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HSBC Credit Card booth

This is Liew Hui Li, an Account Manager at HSBC Bank. I'm at the airport now and I just applied for a HSBC credit card. Actually, it was two cards - a Visa and a Mastercard. I'm getting my past two months pay slip and my EPF statements faxed across (Thanks Penny!) and I should be getting the cards within 3 weeks.

I got a free gift too - it was a choice between a digital clock, another digital clock and a pen. Naturally, I went for the pen. This is an XX Chromosome entry - fine people they have, to get people to apply for credit cards. ;)

Posted in XX chromosomes by Huai Bin at 03:55 PM Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack

Xanax by Pharmacia & Upjohn

This is a box of 100 x 0.5 mg tablets of Xanax (alprazolam) made by the original pharmaceutical company. It contains 10 blister packs of 10 x 0.5 mg alprazolam each.

The side of the box states that Xanax should be dispensed only by or on the prescription of a physician. What? And tie down all the medical resources? What happened to good ol' Do-It-Yourself self-medication? We don't need no damn doctors back in the days, we just got the box and took them Xanaxes as needed. ;)

Them Xanax tablets are good till 2007 too...

Alright, have a great week everyone, I'm flying back to Sibu later today for the long Gawai holidays.

Posted in Pharmaceuticals by Huai Bin at 12:29 PM Permalink | Comments (32) | TrackBack

Alex's birthday

Alex celebrates his birthday today, and the Huygens Asia staff all chipped in to get a chocolate cake for him from Crown Plaza (about the only place you can get decent cakes here). There's an inscription on it - it goes "Happy Birthday Boss" and a single candle was put on it (probably coz we don't know his age ;)).

The photo is kinda blurry since it was taken while he was moving to blow the candle out.

Happy Birthday, Alex!

Posted in Huygens Asia by Huai Bin at 05:56 PM Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Cigarettes from Penang in the mail!

I received a notice that I had a package waiting for me in Customs. With some trepidation, I went and picked up the parcel from the Malaysian Post Customs. It cleared just fine - there was just a note on the package stating "Received in this condition".

I was wondering what the contents inside were - the package seems to have a vague box shape to it, and it was secured with some nylon string. The back of the package is inscribed with the sender's information - All Element Trading in Penang. I'm not sure who sent this package, please tell me if you're the sender, so I can thank you.

Anyway, the brown paper wrap opens up to reveal...a box for a Panasonic water filter (?). WTF was the main line of thought in my mind as I investigated further and opened up the box to see if there was really a water filter inside. I was thinking about what kind of nefarious person would send me a water filter as a gift. ;)

The box opens out to reveal a newspaper wrapped package. Mysterious mysteries, but at least it doesn't feel like a water filter...

It turns out that the newspapers were used to conceal a plastic bag containing cigarettes.

Duty free cigarettes. ;)

Posted in Ethanol and tobacco by Huai Bin at 05:51 PM Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack

I sneezed and my atomic bomb went off

Link: Heavy Metal [popcap.com]

Heavy Metal - reducing corporate productivity since 2005. ;)

Posted in by Huai Bin at 01:13 PM Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Scandonest 2% special for injection (mepivacaine and adrenaline solution)

Scandonest 2% special contains Mepivacaine hydrochloride (a local anesthetic) and adrenaline. This solution is normally used for dental procedures, and I managed to get a vial of Scandonest 2% containing 44 mg of mepivacaine hydrochloride and 22 ug of adrenaline.

The solution came in a glass vial and I used a .29 gauge Terumo syringe to self-administer the mepivacaine + adrenaline solution into my left upper arm. I read that the solution should not be taken via the IV route so I just injected it into muscle.

The vial that I managed to get hold of contained about half of the Scandonest 2% solution and I injected the whole solution available. This are the notes that I wrote down regarding this:

it's fun to roll circles around the injection spot (the place where the fluid builds up) to "feel" the numbness and there is a slight adrenaline rush, so that's something extra. it's mild though, but the topical anestetic features makes this novel.

i wouldn't call it recreational, but it's interesting to make a spot on your body numb. run your fingers over it, and "feel the numbness". heh. ok i'm a retard. the adrenaline passes very fast, but its mild anyway, so thats not the main feature. the main feature is the CREEPING NUMBNESS

p/s - an interesting new development i felt at T+ 0:30 is that the anethestic part SPREAD to my wrist (!!!). so the whole area from the injection site to my wrist is numb but not upwards. very strange and fucking NOVEL. now part of my arm is numb. very, very interestin substance. i can rub my lower arm and "feel the numbness".

say it with me people. ;)

FEEL THE CREEPING NUMBNESS! :)

it lasted about 3-5 hours, quite impressive.

