Witch's Venting Burrow

It's finally here!

2009-08-03T15:30:00.003+08:00

Did I get your attention yet? I'm sorry for the shameless announcement and title, but my new blog is READY! I finally have my own domain. *applause* After a long wait and countless of hours of setting it up, it is now ready for its debut. *LOL* Thanks to Ken for being my mentor, too. I'm such a noob at scripting. *sigh* Anyway, www.iamthewitch.com is now the new address to go. Please update your bookmarks and links dear friends. :)

Tag of 21 people

2009-07-31T17:33:00.001+08:00

Thanks to Foong, I got myself tagged! Now I'm passing the tag around to 21 friends/bloggers. Have a great weekend everybody! :))

1. Doryfish
2. Szu Ann
3. Bamboo
4. King Yu
5. Chin Yang
6. Yin Hoon
7. Motormouth
8. Foongpc
9. Ken
10. CK Lam
11. BigBoysOven
12. Nicolekiss
13. Mei Fong
14. MisSmall
15. Zewt
16. Chiaoju
17. Ahyen
18. Stan Lee
19. Sloppychic
20. Jessica
21. Corinne

1. How did you meet 7 ?
I haven't met him yet. :)

2. What would you do if you and 15 had never met?
Well, it turns out that we have never met until now and I'm still alive. :)

3. What would you do if 20 and 1 dated?
Oh dear, both of them are girls and I can't imagine them being together. :P

4. Have you seen 17 cried?
Nope.

5. Would 4 and 16 make a good couple?
LOL one of them is already married!

6. Do you think 11 is attractive?
Erm, in a way. :P *don't be mad!*

7. What is 2's favourite colour?
Hmm, I would think maybe black? It really depends on the application of the colour.

8. When was the last time you talked to 9?
I talk to him almost daily, in IM. :)

9. What language does 8 speaks?
I think he speaks Cantonese, Malay and definitely English. Not sure about the rest.

10. Who is 13 going out with?
Not anyone that I know of at the moment.

11. Would you ever date 17 ?
Haha sure! And be the centre of attention. *LOL* Yen imagine us in the LRT. :P

12. Where does 18 live?
Ipoh, Perak.

13. What is the best thing about 4?
He's very honest, straightforward and responsible. :)

14. What would you like to tell 10 right now?
Thank you very much for showing me the world of blogging and introducing me to great people. :)

15. What is the best thing about 20?
Her photography skills.

16. Have you ever kiss 2?
Wow, no!

17. What is the best memory you have of 5?
That we were once in the chatty group of Peanut Butter Sandwich. :) Dear butter!

18. When's the next time you're going to see 1?
Not sure, but most probably her wedding! :))

19. How is 7 different from 6 ?
One of them is a guy and the other a girl. Obviously.

20. Is 2 pretty?
Yes, in many ways.

21. What was your 1st impression of 15?
Erm, I haven't met him yet, but from the blog, I can tell that he's smart and writes intelligent yet funny posts. And I find that I agree with most of the things he writes too!

22. How did you meet 3?
Back in primary school, more than a zillion years ago.

23. Is 5 your best friend?
This is a tough one. Can I have more than one best friend? :)

24. Do you hate 12?
No of course not.

25. Have you seen 18 in the last month?
Yes, I just saw him last month during Chiaoju's convo.

26. When was the last time you saw 16?
During her convo and the Fatty Crabs outing.

27. Have you been to 5's house?
Which one? His hometown house, yes, but his new house, no.

28. When's the next time you'll see 10?
I have no idea. Maybe in one of the food reviews in the future.

29. Are you close to 11?
Not really, but he's a really nice guy.

30. Have you been to the movies with 4?
Never.

31. Have you gotten in trouble with 8?
Not for now. Not ever, I hope. :)

32. Would you give 19 a hug?
Without a doubt.

33. When have you lied to 3?
I wouldn't disclose it here even if I lied to him before. :P

34. Is 1 good at socializing?
Depending on the crowd. ;)

35. Do you know a secret about 8?
LOL, I guess I will know his 'secret' identity pretty soon. ;)

36. Describe the relationship between 12 and 18?
None that I can think of.

37. What's the best thing about your friendship with 9?
He brings me to yummy food reviews! :)

Le Bouchon - Dining with a French flair

2009-07-27T08:33:00.000+08:00

Thanks to BigBoysOven, I was given the opportunity to do my maiden food review in KL. It was truly an eye-opening experience, to share the dining room with fellow bloggers as well as the press community.

Arriving at Le Bouchon's quaint restaurant required some level of alertness since it's located at the corner with a not-so-distinct signboard. Even Xin missed this place though she passed by. I was lucky because a friend had once shown me this place before when we happened to drive around so I knew where to look at.

Le Bouchon at Changkat Bukit Bintang

Perfectly set table

Stepping into the restaurant, one would be welcomed by the rustic surroundings and furniture. The theme of interior decoration was of wood and there was even a fireplace! Not to mention the large array of wines that was placed in the reception area. However, walk further in and you'd be charmed by the dining area which was tastefully decorated with homely French interior, giving you the much needed coziness away from the hustle and bustle of city life. The numerous Tatler's awards hanging on the wall gave reassurance that this restaurant was a-cut-above the rest.

Fancy a table for two?

Fireplace

Wine array

Tatler awards

The dining tables were perfectly set with complete cutlery and meticulous arrangement. The small bouquet of white roses (my favourite) in the middle of the table gave it a personal touch.

White roses centrepiece

Impeccable table setting

After snapping pictures around the restaurant to our hearts' content, we finally settled down and waited for our meals to be served. We began our culinary voyage with these small and delicate cookies that whetted our appetite. No information was given on what those cookies were made of, but there was a hint of foie gras somewhere in between the layers, I'm sure. :) The rolls of bread were fresh from the oven, slightly firm on the outside but warm and fluffy inside. If I wasn't saving my tummy for the next courses, I would have taken two of these rolls.

Warm bread

Done with the tidbits, we were served with the first appetizer for the night, Terrine de Foie Gras maison (Homemade Goose liver terrine served with fig jam and grilled sour dough bread) RM50++. We were told to eat the foie gras with the freshly toasted bread but I took my first bite just on the foie gras alone. It was sublime! The texture was soft and smooth, unlike that of peanut butter, and it literally melted in my mouth. It was very flavourful without being overpowering. Add that onto the bread and an equilibrium was reached. Rich, smooth and flavourful foie gras with warm, toasted bread. Do not be fooled by the modest size of the foie gras for after a few more mouthfuls, the richness began to kick in. I highly recommend this dish to be shared by two persons, not to mention the intimacy that it would bring by scooping foie gras onto each other's bread. :)

Foie gras terrine

Sour dough toasted bread

Foie gras terrine and fig jam on sour dough bread

Second on our list was the Soupe de moules noires au safran et légumes aromatiques (Black mussels and saffron soup with aromatique vegetables) RM20++, something lighter that provided a much needed contrast compared to the aforementioned rich starter. The soup was creamy but never thick, and each mouthful was packed with the goodness of fresh mussels. It definitely cleared our palate and left us in anticipation for the next course.

Black mussels soup

Creamy but light

Continuing on our culinary adventure, the Filet de morue rôti au sirop d’érable et piment, asperges vertes à l’ail, beurre blanc de betterave (Roasted cod fillet with chilli-maple glaze, green asparagus with garlic, beetroot beurre blanc sauce) RM62++ was served. I was blown away by the absolute thickness of the piece of fish, not to mention its amazingly smooth and flaky texture. Kudos to Chef Jerome for bringing out the best of this fish and for doing it the justice that it very much deserved. The meat was firm without being hard, and every bite was just a pure delight. The beetroot-induced sauce gave it the unique pink colour and provided the refreshing twist to the otherwise ordinary taste of fish. Simply genius.

Cod fish fillet

Fresh cod fish

White wine to be paired with white meat

Taking a break from our 5-course dinner, I took a stroll outside of the restaurant to note that there was an area for al fresco dining, if you wish. As expected, more wooden furniture that complemented the French homely theme of the restaurant. There was even a mini fish pond for your viewing pleasure.

Al fresco dining

Fish pond

Following our cod fish was the Pavé de bœuf rôti , sauce Bordelaise, ratatouille et pommes sautées aux lardons de canard fumé (Roasted beef tenderloin, Bordeaux wine sauce, ratatouille vegetables and sautéed potatoes with smoked duck bacon) RM98++ . This, my friends, is the epitome of steaks. The pinnacle of culinary art. The steak was done to perfection, never a minute over- or under-cooked. Best of all, no signs of bloody streaks at all (sigh of relief), and yet never tough. Each bite of the exquisite steak was savoury and left us desiring for more. At this point of time, after going through 3 courses and already feeling full, desiring for more of the steak spoke millions for the quality of it. Worry not about the waistline nor the cholesterol meter for that matter, for one never gets to eat steak as good as this very much in a lifetime. Make no mistake, I declare this the best steak that I have ever had.

Best steak (Credit: www.foodpoi.com)

Steak done perfectly

Finally, to end our beyond-satisfying meal, was the Crème brulée aux framboises (Crème brulée with raspberries) RM18++. Creme brulee on its own, is nothing to boast about, but the ingenious Chef Jerome combined it with raspberries hidden at the bottom that would tantalize your taste buds with its strong soury tang. The top layer was sweet and hard, followed by the soft and smooth custard and ending with the sour raspberries. The effect was a decadent 3-in-1 experience when one eats the 3 layers together. Definitely a twist compared to the more commonly found sweet desserts that might leave you feeling too full for good.

Creme brulee

Soft and smooth creme brulee

Some camwhoring ensued:

witch and Chef Jerome

Chef Jerome presenting the new menu

witch with Sidney from BigBoysOven

Clockwise from top left: Louis, witch, Xin, Ken and Jessica

This was an additional dish of lamb and asparagus that were presented for photography purposes. Carre d’agneau à la croute de fromage de chèvre, courgettes à la fleur de thym, pommes dauphines épicées, sauce au Cabernet sauvignon (Rack of lamb with goat’s cheese crust, roasted zucchinis with thyme flowers, spiced dauphine potatoes, Cabernet Sauvignon sauce) RM82++. My, even the name is a mouthful itself.

Rack of lamb

Asparagus

Once again, may I present to you:

Le Bouchon's New Menu by Chef Jerome Carrouee

APPETIZERS
Terrine de Foie Gras maison
Homemade Goose liver terrine served with fig jam and grilled sour dough bread
RM50++
*****

SOUP
Soupe de moules noires au safran et légumes aromatiques
Black mussels and saffron soup with aromatique vegetables
RM20++
*****

SEAFOOD
Filet de morue rôti au sirop d’érable et piment, asperges vertes à l’ail, beurre blanc de betterave
Roasted cod fillet with chilli-maple glaze, green asparagus with garlic, beetroot beurre blanc sauce
RM62++
*****

MEAT
Pavé de bœuf rôti , sauce Bordelaise, ratatouille et pommes sautées aux lardons de canard fumé
Roasted beef tenderloin, Bordeaux wine sauce, ratatouille vegetables and sautéed potatoes with smoked duck bacon
RM98++
*****

DESSERT
Crème brulée aux framboises
Crème brulée with raspberries
RM18++

Chef Jerome has really brought my senses to a brand new degree, setting outrageous standards which would be hard to beat by other restaurants. It was indeed a great honour to have tasted the works of art from the chef himself, while opening my eyes to what French cuisine had to over. This is definitely a must-visit for food critics and food lovers alike. A well-deserved 8-time Tatler award-winning restaurant.

Le Bouchon Restaurant
14 & 16, Changkat Bukit Bintang,
50200 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
Tel. no.: 03-2142 7633

Fatty meaty crabs

2009-07-24T12:30:00.003+08:00

*Updated with prices

Time for seafood! Actually, just crabs! :) Due to the rare occasion that the four of us sickawans got together in KL, we decided to go celebrate with big fat juicy crabs at none other than Fatty Crab in Taman Megah. It was my first time being there and the notion that I wasn't aware of this restaurant's existence was showered with "What do you mean you don't know Fatty Crab???" coupled with gasps and stares from the rest of the gang. *LOL* Seriously, I was never aware of this place before that, and I don't know why is that a big deal. :P

Anyway, after much searching and rounding the neighbourhood of Taman Megah, we found the place located in the smack of the pasar malam (night market) on that Sunday. Bad idea. Traffic was congested and finding a parking was no easy task. All in the name of fatty crabs. We reached there about at about 6-ish and thank goodness we had a table without having to wait. The first thing that attracted me upon reaching was this very strong aroma, even from outside of the shop. No, it's not the smell of crabs at all. It's the smell of chicken wings! Seriously the scent stretched all the way out and opened up my appetite in no time. *LOL*

Without further ado, we ordered chicken wings! In fact, we ordered the wings TWICE, because the first plate was polished off in no time and everyone was craving for more. :) The chicken wings (RM2/pc) had to be eaten while they're hot to experience the slightly crispy layer of skin on the outside and the warm and smooth meat inside. Albeit oily, the taste was just gorgeous, especially on empty stomachs like ours.

Chicken wings (RM2/pc)

We also ordered the signature fried rice (RM4 for serving of 1 person), which was apparently also well-known in this restaurant. The fried rice was fried with traces of carrot bits, green peas and eggs. Though there was not much ingredient or meat used, the rice was still delicious due to the 'wok hei' and sufficient seasoning used. Good for filling the tummy while waiting for the crabs to arrive. :)

Signature fried rice (serving for 2 persons)

Fatty Crab used the unique way of eating crabs with toasted home made bread (RM0.30/pc), instead of the common mantou, which I found very refreshing and creative. I mean, this is how normal families would eat their leftover curry with at home, but no one actually popularized this idea in restaurants. The bread, with the toasted texture, was slightly crispy without being hard. Almost perfect combination with the sauce of the crabs. But beware, once they're left too long, the bread became cold and tough.

Toasted bread to go with crabby sauce (RM0.30/pc)

And the star of the evening finally arrived, crabs done spicy and sour style (RM28/600gm). The crabs were huge and meaty, unlike the ones I had before in Penang's seafood restaurants. Most of the crabs I had back in Penang had big shells but were almost hollow internally with little meat to spare. These, however, really stood up to their name. Fatty and meaty. :) It was the first time I didn't mind the trouble of peeling crabs because I knew they had so much to offer. The sauce was sour and slightly spicy, and it went extremely well with the toasted bread. The crab meat, though meaty, was not exactly fresh from the sea. It didn't have that texture of springy and flaky meat, however, it was definitely much better than the average crabs elsewhere. The sauce was absorbed everywhere inside the crabs, making every bite a juicy and yummy one.

Spicy and sour fatty crabs (RM28/600gm)

The gluttons we were ordered satays as well! We really have extra big stomachs, you'd be surprised. The satays (RM0.70/pc) were nothing to shout about though. I guess once I had the satay at Teluk Kumbar Good Friend Seafood restaurant, other satays would be difficult to claim the no. 1 spot in my heart. :) These satays were not bad, to give it due credit. Just that the meat wasn't really marinated well and you have to eat it with the satay sauce or risk it being bland.

Chicken Satay

Satay sauce

Overall, the meal at Fatty Crab was indeed a satisfying one. The bill came to about RM27/person for everything I mentioned including sugar cane drinks. Oh sugar cane drink is a must! Cooling down your palate after eating the hot and spicy crabs.

Fatty Crab Restaurant in Taman Megah

When we left the restaurant, not surprisingly, there was already a long queue in front. We counted our blessings for reaching there early and avoiding the crowd. So everyone, do go there early if you don't want to wait in line.

Fatty Crab Restaurant
No 2, Jln SS 24/13 ,
Taman Megah,
47301 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor.
Tel. no.: 603-78045758

Convocation at Nikko Hotel

2009-07-22T08:33:00.001+08:00

This post is dedicated to my very good friend and fellow sickawan Chiaoju. She is now a proud graduate of an MBA. *applause* Stan, Yen and I went to her convocation in Nikko Hotel, since her university doesn't really have a campus in Malaysia (I think). Before that, why is it that my stupid university is taking so very long to approve my thesis! She started before me and finished earlier than me. *sigh* Anyway, we bought her a bouquet of white roses, coincidentally my favourites too! :) The hotel lobby was filled with parents and friends bearing flowers on that day, waiting for the graduation ceremony to be over.

Nikko Hotel lobby

Such high ceiling

On and off, I was texting Chiaoju to make sure we're at the right place at the right time. :)

Dimly lit chandelier

While waiting, of course I didn't miss out the chance to camwhore, this time with the University of South Australia poster! There was plenty of food lined up outside the ballroom, but they were reserved until the ceremony was over, of course. So we could only wait and smell. *LOL*

My shirt matched with the poster!

Finally, the doors of the grand ballroom opened and people starting streaming out in a line. I quickly ran over to the side with my camera ready. Tadaa! Managed to capture a shot of her while walking. :) Congrats dear!

Chiaoju emerging from the ballroom

After another while of waiting, she joined us again for more camwhoring. :)

Chiaoju and witch

with the sickawans

The area outside the ballroom was starting to get really hot and stuffy with people crowding around and walking to and fro the buffet spread. We noticed that the ballroom was now empty and it was so very cooling! Off we went inside to enjoy the comfort of silence and aircon. :)

A happy Chiaoju

The grand ballroom

Chiaoju and Stan

Chiaoju and yen

Oh I love this picture! It's like Do-Re-Me-Fa! In terms of height, I mean. I think I'm actually taller than Stan, but somehow, I wasn't really standing straight so I looked short in the picture. *LOL*

The sickawans

Before we left, Chiaoju's sis asked us to pose with our legs up, and be comfortable in it. However, we were so rigid and serious that we looked funny with the pose! Gosh we probably have turned too old for candid poses like this.

Playing the fool

We proceeded to have super yummy crabs after that, which I will blog about later on. And once again, congratulations to you, dear Chiaoju! We're very proud of you. *hugs*

Noodles with a twist

2009-07-18T21:21:00.000+08:00

A few weeks ago, my parents came down to KL to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. It was an extremely tiring event since it involved a group of almost 30 persons! Managing 30 persons including kids in one house was indeed a challenging task. Fortunately, the party was not held in MY place. It would have cramped the hell out of them! *LOL* After the long night, we woke up late the next day and decided to have brunch at the nearby Kota Damansara. We settled for fish head noodles as something lighter and appetizing.

The place was not hard to find at all, especially with its prominent bright green signboard. At about 11am on a Sunday morning, it was almost full house. Coupled with our very big gang, one can be sure that we occupied almost a third of the restaurant. *LOL*

Full house on Sunday morning

For starters, I ordered the chicken floss toast that looked tempting on the menu. And I love chicken floss! Can't say the same about mayonnaise though. Probably I should have asked them to reduce/remove the mayonnaise. Anyway, the bread was crispy and warm from the toast, and the amount of chicken floss was generous! The bread was cut into 9 equal pieces, but I only managed to eat 3 before feeling it was too rich for me. I think this is a dish definitely for sharing!

Chicken floss toast (RM4.50)

Then came the star of the day, the fish head noodles! I actually ordered the fried fish meat noodles, but then I got a bowl with fish head. No matter, I guess they mixed up or WE mixed up, judging from our very big group. Without further ado, I tasted the soup first and it was indeed very flavourful with a hint of milk. Truth be told, this was the first time I tasted fish head noodles with milk in the soup! Back in Penang, the fish head noodles soup was the clear and sour type, but this was an eye-opening experience for me. Surprisingly, I could really adapt to the taste of the soup. Even my brother said that it was the first ever time he actually finished drinking the soup from a bowl of noodles! You know what they said about the soup being laden with MSG/ajinomoto, but my brother slurped away. And so did I. :) Of course, for those who are milk intolerant, the waiters would be glad to comply with your wish and exclude milk from the soup.

Fish head noodles (RM8.50)

The soup had a distinctive tomato taste without being overpowering or too sour, and a milky base to boot. The fried fish meat was still slightly crispy on the outside but soft inside. No worries on eating 'nightmare' fish, which is the type of fish I define as not fresh and with meat texture like mashed potatoes! *Eww* The fish here still had a distinctive fish texture and went well with the soup.

Fish meat

I guess from my previous posts, you would have known that I'm a big fan of Milo. :) And thankfully, this place also serves Milo Dinosaur! *grin* As expected, the milo drink was further topped up with loads of Milo powder on top, giving it a strong and aromatic chocolatey taste. However, I prefer the Milo Dinosaur from Village Park though because the Milo was of ice-blended type while the Milo here was just normal iced Milo.

Milo dinosaur

My brother who's a fan of anything ice-blended ordered the Mango shaved ice dessert. There were pieces of watermelon and mango surrounding the ice mountain in the middle which was drenched with mango syrup. In my opinion, this dessert was still lacking in terms of mango taste, because the syrup was more like sugar water with yellow colouring, instead of real mango puree. When the ice melted, it became pretty plain in terms of taste. Probably not something I would order again.

Mango dessert

For those who are budget-constrained, Home Made Fish Head Noodles also serves economically priced set meals. These meals are priced from RM7.80 onwards with a complimentary drink and dessert included.

Set meals

One more thing I like about Home Made Fish Head Noodle is the cleanliness and the environment of the restaurant. Most of the fish head noodle places that I went to were usually hawker stalls or coffee shops, and you'd most likely end up drenched in sweat at the end of the spicy and sour meal! Over here, you get to eat comfortably in an air-conditioned environment, albeit with a premium price! I guess you get what you pay for. No harm trying it out, I'd say. :)

Home Made Fish Head Noodles in Kota Damansara

Address:
No 8-1 & 10-1, Jln PJU 5/5,
Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara,
47810 PJ, Selangor.
Tel. no.: 03-61417978

Teh Tarik Place in IOI Mall

2009-07-14T17:54:00.000+08:00

Here's a food post from somewhere really nearby my new humble abode. Located just about 10 minutes away in IOI Mall, Teh Tarik Place recently opened its doors to the public. Thank goodness for the posters they put up around the mall and outside the parking lot, or else I wouldn't have known of its existence. Couple that with the fact that it's located on the isolated 3rd floor in the new wing, where there are not many shops in operation.

I was there on a Saturday morning around 11am looking for a place to have breakfast before my facial appointment. I was already going to stick with the common choice of Old Town Kopitiam before Saucer insisted that we should try something new. I was reluctant since I was out of time and we didn't know where Teh Tarik Place was! Sure enough, it took us a good 10 minutes to locate the shop.

Teh Tarik Place

Not surprisingly, it was still empty, but I liked that it was spacious and clean. We placed our orders with the friendly waiter and our drinks came shortly. I ordered iced Nescafe (I know I should have ordered teh tarik in Teh Tarik Place :P) because I was really sleepy! Nothing special with the drinks though, not especially 'kau' and not too bad.

Nescafe and Coffee

As for food, I couldn't resist ordering the nasi lemak when I saw it on the menu. :P I wanted to compare it with the Village Park nasi lemak that I tried previously. For starters, the fried chicken in Teh Tarik Place is not as aromatic as Village Park. Thankfully, the skin was still crispy and the meat tender. Not too bad, probably lack. The sambal used here is also slightly on the hot side. The kind waiter also gave me one whole BOWL of sambal when I requested for more. *LOL*

Nasi lemak with fried chicken

They even give you one whole boiled egg for the nasi lemak! The one in Village Park only gave half an egg. Well, it might not be a big deal, but worth mentioning. :P

with a whole egg

Saucer ordered 'mee goreng' or fried mee, Malay style. It was very fragrant albeit slightly oily. Nothing too extraordinary about it I suppose.

Fried mee/ Mee goreng

Kopitiam places such as Teh Tarik Place and Old Town are mushrooming all over KL in an alarming rate! Only last week, I realized that it was easier to locate an Old Town Kopitiam than a McDonald's! *gasp* Is it really such a good business? All I know is, with so many branches and so many different franchises, these kopitiams better buck up their quality to avoid losing out.

Teh Tarik Place entrance

Teh Tarik Place
IOI Mall, Jalan Puchong,
Bandar Puchong Jaya,
47100 Puchong, Selangor
Tel. no: 03-7726 6380

Kuala Lumpur Bird Park

2009-07-10T17:42:00.003+08:00

One of the first places that I visited after moving down to KL was the KL Bird Park, thanks to my good friend Nick. :) Seeing that I'm such a newbie and all, he kindly offered to bring me around on the first weekend I was in KL to the famed Bird Park. We reached there around noon, under the extremely hot sun. *gasp*

Bird park, Kuala Lumpur

First things first, tickets! There is a booth at the entrance for ticket purchase, and it costs RM15 for adults with MyKad and RM42 otherwise. So make sure you bring your MyKad along!

