oPeNs 24 hOuRs a DaY...

Healy Mac, Ipoh - Irish themed bar

2012-02-10T00:09:00.002+08:00

At first I thought Healy Mac was another copycat of the sudden bloom of bistro/pubs/bars/chillout places trend in Ipoh, particularly a mimic to the St Patrick Irish Bar theme. I was wrong to find out that they are actually a chain store, just like Overtime. You can read more about their website here. This is their third outlet, situatied in a corner lot in the same row with big guns Berlin Bier House and ChaTime.

Ambience is quite welcoming with portraits of the Irish pride, Whisky on the wall. There is a Leprechaun doll or two hanging around the barrels/tap at the bar counter. Background music is mainly hits from the 80s, featuring numbers like Beat It and Sweet Child Of Mine, shown in their MTVs version on a LCD screeens around the bar area. The crowd here are mostly from the working age group. No sign of any Ah Beng, golden haired La la Chais nor any fish net stocking Ah Lian throughout the whole 2 hour chilling out session on a Thursday evening.

Ambience aside, lets move to review the food - Organic Pork Spare Ribs. I do not know howorganic this can be, but the meat was indeed very tender and fell off the bonewithout much effort to rip it. Tasted a bit mild without much overdone with thesweetish BBQ sauce, they take pride in incorporating Guiness Stout tomarinade/glaze the ribs. Served with a side of buttered corn and carrotand a scoop of mashed potato, this is comfort food to go along with yourbeer/Stout!

Grilled Fillet of Salmon was our pick from the 3 fish dishes in the menu. IMHO, I find the menu to be quite limited. Perhaps they want to make sure they give you the best that they can offer. Its either fish and chips, cod fish or salmon. The salmon is served in a chunky cut drizzled with some white wine sauce. Portion of the fish is not very big. But the sides of Guacamole, sun dried tomatoes, mashed potato and mixed vegetables should make it a wholesome meal.

This is the Aglio Olio with Bacon Bits and Smoked Salmon looked a bit childish in terms of presentation but it was quite nice! Perhaps I have a soft spot for bacon! and also smoked salmon!!! Lightly tossed in olive oil infused with some garlic, this dish tastes better than it looks.

The Mixed Sausages platter comprising Emmenthaler, Frankfurter, Hungarian, Thuringer Sausages. A mustard-wasabi dipping sauce is served but it doesn't complement the sausages well. Nothing really spectacular about this dish, except being a good finger food for beer.

Last but not least, the photo of the bill. Hehe... This are the sides of mashed potatoes and Sauerkraut which comes along with the sausage platter. They are served on a wooden like tray which normally used to present the bill. =.= Poor presentation here. Anyway the total bill for 4 of us come to nearly RM200. They have various type of beers, both drafted from the tap or in bottle form. The Carlsberg draft here is RM35 a jug which is quite reasonably priced. Kilkenny and Strongbow and various type of hard liquor and cocktails are also available. There you go, another "in trend competitor". How well will Healy Mac fare, it depends on Ipoh people!

Folie Folie Cafe and Grill

2012-02-08T00:23:00.002+08:00

Although it has been opened for a couple of years (I think), I only paid a visit last week. Time to give my parents a good dinner treat. Mom went for Traditional Fish and Chips as she could not really find something she likes from the limited choices in the menu. 2 pieces of battered Dory fish on a bed of crinkle cut fries. Served with a bed of lettuce and Thousand Island sauce. Dory fish flesh was a bit too moist and bland. The fries was not fried to perfection, a bit overdone.

Roasted Chicken Leg with a choice of Mushroom/Black Pepper Sauce. Served with generous servings of baked potatoes and baby tomatoes. The potatoes are well flavoured from the inside out. The chicken if a bit too dry to my liking. Perhaps it would be better if a bit more gravy were to go along with it.

This is their version of Cabonara served with Chicken Ham (its a pork free restaurant). The presence of the creamy gravy is not really sensed by the eye but was detected by your taste buds. The strong aroma of cheese boosted this dish to be more appetizing. The shitake mushrooms were one of my favourite. Lightly sauteed with a faint hint of garlic, it added a touch of umami and was the saving grace as I always looked upon the bacon bits to play its significant part in a good old plate of Carbonara. Despite being a bit dryer, the version here is not bad.

Carlsberg is the only draft beer available. Half a pint at RM8. That's quite a steal. And their 1/2 pint seems to be quite a lot. Maybe its due to the tall glass design. I really like the beer here. Although its draft beer, its not too dilute or "less gassy".

Baked Cheese Rice with Seafood in White Sauce. A well done effort compared to the likes of Wong Kuok/Kim Gary. The rice seems to have a mild wok hei which I think they pan fry it a little to get rid of excess moisture and to lock in the fragrance. This extra step plays a big role to avoid the dish being too messy and moist when mixed with the creamy sauce and cheese later.

Beef bacon with Enoki Mushroom rolls. No pork bacon as its a pork free cafe. They were a bit too generous with the enoki, making is a bundle so big that its very hard for one go inside your mouth

The plate of Grilled Lamb Cuts (RM10.80). Very robust in flavour. Well marinaded. Meaty. But a bit on the chewy side. Makes good partnership with your booze.

Folie-Folie Cafe and Grill is situated in the same compound as Kelab Gemilang Perak. Dunno what so grand about this club. Maybe got snooker centre, gym and sauna only gua.... The next time I'm here, I will come with a group of friends to unwind with the live band.

Lee Burger

2012-02-05T09:49:00.000+08:00

Talk about procrastination. These photos have been in my handphone for over a month and I decided to just do a quick coverage on Lee Burger, Bercham (corner shop behind the GP Food Court). Though near to my workplace, I only ate once or twice for lunch as I'm a firm believer that good food must be enjoyed in a slow paced, stress free period. Having the thought of need to return back to work after eating makes me sulk

There is nothing really extra spectacular about Lee Burger. Not the ambiance definitely, as it is not air conditioned. But its mainly the style of their Western food here. How many of you grew up visiting Thum's Western Food in Wooley for your Western Food Fix? I'm sure you will find the brown sauce used here very familiar. Not to mention the onion rings and the garlic toast served along with it...

Fancy a more filling meal? Opt for rice instead. There have Chicken Chop Rice, Pork Chop Rice, etc... mostly under RM10 but still it cost more than how you would normally spend on an average lunchtime right?

That is why I went during dinner. Enjoying my Chicken Cordon Bleu slowly (around RM13... forgot the price). You should by now noticed that the side dishes for the chops are the same. The crinkle cut fries, onion rings (from real whole rings of onions, lightly battered and fried), garlic toast and some coleslaw on a bed of lettuce. Having so much fried stuffs on the side, I could not imagine ordering Chicken Maryland.

Thankfully for my plate of Cordon Bleu, the brown sauce will make sure your meal will not be a dry one. A slice of ham and melting out in gusto as you dissect that deep fried slab of meat. By the way, they serve a PORK version of Cordon Bleu too.

The black pepper lamb chop (around RM17) comes in a generous portion, grilled to perfection. For most food items in the menu, you can top up RM3 on your ala carte price and upgrade it to be a set meal. RM3 means a bowl of soup of the day, drinks of either ice lemon tea/ iced lime and a serving of watermelon for dessert.

If that doesn't fill your stomach, and you do not feel like ordring spaghetti or sandwiches they have some Oriental offerings like Curry mee, stir fried chinese dishes and Red Wine Chicken Mee Suah (as shown as picture above). Served in a claypot, the serving is substantial for a person (around RM10) with a lot of boneless chicken meat. You feel the tinge of ginger alongside the red wine paste from Setiawan (not very generous in portion as the soup did not turn awfully red like those in Setiawan). If a bit more sesame oil is used, then it will be perfect. There you go, review of Lee Burger, Bercham! Happy weekend folks!

Yea Won and Daorae Korean Cuisine

2012-02-01T00:29:00.000+08:00

One of the best part about Korean food is... There are a myriad of side dishes. Not only they are free, they are also refillable. Clueless on where to dine over the extended CNY period, a meal in a Chinese restaurant will most likely cost you an arm. Japanese and Korean cuisine which normally are on the higher end range seems like normal price during this festive season. Hence, we decided to have our dinner in Yea Won Korean Cuisine.

Yea Won has been around for many years. I remember in those days, there was only 2 places for Korean food, one is Yea Won and the other Onix Jun. And Yew Won is surviving until now proves that they do have more than something to offer in their arsenal. The Bil-Bim-Bap looks colourful and appetizing. Served in a hot bowl, you can add in the beanpaste sauce for that extra savoury and pungent flavour. Available in beef or pork. RM18 per bowl.

Mom was too hungry and mixed the noodles before I could get a proper shot of her Hand Sliced Noodles with Chicken. From the menu, I noticed that authentic Korean cuisine do not have much chicken and fish in their menu. Most of the items are red meat, mainly beef and pork. Besides this soupy noodles, you can also give their Ginseng Chicken Soup a try if you insist on taking white meat only.

Otherwise, join the majority and indulge in a beefy experience. This is the Short Rib Soup (RM25). Served with a bowl of rice, this soup is similar to the Ngau Lam. Just that you get generous amount of beef in a hearty broth. The beef is tender and could easily fall from the bone without much effort. Very nice dish indeed!

The star of the night is none other than the hot plate BBQ meat. There are 3 different cuts of pork. One serving of 200g ranges from RM23-RM28 depending on standard belly or prime cuts. A minimum of 2 servings of meat is required for them to start off the hotplate. If pork isn't your cup of tea, you can always try the beef at around RM45-60 for 200g. If I recalled correctly, there is no chicken meat for the grill....

The meat are grilled without any marinade. The meat are unadulterated and you can taste the natural taste of the meat. Else, you can always dip it into light soya sauce with onions or a oil mixture with salt.

Grab some geens, drizzle abit with oil, put some bean paste, a pip of garlic, some pickled onions and a piece of pork. Don't bother to wrap it up nicely but do try to make sure your mouthful if filled of evey single ingredients' contribution. If you wish to take a break from Japanese cuisine, try Korean. It is a fresh dining experience and an appetizing one.

Yup, I had Korean BBQ in Daorae on the second day of CNY, thats around few days before I dined in Yea Won with my family. Daorae is more of a commercialized setting but they do invest in proper gadgets to ensure you get a pleasant dining experience possible. Daorae on the other hand has a slightly more variety of banchans which can be used to fill up your stomach if plain meat did not do the trick

The meat in Daorae is grilled over semi-direct contact with the charcoal flame, resulting in some slightly charred ends, which is indeed very tasty. The slight drawback about Daorae is.... after cooking, the waiter will dish out the meat into a small plate. The charcoal based furnace is then removed. I prefer Yea Won's practice whereby they just shut off the flame and let the heat from the hot plate preserve the temperature of the meat. You can take your time and wrap your meat in vege and chit chat along your meal, without needing to worry the meat will turn cold.

Final verdict.... I have the slight preference for Yea Won. Though Daorae serves lamb, chicken and sotong for the grill compared to the dual option of either beef of pork only in Yea Won. Well, after all, these are the 2 options available so far. Oh, I missed out Riche Montana in Ipoh Garden South. I wonder if they still have the BBQ menu.........

Reunion Dinner 2012 @ Kok Thai, Tasek

2012-01-25T12:11:00.001+08:00

After years of eating in, my reunion dinner this year was held outside. I do understand that it is tedious work to prepare a feast but the cleaning up is the nightmare which follows. This is why Chinese restaurants took the advantage to earn big profits from this tradition. Previously these restaurants went a bit too much by slotting 3 different dinner sessions (say... 530, 7.00, 8.30pm) and it left a sour note to most dinners. Fortunately, they were a bit more reasonable this year by having 2 slots only.

We took the 6pm slot in Kok Thai Restaurant in Tasek. Both the ground and first floor were filled to the brim. On my estimation, it can fill about 150 tables on both floors. Now, can you imagine how much in sales they make in just one night?

Stories and customs aside. Let's have a slight review on the food. This is the Rainbow Salmon Yee Sang. I can't comment much as this is the second Yee Sang I had this year (The first at my company's Sau Gung Jau). Furthermore, I did not get a taste on my personal favourite from Tai Seng. Nevertheless, it managed to bear the symbolic meaning unlike "fishless" version (replaced with meat floss) of Yee Sang served in Yum Yum Restaurant. Unable to obtain "halal fish" is not an excuse because according to Islamic Laws, all aquatic animals are halal except poisonous and intoxicating ones.

We did our part in preserving the ecosystem by drinking Fish Lip Soup with Assorted Treasures instead of Sharks Fin. Next it was ~~Beggars' Chicken~~ Herbal Chicken. A lackluster version, I felt my mom's version prevailed without much judgment.

The steamed fish was served in less than a gap time of 10 minutes after the chicken. We were a bit annoyed by these gestures by the restaurant to "rush us away". Well, I guessed this is the downside of dining out. You can't really dine in peace. To make things worse, the food quality is not as good as it is on normal days. For example this fish. its supposed to be Garoupa (Sek Ban). But mom suspected that we were being served Siakap. Furthermore from the rough flesh texture, it was very obvious that this fish was poached before steaming to reduce the cooking time.

A "Fah Hoi Fu Kwai" (stir fried assorted vegetables with macadamia nuts) was served before giving way to panfried prawns in soya sauce. Prawns lacked the "ooomphhh".... perhaps it was cooked in a big batch. Or worst still, it was also cooked by poaching them because there were poached prawns in the other set menus.

The portions were not very big though. We only have 7 people feasting on a set menu enough to feed a table of 10. And yet, we polished up every single dish, except for the Glutinous Rice with Assorted Meat (waxed duck, pork sausages, liver sausages and stewed pork, which I suspect its the canned version ala "Gu Loong" brand). Dessert was Tang Yuan (filled with peanuts and sesame) in soya milk. Our dinner kick started around 6.15pm and ended slightly before 8pm. And before we left we saw many people already waiting impatiently for their seats for the 8pm session. I read from a friend's Facebook status update lamenting on the delay for the second session - seated at 8.45, 15 minutes without any tea/peanuts, and the first dish was only served at 9.20pm.

Personally, I felt the earlier session has more advantages. You can start your meal on time and service was quite good. The slight drawback is dishes were served on overdrive mode without much consistent time lapse between them. For the second session, you might think that you will get to enjoy a longer session because there are nobody else after you preying on your tables like vultures. That's if you go through a series of obstacles like finding parking (because the first session haven't finished their meal and leave yet), waiting for some not-so-punctual people from the session before you to finish up their meal, waiting for the waiters to clear up the tables, self service chinese tea and peanuts and last but not least, having to starve until 9pm+

But, the best is still home cooked dinner at home, at your own leisure and pace. So, back to the usual way next year. No more dining out for us! Happy Chinese New Year!

CuRRy nOOdLes, cUrRy nOoDLeS... and MORE curry noodles! =D

2012-01-16T00:04:00.003+08:00

As I was writing this post on a cooling nite, I felt the cravings for a piping hot soupy bowl of home cooked curry noodles. Instant one would do the trick. If I could request a bit more, I would wanna have tau pok, char siu and also home made fish paste (yu wak) to go along with it, just like the photo above, which I cooked last week.

Even if I manage to surpress my cravings, I will succumb to it the next morning. Eventhough I only get to have a proper breakfast with my parents like once only in a week (5 1/2 working days, Sun got church, wat to do?!) sometimes I can still get bored of thinking what to have for breakfast on a non-working day. Dined at Kafe Tim one morning and had their version of curry noodles which incorporated shredded chicken, char siu (BBQ pork) and char yuk (fried pork belly instead of roasted pork - siu yoke) coupled with some tau fu pok in a thick dry curry gravy. Tastewise, just above average, but not too bad. I mean, what could you ask for nowadays for RM3.50 right? =p

Else, it would be like a typical weekend morning just like today. A rainy morning called for a soupy curry noodles to kick start the day! The fried yong liew to accompany it... in a place called K-10 Claypot Chicken Rice. Yes, they sell noodles during breakfast-lunch hour. Claypot chicken rice only operates at night.

Remember I mentioned "What else could you get for RM3.50" just now? Hehe... The curry noodles at Yat Yat Seng is RM5 per plate! However you really get back yout money worth with peeled small sized prawns, shredded chicken meat, Char Siu, Siu Yoke and pork skin. Portion is a bit small but should do the trick for ladies.... or those wanting a light lunch.