Here are two videos documenting the procedure:

Download: Scandonest 2% for injection [sixthseal.com]

Download: Mepivacaine afternotes [sixthseal.com]

File this under Experiments. :)

Posted in Pharmaceuticals by Huai Bin at 11:16 AM Permalink | Comments (20) | TrackBack

Happy Valley Home BBQ

Happy Valley Home BBQ is an eating establishment located just behind the Happy Valley pub...and just like the name suggests - it's a residential house (!).

There's small gate and bridge that leads into Happy Valley Home BBQ. There's a sign on the gate that goes "No Outsiders Allowed!". I'm just kidding with ya - the sign goes "No outside food allowed". ;)

The interesting thing about Happy Valley Home BBQ is just that...it's a home that's been converted into an eatery, with all the coziness that the ambience allows for.

I started with Happy Valley Special - a drink that comes with all sorts of Oriental Healthy Stuff (TM) that I can't identify. It was very "cooling" though. Jesus, what conformist words I'm using...seriously though, it's good. The interesting mix of ingredients makes the drink sweet and piques the palate's interest at the same time.

This is their Curry Fried Rice, which one of my friends ordered. It came with savory rice and crackers, in addition to a bowl of curry chicken with prime cuts inside. It's good!

Here's Happy Valley's implementation of Chicken Chop. I forgot what this one tastes like, my bad.

I ordered some Spaghetti Bolognese...

...and the Chef's Recommendation of the Day - some mixed grill that tasted sweet (probably coz of the glazed honey and sesame seed sauce). It's good.

There's also a complimentary Soup of the Day (Oxtail Soup). Happy Valley BBQ makes a good bowl of Oxtail soup...hearty.

Having a meal at Happy Valley Home BBQ feels like eating at home...with all the messiness and ambience of home cooking. The bill came up for RM 60+ for three people, which isn't too bad, considering the fare.

Posted in Food reviews by Huai Bin at 09:54 AM Permalink | Comments (15) | TrackBack

The Ang Tau Chan Lok Theory

A long time ago, in the Open Market in Kuching not so far away...

Me (stoned): This is a classic example of what I'm talking about - the ang tau chan lok bowl as the female representative. Men are greedy creatures; they want their partner to be everything...to be sweet like the gula melaka in the ang tau chan lok bowl and also to be good in "other" aspects like the green squiggly bits in the ang tau chan lok. Variety. Men want the whole bowl to themselves, signifying their possessiveness for the partner, to be theirs and no one else's.

Friend: What if I dump some chilli sauce into my ang tau chan lok bowl? What does that mean?

Me: That means you also want her to be spicy in bed. You want the best of both worlds.

Friend: But that makes the ang tau chan lok - chilli sauce uneatable right?

Me: That is an acquired taste, yes...

Friend: What if I take this sio bee here, and dip it into the sweet and spicy concoction and eat it?

Me: Oh, that's not good, my friend. You want to have your cake and eat it too...but then, don't we all? And that, is the ang tau chan lok bowl theory. Everything can be explained by it. Everything.

Friend: Alright, you're stoned...

Posted in Hmm... by Huai Bin at 10:06 AM Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBack

Afgan chocolate cookies @ bing!

The Afgan chocolate cookies at bing! is one of the best chocolate cookies I've had in Malaysia. It retails for RM 3.50 each and it kicks the mass produced Famous Amos chocolate cookies range's collective asses.

The Afgan chocolate cookies are topped with chocolate coated and there's a nut placed on every single cookie.

It tastes the way real cookies should taste like - rich, satisfying, and crumbly. :)

Posted in Snacks by Huai Bin at 10:52 AM Permalink | Comments (30) | TrackBack

Longlife cigarettes

Longlife cigarettes is a brand of cigarettes in Taiwan. This is the full flavored version that comes in bright yellow packaging and the characters for "long life" in Chinese written in the middle. Jesus...and to think that for all this while, I had harbored the mistaken thought cigarettes are bad for you. ;)

Anyway, this is the premium full flavored version of Longlife cigarettes that was purchased in Taiwan. It contains 1.1 mg of nicotine and 13 mg of tar.

