My Chillout Lounge

Officially 29 & Officially a Citizen

2011-07-02T11:56:00.001+08:00

It is the second day of July, the second day into the 2nd half of 2011. And it is the second day of me being 29. Having to say that I will be 30 next year, I'm actually quiet anxious to enter the stage of 30s. 30 means a lot to a man. As the saying goes, a man's life starts at 30. I suppose you will be bound by so many responsibilities. You are demanded to have house, car and a life time partner by then. I'm nothing close to that yet. If I describe my 20s as full of excitement, adventures and discovery then the next chapter will have to be stability and the sense of security.

I believe and hoping that I'm moving on the right path towards the chapter. A recap of the first half of 2011, I wasn't doing bad. I started to see some increment in my bank account as well as some saving. I'm glad with that. And to reward myself, I got myself a Citizen Eco Drive Chronograph watch. With the original price at 4 figures, it certainly isn't cheap to my standard. I know there are heaps out there who spend 5 figures on a watch. As I was considering Seiko or Citizen at a budget of RM1k. I opted for Eco drive technology despite the strong commercial marketing that Seiko display on. Hopefully this babe is going to serve me some good time.

And to round it off my half a year recap, I will like to express my gratitude and thanks to all those that have celebrated my 29th birthday with me. Appreciated all the dinners, lunch, cakes and gifts. I'm so blessed to have you all !!!

Gokuraku Ramen @ Mid Valley

2011-06-05T00:05:00.001+08:00

I can't deny the matter of fact that I love pretty much anything in soupy form. And of course, Japanese Ramen soup will be an essential work day lunch choice. What is better than a 50% discount on all Ramen dishes in this newly open Gokuraku Ramen @ Mid Valley !! The restaurant is on its second day of business and hence the promotion deal. Though the ambiance is pretty stylish, rather like a lounge but it was pack and stuffy. The wait staffs were trying hard to impress but they still mess up with the order one or two, here and there.

Okay, I'm not so sure if ramen is the most economic noodle soup ever. Well, in fact it isn't at all !! I guess what makes a good bowl of ramen is the Tonkotsu broth. A good bowl does take significant amount of effort and timing to boil. While, to taste that bowl of goodness is very much down to a person preference. It is like Godiva chocolate as the premium and mass production Cadbury as the sub class. Both can be just ordinary chocolate to a non lover.

To the left : Gokuraku Miso Ramen @ RM20.90 (Normal Price) - Mince meats, cabbages in Miso soup. Generous portion.

To the right : Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen @ RM17++ - A slice of Jap Char Siew, Chinese cabbages and some unknown red vegs. The taste is on the light side.

Bottom : Gyoza (Pork Dumplings) @ RM7.90 - Ordinary.

While, this is my Ultimate Tonkotsu Ramen @ RM20.90 with 3 slices of char siew, whole egg, seaweed and vegs. I presented this bowl of goodness a very high regard. The Tonkotsu broth in fact of the best I ever tasted. It is rich and flavorful in a good sense not overly salty as some other ramen joint. The splash of garlic oil has indeed enlightened the whole dining experience. A++

Will I come back again ? I will make it an occasional savor like once in a couple of weeks to avoid extra burden on my wallet LOL !!

Bao Bao Pan Mee - Aman Suria

2011-05-14T22:09:00.000+08:00

Bao Bao Pan Mee is one of the established Pan Mee joint in the Klang Valley. There is one in my vicinity, Aman Suria. But I have never been a fan of Bao Bao. I find their soup version to be rather uninspiring. It contains rich MSG taste. Unlike Cha Cha Pan Mee which located just a few shop lot down the street. Cha Cha's version make of rich hard boil broth. And that is exactly what I expect from soup version. However, Bao Bao's dry spicy garlic version managed to impress me. It consists of mince meats, dry garlic & chillies as well as Bao Bao's one and only crunchy fish crackers. Dry version comes with a bowl of soup with an egg.

Priced @ RM5.80 for a small size bowl. It is a rather generous portion. I do find the noodles to be a little dry and difficult to mix around with the ingredients. Perhaps a splash of chili oil will show improvements. Their crunchy fish crackers created such a great combination with the soft springy noodles.

Thought it is named spicy garlic. It isn't that spicy even to my standard (I have low tolerant on spiciness). If you need that extra kick, feel free to help yourself with the four kinds of chillies they provide.

The sperm collector machine !! WTF

2011-05-05T22:41:00.002+08:00

This is what I came across on Daily Chili today. A sperm collector machine !! Or I should rather portrait it as a bloody Sex Toy for mens. Read on and justify on your own !

"Gentlemen, you need not sit in private and be "stimulated" to produce semen samples for your doctor anymore.

A Chinese company has invented a sperm collector machine, which was demonstrated at this year's China International Medical Equipment Fair.

SanWe, the maker has described it as "a device [that] can simulate the movement of a woman's vagina".

Read the product description on its official site:"It can simulate vaginal environment through massage, twitching, sucking [and] vibration, [and can] act upon the human penis, which can make semen collection fast and safe. It is the best clinical equipment of sperm collection."

Source: http://www.dailychilli.com/news/11383-introducing-the-sperm-collector-machine

www.sanwegroup.en.ecplaza.net

Damn genius !! It actually makes dull sperm donation a much more interesting event to participate. I'm pretty sure there is no more sperm shortage in the hospital. Perhaps I shall register myself as a donor soon.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X8

2011-04-16T22:14:00.000+08:00

I have been using Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 for 2 weeks now. I decided to give myself an upgrade after been served by SE G900 for a year and 2 months. It has almost become a trend that everyone you know is either own a touch screen phone or an ala blackberry. It just has to be a smart phone !! SE Xperia X8 priced at RM550, I thought that was a steal. Apart from the qwerty touch pad that I was struggling to get used to (but now getting better), I find X8 to be a vary handy phone. Boosted by Android as the operating system, you have a huge range of apps to download from Android market. Mostly are free !! The only complain will be the fixed focus camera quality. But you cannot expect a perfection with such a low price. Yes, I'm happy with my phone. Who say you need an Iphone when you have a much cheaper X8??

叶荣肉骨茶 ( Ye Rong Dry Bak Kut Teh )

2011-04-02T21:10:00.000+08:00

叶荣肉骨茶 ( Ye Rong Bak Kut Teh ) is by far my favorite when it comes to this proud cuisine of Klang people, the Bak Kut Teh. We visited the one at Kota Damansara and this is their fifth branch. Well, at least they serve chopped garlic and chillies to go with the cuisine. Unlike some traditional Klang eateries who insist to savour it plain without any garlic interfere.

It is their dry version that I enjoy the most. The dry cuttle fish in it is like the g-spot of every orgasm. It is just so perfect to go with rice. I end up having 3 serving of rice. It is just that tempting !! While, their wet counterpart is the dark, thicker soup version. It is served in the claypot to reserve the heat, warmness. We dedicated our selection of meat to the "small bone" and it is very tender. Spot on !! A pot for one helping comes with good amount of mix pork intestines and "Fu Chok" plus unlimited refill of soup !!

A dinner for 2 comes out to be RM30.00 with four serving of rices and drinks. Pretty decent considering that Bak Kut Teh as never been the most economic selection of meal.

Nam Heong Chicken Rice + Cendol Nasi Pulut

2011-03-06T14:24:00.000+08:00

Hainanese Chicken Rice is one of the must try whenever you have overseas traveling guest visiting our lovely Malaysia. Thought I would have a better suggestion when it comes to chicken rice, one of our traveling companion suggested Nam Heong which we dully agreed as we all never try it before. Nam Heong has a few branches across Klang Valley. With their original flagship restaurant claimed to operate since 1930 in Petaling street (China Town). While, we went to the one in Desa Sri Hartamas.

Boiled Chicken has always been my choice over roasted chicken. My perfect 10 version should come with tender soft meat with generous splash of light soy sauce and sesame oil. And I reckon Nam Heong failed in this sense.

Half chicken @ RM20.00 Fitted in well for 4 pax. We also ordered Sour & Spicy preserved vegs(RM5) which isn't impressed me either. We all agreed that this is not the best dish to serve(Or rather to order) in a chicken rice eatery as it does over power your palette.

We dropped by this road side mobile van in Kelana Jaya for a bowl of simply heavenly Cendol with Nasi Pulut (Glutinous rice). I thought this is such a perfect combination for our nation proud dessert. @ RM2.50, this is the perfect Malaysian afternoon tea.

So Very Random...

2011-03-02T22:59:00.000+08:00

Noticed that I have not been posting for almost 2 weeks now. I know if I do not have a topic to share, I might as well not posting anything. But I'm still struggling to come out with a topic yet, so I guess this will be the most uninformative post. Tata !! Good Night !

Pho Hoa, Tropicana City Mall. Vietnamese Beef Noodles Soup

2011-02-19T11:55:00.001+08:00

I tend to have a soft spot for any kind of noodles soup particularly Vietnamese style. It will be my obvious choice if any food court/shopping mall is serving one of these. Restaurant Pho Hoa, as the name suggested they are specialized in Vietnamese Pho (Flat Noodles Soup). Vietnamese Noodles soup usually comes with lime, mint and coriander leaves as condiments. By adding in some chopped chillies, your bowl of Pho is perfectly sour, spicy, sweetened by onions, beef broth as well as a refreshing minty after taste. A bowl of regular adventurer's choice of briskets, flanks, tendons, steaks and tripe @ RM18.90 has never fail to satisfy me.

Restaurant Pho Hoa is a Vietnamese food chain started off in North America and has since established around the globe. A bowl of regular Pho is usually in the range of RM15.90 to RM18.90. With the large bowl priced at RM2.00 more. Pho Hoa is one of the place that I reckon served a better version of these Vietnamese proud.

As appetizer, we had the Gol Muc (Squid Salad) @ RM6.90 which is a rather let down as the squids were tough and chewy. The taste was rather dull either. I dont think I will order that again for my next visit. While, Cha Trung Hap, home style steamed chicken & egg pie was simply marvelous. Best served with the companion sauce. The thin vermicelli mixed in the pie, added comfort dining texture towards every mouthful that you savour. Cha Trung Hap is priced @ RM5.90 for a bar size.

I really hope that I will get to visit Vietnam some time this year for a real authentic bowl of hawker style Pho. It has been such a comfort food to me that the crave for it is as strong as sexual drive. ^_^

Safee Sali is exported to Pelita Jaya FC, Indonesia

2011-02-08T21:43:00.000+08:00

Safee Sali, the most talk about footballer in Malaysia or perhaps the whole Asean region is officially joining Pelita Jaya FC, an Indonesian League side. Thought there were rumours saying that Safee is going to join Persib Bandung earlier on. However, it seems Safee decided to choose Pelita Jaya instead which is currently placed at the bottom place of Indonesian League. Pelita Jaya FC which consists mostly younger players with less experience, are struggling to score. It is hoping that with the assistance of Suzuki Cup's golden boot, there will be advancement on their league position.

My 2 cents worth, I'm 110% on Safee Sali's side on choosing Pelita Jaya to gain more playing times rather than Persib Bandung which already have 2 South American strikers plus the neutralized Cristian Gonzalez. It is such a crucial move for Safee who is already 27 and he does realized that such opportunity of oversea exposure may not come again if he will to miss out on this one.

