balik kampung

THINGS TO DO IN IPOH

(priority is of cos the annual graveyard to visit my gonggong first but this comes second, third, fourth... the only item in our agenda)

that bowl of scrumptious pork noodles i've been craving for...

OK will be back after the weekend with more IPOH-foodventures!

happy end of march, folks!
:-)

coconut flower seafood restaurant @ teluk gong

coconut flower seafood restaurant

herro! it seems like a veeeeery longggggg time since i last do a food review. so when i was 'invited' to a seafood dinner with a bunch of crazy friends, i jumped at the opportunity of course! i can't even remember when was the last time i went out with sucha BIG group of people for dinner... (been anti-social cos of assignments!)

kenneth suggested teluk gong and so teluk gong it was! and where else but the famous papaya garden (hehe, inside joke!) coconut flower restaurant. i've been there once but it was in the first/two years i shifted to shah alam (it's my 7th year now, how time flies!).

so there were all 15 of us... (because people always complain i dont have human pics in my blog, here they are!)

the banana garden
ashvin, param, joshen, jimmy, alex, qfung, ivan, samuel, rong jiang, kenneth, kit ming, chu xuan

the papaya garden
jen, jia hui, me

marketing gang- jen, kenneth, qfung, kit ming

come coconut garden of cos must have coconut! cholestrol? what cholestrol????

thai coconut- rm3.80

jimmy, kenneth and rong jiang did the food ordering (haha how times have changed! the guys are ordering and the girls are waiting to eat). as there were 15 of us, we splitted into two tables but with doubles of everything.

lala bihun- rm15

kangkung belacan- rm10

signature beancurd- rm12

prawns (sorry dunno what style)- rm49

oh jien- rm9

steamed pak sou gong- rm34

kam heong crabs- rm28

sweet & sour crabs- rm28

fried mantou buns- rm3

we had everything from the seafood family:

prawns? check!
crabs? check!
lala? check!
fish? check!
oyster? check!

in my humble opinion, the food are nothing fantastic to shout about, some are worth the miss as well. for instance, the lala bihun, the lalas are soooooo small that after you finish the whole plate of noodles you'll ask, "so where's the lala??" but for so much food and drinks and the priceless company, it is worth every single penny.

eat like there's no tomorrow

in total we had 1 toddy (500ml- rm2 wtf so cheap!) to share, 11 cokes (1.80 per can), 1 sprite (rm1.80), 3 100plus (rm1.80 each), 2 chinese tea (rm1.20 each), 1 orange juice (rm2.80), 2 watermelon juices (rm2.80 each), 7 coconuts (rm3.80 each), 15 white rice (80cents each), 5 plates of peanuts (rm1.70 each) and the total bill summed up to RM493.30 (inclusive of rm23.50 of gov tax) which averaged to about rm33 per pax.

cheers to great friendships!!

rm33 for all the seafood protein, great company and endless laughters. i say we should do this more often! now who's with me?

p/s: it is times like this when you're nearing the end of your college life do you learn to treasure all the great times with friends... not to say i've not cherished any great times but i know i am going to miss it alot... so don't forget to ajak me when you all go out next time k!!! ;-)

coconut flower seafood restaurant
702, jalan udang galah,
kampung teluk gong,
42000 port klang, selangor.
tel: 03-31341218/31342886
email: ctnyu@hotmail.com

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

monday blues

this morning i went to kl with another friend to get our medical checkup done and receive our employment offer letter. while i agree that working in kl may be an interesting thing but journeys there are putting me off- jam, jam, jam, packed like sardines in LRT (repeat cycle).

anyway, security is pretty tight in the menara public bank itself. polices are the receptionist and there are polices everywhere! upon reaching the 11th floor (HR), we met the receptionist (real one, not police) and was handed a sealed letter each which directed us to menara ambank to do our medical checkup. while we were walking, i realized maybe working in kl is not that bad after all... at least i'll get to learn the whats and wheres in the city (for e.g. australian high commission is just behind public bank- not that it was anything big but i'll soon find my way to skybar, lunabar, heritage row etc soon!).

