a tinge of blue

we are moving!

2011-02-04T18:52:00.000+08:00

as in, the URL. It's nothing major, just streamlining my Google accounts and decided to have it all under one roof. So, come by the new "Tinge of Blue" and stop over for a virtual cuppa and all. See you there!

on the plate - Frames, Sunway Pyramid

2010-10-17T10:03:00.000+08:00

Was supposed to try this place out much earlier at the recommendation of a friend, but when we tried to look for it at its previous location at TTDI Plaza, it wasn't there anymore. Good thing I guess. TTDI Plaza is absolutely horrible, especially in terms of getting there, parking (I've never seen such a poorly designed car park ever before in my life. The architect who designed that car park must have been drunk when he thought it up), and the cigarette smoke that wafts through the air due to all the pubs and stuff. Sunway Pyramid is a much nicer and more accessible location.

Frames is a cosy place that has a nice comfortable ambiance, they've got framed photos all over the restaurant, photos taken by amateur photographers who otherwise probably wouldn't get a platform to display their works. The food is pretty good too.

Barrae (RM8.90) - one of their signature drinks, it's soda with strawberry puree, and other fruits as well. Nice and refreshing.

Crusted salmon (RM26) - one of the most expensive items on the menu. It looks like not much, but it actually is substantial. A nice fillet of salmon crusted with herbs complementing the tender flesh of the salmon. Complete with sauteed mushrooms and asparagus, some aragula leaves, and a tasty mash (sorry I had mutilated it before I took the photo), and a lovely butter reduction that adds a different dimension to the meat.

Mango tuna sandwich (RM18) - one of the owner's creations, it has lots of tuna accompanied by mango slices, sliced eggs and vegetables, encased in a nice herbed bread. Sorry the picture doesn't really do it justice. The flavor combination is very good, the sweetness of the mango complementing the tuna and other ingredients very well. And if you're feeling wierded out by the combination - don't. The sweet & savory really do work well together in this one.

the Burger (RM22+10) - It's supposed to be either a beef, fish or chicken burger. Apparently if you're hungry you can add another patty (beef, chicken or fish) but another RM5. My friend upped the ante by asking for one of each. The burger comes with the usual fixings, and a fried egg to boot. All patties are hand made in the restaurant, and seasoned very nicely. Even the fish pattie is actually a real fillet of dory that's breaded and fried, not some reconstituted fish parts thing.

Frames is a nice place where you can chill out and hang out, with good and friendly service and good food and drinks, I do recommend it for a good time out with friends or a quiet dinner.

Food: 7.1/10

Drink: 6.9/10

Service: 7.1/10

Location: Oasis Boulevard, at Sunway Pyramid. Go out the main entrance (facing the highway), and make a right turn, and you'll see it.

on the plate - Betty's Midwest Kitchen, Aman Suria

2010-10-06T10:58:00.000+08:00

Right. Again, I apologize for the long wait for any updates to this blog. I get busy, you know?

But anyway, I digress... This post is long overdue for one of my favorite joints so lemme put it up now before I procrastinate and leave it for much longer...

Betty's Midwest Kitchen is a relatively new place, it's been open for about a year or so (opened in 2009 if I'm not mistaken). It's a family run business, the wife does the cooking, the husband manages the place and the grown-up kids help to serve and take orders and stuff. It really is one of those honest to goodness places where you really have that sense of family going on. It's a nice, cosy place, someplace where you can enjoy and nice, hearty meal with friends and family.

the cosy interior of the restaurant, on a busy night

the cheeseburger. They have a couple of types, this is the regular one, and they have something called the Juicy Lucy, in that one, they actually embed the cheese inside the patty.

Dog food, looks gross, but it's seriously yummy. A tray of fries, baked with gravy and cheese and onions. All sorts of gooey, unhealthy goodness. Don't try to eat this alone. Trust me. It will be painful if you try.

The meatloaf (RM15) comes with peas (my favorite!), onions, and mashed potatoes that are silky smooth with yummy gravy on top. At first looking at the pictures I thought it was bacon on top, but when it came it was actually barbecue sauce. The meatloaf tastes good but I found it to be a little too soft and crumbly (I like my meatloaf to have a little bit of bite). Still good value and good flavor though.

Pigs in blankets - sausages wrapped in bacon. The bacon was fatty and added a whole new realm of flavor to the sausages. Oh, and did you know that natural fats don't add to cholestrol? :p

Ribs (Rm32 or somewhere thereabouts) - They were okay, nothing spectacular to shout about but still tasted good.

Soup (RM8) - their soup is generally very good, they change the soup every week and it's always a clear broth with meat and vegetables, very nice, heart warming stuff. Definitely a recommendation.

Pork Chop with apples (RM23) - Most people who saw this were rather disgusted with the idea of having savory stuff with fruit. However, pork with applesauce has been an American staple for what, centuries? Decades? I won't get into that, but the marriage of pork with fruit actually does work very well (for those of you who still can't wrap your heads around it, doesn't sweet and sour pork also have fruit, in the form of pineapple and stuff?)

Sausage platter (RM35) - probably the most expensive thing on the menu, you get 4 (yes, FOUR) large sausages (the real thing, not the over-processed junk we normally get) of different varieties with coleslaw and fries (in this picture my friend asked to have them replaced with mash). The sausages are meaty and bursting with flavor, although I think one of the sausages wasn't to most people's liking (it's a soft white one, I can't remember the name now... in German it would be weisswurst?)

Apple Crumble (RM8) - nicely done with ice cream. Purists will be appalled that they make their crumble with cornflakes. It adds a nice crunch to it, and it tastes good, with the apples, crumble and ice cream making a nice combination.

All in, Betty's is a value-for-money place that has no airs or pretences at trying to be what it's not. What it is, though, is an honest to goodness family place that unapologetically serves pork, pork and pork. There are non-pork options for those who are not inclined towards that direction, such as fish and chips and fried chicken, but the specialities are the pork. Also, the house lemonade is pretty good, and one of the cheaper drink options on the menu.

And here we go, the ratings:

Food: 7.8/10

Drink: 6.5/10

Service: 8.1/10 (can be a bit slow, but always polite and with a smile)

Where is it?

In Aman Suria, facing the NKVE, it's just a few doors away from the Kayu Nasi Kandar.

food updates!

2010-06-09T17:53:00.003+08:00

My apologies, have been too lazy to actually write words, so I've been posting pictures in Facebook instead. But anyway, some of the latest places to be visited and reviewed (and if I have the time, reviewed here) are as follows, with a short summary.

Betty's Midwest Kitchen, Aman Suria - Simple, hearty American fare. With pork, lots of it. What more could a carnivore like me ask for? Meatloaf, baby back ribs, burgers, steaks, apple crumble, and more. Food is high quality stuff, too, and it won't break the bank. Most expensive dishes are around RM30 or so, while regular stuff like meatloaf and burgers are well below the RM20 mark. Definitely will go again. 8.1/10

Kitchen Creatures, Centerpoint BU - Attempts at Western fare, it's main selling point is that there's no service charge or tax. If they could just improve on the food and drinks, I'd gladly pay the service charge instead. Very average food and extremely watered down drinks. Not too keen on a repeat visit, especially if they can't really even do a cup of coffee or a simple hamburger right. 4.1/10

Tao Cuisine Buffet, Sunway Giza - an ala carte buffet that was unexpectedly good and high quality. Most of the cold items such as salads, sushi, sashimi, oysters, etc. are laid out on the buffet line, while teppanyaki is made to order and almost all hot dishes are also made to order and brought to the table. The teppanyaki beef is tender and juicy although can be a tad too salty for some, while the teriyaki butter fish and salmon and grilled lamb chop are fantastic. At RM58++ per person, not the cheapest around but worth the price. 7.5/10

Chance for a free holiday? I'll take it!

2010-05-17T22:51:00.002+08:00

Win a Free Boracay Vacation Package by WOW Philippines Travel Agency

WOW Philippines Travel Agency, Inc. is celebrating it's 5th year in business during July of 2010, and we would like you to have a chance to celebrate with us, so we have decided to give-away a FREE Boracay Package complete with 5 Star accommodations at the luxurious Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel on Boracay Island. The lucky winner will win the following Boracay vacation package.

Vacation Package Inclusions:
- 5 Days / 4 Nights Luxury 5 Star Accommodations at the Le Soleil de Boracay Hotel
- Flights to Boracay from Manila to Caticlan Airport on Philippine Airlines
- Island Transfers - Door-to-Door from Manila to the resort and back to Manila Domestic Airport
- Three (3) Meals each day, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
- Boracay Activities - Horseback Riding, Island Hopping, Glass Bottom Boat
- PLUS - 5,000 peso Spending Cash

Read More Information:http://www.seairphilippines.com

on the plate - Belanga @ Empire Shopping Gallery

2010-05-17T00:39:00.001+08:00

Was supposed to go for someone's birthday dinner at the Farmland Steamboat place in SS18, but with poor planning and other unforeseen circumstances, we ended up at the new Empire Shopping Gallery, and only three of us.

Parking was still free, and about 2/3 of the shops are open. We wanted to have a simple dinner at Chili's but it was closed. That sucks. But thankfully I spotted Belanga on the list of restaurants, and it wasn't crowded like most of the other eateries.

Belanga is a place specializing mostly in the food of Kelantan and Terengganu. Which means their specialties are Nasi Kerabu, Nasi Ulam, and the like. We had two orders of Nasi Kerabu (RM13.90) and one order of the standard Malaysian favorite, Assam Laksa (RM9.90).

The Nasi Kerabu come with either Ayam Percik (marinated barbecued chicken with spicy gravy) or roasted beef tenderloin, or grilled fish. We had one with the chicken and one with beef. The rice was soft and tasty, and mixed with the kerabu sauce and fresh vegetables and a bit of salted egg (which you do yourself, if you like the flavors all mixed in). The chicken was nicely marinated, and came as an entire chicken leg (drumstick + thigh, for the uninitiated), while the beef was slightly tough but tasted pretty good nonetheless.

The Assam Laksa came as a large portion, and was nice and fragrant, with lots of fish in the soup, and tasted pretty good, just a tad spicy.

Overall the food is pretty good, most would argue, why pay so much for eating simple Malay food when you can get it elsewhere? Well, this place is pretty reliable with the quality, and the cleanliness, and comfort levels. Plus, you won't normally get the same combination of all the different types of Malay foods at the regular warongs and stuff. So there.

Ratings

Food : 6.8/10

Drink : 6.7/10

Service: 7.1/10

P/S:- yes I forgot to take pictures. Didn't bring camera, and I was hungry

on the plate - Tepi Sawah Restaurant, Ubud, Bali

2010-05-08T00:39:00.000+08:00

For some reason I decided to add a review on some overseas stuff as well. Let's start with something from last year. Went for a trip to Bali over the Easter holidays, stayed at this place called Tepi Sawah Resort. It's a small boutique resort in Ubud, a town near the middle of the island of Bali. It's quiet, peaceful, and far removed from the chaos that is Kuta (the tourist capital of Bali, and the place where the bombings took place)

One of the nights we just stayed at the resort and took in some of the resort food, as guests at the resort we got a discount on dining at the restaurant.

A platter of mixed rice, Balinese style. Sorry I didn't get a good picture and this is rather dark. It had rice, some satay, vegetables, tempe (Indonesian beancurd stuff) and some other stuff, I don't remember. It was good.

And the star of the show, one FULL LARGE rack of pork ribs. This was obviously while I was still learning how to use the camera to take pictures, especially in low light.

The pork ribs were, quite simple put, absolutely delicious. As you can see, the rack takes up pretty much the whole plate. They were succulent and tender, and simply basted with a bit of barbecue sauce and served with fries (not pictured). And the best part? The whole rack of ribs with fries only came up to a grand total of RM18-19 (or thereabouts, at the exchange rate of that time). Incredible.

cool orangey-green (or is it greenish orange?)

2010-05-08T00:18:00.000+08:00

Spotted this really cool guy in my garden a while back. Quite a unique color for a dragonfly, eh?

on the plate - Coffee Ritual @ Section 14 PJ

2010-05-08T00:13:00.000+08:00

yes, introducing Coffee Ritual, in Section 14, near the old Jaya and the Digital Mall. In fact, it's just down the road from TGI Friday's.

was picking up my violin one evening and we were hungry, and this was kinda opposite my friend's violin shop. So, we popped in as it looked decent.

the place is spacious and clean, with a pleasant atmosphere.

They have three options that you can choose from on the menu, firstly, you can choose anything ala carte from the menu, or, you can choose any main and turn it into a combo, which adds a drink; third, you can choose almost any main and turn it into a three course mail, with either soup and bun or salad, the drink, and dessert to go with it. Not a bad deal.

So, we had a black pepper chicken crepe, and a cajun chicken chop.

I had the three course meal, but was too hungry to snap pictures. The soup and roll went quickly. All I can tell you is that the tomato soup was creamy and very tasty, one of the better tomato soups I've had so far. The roll was soft and warm, and went superbly with the butter and dipped into the soup.

We had to wait quite a long time for the main courses to come, I think if not for the soup and roll, I might have been flat on the floor after a while :p

the black pepper chicken crepe was very peppery. It came with a side of salad. It was alright, nothing really special. The cream sauce was infused with a lot of peppery taste and it kinda permeated the entire dish. Not too bad but not something I'd really go for again.

Why is it that nobody here knows how to really do cajun chicken? Throwing on a few herbs and pouring gravy on it does NOT constitute calling it cajun chicken. Note to anybody attempting to make cajun chicken, use the internet and see how it's done right. Don't go passing off regular chicken chop with a few herbs sprinkled in as real cajun chicken.

/rant over

Anyway, the "cajun" chicken was actually decent, just that it wasn't cajun in any sense of the word. The baked potato that came with it was steaming hot and tasty, although didn't have quite enough sour cream. The vegetables were excellent, though and the chicken was tasty and nicely done.

All in, I wouldn't mind going to this place again, although the parking situation in Section 14 might put me off from attempting to go again. The food is decent, as are the drinks (iced honey ftw!) but the service, although friendly and good, can be slow (coming out from the kitchen... can't fault the front line waiters).

