IKUPM Easter Musical

Need me to elaborate more?

The most I will elaborate is on how to get there. I already took 2 days leave for this event. Am looking forward to it... and meeting with my friends too. See you there!

more and more ramblings....

It has been awhile since I last posted something regarding to food here. And some of my readers might be wondering is the same person running this blog. The relatively low salary in Ipoh really limits me to the number of good food I can review. Nevertheless, I will try my best to keep up with my passion on reviewing and sharing good (and not so good) eateries in Ipoh and KL. I shall not let the salary report from Jobstreet spoilt my mood too much...

Quoted from another article I posted on my FB: "In 1986 I started with a salary of RM2400 working in a bank, bought a Nissan Sunny for 13k, and 4 years later bought a double storey terrace house in PJ for 120k. I sold the house in 1997 for 350k ( now probably worth 450k), and a 1300cc car easily costs 30K or more now, but today new graduates still get their starting pay of RM2000. What went wrong in our country?"

allow me with my rantings: Cost of living is no longer low in Ipoh. Plain noodles now is at least RM1.20. Iced Chinese Tea is RM0.50 in most places. RON95 is still RM1.90 in whole Malaysia. Electricity and gas is not cheaper in Ipoh. And how come we are still so ignorant to under pay the workforce in ipoh under the name of "low living cost"?!

Two roads diverged into a yellow wood......

Hang a banana on a string in a cage of apes, with a stairs under the banana. Before long, an ape will go to the stairs and start to climb toward the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all the apes with cold water.

After awhile, another ape will make an attempt, but the result will be the same - all the apes will be sprayed with cold water. This should continue through several more attempts. Pretty soon, when another ape tries to climb the stairs, the other apes will all try to prevent it.

Now, turn off the cold water. Remove one ape from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new ape will see the banana and want to climb the stairs. To his horror, all the other four apes will attack him. After one or two more attempts and attacks, he'll know that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original 4 apes remaining and replace it with a new one. The newcomer will go to the stairs and be assaulted again. The previous newcomer will now take part in the attacks.

Replace the third original ape with a new one. The new one will repeat the situation and get attacked. Two of the four apes that beat him will have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs, or why they are participating in the beating of the newest ape.

After replacing the fourth and fifth ape, now all the apes which was originally sprayed with water have all been replaced. Nevertheless, none of the five "new" apes will ever approach they stairs though they have not been sprayed by water. Why not?

Because that's the way they've always done it and that's the way it's always been around here!

If you want something you never had, DO something that you have never done!

This video is kinda inspiring. Many of us have creative ideas. But how many of us dare to take the first step and materialise your thoughts and realise your dreams? Recently I have been asking myself, how can I break free from this strata of society? Sigh.... financial thoughts.

Recess Revo Tour~

Recess Revolution is a movement/mobilization of young people who are maximizing recess time (waktu rehat) in schools to make a statement of what they believe in, and to make an impact by being a positive influence right where they are. It is a coming together of like-minded, like-spirited youths to do something together in their schools with a mission to make the difference and bring about positive change (i.e. revolution)! It is not just about bringing people to Christ, but - even more so - about bringing Christ to people (and into schools)

!

Wo lai bu ji yao blog

Was supposed to clear up some backlogged post.... a few food post pending. I was resolute to write a post tonight, but ended up chatting on MSN and on the phone, and without realising, its past midnight. So, I shall share a song only.... This song has been playing the whole night. Should be from a local TV series, Age Of Glory 2 if I'm not mistaken.

Tony Roma's lunch sets, Midvalley

It was one of my my many wish left unfulfilled before leaving my studying days in UPM behind me. And today, I manage to dine in Tony Roma's and at a more affordable price. Tony Roma's offers reasonably priced set lunches on weekdays starting from RM16.90. It includes soup of the day and a drink as well.

The soup of the day was mushroom soup. It was creamy enough to my liking and has generous bite sized button mushrooms. The slight drawback would be it was tad salty. The packet of crackers was not enough to contain the saltiness of the soup. I had to depend on the complimentary bun (its called BATON if i'm not mistaken) served with herbed garlic butter.

For the main course, I chose their famous ROMA RIBS. This whole lunch set cost me RM39.90. It comes with 2 big sized beef ribs. They offer ala carte portion of 3 ribs!!! But I find 2 ribs to be a sufficient portion and may satisfy the MOST carnivorous midday appetite. If the ribs don't, the humongous servings of fries and coleslaw will!!!

