sixthseal.com

Deadline: 3rd December, 2005

[Image from Harian Metro Ahad]

I have been contacted by the authorities and I've agreed to delete all drug and pharmaceutical related posts in two days (before this Saturday - GMT +8). I will not write about drugs and pharmaceuticals in the future on this blog.

I hope that all of you understand why I have to do this - the alternative is very unsavory. I will still continue to write about other things (alcohol and tobacco is still okay, as is all legal things) on sixthseal.com and I hope that you can understand and accept the decision I've made.

RIP to the first drug blog in Malaysia with photos and videos.

2002 - 2005

It was good while it lasted...

Thanks to:
Sashi [sashiweb.com]
Lainie [tabulas.com]
John Kuan [johnkuan.com]
mahagurusia [blogspot.com]
Shaolin Tiger [shaolintiger.com]
mmulibra [blogspot.com]
annabella [xanga.com]
Applegal [blogspot.com]
asiapundit [asiapundit.com]
cyber-red [blogspot.com]
laineylashes [laineylashes.com]
Lainie [tabulas.com]
loquterz [msn.com]
kimberlycun [kimberlycun.com]
Terenceg [terenceg.com]
Silly Wabbit [sstwo.net]

and everyone else who showed their support during this difficult time. Thank you everyone - from the bottom of my heart, as always.

Viva la veritas!

Posted in Best of sixthseal.com by Huai Bin at 05:05 PM Permalink | Comments (116) | TrackBack

High fever

Hello all, I'm still alright though it seems that divine punishment has come sooner than I expected. ;) I woke up today with a blistering fever (though strangely, I was shivering from cold). My joints ached and my nose was running like a broken faucet (tap) - caught it yesterday. I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with influenza (that's flu) and I had a temperature of 39.2 degrees Celsius...though I feel MUCH hotter than that.

The Creator at His best, smiting me down with a bad case of the flu. ;)

Posted in by Huai Bin at 05:04 PM Permalink | Comments (49) | TrackBack

In Good Faith

I've removed several categories from the sidebar in good faith. I'm currently seeking legal council. Thank you all for your support - and please be careful when commenting...it's a very sensitive issue. Thank you for all your support and I hope this blows over soon...

It is natural for new media to be seen as a threat and attempts to legislate cyberspace initiated. I urge the authorities to look at the blog as a whole and not dwell on the other posts.

I'm doing everything I can...and I need all the support I can get right now, so I'll appreciate any that is offered.

Thanks to:
Sashi [sashiweb.com]
Lainie [tabulas.com]
John Kuan [johnkuan.com]
mahagurusia [blogspot.com]

and to all the bloggers who have posted about this issue and the readers who have offered me asylum and support via SMS and phone calls. It's very much appreciated - from the bottom of my heart.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 12:56 PM Permalink | Comments (122) | TrackBack

Important announcement from sixthseal.com

sixthseal.com does NOT condone the use of drugs and is merely a journal documenting the past allerged use of substances.

sixthseal.com was NEVER meant to "challenge the authorities" and it is merely a personal weblog which has some information which a lot of other sites already has, even specializes in.

Much as I would like to, I am unable to delete the previous posts, since it already has been archived by the Internet (Google Cache, Wayback Machine)

sixthseal.com WILL NOT post about drugs and pharmaceuticals again, as I've promised earlier this week.

I urge the authorities to look at the site as a whole and not just it's negative aspects. It is far outnumbered by other posts involving tourism, food, and raising awareness about HIV.

I apologize for any misunderstanding about the intentions of this blog.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 04:30 PM Permalink | Comments (127) | TrackBack

Zen: Sunny side up egg

This is the best sunny side up egg (or Over-Easy egg) I've ever had the pleasure of sampling just now. Most of the fried eggs here (RM 0.50) are over-fried but this one takes the cake. The cook has mastered the Zen of sunny side up eggs.

It also looks like something rather interesting (check out the aureole) in a vague sort of way...

This is a blatant filler post, if you haven't noticed (pioneered by sixthseal.com back in 2002 ;)). My apologies, I have a lot on my mind right now.

Posted in by Huai Bin at 05:22 PM Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBack

Okra (Lady's Fingers) chips - very unusual whole okra vegetable snack

Okra (commonly known here as Lady's Fingers) is a long green vegetable, much like chillies, except it's green and it's not spicy. I noticed fresh (as in structural integrity) whole vegetable snacks made in Taiwan on the shelves of the supermarket and it caught my attention due to the unusual natural configuration of the vegetable snacks.

The freeze dried okra snacks retails for RM 5.95 and comes in a see-through plastic container which reveals the complete structure of the lady's fingers - the okra is preserved well, with the stem on top tapering down to the vegetable proper.