Ticket booth

At the entrance of the park, there was this mini man-made waterfall with the banner Taman Burung Kuala Lumpur which literally translates to Bird Park of Kuala Lumpur.

Entrance pond

The funny thing to note is that the first animal I saw once I entered was not a bird! It was 2 monkeys! *LOL*

Monkeys greeting us?

The bird park is nicely maintained with plenty of water falls and ponds surrounding the area. I saw ponds here and there that I sometimes wondered whether I was walking in circles. *LOL*

Mini waterfall

Pond

Shortly, I spotted the first bird! It was a blue peacock! However, it didn't seem to have any feathers left on its tail. :( Poor thing!

Peacock with no tail feathers

The good thing about the bird park here is that they employ an open concept. Most of the birds are left freely flying about around the visitors, except some of the more dangerous/uncontrollable ones in cages. That is why I had the chance to walk up close to the peacock to take a picture with it!

witch with peacock

The wise owl looked like it's sleeping. Or does it always look like this? :P

The wise owl

One of the more popular birds on display in the park was the hornbill. I saw one almost in every 10 minutes. Some were inside a cage, some were flying about freely.

Hornbill

I really feel like touching its very big and hard beak.

Another hornbill

I wonder what bird this was. It looked like hornbill but the beak shape was a little different. And it's got blue colour around its eyes!

*Updated: The bird below is a Toucan. Thanks for the info ;)

Toucan

There were plenty of feeding areas set up for the birds. By feeding area, I meant a dead tree with papayas stuck on its branches. The picture that I took still looked fine, but wait til after the birds attacked the papayas. It's a gross scene you do not want to see.

Feeding on papayas

Sound of water was always distinct surrounding the park, giving it a peace and calm ambience. Very soon I was greeted with another waterfall.

Mini waterfall

While admiring the waterfall, Nick ran up to me and gave me a signal to follow him. He looked really anxious so I ran up to his direction, only to be met with the most prized view! It was a beautiful peacock with its feathers spreaded open! And it was walking about on its own freely, not afraid of people at all. Look at how nice the feathers looked (while they're still around). :)

Beautiful peacock with open feathers

It sort of knew that we were taking pictures of it and started to parade around, even showing us its butt! *LOL* The feathers were so long, I think once spreaded out, they're almost as tall as me. Almost. :P

Back view

Moving on to more other weird birds that I never saw before. Such as this one behind the fence. It looked like an ostrich to me.

Curious bird

Then, there was a whole pond dedicated to the flamingo! Lots and lots of flamingo either swimming or eating by the pond. It was a serene view indeed, just watching them.

Flamingo pond

Flamingos standing

Swimming flamingo

witch at Flamingo pond

I also spotted a pelican, I think! It should be a pelican, cause I googled it! *LOL* It looked like it's constantly shrugging.

Pelican?

Oh, then there was this bright blue bird that I couldn't miss from afar. I have no idea what bird this is, with red eyes to boot.

Bright blue bird (BBB!) *LOL*

When you're tired walking, there is also a gift shop and cafe in the park for you to rest your feet or quench your thirst. The cafe is situated uphill, so you actually get a good view of the park from above. Not to mention the plentiful chirps and sounds of birds accompanying you too. :)

Gift shop and cafe

See what I told you? Another pond! This was filled with plenty of fishes! And the water was surprisingly clear.

Fish pond

Lots of fish

For those who like souvenirs, there is actually an area in the bird park for visitors to take pictures with the birds, trained by the trainers, of course. You pay a fee of RM10 or something, and the trainers will place birds all around you and take a portrait of you! Just like what the family below was doing. :) It's the perfect souvenir to take home.

Picture with birds

Backdrop for picture

Spotted some white parrots in the picture-taking area. They're all so tame and quiet!

White parrots

Just next to the picture-taking area, was this cage with a white macaw. There was even a board outside the cage that stated "My name is Coco"! Haha, so cute! Too bad it didn't speak at all. But I loved its feathers! They're so smooth and dense and shiny. And white! I love white!

My favourite bird - Coco!

Nearby, there was another bird in the cage too. And this bird was more cheeky. Nick tried to tease the bird by placing his finger on the cage and the bird actually tried to claw him! Gosh! And I managed to capture it (accidentally). So fierce, this bird.

Naughty bird trying to claw my friend's finger

Soon, I saw this banner saying World of Parrots, but strangely, they put statues of hornbills on the banner, instead of parrots! That's weird...

World of parrots

I saw another white parrot inside the World of Parrots, but this time it's not caged.

Deep in thought

Another one in red and green.

Red and green parrot

One could also opt to purchase bird feed to feed the parrots, which proved to be quite a popular idea among the visitors.

Parrot-feeding

What is this bird called? It has such a long beak. *Updated: It's a stork! Thanks to khengsiong. :)

Long beak bird - Stork

Since our visit was around noon time, we were lucky to be able to catch the bird show! There's one at 12.30pm and another at 3.30pm daily.

Bird show!

This was the amphitheatre where the bird show was held. Since seats were first come first served basis, one needs to be early to save a seat. It was fully packed on the session that I went.

Amphitheatre

I managed to capture some of the more interesting performances from the show. This was the parrot/macaw (I could never differentiate) cycling.

Cycling parrot

Then this was another parrot saying "Hello" to us.

Speaking macaw

And here is another parrot performing somersaults! So smart. :)

Doing somersaults

Just outside the amphitheatre, I spotted another waterfall yet again. This time, there was even a rainbow underneath! Thankfully, my camera was able to capture that.

Waterfall with rainbow

witch at the falls

The waterfalls front view

The visit to the bird park was really something new to me. Who'd know that in the midst of the hustle and bustle of KL city, there would be a place that exudes calm and tranquility, just a stone's throw away? Definitely a nice place for family outings during weekends. Or for photographers to take pictures. :) And surely for tourists!

Opening hours: Daily from 9am to 6pm

First visit to Tony Roma's

2009-07-07T17:50:00.001+08:00

I have heard of Tony Roma's for ages now but didn't get a chance to try it out when I was in Penang. Therefore, after I moved to KL, one of the first places that I told Saucer I wanted to go was Tony Roma's. And sure enough, we paid this restaurant a visit within my first month here. :) Lucky for us, the restaurant is located pretty nearby in Sunway Pyramid, just about 10 minutes drive away. We were served by this friendly waiter called Raja, who's overly enthusiastic and funny!

I didn't order the drinks from the menu, but asked for warm water as usual. You'd be happy to know that the warm water was free of charge. :)

Warm water

We took some time browsing through their menu, paying attention to the ribs section as those are apparently their specialty. Too bad they don't have pork ribs here though, because I'm a big fan of those! Look at Saucer taking his own sweet time to browse the menu.

Saucer browsing menu

Shortly after placing our orders, we were surprised by a complimentary serving of piping hot bread and butter to our table! I thought that was a really sweet touch because I was already starving at that time. The butter was not very salty and it had traces of herbs and garlic in it. So when you place a big chunk of it inside the hot bread, it will melt nicely. :)

Complimentary bread and butter

Some more camwhoring while waiting for food. :)

witch and Saucer

Saucer ordered the Rib combo dinners, where you could choose some other dishes to go with 2 ribs (instead of the original 4 ribs). That way, you get to try out more dishes in one order. We chose the Sirloin steak to go with the pair of ribs. The ribs were pretty flavourful and delicious, but rather small in size. Besides, the bones were so huge and meat was limited that eating one rib didn't seem to have any impact to the stomach. *LOL* As for the sirloin steak, it was pretty disappointing for us because it was a little hard. Even though it was medium rare, the cooked part was still pretty tough, and the middle part was bloody. *shivers* Definitely not what I would order again.

One thing I should mention though, is that whenever you order ribs, you're given 4 different bottles of sauces, specifically for ribs only. Our waiter Raja, described all the different sauces in a very funny way and even drew a smiley on our plate using the sauces. He was so jovial that one couldn't help but smile when he's talking. :)

Ribs and sirloin steak

I didn't know what to order and settled for one of their signature dishes, the Roma burger! It was a burger with cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato, red onions and pickles. Of course, I opted to remove the onions and pickles. Smelly stuffs those things. :P

Roma burger

The beef patty was reasonably thick and there were TWO slices of cheese on the patty, literally melting off each other. Yum! The portion of this burger was definitely pretty huge and would be enough for 2 persons as a light meal.

Roma burger cross section

Finally, it was time to end our meal on a sweet note! :) I am always open for desserts, so much so that many new-found friends have already discovered that I have a sweet tooth. *LOL* We ordered the Chocolate Brownie Sundae: warm tender chewy fudge brownie topped with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream and crushed Oreo® cookies. Are you salivating yet? The combination of warm brownie and cold ice-cream never fail to tantalize me. The brownie was soft and didn't crumble easily, which was perfect. The vanilla ice-cream was not overly sweet, hence combining it with the chocolate brownie was the perfect balance.

Ice-cream + brownie dessert

Can't have enough...!

My vist to Tony Roma's was overall pleasant, probably with the good service of the waiter too. The food was above average, except for the sirloin steak. However, it would have been better if the ribs were or meatier or larger cuts.

At the end of the meal, we were given this receipt that would give us RM10 off our next visit if we went to their website to do a simple survey. Once you complete the survey, you're given a unique code, which you're supposed to write on the receipt. So this receipt will work as a RM10 voucher for your next visit! Isn't that great? The best part is, this RM10 voucher can be used in conjunction with other discounts as well, such as the 10% discount offered by Direct Access Credit Card. That means 10% discount + RM10 off! What a good deal, I'll say. :)

Tony Roma's
LL 1.43, Lower Level One,
Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall,
No 3, Jalan PJS 11/15, Bandar Sunway,
46150 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor Darul Eshan
Phone: 603-74921188
Fax: 603-74929188

Tourguiding in Penang - Day 2

2009-07-02T17:55:00.000+08:00

After the somewhat tiring first day in Penang, we started the next day a little later. Waking up next to the sea was liberating, especially when the sound of waves seemed so near. All of us took a walk at the beach which was just within walking distance from the hotel. Of course, being me, my walk lasted barely 15 minutes under the hot sun. *LOL*

Our first destination for the day was to hunt for durians in Balik Pulau. Along the way, we had breakfast at some coffee shop in Teluk Bahang, since we were too hungry. Fate had it though, that when we almost finished our breakfast, a man on a motorbike stopped by the same coffee shop, bearing lots and lots of durians in his basket! All of us were staring at his basket when he parked his bike to have his breakfast. In the end, Joanne who couldn't withhold her cravings went to the man who was eating his hokkien mee and asked him whether he would sell us some of his durians. He was shocked! But who would say no to business right? :) So instead of hunting for durian stalls in Balik Pulau, we ended up eating durians at the coffee shop instead.

Our next agenda was to visit the popular Penang Tropical Fruit Farm, also located in Balik Pulau. I had never been there too, but thanks to Stan's directions, I managed to find the fruit farm easily. We even saw some durian trees along the winding road in Balik Pulau. The visitors from Beijing who had never seen durian trees before asked me to stop by for them to take pictures. They were really excited to see durians hanging on trees, and kept asking what would happen if someone was standing below when the durian dropped!

Durian trees at Balik Pulau

We reached the Fruit Farm soon and the view above was really green. This part of Penang is still not developed, probably the only part, and is a favourite of people who are looking for nature.

View from Fruit Farm

When we reached the fruit farm, we were greeted by the owner there and he mentioned to us about this fruit buffet and tour available. It was priced at RM25/person, and it included a tour to the fruit farm further up the hill, unlimited fruits in the buffet and a glass of fruit juice. All of us agreed to take the package and a van came to pick us up in no time.

The ride was just a short one uphill, probably a 2 minutes drive. We saw this pond filled with lotus leaves upon disembarking from the van.

Lotus leaves on pond

The fruit farm was filled with all kinds of tropical fruit trees local to the country including banana, coconut, pineapple, papaya, ciku, etc. It was the first time I saw a ciku tree. *LOL* There was also a kind guide who was around to show us different types of trees and gave us a brief description.

Fruit farm

Another part of fruit farm

After the tour, it was time to feast! Nearby the farm was this cafeteria for the fruit buffet. We were greeted by the display of fruits at the entrance.

Tropical fruits of Malaysia

We were among the first group to reach there, hence the place looked empty. Perhaps it's always empty since it's quite out of the way from the city centre.

Fruit cafe

There was a counter where you could order your complimentary glass of juice, and you could choose a combination of more than 1 type of fruit. Bear in mind that the juice here was purely from the fruit itself, no addition of water at all. So you can have all the goodness of fruits in a glass, very concentrated. Also, if you would like to have an additional glass, it was sold at RM4/glass.

Fruit juice counter

For those who want to be closer to the environment, there were also a couple of tables set outdoors.

Outdoor seats

The fruits for the buffet were all nicely washed and cut for convenience. All we needed to do was to pick up a plate and fork and munch away! :) I ate so much fruits that day than what I ate in a week! *LOL* Eating fruits could really make you full, so much so that I had a hard time finishing my juice.

Fruit buffet

More fruits

Most of the fruits here were of the sweet type, such as water melon, honeydew, jackfruit and papaya. Being a person with a sweet tooth, I gladly took many portions of those. :) Eating can be an enjoyable and guilt-free activity. *LOL*

Fruit variety

Halfway eating our fruits, one of the workers/owners (not sure) came over and brought a jug of blended green papaya juice. "Green" means young papayas that still have green skin. Apparently, this type of papaya is not sold in the market because they're too young. But the juice, however, has plenty of vitamins and it's surprisingly sweet! All of us were given a sample of the drink free of charge. :)

Complimentary green papaya juice

Finally, before we left, I went to claim my free juice, where I chose the combination of green papaya and pineapple. The juice was so concentrated but absolutely delicious! There was no addition of water or sugar, just purely fruit juice. If I weren't so full after the fruits, I would have ordered an extra glass. ;)

Green Papaya + Pineapple juice

Some pictures were taken before we left:

The Zhao couple

witch and Zhao Jie

Overall, I really enjoyed the trip to the fruit farm. I didn't know the existence of the fruit farm buffet until that time. I would highly recommend this place to be included in the must-visit list for any tourist to Penang.

Farm Address:
Batu 18, Jalan Teluk Bahang, Penang
Tel: 604-8665168
Fax: 604-8665170

Tourguiding in Penang - Day 1

2009-06-24T13:54:00.001+08:00

A couple of weeks before I moved to KL, my good friends from Beijing Joanne, Zhao Jie and Zhao Lei came to Penang for a short trip. They were actually in KL for a business visit, but extended their trip to have a few days of leisure. Since they were interested in visiting Penang, I offered to be their tourguide for the weekend, with pleasure. :)

The group of them with my mom arrived Penang at about 11am, and our first destination was none other than the famous Kek Lok Si temple, which is well-known even to the foreigners. Luckily for us, the temple was not that crowded that day, and we found a nice parking place easily too. The first view that greeted us at the bottom of the hill was this pond full of tortoises. I believe tortoises are considered as spiritual animals symbolizing longevity in the Chinese community, and I see them almost in all Chinese temples around. There were also peddlers around selling vegetables to the visitors to feed the tortoises.

Tortoises in the pond

The hike up to the temple was filled with stalls on the left and right, selling goods from Penang and clothings. Surprisingly, the clothes and dresses found here were pretty cheap! You'd think that they would charge a higher price since it's a tourist destination, but I actually managed to get a dress here for RM12! Can you believe that? I'll show you the dress later on. ;) After about 15 minutes and lots of perspiration, we reached the main temple of Kek Lok Si and started praying. As usual, places like this are always filled with smoke, due to the burning of joss sticks.

Main temple at Kek Lok Si

Joanne who's a very spiritual person, told us that she wanted to spend more time praying in the temple. In the mean time, I brought Zhao Jie and Zhao Lei (they're married, by the way) to look around.

Zhao Jie and witch at Kek Lok Si

I asked them whether they're interested in climbing up the pagoda and they were enthusiastic about it. So the three of us ventured to the pagoda entrance and paid RM2/person for the entrance free.

Our targeted destination

The pagoda is synonymous to the Kek Lok Si fame and also a signature place of Penang. One look at this pagoda and everyone would know that you've been to Penang before. :)

Pagoda at Kek Lok Si

At the bottom of the pagoda, we took some pictures of the view surrounding the temple.

View of Kek Lok Si

Then we started climbing up the pseudo-spiral staircase up the pagoda. There were 9 storeys in all, and we reached the top greeted by breath-taking view of the Penang island. One side of the view was facing the mountains, while another side of it was facing the city.

View from top of pagoda - mountain view

I prefer the city view in this case, since you're able to have a clear view all the way to Georgetown.

View from top of pagoda - city view

Zhao Jie and witch

Outside pagoda

After we descended from the pagoda, I showed them what the LX3 wide angle could do. *LOL* They tried to take a full-length picture of the pagoda using their digital camera but failed. Hence, my LX3 came to the rescue and we managed to take several shots of the pagoda at the entrance.

Zhao Jie and witch at Kek Lok Si pagoda

After the visit to the temple, we had a short late lunch at the laksa stalls in Air Itam. I didn't take any pictures there as I was already too hungry from all the climbing and walking! Plus I didn't have breakfast before that! *gasp* Anyway, we left to the hotel to check in later on, which was Copthorne Orchid in Tanjung Bungah. I chose that hotel because it was reasonably priced (~RM170/night) and it was next to the sea! This is the view from our room, complete with the sound of waves. :) The beach was just within walking distance from our hotel.

View from hotel room

When night fell, we had a quick dinner at one of the nearby food court in Gurney. A quick dinner because we had to send one friend to the airport to catch a flight. Guess where we went after sending her to the airport? QEII or Queen Elizabeth II! It's this waterfront club/pub/restaurant just by the seaside next to the pier. Very romantic and very nice view. If you're lucky, it would be windy and cooling too. It was my first time there and I'd always wanted to visit this place since I heard a lot of good comments from my friends. Since none of my close friends were 'clubbing kakis', I never had a chance to go there, until now. We found the perfect parking spot just in front of the entrance! Parking fee was RM5 flat.

Church Street Pier

The signature QEII logo, brightly lit and distinct at night.

QEII by the sea

You're about to see the RM12 dress that I bought from the stalls at Kek Lok Si! I bought it because it had unique batik design that was local to Malaysian culture. Also, my friend Zhao Jie was attracted to the design and bought an exact one in a different colour.

witch at QEII entrance

Look at our identical dresses. :) Which colour is nicer?

witch and Zhao Jie

We also took a picture with her husband Zhao Lei, who was a really shy but friendly guy.

witch, Zhao Lei and Zhao Jie at QEII entrance

We found a table just by the sea, and the breeze was extremely strong that night so it was pretty comforting. We chose to sit outside in the open air just for this reason. Plus, the smell of smoke was also minimal with the cooling wind. I was happily enjoying the ambience and chatting with Zhao Jie when suddenly, rain started to fall. :( No wonder the wind was so strong prior to that. A storm was brewing indeed. We had to move indoors, which was much louder and hence deterred us from chatting. However, I would say the overall environment of QEII was much better than most other clubs in Penang that I visited before. I would recommend this place (outdoors) if you hate the smell of cigarette smoke and stuffy air in most other indoor clubs. :)

That concludes my first day of tourguiding in Penang. We reached the hotel after midnight and slept like pigs to the next morning! *LOL*

I was awarded!

2009-06-22T08:40:00.003+08:00

Thanks to foongpc, I was given my first ever blog award! :) I was reading his blog as usual, until I stumbled upon this post, and I saw my name there! What a very pleasant surprise. Thank you foong. :) He gave out 6 awards and I was one of the proud recipients of The Uber Amazing Blog Award. According to him:

Uber (synonym to Super) Amazing Blog Award is a blog award given to sites who:
inspires you

makes you smile and laugh
or maybe gives amazing information
a great read
has an amazing design
and any other reasons you can think of that makes them uber amazing!

I'm so extremely touched! :)

The Uber Amazing Blog Award

The rules of this award are:

Put the logo on your blog or post.
Nominate at least 5 blogs (can be more) that for you are Uber Amazing!
Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog.
Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.

It is now my turn to pass this award to the 5 blogs that are uber amazing! :) *Drum rolls*

I really enjoy reading your blog! Keep up the good work! :)

Pretty cup cakes

2009-06-18T17:31:00.000+08:00

It was my second week at work, and we were all at this training, trying to learn how to operate a freakingly expensive machine. Halfway through the training, during tea break, one of my colleagues brought in a box of cakes. At first, I thought it was the breakfast provided for the training, but then I found out that she made those cupcakes herself! And guess what? They were all customized with names and faces! So adorably cute!!!

Cupcakes galore

To my surprise, even my name was inside, though I didn't even know the birthday girl. *shy* In my defense, I was still a newbie.

Cute cupcake

And mine was pink! Wonderful! We ended up picking our own cupcakes and eating ourselves (literally). *LOL* The cupcake was made from butter so it was rather oily, but it's the thought that counts, isn't it? Happy Birthday girl!

My Farewell Pictures

2009-06-15T13:24:00.002+08:00

Again I've been pretty slow in updating. The truth of the fact is that I'm going through some tough emotional stage currently but I'm slowly recovering from it. I'll be absolutely fine, in case you're worried. :) Anyway, I've made up my mind to kick start my blogger mode after resting for a while, but I need to clear some of the backlogs that I meant to write sooner.

Let me start with my farewell pictures just before I left Penang. I'm so thankful and blessed to have so many friends and colleagues who care about me deeply during my tenure in Penang. I really can't imagine how my life would be without having them around. And for this, I would like to dedicate this post to all of them, who have made a difference in my life. :)

Starting with doryfish, my dear friend, colleague and buddy in office! You know you have left a deep deep print in my heart and I always counted my blessings that at the end of the day, I still had you to turn to. We have gone through so many things together, right from the day we met when I was still an intern. We joined the gym together, the yoga classes, swimming classes as well as our part-time Masters. Having you around gave me the motivation and drive to go through the tough periods just because you understood. :) Thank you. :)

Doryfish and witch

Then there's Suzie, a girl who worked in the same company and who also happened to stay in the same block as mine! Just a lift ride away, to be exact. I had such a great time with you, especially when your other half was away in the US. ;) Remember when we used to go for dinners so often and watched HK TVB series marathon after that? It was really fun! Oh, and I must thank you again for fetching me to the airport so many freaking times that I felt bad for even asking. :( If you need anything from me, I'll be there. :)

witch and Suzie

A group picture with the girls during one of the farewell lunches.

witch, doryfish and Suzie

How could I forget the 2 self-proclaimed 'legends' in my company, Farn Hin and Kum Soon? (FYI, they're the first and fourth guys from the left in the picture below) Both of them indeed provided endless entertainment and jokes during the time I was there, especially when they both thought they're the more good-looking guys in the whole company. *cough*

Colleagues from ex-department

Thank you for the amazing farewell lunch, and by amazing I meant the company not the food. :)

Another shot

And dear Doryfish also organized a farewell dinner for me, at my favourite Italian restaurant, Bella Italia! *grins* Thank you so much my dear! I enjoyed BOTH the food and company that night ;) Allan I hope your back is getting better now. It touched me that you would come all the way from Kulim for me, even with your back condition. ;) But I ended up doing something to make you proud of me! ;)

witch with Bamboo, doryfish and Allan

Ah, the 4 sickawans! *hugs* Too bad Stan wasn't around that time. I have known these people right from my university time onwards, and our bond is still stronger than ever. It's true what they say, the friends that you made during your study years will never be the same with those that you made during your working years. And I'm truly glad I met them. :)

Witch with Chiaoju and Yen :)

Another group of friends from school, way back more than 10 years ago! Bamboo and Hamdan. Let's toast to another 10 years eh? :)

My secondary schoolmates

Not to forget my lunch gang at the company, the people that I met EVERY day for lunch. It's funny how you never get bored of certain people even though you meet them every day, and that's because you found the right clique. I miss you guys very much. :(

My lunch gang

Finally, some pictures from company. :) The girls...

The girls

Members of my team :)

IC design colleagues and witch

And Max! Wah, Max if you're reading this, don't you feel so honoured that I dedicated a whole picture for you? *LOL* The truth is I couldn't find any group pictures with you in it. :P Anyway, I know you won't miss me since every time I called you, it was to log a call and give you a problem to solve. *LOL* But I really wanted to thank you for the great support and help you provided to me all these years. I now know how valuable you are, if you know what I mean. :P

Max and witch

Thank you a million to all of you! You all know where I am now, so never feel shy to call or find me if you happen to be around ok?