Safee Sali, who has constantly been compared to the legendary late Mokthar Dahari scored 3 awesome goals in both legs of Suzuki Cup final against Indonesia. Such performance has landed the golden boy that golden chance of his career. If I have to relate him to a current prominent striker in the football world, it has to be Wayne Rooney. They both are quite similar in size, not naturally gifted in height but well built enough to win most of the body contact with defenders. Of course, the killer instinct in front of goal.

All the best, Safee Sali. Lets create your own legacy and be the legend of the current generation. Good luck !!

The Old School - Klang Bak Kut Teh

2011-02-05T15:42:00.000+08:00

Bak Kut Teh is not a new thing to savor in my book. I do have BKT "meat bone tea" once a while. My favourite is a dry version served at one of this BKT outlet in Kepong. However, I'm still a shy virgin when it comes to original Klang Bak Kut Teh. Needless to say, I have never been to Klang before.

I finally get the chance to visit this town which is so synonym with BKT delicacy when Lard from Czech Republic visited us. We were brought to this unknown shop lot in the older part of Klang. I know I should have making the effort to at least even find out the name of the restaurant. This is definitely not the famous Seng Huat but rather similar as they served their BKT in a rather traditional way. That is in a bowl and no fancy condiments, no "You Tiao", mushrooms, inners, not even chilli padi and garlic.

A small bowl of this, cost us RM8.00 each. Rather pricey considering the portion. Though I have no complain on the taste. The meat was succulent and the soup was flavorful but if this is the best of Klang has to offer, I will say it is over rated then. I can definitely find equally awesome BKT else where.

The lunch session for the four of us with a pot of tea costs us RM47 in total. Good value for money ? hmm...not really. I will reserve my judgment up until I have tried other established BKT joints in Klang.

By the way, does anyone of you know what is the name of this BKT joint ?

Happy Rabbit New Year 2011

2011-02-03T11:58:00.000+08:00

It is the first day of the lunar new year. May the year of rabbit be a prosperous one be it in the form of wealth and health to you and your family members.

And more Ang Pao !!!!! Gong Xi Fatt Cai !!

Jess Lee Jia Wei 李佳薇 is a Malaysian

2011-02-02T12:24:00.005+08:00

Jess Lee Jia Wei 李佳薇 has been a household name for the past few days among the Chinese community around the globe. Particularly in Malaysia. For being the first Malaysian ever to win the 超級星光大道, a Taiwanese based singing competition which is equally well known as American Idol of the Chinese world. Kudos to her. Jess is making Malaysian real proud.

I'm not jumping in the bandwagon to discuss about her victory here. But I'm rather let down with some of the comments the Chinese Malaysians left on Youtube. There were criticisms saying that Jess is not suppose to sing a Malay Song "Gemilang" as well as to converse in Malay to thank the Malaysian fans. And I see Jess done that in an absolutely brilliant way. She does not forget her identity of being a Malaysian and fully utilized the multi lingual ability of being Malaysian. Chinese Malaysian in a singing competition does not have slight disadvantage at all. We are bringing in our own characteristic. It is this element that sustain. Well done, Jess !!

While, there were comments that "yet another Malaysian artist shined in the foreign land but not locals". Fair enough, most the Chinese Malaysian artists make their name overseas before they would ever get noticed back home. Does that means we do not have the platform for Chinese Malaysian artists to shine in Malaysia ? Does that means that we do not have the atmosphere for the artists to grow ? My 2 cents is most of these Chinese Malaysian artists were trying so hard back home, with the opportunity given, the platform to perform. Yet the core element in an entertainment business, which is us , the fans are not there to support them. So stop blaming that Malaysia does not give Chinese Malaysian artists a platform. We are given as much freedom as any other races in the country.

It is the fans that does not willing to even spend a bloody 10 bucks to support our Malaysian movie. Without the fans recognition, artists moved overseas, gaining their fame. Then We, the bloody sick Chinese Malaysian starting to join the bandwagon to celebrate their glory. Get a life !!!

Support our very own entertainment business be it local music or film industry.

Seafood @ Pulau Ketam

2011-01-22T22:28:00.000+08:00

We went over to Pulau Ketam(Crab Island) today as our friend, Lard who is on his ASEAN go-around is stopping over in Malaysia. Pulau Ketam is 35 mins away from Port Klang on speed boat. It is a fishing village whereby seafood is the main and only attraction perhaps to the tourist. We picked one of this restaurant which have the most eaters to enjoy our seafood feast. I just realized that I dont even know what the restaurant's name was. One landmark to this restaurant is the "lala Jing" / Oysters Fried Egg stall in front. Priced @ RM10.00 a plate, it wasn't the best I ever have and it is certainly not the worst.

Well, it wasn't really a seafood feast anyway. We have no crabs neither fishes just to save a bit on our budget. Dishes that we ordered were "lala soup" which was strongly indulged by Chinese Wine, sweet & spicy mantis prawn, deep fried squids that everyone thought was very good, a plate of greens that I did not bother to capture any photo. And........

This giant sized - bamboo shell. I thought it was over-sized that it certainly affecting my appetite.

The lunch costs RM92.00 for the 4 of ours. Acceptable for a tourism island's standard. I thought Pulau Ketam is pretty use out. It certainly past its fame. Today was my first visit here and I didn't have the best impression. Pulau Ketam which once known as an island for stray dogs is now more like a garbage island.

Chicking Fried Chicken @ Tropicana City Mall

2011-01-20T15:17:00.002+08:00

ChicKing is yet another fried chicken option after KFC and POPEYE. They recently established their first Malaysian chain in Tropicana City mall.

Chicking portrait themselves as a product of UAE. One thing for sure, their marketing plan is targeting halal market particularly the Muslim countries.

3 pieces dish, with two side dishes and a soft drink goes at RM12.00. I enjoy both the mashed potatoes and coleslaw. I rated those higher than the KFCs.

I ordered myself 2 spicy and an original. I found the chicken to be less oily with almost nil skin and dry. Perhaps over-fried. Not a pleasant dining experience really. A lot of chewing needed even on the suppose-to -be-tender thigh. I still prefer my fried chicken to be oily and sinful.

Chicking is giving out free mini wrap on the purchase of every main meal. One and only valid point from me on Chicken King is, you don't pay for government tax neither service charge.

Happy Thaipusam !!

China Town Seng Kee - Claypot Lou Shu Fan

2011-01-09T14:10:00.000+08:00

Claypot Lou Shu Fan (Rat tail noodles) is relatively sought after in this side of the world. Seng Kee, off China Town Petaling street is one of the establish restaurant for the said dish. Do not expect eatery like this to score points on hygiene and ambiance. It is what they serve that matters.

Overflow mince meats, pork livers, shrimps, a raw egg on top, all these goodness in an old school Claypot. Mixed and tossed it all together, the raw egg cooks from the refrained heat of the Claypot. It provide double pleasure tickling to both your taste bud and eyesight. I find this version to be a form of culinary art. A reflection of Malaysian Chinese street food culture. Priced @ RM8.00, it is very reasonable judging at the generousity of the ingredients.

Siew yoke mien (Roast pork noodles), is another signature of their business. I'm not trying to be skeptical, this one just does not impress me. It is edible, not to the extend of "amazing". Especially when you are paying RM10.00 for a plate. You will expect some form of satisfaction. It is just roast pork fried with garlic to a level of crispness.The noodles are tossed with dark soy sauce and lard oil. RM6.00 is the maximum I'm willing to pay for this dish. Perhaps as a Sarawakian, we tend to place Kampua and Kolo Mee as the king and queen of "tossed noodles". No replacement can even be closed enough to be as good.

The Golden 2011

2011-01-02T13:36:00.000+08:00

Happy new year 2011 !! This is gonna be my first post in the year 2011. I'm going to make it freestyle. So random, with no theme. The fact that I'm uploading a picture of butter crabs have nothing to do with what I'm going to write about.

First of all, kudos to the Malaysian football team for bringing home the Suzuki cup. It was the first senior title after the 1989 SEA game gold medals. The Harimau Malaya is truly the king of ASEAN football in 2010 as we emerged champion as well on the earlier SEA game in Laos, an under-23 event.

Lets hope the Westport KL Dragons is going to go strong as well to secure their first ABL title. Releasing of Hartman can be pretty sad. If it is for good of the team, it is most welcome. New adding, Justin Leith seems to be a tough player. That is exactly what we need. We need to add that bit of depth in the paint, we need to be rough and nasty. Lets hope that Nakaie and Justin combination can release more shooting chances to Patrick, Rudy and Guga from 3 points range. Is Justin Leith the answer ? We shall wait till the next game.

With the Christmas and New Year celebration ceased to memory, the next anticipated big time is the Chinese New Year. I finally bought my flight ticket. To avoid Air Asia burning a hole on my wallet, I need to transit in Kuching instead of direct flight to Sibu. And I need to leave my home town on the second day of CNY to save a couple hundred bucks. But I'll be back as earlier as 27th Jan, that shall pretty much ease the sorrow.

And finally I wish everyone to have a prosperous 2011 as golden as the butter crabs. Be it in wealth, health, career, academically and relationship wise.

Malaysia VS Indonesia 3-0 Suzuki Cup Final, First Leg

2010-12-27T23:57:00.000+08:00

It was perhaps the best match of 2010 for Malaysian football team. A clean 3-0 win against Indonesia on the first leg of Suzuki Cup Final last night was indeed a result to behold by the whole nation.

The turn out of the supporters were magnificent. Our national team has long miss a full house support like this in Bukit Jalil. Closed to 90,000 football fanatics shown up to cheer the national team and they witnessed the future of Malaysian football. A team which consist of mostly Under-23 players, a SEA game gold medalist backbone. This is the team that carry on Malaysian challenge in Suzuki cup which represent the highest honour of Asean football. They have to compete against players that are much more senior and well known such as the like of Bambang Pramungkas. Yet our talented bunch are coping really well. Our boys were playing some really interesting footie, beautiful short passes, combination that managed to tear Indonesian defense apart.

Though we have some 90,000 in the stadium last night. We still have majority who does not even know that Malaysian is in the final of a football competition. Perhaps they does not even realize that Malaysia has a football team. Yet these majority know that Arsenal is playing against Chelsea tonight. They would rather giving up their precious sleep to support team which does not have slight connection with them and neglecting their own nation.

Fair enough that in football you play to gain your respect and support. I do hope that these bunch have really earn your attention. They are really playing their heart out for the nation. Lets hope that our Harimau Malaya can stand along the Indonesian wave in Jakarta to wrap up a fruitful year of Malaysian football with a king of Asean crown.

Brotzeit - German Bier Bar & Restaurant @ Mid Valley

2010-12-25T14:31:00.000+08:00

Merry Christmas everyone !! One of my Christmas wish this year is to feast myself German food and beer. The wish was fulfilled on Christmas Eve @ Brotzeit, German Bier bar & restaurant.

Brotzeit is having good review from that small country next door(our SG neighbour). I'm glad that they finally venturing Malaysian culinary scene and giving gluttons another choice when comes to German cuisine. Brotzeit is one of the relatively new eatery located @ Mid Valley Megamall. The ambiance is cozy and spacious enough for friends gathering and team lunch of office workers. So boss, can I suggest this place as the next team lunch outfit ?

With such a bar set, you will know what you can expect.

Yes !! the infamous German beer. Paulaner's original Munich lager on the left and Paulaner's Weissbier on your right. Priced @ RM28 for a full pint. Smooth, awesome stuff.