The interesting thing about these okra chips from Taiwan is that it's made from fresh okra. The range of products from this manufacturer runs the whole gamut of the vegetable and tuber family - all with the original structural integrity present.

There is a green colored lid (the different vegetables are color coded for your convenience) which opens up to reveal a standard pull-up ring.

Here's a close up of the okra "chips" - the lady's fingers has been preserved nicely, and all the okra is naturally green and whole (I still can't get over that). I ate one of them and the crispiness of the okra is very pronounced. It tastes like the real vegetable and it comes with seeds and all still intact.

This is what the inside okra chips looks like - it looks like the real thing, with the seeds and all...heck, it is the real thing!

The wonders of modern food processing...

;)

Posted in Sibu by Huai Bin at 02:30 PM Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBack

Frito-Lay: Lay's KC Masterpiece BBQ flavored STAX potato crisps

Lay's crisps are some of the best potato chips in the category. I've never really cared for crisps - I don't like Pringles or other potato chips...perhaps its due to the fact that I was raised in Malaysia and Malaysian snacks have always been very salty, compared to the low sodium and minimal (relatively) food flavoring offerings in other countries - a point I've stressed numerous times while I was in Australia.

Lays crisps is big in the United States - it's the #1 snack in that market. Frito-Lay has partnered up with another food condiment company to produce potato chips flavored with KC Masterpiece Barbeque sauce [kcmasterpiece.com]. It seems to be a trend in the snack industry as I've seen Smith's crisps in Australia [sixthseal.com] partnering up with big names in the food condiment industry like Heinz tomato sauce while I was in Melbourne.

Lay's came out with a new container called STAX that looks very much like a standard Pringles can but it's made of pliable plastic and has an ergonomic easy grip (the top and bottom is extended out, leaving a thinner middle portion). It's a resealable crush-resistant blue container and it retails for RM 7.65 per can. The range of Lay's crisps STAX is filled with a healthy repertoire of flavors - original and other food condiment partnership flavors.

The product is actually made in Mexico instead of the United States - just a little bit of (useless) trivia. Lays KC Masterpiece BBQ STAX potato crisps "slides" out from the middle and each crisp is curved perfectly with a healthy sprinkling of KC Masterpiece Barbecue sauce seasoning in the middle.

Lay's KC Masterpiece BBQ STAX crisp tastes great! It's salty and it has that mouth watering smoky BBQ sauce flavor - the barbecue sauce is replicated perfectly!

Posted in Sibu by Huai Bin at 12:06 PM Permalink | Comments (25) | TrackBack

Urgent news - death in the family

I just received news that there's been a death in the family and I'll be away for a couple of days - I'll be flying home to Sibu, possibly till Friday for the standard 3 day Chinese funeral.

Take care all...

Posted in by Huai Bin at 05:41 PM Permalink | Comments (52) | TrackBack

Concerned Citizens should fuck off and die

http://www.tranungkite.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=3552&mode=&order=0&thold=0

The most self-righteous letter from a "Concerned Citizen" I've seen to date...

I'm seriously puzzled...do they really have that much time on their hands? I'll love to learn their secret coz between work and work I haven't got much time to write "Letters to the Editors".

Posted in by Huai Bin at 12:06 PM Permalink | Comments (71) | TrackBack

euphoria by Calvin Klein @ Suria KLCC

Euphoria is the latest fragrance by CK that has their debut at the Suria KLCC concourse. I saw the psychedelic promotional commercial when I was there earlier and I just love the name...

euphoria

Posted in by Huai Bin at 02:52 PM Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack

CareBee Pure Honey + Vinegar bottled drink

I has my breakfast this morning at the 24 hour mamak place downstairs and had my usual mee maggie goreng pedas sotong. I was going to order the usual teh tarik when I saw this poster:

It was advertising an unusual concoction of honey and vinegar (!). CareBee Honey Drink with Vinegar sounds interesting on the sole basis that it had vinegar in it. I was wondering what a drink of honey and vinegar would taste like

Thus, I ordered the drink instead of teh tarik.

CareBee Honey Drink (with vinegar) comes in a small, stubby bottle and claims to be "full of energy" with "no added sugar".

It tastes like a VERY sweet honey drink - I could not discern the vinegar in it (if any) and the URL of the company is invalid.

Hmm...

Posted in by Huai Bin at 02:15 PM Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBack

Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino Light Blended Coffee Christmas Special

Starbucks has this sign proclaiming that The Christmas Drinks Are Here in a nicely decorated chalkboard design full of holiday cheer (Joy to All) at their Midvalley Megamall franchise just now, and we went in to sample this year's seasonal lineup while waiting out the heavy rain earlier this evening.