The beef ribs was slightly better than the ones I tasted in San Francisco Steakhouse back in Ipoh (that was lamb ribs, abit injustice done). The ones in TR was dry on the surface but has the distinctive smoky charred aroma. The ribs were not piping hot but warm enough. You can choose from a series of sauce to get it basted. I opted for their signature Original Roma sauce which gave the smoky BBQ like savoury taste. The meat was not totally tender but it does save you alot of knife work as it can be removed from the bone without much hassle. Best to drown it with a Stout instead of iced lemon tea though. =p

TR serves alcohol, thus I doubt its HALAL status. At the most I felt its just PORK FREE. Besides alcoholic beverages, you may find yourself captivated by the wide ranges of colourful yet sinful desserts. Since I'm dining alone, I have to save it for another time as I'm convinced you get what you pay, the portion here is HUGE. So far, one visit is enough, as I believe there are much more hidden gems in KL to be discovered on my next trip. =)

Cravings for something sweet and rich tonight...

Light and fluffy Japanese Cheesecake with Rum and Raisin Ice Cream, Chipsmore Caramel Chocolate Fingers and Cadbury Chocolate Sticks, dusted with MILO Powder and drizzled with honey......... what a long name. in simple, my home made supper. ^^V

Latt Tong - overrated and quite disappointing.

Yang ni TAK sedap. Indah khabar dari rupa. Serdang is famous for its cooking with Hakka influence, namely the overrated Yong Tau Foo, the Ji Bao Gai (Parcel wrapped chicken) and last but not least the Latt Tong (Pepper Spicy Soup). Spending most of my 4 years in Serdang while I was in UPM, I was utterly disappointed by the first 2 items over and over again. This time during my weekend in KL, I finally get to try the Latt Tong, which I didn't try it all my 4 years in Serdang. And thus, the disappointing trio is completed!

To give it some credit, the peppery soup is indeed fragrant, infused with ginger slices. A good dish during a rainy day. Other than that, its something quite similar between a cross of the ingredients in Bak Kut Teh and Pig Stomach Soup. We ordered the Hwa Tiao Chicken too. Both claypot were done in portion of 3 pax to feed 5 people. Throw in a small vege dish and RM 5 plates of white rice and chinese tea, a bill totalling up to RM80+. There was certainly nothing special with both dishes, the portion DOES NOT justify to bear the price tag of RM30 per claypot, what more the taste! Totally does not live up to its name. Looking at the crowded stall, I'm very skeptical with Kl people's tastebuds.

=.=

Song sang in church this morning

I'm truly blessed during this morning's worship in church. This is the song originally sung by Hillsongs, in which Jayesslee made a cover version. Can't wait for Jayeeslee's album or tour/concert in Malaysia. Apart from good harmonization and acapella-styled vocals, the lyrics are very meaningful......

Especially this part......

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart from what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause
As I go from nothing to eternity....

Food updates.... and how I get through a 6 working days week

Retail therapy is necessary when people throw crap at you most of the time sometimes. Or when it's 6 working day week. I'm so glad to have my hands on my Rum and Raisin Ice Cream. It's hard to find Rum and Raisin flavour in Ipoh. Even Baskin Robbins has STOPPED SELLING it for some "halal" issues. Ishhh....

I have expectation how will this taste like but curiosity prompted me get a pack from the shelves. I bought it for RM4. Just for the sake of trying. And to inform my dear followers of my blog and Facebook of this new product. Hope my dear readers are blessed despite there are some minorities who are offended by my constant spamming on Facebook over updates of food, those bloody follower of Dayo Wong's philosophy. =p

Lot 10 - sloppiness under one roof?

Tired from walking around the few big shopping complexes in Bukit Bintang, namely Starhill Gallery, Pavillion and Fahrenheit 88, Sin Mei proposed a cheaper alternative to a light lunch in the basement of Lot 10. Apparently, they have assembled the famous food around KL and Selangor alike as tenants in the the basement Food Court. Unfortunately, I haven't heard of anyone of them after looking at the photo gallery.

Food here don't come cheap. You are seated in a clean and air conditioned environments. But ultimately, you are in Bukit Bintang area. Whaddya expect if they charge you RM8+ for a bowl of beef balls noodles set like the picture above? The beef ball was bouncy but lacked taste. Rather bland. The minced meat on top of the noodles was abit mediocre too.

The Braised Pork Ribs Noodles also was abit normal too me. Nothing really to shout about. If I'm not mistaken, this was ordered from a famous wantan mee stall. The beansprout will turn of any local Ipoh people. 2 dishes and I'm still not impressed.

