I booked a return air ticket from Sibu to KL just now and mis-clicked on the departure date. I didn't really notice the erratum until I checked the itinerary in my email. I went back and made amendments to the chronological discrepancy and was charged RM 150 for the "Change fee" (blue arrow).
It came up to a total of RM 165 for the clicking malfunction (green arrow) which is fair enough, considering Air Asia's status as a no-frills airline and it was my mistake anyway.
However, it would be great if AirAsia allows for changes to the arrival/departure date and time for a certain period of time after the initial booking - a grace period, if you will. I suggest allowing changes 15-30 minutes after the initial booking gratis before the "Change fee" is levied.
This will allow genuine mistakes to be resolved without the fiscal penalty while avoiding last minute changes from indecisive travelers due to the short grace period for changes.
Anyway, that's my two cents on the matter. I'll be going to KL to attend my sister's wedding reception in PJ. She's already married - the ceremony was held yesterday at Auckland, New Zealand and she's coming back with her husband and my parents for the KL reception before heading home to Sibu for the reception over here.
Project Monsary was initiated yesterday afternoon to commemorate my monsary with Melody. I cooked pasta with roast beef and razor clams for our lunner (lunch/dinner as opposed to brunch). Razor Roast Fusilli is the official designation I gave the dish - not very romantic, but it kinda rhymes. ;)
You will need:
Continental Creamy Bacon Carbonara Pasta and Sauce Fortune Razor Clams Libby's Roast Beef ("Great for Burritos") Absolut Vanilia Wall's Viennetta Kurma (dates) ice cream
New readers of sixthseal.com might be wondering why there's always alcohol involved in my cooking posts - the rational is simple, it's better to drink and cook than drink and drive. ;)
You might need to get a mixer as well, I forgot that not everyone is an alcoholic and drinks it neat and straight from the bottle like me. ;)
The Continental Creamy Bacon Carbonara is a ready mix packet of pasta with the fusilli and (powdered) sauce in the packet. It's kinda like the Italian version of ramen (our instant noodles) - just add water (and milk). I also forgot about getting milk and butter for the pasta, so it's a good thing I manage to scavenge some from the fridge at home.
I also couldn't find the automatic can opener so I had to use a manual one. We started up by opening the can of Libby's Roast Beef, which comes parboiled and steam roasted in gravy.
I have to admit that Melody's skillz in using a manual can opener is much better than mine. Exhibit A above shows the can she opened.
Exhibit B here shows the one I did. I'm a "shortest distance between two points is a straight line" kind of guy and I guess it manifests itself in all aspects of my life...including opening tinned food. ;)
The razor clams were drained from the brine in the can and placed in an appropriate receptacle. You don't need to cook the tinned razor clams, it's ready to eat.
This is Libby's Roast Beef, which comes in nice, huge chunks complete with gravy. You have to heat it over a saucepan before serving, but it's best to do it when the pasta is almost cooked so it'll still be warm when served.
I also didn't have a measuring cup and this is where Melody's pragmatic brain comes into play - she counted the columns on a standard 500 ml bottle of mineral water and told me where I should pour up to.
The recipe calls for 125 ml of reduced fat milk (it's a good thing I have low fat milk in the fridge since I neglected to RTFM while shopping for the cooking project)...
...and 310 ml of water. I just mixed the two together in the mineral water bottle (which doubles as a not-very-accurate measuring cup) for easier handling.
The land of milk and honey, I mean, water. I added more milk and less water since I want it to be creamier and also coz I'm not sure "reduced fat milk" is a synonym for "low fat milk". ;)
The recipe also calls for "salt reduced polyunsaturated table spread". Jesus Christ, why can't you just say BUTTER! ;)
It requires a teaspoon of the "salt reduced polyunsaturated table spread" (Continental must have very high regards for the English comprehension standard of their consumers) and I could not for the life of me find a teaspoon in the entire house. It's nowhere to be found. There is no (tea)spoon.
Melody teaches me agaration.
The results of camwhoring while estimating a teaspoon of butter:
1. Butter starts slipping from knife 2. Cell phone falls into butter when mouth opens to communicate 3. Cell phone gets sticky 4. Butter drops to the floor
Anyway, after the mess was cleaned up, the bottle with the water and milk is poured into a saucepan and the butter (margarine, actually) added into the mixture.
I set my timer for 8 minutes...
...and poured the Continental Creamy Bacon Carbonara mix into the saucepan. The saucepan was put on low heat and stirred occasionally.
The roast beef should be stir fried in a wok at the 5-minute point to ensure the chunks are nicely heated up before the pasta is al dente.
This is Melody with matching Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse plates for our pasta extravaganza.
The pasta was done at the 9-minute mark - apparently I put in too much liquid and it needed more time to coagulate with the low heat that I was putting it on.
The pasta was heaped onto the plate and the roast beef chunks added in on the side before the razor clams is mixed into the pasta. The packaging states that it serves four (4) but Melody and I didn't even find it filling for two!
This is what the dish looks like when it's done. The hot pasta will heat up the razor clams so it will be warm and appetizing. :)
Here is a macro shot of Razor Roast Fusilli - it tastes more tempting that it sounds. Melody loved it and so did I.
This is what we had for dessert - it's the limited edition Wall's Viennetta Kurma (dates) ice cream. It's only available during Hari Raya Puasa since dates are traditionally eaten during the breaking of fast.
It tasted delicious and rounded up a great meal. We shared the ice cream and finished it in one sitting. There are dates in the dessert ice cream and it tastes great with Absolut Vanilia.
I love cooking together with Melody and it was a great Monthsary together.
The 28th of September, 2008 marks our first monsary - Happy Monsary, Melody! :) The etymology of monsary from an amateur etymologist:
Monsary is a concatenation of the words "month" and "anniversary" and it has entered my vocabulary through a friend. A quick Google search revealed the usage of this term amongst certain demographics in the Philippines. It's the first time I've heard about it and perhaps a social indicator that our relationships don't last very long anymore in today's fast paced, WIIFM (What's In It For Me?) world. Relationship anniversaries have gradually shifted over time from annual to monthly, and I'm not sure that's a good indicator.
Zuiho Daiko is a professional taiko (Japanese drum) group with intellectual disabilities from Nagasaki, Japan. The Rajang Community Service in conjunction with the Sibu Community Services Association (of which the Agape umbrella falls under - the SCSA is apparently the jumbrella) organized the event for the Kanowit, Sibu and Kuching leg of their tour.
The performers were amazing - as event organizers, we were concerned about the acoustics of the venue since it's an open space, and you don't need to be a rocket scientist (or the modern cellular biologist/nano physicist equivalent) to know that sound waves attenuates in such conditions.
However, the taiko drums were really loud and it was an amazing experience to watch them perform.
The show started out with an enthusiastic sonic assault from the taiko drums. Taiko drums are traditional Japanese percussion instruments that were used in feudal warfare. The taiko drums beats signals the troops to advance, retreat or call on allies to jump in.
I love the speech by the Japanese representative that stresses how Japan is now a peaceful country and offers an olive branch to all nations. I guess that strikes a note with the older generation since there was thunderous applause after that statement. Historically, Japan invaded, I mean, occupied, Malaysia (and other Asian countries) during World War II.
There was another great publicity stunt by the leader of the taiko drum troupe when he jumped out from backstage with our local Sarawak drum to perform.
The Sarawak drum was given as a souvenir to the drum troupe and this scene was totally unrehearsed and impromptu - the Japanese delegation did not even know about the souvenir until just before the performance when it was handed over.
...beats from the Land of the Rising Sun (this was one of my press release titles that was rejected and I just wanted to publish it on my blog ;))
The Zuiho Daiko ensemble performed for 40 minutes before the show ended. The area was packed, the crowd was happy, and overall the event was a success. It was tiring to be a volunteer for charity work, but strangely rewarding as well.