There are two new offerings for the Christmas season in the traditional two drink format (one hot drink and one cold one, usually a frap). There is Crème Brulee Latte for the ones who prefer hot coffee in sizes of Tall, Grande and Venti for RM 11, RM 12.50 and RM 13.50 respectively. The ice blended offering for this Christmas is the Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino Light Blended Coffee that also comes in sizes of Tall, Grande and Venti for RM 12, RM 13 and RM 14.

The Christmas decorations seems to have been put up too, despite being still a good month (and then some) away from Christmas day, but that's pretty standard since consumerism reigns king for the most profitable holiday season for most retailers. The airwaves were also filled with Christmas carols, inspiring a yearning for material oriented spending in this glorious holiday, which has pretty much lost its significance a long time ago. ;)

Anyway, being one to contribute positively to the country's economy (er...patronizing Starbucks franchises in Malaysia counts as domestic spending, right?) I ordered a large (Venti) Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino Light Blended Coffee. It comes with whipped cream and red sprinkles on top to add more color to the festive cheer.

The Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino Light Blended Coffee tastes surprisingly good, despite my initial impression that Starbucks didn't seem to be very innovative with this year's Christmas lineup. The mocha based Frappuccino retains a strong chocolate taste, and the strong peppermint sneaks up on you with a strong minty aftertaste with each drink.

I don't know what peppermint has to do with Christmas though, but hey, it only happens once a year... ;)

Posted in Fast Food Inc. by Huai Bin at 09:22 PM Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack

Little Penang Kafe @ Midvalley Megamall

little penang kafe is a rather large eating establishment in Midvalley Megamall - which doesn't lead itself to this impression at first glace. The place actually has two spacious areas on the sides (hidden from view) and an elevated eating area with a view outside the mall, and another dining area on top of that. It can accommodate more people than the first impression gives...

This is Red Ruby (RM ?) a dessert I ordered - it's concocted of sweet evaporated milk, coconut milk, red colored jelly, and jackfruit in shaved ice. It's good stuff...the local tropical fruit gives this dessert a great twist.

I also ordered Penang Hokkien Mee (RM 9) and was surprised to see that it came in a SOUP! It seems that Penang Hokkien Mee is a soup based dish instead of a dry noodle dish like the KL style Hokkien Mee. This one from little penang kafe has a lot of large prawns in it and it tastes great! Spicy.

This is Penang style rojak (again) that we shared. It's RM 7 and it tastes like rojak.

Little Penang Kafe is a nice place for hawker style food in a mall (which defeats the whole concept of hawker food, but I digress). A lot of people seem to like it anyway, the place was packed when we arrived there just now and customers kept on streaming in. That's gotta say something...and there are photos of the Agong's wife and Dr. Mahathir patronizing the outlets and that probably says something as well (or not).

Anyway, I'm a little bushed today due to waking up at 3:35 am in the morning to catch my flight to KL. I was sedated, stoned and drunk last night too, so congrats to Cherie and Valerine on actually managing to get me drunk. ;)

Thanks for the beer Cherie and thanks for the Kent MINTEK 1 from Thailand, Val!

OK, I can't think straight right now, so I shall consume some DF-118 kindly furnished by the clinic opposite my office in KL and go to sleep. I have another appointment tomorrow morning. Later...

Posted in by Huai Bin at 05:50 PM Permalink | Comments (28) | TrackBack

Ipoh Special Rojak and other rojak stories

Ipoh Special Rojak is a stall at Hai Pa Wang, a popular seafood restaurant in Kuching. I didn't even remember going there until I saw the pictures and from that I deduced that the combination of the remainder of an eighth of Shine On Georgia Moon together with 4 tablets of Dormicum 15 mg (midazolam) and smoking weed with Cherie collectively gave me anterograde amnesia.

I seriously did not remember anything about going out last night until I saw that there were images in my digital camera from last night and then it all flashed back to me (no pun intended). I went out in a daze at approximately 10 pm in search for nourishment (nutritionists use the terminology "food") and dropped by Luconia to meet up with Cherie before going to Hai Pa Wang. I wanted to eat fish.

This person approached our table as we were seated at Hai Pa Wang and asked us if we wanted to try some "Ipoh Special Rojak". She said that it's totally different from the Sarawak implementation, and having developed symptoms of a serious case of the muchies, I said alright, bring it on.

She brought it on...the rojak is stoner's heaven man, like totally. Excuse my temporary lapse in linguistics. Anyway, the Ipoh Special Rojak was topped with sweet rojak sauce and pork floss, creating a wonderful topping. There were several unusual things in the rojak as well, which I could not identify in my state of intoxication but there was something very interesting with a chewy texture. Highly recommended!

...and God damn it, no pun intended. ;)

Anyway, we ordered quite a lot of seafood, overestimating our cannabis induced appetites and there was this huge fish (gestures with hands) that we ordered and NO ONE had room for it anymore. It all boils down to one person...someone of great testicular fortitude (or gastronomic fortitude rather) to finish the damn thing. That person also happens to be me, unfortunately drawing the shortest straw.