It was N years ago since I last dined in Yat Yat Seng. Thanks to my church friends' suggestion for lunch, I finally made a simple coverage on this eatery. I would say most of the poeple come here is because of the curry noodles stall. Besides curry noodles, they also serve relatively good chicken rice. Not the best I have tasted, but the chicken flesh was smooth and tender, the skin almost jelly-like. The rice may be abit turn off at first sight due to the slightly excessive yellow colouring used (I doubt they really use so much Planta for it) which made it look like those Malay styled chicken rice. But the soya sauce worked wonders and complemented the fluffy "oil rice" ( I never opt for white rice when it comes to chicken rice). RM3.70 on a plate of chicken rice might be slighly above the average Ipoh price, but sometimes.... hawkers do have the right to put a higher charge if they are above the rest in terms of skilful cooking.

There is also Kai Si Hor Fun served. Tasted the soup, which is quite "ching". A bit more fried shallots is needed. Oh yeah, pork balls sold seperately. Else, don't look in amazement as you are told to pay RM5 for the bowl in the picture above.

Surprisingly, besides the food, there are some supporting reasons to be here. They served caramel egg custard. My friends seems excited over it but I decided to let them order first (RM1.40 per serving, but its freaking small) so that I can have a look. Well, in the end, I ordered one for myself also despite the not-so-attractive first impression (seasoned foodies will know how to distinguish good ones by looking at the brownish layer at the top caused by the sugar caramel) Curiosity killed the cat as I was totally disappointed with the version here and it paled in comparison to the few caramel custards I tasted in Ipoh. The one in Thean Chun, Old Town still reigns supreme.

Well, at least their Green Coffee is something worthwhile for a try. If I'm not mistakan, green tea is used to get this FUSION "Cham Ice". It may turn out a bit sweet to certain people, thus eclipsing the coffee aroma. RM1.70 for this frothy iced coffee-tea concoction. I would recommend you to give it a try, at least once. So that wraps up my food hunt recently. Well, there are not many new eateries in Ipoh lately, isn't it? =) At least, I'm still commited to update my blog while looking at other blogrolls to have "months" and "years" as the measurement for their last update.....

Laser Battle - First Indoor Laser Tag Game in Ipoh

2012-01-09T00:41:00.002+08:00

Opened a few weeks ago, news of a new hotspot for youngster in Ipoh has been spreading widely in Facebook. The publicity was great and I even got flyers at my house mailbox. After watching a few friends photos in FB, finally the wait is over and I get to try out the latest craze in the sleepy town of Ipoh. Laser Battle is situated on the second floor of Glamour Square Building in Bercham.

One game of Laser Tag is RM18 but there are currently having a promotion of RM13 a game. Otherwise you can always opt for value pack packages which is currently going for RM23 for 2 games. They are currently promoting another package of 5 games for RM50 (can be carried forward as long as you keep the game coupon on your next visit)

Else, their standard price is RM18 per game after promotional period. They have 2 private rooms for small gatherings. You can bring your own light snacks/beverages along. For RM38, you get 3 games plus usage of the private rooms.

The exterior of the place are all decorated with wallpapers which brings the futuristic feel. More like a space craft or some science facilities. These doors are the entrance to the battle arena.

What is laser tag, you might ask. Laser Tag is actually a high-tech game/sport where players wearing computerized vests and handheld "phasers" (guns) attempt to achieve a winning score by zapping opponent players, base stations, and other targets within a playing arena or maze. Having said that, there are a lot of games available like Capture the Flag, Team Deathmatch, Free For All Standard Solo/Team battles, Eliminations, Zone Collectors, Friend or Foe and many others (The list goes up to 40 types)

Every pack has sensors on the front, back and shoulders of the vest as well as for the phaser. Zapping these areas will award points and your target's pack is deactivated for a short period. Take this time of around 4-5 seconds to run and "respawn" in another place before your pack becomes active again. Your phaser gun displays basic information like your ID, current score and ranking, current status (active or shutdown), name of the opponent who tagged (shot) you.

One game/mission last for 10 minutes. This is the area where you get your packs. It can be customized to a few colours if you are playing in teams. Before moving in, we will get a briefing on the game we are supposed to play. Since most of us are new here, we went for Standard Solo for the first round and Standard Team for the second. Basically, not much strategy was needed except for basic "surviving skills" and how to watch your back.

The arena is well lit with UV blacklights. Usage of fluorescent paints and materials in the arena walls, drums and barricades causes them to glow in the dark so that you don't bump into them. Furthermore, every player is wearing a lighted vest with their guns. You wont have any trouble missing your target. However, dark coloured clothes does play a slight advantage. Or rather, wearing white will just make you easily traceable although your vest is without lights temporarily when you are "dead".

Look at the glow from my white shoe laces. As mentioned, wearing dark coloured shirt will be an advantage. Well, since there are 11 of us in the arena, the first round, being free for all, was crazy as it was every man for himself!

Luckily I did not embarass myself. Out of 14 players, I finished 7th in the first game. There were 3 party crashers whom comprised the workers of this place and their close friends (honestly, I do not feel comfortable playing with strangers, especially pros which cause the game to be IMBA) which topped the list. So if I exclude them, I actually was ranked 4th among 11 players from my group. Not too bad for a first timer. =)

My team lost the second round by a small score margin despite having 6 players against 5. Overall, I think I was 4th in terms of score. I find team battles less chaotic and you have more time to catch your breath. Trust me, when you are waiting for your turn to play, you will go like "Wow, the other groups are out. 10 mins already ar?" But when you are inside the arena, I bet you will change to "Wow, not yet 10 minutes mer?" *gasp gasp*

Seriously, you will be catching your breath in no time after all the sprinting and adrenaline rush. Highly recommended if you do some light warming up before the game. You may be good in computer games like Modern Warfare, but sprinting in real life is a different talk. Minus the pain. Plus the air cond. Laser tagging might be your cup of tea if you do not really fancy paintball. Now who's up for another game soon?

Christmas 2011 Celebration

2011-12-31T20:30:00.000+08:00

The Christmas celebration hit the office on Friday afternoon. We had a simple eat in. Lunch menu includes sandwiches and macaroni with bolognaise sauce. But the star of the day was the roasted whole turkey from Beacon Point. We took a M size turkey (weighs around 3.5kg) with traditional chestnut and onions stuffing. It comes with cranberry jam, turkey sauce and some baked potatoes at a price tag of RM268. (Delivery not included and you need to bear with the snobbishness of Beacon Point proprietor) Yes, he gave me the F**ked Up look and tone when I enquire more when placing my booking. He don't seem to be bothered with my business since there are not many places which are famous for roast turkey during Christmas. Yes, perhaps he has the rights to have the "don't give a damn attitude"

Next, its present exchange time! Me got a Watson brand body shampoo from it~

My colleagues and their presents. Oh yes, the theme was WHITE, that's why the white shirts and dress~

The guys of Old Town White Coffee.... but we seems like promoting Starbucks. LOL.

The ladies of Old Town White Coffee.

On the next day, I kick started Christmas Eve with a countdown event with the church INFUSE youth group.

The youth room was well decorated and most of the decor includes improvisation of the halls decor of our Christmas event in PGS Hall on the 16th Dec.

Things took a kick start with the Chilli Challenge. You will get to see how far people are willing to go for a handphone and an mp3 player.

First round being chilli sauce, second round using sambal belacan and third and final round unvealing fresh whole red chillies. We underestimated the participants by only preparing items enough for 3 rounds but there were more than half of the participants still in the game after the 3 challenges.

We have to raise the stakes by increasing the number of red chilies to be chewed and kept in the mouth unswallowed. Participants were asked to bear with it until the last man (or woman) standing walks away with the prize.

Well, look at the torture people are willing to go through for that Samsung Corby handphone! Well, some of them gave up at this stage. Hehe... I think this is nothing compared to all the gross stuffs in the FEAR FACTOR challenge during this year Overcomers Conference like everybody grinding watermelon juice using your mouth and passing around for each other to have a share or pass-the-frog game using your mouth!!! But the prize this year was a Mac Book Air!!! But stuffing live frogs inside your mouth? That's a great sacrifice and hurdle to overcome before getting your hands on the RM3k+ grand prize.

Down to 3 finalist, we had to think of something to determine the winner. The showdown came to a speed challenge and girls won the first prize and third prize respectively (RM50 cash was allocated last minute since there were 3 outstanding finalists). Well, I think Marx "lepas water" (give chance) by finishing second cause he wanted the ipod shuffle, since he already has a good handphone.

Next, the INFUSE band rocked the house with some upbeat, modernized carols. Pas Matt followed with a short and meaningful Christmas message before we proceeded to our dinner/supper of Satay!!!!

The night toned down a little after the satay with some acapella songs, including Marianne and Darren's rendition of The Prayer. As the clock ticked closer to midnight, the music started to get louder with the Green Girls Band and Joel entertained us with a Green Day punk rock infused version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" before INFUSE Band took an encore with a rock version of "Angels We Have Heard On High".

Not many presents this year, besides family, there is only ONE present which I got from a friend. Very nicely wrapped. Not disclosing what's inside. But its the thoughts that count. =)

Got a pair of good Adidas shoes for mom. Not for sports purpose but mainly for the casual ladylike walking shoes. Since I already got a pair of shoes for dad last Christmas, I could not figure out what to get for him this year, I thought a bottle of Yomeishu will do the trick.

And I got a new wallet and a new contour pillow from them. Seriously they have been asking me what do I want as pressies. Well, at least I can identify these are my needs that I will be using them. Do I look like I'm a spoilt brat who will "extort" an iPad from them? Hehe... At least I pampered myself with a WHITE Christmas gift in the form of a new smartphone, Galaxy S+

All in all, Christmas 2011 was indeed a blast compared to the year before. It was on a Sunday and I was worship leading that morning. And I unleashed a pigging out spree on Christmas eve dinner, all 3 meals on Christmas Day itself. Had breakfast and dinner in 2 different churches and a buffet lunch in my friend's open house. Heheheeee...

Until then, for the remaining days of 2011, its reflection time again and for some, setting some resolutions for the new year. Well, by the time I'm finished with this post, it should be time wishing you a great and COLOURFUL (like this photo) year ahead! =D

My WHITE Christmas. =D

2011-12-27T20:58:00.000+08:00

I finally succumbed to peer pressure and got myself a smart phone. Well, I always wanted a phone which has wifi at least and with a slightly bigger screen. Initially I was contemplating to get the Wave 3 or Galaxy W as both were new models and priced at RM999 respectively. Wave 3 has a 4 inch SUPER AMOLED screen but runs on Bada OS. It has a classy unibody metal body. Galaxy W on the other hand duns on Android OS but with a 3.7inch TFT LCD screen with some "plasticky" was awkwardly designed.

While I was checking out these 2 phones, I came across Galaxy S+ in WHITE! It caught me by surprise and I could not believe my eyes as the newspaper advertisement only promotes the SII, Note and Ace in WHITE. =D

Samsung Galaxy S+ (GT-I9001) has the best of both worlds of the Wave 3 and Galaxy W. It has a crisp clear display of 4" SUPER AMOLED (400X800 16 mil colours) and runs on ANDROID Gingerbread. And as a perfect finish, it is available in full WHITE. Performance wise, Galaxy S Plus is not laggy so far thanks to its processor clocking at 1.4Ghz Scorpion, an upgrade from its predecessor Galaxy S (GT-I9000) which clocks at 1.0Ghz Cortex A8. Besides that, S+ has an improved chipset (Snapdragon by Qualcomm) replacing its predecessor with a Samsung Hummingbird chipset. The S+ holds a larger battery capacity at 1650mAh, meaning longer standby time. Well, the only area which it lost out to its predecessor is the internal storage of 8GB compared to the previous 16GB. But 8GB proves to be quite sufficient if you do not plan to download the whole Android Market inside your phone. Furthermore, I was given a free 8GB external SD card in the package.

The S+ has the same dimensions with its predecessor, weighing less than 120g with a thickness slightly above 9mm. It has an autofocus 5MP camera which satisfy my basic needs of snapping pics on the go if I did not bring my digital camera along. Video recording at 720p proves to be quite sufficient too. The slight drawback would be there is no LED flash for the camera considering its an identical to the Galaxy S model which was a 2010 model. (FYI, S+ was released in mid 2011, but the WHITE set only available the week before Christmas) There is a VGA camera in front for video calls..... and to cure the urge to camwhore. =p

The "menu" and "back" button are well lit when touched. Despite it being in white, the lights were clear enough even if its not taken in the dark like the picture above. And yes, that's my current crush Shen Jia Yi as the wallpaper. =)

The Samsung Galaxy S+ is currently priced at RM1399. I got this price from a official Samsung dealer shop which offers a 2 year warranty. Those Ah Bengs in their make shift stalls can easily offer you RM1299 BUT with just a 1 year warranty. Since I've invested so much on the phone, why not go for the additional warranty as well? Furthermore, you might not know those Ah Beng shops will tamper your accessories or batteries by giving you fake ones. For the peace of mind, RM1399 comes with an 8GB card, assured original set with matching white earphones, charger, USB cable, free screen protector and software installation. I pampered myself and continued to be a loyal Samsung handphone user. =)

another bestie got married... o.O

2011-12-26T14:20:00.000+08:00

You know its time to beef up your savings and do a checklist on yourself that time is not always on your side when you noticed and witnessed friends walking down the aisle one by one. I have a few friends had their weddings and ROM this year. And some are into getting their own house. As I look into my bank account, I see the need for some savings as this day would come soon... or rather, get a partner first. o.O

The latest to the addition is my course mate Wei Theng, who had her ROM on 10.10.10 but the traditional ceremony and wedding dinner towards the last month in 2011. The dinner was held in Hee Lai Ton Restaurant with an estimation of 60+ tables.

Food in Hee Lai Ton tastes just slightly above average this time compared to Keem & Eric's wedding dinner on my birthday last year. Perhaps I have been dining in Mun Choong for 3 times in the span of 2 months. Well, the banquet hall seems grand (not much inferior compared to Tropicana Tai Thoong) but Mun Choong is undoubtedly the best option for your money if you really want GOOD and TASTY and well presented food in your wedding banquet.

Only few of us who are "STUCK" in Ipoh made it for the wedding. Outstation friends are just too lazy to drop by. But looking back, that was one heck of a week. Christmas performances, rehearsal, 2 wedding dinners back to back with a wedding reception in church the morning after the Night Of Carols event. Gosh.... That's the tight schedule excluding events which I have to pass due to clashing with the weddings, like my company sports carnival in KL and my ex-factory's year end appreciation dinner.

The next morning I have to wake up early for the "fetch the bride" (jip san leung) ceremony. Yup, due to some pantang thingie and some auspicious date, this event was slot the day AFTER the wedding dinner.

Dress code was supposedly to be "pinkish purple" but I had trouble getting a decent purple shirt for myself. Giordano's designs are too "mass produced" as you can easily bump into a stranger wearing the same shirt as you on the streets. (Remember the "ME" series few years back?) Well, the search came to an end with me making a maiden purchase in G2000, a shop which a person with fresh grad earnings like me wouldn't dare to step in to make purchases.

*NEWS FLASH* The "ginger icon" series has finally reached the shores of Malaysia. My friend got this for me during her trip in Hong Kong's Giordano few months back. This marks the end of the period if being exclusive and unique =p

The best man(s) dress code - in pink tees and white pants. Gearing up to make a dash and take up the challenges we have in store for them before the groom is allowed to enter and meet the bride.

It was a fair game, 11 in pink versus 11 in purple. This is the lineup of the bridesmaids. So who do you think emerged victorious on that day? ^^

MeRRy chRistmAs

2011-12-25T23:51:00.001+08:00

Chose this song for this morning I as led worship..... only to know that....

This is the Mandarin version. Another good friend of mine was singing this during the evening service in her church. Great mind thinks alike, don't we? =)

A simple post to wish my readers a BLESSED CHRISTMAS! more post to follow up soon since tomorrow is still a holiday.... =)

Ayam Penyet de Garden Ipoh

2011-12-24T00:09:00.000+08:00

Finally, I found the opportunity to dine with some friends in Ayam Penyet De Garden Ipoh. Most of my friends, including my parents, are not fan of Malay/Indian food. Hence, it took me a huge delay to try it after its opening almost a year ago? AP is currently having some good lunch sets from RM9.50 which includes a drink. Ok, let's see what Indonesian food got to offer....

Kick started the meal with Gado-gado (RM4.50) which is abit similar to Indian Rojak. You get crackers, julliened cucumber, beansprouts and hard boiled eggs in a thick and rich peanut sauce. The degree of spiciness was not even mild, even a kid could handle this dish. Good for sharing but nothing spectacular to shout about as I still prefer the local Indian rojak.

