Tuna Sing...indeed!

Water rationing for the win?

2009-06-11T10:03:00.003+08:00

In relation to yesterday's post...

Conserve water from now, Klang Valley folk warned

By TEH ENG HOCK

PETALING JAYA: Water rationing could start next month for Klang Valley residents if they do not conserve water from now.

Drainage and Irrigation Department hydrology and water resources director Datuk Lim Chow Hock said water shortage would be more critical in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur due to the dense population.

He said those in Penang and Kedah should also brace for dry tap days if the current hot weather persisted.

On Tuesday, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Unggah Embas had asked Malaysians to prepare themselves for hotter days over the next three months with the return of the El Nino phenomenon.

So far so good: The water level as seen at the Kuala Kubu Baru Dam at 5.15pm yesterday. If residents do not save water, rationing may be necessary.

Lim said that drastic measures like water rationing may not be necessary if consumers did not waste water. “When you wash your car, use pails instead of a hose. Water your garden less frequently. Do not let the water run when you are brushing your teeth,” he said.

At the moment the water levels at most dams in the country have not reached the critical mark.

In the Klang Valley, the Sungai Langat, Klang Gates and Batu dams were at full capacity, while the Tasik Subang dam was at 87% yesterday.

Puncak Niaga forecasts that the dams would have enough water for 161 days or 5.4 months even if the dry spell continued.

A Meteorological Department spokesman said that there would be more rain in September, during the inter-monsoon period, and heavy rain during the North-East Monsoon.

In Johor, the water levels at nine river dams was stable despite the possible threat of a drought.

Syarikat Air Johor Holdings head of communications Jamaluddin Jamal said the company had contingency measures should the level begins to fall.

In Malacca, the water level at two of the state’s dams in Alor Gajah and Jasin was also reported to be within healthy levels.

“Although we are experiencing a dry spell, there is sufficient water supply to meet the state’s need as we process about 118 million litres of water a day from the dams,” said Syarikat Air Melaka Bhd chief executive officer Mohd Khalid Nasir yesterday.

The problem is...will Malaysians listen? Usually we'll just wait until it's too late and then when water rationing actually starts we'll start blaming everyone and everything...LOL!

Typical really...

Oh yes, article is from the Star (11/6/09) and the sauce is here!

Here we go again...

2009-06-10T09:05:00.003+08:00

Last year was relatively haze free. This year however...

OH NOES HAZEHAZEHAZEHAZEHAZEHAZEHAZEHAZEHAZEHAZEHAZE

'Nuff said. And now back to your regularly scheduled coughing and choking!

Iphone 3G? Now it's Iphone 3G S!

2009-06-09T09:25:00.003+08:00

So WWDC has come and gone and well, as predicted by almost everyone (and their psychic pet) Apple has announced the next gen Iphone.

The Iphone 3G S. Whoa? I suppose S stands for Speed, seeing that Apple is saying that "on average it's twice as fast" as the Iphone 3G. No processor details for the time being though.

That being said, I want one. 3 megapixel camera with auto focus and video recording capabilities, on board compass, Nike+ support, voice control and longer battery life, what's not to like? However

1. When will Maxis actually bring it in?
2. How will Maxis price it?

Seriously the Iphone 3G packages that Maxis previously offered bordered on the ludicrous. No unlimited data packages right off the bat, no packages for casual users. Maxis needs to provide more variety in their packages if they want to increase market penetration. Or else users would simply buy from a neighbouring country...doo dah doo dah *whistles*

Here's hoping that Maxis bucks up this time around because many many people are going to want this sexy piece of hardware. Unless Maxis has always been targeting those with fat wallets all this time...

Sauce here (Apple official press release) and images here.

I'm Popeye the sailor man

2009-02-08T11:17:00.006+08:00

Yes first up a thousand apologies for slacking off. December 08 and Jan 09 were really busy months, due to all the festive occasions.

Anyway, since Chinese New Year ain't over yet I would like to wish everyone a happy and prosperous 'Niu' (Chinese for cow, pronounced as new) year. May everyone be blessed with good health, good luck, good everything!

You might have heard that Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen has opened a branch here in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail. It currently occupies the lot which previously housed Shakeys. Right across the road from KFC actually...so I can see the competition between these two will heat up in the near future.

Bonafide!

Three piece chicken set, comes with a biscuit and two sides

Biscuit!

Coleslaw

Mashed potatoes

Let's compare Popeyes with KFC shall we? In terms of taste and texture I would probably be hard pressed to choose a winner since there's not much difference. If I were to nitpick I'd say Popeyes is less oily than KFC. Unfortunately Popeyes spicy version is actually more salty than spicy so KFC definately wins here.

Popeyes excels in their side dishes though. The biscuit is crunchy on the outside, savoury and crumbly on the inside. This definately beats out the KFC bun in terms of tastiness. Popeyes coleslaw doesn't feel as 'limp' as KFC's one, probably due to the fact that the vegetables aren't shredded too finely which means there's more crunch. As for Popeyes mash, the texture of the potatoes is nothing to shout about but I really like the spicy gravy with bits of chicken in it. Appetizing!

As for the price, both of them are basically equivalent. But Popeyes does offer ice lemon tea as an option for your drink with no extra charge so I guess there's some savings there.

What can I say? KFC better watch out because there's a new competitor in town! Oh yeah!

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is located at Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 1 at TTDI.

I'm back! And also, a visit to Café Serena Brasserie...

2008-11-30T11:57:00.015+08:00

Yeah so we scored a 50% discount voucher for buffet dinner at the said cafe from a fellow running 'kaki' quite a while back. Seeing that the cafe would be undergoing renovation soon (15th Dec) we decided to use the voucher ASAP.

To our surprise (and delight) the voucher was valid for the entire bill (not for one person as we initially thought) so the total cost came to around RM52 nett instead of the usual price of RM103.50.

Once again I'll let the pictures tell the story...

The oysters were fresh but only average size wise. However I have to say that the lemon wedges here are sized just right. Most restaurants slice them so thinly that it's almost impossible to squeeze any juice out of them. LOL!

Fresh prawns. Also average size wise and some how not as crunchy as the ones we had at Cinnamon (One World Hotel). The dip (located in the upper part of the pic) certainly helped liven up the taste though. No idea what ingredients were blended together for the dip but I did detect a hint of Thousand Island...hmmm...

Assorted cold cuts, smoked salmon and sea bass and some cold salad. Unfortunately everything here was pretty much tasteless. The smoked fish was the exception though as it was very salty. I'll pass.

Here we have some Asian and Western (European?) delights. Venison (Chinese style), pan pizza (which was actually rectangular), slipper lobster Mornay, veal sausage and mackerel in teriyaki sauce. Venison was tender but bland and the pizza tasted like something you would get at Pizza Hut. However I found the slipper lobster, veal sausage and mackerel to be very flavourful. Not much flesh in the slipper lobster though.

Wei Siong's keen eyes spotted two very pricey items on the buffet menu, namely abalone and pacific clams. So here we have a full on Asian attack with roast duck with Mongolian special sauce, abalone with smoked chicken and winter melon, pacific clams with assorted mushrooms, celery and tofu and glutinious rice HK style. I would say that this round proved to be the most rewarding of all, with all the dishes tasting real good. Just skip the duck, it was cold and the special sauce didn't go well with it at all.

I was pleasantly surprised (yet again!) to find that they serve salmon belly (and also the usual salmon) over at their sashimi corner. Two thumbs up for the salmon belly as it was oh-so-smooth and oh-so-fatty. The salmon sashimi wasn't too bad either. The chunk of meat you see at the back is actually sirloin. Unfortunately it was overcooked (well done) and cold. I would have preferred it to be medium rare...wouldn't be so dry then.

Here we have vanilla and strawberry sorbet (made in house) with a variety of toppings. The sorbet was smooth and pretty good. Could do with more choices of flavor though, only two just does not cut it.

Say cheese! These are Ritz crackers topped with both cream and blue cheese. Yummy! I also spotted cheddar, edam and brie on the cheese platter.

Lychee and jelly dessert. I loved the huge juicy sweet lychees. The water is just plain sugar water though while the jelly cubes were tasteless.

Close up of the slipper lobster Mornay. You definately have to take more than one due to the small amount of flesh inside one of those.

Chocolate fondue is a must. Now those round things are actually very small (and very sour) strawberries. Not terribly exciting I must say. But I liked those triangular crackers (the one you usually have with ice cream) as they went very well with the chocolate.

So would I return? Sure, if I got my hands on the 50% voucher again...lol!

Fark. This. Shit.

2008-11-24T16:08:00.002+08:00

Seriously. Somebody told me last night that spoiling a girl during the courtship phrase is a must. I don't see what does the whole 'spoiling a girl' thing have to do with a relationship. You don't take the phrase 'spoilt brat' as some sort of compliment do you?

To think that I always thought a relationship was built on mutual understanding and 'liking what you see in your partner'. No wonder I can't get a girlfriend. It's all about 'spoiling the girl and making her more of a princess than she already is'.

Sorry but I'm definitely not the type that would go around 'spoiling' girls. Wow! It looks like I've been going after the wrong type of girls all these while! The problem is, what am I supposed to do if the majority of girls are already locked into such a mindset? And please don't bring up the "you are too choosy". Stupid phrase has been done to death already. I'm not too choosy. The girls are.

Rant ends here.

Taking a break. A very long break (hopefully not).

2008-11-17T11:27:00.004+08:00

Yes. I'm taking a hiatus from updating my blog. Life has been too mundane lately with only a couple of gems like getting wasted in Simone and Andrew's upcoming wedding adding some zest.

Yes. I admit. I've lost my inspiration in updating this blog. Food reviews can only go so far, while travel plans...what travel plans? I'm definitely not a travel blogger. Oh, I would love to drop everything and travel everywhere but I don't have the cash. Bah!

I admire those bloggers who can update their blogs almost daily with new and interesting stuff. Sad to say, I'm not one of them. My life can now be summarised into eat, work, gym, sleep. No life changing events. No gf (because girls insist on being so f**king choosy). Not enough money.

I thought of just not updating but decided to at least post something akin to closure.

Posting will resume once I've gotten back in the mood or have received sufficient inspiration.

That is all. Good day. *I have left the building*

A taste of Cinnamon

2008-11-13T23:19:00.014+08:00

Yeah. Ok. I admit it. I've been slacking. Why? Because recently I've gotten addicted to Red Alert 3. On a sidenote, fans of RTS (real time strategy) and lovers of the past Red Alerts in general should give this game a try.

One Saturday evening after watching Quantum of Solace (yes the latest James Bond flick) at 1-U, it was decided that we would have dinner at Cinnamon (at One World Hotel).

And so, I present...the pictures!

So we walked in at around 6.45 p.m. although the sign outside clearly said that the buffet would start at 7. Why? Because we noticed there were customers already dining inside. Maybe we should have gone in at 6.30 instead...hmmm?

As usual I had a go at the oysters first. No complaints from me here as they were fresh and adequately sized. Somehow no other place has oysters bigger than Jogoya though. However Wei Siong got the short end of the stick here as he picked out a spoilt one. Lack of quality control? Tsk tsk...not very encouraging for a five star hotel.

Next up, sashimi and boiled prawns. I would say that the sashimi here were good. Good, which means nothing exceptional compared to other (similar) places. The prawns on the other hand deserve special mention for their size (but don't expect king prawns) and their freshness (very crunchy).

Next round consisted purely of Japanese style appetizers. Pictured here (clockwise from upper left) are scallops, jellyfish, anchovies, shrimp, kimchi and salmon skin. I especially enjoyed the scallops and the (crispy) salmon skin but I wouldn't say that they were exceptional.

Moving on I threw together a plate of keropok (crackers), a slice of roast lamb, a slice of pizza (I think it was Magarita, not sure of the spelling), some olives, nachos, cream cheese and a bun. This was when I found out that nachos actually goes very well with cream cheese. Lip smackingly good if I do say so myself. The rest of the food? Average.

Braised peanuts! I love this dish. Yes I know it's cheap and can be found easily outside (canned) but hey I enjoyed this dish very much. Tasty, tender peanuts soaked through with delicious marinade, what's not to like?

Following Wei Siong's recommendation I went over to the Indian food corner and grabbed myself this plate of loot. Minus that plate of dim sum which came from the Chinese food corner. The papadum had gone soft due to exposure to air. Should really store those in an air tight container. On the other hand those small round fried things (which are actually various types of vadai) were delicious! And they went very well with the coconut chutney. Dim sum was forgettable.