Food wise, we ordered the notorious pork knuckle with Sauerkraut(some sort of pickle onions) and mashed potatoes. RM85++, this dish is good enough to stuff up two massive eaters like us and good enough for 4 moderate eaters.

It does takes time for the knuckle to be served but the waiting was all well worth it. Good food does take time to prepare anyway.Crispy, crunchy skins and the melt in the mouth fat are those to die for. I will kill just to have a little more if I'm sharing. The meat goes very well with the German Lager too.

Am I satisfy ? Well, Let the photo tells the story then. It was all sweep clean !! I even have that evil thought of ordering it as a single portion just for myself. No sharing !!

The Year 2010

2010-12-16T22:27:00.001+08:00

It is this time of the year again that everyone is planning their new year resolution. I particularly has never really seriously set one before. But I guess I've been through quite a lot in 2010 and have learn a few trades. I'm no longer a man without a mission, no longer a nomad, no longer a man who persuade a hippies lifestyle, no longer a man who does not which to be bounded by commitment.

Working holiday to New Zealand was the major event on my 2010 calendar. Initially it was a plan to save a relationship but it turn up to teach me how to live without one. I have to admit that I'm that kind of person who simply can't live without having a partner. In fact, I have never been living without one for less than 3 weeks period over the past 9 years. However, 8 months in New Zealand has lighted up my mind and soul. I met some special genuine people, a most kind heart person I ever met. And I'm glad that you are moving on well too. NZ taught me how to leave and let go. It is time for me to focus on a lot of things in life that I've neglected and far left behind.

I believe it will never be too late to catch up. I'm not that far behind I suppose. My 2011 new year resolution is just as simple as to settle down with my career, move on to get a new place to stay, a car and hopefully, lastly a stable relationship. Of course, I have not entirely giving up to backpack a few countries that I wish to go. I guess it will not happen in the next two years.

And it has been a year as well, since I started blogging seriously. Well, at least I'm still keeping my blog active. That is another achievement for the year 2010. Happy December !! The month full of holy joly !!!

Westports KL Dragons VS Chang Thailand Slammers 77 -57. Yet another home win !!

2010-12-12T22:33:00.000+08:00

Westport KL Dragons managed yet another home win tonight. The Thailand Slammers were the latest victim. We are just so tough at home by losing just one. Hopefully this form will carry on to the away game. The Dragons nailed a 20 points win against the current league leader, 77-57. The team started off shaky but managed to hold it back and never look back since then. It wasnt the most interesting game really. I'm glad that we win. Chris Kuete returns to the MABA as a Slammer does really alter the fact that MABA stadium is one of the toughest away game to be for the opponent.

Lets hope that the winning strike will continue and we will manage to score the second seat in the league. Thus, entitle us home ground advantage during the playoff.

With Rudy, a crowd favourite Pinoy import. He is giving his 100% every game. No doubt on his dedication, his work rate. Down to earth. While, I just realized that Patrik Cabahug not only a pure shooter but this dude has got some trash talking skill on the court too. Good on you man !!

Fong Lye Taiwan Restaurant @ The Gardens

2010-12-04T14:14:00.000+08:00

Having based at Mid Valley, I'm spoiled with variety of foods. Although you can pretty much ease your crave on simply any kind of cuisines, the price is not cheap either. Most of the time, I will have to pay shopping mall price for my work lunch. Restaurant Fong Lye @ the Gardens specialized in Taiwanese cuisine. Located at the high end compound of the Mid Valley city, so be prepare to spend couple extra bucks.

Anyway, the comfy, cozy ambiance will make sure your couple extra bucks well spent. Because you are having your lunch by sitting on a sofa!!

Ginger chicken soup set meal. I had a sip of the soup and it tasted decent.

My braised pork leg rice set @ Rm19.90. The set completed with a bowl of rice topped with mince pork, ginseng chicken soup, salted vegs and a fried stuffed seafood.

A close up on the braised porky leg. Taste wise, it was rather plain and I'm sure I have try soemthing better than this.

The Taiwanese chicken chop with noodles soup. The deep fried chicken chop is good with a little bit of spicy kick.

It has been two weeks since I resume my 9 to 6 routine. New colleagues, new job scopes, I'm still adapting myself. I hope I'm coping well. It is lovely to step in the office and greeted by a vibrant view of the KL city center. Have a nice weekend ^^

Westports KL Dragons VS Air Asia Philippine Patriots - 96 VS 81

2010-11-28T22:38:00.001+08:00

The Dragons started off the game like a fire cracker, the boys were making nearly every baskets and force the visiting Air Asia Philippine Patriots to call for their first time out at 10-2. Our Pinoy import, Patrick Cabahug is a pure shooter he was hitting three points and fade away jump shots like nobody business. I must say I truly admire his down to earth on court performance. He never seems to get carry away and shows 100% professionalism. Patrick is now the most reliable points contributing machine in the team.

When you are playing against a Pinoy side. You can almost certain that things on court will get physical. Few incidents occurred and thing turned ugly when a water bottle was thrown at one of the Patriots player from the fan. The Philippines take basketball as their pride. Their commitment on the game are undoubted. The KL team were leading ever since the game tip-off. But the Patriots never gave up. Full court press from the Pinoy forced a lot of unwanted mistakes by the KL sides. The Dragons were even having the difficulty to move forward with the ball to half court. The strategy proved spot on for the Philippines as they started to cut off the gap. An instant time out from coach Goh brought on Rudy and the Dragons were on the court again with double points guards. This ensure smoother flow of the Dragons force and yes !!!!!!!!!!

We managed to nail the game @ 96 to 81. Well done, KL Dragons. More consistence plays like these will ensure us a spot in the play off and the chance is bright that we might even push for the champion trophy this year.

Garden @ The Curve

2010-11-20T18:58:00.002+08:00

I first spotted Garden in Wang Utama and I'm amazed by their garden themed deco. As its name suggested, this eatery brings a dining experience as if you are enjoying your meal in the garden. A rather fancy garden. It was their another outlet at the Curve that we decided to have our lunch today with a friend from Taiwan, Fran.

Chicken Teriyaki with french beans and mash potatoes @ RM18.90. The sauce has nothing near to the real thing, it was rather just grilled chicken with sweet soy sauce perhaps.

Salted egg yolk fried rice @ RM15.90. The yolks are indeed tempting. With fair bit of this salted goodness on top, it does carry that extra kick to their rather plain fried rice.

Spaghetti seaood Marinara @ RM18.90. Real tomato crushes were used together with mussel, clams and prawns. Not bad at all. Fair enough.

Nasi Lemak @ RM15.90 for our Taiwanese Fran. Well, at least she is happy with our national dish.

And yours truly grilled Barramundi @ RM18.90. Served with sauted vegs, mash potatoes and burned butter sauce. I find the taste of their food rather on the plain side. You are pretty much enjoying the nature taste of the ingredients instead of fancy flavoring.

Our desserts, lime flavour jelly cheese cake and chocolate cheese cake with black sesame were top notch.I really enjoy these two tiny piece of cakes. Named as the Gardens and Luscious, thought little pricy @ RM8.90 per piece. I salute the creative taste of almond, black sesame and dark fine chocolates of the Luscious piece. While, the jelly based of the Gardens bring that unique texture of a non-baked cheese cake. Of course, awesome food will never complete without great company. Fran, enjoy your stay in Malaysia and safe flight to Australia. Have a great one yo.

Nakiea Miller, You are a beast in the paint @ KL Dragons 85 - Satria Muda Britama 72

2010-11-15T14:53:00.000+08:00

Westports KL Dragons was having their last encounter of the regular season with Indonesia Satria Muda Britama last night. This was an ESPN live broadcast match. The whole MABA stadium was equipped with heavy media broadcasting equipment. Both our American imports, Nakiea Miller & Alex Hartman were with SMB last season. So it will be interesting to see how the Indonesian team cope with them. Both the imports started off pretty shaky, with Hartman losing his three points magic. And the Dragons end the first half with points behind.

However, talks from Coach Goh in the rest room certainly does work well. The dragons fought back with Rudy's inspiration and Nakaie Miller managed to find his touch and finish off with a double-double. 31 points and 28 rebounds. KL Dragons secured the final score with 85-72. Kudos to the boys. It was a happy ending in the stadium with the fans leaving the court in a joyful atmosphere.

This ex-Sacramento Kings player, Nakiea Miller has certainly got some character. He seems to express himself pretty well on the court. Well, you can take this as a form of self-motivation and it does work well as he secured a double double stats. He was a beast in the paint nailing almost every rebounds. Which I reckon was crucial to our win last night. Keep it up yo !

A little pressie for myself....

2010-11-14T23:58:00.000+08:00

Just got myself a Casio watch tonight. I have never been a fan of watch. I just don't fancy to have a piece of metal on my wrist. I guess at times, you do need that piece of metal not only to tell your the time but to bump up your image as a working profession. That's when I decided to splash a little bit of cash on this babe. I find Casio to be rather affordable yet dependable. Nowadays, you can't really find a decent men watch for less than RM200. So I guess I'm very satisfied to take this as a present for myself before getting back on working life again.^^

San Jian Chuang Pork Ball Noodles + Dry Curry Mee @ Aman Suria

2010-11-14T12:19:00.002+08:00

I will like to think that I find a new obsession. San Jian Chuang pork ball noodles @ Restoran AS Suria (a corner turn b4 sunway mas commercial center) is very reasonably addicting that I frequent 2-3 times a week. I rated it as reasonably addictive been because of the rather generous portion and affordable price, a large bowl goes at RM4.50. As any of the similar establish, you can opt for either dry or soup version. I ordered myself a dry kuey teow version this time. The bowl of kuey teow is heaped with flavourful mince meat, dry bean curd, chinese sausages and a separate bowl of pork balls soup. There are tons of "San Jian Chuang pork balls" around the town, this one certainly make up their mark as my favourite of its kind.

On the other hand, I dropped by Restoran Two Millions @ Aman Suria for breakfast this morning. Just as I was spoiled by choices, I found this stall selling Ipoh Hor Fun and Curry Mee. So I settled with dry curry hor fun + mee as my choice. It turned out to be served with "Siu Yok" on top and I'm rather happy with it. The noodles is prepared with dark soy sauce and curry gravy. Mixed it out and it forms a good blend of taste. You just cant go wrong with anything which is curry based. Priced @ RM5, the portion is rather small and I guess I will stick with my new obsession of pork ball noodles instead.

Which one do you prefer ?

Thanks God Its a Bloody Friday @ TGIF, Gardens Mid Valley

2010-11-13T15:20:00.002+08:00

Yes, it was a Friday indeed and we were at TGIF, Mid valley for Chia Yuan's birthday. This American food joint has always been flooded with foodies any days of the year. Rather similar to Chilis, TGIF served American style as well as tex-mex influence cuisine.

Top left : Chicken, peppers & mushrooms @ RM27.90. As according to Liang & Louis, "It taste pretty good, but the portion shd have been bigger".

CY's Jack Daniel's Chicken + Shrimps @ RM36.90.

Lindy's Sizzling chicken & cheese @ RM29.90.

Adelyn's Brownie Obssesion @ Rm13.90

Top both : My Jack Daniel Burger @ RM24.90. The Jack Daniel sauce provided is marvelous. A little to the sweet side but goes perfectly with the burger or even as a dip for the fries. I do not know if it is just a glamorous name or the real JD whiskey is the kick in the sauce. JD burger has meet all the fundamental of gourmet burger with its thick beef patties and fresh cut salads. The only drawback is their beef bacon, it has nothing similar to the real thing. Tough and taste like CNY dry meat. Something that you can skip if it can save you a couple bucks.