The interesting thing about Taiwanese cigarettes is that they have expiry dates printed on the bottom of each pack (!) - this one says 16/3/2006.

Heck, they even have a phone number you can call or an email address you can send enquires about the cigarettes to! Now that is support! ;)

The strange thing about the full flavored Long Life cigarettes is the white filter, which is the norm for lights over here, but not full flavored ones. Nevertheless, I found Longlife cigarettes to be a smooth, satisfying smoke.

Smoke me! I give you long life! ;)

Posted in Ethanol and tobacco by Huai Bin at 10:26 AM Permalink | Comments (15) | TrackBack

Buprenorphine (Temgesic) experience report

Buprenorphine is available in Malaysia in the form of Temgesic Sublingual 0.2 mg tablets (without the opiate antagonist naloxone). This makes it recreational for people with low or no opiate tolerance. I've had experience in the opiate family, more notably with DHC, methadone and heroin so I'll be basing the report against the three other opiates that I'm familiar with.

Temgesic sublingual 200 ug buprenorphine tablets is manufactured by Reckitt & Colman and I've taken it through the sublingual route (as it's meant to be taken, nullifying the liver first pass effect) and insufflated. I noticed that using the sublingual route makes it unpredictable, since it's hard to keep the tablets in place. Preparing the buprenorphine (commonly known as "bupe") for insufflation allows for a more reliable delivery mechanism. Buprenorphine is water soluble so intranasal delivery is a viable method.

Temgesic Sublingual 0.2 mg buprenorphine tablets has an "L" imprint on the front...

...and the "cross" Reckitt & Colman logo at the back of the tablet. Buprenorphine is used for treatment of heroin (and sometimes cocaine) dependant individuals, just like methadone. The difference between bupe and methadone is the latter is a full opiate agonist (just like heroin) while bupe is a partial opiate agonist. This makes a huge difference in terms of recreational value - I would put buprenorphine after DHC (dihydrocodeine) but before methadone and heroin in terms of recreational potential.

Preparing the Temgesic Sublingual 0.2 mg buprenorphine tablets for insufflation requires a piece of paper and a knife (spoons can also be used, but knives are easier to work with due to its versatility). The amount of buprenorphine for the session is calculated and the tablets spread out at the crease mark on a piece of folded paper. I usually insufflate (snort) 1.4 mg of bupe, so that's 7 x 0.2 mg tablets. I noticed that this is good starting dose, if no opiate agonists have been taken within the same week.

I use a hard flat surface to crush the tablets - the folded "wings" of a balisong is useful for this purpose. Delicacy is necessary to avoid tearing the paper - I use alternating downwards and sideway pressure to methodologically crush the tablets into powder form.

This is what the outside of the paper should look like after the tablets have been crushed. The pockmarks are where the tablets used to be before it's crushed into power. It's important to note that due diligence should be exercised during this process to avoid spillage through the sides of the paper, which can happen if too many tablets are being crushed at one time.

Here's a look at the crushed bupe tablets - the folded pieces of paper allows the powder to remain in one place. You'll notice that the powder is still quite grainy, and thus, not so conducive to insufflation, so further refinement of the powder is necessary.

This is where I use the back of the knife (the edge that's not sharp) to run sideways against the folded piece of paper while applying pressure...

...and here are the resulting marks on the paper after the process is completed. The marks on the paper are meant for an indicative comparison and should not be treated as an empirical method of establishing that the bupe tablets have been crushed and refined.

This is what the powder looks like after it's been refined...the tablets should have been powdered into a fine...er, powdery substance by now. It should be noted that the powder looks "compact" coz of the folded paper, but it can be "chopped" with anything to form fine powder lines suitable for snorting.

Download: Insufflating buprenorphine [sixthseal.com]

I find that buprenorphine is rather enjoyable during the times that you have no to little opiate tolerance. It's not comparable to methadone (which is much more euphoric), but it beats dihydrocodeine by a long shot. The effects can be felt about 15 minutes after insufflation and it peaks at about the T+ 0:45 mark. The peak can be quite intense and gives off a satisfactory euphoria that you'll expect from opiate agonists.