Here's something interesting. Instead of serving the usual ice cream, Cinnamon decided to serve up this cute lil' ice cream cakes instead. Strawberry, mint and chocolate all in one for a pretty tasty cake. However the mint tends to overwhelm all the other flavours. Also you don't get to choose your favourite ice cream flavour since all the cakes are the same. Innovative but I would have prefered the old way.

Fruits. Essential for a balanced diet. Need I say more?

Pardon the mess. The cakes tend to disintegrate easily. And yes those two chocolate piles are the cakes. They taste great. Full of chocolate flavour. Might be a bit too rich for some people though. The rest of the stuff were just ok.

What's not to like about making your own mixed ice concoction? Unfortunately the ice wasn't as fine as I'd have liked it to be.

I ended the meal with pengat pisang, which is a traditional Malay dessert. Now I'm no expert but I certainly found this version to be delicious, full of sago and nicely caramelised bananas. Authenticity wise, I'm stumped.

And thus ends my review. There were some misses here and there but overall I would say "I'll be back" (when I get more money because the bill comes up to around RM99 nett per person...YIKES!)

Third time's the charm. Or is it?

2008-10-27T10:45:00.012+08:00

First up, sorry for slacking off. I know I have not been updating my blog lately but the past few weekends have been extremely busy. No, I don't have a gf yet. LOL!

So we (Wei Siong, Tracy, Calvin and I) were at Kin No Uma one Saturday to utilise the soon-to-expire discount coupon (40% off!). As this is my third visit here, I think I'll let the pictures tell the story.

The golden horse beckons

This time we dined outside

Oysters remain as good as ever

No complaints about the sashimi
The crabstick wrapped in tamago was pretty good too

The ever popular tempura prawns
Fresh prawns encased in crunchy batter, what's not to like?

I never miss out on having the assorted mushroom soup
It's that good, but watch out as it packs quite a kick!

Smooth chawanmushi
Not packed with ingredients like the ones you would find in Sushi King
but the egg texture beats the competition flat

Do-it-yourself shaved ice
Think you can outdo your favourite ABC stall?

Although it's not even a Japanese delicacy
the kueh pictured here are great!

Ice cream oh ice cream
It's not Haagen Daaz but it does the job

We liked:

1. The quality of food remained consistant.

2. Affordable, but only due to the coupon (RM55 nett)

We disliked:

1. Somehow or rather they never recorded down my reservation (made a couple of days in advance). Not really the restaurant's fault I guess, more of the reservation department's fault?

2. The yakitori was still as lousy as ever and this time we didn't even get the pleasure of grilling it ourselves.

3. Not much changes in the menu.

Well I can safely say this is the last time we'll be coming here. Three visits is plenty already! It's time to try new places. Maybe that place at Putrajaya Mariott...

Tioman: A preview

2008-10-13T10:31:00.002+08:00

Meow?

Fish spa!

When I wake up in the morning light...

Eat @ Yook Woo Hin

2008-10-05T11:38:00.007+08:00

Actually I haven't had anything new to update for the past couple of weeks but the long Hari Raya holidays provided me with some opportunities to try out some new places.

After reading babeinthecitykl's post on Yook Woo Hin, I decided to wake up early (!) on a holiday to pay this place a visit. I had to ask around for directions before finally locating it near the end of Petaling Street. The entrance is partially obscured by stalls so look carefully. The lot number is 100 by the way.

Dim sum was fresh and tasty, served old school style on metal plates. The chee cheong fun was smooth but I wouldn't mind a tad more of the lip smacking mushroom sauce. The prices here are pretty cheap too with the total bill for one pot of tea (for one person), one plate of chee cheong fun and around 7 dishes of dim sum coming to around RM19.

Pro tip: Come early. Come very early (the restaurant opens at 5 a.m.) or else you will have to wait for seats.

Silky smooth chee cheong fun, Ipoh style

The siew mai was good

Bouncy fish balls

Two types of prawn siew mai dim sum

Bali style western?

2008-09-23T12:58:00.008+08:00

Last week I got an invite from Wei Siong and two of his running 'kakis' (enthusiasts) to join them for dinner at the Waterlily Cafe located at IOI Commercial Square (Pusat Perdagangan IOI). It was a fine Saturday evening when we all gathered there to enjoy some 'Balinese style Western' fare, which I took to mean the majority of the dishes would be grilled (that's how they do it in Bali).

Notice their specialties?

I got myself a Bali's chicken combo with beef set which comes with their special 'Three Mushroom' soup and a choice of drink (RM28.90). They really do serve a wide range of ice-blended concoctions ranging from the usual fruit-based ones to (exotic?) ones such as red bean.

The 'Three Mushroom' soup was thick and there was certainly a generous amount of mushrooms inside. The garlic bread and croutons were crispy and went well with the soup. Not bad at all!

A large serving indeed!

All (meat) main courses come with their seasoned deep fried potatoes, apple coleslaw, some brown gravy and a slice of fruit.

First up the apple coleslaw was great! I could really taste the apple in it and the vegetables used were fresh and full of crunch. Unfortunately the deep fried potatoes were pretty much average as all I could taste of the supposed 'special marinade' was salt. But hey at least they left the skin on so the texture was pretty good. Dipping the potatoes into the sauce provided made them more palatable.

On the meat side, the chicken and beef were very flavorful, omitting the need to dip them in the provided brown sauce. The only gripe that I have about the chicken was that the insides was dried out resulting in a slightly tough texture. Maybe the cook let it sit too long on the grill? The beef surprisingly was very tender and juicy. I was pretty darn surprised that the cook did it up medium rare rather than well done. Of course you can't expect to get premium beef here but yeah for this price I'd give two thumbs up!

My jackfruit ice blended was pretty much average. I could certainly taste the jackfruit used but I would prefer that they add more as it tends to get diluted as the ice melts.

Overall this is a nice place for some good 'Bali style Western' dishes at a reasonable price. The crowd tends to agree also as the restaurant was packed. Oh yes I would recommend sitting outside if the weather permits because it's pretty stuffy inside. They definitely need more air conditioners!

It's time to change...

2008-09-18T10:11:00.002+08:00

It's time to change...to a new camera at last! Inspired by Wei Siong's search for a new DSLR to complement his existing consumer (point-n-shoot) camera, I've been hit by the urge to upgrade!

My current Nikon Coolpix has served me faithfully for more than 3 years now and as you can see from the shots on this blog it has done a pretty good job. However one feature that I sorely needed but was not available way back then was image stabilisation. This feature is particularly useful during no-flash/low light photography as a little shake of my hand means that the entire shot is too blur to be useful. Over the years I've coped by either anchoring the the camera (or my hands) to some stable surface but since prosumer cameras nowadays have gotten cheaper I thought to myself why not get a new one eh?

So I've been looking around and so far have shortlisted a few. This list is by no means exhaustive and I'll probably add some more models in the future. Here we go!

1. Canon Powershot SX1 IS

The successor to the much-liked S5 IS, this one has basically everything with a 10 MP CMOS sensor, ability to shoot videos in full HD (1080p) and a 20x wide angle zoom lens. Canon even throws in a wireless remote control for your sexy self portraits! The image processing engine has also been upped to Digic IV. Unfortunately this camera uses AA batteries and not a battery pack. Probably will be pricey too looking at the spec list.

2. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28

This one replaces the venerable FZ18 and also offers a 10 MP sensor, 1280x720 res video shooting and 18x zoom lens. The latest Panasonic image processing engine (Venus Engine IV) is used. And of course the Leica lens is not to be scoffed at. Video taking capabilities are a bit off par with muffled audio, inconsistant autofocusing, slow zoom times and huge file sizes due to the fact that it uses Quicktime format though.

3. Sony Cybershot DSC-H50

The big brother of the H10, this one comes with a 9 MP sensor, VGA video shooting and a 15x zoom lens. This one is probably the lower spec-ed one amongst all the cameras here but it makes up for it with a lower (probably lowest) pricing around. Don't forget that the lens is from Carl Zeiss too! However going for Sony means investing in Memory Sticks and all I use are SDs...

Decisions decisions decisions! Might have to throw in a Nikon to compare since I've had such good experience with my current camera.

The search continues!

It's dim sum time again!

2008-09-17T09:19:00.016+08:00

Yes! A public holiday! In the middle of the week! The best time for dim sum! OH YEAH!

Oh wai-

Whoops! Now that wasn't exactly a dim sum picture was it? Btw the Hokkien mee at Restaurant Ahwa is pretty darn kick ass...but I digress.

Sneak preview

Since I didn't capture a picture of the restaurant's sign, here's the bill instead. As you can see from the bill the restaurant's name is "Jin Xuan Hong Kong" and it's located nearby the Atria shopping centre (same row as Maybank). If you happen to be a local but have not heard of this place, it's probably because this place just opened for business around end May. This is their second branch, with the original one in Puchong. Judging by the amount of customers this place has gotta be good. Let's find out eh?

We started with this seaweed roll. The freshness of the ingredients was evident at first bite. It's texture was simply great! And then we moved on to the regular dishes...

Two large (well large in comparison with other dim sum places anyway) and fresh prawns with plenty of crunch. Paper thin skin. This har kau (prawn dumpling) is top notch! But you should eat this one fast because it tends to stick to the paper and tear easily.

The siew mai (pork dumpling) was another winner. Once again the freshness of the pork was present in every bite. As a bonus there's a fresh prawn hidden within it's tasty depths!

100% fish paste, no nasty fillers. If that doesn't make a great fishball I don't know what else will do. This is the fried version btw.

If the fried version was tasty the steamed version was equally as good (if not better). Even my parents (who are real fussy eaters when it comes to fish paste products) gave their thumb ups and proceeded to order more. LOL! Oh yeah this one also tends to stick to the plate...wonder why?

What's not to like about fresh green chilies stuffed with tasty fish paste? Ok maybe they're not for everyone. Also there was a distinct lack of spicyness, huh? I still enjoyed it though.

Prawn rolls! More of those fresh crunchy prawns, now wrapped in 'foo chook' (beancurd sheets). This one was great but some people might prefer the fried version ('salad prawns'). To me the steamed version is healthier though...heh!

The 'wu kok' (yam puff) arrived fresh from their kitchen and was deliciously warm. Unfortunately the filling wasn't really up to par as it was too little. Still tasty though.

'Fung Zhao' (Phoenix Talons or more commonly known as chicken feet) is another must order during any dim sum meal (at least for me). Texture was pretty much average but the marinade was nice, slightly sweet and spicy all at the same time. Appetizing!

By this time we were all quite full so this was one of the final dim sum dishes we ordered. The 'foo chook kuen' (fish paste wrapped in beancurd sheets) was good due to their tasty fish paste. In fact any of their dim sum which uses fish paste is a winner!

At last but not least, it was time for dessert. The egg tarts provided a nice ending to a superb meal. What's not to like about freshly baked egg tarts with a nice flaky crust? It wasn't the best egg tart I had but it was certainly above average.

The verdict? Oh yeah, thumbs up all around! In fact this is the second time I've been here (no review for the first time...sorry =P) and they definitely have maintained their standards. Come early though as the place tends to fill up fast especially during weekends and holidays. If I'm not mistaken they open from business from 7.30 in the morning all the way till after lunch around 2. But in order to get the best experience the best time to come is early morning when everything is still fresh.

Overall bill came to around RM54.50 with the majority of the dim sum going for RM3.50 each. The ones with the prawns go for slightly higher around RM4. To me it's pretty darn reasonable especially when you compare with places like Key Hiong because over here you pay only slightly more for superior ingredients. This is going to be my regular dim sum place for now on...LOL!

Merdeka! Makan!

2008-09-01T13:40:00.012+08:00

Merdeka Eve and the long weekend. A good time for trips. Especially 'makan' trips...

First stop, Kedai Kopi Kean Fatt for the famous pork noodles!

Come get your pork noodles here!

So I settled down to wait...

Finally it has arrived...wait where are the innards?!!

One small slice of liver? That's all?

First up, be prepared to wait! It took an hour for my bowl of noodles to arrive and I noticed that two (or maybe even more) customers who came after me got their noodles first! Luckily the boss (lady) came over to double confirm what noodles I would like to have or else I would have probably walked off.