I started digging my way into the fish, and it was a bit of a challenge to finish even one side of the fish, but I was determined to finish the fucking thing. I started working my way though it...

...and finally managed to get one side of the fish into the deep, dark bowels of my intestines. I'm very optimistic at that moment and I'm sure I could finish it with my cannabis induced appetite...even if I had another half of a large whole fish to eat.

The fish was flipped over and I was initially overwhelmed by the sheer amount of fish that I still had to eat, but not being one to renegade on my words, I firmly planted my will into consuming the damned fish.

...and by the grace of God (or weed), I did it! Jesus Christ, I can't believe that I forgot all about that when I woke up this morning and only remembered my gastronomical feat when I reviewed my digicam and all the memories came rushing back.

Eating a whole fish is not something to sneeze at. I totally pwned that fish kau kau...

Anyway, I've gotta go to the toilet now...I'll be flying to KL early tomorrow morning on a business trip and I'll be there till the weekend so you know the number to call.

...er, actually, you probably don't since I changed it. It's 016 888 3166.

Posted in Food by Huai Bin at 11:11 AM Permalink | Comments (24) | TrackBack

Paralgin Forte - instant relief from your friendly neighborhood pharmacist

Paralgin Forte is a preparation containing 400 mg of paracetamol (APAP) and 30 mg of codeine per tablet. It's available at some pharmacies with the appropriate license to dispense codeine containing preparations and it's the most common codeine formulation around Malaysia. It's a restricted (quite so, especially in certain pharmacies) pharmaceutical due to the high codeine content per tablet.

There is one pharmacy (which doesn't look dodgy at all, by all outward appearances) who will sell packets of 5 (five) pre-split Paralgin Forte tablets [sixthseal.com] for RM 3 per packet with an enforced maximum purchase of two such packets per customer. The pharmacy seems to have targeted a particular segment of the pharmaceuticals market (namely, people like me) and pre-package two packets of the Paralgin Forte in a little magazine insert (ironically, Discovery Travel and Adventure) and sells it for RM 10.

It's instant relief for pains real or imaginary, with one hell of an effect. The packets are sold, no questions asked, at the abovementioned quota of two packets per customer per visit. I usually take much more codeine to get off, but without opiate tolerance (or with diminished opiate tolerance) 300 mg of codeine coupled with benzodiazepines can be your best friend for about 4 hours. ;)

I don't even bother to do a cold water extraction - I've taken 4.4 grams of paracetamol (APAP) routinely without adverse effects and at my highest (which collaborates with the lowest point of my life) took 8 grams (20 tablets for 600 mg of codeine) without kicking the bucket. It should be noted that the "ceiling dose" (the dose where you stop getting anything more from codeine) for codeine is 400 mg - thus, in hindsight, it wasn't a very wise thing to do.

Disclaimer: sixthseal.com is not responsible for massive liver damage and/or end organ failure and death resulting from, or indirectly caused by, taking massive quantities of paracetamol (APAP).

The official guide is 4 grams per day, maximum, for a healthy adult, and not in one sitting (staggered dosing), but what do we care, eh? ;)

Posted in Pharmaceuticals by Huai Bin at 02:19 PM Permalink | Comments (27) | TrackBack

Tuah Baker - Hot from oven

I was walking through Sarawak Plaza half stoned (okay, totally stoned) when I noticed an opening sign for Tuah Baker with the tantalizingly munchies inducing quote "Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of all feasts."

The sweet aroma of freshly baked bread ala Rotiboy steered my senses to their booth in the middle of the food court - the smell of the piping hot baked goods was strong enough to overpower all the other proprietor's offerings in the food court. Tuah Baker - Hot from oven is heavily inspired by Rotiboy's concept - except instead of the coffee cream bun, they also have a chocolate cream bun.

The buns go for RM 1.60 each and there are no discounts for more than one purchase, unlike Rotiboy (which I'm comparing this bakery with due to the remarkable similarity in concept). It was timely on our behalf that we got there just as the goods came out from the oven, so we got the only kind of bread one should eat - piping hot, almost tongue scalding. ;)

I got one coffee bun and one chocolate bun and would have got more, except they'll have gotten cold by the time I've gotten around to the third one. This is what the coffee bun looks like - the buns all come in a brown paper bag, except this one doesn't have any bakery insignia on it. The buns are finally put into the paper bag and "baked" for a short period - so the paper bag feels toasty as well. :)

The buns are warm and crispy - there's nothing like the remarkable aroma of baked bread smelling of freshly brewed coffee with a crispy crust around a wonderfully soft and fluffy bun. One of my friends, being unfamiliar with Rotiboy products, remarked: "This tastes like cake!"

