and roads were empty too. Penang lang really obedient in observing the CMCO rules. Happy to know and thank you Penang. I will now duduk rumah diam-diam after a half day road trip out to the island.
Take care and stay safe.