Bottom left : Kim's South west Maccaroni & cheese @Rm23.90

Elbrine's Chicken Finger BLT @ RM22.90

It seems TGIF has become the venue of the choice for birthday celebration. The good old Happy Birthday song flowing for at least six times during our mere three hours there. Their staffs do certainly have their own customized way to make the celebration a little memorable such as getting the birthday boy to stand on the chair for his birthday wish. Anyway, Happy Birthday CY aka B4.

How to become a Gangster ? Open Vacancy

2010-11-11T16:02:00.001+08:00

Secret society exists ever since the day human being started defining between the poor and the rich. Botak Chin and Kalimuthu were two of the infamous notorious gangster of their time in Malaysia. They were both claimed to use Siamese "bomoh" black magic to survive from numerous Police rampage. They were the cult figure of the under world but Robin Hood to many of the poor. They were known to help the poor with part of their spoils. Yeah, black and white is only separate by a mere border line. Does the grey zone exist ? You set your own parameter, your own standard.

So if you are driven to be a gangster, or rather a Robin Hood like the lates. These will be the criteria a.k.a Jobs Scopes.

1) Should be daring and willing to fight anyone. (minimum 1 years experience)
2) Should handle weapons diligently. (knowledge on knifes, parangs and short guns are essential)
3) Should have been locked up in jail at least once.
4) Have a few marks and sign of stitches in a visible place in their body(To mark that they have been in a few fights)
5) Possed own transport and willing to travel to any school to fight.

6) Willing to fight extra hours just to protect the field.
7) Should be able to speak vulgar words fluently in English, knowledge in vulgar words in other language such as Chinese, Malay and Tamil will be an added advantage.

Interested candidates are invited to APPLY ONLINE submitting a detailed resume together with current and expected salary.

(Only shortlisted candidates will be notified)

Char Siew Wantan Mee @ Famous Seremban, Aman Suria

2010-11-07T11:25:00.000+08:00

So instead of the usual signature Hakka Mee @ Famous Seremban Restaurant, I opted for their Wantan Mee with Char Siew this morning. The Char Siew is still as marvelous. Half fat half lean, perfect combination. They are still in fact the leading BBQ pork establishment in this "Char Siew Street" of Aman Suria. It just that I'm never a fan of a Hong Kong style Wantan Mee. I often find the dish over indulge by the taste of the dark soy sauce. This one makes no different as well. Perhaps the only light up point is that the noodles is springy as how it suppose to be and you are complement by two tiny Wantan in the soup. Hakka Mee is still my fav as it seems to be the closest to Kampua back home. Anyway a large Char Siew Wantan goes @ RM5.30 and is a dollar cheaper than the large Char Siew Hakka version.

Isnt Julie Woon hot & spicy ?

2010-11-06T12:43:00.000+08:00

The Quickie on 8TV last night was featuring Prem and this lady, Julie Woon as hosts. Since it was Deepavali night, the topic was none other than the festival of lights itself. Prem has been my favourite DJ on FLY fm rush hour. Anyway, Julie was little annoying that she kept on doing the Indian head shake(head bobble) as it was the Deepavali. Wouldn't it be a little discriminating ? No doubt, Julie Woon is one hell of a hot chick. I googled her this morning and to my surprise she actually have a lot of explosive photos online. Hmm.....quite scandalous for a public figure like her.

It has been two weeks since I came back from NZ. I'm busy with job hunting, interviewing and eating. Hopefully good fortune will arrive next week as how Deepavali is going to bring a series of light to bright up my future. I miss those deep blue sky of NZ and the laid back-ness so so much. Malaysian's sky seems to be a little too cloudy or perhaps hazy in a point that I cannot see the blue. The colour of sky can very much define my mood though just as how a bad weather can lead moody mode. Anyway, have a lovely weekend ahead.

Happy Diwali ^^

The Old School - Restorant Sang Kee @ Lorong Yap Ah Loy, KL

2010-11-01T18:10:00.001+08:00

Restaurant Sang Kee is an old school Cantonese style eatery that said to be around for more than 50 years now. It carries a lot of memories of many KLITES, who grown up in this area. It was my buddy, Chia Yuan nostalgic memories that brought us here for lunch. This dude was attending his high school near by. He will be the perfect person to follow when comes to eateries around Petaling street area. The location of this restaurant is so hidden that literally no outsiders can find the place. It is off Lorong Yap Ah Loy not that far from Petaling street and just a stone's throw away from MABA stadium. Old school eatery does not seems to operate based on today's business strategy of, to be location wise. They are simply good enough to just survive on the words of mouth instead.

My Prawn fried rice with pretty decent amount of fresh huge prawns.

Tony's 上汤绘饭(Soup on rice) with plenty of ingredients such as pork slices and mixed vegs.

CY's sweet & sour pork ribs with rice.

生江豆腐(Fried TaoFu over egg sauce). As according to CY, this dish reflects Cantonese culinary of having eggy gravy over fried TaoFu, mixed vegs, squid pieces and pork intestines. The same method implemented in "Kong Fu Chaow" Cantonese fried.

My favourite of the day though, was the "Steam 3 kinds egg". The used of salted egg and century egg have both enhance and flourish this rather simple dish. Very flavourful to go with white rice. For the source of Vitamin C, we ordered another combination dish of vegetables namely, spinach, kangkung(watercrest) and sweet potato leafs fried with dried prawns. Taste wise, I find most of the dishes rather light and very much depends on the original taste of the ingredients used. Perhaps this is the authentic 古早味 (old school taste) which does not involve much use of artificial flavouring.

Restaurant Sang kee had been featured in an episode of <阿贤人情味>. Apparently their signature dishes include, sweet & sour pork and Sang Har Meen (Fresh prawn noodles). Which I would have order if I know it ealier. Well, maybe not the Sang Har Meen as the price might cause a bomb @ RM40 for two Sang Har. Our bills goes at RM54.50 for the 3 of us. Could have been cheaper if we order just white rice to go with the dishes.

Westports KL Dragons VS Brunei Barracudas - The 5 VS 1

2010-11-01T00:04:00.002+08:00

I'm glad that Asean Basketball League(ABL) is burning hot into their second season. With its rather successful inaugural 2009/2010 season, the ABL is getting a lot more attention from not only the fans but the sponsors too. Datuk Tony Fernandes is the man behind the ABL masterpiece and his Airline is now the official sponsor of the league. Our KL Dragons is now known as Westports KL Dragons, a name change for good as they are getting more financial injection into the team. It is the financial boost that brought us two great imports, ex-Sacremento Kings Nakiea Miller and Alex Hartman.

We managed to seal off the match against Brunei Barracudas with 87-48. The Barracudas called off the match with only one player left in the court during the 4th quarter. While the rest six were foul out. The Bruneian begun the match with only 7 players as the rest were caught with eye infection. The Dragons start off the match strong with players hitting on 3 points. Soon there was no turning back from the our boys and the match was left time dragging to us, the fans. Perhaps a little more professionalism is required from some of our players. Fair enough that we are leading, there is still commitment required to finish off the game. You guys are not great enough to take any professional game lightly. Commitment and attitude are the key elements if you dare enough to call yourself a professional player playing in a professional league. Chen Li Wei, I had been reserving my judgment on his play all this while. He has been know to make countless mistake by some of the fans. But to me it wasn't his mistake that frustrating me, it was his level of professionalism that got me questioning. He seems to be on his sleeping mode during his very limited playing time today. Lets not forget that, us the fans are indirectly paying some part of your salary too. We deserve 100% from you as much as your coach who scream his heart out. So does some of your team mates who always giving their best. Li Wei, they deserve your support as well. Please play your part.

My highlight of the night, the cheering ladies. At least they have a better bunch of cheerleaders this season. Much more eye-catching outfit, energetic enough to rock the court.

The match was left with controversial with the Brunei fans claiming for a rematch on Facebook. They believe that the game should have been postponed due to the lack of players. Brunei fans also claimed that this is a Malaysian owned league and the owner wanted favour towards KL team. What a mess ehh...God Bless Air Asia ABL.

Queen Victoria Market @ Melbourne

2010-10-29T12:07:00.000+08:00

Queen Victoria Market is one of the iconic tourism spot of Melbourne. This huge market is a not to be missed for tourist to experience a true Australian Market. Queen Vic Market is a melting pot of Australian diverse culture, a day to day market of Melbournian for centuries. This is where the local folks getting their daily needs. I reckon Queen Vic as the borough market of southern hemisphere. The market has a wide range of varieties to offer, clothes, souvenirs, fresh vegs/fruits, delis and a food court.

Im overwhelming with the Delis section. It carries Austalian's multiculture at its best. Being an immigration country with long firm history, Australia has one of the most exciting culinary scene the world has to offer. The Italians, Germans, Turkishs, Greeks, Lebaneses, Chineses, Japaneses have all settling down and implementing their culinary background without forgetting their foot.

Wide selection of gourmet cheese. Fresh and exotic. Heaven of the cheese addicts.

Freshly bake breads with decent price.

Gourmet Pies and sausage rolls. Sadly, there isnt any Kangaroo steak pie though.

Fresh south OZ oysters @ AUD10. A steal and can be swallow on the spot is you wish.

The zucchini patties and lamb & onion Börek/Burek. (Bread version)

The three cheeses Börek/Burek. (Crispy version)

Queen Vic Market is accessible by this free city-cycle old school tram.It is a very thoughtful idea of Melbourne board of tourism to transport the tourists around Mel CBD with both selected tram and shuttle for free. Good on ya 'Mate

Kangaroo Fillet @ Melbourne

2010-10-28T17:28:00.001+08:00

I was having my transit in Melbourne, Australia the other day before heading back to Malaysia. It was a full whole day which I fully utilized on just food rather than sight seeing in that second largest metropolitan of Australia. Topping my list was, of course the one and only aborigine of the OZ land; the Kangaroo. It wasnt as common as I thought to sample Kangaroo steak in restaurant downtown. I went through quite a few restaurants only to find none on their menu. Well, I do came across a raw one in the mighty Queen Victoria Market. I was left devastated and seeking help from the tourist information center.

With the direction from the I-site, I managed to track this goodness in one of the restaurant located @ south bank of Yarra River. They are serving it just as an entree, a kangaroo fillet, instead of steak.

Priced @ AUD14.90. Kangaroo tasted like as you may already know, beef. Well, at least its texture is close enough to beef. Since both of them are from the "red meat" family, you dont need a culinary expert's taste bud to justify that. The fillets had been heavily marinated and was served with a lime. I wonder if Kangaroo meat has the same strong odour smell as lamb ?

Mummy !! I need more $$ for food !!

2010-10-26T09:22:00.000+08:00

Whats up yo !! A Hello from KL. After 8 months away on working holiday to NZ, I'm finally back home. I'm still struggling with jetlag and the difference of time zone. Well, getting to bed at 10pm and waking up at 6am does certainly helps me to get into working mode again anyway.


"Recycle Pic"

Food back home have certainly been badly missed. Yesterday I drop by Cha Cha Pan Mee @ Dataran Prima to have my usual order, their original version for breakfast. Only to my surprise that their prices have gone up. RM5.50 will ensure you a large bowl 8 months ago. However, that is the price for a small bowl now. And the large bowl have gone up by RM1 to RM6.50. That's one hell of inflation in just 8 months time. I'm sure, soon when I start venturing more to my usual food place; I will get more and more inflation hit.