Skin deep beauty

2009-06-09T22:52:00.000+08:00

I guess it's not a surprise to learn that men are visual beings, and here, I'm referring to both males and females. Most people will judge someone based on first impression, and first impressions are always visual when you meet someone. Even before you start to speak, an opinion has already formed in your opponent's mind. I know it might seem shallow, but you've got to agree with me that people with good looks usually get better first impressions compared to those who are not as lucky. People who get the extra cup of coffee, or the extra piece of doughnut for free are usually those who are comparably more attractive than most people.

But does this happen when you talk about your life partner? Is skin deep beauty going to get you the extra edge? Many people say that beauty is not only skin deep, that when you love someone, you will see beyond the flaws at the surface because love is supposed to be unconditional. But again, men are visual beings. Can they help it if the girl or guy that they see everyday is someone who's full of warts or fat or with uneven teeth? Those are just examples I can think of at the top of my head, but surely there will be many more cases which will affect how a person looks. Do you think it matters in a relationship if you don't look perfect?

A guy once told me that when you really love someone, you will look past his/her flaws. In fact, he/she might even think of your flaws as cute and adorable, something that is uniquely you. Surprisingly, he could really do what he said. I guess guys like him who are romantic do not appear often these days. Do you think most people are still in a relationship because they still feel the hots for each other even after years of being together? Or is it because they're each other's comfort zones?

Men being visual beings, will definitely get bored of looking at someone after a period of years. What happens then? Will the excitement be gone forever? Or do they go around looking for new beings? Or is it even possible to maintain the sparks forever? Tell me.

My first bowl of Chilly Pan Mee

2009-06-05T12:30:00.000+08:00

It's been exactly one week in my new company. I have just managed to get my new notebook 2 days ago, yippee! I'm finally CONNECTED again! Before I continue, let me just vent! I borrowed Saucer's GPS for a few days, 3 to be exact, to get the directions from my place to work. That stupid map directed me to use THREE different routes for all THREE days! How annoying is that! My intention was to learn only one route and I thought 3 days would be sufficient, who would have known it would give me all different routes. *sigh* The worst thing was, in one of the routes, I was shown to use this highway when I didn't need to pass through highway to work, and I ended up having to pay like RM6.60 for that route! *argh* Anyway, after the third time, it was enough. I used the Google maps and jotted down the directions instead. It turned out to be a very straightforward and easy route to work! *yay*

That aside, I just wanted to write about this 'explosive' experience I went through in Super Kitchen Chilly Pan Mee in Kota Damansara. This happened about a couple of weeks ago, even before I moved to KL. I read about this place in some blogs and decided to give it a try since I didn't know what chilly pan mee was about. The restaurant is located at the very new row of shophouses in the inner Kota Damansara area, with many other restaurants as well.

Super Kitchen Chilly Pan Mee at Kota Damansara

Obviously, on every table there was the unmistakable bowl of chilly flakes in oil. Be very afraid.

Chilly

Look at how RED the chilli flakes were. With the seeds as well! You could just imagine how hot and spicy they could be.

*gasp*

We ordered a glass of Umbra juice (RM2) and two bowls of chilly pan mee. Before the noodles were served, we were given two bowls of complimentary soup with some meatballs inside. Let me tell you this soup was my saviour at the end of my meal. I'll let you know why. ;)

Complimentary bowl of soup with meatballs

After a short wait, we were served our bowls of appetizing chilly pan mee, without the chilly. There was an egg, minced meat, anchovies and some fried shallots with the noodles. I was hungry so I was attracted to the presentation straight away.

Pan mee pre-mixed

The excited me started to pile up the chilli flakes on to the bowl of noodles before even tasting them. I think I ended up putting in 3 or 4 full spoons of chilli, thinking that if it were any less, it wouldn't be able to cover the whole bowl. My, how wrong was I!

Look at how red the bowl of noodles became! At one point, I could even SMELL the spicyness of the chilli. And that's when I knew I made a mistake. The first few bites were acceptable though still fiery hot. But after the third or fourth bite, I started to feel the heat. The spicyness was much more than I could imagine and I started perspiring in no time. Before I even finished half of the bowl, I couldn't stand it anymore. *sigh*

Super hot chilly pan mee

That's when my bowl of soup became my saviour. Well, it saved my noodles at least. To finish up the rest, I dipped the noodles into the soup before eating them. Sure, this wouldn't eliminate the spicyness completely but it reduced the level to something acceptable. At the end of my meal, I could feel the heat in my stomach even. Gosh! Lesson learnt. Never be too ambitious. *LOL*

The price for the noodles was RM5.50 per bowl. Very reasonable, I would say. Anyway, I would definitely go back to try it out again, this time with smaller amount of chilli of course. The noodles had a nice texture without being too thick or hard. I can't comment on the rest of the ingredients because they're all overpowered by the spicyness!

Super Kitchen Chilly Pan Mee
Jalan PJU5/4, Dataran Sunway,
Kota Damansara,
47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Tel no.: 03-6141 7398 , 03-2697 0998

Irenelim is giving away free shirts!

2009-06-01T08:01:00.001+08:00

About a month ago, I started noticing a new commenter on my blog, who went by the nick of Irenelim. She was very consistent in commenting until I couldn't help but visit her webpage one fine day.

Irenelim Fashion

My, was I glad I did it! She has one of the most diverse collection of dresses that I've ever seen! And they're not gaudy or loud, which suit me really well. :)

New collection of dresses

Her vast collection prompted me to continue browsing and browsing, until I chanced upon this magical link... Free shirts and free delivery!

Free shirts and free delivery

How crazy is that? It's definitely one of a kind and I got attracted instantly. If anyone of you is interested, the offer is still valid and it's very easy! You just need to write a blog post about Irenelim Fashion with 2 links to the website and you're done! :) Since I just moved to KL and discarded a lot of my clothes, I could do with a new shirt myself. ;)

I also browsed some of her collections of dresses and found a couple of my personal favourites. ;) I simply love this halter neck sleeveless chiffon dress!

Halter sleeveless chiffon dress

Even though the model in the picture wore it with a pair of jeans, I think it would even be sexier without the jeans but with a pair of black leggings/stockings. But too bad, the red colour is already sold out! Not my luck I guess.

Black empire-waisted dress

There is another dress that I thought looked pretty elegant and classy. And it's empire-waisted! I love empire-waisted dresses! Makes you look younger and cuter without looking like you're trying too hard to do so. :) This dress is simple and yet sexy, perfect for the night out or for the hot date. ;) Black and pink are still available! :))

One thing I noticed and like about Irenelim Fashion is their Return Policy. Very seldom do you have online stores willing to return/refund/exchange your purchases if you find that you do not fancy them after receiving. Most stores only accept exchanges when there was a mistake or the goods are faulty. However, at Irenelim Fashion, their return policy states that:

"At Irenelim Fashion, we want you to be pleased with your purchase. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied, you may exchange, replace, or credit your purchase when it is returned/presented in original and sale-able condition. The returned item must be in its original packaging together with its original tags and accessories."

Isn't that great? It means that after you purchase a certain item and you find that it's not that nice/incorrect size when you try it out, you could return it for an exchange or credit. Don't you think this gives you peace of mind when purchasing online? :)

If you are attracted to the free shirts offer as I was, do check out Irenelim's Fashion and start writing away. Otherwise, if you're not a blogger, her collection of dresses is enough to make you drool! *LOL*

I have moved!

2009-05-30T10:24:00.003+08:00

Hello everybody! Apologize for the rather long period of silence from me. As most of you already know, I was busy moving from Penang to KL. It was an entirely exhausting process and something I would not ever wanna do again. Ever. Or maybe in the next 5 years. *LOL* I took 3 days to pack all the things in my old room and apartment into uncountable number of boxes and bags. My parents and Saucer came to help me load them into TWO cars! It's amazing how one girl can accumulate so many items in the span of 4 years. *phew* I can't imagine how it would be if I didn't sell of my washing machine, TV and TV cabinet. I wouldn't have been able to fit them in at all.

Anyway, we drove from Penang to Kampar first to stay overnight before continuing to KL on the next day. Thankfully, the whole journey was pretty smooth, except for a few idiots crossing my lane without warning and causing me to brake forcefully when I reached KL. The unpacking part was another headache! But I love the new place that I'm staying in. I'll show you the picture in my next post after I upload them ok? :)

Yesterday when Saucer was out working, I had the whole apartment to myself. Since I was bored, I tried to be brave and ventured to the nearest Tesco to do some grocery shopping for dinner. Truth be told, I was pretty nervous driving alone in a foreign area. Armed with the hand-drawn map by Saucer, I started driving and realised that it wasn't that difficult at all. The fact that I went out during working hours was probably helpful as well to avoid traffic congestion.

I bought a lot of stuff from Tesco, but the most significant item was the wok. I wanted to get a good quality stainless steel wok like Dory's but Tesco had very limited choices available. There was only one type of stainless steel wok available and I grabbed the size that I thought would be suitable. It was only RM26! When I got home after that, I started preparing ingredients before cooking.

The wok was washed first and then heated up over the gas stove. When the wok was hot enough, I poured in some olive oil and guess what? *Pop* It was the loudest noise I ever heard! I was so shocked! Then I thought maybe my hand was a bit wet and the water and oil mixed over the hot fire. Fine, I dried my hands and continued cooking. Everything went well for my first dish of stir-fried mushroom chicken. After completing the first task, I carried the wok to the sink to clean it before moving on to my second dish.

After cleaning, I placed the wok over fire again. After a while, I noticed something weird on the base of the wok. I suppose the stainless steel was too thin that under heat, part of the base bent inside! Can you imagine how it looked like? Imagine squeezing an aluminum can. The base was internally bent under the heat hence, it was not flat. That wasn't the worst. After the wok was dry enough, I poured oil into it again. And this time... *POOOOP* It was MUCH louder than the first time I heard. And I actually screamed because I thought the base of the wok exploded. The whole kitchen was filled with smoke. I almost wanted to give up then and there, and then I noticed the wok was still in one piece. It was the heat that caused the bent base to expand OUT this time and back to its original position. It was really scary. And I hated that the smoke filled up the kitchen with droplets of oil and smell everywhere. *sigh*

When Saucer came back, I related the whole incident to him and we agreed that it must have been the thin steel wok. Dory's wok was multi-layered and hence didn't face this situation before. We are going to return the wok later on to Tesco, hopefully they'll allow us to exchange for other items. Really, never trust cheap stuff if it's too cheap to be true. *LOL* The experience gave me a phobia towards stir-frying with wok now. I think for the next few weeks, I'll stick to boiling and steaming. Maybe I should get non-stick pans to avoid the explosion sound. What do you think?

It's my 3rd day here and I welcome everyday with an open heart. New challenges in the form of driving without a GPS (Saucer needs it) proves to be more stressful than it seems. In another 2 days, I'll report to my new company. I'm excited! :)

Things I will miss the most

2009-05-25T14:02:00.001+08:00

Thank you everybody for your warm wishes and good luck comments on my previous post. Most of you have successfully guessed where I'm going, and probably why too. ;) It's a big move on my side, and it's a move I hope I will never regret. This move marks a first on a lot of experience that followed, such as

the first time I had to type a resignation letter,
the first time I had to keep a secret for so long (almost 2 months) before announcing it to my friends,
the first time I had to deal with many sad faces of my colleagues and friends (even though I put up a strong front, deep inside, I am just as sad but why make the situation worse right?),
the first time I had to let strangers into my apartment to view my room, and more strangers to view my furniture before they purchased them,
the first time I had to pack my things into boxes and bags that could fit into 2 cars (that is the part I hate the most - one will be surprised the amount of things that could be kept in 1 small room),
the first time I had so many farewell lunches and dinners in one week,

and many more.

The experience is new and exciting, yet it's scary. It's no surprise that the current economic conditions could be better, and yet I'm taking a risk by not only moving to a new company, but also to a new environment. I still remember the first ever time I stepped foot to work in Penang, I felt so foreign (I still do), mainly because of the language barrier. I knew not one sentence of Mandarin and don't even mention Hokkien. Until now, I still can't converse in Hokkien after almost 4 years here. I could probably survive with my limited Mandarin but still, I don't feel as much as home compared to my hometown where I could speak Cantonese and people would not look at me blankly.

Oh and don't forget the roads and the driving experience in Penang. It's one-of-a-kind! I still remember seeing motorists practically snaking their way through in the narrow roads, and seeing with my own eyes, cars that entered a no-entry junction! What an eye-opening experience it was. But they have all helped to build me into a stronger and braver person. I no longer fear driving in Penang (probably because I've become one of those crazy Penang drivers! LOL). One of the roads that I detest driving the most was this one-lane road just in front of a primary school near Bayan Bay food court. When it is the end of a school day, the road would be side-parked on both sides, making the one-lane road narrower than it already is. When it's also raining, you could see inconsiderate cars stopping in the middle of the road while the parents went down to look for their kids! I don't see why these motorists have to impose on others discomfort just for their own convenience.

That aside, there are also plenty of things that I will miss from this little island and my company...

my lunch gang at the company, especially Doryfish and Bamboo. I don't think I will ever find friends and buddies like you guys in my new job, people that I can be around with and still be myself. You guys have truly played a big big role in my working life. Sometimes, the thought of having you guys for me to vent in the middle of a hectic working day would really brighten up my mood. Thank you so much for always being there (literally - for lunch!), for not being afraid to point out my mistakes and for just being who you are. I will miss you guys very very much!

my quaint and nice apartment with a sea view, goodbye to you. I will never have the privilege to look at the sea whenever I view out my window or my balcony. Not to mention my very reasonable (cheap) rental, which I will have to more than double in my new place.

the cafeteria just downstairs of my apartment. I have been such a frequent and loyal customer that the owner knows me by name. I can just call her in advance directly to order and pick up my food without having to wait.

cheap hawker food in Penang. I have taken you for granted. There will not be delicious char kuey teow or coconut water easily available anymore. Especially coconut water. :(

subsidized lunch at company cafeteria. Where else can you have a plate of rice with 3 dishes at a mere RM1.30?

my journey to the company in less than 10 minutes. If I can achieve the same in my new place, it would be a miracle.

my mechanic, the boss who's on a crutch. You are so very kind. I will always remember how you never said no whenever I asked for a discount. :)

my sickawans - Chiaoju, Yen and Stan. Having you guys around made my weekends in Penang more exciting, and made me a less boring person. :) Hopefully we could still have our gatherings down south. ;)

There are many more things that I will certainly miss from Penang. But I'm looking forward to my new life excitedly. I am scared but I am strong. I will embrace the changes with open arms. And if all else fails, I still have my good friends to fall back on, you know who you are. ;)

Tomorrow will be my last day here. Goodbye dear old Penang. I will miss you.

Just when I...

2009-05-21T08:03:00.000+08:00

.. start to understand more conversations spoken in Hokkien,
.. get used to the Friday after-work traffic jams,
.. am comfortable with conversing in Mandarin,
.. fell in love with the fresh coconut drinks that are vastly available everywhere,
.. become more familiar with the roads around Georgetown,
.. signed up a new facial package with the beauty parlour here,
.. booked a couple of cheap tickets from Penang-Macau,
.. discovered the awesomeness of Penang's fruit farm and buffet,
.. visited the gorgeous seafront pub at QEII,
.. became the regular customer of the cafeteria below my apartment,
.. begin to love the beaches and the Penang sea breeze,
.. rediscover the greatness of Penang laksa and char kuey teow,
.. learnt to eat outside alone,
.. embrace the warmth that is Penang air,

I am saying goodbye to it.

Sushi Tomo at SS2

2009-05-19T08:45:00.000+08:00

Sushi Tomo is this Japanese restaurant located in the heart of SS2, just nearby Wong Kok Char Chan Teng. We passed by this place pretty often due to its strategic location, until one day Saucer decided to give it a try.

The interior of the restaurant was a little on the dim side, hence the poorer quality pictures for this post. One thing we noticed was that the economy really did have effect on some of the mid-range restaurants' patronage. Even though it was a Saturday evening, the place was only probably 30% occupied. Oh well, that just meant more people to serve us!

Interior of Sushi Tomo

I didn't like that they used wooden disposable chopsticks here. With the price that they're charging, I believe the customers deserve something better than chopsticks that are jagged and chapped when they're split into two.

Wasabi and chopsticks

As usual, before ordering we're served hot ocha in this cute little cup.

Hot ocha

Saucer's order was the Unagi rice (probably Unagi Jyu?), that came with a complimentary bowl of miso soup.

Unagi rice with miso soup

The presentation of the rice looked pretty appetizing and attractive, don't you think? But Saucer found the unagi to be below expectations. We just had unagi rice about 1-2 weeks before this and the unagi was a big piece of eel cut into pieces. But the unagi here looked like the toppings of unagi sushi, just placed together on a box of rice. The pieces of unagi were rather thin and not that fresh? At least the sauce was not too bad. I guess you could never go wrong with sweet things. :)

Unagi rice

Anyway, at RM24, the verdict was just so-so. Not something that we would order again.

Unagi rice

As for me, I ordered the Gekikara Ramen ( I hope I remembered correctly), which was ramen in spicy soup with a piece of tempura shrimp on top. Apart from the shrimp, there was almost nothing else inside. Sure, there were some small pieces of pork and some vegetables but that's about it. It was so different from the ramen I had in Nippon Yataimura.

Gekikara ramen

The ramen was also served on a wooden box, pretty traditional. The serving was definitely much smaller than the ramen in most of other Japanese restaurants, as you could see from the size of the bowl. The soup and ramen tasted not bad. It was spicy but forgettable. The shrimp was nothing special too, not especially big nor succulent.

Ramen on a wooden box

Judging from my write-up, I guess you could very well tell that the food here did not meet my expectations. It is just that with the price they're charging, I could very well find better ramen or unagi rice somewhere else. Or probably, their specialty was only sushi, coming from the name of their shop. *LOL*

Restoran Jepun Sushi Tomo
Address : 8, Jln SS2/67, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Tel. No : 03-7877 6485
Business Hours :
Mon - Fri: 12.00pm to 3pm, 6.00pm to 11pm
Sat and Sun: 12.00pm to 4pm, 6.00pm to 11pm

Fancy the best Nasi Lemak in town?

2009-05-14T12:08:00.000+08:00

Deemed 'The Best Nasi lemak in Uptown' by themselves, Village Park opens its doors to full house almost every morning and lunch. It is especially busy on weekend mornings, with plenty of families and young adults alike looking for a plate of glorious nasi lemak and a glass of teh tarik.

I first found out about this place last year through a friend. Fast forward a few months later, I was telling Saucer about it and we decided to pay the restaurant a visit. It's located at Damansara Uptown, same row with the HSBC bank found there. As expected, we had to wait for a while before we found an empty table. For those who have not been there before, there is actually an air-conditioned area next door, which can only be reached when you walk into the main entrance and head towards the back. The air-conditioned area is more comfortable, and possibly less crowded because it seems that not many people knew about this area.

Village Park Restaurant

Anyway, we placed our orders with the waiter and waited patiently. The first to arrive was the toasted bread of kaya and butter (RM1.80). Whenever a toast is ordered, it is vital to ensure that it is consumed first. Otherwise when it is cold, it will not taste as good, with the hardened crust and cold bread.

Toasted bread set

The toasted bread set came with 4 slices of bread with butter and kaya on each pair. They were not stingy with the butter and kaya spread, and the toasts were served warm. Therefore, I have no complaints with this dish.

Milo Dinosaur

One of the highlights of my visit was my drink! I ordered the Milo dinosaur which I had raved about to Saucer every so often. This drink costed RM4 but it was so worth it! The milo was ice-blended and very thick. On top of that, more milo powder was added to the top of the drink, rendering a complete Milo Attack experience! Definitely recommended to order. Oh, please note that the portion is quite huge, so I'd recommend sharing a glass with another friend. :)

Finally, the star of the day - Nasi Lemak! Was it as good as they claimed? Judge for yourself. :) We ordered the Nasi Lemak biasa + ayam goreng (fried chicken) at RM6.90. The fried chicken was different from the KFC type, where lots of flour is used. This fried chicken had very minimal flour and the skin was crispy and well marinated! Plus, all the fried chickens were of the drumstick + thigh part, so no worries on getting the chicken breast or chicken wings that some people might not like. :)

Nasi lemak and fried chicken

As you can see from the picture, a plate of nasi lemak comes with half an egg, cucumber slices, anchovies and the important sambal. The rice was fragrant with the smell of coconut milk, and the sambal was spicy without being overpowering. Saucer preferred those spicier sambal with bright red colour, but I found this sambal to be not bad. It matched the rice very well.

Sambal

This was the fried chicken that I mentioned earlier. It was crispy on the outside and yummy on the inside. I know, it's not healthy eating chicken skin but I simply couldn't help myself! The portion of this nasi lemak was quite huge for me. Maybe it's because of the Milo drink too, I ended up not being able to finish the rice.

Fried chicken

My verdict? I'd definitely return to this place again for the nasi lemak and Milo dinosaur! But make sure to come early or come really late to avoid having to wait for a seat.

Village Park Restaurant
5, Jalan SS21/37,
Damansara Utama,
47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: 03-77107860
Open from 7 am to 8pm daily, 7 am to 6 pm on Sunday/Public Holiday

Bharat Coffee House and fresh flowers

2009-05-12T12:56:00.000+08:00

Soon, it was my final day in Cameron Highlands and that day turned out to be scorching hot! We went to Tringkap Restaurant again for lunch, since it was reasonably priced and delicious. :) On our way back, we passed by another tea shop by the name of Bharat Tea plantations. Cameron Highlands is so famous for plantations that almost everywhere you look, it's either tea, vegetables or flowers!

Bharat Coffee house

As expected, the coffee shop was deserted when we reached there. Who would want to have tea when the sun was shining as hot as the oven in the middle of the afternoon eh?

Surroundings of coffee house

The famous Cameron Valley tea that you can find from supermarkets, coming all the way from this plantation.

Bharat plantations

There was a tea/souvenir shop just near the coffee house too. A host of different tea leaves were found in this shop. The creative people from the shop also made different hampers using the tea boxes, just to make the appearance more attractive. We didn't stay that long in this plantation because we were already sweating before long! *phew*

Tea shop

Further down the road, my mother suddenly decided that she wanted to pay her relative a visit. I just found out that my mother does have quite a few relatives in Cameron Highlands! All of which I had not met before. *LOL* Anyway, it's never too late eh? After getting directions from the aunty, we finally reached her shop by the roadside. This aunty plants and sells flowers! Oh so gorgeous they were! She offered to take us to the plantations (another jeep adventure) but since it was too hot, we politely declined. Her main crop was gerberas, all kinds of different colours. I fell in love with the bright orange type immediately. :)

Fresh gerberas

Apart from gerberas, there were plenty other types of flowers lying around her shop, most of which I didn't know the names of. There was one interesting flower which was green colour and looked like a ball (see picture below). The 'ball-like' flower was quite cute but it tends to make you to want to pop it open! The interior of the ball was hollow, so if you hold it too tight, it will go out of shape too. Weird type of flower indeed.

Of all colours

Apart from flowers, we also saw those smaller version of flowers that florists use to decorate a bouquet.

More flowers

While admiring the flowers there, I took the chance to do some camwhoring of my own. *shameless* Look I was holding the orange gerberas that I liked! There was also a picture of me with a garland of leaves on my head. *LOL*

Posing with flowers

As usual with all my kind relatives, she asked us to pick any flowers that we liked to bring back home. I think we chose more than 13 small bouquets of gerberas and a host of other different flowers. When we reached home, I gave a try at flower arrangement myself. I think I didn't do that good a job, because I was in a rush. The picture below shows the bouquet that I brought back to Penang. :)

My own bouquet

And that ends my Cameron Highlands trip! Since I missed the chance to go to the flower plantation, I now have a reason to return! :)

There is still honesty

2009-05-09T19:22:00.003+08:00

It was 1.30pm, and my bus ticket showed 4.45pm for my ride back. I sighed, thinking how to fill up the next 3 hours or so, being alone and bored. Then, I recalled I had the name card of the bus company that I bought the ticket from, and called up to enquire whether there were any earlier buses available. Thankfully for me, there were still seats available for the 2.15pm bus, so I jubilantly planned my trip to go back earlier.