Alright, ratings

Food: 6.8/10

Drinks: 7.1/10

Service: 6.5/10 (I wanted to give two different ratings, but this is an average)

Where to go (for those with gps): 35 Jalan 14/20, Petaling Jaya

(03) 7956-1080

eager anticipation

2010-05-02T15:37:00.000+08:00

"just a few more rounds"

30 turns later

"I'm almost done conquering these stupid Mongols. I'll stop when I get their capital city"

5 turns later

"What? Those darn Romans turned on me and conquered one of my cities. I'll show them"

8 turns later

"how the heck does a horseman defeat an armored gunship? it doesn't make sense"

20 turns later

"just a few more rounds"

CIVILIZATION 5 come quickly!!!

on the screen: How to Train Your Dragon 3D

2010-04-22T08:41:00.000+08:00

urgh. Back at work, after a relaxing holiday in Krabi. Couldn't wake up this morning for work, but oh well. Managed to catch a flick last night at GSC Midvalley.

How to Train Your Dragon was one of those movies that didn't have much hype surrounding it, at least not here. Saw a large billboard for it near my house, but it wasn't promoted by the cinemas nearly as much as any of the other recent blockbusters.

After a few good reviews, though, we decided to give it a whirl and see if it really was any good. And it was. This is one of the few movies that actually seems like it does have a point in being in 3D, unlike some other movies that were all hyped up in 3D but just didn't really seem to be effective in that medium.

A heart-warming story and excellent graphics along with good voice acting make for a good experience, despite the corny title. I'll give it a 7/10

hanging in there

2010-03-03T14:16:00.002+08:00

Wednesday is almost over, weekend is imminent. Whoop-dee-doo! : )

hates people cutting in, either in person or on the road

2010-03-01T23:44:00.000+08:00

A common sight, especially at traffic lights, is cars blocking another lane while trying to jump queue and cut in front of a line of cars that are patiently waiting for their turn. Sometimes, it doesn't even need to be a traffic light, it could simply be a u-turn or some other place where people have to slow down.

It really gets me very mad at these people. Is their time more precious than mine? Do they have fewer hours in a day? Do they have their pants on fire or something? The thing is, it's easy to blame this on the 'bengs' but lots of people do it, young girls, older gents, even family men with their entire families in the car, all swoop in at the last minute and just cut in and cause even more traffic to build up with their selfish actions.

The worst of the lot, if you honk them, will simply slam on their brakes right at the intersection and not allow anybody else to pass for a minute or so. As if it's your fault that they're downright rude and have the manners of a Neanderthal. Actually that's an insult to Neanderthals, I'm sorry.

And sometimes, they will block an entire lane that's actually free to turn, simply because they want to get ahead of a few cars. The complete selfishness of these people astounds me. How can they actually go about their business and all and even sleep at night? Would they be angry if someone did it to them?

So, because of the actions of a few idiots, who can't wait, honest drivers who have been waiting for 5, 10, 15 minutes, get forced to wait longer, simply because some uneducated idiot can't wait a bit.

Meanwhile, I have the same peeves with people who try to check out baskets full of items at express lanes in supermarkets. I mean, can't they READ when the sign says 8/10/whatever items or less? If there were like 11 items or something I'd understand, but I don't understand how they are going to try to sneak like 102 items through the express lane.

The beauty of this is, when the cashier has the guts to stand up to them, they get upset. They either argue with the cashier, or sometimes they just leave in a huff and leave all their items behind. Yeah, way to go, getting all upset because someone had the temerity to stand up for what was right. They can go without their groceries, for all I care.

Pos Malaysia, finally actually doing their job

2010-02-28T16:13:00.000+08:00

Finally got two out of the three parcels I was waiting for, this week. Two months overdue.

Checked the order number, they were both the re-sent parcels. Which means that the original ones are still missing (after a month, I told the senders that my orders did not arrive so they sent another shipment, FOC). Some thief out there has them, and is probably enjoying the use of MY stuff somewhere. Brill, absolutely brill.

I still have some guitar picks that I ordered from the US that are supposed to arrive sometime. Even that order was re-sent. I hope they actually arrive.

hey yo! Air Asia and other pet peeves

2010-02-28T16:09:00.000+08:00

hi hi! back again, decided to move the blog back to this domain and keep my own custom domain to myself for my own nefarious purposes. So for all intents and purposes, I'm back. at least for now.

so! a while ago I booked a flight through Air Asia, got the booking number through my confirmation e-mail and everything. Decided to try checking the baggage allowances and in-flight meals and stuff through the website.

BUT IT WON'T LET ME!

I entered in the booking number, flight dates and airport information correctly as requested, exactly as it's given me from the confirmation e-mail. The website tells me there's no such booking number.

So I e-mail them (as directed by Air Asia's website).

No response.

I e-mail them again a couple of weeks later.

Still no response.

So I guess I'm gonna have to call them? I would have thought that actually just following instructions would get the job done.

Or does that not work in this country?

I have no idea how these airlines win any actual awards.

Angels We Have (maybe) Heard!

2009-12-28T17:05:00.000+08:00

I've gotten a few requests for the weird (and maybe funky) chord progression I used for the Christmas service on Angels We Have Heard on High. Well here it is, for anybody to try out.

F C/E F
Angels we have heard on high
Dm Bb F/C Dm
Sweetly singing o'er the plains
F/A Bb C Dm
and the mountains in reply
Bb Gm C F
echoing their joyous strains

Dm7 C#dim7 F/C G/B Bb2
Glo---------------------ria
F/A Dm C
in excelsis Deo
Dm7 C#dim7 F/C G/B Bb2
Glo---------------------ria
F/A Dm C F
in excelsis Deo

There you go. If you give it a go, let me know what you think.

on the plate - Ninja Joe @ Tropicana City Mall

2009-11-14T17:55:00.001+08:00

Anything to do with pork is relatively scarce over here in this country. For fans of "the other white meat", it can be hard to find pork outside of Chinese food, so having burgers with REAL bacon (not the beef bacon stuff) or decent pork chops or baby back ribs (Tony Roma's, yes, I'm giving you the evil eye for forsaking your signature dish here) is a rarity, comparatively.

Surprisingly, pork makes pretty good decent burger meat, so some places do serve a good pork burger (Sid's Pub, Ribs@Oasis) but pork burgers are also quite costly as pork is pretty much the most expensive locally produced meat here (let's not count Australian beef, but face it, how many burger places actually use that over Indian or local beef?).

Enter Ninja Joe, another unique joint to Tropicana City Mall (is it just me or are there so many good places that are only in this mall?). The menu is simple. Pork burgers. That's about the extent of it. Seriously.

The burgers are pretty small, about the size of a colonel burger at KFC (just for reference). The pork patty is tasty and has onions in it as well, and garnished simply with some lettuce and a slice of tomato. You get a choice of flavors - original, black pepper, teriyaki, oriental, sweet & sour or spicy. One burger costs RM5.95, two will set you back RM9.95, three costs RM12.95, and well, you get the point. The more burgers you order in one order, the cheaper each burger gets. The idea here since the burgers are small is that you can order more than one, and try different flavors.

In addition to that, you can also make it a combo meal by adding RM3 for a drink and fries. You get to choose between cold green tea or lemonade, and you get crinkle cut fries. They also sell shuriken, which are nuggets made of mashed potato and pork (I tried that, and it was more potato than pork), green salad is on the menu but they haven't started selling that yet.

I haven't had the opportunity to take pictures yet. Will add them sometime! Ninja Joe is located on the LG floor of Tropicana City Mall, if you're facing Carrefour, it will be towards the right, just keep heading down that way and you'll see it around the corner.

Food: 6.8/10

Drink: 6.0/10

Service: 7.0/10

How to parse "Total Eclipse of the Heart"

2009-10-29T16:53:00.001+08:00

friend of mine posted this on Facebook and I couldn't resist putting it up.

Some of you might remember the song Total Eclipse of the Heart, it was a popular song in the 80s if I remember correctly. It's a nice song, but a little overwrought, at least in my opinion. Some person has made a proper flowchart of how the song goes

This is best viewed with this video for complete enlightenment and understanding.

the most amazing musical instrument... if only it could exist in real life

2009-10-26T21:50:00.002+08:00

but brilliant computer animation, though.

How to get up and get ready for work in 5 minutes

2009-10-23T19:52:00.000+08:00

unbelievable, but this guy proves it can be done :p

I really gotta learn how he does that necktie thing lol

twins, J & S Lee

2009-10-23T19:30:00.002+08:00

a real pair of twins, Korean Australians Janice & Sonia

their Youtube channel can be found here.

they do music videos (simple, personal ones) and they're pretty decent! okay, they're not professional musicians, but they are sincere in what they do.

here's them doing their rendition of Hosanna

and an ever effervescent, Bubblegum Song :) my favorite part is at the end... you kinda just have to watch it till the end to find out.

another thing I wish I had thought of doing, hahaha

then again, I don't have a twin or anyone else to sing or play with!

better, not so sickie

2009-10-22T17:43:00.000+08:00

Feeling better now. Still coughing and sniffling a little bit, but at least there's no more fever.

Finally Thursday is over, (at least the work day) and there's only Friday left.

To which we say,
a resounding "hooray!"

Craving sashimi at Sushi Tei. Argh.

a Googley workplace?

2009-10-21T19:05:00.000+08:00

would you like to work for Google? the perks... the perks! why are we all still working for chinaman companies that squeeze you dry with a pittance salary for compensation, and not much else?

sigh. sick

2009-10-19T14:37:00.000+08:00

Must've caught the bug going around. So, no work today. Even if I did go, I don't think I would've lasted anyway. Dizzy and all that.

So that leaves me a bit more time to rest, after a really hectic weekend. Why are weekends sometimes more hectic than weekdays? Don't answer that.

Excuse me while I go hack a lung out.

What I'm trying to say is... wait... what was I trying to say?

I have no clue. I'm getting old... and senile.

Been thinking of taking up another instrument. Something more affordable than the oboe, which I really love, but will destroy my bank account and credit cards and everything else I own. Been thinking of the trumpet or clarinet... any suggestions? Of course, I already do play the trumpet, but I haven't been going anywhere with it, since I don't have one of my own. I'm thinking my neighbors would really hate me for it too, if I started practicing! lol

Also, I'm still thinking of getting an acoustic guitar. The classical one I have is murdering my hands and arms. Get it away! Then again, if I got any of these, I wouldn't be able to get a keyboard, which is really what I should be concentrating on, right?

Learning some manners for the LRT & MRT

2009-10-19T14:22:00.003+08:00

Gurmit Singh, aka Phua Chu Kang, gives a bit of a lesson on proper manners to follow on the train

definitely something most Malaysians & Singaporeans need to learn - manners!

Awesomeness at DUMC overnight prayer October 17-18th 2009

2009-10-18T21:58:00.000+08:00

First time I play for DUMC and it's for the overnight prayer meeting, 6 hours straight. 9pm - 3am

it was an awesome night with over 300 people coming (many stayed the entire 6 hours), and people crying out to God for revival & forgiveness. The presence of God was very real there.

Great time of worship too. Kudos to all in the worship team :)

I can't feel my arms anymore, playing for 6 hours straight :p

much respect for Victor Borge

2009-10-15T19:05:00.003+08:00

one of the granddaddies of musical comedy, this Danish pianist has been entertaining people the world over for decades. He's also an extremely talented pianist.

yeah he's improvising there. and not having played that piece before.

also give this a whirl, it's pretty short

his most famous routine, phonetic punctuation (the second half of this video)

long time, no update

2009-10-13T23:51:00.000+08:00

that's because I've been busy. Work's been taking up a lot of time, and I'm usually just exhausted by the time I get back.

and I'm gonna be playing for all night prayer meeting at church (9pm - 3am). My prayer for now is that I'm able to stay awake for that long!

on a happier note, Igudesman & Joo are coming to Malaysia! They're performing at the DFP (Dewan Filharmonik Petronas, the home of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra) on Nov 16th with Gidon Kremer and his orchestra, and on Nov 17th on their own - their own show called A Little Nightmare Music. I've got my tix! I'm excited :)

blue... blue... blue...

2009-09-22T19:37:00.001+08:00

yes, it's been renamed... for the time being at least. I'll see if I like it and want to keep it.

meanwhile, just deal with it :)

Beep!

2009-09-12T16:00:00.002+08:00

Heard a radio station playing Eminem's Slim Shady earlier today.

Normally I wouldn't pay much attention to it, sometimes I just leave the radio on for background noise while I do work or do other stuff.

But this time was different. You see, the radio station censored a whole bunch of words from the song, up to the point where it was getting annoying cause there'd be so many lapses in the song (here they just cut out the censored bits, rather than add a *beep* to it).

I can understand taking out the expletives, but even less "harmful" words like "idiot" were cut out. Like I said, it got to the point of being very irritating. I mean, if you're going to cut out half the song, what really is the point of actually playing it on air? It's not like any of the listeners doesn't know what are the words you've cut out anyway. If it's offensive up to the point where you have to cut of like half the song, just don't bother playing it.

Lovin' the oldies but goodies

2009-09-06T20:31:00.002+08:00

Was just looking through for music for the students recently, and I was reminded of my admiration for Gene Kelly's work. He's not the greatest singer, but he's just an absolutely amazing dancer, the best I've ever seen. Here's an amazing sample of his work, one of the best choreographed scenes in film ever.

as a new school year approaches

2009-08-29T21:54:00.002+08:00

(for me at least)

it's good to remind ourselves why we go through the difficulty of educating people...

argh THE sandwich

2009-08-15T16:11:00.002+08:00

Just found out recently that Quiznos has set up shop in Singapore.

Oh please let them come over to Malaysia. Subway is great but Quiznos > Subway, anyday!