So life is tough simply anywhere you go around the globe. The GST increase in New Zealand and I'm greeted with sky high price tag back home. Only one thing for sure, the salary cap stay the same. -_-

Coffee Culture @ Timaru - Every good thing does come to an end.

2010-10-22T06:46:00.002+08:00

Today is the last day of my whole working holiday journey in New Zealand. It has been 8 months since. 8 months of sweet and sour. I will be departing to Melbourne before flying home.

The sweet little her thought of buying me a breakfast. So we head to her favourite cafe, Coffee Culture.

Her favourite order, Iced chocolate. Dear, it is just not very nice to order yourself an iced drink in the morning though. Seriously think the barista there has a very poor sense of decoration. Ugly mess ehh. ^^

My cup of chocolate latte. Double shots of espresso, double shots of chocolate and double shots of steamed milk. That is what it claimed to be.

The Jelly-tip cheese cake @ NZD6.90. With Yogurt. Cheese cake + Yogurt ?? Unique, I would say. The sour taste of Yogurt does seem to over power the cheese cake. We had to leave the Yogurt to a waste.

Fresh fruit salad @ NZD7. That is a real burn in the wallet with those tiny little pieces. Hell.

Salamis & Gherkins with seeded topping bagel @ NZD5.90. Well, at least this one is very delightful and reasonably priced.

You have pretty much form a large part of my memories in New Zealand. Sincerely wishing you the very best of health and a blissful future ahead. May we meet again someday, somewhere. Thanks for the treat and more of all, been such a meaningful character. Take care sweetie. ^^

Osaka Restaurant @ Christchurch NZ - Cheap but Cool

2010-10-21T12:56:00.000+08:00

If you happen to be in Christchurch, feeling hungry and looking for a budget yet filling mid-day lunch. Or if you are just a poor traveler like me, who is looking to be well-fed in order to skip a meal in between. Then Osaka Restaurant of 129 Gloucester st is the place to be.

Yes, NZD8 for a lunch meal may not be the most economic. The catchy deal is that they are offering unlimited salads, Miso soup and hot steamy white rice !!! Considering that most of the Asian meal in NZD will range from NZD 8 onwards anyway, why not feast yourself with unlimited Miso soup and rice ?

The unlimited salads with Japanese sauce. Gosh !! I just love the word *UNLIMITED.

This is my lunch meal special, spicy fried chicken curry. Thought I have never been a fan of Japanese curry which is rather to the sweet side. But mind me, this one is actually pretty good. Anything gravy is good to go with white rice anyway. And I really enjoy their Miso soup too. Thumbs up.

Salmon Sashimi with a Kiwi twist

2010-10-20T10:18:00.001+08:00

There are a lot of salmon farms right along the highway from Queenstown to Lake Tekapo. High country salmon is one of those farms that has been commercialized to attract large volume of tourists like us who will be using the highway. They advertised free salmon feeding as an attraction.

These Salmons are claimed to be fed in the glacier water of the Southern Alps. Hence, of finest quality of its kind n New Zealand.

But what really attracted us is the super duper fresh salmon Sashimi. Priced @ NZD25 a box. Hearty enough to feed 4 pax.

To savour freshly prepare Sashimi in a Kiwi Salmon farm is one hell experience itself than the usual Japanese restaurant.

Just a mere kilometers away from High Country Farm, there is Mt Cook Salmon. A friend of mine was giving the statement that this salmon is actually melt-in-the-mouth. How can I miss that ???

There you go. Priced @ 23 for half a KG of pure Salmon Sashimi. Even after the currency conversion, it is still a steal. You hardly get as fresh in Malaysia with this price.

Does the salmon stand along to the Melt-in-the-mouth statement ? These salmons do seems to be fattier. My theory is if High Country Salmon required five chews then Mt Cook Salmon required just 3 chews. These Sashimi may not be of perfect cut as of Japanese's standard but it is still a pleasant experience to enjoy just the freshness with merely no slight fishy taste at all.

Kiwi's salmon sashimi comes with Kikoman soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger just as the Japanese counterpart. Globalization it is. A land of the rising sun's delicacy with a Kiwi twist.

A "Balless" Glutton in Queenstown

2010-10-20T07:28:00.002+08:00

People regards Queenstown as one of the most commercialized tourism spot of New Zealand. Nevertheless, she is in deed one of the prettiest township of its size on earth. Queenstown is well-known as the capital of those adrenaline rush, adventurous sports. It is the home town of the aborigine bungy jump @ Kawarau Bridge. Thus, a heaven for those who willing to push extreme to its limit.

As for a glutton like me who does not have balls to put my life into any form of adventure, Queenstown does have another attraction to me. The street foods, that is. There are a few legendary must-try and Ferg Burger is on top of the list. Ferg Burger started as a back alley stall and it has become a must do to many people who is visiting Queenstown. I reckon they would have the same recognition even if there is franchise elsewhere, but sadly they decided to only stay at where its began.

The Big AL @ NZD16.50 has a double serving of NZ Beef (1/2lb), lashings of bacon, 2 eggs, melted cheese, salads, and my favourite burger/sandwich complement beetroot and Aioli sauce. Taste wise, trust me this picture does not do Big AL any justice at alllll. A level above Burger Fuel's Wagyu Beef Burger.

If you feel like you still have spare room for more. Then head to the lakeside fish&chips stall. The catch of the day was Orange Roughy. Equally great as the one I had in Whitianga. Except this one is a little pricey @ NZD12.

They also served decent "Kiwi only" Paua (abalone to the Maori) pattie. @ NZD6.

As for the dessert, it is none other than the Patagonia Ice Cream. We ordered six flavours to share. These sweeties are priced @ NZD6.50 each two scoops.

I rated their Hot Chocolate as the best I ever try. Smooth yet creamy with those little touch of chocolaty flake. Sinfully heavenly and very addictive. Will be a crave for some very long time. It goes @ NZD6.50 for a large.

The Patagonia is a chocolate themed cafe. You can expect a lot of choco touch in their dessert. If you are a chocolate lover this is definitely the final destination.

Both Ferg Burger and the Patagonia have earned their cult figure in Queenstown culinary scene. These are perhaps rather high end street food but worth a try to complete a 100% Qtown experience plus a jump rom the 43m Kawarau Bridge ^^

A part from these, I get the chance to order a half KG NZ steak for NZD15 at a random Qtown bar. Which I think is a steal of the whole trip.

In Search For The Best Fish & Chips...

2010-10-07T09:22:00.002+08:00

I have been in search for that perfect Fish & Chips ever since I left England. I failed miserably as the best seems to be only from its country of origin, UK. New Zealand, as a former colonial of Great English empire and the huge amount of Brits descent immigrants have heaps of takeaways that serve this Brits proud fast food.

My several experiences of Fish & Chips in New Zealand had disappointed me constantly. Up until few days ago, when I was in this little town called Whitianga of Coromandel Peninsula. It was in a takeaway named Snapper Jack that I rediscover my long lost jewel. I ordered a crumbed dory @ NZD3.90, Hoki @ NZD2.90 and portion of chips @ NZD1.50. A total of NZD8.30, which might cost double if it is served in a fine dining eatery.

My version of decent Fish & Chips is just as simple as - fresh fish, thick meat which provide mouthful experience and served with thick cut chips. And Snapper Jack earned all the ticks !!!.

A glimpse at the menu of a Kiwi's takeaway. Lots of takeaways (especially those of a fishing town) are operating as a fresh fish markets as well as a fast food takeaways. Thus, a decent selection of fish ranges to choose from.

A mere 30/40 mins drive from Whitianga bring you to Coromandel town where smoked mussel is a must try. The Coromandel smoking company carry it at its best. The mussels are smoked in several flavours such as the garlic, barbecue and spicy. Priced @ NZD4.40 per 100g, it is certainly not a cheap snack to savour especially for a budget traveler like me.

Satay Kingdom Cafe, Wellington NZ

2010-10-07T08:13:00.001+08:00

Cuba street is one of the hippies street in Wellington, New Zealand. Be it to the tourists or among the locals. The area is prominent for its hippie/bohemian cultures. You will notice heavily graffiti-ed alley, street buskers, the homeless, lots of bars and potential crime convicts predating for their prey.

Malaysian cuisine are surprisingly popular in Wellington. Malaysian theme restaurants can be found almost in every corner of streets in windy Wellie. It is in an alley of left bank, Cuba St that stands a rather economic Malaysian restaurant, Satay Kingdom Cafe.

Local newspaper even have this survey on best Malaysian restaurant and Satay Kingdom Cafe was voted the best in 2007. And that was 3 years ago. Hmmmm..

The alfresco dining of the cafe. Always a favourite among the Caucasians. Not in my favor, at least not in windy Wellington ehh. The restaurant operated in an open style kitchen. In order not to get ourselves stained with the smells of Char Kuey Teow, alfresco dining is the only choice.

Roti Canai which often mistaken as Roti Chennai by the Caucasians. The Roti is no way near the Mamak standard back home and it is more like a sweetened pan cake. It is served with a bowl of chicken curry which tasted Malaysian but sweetened to reduce the spiciness to feed the taste buds here. @ NZD6.

I was hesitating if I should order their Nasi Goreng Kampung but finally opted for Fried Kuey Teow. A dish not to be missed when you are visiting a Malaysian eatery in the foreign land. It turns up rather good with all the necessary ingredient to make a decent Char Kuey Teow. Priced @ NZD8 or 8.50. This is definitely a more economic choice than the one I had in Angie's Kitchen, Auckland.

Their Laksa noodles was chosen for our Taiwanese friend as an introduction to her virgin experience on Malaysian Cuisine. We suspect the mussel is actually a "specially added ingredient" from one of the chef who is a friend. Let alone the rather westernized taste, this is a rather generous bowl which flooded with ingredients and priced less than NZD10.

The Nyonya Chicken with rice @ NZD8.50 by Landy.

Wikitravel stated that they are famous among the Malaysian students. Satay Kingdom is perhaps the cheapest option of its kind and worth a visit to ease the craved.

My Instant Obssesion. How about Cheese on instant noodles ?

2010-09-23T07:30:00.001+08:00

Instant noodles have been my best travel companion especially when I'm on a really tight budget. More often, it is due to the laziness to cook that drive me craving for a pack or two. There are so many brands and range of flavours to choose from. But at time, plain instant noodles without any add-on can be as dull as dishwater. Perhaps 2 frankfurters will make your day.

Cheese is such a magical complement that it literally works on anything. Cheese on instant noodles is my latest obssesion. It is just that simple by adding a piece of the goodness on top and let it melt through the heat of the pipping hot soup. The cheese create those creamy texture that will twsit your instant dining experience towards a more interesting one. Somes claim it works best on te Korean shin-spicy noodles.

And of course, instant noodles are so durable that you can be as creative as possible. Only your immagination is the limitation. It can be served economically as well as a fine dining experience. Therefore, I reckon instant noodle is the greatest invention of the fast food history.

Ps : Please do not remind me that this is not the heathiest food on earth yo.

Burger Fuel @ New Zealand. My virgin experience of the Geisha massaged Wagyu

2010-09-19T10:09:00.001+08:00

I had this doubt in my mind if I should try out Burger Fuel, a rather high end burger chain here in New Zealand. Since I'm leaving Auckland and I may not coming back to this country any soon either in the future. Considering that this can be my only chance to try out their gourmet burger. Finally, my gluttony convinced me that I should pay this proud Kiwi owned burger chain a visit.