I admit that the soup tastes pretty sweet and was very appetizing. However the lack of innards (namely intestines and liver) really put me off. I did see a large bowl of intestines at the counter so I have no idea why they weren't in my noodles. Did they run out or something? It ain't cheap either with a large serving going for RM5.50. I really can't see what's the draw here. If I wanted to wait an hour for my noodles I would have just gone to the one at Subang where at least the noodles are full of meat and innards.

The verdict? Average at best. But I'm going to give them another try, and I'm going to come very, very early to avoid the crowd. Did I mention that I was there at 10 a.m? Looks like I'll have to be there at 8 a.m. next time...LOL!

Kedai Kopi Kean Fatt is located just a short walk away from the Taman Bahagia LRT station on the same row as the post office.

Next stop, one of Pudu's best kept secrets...

The place is pretty much hidden

A newspaper review, calling this place
"Pudu Bus Stop Little House Chicken Rice"

Rice...tasty rice

Chicken and roast pork, don't mind the serving style...

Close up!

I found this place when I was working at Jalan Pudu (years ago). The shop (which is actually more like a shack tacked to the side of a shophouse) is really hidden from view. Passerbys would probably overlook it as abandoned if not for the racks of chicken and roast pork hanging there.

The chicken here is nice if you like your meat to have a bit of 'bite'. I guess they probably use older chickens as the meat does not have the soft crumbly texture of the usual young chickens you get almost everywhere else. The magic though is in the sauce. A mixture of sesame seed oil, soya sauce and I-have-no-idea what else, the sauce really enhances the taste. Their chili sauce is pretty good too, making you want to douse liberal amounts of it all over your rice.

Speaking of the rice, I daresay this place serves one of the best rice ever. It's beautifully yellow and fluffy with a rich taste. They probably add lots of chicken fat (and butter maybe) to get such a taste so go easy as it will tend to feel greasy. The roast pork is not bad, but definately not superb.

RM5.50 (deja vu) for a satisfying meal (plus drink). I would say two thumbs way way up!

Oh and this place is located just next to the (now demolished) cinema on Jalan Pudu. It's a corner lot, look carefully for the chickens hanging there and you'll find it. Business starts at around 11 a.m. and it's only open for lunch.

Yeah I know, not really an epic 'makan' trip. Perhaps a trip to Melaka might be in order here hmmm?

Masak masak

2008-08-31T14:11:00.012+08:00

First up this post has nothing to do with the famous flog (food blog) of the same name. It's just a pictorial documentary (if you can even call it that) of my cooking attempt one hungry Friday night.

Let the cooking...begin!!!

Ze raw materialz

Let's boil some noodles

And then we toss them

Oil the pan and wait for it to heat up

Toss the sausages in but be careful!
The skin will tend to 'pop' and splatter hot oil all over

Next throw in the bacon!
I used back bacon here but streaky bacon works as well

I'm actually using 'Maggi Mi Goreng' here
so go ahead and mix in all the seasonings

Toss it into the pan and give it a quick fry
using the leftover oil

Dinner is served!

The result was delicious! As I expected the noodles soaked up the (pretty much bacon and sausage flavored) oil very well, giving it a 'special' taste. Of course it's not going to be healthy with all that oil...BURP!!!

Dawn of Durian II: A Return to SS2

2008-08-23T09:41:00.011+08:00

After the durian feast last week, we decided that a durian feast is not a durian feast without ingesting the legendary "Mou Shan Wong" (Raja Kunyit). So three durian lovers (Andrew, Kok Hua and myself) set off on another foray into the wild wild world of SS2 durian stalls.

First stop was the famous SS2 Durian place (Ah Wai's stall) near the BHP petrol station. Kok Hua arrived first (very fast) and scouted the place for any available Raja Kunyit. Alas, luck was not on our side as there was only one left and the quality was sub-par (but then why are they still charging normal price for it - RM22 per kg?) So we three settled down for an appetizer of 2 XO durians (RM10 per kg, total RM32). The XO durians were as good as last week, presenting our tongues with a rich, creamy taste with some underlying bitterness. Plenty of flesh too!

Nekkid XO!

Andrew: Mmmmm...mmmmm...

Kok Hua: Oh yeah this is good durian yeah!

After cleaning the plate (or the shell?) we went over to another stall located just opposite the Hong Leong bank (formerly Lim Mee Yoke). This time we lucked out as the stall did have Raja Kunyit in stock going for RM25 per kg. Our medium sized durian cost us RM60 but it was worth every cent. Truly this was the King of Durians with superb taste (rich cream custard with a superb balance of sweetness and bitterness) and loads of flesh due to it's deformed thin seeds. If only this stall accepted credit cards...

Legendary

HO CHAK!!!

I licked the seed clean!

YUMMEH!

The aftermath...

And thus our mission was accomplished! We then went over to Medan Selera 223 for half-boiled eggs and nasi lemak...again! LOL!

The Quest For Siew Yoke

2008-08-10T12:53:00.017+08:00

Now one might have heard of the legendary siew yoke (roast pork) hidden somewhere in the depths of Pudu. One might have even read many reviews raving about it on various famous food blogs. Spurred on by the mouth watering reviews, I journeyed to Pudu one fine Saturday morning to search for it. And found it I did! (Google Maps is really helpful)

I arrived at the restaurant (which has a really small signboard by the way) a wee bit too early, so I decided to go have breakfast. As luck would have it, there was a pretty famous Hakka Yong Tau Foo place nearby!

Yup, it's Yap Hup Kee

I remember coming to this places ages ago with my ex-gf. I was glad that the food here still tasted as good as ever. Unfortunately, prices have gone up but I guess that is to be expected.

Let's get ready to eat!

Interior of the place

Crispy!

Crunchy!

Smooth!

Total bill for 7 pieces of yong tau foo, one plate of chee cheong fun and one cup of chrysanthemum tea hit my wallet for around RM11. So I'm guessing the yong tau foo here go for about RM1 per piece also, similar to Margaret's. The yong tau foo here looses out to Margaret's in term of size but the texture and taste of the fish filling used is different (probably due to the addition of pork). Whether or not it tastes better certainly depends on individual preference but I enjoyed it. Oh yes they do have a branch at Damansara Utama located on the same row as the Ship.

Yes their signboard is really small...

So I walked over to Restaurant Wong Kee to wait for the legendary siew yoke to appear. Then I noticed a very large and very new sign...

12.30?

After confirming with the Indonesian staff it seems that the siew yoke will only go on sale from 12.30 p.m. onwards. and it was just 11 a.m at that time! Since I was already around, I ordered up a drink and settled in comfortably to wait. This attracted the attention of the owner's wife and the Indonesian helpers...they must think I was a real fan of the roast pork...LOL! I noticed the restaurant is pretty much deserted (minus the odd customer or two who are there for the roast chicken and char siew) but it quickly fills up around 12 p.m.

It has arrived!

The siew yoke came out around 12.15 p.m. and the aroma was superb. It certainly made my mouth water. Everyone's attention was focused on the siew yoke but the restaurant will not sell it before 12.30. Talk about keeping to your timing!

The master at work

It certainly looks good!

A closeup, drooling yet?

Double the skin, double the crunch!

Fluffy!

One bite of the siew yoke and I was hooked. Truly the reviews I've read were spot on when they mentioned this was probably the best siew yoke they ever had. The skin was airy and crispy, with some pieces having two layers of skin at the top and bottom for double the pleasure. No uneven cooking here as I didn't detect any hard or chewy skin, every slice was perfect and crispy. The meat was tender but not mushy with the layers of fat (not as much as I thought) provided a silky smooth contrast. I loath to use the overused 'melt-in-the-mouth' phrase here but I think it best describes the experience. The rice was pretty good too (surprisingly) with a nice fluffy texture. It went well with the chili sauce provided.

However, don't expect such good stuff to come cheap. The total bill for siew yoke (portion for 2), one plate of rice and two drinks came up to around RM30. Uh huh...RM30, which seriously can buy you probably close to a KG of siew yoke from other stalls. But hey, I'd say it was worth every cent I paid.

The (corner) restaurant is actually located at the junction of Jalan Nyonya and Lorong Baba. It's approximately behind Times Square, past what used to be an abandoned project site (which has currently been resurrected). Just be there early to book your seat, but not too early! Happy eating!

A return to Kin No Uma

2008-08-03T14:13:00.017+08:00

When I said I would return to Kin No Uma I meant it (the discount vouchers certainly helped though). So it was on a fine (but hazy) Saturday evening that the four of us journeyed all the way down to the Palace of the Golden Horses for another smashing dinner. I'll let the pictures tell the story.

I'm loving it

Solitary tower

We dined here!

Sashimi and sushi, always fresh, always good

The oysters did not disappoint

Tempura prawns were as good as ever,
unfortunately there was no squid this time around

Hot grill action!

The result of said hot grill action
Meats were tender but lacking in taste, no marinade at all!

Surprisingly spicy soup with assorted musrooms
A winner!

Miso soup and chawanmushi
No regrets here

Smooth oh yeah!

Assorted appetizers...yeah I know I should have started with these
Pretty good but not exceptional

End the meal with ice cream
(which was abundantly available this time around)

Pretty coarse shaved ice, they should really sharpen the blades

Expresso, double shot
Kept me up all night

This second visit proved that standards can be maintained provided the restaurant works hard at it. There were a couple of misses (namely the overuse of salt in a couple of dishes like the garlic fried rice) and the teppanyaki corner still didn't feature on-demand cooking (which to me doesn't really seem like authentic teppanyaki anymore) but the overall experience was a notch up from our previous visit. Oh, check out Wei Siong's review here!

And since the manager was kind enough to give away more discount coupons...we'll be back!

Eat @ Margaret's

2008-07-26T20:29:00.016+08:00

After a throughly exhausting session troubleshooting the office new switch(es) I was glad to be able to sooth my tired mind (and hungry stomach!) with a visit to one of USJ's most famous yong tau foo places. Presenting...Margaret Yong Tau Foo!

Table, reserved

For a group of three we ordered 26 pieces of assorted yong tau foo, 3 pieces of 'tau kan' (basically some sort of soya bean sheet stuffed with fish paste), a bowl of rice and sugarcane for all. On to the pictures...

Home made boiled sugarcane, very soothing

Thick sweet sauce and pretty good home made chili sauce
A good combination!

A glimpse into the kitchen

The fried brinjal and 'foo chook' came first
Crispy and tasty!

Big? =P

White taufoo, taufoo puffs, fishcakes,
bitter gourd, ladies fingers and chilies

Taufoo puff (taufoo pok) explored

Apparently they use a mixture of fish paste
and sotong for the white tau foo
It is so good!

Their signature 'tau kan'
Pretty good but pricey

Ladies finger and white tau foo take to the stage

They taste as good as they look

Finished?

Not so fast, here's the encore!

One word, tasty. Would I return? Yes. Was the service good? Yeah although you do hear horror stories about their service and attitude. Was it worth it? Yes, the yong tau foo servings were big and packed with meat. Thumbs up!

Let me just break down the pricing for you peeps. Each piece of yong tau foo goes for RM1, the 'tau kan' is priced at RM2 a piece, rice at RM1 a bowl while a cup of sugarcane costs RM1.30. Not too bad really. They do serve other dishes like vegetables, assam fish and paper wrapped chicken too, no idea about the prices though.

For people who are not to familiar with the USJ area this place might be a wee bit difficult to find. In fact I had to rely on a hand drawn map done by my colleague! So uh...mebbe I'll just give you the coordinates to this place 3°2'33"N 101°35'35"E. TADA! It's somewhere near Goodyear Court 9 actually. Happy searching!

Andrew's super smashing housewarming partay!

2008-07-14T14:53:00.006+08:00

Pics of me at said partay oh yeah?

Bottoms up babeh!

Chicken wings taste so good they make me fly

Donut is good yeah
Btw those two ladies are shopaholics...next trip...BANGKOK!!!

Torn winnings, courtesy of Danny
He actually picked it up from the road see...
Still it bought me a lotta luck...woo!

They shoot golfers...I mean gophers...

2008-07-13T11:06:00.002+08:00

At Andrew's smashing housewarming party yesterday,

Buddy A: When I lived there I had some crazy friends.

Buddy A: Each time they saw some gophers while they were driving they would stop the car and shoot at them with rifles.

Buddy B: That's sick!

Me: No need for a license to kill gophers eh?

Buddy A: No need, they are considered to be vermin around there.

Buddy B: What? Golfers are considered to be vermin around there? WTF?