The full postmortem of the event organization will be up soon. Cheers!
The Zuiho Daiko drum troupe from Japan performed in front of an enormous crowd last night. The drummers with intellectual disabilities were amazing! We were concerned about the acoustics due to the event being held in an open space, but the taiko drums were more than loud enough and the performers were giving it their best despite their grueling schedule. They had performed at a private function in Kanowit just 3 hours prior to this and taken the 1 hour journey back to play straight at the main Sibu Gateway function.
Zuiho Daiko is a professional taiko drum group with intellectual disabilities and this is their rendition with a flute playing a tune similar to Home on the Range before the taiko drums jumped in and the sonic assault begins. It's spectacular, spectacular! =D
I'll have the full writeup done later, they are heading to the airport now for the flight to Kuching for this afternoon's performance at 3 pm at tHe Spring. Zuiho Daiko is also heading to Penang to perform but I don't know their schedule over there since it's handled by a different charity organization.
The Zuiho Daiko drum troupe is a team of five people with intellectual disabilities hailing from Nagasaki, Japan. The Japanese drummers (together with 17 family and other support staff) arrived on Thursday night and will be performing later this evening at 6:30 pm at the Sibu Gateway.
This is the actual Japanese Taiko drummer that we used for the massive billboard promoting the event. He was ecstatic at seeing himself featured in the billboard and immediately posed for a photo in front of it. Heh!
The organizing committee brought them on a city tour yesterday morning and introduced them to several local delicacies - this is the salad fruit, which they found oishii (delicious) - whether out of politeness or genuine ardor, I could not be certain. ;)
They were also very interested in the way we sell our chickens at the central market - alive, and bundled in newspaper wrappings with nylon for easy carrying for slaughter at the privacy of the purchaser's own home. I told them it's easier for the sellers too, since live chickens tend to run around.
We brought them to the famous seven storey pagoda as well. One episode I found interesting was the level of amazement they experienced when they chanced upon a cluster of mimosa. Mimosa pudica is a herb that grows in the wild over here and it's very sensitive to touch. It closes its leaves under any stimuli and they found it sugoi (amazing).
The city tour ended at the Agape Center, our local facility for people with disabilities which includes Methodist Care Center, Sibu Autistic Association, Special Olympics Sibu and other organizations under the umbrella group. I know I look obese in the photo, it's due to the double shirt I was wearing, tucked in some more.
I am a volunteer in organizing this event and have been doing press releases for the local newspapers for the past week. The performance will be held at 6:30 pm this evening at the Sibu Gateway followed by another performance in Kuching at 3 pm tomorrow (Sunday) at tHe Spring.
OMG! I have been writing so many press releases that I'm starting to repetitively drive in the dates and times of the performances. ;)
I've also been involved in radio interviews to promote the event (which also ends up as an excuse for a press release for our week-long publicity blitz ;)) and it's been a very long and tiring week, but it's for a good cause.
It's a good chance for everyone to catch the performance of the Zuiho Daiko troupe, which has performed in two Paralympic Games and a UN function. The event will hopefully foster better understanding between the public and people with intellectual disabilities to promote awareness and tolerance.
Charity work is surprisingly fulfilling and I've learnt a lot in volunteering for the Zuiho Daiko event. See ya all tonight!
I don't quite understand why a monkey wrench would be required to repair such delicate items like cell phones. It truly boggles the mind.
The text literally reads "Cell phone broken, can fix here" with a huge Phillips screwdriver and a monkey wrench (of all things) beside a Sony Ericsson cell phone.
I, for one, am certainly not sending my cell phone for repairs there...
I don't know what it would look like after the specialists in this epicenter of forefront, cutting edge cellular technology zhng the mobile with a monkey wrench. ;)
I have been told that there's a really good BBQ pork noodle stall at a coffee shop called Sing Long (Tian Long in Chinese) and the three of us headed down for breakfast to check it out. The stall has an impressive repertoire of BBQ pork products displayed at the see-through stall casement.
The chef hails from Penang and serves authentic Penang BBQ pork noodles. The noodles are hand made and not the regular ones we get over here, but the ones from Penang/KL. The texture and diameter of the noodle is much thicker - it's akin to Hokkien noodles.
The stall doesn't just serve BBQ pork noodles but also BBQ rice. However, their forte is definitely the pork noodles. It's their signature dish and it would be heresy to order BBQ rice instead of noodles, which one of my coworkers did. A lot of people throng the coffee shop before office hours to eat breakfast so you have to go quite early to avoid the crowds.
This is their famous Penang BBQ pork noodles (RM 4.50). I have seldom sung praises about coffee shop stalls, but I am yodeling now. It just has to be experienced - the sinful crunch of the crispy pork, the tender juiciness of the meat and the sprinkling of spring onions on top creates a dish that is greater than the sum of it's parts.
Best place for BBQ pork noodles in Sibu. Hands down.
16:20 - Autumn does some mental arithmetic in her mind collaborating her menstrual cycle to evaluate the safety of a bout of carnal gymnastics at the back seat of my car without prophylactics.
16:23 - I storm the pearly gates with the purple-headed devil. She gave me the mark of the beast.
16:42 - Play hide the hot dog while pondering on what to have for a snack after skipping lunch. Making grass sandwiches (+6 bonus points if you get this euphemism) made us think of kebabs so off we went.
16:50 - Ferry Kebab is a popular kebab stall in Sibu that is renowned for its delicious kebabs.
16:51 - Kebabs over here are not chunks of meat on skewers but a huge mass of meat which is sliced off into a hotdog bun.
16:52 - The meat slices (you can opt for chicken, beef or a combination of both) are mixed with onions and cucumbers (both finely diced) as the filler for the bun.
16:53 - Generous squirting (of the chilli sauce bottle) is applied on the bun and it is wrapped in a plastic wrap.
16:56 - Autumn with her chicken kebab. She's not a big fan of beef.
16:59 - A closer peek at the resplendent folds of Autumn's luscious wet, pink...kebab. ;)
17:06 - Ferry Kebab is delicious! It makes for really messy eating, but it's fun to eat it at the roadside in the car for the authentic experience.
17:13 - I drove back to take a photo of the stall coz I forgot to take the entire Ferry Kebab stall setup.
I just came back from a really enlightening conversation about life and relationships in general to a dark house and picked up two pieces of mail - one was for my car insurance premium for RM 1,704.60 (=_=!!!) which I have to pay before next month and the other was a padded largish envelope.
The writing at the back says "Sorry it took so long, but here you are". It's the autographed copy of The Star from two months back with a feature of me by Nicole on sixthseal.com.
I have read the article in the online version of The Star and was surprised at the more positive key in the actual paper.
The front page Saturday Metro text has "Drug blogger turns over a new leaf" which is a much better angle than the "Former drug blogger comes clean about his past" headline that the online version features.
I asked Nicole for an autographed copy of the paper and she finally got around to sending it to me. ;) The article is an interview about sixthseal.com and my experience as a drug blogger in the past and how I've turned my life around.
Nicole wrote "To Huai Bin, Hope you continue to thrive in life, be happy in whatever you do" on the top of the article...
...and autographed the bottom with "You've been Nicolekiss-ed!!" :)
Thanks for sending me the papers Nicole, much appreciated! I like the article in the off-line version, it's much more positive.
Well, at least it can't get any worse than this. ;)
I would imagine that any red-blooded male would have played fantasy football at some point in their lives. It's practically a religion over here with the Premier League, UEFA Cup, and World Cup as the Holy Trinity of sports. ;)
I've seen the banner ads for Tiger FC Fantasy League for this season and signed up subversively at work. I have been nefariously building my team during office hours and it's doing relatively well for this season.