Firstly, of course, I needed to find someone to fetch me to the nearby bus station. It was barely 2km away so I thought of asking for my neighbour's help. After calling 2 different persons, I was in despair. Both of them were out of town for the long holiday! Time was ticking. I had to act fast. I realized I had exhausted all my options, except for one.

Sighing, I called the taxi company, giving in to my last resort. Obviously, most people try to avoid taking the taxi due to several reasons, mainly cost and safety, especially for a girl travelling alone. However, I really had no other options, plus the journey was so short and in the day time, I told myself that it should be fine. I arranged for the cab to arrive by 1.45pm.

True to its promise, the company sent someone at 1.45pm, with the auspicious number plate of 1333. Without further ado, I cautiously stepped in the cab and stayed alert of my surroundings. The Indian taxi driver greeted me with a cheerful "Hello Miss!". I replied with a Hi and kept quiet for the rest of the journey.

As expected, the journey took probably 5 minutes. It would have been shorter if not for the traffic lights just in front of the bus station. When I reached, I searched for a 10 ringgit note in my purse, but all I had were 2 pieces of RM50. My fare was RM10 so I handed the driver a RM50 note. The driver asked me for smaller notes but I couldn't find any. He then searched in his pockets and wallet for change, but he could only find RM30. Worst, the car just behind us was getting impatient and started to honk continuously. Leaving with no choice, the taxi driver asked me to go and change for smaller notes from the ticket counters. So I got down, while he drove away from the one-lane road.

Luckily, it was only 1.55pm, so I had plenty of time before the bus departed. The ticket counters were situated one floor up, and as I climbed up the stairs, I was thinking to myself "What if I never go back down to pay the driver?". During these bad economic times, I have heard of many cases of people doing things they are not proud of for money. I just thought that if my situation landed on people such as those, I'm sure they would have been happy to get away without paying the driver. After all, it was in a busy area, and I was already on the way to take a bus outstation. What could the taxi driver do?

Of course, being the righteous person that I am, *cough*, I didn't flee. I tried to change at the counters but I knew they would not entertain a non-customer like me. In the end, just to get small notes, I went to the nearby stall and grabbed a packet of nasi lemak with a glass of teh tarik. I couldn't think of anything better to order in a rush. Before the owner even started to prepare the tea, I told him I only had RM50 note. Fortunately, he said "No problem!". He told me to eat first before paying, and he was surprised why I was still standing there holding my note. I asked him whether I could pay him first since I needed the change to pay the taxi driver! He laughed and said, "OK OK". Such a kind fellow, he was.

I hurriedly went down the stairs again, with my luggage and all, looking for the taxi. This time, I did not spot the taxi, but only the driver himself. I swear I could see the relieved look on his face when he saw me holding the red note. I could tell he was really reluctant to trust me at first, but he had no choice. Well, Mr Taxi Driver, may I say there are still kind and honest people in this country, just like yours truly. *ahem*

I felt good to have made the driver's day. When I went back to the stall, my nasi lemak was nicely placed on a table with a plastic spoon and a steaming hot cup of teh tarik. The stall owner, in turn, made MY day. :)

Boh Tea Plantation and Strawberries!

2009-05-06T12:28:00.000+08:00

Previously, I mentioned that our next activity was having high-tea at a high place, literally. What I meant was having high-tea at the picturesque Boh Tea Centre situated at the mountaintop in Cameron Highlands. The entrance to Boh Tea Centre is just opposite the Kea Farm, with a large signboard on the roadside so you won't miss it. However, the drive towards the tea centre is pretty dangerous because the roads are narrow and winding. You have to be careful and remember to use the horn when you round the corners, so that the oncoming cars can be vary. :) Even though the ride in caused me to be slightly quesy, it was all worth it when I was welcomed with scenery such as this!

Boh tea plantation

Look at how the mountains were covered with green tea leaves all over. Walking across the plantation made me feel so much fresher, not to mention the air was filled with the fragrant smell of fresh tea.

Tea leaves everywhere

Once we parked our cars, we took a short hike up the hill, to go to the cafe which was situated on the mountain top. The hike up took probably 10-15 minutes, but you get to be up close and personal with tea leaves. Try to smell it if you have the chance!

Smelling the tea leaves

Further walking up hill would greet you with more scenic landscapes, especially on a good and cool weather.

Notice the cafe that was situated at the hill top? That was our destination. I liked that the structure jutted out amidst the air. Looks dangerous eh? :)

Cafe on top

On my hike up, I never failed to be impressed with the awe-inspiring views, snapping pictures whenever possible. There were only tea leaves as far as the eye could see.

Beautiful scenery

Before long, we reached our destination! Since it was a weekend, the cafe looked full from the outside.

Boh Tea cafe

Indeed, plenty of tourists stopped by this place to visit the tea plantation and to enjoy a cuppa in the midst of the high mountain. Nothing beats a cup of hot tea in the cold weather with amazing scenery.

Brisk business

witch was here

Upon entering the cafe, I saw many different types of cakes, scones and sandwiches available. Of course, not to forget the many types of tea too, coming fresh from the tea centre itself!

Choices of cakes, sandwiches and scones

We ordered a few types of delicacies to be shared among us, coupled with a pot of aromatic tea. The picture below shoes an apple pie, banana carrot cake, chocolate melt and strawberry tart. I simply loved the chocolate melt! It wasn't too sweet and it was very moist and soft. Not surprisingly, it was the best-selling item that day because by the time we left, the chocolate cake was already sold out! Coming a close second would be the strawberry tart, which was crispy on the outside and yummy inside with delicious fresh strawberry jam.

High tea at the peak

As for the tea, I am sorry to say that I didn't know how to appreciate Boh tea. I'm more of a green tea type of person. :P But one thing to note though. The cafe sells the tea by tea pots for 1, 2 or 3 persons. However, the size of the tea pot for 1, 2 or 3 persons is the same! What is more ridiculous is that once you finish the tea, refill of hot water costs RM1.50 each! We ordered the 3 persons portion and the tea pot was almost empty after pouring into 3 cups. So not worth it eh? My advice would be to order individual 1-person pot instead for each person, because the price is the same (RM3.30 for 1 person, RM9.90 for 3 persons). At least that way, you get to have more tea per person.

Before retiring to our hotel to rest, we stopped by a strawberry farm just outside of Equatorial hotel. It's called Life Light strawberry farm. As with many other strawberry farms in Cameron Highlands, this one allows the customers to pick their own strawberries before purchasing them.

Lifelight strawberry farm

Inside the shop there were several stalls selling fruits and sweets.

Stalls at strawberry farm

We paid a visit to the strawberry picking area just to see the strawberries. In my opinion, the strawberries were not that attractive and they were pretty small. Of course, I saw a big one here and there, but the majority was minute! That's why we ended up not going in to pick. I believe the section for picking has lower quality strawberries compared to those they pack for sale. Most people want to pick strawberries just for the fun of it and don't really care about the quality. :)

Strawberry picking section

And that ended my first day in Cameron Highlands. Needless to say, we were all exhausted at the end of the day, after so much walking and climbing. Thankfully, the weather was kind to us and there was no rain at all. I simply love the high-tea experience at the Boh Tea Centre and I highly recommend it to everyone who intends to visit Cameron Highlands. :)

Tringkap Restaurant and Equatorial Hotel

2009-05-04T08:35:00.004+08:00

Continuing my trip in Cameron Highlands, after the adventurous ride to the tomato orchard, our stomachs started growling. *LOL* Coincidentally, it was already 12pm, just right for lunch time! We left the orchard and went back to my relative's place in Tringkap. Just a few doors away, there was a restaurant called "Restoran Tringkap", how creative. Anyway, my relative highly recommended it and said that he always eats there too. So without further ado, we all walked to the restaurant and found a nice table with cool air.

There were plenty of flowers blooming everywhere in Cameron Highlands. Even outside of the restaurant, we saw some pretty colourful and huge blooms. Very beautiful sight.

Pretty blooms

The restaurant is in Tringkap town itself, and you won't miss it if you're using the new road from Simpang Pulai, heading towards Brinchang. Using the new road, it will lead you straight to Bukit Raja, followed by Tringkap, Kea Farm and Brinchang. It is situated just by right road side for easy recognition.

Restaurant Tringkap

Moving on to the food! As our relatives joined us for lunch, they knew the signature dishes to order. We started with this deep fried fish fillet, which was very delicious! The way they fried the fish here was different because the fish meat was cut into pieces before frying. As a result, you need not worry about picking out bones while eating fish! Perfect for lazy people like me. :P

Deep fried fish

Another of their specialty is the steamed 'kampung' chicken. 'Kampung' or Village chicken is usually more expensive in the market. This is because they are bred and raised with traditional chicken feed, in villages with a compound to run about. In other words, they are not subjected to injections or hormone growth pills etc, like those of farm chickens. Therefore, they are more healthy and 'organic' in a way. The drawback is that with all the running around, the kampung chicken meat may be slightly tougher compared to the farm chicken. Nevertheless, this restaurant managed to steam it perfectly! Very smooth and just very slightly tough. I think I wouldn't even notice it if I didn't know it was a kampung chicken in the first place. Maybe it was just psychological. *LOL* I am the type of person who doesn't like steamed chicken. I prefer the roasted variety, but this steamed chicken was really above average. We actually went back to the same restaurant 2 days later and ordered the very same dish! How good is that? :)

Steamed Village (Kampung) chicken

Next up, there was a plate of fried mushrooms served to us. This was something new because we never had mushrooms fried this way. Fortunately, the mushrooms agreed with our taste buds and the plate was clean before long. The exterior was crispy while the interior was juicy and succulent with mushroom fragrance. Pretty interesting dish.

Deep fried mushrooms

Of course, one could not miss eating vegetables in Cameron Highlands. Vegetables are aplenty here that they are dirt cheap! We had the spinach here, which was very young and soft. You know how old spinach is so very tough especially the stems, but the spinach here was really good.

Spinach

Our last dish was the stir friend long beans with dried shrimps. Needless to say, the vegetables were top-notch, and coupled with the fragrant dried shrimps, one simply could not resist this dish.

Stir fried long beans

After being satiated with our hearty lunch, it was time to check in our hotel. For our trip, we booked 2 units of 2-room apartment for the 10 of us. Lucky for us, my aunt is a member of the Berjaya Holidays and she managed to get the rooms for free! The Equatorial Hotel is a landmark of Cameron Highlands, simply because it stands tall among the rest and it is located near the famous Kea Farm/Market.

Equatorial Hotel, Cameron Highlands

The hotel is situated at 5,300 feet above sea level, as stated on this plaque. The temperature that day was 20.5C, pretty cooling and comfortable. I like not having to sweat while walking outdoors. :)

5,300 ft above sea level

This was the mini fountain pool just outside the hotel lobby.

Mini fountain pool

Besides hotel rooms, Equatorial also has apartments. I personally think that the maintenance at Equatorial Hotel was pretty bad. The paint of quite a number of buildings here was already old and had fungus growing on them. Also, the doors and furniture in our room were of poor quality. Some of the chairs were ripped, exposing the cushion beneath. The beds also had some kind of smell. Worst of all, the hot water was very limited! We were told to wait for 20 minutes after each shower for the hot water to refill. However, during evenings when the hot water was widely used, I didn't manage to get hot water even after waiting for half an hour. The water was freezing cold! Surprisingly, with this type of quality, the price was not cheap at all. The rate for the 2-room apartment that we stayed was above RM500 a night! I definitely would not pay this amount for this type of quality.

Equatorial Apartments

The lobby of the hotel was impressive though, probably the only area that was maintained well. It was spacious and airy, with plenty of leather couches to rest on.

Equatorial Hotel lobby

Some pictures of myself and Angie, my brother's girlfriend. We had nothing to do, hence the camwhore. :)

Angie and witch

Stay tuned for more adventures after this! We took a rest at the hotel before going for high tea at a high place, literally. :)

Tomatoes from Cameron Highlands

2009-04-29T12:43:00.000+08:00

It was the Perak Sultan's birthday weekend and my family planned a trip to the nearby Cameron Highlands for a weekend escapade. With the new road from Simpang Pulai ready, the journey from our hometown to Cameron only took about 1.5 hours, compared to 2.5 hours using the Tapah road.

By the time we reached Cameron, it was around 10.30am and our first agenda was to visit one of our relatives in Tringkap. His wife and him are tomato farmers, owning a large tomato plantation nearby. We were lucky to catch them when they were both free, and they gladly gave us a tour to their orchard. :) The road to the orchard was really bumpy, steep and dirty, so much so that a normal sedan is not advised to drive in there. Of course, we had the privilege of riding in what the farmers rode - a pick-up truck!

This was the truck that all TEN of us rode in! All of us sat at the back and bumped our way through. *LOL* The smart me brought a cap so that I wouldn't get sunburnt. Even though the highlands are supposed to have cooler weather, in the afternoon, it was just hot! Thankfully the journey took a mere 15 minutes.

Ready to rough it out

We were even greeted with nice scenery along the way. Just like this flower plantation on our way in. So many colours and all blooming nicely!

Blooming flowers

This was the type of road that the truck went through. It was so narrow that when there was an oncoming car, we had to really squeeze to the side of the road! Very dangerous. Not to mention bumpy too. I found a trick such that when the roads are bumpy, it is wiser to stand up or lift your butt from the seat to avoid merciless punches to your buttocks!

Dirt road

Finally, we reached the tomato orchard. It was so huge and green!

Tomato plants

Can you see the transparent tubes hanging from the top to the plants? They are used for watering the tomatoes automatically. The art of planting tomatoes is not to be belittled. Everything here (except for harvesting) is automated. In fact, the watering is also customized according to the weather. When it is hot, the duration and interval would be different compared to when it is rainy season. Very hi-tech huh?

More tomato plants

Besides, the cost of planting tomatoes is not cheap at all. Talking to our relatives revealed that the monthly cost for planting tomatoes is up to RM50k! They have about 15 workers, with wages of roughly RM800/month. This will translate to approximately RM12k. Apart from that, the water to the tomatoes is actually infused with fertilizer. To water and fertilize the whole orchard requires a cost of RM1k a DAY! Can you imagine? That's a freaking RM30k/month just for fertilizer! Add everything up with other miscellaneous charges and fees, the monthly cost could easily run into RM50k. Definitely not a cheap business.

Raw tomatoes

Look at these freshly picked tomatoes! Very big and juicy, but a little dirty. :)

Freshly picked tomatoes

We found baskets and baskets of tomatoes in their makeshift factory nearby. Look at the one that I was holding in the picture? There's a weird little bump in the middle of the tomato, like it was in the middle of shitting. *LOL*

Mutation?

Later on, I found an even weirder tomato. OMG, are you thinking what I'm thinking? :P

Another weird tomato

I spotted this huge machine in the factory too. It looked old and dusty, and I thought it wasn't being used anymore. Can you guess what it is?

Machines

It was actually a tomato-cleaning machine! The silly me thought that it was not in use anymore, but we were feasted with a trial run. Firstly, the freshly picked tomatoes would be fed into the metal container at the starting point. When the machine is on, the rollers would carry the tomatoes up the slope.

Tomato-cleaning process

Did you notice a fan blowing down in one of the pictures? It works to blow away the dirt that is brushed off from the tomato skin. Very creative, don't you think? The tomatoes are cleaned by the rotating brushes before they are sent for 'sizing'! I personally think that the sizing part is a marvellous idea! When I first saw the holes on the machine, I was wondering what were they for? It turned out that each row of holes has different sizes. The smaller holes are for smaller tomatoes, while the larger holes are for large tomatoes. When the tomatoes can go through the holes, they are considered to be of that hole's size. These categorized tomatoes are then used to fill up carton boxes with a weighing machine below. Whenever each box reaches 10kg, it will be sealed off and sent to the dealer. Really cool.

Awesome tomato-sizing machine

10kg yet?

Packing/sealing machine

Packing and sealing boxes of tomatoes

When the tomatoes were cleaned, we went to the box of the XXL size (the largest box at the end) and found some really huge tomatoes! Just like this one that I was holding, the size of my palm. My relative saw our excitement and gave us the huge tomato to bring home. :))

Biggest tomato

The visit to the tomato orchard was really quite an eye-opening experience. Who was to know that planting tomatoes require such high cost? I'm so going to see tomatoes from a different perspective from now on, knowing how they come about. ;)

Witch with tomatoes

What is unconditional love?

2009-04-27T17:29:00.000+08:00

I believe everyone has heard of this phrase 'unconditional love' before. But does everyone truly appreciate and understand what it means? When you think about it, this phrase indeed bears a deeper meaning that it appears to be. Many people think that they are giving their partners unconditional love, especially when they are in love. or during the early stages of courtship But have you ever asked yourself, would you still be with the same partner if he/she

has an incurable disease?
lost all his money and is surrounded by debts?
wants to relocate permanently to another location which is far far away from your own family?
meets with an accident and becomes permanently paralysed/handicapped/etc so much so that constant care is required from you?
does not have the capability to breed?

Now for those who are married, perhaps they might think there's no choice but to stick with the same partner and try to make the best out of it. But for those who are just in a relationship, what if one day you discover your partner to have one of those things listed above? Do you think it will change the way you love your partner? I'm not saying that I'm being cynical but really, when you think rationally, don't you think most people would flee if given a choice?

I think I would not. What about you?

I am addicted!

2009-04-22T17:56:00.000+08:00

Oh my gosh! Lately, I've been playing this game on Facebook almost all day long! It's called Restaurant City, and it's fun! Many of my friends are playing it as well and we're getting competitive baby! If you haven't played Restaurant City before, you should!

Restaurant City game

It actually starts with you having 2 employees and a few tables and chairs in a small restaurant. Once you start playing, people will visit your restaurant and your cook and waiter would serve them. Each plate food costs $2 and 1.0 gourmet point. The gourmet point actually defines when you can get a level up. I don't remember the exact levels, but with each level up, you get to have either a larger restaurant space (to serve more customers) or an extra employee. Both are actually very useful in gaining popularity because if you serve more customers, you will get more thumbs-up, and eventually more money and gourmet points.

However, the trick here is that the employees will only have a certain level of energy to operate your restaurant. Apparently, 100% energy would last up to 3 hours. With lower energy level, their speed becomes slower and you will get more customers' complaints. There are a few types of complaints that you could get from a customer:

No available seats
Table is not cleared
Service too slow

When any of the three items above occurs, you will get a thumbs-down, which reduces the popularity points, resulting in less customers to frequent your restaurant. Therefore, it is very important to strike the perfect balance between serving the most number of customers without delaying the speed of service. After a while, you start to get a hang of it and experience with various layout plans. Oh, did I mention that you can even go to the streets and visit your friends' restaurants? Whenever you visit a new friend, you get a free ingredient, which can be used for your menu.

Speaking of ingredients, there are three category of food that you can serve namely Starters, Main and Desserts. Each category has a long list of dishes available such as Mushroom soup or Chicken and Leek soup for starters, Simple Mango Pudding or Sundae for desserts and so on.

Ingredients for Simple Mango Pudding

But, in order to cook these dishes, you need specific ingredients. Once you successfully collect all the ingredients required (such as Milk, Mango and Lime for Mango pudding - gosh, I can memorize the ingredients!), you will gain Level 1 for that particular dish. Even the dishes have levels! So in order go get to Level 2 for that dish, you need to collect another round of the same ingredients. Of course, collecting ingredients is not really that easy. There are a few ways to do this:

Free new ingredient with daily login
Bonus free ingredient if you can answer a food quiz correctly daily
Free ingredient with every visit to a new restaurant owner
Trade ingredients with other owners to get what you want

With higher level of dishes, you get higher gourmet points. For example, a Level 1 dish would gain 1.0 gourmet point, whereas a Level 2 dish would gain 1.2 gourmet point and so on. Higher gourmet points, as I mentioned earlier, would get us to the next level at a faster speed.

Finally, what do you do with the money, you ask? Well there are plenty of ways to spend the money, so much so that I'm always left broke! I did something wrong in the beginning of the game actually. It is advisable to keep the money at first to buy chairs and tables to fit more customers. However, the silly and noob me bought a new door, new signboard and new windows in the beginning of the game that I was left with no money to buy furniture. Tables and chairs are very important if you want to serve more customers to get to the next level!

When you still have extra money, you could decorate your restaurant with different floor tiles, wallpaper, tables, chairs, stoves as well as decorative items like jukebox or fountains. Externally, you could also change the outlook of the restaurant by changing the roof, the walls, the doors or the windows. Those with more money could even buy decorative items or plants to decorate the exterior. Some of my friends have really grand restaurants that make my restaurant look like plain Jane. Fear not! I shall chase them soon. *evil laugh*

I am currently only at Level 7. :( Very slow progress, but steady. Try this game. It's really addictive! :)

Good Friend Seafood and Satay

2009-04-21T17:59:00.001+08:00

So it was our second outing in 2 weeks with the sickawans. This time, we decided to go for seafood instead. Yen initially suggested to go the seafood place in Gertak Sanggul. Since most of us had not been there before, we all agreed. Unfortunately for me and Chiaoju, the drive to Gertak Sanggul wasn't really a pleasant one. It was rather winding and narrow, resulting in both of us feeling nauseaous and dizzy. The worst part was, after the painstaking journey there, the restaurant turned out to be closed for that day! *curses* Seriously, both of us girls just sighed out aloud and started complaining to Yen. Sorry Yen, girls are mean when they're hungry. :P Anyway, I couldn't help but notice that Gertak Sanggul was really quite a lovely fishing village, despite the winding journey.

Since our first plan was spoiled, we decided to go to our second choice, which was Teluk Kumbar Seafood Restaurant a.k.a. Good Friend Restaurant (公巴好友海鲜) to the locals. Thank goodness the place wasn't as packed as weekends, and we managed to find a parking and a table in no time.

Good Friend/Teluk Kumbar Seafood restaurant

Kitchen/Drinks area

Guess what was the first priority there? Satay! I really LOVE the satay there and we placed an order before we even found our table. The satay stall was just outside the seafood restaurant, near the car park area. It would be difficult to miss it.

Satay stall

This stall still used the old-fashioned way of charcoal to barbecue the meat skewers. The uniqueness of this satay lies in the fact that it doesn't need any gravy or sauce for accompaniment. It tastes great even on its own! (sounds like Gardenia's tagline :P)

Satay on charcoal fire

Before long, our satay order arrived, and both Chiaoju and I digged in, and sighed simultaneously. We both just reached heaven and back. Seriously, it was THAT good. Probably add the fact that we were already famished, hence doubling the satisfaction of that very first bite. The meat was well marinated, and the outer layer was covered with heavenly sauce. Each bite just sent a shock to my spine. Of course, that only lasted until my 3rd or 4th skewer. :)

Heavenly satay

I highly recommend this satay if anyone ever goes to Teluk Kumbar Seafood Restaurant. It is a MUST. In fact, it would by my highlight rather than the seafood. *LOL*

No sauce required

After our starters of satay, our main dishes arrived. Starting with the fried calamari rings, which were perfect and not soggy. I had an experience from another shop where there was still uncooked flour/batter within the rings! It was gross! Luckily, this seafood place did it right and we all finished the rings without much effort.

Deep fried calamari rings

Secondly, there was the steamed octopus. I personally don't really like octopus but I still ate a few pieces. I'm not sure if it was me, but there was a slight smell on this plate of octopus. I don't know how to describe it, I wonder if it's the smell of the sea or it wasn't completely cooked yet. Anyway, I didn't really like this dish.

Steamed octopus

We also ordered the fried beancurd, which was home made. The beancurd was soft and smooth, very delicious either eating it plain or with chilli sauce.

Deep fried home made beancurd

Stan ordered this dish called bamboo clams. I notice he never failed to order this whenever we had seafood. :) Anyway, it's quite nice. Tasted like normal lala clams, just looked longer. The sauce went very well with rice too!

Bamboo clams

What's seafood without fish? We ordered a steamed fish, I forgot what fish (probably siakap). The fish turned out to be a disappointment. The meat was not fresh at all. It was soggy and soft, just like fish which had been frozen for a long period before being cooked. I didn't really eat much of this fish.

Steamed fish

Last but not least, we ordered the fried mee tiau (a type of Teochew noodles) with seafood. Since we didn't eat rice on that night, the noodles served as our accompaniment to all our dishes. They were fried pretty well, just a tad oily. You can't really see from this picture but there were fish balls, fish fillet, prawns and calamari rings in the noodles as well. I wouldn't mind ordering this again in my next visit.