After a glance at their menu, I realized that they are certainly not selling it cheap. Again, I was hesitating if I should just go normal with their NZD8.90 ranges or should I go straight with their most wallet burning "Wagyu with cheese" @ NZD14.90.

And guess what my final call is ?? Yes, the notorious Wagyu burger. You don't certainly get to try Wagyu very often. Especially not in a burger chain. I heard so much about the "infamous" texture of the meat and its legendary status among it owns breed. That it is the inspiration to the fine Angus. Burger Fuel have this very catchy creative advertisement on their Wagyu range, they claimed the good grief to be massaged by Japanese Geisha, listening to classical music and beerfed. LOL ^_^

I did not rise my hope high as I know that burger patty often don't do fine meat any justice. Plus, this is my virgin taste of Wagyu. I did not have comparison or whatsoever. But one thing for sure, this is a damn nice burger, well above average with its very tasty relish and Aioli sauce. The fully sesame-seed bun complement the meat rather well. The size are very decent too slightly bigger than the BK's Whopper. It does actually makes me craving for more.

I know, ones might be doubting the authenticity of this Wagyu as the real deal can be rather expensive. My research shows that Burger Fuel CEO Josef Roberts claimed it was able to sell the "100 per cent wagyu" meat much cheaper because it had a deal with Australian suppliers for a limited time. I guess this some how ease my doubt and it may be just a lower grade and low cuts of the beef.

Burger Fuel's spud fries @ NZD3.50 and NZD0.50 for the Aioli sauce. Spud fries is just another name for potato chips. A thick cut chips that I much enjoy as compare with the tiny little willy McD's french fries. The chips certainly goes well with the garlic indulgence Aioli sauce.

I do not care how pure the Wagyu is. It is certainly one of the better burger experience I have. Total of NZD18.90 wasn't actually that expensive considering that a grand burger meal of Carl's Junior will cost pretty much the same in Malaysia after currency convertion.

And finally, the Enviro-Mental fair bid of Burger Fuel by turning their used oil into Bio-Diesel for their delivery vehicle. Cool ehhhh

Mrs Higgins Cookies @ Auckland - Better than Grandma used to bake

2010-09-17T15:19:00.001+08:00

Mrs Higgins cookies are equally well known as the Korean pancake among CBD of Auckland. This small cookies stall located on Queens St is definitely one of the crowd puller. We used to buy their frozen cookies dough of supermarket and baked it ourselves but nothing is near the perfect 10 of the one baked fresh in stall.

Mrs Higgins specialty is her warm cookies fresh out from the oven. They have a great varieties of cookies. 20 delicious flavours as claimed on their website. Of those that I have tried are white chocolates, triple chocolates, peanut brownie, white chocolate macadamia. Well, they do have muffins, shortbread and coffees which I tends to forget they are actually exist.

Now what is so unique about their cookies ?? Your first bite leads you to comment that this is a damn crunchy cookies. And your second bite towards the center is the one that drive you to heaven. Yes, the center is indeed soft and chewy. Chewy as in you are having a piece of a firmer cake. I have never try cookies which are so consistently baked towards crunchy on the side and chewy on the center. Now, I wonder how the hell does Mrs Higgins do that? That must have been her secret recipe.

How I wish that somebody is going to bring their franchise over to Malaysia. If I have the cash, I would have.

This is my entry number101 since day one. Can't believe that I had accumulate 100 posts since.

Hell Pizza @ New Zealand. The quickest way to HELL.

2010-09-04T17:03:00.000+08:00

Hell pizza is one of those food chain that gaining their fame through catchy theme and their controvesial advert. Hell is a New Zealand based pizza chain which have since expanded to the Aussie land and as far as the UK and Canada. (Cited from wikipedia)

The theme of their restaurant are often of cemetery themed and flaming pattern sofa for customer's comfort. The chain that I went to even have this R.I.P (Rest In Peace) stone as their tilt machine.

I ordered two 10 inches thin based pizza and hoping to receive it in their infamous coffin box. Only to realize that only the large 12.5 inches will be served in a coffin.

We were given dices in a set of five as a complementary gift. It turn up to be a game called Zilch. It works in a sense that each note on the dice represent a 100 points. A player rolling to 10,000 points exactly wins. As for me, it is just another souvenir from New Zealand.

Hell pizza adapted the seven deadly sins as the title of their standard pizza. Marvelous marketing strategy they have. I opted for their gourmet range by having the "cursed" which is topped by ham, chicken, bacon, gherkins and honey mustard.

This is their "trouble" pizza make of salami, bacon, chicken, pineapple and camembert. It is just a conversion of Hawaiian pizza with a fancier name. Rather disappointing indeed. All their 10 inches gourmet range are priced @ NZD10.5 and NZD17 for a large 12.5 inches.

All in all, it was more of the dining experience rather than their pizzas.

By the way, a 7.1 magnitude quake strucked Christchurch this morning. It was indeed a miracle itself that no life lost reported just yet considering that the shake had pretty much destroyed a large part of the central business district. God bless CCH.

Korean Pancake Auckland

2010-08-31T10:57:00.002+08:00

"Corner pancake" is a little Korean pancake hut which is so synonym to downtown Aucklanders. Heaps of people are queuing for their pancake everyday. The lunch time crowd particular can be insane as the whole corridor will be lined up by people waiting for their pancake. Their customers are mostly office workers, students and curious tourists attracted by the queue.

It is this brilliant business minded idea that transform a rather simple pancake into various flavours. They have the savoury version of beef, chicken and pork with or without cheese as well as the sweet one such as red beans, chocolate and sweet. The price varies from NZD2 to NZD3. It forms a rather economic quick lunch.

This is how their pancake will look like except with a bite from me ^^. I have tried chicken and cheese(NZD3), pork (NZD2.50), red bean (NZD2.50) and beef cheese (NZD2.50). I find beef cheese to be their best. The filling are flavourful. While the combination of the melted cheese and crispy dough reminds me of thin crust Pizza.

Newspaper coverage often bring in curious potential customers. They are another fine example of successful story in the culinary world. It shows that with a little bit of twist and turn, anything can be a great business idea. There is no restriction nor limitation. We are only limited by our own imagination.

"Corner Pancake" on the NZ Herald.

A Lifetime Casino

2010-08-29T18:51:00.001+08:00

Greed lead to disastrous ending. But often it was greed that brought victory. Some people prefer to call that an "adventurous winning" or rather a winning blessed by lady luck. Whatever it is. Living is gambling We pray to wish that the lady luck will be on our side this time when come to decision making, We invest, we gamble for our future. This is like you are on one of those casino machine betting on hoping for a bonus. Often your next bet might transform you to be the next legend or just the guy next door.

Reality Bites

2010-08-24T17:03:00.001+08:00

Life has never been the easiest. We are allow to have the down time, to feel the sadness and to sense the cruelness of reality. But we always need to stay strong, stay tough. As of the saying goes "Nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward” Be Tough.

Haera Mai @ Nando's NZ

2010-08-20T18:48:00.003+08:00

If my memory served me right, Nando's was one of the restaurant that I frequent back in Sunderland. Nando's isn't any particularly new to Malaysian. As their outlets are serving Malaysian in almost every shopping mall back home. In Auckland, I noticed two so far. One right in the CBD (Central Business District) while the other in the highly fashionable Newmarket.

As far as fast food chain concern, this South African chain are meant to be serving healthier food with their frame-grilled chicken instead of KFC's deep fried. But I guess by choosing peri-peri chips and a 600ml Coke as sides does not do your health any favour. A half chicken Grande meal is priced @ NZD16.90.

You get a New Zealand Natural ice cream of your choice for NZD2(Usually NZD3.50) by ordering any Grande meal. I just can't have enough oof cookies and cream. This one served dark chocolate cookies which goes perfectly with the rather sweet vanilla ice cream.

The Nando's is famous for their peri-peri sauce ranges. They are selling it in most of the major supermarkets. They claimed it to be addictive. But I reckon good old Maggi chilli sauce or even any sweet thai chilli suace can easily beat the hell out.

I came across this later on during the day when I was doing my grocery shopping in one of this Asian mart. "STINK" is the word. Our beloved "Belacan" have been placed together with "stinky taofu" as the smelly one. Hmm............"Kangkong Belacan" if only I can have it here......

Step Up

2010-08-17T07:43:00.002+08:00

Dreams....If only you have dreams. The path that you step on right now may not be forever as you may always crossover. It is not the final destination. Just a part of your journey instead.

The Whisper of Aotearoa

2010-08-13T07:26:00.001+08:00

The evil side of me tends to complain that New Zealand does not have much to offer apart from their naturally gifted landscape and their extreme crazy interest on adrenaline rush sports . Always. Even after half a year in the land of the long white cloud. The pakeha "the non-indigenous" of New Zealand namely the European has dominated big part of their presented culture. Dunedin as a Scottish town, Christchurch as a English town, and there is this French town in the North island. Needless to mention the Asian conquered Auckland. Fair enough that New Zealand is a migration country.

John Key and the crew emphasized on not to lose the genuine identity of the Maori culture every now and then. But I guess Rotorua is the only place that you don't feel like you are just in another English town. Forgive me for not being traveling enough, to see enough to make the judgement. I hope New Zealand can prove me wrong at the later stage of my journey.

Aging ?? Chill Out !!!

2010-08-10T12:46:00.000+08:00

At the age of 28, I felt so insecure with what I'm doing now. I, for once used to wish that travelling can form a major part of my life style. I, for once wished that I can backpack through different nations for months. That was the reason why I took up working holiday in New Zealand.

Often now and then, the sense of insecureness strike me. Left me doubting what I'm doing and I no longer enjoy what I'm doing. I feel like this is perhaps the time to really settle down, to kick off my career, to have a stable relationship. Is that the sense of ealier mid-life crisis ?

I do not know. Was chatting to a friend, she commented that I'm doing what most working professions miss the most to "enjoy life". Yet my heart is so not with what I'm praticing right now. I guess I just need to enjoy what I'm doing and leave the future to the future.

Angie's Kitchen, Auckland - Go Malaysian after five months

2010-07-30T08:52:00.000+08:00

There is just so many varieties to choose from when it comes to food hunting in downtown Auckland. Due to the large Asian immigration populations. Ones can easily find the Japanese, Korean, Chinese and our beloved Malaysian restaurant outnumber the amount of western restaurant here. I don't particularly demand for food from home as I always get rather interesting new dining experience to try.

Up until I moved in to this flat which a Malaysian restaurant, Angie's Kitchen occupied the shop lot next door. Passing by everyday, living with the aroma of fragrance taugeh(beansprounts) fried Kuey Tieow. My crave started to develop bit by bit. I couldn't resist no more that I decided to drop by for dinner last night.

Angie's Kitchen provide the impression of small family own business set up. With the daughter being the waitress while daddy mummy in the kitchen. Again I could be totally wrong. The set up of the restaurant is pretty small and it tends to get crowded during the peak hour. It is even difficult for the waitress to move around. I noticed that they serve quite a few kind of Malaysian specialty such as Nasi kandar, Ikan pari assam pedas and even sambal prawn with petai.

I opted to ease my crave by ordering Char Kuey Teow @ NZD 10.50. Taste wise it is pretty authentic with the beansprouts, eggs, and that little bit of "wok hei" taste. You can find fish cakes, prawns, and chicken instead of pork as they are a halal restaurant. It will be perfect if they can use the big flat kuey teow instead of the tiny little "hor fun". I guess I just have to bare with it as this is a foreign land and you do not get everything you want.