This is their signature dish which the shop is named after. Ayam Penyet (or Flattened Chicken). The chicken is not deboned but you get a whole full drumstick (with the thigh) fried to get a crisp and dry exterior but maintaining a slightly succulent interior. Unlike the usual Ayam Goreng Berempah you find in your fave mamak shop in your neighbourhood, the flesh is not fried till very dry. Tastewise, it is mildly marinaded and not as flavourful as I would expect. The crispy flakes from the batter is supposed to be be "bumbu" izit? But it paled in flavour compared to the health hazardous bits of batter from your typical mamak Ayam Goreng Berempah. One set of this cost RM9.50. Ala carte comes at RM7.50 without the iced tea and the rice. YES, you would have to fork out another RM1.20 for the white rice if you go ala carte.

There are other sets available.... My colleague had the Udang Penyet (RM9.90/set) Thank goodness the prawns were not flattened! Haha... Besides white rice, a portion comes with sides of kangkung, shredded cabbage, cucumber slices, fried tau kua (dried beancurd), tempe (fried preserved soya bean) and a dollop of a killer sambal. The sambal is tongue and lip numbing.... The cucumber slices and iced tea do not seem to be doing their part in dousing the red alert flame!

If you prefer something with gravy, try out their Rendang, available in chicken or beef. I'm not sure whether all portions will be served the drumstick part of the chicken, as all 3 plates of our orders received the drumstick portion. If you fancy some greens, try out the Sayur Masak Lemak (not my cup of tea due to the coconut milk). Come try AP! Well, after Burger King closed down (and Boston reduced their operation area to half their usual size), who knows who will be next in the guilotine list. This is Ipoh after all. Its tough to sustain for a above averagely priced F&B outlet. Merry Christmas everyone~

My Malaysian Christmas - Perak Combined Church Celebration 2011

2011-12-14T00:32:00.000+08:00

This is a brief review on the Perak "My Malaysian Christmas" celebration which took place in Perak Girl's School Hall last Sunday night. It's an event participated by different churches in Perak, comprising different ethnic groups by under one umbrella, which is the body of Christ. Credits given to CT Ang Photography for the crisp clear snapshots of the night. I was having a tough time to handpick a few photos for a writeup here. You can search him up on Facebook for the full album of this event.

Christmas is a time to promote the spirit of giving. Well, you can say that I'm a skeptic but the only time politicians go into the spirit of giving is when elections are drawing near. I was somewhere at the backstage or loitering around but I knew its some land titles for Christian cemeteries presented by some local authorities or councillors I think. Nevertheless, we thank the state government for sponsoring this event as a platform for us to evangelize and to spread the meaning of Christmas.

Event started at 8pm sharp, or maybe earlier. I was there about 8 something, as my slot was on the second half of the night. The hall is said to be able to accommodate around 1500 people. And it was quite full when I arrived.

Event kick started with some cultural dances from different ethnic group. Well, 1Malaysia ma, what do you expect? =p

Our Indians brothers giving an energetic dance. Perak was literally shaken, SERIOUSLY!

Well, even representatives from Nepal, Vietnam and Myanmar took part. This shows that foreign workers ministry is growing since they have been a part of our community. I'm sure they found sheer joy to have a Christmas celebration away from home....

Another cultural dance.... Well, the story of Christmas revolving the birth and life of Jesus Christ was presented in BM by the Orang Asli group. The sketch was backed by powerful vocals from the children and adult choir, belting familiar tunes like You Raised Me Up, Silent Night, I Will Follow Him and You Are My Hiding Place.

The children in........ 1Malaysia costumes (again)

The choir...

A wide angle shot of the whole choir group.

Not forgetting those working behind the scenes. The orchestra. If I'm not mistaken, this is NOT the full piece orchestra which made its debut earlier in January in Stadium Indera Mulia for "last year's Christmas celebration"

The musicians which provided a more "upbeat kick"

The finale - flag bearers. The army of Christ marching on, making a stand in present society. Well, If you noticed, my writings on elaborating the photos are suddenly getting shorter. This is because I try not to "politicize" this event.

Well, I missed the sermon session shared by the President of NECF, Dr Eu if I'm not mistaken. I heard he gave a powerful message and was bold to speak his mind. Hopefully those people "up there" gets the message of integrity and see where we stand in working towards a better nation and country, in terms of governance and policy. oooppsss... politics. my lips are sealed now...

Having said that, why not go for a more independent event, a so called privately organized event by FGA Ipoh? If you missed out the Christmas Celebration on the 11th Dec, we will be having another one on Friday 16th Dec night. You will be hearing from Pastor Kenneth Chin on the meaning of Christmas. Trust me, he is an energetic and lively speaker and you will wanna hear from him more compared to a politicians speech on racial harmony and acts of fishing for votes.

Hence why not make a date this Friday. Well, good things don't come free, but at a small fee of RM10 onwards. Yup, tickets are still available in FGA Office and Perak Society Of Performing Arts. The event lineup will be fully in English. Get serenaded by the Genesis Orchestra, playing in full orchestra formation. You will be entertained with lively praise and worship, witness the powerful vocals of the choir and also live performances from top notch singers which have performed in many musicals production, namely Marianne Poh and Shirley Lee who sung in FGA's ARISE album. Juwita Suwito will be performing too and will duet with my friend, a handsome lecturer from UTAR by the name of Darren.

And, you will witness the months of preparation of the dance team. Yours truly have spent weekends and weekends of practices, sacrificing the liberty to be away from town to have a shopping and eating spree in KL. Well, for His Kingdom purpose and His glory, it's worth it! =)

Yup, this is the dance team which performed on the 11th Dec and we will be on stage again on 16th Dec to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. So mark on your calendar and get your tickets (I heard they will set up a booth on that night itself for walk-ins, but perhaps RM30 and RM50 tickets only available for walk ins). Hope to see you there! =)

This is the sneak preview of the event flow:

Evening Programme

Venue : Dewan Leong Wan Chin (Perak Girls' School)

Time : 8.00pm - 10.30pm

8.00pm - Opening Prayer (Pastor Ong)

8.10pm - Star wars theme/Joy to the World/Gloria/Hark the Herald (Instrumental)

8.20pm - Oh Holy Night (Acapella) The Picasso's

8.24pm - Breath of Heaven (Ms Shirley)

8.28pm - Away in a Manger (Instrumental Violin Solo)

8.32pm - Come all ye Faithful (Jeremy Guitar Solo) Band

8.37pm - MC introduces choir and conductor

8.38pm - Choir (Medley)

8.41pm - Choir (Silent Night)

8.45pm - Dance

9.00pm - Interval (15 mins)

9.15pm - Pie Yesu (Ms Marianne Poh)

9.19pm - Noel (Ms Juwita)

9.23pm - Believe in Him (Ms Juwita Suwito)

9.27pm - The prayer (Mr Darren Wee and Ms Juwita Suwito)

9.31pm - Sharing and altar call (Ps Kenneth Chin)

10.15pm - Closing/We wish you a Merry Christmas (Mr Kelvin Ooi)

For enquiries, please contact: 05-5472994

www.fgaipoh.weebly.com

Tickets are also available at

Perak Society of Performing Arts

No.28, Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, 31400 Ipoh, Perak

Tel: 05-5487814

Ipoh ALSO Got Talent 2011

2011-12-11T17:38:00.001+08:00

Rendition of Wang Lee Hom's song. He got the Korean baby face look but could improve more in expression and interaction with the crowd.

The B-Boy group... Well, I felt that they were in the finals because there's only one group representative which is dancing. Their moves were not well synchronized and executed neatly, full of flaws.

12 year old kid in colourful costume resembling Chinese opera singers. He is bold and confident throughout the whole period he was on stage. Literally treating the stage as his own yard, he is one tough contender at that moment. Belting out a upbeat number "Bian Nian", this little kid has strong vocals...

A multitasker. Hoola-hooping, doing a some gymnast/ballet routines while singing. When asked later why she wanna make herself so occupied in the performance, she answer OVERconfidently "I think we should cherish every single talents, if you have MANY talents, then make full use of them..." yada yada yada....

Singing duo performing an unknown number. Well, if only they took our advice and belted a more down to earth number by a group/singer in their age, say M2M, they could've connected with the crowd better....

My church friend, Aaron doing his dance medley comprising MJ's imitation, a hip hop infused mime, popping and locking.... and last but not least, SHUFFLING! Spiced things up with some humour in the medley.

Meeting him backstage... This is his attire during his shuffling mode. If you have viewed Party Rock Anthem MV, you should notice a "robot" towards the end of the video.

A violinist doing "HIS WAY", singing "My Way" in 2 different octaves... yes! a "duet with his alter ego, an annoying female voice"

Juwita Suwito was one of the judges that night. She sang two songs from her upcoming album while the votes for the winner and score was being tallied. In the meantime, Marianne had a duet with another guy for the song "The Prayer" made famous by Celine Dion. Both of them will be performing for A Night Of Christmas Carols on the 16th December.

Yup, I will take the opportunity to give a final push about this event. Yup, despite being just hours away from performing later at PGS Hall for the Perak State Combined Churches Christmas Celebration, I would like to highlight and extend my invitation to all my dear readers to this event on this coming Friday, 16 Dec night. The event starts at 8pm in PGS Hall. Tickets are still available, starting from RM10. The PGS Hall can sit about 1500 people and we are anticipating a full crowd as we wanna make full use of this event to share the gospel and the true meaning behind Christmas in an artistic manner. Having said that, rest assured your tickets price are worth as there will be orchestra, choir and individual/duet song from reputable and talented singers. Yours truly will be also be staging a dance! =)

Having said that, lets get back to the report on Ipoh Also Got Talent. These were the top 3 from the 13 finalists on that night... Try to make rough guess on their standings position.

Yes, the winner is the small kid. First runner up is the guy being a human beat box machine. The second runner up is the 10 year old Malay girl. Well, in such competitions, I kinda expected age is somehow a strong influencing factor in determining who wins. For those who find their forte in dancing, go in a dance competition instead and those who are good in singing, participate in a competition for singers solely only. At least you wont be beaten by the "cuteness" factor.... or other factors such as.... *let's not touch on that here*

The winner flanked by the VIPs. One of them is the President of YMCA. He got himself a trophy, hamper and a 42 inch TV and a DVD Player? I got a glance that the TV brand was HISENSE. Somehow, I felt that you should reward them with prizes from reputable brands at least.

Last but not least, a souvenir presentation to my buddy Kelvin Ooi for being one of the panel of judges throughout the competition. All in all, I find this competition a bit better than the "IDEAL TEEN" competition held years back then. At least, people from all walks of life and background are "eligible" to take part in a talent contest, compared to a "pageant"-like "IDEAL TEEN" competition whereby if your parents are rwell known in the community, then...... *again, I shall cease my tongue from commenting further*

For a more thorough and detailed articles with better photo coverage and reporting, do have a read in the Metro online of The Star: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/12/7/metroperak/10038769&sec=metroperak

Bricks and Barrels

2011-12-08T13:00:00.000+08:00

(photo grabbed from Bricks and Barrel's FB page)

Bricks and Barrel just had its soft launch earlier this month andhad its grand opening along the shops behind St Patrick Irish Bar. Currentlythey are running some beer promotion with happy hours whole night long. Perhapsthey feel the pressure not only from St Patrick Irish Bar but the newly opened OverTimeopposite the Bangunan Sri Kinta/Old Fire Brigade Station which had theiropening on the same weekend as well. Compared to OverTime, B&B seems a bitinferior as OT is a chain pub and has some foothold in the Klang Valley.

Ratatouille (RM20) is a sautéed vegetable dish comprising eggplants, zucchini,onions, tomatoes, garlic, green peas, carrots (depending on the recipe and thecook, it may be baked or simmered to make it a stew). The version served inB&B is accompanied by a pork sausage and a slice of buttered toast. I findthe garlic toast complemented the vegetable stew very well.

We poked a few jokes on the English Roasted Pork. Why need to bearthe tag of being “English” like how Berlin Bier House tagged theirs as “German”since Siew Yoke is a common item among Chinese in Malaysia. =p Taste wise, we arestill hooked on the fresher version made by the Chinese stalls. The cracklingskin and savoury marinated meat made me crave for some now. But the versionserved in beer bars must be those pre-prepared, frozen type. Hence, they arenot near the good ones we normally have.

MeZZaLuna Pizza (RM28) - Hope I got the name correct. I did not get to take a bite into this but it seems like a fully vegetarian pizza with generous portions of mushrooms and olives. Very Mediterranean-ish....

The Hawaiian Pork Pizza (RM30) is more of my preference. Thinly sliced pork sausages with some charred and dried sides provided great smoky aroma which complemented well with tangy pineapple cubes. The pizza base is even thinner than a Mac Book Air lid. Seriously, its a great snack and one person can easily whack a whole regular serving by himself. But its very considerate of them since if you were downing booze, thick pizza dough will cause your stomach to bloat in no time. So this thin and crispy is just brilliant!

The BB Chicken (RM26) is something similar to Chicken Roulade. Wholechicken thigh was encasing a filling of chopped pickled vegetables (looks likepreserved Chinese vege). The chicken meat was tender with a slight smoky aromaon the surface. It was well presented with a drizzle of minty and herbsdressing, alongside assorted vegetables and mashed potatoes. Overall, this dishis slightly above average but not extraordinary.

Closer view of the filling inside the chicken.

Currently they are having happy hours ALL NIGHT LONG! But I do not find their promotional price much appealing, at RM80nett for a tower of Tiger. Eurohouse is currently running at RM60 for 3-7pm and RM70 from 7-9pm, RM80 for 9pm onwards if I'm not mistaken. A bucket of 5 bottles of Tiger here at BB is at RM60, which I feel its quite expensive when you brag its a "promotional price". Perhaps a lot has been spent on the decor/renovation here, that's why prices here is a bit steep for Ipoh market.

I did not manage to get many photos on that night because there was a electricity breakdown at some circuit points, causing the bar area to have a night club atmosphere. There was NO live band on a Thursday night, neither were there any background music. Later around 9pm we left because there was a TOTAL BLACKOUT! Tough luck, but I doubt I will be back again on my own initiative. The crowd here is mainly comprised office crowd. If you are hunting for "successful men in their career", here's the place. But if you wish to ogle at younger gals, go to the pubs in Ipoh Garden East's Bandar Baru Medan, or like my own preference, EUROHOUSE. =)

You Are The Apple Of My Eye

2011-11-30T23:10:00.001+08:00

Synopsis: "Adolescence is like a heavy rain. Even though you catch a cold from it, you still look forward to experiencing it once again. Ko-Teng has several close friends who had a crush on Shen Chia-Yi. Those friends of Ko's thus moved in unison from Ching Cheng's junior high school straight into the senior high school division in pursuit of her. Naughty in nature, Ko was ordered by their homeroom teacher to sit in front of honor student Shen for her to keep close tabs on him. The two hadn't hit it off at first but Ko gradually fell for Shen, who was always pressuring him to study hard. On the other hand, Shen became impressed by the contrasting values Ko represented. Ko started pursuing Shen but Shen remained hesitant. After graduation from senior high, Ko and Shen almost became a couple but the deal was spoilt by a duke out (fistfight) competition organized by Ko. Growing up together to witness their beloved Shen walking down the aisle to become someone else's wife, these boys have learned their coming-of-age lessons and continue to pursue each's happiness" (20th Century Fox).

Love sparks between Shen Jia-yi, an outstanding girl in class with Ko Ching-Teng, a mischievous boy with "childish" behaviour. Both of this two characters shared a unique relationship through a journey of high school and university. Despite contrasting characters, both have feelings for each other and were perfectly matched as soul mates, they were not together in the end. Some might not like the ending but I find it really real as most of us do not end up with the person we love the most. That's why I felt this movie really spoke to me and I was very emotionally touched after watching it. (I know how it felt as I as an "underperformer" in university dated a "bookworm" before. I'm sure she is reading this and I wanna thank her for sweet memories spent together.) There were many memorable quotes, among the famous "妳就是我眼中的苹果，而我就是那幼稚的男孩, 才有办法喜欢妳那么久。虽然妳不喜欢我，但是请让我继续的喜欢妳。我不求回报，只求妳幸福快乐" towards the ending of the film. Personally I like the quote which literally translates into "The most magical stage in a relationship is the period before a couple gets together officially, that's the "ai mei" and courting stage"

Michelle Chen Yan Xi played the role of top-performing student Shen Jia-yi. I have noticed her in Miss No Good but her character in this movie is totally down to earth. She is officially the top of my list now in fictional girl-next-door character. =) How I wish there is a sweet girl poking my back with a pen every now and then. Well, gone were my student days, there's only a haggard aunty backstabbing me from behind while at work. LOL...