for my essence of pee

reached the clinic which was packed with people of sorts. i managed to peek the file drawers and saw that the clinic is the panel clinic for public bank, ambank, australian high commission, citibank etc. the docs must be earning super big $$$. it was a very long wait eventhough procedures takes about just 5 mins each (x-ray, urine test, eye test, breast test!!, the normal checks etc). and the x-ray doc was really fierce! u know those eye test, where you have to close an eye and read the letters? and you know how our eyes need some time to adjust before vision becomes clear? well i closed my eye and needed some time to adjust to the lightings but before i was able to say what letter it was, she already pointed to another letter! i was like wtf im gonna get zero for the test!!!

but i passed anyway, cos i wear glasses one mah.

finally got our medical reports and walked back to public bank.

proceeded back to 11th floor and met up with the HR exec that interviewed and corresponded with me. she led me to a meeting room, offered me my offer letter and explained the details in it. to summarize things up, i commence on the 28th April 2008 as a Graduate Trainee attached to Group, Financial & Treasury Accounting of Finance Division with a very exciting entry salary and employee benefits.

I will be at the 26th floor and I found out that the Chairman, CEO, GM and the bigshots are at 33rd floor. Hmmm... must now think of some excuses to go to the 33rd floor...

#

tag'ed by Khian.

Random fact #1: I am zoophobic too.

Random fact #2: I am a terrible friend at keeping in touch! Really... I usually do the silent KITs (like checking out where each and everyone is through friendster when they are just online/phone call/sms away... sorry) but there are times when I do try my best to KIT only to have the opposite reaction hitting back at me, so I give up loh.

Random fact #3: My phone habits- I don't like to talk on the phone for long. I feel awkward during those 3 secs long pause. I like to receive sms but I don't usually like replying them (sorry!). I am annoyed at voicemails, hate to be talking to myself. I usually off my phone early and keep it far away from where I sleep and I am annoyed at people who keep their phones on when they sleep (*coughmysisterscough*) grrrr.

Random fact #4: When I have nothing to do, I check my email. AGAIN. and AGAIN. and AGAIN.

Random fact #5: My head feels itchy especially when I'm stressed. Going to lose hair with finals coming soon...

Random fact #6: I like to spend my day away watching YouTube.

Random fact #7: When I am not doing anything besides checking my email, I am checking out people's nicknames, PMs and display pics on MSN.

Random fact #8: I like 'chap fan' stalls. Feels like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Heehee.

Random fact #9: Excessive narcissistic people drives me crazy~~!!!! Not the joking type, the REAL narcissists. I wish I can ask them to STFU.

#

i was playing with my phone yesterday and realized i wasnt doing any justification for owning such a canggih phone yet the only functions i ever use are calling/sms/camera. so i randomly tried to check out the connections and all... and found myself accessing YouTube and Hotmail on my phone!!!!!1111 then checked out the GPS navigation thingy (still dunno how to operate though) and bloody checkingouts costed me more than rm5 of my credit! @#$%*&!!! vowed not to simply checkout stuff again.

dunno why, suddenly i feel so cheapskate.

#

been sick. 'nuff said.

pasta zanmai @ 1 utama

pasta zanmai

yes, you read it right. pasta zanmai, sister/brother outlet of sushi zanmai (from the rakuzen group of restaurants). as the name already suggests, it serves pasta... with a fusion of japanese toppings.

when i saw the ad on starmetro saying "GRAND OPENING SPECIALS enjoy 50% off our best sellers..." i knew i have to go!!!!!!1111

so i shamelessly ajak my sister for lunch (hoping she will pay HAHA, which she did thankyouvelimuch). the 50% off was only one dish on one day and i was eyeing on the soft shell crab no gomadare shitate (np: rm22, 18 march 50% off only rm11!!!!) i wantttttttt!!!!!1111111

so hehe, my sister agreed and off we went!! the entrance is so wtf small that you'll miss it if you dont pay attention! well, thats because the 1/2 of the shop is occupied by the shojikiya everything japanese foodstuff store. pasta zanmai is the innerpart of the shop. the deco and ambiance is pretty cozy and just like sushi zanmai, it has an open kitchen concept where you can see the chef in action! and big colorful menus, we like!!