Please please please :)

on the plate - Popeye's Fried Chicken & Seafood

2009-08-14T22:33:00.005+08:00

This post has been long in coming. Yeah I know lately all my posts have been about food. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Anyway, one fine day when I heard that Popeye's was making an appearance here on Malaysian shores, I was really glad. For too long all we've had was KFC, which would make me feel sickly almost everytime after eating it. Oily, greasy, and overall just nasty (and the chicken pieces have been shrinking steadily year after year as well), it wasn't really a place I would really like to go to on a regular basis.

Enter Popeye's. I remember having this when I was back in Canada, and it was good. Miles better than KFC in fact. I silently prayed that the locals wouldn't screw this up like they do many other franchises.

The first branch opened at Taman Tun (or TTDI for short), and I duly went to try it, and wasn't disappointed. Granted, my memory of Popeye's was a bit better than what I had there, but it wasn't bad at least, and it was significantly more pleasant than KFC.

Anyway, some shots of the food.

the Three piece chicken combo. Note the chicken is significantly larger than the typical KFC chicken.

the mashed potatoes have chicken pieces in the gravy. It's smooth, creamy, and definitely tasty & yummy.

Even the coleslaw is wonderful, something even those who don't normally eat vegetables, would turn to. Not too creamy, not overpowering, just fresh and tangy.

To me, personally, I found the chicken to be much more tender, juicy, and much less oily than KFC. It's also much bigger than KFC. Some people have commented on the price, but hey, a 3 piece combo at one place will cost RM11.40, and leave me full but bloated, sickly and feel like puking. The other place will cost me RM11.95, and leave me full and contented, and with the good feeling of having had a good, hearty meal. I know which one I would pick. Also, Popeye's uses Coke, which I prefer miles over the Pepsi crud that KFC serves.

I tried the fried fish on another occasion. It's very nice, juicy and tasty on the inside, crispy on the outside. The fried shrimp is fresh, however, it's nothing to shout about, especially if you've been to Bubba Gump recently before that.

Popeye's has opened their second branch at Sunway Pyramid already (right beside Dunkin Donuts, where Delifrance used to be) and is in the process of opening their third branch in Midvalley (where Shakey's used to be, they're gonna share the space with Domino's, they're under the same franchisee).

Food: 7.2

Drinks: 6.5 (standard fast food options)

Service: 6.7 (many are still trainees, but it's alright. What else do you expect from fast food?!)

Value: 7.9

Drink

on the plate - Sushi Tei, Tropicana City Mall

2009-08-10T19:38:00.004+08:00

I'll admit it, I really like Japanese food. Granted, it's not the most affordable, but it's something that can be done on a budget if you order wisely.

Given that Sushi King is really, really bad, and Genki Sushi has died a slow, painful death, the main Japanese restaurant I would have gone to would be Sakae Sushi. Although, it has gone down in its quality (check that though, I hear they've made efforts to up their standards again). Enter Sushi Tei, another Singaporean chain, with its first outlet in Tropicana City Mall.

Tropicana City Mall is fast becoming one of my standard hangout places, mostly because it's near my house and also because it's never too crowded and I can easily find parking (please don't let that change).

Sushi Tei is a decent place that's not really the cheapest around, but it's quite value-for-money considering what you get. Some of my favorite dishes:

Chicken Karaage (RM6.80), juicy, succulent pieces of chicken lightly battered and fried, and it even comes complete with a side salad.

Salmon Sashimi (RM9.80), my perennial favorite. It's one of the most ubiquitious dishes in any Japanese restaurant, and can probably be used as a yardstick of the quality of the place. The salmon sashimi here is top-notch, definitely fresh, with thick, juicy cuts that please the palate rather than the miserable skinny cuts that you get at many other places.

It's firm, juicy and has got nice marbling, and it's very fresh, absolutely no hint of any fishiness at all. This is a close-up look.

All in all, it's not the cheapest, nor would it lay claim to be the best, but to me it's a happy medium of quality and value that is an elusive combination to the F&B industry here. It'll remain one of my favorite hangouts for the forseeable future.

Food: 7.6

Drink: 7.0

Service: 6.4

Value: 7.3

on the plate - Fong Lye, the Gardens

2009-08-10T15:30:00.004+08:00

one of the places I enjoy hanging out at is the Gardens at Midvalley, mostly because it's a lot quieter than Midvalley next door, and also because there's plenty of good, decent food options there.

Fong Lye is a Taiwanese food chain that people tell me also has a branch in Sri Hartamas, however, the branch at the Gardens mostly only does set meals. Most of them are pretty yummy, although, seemingly, the Taiwanese like to have spare parts (internal organs, like liver, intestines, kidneys). I don't like them, so there.

The food is pretty good, the sets generally come with the main dish, rice with some meat topping and sauce, some appetizers and a bowl of soup.

Baked Taiwanese sausage - this is the generic Taiwanese sausage, it's also not really as spicy as the ones in the night market. Okay but rather bland.

the set looks like this. The main dish is kept warm with a burner underneath the little wok. Not bad, eh? This is the 3 cup chicken dish (RM19.80). It's got basil, chillies and garlic in it. Although, the heating isn't always a good thing. The chicken eventually gets burnt if you leave it in there for too long.

A close up of the chicken. It's pretty yummy, with a nice gravy to go along with the rice, and the chicken pretty tender and juicy.

Not everything here is really great, but it's a good place for something a little different from the norm. Just a word of warning though, if you want to dine here, you'll have to go at off-peak hours. During regular meal times it gets jam packed and has a long queue.

Food: 6.9

Drink: 6.0

Service: 6.8

Value: 6.8

on the plate - Ribs @ Oasis

2009-08-09T20:33:00.007+08:00

Ok, so I finally got my rear in gear and actually brought my camera to a restaurant! Last night we celebrated mine and Yennie's birthdays at this tucked-away-in-a-corner restaurant called Ribs @ Oasis.

It's in a very short row of shops in BU4, right near the new wing of 1Utama. It's easy enough to find, with some directions. Someday I'll put up GPS coordinates like my neighbor KY. That will require more effort on my part though :p

Anyway! This place is a simple, no-frills and pretty unassuming joint that serves simple, unpretentious fare. It makes no pretence at being high-class, or haute cuisine, just hearty, tasty food that is pretty good. Without further ado, here's how the food went.

An appetizer of sausages fried with onions and chilies. Be cafeful, these are birds-eye chilies (or cili padi locally). They're spicy. The sausages weren't anything to shout about.

The ham and pea soup. Generally I love ham and split pea soup. This didn't really taste anything like it, although it was decent, it just wasn't really thick enough and I didn't really taste enough of the peas or the ham to really enjoy it.

The mains were the stars though, so here we go -

Fishermans Platter - it was good, had crayfish (or slipper lobster as they called it), pan-fried fish, prawns, scallops, calamari, with bread to soak up the juices and corn. For RM33, it's a pretty good deal. The seafood was fresh and succulent, although I heard the calamari was slightly chewy.

This was the OMG platter. Reverse Pork Burger (RM29) has TWO huge pork patties sandwiching a slice of toasted bread with cheese, bacon and other fixings. The last time I came here I saw someone else having this and I thought to myself "I gotta try me one of those". So I did. And it was good. Very good. The pork patties were juicy and the whole thing was an explosion of meat that went very well with the provided mustard. It was so good that I was absolutely full by the time I finished it.

The Pork Loin Chop (RM30) was what I had the previous time I was here. Now, I really miss having good pork chops, and when I had this, it was like complete bliss. The pork chop is grilled till it's slightly charred on the outside, pink on the inside, and with a nice layer of fat on one end that keeps everything juicy and moist. It's served with a lovely applesauce (apples and pork go together like... hand in glove, horse and carriage, well, you know). and some fruity salsa that complement the pork wonderfully. Honestly, this was the best restaurant pork chop I've ever had in this country (home made ones excepted). By the way, if you think that you've got a healthy appetite, this chop is huge. And I mean it.

My drink, the Ribsdelicious (I think it was) - blue curacao, lime and soda. Very thirst quenching (RM6.50)

And for dessert, Apple and Banana Crumble (RM9.90) with vanilla ice cream. It was one of the better crumbles out there, with the banana complementing the apple very well (much better than the ubiquitious raisins that always accompany apple stuff here). A burst of contrasting flavors & textures, warm & cold, smooth & crunchy. Just lovely.

All in, this place is a good, simple place to have a hearty meal, and also won't destroy your wallet too much. One thing though, don't expect extremely fast service. It's a simple operation, and although the waiters and all are very polite and courteous, they may take some time to get things going and worked out. The chicken thermidor is a case in point, I don't have any pictures of it simply because it came so late that I was already hungrily devouring my burger by the time it arrived.

But don't let that stop you from trying this place out. The portions are also very hearty ones, so small eaters may want to share :)

Food: 7.8

Drinks: 7.5

Service: 6.5

Value: 7.6

Google Chrome

2009-08-08T11:35:00.003+08:00

Have been trying out the new browser from Google, called Chromium (Chrome for short). It's not bad, a very clean look, and the address bar doubles as a google search field.

Also, it offers a unique feature - each tab is individually coded, so if one of the tabs hangs, the other tabs won't be affected (in theory anyway... I managed to get the entire thing to hang before)

One of the little niggles that I don't particularly like is that it doesn't seem to handle Shockwave Flash very well. Then again, what does? (don't say Internet Explorer. I left that junk behind a long time ago)

Not bad. Will keep trying it out.

more food at Sunway Pyramid?

2009-08-07T23:57:00.002+08:00

There was a point of time where I didn't go to Sunway Pyramid for a few years. Honestly, it was a hangout for students and other 'fashionable' people, had very limited food options (basically, McDonald's and KFC) and the only thing that would have attracted me seriously at that time was the Hartz Chicken Buffet (which is still good and cheap by the way).

A few years later, add another wing, with more relevant tenants (at least to me) such as Jusco and Marks & Spencer, and I started going there again. Nicer, cleaner, less 'beng' (okay, there still is a section that caters to maximum bengness, but I try to avoid that area as much as I can).

And the food options mushroomed. Sakae Sushi, Ajisen Ramen, 1901 Hot Dogs, Carl's Jr., Pasta Zanmai, Pancake House International, Wendy's, Bubba Gump, all entered the picture. Suddenly the mall without much food, had almost all the food.

The latest interesting chain to open an outlet there is Popeye's. Yep, Louisiana fried chicken. In all its goodness. Beats KFC hands down in every single way, from the chicken (which is much more tender, juicier, and less oily), to the mashed potatoes, to the coleslaw. And the fried fish is pretty good as well. Crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside.

To top things off, I saw that Papa John's is gonna open at Pyramid too. I've been wanting to try that for a long time but never had the energy to go all the way downtown for it. I definitely will if it's nearby at Sunway Pyramid.

It's interesting how many of these chains are coming back, or coming in for the first time. (Carl's, Burger King, Wendy's, all were here a long time back, but died out due to several factors) So what's next? I'm guessing maybe Whitecastle or Chick-Fil-A?

on random things

2009-08-07T23:35:00.003+08:00

Now that I'm on holiday you'd think that I have lots of time to blog, eh?

Well, you thought wrong.

Not that I really have lots to do, I mean, I do have work to do to prepare for next term and all, but I really should have some free time now.

Anyway, screw that.

I know I put up a lot of food reviews on this blog. It's not really set out to be a food blog, there's a gazillion Malaysians who already have food blogs and they're plenty fine. I don't generally do many food-related posts, and besides, I'm too frickin' lazy to carry my camera around and take pictures and upload them, you know that takes lots of time.

Well, what else is there? I'm not a big fan of politics, I don't watch many movies, or buy many CDs, or play many games, or go to many plays. What I guess I do is my random thoughts.

Of which most are too dark to actually put into print (or cyberspace, whichever applies)

But I digress. Tomorrow we're going to Ribs @ Oasis for PORK. Yeah, to celebrate mine and Yennie's birthdays :) I don't know how excited the others are, but I can vouch that the pork chop with applesauce is lovely, absolutely the best pork chop that I've had here in Malaysia, in a restaurant. (not counting home cooked, fire barbecued ones)

But tomorrow, tomorrow I aim for the reverse pork burger. What is it? You know how in regular burgers, the meat is sandwiched in between two slices of bread? This is the other way around, a slice of bread sandwiched in between two meat patties. Sounds so interesting that I have to try it.

And they'd better have my ham & pea soup this time.

sweet moves - the evolution of dance

2009-08-01T00:14:00.002+08:00

found this on Youtube... it's pretty good, this guy has pretty sweet moves and he takes us through a range of different dances, from different eras. Quite worth the watch :)

and then, there's the sequel

a wedding processional to remember

2009-07-27T22:24:00.002+08:00

someone linked this wedding processional, and it's great.

I'd have loved to do something like this if only people around here weren't so serious :p

JK wedding entrance

unfortunately, embedding is disabled on this video, so you'll have to head on over to the link to watch it.

the end of a epicurean era

2009-07-27T10:49:00.003+08:00

Many of you will have heard me wax lyrical about a little Korean restaurant in the Bangsar area called Ka Wha, it's a great deal, all you can eat Korean barbecue for RM48+, and the food is pretty good.

Unfortunately, when we went there last night, we found out that the manager, Heidi, had left the restaurant and was working elsewhere. There was no unlimited ice cream to go with the meal (it used to be unlimited ice cream and watermelon slices). And some said the food wasn't as good as it used to be.

Well, honestly, some of it was slightly varied in flavor, but all in all, it's still value for money and the food is still pretty decent, maybe not as good as some other Korean restaurants but still one of the better ones. I wouldn't strike it off yet, but hopefully they'll get their act together and keep the standards up. I know for now, I won't be clamoring to go so often anymore.

Yesus! by True Worshippers

2009-07-19T23:01:00.003+08:00

Sorry another video... did this song at DUMC a few weeks ago (I think) and it kinda stuck in the head. Finally managed to find the song.