Anyway, for people unfamiliar with the concept of fantasy football, it's a game where you assemble a team based on real life players. The fun in this is that the scores you get are actually based on the real life performance of the players during that season. This is like building your dream team and watching how it plays out during the league. :)
You can start playing anytime during the season and get ranked with other player's teams. It's quite fun and addictive even if you're not a football fan since it's like managing a football team. I'm sure some management skills can be gleaned from the game. ;)
My current best player is Emmanuel Adebayor. My team (Team SixthSeal.com) has scored 7 goals and conceded 6 goals thus far. You get to transfer players at scheduled times and the first one that's getting the boot (pun intended) from my team is John Terry. He's not carrying his weight in the defender position. :(
The Tiger FC Fantasy League also allows you to create a mini-league(s) to challenge other players. The Nuffnang bloggers are joining a league together - you can challenge our player lineup if you think you're better than us. The login details are:
League Name: nuffleague Password: tigerfc
The Tiger FC Fantasy League is surprisingly addictive. I've found myself checking the papers in the morning to see the scores and then logging on at work to see how my team is doing.
I've even taken to logging on with a Pocket PC while dining out just to check on how my team is doing.
You can get some of the action too by signing up. You think you're better than Team SixthSeal.com? Prove it! ;)
Ramadan is the holy Muslim month of fasting, where practitioners of the faith abstain from food and water from dawn until sunset. Malaysia has a sizable Malay population and the best part about Pasar Ramadan (Ramadan Bazaar) is the sheer amount of food available. The Pasar Ramadan is a setup consisting of independent stalls selling food, and most of the consumables are excellent.
I always make it a point to visit the Pasar Ramadan every year. It's held annually during the puasa (fasting) month and a lot of good eats can be found concentrated in the bazaar. All cities and towns in Malaysia have a Pasar Ramadan setup a month before Hari Raya Aidilfitri, which is the most important celebration on the Muslim calendar.
I went to the Pasar Ramadan with a couple of buddies yesterday evening to check out the place. Pasar Ramadan is only open for several hours in the evening and I figured I should go this week since Hari Raya Puasa falls on next Wednesday. Thus, it's just about a week left before the annual Pasar Ramadan shuts down for the year.
The people manning the stalls are generally a friendly lot and being the quintessential blogger that I am, camwhoring is a must on the To Do List. I can't help it - I've been blogging for six years! ;)
The Pasar Ramadan sells food and drinks of all sorts. I have noticed a trend this year where the local shaved ice drinks like ABC Special, Chendol, etc are all sold in huge packs. It's at least 1.5 liters of fluid in there! I guess it'll look appealing after not drinking the entire day, but still, that's a lot of liquid!
The sheer variety of food at the stalls is amazing. There is everything from otak-otak...
...to keropok lekor, a fish cracker originating from Terengganu.
There are also more conventional fare like fried noodles and nasi campur cooked on the spot.
One other trend I spotted this year is that the cakes sold at the Pasar Ramadan has been given the Premium Treatment (TM). Gone were the days of kueh lapis (layered cakes) and other delicious but aesthetically lacking cakes. The cakes sold are now topped with cheese or encapsulated in pudding.
I also managed to find a Roti John stall. I haven't seen Roti John in Sibu ever! It's RM 2.50 each and comes with either a chicken or beef filling. The etymology of Roti John is quite interesting - it was created for Caucasian tastes during the British Colonial rule and the name came about from the colloquialism for Westerners at that time.
Caucasians were referred to as "John", a very common English name and thus Roti John was born. It's literally translated as John's Bread. :)
I love Roti John and have only seen it in KL, so it's nice to eat it again. It's basically a sandwich with a minced meat patty inside. Sarawak has a version of Roti John, which we call kebab. It was fun to walk through the Pasar Ramadan again, since I missed it last year. It's just so chill and relaxed, and I like the throng of crowds buying food during the two or three hours it's open.
You Don't Mess with the Koran, er...I mean, Zohan. ;)
I've had a best fiend since high school. I did not make a typo, fiend as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary is:
Fiend (noun) Devil, demon, a person of great wickedness or maliciousness
I have in fact dedicated two entries in the annals of sixthseal.com about my best fiend. The one post I remember back in 2004 was about schadenfreude - the German word for gaining pleasure out of other people's misfortune, which he personifies.
Anyway, my fiend has been talking behind my back and generally spreading rumors about me. I was amused for a second this morning when someone related to me a really funny rumor that was so untrue (since the time line does not compute) but the bulk of what he said really annoyed me.
I called him this morning but he didn't pick up so I texted him:
You have nothing better to do than to backstab me, spread lies about me and create false stories about me izzit? Is your self esteem so low or are you so jealous of me that you feel the urge to talk shit about other people? I'm not pissed off at you. I pity you.
It's a bit harsh, granted, but friends, I mean, fiends, should be able to give honest opinions about each other right? ;)
...and I really do feel a little bit of pity for him. He doesn't just do it to me, he does it to all his friends. He would talk about other friends behind their back, putting them down derogatorily, usually with other people who doesn't know the person around. He never does it in front of the person, he pretends to be nice to everyone but he's well known amongst our group of friends as being a backstabber.
I used to accumulate an excess of temperature beneath a circular, tight fitting clothing component (Get hot under the collar in unpretentious terms ;)) by his behavior but I've come to terms with it and not be bothered by it, since most people who have known him long enough knows what he's like.
My friend (this is a real friend, not fiend, and different from the person mentioned in this entry) told me never to text or write or react when I'm angry, which is good advice. However, I look at things in the Drawing of the Three.
The Drawing of the Three by sixthseal.com 1. Is the relationship worth it? 2. Can the person help you in the future? 3. Will the person help you in the future?
If it's no on all three counts, then by all means, flame away. ;)
The most important aspect of it is #1 and #3. #3 is more important in a business oriented sense. Just because someone can help you in the future doesn't mean that he will. My fiend is definitely not someone who is willing to help any friends, since all he cares about is putting them down.
It's like he's trying so hard to be the good little boy that he doesn't even realize the social skills and PR required in the real world. Well, it's not my problem anyway, and it's not my job to tell him, since I've tried that before and he never changes.
It's like sending dense shelly concretions through the air to fall in front of stout-bodied, artiodactyl creatures. ;)
Pat yourself on the back if you can decipher that last bit. Heh!
Libertas is a South African Cabernet Sauvignon bottled at the West
Cape. I have been taking advantage of the new 5-day work week
implemented by our company to chill out on a Saturday afternoon after
sleeping in late.
Melody brought some KFC over to my house and we ate the
X-Meals (is is just me, or has KFC burgers shrunk over the past
decade?) while I opened up the bottle of wine. I have now acquired the
discipline of keeping liquor around the house without the temptation of
consuming it immediately, which my addiction counselor would term as Progress (TM). ;)
Libertas is Latin for liberty, and the title of the post is made popular by Patrick Henry. Anyway, a 5-day work week may be the norm in KL and other parts of the country, but over here in Sarawak, it's cause for celebration! =D
David Bak Kut Teh is a coffee shop specializing in bak kut teh (pork rib tea). There are a lot of bak kut teh establishments springing up over here now, but David is the oldest and most recognized of them all. It's located at the traffic cop magnet beside the fire station in town so be prepared to move your car frequently if you park at the yellow line right in front, since parking is scarce at that area.
David is the proprietor of the place, the waiter and the cook all rolled into one. The man is a very friendly person with an amicable personality. He's not actually a cook by profession, he came over from JB eons ago and worked in a department store as a salesman. Story goes, he tried his hand at cooking bak kut teh and spent four years perfecting his recipe.