那些年，我們一起追的女孩 is indeed a heart warming, light hearted comedy which is well expressed and directed by Giddens (author of the novel with the same title). Directly translated into "In those days, the girl whom we chased after", the official English title is "You Are the Apple of My Eye". I just managed to catch it on cinema just now. Good thing as today is the last day of screening. Despite being seated 3rd row from the front in a fully packed cinema hall, I'm glad I managed to reminiscent and cherish moments of the past and see the sweet character of Shen Jia-yi on the big screen.

And yes, this is the theme song which is a hit song in radio stations, music charts and karaoke session. If you see me review a movie in a food blog, damn! That movie must be REAL GOOD! =)

MyDREAM, yourNIGHTMARE

2011-11-28T09:58:00.001+08:00

101 Reasons why MYDREAM Caféwould be nominated and is a top contender to grab the WORSE EATERY in Ipoh 2011:

1) Service was uberly poor. I tried theBercham outlet on a normal Wednesday afternoon. We were the only table diningthere (besides there is one Malay gal lazily playing with her hand phone anddid not even pay attention to us, I wonder she is an employee there.) Guesswhat?

1.1 At least 2/3 of theitems in the menu are not available yet, either being out of stock or not launchedyet.

1.2 The items on the set are served on reverseorder. Drinks and garlic bread are served last. The desserts are served first. Common, don't they have basic common sense? I wonder if their gastronomical tract works in reverse direction too =p

1.3 The waiting time!!! Being the only table that time, it tookmore than 15 mins to prepare the Mango dessert. The spaghetti came after morethan half an hour. They expect us to have 2 hours lunch break?

2) The taste of the food sucks! The garlic bread istoo oily/buttery and was not toasted evenly. The mushroom spaghetti is a weirdversion infused with curry and cheese flavour combination and chilli oil was spotted on the surface ofthe gravy. Noodles were far from al dente and its worse than the instantnoodles ala Spaghetti once introduced by Maggi in the early 90s. The MangoDessert does not have mango fragrance at all. The slight unpleasant aftertasteon our tongue was something like the artificial flavoured powdered beverages inpasar malam.

3) Pricing of the items! The Tiramisu, Cheesecake and Durian Mille Crepe arepriced at RM16 per slice! This is even more expensive than Indulgence. It’s inthe league of my personal favourite in Italianese which served a biggerportion. The lacklustre garlic bread was RM8 per ala carte serving. Watermelonblended is priced at RM8, The crappy mango desserts are RM10 onwards, BananaCrepe (RM8) and Mango Crepe (RM10) compared to Yoke Fook Moon’s Durian Crepe atonly RM3-4. Tastewise, they are NOT on par with Yoke Fook Moon’s version.Environment wise, they are NOT close to Indulgence’s. So, what justificationthey have to price their food exorbitantly?

4. The safety ofconsumers! The plate of spaghetti cracked into 2 pieces in front of our eyeswhen served a few minutes later. Since no cutting using knife and fork isinvolved, I believed the breakage of the plate was not resulted to humanfactor. I can further draw conclusions that the spaghetti is microwaved and theplate is not suitable to withstand high heat.

5. The place isunderstaffed. There were a total of 5 people at work in the whole café from thefront line to the kitchen. Apparently I glanced at the board and saw 1 workerwas on leave. Well, if the spaghetti was microwaved, how come they still needhalf an hour to prepare it? And most of the desserts are pre-prepared and kept refrigerated, I presume. Why the lousy and untimely service?

Currently MYDREAM cafes have been mushrooming in Greentown, Bercham, Menglembu and even Kampar. They have advertisements on thte VOXEL LED screen in front of JUSCO traffic lights. But, how come they can even get the basics of what a food and beverage outlet should have? The proprietor must have a lot of money to waste in this area as most of the time, the outlets are empty. Angry patrons like yours truly will NEVER return to their outlets! I did not expect such title contender to my category lousiest place to dine to appear in the last quarter of 2011. I'm sure this surpases Tambun's RIVER NILE and TASTE GOOD kopitiam in clinching the title of WORSE EATERY in Ipoh 2011!

Haagan Dazs, De Garden, Ipoh

2011-11-27T12:14:00.001+08:00

There is a new kid in town which carries a slight burden and hope on its shoulder in helping to revive De Garden. De Garden seems once a happening nite spot with the "biggest club" Airport, the first Burger King in Ipoh, the first.... Wong Kuok, Ayam Penyet, Tutti Fruitti, FruitLand, Strawberry Moments, Papa Rich, I Love Yoo, Boston and the latest addition would be the Korean BBQ chain Daorae. A few has thrown in the towel due to factors like high rental, poor management policy set by De Garden and personally I feel Ipoh's purchasing power is still limited with the ever stagnant salary range. Within the first week of opening, I would like to gauge how far the new outlet of Haagan Dazs can spike up the ranks of De Garden.

Well, the crowd was indeed big, filling up every single table by 9pm on a Wednesday night. Well, while waiting for my friends, I can spot an empty Strawberry Moments, few tables in Ding Fung, ONE table in Dragon ONE and quarterly filled Wong Kuok and Oh Sushi. I wonder how long Haagan Dazs can sustain in Ipoh. Most of us Ipohians are just one timers when it comes to expensive food.

Ok, I would let you judge for yourself. The platter in this photo cost you RM29.90, excluding the service and government tax. You get 4 scoops of ice cream, a waffle and some banana and strawberry slices. Cookies and Cream is rich and tasted just like most other brands. Tiramisu is rich and creamy. Caramel and Biscuit is abit on the sweet side, also very rich indeed with a strong aftertaste. Strawberry Cheesecake is also very rich with a slight tangy side. Surprisingly the waffle was well prepared, light and fluffy. I could easily finish this plate on my own, but due to tight on budget, 3 of us shared one plate. Told ya, Ipoh people are really underpaid!!!!

Due to overwhelming OPENING response, most of the hit flavours like Belgium Chocolate were sold out. Yours truly even did not get his hands on his ever insatiable cravings of Rum And Raisins. Personally, I would advice most of you to wait for a little longer if you wish to dine in peace and savour every possible favourite flavours of your choice. I even have trouble picking the flavour for my free scoop (for minimum RM20 spent) and I settled with Coffee flavour.

IMHO, I will anyhow prefer Baskin Robbins as it has more flavours to offer and the portion and pricing is more.... reasonable. One scoop in HG is RM10.90 compared to BR's RM7.90. Wear pink on a Wednesday and you can easily get a double scoop deal for less than RM10. That's why I doubt how long HD can survive in Ipoh. Ok, this should wrap up my commitment to update my blog regularly despite there is work tomorrow, a supposedly PUBLIC HOLIDAY! (don't let it spoil my mood as I have great plans for the whole Sunday! To those who gets a deserved day off tomorrow, enjoy!)

A night out with my girls @ Frontera-Sol of Mexico

2011-11-25T13:30:00.000+08:00

Oh no.... Amnesiac has hit me. This is the consequence of procrastination. I actually edited the photos but the draft was pending for nearly a month. It wont be surprising if I forgot the name as this makan session was in end of Oct... Anyway, this is the food I had in Frontera, a Mexican food bar/bistro like chill out place. Its soft taco shell served with ground beef, cheese, tomatoes, shredded lettuce and zuchinni. Served with tomato-salsa like sauce strongly infused with smoky aroma, believed to be incorporation of BBQ sauce.

The sauce is not spicy at all. Well, perhaps mildly spiced. Do not overdo with it else it would be a messy affair. This is the last shot of a properly arrangement before hell breaks loose. Ground beef mixed with the sauce reminded me of a good and hearty Bolognaisse gravy =D One serving at RM6.90!

Surprisingly the taco wrapped turns out to be more filling than expected. The next appetiser was something similar like the first. This time the taco shell is toasted, hence giving a crispy exterior. Served on a steel plate which was not hot (else the vege would lose its juiciness and crisp), this is a meatless version but was well compensated with generous amount of cheese! One portion at RM10.90.

The 2 appetisers were certainly filling enough, especially with some booze.... To kick of the Monday blues, happy hour is all nite long on a Monday! YAY!!! One Jug of Tiger Draft is RM30++. Besides that, they also feature different promotional alcoholic beverages daily.

The interior of the dimly lit environment with cosy PU seats. They have a few LCD TVs for football fans. If I'm not mistaken, they have live band on weekends as well.

Great to meet up with some of coursemates. I hope there will be more chances of going on "business trip" to KL. Hehe... so happen I was attending a course pertaining to JAKIM Halal in MATRADE.

There you have it, a simple write up on Frontera @ Jaya One.

Jaya One, a centre point for most of my KL friends to meetup. Else, Sunway Giza would be great night spot too. Can't wait to make a trip down KL again, most likely in early 2012. At the meantime, there are a few pending blog posts about happenings in Ipoh. Stay tune for my back log work. Hehe....

a Bercham porky affair...

2011-11-13T16:55:00.001+08:00

So peeps, it's Sunday afternoon and I'm sure most of you are joining me on frowning the fact that it's Monday tomorrow. Since it's unavoidable to be back at work the next morning, why not we make the best of our meals at our own leisure. =) Yours truly had a return visit to Wong Fai Kee in Bercham, famous for their porridge...

The have numerous type of porridge served, ranging from chicken, fish, pork.... and to their famous Pork Offals (Chu Chap) porridge. Liver and pork blood are no-nos for me, hence I just opted for the plain pork porridge with additional fried pork intestines (surcharge applies). This bowl costs RM4.50 with just a skimpy serving of fried crullers (yau char kwai), ginger and spring onions. Underneath the smooth porridge are pork pastes (quite similar to the yu wak) instead of my personal preference of minced pork balls/patties. I find the porridge a bit plain. Perhaps a bit more ginger and a dash or pepper and sesame oil could do the trick? Well, that's my preference, perhaps the clear version is appealing to most of the rest? =)

Besides the porridge, you can order some roasted pork (Siu Yoke). The Char Siu was sold out when I was there around 1pm. Inflation has certainly hit Ipoh, with the Siu Yoke of this portion costing RM10!!! Or perhaps Chinese food traders (especially those dealing with pork) just have the license to raise price by blaming the increasing cost of ingredients, electricity, petrol, gas, water, etc... Criticism aside, have to admit the Siu Yoke is nice with crackling skin, but the price is a bit over the ceiling. If you feel like trying, head over to the corner shop along the main road Jalan Bercham, after the first traffic lights after you pass YoYo. This shop is at your left and parking would be a problem on lunch hours.

weekends with my buddies =D

2011-11-06T23:52:00.005+08:00

Finally after all the talking and planning AND PROCRASTINATION, my besties decided to pay me a visit. After 4 years of studying together and 2 years of working, a trip to Ipoh finally fell into place. Arriving on a late Saturday afternoon, I took them to Strawberry Moments Cafe to "alas perut". Why Strawberry Moments? Well, because one need to drive up to Camerons as this is their 3rd branch (The first two are in Camerons)

Errr.... wat was this? Capucinno or Tiramisu Cake. Tastewise, its just so so, but the display and presentation is indeed a feast to the eyes.

Their famous Strawberry Strudel. Strawberries and fresh cream sandwiched between puff pastry. A light dessert. You can easily finish the portion on your own.

Pancake with Strawberry Ice Cream and Fresh Strawberries. Ok, now this is abit HEAVY.

Told ya, it was INDEED HEAVY!!!....

Strawberries Moments is currently having a tea time promotion. Sets are available from RM7.90 onwards, comes with a meal/dessert/cake and a drink and a small serving of fresh strawberries.

Surprisingly, Strawberry Moments is still surviving in De Garden. Though being special, nicely decorated with well presented and attractive looking desserts, I would see a near empty cafe every time I pass by. I Love Yoo, Tutti Fruitti, and Airport has already throw in the towels. Guess the few other to follow suit would be Boston and Burger King? Sigh... what is happening to Ipoh? There is really no market here besides hawkers and fast food? Good luck to Haagan Dasz for their opening in November in De Garden.

After a quick rest in my humble abode, we decided to make a twist by having Dim Sum for dinner! Yoke Fook Moon is the only option that I know which serves Dim Sum at night. Not gonna elaborate further on this though. Neither will I touch on the Snow Beer we had for second round after our dim sum.

Next, we took them to Too Boo Keong temple as they had some Nine Gods Festival celebration. They had some Chinese opera going on. The street was filled up with stalls selling the "tortoise bun".....

......... and Angry Birds merchandise =p

Just before calling it a night, I brought them to experience the "night life" in Ipoh. Well, I always wanted to prove to KL peeps that Ipoh people do "club". Though, relatively speaking, if KL clubs are like hypermarkets, Ipoh "clubs" are just minimarkets or sundry shops. Seriously, Ipoh people should call it PUB-bing instead of clubbing

Yaya, they had some ~~Hellriders show off~~ superbikes parade. With some hot chicks as well.

The next morning, we kick started the morning by opening our own "club". Played DDR in my PS2.

Next, we headed for a simple breakfast nearby in k10 Claypot Chicken Rice in Bandar Medan Bestari. But we had "liew fun" la... While waiting, Sin Mei disclosed her pressie for us, a souvenir from Hong Kong - Egg Custard mooncakes. =D

I just couldn't describe it much further. Neither did I get a clear shot of it. But it was indeed crumbly and tasty =)

Next, we headed to Sam Poh Tong and Kek Lok Toong to enjoy the sight of limestone. I personally prefer Kek Look Toong because the air is not filled with smoke from joss sticks. There is a lake in the middle of the "valley" which was once filled with lotus plants, but was poorly maintained in recent times. There is limited "cave climbing" involved compared to Perak Tong which you can see a breath taking view of Ipoh city at its "peak"

Dropped by one of my friend's grandma pomelo stall. The "tourist" bought some souvenirs home.... FYI, pomelo is something Ipoh is famous for, and Tambun is the place where most of the pomelos are grown. Perhaps same reason with the beansprout, lets give credit to the unpolluted natural water from the limestone caves. rAwrrRrs....

Next, I would never fail to bring my tourist to my personal favourite dessert stall, Funny Mountain Tau Fu Fah. I just love their fragrant sugary syrup infused with pandan leaves. They are very famous with numerous coverage from food reviews and write ups by floggers. Certain celebrities have expressed their fondness over this warm and velvety dessert.

The price has gone up to a whopping 90 cents for a small bowl but the portion still is small. You can slurp it down your throat in just 3 or 4 spoonfuls. However, the long bee line shows that business is brisk indeed, especially on weekends and public holidays. Do not take your chances by coming in the late afternoon as you might be disappointed when this sought after commodity is sold out. Yup, cars even make a long queue ala drive through. You can see cars with number plates "W" and "P"s making big purchases in bottles and plastic containers.

It was just a nearby street where we get our flaky Kaya Puffs from Sun Eng Heong Confectionery. Kaya puffs are sold out within minutes. The long queue is moving even slower than a traffic light jam. You might even grip your fist when you see a customer in front ordering 10 boxes of 10 pieces each causing the queue to crawl. The MORE THAN 20 minutes wait was worth it as we sinked our teeth in the the flaky pastry and the warm kaya filling inside. Best eaten fresh, it was indeed total comfort food.

A late lunch at Lou Wong wraps up the Ipoh trip as our visitors geared up to head back to KL. Next post, MY VISIT to KL - "backlash"/reunions with my ji muis =D

Theme Song from this year's inaugural IKUPM's Musical

2011-11-01T00:06:00.000+08:00

~~I have a crush on girls who are musically inclined and have a sweet vocal~~ I'm looking forward to next year's IKUPM Musical! =)

A Night of Christmas Carols

2011-10-30T23:28:00.000+08:00

Instrumental performances by a full orchestra, Christmas carols by choir and talented individuals, a adrenaline pumped dance performance, appearance and performance by Juwita Suwito and a Christmas message by Pastor Kenneth Chin. It will be a musical journey on a Friday night, 16 Dec 2011 in PGS Hall, Jalan Kampar. Get your tickets at RM10, RM30 and RM50.

Come experience Christmas with your friends and families with us. The whole team has put in great effort to ensure you will be entertained while getting the meaning behind Christmas. No, there wont be Santa Claus, but Pastor Kenneth Chin will be delivering a Christmas message. Rest assured he is not a boring speaker but a anointed speaker whom can connect to the crowd. Come and be blessed and reach out to your friends so they too can be touched by the true meaning of Christmas.