Unable to pick the food I wanted, I went to have a Teriyaki pork burger (RM7.50). To my horror, I witnessed my pork burger patty microwaved before serving. Enough said. The bun was preheated on the grill but was made soggy with the excess mayonnaise and teriyaki sauce. A messy creation. The pork burger was juicy but I would prefer mine fresh from the grill. Another failed attempt.

Shin Yee's plate of "Singapore Hokkein Mee" is greasily oily. Though it had my favourite lard fritters, the noodles also was sloppily prepared. All in all, I can conclude that its just for dining famous hawker fare without a fuss, all under one roof. But at a heavy price; the loss of authenticity. It maybe the most famous Char Koay Teow, but once you employ foreign workers to fry under your banner, its still Mee Goreng Myanmar or Wantan Mee Indonesia. =p But the funny thing is KLites love to patronize shopping malls for hawker food and mamaks for western food and pizzas. weird.

Brunch at Levain Boulangerie & Patissarie

Sleeping at 3+ the night before normally won't allow you to wake up timely for breakfast. The better part was having brunch on a cheerful and sunny morning does rejuvenate you from within. Travelling along the smooth flowing and light traffic all the way down to the city, Levain is situated near the Selangor Golf Club, should you are not aware where is Jalan Delima or Jalan Imbi, right? Its a bungalow unit by itself. Upon arriving about 11am, this place was crowded to the brim, ensuring us that we were assured notable good food. For me, a hot cup of Cappucino (RM6.90) to fight off the after effects of a late night beer induced sleep.

They take pride in their stone oven. A stone oven is better in terms of heat circulation and distribution; baking consistent bakery products. And I've read from their website that they produce their own baker's yeast. Working in a bread factory, I can say that you will need some considerable volume before investing to produce your own yeast. But, its a good measure for quality consistency. Look at the busy staff in the kitchen.... and the flock of customers! The concept here is simple. Pick whichever pastry you like head to the counter and pay for your drinks at the same time. Get your receipt, head to the drinks counter to collect your beverages.

For something savoury and filling, we had the Grilled Chicken Loaf. The bread sprinkled with black sesame is not your typical bread. Being dry and a bit chewy, this is a typical sourdough bread, in contrast with the softer sandwich loaf using sponge and dough method. This may not appease everyone as one might think the tender and juicy chicken thigh was in total contrast with the dough. You might need to exert some jaw work while bitting off the bread.

The egg sandwich was just a typical item. But we took it as we wanted to savour the texture of the bread. A portion came in alternate combination of both white bread or wholemeal bread. The bread was indeed soft and spongy.

The Turkey Ham and Eggs. Well, I really do not know how to describe the eggs. Its a cross between hard boiled and poached. And I felt that only the yolk part was used. Once mashed, the yolk and the mayonnaise formed a velvety finish to what's entering your mouth.

Done we the savoury pastries, we head on to satiate our sweet tooth cravings! This is a miniature croissant dipped in milk chocolate, almost the length of your index finger. And I have to share this alongside 3 other people. Despite coated in smooth milk chocolate, the strong butter smell of the fluffy and flaky croissant was ever present.

Another flaky Danish pastry, the Caramel Cheese. The cheese was inside the pastry with a caramelised pastry. Surprisingly, it was not that sweet as the caramel surface only provided enough to match the rich cream cheese. A cross between sweet and savoury, but confirmed a filling one!

Now for our final touch, we had the Durian Melon Bun and the ermmm.... Alien Dust Ball forgot the name of it. A melon bun is something similar to the Polo Bun made famous in Hong Kong. The bun is encrusted with a cookie like pastry, whereby good ones will give a crumbly and slightly crispy top. Rather than picking the conventional ones, we opted for the one with durian filling! Durian paste filling was filled generously inside the bun, giving a robust finale of the meal!

Before and after snapshots. Sad little creature got itself broken into half with chocolate oozing out its brain core. The surface is coated with Oreo Biscuit, if my tastebuds serve me correctly. Not to sure about the "eyes" though. Very cocoa-ish instead of chocolatey.... Actually most of the items here are best shared, so you can lay your hands to try more variety as they boast of serving over 60 types of different bread and pastry, apart from their ala carte orders made to order dishes like pastas and soups.

Upon finishing our meal outside, we are abit lazy to queue up again for the Macaroons or cakes. These are some of the snapshots I got while queuing to get my beverages. Stop being macho and indifferent. Just admit that these little morsels of different colours do bring a smile on your face. Beautiful creations aren't they? And I heard they are freaking sweet too.