hot green tea- rm3/pot

we had the hot green tea at rm3 per pot and its refillable. although it's quite cheap but i think the 'pot' is a gimmick to charge a higher price cos in sushi zanmai, it's rm1 per cup and its refillable as well. so whats the difference?? (the pot is quite cute though hehe)

asari miso soup- rm6
(short-neck clam miso soup)

we decided to do away with the normal miso soup and opted the seafood one instead. it has about 4-5 clams but the soup was flavorful and comes in a rather deep bowl, so its advisable to share!

soft shell crab no gomadare shitate- rm22
(soft shell crab pasta, topped with sesame sauce)

i had the dish on offer which is the soft shell crab pasta. my fav soft shell crab!!! the pasta is served with a creamy sauce but not as creamy as alfredo or carbonara. the sauce has a mixture saltiness and sweetness, very different from western style of pasta (maybe cos of the sesame sauce?). and the best part? hee! the soft shell crab (2 pieces) and the roe tasted gooood.

gyu shabu no gomadare shitate- rm25
(blanched beef pasta, topped with sesame sauce)

i read that the beef pasta is good so i recommended it to my sister... and indeed it was good. the beef slices were like shabu-shabu'ed, hence the reddish color how beef slices should be. the pairing with the sesame sauce was good too. although both pasta seem to have similar sauces, it definitely doesnt taste the same. i would say the soft shell crab pasta was creamier.

also, the pasta portions are rather large, so small eaters are advised to share!

sesame grinder

they also offer this d-i-y sesame grinder where you grind your own black sesame. very fun thing to play with while waiting for your pasta though. the wait isnt that long, but i am not too sure the same on packed days, but i supposed pastas are generally easy food to prepare?

but end of the meal, we were both simply too full and decided to give desserts a miss although the pictures in the menu were really tempting!!

the total bill was rm51.75 for the both of us inclusive of 10% + 5% taxes. not too cheap as remember one of the item is 50% off? but its worth a try! who knows italian pasta and japanese cuisine can go so well together. next, i'm planning to open a restaurant that sells pasta with siew yok, char siew, roast duck...

p/s: the 50% off promo is until 28th march!! fast, go find your copy of the starmetro ad pg27 friday 14 march 2008!!!!
pp/s: read my sister's review here!

pasta zanmai
g210b, ground floor promenade
1 utama (walkway along burger king, genki sushi & carls jr)
tel: 03-77281210

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

wednesday update

hee! details soon!

#

p/s: are you happy with the new cabinet lineup? i am, and am not. OKC got his wish come true after all these years... now a full minister, im awaiting for more racial remarks from him and i bet he'll be taking the opportunity to pocket as much as possible to compensate for the lost time. on the brighter side, KJ is not a minister/deputy. thank god! but i suppose he'll still remain as a 'shadow minister' to Pak Lah. some things never change... *sighs*

hoca specialty coffee

the other day after my interview with public bank, i walked back to klcc and decided to have breakfast before heading back to college. the cut the long story short, i dined at hoca, ordered the breakfast foccacia beef and a iced chocolate.

foccacia beef- rm9.90

iced ghirardelli american choc- rm8.50

... and regretted. foccacia tasted blehhhh. even a piece of cheddar with gardenia bread tasted better. and the iced chocolate (with some fancy schmanzy name called 'iced ghirardelli') tasted like the mamak rm1.50 iced milo.

should have spent that $$ at o'briens.


hoca specialty coffee
suria klcc (next to nando's)
tel: 03-23829219

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

politics: slap-a-politician day

the recent change of events in the country has been on a lightspeed mode. just 2 secs after reading a piece of the latest news from malaysia-today, another latest than the latest news was uploaded. either people are too free or there are just too much news we are deprived from the mainstream media (MSM).

well, don't get me wrong. i may not be a political expert but i hope everyone doesn't just take and believe things at face value esp. news coming from the MSM (eg. the star, nst, utusan, rtm) which if you hadn't already know, are owned by the government and only serve to promulgate biased news.

while it was good when it lasted (the 12th GE results), the recent dispute over who gets to be MB/CM by the 3 governing (then: opposition) parties in Perak is like pulling the trigger over own's head after succeeded in killing the enemies in the battlefield. the coalition is pretty much on its way to be booted out of the football match which has just started if it continues behaving like that.

so in conjunction with all these hoo-hah, i hereby declare today (and anyday you think they need a slap) the 'Slap-a-Politician Day' because you and i know we are very fed up, feel like slapping them but can't do it in real life (also, that's what blogs are for).