(P/S: Yours truly has decided to take up the challenge by being in the dance team instead on vocals. So, is this reason worth you spending 2 hours and RM10?)

a small blessing...

2011-10-29T17:33:00.000+08:00

Finally, after almost a few months of participating in the contest. I actually won something. Well, I was kinda confident of NOT being empty handed as the contest promised every 100th entry win. I actually submitted more than 100 entries. I was actually hoping to try my luck on winning something bigger =S

After all the hard work and money spent on envelops and stamps, I would have boycotted Teapot Milk if I did not get something from the contest. =p Well, all of the labels are actually obtained from my previous factory as it was a major ingredients. Imagine almost 30 cans everyday. If I got to know about this contest earlier, I would have spammed their mailbox every week. What you see in the photo is not even 10% of the total labels which I manage to collect from my factory.

Well, I should have gotten a few more labels and submitted a few entries on behalf of my dad. Yup, besides me, mom also won RM100. So there is RM200 extra for grocery shopping this month. Would've been sweeter if I have won a 4 digit cash prize (If only decimal points does not exist in the cheque, RM10 000), then it will be a big shopping spree in KL this Christmas. Anyway, Thanks F&N Teapot Milk! This post is a small thank you note (besides taking pride of winning something)

Hokkaido Revisited

2011-10-28T00:09:00.001+08:00

Just a simple post to share with you the ongoing promotion in Hokkaido Japanese Cuisine currently. There are a few items on promo price. Salmon /White Tuna Sashimi is priced at RM10.90 (5 slices, original ala carte price could be RM25). Salmon and Ebiko (Roe) Sushi are priced at RM1 per piece. (Minimum order 5 pieces) Buta (Pork) Tepanyaki @ RM16.

Some of the items in real form. Edamame was also a good munching options. Portion quite substantial for RM3.80. For around RM20, the sashimi did not really skimp in portion nor quality. Must order this!

Beef Sukiyaki (RM28) = generous portion but beef was a bit overdone. Prefer the medium cooked with pinkish layers in the center.

And the star of the day would be the charcoal grilled items. We ordered the Seafood (RM30) and the Pork (RM20)

The charcoal grill. I find this more interesting than the stainless steel hot plate on my first visit. You really get to hear the sizzles of the meat being cooked. Personally I prefer the charcoal stove over the aluminium hot plate. But, the other patrons might not like it cause you will not be the only one having smoke smell on your clothes.

Grilled seafood - scallops. salmon, squid....

and of course, prawns!!! =D They might take some time preparing the charcoal stove, so enjoy your appetizers of mains first as the wait might be up to 1/2 an hour. So there, a short write up on Hokkaido. Don't miss out on the on going promotion, especially salmon sashimi lovers. =)

Tantalizing Thursday @ St Mike

2011-10-17T00:32:00.003+08:00

Put your hands up if the two sneak previews photos of the desserts have made you click onto my FB and read this post! Hehe.... Credits to Christine and her DSLR shooting skills, which is improving outing by outing. Some photos were from my camera and some are from hers, pretty obvious which is from whose camera rite? =)

As I promised, a write up on St Mike will be up for this weekend. Let's start with a brief intro. Location wise, St Mike is actually a shoplot opposite the former FMS Bar situated along the row of shops just behind the RHB bank opposte Padang Ipoh. Or to keep it simple, it occupies the former Brewster!

Those who have patronized Brewster before they shifted would've find the interior decor more or the less similar. There is a bar counter for those who wanna chill with a mug of beer. Happy hours are before 8pm, with the buy 5 free 1 promotion. You don't get much choices of beer except for the common few at RM10 per bottle.

Soups were at RM9.90 per bowl. It comes in a big soup bowl but the portion was also decent enough to be shared. The cream of broccoli is thick and creamy from blended broccoli pulp. I prefer the cream of mushroom a bit more. It has generous portion of mushrooms bits to ensure every spoonful is bursting with flavor. A small flaw would be the soup could be a bit hotter because it was not appetizing sipping lukewarm soup halfway.

We ordered different type of juices, averaging from RM5.90 to RM7.90 for drinks. There are smoothies/ice blended juices of coffees besides the mentioned beer. For the main course, it was a coincident that night was a white meat fiesta. The only poultry was the Italian Chicken whereas the rest were fish!

Italian Chicken is a modified chicken chop, with an addition of a slice of ham and a slice of cheese melted on top. Served with garden vegetables and wedges, the portion is subtantial for an average eater. Tastewise, the brown sauce is hearty and flavourful whereas the chicken maintained its juiciness and tenderness as it was grilled just right. No complaints but not much compliments on this dish either.

The Parmesan Baked Fish with Aglio Olio. In the picture, we paid an extra RM3 to upgrade it into a Cabonrara version. Sinfully creamy. The fish itself also gave a aromatic smell of cheese from the Parmesan powder generously sprinkled at the exterior of the fish. I would best advice this dish to be shared but surprisingly, my friend finished the whole plate on her own! =O

Another dish which will leave you in guilt! Salmon maybe rich in Omega 3 but the creamy white sauce would've scare the daylight of all those who are in a diet. Two plates of Grilled Salmon Steak (RM30+) were ordered, one being well done and the other medium. I do not really fancy salmon being neither cooked nor raw. If its grilled or baked, I prefer mine to be cooked well done. Well, different individual have different preference though.

I settled for something more average in presentation and also pricing. My Herb Crusted Grilled Fish came in 2 big fillets with sides of vegetables and potato wedges. I made sure no Dory Fillets are used since I'm paying nearly RM30 for this! Tastewise, the fish is perfectly grilled and maintained its juiciness. The herbs on the exterior does a mild flavour enhancing but with the drizzle of lemon butter sauce, the fish fillets managed to flaunt its freshness and original taste!

After that, we decided to go for some desserts since the night is still young. You can see the desserts of the day being displayed at the bar counter

I had a cup of Chocolate Marshmallow (RM6.90), which is actually hot chocolate with marshmallows. The drink is abit too mild for me as I prefer a richer chocolatey aftertaste.

The Brownies (RM6.50) - Tastewise, I have tasted better brownies before. But this comes down to personal preference. I like my brownies to be warm and slightly moist. Drizzles of chocolate syrup is something I really do look for in my serving of brownies. However the presentation here is kinda interesting too using cocoa powder instead of chocolate syrup,

The Oreo Cheesecake (RM6.50) fared better than the Brownies. Oreo powder were used to coat the exterior surface and the base of the cake. I did not really taste Oreo chunks on the cream cheese layer though. Portion is suitable for one individual whom is fond of desserts. Considering the small portion, I do not encourage sharing (since I'm a dessert lover), at the most 2 person per dessert. Besides these, Creme Brulee is also available at the same price.... and a much similar small portion too. =)

The total bill was around RM250 for the 5 of us (price of the items were an estimation as the receipt is not with me now) Well, for places like this, we kinda expected to feel a slight pinch on our pocket. In conclusion, the food here is not bad. Interior wise, its quite a cozy place with good music to unwind after work. But on a Thursdays, things were slow as there were only 2 more tables besides us. Perhaps you might wanna land your support by dropping a visit to St Mike and feel the dining experience =)

Bee Gaik............. aiyerrrr

2011-10-13T00:03:00.004+08:00

It's gonna be a simple but short post to describe a disappointing meal in Bee Gaik Restaurant.

Otak-Otak... Passable but Lukewarm. Jelak. I wonder if they try their own food before opening for business. Such simple principles taken for granted.

Braised Pork with Yam (RM16 - ala carte order, not part of the set) Tender meat and yam which absorbed the gravy. Yes, I gave the due credit it deserve.... But again. Lukewarm.

Kapitan Chicken. LUKEWARM again?! What the heck, does it take much effort to even reheating it? If you are THAT lazy, use the Microwave damnit! Don't make me pay RM50 for a meal of CHAP FAN dishes which have been pathetically sitting around for the last few hours!

The Sweet and Sour Fish is just above average. At least the fish fillets were made on the spot and still have the crispy exterior... but there is a limit how far Dory can go =p

RM50.90 for a set for 3-4 person inclusive of rice, tidbits and Chinese tea. Besides the mentioned dishes, the stir fried vege was lackluster. I was very disappointed that they could not even make a simple vegetable dish palatable and of restaurant standard. I would NOT step into this place again, unless you are a fan of lukewarm food, And if you enjoy seeing waitesr/waitresses and even cooks sitting around lazily while you sip your neither hot, neither cold Chinese Tea in frustration.

Cha Time, Chatime, Chat Time, Chat ime.... wateva

2011-10-05T23:42:00.002+08:00

I put a pause to ChaTime despite their opening promotion of Buy 1, Free 1. I heard the crowd was unbelievable during the first week of opening. Well, I think its the QUEUE rather than crowd. There is only about 6-8 tables which only seat a small crowd. ChaTime is situated in a small corner lot in Greentown, same with Berlin Bier House.

ChaTime has been mushrooming in the Klang Valley area since its first outlet in Pavillion KL. With a young CEO and aggressive marketing and promo using models/artists, the Taiwanese drink franchise has been blooming and the craze has finally spread to Ipoh (during the DEHP scare of tainted beverages from Taiwan). Not serving any food, you will be kinda dumbfounded, gazing at the menu of a variety of drinks. Yes, it happened to me. I couldn't make up my mind on what to other from the Iced Tea, hot beverages, Milk Tea, Pearl Tea, Ice Blended/Smoothies to mention a few. Price of the drinks here is somehow standard, RM5.90 for regular, RM6.90 for large. Apart from the wide flavours in the menu, you can customize your drink in degrees of sweetness and amount of ice! I was a bit amused when you can opt for No Sugar, 50% 70%, 100%, and another degree exceeding 100%. =.=

Else, you can add on extra toppings like grass jelly, coffee jelly, pearls, etc for an additional RM1. Yup, despite having red bean as topping for my Matcha Blended, I topped up RM1 for pearls. After all, its somebody's treat after all. The pearls were like usual, gummy and bouncy. The drink itself is not TOO sweet for me, though at 100% sugar (original sweetness tasted just right for a sweet toothed me!). Green tea was erm.... as expected, flavoured from powder? Some people argued that ChaTime goes as natural as possible, brewing beverages from tea leaves. I'm a bit skeptical after seeing containers after containers containing flavoured beveragers powder. That's why I was never a fan of the Taiwanese Milk Tea, though I really love the pearls.

Hence I couldn't really be in a position to evaluate distinctively whether ChaTime really stands out from the beverages from pasar malam. Skeptics/Non-fans like me would think its just the environment, more of the "in" factor. To support this hypothesis, you can see for yourself, 90% of patrons and youngsters, 100% are Chinese to be exact. Fans (or rather fanatics) would argue that the drinks here are different! Well, if I get a Taiwanese Milk Tea drink from the pasar malam for them to drink it in the compound of ChaTime, I wonder if they could distinguish that its a RM2.50 beverage.

For RM5.90 and above for a beverage normally priced below RM3, I wonder ChaTime will get to survive in Ipoh or not. I do understand a lot has been spent on the packaging (sealed cover to prevent spillage for takeaway convenience) but seeing Burger King swatting flies, you and I know best how far Ipoh people can spend. (I was told by my colleague that my boss and many other colleagues from the HQ are readers of my blog, hence I need to reduce the frequency of rantings concerning incompetitive salary for Ipoh employees versus the rising cost of living). Personally, first try is enough for me, mainly for the price factor and drinking artificial chemicals and flavouring is definitely NOT MY CUP OF TEA! =)

Yishen (Yat Sum) Vegetarian Restaurant

2011-10-05T00:04:00.004+08:00

Yishen (Yat Sum) Vegetarian Restaurant has been in business for more than a decade. Putting Meng Kee aside, I would dare say that this is the pioneer of vegetarian food which made it to the restaurant level in Ipoh city. The luncheon last week with my colleagues made me come back for another visit.... and the fact that I was abit intimidated to be on snapping mode in front of 12 other pairs of eyes, in which some are really dumb founded against people with passion to share good food. Well, if its not people like us blogging bout food, you think you can easily know which shop serves the best food and which you need to refrain yourselves from stepping in?

Well, if you have been constantly checking out my page, I appreciate your loyalty and I will strive to continue my passion, though my frequency of writing may have decreased recently. Okay, back to Yat Sum. This is the Crispy Vegetarian Goose (RM10 for small portion). Yup, it may be a bit small. Ideally for a group of 3-4. Well, the portion ain't too much, especially those who love fried food. I would never fail to pick this when I have vegetarian chap fan. Priced at a level far from the normal rice shops, you are assured with freshly fried sheets of beanskin which literally melts in your mouth (thanks to the layer of oil). This dish may scare the living daylight of the health freak but........... well, you really gotta try this. =)

This is one of their signature dishes. I remember having this a decade ago. Yup, the last time I dined here was like N years ago. Yet, the Pan Fried Fish with Black Beans. They claimed its Sek Ban. I wonder how they can differentiate various type of "vegetarian fish". RM13 for a small portion. Again the "flesh" is something similar to a cross between beancurd and fu juk (bean skin). Something savoury which will get you finishing your bowl of rice with ease!

The "House Taufu with Shmeiji" (RM12). That's what was written in my bill. I remember pointing on something else in the menu with the word mushroom. Hmmm.... Well, I do get some mushroom (a species which is rarely seen and ate), wolfberries, snow peas and of course beancurd in a starch based gravy. Nothing spectacular, just thought of something with gravy as the other dishes were kinda dry.

The Satay Cuttlefish (RM13 for a small portion) is one of their forte! I loved this dish since I was a kid. Brought up with the passion for good sotong kangkung, the nutty and mildy spicy peanut sauce with water convolvulus (kangkung) is a evergreen winning combination. The mock meat was processed in a way which matches similarly with real cuttlefish, well, the mock version is even more bouncier. Boric acid perhaps? This is one dish you do not want to miss as you wont find this among the generic vegetarian dishes in vegetarian rice shops.

Stirfried Sambal Long Beans (RM9) to get the real vegetables in a vegetarian meal. Nicely done, I wonder if there were mock dried shrimps among the sambal paste. But you do find mock prawns. =p

Well, vegetarian meal might cost you more than the a meal with real meat. (A bowl of vegetarian sharks fin costs RM80!) This is mainly because it is not cheap to produce the mock meat. Alot of processing is involved. And alot of calories from these processed meat. Furthermore, most of the dishes here are fried or stir fried with quite a substantial amount of oil. If you think those who takes vegetarian meal are healthier? Think again. Health conscious aside, its quite appetizing to see how "real" this meats are. For me, it cost RM67 for 4 pax with 5 dishes. =)

Souvenirs from Guang Zhou, China

2011-10-01T00:14:00.006+08:00

o.O

Charlie Brown's Cafe, Straits Quay, Penang

2011-09-23T00:16:00.001+08:00

Finally, after seeing so many friends posting up about Charlie Brown Cafe in Hong Kong and Singapore, it's considered a real delay for me to visit their outlet in our very own shore. Yes, I do not have the money for overseas travelling, but forking out RM30+ for a day trip to Penang, that I still can afford.

Charlie Brown's Cafe is located in Straits Quay, Penang Island. Well, Straits Quay is a well landscaped and still undergoing an early stage of development. Having their own quay (of course) and a shopping complex and business centre just right to it, it is surrounded by gated community. I would say that would be at least a million or two for those houses there. Even at the complex itself, the cheapest food you can find are mainly Paparich, Subway and Secret Recipe. These 3 will be your "Chap Fan". Starbucks inside Straits Quay is of a "mamak standard" as the proper cafe there would be Dome. So could you get an illustration of how high the standard of living of the community living around here?

Enough introduction, lets move on to the cafe. Currently there is only ONE Charlie Brown Cafe outlet in the whole of Malaysia, But from their website, it seems that they will be opening another one in KLCC in October 2011.

Let the photos do the talking here. Well, basically the food here is abit expensive, as you are paying for the environment. The quality of food is average. Drinks is passable but the food is very ordinary. I mean, 99% of the people will come here for the hype and ambience rather than the food.

Aint it lovely the presentation? The Tiramisu @ RM11.90 and the Caramel Latte at the same price too. See the chocolate powder dusting on top. You will see familiar faces of PEANUTS cartoon character.

My Caramel Latte... I did not have high expectation on this. Before coming here, I browsed through a few other blog posts and they reminded us that the food is just so-so. But the drink turned out slightly better than expected (since I lowered the benchmark). The tiramisu on the other hand failed terribly. Its just plain sponge cake!