What is it like if you are introducing your friend to a Malaysian restaurant without ordering the national dish "Nasi Lemak" ? The "nasi" turns up to be more like nasi kerabu with the blueish appearance. It is slightly lack in turn of the "pandan" and "coconuty" taste. It is more gingery instead. We have the nasi lemak with beef rendang as complement. Which the "rendang" taste is there but to cater the western taste it is less spicy and miss that kick. @NZD11.50 a plate. I realized that they serve gigantic peanut as compare to the tiny one back home.

I ordered the "Ice Kacang" @ NZD5.50 as the dessert of the night. I can't recall if the ice kacang back home do serve with crunchy peanuts on the top ? This is a bowl that the display is taking over the taste.

You don't expect them to have the good old traditional ice crushing machine which give you those ices that are smooth and melt in the mouth. We left with two big chunk of ice in the bowl as the left over.

Yes, the foods are authentic with a twist to cater the Kiwis just like any other foreign catering. It is certainly the place to go when you miss home. You get a lot of Malaysian students around, you will hear our Bahasa Malaysia once a while and there are these prosperity cats which I reckon very ala Malaysian too.

5 Months Since........

2010-07-23T10:02:00.001+08:00

Well Well...my last entry was like two months ago and it was about my new accommodation back in Motueka. There were so many happenings that I wish to keep it updated. Abel Tasman National Park, Golden Bay, Lake Rotoiti, Motueka's Farewell, and welcoming Blenheim...these are the "a lots" that I'm suppose to share but laziness beat all the intention. Okie...I guess I will just do a quick summary to cut the queue short.

The Abel Tasman National Park, The smallest national park yet the most crowded and used of it kind in New Zealand. It was so happen that I was based in Motueka for three months which is the entrance to the national park and it makes no excuse for me to pull my lazy legs on the tramping track of the national park. The whole track needs three days to cover but we opted for the parts which said to be the most scenic. And yeah, it was beautiful but least to breathtaking.

It was in New Zealand that I encountered one of the most stunning beach, The Wharariki Beach of Golden Bay. The sea breeze washing it sea shores and make you feel like you are actually in a desert. A slight 20 mins hill walk across a valley leads me to one of the most dramatic landscape I ever seen. The sea breeze washing it sea shores and make you feel like you are actually in a desert.

It was in this beach that you get free mussels to pick with cuddly fur seals by the side.

Then, Lake Rotoiti of Nelson national park which provide postcard standard's view.

I end up in Blenheim of Malborough region for 3 weeks. This is the golden place of New Zealand Wine industry. It was in Blenheim that I got the outdoor working experience. Wrapping and pruning @ mere 2 degrees in a bloody winter morning ain't an experience to behold. Trust me !!

My mobile life style then brought me to try the infamous crayfish mornay of Kaikoura, a whale watching little town.

I got myself back to Christchurch again. A city that I first landed in New Zealand. Time flies and it had been five months since. It was here that I decided to gave up my initial intention five months ago and yeah, I'm still living pretty well without you.

And now here I am, the city of sails, Auckland. Perhaps the only real metropolitan of New Zealand. It is great to be back on a city life style.

A rainy day @ Auckland Library.

Mummy Mummy.....I just moved in to a new house...

2010-05-22T09:05:00.000+08:00

I finally moved in to a new place after two odd months in a backpackers alike budget accommodation which is not so budget at all. My new place, twin oaks cottage is much cheaper goes at only NZD50 per week before the utilities bill. Most importantly with a great sense of family feeling and not a bloody backpackers where travelers come and go the next day.

A very Kiwi's cuddly cottage.

With magnificent view surrounding the neighborhood. A view that you will usually paying money for your resort to be located at.

A living room which is great for movie watching. We will be spending endless night on movies and the FIFA world cup is coming soon. Hopefully there will be live telecast on the Kiwi's national TV.

The only drawback - bunk bed which is making a lot of noise.

We start off our house warming with a steamboat in this bloody cold winter night.

There might be vandalism in the area ? as i noticed a car with chips and chicken bones on top. Or perhaps the Kiwis prefer to savor their fried chicken and chips on their car's roof.

The Gothic Restaurant @ Motueka, New Zealand

2010-05-13T17:16:00.000+08:00

The Gothic @ Motueka was once conducting mass services every Sunday just like any other ordinary church. But now it has been renovated into a restaurant with a Gothic theme and served as one of the fancy restaurant in the Tasman region.

I would expect more Gothic feel on their interior design. Apart from the menu which having a cross on, I don't sense any major element that it was a church before.

We opted for Seafood chowder as starter. This thickened creamy soup was heavenly. The best of its kind with a very generous amount of fish, prawns, crab slices and mussels. NZD 12.

The lady of the night ordered herself Beef Tee Bone steak with Kumara chips. Kumara refers to sweet potato in Maori. Kumara chips are rather common in New Zealand. It is widely served in restaurants and take aways. I find both the steak and chips to be dead cold. A turn off especially when you paid NZD 27.50 :(

The Gothic has stonegrill dining as their signature. And of course it will be the perfect choice for the man himself. I pampered myself a mixed grill @ NZD32. I was served with pieces of raw beef, lamb, pork and chicken each on a sizzling stonegrill. I choose beetroot chutney as the sauce to go with the meat. Pretty decent experience as you get to control how well the meat get to be done. The thick cut chips were excellent too,

And farewell to this special someone. All the best and may we meet again someday. Take good care.

Crossover Potluck - 08 May 2010

2010-05-10T11:28:00.001+08:00

It was my 9th weeks of apples packing with K&Mclean packhouse. My hands are now officially numb, senseless and immune to the cut of the freaking boxes. That is how a man's hands suppose to be anyway, rough and tough.

With the apple packing season coming near to its end. We have to bid farewell almost every week. Luz, a hongkies from our accommodation and Jane, a Taiwanese of the other house are the lucky one this week. We all decided to throw a crossover potluck party at their place.

凉畔粉丝，a hit dish in every of our farewell. Have always been the favourite of all, but fail to impress tonight. Perhaps too much chilli ?

Hand Made Dumplings.

My version of hand made dumplings. A twisted dumpling with a Xiao Long Bao looks.

Claypot chicken rice for those who miss home.

Soupy Bak Kut Teh from Agnes, the boss.

Lots of culinary goodness to satisfy gluttons like me.

Lots of which I know will only meet once in a life time. That's when people comes people goes.We share the happiness and fun together and we wish each other best of luck when bid farewell. Thanks god, there is facebook to keep in touch.

Some crazy moments.

And some lovely memories.

爱昧。。。

2010-05-05T14:47:00.000+08:00

爱昧真的让人受尽委屈吗？

Anzac Day Dawn Service @ Motueka Memorial Park 25 April

2010-04-25T09:35:00.000+08:00

Anzac (Australia & New Zealand Army Corps) Day falls on the 25 April and it is unfortunately a Sunday and without a replacement public holiday. Anzac day is the national remembrance day in the honours of army who fought in wars. I was able to make up with the Anzac Day Dawn Service in Motueka Memorial Park.

Artificial poppies, a symbol of remembrance by the R.S.A.

The R.S.A was kind enough to serve Fish & Chips as breakfast for everyone who attended the memorial service. It was just right on my spot as I had been craving for fish & chips over the week and most of all these are free and free flow.....

Free flow beer as well....good on you R.S.A..cheers

My Affair with a Hot Mama in Motueka, New Zealand

2010-04-19T17:43:00.000+08:00

Hot Mama's Cafe and Bar is claimed to be the oldest eatery in Motueka. Established in 1991, it is certainly the most well known of its kind in this little town of New Zealand. This is partly due to its status of been covered in Lonely Planet.

Chicken Panini @ NZD10.

The signature Hot Mama's Pizza with Jalapenos. @ NZD17

Bombay Chicken Pizza of banana, apricot and yogurt. Pretty acquire for a pizza but taste rather dull really.

For the glutton, the meat lovers. A mix of bacon, hams, chorizos, peperoni. @ NZ17

Frame grilled chicken burger with their shoestring fries. @ NZD16

Chili beef burger. Perhaps this is the only dish that worth for a return visit during lunch time. (Mind that they do serve different mains after 5) Flavorful thick beef patty and fresh salad providing that needed kick of a genuine burger. @ NZD16

The Falafel salad with Feta cheese. Falafel is usually made of ground chickpeas and is typically common among the middle east or Mediterranean. And the Hot Mama's version claimed to be Greek.

I would enjoy the great company more than the food itself really.

The Best of New Zealand

2010-04-05T06:57:00.000+08:00

What I reckon you should enjoy to the fullest when you are in New Zealand.

The very best full cream fresh milk which got me extra 10 KG in England. And they have the equally good in NZ too. Sinfully delicious.

You can pretty much assume that awesome milk comes with great cheese too.

The NZ ice cream are milky creamy and a twist of fruity Boysenberry will send you near to orgasm.

Super fresh tomatoes, apple cucumbers, apples, kiwi.......thanks to the Kiwi's rich agri, horticulture.

NZ produces some of the finest, prime quality lamb in the world. The excellence of the quality makes my cooking taste like Gordon Ramsay's version.

The salmon here are very reasonably priced that you can have salmon pasta everyday.

I never appreciate the English pie during my England days. Up till I went back to Malaysia that I realized a preparation of a fine pie is a form of kitchen art too. And NZ pie is one of those snacks that I frequent every now and then.

Potato chips/crisps in NZ are very cheap and come with the best quality for junk food. Well..I reckon at least.

Have you ever see a Stingray fin which is a finger's thick ? This sea monster taste like chicken though. Its lack the tenderness of what we usually get back home in Malaysia.

And of course, the best sky view from the land of the long cloud. Happy Easter.

Malaysians Are Multilingual ?

2010-03-22T15:37:00.001+08:00

It is so often that when Malaysian come to have ice breaking introduction with Taiwanese or Chinese from mainland, the conversation will go like this :

TW/CN : Where are you from ?

MY : Malaysian

TW/CN : O...Malaysian..so you speak 5 languages then ?

I came to realize that ever since my years in England that Malaysians are reputable as multilingual. And I realize how important it is for you to master a few different languages. Malaysian in general speaks 3 languages. We should be thankful that there is at least freedom for us to speak our mother tongue as well as few different dialects. As for me myself, I do have 5 languages under my belt. Foo Chow as my mother tongue, english, malay, mandarin and cantonese. Knowing an extra language has always been an advantage for us especially when we are overseas. I may not realize the usage when I was little, I used to question the usage of learning Malay. I questioned how many country in this world that speak Malay. Now that I'm wise enough to operate my poor brain, I fully aware that you dare not freaking call yourself a Malaysian if you cannot speak the national language.

I do have a feeling that my mother tongue is going to stop at my generation. I highly doubt my children is going to communicate in Foo Chow. My younger brother does not speak Foo Chow that fluent as he converse in Mandarin with my parents. This is a sound example that our mother tongue have been taken over by Mandarin and English. The next generation will be encouraged to learn Latin languages like Spanish, Italian even French. It is pretty much me myself to play the role of rotating our mother tongue down to my next generation.

May God Bless Our Mother Tongue.