Look at the big family tree of the macaroons! ^^

Look at the cakes........ How I wish I have a "unlimited 1 day pass" to grab and taste whatever I like! How you wish you own this place right? Generating income while having the freedom to taste whatever you like. *day dreams*

Besides pastries and cakes and some main course, Levain offers "designer chocolates" as well. A friend told me that Beryl's is the one manufacturing these chocolates for them, which are not sold in retail market. It came along with a hefty price tag (to me at least, I wonder if it manage to cause a pinch to KLites)

There! Another eatery reviewed. I hope I can stop by Levain again in the near future. Dining in a English styled cottage with reasonably priced pastry ranging from RM1 to RM5 per piece. Perhaps with a different group of friends when I drop by KL. And this time around, I'll make sure I get my hands on the Macaroons. =D

A hidden gem amidst the flying airplanes - Kwai Lam Food Stall

Kwai Lam Food Stall is situated somewhere isolated in Kampung Baru Subang, its somewhere pass Terminal 3, Subang Airport. On the route to this hidden gem, I think one might be able to arrive here via the Sungai Buloh way. Upon arriving, we were greeted by a huge crowd, and almost a full house eatery. No fancy decor nor air condition, which can only mean one thing to draw such big volume of customers; THE QUALITY OF FOOD!

Man, let's hope that would be right as we braced ourselves to face the possible long wait. We noticed there were at least 10 tables not getting their food yet. Nevertheless, the kitchen is doing their best to whisk up a storm. Perhaps we have some peanuts and crackers to munch on, our first dish arrived after 15 minutes! That's fast!! Steamed Frogs with Grated Ginger. Served on top of a steel plate with candles keeping it warm, the flesh of the frogs were succulent yet firm! There is no unpleasant odour tagging along. If there is, the grated ginger sauce would've done the trick. The grated ginger made me having spoonful after another, despite we didn't order any white rice to go along with it!

Look at the muscular legs of the amphibian! The price tag which came along was reasonable. RM18 for the plate you see in the photo...

Next, Butter Fried Mantis Prawns (RM12) came in a reasonable portion, enough to be shared by 5 people. Very greasy though, it has the slight resemblance of being salted egg coated which is.... the zenith combination to your rising blood pressure! =p If only we ordered half a bottle or two of Carlsberg to go along with this dish.... rather than chinese tea.

Well what I like a lot of this place is, they really can synchronize the order of the dishes very well. Knowing that we were not eating rice, the dishes came not long after the order was placed though there was some gap time between one dish or another. The Yau Mak came after the Fried Mantis Prawns, and it couldn't have arrived better to clear our guilt feeling before moving on the fill our stomachs with the Tai Look Mein. Besides pork slices and fish cake, the noodles contains lard fritters which really entices my appetite! Guess what? We ordered portion for 3 person, and we got quite a big plate and for a very low price, RM10 only!

Enter the supposed highlight of the night - Banana Leaf Grilled Stingray (RM20). This dish seems to be a bit steep compared to the more reasonably priced dishes earlier. However, the portion is still sufficient to be shared by 5 person. The only drawback was the curry/kunyit marinade could be abit more pungent. The best grilled sting ray I had in Ipoh was the corner stall called OCEAN in Dung Gu Teng (Anika Selera) but I guessed it has changed hands, so not that nice anymore. My preference would be those grilled to almost dry and the skin almost crispy while maintaining the juicy flesh!

The last thing to arrive was their Fried Chicken Wings (RM2.30/piece). I noticed many tables also ordered the chicken wings and grilled fish. However I've tasted better fried chicken wings but this version ain't too bad either. Not coated with any flour but fragrantly marinaded in soya sauce, oyster sauce etc, the chicken wings is rather dry, love it or loathe it. The total bill came to only RM83 for 5 person, inclusive of towels and chinese tea. I would love to come back for more, as you wouldn't find such pricing in Selangor, places such as Subang. Crabs is a must for my revisit, now contemplating to choose between the steamed with egg whites style or the sweet and spicy chilli gravy. Yummy Kwai Lam!!!!