The Mixed Seafood Pasta is a disaster! Fried battered prawns and squid (or was it fish fillets) on a bed of Macaroni and colourful peppers (green yellow and red capsicum). Well, it might appeal to the kids but the taste of the food really sucked! Furthermore no signs of PEANUTS characters in the presentation, so why do I need to pay RM14.90 for this? >.<

As mentioned, its the ambience.... You get a few LCD TVs showing PEANUTS cartoons. The walls are well painted and decorated with PEANUTS characters.

Its a good place for camwhoring as well....

With a couple of comic strips here and there among the decoration. This is one of the light cubes. The ceiling is also decorated with colourful and fancy light covers. In the first few photos, the green light cover is actually one of the many ones attached on the ceiling, right above your head. You can check out the previous post sneak peek photo at the end.

They have a souvenir shop. Things don't come cheap here though but they have quite a wide selection of decorative items and more useful items. You will surely find one which suits your budget.

Shirt is around RM75 per piece. The plush toys ranges from less than RM100 to RM500+ depending on size. They have bathroom foot mats, handphone covers, stationery, figurines, mugs, thermos flasks, food containers and...... even BRA and UNDIES!!! serIouSSSs!

I wanted to snap a pic of the undergarments to be posted here but my friend my think that I'm a pervert. =p

Snoopy is an extroverted beagle with a Walter Mitty complex. He is virtouso at every endeavor- at least in his daydreams atop his doghouse. He regards his master, Charlie Brown as "that round headed kid" who brings him his supper dish. He is fearless though prudently cautious about "the cat next door". He never speaks - that would be one human trait too many - but he manages to convey everything necessary in facial expressions and though balloons. A one-man show with superior intelligence and vivid imagination, he has created such multiple personalities as Joe Cool, World Ware I Flying Ace, Literary Ace. Flashbeagle, Vulture. Foreign Legionnaire, etc.

Having that said, how can I not take a photo with Snoopy. Chairs to cater for camwhorers like me. =)

The decorated window. This area overlooks the magnificent seaview but sadly.........

.......This area was off limits when we were there.

Another private room also closed. Well, on a Tuesday afternoon, there were only a 2-3 other tables besides mine. And this figure was taken into account from my 2 hour stay there! o.O

And it seems like at night, there is a live band performing. Its really deserted during weekdays. Colourful wall paintings for camwhores.

The famous scenes where you could've came across among the photos of your friends. That's if you refuse to pay RM10+ for a drink to camwhore inside. There are a few spots where you can have your photo taken without needing to enter and buy something.

Else, you can just give it a try and maximise your stay there. Its about PEANUTS and PEANUTS only. Doubt I will return again for a second trip unless other friends decided to come again, I might tag along by ordering a hot beverage. That's all. =) Finally, I stepped into Charlie Brown Cafe without needing to go to Singapore!

Day Trip to Penang

2011-09-20T00:42:00.001+08:00

Tickets to Penang aint cheap nowdays. RM17+ for one way! I remember paying around RM14+ less than a year ago. Thats like more than 20% raise in less than a year. *waves* hey DEAREST employers out there! do I even have 10% annual increment? Else you expect me to be like Flintstones and paddle my car by foot?

Air in Penang is polluted. Guess we have been very kind to our neighbouring country already. Perhaps its time to do something........ but, wait. ABANG ADIK maaaa...

Crap! This is supposed to be a food blog, try not to involved political sentiments here, though I'm flaring now after watching the clip of some youths from a political party staging a protest against Nasi Lemak 2.0. Damn, I feel hot! A similar feeling after downing a bowl of authentic Penang Prawn Mee in a coffee shop which was experiencing power shortage! (Told you, what Namewee said was true, TNB really sucks! No point banning the movie, its the satirical truth of Malaysians). I was catching some sweat as the belacan cili mixed into the soup just elevated the inferno level.

For RM3 a small bowl, I find it quite satisfying. Penang food is indeed cheaper than Ipoh food (based on a general lookout). The broth was hearty and I am convinced that quite an amount of prawn shells/heads were used to get that stock! The ingredients were a bit skimpy with thin slices of pork, prawns smaller than the diameter of the half boiled egg yolk and some taugeh. There were no kangkung used in this version. Not too bad, I just go a snapshot of the so called FAMOUS prawn noodles in New Cathay Coffeeshop.

Apparently, the most famous stall here is the curry noodles. Too bad I had stomach discomfort the day earlier, hence I skipped this. The version here incorporate "pig red" (direct translation which literally means coagulated pig's blood cubes). So, no laksa for me this round! =X

Next stop, Straits Quay. And yes, besides street food, my main intention was to try Charlie Brown's Cafe.

Not tonight, perhaps save for another post. Sorry for the abrupt ending. Somebody came online finally. =)

Cheap Weekdays Deal @ Kok Thai Restaurant.

2011-09-16T23:57:00.000+08:00

Happy Malaysia Day I bid to my readers. Finally yours truly has the honour to rest at home on a public holiday! After a day lazing around alternating between playing computer games, sleeping and eating, I decided to wrap up the day with a short post. Remember my post back then about Kok Thai having a special weekday promotional dish at RM8.80? Yes, they have extended this promotion despite the auspicious 8th month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar when business seems to be brisk to due wedding dinners booking.

This is their promotion on Thurdays. A serving of sharksfin soup with crabmeat at RM8.80. One jar could be best shared. Else you would like to have a different approach of eating it by mixing it with rice. Yesssssh, the infamous style of "Yu Chi Lou Fan" as claimed by the Hongkies.

My favourite would still be the Pan Fried Prawns in Soya Sauce which happens to be on Wednesday. Else go on a Tuesday whereby they have a few style of cooking tilapia fish. Have is steamed or fried in choices of sauce. Pair up with a vege or two, another meat dish and there, a reasonably priced dinner. What are you waiting for? =) Kok Thai Restaurant in Ipoh Garden East, at the shops beside Jusco, you can't miss it.

Pau Langkap in Ipoh

2011-09-14T23:51:00.000+08:00

Just a simple write up. Procrastination has been my middle name recently. And updating my blog seems to be distracted by many happenings around me recently.... and also addiction to some PC and PS2 games. Not to mention busy on Skype and MSN. I've been delaying my sleep time and I can go up till 1am sometimes, with my work starting at 8.30am the next morning in my new factory

If its nor these morsels of good food which add some colour to my life, life in Ipoh is really on the slow pace. Well, with so limited salary and entertainment, what better things to do than to eat? And as a bonus, you do not need to travel far. Langkap Pau is available in Ipoh. I bought these in Seng Chung Seng Food Court (formerly known as Bercham Mas). Dunno where is it? Try google the keyphrases 60 cents + Chinese Tea Ice + Ipoh and I bet your search results is obvious.

The Mui Choy Pau (RM1.40) Savoury filling of preserved vegetables with skimpy portion of meat. The filling is a bit too overpowering as it is quite strong in aroma and flavour. It would be perfect if I get to bite on a little more meat/fats.

The Lam Yu Pau (RM1.70). Abit more pricey but it would mean heaven for meat lovers! Pure meat (with some fatty layers as well which melts in your mouth). The preserved bean paste gave the meat a tantalizing marinade. Noteworthy pau if you were scratching your head on which to pick. They have over 20 types on the menu (in which some are generically repeated... see below). Oh, they also have Lor Mai Kai.

For the "general pau" which is like a Swiss Roll. its cut from a elongated shaped dough. A piece at RM1.10 (the picture here shows Kaya. Pumpkin and Red Bean - bear in mind, I sliced the pau into half, so actually its a bigger piece). Langkap Pau is fluffy/light with a pillowy mouthfeel and the original ones which made a this a local trademark is believed from the Hainan origin. Many Hainanese were top chefs during the British colonization era. Hainan Pau is one of their tricks under their sleeve. Give these pau a try, you can always opt for the piping hot ones from the steamer if you are eating on the spot... Should you opt to reheat it by steaming later, its advisable you go for the "cooled" ones.

My dinner arrangement for visitors

2011-09-06T20:57:00.003+08:00

What could be a dinner in Ipoh without Ngar Choy Kai??? Yes, just like going to Penang without trying their Laksa and Char Kuay Teow, a visit to Ipoh is incomplete without savouring the Bean Sprout chicken. Tender and juicy poached chicken which is drizzled with shallots oil, sesame oil, soya sauce and with a dash of pepper is attracting crowds from afar. Come the long public holiday season, you can see cars with B,W and P flocking this street.

A battle of 2 giants - Onn Kei and Lou Wong causing a rippled effect to the traffic and parking in the nearby lanes/streets. My meal in Onn Kei costs RM130 for a table of 10 person. I'm not footing the bill though. The visitors are. The visitors from China said that its a bit similar to their way of cooking. Well, no matter how similar, it will never be complete with the plump beansprout, grown to its fullest potential from the slightly alkaline water which its source can be traced back to the limestome caves.

They have beef balls and fish balls as well if you find beansprout + poached chicken just abit too boring. I heard Lou Wong have whisked out a version of their Thai Styled Glass Chicket Feet. Ooppsss, I forgot to snap a photo of the velvety smooth Ipoh Kuay Teow.

For the second round, or rather a early supper, I brought them to Friend's Corner in Ipoh Old Town area. The stalls here are famous for the snowy beer/ snow flakes beer. You do not need special beer, just a chilled... or rather frozen glass. The beer are also chilled near freezing point. Upon contact, the beer goes on overdrive mode!

Fountain of life????

Steamed Lala in Clear Broth. A simple dish but yet executed in sheer perfection. With just shredded ginger and a few dash of Chinese cooking wine, everything just complemented well.

The Poached Octopus tossed with bird's eye chilli, onions and zesty lime juice squeezed generously to give you an extra zing (fiery darts numbing experience if you cannot take chilli padi). This dish provided a relatively good light exercise for your jaws, without much effort, but sufficient for a good chew on its "bouncy" texture.

Fried Sa Tsui fish. Deep fried after lightly seasoned with salt. This fish is crispy from the inside out! Yes, even the bones and head can be eaten if you take caution as you would not wanna hurt your gums. Paired with the belacan cili squeezed with lime, this is indeed a chilled beer's soul mate!

Enter the beer's concubine (If the fried fish was the soul mate) in the form of Deep Fried Mantis Prawns with Chilli and Salt. Need I explain more? Cheerssssss...~

Ok, I need to explain this, under the strands of eggs and curry leaves are 3 pieces of soft shell crab!!! Yummy... Another cholesterol laden dish! I've already avoided the Salted Egg style and opted for the Lai Yau. Juicy and oily at the same time as you sink your teeth in the moist yet crispy crustacean. I have no idea of how much was supper though 9 big bottles of beer for 6 people is not enough to make me feel drunk =p

I had my sober say on my preference of my night snacking in Ipoh, how bout you?

Bukit Merah Laketown Waterpark Visit

2011-09-01T17:00:00.000+08:00

It's been awhile since I last blogged. And to my dear readers, you will be abit disappointed for not seeing a food post. Yours truly has been on a dry season and did not really went food hunting regularly. Besides that, I think I have tried out most of the eateries in Ipoh worth mentioning. How bout a short write up on a day trip instead. After all, its my first time driving long distance. Seriously, the furthest I drove was to Kampar only. And this time, I'm fortunate to make another milestone to drive up all the way to Bukit Merah.

Bukit Merah exit is just a short drive after the Taiping toll, if you are travelling from Ipoh. Toll cost involved: RM10.10 from Ipoh Toll to Bukit Merah Toll, with a time cost of slightly more than 1 hour. Petrol is a subjective matter but distance traveled was around 150km to and fro.

Thank God for a day off! I have been a bit sick of working on public holidays, both recognised "unrecognised" public holidays. As long as the factory operates, I have to be at work. If the its within a "declared" PH by the company, then I will get a replacement day off. Yes, NO double/triple pay/allowances! So, I'm very glad to be away from work, at least for a day during the Raya period. Kelvin suggested to "play water". Hence we are here!

I was here at Bukit Merah Laketown during the H.U.G.E. Camp back in 2000 if I'm not mistaken. That time we only have free time to explore the Birdpark/OrangUtan Island.

I wonder how much the ticket has increased but its RM27 per person for the water park entrance. Good thing is.... flat rate for all season. So no surcharge on peak periods/holiday season.

Well, we have to leave our belongings in the locker. Handphones, wallets and cameras. So yes.... I did not get any pricey shots of myself enjoying that day. So one more picture before we get wet. =)

Yes this is the standard outfit. No spectacles, No buttons or jeans. No jewellery. Oh, that's the tube for rent. RM10. Without it, you will not get to play certain water slides.... Check in time, approx 11.30am...

Checkout time 4.00pm.... But the weather was real good. We kinda expected it to rain but it didn't. It was "just right". Ideally I prefer a clear morning sky with a cloudy afternoon but things turned out to be the opposite. Since we played till late afternoon, we did had quite measurable scale of sunburn.

These are some of the quick snapshots I got after my shower. I went in to snap pics of certain attractions. This is the Giant Wet Bubble. Only 6 people can enter at one go for a timed session. Make sure you make full use of it as you have to queue up for quite some time. Have a "last man standing" game and throw all your opponents down! Else, have a race to the top using the ropes. Or you can just play safe by syiok sendiri jumping on the inflatable bubble~

This is how you make full use of the RM10 rent for the tube. The Giant Tube Slides. Else you can laze around with the tube in the Wave Pool or the Lazy River. For more "intimacy", take off your shirt and go for the Body Slide, where you have direct contact with the slide surface. There are 2 lanes, one in which you will go through turnings causing a slight nauseating experience. The other one, you will end up having water inside your nostrils if you do not hold your breath as its a straight slide down to the pool.

This is the ultimate ride in the whole park. Enter The Boomerang! One person at a go... Scream all you want. But if possible, open your eyes la and feel the G force on your body. Not as horrifying as the Space Shots in Genting, the initial journey downwards definitely gets your heart beats faster.

Final shot - posing with a Buaya on the "Wave Pool". Please peeps, if you called me a Buaya, think again, when ~~was the last time~~ did i buaya you? It was a all guys trip... except for somebody's gal tagging along. And yes, I did not buaya also. But I did "cuci mata" abit.... once in a while, okla to spend this amount =) This sums up my Raya-Merdeka break, putting aside yumchar sessions every nite.

Dad's Birthday celebration at Daorae~

2011-08-20T21:36:00.016+08:00

Perhaps you might be thinking. What?! Now only Daorae is being reviewed? It's more than half a year! Or nearing a year. Well, the fact that I haven't tried Daorae until now is because it's ain't cheap. And most of my potential makan partners have already tried it at least once with their family or other friends. Well, looks like I have to try it with my family as well.

Upon entering the Tatami dining area, I saw this framed poster! Well, its a Korean BBQ restaurant. What do you expect. At least the side dishes are more easily recognizable compared to the members of Super Junior.

Ginseng, Korea's pride! A whole cabinet on display but definitely not for sale.

There are a few private rooms available. This are can sit around 20 people. Just right for a private function. I noticed there are other smaller tatami rooms too.

Else, head to the public dinning area. Choose to be seated in chairs....

... or on the floor. We were ushered to this tatami area. Guests must remove their shoes to step into this area. Well lit and spacious, there are many tables in this area.

Occupying almost an area of about 6-8 shoplots (3-4 on the left and right, inclusive of the walkway) Daorae is situated on the 1st floor of De Garden at one far corner of the building. In addition to the exorbitant rent, a huge lump were invested in fixing the exhaust vents and the charcoal grill stove. The exhaust system were proven to be very strong to ensure that the smell on your clothes were kept to the bare minimum.

Seaweed Soup. Its slightly different compared to Japanese Miso soup. It has a slight resemblance to the Chinese Choy Kon (Sun Dried Vege) Soup. Not salty at all but it has an appetizing umami trait which is a good kick start to a hearty meal ahead.

Uploaded in a random order, here comes the Macaroni Salad. Lightly dressed with mayonnaise with carrot and cucumber strips. This is a side order you will look forward to if you are not really full from the BBQ meat.

Tamago (Thick Omellete Slices) - a item which is very familiar in Japanese Cuisine. A piece or two would be great. And it provides an extra layer to be wrapped in the lettuce roll later. Read on.

Egg custard (Chawan mushi ala Korea) - velvety smooth - make sure you finish while its still hot.