Help Exchange WWOOFING @ Greymouth

2010-03-20T12:25:00.000+08:00

I was delighted to start off my first real event in New Zealand with a homestay/help exchange in a lovely family @ Greymouth. Susan, an American who married Jeffrey, the Kiwi and had since settle down for 15 years in the west coast with a very adorable 11 years old young man, Navare. The couple spent a good whole year to built the house themselves with very little professional help. The house is such beautifully situated that you can see sunrise, sunset, scenery mountain and west coast from the living room as well as the master bedroom. You can even has a romantic glance of twinkle in the sky during starry night in their music room. Let alone the stars in the sky to be your companion to sleep.

Greymouth is the biggest town of the west coast with Grey river as the heart of the town. The town used to be the hub of gold mining business in New Zealand.

The weather in the west coast has not particularly win my favor. It has those typical old English gloomy weather lookalike. Gloomy and creepy.

At Susan's place you get to make your own bread. Chelsea the American girl is the best bread baker among us.

Then, you get to have fresh sandwiches for lunch. Fresh tomatoes, lettuces, apple cucumber from Susan's little green house. Life is so beautiful here.

The welcoming dinner. We learn to enjoy the nature taste of food. A perfect getaway from heavy seasoning Malaysian food.

Corned beef stew. Navare's favourite. It's a broth based on whole day cooking of carrots, potatoes, beans, white radish and of course the meat.

I make my first apple cucumber pickle here.

And my first lesson of gold mining from Jeffrey.Cheers. Your family has been a great host.

Wild Foods Festival @ Hokitika New Zealand

2010-03-14T19:09:00.001+08:00

Wild Foods Festival is one of those yearly event that the Kiwi party goers mad of. It carry the motto of eat if you dare and whole day party throughout the festival's weekend.

Hippies, backpackers, clubbers are all going to flood this small little town of the west coast, Hokitika. The festival is almost everything to the town whereby you will see businesses even street graffiti carries the name of the festival.

It costs NZ35 for getting your ass into the venue.

The entire westland goes wild. Hips of people are dressing up for the party.

Even the Na'vis of Avatar joined in to party.

And of course, food festival has always been a heaven to glutton like me. The work sandwich - a combo of meat pattie, bacon and ham. Bloody good !!

The highlight of the festival - eating a raw Huhu Grub (Just like our Sago Worm). Not really a big deal for Asian like me. But it does caught a lot of attention among the Kiwis though. Thanks Susan for paying a freaking NZ5 for me to swallow that little protein rich Huhu.

While this was the pickled version. Which taste like sweet peanut butter.

Whitebait tasting which keep me wondering what is so wild about this little fish eehh ?

The Whitebait sandwich which looks like small baby lizard with pan fried omelet.

Paua Fritter and chips. Paua is a Maori name to species of sea snails.

Grasshoppers sushi and baguettes.

The hairy mussels of New Zealand. Fresh and muscular ^^ NZ6

Worm in Redbull. To boost the energy of those little worms of mine ??

The lion ball. @ NZ2 I don't think you will expect the meat from the king of all animal....will you ?

A steal @ NZ5. Hickory spare ribs.

The Maori feast. Hangi. Food been wrapped and cook under the soil for more than 10 hours. The result ?? hard over cooked plate full of #$*&. Perhaps this is just another festival conning.

Kava - a Fijian drink which have a spiritual status and believe to get people stone after a few high rise consumption. It taste like muddy water and makes my tongue numb.

And of course, party and dance were going on for three full days. Which brought the whole west coast of New Zealand into fiesta.

Lantern Festival @ Christchurch

2010-03-10T06:54:00.001+08:00

The New Zealanders were having their Lantern festival in favor of the Chap Goh May celebration. With the first station in Auckland on the exact day and Christchurch the week after.

The festival take place in lovely Victoria Garden Square. The Kiwis were giving their full support to the occasion with the square crowded with people of all ethnics.

Lanterns were set up surrounding almost every corner of the square. Its well represent the Chinese red as the symbol of wealth and prosperity.

There were performances from students of the University of Canterbury as well as artists from China. These acted as great eye opener for New Zealand on Chinese culture.

Tai Chi performance from a local martial art center. Tai Chi and Chi Gong has become a popular recreation in New Zealand among the elderly.

A great opportunity to make quick cash for the Asians.

Of course, the Malaysians were there too. They were selling even Sarawak Laksa and lots of kuih. I didn't buy any of those as I'm still pretty much enjoy my Ham Sandwich and Western Salads.

The event itself has been a great success in its sixth years. New Zealand seems to be a country which appreciate the culture of Immigrants or rather should I say they are well aware of the rise of China as a nation.

Another Day In The Paradise...

2010-03-09T09:43:00.003+08:00

My first job in the New Zealand was as a volunteer for a local basketball club. That earned me two free tickets to watch the first match of the Christchurch Cougars in New Zealand basketball league.

Just like any other seasonal country, New Zealand has great blue sky.

Sharp colourful flower which turn every photo you take into a wallpaper quality for your desktop.

The appreciation on the sense of art. The Gothic revival art center @ Christchurch which used to be a campus of University of Canterbury.

The bridge of remembrance.In the memories of Canterbury contribution during the World War 1.

Punting @ Avon River. An old Cambridge traditional which reform here in the pacific ocean.

Christchurch Tramway, another form of transport for tourists to tour the town.

Makan Makan In Christchurch - New Zealand

2010-03-07T08:59:00.000+08:00

Yummillicious bread loaf,wheat seed, wholegrain, raisin.....

Home cook bacon fried egg. Simple yet delicious.

I absolutely adore this roast meal set of pork and lamb. The meat goes well with the mint and apple sauce. The crispy pork skin is really orgasmic and flavourful.

The meal comes with roast potatoes, pumpkins and Kumara (The Maori name for sweet potato)

Beef Tepanyaki @ a lovely Japanese family run restaurant.

My Kimchi Pork Tepanyaki. The taste has been pretty much alter to suit the western. Japanese and Korean restaurants are more than any other cuisine.

A German who sell sausage (Bratwurst)

And his extra long sausage....

What I Eat @ New Zealand

2010-03-06T08:43:00.000+08:00

The German Bratwurst with wholegrain mustard.

My attempt on Salmon Shasimi.

Turn up to be Salmon & Sweet Corn pasta.

Grilled pan salmon.

Gourmet shoulder bacon sandwich as breakfast.

And of course Kiwi fruit from the Kiwiland. Though the Kiwi-land much refer to the animal than the fruit.

A lonely pint during the night.....

The Garden City of New Zealand - Christchurch

2010-03-06T08:32:00.001+08:00

Christchurch. The English town outside of the UK. Avon river, fresh air and old English architecture greatambiance to spend your lazy afternoon lying on the glass sipping the warm sun.

Birdy on top of the statue. The bird eye view.

The renown touristy route: cathedral square and the millennium arch.

A little street bunker @ cathedral square. Lets hope that she was not been controlled by any syndicate to make money by performing down the street. I just cannot feel the sincerity between her eyesight and the label of art.

The huge chess set @ the square.

New Zealand. The land of the long white cloud.

Maori Hakka Dance.

The effect of the nature.

The Aussie Airport + Kiwiland

2010-03-05T06:30:00.004+08:00

Transit @ Melbourne airport.

A chicken schnitzel sandwich with fresh mushrooms, cheese and beetroot. Schnitzel is a meat coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried. This is a traditional Austrian dish which is very common with the Aussie and NZ due to the large presence of German or Austrian Heritage.

Another version of schnitzel sandwich. 10 Aussie dollar.

Flight which was delay for 3 hours. Cheers Jet Star !!

The Aussies and the Kiwis are very strict with the agri/horti materials or items that are allow to be brought in to the country.

We spent our first night in the Kiwiland this way. Sleeping in the airport.

A hot pie to warm up the chilly morning.

Pretty decent Cheese and Ham Quiche.

Finally, the garden city of Christchurch. Punting @ Avon River.

Not in the mood to elaborate more really. Sorry.

From the KiwiLand

2010-02-28T14:16:00.001+08:00

I guess this will be my first post without any photo. WIFI is rather uncommon really in Christchurch. Or rather shall I said a free WIFI is very difficult to find here. An established cafe like Starbucks does not even serve Internet to their customer. I do have a lot of photos that I will like to share and true enough that New Zealand is a sceneric nation where awesome photo can be taken simply from every corner.

Apparently people has been comparing Christchurch to Cambridge of England. Partly because of its Avon river and punting. Christchurch is much bigger than Cambridge. It is a city with a main cathedral and a square where a lot of street bunkers will be sharing their talents. Christchurch's weekend seem to be rather quiet with a lot of shops not operating their business. I can only feel the buzz during the night when the party goers started to flood the clubbing zone.

To be Cont.....

How To Turn Yourself Into a Vending Machine...

2010-02-24T13:44:00.000+08:00

The great people from the nation of the rising sun have yet again come out with another great invention. To turn yourself into a soft drink vending machine !! WTF !! This is said to avoid any potential harm and to defeat the raping crime.So you can wear it as a usual skirt and transform yourself into a vending machine in seconds. An inspiration from the Ninja transforming art. Good grief.

The Japanese are smart people indeed. What if that criminal want to buy a drink from the vending machine that you just transformed yourself into ? Well..you need to be a running vending machine then.

The Diang Biang Hu - Exotic of Sibu

2010-02-23T20:59:00.005+08:00

The "Diang Biang Hu" stand along with Kampua and Kompia as the three representative of Sibu Foo Chow's culinary culture. Unlike the other two, the Diang Biang Hu receive relatively lesser attention in terms of fame. It is very rare to find this delicacy outside of Sarawak. There is a stall at the narrow alley of Blacksmith street which is so synonym with this traditional delicacy. I had their version with extra ingredients added. Priced @ RM3 a bowl, it comes with pork slices, home made fish balls, cuttle fish, black fungus and golden needle flower. ^^

As the name suggested "Diang" is the wok, "Biang as the side of the wok and "Hu" is the grinded rice paste. The grinded rice paste will be splited to the pre-heat wok. This will form a thin layer across the wok. The "sifu" will then crush the layer of the rice goodness into the wok and cook it with soup before served with ingredients wanted.

Krim Soda in a Carlsberg recycle bottle. This is a "Made in Sibu" soft drink. A soft drink that I personally enjoy a lot when I was little. The "Zhu Jian" Sarsi and krim soda. Pure classic and only goes @ RM 1.20.

Monday Blues......

2010-02-22T16:19:00.001+08:00

The sun was shinning fiercely burning me inside the car as I was driving to fetch my sister. The ~~Red~~ Rede FM was tuning some really decent oldies as far as the 60s in their afternoon show. With a DJ's voice as deep as the good old Patrick Teo who used to be with Radio 4. No fancy Hip Hop, no dirty lyrics. It brought back memories when my father used to play a lot of these oldies when I was little. Which I never really did appreciate back then, I ranted for the Backstreet boys instead. And now after a good 28 years, I find myself being absorb into these sentimental oldies. I started listening every now and then. Which got me being complained by the people around me for being such an old folk. I guess being sentimental is a part of aging process ?

It is your turn now...lil' bro

2010-02-21T09:57:00.000+08:00

My younger brother is leaving for his engineering study in Australia tonight. He has always been that top student in the class that most of the expenses of his studies had been funded by scholarship. I'm sure you will have a great time in Brisbane. Adapt into their rather different culture and have fun. Safe flight and take good care of yourself, Raymond. Maybe we will see you sometime in Aussieland soon.