Fried 'mee tiau'

Overall, I think the food in Teluk Kumbar Seafood Restaurant was above average. The price was also pretty reasonable, at RM64 for 4 persons (exclude satay) with fruit juices. Plus, you get to literally eat by the seaside with the sunset as the backdrop. :) Not a bad environment at all.

Teluk Kumbar Seafood Restaurant
84 Mk 9, Teluk Kumbar 11920 penang
Tel : 04 - 6491 403 (Closed on Tuesday)

All about Bak Kut Teh

2009-04-16T08:39:00.001+08:00

Sometimes when the weather is rainy or on the cold side, I would crave longingly for a pot of hot bak kut teh. On one such day, when I was in PJ, I asked Saucer where to get bak kut teh, and we did some blog-hopping and found this place right in SS2 itself. It was just so near Saucer's place so we decided to give it a try. It was already almost 8.30pm when we reached, and we were the only customers that time. Not good. I don't mean to judge a book by its cover, but I couldn't help it!

We were served with Chinese crullers (yau char kwai) not long after we ordered.

Chinese crullers (yau char kwai)

There were also plenty of chilli, garlic and soy sauce on each table. Pretty much a paradise for garlic-lover like Saucer.

Chilli and garlic

Since we were the only customers there, our order arrived shortly - steaming claypot of bak kut teh for 2 persons. The soup was slightly clear, just like a Teo Chew style soup, and there were lots of meat inside. I actually asked for an extra portion of bean curd skin or 'foo chok' but they turned out to the the raw type instead of the fried type. Confused? You'll know what I mean if you continue reading. :) Anyway, the soup here was slightly bland and the meat was also tasteless.

Worst of all, the foo chok was not what I expected! Wasted my money. The cost of the whole meal with two white rice was about RM23 or 24. Definitely not cheap either. Saucer and I vowed never to visit this place anymore in the future. No wonder it was so quiet.

Steaming hot

Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh
26, 28 Jalan SS2/66,
47300 PJ, Selangor
Tel: 03-7875 2025

Now, since my craving for foo chok was not entirely satisfied, we searched around again for bak kut teh (BKT) and managed to find this place near Subang Airport. This place was rather far and out of the way, but since it was a Saturday morning, we figured we didn't mind the drive. It took us at least 30 minutes to reach there with GPS' help. Now that I know it's just so near the Subang airport, I think we could have reached there faster if we had taken the airport route.

Anyway, we reached this Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh place around 11am and the place was fully-packed! Now that is what I call as a good BKT place. *judgemental* We ordered a BKT pot for 1 person and an extra pot of foo chok. Look at how big the portion was, even for one person! It was just nice for the 2 of us. Plenty of pork meat and ribs, as well as spare parts! Most amazingly, the soup was very delicious and flavourful! I could keep drinking the soup without getting tired of it.

Fatty pork!

And they served the foo chok that I wanted! Deep fried foo chok, immersed in bubbling hot BKT soup - heavenly is the word! The pot of foo chok was so much that we had quite a hard time finishing them. *LOL*

Bubbling hot bean curd skins (foo chok)

Did I mention the soup was amazing? It went very well with rice, and the foo chok! Both Saucer and I loved the BKT here. It was also cheaper compared to the one in SS2. Only RM19 for everything including 2 bowls of rice. I would definitely visit this place again in the future.

Heavenly foo chok

Teo Chew Bak Kut Teh
Lot 653 & 655
Jalan Subang
Bukit Cherakah Subang
Shah Alam
Tel: 019-261 5303

Edelweiss = noble + white

2009-04-13T20:52:00.000+08:00

A few weeks ago, Stan was in Penang and asked for a dinner with the 4 sickawans. It was a weekday but I was more than happy to have a simple reunion with my good friends. After much deliberation, we decided to go to Edelweiss Swiss Restaurant for dinner. Since it was a weeknight, the restaurant was pretty quiet. Even the road outside the restaurant was dark and bordered on creepy. I told myself I wouldn't dare to go to this place on my own. It was just too eerie and all other shops on the same road were closed.

Edelweiss restaurant

The entrance of Edelweiss was nicely decorated with plants and colourful lights, so if you're on the correct street (Lebuh Armenian), you wouldn't miss this place.

Entrance

I loved the interior of Edelweiss. The decorations gave a rustic charm that was somewhat comforting after walking past the deserted and dark road outside. It sort of gave us a warm welcoming feeling with a certain coziness.

Interior

The place was very neat and was decorated with many giant clocks!

Old-fashioned lights

Like this big old-fashioned grandfather's clock that was just situated next to a dining table. If our party were smaller, I would have opted to sit right next to it! *LOL*

Huge grandfather's clock

We started with the order of our drinks. Even though it claimed itself as a Swiss restaurant, I couldn't help but notice a hint of German influence in their food, such as the presence of Pork knuckles, pork belly and also the famous German Paulaner beer. Both Yen and Stan ordered the beer and we were treated to quite an interesting presentation from the waitress herself when she poured a whole bottle of beer nicely into a tall glass, with perfection and style. She even made a 360 degree turn at the end of it, just before the last drop!

Pouring beer with a style

As for me, no surprise that I would order boring fruit juice. I ordered the carrot juice, which was freshly squeezed and without sugar. It was naturally sweet. :)

Fresh carrot juice

Look at Yen admiring his beer. Perhaps he's meditating? Or praying that his glass would never go empty? *LOL*

Yen meditating with his beer

And here's how he looked like when he's done with praying. Very happy and all smiles!

Another shot of overly enthusiastic Yen

Before long, our food arrived! My order was the BBQ pork ribs, which was recommended by the waitress there. It was very aromatic and huge in portion! The gravy was absolutely delicious, and the meat very tender. However, I think it would have been much better if they were to marinate the meat a little longer, because the inner part of the ribs was rather bland. Only the outer layer was tasty and juicy.

BBQ pork ribs

Then there was Yen's poached salmon. I know the presentation was a bit boring, and the fish looked very boring as well, but Yen's feedback was the fish was fresh and delicious. Although the portion was not that big, for him that is!

Poached salmon

As for Stan, he likes to order the most unhealthy dish there is to order every time, and without surprise, he chose the Smoked Pork Belly! Look at the layer of fats on the pork! It came with some pasta and two pieces of sausage as well. I have to say the sausage was amazing! I couldn't figure out what sausage it was, perhaps lamb? And the pork belly was done just right. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of fatty meat, Stan cut me a piece and forced me to chew everything down, and I have to admit, it was not half as bad. :) There was no strong pork smell, and the fatty meat actually went very well with the lean pork meat. Of course, one piece was more than enough for me. :P This dish would have been more suitable for pork belly lovers. :)

Smoked pork belly

Last but not least, we ordered the Apple pie dessert, which came with one scoop of Movenpick ice-cream. The pie would have been nicer if it was served warm. But the ice-cream was heavenly! Ending a meal on a sweet tooth always puts a smile on my face. :)

Apple pie with ice-cream

After finishing our meal, I walked around the restaurant taking pictures, since there were no other customers around. The bar was lovely with the many types of liquors and glasses lining up nicely on the wall.

The bar

And I even spotted something hilarious! On the way to the toilet at the back, I noticed this display on top of a cupboard!

Funny toilet

It even came with its own caption:
Sorry this toilet is "taken"
Pull string gently until the end to verify the above
More toilets around the corner

Before we called it a night, the kind waitress offered to take some group pictures for us. Look at how Yen's face had turned to be as red as a tomato!

Say cheese!

I always look forward to small dinner gatherings like this with my very good and close friends. There is another post coming up on another dinner too! At a seafood restaurant. :)

Overall, the food in Edelweiss fared above average based on our humble standards. We also liked the fact that it's quiet and has the traditional, antique feeling when we entered this place. I definitely would not mind visiting it again in the future!

Group picture

Edelweiss Cafe
38, Armenian Street,
Georgetown, Penang.
Telephone : 04-2618935
Closed on Monday,
Open Tuesday to Friday : 12 noon to 3.00 pm and 6.30 pm to 10.00 pm
Saturday : 12 noon to 10.00 pm
Sunday : 12 noon to 7.00 pm only

The creation of a mooncake

2009-04-11T20:57:00.000+08:00

You must be thinking what's wrong with me, to write about mooncake when the Mooncake Festival is still far away? Well, my dear cousin Theng just came back from the UK recently for a visit and she loves mooncakes. Therefore, my mom decided to make a small batch of mooncakes for her since she doesn't come back often. The first few steps are actually the toughest, namely making the 'lin yong' or the lotus seed paste. I missed out on that process as I wasn't back home yet that time.

After the lin yong was completed, the next step was to weigh each 'ball' and to insert a salted egg into the middle of the ball. The end product would look like this:

Balls of lotus seed paste with salted egg implanted

Next up was the process of coating the lin yong ball with the outer layer or the skin. I'm sorry I don't have the recipe, but even if I have, it's not in my place to share my family secret. :P Anyway, the picture below shows the skin paste and some flour, to prevent the skin from sticking onto the mold.

Skin paste and flour

The mold that has been with us for many many years - big and small size:

The mold

To me, I think the hardest part of making mooncake that requires a lot of skill is the coating of the skin. The skin cannot be too thick because it would make the mooncake too hard, and it cannot be too thin either for fear of cracking. Plus, if it is too thin, the mold would not turn out to be that defined.

Covering with the skin

Next, the lin yong ball with skin was placed into the mold carefully. If all the measurements are done correctly, the ball would fit into the mold to a T! No leakage and just right. See how the top layer of the mold is flat in the picture? ;)

Molding process

After molding, another hard process would be to 'knock' the mooncake out. This is also another tricky process because if it is not done right, part of the skin will be stuck on the mold and your whole mooncake would have been spoiled, aesthetically, I mean. That's why having enough flour on the mold is important. See how it looks like once it's out!

Tadaa!

A closer look. See how each trace is perfect and smooth? Kudos to my mom!

A closer look

Only 2 completed so far. Many more to go!

Perfectly molded

After completing one tray, the tray was placed into a pre-heated oven to bake. When the mooncakes are almost done, they are removed from the oven for a finishing touch.

Halfway done

What is the finishing touch? Well it is the coating of a layer of beaten egg on the half-baked mooncakes. This is to give the mooncakes a glossy and golden finish when they are complete. The trick here is to make sure the egg is beaten thoroughly, and during the application, ensure minimal bubbles on the mooncake. These bubbles would stay on the top layer until after they're completely baked if you don't get rid of them. You wouldn't want bubbles to spoil the appearance of the moooncakes, do you? :)

Applying beaten egg on the mooncakes

Finally, the tray is placed back into the oven again for the final baking. When it's completed, they look golden brown and shiny like this!

Just out from oven

After a few more rounds of repeating the same process, all the mooncakes were finally ready. Look at how gorgeous they were.

After a few hours

Did I just make you crave for mooncakes? :P

Shiny and golden mooncake

The best part of it all was that we could sample the mooncakes fresh from the oven! The skin was still crispy, but it was a little messy during the cutting process, because crumbs would fall out all over. Nothing beats homemade mooncake. And it received thumbs-up from everyone in the family. :)

Final product

Hopefully we'll have another chance of eating mooncake during the Mooncake Festival this year!

BBQ buffet at Yaki-Yaki

2009-04-08T19:38:00.001+08:00

After reading the Yaki-Yaki 50% promotion from Vkeong, I couldn't help but persuade Saucer to try it out with me. After all, promotions like this only come once in a while. :) And it so happened that I was going to be in KL during last weekend. So without further ado, I made a reservation for the Hi-Tea session on Saturday.

There are several reasons I chose the Hi-Tea session, which starts at 2.30 and ends at 5.30pm. Firstly, it's the cheapest session out of all. *LOL* Here is the price list for your information:

Buffet Lunch NP RM65++ 11:00am to 2:30pm (3.5 hours)
Buffet Hi-tea NP RM55++ 2:30pm to 5:30pm (3 hours)
Buffet Dinner NP RM75++ 6:00pm to 10:00pm (4 hours)
Buffet Supper NP RM65++ 10:00pm to 2:00am (4 hours)

So you see, with the 50% discount, the nett price for Hi-tea session was only RM35.75/pax. The calculation is a little tricky: The 15% tax is levied on the original price (RM55), whereas the 50% discount is on the price exclude taxes. Hence, you'll get RM55*0.15 + RM55/2 = RM35.75. Strictly speaking, it's not really a 50% discount, because the taxes are still based on the original price. But anyway, ~RM36 for a buffet is very reasonable and cheap!

Secondly, I chose the Hi-tea session because of the time frame (2.30-5.30pm). This would be perfect for me to sleep in later on a Saturday morning, and take my own sweet time to get ready. Plus, I'll only need to eat one meal on that day, because by the time it's 5.30pm, I would have been full to the brim with the buffet, and I wouldn't even have to eat dinner! Isn't that killing 2 birds with 1 stone? *LOL*

OK, that aside, many people asked me whether the Hi-tea session would have less variety compared to Dinner, since the price was cheaper. Well, since I didn't go to the dinner session before, I wouldn't be able to comment, so I'll show you what I ate and those who went to the Dinner session could tell me if I missed anything. :)

We reached there at 2.25pm, and were faced with a long queue! It was almost as if Yaki-Yaki was giving away free food. The wait was quite annoying because the queue extended right up to the road side, and it certainly didn't help that the sun was blaring on us. Luckily, we managed to get our table by 2.45pm.

Yaki-Yaki interior

My first target was to look for the coconut drinks! Even though Yaki-Yaki lacked in presentation, it certainly made up for it in terms of quantity. The coconuts DID finish up by 4pm or so, and didn't refill even when we left at 5+pm. But I guess we managed to drink more here compared to Tenji. :)

Coconut drinks

Now the first thing you should do when you're there is to order the special dishes from the menu! Seriously, with large crowds, they'd take forever to arrive. So it's wise to place the order first before going around to pick other dishes. The order list is as shown below, and we ordered probably 6 sets of Unagi and a few other sets of Scallops and Salmon. :) And now I shall kick myself because I forgot to take pictures of the Unagi! *sigh* I'll tell you the reason why later.

Special order list

After ordering, the waiter would help to set up the BBQ pit at our table, complete with charcoal the net beneath.

BBQ pit with hood

While waiting for the orders to arrive, I went around exploring. I have arranged all the sections into different groups so that it will be easy to browse. :) Starting with the drinks:

1. Drinks section:

There were several coffee machines available to make hot coffee/cappuccino/latte/macchiato on your own. I'm not a fan of coffee so I didn't try this out. Plus, it was quite warm during the afternoon, so no thanks!

Coffee machines

Ahh... cold drinks! This is more like it! I love iced Milo! And I also took half a glass of iced Nescafe, because I was feeling a little sleepy that day. *LOL* This was a mistake! I took only 2 sips, I swear! But after 1+hour later, I had gastric. *cries* I have told myself time and time again, never to consume any sour or caffeinated drinks on an empty stomach, but I kept forgetting. This explains why I didn't take some pictures of the special dishes, because I was too much in pain to bother taking pictures. :( I only got better around half an hour later (Thank God), but by that time, the special dishes we ordered were already finished!

Cold drinks section

2. Sauce section:

Our table was very near the sauce section and there were so many choices available it was difficult to pick! I only picked 2 out of all those (satay sauce & 5 taste sauce or something like that). They turned out to be quite nice.

All types of sauces

3. Sashimi section:

Moving on to real food. The sashimi area had a big salad bowl of vegetables with pickled ginger, soy sauce and wasabi at the sides. I didn't bother eating this, because I was more interested in the stuff coming next!

Salad

Sashimi! Many types of raw fish, octopus and abalone

Sashimi

Salmon here was really fresh. No fishy smell at al. And stock was always replenished. :)

Salmon

This was the plate of stuff labelled as abalone. Not really sure how true it is, but they taste was not bad. I liked it very much.

Abalone

Plenty of sushi for sushi-lovers! Didn't take any from these.

Sushi

They had hard-boiled eggs and century eggs as well, together with many types of sushi.

Eggs

Oh this is the part of sushi that I took! :) Unagi sushi most definitely. :)

More sushi

Finally, the oysters! At least, we didn't have to queue up to get oysters here. *LOL* The size of the oysters were smaller than those in Tenji, but they were much much fresher! I had a hard time stomaching the oysters in Tenji because they were just too big and too fishy! But this one, not fishy at all. I am learning to enjoy oysters now. ;)

Fresh oysters

4. Deep-frying section:

Everyone loves deep-fried food! So do I. :) And I absolutely love soft-shell crabs! I didn't have a chance to eat them in Tenji, and I was glad that in Yaki-Yaki, they tray for soft-shell crabs was never empty for long. :) I took as much as I wanted to without feeling guilty of leaving none behind. :)

Soft-shell crab & crullers

The tempura prawns, although freshly fried, were not too great. The flour coating was too thick, and the prawn inside was barely noticeable! *LOL* The baked oyster was much better, although I still preferred the raw version.

Baked oyster and tempura prawn

There were also baked mussels which were fresh and delicious. I wish I had a bigger stomach.

Mussels

5. Chinese/Eastern section:

Every buffet will never miss out on Chinese/Eastern cuisine. Yaki-Yaki didn't either. They have various types of Eastern-style dishes including fried rice, prawns, snails, crabs and of course, stir-fried vegetables.

Chinese dishes

I only managed to try the prawns, snails and crabs from here. The rest didn't look too tempting to me. :) Eating the snails was quite an experience, and Saucer didn't know how to eat them at first! *LOL* The meat was quite tough, but it was an enjoyable experience.

Snails and curry crabs

The soups here looked good, but I didn't try because I was just too full to consume more liquid.

Hot soups

Then there were clams (lala) with Chinese wine. According to the instructions, you're supposed to pour the Chinese wine onto the aluminium plate and heat it on the fire before consuming. The funny thing was Saucer didn't know about this, so when I brought them back to the table, he just ate the clams without heating them! *LOL* So funny! But apparently the lala was already cooked and he didn't have any stomachache after that, so all's well. However, I managed to save 1 piece of the lala to heat it over the BBQ pit and I loved it very much! Very refreshing and tasty. Should take more of these next time. :)

Clams (lala) and Chinese wine

6. BBQ section:

There was a whole section dedicated to raw and marinated meat as well, for the BBQ lovers. Plenty of chicken wings marinated in different sauces shown in the picture below:

Chicken wings

Also skewers of corn, mushroom, ladies fingers and potatoes. The mushroom was a new idea for me. After BBQ-ing the mushroom, it became surprisingly soft and rather nice with a strong mushroom aroma. Not bad really.

Ladies' fingers, corn & mushrooms

A whole area for lamb! Lamb cutlet, lamb shank, lamb rack, you name it!

All cuts of lamb

And also ribs! Beef ribs and pork ribs marinated with various sauces.

Beef and pork ribs

Skewers have their section too! Look at that! Satay lovers will find these their paradise. *LOL*

Skewers of meat, meatballs, fish balls, ham, etc

Apart from those above, there was also marinated meat without skewers.

More marinated meat

Don't forget the seafood! Fresh clams on ice to maintain freshness.

Clams and fresh fish

Also fresh fish and prawns.

Fresh fish fillets and prawns

7. Desserts

Finally, the desserts! They didn't much choice but it's OK with me. Quality is better than quantity. :) I loved that they have Gui Ling Gao (Kwai lin kou in Cantonese or Herbal turtle jelly). It was a very refreshing twist to the dessert section! Plus, it goes very well with the BBQ theme because it's supposed to cool your body after eating all the heaty food. I had two bowls of these. :)

Gui Ling Gao (Herbal turtle jelly)

There were also several fruit platters available, but I only took dragonfruit which was my favourite. :) Too bad they were not that sweet.

Dragonfruit

Who can forget ice-creams! :) The ice-creams here are very smooth! Hardly could taste any trace of ice, but the taste for green tea was a little weird. Quite hard to describe it but the green tea taste/fragrant wasn't strong, but it wasn't bland either. Just different. :)

Ice-creams

The black sesame ice-cream was a new thing for me though. And it was pretty good! That's why we had 2 rounds of it. ;)

Green tea & black sesame ice-creams

Our plates:

OK, I'm finally done with all the sections, so I'll share with you some of the food we took. This was the first spread that we had. So greedy huh? :P

Our first spread

The lamb chop was not bad, although you need to be careful while BBQ-ing it. Once the oil drips onto the fire, you'll see a huge blaze suddenly. *LOL* Quite scary.

Ribs, meat skewers and lamb rack

Ahh, the fresh oysters. :) You have officially changed my mind about how nice oysters can be. Yumm!

Fresh oysters

Some of the Chinese dishes. The prawns were fresh, but spaghetti was just normal.

Spaghetti bolognese, lamb and prawns

My love! Soft-shell crabs. I guess I was really too greedy with this. By the time I finished, I was too full for other things.

Soft-shell crabs!

Curry crabs from the Chinese section, taken by Saucer. I didn't eat these because I was having gastric that time, but Saucer told me the meat wasn't very fresh.

Curry crabs

Oh I found one picture from the special list dishes! The Salmon fillet. They are meant to be BBQ-ed, not eaten raw. Personally I preferred the raw type, because once BBQ-ed, the meat lost some of the moisture and became quite dry.

Special order salmon fillet

Saucer was proudly displaying his BBQ cuttlefish here. We thought it was already burnt, but at a closer look, it wasn't. And it tasted quite good, surprisingly.

BBQ cuttlefish

Overall, I think I enjoyed the meal in Yaki-Yaki more than Tenji. For one, I didn't have to queue up for anything, unlike Tenji, where I had to spend time queueing for oysters and Haagen Dazs ice-cream. Plus, they replenished their food in Yaki-Yaki very fast, so I never had to deal with disappointment of missing food (except coconut drinks). Most definitely, we were so full we didn't have to eat dinner that night. So it was like RM36 for 2 meals! Very cheap! *LOL*

Witch and Saucer

Of course, it's only cheap during the promotional period from 16/03/2009 to 30/04/2009. So quickly call and reserve a seat before the promotion is over! :)

Yaki-Yaki Japanese Barbeque Buffet Restaurant
Ground Floor, Federal Bowl,
Jalan Bukit Bintang,
Off Jalan Bukit Bintang,
Bukit Bintang Central,
55100 Kuala Lumpur (next to Plaza Low Yat)

Tel. no. : +603-2142 8111

My maiden F1 experience at Sepang

2009-04-06T14:02:00.000+08:00

It was Thursday night when my phone beeped with a new SMS received. It was from my youngest brother, telling me that he still had tickets to the F1 race in Sepang on that Sunday. His company QuestNet happened to be one of the sponsors so they had many tickets to the Mall to be sold at a very cheap price. I only found out about it 1 week ago, but it was already after the closing deadline to order. I was kept in the waiting list for the whole week until Thursday night, that is. After reading the SMS, I got all excited and called my brother to confirm. Even informed a few other friends about the good deal but I guess it was just too rushed a decision and those who really planned on going already bought their tickets. So it was just me. I was planning to join my brother and his gang on Sunday.

It . was . a . mistake.

Let me tell you why.

When I told some friends about me going to the race, they asked me to bring umbrella and sunblock along, for fear of getting sunburn! I even went to the extent of purchasing a new pair of sunglasses as well, just to be safe. I ended up well-prepared:

Sunglasses
Sun block lotion
Novel
Ipod
Umbrella
Water
Mobile phone
Camera
Purse

Everything in the list fit into my big black bag. It was so heavy, but I didn't mind, because I knew they were all necessary items. So on that fateful Sunday, I decided to take the SkyBus from One Utama to Sepang, at the cost of RM15. I think the price was really reasonable, considering that they would ferry you to the entrance and you don't have to pay for parking (RM50!). Also, the frequency was 30 minutes once, so it was not too bad. I was at 1U with my friend for lunch first, then went to take the bus at 2.30pm. The race was going to start at 5pm, so I thought 2.5 hours gave me plenty of time to reach there. Boy, was I wrong!

The whole journey was smooth, until after the toll exit at Sepang. It was at 3.40pm that time, and in front of my eyes lay the LONGEST ever jam I saw! It was terrifying! Endless and endless rows of cars in front. And at that point, I just started hoping and praying that we would still reach in time for the starting. No such luck. The jam was so terrible that even traffic polices were unable to control the vehicles. There was an emergency lane on the left and once in a while, we heard traffic police coming with VIP cars following at the back. And that was when we also saw some other cars following them from behind, to take advantage of the special treatment! Later on, when the lane was clear, more and more cars were more daring to drive on the emergency lane, even though the traffic police was just standing right there! The funny part was, when the cars reached the traffic police standing at the emergency lane, they would swerve in to the main road, but just after they passed the traffic police, they would slip back in to the emergency lane! So you can imagine they were sort of just AVOIDING the guy on the road like he was any other guy! The traffic police couldn't do anything to stop them. It was just too hectic and people were getting impatient when the time was nearing 5pm.