It's a song in Malay (well, technically in Bahasa Indonesia, or Indon), singing about Jesus. It's really cool. And the church is pretty rockin' too :) with all aspects of performing and visual arts represented.

the lyrics (at least I will attempt with my limited knowledge of Malay/Indon) (the original words are on the video)
The life I've chosen
Makes it meaningful
Because of Lord Jesus
My place of belief and hope

I open my eyes
Look around me
I must speak of
His truth that frees

Because of Your power
Because of Your greatness
I can do great things
that You have promised

Jesus, You're my friend
Jesus, You'll always be by my side
You're the source of my strength
Jesus, You're my friend
Jesus, You've never tired by my side
You're the source of my strength

yeah. and it repeats.
if I've made any mistakes, let me know :)

a trilogy of summer sci-fi

2009-07-19T19:27:00.002+08:00

You know the summer is upon you when the blockbusters roll out week after week after week.

Got to watch three sci-fi movies (not including X-Men Origins: Wolverine) - Ster Trek, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Terminator Salvation.

Of the three, I'd have to say that Star Trek was easily the best of all movies this summer. Or year. Or even ever. It took an ageing and ailing franchise and brought it to where no man has ever gone before (sorry bad pun). Well in other words it was epic. And I'm not easily impressed by movies. This impressed me and left me in awe. Can we have more, Mr. J.J. Abrams? Please? Pretty please?

Transformers 2 (for ease of writing) was good too, not very smart, and Shia Lebouef looks set to take over Keany Reeves' title as shocked dimwit of the movie world. And Megan Fox is, well, nothing really more than eye candy. But it's good entertainment, leave your brain at the door, and enjoy the giant robots battle it out (Sideswipe is still the coolest ever :)

Terminator Salvation just left me disappointed, despite a strong performance from Sam Worthington. Christian Bale just was disappointing and one-dimensional. The story left a lot to be desired, and I'm not sure if I'd like more of Terminator for be coming out.

Also, X-Men Origins: Wolverine (since I'm on a roll)... I'm a huge X-Men fan, and I refused to watch X3 because of the way they butchered the franchise in that movie. Well, this one was pretty good, and Hugh Jackman gives a good performance as always. I also couldn't _not_ watch it as my favorite X-Man, Gambit, finally makes an appearance. Too bad he didn't have much screen time, so can we do X-Men Origins: Gambit after Magneto, please? (Magneto is supposed to be the next X-Men movie)

Coming up... another blast from my past... G.I. Joe! Another one of my favorites from my childhood. I hope it's good...

Violinist sets world record for speed playing

2009-06-28T00:28:00.002+08:00

David Garrett, one of the rising stars of classical music (and crossover music) sets a new world record for fastest violin playing. The entire Flight of the Bumblebee in about 1 minute 6 seconds. Averaging about 13 notes per second.

Endless David Caruso one-liners

2009-06-27T15:04:00.002+08:00

I've never really been a fan of CSI Miami, which I call the Horatio Caine Show. Everything just simple revolves around him, and the rest of the team, well, they just seem too irrelevant to have any effect on the show. The chemistry in LV and NY is just so much better with characters inter-playing off each other and everybody, even the lab techs, play such an important role.

But anyway, Horatio Caine is famous for his peculiar style of speaking, especially at pivotal moments, with his sunglasses. I'll let you watch for yourself :p

pleasant surprises

2009-06-12T23:31:00.004+08:00

One of the things I missed about coming to Malaysia was the pleasant conversations I'd have while checking out at the grocery shops and supermarkets. Most Malaysians would find it strange, but honestly it was very pleasant to hold a nice conversation with the checkout cashiers, even if it was superficial and short. It just enhances the shopping experience somehow. Honestly, it does, and make grocery shopping just that little more enjoyable.

Now, I've come to not expect anything of the sort here in Malaysia, most cashiers at supermarkets just scan your items through and look as it they've been working non-stop for the past 273 hours without a break and their cat just died on them. Any questions or anything are generally met with total indifference (although there are some good exceptions, but this is generally the case).

Imagine my delight when today, when I was shopping at Cold Storage at Jaya One, the cashier was efficient, friendly and actually could hold a decent conversation. We talked about my usage of the shopping bag (therefore eliminating the need for a couple of plastic bags), freezer bags and maybe one or two other things while she was scanning my items. It was short (probably about a minute tops) and wasn't very meaningful, but it left me with a really good impression. I don't know her name, and I don't think she'll ever read this blog, but whoever you are, you did wonderfully. It brightened up my day just that little bit, but it was significant. Thank you!

P/S:- the name on the receipt says Raminah Makiran. You're a credit to your service. Thanks!

alright, best of's! (or at least recommendations)

2009-06-08T17:13:00.006+08:00

I get requests for food recommendations quite often, as people usually regard me as some form of a foodie. However, I can honestly tell you, I'm not much of one, I don't travel far and wide to look for the best food or anything. The real definition of a foodie is embodied by my neighbor KY who's done a whole series of food reviews on his blog (and he even gets invited to food tasting at various places, how cool is that?)

But anyway I digress. For the benefit of those who would still ask me for recommendations of where to eat and all that, I give you... my favorites. They may not be the best, but usually a combination of good quality and decent price.

Bear in mind, these are all from the Klang Valley area of KL, Malaysia, so, sorry Vancouverites and folk from other areas of the world. I apologize for not being able to include your area in this list :p

Another caveat - I don't eat very expensively, so there isn't anything here that would really knock you back much more than RM100 per person. The only meal which I've had that really cost over that was the Prego Sunday Bubbly Brunch at Westin Hotel KL and that was only because we got vouchers for it.

Best of (and some honorable mentions)

Hamburgers : Carl's Jr. (those without any location mean any outlets) (P/S:- I'm dying to try out the reverse pork burger at Ribs @ Oasis. Will do so some day. Will post results here!)

Chicken sandwich : Wendy's spicy chicken and grilled chicken sandwiches

Pizza : Pizza Uno (Centerpoint)

Italian : California Pizza Kitchen (KLCC)

Fried Chicken : Bubba Gump Shrimp Co (the Curve) - if Popeye's (TTDI) is anywhere near as good as it is in the US, it deserves a mention here as well

Steak : Castell Steakhouse (PJ)

Pork Chop : Ribs @ Oasis (BU4)

Budget Japanese : Sushi Tei (Tropicana City Mall)

Premium Japanese : Kampachi (Equatorial Hotel KL)

Korean : Ka Wha Korean Barbecue (Bangsar)

HK food : Causeway Bay (Low Yat Plaza)

Seafood (local) : King Crab (Tmn Megah)

Seafood (Western) : Lobsterman (SS2), Bubba Gump Shrimp Co (the Curve)

Sandwiches : Subway!

Ice Cream : New Zealand's Natural

Satay : Hj. Samuri (Damansara Uptown)

Nasi Lemak : a good one is Sea Park mamak (beside the Maybank)

Pan Mee : Bao Bao pan mee (Aman Suria)

Chicken Rice : Kam Heong (SS14 Subang or Kota Damansara), Ipoh Chicken Rice (Midvalley)

Porridge : Pork Porridge (just outside the OUG market)

Dim Sum : Hong Kee (Damansara Jaya)

Alright, that's all I can think of now. Any suggestions, comments or snide remarks, (or violent protests) leave 'em in the comments section.

the weekend is here

2009-06-06T00:18:00.003+08:00

Finally managed to drag myself past the Friday work day and into the weekend. Waking up early every day is murder on someone who's very much a night person and all. And this week I have to wake up even earlier with my wife away for the week.

Teacher's Day has come and gone. I think the extent of Teacher's Day stuff that I got was one lollipop from one of the older students. I dunno, is it not a big thing here? I always thought it was. Not that it's really important, though. Honestly, sometimes the smiles and appreciation from some of the good students almost makes up for the fact that I'm not a morning person, and I'm not a kid person (I don't like dealing with little kids). Although the naughty ones are pretty nasty and make everything frustrating.

Which makes me wonder, why are some kids really naughty that way? You can order them to behave, but they do stupid things anyway.

A sample conversation from a typical day of mine

Me: Don't touch the instruments
(five minutes later, a student is banging on one of the keyboards)
Me: Don't touch that! Didn't I tell you not to touch any of the instruments?!
Student: Uhh, yeah
Me: Isn't the keyboard an instrument?
Student: Uhh, yeah
Me: Didn't I tell you not to touch it?
Student: Uhh, yeah
Me: SO, why did you touch it?
Student: Uhhh.....
Me: Why did you touch it?
Student: I don't know
(usually ends with me doing a facepalm on myself)

Uhhhh I'm sorry but I have no idea what goes on in the minds of these people. It's like instructions just go in one ear and go out the other.

But anyway, I digress. Just went to a good barbecue with friends, to celebrate Jasmine's birthday. Happy birthday, Jasmine! Good way to wind up the work week, and tomorrow I DON'T plan on waking up early. At all. No way. Nada.

a twisted ending

2009-06-04T20:01:00.004+08:00

a very touching video, featuring a deaf and mute girl who is determined to play the violin... and she does (although not the actress in the video, the violin playing is so fake)

and a very strange twist at the end. you'll have to watch it to believe it. it's a Pantene ad! what Pantene shampoo has to do with violin playing, I don't know.

an original... "piano" duet

2009-05-31T13:33:00.001+08:00

a rather unusual piano duet by two women who dance their way through Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor :)

Girls Rock A Giant Piano

pachelbel, pachelbel!

2009-05-07T23:56:00.001+08:00

someone gets sick of pachelbel's one hit wonder. and I mean really sick

mashing up

2009-04-29T17:37:00.003+08:00

an cool piano & cello arrangement of Love Story and Viva la Vida.

it's quite well done, and neatly arranged.

typical inefficiency

2009-04-09T19:07:00.003+08:00

a couple of weekends ago, our house got hit by lightning.

it was pretty nasty. the storm came quite suddenly. I had gone to the kitchen to get a drink of water when I heard the lightning strike and saw a flash of light from the study.

the end damage meant that my modem, router, and desktop were all out.

the desktop went to the shop for repairs. ends up that the motherboard is out. the shop was willing to lend me a few parts to use temporarily while it's on warranty repair but they didn't have a spare motherboard at the time, so I have to do without a desktop for the time being. fine, no problems.

then came the matter of the modem. I got a new Linksys modem/router, which was supposed to be pretty good. had problems setting it up cause my notebook is dying (optical drive acting crazy, audio drivers and speakers shot, and just found out my ethernet adaptor is gone, and I've already replaced the hard disk once)

tried to set up the router using a friend's notebook (the Dell XPS is a beautiful system :p) but failed to get an internet connection. noticed the DSL light wasn't lit, which means that it wasn't getting any internet signal from the line.

I tried everything I could figure out, still couldn't get the DSL light to come on or any kind of internet connection. finally we got TM to come over to check on the line.

I wasn't home at the time, Alice was there. They checked using their own cheap non-branded modem - and it worked... then they told her "your modem is not supported, why don't you get some cheapo modem" (or something along those lines). they then told her to get our modem checked at the shop.

so when I came back, I went over to the shop. they tested it - and it worked fine. came back home, and again, not working. tried it at a friend's place - not working

finally found the workaround in the lowyat.net forums, apparently somebody else had the same problem and posted the same questions on the forum (with the exact same modem, too!)

apparently, I had to change one of the settings to change the DSL mode to a lower one to accommodate TM's outdated technology. what a let-down.

but anyway, I have an internet connection again (albeit, with a dodgy notebook, but at least I'm online), no thanks to TM. First world infrastructure? I don't think so, and this is supposed to be one of the most modern and hi-tech cities in the country. what a laugh.

well then!

2009-03-14T18:00:00.002+08:00

nothing that I didn't know...

General Description
As an Encourager, you are very relationship oriented and respond naturally to the needs of others. You want to be seen as an excellent listener who can respond to the challenge of helping others in practical ways, including solving personal problems.

Typical Areas of Strength
Encouragers, like you, are typically energetic, friendly, encouraging, patient, understanding, loyal, steady, dependable, and are willing to listen to the needs of others.

Typical Areas of Struggle
You often shy away from conflict and may avoid making difficult people decisions, rather than hurt the feelings of others.

Your Preferred Activities
Because you cooperate well with others, you function best with access to people who need assistance, encouragement, development.

Your Communication Style
You communicate through carefully chosen words, gestures, body language, facial expressions, and listening skills to communicate your concern.

on the screen: Marley & Me

2009-03-05T23:38:00.002+08:00

Condemn me if you wish, but I'm a fan of Owen Wilson (not so crazy over Jennifer Aniston, but oh well) and when I got free tickets to watch this it was quite an interesting proposition. The fact that it was in Cineleisure dampened the enthusiasm a bit but hey, it's a free ticket.

Marley & Me is based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by John Grogan (played by Owen Wilson) and charts the roughly 13 years that the Grogan family had Marley, a yellow lab retriever.

The story starts with Grogan getting married, and moving down to Miami where they adopt a puppy and that kicks off their adventures. The dog ends up eating and destroying pretty much their entire home, and tensions arise as the family has children and pressures mount.

I know, doesn't sound like much of a story, right? The fact is, it really does have a good storyline and I was riveted for the entire 2 hours of the movie. There are funny moments (with Owen Wilson, how could there not be?), there are dramatic moments, and there are pretty sad moments. And of course, the main star of the show is always... Marley. Apparently played by many different yellow labs (I guess they couldn't age the dog with make-up the way they could with humans), Marley steals the show and carries it all the way through your heart-strings.

I really did enjoy Marley & Me, even though I left the cinema feeling kinda sad. All in all, it's just one of those movies that isn't really blockbuster material, but still really does affect you in some way.