Buddy A: Not golfers, gophers!

The rest: ROFL!

Cybercafes to close at midnight? WTF?!!

2008-07-08T09:02:00.003+08:00

So some of you avid gamers might have heard the whole fiasco over cybercafes in the Subang area being forced to close at midnight due to some ruling. Now it seems that all cybercafes in Malaysia will have to close at midnight. Shocking? Fuck yes!

Sauce here!

KUALA LUMPUR: All cyber cafes will have to close by midnight daily and operate only from the ground floor of buildings once the guidelines to control them are enforced.

Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin said that under the new guidelines, cyber cafe operators were also banned from using tinted glass.

“Operators must ensure their shops can be seen from the outside,” he said.

“The new rule also requires those below 12 years old to be accompanied by their parents or guardians to cyber cafes and they are only allowed to stay until 10pm,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

The guidelines have been drawn up and ready to be enforced at anytime.

However, Hamzah did not say when the ministry was going to start enforcing them except to say it would be “as soon as possible”.

Hamzah said cyber cafes were also banned from other co-business activities, including having games, gambling, pornography, music and publications with negative elements.

“Cigarettes and alcohol cannot be sold or consumed at these premises,” he said.

Hamzah said operators were required to keep a register to record the entry and departure time of their patrons.

“This is to ensure that all patrons are checked by operators at all times. The owners of the business must also send the names of students who come to their premises to their schools,” he said.

Hamzah said some students had been found to play truant by changing their uniforms and visiting cyber cafes during school hours.

“We will also issue a warning to operators who allow students into their centres as this (truancy) has been getting out of hand,” he said.

Cyber cafes which did not comply with the guidelines would be blacklisted.

“The names of offenders will be sent to all local authorities and they will not be allowed to open such businesses again in any part of the country,” he said.

Although I don't frequent cybercafes that often anymore, on the occasions I do go out for a gaming session with the guys I notice almost everyone games until early morning. So now the government is asking all gamers to just stop gaming at 12? Or just stay at home and play online?

What is the government's justification for this new ruling? If it was to keep underaged kids away from cybercafes they could easily just enforce a ruling prohibiting all underaged customers staying after 12 (oh wai- they already have that ruling...)

With cybercafes being so widespread and popular...I wonder how the cybercafes will be affected. If the enforcement is as stringent as what's being done in Subang (MPSJ actually sealed up FTZ, a popular cybercafe near Asia Cafe) I shudder to think of the fate of gamers everywhere!

Kin No Uma

2008-07-06T12:05:00.021+08:00

So a couple of weeks back me and Wei Siong managed to score some seats at Kin No Uma, the Japanese restaurant at the Palace of the Golden Horses. It was a lucky break for us as the entire restaurant was fully booked for a month. Yes, fully booked for a month. We only managed to get the seats after somebody canceled their reservation.

If a restaurant is doing so well, the food must be good no? Or maybe it was the 50% discount promotion that's attracting all the customers...

The golden horses

Nice surroundings

Dusk has come

'Special' sushi, limited to one piece per customer
It was just soft shell crab sushi...

Sashimi was good, on par with a restaurant located inside such a prestigious hotel

Extremely fresh oysters, no need for lemon

The teppanyaki beef was tender but it wasn't cooked on the spot

The two bestsellers of the tempura section, super crunchy (and fresh) squid rings and prawns
I like!

Pretty good garlic fried rice and unagi
The unagi could have been fatter though

The yakitori was tough and cold, skip this one

Now this is one of the best chawanmushi I have ever tasted!
I think this beats out the one I had at Momo...

The usual 'make your own' mixed ice (ABC)

I had to literally scrap the bottom of the barrel to get my ice cream
They should really refill the ice cream section quicker!

Another one bites the dust

All that waiting does make the ice cream taste better

We had to queue to get the cup of cappuccino
For the record it was very strong and very bitter...

Our ratings say it all

What can I say besides this meal was great and definitely worth the money. The price per person of RM40 cannot be beat! Of course they won't be running this promotion forever, in fact it has already ended. But their next promotion is 40% off the list price, but only if you have the proper coupon (which were given out during dinner). So this means...I will be back!

Ipoh Mali Ipoh Mali...

2008-06-28T22:57:00.056+08:00

The first thing that comes to most Malaysians' minds when Ipoh is mentioned is food. And what better way to enjoy authentic Ipoh food than a 'makan' (eating) trip there? With that in mind, Calvin, Tracy and me journeyed up north one (dark and rainy) Friday evening in search of good food.

Sunset on the North South Highway before the rain started

After a quick pit stop at Tapah to stock up on some necessities, we arrived at Ipoh around 9. Since none of us were familiar with Ipoh (and the map provided by the hotel was not really great), it took a phone call (for directions) before we could locate Fair Park Hotel. At RM78 a night it wasn't too bad really. The rooms were clean and well equipped, albeit a little bit small. Also the hotel offers a day use rate...

The view from my room window...that's the main road btw

The bathroom has everything you need

The rest of the room

After a quick unpack, we journeyed in search of Ipoh's famed steamed chicken & bean sprouts. And we found it...in fact we found three of them...lol!

We ate here

The competitors!

Crunchy taugeh

Smooth kueh tiao

Steamed chicken

Bouncy pork balls

Despite this restaurant not being one of the two (more) famous ones (Lou Wong and Onn Kee) in Ipoh, the food was darn good. The bean sprouts were juicy and crunchy while the kueh tiao soup impressed us with its silky smooth texture and surprisingly sweet soup. In fact the soup was so sweet that we thought it must have been laden with MSG, but since we didn't get extremely thirsty after the meal it must have been packed full of real chicken stock. THUMBS UP!

The pork balls were pretty good, consisting of more meat rather than filler but the chicken was more on the average side. Although it was smooth and tender, there was not much of the 'chicken taste'. Probably because they used farm bred chicken instead of the kampung ones.

The next day, my alarm clock rang at 6 a.m. and I woke in a daze. At first I was wondering to myself why on Earth would I be waking up so early on a Saturday morning but then it hit me, it was time to savor the famous Ipoh dim sum at Ming Court!

Yes this was taken around 6.45 a.m.

The interior

Their famous siew mai...very addictive!

The har kau was pretty good too

Har kau, exposed

Yee mai...tasty!

Loads of dim sum!

Wu kok, moist on the inside, crispy on the outside

The warm tender inside of a fluffy 'sang yuk' pau

Chicken feet, full of flavour

Tau foo fah jelly with longan makes for a satisfying dessert

Don't forget the tea

The aftermath

Luckily the damage to our wallets wasn't over 9000
(Napoleon Dynamite reference)

What can I say? This was one heck of a superb breakfast. Overall, everything was great, but the siew mai, har kau, yee mai, wu kok, chicken feet, 'sang yuk' pau and the tau foo fah jelly stood out. But don't go expecting a super cheap meal. It's just slightly cheaper than PJ and KL. Just think of it this way, you are getting quality food at a reasonable price. =P

After breakfast it was back to the hotel for a much needed nap before checking out and heading towards Taman Canning for lunch. The menu for lunch today sir? Why it's super crispy roast duck at Restoran Hong Kong!

Re-fried for extra crispy skin!

Succulent tender flesh, melt in your mouth fat, extra crispy skin...

Close up!

One of the best roast ducks I've ever eaten really. Tracy even commented that the roast duck here can compete with the legendary 'Sze Ngan Chai' (literally four-eyed guy) roast duck (at Petaling Street) so you can tell it's darn good. The only downside is the sauce is slightly on the salty side. Perhaps they meant it to go with rice...

Next up, a visit to one of Ipoh's famous coffee shops, Thean Chun. One look at the place and you'll know that it has been around for quite a while. And if a place can survive for so long, the food has to be good. So we literally ordered everything the coffee shop has to offer...lol!

The signboard, you can tell it's old!

The famous Ipoh Hor Fun stall

Check out the reddish soup

Salivating yet?

The perfect mouthful

Pork satay

Chee cheong fun

If the popiah is that thick...

...it must be packed full of ingredients!

The caramel custard that people from KL come all the way here to taste

BUUUUURRRRRRP! Yet another satisfying lunch (second lunch?!!). While the pork satay and chee cheong fun were good, the Ipoh hor fun, popiah and custard were great!

The Ipoh hor fun was as smooth as the one we had the night before at Ong Kee, but the soup this time around possessed more prawn flavour. However on the downside, those who are violently allergic to prawns might want to abstain (or at least keep some antihistamines ready).

The popiah was packed to the brim with with turnips, beansprouts, eggs and some (unidentifiable) crunchy stuff...every mouthful was a superb blend of varying textures and taste.

About the custard, I have a tale to tell. When we arrived at the coffee shop it was packed as usual but luckily we didn't have to wait long for a table. As soon as we sat we quickly ordered three custards but unfortunately there was only one left. The table next to us also ordered up some custards and when they were told that there was no more left I heard one of them saying "Oh no! We came all the way from KL just to eat the custard!" The next table then spent the next couple of minutes enviously looking at the solitary custard on our table...>_> So I guess you can tell how good the custard really is. For the record it was really really smooth and the egg-y taste combined really well with the caramel sauce which wasn't too sweet at all. Lip smacking...I could have downed a couple more.

By now we were totally stuffed so we headed for the Old Town Kopitiam near the Ipoh Padang. One cannot say he/she has truly been to Ipoh without drinking a glass of white coffee right? LOL!

Looks like any other franchised branch...

Tastes exactly like any franchised branch too...

Maybe my expectations have been boosted up a wee bit too much after all that kickass food we had. I was expecting something special from the Ipoh branches of the Old Town Kopitiam seeing that it originated from here. Unfortunately there was no difference in taste. Zilch, zero, nada. I could as well have been drinking at that perpetually packed USJ outlet. Maybe we should have paid a visit to the franchise owner's mum's coffee shop instead...the real 'Original Old Town Kopitiam'.

And thus our Ipoh eating trip came to a close. Yes we were all too full for dinner. But would we return? DEFINITELY!

Oh yes for pomelo lovers, don't forget to stop at the famous 'Pomelo Stall Stretch' located on the exit from Ipoh. Yes those 'pomelo girls' are still around...=P

Green crabs @ Greenview

2008-06-15T12:54:00.012+08:00

I love crabs. But the crabs that are usually served at the average (non-classy) Chinese restaurants are pretty small, hence lacking in meat.

Of course I could always pay top dollar to enjoy some real meaty Alaskan King Crabs but then that would bankrupt me, seeing that a kg would probably run more than RM100. And one crab weighs much more than a kg trust me. So how?

In order to save my wallet and still enjoy fresh meaty crabs, I journeyed to Greenview. At RM40 a kg for their smallest size crabs (which is still pretty large compared to the ones you get at the average restaurant), it was an acceptable compromise between price and quantity. Oh before I forget, the price is actually on promotion, the normal rate is RM50 a kg. And they only use crabs imported from Indonesia it seems.

The restaurant actually spans three lots!

For a group of three, we ordered their famous pork knuckle, deep fried honeyed squid (they only use the tentacles here), a vegetable dish, 2 steamed crabs and 2 crabs cooked with salted egg yolk. Thinking back, it might have been a bit too much for just three people...

Pork knuckle

It's big and meaty

Crunchy skin!

The pork knuckle was huge. Overwhelmingly so. The portion served could have fed at least 5 people. No complaints about the taste, it was hearty, full of flavour and the skin was awesome with a thin layer of fat underneath. However there seems to be only one size for this dish, so small groups might want to skip this. Or just pack the leftovers home.

Deep fried honeyed squid (tentacles)

At first I expected the usual deep fried squid (which you usually get at any Chinese restaurant). To my surprise Greenview's version of this dish only uses the tentacles (the 'head' part) of the squid. The sweet honey taste goes well with the spicy 'cili padi'. Real crunchy too, but I think I would prefer the usual version. Once again, the portion was huge. Don't they adjust the sizes of the dishes based on the amount of people per table here? LOL!

Fresh veggies!

I was actually too stuffed to try this dish. But my parents gave it the thumbs up. Fresh and cooked right I guess? The green veggies did look mighty tempting but at that point of time my stomach just couldn't fit in any more food.

Steamed crabs with egg white

Check out the roe!

Crabs covered with salted egg yolk

When the crabs arrived, I was like WHOA! I could really see the size difference between the crabs offered here and the usual mud crabs you get elsewhere. And this was their smallest size...I wonder how large would their giant crabs be...