His first operation was in a stall at the coffee shop beside his current premises. His bak kut teh was so popular that he finally expanded to his very own place...right next door. :) He runs the entire place with the help of his wife, and despite all the work, he's a very jovial man. I'm quite impressed by his tenacity when he moved over to Sibu and the hardships he went through.
Anyway, enough about him. I had lunch with Autumn there and had their signature dish - bak kut teh. I like my bak kut teh with everything inside it, so there's pork ribs, pork intestines, pork belly etc. Basically everything in the oink oink is inside the bowl of soup (tea).
It's pretty good, the bak kut teh is done well, and I remember the distinctive taste from my childhood as how "bak kut teh" should taste like. It's hearty soup with pork, served with a kickass combination of soy sauce and chilies.
Autumn opted for the ma yu chi lou (Sesame Oil Chicken) which is another one of David Bak Kut Teh's specialties. She's not a big fan of pork, beef or lamb so chicken is just about the only option she has. It's served with rice and is surprisingly good. The only beef I have with the dish (haha) is that she requested for lean meat (breast meat) while I prefer thighs. No innuendo intended.
David Bak Kut Teh is a nice place to have lunch if you don't mind dining al fresco in Malaysian weather at 12 noon. Autumn had to take off her sweater and was even considering going further if not in public. ;)
The key to juggling things in life Being able to be happy and shine To not get bogged down by strife And be in a positive frame of mind
The art of balancing work and play Or just to be happy in school today Is to not let your thoughts stray And take what life offers day by day
I wake up early every morning Just to shower and get ready for work It all seems a little bit boring Especially with my manager being a jerk
When I'm feeling especially down I take a break and log on to Compaq City And in doing this I've found Makes everything a little more pretty
I walk down Play Avenue Just to meet up with the Compaq Stickman Who's always there for me in his red hue I think I'm getting to be his biggest fan
A game or two on Work Street Gets me through the dreary day I think it's my biggest treat When I get high scores, hey!
I take a virtual stroll down Learn Boulevard To answer the questions before time runs out Being a graduate, I didn't think it was that hard But the questions sometimes make me pout
I like the Compaq range of product And in fact I own one myself too My Presario notebook is on till it gets dark I only shut it down when it's one or two
It has never given me a problem And I don't think it will give you any too Compaq is much more than an emblem And I'm not just saying that coz they told me to
My Compaq and me are pretty tight It's affordable and it looks mighty fine Check it out on their website The Presario starts at just RM 999
Enjoy Cafe & Restaurant is a relatively new eating establishment that has been doing an advertising blitz at my workplace, with flyers on the windscreen wipers of all the cars parked around here. I've been there once but never got around to reviewing it. I went again last night to check out the place, since the first impression wasn't strong enough to warrant a review.
Enjoy Cafe & Restaurant has a nice ambiance with mood lighting (which makes it a nightmare for photography). The place has a fixation with blue diffused down lights, which I kinda like. It somehow makes the place more calming.
There are also silk screens to act as a privacy buffer in between the booth type seating arrangements. The place is pretty empty due to hefty competition from Sushi Tie, Mitsu Tea House and other popular eating establishments within the same commercial complex. There were only two other tables of diners besides us.
Enjoy Cocktail, Egg Drop Noodles, Beef Noodle Soup, Hot & Spicy Beef
Hot Lemon, Stir-fried Mixed Vegetable, Mince Meat Rice, Hot & Spicy Squid
It didn't particularly make a good impression on all of us, but I went again last night with Mary to do a second review. The service was great this time, perhaps due to the aesthetically pleasing waitress designated to our table...
...which inevitably led to an XX Chromosome post. I passed her my blogger name card to boot. I can't resist! ;)
I asked the waitress for their flagship dish and she recommended Tie Ban Shuang Long (Steel Plate Double Dragon). It's calamari and pork ribs mixed in a delicious sauce with an egg cracked into the hot plate. It's priced at RM 20 and comes with a bowl of steamed rice. It's delicious!
Mary recommended the Tien Chang Di Jiu (Forever and Ever - though it's translated as Forever Happiness in the menu) dessert, which is priced at a very reasonable RM 4. It's a sticky mass of extremely hot yam and sweet potato in starch. The dessert is served with a bowl of iced water filled with ice cubes and it's supposed to be eaten like this:
You're supposed to spear a piece of the sticky and piping hot pieces and then dip it into the bowl of ice water. This immediately cools down the dessert and "solidifies" it and it's ready for consumption. I found it to be an interesting ritual, and quite a lot of fun too.
My friend of over 20 years just got married on Sunday and I was slated to be one of the "best buddy" for the groom entourage. It's a HK tradition where the bride is barricaded (willingly, of course) inside her house along with her group of (all female) friends. This group is known as the zhi mui (sisters) while the groom team, consisting of me and a couple of others are known as the heng tai (brothers).
The mission is to get into the bride's bedroom in her house from the groom's house. We started arriving early in the morning to Ting Chuan's house where the wedding preparations has already been set up the night before. The groom team is meeting up at the groom's house before the fleet of cars led by the wedding car drives to the bride's house.
My first question upon seeing this old friend of mine: HB: Eh, bro, it's your big day. Why haven't you shaved? TC: I did! I shaved at 12 am last night so there'll be a stubble. It looks more manly.
Naturally, being the opportunistic person that I am, I talked to Celeste who works at Ta Ann. She was the only female in our entourage.
I got an XX Chromosome post out of it too, it's a bit out of place in this post, but hey, someone told me weddings are the best place to meet new people. :p
Anyway, we departed for the bride's house in several cars and arrived without the customary mass honking (which I was told was only done after the bride has been secured and transported back to the groom's house).
There are a lot of traditions to be followed in a Chinese wedding ceremony - a piece of cloth is laid upon the wedding car and the car is reversed so it's facing out. Lanterns (representing the future offspring) are also tied to both of the side mirrors.
The groom's entourage (us) sat down for a meal of longevity noodles with chicken soup.
My friend (the groom) was presented with an egg each by the father and mother of the bride.
We ate at the table together - this is the meal to energize us for the task up ahead...securing the bride.
Our heng tai (brothers) entourage is expected to pass three stages before getting to the bride's bedroom. The bottleneck is the staircase up, which is manned (womanned?) by a representative from the zhi mui (sisters), the friends of the bride.
Ang pow (red packets containing money) are expected to be given out at every stage and one of the sisters has even prepared some in advance just in case the groom didn't have enough. Heh!
I kinda like how this one was done - the representative said that there are four stages in a married couple's life and the groom is expected to "go through" each one metaphorically and literally in advance. The sour stage represents the arguments that will inevitably occur in every relationship and the groom has to drink a bottle of calamansi lime juice to pass that.
There are also questions posed at every stage, with "punishments" rendered out if the groom can't answer the questions. Ting Chuan couldn't remember the exact day, month, and year he met his bride-to-be and had to eat a wasabi spiked kampua. The groom has the option of asking his buddies to take the punishment for him, since there's a lot meted out.
He passed the wasabi noodles to me and as the brother ("best buddy"), I took one for the team. It tasted quite delicious actually, but the first bite made my eyes water. They were really serious in putting the wasabi (horse radish) into the noodles. The sisters took pity on me and told me I didn't actually have to finish it, but I did and it tasted delicious. I even asked for the recipe from them after the event. ;)
The salty stage involves the groom drinking salt water and the bitter stage is represented by bitter gourd extract. There were a lot of questions during the various stages, which he luckily got right, since they had an arsenal of wasabi laced kampua noodles up there. Thus, after the mass handing out of ang pows (red packets) to the sisters, we finally got to the final stage.