I like buprenorphine and I've been purchasing it during my excursions back to Sibu (bupe is a restricted pharmaceutical and it's hard to obtain through legitimate channels, so I go through my pharmacy friend). It's not comparable to methadone, but it's recreational in its own right. It's good for the times when methadone is not available. Both are used for withdrawal management with heroin dependant individuals, but both can be used recreationally as well. I'm giving buprenorphine the thumbs up for recreational value.

Posted in Pharmaceuticals by Huai Bin at 02:06 PM Permalink | Comments (49) | TrackBack

Innocent family

"Dad, there's a weird guy taking photos of us..."

"Don't worry son, it's called street photography or something like that."

Posted in by Huai Bin at 10:53 AM Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack

Bang! Bang! You're dead!

Remember the pop cap gun toys that we used to play with as a kid? I found one of them at a friend's shop yesterday and decided to go for a trip down nostalgia lane. The toy is named Super Cap Gun with Real Bullet Shooting Action and it retails for just a couple of dollars.

The contents of the package consist of a pink revolver type handgun with a container full of plastic bullets. The firing caps are not included so I got a couple of kids that were hanging around to go buy some for me at a shop nearby and told them to keep the change.

They came back with a stack of the 72 shot packets containing 8 shot plastic disc caps. I remember these things fondly from my childhood days, when I used to shoot my sister with these pop cap guns. I probably triggered some massive synapse linkage coz she's now practicing medicine at Christchurch Hospital and I'm here in Kuching doing...fuck all? ;)

Anyway, the shot caps are detachable from a large sheet of prefabricated 8-shot firing caps. You'll notice that some of the caps do not have a proper amount of gunpowder (or whatever they use in these things to propel the bullets)...it's made in China, no quality control, so there you go. In fact, some of the shot cap rounds do not have any firing chemical at all...

Well, back to the pop cap gun, the front of the gun has a release mechanism that allows the revolver load to be detached. The back of the canister has metal studs embedded into it to allow the firing pin to hit the metal studs against the shot caps (the opposite action of real handguns) and the front has loading bays for the plastic bullets included in the package.

The loading of the plastic toy gun is done by manually inserting the white plastic bullets into the chambers. There are 8 chambers, the standard size in toy guns that uses the 8-shot firing caps. The first time I loaded the pop cap gun, I didn't push the "bullets" in fully, which resulted in less-than-stellar discharges.

I later found out that pushing in the plastic bullets until they come into contact with the back metal studs resulted in a much more satisfactory discharge, in terms of distance and power. The picture above shows the correct load of this plastic pop cap gun.

The firing cap is put above the metal studs at the back of the plastic revolver...

...and the canister is put back into the gun frame. Lock and load! ;)

Download: Pop gun firing action [sixthseal.com]

Here's a video of me playing with the pop cap gun at my friend's store. I used my hand as a target, just to see if it hurts. It doesn't.

It gives you welts where the plastic bullets come into contact with your skin though...

This is what the firing cap looks like when it's spent.

The pop can gun has visible residue in the chamber after its being fired for a couple of times...it's made in China, it's not supposed to last. :p

Hands up! Or I'll give you welts! ;)

Posted in Interesting by Huai Bin at 09:23 AM Permalink | Comments (38) | TrackBack

Ah Mei

Here's one for the early birds out there - this is Ah Mei, someone I met while I was hanging out at my friend's place yesterday.

I could only get off a couple of shots before my digicam battery ran out, so here you go.

Posted in XX chromosomes by Huai Bin at 07:44 AM Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack

The girl next door (or downstairs rather)

This is the girl that owns the grocery store downstairs from the place I live. It's technically her parent's, but she's there most of the time. It's just right below where I live, so drinking water (and snacks for the munchies) is just a short walk down the stairs. ;)

She's still in high school though...

Posted in XX chromosomes by Huai Bin at 08:06 PM Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack

Mirinda Batman Blast Berry Fusion

Mirinda came out with a new flavor called Batman Blast Berry Fusion as a promotional tie in to the Batman Begins movie. I've seen the drink being heavily promoted in supermarkets but never did get around to getting one, until one of my coworkers bought one for me.