Pickled.......... erm Cucumber? Seriously no idea. I just had one cube and it was abit hard. Prefer the Kim Chi than this.

Cockles in spicy and sourish sauce. I didn't try this AT ALL! I don't really take this mollusc. Am a bit paranoid of food poisoning if this is not handled/cooked properly.

Potato Balls. Again similar to the Croquette but this paled in comparison because it is already cold and slightly soggy. I mean, fried things should be best eaten fresh upon frying. Else, try a piece or two just to fill up your stomach.

Ermm... Beansprout. Wonder is was blanched or sauteed. But the fragrance of the sesame oil is imminent. The bean sprout is a bit overdone if you are a firm believer that taugeh should be at its juicy best! Else, its a great munch ni between savouring your meat.

Ahhhhh.... KIMCHI. How could a meal in a Korean restaurant be incomplete with this side dish. Cabbage is pickled alongside garlic, chilli, onions and in some version fruits. Unrefined sesame oil and unpasteurized vinegar are highly recommended to be used to preserve this dish and it brings health benefits from the good fatty acids components. Kimchi is said to be an anti oxidant and it lowers the cholesterol level too. Besides that, it is said to promotes good intestinal health from the good bacteria (Forgot those name, please refer to Vitagen advertisement =p). If you can't be bothered by the health facts, just remember this: KIMCHI is a staple food of the Korean community. It's convenient, can multitask in many dishes and can be kept in the fridge for weeks without any chemical preservatives!

It's so unfair, Kimchi got all the limelight in the long paragraph before and nobody care to elaborate much on the pickled eggplants with capsicum. =S

Even the spinach got more recognition. Its the only GREEN and UNPRESERVED one among the banchan(s). Providing the necessary fibre for the meal, we could not help but asked for refill twice for the spinach which was not overdone or too old. The young to the toothless senior citizens would be able to chew it, less to mention the lightly flavoured oil dressing in tossing up this vege side dish

This is when the banchan mostly occupied most of the space on our table. Our table were abit too small. Bear in mind the mains have not made their entries yet.

Furthermore every person is served with dipping sauces for the BBQ meat. There is the salt infused oil. some sweet sauce and fermented bean paste which was very mild spicy.

Without waiting long, the waiter came with a small cauldron of glowing red charcoal to fill in beneath the hot plate. Sometimes I wonder, although the prices of food here is slightly above your normal restaurant, one must bear in mind the operation cost and the decor/renovation. Take for example, there is must be charcoal ready throughout their business hours. And the charcoal must be maintained at the "just right" amber state

Food here are grilled by their own staff. So make sure no impatient smart alecs grabbing a piece directly from the grill as it may not be cooked to the desired level. Let the waiter/staff do the cooking. They will dish up the cooked meat, cut it into bit sized pieces (if necessary) and serve it in a separate bowl for the customers. This is a portion of Woo Sam Kyup (RM45) which is thin slices of marbled beef without marinade....

... and it turns out to this! I choose the plain version for me beef as I would like savour its original and natural flavour. At first, dad thought this was pork as it looked abit like bacon. Tastewise, it was not really flvaoured. The bovine essence was not strongly present. I expected a more robust beefy taste.

This is the Daeji Gal-bi (RM28) which is pork ribs in sweet sauce marinade. Though it says RIBS, but the meat were actually boneless. This dish really gets my thumbs up. The meat was marinaded well from the inside out~ Juicy and yet flavourful, similar to the sweet sauce used in marinading Char Siu. The grilled garlic and caramelized onions is a MUST to be fitted into your lettuce-meat wrap

Dak Gal-bi (RM28)- boneless lean chicken meat marinaded in a spicy sauce. I do not really like this dish as the sauce did not really penetrate into the meat. More like a "make up", in other words, just on surface. Furthermore, I find the chicken meat not firm and was abit.... soft because of over marinade or has the chicken been frozen for quite some time. Hmmm... No wonder the pork occupies nearly 2 pages, the beef 2 pages too while the chicken/lamb and squid were all squeezed into 1 single page in the menu. Looks like their forte is red meat, particularly prime cuts of beef (which don't come cheap, mostly around RM60-75 for premium portions)

Knowing that meat alone wont be able to satiate our hunger during dinner time. We tried a noodle dish called Janchi-Gook-su (RM18). In a nutshell, it is actually wheat noodles simmered in broth with seafood. Nothing really spectacular for this dish but it's a fresh alternative to your Nabe Udon in Japs places.

Soon-dubu-jjigae (RM18) was actually a spicy soup/broth/stew like which has tofu, vegetables and some seafood in it. You can opt for other versions with beef or pork belly. Served in a bowl on top of a stone plate, you are assured of hot and pipping soup for every spoonful. I ordered this dish as I'm always curious on how the characters in Korean series slurp their meal out loud when enjoying this. Comes with a bowl of white rice, I too imitated how the Koreans eat. =p

Yes, this is the bowl of rice which came long with soupy dishes. Upon ala carte ordering, it is charged at RM5 a bowl!!! Yes, this is one of the fact known to me which made me procrastinating to give Daorae a try. At first, I did not noticed the rice since it was nicely served in a stainless steel bowl. I enquired the waiter about the rice which never came along with the soup. The waiter came with the bowl of rice later...

Little did I know that the bowl of rice was on the table all this while. Lets play a short game to test your eyesight. Noticed in the picture the one with the yellow circle was the "untouched, unseen" bowl of rice. If I did not tell you that there were 2 bowls of rice, you would've missed it out too in the beginning, just like me. I mean which so many items on the table, what can you expect rite? =p

All in all, the meal was a fresh experience for us. My whole family, me inclusive, have not tried Korean Cuisine before. Though I would prefer Japanese cuisine (at this rate, I can have a decent meal in Hokkaido), I don't mind coming back to try other stuffs once in a blue moon. During its opening, I read from a couple of blog complementing the good and friendly service but my dining experience was just quite mediocre. We did not even get the complimentary Korean savoury pancake if they feel that "you have ordered exceedingly" beyond their expectation. The total damage was RM151, still not qualified for the pancake mer? Anyway, I hope it was an eye opening experience for dad, at least to certain extend, it was for me =)

my VAIO~

2011-08-09T23:53:00.014+08:00

Make. Believe. Their tagline. Buy. Believe. My tagline. RM3k is not a small amount considering its use for the purchase for a laptop. But it's a price paid mostly for branding and exclusiveness. My first laptop was from the Acer Aspire series in which it was spoilt after 2-3 years of usage. The hinge was broken and later on motherboard fried when nearing the completion of its 3rd year of service to me. I don't think I was a rough master as the Compaq CQ40 served me well past its 3rd year mark but I think its time to get a new one. After all, there is tax exemption of RM3k for purchasing personal computer once in 3 years. I mean, if its time to change, why not? Rather than entering the pockets of corrupted officials.

I just got this Vaio C Series laptop on 8/8, an auspicious day! Upon opening the case, there is the Vaio laptop (of course), battery charger with 3 different pin plugs, spec sheet, warranty guide and a quick start up guide. The "guide" was brief indeed as it shows the parts name and how to power up and backup your lappie. Rest assured that the complete manual is pre loaded in your laptop. =)

I chose the neon green colour. Among the C series, there are white, black, pink, orange and green. There are 2 latest colours of red and blue to the series but somehow its either down to choose between orange and green for its outstanding light reflective index of the material used to produce its body.

A full picture of this laptop. 14 inch screen weighing at approximately 2.4kg with the battery. Well, I chose this over the Acer Time Line X series intel i3 processor 13 inch model which was lighter and thinner @RM1999. But sorry to say, I'm doubtful over Acer's durability. Hence, I decided to try out Sony's Vaio.

Got this from Sony Centre in Kinta City. Comes with an additional warranty and a free Vaio bacpack. And... a pretty salesgirl which gave me very good attention and professional in promoting the products. No, the girl is not a free gift, but part of the service =)

Coming back to the lappie, it has an Intel i5 processor 2.3 GHz, with the turbo boost technology to 2.9GHz when you are multitasking. 4GB of RAM should be enough for you to run Windows 7 Premium with the Aero functions and a few gadgets at the side. 500GB of hard disk should be sufficient, and it has a spindle speed of 7200rpm instead of the usual 5400rpm, bridging the gap between the performance of a laptop to one of a powerhouse desktop.

Other than netbooks and entree level lappies, most of the lappies nowadays would come with a graphic card. my Vaio C series has a built in Intel HD graphics for balanced and normal usage. Once a programme such a games start to load, you can configure for performance priority and thats where the dedicated 1GB of video memory from the ATI Radeon chip kicks in!

Vaio does have its own software which offer updates online. The ASSIST button will initiate a user friendly rescue attempt to backup your system, reformat, etc. Upon pressing, the WEB button also launches a internet browser without booting up Windows. Once Wifi is already activated and in range, you can start surfing the web within 5 seconds! That's almost on par with the boot up time for the Mac! Though only web browsing can be done (no MSN, no adjusting volume, brightness, etc...) its a very useful button to me to like check up football scores the night before when I have a few spare minutes before going to work. Both ASSIST and WEB button can be activated when the system is shutdown. The customizable VAIO button is a shortcut key for your media gallery and other Vaio softwares like Vaio Gate, etc.

It comes with a HD 1.3MP effective pixels webcam, ideal for Skype conversation. Although the slow internet connection at home maybe a deterrence for high definition video calls, but it might come in handy sometimes elsewhere. The webcam also serves its purpose in the hand gesture media selection. Browsing and selecting songs, pictures, videos without the click of the mouse by swiping your hands mid air left and right. It's not really a practical feature, but perhaps they wanna give you a sample on how Playstation Move and Eye Toy works.

The light emitting material is not meant to be misunderstood as glow in the dark material. It only displays its strength when under proper lighting. When the surrounding is dark, something else will take on the centre stage, just like the picture below.

Yup, the illuminated keyboard strikes out when the surrounding is dark. The light sensor triggers the backlit keyboard in dim conditions like a typical setting in a coffee house. I might wanna disable the function if I'm running on battery. The 6 cell battery should last you around 2-3 hours of usage unless you are running power draining programs.

So there is it, a brief but comprehensive review on my new laptop. Why not a Mac Book Air with that price? Perhaps I want something exclusive. Everybody else owns an Iphone or Macbook in one way or another. Yeah, I'm glad to be a proud owner of something sharp in colour. So far so good with my new toy, Vaio C series =)

Chocolate Galore

2011-08-07T23:57:00.000+08:00

Bought this for a surprise gift for dad. A compensation for him being left alone at home for 3 days 2 nights as me and mom went to visit my aunty in KL and proceeded to Genting. TOBLERONE Fruit and Nut 400g is indeed a rare sight. Despite the price tag of RM40.90, I decided to give dad a treat. It may not be worth that price since the plain milk choc and white choc bar of 400g cost less than RM30. For the exclusivity, I think its worth a try... Still have not tried it yet. Hopefully its good. =)

The whole collection of chocolates in my house now. The Old Jamaica Rum and Raisin cost me RM19.90 now. Is really overpriced! A year or two ago, I got it for RM15.90 only. The cravings is too great to be satiated. Have to fork up a few more bucks to have a taste of alcoholic cocoa taste melting inside your mouth. And I miss Bounty too!!! Got a small bar at RM6 - 3 small pieces. Too bad, no Milky Way sold. Hoping that Jun Yen and Joanne will bring me some nice chocs from Australia when they are back end of this year =)

Fong Lye, Gardens, Midvalley

2011-08-05T00:07:00.009+08:00

Just before boarding the train back to Ipoh, I manage to squeeze in time for a meal in MV. Since aunty is tagging along, I thought of giving her a treat. Well, there are not many Chinese food available. Well it has to be xiao long baos.... or.... Fong Lye. Since I haven't try the latter, I decided to give it a shot!

Taiwan Deep Fried Chicken (RM9.30). Categorized under the appetizer section in the menu, I thought this will be a good munch while waiting for our mains. Gosh, I was totally wrong as the portion were enough to be bits and bites for almost 5 people! The portion is indeed generous and with a bowl of rice, it could simply feed 2 small eaters. Despite using chicken breast, the meat was absolutely succulent and juicy. The thin flour coating was well enhanced with a slight peppery and aromatic taste which surely will tickle your tastebuds and ask for more. We kept on crunching on the crispy exterior as the moist meat could have filled a considerable amount in your stomach.

Mistake #2. This again is not an appetizer but more of a light meal on itself. Taiwan Glutinous Rice Sausage (RM9.30). In the Chinese name, its called "Tai Cheong Bao Sai Cheong" literally translated into Big Sausage Wrap Small Sausage. The "smaller sausage" was a slightly different type of Taiwan sausage. Usually sausages incorporate grinded meat and fats but the version here uses shredded lean meat similar from the chunks of bak kut teh. Not really well marinaded with the condiments like five spice powder, the sausage is not too appetizing to my liking. The "bigger sausage" is actually glutinous rice filled inside a sausage skin. Lightly stuffed with preserved vegetables, the glutinous rice is passable but not moist and soft enough. If my tastebuds serves me accurately, the meat floss used is not from chicken nor pork, but from dried shrimps. You can taste the faint "fishy" smell, hence I guess the floss must be from the sea instead of poultry derivatives.

Taiwanese Pig Intestines Mee Sua (RM11.80). Mee Sua served in a starchy gravy along side slightly chewy pig intestines. I heard its a common dish in Taiwan but the famous Shilin Snacks franchise kiosk nationwide diluted its authenticity by substituting pork intestines with shredded chicken and oysters. Thank goodness for Fong Lye!

Set meals are reasonably priced here. Well, it doesn't come cheap but for the ambiance and variety of stuffs in the set, its worth it. This is the Minced Meat Sauce Noodle Set (RM17.80). A bowl of fine pan mee like noodles is doused with a thick and meaty sauce. Just like spaghetti Chinese-fied. You can find cubes of beancurd among the minced meat. Both were stewed until it locks the flavours of the sauce. The julienned cucumbers was there to counter the saltiness of the sauce. Towards the end, the sauce is abit overpowering when you are running low on noodles.

Every set meal will come with a platter with sides of seasoned jellyfish, seasoned bean curd salad and fried fritter. The seasoned jellyfish is crunchy and really did its part well in kick starting taste buds. The middle appetizer is actually tau kua mixed with wood fungus and shredded chicken and cabbage. The fried fritter contains a filling similar to a creme style of corn, best eaten upon serving as the cold filling will cause the fritter to be soggy. Besides these, you get a serving of doubled boiled soup. The soup has a full bodied aroma although the ingredients seems simple - "fun kok", red dates and pork.

I had the Stewed Beef in Hot Pot Set (RM19.80) The beef cuts are tender and succulent with good ratio of lean meat and tendon. The jelly like tendon is the best part and it really melts in your mouth. Another proof the stew is very well done is the radish and carrots also can easily melt in your mouth. The gravy is hearty and well flavoured with the essence/stock from the beef itself. Goes along very well with the white rice. I'm very satisfied with the food here. Now, the decision on where to dine in Midvalley when I drop by KL is even tougher with an addition of worthy option in the name of Fong Lye. =D

Non-alcoholic in Brussels Beer Cafe

2011-08-03T22:43:00.005+08:00

A weekend in KL before going up to Genting. I was filling the time in Shah Alam to the brim. Joined Yvonne and visited her church for Sunday evening service, then decided to meet up with some iBridge camp friends. Decided to yumchar in Jaya One, but besides OldTown White Coffee and Station One, couldn't find a worthy place which has a wider range non-alcoholic drinks.

Adapted from Clever Monkey's website. This is the place we chose for the night.

Hot Chocolate (RM6). Abit too milky to my liking. Out of 5 person, 4 of us ordered hot chocolate. Well, I also abit paiseh to order some booze. But to order hot chocolate in a Beer Cafe? Haha... I bit weird I reckon. =p

To pair up my warm drink, I decided to ordered the Tiramisu (RM10.90). Knowing its a beer house, I have quite high expectation for the Tiramisu, for the liquor taste. And yes, the Tiramisu here did live up to my expectation. The mascarpone cheese was light and smooth. Layers of sponge fingers were soaked in expresso and have a faint hint of... I believe its coffee liquor! The slight drawback was the cocoa powder was a bit overpowering. The dry powdery aftertaste can cause you to choke slightly if you are scooping a big spoonful of the top layer. Overall, not too bad for the Tiramisu here.