After being stuck in the jam for a good 2 hours (just at the Sepang area, mind you), we finally reached the entrance of Sepang International Circuit at 5.30pm! Luckily my seat was located at the first drop-off point, so I went down the bus and called my brother immediately. I had to meet him to get my ticket, you see. My seat was at the Citrine area, at the Mall.

Sepang F1 seat map

I went to the 3rd station to view, because I didn't want to waste any more time walking in further!

Citrine seats at the Mall

I had to wait for my brother at the Gate entrance number 5. I realized there were many other people who were late as well, due to the massive jam. The queue was quite long, but thank God it moved very fast. Everyone was just impatient and running towards their seats!

Gate 5 entrance to Citrine

I was just standing near the queue while waiting for my brother to come out. I could already hear the vroom vroom sounds of the F1 cars at the point and they were deafening!

Queue to enter

This picture was taken after passing the Gate 5 entrance. The building on the right consitutes the Mall area. The upper tier tickets are more expensive, costing more than RM800. The lower tier ones are RM500 or so (my ticket). My brother's gang was way in front, and I told him I didn't want to go so far and waste my time walking! So I went into one of the nearer platforms to see the race alone.

Long walk towards the Mall

It was already at Lap 17 when I reached!

Already Lap 17!

Now that I realized that they didn't really check my ticket once I passed the Gate entry, I should have walked up to the upper tier for a better view! :P But I didn't because I'm a good law-abiding person. *cough*

Entrance to Citrine seats

So I went into the lower tier and found a nice spot to sit. This was my view and I saw many people sitting opposite at various Hill Stands.

The crowd at the Hillstand

My view

Once I was at my seat, the sounds were even more deafening than before. Even the ear buds I had didn't help much! Seriously I could feel even my bag vibrating whenever a car passed by. I was at one point worried that my camera lenses would break too! :P

Cars from near

The cars were supposed to go at a speed of about 284km/h at this stretch, even my camera couldn't capture the cars properly. They were passing by faster than my shutter speed!

Faster than my shutter speed

The good thing about the Mall area the roof on top that kept us shaded from the rain and sun. Which meant I didn't even have to use my sunblock lotion! *wasted*

Protected from rain and shine

Even worse, after about 10 minutes, I realized the dark clouds were coming nearer and nearer. Now I didn't even have to use my newly bought sun glasses. Another item wasted. But thank goodness I brought my umbrella with me. At least that didn't go to waste.

Dark clouds nearer

I thought that coming car looked like a Ferrari (my favourite team). :)

What's that car?

And look at this one. Orange coloured? Can you guess what team this car was from?

Orange car?

And this one was most definitely a Ferrari. Can't miss the glorious red shade even from afar. :P Too bad they didn't win anything. Next race my friend. :) And look! The clouds were getting even nearer. In fact, this was the last picture I took before I escaped out.

Dark clouds - is that a Ferrari?

I left about half an hour later at 6.05pm, merely to avoid the rain and the possible jam. I also had to rush back to PJ in time to be able to make it to Subang airport for my flight at 9.20pm. Which meant I needed to reach the airport at 8.45pm the latest. And judging from the crazy jam going to Sepang, I didn't want to take any chances. Hence, I left earlier.

I asked Saucer to fetch me from Sepang (he was at Cyberjaya that evening) at 6+pm. The worst part was, the rain came mercilessly at 6+pm onwards! It was so very heavy and there were lightning and thunder every few minutes. Scary. And since Saucer didn't have a car park sticker (which cost RM50, by the way), he couldn't enter the Sepang circuit. So I had to walk out all the way to the main road, under the heavy rain and thunderstorm, all the while hoping that the lightning didn't strike me.

It was quite a long walk, and I thanked God for the umbrella I brought along with me. On the way walking out, I called up Saucer, only to find out that he was stuck in traffic jam this time! *sigh* During the 20 minutes or half an hour that I walked out, he only managed to move a mere 400m, with another 5.5km to go. *cry* It was really stressful. I was worried over and over again if I would miss my flight back to Penang.

Another problem for me was I didn't know where to wait for Saucer! Since the roads were all so jammed and he couldn't enter, I had to find a proper landmark to wait for him. Don't forget there were so many entry points and car parks surrounding the Sepang circuit. So you can imagine me heaving a sigh of relief when I saw a Petronas station from afar. That would be the perfect pick-up point! So I smsed Saucer and with his GPS, he managed to track the station down. And I continued walking and walking under the heavy rain and thunder. I swear I saw a lightning so huge it scared the hell out of me.

Before long, I reached the roadside just in front of Petronas station. Horror of all horrors, Saucer smsed me this time saying that his mobile phone would be out of battery soon! *gasp* That would be the worst thing that could happen at that point! So I tried to avoid calling him and sent him messages instead, detailing the exact location of where I was, right in front of a string of red shuttle buses, next to the Petronas station. Thankfully, I saw his car at about 7pm. I could hear myself saying "Thank God" aloud at that time.

The ride back was fortunately not jammed at all. I suppose many people were still at the circuit watching, hence the route going back wasn't packed. I managed to reach the PJ area at 7.40pm and even had time to have dinner before leaving for the Subang airport. It was seriously a crazy and rushed experience. To know that I paid for a ticket only to watch for 30 minutes! All in the name of sports.

I guess if you ask me again, I don't think I'll ever attend another F1 race again. Not when I have to catch a flight home on the same night! It would have been much better if I had left for Sepang in the morning instead of the afternoon. Well, too little too late now. Saucer was complaining all the way back home, and I don't blame him. It was all because of me that he had to endure a painstaking journey to and from Sepang, in the heavy rain. *sigh* So sorry. :(

Anyway, all is good now. I promised Saucer never to attend these crowded events anymore in the future, unless I find my own transport back!

Canton-I in Penang

2009-04-02T14:07:00.000+08:00

This was my second visit to the relatively new Canton-I in Queensbay Mall, Penang. I didn't manage to take any pictures the first time around, so I thought it was a good idea for a re-visit, with Saucer and Wailian. We went there during the weekend for lunch, and wanted to order their goose meat, but apparently they're all out of stock. :( Anyway, browsing through the menu, all of us ordered the set of either noodles or rice + 2 different meat.

For me, I chose the rice with roasted duck meat and honey-glazed pork (char siew), for RM13.80. I think the price was definitely on the high side, for a plate of rice with meat that you could get at RM4-5 outside. I guess we have to pay also for the environment, the nice utensils they use and also the quality of the food. I thought the presentation was really pretty and tidy. And it came with half an egg too! I loved the char siew here because it's lean! *LOL* I know some people do not like lean meat, but I do! As for the duck, I think it's not very special compared to the one I ate before in Tmn Pekaka. Slightly above average, I would say, and not too gamey.

Rice with roasted duck and char siew

Closer look at the duck and egg. Very tempting!

Roasted duck rice with egg

My favourite char siew!

Roasted honey-glazed pork (char siew)

Saucer ordered the soup wantan noodles with wantan and roasted pork belly (siu yoke) for RM13.80. The portion of the noodles was rather huge, more than the regular size that you would get outside. The wantan was fabulous! It was full of prawns and very succulent!

Soup wantan noodles

These days, the wantan that you get from other shops are so small you wonder if there's any filling inside. But Canton-I makes sure you cannot complain after eating their wantan. :) As for the noodles, I think it's not bad, although it is still lacking compared to the original noodles you find in Hong Kong. :)

Huge wantan (prawn dumpling) with noodles

Look at the pork belly! Too bad I don't really fancy the fatty meat, but I love the crispy skin! My complain is that the portion is too small. :( *greedy*

Roasted pork belly (siu yoke)

Finally, Wailian ordered the dried noodles with char siew and beef brisket. The dry version was RM1 more expensive than the soup version, if I'm not mistaken. Probably it's for the extra bowl of soup that came with the noodles?

Dried noodles with siew yoke and chicken feet

A small bowl of soup to wash it down.

Comes with soup!

Overall, I think the food in Canton-I's food has a certain level of quality that is definitely above average. Not the best, but not the worst either. For the environment and their brand, I guess it is only fair for them to charge higher. If you're not too happy with the price, I suggest you go to the coffee shop in Tmn Pekaka! :)

Canton-I
Ground Floor Queensbay Mall (North Court next to KFC)
Tel no.: 04-645 6688

One Step Closer

2009-03-31T13:38:00.000+08:00

At last. :)))

Earth Hour 2009

2009-03-30T09:03:00.003+08:00

After much hype and publicity, the Earth Hour has come and gone. What did you do during that one hour on 28th of March 2009? As for me, I was back in my hometown in Kampar, spending time with my family members. When we talked about Earth Hour, especially with my grandparents, they shooed away the idea, saying that it was silly and it would make us vulnerable to theft in the dark. Of course, my brother and I both said that as long as all of us were at home, there should be nothing to worry about. My grandma also opposed to the idea, because she said it would be difficult to eat in the dark, while my grandpa said that as long as all other lights were off, then we could turn on the dining area lights to eat!

Earth Hour 2009

Anyway, come 8.30pm on that night, my brother was persistent, and he went to fetch a couple of candles to light up the dining area. He also placed a couple on the dining table, so we effectively had candle-lit dinner! The drawback was, of course, with the candles being lit, we had to turn off the fan as well to prevent the candles from going off. So, I think we were more affected by the hot temperature rather than the dim lighting. But we persevered and watched Deal Or No Deal during that period. (I know we're not supposed to watch TV as well, but majority wins in our family) Which reminds me, the contestant that night was silly and greedy to have pursued even after being offer RM20+k for his case. In the end he only got RM3k. *shakes head*

So, I suppose for the first-timer like me, my experience wasn't that bad. I think as long as we have the will to do it, we can convince others to as well. In this case, both my grandparents gave in finally and we had an enjoyable candle-lit dinner for the first time at home. *LOL*

What did you do during Earth Hour?

The ideal honeymoon

2009-03-26T11:25:00.001+08:00

No, no, I'm not talking about my honeymoon, I bet that would be the first idea that came across your mind, yes? :) Instead, I would like to talk about the different types of vacation honeymooners could have, and what would be your ideal choice. What if you're given three distinctive choices for a holiday with your loved one, which would you go for?

1. Adventure-based
This is definitely something different from the typical honeymooners' dream. Imagine days and days of walking around with a heavy backpack larger than your torso, staying in budget motels and eating street food. Some examples:

a) Backpacking across Nepal
I have a friend who went for this crusade once, and she told me about her life-threatening experience there. The whole trip was about 1 month, and she actually wrote a will before she left, in case anything happened to her! Both herself and her husband joined a group of 4 to go for the trekking trip, and they rented a jeep with a driver to explore Nepal and the Himalayas. They had to sleep in tents without washrooms for days. Toilets would be in the jungle or bushes. Probably bathed once a week. Suffered due to altitude sickness. Ate lousy food along the way. And the roads were just next to cliffs, such that a small mistake in judgement would cause all of them their lives. It was all very scary, but she found what she wanted from the trip - spiritual awakening. As for her husband, a photography buff, he found what he wanted from the trip too - amazing pictures and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Of course, not all couples are as lucky as them, to want the same thing in their lives and to want it hard enough to pursue it, regardless of the risks involved.

Himalayas (Source)

b) Climbing the mountains
Well for a nearer escapade, perhaps our very own Mount Kinabalu would suffice. I have been there years ago and I have to say, peer pressure works! Also, spending 2-3 days hiking with your partner could end up bringing you closer to each other, and understanding each other's weakness/strength, provided the plan doesn't backfire and both of you end up arguing the whole time! However, reaching the peak after buckets of sweats and lots of mind power really helped to boost my confidence. Of course, not forgetting the breath-taking sunrise that greeted all of us which made our hard work all the more worthy.

Mount Kinabalu (Source)

If Mount Kinabalu is too easy for you, perhaps you should try the Everest! :)

Himalaya Mountains (Source)

Mount Everest (Source)

c) Trek the Great Wall of China
For history buffs, perhaps a good example would be to trek the Great Wall of China and to admire the over 6,000km long wall of greatness. I never fail to be impressed with how people from centuries ago were extremely resourceful and smart to have built such an ever-lasting piece of art. Up until now, there is no other structure that is even remotely similar to it.

Great Wall of China

d) Dive in the deep blue seas
I have too many friends who are interested in diving! I think it would be a very romantic experience in the deep sea, for lovers to be surrounded by beautiful corals and sea life. Too bad I'm not all that interested in this, perhaps I am just too geli with fish or any other live sea creatures. Even the experience at a fish spa was a challenge for me!

Red sea diving (Source)

Turtles at Sipadan (Source)

2. Traveling in style
If you're not an adventure freak, perhaps you could choose to travel in style. This would be the category that most people I know opted for. To me, traveling in style would mean staying at hotels, having wonderful meals and having transportation arranged with comfort. This type of getaway definitely has its perks because you get to travel in comfort and have good food, but of course, all of these come with a price. :) Some examples:

a) Tour in Europe
I have heard of plenty of couples joining for 8 or 10-day tours to European countries, and all provided great feedback. In my opinion, this type of honeymoon vacation is definitely enjoyable, especially experiencing the culture and lifestyles of other countries. A drawback in this would be the large amount of time required to cover more countries. In fact, even with a 10-day tour, it would still be somewhat rushed, because of the vast amount of traveling required in between the countries in Europe, and not to mention the very long flight from our beloved country. Therefore, for people who prefer to tour in a more relaxed manner, they might have to do it free-and-easy, and with a longer holiday too.

Eiffel Tower (Source)

Imagine all the things that you could do during the trip! Shopping in Milan, romancing under the Eiffel Tower, cruising on a gondola in Venice, taking pictures with the guards at Buckingham palace, eating the best pasta in Rome and so much more!

b) Milking the cows
*LOL* I actually meant visiting countries like Australia and New Zealand. Some people love to enjoy scenery and serenity of the countryside that comes with fresh air. One popular choice would be New Zealand, where there are plenty of farms, meadows and cows! Just looking at pictures already bring me to dreamland. Imagine seeing this scenery every single day!

New Zealand (Source)

3. Rest and relax at spa villages
Finally, this is the third category where lovers just go to one location, preferably some where isolated, and spend a few days there, just kicking back and relax. And with an added premium, you get to have people serving your every needs, almost treating you like a king too! For this category, I can't run away from the Banyan Tree resorts!

a) Banyan Tree treasures
I first heard about the Banyan Tree resorts from a lifestyle programme on the TV. At that time, it was introducing the Banyan Tree Bintan resort, with amazing footage of how each chalet looked like and how peaceful the surroundings were. Seriously, for people who enjoy privacy, Banyan Tree resorts is the place to go! They have many resorts all around the world, but you could see from their list that the locations they choose are usually outskirts, with names that I have not even heard of. I suppose they choose non-commercialized places to promise tranquility, away from the hustle and bustle of tourists. Look at some of the Banyan Tree locations below (Source):

Mayakoba, Mexico

Bintan, Indonesia

Look at the Bintan resort! Each chalet practically has a private pool, facing the sea! Isn't that just amazing? I could see myself rewinding at the end of the day on one of the beach chairs by the pool, enjoying a glass of wine. And swimming in my private pool in the early morning, while watching the sunrise! Gosh, I think this would be my definition of heaven.

Madivaru, Maldives

Seychelles

Lijang, China

Are you blown away yet? I think my choice would be to go to one of these resorts and spend probably 5 days or a week there, just getting pampered and spoiled with my husband-to-be. I read that with a price, you get to have massages every day, right in your own chalet! And breakfast in bed. And tea by the poolside. And candlelit dinner by the beach. Need I say more? :)

What is your choice?

Feasting like a Prince

2009-03-24T11:15:00.002+08:00

Short note: I am getting more and more flamer's attack on my recent post of Bravo Italiana. Seriously, these people have nothing better to do and than to read posts written by "BITCH Malaysian" eh?

Ever since the famous Korean drama Coffee Prince aired on our TV, I started noticing new branches of Prince Cafe. Now, I'm sure they have no connection, but somehow Prince cafe will always remind me of the drama. Anyway, there is one such branch in SS2 itself, which is very near to where Saucer stays. We ended up going to this restaurant for a good few times just because Saucer loves it! And we did enjoy some pretty great deals which I'm going to share with you soon. ;) This restaurant is located just next to KFC in SS2, PJ.

Prince Cafe

First of all, let me make it clear that the food presented in this blog was eaten over a span of several visits! I simply collected all the pictures and showed them all in one posts to avoid redundancy. :) Prince Cafe is actually very similar to Hong Kong cafes (char chan teng) with a twist! What twist, you say? Well, for one, Prince Cafe has a few other cuisines as well, such as Shanghai food, Korean food, Japanese food and so on. In fact, their menu list is so long, it will take you a while before deciding on what to eat. :)

Hot milk tea

One of the drinks that Saucer loves is this mocktail below called Virgin Colada. It also happened to be one of the most popular drinks in Prince, when we asked the waiter for recommendations. This drink is a concoction of ice-blended vanila ice-cream with sea coconut on top and below. While I love the drink itself, I didn't quite like the sea coconut pieces, because they were simply too sweet. I think the sea coconut pieces were actually marinated in sugar before being served, but it's overdone. I felt like I was biting into sugar cubes while eating them. Probably not a good choice for those with diabetes.

Virgin colada

Moving on to the set meals. We ordered the famous cheese-baked rice set that came together with borsch soup and a drink. The milk tea here was definitely much nicer than the one in Kim Gary. It was noteiceably thicker, more concentrated and milkier, making the drink so much more enjoyable. These days, I find that the tea in Kim Gary is getting more and more diluted.

Iced milk tea

Then came the borsh soup. Well, there is nothing too special with this borsh soup. The taste was similar to those in Kim Gary, but the vegetables given were more. You know I always think of borsch soup as the HK version of minestrone soup. Don't you see the resemblance? :)

Borsh soup

Oh and the star of the night! Cheese-baked rice with chicken chop! I think Prince absolutely SCORED in this dish! Look at the amount of mouth-watering cheese used! It's so thick and chewy and very fragrant! The cheese coverage is so thick that you can't even see the meat underneath. A bit of warning though, if you decide to order this, I suggest you order a second lighter dish (if you come with a friend), because eating a whole lot of cheese will not do your stomach very good. :) That aside, this cheese-baked rice was delicious! The cheese actually melted and blended with the rice, unlike the one in Kim Gary. The amount used was extremely generous and the only minor drawback was that the rice didn't have much sauce, but seriously the cheese!

Cheese-baked rice

Our second dish was fried rice with salted egg. This plate of rice was certainly very aromatic, because I could smell this before the waiter even placed the plate on the table. Even though the portion was not big, the taste made up for it. Generous amount salted egg pieces were mixed together with the rice, giving it a natural saltiness. The prawns used were smaller than usual and there was probably not much of other seafood or meat used in this dish, however, the rice was fried just right. Each morsel of rice was thoroughly fried and I couldn't find any big lumps of unfried rice in this plate. Maybe if they added more seafood/meat such as calamari rings or chinese sausages, it would make this dish so much better! :)

Salted egg fried rice

In our second visit, it was during breakfast. Since I was in the mood for toasts, I immediately ordered their signature Prince Sandwich (RM7.90) which was proudly shown with a big picture on the menu. Thankfully, what they served looked exactly like the picture in the menu, so I wasn't disappointed.

The plate above had 4 sets of sandwiches, whereby each set was a combination of 3 slices of toast with cheese, ham, tomatoes, cucumber, eggs and mayonaisse in between. Gosh, I'm salivating while typing all that out. *LOL* The drawback of this sandwich was that it's too difficult to eat because it's too thick! The toothpick there was really functional to help keep everything in place, otherwise, the fillings would just start slipping out when you're holding the sandwich. A very messy process, but nonetheless an enjoyable one. :)

Prince Sandwich

Remember that I mentioned I wanted to share with you some great deals at Prince? Well, here is one of them! Breakfast of eggs and toast with milk tea at a mere RM3.90! Is that a steal or is that a steal? :) The best part is that this breakfast set is available every day, even during weekends or public holidays, so you can always eat them while lazing with a newspaper on a Saturday morning. :)

Pepper and soya sauce

Nothing like a cup of hot milk tea on a cool morning eh? The hot version is even much thicker and creamier than the iced version. However, it's unsweetened, so you'll have to add sugar in it while it's hot if you prefer sweeter tea.

Prince milk tea

This was the half-boiled eggs that came with the set. They were not overly or under done, just right. Add in some pepper and soya sauce and they're good to go - into your stomach, I mean. :)

Half-boiled eggs

Of course, nothing like the good old toast as the accompaniment. :) Dip the crispy toasted bread into the half-boiled eggs for a fulfilling breakfast that is healthy and wholesome.

Two slices of toast

These days especially in KL or Selangor area, it is difficult to get a decent breakfast with good environment at such a reasonable price! OK, I should say cheap price! If I stay in PJ, this would definitely be my weekly routine breakfast. ;)

RM3.90 set of toast and eggs

Moving on to our third visit, which was for brunch. Here is another great deal that I want to share with you. :) Now during weekdays from 9-12pm, Prince has a special morning set meals that come with a drink, and at a discounted price. For example, this Korean spicy noodle set with beef steak is sold at RM6.90 + RM1 (for drink) = RM7.90, while the ala carte price (without drink) is sold at RM10.90! Not only you pay a cheaper price, you get a drink to boot!

Korean spicy noodles

The noodles came with a sunny-side-up and lots of corn and beansprouts. Yes, the noodles were instant, but they were definitely Korean-made (think of the big red instant noodles packet with Korean words on it) and not the local Maggi or Cintan, so they were acceptable. In fact, I always buy Korean instant noodles so I could taste the similarity between these two. The portion was big but don't expect anything fancy, because it's exactly like what you would expect if you cooked the instant noodles yourself. :)

The attraction here, however, was the two big pieces of beef steak that came with the set! The steaks were considerably large in size, and well-marinated. They're also not tough/gamey, albeit slightly oily. The set also came with a side of kimchi. Finishing the whole noodles and 2 slices of beef steak proved to be a challenge for me. I was full to the brim by then!

Beef steak with kimchi

On the other hand, Saucer's brunch meal was Shanghai noodles with pork slices, at RM4.90, and additional RM1 for a drink, totalling it to RM5.90.

Chilli and sauce

The noodles used here resembled wantan noodles. The portion, as usual, was huge. The pork slices also came with salted vegetables, giving it a natural salty and sour taste. Very appetizing. Saucer loved this dish a lot, because it was the second time he ordered the same thing. :) Price wise, it was definitely worth every penny! If I'm not mistaken, the ala carte price for the noodles was around RM8+?

Shanghai noodles with pork slices

Have you got enough of Prince yet? *LOL* I still have one more dish to share, which was Shanghai rice with beef slices and vegetables. The rice was rather dry because there was no sauce given, but the beef slices were delicious and tender with a slightly crispy outer layer. Pretty good!

Shanghai vegetables rice with beef slices

Overall, the food at Prince Cafe was above average, and in my opinion very reasonably priced, especially the special breakfast menus. :) The only thing, perhaps, is that they have too much variety in terms of cuisine and they don't have a signature dish to promote, thereby might confuse customers with their extensive menu. However, cheese-baked rice won't fail you! :)

Prince Cafe
No. 58 & 60, Jalan SS2/67,
47300 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia

Tel no. : +603-7874 3995

Operating Hours:
Sunday to Thursday (10am-1am),
Friday & Saturday (10am-2am)

Traditional toasted bread at Toh Soon Cafe

2009-03-21T07:28:00.000+08:00

What comes up to your mind when you think about breakfast? Ham and eggs? Noodles? For me, it's toasted bread! Well, on that particular morning, that is. Saucer came to visit in Penang, and we met up with his ex-colleague Wailian, who's a true blue Penangite. He always has a long list of famous eateries that he would recommend to us. So on that morning, I asked him about the famous charcoal-toasted bread in Campbell Street and he immediately said he knew where!

On the way to breakfast!