Tuah Baker only sells the fresh from the oven coffee and chocolate buns and it's best to get them while a fresh batch is out of the oven.

Posted in Food by Huai Bin at 10:36 AM Permalink | Comments (23) | TrackBack

Shine On Georgia Moon

Shine On Georgia Moon Corn Whiskey is a popular distilled liquor made of corn with roots in moonshine production. Shine On Georgia Moon does not pretend to be anything except whiskey distilled from corn and one of its selling points is that it comes in a unique mason jar with a HUGE opening.

Shine On Georgia Moon is produced by Johnson Distillery Co. in Bardstown, Kentucky and it claims to be "Less than 30 days old". This is not a holier-than-thou premium aged whiskey and it's proud of that. I like the unpretentious mason jar bottle with the simple, yet artistic cardboard slap on label. Shine On Georgia Moon is an obvious reference to the moonshine history of the US.

The impression I got from Shine On Georgia Moon brand corn whiskey is that it's meant to be chugged, based on the size of the mason jar opening. It comes courtesy of cooknengr [cooknengr.com] who kindly sent it all the way from the United States. Thanks Eddie! It's always a pleasure to sample the delights that you generously send my way.

Shine On Georgia Moon Corn Whiskey opens up to reveal a completely translucent liquid - there is no colorization of the corn based liquor at all. I expected it to taste like moonshine and tentatively took a drink from the huge jar. The results knocked me off my feet - Shine On Georgia Moon not only tastes great, it beats most "premium" bourbons and whiskeys from Kentucky like Jim Beam and Jack Daniels!

The taste of Shine On Georgia Moon has a strong hint of corn and it goes down surprisingly well, with not much of a bite to speak of. There's a sweet corn like aftertaste to the liquor and for a 40% alcohol liquor, it's surprisingly easy to drink neat. I'll recommend that to anyone who has their hands on this particular corn whiskey - drink it neat and savor the taste of this unique corn liquor. It tastes so good I wish I kept the bottle here so I can have a nip right now. That's how good it is...

Shine On, Georgia Moon!

I do not have a problem with alcohol consumption. Just in case you're wondering.

Posted in Ethanol and tobacco by Huai Bin at 12:22 PM Permalink | Comments (29) | TrackBack

Calendar cannabis - Marijuana for every day of the year!

I picked up my regular supply of cannabis last night and it came in the most interesting wrapper I've seen to date (and I've seen a lot) - it's a page detailing the date from a tear-off Chinese style calendar. These are the calendars that come in a thick Yellow Pages type book (except it's smaller) and each page gets torn off to reveal the new day. It creates a lot of waste paper and it's been falling out of vogue in recent years but you can still find them around.

The cannabis came in a plastic baggie inside the Chinese paper calendar wrap - it's been uncompressed from the usual compressed weed that we get here in Malaysia and it's supposed to be 10 grams worth of the stuff, although my contact warned me that it might be a bit of the light side and offered to reduce the price to RM 90 per 10 grams instead of the usual RM 120 for 10 grams in brick (compressed cube) form.

This is a size comparison to give perspective to the dimensions of the baggie of cannabis, pictured here next to a regular box of cigarettes. It's been "uncompressed", mind, so there's perceived bulk at the expense of actual weight. I've seen smaller packages that's been highly compressed and yet weighs in more that this but I'm getting my cannabis from another contact now, and I like the guy, so I don't really mind (coz he delivers, that's the key ;)).

Here's a closer look at the cannabis that's commonly available in Malaysia - I won't pretend to know what strain this is, but it's what we get over here. Granted, we're not a city in Amsterdam and we don't have a large community of hobby horticulturists due to the legalities involved (horticulturists gets hanged over here) so we don't have much in the way of choice. It's the cannabis that is commonly available over here, and as any stoner will tell you (discounting cannabis connoisseurs) - any weed is better than no weed. ;)

Posted in by Huai Bin at 12:01 PM Permalink | Comments (31) | TrackBack

Plumrose Premium Giant Hotdogs VS Ye Olde Oak American Style Hot Dogs in brine

It's a face-off of massive proportions, the sausage event of the century - sixthseal.com is proud to bring to you: Plumrose Premium Giant Hotdogs vs. Ye Olde Oak American Style Hot Dogs. It's an evaluation between the two different brands of canned hot dogs (sausages) in brine. I hate this stuff. :p

This is the first contender - Plumrose Premium Giant Hotdogs (RM 9.95) a tall and sturdy built cylindrical shaped can containing 6 (six) "Premium Giant Hotdog" (it's not really that big, to be honest). ;)

Plumrose Premium Giant Hotdogs has an image of a football player at the back to emphasize the Americana in the product. It's made primarily of turkey (mechanically recovered turkey, that is, which isn't exactly people per se, but it's turkey parts) and comes with a serving suggestion of a conventional hot dog (in a bun).