A group picture of the non-alcoholic clan in Brussel. Hehe... lesson learned. Head to Jaya One with your gang which drinks. I miss chilling with my coursies in Chulo last year.... Brussels is abit well litted, a typical beer house, similar to Berlins Bier House in Ipoh. Shall plan for a nite out with my gals in Chulo again. =)

Bowl

2011-07-29T13:46:00.012+08:00

We had an unfortunate detour and ended up in this place. I have no intention trying out this place all this while but Nakhom Pathom's Thai Wong disappointed me again by not opening his shop. His rests day are quite unpredictable. The cravings for Thai Food was so strong and I decided to take my makan gang to Ah Oh's Thai Food (next to Hot Trax, same row with Waraku). In the end we somehow skipped that decision as from the outside, the shop looked abit gloomy and there were not a single table occupied. No new spot sparked in our mind at that moment and finally we decided to try out BOWL.

Similarly, we were the second table of the day in BOWL though its already near 7pm. The menu here is rather limited and simple. Most items are somehow identical to one another or just a mere derivative.

The complimentary "appetiser" of blanched beansprouts and pickled onions. We were supposed to mix them up with the cili padi, chili sauce and the..... erm, sweet sauce. We were not attracted to try it so we thought of an alternative usage of this platter.

The BOWL appetizer supper set platter (RM16.90) came first. It consists of mostly fried stuffs. The chicken wings is the one which is slightly above average. Well marinaded and not too dry, its tasty but simply forgettable after that. Same goes to the wantan/money pockets and the spring rolls which was a big soggy from absorbing too much of oil.

The popiah which is something like a "Vietnamese Roll" was not really good either - incorporating carrots spoils the mouthfeel as I was expecting something soft as I sink my teeth, only to bite into tough sticks. And I've mentioned always, I am biased towards the usage of surimi crabsticks!

My friend's bowl of.......... Bibin Rice. A Hakka Lui Cha, Vietnamese Mong, Malaysia's Nasi Ulam and Korean's Stone bowl rice inspired dish. =.= The chopped mixed vegetables provided a refreshing first mouthful... but on subsequent tablespoons, it was kind of a drag to finish the whole portion.

The Seafood Noodles (RM7.90) - also somehow bland. The usage of crab meat sticks and Panda faced fish cake makes me doubt their credibility and passion in serving GOOD stuffs.

The chicken noodles- tasted somewhat bland. (RM5.90). My friend has trouble finishing the whole portion. Yikes~ I'm a firm believer that "health food" normally doesn't taste good. Perhaps I'm used to a robust flavour.

My bowl of beef noodles - Beef slices were far from being tender but was thinly "shaved". The broth was indeed hearty and quite robust in flavour. Other than that, nothing really spectacular for your taste bud to register it in your memory.

Oh they use some kind of noodles which are not so commonly found. A cross between Hakka noodles and kuay teow. I do not have an idea wat is the actual name. Anybody knows?

I would rate this place below average. I would recommend you to V-nam for more authentic Vietnamese delights. Lesson learned, MOST fusion theme restaurant just produce an amalgam of the shady sides of both world, cooking up disaster.

Garden Chinese Restaurant

2011-07-26T22:52:00.006+08:00

I have noticed this Chinese Restaurant in the Star's advertisement and found out its just situated next to Euro House. I did not really read through any review nor receive any flyers of on-going promotion. Have you heard of Garden Restaurant behind Ritz Garden Hotel?

The picture featured in The Star Metro pullout made me wanted to experience the ambiance of this place. The restaurant is divided into 2 areas. A fully air conditioned section and a open area with a high ceiling. The open area is a smoking area but the well ventilated area is cooling and have fresh air constantly flowing in.

The opened area is well lit and has traditional Chinese decor of paintings, lanterns and calligraphy art.

They are having set affordable lunches, targeting the office group during lunch break. Else it will be tough to survive to see a few tables only throughout the period i was dining here on a Monday evening.

Stirfried Garoupa Fillets with Ginger and Spring Onion (RM30). The fish slices were not to chunky but its not a skimpy portion either. For the amount you pay, you get a lot of firm fish slices and not bits and pieces. However I felt that the fish has a slight fishy smell. Perhaps they should be more ginger slices to mask the faint fishy smell. Furthermore it is lacking of Chinese wine. I rate this dish slightly below average as it lack a distinctive fragrance a typical Keong Chung Yu Pin should have.

This is some innovated rendition of Marmite Chicken. Ginger slices were "wrapped" with boneless chicken and deep fried. Coated with a caramel like savoury glaze, this dish is quite okay. RM12 for the portion above.

Initially the name kinda caught my attention. Stewed Pork Belly with Lotus Root (RM13). It turned out to be quite a failure. The layers of pork belly did not absorb the gravy well. The lotus roots were still quite hard. The contrasting mouthfeel of the pork belly and lotus roots failed to work their chemistry.

The Spinach in Superior Stock (RM10). Served with fried silver anchovies, century egg and salted egg yolk, this dish made its passing grade. However, the overall verdict was, just a mediocre restaurant in terms of food.

Well, it will be a uphill task for them to keep up with business. Perhaps they should brisk up with the promotion and publicity and improve the taste of certain dishes. Wish them luck!

Hokkaido Japanese Cuisine Restaurant, Ipoh

2011-07-23T00:33:00.017+08:00

Before going on with my post. I think its about time I give recognition to my makan gang. Me, the tactician and commander (columnist of this blog armed with a new Nikon digital compact camera) Evonne, the sniper team member (armed with DSLR and a few zoom lenses), Christine, sniper trainee but a well trained front assault member (DSLR user but also carries her trusty compact camera), Kathy - espionage and covert ops department (armed with only her SE cameraphone)

I was told by my colleagues there is a new kid in town in terms of Japanese food. Initially I was a bit skeptical on the Japanese restaurants in Ipoh which was mushrooming non-stop but only a few managed to make its mark. Well, since there is no new places to try recently, me and a few colleagues decided to give it the benefits of our doubt after reading MM's teaser post in the Ipoh FB page.

Hokkaido Japanese Cuisine is shyly hidden at the corner lot of the row of shops opposite Kizuna in Bandar Medan Ipoh Bestari. Upon entering this place, I was mesmerized by the interior decor and the service crew. We were seated in a private area which we need to remove our shoes at the steps. Somehow as I received the menu, I know that this meal won't come cheap. Even the bentos are slightly priced higher compared to other Japanese restaurants and only available for lunch.

As I was figuring what to order to make the fullest of our visit and yet not burn a hole TOO DEEP in our pockets, my friends are assigned to grab a few snapshots of the place. This is the public area. Not many tables are fit into this are but I believe its a good measure to avoid the possibility of the noise from the table beside you to spoil your dining experience

The sushi counter. Only a few seats here. These seats were eventually filled as the place was packed to the brim due to the "private birthday party" in the open area.

This is the private room. To dine here you need to spend a minimum RM500!!! If I'm not mistaken, a small group of Japanese were occupying this room which has a sliding door for privacy.

For the ones who are not so fully loaded, we were ushered to the "private zone" but without sliding doors. Hanging beads which act as a partition does give us some "exclusiveness" from the rest. At least, we get to sit on the wooden floor and rest our butts on the cushions.

There is a small LCD monitor which present a slideshow of food photos available here. There... the waitress were polite, good looking and well versed when I need a recommendation of the house specialty. And now... lets see how the food appease to our senses of sight, taste and smell.

Sashimi in all its fullest glory!!! Can you see the aura radiating from the thick slabs of salmon and salmon belly (the one with stripes of omega 3 rich fat). For RM25 (salmon) and RM30 (salmon belly) you get 5 thick slabs of fresh raw cuts. Not thumb numbing cold, the sashimi is among one of the freshest from the many Japanese restaurants in Ipoh. Practically, it "melts" in your mouth and love at first bite once contacting your tongue. I somehow had the whole slice without any soy sauce or wasabi because it is just fresh and tasted best on its own. Presentation was indeed very classy and elegant with abit of Salmon Roe.

Forget the lime wedges cause..... Its so good you can eat it on its own!!! Take a closer look... Ahhh somebody's chopstick stained with wasabi eh, contaminated the purest form of sashimi =p Well, besides the traditional way, sashimi can be done ala carpaccio. I've tasted salmon carpaccio in Kizuna One before. It's appetizing from the oil and vinegar dressing but somehow raw cuts of carpaccio is normally very thinly sliced, which did not appease me as I prefer thicker cuts. And for those who are fully loaded, you can go for the Sea Urchin, Alaskan Crabs and other out of the norm sashimis available.

Fickle minded over what sushi to order, we just went for the Matsu Moriawase (RM28) You get typical nigiri sushis like the Tuna, Salmon, White Tuna, Squid, Tamago, Roe and.... more unknowned fish. You get a fair share of maki sushis - cucumber, tuna.

You should've known me by now. My review on a Japanese Restaurant will not be complete without ordering a handroll. And normally I will test their California Temaki. The version here is quite decent, having all the items I am looking for - egg, avocado, roe, crabstick, fresh ice berg lettuce (correct me if i'm wrong) and most importantly crispy seaweed sheets used! Thumbs up from me! =D

Since I've named this blog as it is, I am always fond of soft shell crabs. I have the urge to have a soft shell crab temaki but since tonight's bill is shared equally, its best I am not so selfish. Alternatively, I ordered the Spider Roll (RM18). Coincidentally, there is enough for one piece per person. And this time around, I'm a bit selfish by grabbing the piece with the legs of the crabs! Crackling and crispy on the outside, moist and juicy inside!!! The soft shell crab is freshly fried and the roll prepared without delay. Lovely~

Gyoza (RM6.90) came in 6 pieces. Not the best gyozas I tasted as the minced meat in the filling is too fine. I would prefer abit of mouthfeel from the filling rather than biting in a "paste". This was ordered towards the end as the food we ordered do not seem to be enough. Do not underestimate the ladies~

Next, we took full advantage of our seats and the hot plate in front of us. Before I proceed, let me briefly differentiate Yakiniku and Teppanyaki. Although both uses hot plate to grill the meat and vegetables, the most significant difference is for Tepanyakki, the chef does the grilling for you and for Yakiniku, you get the honour to grill the meat on the hot plate at the centre of your table on your own (normally available via buffet style whereby you select the preferred meat of your choice). In Hokkaido, there are a considerably wide selections for the Yakiniku section in the menu. The chicken is priced at RM18 (or RM20... blame me for not keeping the receipt!)

The scallops at RM30 per portion. Fresh and succulent. Around 10 pieces which has a size slightly larger than a 5o cent coin.

The mixed seafood (forgot its RM25 or RM30). Slices of Salmon, tiger prawns and scallops. At first the waitress told me I will get squid and that was why I ordered a plate of scallop. No squid to be found but another 4 pieces of scallops.

This is the joy of Yakiniku, being part of the action yourself. The hot plate is electrically heated and there is a suction chimney but it was not powerful enough to save our hair and clothes from being infused with charred and oily odour. And yes, when having Yakiniku, you can play around with your food. I experimented basting the salmon with the garlic dip and sizzle it with a dash of the soya sauce provided. As a result, the waitress don't seem to be very happy with our table for charring their hot plate. Guess they will have a hard time scrapping the black carbon stains. =S

Niniku Charhan or Garlic Fried Rice (RM6). We had the eggless version as one of my friend is allergic to eggs. Not bad. Love the fried garlic bits used as garnishing, but serves more as an extra punch. Goes well with the grilled seafood, especially my own garlic infused salmon. =)

Claypot Udon with Tempura Prawns, Eggs and Fishcake. The egg has made the broth abit cloudy. Though I prefer the clear soup version, the egg whites made the udon nicer to slurp but abit 'jelak' if one person were to finish the whole portion.

Coincidentally, there was a birthday party on the night we dined in Hokkaido. The public area was fully booked by a group of more than 20 people. I was amazed by what they eat. Everyone has their own serving of sashimis, tempura and sushis. I managed to get a snapshot of the "Japanese catering" items.

And because the public are was fully booked, we were ushered to the "private rooms". Bear in mind that you will need to spend RM300 to utilize the private rooms to use the hot plate. We were lucky that day to have a chance to occupy the private room without spending that amount. Anyway, our bill was not any inferior to the minimum amount. RM264 for 4 people... It was indeed a great Friday night and a wonderful yakiniku experience with good food. Cheers for Hokkaido, you have indeed made your mark to compete in the already saturated Japanese restaurants and give the other contenders a run for their money =)

Of Viennetta and Wonka Chocolates....

2011-07-22T20:00:00.004+08:00

Ah comfort food... What more at a comforting price. Normally sold at RM9.90, I couldn't help myself but to get one flavour each as TESCO is selling them for RM5.99 only. Just tried the Brownies Chocolate. Not bad. If I recalled correctly, the Triple Chocolate would've tasted better. Too bad there was not Black Forrest flavour on sale. With relatively low salary in Ipoh, I may not afford Baskin Robbins or Haagan Dasz but guess I can still afford Wall's Viennetta. Will stock up more the next time I stop by Tesco before this week's on sale items changes.

Another comfort food. Imported. And best of all..... FREE! Big thanks to Mun Siong for practising the true meaning of giving. If the giving does not hurt, then it's not giving at all. I'm sure she felt a pinch to sacrifice his last box of chocolate initially for her own. But considering I always get her OldTown 3in1 for staff price, I think its about time I get appreciated. =)

I never know much about Wonka, except I know about the movie Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. But from the packaging, its a trademark owned by Nestle. This is fully imported chocolates from The States. Individually wrapped, the milk chocolate contains bits of peppermint candies and shortbread. The short bread did not really shine as the flavourful minty candy bits was a bit overpowering. May not appease the chocolate purist but once in a while, it brings great joy to taste chocolate like this. =)

A very good after meal dessert. Happy weeekend, peeps! =)

The BROWNIES cafe

2011-07-18T23:28:00.007+08:00

How many of you noticed this shop in de Garden, Ipoh? Or rather, how many of you have stepped in to try it? I finally did last weekend with a group of friends THE BROWNIES has been opened for quite some time, situated just next to Daorae. I haven't try the latter yet as I heard its kinda pricey. But let's see how well The Brownies fare as a place for teatime and chitchat.

The Brownies, as the name goes, takes pride in their brownies. Besides that, they boast in serving Haagan Dasz ice cream to go along with their brownies. Haagan Dasz ice cream is sold here at RM7.90 per scoop, and currently they are running a promotion of a complimentary piece of brownies (a few variation to choose from) (worth RM2.50) for every scoop of ice cream ordered. At first I was abit skeptical about the ice cream, is it being the REAL Haagan Dasz. I peeped at the ice cream refrigerator and saw big tubs of unlabelled ice cream. Somehow, I have no idea Haagan Dasz can be sourced in big tubs. Yes, those big tubs of ice cream where you can freely dig into in a buffet steamboat. No further comments since I didn't dig into this. However, my friend said it was "quite nice" and it does taste like "Haagan Dasz", did you said that Xing? (I know you are reading my post)

Brownies aside. I find the other cakes quite good. Take for example the Chocolate Moist Cake. Topped with velvety smooth chocolate butter icing (correct term used?), it may not be the tastiest one you tried but still have the home made touch in it. Personally I felt the Chocolate Mud Cake or Moist Chocolate Slice from Secret Recipe to be slightly more superior compared to this.

A well worth mention is the Pumpkin Cheesecake. Yes, PUMPKIN! Kudos to the one who invented this as it may not be a conventional match. But pumpkin and cheese turns out to complement each other well. The cream cheese layer is much creamier and richer thanks to the addition of pumpkin. I forgotten the price, but it should be around RM6-7 per slice.

Last but not least, my choice of Cranberries Layer Cake deserved a good mention too. In terms of taste and price. Soft but firm, it's a great comfort food to have it in your mouth, breaking the layers gently and savour the richness of the large amount of eggs used. The cranberries was not too sweet but added a twist to the traditional layered cake we normally have. At RM5.50 per slice, it is kinda pricey but considering the meticulous effort involved in baking it, it's money worth spent. Indulge in eat but not in a hurry. Savour bite by bite as if you are taking a pause in life. =)

With around 5-6 tables, The Brownies is normally empty when I pass by. But it certainly provide a quiet place for people to meet up and have a chat. Can come for an "underground" date too, chances of you bumping into somebody familiar is near 0. Hehehe....

Perhaps its due to its location or less publicity made. Drinks are very reasonably priced here. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate are priced around RM3-RM4. Canned drinks are available at RM2! Isn't that a steal (air condition environment) since Chinese coffeeshops in Ipoh are selling canned drinks for RM1.80-RM2 already. You might wanna consider this place during your next yumchar session with friends.... or with that someone special. =)