Needless to say, I gleefully sat patiently at the back of his car while he maneuvered through the busy streets of Georgetown. It's amazing how many people were up and doing marketing at 8.30am on a Saturday! It was a lucky day for us as we were able to find the perfect parking spot just in front of the bread place! This is the Campbell Street arch that you can't miss if you drive around the Georgetown area. And this is where Toh Soon Cafe is located.

Campbell street

It is a quaint little cafe, situated in the middle of a junction, and you would have missed it if you didn't pay attention. However, the large crowd there would probably be good enough to be the attraction. Again, we were lucky second time when we managed to get a table just when we entered the shop! In fact, a few minutes later, we bumped in Saucer's friend who had to stand outside the shop for a good 15 minutes to wait for a table!

Toh Soon Cafe signboard

Even though the place was small, it was not stuffed or cramped. At least the ventilation was good. Business was brisk too.

Alfresco dining

We started with our drinks order. The guys ordered iced coffee while I joined the crowd by ordering iced Nescafe. To me, Nescafe is a milder version of coffee because it's not as bitter. :)

Iced coffee

Iced Nescafe

We ordered three sets of half-boiled eggs, 2 sets of toasted Hainan bread and 1 set of steamed Coffee Marble bread. For your information, they have a variety of bread available, including wholemeal bread and the normal white sandwich bread. Of course, we only opted for the traditional Hainan bread to savour its goodness. The half-boiled eggs were done perfectly! Not a minute more or less than it should take. :) Went very well with bread too, I must say.

Half-boiled eggs

I must mention that the main specialty of this shop is that their toasted bread were toasted with charcoal! Not the modern toasters that you usually see in the shops. Isn't that amazing? Really old-fashioned! To me, I found that the bread was much crispier at the outside but soft and moist on the inside. Compared that to normal toaster, the whole slice of break would usually be hard or crispy. However, the two gentlemen with me said they couldn't taste the difference. :S

Toasted Hainan bread

The Hainan bread came with butter and kaya spreaded in between too. It's nice to even eat it on its own.

Second plate

Finally, if you don't like toasted version of bread because of heatiness, you can also try the steamed version. We tried the steamed coffee marble bread, which was very fragrant and extremely soft! Seriously, it's so soft it could melt in your mouth! I loved this very much.

Steamed coffee marble bread

Total amount spent for 3 drinks, 3 sets of bread and 3 sets of half-boiled eggs was RM13.50. That's pretty reasonable, I'd say. With the old-style kopitiam environment to boot! I enjoyed the experience very much and would definitely go back there again. :)

Boiling

2009-03-20T10:30:00.003+08:00

I'm literally boiling now, with anger, no less. I feel like I have been betrayed, by someone I've been loyal to. Why in the world would he do things behind my back? Has he no respect for me? Or worse, does he think I'm invisible? This is simply too much to stomach, after the same incident happening 2 days in a row. *sigh* What is a girl to do? I can only keep quiet and accept it. As Saucer always advised me, if I want respect, I have to stand up for myself. But do I have the courage to stand up for myself? I really do not know. But what I do know is that my emotional thermometer has just shot way up, beyond scales. I. AM. PISSED.

HK Food and Tea restaurant, Ipoh

2009-03-20T07:13:00.000+08:00

During one of my visits to Kinta City, Ipoh, I passed by one of the relatively new restaurants there, known as HK Food and Tea restaurant. It is located towards the back of the mall, just opposite the Maybank ATM machines. Coincidentally, this place used to be a Western restaurant. Now that I come to think of it, there were many different restaurants taking place in this lot previously. Somehow, business always didn't manage to survive for long, resulting in frequent change of ownership. I wonder if it has anything to do with fengshui... Anyway, my family and I were hungry and we didn't have much choice Chinese food in Kinta City, so we went in to try.

witch on the red couch

Business was pretty brisk on that Sunday, filled mostly with teenager groups or families. My first order was this signature drink that was shown in the menu. It was apparently a mixture of yogurt and mango, which didn't work very well, I must say. I think they used too much ice. You can't see it from the picture below, but the whole glass was FILLED with ice! After a few sips, the drink became very diluted and I could only taste slight sourness and that's all. Not worth the price at all.

Signature mango drink

My grandma ordered this fried udon with seafood fish, which was the nicest of all our dishes, comparatively. It was actually pretty good if it wasn't too salty and oily. For people who like salty dishes (like my grandpa), it was a hit! :) It was fried with generous amount of black pepper too, so if you don't like black pepper, you might not want to try this.

Fried udon

My grandpa ordered the pork and century eggs porridge, which came with some crisps on top. I tried some of the crisps to find out that they're already not crispy anymore. :S I guess they thought it's ok because the customers would mix them up in the porridge anyway. Otherwise, the porridge was pretty good. It was thick and smooth, and there were plenty of century eggs inside too! Yum!

Pork and century eggs porridge

We also ordered this seafood noodles just because it was on promotion that day. I still remember the price to be RM8.80. The picture in the brochure definitely looked better than the real thing. For one, the prawn size was much smaller in the real order, and it wasn't very fresh. Also, the gravy wasn't thick/hot enough hence most of the noodles were still hard even after mixing them up together. Again, too salty. This comment was not only by me, but by my grandma and my dad too. It's not biased. :)

Crispy noodle with seafood

Then my dad ordered the honey pork ribs with rice. I guess this is a very common and basic dish in all HK eateries. The pork ribs were well marinated. I love ribs so I might be slightly biased in this dish. :) But it really wasn't that bad.

Pork ribs rice

As for dessert, we ordered one of the ice-cream dishes in the menu. I don't remember the name of this but it was the first item listed in the ice-cream section. The colours were a let down, really. I am turn off by food which is obviously coloured artificially, such as the ice-cream and the colourful flakes below. I regretted with this order, although I believe kids would have loved this. Nothing much to comment about this ice-cream, it's obviously from Walls.

Ice-cream

Overall, I think the food quality was OK, but there is still much room for improvement. Perhaps starting by making the food less salty. I have yet to try out their other HK specialties such as the toast and polo bun. A reason for a next trip! :)

Visiting the roots of Penang's founder

2009-03-18T18:17:00.001+08:00

Last weekend, my friend Wailian brought Saucer and me to a very unsuspecting 'tourist spot' in Penang. He was telling us about how this place was even used as a venue for wedding photography. I'm sure you would be as surprised as I was, when he revealed this place to be...

Cemetery!

Tadaa! Got you, didn't I? Even though it was a bit awkward, I proceeded to go in anyway, since I was really curious to know where Francis Light was buried. The cemetery was still well-maintained even after hundreds of years, it's amazing. Luckily the gate was not locked, so we all went in, only to find that we're probably the only visitors there.

Entrance gate

There was this huge information board at the entrance, detailing the location and information of each tomb. There was even a map with numbers to let you know how to get to specific tombs. I didn't pay too much attention to the numbering because I thought it would be more interesting to search for the tombs ourselves.

Information board

There were many important people who were buried in this cemetery before, especially the British. The pathway was nicely built and led us to the inner part of the cemetery. I guess if we just stay at this path without walking in, we wouldn't have known that this was a cemetery plot. :)

Walking path

Walking in gave us a very calm and peaceful feeling, maybe bordering on eerie too, once we saw these lying around us. One thing noticeable is that their tombs came in all different shapes and sizes, and most of them were buried on the ground, instead of inside the ground, unlike the Chinese cemetery. I suppose the size of the tomb also reflects the status of the person buried inside.

Cemetery

After the first path, there was a second path continuing, without the tiles. We walked further inside, hoping to find the home of Sir Francis Light's.

On the way in

We were greeted with more elegant tombs, with the company of huge trees that protected us from the sunshine. It was really rather comforting walking in the midst of thick trees, mainly because it made us feel protected.

Calm and peace

So we started with our quest to look for the tombstone with Francis Light on it. It wasn't that easy.

For one, there were plenty of mosquitoes in the cemetery! And we were all wearing shorts, so it was really annoying to flick them off. I guess even mosquitoes found this place to be comfortable to them. :P

Spankie?

I saw many tombstones with the last name of Brown. I'm not really familiar with the history of Penang but I'm guessing this Brown fellow must have been a very important person in the days of yore.

Mr Brown

Then there was this gigantic tomb that we saw, complete with a dome. We thought it was Francis Light's but it wasn't.

Saucer and witch

This was the back view of the gigantic tomb.

Biggest tomb

Still no sign of Francis Light. At that point, I thought of going back to the front to look at the map for the location, because the mosquitoes were seriously irritating the hell out of me. But then I saw it! The great father of Penang, Sir Francis Light, resting in peace. It's surreal to come so close to history, to know that Francis Light really did exist.

We found it!

Even Wailian was captivated by it.

Wailian admiring Francis Light

Thank you Sir Francis Light, for bringing us the wonderful gem that is Penang. :)

Posing with the founder of Penang

Anyone still thinks this place is appropriate for wedding photography?

How I won Sakae Sushi voucher

2009-03-17T19:49:00.000+08:00

It was the weekend, and I was staying at home in Kampar doing nothing except for reading blogs. It was then that I saw Foong giving away a KFC voucher in one of this blog post. I am not a big fan of KFC, but since I was bored, I decided to give it a try. The contest required the readers to guess a piano rendition by Foong himself by naming the song title and artist correctly.

Foongpc's KFC Giveaway

After listening to the song, I thought it was very familiar and it sounded very much like a Korean song. You know what I did? I actually went to youtube and searched for all Korean dramas' soundtracks. And I listened to all of them! *LOL* Needless to say, I was wrong. After a while, I just gave up. The next morning, when I looked at the blog again to see if anyone got the guess right, I realized that Foong gave some new clues. And within minutes, I was able to guess the song title and artist. Since no one else was giving the answer yet, I thought I was going to be the sure winner and commented in the post.

Then I waited and waited anxiously, only to find out one day later that my comment disappeared! :(( And worst of all, someone else managed to guess the answer already and claimed the prize. Well, it's not that I cared too much about the prize, it's about winning. :P Anyway, I just told Foong about this and we're both surprised at how a comment could go missing.

Well, luckily for me, Foong managed to discover my missing comment a few days later, on a totally different post! That's so funny!

My comment on another blog post

But it's really a blessing in disguise, because now instead of getting the unhealthy KFC voucher, Foong would give me Sakae Sushi voucher instead! *claps hands in glee* I am more than happy with this new arrangement. And kind Foong actually took the time to write me a short note as well. :)

Note from Foong

Sakae Sushi voucher

Here is my Sakae Sushi voucher. Yes, I can go and eat my favourite Chicken Teriyaki rice again. *grinning from ear to ear* Thank you again Foong, for being so kind and for recognizing my entry even though it miraculously appeared in the wrong post. :)

Bravo Italiana still a long way to go

2009-03-16T10:41:00.000+08:00

After reading about Bravo Italiana from Penangtuapui.com, I, being a big fan of Italian food, was looking forward to visit the restaurant some time soon. The opportunity presented itself when the kind Penangtuapui was giving away 20% discount vouchers to its readers who want to visit Bravo Italiana.

Therefore, Saucer and I went to the restaurant one fine Saturday for dinner. It was about 7.30pm when we reached, and only 2 other tables were occupied. When I first entered the restaurant, I was captivated by the amount of paintings lining up the walls of the place. There were also plenty of cute and one-of-a-kind ornaments decorating the place, exuding a certain warm Italian charm about it.

Interior of Bravo Italiana

Our first order arrived, which was the garlic bread (RM4).

Garlic bread

Now, I have said it before that the garlic bread pretty much represents how good an Italian restaurant is, because it’s the fundamental appetizer that cannot go wrong. Unfortunately, the garlic bread in Bravo Italiano was really not my cup of tea. For starters, it was rather bland. Sure there were sprinkles of garlic on the bread, but perhaps there wasn’t enough butter? It was just a torture to eat it after my first piece. Besides, I was appalled when I asked the waitress for olive oil and vinegar to go with the bread, to be was given traditional vinegar instead of the balsamic vinegar that should be expected.

I was expecting this:

Olive oil & balsamic vinegar

But was given this:

Traditional vinegar & olive oil

And that was after she gave me a blank look when I requested for it, like she had no idea what I was asking. Of course, to avoid embarrassment to the waitress, I just let it slide. This was probably the only time I ever condemned garlic bread. Just makes me miss the one in Bella Italia SO much.

Next up, our main course arrived. I ordered the Spaghetti Al Capitano (RM29.80), which was very similar to spaghetti marinara. The first impression, I must say, was pretty good. The presentation was attractive, especially the big pieces of mussels, scallops and prawns surrounding the plate.

Spaghetti al Capitano

I quickly dug in and found the prawns to be pretty succulent and fresh. There were also calamari rings and salmon fillets hidden beneath the pasta, definitely not skimping on the seafood here. However, aside from the pasta, prawns and calamari rings, I really have no other praises for this dish. The mussels, albeit large, were absolutely fishy! I put the whole big piece into my mouth and after a few chews, I was reliving my nightmare of the fishy oysters at Manhattan Fish Market. I have tasted mussels before and they were certainly never this fishy! I simply couldn’t stand it, and gave the rest to Saucer.

Can you spot the scallop roe?

The scallops definitely looked big and tempting, but don’t let the size betray you. Almost half of the scallop was actually scallop roe. Yes, the scallops here came with roe, which, to me was not a good idea. The roe was so extremely fishy, to the point of inedible (by my standards). Also, I even read from forums that scallop roe is highly perishable and is not supposed to be served! *gasp* At this point, both Saucer and I thought there was really something fishy with this pasta! The mussels and scallops were not very fresh! I’m sorry to say that the same went with the salmon fillets. Goodness, we could SMELL the fishy stench before even eating them. So you could imagine how much more fishy the salmon was inside our mouths. Seriously, I have a strong feeling that their seafood used (aside from shrimps) was not exactly fresh.

How scallop roe looks like

Our second main course was the Hawaiian pizza (RM28), which was by far the most expensive Hawaiian pizza that I’ve ever ordered. Honestly, it’s just chicken sausages and pineapples. I really don’t see why it’s priced almost the same with the Spaghetti Al Capitano that had so much more seafood in it.

Hawaiian pizza

Anyway, that aside, the amount of cheese used was definitely generous. Nevertheless, it’s sad to say that this pizza was too sour and a little bland. After just one bite, I could taste the chicken sausages, which, by the way, seemed to me like they came from the packet of frozen sausages I had bought from Jusco supermarket earlier today. Also, the pineapples used were too sour. At one point, both Saucer and I were picking out the pineapples because they were just too sour to savour. The base of the pizza was also sour from the tomato paste, and the pizza crust was tasteless. Basically, the pizza was just – sour, without much of other taste. Rather disappointing, especially for the price they charge too. Domino’s Aloha Chicken fared much much better than this, sad to say.

Even though Penangtuapui.com had good reviews for this restaurant (and I had high expectations for it), I’m afraid that it really failed to tickle my senses. The worst thing was that after that meal, Saucer was hit with a bout of diarrhea the next morning. :( Poor poor guy. I have a good mind that it must have something to do with either the mussels or the scallop roe. *sigh* I guess it was just not our lucky night. It is safe to say that Bravo Italiana still has a long way to go in my books, and I’m not looking to go back there again anytime soon.

Bravo Italiana
01-01-11, Complex I-Avenue,
Medan Kampung Relau 1,
11900 Bayan Lepas,
Penang.
Tel no: 04-641 0499

Gook Zay Restaurant, Kampar

2009-03-13T18:58:00.000+08:00

Oh, finally I can introduce to you good food from my beloved hometown in Kampar! :) I'm really happy because this is a place with really nice food, reasonable prices and it's rather hidden so I'm sure none of you knew about this place yet! :) Anyway, this place is called Gook Zay Restaurant, situated in between Aston Settlement and Bandar Baru township in Kampar. *sigh* Too bad I don't have a proper map to show you. But if you really go to Kampar sometime and decide to visit this restaurant, do email me and I'll give you detailed instructions. ;) *Sorry for not taking the picture of the shop, it was raining heavily that night. :( Will put it up the next time I visit it!*

So this shop was opened probably about a year ago. Previously the owner actually rented a hawker stall at one of the coffee shops at night and served 'chu char' to the locals. But business went REALLY well with her small stall that eventually, she moved to a whole restaurant of her own! She's a pure Siamese (the locals call her Sim Poh - Siamese woman) who is married to a local Kamparian, hence she can speak perfect Cantonese while her dishes are oh-so-glorious! One thing about her is she only uses the freshest of food to cook! The fish, meat and even vegetables are all fresh from the sea or from the market, because she markets daily. Also, her supply of seafood or meat are limited because of her high standards of freshness, rendering limited choices.

My family and I have visited this restaurant numerous times before, and their specialty is the Tom Yam Goong with prawns! I tell you their Tom Yam is one of the best! Very fragrant, very 'chi kek' (exciting) and very appetizing! And the prawns used are nothing less than fresh. Imagine tantalizing tom yam soup, coupled with big and succulent prawns... Ahh... Splendid! However, during my last visit there, they were out of prawns!!! :((( *super sad* See? I told you their supply of meat/seafood is limited. You have to go there early (6pm) to avoid disappointment. *sigh*

It's ok, there are still tonnes of other stuff to try when you're there. :) This shop is fully operated by family members, namely Sim Poh being the chef, the brother-in-law/brother selling cuttlefish in a stall in front, the husband selling fried noodles in another stall in front and the kids managing the drinks. One big happy family. :) Might I add that their cuttlefish is also very good, springy and has amazing gravy. That night, we ordered a plate to try, but it was so good, we ended up ordering another one!

Cuttlefish

Look at this picture below, my brother and father co-operating when I asked them to hold up their food. :P

Close up

While waiting for our dishes to arrive, we also ordered one plate of fried noodles because we were all hungry. This stall, as I mentioned, is manned by the chef's husband, who previously also rented another stall in another place. When he moved over to this new restaurant, he brought with him all his old fans, my family included. :) His specialty is fried thick mee(tai luk min) in his special dark sauce. Due to the fact that he uses pork lard in his dishes, they are extremely fragrant and have very good 'wok hei'. But don't expect anything healthy from his stall. :)

Fried noodles

Back to the dishes. Well, apart from the famous Tom Yam, their other dishes also deserve praises. One of the dishes that we never fail to order is the Sesame Seed Chicken (Chi ma kai). Look at how each piece is encapsulated with delicious honey and sesame seeds. The amount of honey and gravy used was not too much until it drowned the chicken, and the taste wasn't too overpowering. It was just a perfect combination, especially with rice. The chicken was initially fried before mixing with the gravy, hence each bite was crispy on the exterior.

Without a doubt, this is my second favourite dish after Tom Yam soup. :)

Sesame seed chicken

Then there was the 'mui choy kau yuk', loosely translated as braised pork with pickled chinese cabbage. I LOVE mui choy! Ever since I was young, I discovered my love for this vegetable and my grandma used to cook this very often so that I would eat more rice. :) This dish really brought me back to my school days. Mui choy is naturally salty, so if the preparation is not right, you'll end up with an extremely salty dish. Luckily, Gook Zay did the dish correctly and it was really good!

Mui choi kau yuk

Then there was the compulsory vegetables that every table would order. For our dinner, we ordered the stir-fried choy sum. Nothing really special about this dish, because it's a straightforward dish with nothing fancy.

Stir-fried choy sum

For those who like petai, this is the place to eat! My father and grandma, both crazy fans of petai, absolutely worship the petai from Gook Zay. I get disgusted by the pungent smell, but I never fail to eat the prawns and the sambal from this dish. ;) Anyway, I trust my dad's sense of taste very much and if he says this is good, I bet you this is really good. :)

Belacan petai

So that was our typical dinner in a Kampar restaurant. Writing about this place makes me crave for its Tom Yam Goong again. *sigh* Next visit I'll make sure to go there by 6pm to satisfy my ever-lasting craving! :)

No thanks to Manhattan Fish Market

2009-03-11T07:41:00.002+08:00

A couple of months ago, I have actually blogged about Manhattan Fish Market before, and didn't have too much praises for them. I even told myself that I would never dine there anymore. Fast forward 2 months later, Saucer and I were in Gurney Plaza New Wing, hunting for food during dinner. It was about 6+ pm and most restaurants were still rather quiet.

Gurney Plaza new wing

In fact, we had in our minds, the place to go for dinner. Our initial choice was Fish & Co., which had one of the nicest seafood platter, in my humble opinion. Fish & Co. used to be located at the Gurney Walk, just outside of Gurney Plaza, same row with Manila Place, A&W, etc. However, with the recent renovation of the new wing, all the restaurants were rearranged and we were walking around the New Wing, searching high and low for Fish & Co. In the end, we gave up and asked the Information counter, only to find out that Fish & Co. had closed down! :((( What's more, it is now replaced with Manhattan Fish Market! *NOOO*

You couldn't have imagined by disappointment at that time, because I was really looking forward to eat their signature seafood platter. *sigh* Dejected, we just walked around again, until we passed by Manhattan Fish Market. Since I was still craving for seafood, I told Saucer to stop by just to see their menu. Needless to say, they had their own version of Seafood platter as well, and before long, a waitress came to us and started convincing us to give it a try. When we were hesitant, she even said she'd give us a 10% discount! Fine, I said. And that's only because of my cravings. :P *LOL* So we gave MFM another chance.

The place was still rather empty at 6.30pm on a weekend. But that was partly a good thing because that meant our food would be served fast.

Manhattan Fish Market in Gurney Plaza

While waiting, I didn't miss out the chance to camwhore. :P

Waiting with anticipation

Before our platter was served, there was the typical 3-dish sauces including mayonnaise, chilli sauce and finely chopped garlic. The garlic portion was so little it looked miserable next to the other sauces. Why are they so stingy with garlic, I wonder?

Typical 3 dishes of sauce

Anyway, as predicted, our food came quite shortly after our order. And one of the signature acts when you order a MFM seafood platter is that the waiter would grill the shrimps right in front of you. While that is interesting, it isn't entirely practical. In fact, when we looked at the shrimps up close, the flame was actually burning the mayonnaise on the shrimps instead of the shrimps itself!

Waiter firing away at the shrimps

This was our seafood platter for two, consisting of rice, calamari rings, fried oysters, dory fish, fries and of course, shrimps.

Seafood platter for two

Look at the shrimps just loaded with mayonnaise. Eww... If I knew it was going to be served this way, I wouldn't have ordered this dish at all! Needless to say, I scooped out the mayonnaise immediately before eating the shrimps. And what do you know? The shrimps inside were not hot at all, which meant the flame didn't serve any purpose. Plus, the meat was also not fresh! It was not succulent and very dry. Possibly one of the worst prawns I've ever tasted. The meat was stuck to the shells!

The calamari rings were OK, but I don't think one can ever really go wrong with fried stuffs, unless they are not fully cooked! Then the oysters! They were, indescribable. I don't know how to describe them other than awful. Imagine a crispy and nice exterior of the golden fried oyster, but when you bite into it, a very strong fishy smell was emitted. That's not all, upon a closer look, you could actually see black particles, just like fine sand, in the middle of the oyster. Yuck! I don't know if these black sand-like particles exist in other fresh oysters but I certainly didn't notice them before. What's worst, they left a very bad and fishy aftertaste in my mouth. :(

Moving on to the dory fish, which needs no introduction. I wasn't expecting anything great from this fish, because I tasted it before in my previous disappointing visit. Yes, that was without a doubt, the same bland fish with the same thick batter and the same -__- face from me. The only thing I kinda enjoyed eating was probably the rice and the fries. By the way, the fries were actually not that great, but because I love fries, I couldn't really resist them no matter how bad they were.

Close-up of shrimps

So there you have it, my two cents of my second and most definitely last visit to MFM! I am truly disappointed with the food there, even though the service was not too bad. No wonder by the time we left the place at 7.30pm, the restaurant was still as empty as it was before. I really hope someone from MFM would read this post and do something to improve their food, starting with the freshness of the seafood they use. Otherwise they can just kiss their business goodbye, especially with more and more delectable eateries mushrooming.

Reviving my wet handphone

2009-03-08T19:57:00.002+08:00

It was a working day as usual, and I was driving to the office early in the morning at 7.30am. After finding a nice parking place, I turned over to the passenger seat to carry my bag, only to see a BIG puddle of water on the seat! *gasp* Then I realized that my bottle of 1-litre water was almost empty! The careless me must have forgotten to tighten the cap of the bottle the night before, and since the bottle was placed in my bag, it was major flood case. :(((

The seat was drenching wet, and there was a puddle of water in my bag. A PUDDLE. And all my stuffs inside were wet thoroughly, with my handphone being the most vulnerable of all. I was terrified and used whatever I could find to dry my handphone first (meaning tissues). After somewhat drying the phone, I tried to switch it on to find out whether it worked or not. Bad mistake. Being someone with electronics background, I should have known that electronic parts that are wet would get shorted when powered on. Anyway, the phone did start up and stayed on for merely 10 seconds, after which it shut down automatically. Then only it hit me that something inside must have shorted and drawn lots of power until the battery was drained.

The next thing I did was to drain all the water from my bag first, lest more things got unnecessarily wet. :( Before I left my car, I also wound down my window slightly so that the water would have an outlet to evaporize throughout the day, under the hot sun. After that, I gloomily walked to the office, hoping and praying that my dear Sony Ericsson phone would not fail on me.

Once I went back to the office, I searched for help online, be it in the form of internet surfing or through IM with close friends. One good friend of mine who works in the telecommunications line told me to disassemble the phone and use a hair dryer to blow dry it, then let it cool in the dry air-conditioned air before assembling it. That sounded pretty straightforward, only that I didn't know how to disassemble the phone! Another friend suggested putting the phone inside a bucket of rice because rice is apparently a very good dessicant. Being the impatient person that I was, I couldn't possibly do NOTHING for the whole working day until only after work when I could place the phone inside rice.

So, I decided to pursue with my first friend's suggestion, which was disassembling the phone! With the help of Bamboo and some online tutorials, I managed to disassemble the phone successfully! It is really not that hard, but you need the correct tools and the correct amount of energy to avoid spoiling the casing. So, here I present to you, the guide to disassembling the Sony Ericsson K530i handphone.

Tools required:

Small flat screwdriver (2-3mm wide)
Torx screwdriver

Sony Ericsson K530i

Back of phone

1. First of all, remove the outer casing from the back of my phone, followed by the battery and SIM card.

Remove cover, battery and SIM card

3. Next, remove the M2 (memory card) from its slot at the side.

M2 card

4. Using the small flat screwdriver, try to dislodge the clips at both sides of the speaker cover. Be careful to just pry at the sides of the cover and not the centre, for fear of breaking the case. Try to look for opening to insert the screwdriver and slowly but firmly angle it such that the clips are dislodged.

Dislodge the red speaker cover

5. Using the same method as above, dislodge the last piece of back cover using the screwdriver. Again, make sure you pry only at the sides.

Dislodge the small black cover at the back

6. Then, use the Torx screwdriver and unscrew all four screws that you could see at four corners of the phone. This would be an easy task.

Unscrewing the Torx screws

7. Now the last part of the disassembly is to separate the front casing with the rest of the phone. This will need patience and energy to do it, because I took many tries but only managed to dislodge one side of it. Perhaps I was just too fearful of breaking the case into pieces. :P Luckily Bamboo helped to save the day. :)

Separate the front cover from the rest of the phone

Tadaa! Phone successfully disassembled!

Front cover

Naked phone

Even though my steps are specific to the Sony Ericsson's K530i model, I'm pretty sure it would be applicable to most phones (except Iphones, flip phones, phones which are not one piece, etc).

As for my little mishap, I left my phone 'naked' for the rest of the day in the office, until I went back home in the evening. Then, I used the hair dryer and blew dry it. Afterwards, it was assembling the unit back into the original piece! In my opinion, assembling is much easier than disassembling, because not much brutal force is required, and there is less risk of breaking or scratching surfaces. :/

Now, the most exciting part is, did the phone still work after the flood it went through? Let us see... Powering it on now and after a few seconds...

My phone is alive! :)

2 messages received! Woohoo! My phone was revived! *relieved* Thank god there was nothing wrong with it. Now you know what you should do in case you meet with the same emergency situation like mine. :)

Tip: Before assembling the front cover back, make sure you clean the inside of the transparent part properly. Use non-static cloth or cellophane tape if you will, to make sure there's not even one speck of dust there. Else, you will face with my result. :( Look at my LCD screen, the dust you could see is actually trapped in between the casing and the LCD screen inside. And I'm too lazy to open up the whole thing again to wipe that off. :(

Sony Ericsson K530i

A Day in Zhangjiakou, Hebei

2009-03-05T18:47:00.000+08:00

After the terrifying incident that happened the day before, I was mostly numb the whole night after that, with 'what-could-have-been' kept repeating in my mind. We all checked into a hotel at Zhangjiakou city, about 45 minutes from Wan Long ski resort that night. The next morning, Zhang Ti, Chao Jie and Brother Ma proceeded to go for their second round of skiing as agreed. The rest of us including Joanne and her hubby Mr Liew, stayed back in the city. Needless to say, I was too traumatized from the incident the day before to go up to the ski mountains again. My mom, too, said she had got enough of skiing, so we both planned to stay back in the city and asked Joanne and Liew to go ahead without us. Being the hospitable host that she was, she insisted to stay with us even though I knew she LOVED skiing!

Anyway, we started by taking a cab to the nearyby market in the morning. The temperature was about -14C, which was freezing! The streets in the morning looked cold and gloomy, probably because all the trees were leafless. Even the sunshine didn't really help much.

Cold and gloomy morning

The market in Zhangjiakou was really a busy one, even in the cold cold winter days! There were loads of different stalls selling mostly food and many stores selling winter clothings too.

Busy street at the market

Plenty of stalls selling dried foods such as these in the market. I had no idea what they were. :/

Dried food for the winter

According to my mom, apparently those dried foods and nuts were pretty cheap. She bought home some walnuts and almonds, and the picture below shows gingko as well.

Gingko and nuts

After a while of walking, we smelled something pungent from a distance. It couldn't be... oh but it was! The unmistakeable smell of the smelly tofu (Chau tau tu in Cantonese) was soon to catch up with our noses. I for one, had absolutely no desire to go near the store, but Liew kept convincing us to give it a try. Fine, so we all stood nearby while waiting for him to prepare. Luckily with the cold weather, the smell was not as strong as it would have been.

Smelly tofu (beancurd) in the making

And I did eat one, in case you're curious. Apparently if you eat without inhaling, then it didn't taste that bad. Well, I did exactly that and the tofu was not that bad. However, the aftertaste was nasty! Once I opened my mouth after I finished eating, my breath stunk! Eww... Not anymore for me, thank you.

witch eating smelly tofu

Some of the other stalls on the roadside include the roasted chestnut, also with its own pungent and familiar smell.

Roasted chestnuts

Another roadside stall we came across was this egg crepe, prepared by 2 lovely ladies. The crepe was rather plain but seeing it being cooked was definitely tempting. It's too bad that with the freezing weather, the crepe got cold after a couple of bites, and cold crepes were not nice at all. :(

Delicious crepe

Couldn't get enough of food eh? This was a roadside lok-lok stall with plenty of people standing and eating. The fiery pot of delicious skewers with the hot soup were enough to attract me to try it out. I only ate 2 skewers and honestly, they were pretty normal. I guess it was the experience of eating piping hot skewers in the cold cold weather that counts. :)

Street lok-lok

Nevertheless, when we met up with Zhang Ti in the evening, he told us that these lok-lok stalls were very unhygienic! Apparently the soup used to boil the skewers was recycled for a whole week before they're changed! *Eww* Luckily we didn't have any case of diarrhea after that.

Piping hot food

After eating enough of roadside stalls, we continued walking and exploring the market. Liew wanted to get a pair of pants because he tore his own pants during skiing, and at the most unflattering part too! :P He was wearing Zhang Ti's pants at that day, but after searching a few stores, he gave up the idea of purchasing because they didn't have his size. :/

Oh, look I spotted McDonald's!

McDonald's is really everywhere!

More of roadside stalls food to see! Starting with ping tang hulu:

Ping tang hulu

A variety of balls made of flour. I believe they're something like tang yuan, perhaps someone could help to translate the Chinese labels?

Tang yuen?

Even sugary bread, something like donuts but in an elongated and twisted shape:

Sugary long donuts

Bread with ham and egg, certainly didn't look too popular here:

Bread with ham and egg

Along the way, we were greeted with the incredible driving skills of Chinese men too. Look at the picture below, it was a major gridlock on the road! And bear in mind, it was NOT a parking lot. All the vehicles, big and small, were at a standstill. It's amazing how the drivers in China maneuvered their way out!

Major gridlock in traffic

Not only vehicles, even the people had their own people jam. Look at how packed the streets were!

Sea of people

Before long, we decided to look for a place to lunch. Since we were not familiar with the area, we just entered whatever shops that came to sight. Just like this one that we spotted from the outside.

Restaurant

Lo and behold, the restaurant, just like the streets was packed to the max! And it was extremely noisy too, which didn't work well with Joanne. Almost immediately, she turned around and asked us to go to another restaurant.

Crowded restaurant

Finally, we ended up at this place somewhere down the corner of the road. A very traditional and quaint shop, nestled in the middle of the busy streets.

Entrance to restaurant

The decorations of the restaurant were very pretty and charming. Definitely gave us a feeling of how restaurants in the olden days would be. Some of the shots captured around the restaurant:

Counter

Decorative roof

Spotted this ancient lamp and a couple of hulu or bottle gourds.

Hulu @ calabash

Traditional Chinese wine

The ingredients of every dish were actually laid out in the front of the shop. There were chefs working just to get ingredients ready, after which they would be cooked at the back of the shop.

Food!

Cute chefs at work

A shot of the startled waitress in a pretty uniform.

Whatcha looking at?

Our lunch for the day! As usual, fish was a must. The food here was pretty all right, nothing too memorable though.

Lunch

Except for this corn, and the dessert later on. The corn here was VERY different from the corn we have in Malaysia. This was salty and sticky, and each kernel was like one big piece of glutinous rice. It was definitely not something I like, even though Joanne enjoyed it very much.

Salty and sticky corn

And this sweet dessert was something cool! It looked and tasted a little like mango, but it's not mango at all! Apparently they used some kind of radish and created this dessert. Very refreshing because it's served cold, and not exceedingly sweet, too.

Sweet dessert

After lunch, we all went back to the hotel to wait for the rest of our group who were on their way back from skiing. Our journey back to Beijing took another 3 hours or more, and we reached there just in time for dinner. It was our last night in Beijing and Joanne brought us to a shop famous for Sichuan dishes. Some of the dishes we had that night:

Freshwater fish soup

Chicken cubes in dried chilli

Cold dish of vegetables

Spicy frog!

The Sichuan food was amazingly spicy and hot! It wasn't the normal spicy that we experience in Malaysian food, it was a numbing spiciness, rendering your lips and tongue to be lack of sensation. I couldn't handle most of the food there, and just ate mostly fried rice and vegetables. :/

So, that is all about my Beijing trip, finally! We left for the airport early the next morning, to catch the MAS flight back to KL. It was without a doubt one of the most memorable trips I've had so far, with lots of different culture, food and unforgettable experience for my keepsake. Beijing is definitely a lovely city with kind people. The only gripe was, as you could guess, that I couldn't read much of the Chinese words or speak them. But fear not! There are loads of information on the internet that could help you by if you're like me. :)

Till we meet again, Beijing!

My near death experience

2009-03-03T13:53:00.000+08:00

It has finally come to blogging about the part of my Beijing trip that I have been putting off for a few weeks. This is mainly due to the phobia that I have developed after a particular incident that happened on this day. To date, it still gives me the shivers whenever I think about the unfortunate mishap that befall me. Let me start the story from the beginning. It was the New Year's day of 2009, and we woke up very early at 6am to get ourselves ready for our next adventure. We were all going skiing! Yes, snow-skiing in the mountains, to be exact. A group of 7 of us chartered a van to drive to the northern part of China. The journey would take about 4 hours so we had to make sure we started early. Halfway through the drive, we stopped by a secluded roadside store which sold food for passers-by. The store also had a public restroom next door which was ghastly! There were faeces in almost half of the toilet booths available, so you can imagine the smell they exuded. Yuck!

Anyway, we went back to the restaurant and apparently they sold food buffet style. We just had to pay RMB10 (RM5) per person and we could eat as much as we wanted. Of course, the food choices were very limited. My plate consisted of some mantou, rice, stir-fried beef, vegetables and some cold dishes. Oh, there was also a hard-boiled egg, which I ended up putting in my pocket to keep myself warm. :P Anyway, the food wasn't that bad, maybe because we were all hungry and cold.

RMB10 buffet meal

Moving on with our journey, we saw the magnificent Great Wall of China along the way. It was really amazing at how long this wall is! After hours of driving and I could still spot it. Anyway, our target was at Chong Li county, in the city of Zhangjiakou, north of Beijing. Being in the northern part only made the place colder than what Beijing was already experiencing. The average temperature at that time was -10C to -16C. *gasp*

Map of Hebei province

After a couple more of hours driving, we finally reached our destination at Wan Long Ski Resort in Chong Li County, Zhangjiakou city, Hebei province, China. It's apparently the most beautiful and comprehensive ski resort in China and it's also newly established, being only 3 years old. We were all very excited, but I was more nervous of the cold weather. Look at how I covered myself up, I must have worn numerous layers of clothes underneath, with mittens and a beanie too!

witch at Wan Long

Not long after, Joanne helped us register and get our passes for the day. There were many types of entry passes to be purchased, either 1-hour, 4-hour, 1-day, 1.5-days or longer. We all took the 4-hour passes as we're only beginners. After getting our passes clipped permanently to our jackets (this is to prevent transfer of passes among the skiers), we proceeded to get our equipment consisting of the skis and boots. Wearing the boots really required some skill because they were extremely hard and high, and securing the locks was no easy feat for beginners like me. What's more, walking in those boots was harder than it looked! Basically, your lower feet starting from below the knees up to your toes were all rigid within the boots, so you have to walk like marching, without bending your feet or your toes. Not comfortable at all. Anyway, soon we were all geared up and ready to ski!

Ladies who ski!

Look at all the different slopes that Wan Long ski resort has. I shudder just looking at how steep they were and how deadly this sport could be. Of course, we all started with the beginner's area, which was actually really flat compared to the slopes that you see on this picture below.

All the different slopes

Even though the sun was shining brightly, we were still freezing cold! But that soon changed once we started skiing, because we soon began to sweat. In fact, I thought I was wearing too thick, which didn't help my flexibility.

Beautiful snow

At the beginner's area, one had to ride up an escalator to go to the starting point, before one could ski down. Since it was my first time, I slipped and fell many times! Thank god for the soft snow, so it didn't really hurt when I fell. Only problem was whenever I fell, I had to wait for someone to help me get back up. It was not easy to grasp the skill of skiing because it was all so slippery! Whenever I tried to stand still, I would find myself gliding down without my control. And stopping was not easy too, if you didn't use enough force on your legs. Soon, Joanne saw that we were having a hard time to control ourselves and she engaged 2 instructors for my mom, Chao Jie and me. The instructors only taught us for one hour and fortunately, I learnt how to ski down the beginner's slope without falling anymore. However, my braking skills were still not very good. :(

After completing the brief training, I went up the escalator and skied down several times, only to notice that my mom, Chao Jie and Joanne were not there anymore. So I proceeded to walk back to the base station and saw my mom resting. She told me that Joanne and Chao Jie actually went up the lift to the slopes. I was surprised that they actually dared to go up because they were just beginners with not much practice. And the slopes did look deadly. Anyway, before long, I spotted them skiing down happily. They were telling me that the view from the top was breath-taking, and that it was not that hard to ski down the slopes. In our group, there was another guy called Zhang Ti (Joanne's friend) who's a professional skier and snow-boarder. He convinced me to try skiing down the slopes too, and that he had my back. Deep down, I did have a desire to try that, because it's not like I would go skiing often, and those lifts really looked exciting.

Minutes before my near-death experience

Lifts

After a few moments of pondering and more convincing from Zhang Ti, I decided to take the lift to go up. Bear in mind that my skill was really still questionable, because I didn't even have confidence of braking properly. Anyway, the ride up the slope took about 5 minutes, and then I was greeted by the most magnificent view of all. Everywhere was white and gorgeous under the sunlight. So we started to ski down from there, and in my first try, I couldn't brake properly and fell down. Only then, I realized that it was so MUCH harder to stand back up in the middle of the slopes. Back in the beginner's area, the area was still not steep so I could stand up and kept myself still. But in the steep slopes, I could hardly stand still without gliding away. It was really difficult. :( I told myself to keep trying, so in my second try, I skied down slowly at first, but because I "smartly" positioned my skis straight (instead of going zig-zag), I was gathering speed even before I could blink my eyes! The speed was accelerating as I went down, and I lost sight of Zhang Ti because I was just too fast. I started to panic and tried to brake by applying the skill I learnt. I was supposed to widen my legs to form the letter '8' in Chinese, but that didn't seem to work and I was just going faster and faster down the slopes! And horror of all horrors, I spotted two persons in front of me in a distance. Thinking of the worst that could happen, I screamed and shouted with all my lungs because I couldn't do anything else, hoping that they would hear me and give way. And just a few seconds later, I felt a big crash, I was somersaulting, my head hit the snow once and I was rolling down before finally stopping. It was true, I had indeed hit into one of the guys in my way.

When reality sank into my senses, I noticed that my firmly-buckled skis were flung off from my boots, and my beanie was flown away, but most importantly, I saw the guy I hit from a distance, crunching with pain. At that moment, my head still hurt with the fall, thank god it wasn't serious enough to be a concussion. My legs and toes were painful and numb. At one point, I thought I had actually broken my toes, because I couldn't feel them inside the boots! I was really worried. Soon, Zhang Ti came by, and asked me how I was. I was in a daze. The guards nearby came to my aid, and I was out of the skis and just wearing the boots. Zhang Ti asked me whether I could walk up back to the top to take the lift down, and I said no. So the guard called for a snow jetski and I was driven down. Needless to say, I became the attraction whenever the jetski passed by anyone, because they'd think that I must have met with some accident to have to come down with the motor. :(

Lift station

When I reached the base station, I was almost limping with the pain in my legs and my inner thigh. I told my mom all about it and she got so worried she almost blamed herself for letting me go up in the first place. Zhang Ti was telling me that I was going too fast that he couldn't even catch up with me. Apparently, I skied down the wrong way, for a beginner, that is. I should have skied down the zig-zag direction, so as to increase the resistance of my skis, and to reduce my speed. But I skied down straight, which was how one would ski to gain full speed! *sigh*

Later on, I found out that the two that I saw in my way were actually Chao Jie and Brother Ma, both also in the same van in the morning! Chao Jie told me she heard me screaming from far so she managed to avoid me in time, but Brother Ma was actually sitting down on the snow fixing his snow board and couldn't move in time. I hit the poor guy in the knees, and he couldn't even walk properly afterwards. :( Fortunately, all skiers who ski in Wan Long are covered with insurance, so Brother Ma was treated at the first-aid center there and was given a recommendation letter so that he could get further treatment from the local hospitals. I felt really bad for what happened, and for spoiling the skiing trip for him. :(( My mom felt terrible as well, because on one hand, she felt guilty for the mishap that happened to Brother Ma, and on the other hand, she kept thinking what if I was the one who was hit by other people. I could be the one ending up with a bad knee. After I came back from Beijing, I checked with Zhang Ti on how Brother Ma was doing and apparently he had to rest at home for at least 2 months! *gasp*

Anyway, the experience was really traumatizing for me. I kept on blaming myself for going up the lift even though I knew I didn't have the skill to ski down yet. But what's done's done, so there was no use crying over spilt milk. Brother Ma was such a dear and didn't even scold me or got angry at me for one bit. In fact, he was such a sport that on the next day, when Zhang Ti and Chao Jie wanted to ski for another 4 hours, he also followed them along, just to sit by the base station and watch. I really hope that he's doing well after a few months of rest now.

As for me, I had tremendous pain on both my legs and my inner thighs. I was given some medicine to rub on by the first-aiders. Thanks to the thick layer of clothes that I was wearing, I didn't suffer from any cuts. Later that night, I went back to our hotel room and massaged the bruises with chinese medicated oil. And look how they turned out to be the next morning! All red!

Bruised legs

That was not the worst! The bruises kept changing colours from red to green to black even and went back to red again. They took about 2 weeks to completely recover.

witch with bruises forcing a smile

Up to this day, whenever I recall the same incident in my head, I couldn't help but wonder, what would have happened to me if Brother Ma wasn't in my way. I mean, I was just in the early part of the slope and there was still a very LONG and STEEP way down. I could have continued skiing down out of control and hit into more victims, or worse, I could die. This was truly the most memorable experience of all in my whole trip to Beijing. Probably in my whole life.

New Year Celebration in Beijing

2009-02-27T22:17:00.005+08:00

After our visit to the beautiful Summer Palace, we proceeded to Joanne's showroom to meet up with her colleagues and friends. All of us then made our way to our little new year gathering, which was a sumptuous dinner at a Hainanese restaurant. It was, as usual, freezing to walk in the night.

We reached this street of brightly lit restaurants with a big arch at the entrance.

Road to dinner place

Guess what? The first shop I saw was Starbucks! Isn't it cute that Starbucks is operating in a very Chinese and traditional building? This is really east meeting west!

Starbucks in a Chinese building!

This was the restaurant we went to on that night. It was brightly lit from the outside, and had beautiful decor inside. This restaurant apparently specialized in Yunnan (云南) food.

*Update: Upon checking with Joanne, it turns out that the food we had was from Yunnan and not Hainan. Oops!

Dinner place

We started with a hot pot of Chinese tea.

Nice pot of tea

There was this plate of four seasons platter, where I only ate the Unagi! *LOL* It's definitely funny to spot unagi in a Yunnan dish.

Four seasons platter

Then there was the usual freshwater fish as with most of our meals. This one was did with sour and spicy vegetables - too spicy to be exact. Not to mention with lots of bones. I didn't quite like this dish.

Fresh water fish

Here are the other dishes that we ate that night. There were so many to eat that we had a hard time catching up with the waiters clearing up our tables! It was like every 5 minutes, someone came in with a new dish and we had to clear something from the table to make way for the new dish.

Various Yunnan dishes

Out of all the dishes, I enjoyed the roasted pork ribs the most. It's the third picture from the bottom, on the left column. It was very fragrant and crispy on the outside, but tender inside. :)

I met some of Joanne's workers/colleagues there too. Presenting to you, authentic Beijing girls! They were nothing short of friendly and warm.

The warm Beijing girls

And this is my new found friend, pretty Chao Jie. Over the last few days in Beijing, we spent a lot of time together and I indeed managed to learn up quite a lot of Mandarin from chatting with her! Even my mother was amazed that we could sustain a conversation for a few hours! And the guy next to her is her husband.

Pretty Chao Jie and husband

Look at our table! No empty space for any new dish. We were definitely feasting like there's no tomorrow. *LOL* And there was so much leftover food that night that every one of us had something to tapao back.

Group picture

After the filling dinner, we went on to the next location for our next entertainment! It was just within walking distance, across a lake.

Brightly lit discos/pubs

The club we went to was festively decorated due to the Christmas/New Year season. There was also a Chinese band performing on the stage. Obviously, I had no idea what they were singing or talking about. I was mostly spending my time playing dice with the girls at my table.

Interior of club

A group picture before we started drinking into the night! Well I had Chinese tea if you must know. :P

Joanne, mom, Chao Jie and witch

The girls again

Halfway through the night, the performers on stage got the crowd excited with games and quizzes. There was one game where the singer announced a certain phone number on stage, and the first person who sent an SMS to that number would get to win a prize! This girl from our group (so sorry, I forgot the names!) managed to get her SMS through and she was called upstage. When she was up there, the rest of her girlfriends kept screaming and asked her to sing! Apparently she was a very good singer and was not shy too! She gladly complied to their requests. Man she was good! She sang solo up there, with no lyrics and no hint of nervousness. And with such grace too! I know I wouldn't be able to even stand up there without feeling the accelerated heartbeat.

Performance!

After that, we were also treated to eye candy in the form of a hot and sexy belly-dancer. She looked very young, perhaps 15 or 16 years old, but she could dance and twist really well. Needless to say, she got all eyes hooked on her during the 15 minutes of her performance, especially guys'. *LOL*

Sexy dancer

These are the guys who were with us that night. That is, before they got drunk! :)

The guys: Liew, someone, Chao Jie's hubby

By midnight, the performers on stage were singing a Hacken Lee song, perhaps the ONLY song that I was familiar with the whole night I was there. And there was the countdown and cheering and glasses clinking. Just like that, it was another year. Too bad Saucer wasn't with me. Next year, definitely! :)