The second contender is the Ye Olde Oak American Style Hot Dogs (RM 7.80) a conventional can also holding 6 (six) "American Style Hot Dogs" in the can. These are the common size hot dogs you see in the freezers of supermarkets in both length and girth.

Now, the thing about Ye Olde Oak American Style Hot Dogs is that it actually has a mascot to go with it. No shit. It's called Captain Hot Dog and it's a sausage dressed in Lincoln-era colors that's partially naked. There's just something very wrong about this, but I can't put my finger on it (no pun intended).

It is apparently UK's favorite hot dog. Hmm...

Ye Olde Oak American Style Hot Dogs

The can is an EZ-open container with a snap off lid, that's a major thumbs up for Ye Olde Oak American Style Hot Dogs. I don't want to use a can opener unless I have to. The brine looks mighty oily though and it's like liquid fat, that's how vicious the brine solution is...

Plumrose Premium Giant Hotdogs

The Plumrose Premium Giant Hotdogs requires a can opener to open up the container. The brine looks more appetizing in this one - there's no large "oil slicks" or sudden bobs of fatty material - this one is brine, and just brine, thank you very much. However, there are two disturbing patches of brown colored froth at the sides of the can...

Ye Olde Oak American Style Hot Dogs vs. Plumrose Premium Giant Hotdogs

Plumrose Premium Giant Hotdogs wins in both girth and length but is size really the deciding factor? We'll see...

The Taste Test

Ye Olde Oak American Style Hot Dogs

The Ye Olde Oak American Style Hot Dogs looks like what the normal sized sausages looks like. There are wrinkly textures to the side of the sausage, much like the ones out of the freezer. Bonus points for getting the look right.

It tastes like what "real" sausages should taste like - the skin and filling is firm and biting into the hot dog doesn't cause any bursts in brine (an all too common occurrence with sausages in brine) and it actually tastes like a sausage. It's good.

Plumrose Premium Giant Hotdogs

The Plumrose Premium Giant Hotdogs looks like oversized sausages or gourmet sausages (except we can't really call sausages in brine gourmet sausages, can we?). It has a slightly pink exterior and it looks like its prime. It does look a little limp, but other than that, everything is peachy.

This hotdog has one major flaw - the skin instantly slides off and practically disintegrates when bitten into and the filling comes pouring out in your mouth like an obscene...er, ejaculation. I did not like that feeling. No, not at all...

"Who let the dogs out?"

Captain Hot Dog, I'll like you to meet the German Shepherds.

I'm afraid they like you. I'm afraid they like you a lot...

Ye Olde Oak American Style Hot Dogs wins.

I realized with much regret that I've just taught the dogs to go after a weenie, er...I mean, wiener.

Note to self: Start wearing jockstraps.

Posted in Sibu by Huai Bin at 11:28 AM Permalink | Comments (40) | TrackBack

Pizza Hut Mystical Moroccan Pizza

Pizza Hut came out with another new pizza in commemoration of the Muslim celebration with the Mystical Moroccan Pizza. The Mystical Moroccan Pizza is a unique square pizza (instead of the usual round ones) that comes with the tagline - Discover the Exotic Flavors of Morocco.

The Mystical Moroccan Pizza comes with a similarly themed Pizza Hut "spinner" game which is now standard with all new promotional pizzas. The spinner games give the patrons who order the promotional pizza incentives in the form of free food and drink, depending on the luck of the spin.

This one is called The Mystical Spin and plays on the square shape of the pizza. The two spinners are called the "Destination Spinner" and "Number Spinner" and the first one directs the player into one of the four quadrants which depicts holy sites in the Islam faith. The prime prize is always another promotional pizza. I got the Breadstix and asked to change that to a Pepsi instead (coz I was thirsty).

There is also an option to upgrade the Soup of the Day to Puff Pastry Soup for RM 1 which I highly recommend. The Puff Pastry Soup is actually baked in the kitchen and not from the (admittedly) slightly disgusting container where the communal Soup of the Day is located. It comes with a pastry top and the entire soup container is piping hot!

The Puff Pastry Soup comes with an option of tomato soup or mushroom soup and it's made to order, with the pastry baked WITH the soup and that makes all the difference. The soup comes out scalding hot and the puff pastry on top works very well when dunked into the soup and let to soak for a bit. Tabasco sauce goes very well with the soup that Pizza Hut serves (Campbell).

This is the Mystical Moroccan Pizza - it's a square (!) pizza that comes with the pitch "The new Mystical Moroccan Pizza is a culinary adventure! Enjoy golden slices of dried apricots, roasted onions, olives, and chicken or beef marinated with exotic herbs. All topped on a spread of savory and sweet Moroccan sauce. Get a taste of Morocco with every bite!"