The Mirinda Batman Blast Berry Fusion drink is designed with Batman (the movie) influences, and doesn't look like the conventional Mirinda offerings.

There is also an SMS contest tie-in with the Mirinda Batman Blast drink, which is valid for all Malaysian citizens. The promotion ends on the 30th of June.

The bottom of the can has the Batman Begins movie information (including a URL to the movie). Mirinda Batman Blast looks more like an advertisement can than a drink...

The Batman Blast Berry Fusion flavor tastes good though - it's better than any Mirinda offerings out there. The can looks like one big commercial for the movie (which it probably is), but it tastes good nevertheless.

Posted in Fast Food Inc. by Huai Bin at 10:30 AM Permalink | Comments (43) | TrackBack

Gigantic pack of Dunhill cigarettes

I saw a huge pack of Dunhill cigarettes retailing for RM 12 just now. It contains 40 cigarettes and I loved the box the moment I set my eyes on it. The sheer audacity of the Dunhill 40's pack needs to be personally experienced - I wanted to put it into my pocket just to see if it fits (which it obviously won't).

The liner on the Dunhill cigarette pack has "DUNHILL TWIN PACK RM 12.00" written on it. It's a promotional item, probably to counter the tobacco price wars with Philip Morris retailing Marlboros at RM 6 and Next going for RM 4.

The side of the huge Dunhill flip top box has 40 cigarettes stamped on it. The box is made to look like one gigantic Dunhill pack with all the appropriate detailing in. It's actually a box housing 2 x 20's.

This is what the inside of the huge Dunhill box contains - there are two ordinary Dunhill 20's inside.

The individual Dunhill boxes has "Twin Pack RM 12.00" instead of the usual liner text. I love the entire concept and bought it even though I'm not a big fan of Dunhill's. I love the huge promotional pack though.

I mean, just look at it! It's monolithic!

I'm going to keep it on my desk. :)

Posted in Ethanol and tobacco by Huai Bin at 03:39 PM Permalink | Comments (15) | TrackBack

Turtle eggs preparation recipe and report

Turtle eggs are considered to be very nutritious and purportedly have a lot of health benefits. Unfortunately, they happen to be illegal due to the wildlife preservation enactments to prevent rampant poaching of turtle eggs (which is a protected species) in Malaysia. However, I managed to hook up with someone who sells turtle eggs through a coworker.

The transaction was very covert, which I found amusing - the turtle egg seller called to tell us where he is and we got him to deliver it to the office. He was an overweight slightly grimy looking man carrying one of those tote bags with probably 100 turtle eggs inside (and also some porn VCD's on the sides). I bought 10 turtle eggs off him for RM 15 (it's RM 1.50 per turtle egg). The turtle eggs are still sandy from the beach and each one is about the size of a ping pong ball.

I don't know how to cook turtle eggs, so we brought it downstairs to solicit the help of Kakak (literally "Sister" in Malay) who works downstairs. She told us that it can either be eaten raw, or heated lightly (emphasis on lightly) with boiled water. Thus, we set the wok (there's a kitchen downstairs, sorta) on boil with some water.

The turtle eggs are washed by putting them under running water to get rid of the sand. The interesting thing about turtle eggs is that they're very pliable - it's so soft that pressing on it will make indentation marks (as can be seen in the first two photos). The turtle eggs in their natural configuration also has that property - surrounding eggs impact each turtle egg by forming recessions around each other.

The turtle eggs were then put into the water for a short (less than a minute) amount of time and left to simmer for a bit.

I also got Kakak to pose for a photo beside the cooking wok with the turtle eggs in it. ;)

This is what the slightly heated turtle eggs look like. The eggs are soft and slightly translucent, so that you can see the yolk inside.

You can eat the turtle eggs by opening up the shell (it's so soft, it's almost like peeling instead of opening) and eating it as it is. It tastes surprisingly good...it doesn't need any flavoring for the turtle egg taste to shine through. Unlike other eggs, turtle eggs have a distinct musky aftertaste to it.

However, I'm told that the proper way to enjoy turtle eggs is too peel off a small hole at the top...

...and put a drop of soy sauce inside to flavor it, before sucking the whole egg contents.