4 crabs totaled around 2 and a half kgs which means around RM100 for the crabs alone. Yes I hear some of you saying that crabs elsewhere go for around RM18 per kg but then again those are small compared to the ones here. Small crabs equal less meat which means you'll probably end up ordering more anyway.

I really liked their steamed crabs. I always think that fresh seafood is best steamed. Greenview certainly did not disappoint here, with the rich firm crab flesh combining extremely well with the abundant roe and egg white. Ah...heavenly!

As for the salted egg yolk crabs, it was good. The salted egg yolk 'sauce' (fried with curry leaves) did go well with the crab, more complimenting rather than overwhelming. Thumbs up to Greenview for ensuring that this dish wasn't too salty. On the other hand, the generous amounts of salted egg yolk would not go down very well with people who are trying to keep their cholesterol levels in check...

If I was asked to choose though, I would have gone for the steamed version. Call me a purist but to me the only way to taste the pure unadulterated taste of fresh crab is by having them steamed. With plenty of roe. Oh dear...plenty of roe...increased cholesterol levels...not good...LOL!

The promotion runs until July if I'm not mistaken. So if you love crabs (and your wallet), you know where to go. Who knows, you might even bump into me there!

A New (Formosa) Experience

2008-06-08T13:12:00.018+08:00

First up let me wish all Dads around the world a Happy Father's Day! What's that you say? Father's Day isn't until the 15th of June? My mistake...whoops! Well, anyway, here's to all the Dads around the world...thank you for your dedication, patience and love!

As for me, I treated my dad to an (early) Father's Day dinner at New Formosa, SS2. New Formosa is located in a quieter part of the neighbourhood actually. In fact I've never came over to this part for dinner...although several famous eateries are located here. New Formosa is just further down the road from Sri Siam (located at the corner), opposite a Mobil station.

I remember passing by New Formosa countless times way back when I was still a school student. A restaurant that can survive for so long must serve some real tasty food...don't you think? This place is renowned for it's authentic Taiwanese cuisine (the lady owner is from Taiwan). A nice change from the usual Japanese or Western food that one usually haves for a special dinner no?

We settled for a steamboat set (RM39 per person, minimum order of two persons) and some fried large pork intestines ('tai cheong' in Cantonese) in batter with sesame seeds. The steamboat (which is one of their specialties by the way) comes with both clear (enhanced with bonito flakes) and spicy (ma-lat) stocks, something different from all the usual clear chicken (or MSG) and tom yam stocks outside. They also offer a different steamboat set which is priced at RM19 per person, but with a minimum order for four. Dessert was their signature 'mua chi' which is basically some sort of dough rolled in crushed peanuts and sugar.

Portable gas stoves are used here

'Ma-lat' (spicy) soup at the top, bonito flake soup at the bottom
Note the abundance of vegetables which adds to the taste

Stuff for the steamboat!
Note the oysters at the bottom most compartment,
and the pork intestines and stomach at the upper left...tasty!

Fresh large prawns, noodles, vegetables and eggs

Fried large intestines in batter and sesame seeds

Let it boil! Let it boil!

Large prawns? Oh yeah!

Hot and spicy: a view from the 'ma-lat' section

Eat! Eat! Eat!

A juicy Pacific clam

A wholesome bowl of noodles indeed

Nicely done egg, cooked by my dad! =D

Close up of the bonito soup

Close up of the 'ma-lat' soup

And we end with dessert!

One word describes the entire dinner: Great! While the bonito soup was sweet with a hint of the bonito flakes used, the winner was clearly the 'ma-lat' soup which really hit the spot. To quote my dad, "It's got a kick!" People who can't take spicy food...you have been warned! =P

The steamboat ingredients were all fresh and the portions were just right for us. The freshness was most evident in the prawns (very sweet and crunchy) and the innards (very clean). The fried large pork intestines was also given the thumbs up by all, the light crunchy batter making it a very addictive treat. Big eaters on the other hand might want to add a few more dishes, or maybe extra steamboat portions? I didn't find the 'mua chi' to be extraordinary though, it was just...average.

No complaints about service here. But please check your bill before paying. I had the unfortunate experience of being billed for the towels and tidbits (peanuts) which we did not have! A minor oversight on their part (and not a very expensive mistake) but be careful. I expected more prudence on their part though, this being a famous restaurant and all.

Minor bill discrepencies aside, I'll definitely return to try more authentic Taiwanese cuisine. And you should to!

Transformers! Pt.3

2008-06-01T13:35:00.015+08:00

Yeah so the latest craze in the Transformers universe is Transformers Animated, which sees a re-imagining of the Transformers fans all know and love in a new look.

A very different look actually. And of course a very different background story which takes a main plot device from Transformers: The Movie (the live action one).

Being a fan myself I couldn't resist purchasing the toys (I prefer the term collectibles actually) when they were released. So here's some pics of my recent purchase...presenting...Autobot Prowl!

Box front

Side view. Notice Bumblebee there?
Most of the well known characters are back!

A big difference from the classic G-1 Prowl (which was a police car)

Nicely secured

Prowl's weapons: traffic light nunchuck and throwing star(s)

Autobot logo at the front
Notice the defect on the plastic at the front, normal for Hasbro QC

Prowl in police superbike mode

Prowl in robot mode

Close up of his head area
Notice the slight defect on top of his head, might be due to the mold

On the bright side, he's very posable!

WAAAACHHHHAAAAAA!!!

Say hello to my traffic light!

Are you feeling lucky today Decepticon?

The only problem I can see from this wave of Transformer Animated releases is the QC level. Hasbro's QC has always been lower than Takara but this time around...it's pretty bad. It's most apparent in Bumblebee as his entire body is in different shades of yellow...ugh! Hasbro, please improve your QC!

But anyway, I'll be looking forward to the next wave of releases...OH YEAH! =P

Dim sum and more dim sum!

2008-05-31T20:37:00.031+08:00

While browsing through my daily dose of food websites, I stumbled upon an article in the Star's food section (kuali.com) about an ongoing dim sum (ala carte) buffet promotion at Zuan Yuan, One World Hotel. The review was good. The price? That's what caught my attention.

Normally a dim sum meal at a five star hotel would not be cheap, but the price for the buffet was pretty darn reasonable at RM38++. So off I went one Saturday morning to try it out. Yes, I even booked a table...for one...lol! You know, just in case, it being the school holidays and all...

Lunch begins at 12 noon (until 2.30), but frequent visitors to 1-U would be familiar with the nightmare of finding a parking lot during peak hours. So I went early...and took some pictures.

Ongoing movie fair at 1-U...SPEED RACCCCEERRRR!!!

Hey look there's a new X-Files movie coming!
(Actually I had no idea there was a new movie...)

This used to be Genki Sushi...oh noes...

The signboard at the entrance

I think this is supposed to be a rice container of some sort

Chandelier

Classy interior no?

Everything nicely laid out

It's time to order!

Surprise! You get cashew nuts instead of peanuts as an appetizer!

Seafood dumpling with superior stock and shark fin

Yes, that's real shark fin right there

'Water Prawn' noodle (their version of 'sang har meen')

Steamed scallop dumplings

The scallops were tasty, but don't expect large portions

Steamed prawn dumplings ('har kau')

You can't see it clearly here but there's actually two prawns per dumpling!

Siew mai with flying fish roe

Glutinous rice siew mai

Steamed minced squid ball with dried octopus and crab stick

Deep fried prawn dumpling with salad dressing (on the side)

Cheese tart and egg tart (all mini size)

Hong Kong style chee cheong fun with char siew filling

Chilled aloe vera infused with lemon grass

The verdict? Good food, great (really really attentive and friendly) service at a price that's right. Overall quality of the dim sum was noticeably higher than the ones you get at the usual dim sum places (hotels and classy Chinese restaurants not included), but variety is lacking. No fish balls (yee mai) at all? What the...

In the steamed dim sum section, notable mentions include the prawn and scallop dumplings and the squid balls. Very very yummy! Thumbs up all around here!

Oh yes, the HK chee cheong fun however deserves special mention here. Although the chee cheong fun was oh-so-smooth, the amount of char siew (grilled pork) inside was...almost non-existant. In fact I think I only counted 3 puny pieces of char siew...which for such a swanky restaurant like this is an almost unforgivable mistake. I get more char siew in the HK chee cheong fun served at SS2 food court for goodness sake...

For the fried/baked stuff, the (mini) cheese and egg tarts were ok. Nice flaky pastry shells with reasonable amounts of filling. Don't expect an orgasmic experience here though. And what baffles me was that the description for the egg tarts actually said "oven baked mini egg tarts with caramel and cinnamon". I certainly did not taste any caramel or cinnamon here...

Oh yes, the soup and noodles are both one time orders only. No complaints here as both were great. I can see why they are both one time orders only...the ingredients are expensive...heh!

Lastly, dessert. The double boiled crystal pear with fresh ginseng was packed with ginseng flavour but a bit on the sweet side. I neither liked nor disliked it though. As for their chilled aloe vera, what can I say? I had three bowls. Simply superb!

Overall for RM38++ per person, I would say it's worth checking out if you are a big eater. After all it's not too expensive at all considering the fact that you are dining in a classy restaurant. Oh yes, before I forget there are actually two different sets (Emperor and Empress) with minor differences between them (mainly the soups). So take your time to browse before deciding.

Just stay away from the HK chee cheong fun unless you like hunting for char siew pieces...lol!

Check out that Lego Milipede!!!

Much ado over Momo

2008-05-18T13:05:00.019+08:00

May is the time for Mother's Day celebrations and to celebrate I normally take my parents out for a good meal. Having heard good things about this Japanese restaurant we decided to give it a shot. Actually we were there for the ala carte menu but it turns out that they do not serve ala carte during weekends, only buffet. Since we were already there...might as well indulge!

The entrance

Very Zen no?

Since we arrived so early (we were their first customer in fact...LOL) we managed to secure seats easily and then it was time to eat!

Salmon, butter fish and tuna sashimi

Oysters

No complaints here. The sashimi were fresh and up to the usual standard you'd expect from a Japanese buffet. Oysters were silky smooth and were pretty large so expect to do some chewing.

Sukiyaki

I've always enjoyed swishing beef slices around to make sukiyaki. The soup was flavorful and I couldn't detect any MSG (didn't feel thirsty after downing two bowls). Coupled with tender beef slices, tofu and assorted vegetables it was a winner. I could probably spend the whole buffet here creating my own sukiyaki mixtures but then that's not the point of a buffet now is it? Bear in mind that the beef slices cook quickly so take care not to overcook them.

Yakitori

The grill offered a choice of whole fish (not sure what type though), squid, chicken and prawns. The chicken was a little bit on the tough side but the tasty marinade helped somewhat. I found the squid to be pretty good, crunchy and not overdone. The highlight has got to be the prawns though. Fresh prawns grilled to perfection with just a dash of salt to bring out the flavour. It was so good that you have to compete with other customers just to grab a couple.

Chawanmushi

You just gotta try this chawanmushi! Although it's not stuffed full of ingredients like say at Sushi King or Sakae Sushi the texture of the chawanmushi served here beats them all flat. The best chawanmushi I've had so far to be honest.

Teppanyaki

As for the teppanyaki section you get to choose between mixed vegetables, spring onion wrapped in beef, squid (more squid!) and beef cubes. Everything was just average around here but the exception was the beef cubes. Simple tender and full of beefy goodness!

Tempura

Can't really recall what was being offered at the tempura section since I always go for the prawns only. But I do recall various vegetables...and yeah, they definately have prawns. Normally I would load up on tempura prawns but since the grilled ones were much better I didn't take too many. Not to say that the tempura was all that bad...just average.

Shaved ice mixture (ABC)

Ice cream! In a cone!

All that food left little room for dessert but I still managed to stuff in some. Momo has a counter where you can create your own customised ABC. The ice shaver however produces pretty course ice...maybe they need to sharpen the blades or something. Ice cream consists of the usual flavours but they have cones! I know that ice cream cones are pretty cheap stuff but how often do you see buffets which provide this option? Mmmmmhmmm...munching on a crispy cone...makes me feel like a kid again...

If you're tired of always going to Shogun perhaps you can give this place a try. After all it isn't too far from 1-Utama. Prices are RM43.90 for Saturday and Sunday dinner and RM39.90 for Sunday lunch. All nett, so hey not too expensive at all. They also do shabu shabu buffet from Monday to Friday for dinner, so I'll be back to try that one out.

For precise directions (full address and all) and another review...check out KY's post!

Bangkok Trip - Day 4 (May 1st 2008)

2008-05-18T12:41:00.011+08:00

Labour Day. A public holiday for most countries in the world. Also our last day in Bangkok. OH NOES! All good vacations must eventually come to an end...

After enjoying the breakfast we packed our bags in preparation for our checkout at 4 p.m. To my surprise my luggage bag was filled to the brim. And I didn't even buy a lot of stuff! Gotta get a new (and bigger) bag for my next trip.

Since we had time to spare, we had a leisurely lunch at Macdonalds at Ploenchit Centre and then explored a nearby mall (can't recall the name). The couple managed to do some last minute shopping even then...SALUTE!!!

After checking out we headed straight for the airport.

On approach to Survanabhumi Airport

Huge sculpture at the centre of the airport

Loads of shops for you to finish up your remaining baht

After checking our luggage in we decided to do some window shopping before settling for dinner at Mango Tree. Pretty authentic Thai food I guess, and they even have a branch in Kuching!

And that was that, goodbye Bangkok...see you again in 2009! Oh yeah, just for fun I'll list down the haul I got from Bangkok...

1. 1/18 scale Chevy Camaro Concept (Bumblebee colour scheme)
2. A couple of t-shirts
3. A pair of sandals
4. A very comfy pair of shorts
5. An Airasia plane model
6. Loads of fond memories

The End

Bangkok Trip - Day 3 (April 30th 2008)

2008-05-10T02:49:00.042+08:00

Time flies really fast when you're having fun doesn't it? The third day of our vacation arrived in a blink of an eye. How did we occupy our second last day? More shopping of course...

Warning! This is a picture heavy post! =D

Our first stop of the day (after getting delayed for around 30 minutes due to some MRT technical issues) was the famous Chatuchak Weekend Market. Now if you were paying attention you would have noticed that we didn't exactly go on a weekend. Fret not, some parts of the market remain open all week long, especially the flora section. Of course for the complete experience you'd have to go during the weekends. I guess there's an excuse to come back to Bangkok again right there! LOL!

Exit from Kampheang Phet MRT station

Closed...

But this section's open!

Water lilies! Pretty aren't they?

More plants!

Our staple drink in Bangkok, besides green tea that is...

A note about the drink above. It's made some kind of mandarin orange and it's available almost everywhere in Bangkok (especially in areas where one tends to get dehydrated from walking around too much). Why do we love it? Coz it's cheap and good!

Flowers...

More flowers...

And even more flowers!

Nice heart shaped wreaths

Lotus pods

So that's how they transport the plants...

Another type of water lily...pretty no?

Busy bee

Some of the pet accessory stalls are open too!

Grilled pork, another staple food!

Hot grill action! =P

Grilled pork (and other meats) on sticks are also widely found around Bangkok. In fact our very first meal in Bangkok consisted of a stick of grilled pork...LOL! In Chatuchak itself there were several stalls. Besides the grilled stuff one can find roasted pork and various other edibles. During the weekends one could probably spend the entire day here without the need to step out to grab a bite. Good news for shopaholics! =P

Next stop...Pratunam Market!

Pantip Plaza...the Low Yat Plaza of Bangkok!
We passed by here on the way to Pratunam Market

Pratunam Market is known for its cheap clothes, textiles and fabrics. The concept is similar to Suan Lum where they have both street side stalls and proper retail shops. Bargaining seems to be a little bit difficult here, maybe because their prices are already low. Still this is the place to go to for clothes if you missed out on the whole weekend Chatuchak experience.

Check out the amount of clothes!

Check out the amount of people!

Inside Pratunam City Complex...a mall located within Pratunam Market

By this time us guys were exhausted but there was still one more mall on the 'must go' list. Luckily Platinum Fashion Mall is just across the street...and it was just about time for lunch! But not before the lady did more shopping...

The interior of Platinum Fashion Mall

Lunch at the food court was pretty good. Can't get enough of them beef balls! OH YEAH!

Beef balls! We want more beef balls!

Tasty takoyaki!

Chicken satay, Thai version...just average

Roast duck, grilled pork and roast pork

The roast pork was the best of the lot...real crispy crackling!

We did not skip dessert

With all the shopping finally done (at least for me) we took a cab from Pantip Plaza all the way back to our hotel. Too exhausted to use the BTS and MRT...LOL!

Farewell Poseidon!
(picture courtesy of Tracy)

Since we had a pretty late lunch, I decided to skip dinner and head straight to Poseidon for one last massage session. Then it was back to the hotel to wait for the married couple who were spending their last amounts of THB at Suan Lum (yes they were there three nights in a row).

Where did we go for supper then? Yes we paid Aunty another visit!

The abundant vegetables in my spicy seafood noodles

The tom yum looks spicy but it's not

The tom yum was the only 'disappointment' this time around as it was just average. Not much different from the ones that we can get in Malaysia. Maybe we should have ordered the tom yum goong instead...but hey the noodles were still great!

We then headed to what is apparently the best burger stall in all of Bangkok, at least to the tourists. It's located at the entrance of Nana Plaza and there's a never ending stream of customers waiting to sink their teeth into a hot, dripping, tasty...burger. =P

Check out the size of that patty!

The basic beefburger (meaning just the patty and condiments) costs THB70. Yeah that's RM7. Before you complain hey I can get a Ramly Double Special Cheese (which means two patties, an egg and a slice of cheese for the uninformed; Ramly refers to the commonly used patty by almost all burger stalls in Malaysia & Singapore) for that price, let me just say the patty used here beats Ramly flat in size, texture and taste.

You can add on egg, cheese and a bacon strip for THB10 each. We went for everything...thus we got ourselves a THB100 (RM10) burger. Was it worth it? Oh yeah...in fact in hindsight maybe I should have gotten two...

Tasty? Tasty!
I know the picture doesn't do the burger justice...LOL!

With our tummies filled, we all settled in for a good night's sleep. Not without some tinge of sadness though as tomorrow we'll be leaving this fine city and returning to our mundane lives in Malaysia.

One more day...

And now...an intermission!

2008-05-07T20:28:00.008+08:00

Every now and then Macdonalds springs a surprise. This time around it's the Megamac. If you thought of a huge Big Mac well you're partly correct. It's definitely bigger than the usual Big Mac but it's far from huge.

So Wei Siong and me decided to give it a try today seeing that it's a limited time offer (fyi it's a permanent menu item in Macdonalds Thailand). The verdict? Well I found it to be a little bit saltier than usual (more salt in the patties perhaps) and well it seems much smaller compared to the first time I had the Megamac (close to a decade ago). Other than that it was pretty tasty and filling. YUM!

I'll let the pictures do the talking from here on...LOL!

The set!

MEGA is the keyword here today

The main course

Close up of the bottom half

I requested extra onions

The patty is sexy?

If you like the Big Mac and think you can stomach a burger of this size, go on ahead and try it. You probably won't be disappointed. Eating it is a very messy affair though...=P

Bangkok Trip - Day 2 (April 29th 2008)

2008-05-03T10:57:00.021+08:00

Woke up at 6...it was still dark outside but it was rapidly growing brighter. Dressed and got ready for breakfast.

The American style breakfast buffet was good

Since it was still early, we decided to lounge around the (rooftop) pool while enjoying the cool morning breeze.

The pool...pretty cosy

Buildings surrounding the hotel

Skyline of Bangkok...looks pretty much like KL doesn't it?

Since the malls only open around 10-ish (we assumed) we decided to return to our rooms for some rest before heading out again. I took advantage of the free time to drop by the hotel's massage centre to reinvigorate my muscles with a (free) oil massage. Which was great really. I meant the massage of course.

Having gathered our strength we headed off. First stop, Mahboonkrong (MBK) Centre which is really close to the National Stadium BTS station.

Entrance to MBK via Tokyu Department Store

Having experienced the size of Suan Lum the night before, the size of MBK didn't really surprise us. Still it was a huge place, easily 2 - 3 times the size of our local Sungaiwang Plaza. The concept is basically the same, one huge building with one anchor tenant (Tokyu in this case) and a lot of small stalls selling basically everything. Apparently there are 2500 stalls here so you can imagine the size of the place. There's also a cineplex, karaoke rooms and a bowling alley.

I shall not elaborate on the shopping but we did not buy much here. I did manage to find myself an (original) PC game which wasn't in sale anymore back in Malaysia. And for half the price too! Yes it's a localised version which means the printing on the box and the manual are in Thai, but the game itself is in English. So no complaints there really.

The Terminator makes an appearance in MBK

Yet another robot sculpted out of scrap...very nicely done!

Of course all that walking around naturally works up a good appetite so we headed to Sizzler for lunch. I used to remember way back when I was in college (97) there was a Sizzler located at Centrepoint...ah the memories. But I digress, on to the food pictures...

Salad for starters

Thick creamy mushroom soup

Crispy cheesy buttery bread

Grilled pork chop with baked potato (mine)

Grilled chicken with pork sausage (Tracy's)

Note: Calvin had a half rack of ribs. Pork of course.

Once again the food was outstanding. Loads of variety at the salad bar (including bacon bits!) and they had a couple of choices of soup too. The mushroom soup that I had was creamy, not like the watered down stuff you would find at our local Pizza Hut. In fact I would say it was a wee bit too creamy but it just goes to show they don't skimp on ingredients over here.

As for the main courses, all of them got our collective thumbs up. Who wouldn't give the thumbs up to well marinated succulent meat which was grilled to perfection? Darn, somebody should bring back the Sizzler franchise to Malaysia!

Of course such good food doesn't come cheap. Expect to pay around THB300 - 400 for the mains we had (steaks are priced on par with The Ship or Victoria Station). The salad bar and soups are basically 'free' (buffet style) but you'll have to order a main course. In my opinion it's pretty much worth the price.

Once we had filled our tummies we did a final round of scouting. This time around I scored myself a nice die cast car model (1:18 scale Camaro Concept a.k.a Bumblebee) for half the price it was selling in Malaysia! Sweet deal indeed!

Satisfied with our shopping session in MBK, we headed back to Siam BTS and proceeded to Siam Square. Despite it's mall-sounding name it's basically a congregation of small sois (lanes) filled with shops and restaurants. Another place, another shopping spree. And the lady really had a good time, leaving us two guys desperately trying to massage life back into our tired muscles and gulping down bottles of drinks (I love their green tea) to stave off dehydration. I can't imagine how it would be like if I brought my girlfriend (in the future) along, we guys would probably collapse.

Classy? You bet!

After a whirlwind tour of Siam Square our muscles (us guys) practically gave out and we headed to Siam Paragon nearby to rest. We settled for McCafe (which is basically Macdonalds done cafe style, more classy I guess) and slumped gratefully into our seats. The whole place was practically taken over by students and they were all studying. In a noisy cafe. They must really be used to it. Still I managed to catch a glimpse of some pretty Thai girls and let me tell you this, some of them can practically be models. Girl watching, good for the soul. Yes, (discrete) girl watching, not girl ogling with mouth open wide and drool flowing out. =D

Siam Paragon is basically an upscale shopping mall so no shopping spree here. Not enough THB see? We did think of having dinner here at MK Steamboat (Coca's competitor) but a look at the prices convinced us that we should just head back to the hotel for dinner.

Various salads from the buffet table

The hotel was kind enough to upgrade our set dinner vouchers (ala carte) to a full buffet. Dinner was pretty good, consisting of a mixture of Western and Thai favourites and a separate grill section. Nothing too special, but good enough.

After dinner the couple decided that yesterday's jaunt to Suan Lum Night Bazaar was not enough so they went off there again. Me? I decided on another massage session and slept early. Yes I was really, really tired. I wonder where do girls acquire so much energy?

Day 2 comes to an end...day 3 begins...

Bangkok Trip - Day 1 (April 28th 2008)

2008-05-02T22:08:00.036+08:00

Since I didn't start my post with a catchy title, how about I paste some lyrics instead?

One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster

The bars are temples but the pearls ain't free

You'll find a god in every golden cloister

And if you're lucky then the god's a she

I can feel an angel sliding up to me

If you are a fan of Murray Head you would recognise the lyrics as being the chorus to his famous "One Night In Bangkok". Well I didn't spend one night in Bangkok, instead I spent three nights. I didn't go alone, I had Tracy and Calvin (yes they are married) as company. So how did the first day go?

The interior of KLIA LCCT

Waiting for the plane

It was my first time stepping foot in LCCT and also my first flight with Air Asia. Thankfully Air Asia didn't disappoint and the flight left on time. The new Airbus was pretty comfy with acceptable legroom. The flight to Bangkok took 2 hours and we arrived around 12 p.m. local time (Thailand is one hour behind our time see).

Yes I even had time to take a snooze...
(picture courtesy of Tracy)

The interior of Suvarnabhumi Airport's arrival area

On the way to the hotel via the expressway
The famous Colonze 4 is on the left

Welcome to Woraburi Sukhumvit!

The view from my room, not exactly stunning...lol!

The room ain't too shabby indeed

Having arrived at the hotel early, we had to wait until my room was ready at 2. The original plan was to head on down towards the Grand Palace and Wat Pho (home of the largest reclining Buddha in Asia) but the weather was hot. Very hot. Faced with the prospect of walking in such weather, we decided to skip the visit and headed for the nearest mall in sight, which was conveniently on our way to the Ploen Chit BTS station!

So our first meal in Bangkok consisted of a very delicious Samurai Burger. Since I never had a pork burger before, well...I could be biased. Still it got the thumbs up from my traveling companions so I guess it can't be that bad.

Posing in front of J.W. Marriott
(picture courtesy of Tracy)

I'm lovin' it...especially when I'm starving

It's McThai here

Oh yeah!

Having satisfied our appetites we decided to head towards the Ratchadapisek area. Since there was a Ratchadapisek MRT station we assumed that would land us right in the middle of the area. We also assumed that Robinsons would be in that area (yes we were trying to shelter in air conditioned places, preferably malls). You do know what they say about making assumptions right?

It's actually pronounced as Bangsa (in Bahasa Malaysia)

After exiting Ratchadapisek station we were given directions to go 'straight straight'. After close to 30 minutes of walking straight with no Robinsons in sight we decided to ask for directions again. And again we were told to go straight. We ended up at Sutthisan station which was exactly one station before Ratchadapisek. Now by this time we were hot and tired and we decided to ask an international school student who happened by. He said "Erm...well...Robinsons is at Thailand Cultural Centre station". Which was like 2 stations before Ratchadapisek. At least we got some exercise out of the whole fiasco.

Since we were already at Sutthisan we decided to ask the ticketing counter for directions both to Poseidon Entertainment Complex and to Suan Lum Night Bazaar. Poseidon was conveniently located nearby this station (walking distance, around 5 mins) so I journeyed there for a two hour massage session (which ended around 1 hour and 40 minutes actually) while the married couple went scouting around the area.

By the time everybody was done it was close to 7 p.m. so we headed over to Lumphini station and exited right at the entrance to Suan Lum. No more getting lost...phew!

The entrance to the bazaar

A view of a very small section of Suan Lum

Interesting fountain in the heart of Suan Lum

A close up

Seriously, Suan Lum Night Bazaar is huge. We were unprepared for the sheer size of it. Imagine the SS2 Chowyang pasar malam (night market) multiplied by a factor of 3 or 4. Yes it's that big. So we gritted our teeth and steeled our leg muscles and began.

After three hours of shopping we finally called it quits for the day. Yes, us guys couldn't take it anymore but I'm pretty sure that the lady could probably go on for another three more hours...LOL! Anyway I did manage to get some souvenirs (nice keychains) and comfy pair of sandals. Also our bargaining skills probably went up a notch or two too. Hunger pangs set in and we headed back for our hotel to get a little rest before heading out for supper.

Aunty dishing out some great food

Old school Sprite bottle

Condiments...the chili flakes pack a punch!

The restaurant's resident sleepy doggy

Phad thai with pork

Flat rice noodles with pork

Beef noodle soup

We actually stumbled upon this restaurant on the way to the BTS station earlier in the day. Luckily we decided to return here for supper because this place serves good (and authentic) Thai food at pretty reasonable prices. We will definitely be returning here again during our vacation (and we did).

Our appetites sated we journeyed further down the road and arrived at the infamous Nana Entertainment Plaza. Now I'm not as brave as Kennysia so no pictures. Just imagine a whole area filled with bars all staffed with almost naked girls and you'll get the picture. After doing a scouting round we decided to get some drinks at Rainbow 4 (which is supposedly one of the best go-gos here). Conclusion? Yes, majority of the girls were hot but they were just standing there swaying around. Yeap...don't expect hot stripping action or anything similar (nudity is supposedly illegal). And the Coke costs THB130 (RM13 approx). Well I suppose it's a somewhat surreal experience being surrounded by babes while sipping a drink.

After an hour or so there we decided to leave (it was getting late) and thus, day one of our vacation came to an end.

The story continues...

Bangkok here I come!

2008-04-26T23:21:00.003+08:00

The journey begins...28th April 2008...stay tuned for more updates! =D

Oh yeah...leaving on a jet plane (Airasia) babeh!

FISH ATTAX!

2008-04-15T22:53:00.012+08:00

It was a fine Sunday afternoon when me and Wei Siong journeyed over to Midvalley to catch the latest kung fu epic featuring both Jet Li & Jackie Chan (GASP!). Although the reviews on the Internet were mostly positive, in my opinion the movie would have been better if it was longer. The movie's saving grace were the fight scenes and the female leads...'nuff said.

Having been intrigued by Nicole's review of the latest thing to hit Malaysia, we decided to give the Midvalley outlet a try. Behold...Kenko Reflexology & Fish Spa!

Basically in a fish spa treatment, these little fishes (commonly known as Doctor Fish) will remove dead skin from your feet, leaving them feeling smooth and refreshed. Interestingly this treatment was originally intended as a relief for psoriasis patients but is now open to everyone.

The spa treatment costs RM38 for 30 minutes. After paying at the counter and getting the tag (as seen above) you proceed to a foot washing area (with loofah scrubbing brush) to cleanse your feet. Washing your feet is compulsory. You don't want to kill any cute fishies with your deadly-smelling feet now would you? =P Lockers are also provided in this area, no charge.

After grabbing a towel, swipe your tag at the entry point, find yourself a nice cozy spot and well...dip in! At first the sensation was extremely ticklish but after a while you'll get used to it. The tank has a mixture of big and small fish and the water is pleasantly warm. You tend to feel the big fish nibbles more so if you are overly ticklish, look for a tank with predominantly small fishes.

Would I return? Definately. But I would like to try out the outlet at Pavillion. The outlet at Midvalley seems a bit cramped especially when there are many customers. The Midvalley outlet also lacks VIP rooms where one can soak one's entire body in! Whoa...now that would be an experience worth trying. The picture below sums up my Kenko experience...also check out Frank's review (with video) here!

Having done the spa, we headed for Summer Steamboat at Sunway Mentari to fill our stomachs. Since I've already reviewed this place before I'll just post more pictars! =D

The price list...yeah non-stop eating action babeh!

Steamy...

Curry chicken

Grilled...

A new addition to the menu...mantis prawns!

Cold...

It was dark when we left

House cleaning attax!

2008-04-14T13:48:00.003+08:00

For fun...oh yeah!

Shower?!!

Mopping?!!

Pics were taken during Andrew's (new) house cleaning session dated 12th April 2008. Now his house is so shiny. OH YEAH!

Key Hiong vs. Ho Choong Tuck!

2008-04-13T15:32:00.013+08:00

Two famous dim sum places. Two dim sum breakfasts two days in a row. Who will be the winner?

Contestant no.1 - Ho Choong Tuck

The spread

The lor mai kai was tasty!

Andrew sez "Not bad not bad at all!"

Will Ho Choong Tuck triumph?

Contestant no.2 - Key Hiong

The spread

The moist interior of the wu kok

Tempted?

So is the dim sum at Key Hiong worth crashing into a dustbin for?

Ho Choong Tuck:

- Plenty of varieties. Pretty good taste wise.
- Passable har kau (prawn dumpling) but nothing to shout about.
- RM2.60 per plate but I'm guessing that some types of dim sum are more expensive.

Key Hiong:

- Variety wise they probably have slightly more than Ho Choong Tuck. Taste is pretty good too.
- Har kau is very poor.
- RM2.80 per plate regardless of dim sum type.

So who is the winner? I would say it's pretty much a draw in terms of taste. Key Hiong loses out in terms of their har kau but then their paus are really good. I didn't get the chance to try out the paus at Ho Choong Tuck though.

Still haven't found a place that serves great har kau (those classy Chinese restaurants don't count). The search continues...

Kampung chicken @ Kar Heong

2008-04-01T20:29:00.011+08:00

Free range chicken, more commonly known as kampung chicken in Malaysia is a delicacy to most white meat lovers here. The reason? Their flesh tends to be more springy and succulent compared to their farm bred brethren. Must be all the exercise they are getting!

Anyway Kar Heong at SS14 Subang Jaya is a pretty well known restaurant which specialises in kampung chicken. Having heard good things about this place from my colleagues, I decided to pay them a visit one fine evening for dinner.

Ze chicken awaits!

Can't go without a drink now can I?

Ipoh hor fun (flat rice noodles)

The star of the show, the kampung chicken!

Prawn wantans

One crunchy prawn indeed!

The menu for the night is as follows: Ipoh hor fun with kampung chicken (drumstick) @ RM6.50, 10 prawn wantans (medium serving) @ RM6 and not forgetting the herbal drink @ RM1.30. Not too expensive considering the size of the dishes.

The noodles were smooth and glided down the throat. The soup was slurping-ly delicious too, so much so that I pretty much emptied the bowl. The kampung chicken was great, the texture and the taste of the meat was spot on. No mistaking this one for a farm bred chicken indeed. As for the prawn wantans, each mouthful was crunchy and juicy. Fresh prawns indeed, although don't expect huge sized ones.

Other stuff on the menu included char siew (BBQ pork) and siew yoke (roasted pork). Actually I wanted to order the siew yoke but they ran out! Definately something to try on my next visit.

I would say that Kar Heong pretty much deserves the great reviews it's been getting. In fact this place might even give the vaunted Soo Kee a challenge (although Soo Kee doesn't serve kampung chicken). Two thumbs up for Kar Heong! =D

Direction wise Kar Heong is located before Yu Kee (the famous bak kut teh place) on the same street. You can't miss it really. Enjoy!

Yak Yak Yakitori!!!

2008-03-23T13:04:00.011+08:00

Yakitori literally means grilled bird (chicken) but in reality it's not restricted to just one type of meat. Intrigued by KY's rave review of a yakitori buffet at Crystal Crown hotel, Wei Siong and me journeyed there one night to indulge.

Bottoms up!

Crunchy veggie sticks as appetizers!

So it's RM38++ for all you can eat yakitori from a menu. And it comes with a free beer or juice. Options on the menu range from the ever-present chicken, beef and vegetables to more exotic stuff like garlic wrapped in (chicken) skin and chicken cartilage. Yeah you heard that right, chicken cartilage. =D

Items of note:
crunchy cartilage (second row, left) &
tender special beef meatball (third row, middle)

Items of note:
pungent garlic wrapped in chicken skin (first row, right) &
crunchy salted gingko nuts (second row, middle)

Potato wrapped in beef. Juicy and satisfying. Also took the longest to arrive.

Conclusion? Great! The meat options, especially the beef ones were hearty and tender. As for the more exotic options I would say that the chicken cartilage would make a great snack dish as it's salty and crunchy while people who love pungent garlic (not me) would drool over the garlic wrapped in skin. Vegetables were fresh and there were no signs of overcooking. Thumbs up!

A couple of gripes though. First the length of time it took for the dishes to reach the table. Serving speed slowed down drastically as the restaurant filled up until a point where it took 15 minutes for a dish to reach our table. My guess is that their grilling area wasn't made to cater to a buffet crowd and glancing at the open kitchen area confirmed my suspicions. Their grill was simply too small! It's probably because this promotion is a not a permanent feature.

Serving speed also suffered when the restaurant started filling up. Refills of water and such took a long time. Insufficient staff probably?

Also, some of the beef dishes came with a wee bit too much pepper. But hey as long as they didn't drown the meat in pepper sauce I'm happy.

I notice that I've not been giving ratings for my past couple of reviews. I figure that sometimes it's difficult to put a number to the experience. So from now on I'm going to either recommend it heartily or ask you peeps to stay away. For this particular yakitori buffet I'm going to say...go for it!