The advertising hyperbole aside, the Mystical Moroccan Pizza really does taste good. The Pizza Hut attendant came over and asked us to do a customer survey for the Puff Pastry Soup and the Mystical Moroccan Pizza and I told her that they're both good, and that all we needed was a shisha for an authentic experience. ;)

Here's a closer look at the Mystical Moroccan Pizza - it has beef pieces and olives as well as dried apricots and I like the square shape of the pizza, which allows for even slices of pizza that's easy to hold. It's a great pizza, much better than the usual promotional Pizza Hut fare. I told Ericka that all I needed was some hashish and I'll think I'm in Morocco, that's how good the pizza is...

Posted in Fast Food Inc. by Huai Bin at 07:37 PM Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack

Kellogg's Disney Mickey's Magix cereal

I was trawling through the aisles of our local supermarket today when I noticed this brightly packaged cereal to commemorate the opening of the Hong Kong Disneyland through a licensing deal with Disney. I'm not a big cereal eater (though I'm a big fan of cereal, if that makes sense) and the particular words that caught my eye is the "WOW! The milk turns PINK!" bit.

Intrigued (well, not intrigued per se, but something like that), I purchased the RM 7.90 box of Kellogg's Disney Mickey's Magix cereal which is a toasted oat cereal with marshmallows. It's made in South Korea.

WOW! The milk turns Pink!
Sorry, I just wanted to say it again. :p

Anyway, the cereal comes with marshmallow bits of different colors and the vaguely star shaped cereal is an oat based grain with specks of raspberry coloring, which is what gives it the Wow-the-milk-turns-pink property.

I added some milk to the cereal and it actually tastes pretty good. There's just enough marshmallows bobbing around, they certainly don't skimp on the marshmallows. The cereal may be made from an oat based grain but I love oat bran anyway, and they manage to hide the high fiber but less appealing taste of oat well.

...and wow, it really does turn the milk pink.

Amazing...

Posted in Sibu by Huai Bin at 09:30 PM Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBack

KFC Bandito Pockett Pineapple Salsa Sauce

KFC just came out with a new Mexican themed wrap called the Bandito Pockett with Pineapple Salsa Sauce. It features a lot of cultural themed advertisements that Hispanics would probably find offensive due to the heavily stereotyped distillation of their culture. It's a good thing we don't have a large Hispanic population over here. ;)

The KFC Bandito Pockett Pineapple Salsa Sauce is unusual in the promotional arena due to the emphasis on action oriented lifestyle concepts that is so predominant in this ad campaign. There is a distinctively "macho" feel to the promotional material which comes with taglines like "Flex your muscles to the people inside".

The taglines range from vaguely interesting and chuckle inducing to the overboard trying-too-hard-to-be-funny promotional cardboard place cards. There are Bandito Pockett promotional banners lining the top of the KFC franchise with the phrase "Jump and touch this", which toes the line between cheesy humor and plain unfunny but the one that takes the cake is the promo liner holding the ketchup - it goes "Start an arm wrestling match with the person sitting opposite you".

It's truly cringe inducing...

Anyway, back to the food, here's a look at the KFC Bandito Pockett Pineapple Salsa Sauce packaging - it has a cardboard wrap that requires opening, a design surprisingly similar to the McDonald's Grilled Chicken Foldover [sixthseal.com].

The back of the cardboard wrap has details with illustrations on "How to enjoy your Bandito Pockett" and it evokes a feeling of deja vu due to the remarkable resemblance to the illustrations of the cardboard wrap on the McDonald's Chicken Foldover (comes with the shit eating grin as well). It was probably subbed to the same manufacturer.

This is what the KFC Bandito Pockett Pineapple Salsa wrap looks like - there's a piece of Hot and Spicy chicken in there, mayo, lettuce and salsa. The tray liner describes the ingredients more eloquently than I am capable of:

How the Mexicans Eat Right & Stay Fit with the KFC Bandito Pockett

Lettuce
Rich in Vitamin A
Improves eyesight so we avoid running into cactuses (shouldn't it be cacti?)

Mayonnaise
Rich in Vitamin E
Good for the heart, especially when you're playing 'avoid-the-rattlesnakes' in the desert.

Cardboard wrapper
Made of high quality paper
High in Fiber.
(Warning: Not for eating)

Hot & Spicy 100% real chicken fillet
Rich in protein and bird flu carrier
Builds muscles for climbing over tall fences (and takes it all away again when avian flu sets in).

Pineapple salsa sauce with real pineapples
Lots of Vitamin C
Prevents colds in case some donkey sneezes on us.

Tortilla flatbread
Low in fat
So we can jump on our horses without breaking their backs.