Alright, ratings! I'd give this movie a 7.2/10. Owen Wilson was reliable as always, and surprisingly, Jennifer Aniston gave a great, powerful performance as well, you almost couldn't recognize her from her role in Friends. And of course, there was Marley :)

on the plate: Castell Steak House

2009-02-03T22:54:00.003+08:00

how does an amazing, succulent, hot and tender chunk of meat sound to you? It appeals to me, at least

to celebrate Alice's birthday, we headed over to Castell Steak House. Surprisingly, I found no reviews about the place. None, zip! But I had heard a couple of good things about it from some people who had gone before, so it was game on.

the place is tucked away in one corner along Jalan University, and since they built the flyover just at that junction, it's easy to miss the place and not know about its existence.

true enough, the place wasn't very crowded, there was just the two of us and another large party of eleven people or something like that, nobody else was dining (but it was a Tuesday night). We ordered seafood bisque, two steaks and some sauteed mushrooms.

first up, the seafood bisque. It was slightly creamy and had a few chunks of seafood inside, not too shabby but could have been better. I tried to take a photo but since it was too dark and my phone camera doesn't have a flash, there are no photos in this review. Sorry!

the steaks came up next, and this is where the heavens sang. Really. I had the T-bone steak and it arrived with a baked potato and a generous serving of corn (and sour cream and spring onions! yum). The steak was possibly one of the best things I've tasted recently, it was juicy, tender, succulent and was just simply good in all ways imaginable. The steak was grilled plain with some pepper and salt for preparation, and served without gravy or sauce to mask any flavors. So, the flavor of the beef really shone through and boy, was it good. I haven't had steak this good probably since I came back to Malaysia, and that's not a joke.

the sauteed mushrooms came and were bleh, just halved button mushrooms which were sauteed in a cajun marinade, tasted okay but nothing to shout about.

the menu is rather limited in its selection, mostly steaks with some chicken, lamb and seafood for those who don't like to do cow, but then again, that does work in their favor as they can concentrate on what they're good at, and that's really, really good steaks. There is one dish, the prime rib, that really looks interesting, but I don't think I'm gonna try that anytime soon as it's priced at a chilling RM98++ per portion. I saw someone on the other table having it and it looked good though.

so, the total bill for both of us (soup, two steaks, mushrooms and two drinks) came up to RM122, not too expensive for a good steak dinner, but also not something to go to on a regular basis. Unless you're in the business of printing money, I guess.

here we go
Food: 7.4/10 - best steak I've had in a long, long, long time. Natural flavors of the beef shining through and causing taste buds to rejoice
Drinks: 6/10 - my lime juice was good and sour, but not everybody would like it that way I think. Not a large selection but okay
Ambience: 7/10 - nice, quiet place that's dimly lit but tastefully done up
Service: 7/10 - of course, you get good service when there's only two tables that evening. Usually. Not everywhere, but at least here it made sure of prompt and efficient service

Castell can be reached at (03) 7955-0532

interesting... or not... cello scrotum!

2009-01-29T18:26:00.003+08:00

found this article posted by a friend on facebook... very interesting article about a malady that strikes fear into the heart of cellists everywhere... ummm... somewhat

Cello scrotum? It's a load of...

awesome Dilbert comic - livestock

2009-01-25T22:35:00.001+08:00

just couldn't help laughing at this one for today (25/01/09)

on the plate: New York New York Deli @ 1 Utama

2009-01-10T23:00:00.004+08:00

Found this place just outside Cold Storage in the new wing of 1 Utama, where Giant used to be. It looked intriguing, so I thought I would check it out sometime.

I finally found the time to go over there and try it out. Doing some research on the internet (yes, if I am interested in a restaurant I do check it out first) I found out that it's a Singaporean chain. A promising start, especially since Jack's Place and Sakae Sushi, both Singaporean chains are pretty decent establishments. Anyway, the website didn't have the full menu which was pretty disappointing.

The menu was pretty varied, and was interesting for the most part. They serve a variety of Western foods such as pasta, pizza, chops, burgers, sandwiches, and other mains and stuff. I had the Brats with bacon and cheese (sadly, not real bacon, but turkey bacon instead). Didn't look too impressive, and was so-so only. The bratwursts were not real bratwursts (which have real meat inside), but some processed stuff that tasted okay, but it really wasn't what I was hoping for. Gimme real sausages wrapped in real bacon, and some good cheese melted on top, then we'll talk. Okay?

The other dish was the Hawaii teriyaki burger, which didn't look like much (the patty looked really hand-made, which could be more or less appetizing, depending on your preference) and actually tasted pretty good, surprisingly. The beef had absorbed the teriyaki flavor, and there was enough beef to go around for every bite. In other words, a pretty decent and tasty burger.

Pricewise, I'd say this place is pretty decent. Each of our main courses was RM16.50 each, and they do supply drinking water (none of this "no free water here, buy our bottled tap water for RM10 per bottle or dehydrate and die" crap).

They also have this uber burger called the Giant Yankee burger. Supposedly 8" wide, 4" high, and with 2 pounds of beef inside. Really interesting stuff. At the Singapore branches if you can finish it on your own with a bunch of fries, it's free and a root beer float on the house. No such promotion here though. And it costs a whopping RM48.90 or something like that. Saw a group of people at another table order it, and my interest quickly waned as the bread looks really, really thick. I'd rather not be munching on something that's predominantly bread over everything else.

All in all, it's not fantastic, but a decent, comfortable place to hang out and chill (too bad there's no bottomless drinks!) and a widely varied menu, there should be at least something for everyone (especially the cheese fondue and chocolate fondue! I'll be trying those next time, hopefully).

Alright, here's the ratings

Food: 6.7/10 - not great, but not bad either
Drinks: 6.5/10 - a good choice, but too bad there aren't any refillable or bottomless drinks. Huzzah for the plain water though! :)
Ambience: 7.4/10 - a bit exposed to the shoppers passing by, but pretty decent.
Service: 7.6/10 - for some reason one or two of the waiters kept coming to check the order sheet which was placed on our table. Probably trying to check on the kitchen to make sure they were getting our orders ready. If so, good work, guys, but some reassurance that our food was coming would have been great, rather than the silent effort.

More to read about at their official website.

EDIT: I've heard a lot of pretty bad reviews about this place, and a few good ones, so it'll take another visit or two to really get the feel of it. Will keep things posted :p

new year, same old

2009-01-01T22:29:00.004+08:00

So, 2008 has come and gone. Big whoop.

Personally, I generally find that with every year, I'm really glad that it's over. Honestly. I don't know if I have ever looked back at a year and found it nostalgic or particularly wonderful or anything. Yes, good things happen, but just as many or even more bad things happen that just tend to spoil the mood. Or maybe I'm just bitter that I didn't get to go back to Singapore at all this year. Whatever.

But anyway, not to sound like sour grapes. Every new year brings new hope. Maybe one day I'll get to do the things I enjoy. But anyway, for now, it's back to the same old, same old. Work begins again in earnest in three days. Meanwhile, I'm off to try to enjoy my remaining few days of freedom (well, relative freedom) as much as I can.

On the bright side... last night I cooked a major beef dinner for some relatives who wanted beef (they can't eat beef at home for religious reasons). Beef stew, steak, home-made hamburgers, along with my roasted potato salad and a roast chicken for those who didn't eat beef. Those who know me well enough know that I love eating cow, so it was very exciting. So exciting that I didn't take pictures. Again.

So with them not being regular beef eaters, there were leftovers. So this morning for breakfast, the first breakfast of the new year, I heated up and made a cheeseburger for myself. Not too shabby for a brekkie!

just a nice video for Christmas

2008-12-26T23:37:00.000+08:00

something a little different from the usual Christmas fare... a pleasant rendition of Sleigh Ride from Relient K

something retro

2008-12-22T13:51:00.003+08:00

and just because I feel like it, I give you one of my favorite cartoons when I was growing up

and this one too:

let's get dangerous!

Naturally!

2008-12-15T15:57:00.003+08:00

Just found this group, another a capella group and they're pretty good! They're called Naturally Seven. Check out the guitar solo one of them does. It's pretty amazing.

almost there!

2008-12-08T23:51:00.002+08:00

a long, hard term has come to an end, and freedom is nigh...

yes, after 14 weeks of a difficult first term - learning to deal with kids, lots of paperwork, enduring heat and humidity in the school field, we finally reach the end of term. Just a couple of days in the office for meetings and other preparations for next term, and then I get to rest at home for the next few weeks.

mind you, it's totally, completely necessary.

on/off the plate: Sushi Zen at the Gardens Midvalley

2008-11-22T23:21:00.002+08:00

so, I finally got to try this place that I've been eyeing for quite a while. Whenever we go to the Gardens generally I'd head on to Din Tai Fung, or maybe the Malay or Thai restaurants or even Shihlin. Finally today I got the chance to try this place out.

First, the good news. Right now they're having a promotion on their sake sashimi (raw salmon), the usual price is RM15 but they're offering it now for RM7.50. Since I love that dish, how could I pass it up? The salmon was sliced thick and was fresh enough (but not the best I've had, but it was okay). So, the salmon sashimi was great value, 7 thick juicy slices of salmon for RM7.50.

Then it all went downhill. In addition to the sashimi, we also ordered an oyako don (cooked chicken and egg on rice) and a beef curry rice dish. The sashimi came quite quickly (I mean, how long could it take to slice 7 slices of fish?). Then we waited.

and waited.

and waited.

the restaurant was far from being full, even at the most it was barely half full. Most of the cooks in the kitchen (open kitchen concept) weren't really doing much (although, I do appreciate that, if you're a sashimi chef, you wouldn't really be expected to be frying tempura and all).

My oyako don came after 45 minutes, after having to bug the waiter a couple of times. It was alright, not great, but edible at least. Still no sign of the beef curry. I was trying to eat slowly, Alice was practically dying of hunger already. So we continued to wait.

and wait.

and wait.

After ONE HOUR, we bug the waiter again. He called into the kitchen to find out what was going on. No change in kitchen activity, and there was no return of the waiter to reassure us that our food was going to come. At the very least he could have come back and told us that they were swamped and they would try to get it out ASAP? Nothing of the sort.

Finally, after one hour, we just decided to forget it and told them to cancel the order. As expected (ALL restaurants try this) they said it was being prepared, but we wouldn't have any of it, we insisted that they cancel the order and we paid for whatever we had already consumed and left. Honestly, I don't see how they could take so long just to prepare on rice dish. Even if there are technical difficulties, at least have the courtesy to reassure the patrons that action is being taken, etc.

All in all? Usually I can forgive most places for a one-off visit and generally give places a second chance. This is one place that doesn't deserve one. No second visit for me (I'll stick to Din Tai Fung, or try out Canton-i which just opened)

3.2/10 from me, and that's only because of the sashimi, otherwise it would have gotten much lower. 2/10 for service and that's only because they were at least civil and apologetic, and not downright rude like some other places.

A Capella tribute to John Williams

2008-11-17T21:08:00.001+08:00

Something a little amusing, and more than just a little freaky!

A plea

2008-11-16T22:19:00.002+08:00

In my head, questions, so many questions

What happened to the dreams?

What happened to the hope?

What happened to the talent everybody said you had?

You have been blessed, yes you have. A loving wife, two affectionate dogs, good parents, a comfy home, a nice car, a stable decent-paying job.

But questions, still so many questions.

What am I doing?

What should I be doing?

I don't know.

What happened to life?

Urgent! Zander missing

2008-10-23T22:38:00.003+08:00

This cute l'il fella is missing!

He was last seen at SS1 (Kg. Tunku) area and escaped from his home (supposedly). His name is Zander and he's a wire-coat Jack Russell Terrier. He's the brother to my Kirby (well, the biological brother) and has been missing since last Wednesday (October 15th).

It's urgent, and this puppy's life is in greater danger by the day, especially now that it's the rainy season and the weather is so unpredictable. Even more dangerous are the roads (especially with the crappy malaysian drivers) and the immigrant workers who consider puppy meat a delicacy.

Please pray for this cute guy's safe return, I know the chances are slimmer and slimmer each day but I really hope that he'll be returned safe and sound to the rightful owners.

Any information or questions concerning this puppy, please do call (012) 415-1524 or (012) 770-7490. Thanks a bunch!

on the plate - KAMPACHI!!!

2008-09-30T23:12:00.003+08:00

Kampachi! After so many years of hearing about this place, I finally get to go, on a Sunday lunch buffet... Kampachi is located in Equatorial Hotel in KL and Bangi, and also has a restaurant in Pavilion KL.

but we went to the one at the Equatorial KL. I guess they don't have buffets all the time, only on Sunday lunch apparently.

first impressions was that it was rather messy. The dining area spilled out of the actual restaurant (due to demand, I guess) and just outside Chalet (their Swiss restaurant) and all the buffet lines were also located outside the actual restaurant.

to be honest, I had heard good things about this place many times and (probably unwisely) had high expectations of this place. Honest to goodness though, this place didn't disappoint!

starting off with some lovely fried chicken wings and corokke (croquettes), the chicken wings fried to juicy and crispy perfection while the corokke was, well, juicy and crispy too!

and then there was sashimi...
and some sashimi it was. Nice, fresh, smooth sashimi. The tuna sashimi was a little rough though, but the salmon and butter fish were absolutely lovely. Don't mind that black looking thing on the slice of butter fish, it looks like a fly but it's not, it's actually a stray piece of teriyaki sauce from some teriyaki chicken. No worries ;)

next we have some hand rolls...
unagi and soft shelled crab hand rolls. Good stuff, but nothing really out of the ordinary, honestly.

and the absolute star of the show, the teppanyaki counter. Most teppanyaki counters are standard fare, not very great (exception being Momo's beef teppayaki, but even that is mass-produced). This place had all teppanyaki made to order, and it was absolutely delicious!
the salmon teppanyaki was crispy on the outside with a nice buttery taste, while the inside was smooth and yummy and not even the slightest hint of fishiness. And the skin was crispy (yes, the place with all the Omega-3)
and the beef teppanyaki was done to order as well, I had mine medium. Pink on the inside, it was better than most steaks I've had. No frills, just the wonderful natural flavor of the meat with some butter for a bit of kick. Who could resist?

and the orange juice... pure, fresh squeezed orange juice with no sugar and no water added. They've got an industrial strength machine there that takes entire oranges (without needing to peel them) and voila! out comes natural orange juice, hassle free. I'd love to have one of those, but unfortunately, one machine like that would probably take up an entire dining table.

they've even got fresh dorayaki (Japanese pancakes) with red bean or peanut butter filling. Also made to order :)

so! The damage for two people was a lot less then I thought it would be. About RM172 nett for two people making it work out to about RM86 nett per person. Much better value than places like Shogun which serve up great variety but crap quality. Almost everything here was top notch and those that weren't, at least were on par with most other decent Japanese places.