#

1. Mr PM/UMNO

i wish slapping helps to wake you up from your 4 years deeeeeeeep sleep. but i suppose it wont cos you dont want to despite millions of slaps from the rakyat who have had enough of all this bullshit from you and your cronies. *sighs* sometimes i dunno you are memang bodoh or buat bodoh. also stop your racial card game.

kami, rakyat "pantang dicabar!!!" grrrrrr... why our PM liddat one?????????

2. Menantu PM

i suppose you top the list of everyone else as well. the MSM have been very very kind to you, but maybe you should start reading what's been said about you in the internet world. nobody likes you, nobody wants you to be around the political scene. and in reality, people stuck to you because of your PM-menantu relations. i suppose we dont have to tell you, you already know, daddy-in-law's going down soon enough before you can spell R-E-M-B-A-U. you are nobody without him, and if we can make him somebody, we can make him a nobody as well. and don't think we are not aware of that vote-rigging incident, from -141 to 5000+ majority. we know of your intentions to be the PM by 40 but you may as well be like your daddy-in-law... dream on!

3. Mr MCA Jr.

can you bloody stop playing the racial cards!! stop issuing statements every other two days accusing the Barisan Rakyat coalition of cheating etc when you very well know who is the BIGGEST cheater of the entire nation. you may be the MCA big brother's little bro but if we can get you in, we can most certainly get you out! and don't think we don't know any of your intention to rise from a loser to MCA Big Brother. we are watching......

4. Mr MIC

haven't had enough amassing millions and billions of fortune throughout the 30 years you were around? our roads are still laden with potholes killing motorists every single day while you sit up there pressing your calculator thinking to yourself, "hmmm... how much toll fees should i increase this year??" not only you were 'semi-value', you are also 'no-value' now. so just do us all a favour and get the hell out of the political scene while still making statements that "The Indians are behind MIC".

*sighs* wake up la dei.....

5. Mr DAP Sr.

i wish he wasn't in my list but his *newsbreaking* 3 paragraphs statement published in his blog yesterday shocked you, me and everyone else who gave them our mandate only to be slapped back with a statement like that. with all due respect, on most days i have the utmost highest respect for this man who at 67 still have so much passion and fire in him, providing the voice to be the 'check-and-balance' in parliament, upholding the rights and correcting the wrongs. at times, i am proud to even say we may be related (the same surname factor, hehe) but just not this time.

it has been said that the election was a political tsunami but the post-elections is like the aftermath- deadlier and disease ridden. winning Perak was only the beginning, developing and managing it is the more difficult part, so why the dispute? kalau nak gaduh pun, tutuplah pintu dan gaduh... not only the BN flers will take the opportunity to make a mountain out of a molehill (through MSM) but also compel the common folks who obtain info through MSM into thinking "Gosh, did we vote for the right people?"

#

Which politician would you like to slap today?

make your own prawn mee

does this bowl of yummylicious finger lickin' good prawn mee makes you drool and wish you have one hot piping bowl in front of you now??????

no need to get dressed up, drive car and find parking because now you can make it yourself at home!

"HOW!!!!!!!!!!", you asked.

"one pack of instant noodles (the red color 'har mee' brand??), some vege, BIG SUCCULENT JUICY prawns!!!!", i answer.

*sighs* i love BIG JUICY SUCCULENT prawns.........

dawn of a new century

its a beeeeeeautiful day

^_______^


"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."
- Alan Moore (V For Vendetta)

the BN gov should be very afraid now. the People have spoken.

#

bring out your glasses, pop the champagne, order a steak and let's celebrate for this new change!

/update
totally laughoutloud on this comment in malaysiatoday:

Barisan announced today that it's new National symbol is the CONDOM.
This because it accurately reflects the government stance.

A Condom Allows Inflation, halts Production,Destroys the next Generation, Protects a bunch of pricks, and gives you a sense of Security while you are actually being Screwed.

what i think everyone is doing at the moment...

this is the ONLY time where all things else does not matter anymore (no, not even bloody never-ending assignments).

i am currently in front of the computer, refreshing malaysiakini every 5 secs to check for live results of the GE.

bn is getting its ass whooped! woooot~

long live barisan rakyat!

ok need to refresh.