This is the sweet stage - it's orange juice that the groom has to drink. Sour, salty, bitter, sweet. I love the imagery behind this custom. The last gauntlet was to call out for the bride and asking her for permission to enter.
The sisters finally granted access, and the door was opened.
I present - Siew Ling, the bride! :)
Ting Chuan has to propose formally to her and the fun isn't quite over yet as the sisters made them kiss for 10 minutes.
It was finally negotiated down to 10 seconds, but unfortunately, I didn't get the footage coz I was changing memory cards. It was very sweet actually, and that was the catalyst that made me want to get married.
The father of the bride escorted her down the stairs...
...and officially "handed over" his daughter.
Chinese custom has a form of ancestral worship that is widely practiced over here and the newlyweds have to bow three times to the late grandparents of the bride for blessings.
Respect is also rendered to the parents of the bride by bowing three times, upon which the mother of the bride clasps a gold necklace around the groom's neck. This is foreign to me and I don't know what it symbolizes.
The newlyweds proceeded out of the bride's house...
...to pose for a group photo with relatives of the bride.
Thus, our entourage escorted the bride with a red umbrella into the car for the return trip to the groom's house.
The wedding car drove out and reversed three (3) times before stopping for the mother of the bride to present a key to the bride. I don't know what the accelerating and backing up of the wedding car symbolizes but the key to the bride is a token reminder for her to return home every Chinese New Year on the second day, and also taken to mean that she is welcome home at any time, even though she's now "married out" and part of the groom's family.
Our entourage arrived back to the groom's residence where firecrackers were lit for the celebration.
The bride and groom have to wait until the firecrackers end before alighting from the car.
The newlyweds are the first to step into the house with their shoes on (while everyone else takes off their shoes) and bow three times into thin air. This was related to me as a request for the blessing of their matrimony by "ti gong" (a saint/god of sorts).
That being done, the bride and groom goes into their room and sits down on the marriage bed. I think this is to represent the consummating of the marriage. ;)
The exchanging of rings is done at the groom's house...
...and the newlyweds kneel down on cushions to serve tea to the parents of the groom as a token of respect and to seek their blessing on the marriage.
The bride and groom are given a sweet soup (tong sui) to drink to mark their new journey in life together.
It was a fun experience and it really made me want to settle down and get married too. Congratulations to Siaw Ting Chuan and Wong Siew Ling on their union. Cheers bro! :)
My best friend just got hitched yesterday with a fellow coworker. I'm really happy for him, and I have to admit, a little bit envious coz I've been trying so hard to find The One and not really succeeding. Ting Chuan has been my friend ever since time immemorial - we have been buddies since we were in Primary 1 (7 years old).
The wedding banquet was held at Sheraton but I've been the "best buddy" since early morning. The writeup for that will be up tomorrow - it's much more interesting. The "best buddy" system is a HK custom where the groom with an entourage of friends goes through obstacles created by the bride and her friends to gain access to her room and bring her back home.
It was a lot of fun since it was the first time I've ever been involved in such an event. The custom isn't Malaysian, it has just gained popularity recently due to the influx of HK and Taiwan serials. ;) There are a lot of interesting Chinese customs that I was exposed to and I will be writing about that with videos tomorrow.
I found the couple to be really sweet, they're very nicely matched. Ting Chuan and Siew Ling just look so happy together that I couldn't help but be happy for them. It's nice to be married and settled and having kids and all that. It's the life I want - that's the purpose of my life, to leave behind my life of excess and find a soul mate who can tame me and domesticate me.
The lunch reception started out at 12 noon and the first dish is the obligatory Chinese appetizer/sampler dish. It has prawns, abalone, fish and other dishes on a huge platter divided physically into sections.
The second dish is "black chicken" soup - which is a kind of free range chicken that is renowned in Chinese cuisine as being more nutritious than regular chickens.
I'm not sure if it's the same thing as kampung chicken but it's usually served during celebrations such as birthdays, weddings and festive seasons.
The third dish is fish - a staple of all Chinese banquets. It's a mixture of pan fried salmon and deep fried breaded fish. It's surprisingly delicious, but then again I was famished from waking up in the morning for the entourage to the bride's house. :)
The next dish is a Peking duck type affair with the waitress taking rolls of soft, warm and fluffy bread (called man tou) and filling it with a piece of duck, spring onions, and then drizzling it with sauce before serving it individually.
I liked this dish. It's the sauce that makes or breaks the duck and the sauce at Sheraton is really good.
The fifth dish was a combination of two items - there's sweet and sour pork on one side of the dish and sea cucumber served in half a pineapple on the other side. It's supposed to represent the yin and yang.
The next dish also follows the yin yang concept with deep fried prawns on one side and abalone in a ring of broccoli on the other side.
The lunch wedding reception ended with a fruit platter and a mooncake and yam dish. They got married during the Mid Autumn Festival so the mooncakes were there as a nod to the occasion.
Congratulations Siaw Ting Chuan and Wong Siew Ling!
I will post the pre-wedding customs that started in the morning tomorrow - I found that experience to be much more interesting, as the "best buddy". There are heaps of photos and lots of videos to upload, so I did the reverse chronological thing and posted up the lunch reception first. :)
Project Ferrero Rocher Mooncake was initiated to commemorate the Mid Autumn Festival tonight. I haven't been cooking in a long time and I took advantage of the season to create a dubious sixthseal.com style culinary delight. ;)
Ferrero Rocher chocolates Top Gun Exclusive Wine Dooley's Original Toffee and Vodka liqueur Ocean Spray cranberry juice Golden Circle baby carrots RugenFisch Mackerel Fillets in tomato sauce Ideal milk (evaporated milk) Pudding mooncake premix and molds
You don't actually need the Ocean Spray cranberry juice, I got that for a friend for her UTI problems. ;)
The first step is to pour out several shots of the Dooley's Original Toffee and Vodka liqueur (RM 120 at respectable bottle shops) for consumption. You will need it for the tedious task ahead. ;)
Next, measure out 300 ml of water for the pudding mixture. The recipe calls for 700 ml but I decided that the remainder should consist of Dooley's Original Toffee and Vodka for more oomph, so don't drink too much of that first, start with the wine.
Top up the measuring cup to 700 ml with Dooley's Original Toffee and Vodka. This will use up more than half of the bottle but fret not - it's worth it.
Dump the pudding mooncake mixture into a saucepan and put the H2O with ethanol beside it. This is to avoid mistakes during excessive consumption of the latter liquid.
Put the saucepan with the powder in it on low heat on a regular stove and pour the liquid in slowly.
Stir the mixture slowly while keeping it on low heat for about 10 minutes. It is important not to let it burn or "bruise" the mixture by stirring too hard. I'm not sure about the latter statement, the person in charge told me that.
Pour the liquid into the small mold after 10 minutes and let it set for about 15 minutes at room temperature before chucking it into the fridge for an additional 10 minutes.
You'll know it's ready if it doesn't fall out of the mold when you turn it upside down.
There is a technique to extract the small mooncake without damaging the integrity and aesthetic design which involves massaging the sides, but I never picked up that skill.
The small mooncake with Dooley's Original Toffee and Vodka (which is meant to emulate the "egg yolk" in traditional mooncakes) should look like this when it's done.
The next step involves making the larger mooncake, which uses a different premix that requires Ideal milk (evaporated milk).
250 ml of Ideal milk is added to 400 ml of water and poured into the powdered premix.
The usual 10 minutes of stirring on low heat is applied before the mixture is scooped into the larger mooncake mold. It is essential to only scoop the liquid to half the mold capacity, as it has to hold the smaller mooncake as the "yolk".
The smaller Dooley's Original Toffee and Vodka mooncakes is to be placed into the larger mooncake mold upside down (design facing down).
I took the liberty of adding a Ferrero Rocher chocolate as the "yolk" of one of the mooncakes to make my own variation.
The Ferrero Rocher chocolate is surprisingly resilient...it doesn't even melt in the boiling hot temperature of the liquid pudding.
It's much better than M&Ms - melts in your mouth, not on the stove. It's amazing!
The larger mooncake mold is then filled to the brim and left to set in the fridge for a full 30 minutes.
Once that's done, extract the Ferrero Rocher mooncake from its mold and place it on a plate. Garnish with baby carrots and the mackerel fillets in tomato sauce.
This is the "balls of fire" bit to the recipe - mixing in salty and spicy elements to the dish...and the alcohol (Dooley's Toffee and Vodka) of course. Serve with wine for a complete meal.
I have been thinking about beating the current record for Most Ferrero Rocher chocolates eaten in one minute which stands at a meager five (5) chocolates consumed. I have gone through the details and to quality, you have to unwrap, eat, and swallow the chocolates within one minute. This is my attempt:
I was too ambitious and ended up biting off more than I could chew (haha) but it's quite possible to beat this record and get my name in the Guinness World Records book with a bit of practice. This was done in the afternoon while making mooncakes (post up tomorrow). I've been a bit busy lately making mooncakes, being the best buddy (which is different from best man - it's a HK custom that has found its way here) for a friend's wedding, attending said friend's wedding, and the Mid Autumn Festival lined up tomorrow.
Happy Family Ice & Refreshment House is a small, sterile eating establishment occupying a side lot of a shop house unit. This is a vegetarian establishment that does not serve meat.
The interior looks very common, with generic seating arrangements. The proprietor obviously believes in the absurd concept of having ceiling mounted air conditioning units in an open space. The air conditioning units are never turned on, which makes one wonder as to why they were installed in the first place.
The food warmer units ridiculously occupying the entire left counter is almost empty, suggesting that the place is doing less-than-brisk business for a reason. The original stickers were also left on, which displays deep fried cholesterol, carbon and oxidant laden chicken. I would think that the proprietor would have taken the trouble of replacing the placeholders with vegetarian fare, but apparently, the sliding mechanism proves to be too complicated.
There is also an opportunistic retail section that offers vegetarian fare from the dubious food factories of China.
The Vegetarian Rojak is tasteless and has no redeeming value at all. It also seems that the concept of presentation is lost on the cook.
The Vegetarian Laksa did not bring back wonderful childhood memories of my late mother cooking for me.
I find the dish a putrid mockery of this established Sarawakian dish. It is not merely tasteless, but undercooked.
The Roasted Cheese Noodle is translated as Italy Noodle. I would be amused if not for the blatant ignorance of simple pasta like spaghetti.
The establishment also confuses the word "roasted" with "baked" and should take English lessons. The shitake mushrooms did not infuse enough flavors into the dish and the pasta was not al dente, which is essential to prevent sogginess in al forno dishes.
I find this establishment an insult to my taste buds!
The Grim Eater is not happy at Happy Family Ice & Refreshment House.
However, Autumn did bring a (single) tear to my eye. Hmph. It's the only reason I didn't look my usual grim self.
I went to pay my cell phone bill during lunch break just now and was presented with a rather impressive amount of RM 477.90. Jesus H. Christ. I remember my highest phone bill being about RM 2,000+ (converted from Australian dollars) back when I was in Melbourne but that was coz I was in a long distance relationship.
Oh, and I also defaulted on that payment. ;)
I'm surprised at how I can run up a RM 477.90 bill with my current usage and I think it boils down to the way I handle calls. I tend to call instead of texting someone due to the easier communication pathway. I'm also on a plan that favors same operator calls (DiGi 1Plan, which makes it free to call 016 numbers once the amount is past RM 123) but most of the calls I make are not within the same network.
I use my personal cell phone to make official work related calls as well, which is probably not a good idea and something I shouldn't do doing anymore (since I don't get reimbursed for it). I have to curb my spending habits and it should start with my cell phone usage.
/me tightens belt.
Hmm...come to think of it, I need a new belt. My two belts are both a little on the loose side, which I'll like to think of as an indicator that I have lost weight. ;)
Anyway, the HDS posts from 2002 - 2006 have been updated up to today. Selected posts:
I was in KL about a month ago to...er, attend to my sister's wedding arrangements and met up with Cheesie at O'Briens before I was scheduled to fly back home. I have gotten a new external hard disk and while transferring photos over, I realized that I have several shots with Ringo after lunch.
Cheesie left me with a very good impression, she's very down to earth and has a bubbly personality, which makes for a great dining companion. :) Anyway, we went outside for a bit of camwhoring after lunch - some of the photos were taken by passerbys at 1U but Ringo has perfected an excellent technique of taking photos.
She taught me how to take self portraits of us using one extended hand, which I never really got the hang of. It's her 4th blog anniversary at her own domain so on head over and wish her a happy blogniversary. :)
I have been living life as if I expect to kick the bucket in 10 years. It's not a subconscious thing either, it's pretty obvious from the self-destructive tendencies manifested in my behavior and attitude. I drive recklessly, as if I want to get into an accident. I drink excessively and with abandon. I get into ludicrous situations and generally make a mess out of every good thing that I have left. I have fucked up relationships and pretty much destroy all that is good in my life.
...and I've been wondering why I do that. Suicide by hedonism?
I know my renal and liver function isn't exactly at it's optimal level (due to an unfortunate overdose resulting in an emergency dialysis done about two years back) but still the doctor reckons it's all the years of substance and alcohol (a)buse that caused all that damage instead of a single isolated incident.
My friend recognized my self destructive tendencies despite knowing only a part of my life and asked me what made me this way. I couldn't answer him - either I don't know, or it's so deep rooted that I don't want to know.
He gave me a really good analogy though. It's like I'm driving down a potential dead end 15 km down the road and since I know it, I'm banging up my car by knocking into the cliffs and roadsides and not caring who I run down in the process.
...but what if it's not a dead end? What if I could navigate through but due to all the damage I've done to my car, I couldn't anymore since the car is too banged up to make it though?
He has a point there. I shouldn't be living my life as if there's no tomorrow.
Coffee Garden is the anchor restaurant of Garden Hotel and is a successful F&B establishment in it's own right. Although Coffee Garden doesn't draw the local crowd to the extent of the wildly successful Peppers Cafe (Tanahmas Hotel), it does have its regulars and it's a nice and (relatively) private place for lunch and dinner.
The interior of Coffee Garden has been given a major overhaul, with glass facades and mood lighting, creating a very pleasing ambiance. The post-modern architecture (actually, I don't even know what post-modern architecture means, I just wrote it to make myself look more intelligent ;)) with reflective wall length mirrors looks amazing.
There are LCD screens placed strategically around the restaurant and an al fresco seating area outside for the nicotine brigade. Coffee Garden serves surprisingly good food, perhaps even better than Peppers Cafe. The measure of a successful hotel F&B outlet is the amount of locals patronizing the restaurant, and Coffee Garden has a loyal following.
The dinner menu at Garden Cafe is very comprehensive and covers Chinese and Western cuisine. There is complimentary garlic bread with every meal and the prices for most dishes are very reasonable.
This is the Seafood Gala (RM 16 ++) which is similar to the Manhattan Seafood Platter at Manhattan Fish Market. It consists of baked mussels, pan fried fish fillet, deep fried calamari rings and grilled shrimp served with garlic butter rice (Mmm...) and lemon butter sauce. The only thing missing is an MFM waitress going all Firebat on the platter (StarCraft reference here). ;)
The Garden Mixed Grill (RM 17 ++) has grilled lamb chop, grilled beef (otherwise known as steak), grilled chicken, sausages and beef bacon. There is a great portfolio of edible mammals represented in this dish and it's perfect as a sample of everything they offer.
Coffee Garden also serves a wide variety of beer and alcopops at hotel prices. Their Guinness Stout goes for RM 10 ++ per mug and RM 40 ++ for a jug but regular beers goes for RM 30 ++ per jug, which is pretty much the price you'll expect to pay at other watering holes.
I have been going there regularly for lunch with Autumn to eat through their entire set lunch menu. The lunch menu is limited and priced at RM 8++ inclusive of a drink and soup.
Fried Chicken With Peanut Soup
Autumn had this during our first lunch date there. I've had it as well, it's pretty good but a little on the bland side. It should be noted that some of the waiters and waitresses are not very good photographers so you may have to get them to take several shots. ;)
Fried Fish Fillet with BBQ Sauce
This was also on our first attempt to eat through the set lunch menu. This is the best dish in the set lunch menu in our opinion. It's the BBQ sauce...it tastes great. Notice the similar office wear but please do not comment on the lovebite. ;)
Fried Squid in Celery
I shared this dish with Autumn coz we were not both not really hungry that day. I think this was a couple of days after the first visit since I was wearing a tie to cover up the still visible hickey. The squid is probably the other dish I would eat, the others are pretty bland.
Fried Beef with Garlic
I had this during the third trip to Coffee Garden. It's nothing to write home about. Astute readers will notice a new hickey on my neck. I swear, it's not due to Autumn. I don't know how it got there. ;)
Fried Duck with Black Pepper
Autumn had the duck during the third trip. It's alright, but again, Coffee Garden's lunch menu isn't really as good as the dinner menu.
It took us about two weeks to get through the five (5) set lunch menu coz you don't want to eat the same food everyday. It's still one of our regular hangouts though due to the privacy of the place.
Coffee Garden is a great place for lunch and dinner. The set lunch menu is cheap considering the air-conditioned comfort and privacy of the establishment and it manages to attract quite a few of the lucrative 9-5 crowd during lunchtime. Their dinner menu is excellent - it's much better than their set lunch menu, which is mass produced. I give Coffee Garden two thumbs up.
I saw a cat today at a grocery shop - it was very tame, sleeping on top of a plastic bin. I fondled, er, I mean caressed it and it didn't flinch or even move but just gave a lazy meow. I love cats like these and it got me thinking about getting a cat. I have been deprived of feline company for too long.
I went to a pet shop and saw a Persian cat I really liked. I love her personality, she's affectionate and playful, jumping at my fingers when I played with it and biting it (not seriously, just playfully). I love that cat and would have bought it home right away but it was going for RM 1,300 which is a little too high for my budget.
I'm still thinking about the cat right now. It's very nice and her greatest asset is her playful and affectionate personality. She would make great lolcats posts. :)
I love cats and I want to get one to put in my room. I'll give it a litter box and find a lint remover to get rid of the fur she'll shed on my clothes and sleep with it. RM 1,300 is a bit steep though...so I'm thinking about other options.
I want a cat, it would make me less lonely. :)
A feline companion, so to speak. I hear it does wonders for depression and mood swings too. ;)
This is my Chinese name as written by Melody. I don't know how to write my own Chinese name except for the middle character (coz it has less strokes and thus, is easier to remember). The translation is "Fu Huai Bin" - pronounced "foo why bin" but it's written as Poh Huai Bin officially coz that's how the Heng Hua translate the Chinese character for "Fu".
Poh (the first character) is my family name a.k.a last name. It's inherited and does not have any significance to it. Someone told me a very interesting anecdote about family names though - he said that we don't actually have family names. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away (actually, just Ancient China) we only have one name e.g.
Bin
Those are feudal times, so the lesser ones amongst us went to work for the richer (land owning) ones. Let's say that I was born in a very poor family and went to work for a landowner named Poh. Back then, it wouldn't be a 9 - 5 job but some backbreaking Biblical toil and labor stuff.
Now, there are probably a lot of Bins out there so I'll be called Poh's Bin - to avoid being confused with, say, Tiong's Bin. Thus, my name will literally be "Poh Ah Bin" e.g. The Bin from The House of Tiong.
Once, I've made it big and have my own property, I will have my own plot of land and have slaves working under me e.g. Fong, Tang, Ching, Hong. Tang will be called Bin Ah Tang "Tang from The House of Bin".
Over the years, we evolved with the times and started getting customized names. However, the Chinese never dropped the surname (family name) so the ones that are in current circulation were the rich and land owning folks from the feudal times.
I don't know how historically accurate the anecdote is, but it's quite interesting nevertheless. Anyway back to my name, the Poh doesn't actually mean anything - it's the family name/last name so my name would be Huai Bin.
Huai means Caring Bin is made up of two words - Wen (Scholar) and Wu (Warrior)
so my name is The Caring Scholar-Warrior from The House of Poh.
Rosanna means gracious rose and it's a pretty unique name. I remembered it the first time I met her while playing Counter-Strike a good 8-9 years ago. I bumped into Rosanna at Delta Mall again and I'm pretty bad with names but I recalled her straight away due to the unusual moniker.
She is sporting a curious pair of contact lenses that makes her eyes look like ladybugs. It's bright ruby red and has specks similar to that of the beetle (a ladybug is basically a beetle).
It was good to catch up with her again after such an extended absence. It turns out that she's also working in Sibu now. :)
Note to self: Remove tongue piercing before public speaking engagement tomorrow so I don't slur my words.
HDS:
2002: Assignments galore! I finally managed to update after assignment week.
Gedera Sri Lanka cuisine in Melbourne. My first attempts at a food review. I was pretty bad at it, compared to the reviews I do now. Oh well, baby steps and all that.
Photos of Jalan Sultan Ismail - Jalan P. Ramlee - Suria KLCC - Bangsar I like this one - it's a photographic journey of the route I used to take to work when I was in KL. I work in KL and lived at Damansara (opposite HELP Institute - the university for those who requires exactly what the name suggests ;)) so I had to take the bus, LRT, and walk. It's a "peek in the daily life" post.
2004: The Garden of Adem Love is in the air? The title is a wordplay on the restaurant's name and the Garden of Eden.
The Dumpling Teahouse is an eating establishment specializing in beef noodles and dumplings. It's located near Mitsu Shabu Shabu and the interior is not air-conditioned despite the split units visible from the exterior. I've been there twice and they never bothered to switch on the air-conditioning, probably due to a lack of customers.
The good thing about The Dumpling Teahouse (besides the cute name) is the relative privacy of the place. It just doesn't draw a huge crowd although the beef noodles are pretty good. I'm not sure if it's due to poor advertising or just plain bad feng shui, but the place never really took off. ;)
Geomancy Sifu: Your walls not good. Bad for luck. Money all flow out like water in the river. You should turn on air con. The ceiling fan blow all your money away!
Geomancy Sifu: OMFG! You got a big fan as a decoration some more! No wonder la. Money all fly away.
Geomancy Sifu: Nevermind, I eat your Beef Noodle (RM 5). Payment for services rendered.
Geomancy Sifu: Your beef chunks very big. Soft and tender too. Soup very spicy. I like. Increase man's vigor. Noodles also curly, flat type. Good for longevity.
Geomancy Sifu: Bring some Chives and Pork Dumplings (RM 4.50) for the leng lui here. Can choose fried or steamed izzit? I want fried. Eh, wait, Chiew Fong (Autumn) doesn't eat pork. Nevermind. I eat. Quite tasty.
Geomancy Sifu: She half vegetarian, so give her Mushroom Chicken Dumplings (RM 4.50). What la, you guys all pork and beef one. Steamed, not bad. Had better though.
Geomancy Sifu: Your beef noodles good but your dumplings so so only. I suggest you rename the place to The Beef Noodle Teahouse.
Geomancy Sifu: Hmm...your 9 mm (bulb) is like a guiding light in the night shining bright. Eh, sorry, I rap.
I have just received another credit card - it's a Petronas Visa Gold card from Maybank with no annual fees for life with no conditions. I didn't apply for it since I'm not a big fan of filling in forms, but someone from the bank called me and told me I qualify for one and asked if I was interested. I told her I don't like filling out forms (seriously, I hate doing that) but she can go ahead and fill in my particulars for me if she needs the quota.
Well, I got a call yesterday saying that the Petronas Visa Gold is ready to be picked up. I'm actually quite lazy to do stuff like that as well, I remember a HSBC credit card that I never picked up coz the place is too far away from where I work. My girlfriend wanted to go to the bank though, so I decided to pick this one up during lunch. I figured it'll be useful for gas since I pump petrol at Petronas and it'll soften the petrol price hike with the points for redeeming petrol vouchers.
However, I have noticed that I always tend to overspend, which is why I don't carry credit cards in my wallet anymore. I used to have several cards from different banks and ran up a huge debt when I started working. I have to admit that I was never any good at budgeting and I always spend way beyond my means. The amount of money I have in the bank at the end of the month is always in the single digits. Seriously.
Nowadays, banks are overenthusiastic in giving out credit cards - cold calling and going to the extent of filling in all your details for you. It seems that Classic (Silver) cards are reserved for students and fresh graduates starting work since they don't even offer those anymore. They are very keen on giving out Gold and Platinum cards with high credit limits with impunity, which is great for the bank, but bad for the holder. I can see the potential of overspending on this card already.
I was talking to my girlfriend last night about going on a trip this coming holiday. She likes the beach so I was thinking either Krabi, Bali or Macau. Macau was my choice since there are casinos there and I have this inappropriate romantic sentiment that I'll beat the house odds and win the trip costs back. ;) It's seriously a bad idea though, coz no one ever beats the house.
Bali would cost around RM 2,500 for the plane tickets alone for the both of us ex-Sibu and I think the total trip would probably hit the RM 5,000 mark easily with hotels and food. I shouldn't even be thinking about it considering I can't afford 5k right now (since I don't have that much disposable income in the bank, and thus will be flying on credit).
...but the fact that I'm even considering it seriously is a testament to the fact that credit cards with high credit limits causes people like me to overspend.
I should be dating an accountant, the last girlfriend I had would have knocked me upside the head (coz she's good at budgeting and all that) for even considering going on the trip. Oh wait, my current girlfriend is technically an accountant too. ;)
Oh well, I'm thinking about Krabi, Thailand. It'll be cheaper than Bali and I haven't been there before.
Hmm...should I or should I not?
Anyway, I haven't given my girlfriend an official sixthseal.com moniker yet - I'm thinking Dapple (20% related to her name) or Melody (near 100% translation of her Chinese name). The relationship will remain under wraps until further notice due to prevailing circumstances. ;)
Aho Mee Sapi Nasi Ayam Restauran (Literally: Aho Beef Noodles Chicken Rice Restaurant) is one of the best places in town to have beef noodles. It's a halal establishment operated by Malays and as the signboard suggests the two flagship dishes are the beef noodles and the chicken rice.
The place tends to be a bit packed during lunchtime and parking can be a bit of a problem. I went with Autumn, who doesn't eat beef (or pork for that matter). I'm not a big fan of chicken rice but I love beef noodles. Aho does a very good version of beef noodles, Malay style. I just love the chicken shaped menu for chicken rice and the cow shaped version for beef noodles. Heh!
I had the mixed beef noodles (RM 4) which can be ordered with the noodles in a separate bowl (dry) or mixed into the soup (wet). Soupy dishes during lunch isn't really my thing, not just coz of potential Splash Damage (TM), but coz it increases the body temperature at the warmest time of the day.
Thus, I ordered the dry version with the noodles on the side. The noodles are mixed with Essence of Cow (TM) - it's so full of mooing goodness, you can taste the beef in the noodles. It's delicious!
The soup is even better - you can opt to have certain parts of the cattle or a mixed bowl, which has everything except the genitalia (that part is reserved to make Sup Power). Aho does a very good beef noodle soup. It's hearty and has that elusive umami taste to it.
Autumn had the other specialty of the house - fried chicken rice (RM 4). Aho serves fried chicken instead of the usual steamed or roasted chicken.
However, they do a very good version of fried chicken - it's not over fried, so the skin comes out crispy but the inner parts are still tender and juicy.
Aho Mee Sapi Nasi Ayam Restauran is a great place for beef noodles and chicken rice. The restaurant name can a bit of a mouthful though (pun intended) so we just call it Aho. ;)
It's the long Merdeka Day weekend and it was decided that a road trip is due to bring Autumn to check out the legendary Big Prawn Assam Noodles in Sarikei. She hasn't tried it before and it's a public holiday so down we went. We got some much needed rations for the one hour drive down - this is Autumn's favorite vegetable crackers.
She was tempting me during the drive down...
...with various different crackers
...from a repertoire of herbivore food
...like carrots
...and long beans. It's really hard to drive with someone feeding me random bits of vegetables. The long beans threw me off a little due to the phallic shape too. ;)
We stopped at the intersection before Sarikei to have some food since it was already past lunchtime. This is mixed oat congee (from a can) which tastes better than it sounds. We've been eating this for lunch for quite a while now.
It's really good, comes with a folded plastic disposable spoon and is full of constipation solutions (otherwise known as "fiber").
I'm not a big fan of Healthy Stuff (TM) but I have been having a host of health issues lately (not just ED, but constipation to boot :p) so I'm trying to get more fiber into my diet.
Anyway, after the brunch inside my car, we weren't really that hungry anymore so we walked around Sarikei town and did a bit of the tourist camwhoring thing. There's not much to do in Sarikei except walk around the (only) supermarket - Ngiu Kee.
After an hour or two of this, the QAG 4114 arrived at Glory Cafe and parked in its usual spot - right in front of a yellow fire hydrant. ;) Oh, this is becoming something of a recurring joke.
Autumn was a bit apprehensive about the Big Prawn Assam Tom Yam Noodles, but after a sampling of the rich broth, she was sold.
It turns out that Autumn is really good at peeling the antenna of the big prawns as well. She claims it's a trick she learned from eating prawns during her youth. I can't do it myself...
...but she was kind enough to peel the antenna for me. Thanks Autumn! :)
I've never met anyone who didn't like the great noodles over here. It's really worth the drive down if there's a long weekend or holiday and you haven't got anything better to do. Cheers!
Of course, being the Capo di tutti capi requires the obligatory female companion and a very strong right hand man. ;) HDS:
2002: University life. This was when USB cell phone chargers were a bit of a novelty item. Old skool. ;) 2003: I moved into my place in KL - it's a small bedroom costing RM 350 per month. It fits one bed (single) and one desk (small). 2004: Limited Edition Shell mineral water and a post about the new employees at work. I was dating one of them (there's only one female) and this was the relationship that taught me it's a Bad Idea (TM) to be dating someone in the same office. 2005: Witty (IMHO) post about oyster pancake. 2006: Project MISER. The start of the popular Project MISER series of posts where I attempt to survive on just RM 250 a month. There are three posts.
Hello there! I am Huai Bin and I'm a 28 year old working professional living in Petaling Jaya. I can be reached at sixthseal@gmail.com if you feel a burning urge to contact me.