Oh yes, according to KY's review the promotion is due to end on the 15th of April but when I was there they already amended it to 1st of April. Hurry! Hurry! =D

This...is...HGL!

2008-03-22T02:16:00.003+08:00

Sexy no?
Yes this is my current character in Hellgate: London, a cause of many late weekend nights...

Key Hiong. A revisit.

2008-03-20T11:28:00.015+08:00

Nothing better than dim sum on a holiday morning don't you think? With that in mind, a revisit to Key Hiong at Taman Megah was on the cards. Off we go!

Dawn breaks, stomachs rumble

The source of salvation for dim sum hunger is in sight!

One always starts and ends with tea

The obligatory siew mai...

Har kau (prawn dumplings) and...

The rest of the gang! Don't they look tasty? =P~

Don't forget the salad prawns!

Fishball solo shot

Fishball (juicy) internal shot

Sang yoke (fresh meat) pau

Ahhhh...fresh meat!

The dim sum was still as good as before. Alas this also meant that their har kau (prawn dumpling) was still...not-so-good. One thing that I did not try in my earlier visit(s) was their pau. I'm glad I took the chance to order some sang yoke paus this time around because they were great. Fluffy great. Packed with tender (fatty) juicy meat great. You get the idea. =P

Also it seems that prices have gone up to RM2.80 a plate for the dim sum. If my memory serves me correctly it was only RM2.60 per plate back in 2007. I could be wrong though. Anyway the price is still within the average price for PJ or I daresay slightly cheaper? Can't be expecting RM1.80 a plate here now can we?

Come for the dim sum, grab some paus but stay away from the har kau. And to sign off here's something special!

Cute right? Spotted at the side of the Megah Badminton Hall!
Yes I know it's an apology message of some sort

To deal or not to deal, that is the question.

2008-03-02T12:17:00.017+08:00

Yeah I know. I've been slacking off from updating my blog. I know I know the last entry was dated December 31st 2007, and it's already March 2008.

But still, it's early March eh? Today's just the 2nd! =P

Enough excuses already, on to the post. Have you peeps heard of a TV game show called "Deal or No Deal"? This game show which originated in the Netherlands is popular round the world and has spawned many international versions in various (diverse) countries ranging from Armenia to Zimbabwe.

And yes, Malaysia does have it's own edition too. Presenting...Deal or No Deal Malaysia!

Picture courtesy of NTV7

I've been a fan of the show ever since I first saw it on NTV7 months ago. How is the game played? Well to quote Wikipedia:

Deal or No Deal involves a contestant, a host/presenter, a banker, a group of female models (in the American, Malaysian and New Zealand version) or other contestants (in the original version), and a number of briefcases (or boxes), each containing a different (and initially unknown) value. The game begins with the contestant picking a case which he or she believes will have the highest value. During the rest of the game, the contestant selects the rest of the cases one at a time for rejection, the value of each case being revealed after it is selected. Each time after a specified number of cases have been opened, the banker offers the contestant a certain amount of money. If the contestant accepts one of these offers, the game ends and the player wins the offered amount; if the contestant refuses all the offers made, they eventually end up with the money from the first case.

What Wikipedia neglects to mention that in our local (Malaysian) edition there is an extra stage before one can actually play the game. Initially there will be six contestants and only the first who answers two correct questions will be able to proceed. Also the player would need to answer one final question before he/she can take home the prize money. Failing to answer the question would result in only acquiring 20% of the winnings.

So what does a fan do when a call for contestants is announced? A fan joins the audition of course! One fine Sunday (24th Feb to be exact), Wei Siong and me went over to Ikano Power Center to participate in the audition session.

Check it out! Official entry form yo! Three pages long man!

The entry form actually was erm...complicated. Not the usual name, address, IC number shebang that you would have expected. So I thought that was it...but no...this was just the first stage!

You mean I actually have to go up on stage?!!

But first let's take a mugshot...

As Luck would have it, due to the overwhelming amount of people, I (and Wei Siong) attended an interview instead of doing the whole show and dance on stage. I felt that this was much more preferable for me as I was able to interact with the interviewer smoothly. If I was on stage I would probably have froze from stage fright.

So...why should we choose you as a contestant?

Tell me more about the Transformers you are going to buy if you win RM100k?

I enjoyed the audition (interview) and I've been keeping my fingers crossed since then that I'll be selected. First time on a Malaysian TV game show woot! And of course the prize money is always welcome! LOL!

Four of the Deal or No Deal briefcase beauties!

The mini Deal or No Deal game...my favourite model Jane is holding case no.3

So...here's to appearing on TV and grabbing the top prize! I'm looking forward to answering the question..."Deal, or No Deal?"

Unfortunately even RM100k is insufficient to purchase this monster...LOL!

Cheap crab. A revisit.

2007-12-31T19:17:00.000+08:00

Remember the old review I did on cheap crabs at Yat Yeh Hing? My parents and me were pondering what to have for dinner when suddenly the thought struck us. Crabs! So off we went to Yat Yeh Hing.

And yes, the meat crabs were still priced at RM18 per KG.

Fried 'choy tam'

Fried rice, portion for 2

The main dish. 2 KGs of (steamed) crab!

Notice the delicious flesh?

Crab innards. A delicacy for some.

If you noticed, the order this time around is almost the same as the previous one. However, the veggies seemed to have decreased in size (but not in price). The fried rice on the other hand has improved tremendously (no more burnt rice) earning thumbs up all around.

As we got a not-so-fresh crab during our last visit, we decided to prevent a similar occurrence by ordering steamed crabs this time. The restaurant can't simply 'slip in' a not-so-fresh crab by 'accident' into a steamed crab dish as it would be immediately detected. So all we got were 2 KGs of fresh steamed meat crabs, which adds up to 4 and a half crabs. And it was great! The steamed egg white plus rice wine sauce did not mask the crab's flavour, but enhanced it. Truly we enjoyed this dish the most.

Only scraps were left...

Our experience this time around proved to be more enjoyable than the last visit. The score this time around? 8/10! I would recommend the steamed crab over other cooking styles though. But at RM18 per KG you can definitely afford to indulge yourselves and try all kinds of cooking styles.

So this is to be the last post of 2007. It has been a good year. But as always I hope 2008 will be better. Better in every way for all of us. Here's to a wonderful year ahead! =D

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
MANY BLESSINGS FOR 2008!

Charred!

2007-12-29T11:51:00.000+08:00

Despite what the title might say, this is not a post about something getting burnt. Rather it's about char siew (grilled pork). Not to be confused with siew yoke (roasted pork) see?

The very best char siew I have tasted (imho) was Meng Kee at Jalan Alor, introduced by Ah Hing (KL is his territory after all). Back then we would have to travel all the way down to Kuala Lumpur just to have some melt-in-the-mouth sweetly glazed grilled pork. Which wasn't very often actually seeing that we don't go down to KL unless there's something really important to do (like visiting Low Yat Plaza).

Meng Kee has since opened a branch at Shah Alam, which is much closer than KL but still not close enough. Luckily while browsing through KY's blog last week I came across a restaurant which reportedly serves good char siew. Good enough to compete with Meng Kee it seems. And it's located nearby!

I waltzed by today morning around 11-ish to check out the place. And for such an early hour it was already half full with hungry customers. Good sign no?

The obligatory entrance shot. They open from 8 a.m.

Yes that's a large amount of char siew hanging there...the entire left section!

Does it look good?

They do serve noodles too. Shown here is Hakka mee.

The verdict on the char siew? As you can see from the picture, it is sinfully good. I can safely say this place matches Meng Kee's standards. No need for us PJ-ians to travel all the way to KL or Shah Alam to have great char siew anymore! My taste buds might not be that refined but the char siew here seems to be less sweet compared to Meng Kee's version. Better or worse? It's your choice.

I'm no expert on Hakka Mee but I enjoyed it too. Think of it as dry noodles (konlo, like wantan mee) without any dark soya sauce. Noodles were pretty crunchy and the shredded pork topping blended in well.

Since the char siew was sooooooooo good, I packed back a portion for two back home. And I called for the bill. Which came to RM19.80. Which might or might not be pricey for you folks, depending on how you see it. The way I see it...

3 x portions of char siew = RM15 (RM5 per portion)
1 x Hakka Mee = RM3.50
1 x drink (leong cha) = RM1.30

So how big is a portion for two?

Big?

Yes this big!

I personally felt that they could have given more for RM5, but then again it's subjective. My tummy was filled though so I can't say they skimped on the portions. Final verdict? 9/10. It is that good. Don't believe me? Go try it for yourself. =P

This restaurant is actually located at Sunway Mas Commercial Centre. There's a map in KY's post. Also the restaurant is near My Kitchen. Pretty easy to locate but be forewarned, the area consists of mostly one way streets.

Oh and by the way, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May 2008 bring us all more reasons to celebrate!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR

Tag! I'm it! Ver.2

2007-11-27T09:29:00.000+08:00

So I was tagged by Tracy. And being such a good sport, I have to reply. Here goes!

Me, Myself & I

1. I like to move it move it. Meaning I like physical activities like gym, paintball and badminton. And the occasional running session/contest/event.
2. I like to eat. But then again it's pretty clear if you notice all the food reviews on this blog.
3. Traveling is one thing I wish I could do more often (not including company trips). But two things prohibit me from traveling too much, namely time and money.
4. I love gadgets, be it new mobile phones, PC parts, PDAs, gaming consoles...geek stuff!
5. I like to read. 'Nuff said!

My stuff! Which I am proud of!

1. A whole tonne of Warhammer, Warhammer 40K related books. Stacked very high.
2. Gaming rig which would probably be upgraded next year.
3. Gaming consoles which are actually last gen. Yes, no money for PS3 or XBOX360 unfortunately.
4. My old O2 Xphone which has served me faithfully for 5 years and it's replacement Nokia 5610.
5. My Transformers! And other assorted figures. Yes I'm a big baby at heart...lol...

In tradition of the blog tagging...I hereby tag...Ah Hing, Ah Siong and Andy!

P.S: Sorry for the lack of stuff pictars!

The Difference Between Guys & Girls: Part 1

2007-11-14T14:48:00.000+08:00

Question of the day: Will you accept an ugly guy/girl to be your boy/girlfriend?

Guy's answer: No! She must have cute face/nice body/big breasts/long legs/etc.

Girl's answer: Refer to transcript below! Note that names have been changed to protect the innocent.

*Transcript begins*

Me: Would you accept an ugly guy as your bf (boyfriend)?
Hamster: My *name withheld which is her boyfriend* is not ugly
Hamster: That is my answer
Me: But he's not ugly either
Me: (You are the) second girl to beat around the bush today
Me: Say he's like 250KGs with a volcano face and long fangs
Me: You mau? (Translation: Would you accept?)
Hamster: 250KG or pound?
Me: KG
Hamster: Will go out with him *smiley emoticon :)*
Me: But will you accept him as a bf?
Hamster: I will if he is nice!
Me: *ROFL emoticon*
Me: But he's UGLY
Me: Like an orc
Me: You've seen an orc before right?
Me: (in) LOTR
Hamster: There's no such person lah
Hamster: Cilaka (Translation: Darn) always live in imagination (imaginary world) *slapping emoticon* wake up!
Me: How do you define ugly?
Hamster: *unrelated sentence to topic regarding dowry*
Me: *unrelated reply to sentence regarding dowry*
Me: *ROFL emoticon*
Me: How do you define ugly?
Hamster: Ugly ah? *Name withheld - hated co-worker apparently*
Hamster: I think it's the attitude and not the person!
Hamster: *LOL emoticon*
Me: Looks lah looks
Hamster: *Name withheld* is ugly
Hamster: *smiley emoticon :D*
Hamster: Geddit?
Me: So if a guy looking like *name withheld* tries to kau (court) you
Me: Would you marry him? (meaning would you even accept him as your bf?)
Hamster: NO!
Hamster: So if someone like Ugly Betty (famous sitcom) likes you...will you go date her?
Me: No
Me: Easy
Me: But to get the NO answer from you took firetruck-ing long time
Me: Had to go through so many bushes
Me: This is the point I want to make see?
Hamster: *LOL emoticon*
Hamster: YES!
Me: When you ask a guy, he says NO
Me: When you ask a girl, she'll say stuff like you did
Hamster: Girls is girls

*Transcript ends*

Another girl I spoke to also had pretty much the same thing to say. Girls will be girls.

I rest my case.