Verdict? 8.5/10 and I'd definitely come back again. Definitely!

argh!

2008-09-28T01:03:00.002+08:00

unbelievable!

Mamma Mia! is coming to KL!

aaaaaaaaaaaargh!

must... go... can't... miss...

another month

2008-09-28T00:56:00.002+08:00

and yes, I haven't updated in over a month again.

don't blame me, I've been busy

just for the uninformed, I've started work teaching music at elc International School. It's a school in Sg. Buloh following the British National Curriculum.

so far, it's going alright. Quite a challenge as it's a huge difference from lecturing at the university, but I guess I'll be able to adapt. The only thing is that sometimes the little kids drive me up the wall. If this job was supposed to teach me patience, it's severely not working! :p

also, the challenge of waking up early. Now I have to wake up just as the sun rises, whereas that used to be the time I'd be going to bed!

for all those who sent in birthday wishes last month, sorry this is late, but thank you all so much for your wishes. I'm sorry I couldn't respond to everybody personally, but do know that every e-mail, facebook post, and text message is appreciated.

for now, it's a Saturday night and a good night to be able to stay up late :) Just came back from a wedding at Parkroyal Hotel in KL. The food wasn't very impressive at all, except for maybe the fried rice. When the fried rice is the best thing at a wedding banquet, something is seriously wrong with the food!

tomorrow Jap buffet lunch at Kampachi, Equatorial Hotel KL. Sashimi, here I come!

updates!

2008-08-24T00:34:00.003+08:00

Okay, so I realize that it's been almost a full month since I last updated this blog. It's not that I haven't really been too busy, but I guess it was a case of being too lazy. I have plenty of research to do while I'm working from home for the most of this month, so updating blogs hasn't really been high on the list of things to do on my mind.

Anyway, lemme introduce you to a new l'il addition into our lives
meet Kirby, a Jack Russell terrier, just over 3 months old now (we got him at just over 2 months old), and a little ball of non-stop energy. He's been terrorizing Speedy, well, all the time and keeping him on his toes. At least Speedy gets some entertainment!

Anyway, for those who aren't in the know yet, I've started a job as a teacher at elc International School. (I know, the website isn't much to look at). It's located in Sg. Buloh, not too far, just off the highway so it's not too troublesome to get there. The MAIN thing that I have reservations about is the 7.45am starting. To me, as a night owl, nothing, and I repeat, nothing exists before 10am for me. I guess I'll just have to adapt to it!

at the font conference

2008-07-29T23:51:00.004+08:00

fun video about a bunch of fonts attending a conference

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Wingdings, Futura and Comic Sans save the day!

Nobody uses Microsoft Works! Watch the video and you'll know what I'm talking about...

on the road: Best Western Seri Pacific KL

2008-07-29T14:44:00.002+08:00

Ok, technically this really isn't on the road since it's still in KL, but it was still a trip, so it counts.

Someone was kind enough to give us a lucky draw voucher for a one night weekend stay at this Seri Pacific Hotel, located right across the street from the Mall (this hotel used to be the Pan Pacific, I think). So, of course, I'm always glad for a hotel stay, especially when it's a decent hotel (anything 3 stars & below need not apply) so despite the high occupancy rates, I managed to secure a booking for this past weekend (thank you for the voucher, aunty Evelyn!)

Anyway, the hotel is in the midst of refurbishing, and so some of the rooms were already refurbished, some were still the old rooms. Unfortunately, we could only get one of the older rooms on the 23rd floor, but it was still ok. When we reached the door, I was rather puzzled. There was no slot whatsoever to slot the keycard in. Strange. But I soon figured out that it was actually a contact card and just tapping it on the lock actually unlocked it. Pretty cool!

The room smelled of cigarette smoke. I guess it wasn't a non-smoking floor. The furnishings and all were rather on the old side, especially in the bathroom which was alright but not overly impressive. We did have a nice view of KLCC (which was nice) and the Klang river (which was bubbling and frothy and not so nice). Such a contrast, hi-tech lock on the door but old furnishings (not tastefully antique, just dated like, 20 years ago).

So, the room was okay, let me get on to one of the main highlights of any hotel stay - the buffet breakfast!

Zende restaurant is the location for the international buffets at this hotel. And it was hopping with activity. I guess they weren't joking when they said they were almost fully booked up. Anyway, breakfast was a great surprise. I've often denigrated hotel buffets in Malaysia as they have to be halal-fied, so there's no bacon or ham or pork sausage. This one more than made up for any lack of pork with some wonderful alternatives, such as tasty grilled salmon (yes, they had that!), good fish porridge, tender chicken sausages, and one of the best ever roasted baby potatoes I've had. Add to that a very good, stuffed and cheesy freshly cooked omelette, among some other good stuff, and it was a breakfast to savor. The only complaint is that I'm getting old, so I couldn't stuff in as much as I could before. Too bad!

The trip was made complete with not just one, but two trips to Pavilion KL which we hadn't been to before. One of the best discoveries was Mercato supermarket, which sells a whole bunch of stuff that I hadn't seen for years (read: since I came here from Canada). Found out that they have a branch in Hartamas Shopping Center, I'll definitely go there since Cold Storage is getting average! Oh, and also a quick lunch at Ichiban Boshi, a great Japaneses place also with the conveyor belt system. Even Sushi Zanmai can't compete with that. Again, if only it had a branch in PJ!

Anway, back to Seri Pacific Hotel...

Room: 6/10
Bathroom: 5/10 (really old shower head & fittings)
Service: 4/10 (took them over an hour to deliver a comb!)
Food: 7.5/10 (good stuff at the breakfast buffet!)
Overall: 6/10 (an average stay but not really one of the better hotels I've stayed at)

on the plate: Pasta Mania! at Pavilion KL

2008-07-29T14:01:00.007+08:00

First time at Pavilion KL, with so many high-end boutiques (and high-end dining to match). So, where could we eat without breaking the bank?

The answer came like a shining light down on the shopping directory, in the form of a little entry called Pasta Mania!

Pasta Mania! is a Singaporean concept, serving decent pasta and pizza at good, cheap prices. We knew the restaurant in Singapore was good, but, like many other restaurants, would it survive being Malaysianized? Well, only one way to find out.

The place, surprisingly for a Saturday evening, wasn't packed, which didn't really bode well. However, what we saw on the plates of diners looked pretty good, so we ventured in. The waiter gave us menus and took our order a few minutes later. Alice was getting hungry, so I was confronted with this:

a hungry woman is a dangerous woman. Pay attention, guys!

Yeah, Alice was getting hungry.

Anyway, we ordered a pasta, a pizza and a combo set (which was an add-on consisting of a bowl of soup, garlic bread, and a soft drink). The soup and garlic bread were okay, and the ice lemon tea that came was, well, typical iced lemon tea that you usually get bottled.

The pizza (supreme) we ordered was a small sized one, which cost about RM15.90. Pepperoni, ham, pineapples, capsicums and mushrooms, it was nice, I'd say better than most other generic pizzas due to them being a bit more generous with their toppings.

But the real star was the pasta. There's a reason why it's called Pasta Mania, and this is it

Alfredo pasta! Rich creamy sauce with ham, chicken and peas, oozing goodness all over the decent-sized portion. And only RM14.90. How cool is that?

My only real complaint about this place? Is that they halal-fied this place, so there's no real pork in the ham or bacon. No doubt a sensible business tactic coming to Malaysia, but it kinda kills the joy of having real bacon on your pasta. Oh well.

Anyway, all in, this is a decent place to get a sensibly priced feed, especially if you're into pastas (and to a certain extent, pizzas) without having to empty your wallet and all your spare change. I'd take this place over Itallianie's any day, any time. Locations right now are Pavilion KL, Aeon Bukit Tinggi in Klang, and some mall in Penang which I can't remember. I wish they'd open one up somewhere around the PJ vicinity.

Food: 7/10
Drinks: 5/10
Service: 7/10
Pricing: 8/10
Overall: 7/10

on the screen: Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D

2008-07-24T13:40:00.003+08:00

Last night we went to TGV at Pyramid (we seem to be going there a lot more now that we live relatively nearby) to catch Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D. Paid RM36 for two tickets, so it had better be good.

Anyway, the movie itself was not bad. I wasn't really expecting very much in terms of intelligence, just a wild ride, and really, that's what we got. Brendan Fraser, who happens to be pretty much my favorite actor, is, well, Brendan Fraser. I mean, how could you have a movie starring Brendan Fraser without his trademark wide-eyed, "now we're in deep shit" kinda look? The rest of the casting was good as well.

The movie does try to follow the premise of the book as much as possible, and it does, to the most part, succeed. The only way to make this entertaining without making it too technical was to make it an effects tour-de-force, and that's really what they did. Nothing much in terms of storyline, and there was no dialog that was in any way memorable, but the effects eye candy combined with the 3D glasses was really what made the movie.

If I had any grouses about the movie, it would be that it was just all over too fast. Many parts that would have been the ride of a lifetime, like the mine cart ride, the underground ocean and the T-rex chase, could have been drawn out a little bit more to make it more of an exhilarating ride. In this movie it was kinda like, "whee, this is fun... huh, that's it? it's over?" Maybe they didn't want to draw comparisons with Jurassic Park or Indiana Jones or the ilk, but this is one ride that ended just too abruptly to be honest.

Anyway, decent acting, great effects, but way too short. Bring on the Mummy 3!

Acting: 6/10
Storyline: 4/10
Effects: 9/10
Overall: 7/10

off the plate: Deli Nasi Lemak at Sunway Pyramid

2008-07-24T12:39:00.003+08:00

before going to the cinema last night we had a quick dinner at the Deli Nasi Lemak, since Alice saw they had asam laksa and she wanted some. It's located on the 1st floor, near the entrance to the cinema

so, she had the asam laksa and I ordered a nasi lemak with beef rendang. Sadly, the asam laksa was very small and just wasn't fresh. They used canned pineapples and the soup was just dubious and tasteless. Just not worth the RM7 we had to pay for it!

the nasi lemak was okay. Also a rather small serving for the price of RM7, and the beef rendang was a small portion and was all chopped up to make it look 'bigger'. The only redeeming factor was the sambal which was quite tasty & nice.

definitely another one for the 'no second time' list.

food: 3/10
drinks: 5/10
service: 4/10
overall: 4/10

Groove Dynasty - Ready to Fly

2008-07-22T23:20:00.003+08:00

I may have posted this before, but it's good enough to post again (yeah, I'm getting old, I can't remember so many things)

this is a good group, I think it's a collection of some of the best musicians in Japan getting together for a concert. They're pretty good. And they have 5 drummers. Count them - 5

I really love the electric guitarist on this video. He's so exuberant and his excitement is infectious, with a wonderful bright, clean tone which seems rather rare *squinty eyed glare at Max*

Beaker "sings" Ode to Joy

2008-07-22T22:38:00.001+08:00

an absolutely awesome video of Beaker, Beaker, Beaker, Beaker, Beaker, and Beaker.

watch it and you'll know what I mean.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

off the plate: Station Kopitiam at Cineleisure Damansara

2008-07-17T10:42:00.002+08:00

Just before going to catch Hellboy II, we decided to try this place at Cineleisure. At their entrance they display a whole range of their dishes which is quite extensive. It's located right beside Luca's Pizza, which we tried before and was quite bad.

Station Kopitiam serves mostly regular local food, like varieties of fried rice, fried noodles, rice with dishes, and some basic western food. Surprisingly, they also serve stuff from the Mr. Teppanyaki next door, so I guess they're under the same management.

So, we had a serving of beef noodles, and a mixed beef and chicken teppanyaki. The service in the first place was quite mediocre, the server was mumbling and we couldn't really make out what he was talking about. Then when the beef noodles finally came, it came without cut chillies which usually accompany this dish. Asking for the chillies took quite some effort, with one waiter forgetting altogether and when it finally came, it came without any soy sauce that it's usually soaked in. The beef was hard and was definitely not fresh and the serving size was rather puny.

The teppanyaki fared slightly better, although by the time it arrived, we had already finished the beef noodles. At least this one was edible, although it arrived with no sauce or gravy or anything either.

This place is definitely a place where there will be no second time.

Food: 3/10
Drinks: 5/10 for some okay tasting barley and some cheap sachet of green tea
Service: 2/10
Overall: 3/10 and we're definitely not going anywhere near that place again

on the screen: Hellboy II

2008-07-17T10:17:00.003+08:00

2 hours of madcap madness from Guillermo del Toro? Bring it on!

Last night we went to watch Hellboy II at Cineleisure Damansara. With all the other movies that are out right now, Hellboy II wasn't really high on my list of movies to watch, but it was one of the only movies that was showing at a later time because some preview of the Dark Knight was taking up most of the cinemas -_-

Anyway, the movie was just alright. Nothing much to shout about, with some action, few laughs, and not much of a storyline. Couldn't fault the special effects, but good effects does not a good movie make.

So where did those two hours go, anyway? The storyline was insipid at best, while the acting was decent, all the characters and especially their powers were criminally underused. Why does Liz Sherman need a gun when she can shoot fireballs from her hands? So much more effective. And throughout there are only 3-4 actual action scenes. I left feeling nothing for the characters nor for the action or storyline. Maybe if there weren't any other movies to watch and if it were cheaper tickets, I wouldn't mind so much, but paying RM24 for such insipid fare while there are other, better flicks out there is just not my cup of tea. However, there were some nice rides so it wasn't a total washout. A scene where Hellboy and Abe Sapein are singing Can't Smile Without You while drinking their sorrows away is especially delightful.