This method of consumption is more visceral and much more enjoyable. :)

Posted in Local food by Huai Bin at 05:42 PM Permalink | Comments (81) | TrackBack

XX chromosome - Amy

This is Amy, a friend of Penny who came into the office today to meet up with her. She's 26, and used to be from Chung Hua High School No. 1.

Dear readers of sixthseal.com, meet Amy. ;)

Posted in XX chromosomes by Huai Bin at 11:42 AM Permalink | Comments (30) | TrackBack

LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader Transformation

LEGO came out with a Star Wars Darth Vader Transformation kit (7251) for RM 44.90. I saw it at Jusco before I came back and couldn't resist buying it. I haven't assembled LEGO sets in a long, long time.

I brought the Lego Star Wars Darth Vader Transformation box to the office today to assemble during my lunch break. The back of the kit shows how Anakin Skywalker can be transformed into Darth Vader using a twisting movement. I just found the kit interesting, so I decided to give it a go.

I opened up the box and pulled out several LEGO pieces inside a plastic bag. It didn't look like it would be hard to assemble...

...until I noticed that there's another packet of Lego pieces in the box, a flat LEGO mounting board and an instructions manual. That's the problem with LEGO pieces, there's always more than you think. ;)

This is the assorted LEGO Star Wars pieces from the first packet. You can see an Anakin Skywalker LEGO man piece in there as well as an unmasked Darth Vader LEGO man. There's something about the characters having a LEGO man head that cracks me up to no end. :)

This is the other (smaller) packet, which mostly contains the LEGO pieces necessary to build the torture device/transformation thingy. The instructions manual (a thinly disguised promotional brochure) is at the back.

The LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader Transformation manual has the same flame-licking-the-fringes design as the box.

I must admit, I'll be lost without the step-by-step instructions to build the contraption. Seriously.

I started with the base LEGO mounting board and started building up the back towers (they're actually LEGO pieces, but I'm trying to lose myself in the illusion here, dammit ;)).

The side swing away multiple armed transformation machine came was starting to bear some resemblance to the image on the box after a couple of minutes.

It's starting to look more and more like the LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader Transformation kit now...

Behold! The LEGO pieces are finally assembled! I present to you - The LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader Transformation!

This is the "Darth Vader" side - the previous photo shows the "Anakin Skywalker" side.

Download: LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader Transformation [sixthseal.com].

Here's a video to show how the LEGO swivels to "transform" Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader.

There are also two other possible permutations with the existing LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader transformation kit - there's no instructions for those, but it can be done with a bit of experimentation. One of them depicts Darth Vader standing beside the machine and the other shows Darth Vader with this huge ass phallic looking weapon.

I like it in the original form though, so the LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader Transformation set is sitting on my desk at work now.

Posted in Interesting by Huai Bin at 04:08 PM Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBack

Mini Choux Au Saumon

The Mini Choux Al Saumon is actually a Carrefour store brand Aperitif snack with salmon flavor. It retails for RM 4 per box and I got one to try out, since it looks pretty appetizing.

I still couldn't manage to decipher what the words actually mean but I gathered enough from the picture on the front to know that it's salty and salmon flavored balls.

The ingredients list were not much help either, since it's not in English...

It's a good thing there's an English translation on the back. The packaging looks really good, depicting salmon puffs in front of a tranquil scene. It's nothing like the other store branded items I've seen, with minimalist features to save on cost.

This is what the salmon balls looks like. I thought it looks a little like a bun.

I bit into the salmon puffs and found that there was a delicious surprise inside - the salmon puffs are filled with salmon dip! It's amazing, and not what I expected at all. I didn't know it contains real dip inside. It tastes great!

The Carrefour store branded Mini Choux Au Saumon is a must-try. The name of the snack doesn't exactly roll of the tongue, but the taste does. ;)

Posted in Snacks by Huai Bin at 03:38 PM Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Restoran Kari Kapala Ikan Cheras

Cheras Fish Head Curry Restaurant is an eating establishment that has been in operation since 1978. The eatery is open 24 hours a day and serves curry fish head as their flagship dish. There's also a sign saying that their other signature dish is the mutton curry.

The kari kambing (mutton curry) was good...though the chunks are a little too big to handle. Smaller cuts would have been nice, but otherwise, I have no complaints about the mutton curry. It says that the mutton curry has been popular since the restaurants inception.