I made up that bird flu bit btw; no one in their right mind would want to highlight that in KFC. ;)

The KFC Bandito Pockett Pineapple Salsa Sauce is actually pretty good - it's lighter than the McDonald's Chicken Foldover and the choice of using a Hot & Spicy chicken fillet makes it taste really good.

Hmm...I'm seriously thinking about having another one despite the fact that I just ate there this afternoon.

Now, that's fast food for ya...

Posted in Fast Food Inc. by Huai Bin at 08:32 PM Permalink | Comments (25) | TrackBack

Sex on the Luconia

I went to Luconia Cafe last night to meet up with Valerine to get my tickets to go back to Sibu tonight. Luconia Cafe is a local watering hole near my place (shit, I probably shouldn't be revealing so many details :p) and it's a great place to have a couple of drinks.

Luconia Cafe only serves alcoholic beverages (although they do have some non-alcoholic drinks as well) and the food is subbed to the next door cafe - Thyme's, which I've reviewed in a previous post on sixthseal.com.

The interior of Luconia Cafe mainly consists of leather chill out chairs with pull over seats and I went there at about 8 pm last night. Irene [blogspot.com] called me up and asked where I was and she came over with Tiffany [blogspot.com]. Valerine and her friends Ivy (also from Sibu!) and Monica also came in soon after that.

I had Sex on the Luconia (RM 18) a cocktail derived from Sex on the Beach with a strong hint of Malibu (the coconut liquor). I met Daphne with her friends there too and I tried to maintain a normal conversation with her, but apparently failed due to my lack of sobriety. She was there with her co-workers from 1st Silicon.

This is a group shot of us at Luconia - Irene & Co. didn't know Valerine & Co. but introductions were made and topics of discussion ranged from tattoos and clubbing. I also realized with much abashment that all the while I've been calling Valerine "Valerie" and I was corrected several times for calling MC3 "em-cee-three" instead of "em-cee-cubed". :p

This is Valeri(n)e's tattoo - it has a great intense eye motif and she's going to add angel's wings to it.

This is Irene's tattoos - I love the "fallen angel" theme on her left shoulder.

Valerine and her friends left for MC3 (em-cee-CUBED) at around 10 pm and since I didn't plan to go clubbing, I decided to stay and Irene introduced me to her friends from Inti:

It's just a cigarette, btw. Honest.

We went back to Luconia after sharing the cigarette in the corridor beside the place (coz Luconia is...er, strictly non-smoking) and ordered another round of drinks and had some classic *cough* inspired conversations. It was surreal.

It was fun. :)

Posted in by Huai Bin at 12:39 PM Permalink | Comments (34) | TrackBack

bla bla bla ... restaurant review

bla bla bla... restaurant is a relatively new eating establishment that opened up in Kuching. It has a purplish pink neon sign with a speech bubble around the restaurant's name. It looks like a small place but it's actually 180 meters inside!

The interesting bit about bla bla bla restaurant is that there is a water walkway/bridge with "stepping stones" which you have to pass through in order to enter the restaurant. It kinda screens the patrons a bit, coz you have to be at least reasonably sober to navigate through, ya know. ;)

The square block bridge is also where the eating establishment branches into the upstairs dining area or the al fresco seating areas to the back. There are goldfish swimming around in the flowing water if you look close enough.

Bla bla bla restaurant has a great ambience with the water features and other well placed decors like this great platter of fresh produce...

There is a futon mound where you can relax and have a couple of drinks coz you can get rather thirsty after saying the restaurant's name a couple of times. ;)

There is a second water walkway with lush greenery that leads to the end of the long 180 meter dining area. The place feels like a lush tropical paradise with the generous plant life placed around the area.

There are chandeliers and (another) interesting thing about bla bla bla restaurant is the retractable roof on top.

The narrow aisle is nicely arranged with tables for groups on one side and tables for couples of the other side so there's room to move in the middle. The interior design is amazing.

I had a couple of margaritas (RM 18) which came with the signature pandan leaf that this place serves with most drinks.

This is the spicy mussels (RM 20). It came in a huge platter and it tastes great!

This is the ostrich roll (RM 22) which comes with a morsel of battered ostrich meat on a flat roll.

This is the lamb shank (RM 23) which came with a cutting knife and serving fork. It's tender and delicious.

This is the cashew nut prawn (RM 28), a decadent serving of HUGE prawns (it's gigantic, actually) with mayo. This is easily the best part of the meal.

L-R: John [blogspot.com], Huai Bin (me), Ericka, Sebastian, Kenny [kennysia.com].

bla bla bla ... restaurant is a great place to have dinner. It opens till late and the ambience and food is great.

...and admit it, you love the name too. ;)

Posted in Food reviews by Huai Bin at 04:14 PM Permalink | Comments (33) | TrackBack