Ayam Di Dalam Tempurung

Another one photo short post. This is my first attempt of using my factory's trial product. Judging by its hard and crispy crust with a rather hollow and spongy core, I saved a portion of mom's curry chicken from dinner to make a resemblance of Kampar's Curry Chicken Bun. Besides this, I think this type of crusty bun would ideally complement well Cream of Wild Mushroom. Okay, I know I've been distracted by the horrific incident and experience in River Nile, coupled by exciting suppers for the past 2 nights. I shall resume with the KL posts after this. Have a nice weekend, everyone (except for me, working tomorrow)

JJ Cakes - SWISS ROLLS~

Finally I get to try the Swiss Rolls from JJ Cakes. They boast in their preservative free cakes which is best eaten fresh, or should be finished by the next day. No artificial colouring or flavouring is used. Well, the colours still look very striking be it Pandan, Honeydew, Strawberry and Banana. Tastewise, it suits those health conscious as it was not too sweet. My tastebuds were overshadowed by the Milk Tea I'm drinking, so you can roughly estimate the low level of sugar used. The texture is like cotton soft! And its fluffy! From the experience of working in a factory which produces bakery products, the secret would be in the flour used. A special texture flour is used to get that degree of sponginess! Now, can they claim that "no artificial ingredients" is used? =)

Pontian Wanton Noodles in SS2

After Shin Yee picked me and Lei Yi up from Sentral, we decided to head back her home to rest. On the way back, we decided to grab something to fill our stomachs to facilitate a better nap time later =p

SS2 was indeed a busy residential area. Amidst the many shops, we decided to give this a try! The previous time I was in this area, we went for KTZ to savour their Mango Lolo and some light snacks. Abit skeptical bout how franchise food can taste good, I decided to give the benefit of the doubt and see what this shop has to offer. Upon entering, I saw the shop almost packed to the brim on a Saturday afternoon. Flipping through the menu to make orders, is it because of the food tasting good or is it due to the affordable pricing to have hawker fare in an air-conditioned environment? I last recalled my claypot lou shu fun cooked by a Burmese worker in a hawker stall cost RM4.50 and only had one tablespoon of minced meat and an egg. And that was 2 years ago.....

RM4.50 for a small bowl, RM5.50 for a medium and RM6.50 for a large one, Pontian Wantan Noodles shop is famous for..... their wantan noodles! Abuthen. Seeing many tables having the dry version, we know we couldn't go wrong by ordering what is popular or liked by the majority. But wait, even so, there are 3 types of dry noodles - pure black sauce, black sauce+ chilli oil and tomato sauce (huh?)!!! Tempted to be different to try the tomato sauce version, I chose the original one in the end to play safe. We ordered another bowl of the one with chilli oil!

The noodles had a springy texture but maintained its "toughness" because it's not the fine versions some of us had before. The mouthfeel of the noodles is acceptable to me. But, the boost to it was certainly the fried lard found generously inside the noodles! Now I wonder, is it lard oil being used as the gravy as well? Tastewise, the one with chilli oil had the edge of the two! The original sauce tasted abit too salty to my liking. Now, I wonder should I order the tomato sauce version, would it gave me a pleasant surprise. Is the tomato sauce referring to the "tim cheong" we had in our Ipoh Chee Cheong Fun? Or those ketchup? Hmmm.... You may want to read Motormouth's feedback on the tomato sauce combination by clicking on his post here.

Not realising the dry version of wan tan noodles came with BOTH fried wantans and wantans in soup (3 pieces fried, 2 in soup), we made an extra order of a bowl of wantan in soup! RM4 for 10 pieces, one can easily downed this bowl in a jifty. The wantans here somehow missed the mark for its skimpy portion of filling! The dumplings (5 fried ones for RM4) beat the wantans anytime! The skin was crispy and yet the filling was moist and juicy! Dipped with mayo and chilli sauce, this is good finger food to go along with your noodles!

You may also dip your fried stuffs inside the bowl of Laksa (RM5 for small bowl, RM1 to increase the size per tier). The laksa has a curry like soup and definitely not the sourish asam type. I am not a big fan of the version served here but neither did I dislike it too. A thinner and finer type of "lai fun" is being used in this dish, coupled with some tau fu pok, fish cake, cockles and hardboiled egg. To me, the soup is more like curry than laksa! LOL....

Although aware that this place is not a master in desserts, I still picked one to try. The Honeydew Sago (RM3.50) came with LOADS of sago, with fine bits of watermelons and honeydew. The coconut milk and honeydew pulp was at the right proportion, neither too rich neither too fruity. I love sage but IMHO, they crossed the limit a little. Hehe.... Final verdict? You can skip this place if you have better things in mind to try. But the reasonably priced food certainly beats those "tom dick and harry foreign-worker-managed"hawker stall in KL right? =)