The obligatory crackers also made an appearance...

...as well as the vegetable dish.

We also ordered some prawn curry. It was alright, but nowhere near as good as the mutton curry.

The calamari curry was also uninspiring...

...but then came the much lauded fish head curry. It was great! The curry fish head came out tender, with the fish tasting fresh despite the curry treatment.

There's just something about a dead fish looking accusingly at you (through chilli covered eyes) while you eat. I can't explain it...

...but those who are inclined to do so can drown themselves in the waterfall beside the restaurant should the guilt prove to be overwhelming. ;)

Posted in Local food by Huai Bin at 11:46 AM Permalink | Comments (17) | TrackBack

Voodoo Jelly - The Jelly That You Can Drink

Voodoo Jelly is called "The Jelly That You Can Drink" and comes in a wide variety of flavors with zany names like Jungle Lime and Raspberry Rage. It retails for RM 2.30 each at your friendly neighborhood Carrefour - I got mine at the one in Mid Valley Megamall.

I went for the Raspberry Rage and Wildberry Wipeout flavors. Voodoo Jelly is made of almost solid jelly and comes with the pop-up top that's common in Australian drink products. Voodoo Jelly is made by The Original Juice Co. in Victoria, Australia. I used to get my orange juice from this manufacturer when I was in university there too.

Download: Voodoo Jelly 1 [sixthseal.com]

Download: Voodoo Jelly 2 [sixthseal.com]

Here's two videos of me drinking the jelly in the hotel room in Cititel, Mid Valley. You have to tilt your head a bit to see what's going on, sorry about that. :p

Posted in Food by Huai Bin at 06:01 PM Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Mun Wah Hokkien Mee

Mun Wah Hokkien Mee comes highly recommended and is touted as the best Hokkien Mee in Malaysia. It's located at Jalan Maharajalela in KL and has been in operation since 1960.

Kedai Makanan Mun Wah Hokkien Mee seems to be doing very brisk business and attracts a wide range of people. There's an altar for Kuan Yee Kor (Kuan Kong) at the back, complete with incense for offerings.

I managed to get the cook to pose for a photo, though I didn't take the shutter speed into account and he went back to his (slightly charred) Hokkien mee cooking in the wok. The place specializes in Hokkien mee and people reportedly throng to this place for it.

The rack at the back of the cooking place is filled with piles and piles of the thick fat yellow noodles used to make Hokkien mee. Hokkien mee is a sticky, slightly sweet noodle preparation.

I ordered 100 Plus for my drink and it came in a steel cup, which I found to be amusing (though I don't know what the source of amusement was, I just found it funny).

Mun Wah Hokkien Mee is very clear about what its flagship dish is, by this sign prominently stuck on every single table. It was translated as "People ordering Hokkien Mee may have their meal served faster due to this eating establishment's specialty. Please be notified that other orders may be delayed as this place does not practice a first come first serve policy when Hokkien mee is involved".

This is what the Hokkien Mee looks like. It was mixed with beehoon (rice vermicelli) to give it a bit of texture. It was really good - the sticky Hokkien mee tastes nice, with all the little crunchy bits to complement the taste.

We also had a side order of fish puffs - it was served with Thai chilli sauce and one of the people I was with noted that it tastes particularly good, nice and puffy, with a soft almost melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Kedai Makanan Mun Wah Hokkien Mee is a great place for Hokkien mee - it's really good!

Posted in Local food by Huai Bin at 05:55 PM Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack

Nestle Extra Creamy & Fruity Fruits of the Forest Yogurt

Nestle came out with an "Extra Creamy & Fruity" addition to their existing range of yoghurt - which is a good thing, with all the "Low Fat" and low carbohydrates trend in the food industry. Some of us like our food to be rich and indulgent. I personally prefer the decadent, if you will, versions of food instead of the healthier choice. You only live once. ;)

Anyway, to support this move towards catering for the more hedonistic palates in the consumer market, I bought one of the Nestle Extra Creamy & Fruity Fruits of the Forest yoghurt. They have a wide range of different flavors, but Fruits of the Forest sounds good to me. It just evokes this image of various different fruits, fused into the yoghurt.