Verdict
Story: 5/10
Characterization: 4/10
Action: 6/10
Effects: 7/10
Overall: 6/10

On a side note, which blooming idiot at Cineleisure Damansara decided to schedule for like 6-7 cinemas to end their movie screenings at the same time? That created a massive jam, at the escalators, auto-pay machines, and in the car park. You can generally have movies start at the same time, cause people will come at differing times, but having several movies end at the same time and with the awkward parking system at Cineleisure just makes for a bad idea.

this one's for the dogs

2008-07-16T16:27:00.004+08:00

Looking around for appropriate food for our doggies, we stumbled across this website, Dog Food Analysis. Basically what it does, is to analyze the contents of every kind of dog food they could get their hands on, analyze it and review it according to its contents (and for many of them, experience as well).

It's scary sometimes finding out about supposedly 'premium' dog foods that actually have crap content (including the pet food scare involving Eukanuba and some other brands recently). I was at the Pet Safari at Ikano recently looking around and overheard a couple looking for pet food, with an employee guiding them around. He was showing this food and told them it was RM26 for a 3kg pack to which they replied "oh, that's too expensive". Wow, if that's expensive, I wonder what crap they feed their dogs.

To put it in perspective, we feed our dogs Orijen and Eagle Pack Holistic. For the 3kg pack, Orijen costs RM50 and Eagle Pack about RM60. I know it's a big expense, but if you love your dogs, you wouldn't feed them crap that kills them, right?

What a life to be a dog. They eat even better than we do. They get premium organic & holistic stuff, we eat... mamak food, fast food burgers, cheap economy mixed rice, hawker food... to be a dog in a good and loving home is really living the life - eat, sleep, poop, play... what a great deal, isn't it?

all these ... things (or applications, as they call it)

2008-07-08T17:52:00.002+08:00

on Facebook...

Actually, I enjoy Facebook. I'm not obsessed with it like many other people, but I do check it regularly and enjoy being able to communicate with friends, and once in a while challenge them to a game of something or another. Plus, I love the Superpoke application.

But some of these applications are plain annoying. So, they get you to take some questionnaire, to determine what animal you are, or what instrument you are, or what kind of tool you are. Fine. However, what really annoys me is the audacity of some of these applications to demand that you invite your other friends to participate in these shenanigans before they show you the results. End result in my case? Just hit "cancel" and log out of Facebook.

I strongly object to being forced to inflict all these applications on my friends just to get the end result of some silly questionnaire. It's just not ethical. I would only invite friends to applications that I think they would enjoy using, and if I feel that nobody would like it, I invite nobody.

the dog winds

2008-07-08T11:28:00.002+08:00

Speedy farts

especially in the car

and it stinks

AND HE SMILES ABOUT IT!

although, I never thought that anyone would come up with the idea of coming up with a website with this URL.

on the plate: MAPs barbecue at my home!

2008-07-08T10:48:00.003+08:00

Last Saturday we had the MAPs people over at our place for a training session for the whole day and then to have a barbecue at night for dinner. This was the first barbecue we've had since we moved into our new place, so it was quite an anticipated event, at least for us. I spent quite a long time marinating and preparing all the food over the couple of days before that, so I was hoping that it would turn out alright.

So! With hickory wood chips and fresh rosemary sprigs added to the fire, things were smelling wonderful and tummies were getting hungry. As usual, I don't have pictures as I don't have a camera, and HP imaging sucks, and I really means sucks hard, especially at night.

Let's go through the menu...

Tequila lemon prawns - 4/10 - alright, but not really enough flavor to really make much of an impact. Also they ended up rather small after cooking. Maybe next time more lemon and bigger prawns.

Whiskey'ed chicken wings - 6/10 - also okay, tasted decent enough

Bacon wrapped chicken parcels - 7/10 - when barbecued, quite good with the bacon adding wonderful flavor and with cheese and herbed butter inside the chicken. Leftovers which were baked instead were woefully dry

Marinated peppers & mushrooms - 7/10 - marinated in olive oil and herbs and then barbecued. They were quite a hit

Roasted potato & pepper salad - 8/10 - by far the best thing that I made that night. Roasted potatoes, roasted peppers, boiled eggs and celery in a rich, creamy dressing was just simply wonderful. I gotta make that again sometime.

Things I didn't make were the sausages (cheese sausages from Ayamas, quite good and gooey when done well), and the lamb (bought from Cold Storage and Jusco. One of them does their marinade really, really spicy, but I couldn't tell which one it was. They were not too fatty and tasted good)

on the stage: Beauty & the Beast

2008-06-27T11:30:00.004+08:00

at Kuala Lumpur Convention Center

Finally, a musical of worldwide acclaim comes to Malaysia (let's not even talk about Cats, which is feeble at the best of times). This is momentous because most musicals of any note or quality go straight to Singapore, and bypass this place. Possibly due to censorship issues, red tape, and probable demands for bribes & handouts from politicians and customs and immigrations officials and their kind.

Anyway, Beauty & the Beast is running at the Plenary Hall of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center for the next week or so, I think most tickets are sold out by now. We got the RM250 tickets, but with the CIMB credit card we got a 20% discount on the tix.

The venue was a nice and large one, but we had to sit quite far away from the stage, so we couldn't really see the actors very clearly. At least the view was unobstructed. Air-conditioning was adequate but the foyer area was rather too small to handle such a large crowd of people.

The story is quite obvious, it's the same as the Disney movie (this musical is also produced by Disney). So I'm not going to bother going into details about it here. They just had to add additional scenes and songs to extend the production (you wouldn't pay hundreds of $$$ just for a quick 1 1/2 hour show, would you?!)

For the most part, the production was alright. Definitely not the standard we'd expect from an international production. The sound system was poor, highs were overly amplified, bass was not sufficient, and voices cut in and out occasionally. The balancing between voices was also quite poor. Sometimes one voice would overpower the others.

Acting was average at best as well. Nothing overly stood out in terms of the acting quality. The choreography was really poor, while the stage was really too small to hold something of this caliber and magnitude. It really caused problems with the movement and I think really stretched the audiences' suspension of disbelief.

Let's see, what about the music? It is a musical after all, and a Disney musical to boot. I'd say that the music was also very average. The actors for Belle, the Beast, Lumiere and Lefou were alright, but Gaston was really unsuitable and underpowered for the role, and he tended to fudge the higher notes (and he was definitely not ripped like the real Gaston! He actually looked kinda scrawny). Besides a few real instruments like the trumpet and double bass, most of the orchestral parts were synthesized and it really showed, especially in parts like the strings. Also, many of the songs were done too slowly, resulting in a very insipid tempo and performance.

All in, it was a good experience to finally get to see this (after 14 years, this debuted on Broadway in 1994) but it left much to be desired. I wish we could get some good musicals with some actual quality. This production really wasn't actually worthy of the Disney name, and certainly didn't live up to the standards that Disney would have required from their Broadway or West End productions.

Venue: 6.5/10
Acting: 6/10
Orchestra: 4/10 *fail*
Choreography: 3/10 *fail*
Sound system: 2/10 *fail*

key roles
Belle: 7/10
Beast: 8/10
Gaston: 2/10 *fail*

key songs
Belle: 3/10 (much to slow to be effective) *fail*
Gaston: 1/10 (really, really insipid performance) *fail*
Be Our Guest: 2/10 (really disappointing and bad choreography) *fail*
If I Can't Love Her: 8/10 (really the best performance of the evening)
Beauty and the Beast: 6/10 (ok performance by Mrs. Potts)

overall: 5/10

P/S: yes, folks, I did bump into people I know there. As many of you say, it's inevitable.

brush wash wash

2008-06-18T01:09:00.002+08:00

don't hate me, but

this song is just too addictive!

it just won't stop playing in my head!

it's here!

2008-06-17T17:20:00.004+08:00

oh...

my...

goodness...

HTC Touch Diamond...

I'm speechless.

irrational desire to own this developing fast

on the road: Club Med Cherating Beach

2008-06-16T11:47:00.004+08:00

last weekend we got to have the Club Med experience at Cherating Beach, courtesy of Shell IT International's desktop team. Yes, perks of working at a large multi-national. Altogether, over 600 employees and their spouses got to go on the trip, fully sponsored. Not too shabby!

all this included a little goodie bag (but only for the employees) which included a weekender bag, Club Med t-shirt and a brand new iPod Shuffle (good perks, in my opinion). So my wife gets these freebies. Nothing for me, but hey, a free holiday, who's complaining?

6 buses were provided for the journey, in addition to the many who chose to drive on their own. Many people decided at the last minute to drive on their own, and neglected to inform the organizers that they would not be taking the bus, making everybody wait and the organizers had to call them to check if they were coming or not. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?! Don't they have any sense of responsibility or remorse? Making everybody wait for over an hour for no reason is not a good thing to do.

All in, the bus journey took about 5+ hours. Rather tiring. Leaving Cyberjaya at about 10am, we reached Club Med at about 3pm after a 45 minute break along the way.

Club Med is an all-inclusive resort where all your meals, drinks, entertainment and activities are included in the price of the stay. So, every meal is a buffet meal (breakfast, lunch & dinner), drinks at the bar are free-flow and absolutely free and you can participate in kayaking, sailing, archery, golf, rock-climbing, all free of charge.

The place is at a gorgeous location along Cherating Beach (near Kuantan on the east coast). They have their own private stretch of beach, and it's kept pristine clean by the resort, pretty nice compared to the filth we normally find on typical Malaysian beaches. Just to give you an idea of what we're talking about...Sorry... HP imaging...

anyway, it was very enjoyable, with a nice swimming pool as well (as the sea is sometimes too rough for swimming), and GOs generally pretty cheerful and helpful.

Yes, the GOs. Short for Guest Officers or something like that, they are mostly young people from around the world (probably taking summer jobs) and they man stuff like the retail shop, reception, bar, and the various recreational activities.

Every night there's a show put on by the GOs, so the same people you see at the bar or at the archery range during the day are then dancing and acting at night.

Like I said, every meal was a buffet, and they have a very wide selection of food. Roast meats at the carvery, Japanese, Korean, Italian, European, local, Chinese, kids menu... just a huge selection of food to choose from. Most of the noobs kept to the Chinese section which offered stuff like char koay teow, or yong tow foo, etc. We avoided that section, mainly because it was too crowded, but also, unless it was exceptionally good, what's the point of eating the same stuff you eat almost every other day? It's mind boggling when there's a bewildering array of other food around.

The food was hit and miss, however. It's to be expected of most buffets, especially of this magnitude, that some items would be sub-standard and some would be quite good.

The main problem I had at the place, besides the fact that it was just too crowded with Shell people, was the air-conditioning. It's a hot and humid season, and for the most part it was just too hot to be anywhere (although there was a nice breeze at the beach itself). The room air-conditioning was quite poor, without any temperature control, and although the room itself was nice and cosy (with the smallest bathroom I've ever seen in a high-end place) with a nice and very comfortable bed, the heat was just too much for the air-conditioning and the only place of refuge was a very nicely cooled lounge right next to the bar. Perfect :)

All in, Club Med Cherating Beach is a nice place to go, they really just need to do up the air-conditioning properly. Other than that, no complaints, it would be a great place to be with a small group of friends. Going with 650+ other Shell employees of which we didn't really know that many wasn't a very fun time.

Beach: 8 (out of 10)
Food: 6
Rooms: 7
Air-conditioning: 3 (only the lounge saves this score)
Activities: 6
Entertainment: 7
Overall: 7 - I'd go back again (if I could afford it), this time with a small group of friends, preferably.

making sense

2008-06-12T10:14:00.002+08:00

it is just me, or was CSI:LV last night just completely whacked?

3 separate cases, which turned out to be completely interlinked, people with green blood, spontaneous combustion, and to top it off, a completely delightful appearance by the guys from the Mythbusters team! I guess they were there for the spontaneous combustion experiments. Good stuff.

What sobers me is the prospect that another CSI team member is gonna leave the show. This time for good. Yes, CSI:LV is killing off one of its members, quite shocking and unexpected. I mean, Sara was kinda always with one foot out the door (and half unhinged anyway) but this is really sudden. For those who don't know who it is yet, keep watching. It will come in a couple of weeks.

Langkawi trip

2008-06-09T16:17:00.002+08:00

last week my wife's cousin came back from the US and so the entire family (my wife's parents, siblings, cousin, uncle & aunts, nephew & nieces) all went for a holiday at Langkawi

We stayed at the Sunset Beach Resort, which is a nice little boutique resort on Pantai Cenang, on the west coast of the island. Squeezing everyone in a Toyota Hiace van proved a bit of a challenge (11 adults and 3 kids) but we managed to putter around with that.

The resort was a nice quiet place that had a clientele of mainly western tourists, some of which stayed there for weeks or even months. That is, quiet until our family descended on the place (true to their Hakka origins). I hope none of the other guests were too put off by our presence. The rooms were basic, having an air-conditioner, hot water shower, a mini-fridge and a tv (although ours was spoilt, we didn't really care as we don't watch much tv anyway). No shower screen to prevent the rest of the bathroom from getting wet.

Breakfast at the resort was basic but okay. It consisted of fruits and toast (both unlimited), and 2 eggs with half a sausage (yes, I know, half a sausage is rather pathetic). Sunset Beach Resort has access right to the beach, and the breakfast place is right next to the beach, so it's nice to have breakfast while watching the waves crash on the beach.

The beach itself is ok. Being Langkawi, there's the odd occasional alcohol bottle strewn about but other than that, it's relatively cleaner than most other Malaysian beaches (which isn't saying much, most other places are cleaner than Malaysian beaches). We had fun hanging around in the water and waiting for the waves to come crashing in and jumping with the waves. The downside was that the water was quite sandy and everyone would get sand in their swimming costumes.

Food, as expected, was expensive and the first few meals were disasters. The first meal which was a lunch in Kuah town cost us over RM300 and didn't have anything much, and wasn't very good either. Dinner which was down the road from the resort wasn't much better, and by the second day some of us were really fed up with Chinese food (although, some of the older ones only ate Chinese food, and the kids were extremely unadventurous and picky). We managed to celebrate Father's Day on the second day when we went to another restaurant which was also managed by the Sun Group, which was called Sunvillage Grill (adjoining Matahari Malay Restaurant). The funny thing was that only 3 people ordered stuff from the grill, whereas most people ordered food from Matahari (since they're managed by the same company, they allowed cross-ordering). I ordered the surf & turf, craving for a nice steak. What came was okay but quite a disappointment. The steak came all chopped up and probably griddle fried, teppanyaki style. The shrimp was okay but the potato salad that came with the meal was rather good. The Malay food there was pretty good as well, and came in abundant portions. By the end, nobody was able to move.

We also went adventuring and ended up at Sun Cafe (also by the Sun Group) which served international food. We had desserts there two nights out of three and they were good. Chilled lemon mousse cake and crepe suzette were good there. Second night we went back there to have the same things again.

On the third day, since it was more of a free and easy day, some of us younger folk went to adventure further and went to L'osteria, an Italian restaurant nearby. The pizzas and pastas there were pretty yummy! Although the pizza bianca (with smoked salmon and rocket lettuce) was an acquired taste.

We went to Underwater world as well and it wasn't really as good as previous years, mainly due to the fish poisoning case last year, I guess they hadn't restocked everything yet. It was quite unpleasant as well with many Malaysian kids running around and screaming their heads off. Can't Malaysian parents just take care of their kids and not let them scream all the time? Kids littering, banging on the display glasses (and stressing the fish) and worse, the adults were doing it too! And using flash photography! Are these people actually educated or did they just buy their way through school?

Dinner on that last night was some decent Chinese food (finally!) with some really huge mantis prawns! Although it cost about RM420.

One final note, this was the only time I actually semi-enjoyed flying with Air Asia. The reason being that normally Air Asia flights are overly crowded and without any seat assignments, everything goes chaotic when it's time to board the plane.

surprisingly good, surprisingly bad

2008-06-09T12:31:00.002+08:00

I've been busy the past couple of weeks. Will try to update as much as I can in this session.

a couple of weekends ago, my parents wanted to go to a place in Puchong called Shabu Shabu. Shabu Shabu means swish swish in Japanese, in which you cook thin slices of beef in broth. This place doesn't really fit the description, but, hey, it was pretty good.

Shabu Shabu is beside the Bandar Puteri Giant, I don't know the address. For RM25+ you can opt for the buffet, with which you get your own pot of broth, and you get to take plates off the conveyor belt ala Genki/Sakae Sushi style. They've got various meats and vegetables that you can choose from. I immediately thickened my soup with cauliflower, onion and egg, which made it wonderfully flavorful and thick. I then proceeded to fill it with all manner of beef, mutton, chicken, pork, and various meatballs and crab sticks and vegetables. The deal also came with drinks, which was good value for just about RM27 nett or so. I'd definitely go again!

Conversely, on Sunday went to Bubba Gump for lunch after church with some friends. We were seated outside in the corridor as the tables inside were all taken up. We seated ourselves (first sign of bad service!) and were not given any menus. I had to peep around the corner and signal to the girl at the front desk for menus. After we were ready to order, I flipped the sign (either Stop to get the waiter to stop by your table for service, or Run to tell the waiter not to disturb you) to Stop, and waited.

And waited

And waited

finally I managed to get the attention of the girl at the front desk again, she asked another waitress to come and see what we wanted. I told her we wanted to order, at which she replied "oh, I'll get your waiter".

What?!

Okay, if our table has an assigned waiter, how come we hadn't seen him for the past 15 minutes?

Anyway, the waiter finally came, took our orders. One of the huge disadvantages of Bubba Gump is that they don't have any cheap drinks. Not the bad quality ones, mind you, I mean casual drinks like Coke, or something that's not as pretentious as all the expensive ones they have on offer. So waters all around. The waiter also made some feeble attempt at entertaining us with some trivia from Forrest Gump (which was nowhere as well presented as the first time I went).

The food finally arrived. May's Lt. Dan's fishwich was not good (according to her). She chose the charbroiled fish which was nowhere near as large as the bun it came in, which made it look rather bad and substandard. Neo's hamburger looked much better and smelled good, but he said that it was salty in certain places and only so-so.

I had the clam chowder which was excellent as usual, and the Dumb Luck Coconut shrimp, which I really regretted ordering. Now, don't get me wrong, it tasted very good, but paying RM38.90 for seven shrimp and some fries and a bit of coleslaw just isn't my idea of value-for-money. For RM44.90 I could have ordered the Shrimper's heaven, which would have included coconut shrimp, and various other types of shrimp, much better value.

And onion rings were excellent! That's at least one thing that is consistently good

Anyway, in a nutshell... the food was okay and the service was absolutely terrible, something that really surprised me. I think I will swear off going to Bubba Gump in the daytime and stick to only going at night, when the service I had twice was very good.

the Gump has descended!

2008-05-26T10:04:00.002+08:00

Obviously a shameless effort to capitalize on a popular movie, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. is the latest franchise to arrive on Malaysian shores. Taking a good idea from the movie - shrimp is the fruit of the sea - Bubba Gump is a good old fashioned American style restaurant that emphasizes on... what else, shrimp!

Alice and I went there for our anniversary on a Saturday night. The place was quite packed and we couldn't get reservations in time, so we had to do a walk-in. The front door guys told us it would most likely take about 30-45 minutes, took down my number and promised to call me when they had a table free. We returned after 30 minutes and sure enough, the guy was just about to dial my number as a table had just been freed up.

So far, so good, the restaurant takes up two floors in a section of the Curve. For the uninitiated, it's on the 1st floor, opposite Marche, although with the bright neon lights it's kinda hard to miss it.

The menu does have a whole lot of shrimp dishes, but also fish, beef and chicken. We had the Run Across America sampler, the Bourbon Street Barramundi and a side caesar and clam chowder.

Sorry, no pictures until I can get my digital camera! Blame HP imaging for putting a crappy camera in that model of phone. Bah.

The Run Across America sampler was rather huge, it had a selection of several of their different appetizers, including fried shrimp, hush pups (kinda like a croquette made of shrimp, fish, potato and corn), buffalo chicken strips, chilled shrimp and a great spinach & artichoke dip with corn chips for dipping. The dip was excellent and so was the shrimp, but the buffalo strips were just a tad too sour and spicy, they kinda overdid it with the sauce.

Bourbon Street Barramundi came with two decent sized pieces of the fish, on mashed potatoes and with a Bourbon-based creamy sauce and grilled shrimp. It was excellent for the most part except for the fish being slightly fishy in the middle. Could not fault anything else about it though, as the dish tasted excellent and was filling (and I love mashed potatoes!)

The side caesar and clam chowder was a big, big surprise. The side caesar salad was as large as most other large caesar salads at other places. I don't even want to know about what the regular one looks like. It was plain, though, but tasted good. The clam chowder was very good, bursting with clams and potatoes and goodness, and they even served good crackers to go with the chowder.

Drinks were innovative but limited in selection. We had a mango sparkler (sort of like mango juice with soda) and something called a spotted lemonade, it was lemonade with either strawberries or blueberries. Of course, we had strawberries with it.

After all that, dessert was out of the question, so strawberry shortcake will have to wait until next time.

While we were waiting for our food, one of the waiters came and entertained us with trivia questions from Forrest Gump. The waiter then went off to check on our food, good service. In fact, this was one of the very few times I felt compelled to actually tip the waiter on top of paying the service charge, just because his service was excellent.

The atmosphere is quite casual and fun, rather ala Chili's and Friday's. They have the movie showing on screens and all the decor is inspired by the movie itself. Even the paper they serve the food on is a fictitious paper from the movie. They even have a souvenir shop just outside the restaurant selling t-shirts, magnets and stuff related to the movie and the restaurant. The glasses are nice, you can buy them from the shop or in the restaurant, just with paying a bit extra you can bring home your glass that you had your cocktail in :)

All in all, it was a pleasant experience despite the crowds (once inside, it didn't feel crowded for a single moment) with great food, and good service. Since Friday's has gone down the drain, and Chili's is getting rather mediocre as well, this is probably my new favorite place for casual dining. The bill for both of us came up to RM127, pretty okay since we kinda splurged on the food.

P/S: while we were there, we saw the serving of onion rings. It was enough to make me salivate. A whole stack of large, thick cut onion rings piled almost a foot high. Will try it out when I go again.

Overall, I'll give it an 8.3/10 and I'll definitely go back again, hopefully before it starts going downhill like most things that are Malaysian-run...!

Giant Kelana Jaya Quali food court

2008-05-22T15:12:00.001+08:00

is bad. Actually it looks decent. Until you actually taste the food and experience the service.

had stomach problems after that. Rather not go back there again.

stop this unmusical madness!

2008-05-21T10:16:00.002+08:00

if I hear Sean Kingston's Beautiful Girls one more time on the radio...

that has got to be one of the most annoying hooks ever written.

makes you soooooooooooicidal >:(

so many things, so little time, so little money!

2008-05-20T12:15:00.003+08:00

isn't that usually the case?

annoying! annoying! annoying!

2008-05-16T16:22:00.006+08:00

Sometimes people really make the internet a really annoying place to visit. These people seem to care only about themselves, and impose their views and opinions on a long-suffering public and the internet seems to make them more bold since now they can reach a greater audience. I see this quite often in Malaysian-based forums, for some reason.

I used to, for a while, trawl and participate in a forum at puppy.com.my. They do a wonderful service there, from sharing information about training and caring for your dogs to spreading information about dogs for adoption, etc. Suddenly one of the members went crazy and started accusing another two of being dog abusers, liars, running puppy mills, etc. The thing is that I know the person who was being accused personally and I know that she's not doing anything of the sort. But this earlier person kept up the vile accusations through almost every topic in the forum that she could post in, leading to a lot of threads having to be deleted by the forum moderator. In addition to that, a lot of the members overreact to stuff. When a newcomer comes into the adoption forum asking for a pedigree purebred, when happens is a lot of the regular forum posters flame the newcomer, often until the newcomer just leaves in disgust or starts to fight back. One even went to the extent of accusing the newcomer of flaming simply because he/she dared to answer back and say they meant no harm. To me, that really constitutes a breakdown of logic. Needless to say, I don't go there much anymore.

Another time was when a friend of mine did a webpage for one of the telcos here. He published this fact in his blog, which got him a reprimand from the telco representatives (which he promptly removed, which is to his credit. I know, it's a matter of professionalism to not reveal who your clients are in some cases). Everything seemed fine as he removed that post from his blog and the telco was satisfied with the end result. However, in this forum, some idiot named kit**** (real name suppressed just in case anyone does some search and decides to flame me) who is a staunch supporter of this telco and some mobile phone dealer in Penang, decided that my friend was a fraud and decided to call him an asshole in the forum and keep flaming him, and made some very grand claims that he had no right to make. I have no idea what this guy had against my friend, but most of the peons in that forum believed this idiot anyway since he was a well-known and established contributor. I reported him to the forum moderator as he was using a lot of abusive language, but all I got was an acknowledgment from the moderator stating that my complaint had been received. Most likely the idiot got off with no punishment at all since he was probably in cahoots with the moderators and stuff. No justice.

And just recently I find this gem. Searching around looking for information about the latest craze in spas, which is a fish spa, I find this conversation on someone's blog. They had just seen a fish spa being promoted at a new place, and they were writing about it. Most people were commenting saying that they dared not try it because their feet were smelly, etc. This idiot named wayne shows up and starts accusing the blogger of setting up a business that uses imitation fish (!!!). The blogger calmly says that he/she wasn't running the thing, just commenting on it. This Wayne dude continues to slam everyone, saying that they are employees of the fish company, they are using imitation fish, etc. And everyone else is just trying to have a normal conversation. To top it off, he contributes this gem of material:

"Is that what you mean? FISHO is practicing unethical business here. In China, people are not knowledgeable to condemn this Chin Chin because they do not know what Garra Rufa is all about, but remember, this is MALAYSIA, more intelligent people that can speak and read ENGLISH. If you are having another comment on their side, you are confirm FISHO personnel and trying to protect yourself. So, Abchye you want to be a smart consumer or a stupid consumer now? Think about it…….."

Firstly, like I said, anybody who dares to say anything that contradicts him is against him
Secondly, his concept of English is rather flawed, I think it really brings shame to Malaysians if he feels that he is championing Malaysian English.

Not convinced yet? Check out another gem contributed by this joker in the pack.
"Well, i think you really need to read more and do more researches on Garra Rufa before you telling all the nonsense here. Also, if you do have the money travel to Turkey and find out the reason of Garra Rufa is being used in Fish Spa and not the Chin Chin (Tilapia Fish) which simply claims it can nibble and call it Doctor Fish (use Gold Fish instead, is more colourful and nice). Is the Tilapia Fish being used here has any scientific proof of healing? show us if you have... Garra Rufa named Doctor Fish by the industrial experts and professors, but Chin Chin try to steal this name."
and
"I’ve been an expert in this fisherie line for so many years, your tilapia fish can’t lie to the world. Someday, it will definitely surface. Before the day, we all fisherie industrialists wish you could con as much money as you could from the public."

Flaming idiot. I really hate those who just try to antagonize everybody by their brainless words.

I could go on and on, but I think that I've ranted enough for now. photos of Chiang Mai later when I have the time to post them!

Malaysian politics... meh again

2008-05-16T14:20:00.002+08:00

I've generally held a rather dim view of Malaysian politics. Many politicians tend to shoot themselves in the foot, sometimes promising one thing and then not delivering or delivering something different altogether, or say the silliest things.

The recently concluded Parliament proceedings proved a point. They show the first half hour of the Parliament meeting live on television, and you would expect the peoples' elected representatives to be on their best behavior in front of the entire nation. Nothing could be further than the truth. They were bringing up trivial issues and blowing them up out of proportion, calling each other rude names, and generally making a nuisance of themselves. This kind of childish behavior can be excused for elementary school kids, but I hardly believe that elected representatives of the people (who, I might add, are paid a hefty salary from the peoples' taxes) are acting like 7 year olds.

On the bright side, it didn't break out into fisticuffs like the Taiwanese Parliament, but that brings an entire new level of childishness into politics, and we won't get into that here.

So, what are we paying these politicians for? To sit in Parliament and call each other names and talk about trivial stuff while the society at large still suffers from greater malaises?