Nestle Extra Creamy & Fruity line tastes great too! It is exactly what it claims to be - extra creamy and fruity. I loved it. It also comes in the smaller packaging with a plastic foldable spoon.

Posted in Snacks by Huai Bin at 02:46 PM Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

Starbucks AFFOGATO Frappuccino

The AFFOGATO line of Frappuccino is Starbucks latest beverage that features an interesting shot of espresso being poured into a Frappuccino. It comes with the tagline "Strange name, wonderful drink" which was what attracted me to this latest version of the Frappuccino.

I just managed to check out the Affogato style Frappuccino last night at the Starbucks at KL Sentral. The AFFOGATO style Frappuccino comes into new flavors - Chocolate Cream Frappucino and Caramel Creme Frappuccino. I got Venti sized ones for both variants to sample.

The AFFOGATO style Frappuccino is differentiated from the usual offerings in the interesting textures that manifests when a shot of espresso is dumped into an ice blended drink.

I like the Chocolate Cream Frappuccino - it tastes rich and satisfying, though the caffeine content wasn't as high as I would expect from a double shot Frappuccino...

However, it was the Caramel Creme Frappuccino that I fell in love with. The Caramel AFFOGATO Frappuccino manages to retain just the right amount of sweetness and texture to make the drink shine through.

AFFOGATO - Strange name, Wonderful drink. ;)

Posted in Fast Food Inc. by Huai Bin at 05:17 AM Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack

Cheap sushi

I managed to get an even better bargain just now - the trick is to go exactly at 10:30 pm (or 11:00 pm on Saturdays) to Carrefour and hope that all the good ones aren't taken.

The sushi attendants wanted to sell the remainders for RM 8.99 but I said I'll just take it all for RM 7.99, the price I got the previous night...the choices were much better this time, so that's the reason for the higher going price.

It was closing time so I just got everything for RM 7.99. That's really cheap sushi considering that there's some prime choices inside...

It filled two large sushi packs, and one of them had all the choice sushi pieces.

Posted in Food by Huai Bin at 03:01 AM Permalink | Comments (25) | TrackBack

The famous Tai Sam Lou fish head review

I went to the renowned Chan Sow Lin No 3 Road fish head shop for lunch. It's located somewhere in KL and I'm told that it's very famous for their fish head dish.

It seems that the fish head is their signature flagship dish as everyone there is having it...

The Tai Sam Lou (literally Big Three Road in Cantonese) is a roadside restaurant of sorts, with a side area for cooking...

...and a wood structure to the side, which I assume is the living quarters of the proprietors.

The rice came out first, its just ye ol garden variety rice...

...and we also ordered kay yok, which is belly pork with yam. It's really good - the pork is fatty and hearty and the yam was nice too. It's a great addition to the meal for people who like meat.

There is also the obligatory vegetable dish...this is bean sprouts. The unusual thing about the dish is the size of the bean sprouts. Jesus, the things are huge! Bean sprouts on steroids or genetically engineered (GE) bean sprouts, whichever you like to think of it as. ;)

Finally, here's the flagship dish of the restaurant - I present to you, the Spicy bean sauce gravy steamed fish head with bean sauce and soy sauce. I don't recall the Cantonese name for it, but it sounded something like chiong ching something something yu tau.

It really is good! It's lightly steamed with spicy ingredients, but the freshness of the fish still manages to shine through.

The Tai Sam Lou fish head shop is a great find indeed...couldn't have done it without a local.

Posted in Food reviews by Huai Bin at 07:04 PM Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBack

Sushi and wine

I headed down to Jusco (or was it Carrefour?) after a long day and got some Pelican Wine. I got the red and white varieties.

I walked past the sushi counter and the attendant asked me if I wanted everything on display for just RM 7.99. It was really late and they wanted to sell the remainders. I just checked into Cititel at Mid Valley at about 9 pm or 10 pm.

I thought it was a good bargain, so I got the entire leftover maki for that price...someone was behind me and wanted it too, one second too late, my friend. ;)

There are quit3e a lot of sushi and maki, it filled up two boxes and the boxes were stuffed to the max.

I liked the pelican wine too.

Sushi and wine...besh enjoyed with liberal amounts of benzos. Bye. Zzz...

Posted in by Huai Bin at 11:59 PM Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack