dDoinkster Speaks

It's Time.

2007-09-28T11:05:00.000+08:00

Alas, after 3 years on blogspot... I've decided to move on to Wordpress. After weeks of searching endlessly for a new blogskin, I'm left with a lemon.

Thus, with much heartache, I pronounce this blog closed and moved on to ddonkey.wordpress.com.

Farewell good mate, it's been a pleasure writing on you.

Coliseum : A blast from the past.

2007-09-14T04:59:00.000+08:00

After hearing much about this established restaurant... Justin & I decided to visit this place since we were in town settling some stuff. We were all psyched to taste the superb sizzling dishes this place is known for.

Alas, our excitement was shortlived. Yes, the place has a rustic feel to it but for the price we're paying. It just doesn't add up. The salad that came was crawling with ants.

We thought maybe the sizzling dishes will save the day and we were impressed by the style the dishes were presented to us. [They half-prepared the dish at our table.]

Justin's sizzling chicken was only saved by its sauce and it would be difficult to have the sauce more than 5 tablespoons as it gets quite salty after.

My sizzling chicken and turkey ham was quite the same. I must admit the sauce was quite good but that's about it. The chickens were more rubbery than the rubber chicken sold at the dollar store. Sigh, and to think we both heard great things about this place and it was quite a let-down. Maybe their sizzling steaks priced at RM50++ would be a different story.

Guess we'll never know since we're crossed out this restaurant off our list.

Saharadja took over KL.

2007-09-13T03:56:00.000+08:00

EquineNite2007, originally uploaded by hanlian.

It's been a busy busy 2 weekends and both weekends I spent with Saharadja from Bali. Crazy weekends I must say. :) First was at Mont Kiara's Jazz Festival and last week at a private function at Nikko Hotel. Tiring but all in all, great fun. We'll be meeting up again in Shanghai end of this month for a music festival so packed month for me. :D

Can't wait for the Shanghai trip,man.

Random Joe.

2007-08-29T04:51:00.000+08:00

Been having trouble trying to take photos with me mobile hence the lack of updates on this blog. No photos = no blog post. :D Since the mobile camera's acting like a diva. I do get a couple of shots once and a while and this is one of those times. :)

Such as this. Went to check out the Tugu Drum Circle one of the Sundays and saw their clean toilets. Just one question. Why is there an opening right in front of the urinal and facing the main road? Is there a need to let people see you in the act of peeing? Oh well, at least the toilet's clean. :D

This was a rare find. A Hummer H3 on Asian Heritage Row. D@mn... how did they manage to get his one in? Look freaking good! :)

I ♥ Clymonsitra.

2007-08-18T02:29:00.000+08:00

I've been away 'cause my phone camera's not working so this should fill-in quite nicely for now. :)

Try it. :D

p/s: This is a really interesting movie to catch! ;)

Makan place to Makan place.

2007-07-28T06:23:00.000+08:00

Since it was raining cats and dogs each evening, we decided to take it easy and *try* our best to catch the festival, which we now call the Penang Rain Island World Music Festival. :D Found this little nice cafe on Gurney Drive called Mr. Pot for tea. With the rain pouring heavily, and the wind blowing it sideways, we had our hot honey lemon tea and milo with toasted kaya bread. What bliss! :)

Eventually, we did make our way to the festival around 9 p.m. when it was drizzling/raining. Overall, maybe 'cause I was at Kuching, Penang didn't really do it for me. Although I must say they did a good job for the inaugural. Hopefully next year, they'll be smart enough to hire some 'Adverse Weather Controller' aka bomoh to take care of the rain or just move the festival dates. :)

Before we left Penang, we check out Kat's Tropical Spice Garden's cafe for lunch. As usual, our staple comunal dish, the fried squid and potatoes. :)

Two of us had the sandwich with either chicken or rendang chicken. Stick with the non-spicy as the rendang could get a little hot. :)

The other two had the pasta, which has the same option as chicken or rendang chicken. Wish they still had the nasi lemak and nasi goreng.

I can't remember what concoction this drink is made of but is was one of the better ones. Using only spices from the garden, you can be assured of their freshness.

Loads of these kinds of mixtures so be a little more adventerous and try some when you visit. :)

The best way to end the trip was just to have some durians from Balik Pulau and look at that photo. :) What more can one ask? ;)

I'm pretty happy with this Penang trip as I came back with someone in tow. Not too bad for a weekend away, I suppose. :)

Festival to Festival.

2007-07-27T05:20:00.000+08:00

Not even a week has passed, well... almost a week, a bunch of us traveled up to Penang to *hopefully catch the inaugural World Music Festival there but most of us just wanted to chill out and enjoy the food and shop till we drop in the Pearl of the Orient. Which we actually did. All thanks to our "good" friend, Johan who was always there to convince/persuade us to buy, buy buy. Thanks man, I've always wanted to spend loads of money in Penang! ;) :D But definitely am happy with my shopping. haha.

My all time favourite, especially when they use the milk that they use for cendol to mix the sirap. *Slurp!

The murtabak here is definitely one of the best I've ever tried! Even now, I'm having cravings for it. Why can't KL food be this good and easy to find. :D

The famous Penang food, Nasi Kandar or what our group refer to it as Nasi Ganja as it makes us want to come back again and again and shop and shop and talk and talk. :) You get the idea. ;)

Even before we finished lunch, dinner plans were always in the making and with Adam on the way up, we decided to check out Balik Pulau for seafood dinner. Starting off with some tofu to cleanse our palates and stomach since lunch was such a storm.

Don't mind the red light as Adam was also taking a photo of the dish. ;)

Then of course we have to have the buttered prawns. Fresh as ever and so mouth-watering, we couldn't talk. :D

This was a nice change as it's been a while since I had black pepper crabs. Usually I like 'em with cheese or well...crabs will do fine. :)

No seafood meal is complete without the fried squid. Love 'em to bits. *yum* *yum*.

10th Rainforest World Music Festival.

2007-07-26T12:07:00.000+08:00

At last, I've popped my cherry for the Rainforest World Music Festival! It was a fantastic 10th year anniversary celebration and kudos to Sarawak Tourism Board and everybody else that's involved for making it a success!

So as per usual, one has to savour the local delicacies especially when it is one's first time in Kuching! :D And this BishopGate Road restaurant was the first hit since it's just a stone throw away from Borneo Trekkers aka City Chimes Bed & Breakfast. A fantastic B&B if you ask me. Love it.

And at this particular restaurant, we had the famous Sarawak Kolok Mee. Delicious! There is a little waiting period as they have quite a lot of customers throughout the day.

Then of course we had some chicken rice. :D Thanks to Laura, our host at the B&B for bringing us around and taking care of us during our stay.

Who can leave Kuching without trying some Sarawak Laksa? This special little dish was introduced to us by Ramsey Ong when we visited his lovely boutique on the main bazaar/waterfront.

Other than laksa and kolok mee, we definitely had to find some midin and seafood... and thanks to Letitia, we got some from this makan place called Top Spot. The photos aren't so good but these buttered prawns are yummy! ;)

This style of cooking oysters is one I've never seen before. Quite interesting. :D Although, I'm not a big fan of oysters the crunchy egg omelet was addictive! ;)

This was definitely one of my favourite things about Kuching/Sarawak. You can have midin cooked with garlic or belacan (prawn paste). Too bad we can't get any here in KL. What a waste!

Finally, we checked out Little India since we've walked the Main Bazaar/WaterFront for god-knows how many times... so much so that the people working at the shops can recognize us. Haha. All in all, a very good trip. Definitely enjoyed the music festival. I think I can leave that part out since there's a bunch of blogs that has written about it such as :

Quaintly.net
Kennysia.com
Darren
Arthur A
Charmayne

Right Brain vs Left Brain.

2007-07-11T00:50:00.000+08:00

Got this little creativity test from The Art Institute of Vancouver via Lezel... pretty interesting! :D

Left Brain = 38%
Right Brain = 62%

You are more right-brained than left-brained. The right side of your brain controls the left side of your body. In addition to being known as right-brained, you are also known as a creative thinker who uses feeling and intuition to gather information. You retain this information through the use of images and patterns. You are able to visualize the "whole" picture first, and then work backwards to put the pieces together to create the "whole" picture.

Your thought process can appear quite illogical and meandering. The problem-solving techniques that you use involve free association, which is often very innovative and creative. The routes taken to arrive at your conclusions are completely opposite to what a left-brained person would be accustomed. You probably find it easy to express yourself using art, dance, or music. Some occupations usually held by a right-brained person are forest ranger, athlete, beautician, actor/actress, craftsman, and artist.

Your complete evaluation follows below:

Your left brain/right brain percentage was calculated by combining the individual scores of each half's sub-categories. They are as follows:

Your Left Brain Percentages

32% Linear (Your most dominant characteristic)
20% Verbal
20% Reality-based
17% Symbolic
14% Sequential
13% Logical (Your least dominant characteristic)

Your Right Brain Percentages

40% Fantasy-oriented (Your most dominant characteristic)
37% Concrete
34% Intuitive
30% Holistic
25% Nonverbal
12% Random (Your least dominant characteristic)

Take the test and you'll have explanations to all the items above. :)

Quarter of a Century.

2007-07-09T23:59:00.000+08:00

LittleHairGrizzlyBear, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Yes, celebration for me quarter of century took place at one of my favourite hang-out spot in Changkat Bukit Bintang. The Magnificent..., good food, music, and great company. What more can one ask when celebrating sort of a milestone.

Thanks guys & gals for coming out to chill with me. Really appreciate it. :D

One shall stand and One shall fall.

2007-07-06T04:42:00.000+08:00

Transformers_iMAX, originally uploaded by hanlian.

A transformers fan going crazy, that's what it is. Watched Transformers three times already within one week. :) A suggestion for transformers fans, watch it first on a regular cinema and then go for it on iMAX.

The huge screen will blow you away. Yes,the movie's only 2D but you'd be speechless when Optimus Prime's face is right up your grill during the close-up shots of him talking to Sam. Now the world has learnt how Transformers ease themselves. Haha. "Autobots, transform and roll out!" *Que transformers transforming sound byte* Woohoo! :D

Chuga-chuga.

2007-07-04T04:17:00.000+08:00

Had some tea with Roger, Claudina, and little Sara when they were in KL for the Summer Jazz Series at Equatorial Hotel.

The roti bakar wasn't as good as the roti kahwins Roger introduced me to when I was in Kota Kinabalu but good effort as the kaya's home-made. :)

This was a good addition to tea. :D Wasn't the best that I've tried but since I was hungry for meat, this did the trick. Haha. :D

The Magnificent Fish & Chips!

2007-06-29T03:12:00.000+08:00

Went to the Magnificent Fish & Chips restaurant at Changkat Bukit Bintang with some media friends since Letitia was in town. I heard a lot about this place from different people as well as well-known as food-blogs such as boo_licious' so a must try I guess. :) It was definitely not a let down!

I was told that the potatoes here are one of the best around and well, I made the mistake of ordering too much of the same type of potatoes... ie the minted new potatoes. Not that it's not good but I should have taken the fried variety too. Love 'em to bits! :D

Letitia has the salmon with loads of baby onions beneath it. Yummy! Salmon's not overly done and doesn't have that fishy taste which was good and the baby pickled baby onions were a great complement to the fish.

Nadiah's kidney pie was something quite interesting. :) A little weird for me... maybe cause I know it's kidney I'm eating? Not sure but I think I'll try some other type of pie the next round for sure.

Nur's prawns was lovely. Portions real huge... if only they served calamari as well... man,we'll be in heaven. haha. :D

And finally, my fish & chips. Incidentally, I decided to change the chips for minted potatoes, told you I over-ordered on 'em. Anyways, if you had taken the fish & chips as it was intended to be served, you'll have a bucket load of chips below your fried dory fish or any other type of fish of your liking. It was magnificent. :)

Some cardamom in your coffee?

2007-06-25T04:25:00.000+08:00

TurkishCoffee, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Had some turkish coffee for the first time and I must say... it does take some getting used to. They put cardamom in the coffee. Guess that's what makes it turkish.

Anyways, for the uninitiated... cardamoms are the stuff people put into Biryani Rice. Interesting, don't you think?

Chicken, chicken?

2007-06-19T04:14:00.000+08:00

Thanks to a good friend, I was introduced to a place in my opinion, the best siew yok [roasted pork] that I've ever tasted! Situated on Jalan Pudu, it's just a stone throw away from Pudu Jail. With a signboard like this, how can one miss it? :)

Let's start with the rice, it's so fragrant, I can just have the rice alone without any gravy but since I like my rice flooded, their sauces are a good complement to the rice.

Of course we can't be having all meat and act like carnivores so we had to have some yummy greens on the table.

But when these came, it was obvious why us 5 guys were there. :) Tell me your mouth's not watering right now, looking at this delicious plate of steam and roasted chicken. I definitely am! :P

Now to balance up our meat and vegetable ratio, we had some nice tofu. Good balance, don't you think?

And the pièce de résistance of the night was these heavenly siew yok [roasted pork]. Just look at them. Aren't they just oh-so-temptingly-delicious? Among the 5 of us, we have 2 plates of these. What bliss! :D It's good to be a carnivore! Hahah. Oh by the way, the place only opens at night. Now go look for the Kokok Chicken. :)

Genting International Jazz Festival.

2007-06-12T05:58:00.000+08:00

I'm sorry but I'm just too stoned to come up with a better title. :P Was up in Genting the past weekend and it was so unplanned and unexpected that I was still arranging my stuff on Thursday evening and the bus was leaving on Friday morning for Genting. Thanks to Lind, the media liason from Genting... everything was a breeze. :)

The media gang was housed at the First World Hotel while the rest of the people was in Genting Hotel above the venue... So the media bunch had a good 15 minutes walking to do to get to the venue and the press conferences. Good exercise I must say.

We were taken care of well. Food's aplenty, albiet substandard except for the coffee house at Genting Hotel where most of everybody was hanging out at. Great effort for the first time. :)

Lion City in 4 days.

2007-06-03T03:41:00.000+08:00

Went down to Singapore with the boys and girl of Aseana Percussion Unit. They were doing a couple of fringe performances for the 30th Singapore Arts Festival.

So some of us stayed at the Royal Hotel @ Queens and some stayed at the New 7 Storey Hotel, both in the Bugis area, which was good...foods aplenty and close by to Bugis Junction. :)

Latest fad for toilet-makers... in order to flush, you'll have to press and hold till the flush is complete. What a fun way to spend your time in the toilet! :D

Fancy a Allson Tunch? :) Sounds like Lunch but who's to say.

APU did a couple of performances at the Raffles City Mall as well as Timbre, the festival club. And this here's the best cheese fries i've had in a while. Definitely better than the KFC varieties you find in KL.

To end the trip, we went to Esplanade's glutton bay for some grub and listen to some Paul Ponnudorai at Harry's. It was great! :) Wonder if I'll have enough cash to check out Tommy Emmanuel when he performs at Esplanade on the 21st of July.

And it's back...

2007-05-26T05:49:00.000+08:00

KLFest07_Launch, originally uploaded by hanlian.

The KL Festival is back once again and just freshly launched on Thursday by the Deputy Minister, Ministry of Culture, Arts, & Heritage, Datuk Wong Kam Hoong at Komplek Kraf, Kuala Lumpur.

The KL Music Festival will be held from July 1st till 4th... should be interesting. I heard John Kaizan Neptune will be performing this year.

Fancy toilets.

2007-05-25T04:37:00.000+08:00

ZetaBar_Toilet, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Went over to zeta Bar with APU, they were on a road-show promoting Wyborowa's latest exquisite vodka and found fancy decor on the wall.

Really cute... haha. Love the asian girl on the far right. ;)

News Unglossed, Officially Launched.

2007-05-24T03:20:00.000+08:00

It's been a week since the Tell Magazine official launching at Nikko Hotel. It was such a blast. Loads of people and a bunch of us who was in Miri for the 2nd Miri International Jazz Festival [MIJF], made use of the party for our little own get-together. :)

And because of MIJF 2007, I met Hunny and Adam from the Tell team...so with that connection, I got to go for their launching. :D

Fancy little sit-down dinner with loads of the industry's who's who were there... got a little intimidated with all the big-shots there but when our group was complete, the three of us with the Tell team... it was Miri all over again.

Oh this was our starter, which had me pause for a while cause I didn't know where to start and what I can eat from the dish... looks so nice. haha. :)

After which, we were served with a delicioud soup with a fried wanton in it.

Then there were speeches and stuff by the VIPs, introduction of the Tell Team, and that sort of thing. While that was going on, we had some lemon sorbet to cleanse our palates to prepare us for our main meal.

I had the choice of having either beef or fish but I didn't want to spend the rest of the night chewing and chewing and the possibility of having something stuck in my teeth. :D But the sauce of fantastic! Wish there was more of the fish and the sauce. :)

It was a great night, there was Noryn Aziz, Ella, Dayang and then the Tell team did a couple of numbers with Hunny, Sakinah and erm...another. :) With the after-party in tow, a bunch of us just sat in a corner laughing our heads off, dancing once and awhile, trying to figure out what song did the DJ spin and the guy was going from one generation to another and back again. :P A real good time!

The rain in Spain, stays mainly in the plain.

2007-05-21T12:49:00.001+08:00

MyFairLady, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Thanks to Letitia for the free ticket, I got to see the musical, My Fair Lady at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Honestly, I've not seen the movie yet and I have no idea what to expect... but after watching this play, I would love to catch the movie. :) Poppy Tierney who plays the lead role as Eliza Doolittle, did a fantastic job. Loved her character, Alfred P. Doolittle, and for some weird reason, I thought Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering's character had a queer inclination. But it's all good. :D

Medicom Kubricks for sale.

2007-05-10T12:28:00.000+08:00

Since there's no takers for my Medicom Kubricks, I'm lowering the prices of all the items. So if you're interested with any of them, just buzz me at ddoinkster[at]gmail.com for negotiations. :)

MEDICOM x MARVEL SUPER HEROES [SERIES 2] Kubrick - Spider-Ham IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND KUBRICK 1:96. Released on 17th of October Kubrick No. 103. SPIDER-HAM (PETER PORKER) ratio : 1/96 (SECRET). Sold Out item at XL-Toy Shop

Medicom Kubrick Marvel Series 2 SECRET KUBRICK - "Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham" (ratio 1:96). It is a super rare item in this series, Marvel Super Hero Fans or Kubrick Collector must own. Box Opened. Mint Condition. Kept in an Epoch - A4 Clear Collection Case. Very hard to find. Yours for only RM 350!

Medicom Disney Kubrick Series 2 (set of 2) This set includes : Donald Duck [Black & White], Goofy [Black & White] The collection is a complete set of 7 that contains B&W Donald Duck, B&W Goofy, Andy (from Toy Story), Cruella de Ville, Jiminy Cricket, Snow White, and the rare dead reindeer from Nightmare Before Christmas (ratio 1/24). This is definitely for Disney Character lovers for only RM 100! Box opened. Mint Condition. These two are sold-out items at XL-Toy Shop.

Medicom Sesame Street Kubrick Series 1 (set of 5) This set includes : BIG BIRD (ratio 6/24) ERNIE (ratio 5/24) COUNT (ratio 5/24) GROVER (ratio 5/24) LITTLE BIRD (ratio 3/24). It would be a wonderful addition for your Sesame Street Product Collection. A must for Sesame Street Fans and kubrick collector. Yours for only RM 250! Box opened. Mint Condition. This series is sold-out at XL-Toy Shop.

Medicom Kellogs Kubrick Series 2 (set of 4) This set includes : Tony the Tigger Corn Frosties Corny (Cornerius) Corn Flakes Toucan Sam Froot Loops The Blue Nu Kombos The collection is incomplete as I am missing the Snap Rice Krispies Kubrick. A must for kubrick collector. Yours for only RM 250! Box opened. Mint Condition. This series is sold-out at XL-Toy Shop.

Marvel Super Heroes Kubrick Series 2 (set of 8) with 1:24 SECRET "NIGHTCRAWLER". This set of 8 includes : NIGHTCRAWLER (ratio : 1/24) VENOM (ratio : 5/24) ICEMAN (ratio : 4:24) PUNISHER (ratio : 4:24) GAMBIT (ratio : 3/24) PROFESSOR X (ratio : 3/24) OMEGA RED (ratio : 2/24) APOCALYPSE (ratio : 2/24)

This Marvel Superhero's Series 2 can be found on the Medicom Toy Store for USD 130 but it's not temporarily out-of-stock.

These hard-to-find items are now on sale for only RM 250! And it comes with individual clear display box from Medicom Toy.

Box Opened. Mint Condition. Items have been kept in a Medicom Toy specially made for Be@rbrick and Kubrick Clear Display Box. Sold Out item at XL-Toy Shop!

Created specially for collector to use for displaying your favorite kubricks, gashapons figures, candy toys figures as well as small scale of action figures. Good quality with reasonable price! Dimension measured is 70x210x297mm.

Yours for only RM 25! Item can be found at XL-Toy Shop.

And since I'm in the selling mood, I've also putting up for sale my Electric Shocking Gun, a novelty item. Purchased this novelty item from Gizmo at 1 Utama for RM199. Rarely used, 99%. COD and will meet interested buyers in PJ.

Yours for only RM 80! Serious buyers in the Klang Valley can view item, message for more details. Cash on Delivery. The item has been featured on iwantoneofthose.com.

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/toys-games/action-outdoor/shocking-guns/index.html

KhunTai in Gasing Hill.

2007-05-09T05:41:00.000+08:00

Went to a little thai restaurant in the Gasing Hill area with TK, Sharon & Alex... Was on a mission to look for fried sotong [cuttlefish] at a chinese restaurant just a few steps away but when we got there we decided to have tom yam instead at KhunTai Restaurant. This place is just across from Kavitas, if you're interested to check it out.

We still got our share of fried sotong [cuttlefish] but I assume that the ones being served at the restaurant nearby should be better. Heck, even the ones found at the Medan Selera, Damansara Uptown is better... but still oklah with the really tasty thai chilli sauce. :)

This was an interesting dish, fried kangkung [water spinach]. Couldn't really taste it... guess cause the tom yam had already conquered my tastebuds. :P Goes really well with the thai chilli sauce.

Somehow, most of the dishes we ordered are fried... ;) This fried chicken with onions was a good addition to our meal. Love it when they serve food with onions. Good stuff! Kinda reminds me of the fried chicken they serve at Kanna Curry House. *yum* *yum*

At last, the pièce de résistance, our very large seafood tom yam. A well balanced spicy and sour soup. I must say, one of the best I've tried in town. :) Overall, the meal cost the four of us RM 78, which I think is a little too much but the portions were good. Word of caution though, if you're ordering the fish, it's going to cost you. :)

World Halal Forum, Gala Dinner.

2007-05-08T04:30:00.000+08:00

I had the privileged to join Farid and the boys at last night's World Halal Forum, Gala Dinner & The Halal Journal Awards.

All thanks to Juju of KasehDia for picking Farid to be apart of this prestigious event, which was graced by His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong & Her Majesty the Raja Permaisuri Agong, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and many others.

I know this photo ain't much but it was the best I could do with my Nokia 6131... I definitely need to change my mobile soon! But if you look closely, you'll see the King & Queen sitting at the Royal Table. :)

Trust me when I say, the amount of royal protocols we had to adhere by... was a little cumbersome but if you don't want heads to roll then it's not too much. :p

It was a very big event, what with the many sponsors waiting to rub shoulders with even bigger people. Thankfully, they did enjoy the music and I guess they were impressed with Farid. So that's a very good thing. :)

Best thing, they provided us with the night's main course. :) It was good! haha. If only I hadn't taken too much food during dinner, I would have been all over the food! :D

Bling-bling 1001 Nights.

2007-05-07T04:49:00.000+08:00

After my much needed R&R in Genting, it was back to work straight-away. Farid was booked for a private function by Eraman at Le Meridian and it was oklah. There was a lot of waiting and not much space for us to rest our bums on so legs got a little numb after a while.

This was just so very interesting that I was very tempted to just take one or two home with me. Guess I'll just have to grab myself a bottle or two of 'em when I'm in the airport next time. :D

Since we had quite a lot of time to spare after the soundcheck, we hanged out at the coffee house for some coffee and with this beautiful thing entertaining us, it was really quite nice. :) [I meant the harp... :P Nah, of course not! That's a pretty lady!]

R&R at Genting View Resort.

2007-05-06T20:17:00.000+08:00

Went up to Genting View Resort during the Labour Day/Wesak Day holidays for some R&R and for the Children's Church retreat. Left with not much choice, we found this reasonable restaurant close-by for our meals. Definitely much cheaper than going to Gohtong Jaya for meals.

Having more than 20 mouths to feed, we had quite a number of dishes. Some simple vegetables which were a little too salty.

This tofu dish was better but at the price we had paid, it's good enough.

The fish was pretty pathetic as it was quite small and for 11 adults on one table, it was gone before the dish even managed to touch the table. :P Ok,so it's a little exaggerated but you get the idea.

Their lemon chicken was pretty much a joke but since I was hungry, it was gone by the time it got to the table too.

This was one of the only dish that I enjoyed the most, being that there's brinjals in 'em. Love brinjals! :D

The view from this restaurant was really good. One night, we got to see the fireworks display Genting had planned for Wesak Day. Though it's a real pity how much land Genting has shaved off the mountain in the name of development. I remember it used to be quite cold and being able to see Genting from KL was a wonderful sight but now... it's weird if you can't spot Genting... what with all the lights they have planted all over the mountain. :P

Perfectionists procrastinate...

2007-04-27T02:51:00.000+08:00

Came across this very interesting article by Penelope Trunk on Finance Yahoo!, which I relate to very much. :D Check out the article, Breaking the Perfection Habit.

This is one comic strip that I can relate to so well... hahaha. ;)

And this one, tells of how I really work. Not good! :P

Anyways, here's an excerpt from the article :

A Lack of Perfection = Perfection
I have a good eye for how well something has to be done in order to accomplish what I need to accomplish, and it's one of my favorite traits about myself. The good that comes from a lack of perfection is that I can set a lot of goals for myself because I get them done.

Here are the reasons I can't stand perfectionists:
• Perfectionists procrastinate because they're scared of not being perfect.

• Perfectionists are hypercritical to the point that they can't support people around them.

• Perfectionists can't finish a project because they can always think of a way to improve it.

• Perfectionists are phony, because no one's perfect and they can't handle showing that in themselves.

Four Steps to Imperfection
Here are four things to think about if you're letting perfectionism dictate your life: ...[continue reading]

Medicom Kubricks for sale.

2007-04-16T19:32:00.000+08:00

For some weird reason, I found myself looking at my Kubricks collection and I thought to myself. Why did I ever start on this. So since I can't come up with a good reason, I'm letting them go via eBay Malaysia.

So if you're a Kubricks collector or just curious about the stuffs I have/had. Visit these links. :) Come on, help me out here!

Medicom Kubrick Marvel Series 2 Secret Kubrick - "Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham" (Ratio 1:96)

Medicom Marvel Super Heroes Kubrick Series 2 (set of 8) with Secret Kubrick "NightCrawler" (Ratio 1:24).

Medicom Sesame Street Kubrick Series 1 (set of 5)

Medicom Kellogg's Kubrick Series 2 (set of 4)

Medicom Disney Kubrick Series 2 - Donald Duck and Goofy

Epoch - A4 Clear Collection Case

Round 2 to Kota Kinabalu - Part 3.

2007-04-14T04:21:00.000+08:00

And so this is the final part of my 5 days trip, revisiting Kota Kinabalu. I'd have to change my previous statement that Kota Kinabalu has no good food as this round, I was happily proven wrong. :D Definitely one of those times when I do not mind being proven wrong. ;)

With a view such as this to greet me every sunset... I'm all set to spend some quality time over in Kota Kinabalu. ;)

The last round I was here, breakfast wasn't really that interesting but this time, I had myself a couple of regular KKians to bring me to look for KK Kon Loh Mee [Dry Noodles]. Anything that has pork in 'em, I'm happy with. haha.

Of course not forgetting the famous Tuaran Mee and they even put lap cheong [chinese sausage/preserved sausage] into the dish. I love Kota Kinabalu. They have pork in almost all of their dishes! ;)

Simple beef soup with erm... everything that you can possibly use from a cow. Tendons, meat and other stuffs... good soup. ;)

They have this 3 colored drink, which is quite similar to the one I had in Miri but this one seems to have mint in it. Gotta say it's better than the one I had in Miri. :)

A trip to Kota Kinabalu is never complete without a trip to the local seafood restaurant and of course on the last night we were there, we went to a seafood restaurant just a stone thrown away from the airport. See how fresh and yummy the prawns are.

Want a closer look? Looks as though they just jumped out of the sea and into the frying pan. :D

Now to balance the whole seafood meal, you must have some greens and the Sabah Vegetable is sure delicious! Wonder if I can find these here in town or not.

Anyways, enough of the greens... back to the seafood! ;) Fresh fish off Sabah waters and onto our plate.

Can't have seafood without the crabs. :D And this is erm...sambal style crabs, I think.

Look at that. Look how delicious and mouth-watering is that crab! ;)

These were cooked in a different style but much spicier than the sambal crabs.

Yummilicious cheese baked lobster. I think it would have tasted better if it was cooked like the prawns. Still good! :)

The local venison was really good. Definitely one of the types of meat on my 'A' list. ;)

I can't think of a better way to end my trip to Kota Kinabalu with a big seafood feast! :D Kota Kinabalu is definitely a cool place to just chill.

Links:
Kota Kinabalu, November 2005 - Day 1
Kota Kinabalu, November 2005 - Day 2
Kota Kinabalu, November 2005 - Day 3

Kota Kinabalu, Round 2 - Part 1
Kota Kinabalu, Round 2 - Part 2

Round 2 to Kota Kinabalu - Part 2.

2007-04-12T05:12:00.000+08:00

The band did pretty well and the turn-out was acceptable too. An hour plus show ended with us going to the mamak for supper before crashing for the night.

Only managed to catch one photo while they were performing as I had to man the video camera. 8-)

This was definitely one of the funniest things I saw when I was at the exhibition. They have the big toilet bowl with the small toilet bowl. ;) Wonder if there's actually people that buy stuffs like this. haha. ;)

Side profile? Maybe they use it for primary school toilets...but I don't remember having them in my primary school.

Anyways, enough of toilet bowl pictures. :) We had lunch at a restaurant located just in the Warisan Square Mall where we were staying. Guess they thought since Secret Recipe is doing so well with that name, it wouldn't hurt to use the recipe word in their restaurant name too. How innovative.

The food's pretty good and affortable. Just like any of your usual Hong Kong styled restaurants in town. I must say they do have a very steady flow of customers. And this was definitely better than the ones Kim Gary serves up.

Their duck and chicken selections were delicious too but since I'm at a chinese restaurant, it's blasphemous to not have pork! ;)

Not a very good choice on my part but as long as there's pork, I'm happy. :D

Other than the gig at the IPEX 2007 and Ideal Home Exhibition, Farid did a workshop at Roger's office.

Since the workshop was in the afternoon, naturally after the thing we went for tea. And here in Sabah when you ask for Teh O Ais Limau [malay for Ice Lemon Tea], they really do put lemon in your drink.

And what delicacy is a must for an afternoon meal? Bread and here, the they have their very own, Roti Kahwin [literally, Married Bread]. This is because they put a slab of yummy margarine/butter and kaya jam together between either toasted bread or just plain bread. Whatever they call it, it's really good! :D Should have went with a nice cup of coffee to go with it but I want to sleep at night! ;)

The trip would not have been complete without a visit to new-born little cutie Sara Rose Wang Yue Ling. ;) Had to disturb her at the hospital as she was being treated for neonatal jaundice. But thankfully, she's all well and back home with her mommy. :) Congratulations Roger & Claudina. She's really cute!

She must not like me very much trying to be a paparazzi taking her yawning photos. ;) So she stuck her tongue out at me. haha. Cute little girl. Can't wait to carry her when I *hopefully* go to Kota Kinabalu again end of July. :D

Links:
Kota Kinabalu, November 2005 - Day 1
Kota Kinabalu, November 2005 - Day 2
Kota Kinabalu, November 2005 - Day 3

Kota Kinabalu, Round 2 - Part 1
Kota Kinabalu, Round 2 - Part 3

Round 2 to Kota Kinabalu - Part 1.

2007-04-10T02:38:00.000+08:00

It has been two years since I first stepped foot onto Kota Kinabalu. The first time I went with Nelson, Yvonne, and her family. This time, I was fortunate enough to go with Farid and Tricia as he had a gig to do at the Sabah Trade Centre for the IPEX 2007 and Ideal Home Exhibition.

Left KL on Wednesday evening and after the 2 and a half hours of AirAsia time, we landed at the new airport. First thing on our schedule was to pay tribute to the very best fish head curry in Kota Kinabalu. One that I've heard a lot about from Roger and Claudina, Mia, her Superman, and her father. So a not-to-be-missed stop on this trip, that's for sure!

Timing was really good, by the time we got there... most of the KKians have already had their dinner so the place was quite empty. Nice spacious place and real clean too. :) A plus point most definitely.

The deal here is you'll have the banana leaf rice with all-you-can-eat rice and vegetables. All still slightly hot/warm so it's real nice. Then you also have all-you-can-drink teh tarik and ice cold water.

With that, you can order your fish head curry or just plain fried chicken, which by the way is real delicious too. But look at this fish head, mouth-watering! All in all, the meal only cost RM 49 for 4 person. What a great deal! And this is by far, the best fish head curry I've ever had. If anybody wants to prove me wrong by bringing me for the best fish head curry, I'm more than happy to be proven wrong. Just remember to bring me with you. Haha. :D

The next morning after a full-on curry attack on our stomachs, we headed to the aiport area for some good malay mee soto at Sri Dewi's.

I'm not a big fan of mee soto but the soup is really yummy. Worth just coming here for the soup. :)

The rest of the second day was spent at the Sabah Trade Centre with Farid, Roger, and the rest of the boys rehearsing for the night's performance. I'm happy that I finally got to meet Hanafie Imam perform. He's a fantastic musician, great tone on the double bass. We had to change hotels the next day and it was definitely a trade-up. :D

We were staying at the Promenade Hotel Apartments first and then we got to move to the new Radius International, boutique hotel. Well, they call it the Boutech Hotel... because they combined the words, boutique and technology, go figure.

But I must say, the place is really nice. Clean, great facilities. Only one floor space with 96 rooms. Best of all, we got the seaview rooms. Great view of the islands. Every evening a breath-taking view of the sunset. ;)

Comfortable beds. I stuck them together so I can roll around as much as I want. Haha. :P

Best of all, they have a plasma TV in the room and 24/7 broadband connection. At last, internet! Was disconnected for 2 whole days, can you imagine? ;)

Links:
Kota Kinabalu, November 2005 - Day 1
Kota Kinabalu, November 2005 - Day 2
Kota Kinabalu, November 2005 - Day 3

Kota Kinabalu, Round 2 - Part 2
Kota Kinabalu, Round 2 - Part 3

Atilia @ 101° East.

2007-03-28T15:52:00.001+08:00

Atilia's Album Launch, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Congratulations Atilia on your album launch. It was a blast! Wines aplently along with all the beautiful ladies. What more can I ask for? haha. :D

You better get your hands on her album before it's sold out.

3 Diva Concert.

2007-03-26T04:45:00.000+08:00

3Diva Ticket, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Unexpectly I was given the chance to watch the Konsert 3 Diva when Aubrey Suwito had to give up his tickets and passed it on to Eric.

Erwin Gutawa and Eddie Marzuki is absolutely and without a doubt one of the best producers / composers / arrangers in this region! Their music made me speechless. What a show.

Oh yeah, the 3 Divas was fantastic too... Good show! :)

Get your groove on at Hartamas.

2007-03-16T12:37:00.001+08:00

GrooveJunction, originally uploaded by hanlian.

And so it has begun, Groove Junction at Desa Sri Hartamas. Yesterday was the soft launch and with the official launching in April... things look to be all in order. :)

Fabulous food, great music, and beautiful decor. All just a hop away from PJ. What more can you ask for?

If you're interested, the place is just behind True Fitness, opposite Hong Leong Bank, and above Karma. You won't miss it.

I found soul in Singapore.

2007-03-12T12:38:00.001+08:00

MosaicMusicFestival, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Went down to Singapore to catch the one and only Tower of Power in action. And it was just phenomenal!

Jakarta's abuzzing.

2007-03-09T05:12:00.000+08:00

So the Java Jazz Festival has come and gone. It was crazy! Just the amount of people there is enough to make you go nuts! At certain times, I had to just step out of the convention centre cause of all the people that were trying to move from one hall to the other to catch the next act.

One other thing that bugged me was they would smoke right in the hall itself. Well, they smoked everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE.

Nuts, I tell you! But all in all a good trip I guess. Saw Marcus Miller, Richard Bona, Joshua Redman, Sadao Watanabe, Jeff Lorber, Dave Weckl, Ron Carter, David Benoit, Jamie Cullum, John Scofield, Airto Moreira, Larry Franco, Bubi Chen, and many others. Never in my life has my two feet hurt so much. All the walking, standing, and missing meals because of all the good music that was placed in front of me.

I think I might have just O.D.ed on jazz music. But guess what, I'm going down to Singapore this Saturday to catch Tower of Power at the Mosaic Music Festival. Maybe just one more before I do O.D. on jazz. ;)

As I was saying that I forgot about food, I didn't really take a lot of photos of food while I was in Jakarta as the only food I saw was in the hotel during breakfast and at the convention centre, which in that point I was too tired to take any photos. But on Monday while waiting for my flight in the evening... Julian and I went to a nearby shopping mall to do some last minute shopping.

Found this interesting little cafe with really funny menus and stuffs. This guy really loves his music! :D

Maybe it's getting a little bit too lame but it's funny, don't you think? :)

Baked sweet potatoes with mayonnaise. Interesting combo.

A standard, no-fancy-smancy fried rice with egg.

My one and only celebrity shot throughout the festival... the great Sadao Watanabe. He was just so nice and none of that air that most of the other musicians had.

Also, I met a young man that's running a jazz website in Jakarta with his own funding as well... just like alldatJazz.com called Horizon-Line.

A new baby in the manger.

2007-02-28T17:08:00.001+08:00

DanielleLim, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Presenting to you, Danielle Lim Xin Yue... just 3 days old.

So the very C-U-T-E! :D

Time really passes by fast, it feels like just yesterday we got news that Evelyn was pregnant and now after 9 months, the baby's out. Actually, it seemed like just yesterday we were happily enjoying the wedding dinner at Noble House.

Sure am happy for Dax & Eve. :)

The Southern Appeal.

2007-02-25T11:34:00.000+08:00

First off, happy chinese new year to everybody. :) So, went down south again with Farid Ali for a gig... did NusaJaya's launch, which you can read about if you have not via these links here, here, and here.

The venue for the launch was right opposite the sales office and what they did was build a supertent, which can hold a Boeing 747, housing about 2,000+ people. A pretty large scale event for just a launch... that's what I think. :)

This is how big the space is...from the stage.

As usual with such big events involving big names, there's a lot of waiting. I think everybody got a little annoyed with all the waiting but the performance itself wasn't that long so it's all cool. Still had time to get back to the hotel, change, and go out. :D

All in all, an interesting experience. :)

Anyways, before we went down to Johor... Badar brought us over to Jalan Masjid India for some good Mee Rebus [Boiled Noodles].

The place looks unappetizing, dirty and all but if you can power through those obstacles, you will be rewarding with some good food! :D

Food Haven - Part 2.

2007-02-15T11:43:00.000+08:00

And to conclude my 4 day excursion up north... I've got more photos of food to show you. ;) But first some funny stuffs that I've come across while I was on the island.

Better becareful, there's humping activities ahead. :P Ok ok, so that's not what it is but it's funny like that, don't you think? :P

Anyways, we got to Penang a day earlier than needed so the next morning before we had our briefing at the Penang Turf Club, drove over to erm...nearby the bridge area for breakfast. Cheapest wantan noodles ever. For RM 2, what more can you ask for? You definitely won't find that kind of pricing in KL, that's for sure!

What about these babies? Bak Kwa [barbequed pork meat] placed in between two slicec of bread soaked with don't know what kind of sauce but them sauce sure makes it real good to eat! Usually seen during Chinese New Year. Still not sure what they are? Well, Singapore's best in Bak Kwa [barbequed pork meat], Bee Cheng Hiang.

And these? Seen them around before? I'm everybody has tasted the indian version of this. Apom but chinese style. This in particular has corn and banana in it. Delicious!

How can I get my hands on these yummy desserts? Well, look for this man here. :D Ever since I went to the Penang Island Jazz Festival, I was introduced to this friendly man and his lip-smacking creations. His stall is in front of the lane turning into Alliance Francaise school. Fancy a taste? Well, good luck in looking for him. :)

Ok, back to our other trips in and around Penang. Went over to Pulau Jerejak for a look-see. You know the island, which is in view onto your left when you travel into Penang via the bridge. The same island where Jerejak Prison used to be, also known as the Alcatraz of Malaysia. Now they have a resort & spa on the island. Definitely worth a trip. The place looks really good, the spa is fantastic and the activities that's available to you are aplenty.

They are currently having a promotion where you get a 3D/2N stay with spa treatment thrown in for RM 280nett per person. So check out Jerejak Resort & Spa. They also have this cute SYT [Sweet Young Thing] working the front desk. Why didn't I speak to her? Damn, all I said to her was 'hi' and 'how are you?' Crap, I sensed she wanted to talk more but we had to leave already. She better still be working there... Hamid, you better not fire that little SYT! :P

What else you ask? They have one of the best cucur udang [prawn fritters] that I've tasted. Not oily at all and the peanut sauce was mouth-watering! Gotta give these a try if you swing over there.

For dinner, we went over to the Pulau Tikus wet market to look for their famous char koay teow. Wanted to find the gurney drive mua chee, made by an old uncle but didn't have time to swing over there so had to settle for whatever they have at the market.

In the end, I ordered from the wrong stall... the famous char koay teow at the Pulau Tikus market doesn't come in a plate, they come wrapped in brown paper and has squid and large prawns in them. Oh well, this was ok too but the other one is definitely much better.

The main course for dinner was this satay with a different kind of sauce. See the plate of sauce onto the left of the photo? Well, that's their special potato sauce. Made from blended boilded potatoes. Interesting taste, goes really well with the bread and the satay but I think I'm a peanut sauce kind of guy so I'll stick to my peanut sauce. :D

The last funny signage that I saw while I was in Penang was this restaurant name. No Eye Deer restaurant. Now I have no idea what they serve in there but sure would be nice to check it out. ;)

Food Haven - Part 1.

2007-02-14T18:11:00.000+08:00

So after nasi kandar for lunch, we drove 2 hours to get to Penang and checked into the Gurney Hotel. It was great! :D Nice hotel, good view and just wait to rest and wait for dinner time to roll around. :P

Met up with Wilson and Alice for dinner so that made us a group of 6 adults in an island where great food can be found almost everywhere. Decided to swing over to Tanjung Bungah cause it'll be easier to look for parking and it'll be less congested compared to driving into town.

When you're in Penang, how can you not have the famous char koay teow? Not sure where's the best but after talking to a couple of Penangites, I think there's a couple to check out. :D This one from the hawker centre next to the public swimming pool in Tanjung Bungah can be on the list... I guess. :)

Before

After

I was told that this is the way Penangites like their curry noodles, with coagulated blood and cockles. Not my cup of tea but the chilli was fantastic! :) [p/s: this photo was taken after everything was mixed up, hence the state it is in.]

Some would say that it's weird to have vietnamese noodles in Penang when you have so many other choices but this one here sure is yummy! :D

How can one not order pasambur while having dinner or any meal for that matter. :D Love this stuff! Wonder why we can't find any that's as good here in KL? Oh well, guess it's good to not have it too often then you won't appreciate it as much. ;)

This was just as appetizers before we started our feasting. Love those century eggs with ginger slices. Love them to bits! :P

You know what this is. We were just ordering whatever that we see that looks delicious. ;)

This on the other hand was new to me. Mixing loh meen soup with prawn meen soup [Hokkien noodles for Penangites]. Don't ask me, it's going to be a long story why Penangites call prawn noodles, hokkien noodles while Klang Valley people knows it as prawn noodles. But this was a very interesting mix. Wonder if there's any shop here that does this.

Not a fan of beehoon cause the only time I remember eating them are during times I was sick. But this duck drumstick in herbal soup noodles was nice. :D

The finale for our 9 course dinner so to speak for 6 adults was this thai style beehoon, which tasted a little like sin chow mai [singapore style beehoon]. Another invention which does not exist in Singapore, only in Malaysia. No idea how that came about too but this was delicious! :D

A dinner that lasted for more than 2 hours had us eating non-stop. A business trip that turned into a food trip. ;) What a great way to get to know Penang. Great food with beautiful ladies. Wonder why I haven't move up there yet? Haha.

Ipoh Trippin'

2007-02-13T11:31:00.000+08:00

Had to stay over at Ipoh for a night as we had briefing the day before the early morning event. So after the briefing at 4pm, we got back to the hotel that was just 2 minutes away from the Perak Turf Club [PTC] for some afternoon tea. Wanted to go for nasi kandar but by the time we were done at the PTC, it was too late and too early for dinner so had to settle for tea.

Thank goodness Heritage Hotel has a good coffee shop so when you're in Ipoh, you can't skip the famous Ipoh white coffee, can you? It's delicious!

Can't have coffee without bread, right? So tried out their hong kong style sandwich with cheese and ham. Think I like it better toasted.

To finish off a good afternoon tea, you definitely have to order another Ipoh white coffee but the hot version. *yum*

Two hours or rather 1 1/2 hours later, we went out looking for dinner. To think we came all the way to Ipoh to have Nyonya food. Haha. But the place looks real fancy, don't you think?

Either we came at the wrong time or this place is really good cause we had to wait awhile to get our seats... Yes, it was fully booked and they have another floor too.

Started with some fried chicken. :) Then two different varieties of vegetables. Pretty standard stuff.

Prawns cooked in the nyonya way. I like 'em. But I think I've had better but this is Ipoh so I guess I'll let it slide.

The finale to this all? The fish head curry. Could have done with a little bit more kick but still good. :)

The very next day it was a very early start and I mean very early. A little too early for me but it was a quick event. Suppose to end at 11 a.m. but ended 45 minutes earlier. Good for us cause we managed to catch the nasi kandar place before it got packed with the lunch crowd.

Seems like this place is very popular in Ipoh. Found out that kampungboycitygal also went there. Didn't really take much photos cause I was really hungry and the food was really good! I mean REALLY good! A definite pit stop for me whenever I'm in Ipoh. :D At least there's more options now than just the chicken rice, hor fun, seafood and dim sum. :)

Horseys and Charities.

2007-02-12T20:27:00.000+08:00

So as I have mentioned before, I was traveling last week cause I was helping out with the Pan Malaysian Pools annual charity event in collaborations with three turf clubs in Selangor, Perak and Penang. Hence the need to travel.

It all started at the STC [Selangor Turf Club] end of January and it was just smooth sailing after that with trips to Ipoh and Penang. More like a food trip but still had work to get done. :D

Here's the backdrop from STC. An event graced by our Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen. Read about it here.

Then there's Ipoh where the event was held at the Perak Turf Club with special kung-fu demos by the special youths. If you look at the photo in the article, I was standing to the right of the all white games co-ordinator passing out the gifts to the children after they have 'performed' on stage, which you will not see as I'm not that important but it was fun. :D

Finally, it was Penang's turn at the Penang Turf Club and most of the people that showed up were elderly people so instead of a games co-ordinator... there were still clowns running around making balloons for them and a trio belt out old tunes to keep them entertained. Here's the link to the article.

Guess I was just happy that this was the last event and it's all coming to an end that I totally forgot to take a photo of the backdrop but guess this one looks much better. :D The old man with the hat [the one closer to the lady singer and pianist] used to be a famous singer in Penang so I've been told. Gotta admit that he can still sing and he pretty much hogged the stage till the rest of the elderly people left in a huff. Oh well, they just want to have fun. :)

So what's the benefit of doing all these charity work? Nothing much except for a free trip to Ipoh and Penang with food and accomodation taken care of. :) Plus this little token of appreciation hand made by the kinds from one of the homes that visited the event in STC. How nice of them. :)

Buttered Pork Ribs.

2007-02-11T22:55:00.000+08:00

Yum yum yum... had some yummy buttered pork ribs before I went on the KL-Ipoh-Penang-KL trip. Went over to a restaurant in SS4 called Rasa Sayang. Rumoured to have some really good food and their buttered 'anything/everything' is supposed to be one of their signature dishes. So definitely had to give that a try. :D Of course dinner can't just be the pork ribs so ordered a plate of vegetables and fried rice to go with the delicious buttered pork ribs. :D Both were pretty normal but I did enjoy the buttered pork ribs, I wonder what else can they butter up and serve to us. ;) Ok, so the photos aren't doing the food justice but trust me, it's good. :)

KL-Ipoh-Penang-KL

2007-02-06T18:59:00.000+08:00

ThreeInOne, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Yes,I'm currently on a little tour of our lovely West Malaysia towns. Not on a holiday, got work to get done.

But still having loads of fun eating and eating and eating...and work. :P Will have photos when I'm back and settled.

But I just have one thing to say about Penang other than their great food. Penang ladies are FINE! F-I-N-E!!! FINE!

Just got back from a little shopping at Gurney Mall and almost everywhere I look I see pretty young girls around. Wow!

Another good reason why I should move to Penang. Haha. :P

The photo has nothing to do with this posting, just wanted to show off this weird/interesting wood chopstick that has three instead of the normal two chopsticks. Interesting huh. :D

Boring Afternoon?

2007-01-25T20:15:00.000+08:00

Well, here's something for you to try out. :)

Fancy Smancy.

2007-01-22T11:38:00.000+08:00

RadoNameCardHolder, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Take a lookie at what I just got hands on.

A RADO namecard holder. No, I am not rich enough to buy it. No, I did not steal it. A friend didn't want it so she bounced it over to me. :D

Thanks alot, FuBihZhu. :P

Pak Lah's pad.

2007-01-18T01:29:00.000+08:00

Farid and gang got invited to perform at the Prime Minister's residence in PutraJaya last night and lucky me got to go with them. :D Pak Lah was having a Media Appreciation Night so as with any event, there'll surely be entertainment and the boys was it. Read about it on theStar.com via this link. They mention the name of the chinese group but never mention Farid's name. What lah. Got there around 4pm for soundcheck but before they could do so, it started to rain and rain it did till about 6pm. If the little hut was bigger, I could have had my short nap. ;) They had about 50 stalls of the best food in KL and I only managed to try a couple of them. 'cause around 10pm it started to rain again so it was pretty hard to eat in the open with the rain. Oh well, hopefully there's another chance some day... I hope. :P Oh, that was how close I got to our beloved Prime Minister. Shoke his hand and was pretty much speechless. Bodoh sial! Mostly because I didn't expect him to stop and start talking to us. So was caught off-guard. :D I blame my Nokia 6131 for the poor [read:abysmal] quality of the photo. *note to self : ALWAYS bring you compact digital camera along! Overall, a pretty standard gig and I should have eaten more.

Where's Brian?

2007-01-16T12:21:00.000+08:00

KomplekSeriPerdana, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Guess where I'll be this Wednesday night? :) Gotta go visit the place before the event, looks really good.

Should be a fun event. ;)

Check here and here for more details.

My new year resolution.

2007-01-13T11:44:00.000+08:00

Apple_iPhone, originally uploaded by hanlian.

This year, I resolute to get the new, yet-to-be-released Apple iPhone next year. [Photo taken from Apple website]

Good bye Nokia 7390. You don't event come close, compared to this baby... doesn't help too when I'm a mac user as well. :D

On another happy note, Congratulations to Zaza for giving birth to her second baby girl, Khayra Qaszryna.

The year that was.

2007-01-01T11:58:00.000+08:00

Man,finally I get to access my blog. It's been so long 'cause of Christmas, then there was the unfortunate quake but oh well, it's a new year now... It's going to be a great ride. :D Here's a couple of photos from the 2 weeks that I've been unable to blog. :) A Triple Decker sandwich from O'Briens. HUGE would be the right word for it! ;) Then it was Christmas and with church service at a hotel in Subang, I saw this in the elevator. I'm not saying that my english is good but this copy is just ridiculous, don't you think so? Oh well, Merry Christmas! After that was an expensive RM10 nasi lemak at KLCC's food court with a bunch of friends... just chillin' since the town was quiet with people going out of town. And to end the year with a bang, I was KLIA with some friends cause they had a performance there. Ok, so it wasn't a bang...it was more like a twitter but we had fun so it's cool. :) Happy New Year. May 2007 bring you more prosperity and joy.

Delicious again?

2006-12-19T03:34:00.000+08:00

Went to Delicious at Bangsar Village again last night with LM since I've not seen her for quite a while now... Both busy busy lar, what to do. ;) Anyways...So it was a quiet night, not too many people at the place but their wild mushroom soup was finished already by the time we got there and it was only 7 p.m. Guess it's that good or they didn't prepare enough. ;) So we had to have our standard dishes, potato wedges and mashed potatoes. Potato overload! :P Nothing much have changed so that's good or is it? ;) The mashed potatoes are great too with little onion slices in them. Might just change over and order mashed potatoes the next round. :P But I am a loyal potato wedges kind of guy. ;) Since LM's wild mushroom soup wasn't available and being a Librian, she made her decision in haste and ended up with a tomato based minestrone soup. So not her type of soup but she did manage to finish it [with my help]. :P How could I resist not ordering this nyonya curry laksa but in my greediness I didn't realise we have over-ordered for 2 pax. So we had to pay the price with bloated stomachs at the end of the meal! :P The drinks did help to push the food down. ;) Her lemonade versus my Death by Ice Chocolate. :D Ok, so this isn't such a good after-meal drink but hey, it's chocolate and it's good! :) Sinfully good. This is so not good. Need to exercise again soon. :P Others who have been to Delicious : Faces' review MakanSakan.com Babe In The City

Weekend in Johor.

2006-12-18T05:08:00.000+08:00

So our trip to Johor started a little later than what we expected. ;) Suppose to leave by 9.30 a.m. Only managed to leave around 11.30 a.m. after brunch at O'Briens in Great Eastern Mall. Good drive all the way down south with me at the wheels of a Mitsubishi Airtrek. Made it down in record time too I might add. Had to get there to check in by 3 p.m. cause the boys had a 5 p.m. soundcheck at Hutan Bandar [Urban Jungle] for their first gig of the weekend. Didn't take much photos of the places but did manage to get a photo of this curry fish head that we had for dinner at Yap and Suzie's place after the soundcheck. It was so good that I am still having a sore-throat after eating it. :P So the next day, they had to give a little talk about being musicians to a bunch of young Rotarians at a secluded resort near Sedili, which was organized by Fancy. The best resort I've seen so far and it's not well-known but the upkeep of the place, the food and the VIEW is out of this world! How's this for a view? ;) Or this? The photos aren't doing much justice for the place so you'll just have to take my word for it! :) The food is sumptuous! I was so busy eating and enjoying the fresh seafood that I only managed to take a photo of the prawns, which are caught fresh just a few hours before they are served to us. :D For the price of RM 350 for a 3D/2N stay with food and accomodation taken care of... This is one place I'll be keeping a secret of! :) So with the talk out of the way, we had to head back to town for their soundcheck at TaatHouse for their last gig in Johor. Nice fancy place with a variety of food being served. They have 3 menus for you to choose from Western, Penang and Local I think... too many choices! So spoilt for choice. hahaha. ;) Having Penang food in Johor, what a weird experience. :P Couldn't get much photos as we were rushing for time... had to finish dinner quick, get back to New York Hotel for a quick bath and out again to the venue for their performance. Was almost late but we managed to get there on time. :P All in all, a good trip but a little rushed. :) Would have been nice if we could stay for another night. :D Eat till we dropped. haha. :)

Grilled Crabs with Nong & Jimmy.

2006-12-14T23:35:00.000+08:00

While awaiting to go down south with Roger, Farid & Tricia for a couple of gigs...I spent the night over at Farid & Tricia's since I was following their car and we're leaving early the next day. So for dinner they brought me to this place past Ampang Point, maybe close to Pandan Indah or something like that for some really good grilled crabs. Seems like this place is very famous with the Ampang crowd and I was told that it's always full. Well, I was about to find out why it's always full. :) The place is runned by a couple, Nong and Jimmy... Thai and local I guess. The place is kinda run-down and can be quite a turn-off but the food is fantastic so I suggest if you're coming here... sit as close as possible to the road and erm, do not visit the toilets! That's all I'm saying other than that...the food is really good! :D Best starters are these little/mini yau char quays that come with pandan spread. Love them to bits! :) So yummy and once you start, you can't stop! Since there was only 3 of us, we only had a few dishes such as the vegetables with salted fish. Their la-la is pretty yummy too... Saw other tables ordering a alcohol based soup with la-la, think I'll try that the next round. :) The fish was absolutely fabulous! Paired with their chilli sauce, it was *slurp*! Fresh, soft meat. Man, it was good! You will definitely need more of these chilli sauce so don't be shy to ask for more! And the finale to all that was the grilled crabs. Quite different from what I was used to having but good change nonetheless. Goes very well with the chilli sauce since it's dry. So anyone wanna take a ride down downtown for some grilled crabs with me? :)

Reminiscence of a great festival.

2006-12-10T23:03:00.000+08:00

The festival has come and gone yet the high is still lingering around. Most of everybody that's attended the festival are still feeling it. Trying to meet up and keep the feeling going. Funny how a festival can bring people from different backgrounds together. People like Roger and his pregnant wife, Claudina whom are just so fun to hang around with. Tompi, the fun and easy-going vocalist from Indonesia whom all the girls crave and craze for. That means you, Putri. ;) The jokers from Germany, Java 5. These guys are really good! Get their CD if you missed their performance. Koh the Saxman and his gang from Thailand... It's too bad they couldn't stay long cause they have to head back for a performance for the King. They really did rock out the first night. Everybody was dancing and enjoying themselves. What a night! :) Of course, the one and only, the Man of Zen himself, John Kaizan Neptune. Having MCed his workshop at the Tropical Spice Garden was a priviledge that I never knew I could have. It was fantastic, so fantastic that I had goose-bumps when he started playing. It was just zen! The place is incredible too, if you're in Penang and have not been to the Tropical Spice Garden... find the place, you'll love it! The view, the food, the area... all of it makes the place great! And then there's the crazy Malaysian and Korean! ;) Man, we need to get to Seoul for a trip! The Swedish group, Fredrik Noren Band, the Koreans, Seo Young Do Trio, the Malaysians, Rhapsody and the Penang Island Jazz Festival gang! It was just wicked.

Banging Sticker.

2006-12-08T23:56:00.000+08:00

It's been awhile since I updated but it was just hectic but great times leading to the 3rd Penang Island Jazz Festival as well as the times after it. More to come about that but first... here's something April had on her car. Interpret as you see fit. :D

Biggest Ice Lemon Tea.

2006-11-29T23:01:00.000+08:00

Have you ever seen Ice Lemon Tea being served like this? Neither have I... It was a huge task just trying to finish it all by myself!

Ipoh Hor Fun at Taman Tun.

2006-11-20T02:28:00.000+08:00

Been checking out this new restaurant in Taman Tun... well, it's new to me. Think it's been there for quite some time already. Pretty hidden but if you know how to get to the TTDI Market, the one facing the Damansara Specialist Hospital then you should be able to find it. The restaurant is located in the shoplots right behind the market. You can have the hor fun dry or with soup, both equally good. :) Well, can't compare it with the ones you get in Ipoh but we're not in Ipoh, are we? This might be something you'd want to avoid ordering unless if you like your chicken slightly cold. Maybe it's because everytime we're there it's already 2pm. But it goes really well with the hor fun so it's fine. This of course is a must have. :) Lovely, yummy prawn wantons. *slurp*

Char Koay Teow at Jalan Batai.

2006-11-17T11:48:00.000+08:00

Everybody's heard of the famous Jalan Batai Char Koay Teow with the mouth-watering fruit rojak stall in front of it. So brought Roger to check out the place. Delicious fruit rojak! A must try and good side dish for your char koay teow or wantan noodles! The man has skills! He doesn't just leave the fire on high but controls with a turn of the knob. It just adds to the experience when you're sitting close to him and while he cooks your food, he smokes you up as well. :D The magnificent char koay teow with the *ugh* cockles. I know it adds to the taste but it's just *ugh*!

I'm still around.

2006-11-14T12:20:00.000+08:00

Yes, I'm still here...just busy prepping stuffs for Penang. Check it out..it's going to be really fun! :D Penang Island Jazz Festival or you can check out alldatJazz.com for more information. Also, I really have to change my phone... again... I thought I can live with the Nokia 6131 camera but I was wrong, very wrong. Now if the Nokia 7390 picks up its pace and be available in Malaysia soon then I'll be a happy camper once again. ;) And please don't think I'll get the pink color one! It's the brown/black one for me.

Western at HeyriPan.

2006-10-30T19:19:00.000+08:00

So finally a posting of food. This one is from Korea at the HeyriPan area. The place is huge and they have some interesting restaurant in the area but cause we were in a rush, we went to the closest one. Nice restaurant with a interesting art gallery on the ground floor. Even the stairs that lead up to the restaurant is like an art piece. Really love how they did up the place. Really love how they did up the place but I was having so much fun that I forgot to take photos of the place...almost forgot to take photos of the food too. ;) It's some kind of vegetable soup, can't really remember what it was...all I remember it was nice but a little too much green for me. :P A simple salad leading to a yummy lunch. ;) The red snapper was just right. Looks good, doesn't it? But being a meat person, the medium-done beef was delicious! :) Man, I miss Korea. Links to my other Korea posts : Annyong Haseyo. Guess who I met at Jarasum? Seoul Trip. Random photos from Korea. More random photos from Korea. Insadong & DongDaeMun.

Want some dick?

2006-10-29T23:12:00.000+08:00

Watched some movies over at J&C's place again. Funny how Tesco's products have interesting names, such as this one. Got myself some glassware too from them. Don't think you'll find these again. :)

Insadong & DongDaeMun.

2006-10-18T04:20:00.000+08:00

Did a little sight-seeing around the Insadong & DongDaeMun area. The start of the Insadong art street...ok,so they don't call it that but they have a lot of artsy stuff there so let's just call it that first,ok. :) Lovely place. See loads of artsy stuff. Cool fire-hydrant huh. Ok, so this isn't one of the art pieces but it's been awhile since I saw a red fire-hydrant. Looks good. :) One other thing that they do have abundant here are the music stores. This building here might seem like a normal office building but it houses 2 floors filled with music stores. They have everything here. Whatever musical instrument you want to find, they have it here. When I got there, I was like a kid in a candy store! I was going crazy! They have Fodera guitars here. The kind that Victor Wooten uses. Not only they look good but they sound real good too. Cost? 4 million won, which is roughly about RM 16,000. Pretty good deal, so I've heard. If I had the cash, I would have gotten this green roundback guitar. Well, if I did have the cash then, I would have gotten the Ovation guitar I had my eyes on. ;) See, kid in a candy store! :P Anyways, back to the food! This fried chicken cost 12,000 won about RM 48. Must be some real good chicken! ;) Good sandwiches made right in front of you. I know it's just a sandwich but the girl that was making the sandwiches is hot so... That really does help with sales. haha. :P These guys were fun to watch. They would put on a show everytime there was enough crowd. Something about dragontail... all I know that they are sweet and they stick to the top of your mouth. Pretty good except for the fact that they stick to the top of your mouth!!! Why do they have to do that?!?! ;) These tasty meat on skewers are great too. Being hungry might have helped with the taste too. ;) Coachmean as they might call it gives you a choice of chicken, beef or pork. *slurp* Cheap roadside food and they are clean! Just becareful cause you might not realise that you're spending a lot of wons just on roadside food. ;) This was the worst! Boiled cocoon or something like that. All I remember was the stench that came with it. *ugh* Even the next day, I could still smell it. It was just nasty! If you have tried it or would give it a try, spare me the details cause I sure will not try it. *bleh* We took a 20 minutes walk towards DongDaeMun. The Sungei Wang style of shopping in Seoul. These shopping malls open from midnight till the next day. Koreans sure like to shop during weird hours. But it seems that the best bargains are during those times so it's like having a sale everyday but during midnight and 6 a.m. On the way there, we was their lovely river running through the city. So well-kept. Just look at it. They have ducks swimming in 'em. Try finding ducks in our rivers. Look at that. A beautiful river running through the city centre. The hustle and bustle of the city just a couple of metres away from the river. Why can't we have it here? Why? Why? Why? ;)

More random photos from Korea.

2006-10-17T23:30:00.000+08:00

Been trying to sort out my Korea trip photos but to no avail so I'm just going to post whatever my pointer points to. :) Throughout the trip we were given pretty good attention by the festival organizers. Sure does pay off when you know them. haha. :) We had a bus that takes us directly to the festival. Straight to the entrance, most of everybody else had to park and walk about 5 minutes to get to the entrance. No, not us. :P So the boys had to do a gig in town at one of the fringe events with a co-sponsor for the festival. Farid and the gang was the first asians to perform at the just opened LIG Art Hall. What a honor. The place looks really fantastic. State-of-the-art facilities. Kick-@$$ sound system. Sure does make our art centres look real bad! ;) Was also doing some sight-seeing around town and was over at this mall called Lotte World. Man, the place is huge. Sorta like Berjaya Times Square but this one has a skating rink in it. They even have a ride in the shape of a hot-air balloon. Funniest thing, this little battery-operated doggie with a balloon tied to it. It'll just walk around and stop everso often to bark and then walk again. Ok,so it might not sound funny now but it was hilarious when I saw it there. Maybe cause a kid was kinda freaked out by it.. ;) As I was saying the Korean have really funny names for their restaurants and hotels. Here's one. Ho Lee Chow. The chinese food here must be real good. ;) Haha. Wait, maybe the food here is only for holy people...but it's a panda chef. Maybe it's for holy pandas. haha. :P Ok Ok...but you have to admit, that's a funny name! :D Ok, back to the festival at Jarasum. They have a whole area dedicated to musical instruments and this little thing here is really loud! All you do is step on the metal plate and it'll make the sound you usually hear during a war and they are trying to warn you of an impending air-raid. Really cool. :) But it's a really good fringe event/exhibition. Everybody was trying everything out. Good exposure for more unique instruments. If you're wondering where did all the food photos go... well,here they are. :D Yummilicious hot soup in a huge pot. I kid you not, the pot was hot and huge! But the best bit, they have a huge pig roasting and it was good! :D Thank goodness the koreans love pork. ;) The boys also had to perform at another festival, HeyriPan Festival about 2 hours away from Seoul. They have a whole village just dedicated to art, can you beat that? Wow. Couldn't get this piece of art though. Anybody care to explain this to me? :) On the way back to Seoul, we got to see the border. :) Yes, that's North Korea right over the other side. It was a great trip! :D Can't wait to go back again if I get the chance!

First shot with my new 6131

2006-10-12T00:53:00.000+08:00

SriPaandi_RotiGoreng, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Yes, I've changed my Sony Ericsson s700i to a Nokia 6131. Almost everybody said that it's so not me to do such a thing.

One, going back to a nokia phone.
Two, the new mobile is not better than the old mobile. [Well, spec-wise it's not much of an upgrade... more of a lateral change of mobile phone]

I've gotta admit, I'm as surprised of my actions too. Never would I have guessed I'll change to a clamshell phone and a nokia at that.

Anyways, this is the first photo taken with the new mobile. Still trying to get a hang of this camera... not as good as the s700i i must say.

By the way, if you're wondering what the heck is this... this is called roti goreng. Made of 4 roti canai and fried like maggi mee goreng. Very interesting. :) You can check it out over at Sri Paandi near the University Hospital in Petaling Jaya.

Random photos from Korea.

2006-10-03T12:03:00.000+08:00

The Koreans sure have some funny business names such as this. A convenient store. They also have a restaurant called 'Restaurant Very and Good', a hotel called 'Hotel Very 6'. Who comes up with stuffs like that? ;) They have place called Penang too. :) I wonder if they realise that Malaysia has an island called Penang. A jazz bar called 'All That Jazz'. Not too bad and they have quite a lot of jazz bars around but don't think all of them have 'live' bands playing. Best thing, they have Krispy Kreme too! What a treat! :D Why can't somebody bring in Krispy Kreme to Malaysia or Singapore? Sigh... Also right next to where we were staying, Joe's Sandwich is a good pick. Tasty, affordable sandwiches and coffee. Good alternative if you're bored of the bulgogi, bibimbap, kimchi, and the other stuffs. Delicious chicken teriyaki sandwich. :) Goes well with the bossam that you can get from Family Mart, another version of 7-11. Kinda like the stuff you get in Japan. But I have to say that I really am loving their kimchi now. Been having cravings for good kimchi and korean food. What is wrong with me?!?! ;) :P I could have bulgogi for months on. :) More photos to come after I've sorted them out.

Seoul Trip.

2006-10-03T03:29:00.000+08:00

Man, I just can't get back into the swing of things after the Seoul trip. It was just fantastic! Lovin' the place and the people that I met there. Hopefully next year I'll be able to tag along with the fellas to another country! :D This is going to be a photo-heavy post. You have been warned. :) So we got to Incheon around 8 a.m. and the weather was fantastic. A little cloudy but cooling! Interesting architecture. There was a warning about some typhoon on its way when we arrived but it didn't happen so that was cool. Seoul Residence was great. It had everything kitchen, untensils, hi-speed internet connection, washing machine, iron. Best thing, we stayed for free! All thanks to the Jarasum International Jazz Festival people! They don't use keys anymore, just a card and you 'touch 'n' go' to get into the room. Great stuff! :) One thing about the drivers there, each thinks they own the road! If you think Penang drivers are bad, you will love them after you spend some time on the road with the koreans! For my first korean lunch, we went to a basement restaurant. For 16,500 won we 15 dishes. It was like a food marathon. Not a good idea for first timers to korean food! And as with any korean food, you'll have the standard kimchi. I really have no idea what I was having during lunch but it was an interesting experience. Even Chang-Ho, the artist manager for the festival had no idea what some of the dishes were. ;) But I do know that this fish was great and I loved it. So was the beef! And the pork! :D *slurp* The salad was good too with their own special dressing. This was not fun! I took the green color vegetable thinking it was an okra but it was not. Oh, it was so not... it was the spicest chilli I've had in my whole life. Nothing came close to this. I was sweating, my face went red and my tongue was numb! It took a lot of hot water to kill the heat! So a word of advice, don't stick the whole thing into your mouth. So to un-numb my tongue, I drank most of the ice water from their 'GAYA' brand. ;) Korean style dimsum. This I loved the most. Sweet desserts, rice cakes with red beans and stuffs in them. I wonder if I can find this here. That's the spread for 11 people. The waitress do move really fast here.

Guess who I met at Jarasum?

2006-09-24T00:23:00.000+08:00

NahYounSun_Jarasum, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Yes, I got my photo opportunity with Nah Youn Sun. ;)

Didn't manage to get a photo with her when I met her at the Miri International Jazz Festival in May but who knew she was going to be at Jarasum. :D

Check out her soon-to-be-released album. It's going to be fantastic.

Annyong haseyo.

2006-09-23T23:56:00.000+08:00

JarasumInternationalJazzFestival_Tag, originally uploaded by hanlian.

More to come when I get home but this place is hoppin'! :D

But I'm definitely missing my nasi kandar, nasi lemak with ayam goreng, thosai.

I bought a book?

2006-09-15T19:27:00.000+08:00

ACuriousGuideToJazz, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Yes, I did. I can't believe it myself too, but this was quite an interesting read.

Seems to me that Borders have quite a good number of jazz related books on sale. I think I better not step into Borders any time soon lest I purchase more than I can handle. ;)

"Curiosity is one of the things that marks the Jazz listener. If you're listening to Jazz - If you're even thinking about listening to Jazz - you're already curious." - Wynton Marsalis

This should be able to keep me occupied if I get bored on my Korea trip next week.
WhooHoo, Jarasum Jazz Festival here I come.

Free Jazz in Art?

2006-09-15T02:42:00.000+08:00

JustinLim_Momentum, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Went over to Taksu at Ampang to show support to a friend's first art exhibition at Taksu.

It was fantastic! Some of the other art pieces on display was quite interesting too. A must see if you have not visited an art gallery before.

Congrats Justin on your excellent solo exhibition. :)

Big mouth burgers.

2006-09-11T03:30:00.000+08:00

Couldn't decide on what to eat but we knew we wanted potatoes and the mashed version so we headed over to MidValley's Chili's. Little moo-moo went with the chicken that had the mash potatoes, which was quite a big serving of chicken... could have done with more mashed potaotes and gravy though. ;) I on the other hand was a little lazy to have the chicken so I ordered a Big Mouth Mushroom Swiss burger. Look at the amount of mushrooms they serve on top of the large piece of beef. Man, this makes Burger King's mushroom swiss look like something that you order off a kid's menu! ;)

JibBitz'ing' my Crocs.

2006-09-10T23:45:00.000+08:00

Here's a look at how the JibBitz look on me Crocs. :) Sure does look better than having them on the black thing-a-ma-jig it came with. Interesting, ei? Now when will some money-hungry business person bring them into Malaysia. :D

Hmmm, cheese!

2006-09-09T23:36:00.000+08:00

PizzaHut_CheesyBites, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Celebrated Grace "Grannie" Kam's birthday on Saturday by bringing her to do her nails at 1 Utama. Man, they are really starting young nowadays!

An 11 year old girl getting really excited about make-up, pedicure, manicure and stuffs. Well, I guess that's just natural. :)

Anyways, she insisted we have these cheesy-bites from Pizza Hut. It's not too bad, pretty decent cheese. Loads of them actually.

But after having great pizzas from Alexis Bistro, these are just good for a cheap quick fix I guess. :D

JibBitz your Crocs.

2006-09-08T23:38:00.000+08:00

JibBitz, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Phew, what a Merdeka week!

Finally the weekend has come and it's rest time again! :)

Thanks to a friend that was over at Canada for the past 3 weeks, she found these accessories for Crocs. Looks good, ei? Sure will look really interesting on my orange Crocs. :D

JibBitz they are called and they have tons of other stuffs for Crocs. Now if I could only get somebody to bring them back for me, I wouldn't have to order them online. ;)

Thanks Rachel! :D

Merdeka Bak Kut Teh

2006-09-01T03:57:00.000+08:00

Yes, it's Merdeka everything today. :D Well, technically it was yesterday. Spent Merdeka day sleeping in til noon and went out to have dinner with some friends. Swung over to Old Town for some Heng Kee Bak Kut Teh. Personally, I rather like the other Bak Kut Teh in Old Town. The one opposite Public Bank right by the roadside. But the soup here is supposedly thicker and not as watered down as the other one by the roadside. Can't really tell the difference I say. Too bad when we got there, the yau char guai was sold out. What a pity! When one has bak kut teh, one must have yau char guai! Look at 'em pork meat! :D Delicious! And here's the not so erm...well, not my favourite the pig intestines. Chinese people sure are fear factor material! We EAT everything. Wait, let me rephrase that, most Chinese EAT everything. haha. :D If you'd like to check this place out, click here for a map to the place courtesy of kyspeaks.com.

Merdeka Thosai.

2006-08-31T03:46:00.000+08:00

PadangKota_PaperThosai, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Spent Merdeka Eve over at Laundry to check out Madison Flynt. A punk rock group from Denmark.

Pretty loud, good for Laundry that's for sure! :D

Anyways, CineLeisure celebrated Merdeka with a huge bang. A 10 minute firework display, which stopped traffic.

We tried to get out of Curve ahead of time so we don't have to get stuck in the jam but alas, the people driving stopped to watch the firework display as well.

Should have expected it lar. Malaysia mah!

Went over to Kota Damansara for some supper and this paper thosai was fantastic! ;)

Relocate.

2006-08-30T13:40:00.000+08:00

Note to self; MOVE when the opportunity arises! Move = Pull up stakes, change one's address, go away, decamp, move away, go away.

Steaking out at Puchong.

2006-08-28T02:58:00.000+08:00

Went over to James & Christina's place last night to check out their most recent possession. A 1970s Volkwagon Bus. :D If it was a 1960s it would be have better but it's not easy to find them in Malaysia. What a waste! If I had the money, I would get myself one and get it pimped out! ;) Anyways, went to this restaurant near Giant, Puchong called 'Steak Out'. I wonder if its a franchise from America with the same name. You can't miss it, it faces Giant and has a huge signboard ontop of the building. Not too bad a place. Quite nice with comfy booths to sit your butts on. Price-wise, it's ok... ranging from RM 8 - RM 42. These are their erm... cheese sticks. Taste quite good with the tartar sauce. Did I mention that each of them are stuffed to the brim with cheese? ;) Tasty warm cheese, deep-fried with tartar sauce. James had the erm...sausage. Some german sausage. Looks kinda scrawny, even the Dave's Deli sausage is bigger than this. But it was good! :D Ken had the hawaiian chicken that comes with pasta. I guess if you like having pasta with tomato sauce, this might tickle your fancy. I went with chunky garlic with mushroom chicken. I was kinda hoping for more garlic but there was a good portion of mushrooms and not the cheap mushrooms. The sauce was just nice for the whole mix. More garlic would have been fun. :D Overall, for a party of 5 the bill came up to just under RM 100. Not too bad I say.

Smart Malaysian drivers.

2006-08-26T23:48:00.000+08:00

InconsiderateDriver, originally uploaded by hanlian.

I would like to thank the driver of that Perodua MyVi and the Proton Waja for cutting cue. It was very refreshing to see people who can't wait in line like the rest of the people that has been stuck in the traffic jam just trying to get into Subang.

The rest of us who were waiting patiently in line wasn't bummed out by the traffic jam we had to endure to reach this junction.

We aren't in a rush to get to where we are suppose to be. We aren't sick and tired of getting stuck in the traffic jam.

I'm sure next time when you're lining up at a fast food joint or at the bank, you won't be waiting in line because you're in a rush and can't wait patiently like the rest of the people.

Thank you very much. We crave to get stuck in traffic jams.

Spanish Teh Tarikh.

2006-08-25T17:33:00.000+08:00

Even been to the Panadero Bakery over at Centre Point at Bandar Utama? If you have been to Centre Point during the day, I'm sure you'd have caught a whiff of the sweet sweet smell of fresh bread being made. Had afternoon tea with some friends after checking out CanaanLand. They do have some tasty treats there. But when I ordered my Teh Tarik, I did not expect this. This is my teh tarik. Does it look like teh tarik to you? Oh wait, you think that was hilarious? Take a look at the description they used for this beverage I ordered. Correct me if I'm wrong but I do not think Boh Tea is from Spain. And I don't think Spain do teh tarik! Malaysia sure boleh!

Why me?

2006-08-22T19:28:00.000+08:00

Was attending a Children's Prayer Conference and Rally organized by NECF, Malaysia at PJ EFC. Wasn't there to be a babysitter but was there to learn from the guest speaker, Pastor Samuel Pun from Singapore. A man that's been in the children ministry for 22 years. A much sought after pastor it seems and I can understand why after spending two days listening to him speak. I'm glad that the children from our church was blessed by the event and I'm surprised that I was blessed too. It was a very interesting and educational two days! :) And as most people that meet me for the first time, they asked about my curls. :D I think a lot of the kids were wondering what's up with the curls on this man. haha. ;) Anyways, if you are involved with the children ministry in your church, I really do suggest that you attend this man's workshops/sermons! Wonderful testimony. What's a post in my blog if there isn't a photo of food?!!? ;) The cafeteria in the PJ EFC building has pretty reasonably priced items! Taste pretty good too. This is the claypot loh shu fun. I think the price is lower to cater to the UTAR students studying in the building in front of PJ EFC.

Hot dogs?

2006-08-20T21:03:00.000+08:00

Did you know that the term 'hot dog' is also used as a silly word that is used in an expression of excitement. For example, "Hot Dog was that fun!" or "I can't wait to go sky diving tomorrow, Hot Dog!" Interesting, ei? Anyways, little moo-moo introduced me to this new hot dog place at Midvalley MegaMall called GoGo Franks. Ok, I've to admit the name is a little weird but if it's good... who cares? ;) I think this GoGo Franks is a Singaporean based company, looking at their website that is. *This is NOT what you think it is! ;) Instead of using the conventional buns, they wrap their dogs with prata aka roti canai. Pretty interesting. Then I found out that 1901 now also sells Maggi Mashed Potatoes. Great! Now don't have to just drive to petrol stations to look for them. :D Ok,so the photo doesn't really show that it's tasty but trust me it is! For only RM 1.50, it's pretty good! :) And since we were at 1901, how can we pass up the Chicago beef. :D *yum* *yum*

Boom!

2006-08-19T23:33:00.000+08:00

ProjectBazooka_Me, originally uploaded by hanlian.

I look kinda sickly in this photo but hey, guess it's just the flash. :D

Went over to show support for Project Bazooka's ongoing project at Laundry Bar.

A little plug here; Project Bazooka every 3rd Thursday of the month at Laundry Bar, The Curve. Giving space for our local bands a place to perform their own stuffs!

They had Tempered Mental vs Rhapsody on Thursday. Only managed to catch the last 2 songs but it was well worth it. Great stuff!

That's Khailee on the left and Yuri on the right. The guy with the blingin' t-shirt is me. The t-shirt is suppose to say "Serious ah?" :)

Want some fourplay?

2006-08-17T02:25:00.000+08:00

FourPlay_DFP, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Thanks to the Dewan Filharmonic Petronas [DFP], I got myself a ticket to catch Bob, Nathan, Larry and Harvey or better known as FourPlay.

It was a pity that they was held up at the airport and missed their press conference yesterday. I could have gotten myself a photo with them but alas, sh*t happens.

Their 2 day concert was fabulous even though the first night the gang was quite tired from the hiccup at the airport.

Last night's gig was fantastic! They did another 2 songs during the encore after performing 10 songs. They looked so laid-back while performing superbly.

If the line wasn't that long, I would have waited to get their autographs but there was just too many FourPlay fans there since the band did not have a autograph session on Tuesday.

I better not miss out Chick Corea and Gary Burton's gig at DFP next March! :D

Hmm, satay!

2006-08-15T11:41:00.000+08:00

All thanks to little Ms. Boo's entry on the Sate Kajang over at Damansara Uptown, I've been craving for them. Thank goodness, got a little moo-moo to go with me for some good satay. :D That's beef on the left and a little glimpse of the venison on the right and a large view of the peanut sauce with loads of sambal. ;) Then we made the mistake of ordering chicken. Yes, that's chicken on the left and fish on the right. The fish was quite interesting but not something that I'll order again. Not as bad as the chicken though. Bottom line, just stick with the beef and venison. Maybe the mutton too but I'm not sure and if you're a fan of liver and heart, they have that too. :) You can also do away with the rice so you can have more satay! :D Dang, now I want more. Anyone care to join me? ;)

Is that a cat?

2006-08-14T16:37:00.000+08:00

HugeCat, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Man, this cat is huge! I don't know if it's pregnant or it's just well-fed. :D

Anyways, please excuse the lack of updates because the week's been busy, busy, busy. Sigh, can't wait for my Korea trip for this.

Anyone else going for it? If so, meet you there! :D

The Driver.

2006-08-07T14:50:00.000+08:00

Transporter, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Congratulations to Alex & Li Ann. They got hitched on Saturday and I was their driver. :D

Thanks to a church friend, we managed to loan a Volvo S60 for transport. Man, that car was simply the bee's knees. So responsive and powerful.

If I could keep it, I would. :D Except for the high maintenance cost.

Had the priviledge to drive the couple and the bridesmaid around. I thought it was just a simple job but it was tiring! Fun nonetheless.

Noob donkey.

2006-08-04T02:18:00.000+08:00

RTM_VIP, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Went over to TraxxFM in the afternoon for a meeting with the Jazz Selecta bunch since they are going to have a jazz thing-a-ma-jig at Bangkok Jazz on the 15th.

By the way, you are all invited for the party. It's FREE! Free food, drinks and plenty of local jazz musicians, TraxxFM DJs and celebrities.

More information here.

Anyways, the policemen at the guardhouse gave me this thing-a-mo-bob. Didn't really know what's it good for.

I thought that would allow me to park anywhere I want so I parked quite far from the entrance of the office 'cause there wasn't any empty space closer. After reaching the entrance of the building, I found out that there was a couple of VIP parking spaces designated for those with the VIP pass such as the one I had.

Banyak the pandai!

Cinema under the stars.

2006-08-02T11:14:00.000+08:00

StarLightCinema, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Another year has passed and StarLight Cinema is back. Now over at Sentul Park right behind KLPac.

Scored myself a pair of tickets to go check out the premier of Click. It starts off funny and ends with some emo bit.

Kinda reminds me of Spanglish but this one is real funny! haha. :D

For all you toe-fetish freaks out there.

2006-08-02T03:06:00.000+08:00

ToesForYou, originally uploaded by hanlian.

For your information, I am NOT a toe-fetish freak. Thank you very much.

This is just to show how ladies will do quite erm... interesting things to their nails. I have a feeling the owner of these toes will come for my head. :P Mercy! ;)

Chatterbox at Bangsar Village.

2006-08-01T17:35:00.000+08:00

Had lunch with 2 of the Charlie's Angels of SEACuisine at Bangsar Village just now. Suppose to check out Delicious but it was full house indoors and the ladies did not want to sit outside...so ChatterBox it was. I think the place is like one of those HK restaurants you find in town such as Kim Gary, Wong Kok and the rest. And I really had no idea what to try out cause I was so looking forward for my Death By Chocolate. At least they didn't screw up the Hong Kong style tea. :) Some decent moneybags aka fried wantan. Quite like the chilli sauce they serve with it. But their other chilli sauce mix could have used a little more kick. ;) KS had some erm...I have no idea what it was but it was tasty. :) Since I couldn't decide, I just went with the safe items like the Cheese-Baked rice with pork slices. :) Had to throw in quite a large amount of chilli to get a good kick out of it. :D Overall, it's ok I guess but the bill came up to about RM68 so I'm not sure if that's reasonable or not compared to the rest. :)

Porridge for supper?

2006-08-01T02:49:00.000+08:00

Went over to The Westin to catch Rachel and Vincent for the last time as their 5 months long stint ends tonight, I mean last night...I mean, ended on the 31st of July 2006. :) Anyways, after the gig we went over to Pudu for some Teo Chew porridge. Rachel's favourite place to makan after her gigs at Westin. That's just for four person eating. Very the banyak for supper/very early breakfast, don't you think? :D But it was fun just chillin' with the bunch of them since Rachel will be away for a month on holiday. You better bring back some pretty chicks,ok. :D Have a safe trip and take care,ya. :)

Press kit.

2006-07-29T03:34:00.000+08:00

SunriseJazz_RhythmFest06, originally uploaded by hanlian.

I love it when people know how to take care of the press. :D

Sunrise did a very good job this year in keeping the media people happy. ;)

Check out the Sunrise Jazz & Rhythm Festival happening from July28th till August 12th.

Hmmm, pie.

2006-07-29T03:32:00.000+08:00

MarmaladeCafe_ChickenPie, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Met up some KS, Christine, Sun and Vincent for a quick dinner at Marmalade Cafe before the Sunrise Jazz & Rhythm Festival 2006.

I know it might not look as yummy as it should and I learnt that you should never leave a pie to cool before consuming it. Bad idea! ;)

But the girls enjoyed their carrot cake. :) A must try for those who are going there for the first time. :D

Want a ferari?

2006-07-28T15:40:00.000+08:00

Went over to Naza World just now for a look at some cars. I can't believe Naza stocks up so many upmarket cars in their showroom. I wonder where they get all the money from. Anyways, this Ferari was sitting right at the entrace. It looked really good. :D But I was more mesmerized by the Subaru WRX STI sitting outside. And having a price tag of RM 240k, I might just be able to afford it if I rob a couple of banks in town. ;) Just kidding. Me no robber...but would definitely help if some benevolent sponsor give me loads of cold hard cash. Haha. :) They even had a Maserati in the showroom that cost RM 7 million. Who would have that kind of money? Crazy!

Laksa Attack.

2006-07-27T15:38:00.000+08:00

LaksaShack_SarawakLaksa, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Had lunch yesterday at KLCC with Roy, Roger and Claudina. It's kinda like our thing now everytime the couple comes to town, we'll meet up for lunch. :)

Really was spoilt for choice when we decided to have lunch at the food court in KLCC. Finally decided to try out the Sarawak Laksa from Laksa Shack.

Could anyone please just direct me to a decent authentic sarawak laksa? When I was in Miri, I couldn't find any laksa there. Now I don't even know if Sarawak laksa is suppose to taste like this.

Anyone? :D

Gifts aplenty.

2006-07-26T14:44:00.000+08:00

RubenGonzalez, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Wow, 2 weeks has passed since my birthday and I'm still getting gifts. :D What a year. haha. :D

Met up with Eugene for lunch and he passed me this baby. What a find.

If you have not heard of Ruben Gonzalez, you better go out and get his CDs.

Read all about the man that's one of the last of Cuba's great Afro-Cuban piano players here.

Dreams do come true.

2006-07-24T23:19:00.000+08:00

MyCanonS3IS, originally uploaded by hanlian.

It did and it happened last night at KLCC. Thanks to my sponsor, I've got the baby that I've been eyeing on since I saw it on dPreview.com

But there's a condition to this fulfillment, I've gotta give up my Sony P-8, which might be a little difficult to do seeing as how that camera has a lot of memories and sentimental values.

Ohayo gozaimasu.

2006-07-22T11:16:00.000+08:00

Ok,so I know nuts about the japanese language but at least I know how to greet people according to the time of the day and maybe a couple of other phrases. :D Anyways, went to Sugimoto at Sri Hartamas last night with a friend for a belated birthday dinner for me. :) Wasn't that difficult to find but it was a little difficult to get a parking space. Love the interior of the restaurant, pretty cosy if you ask me. If I had more friends with me, we could have gotten one of the private cubicles. :) No,this isn't my drink. I can't drink, everybody knows that. I'm wasted with just a can of jolly shandy, now that's bad! But it's cool, I need my liver for something else. haha. :D Got myself a Sukiyaki set. Pretty interesting, can't say I've had a lot of this but it was good enough for me. :) Just can't get over the part where you're suppose to dip whatever you take out of the hotpot into the raw egg before chomping it down. And look at what I got from my friend. :) Cute, ei? It's called Kokeshi and it was first made in the northern provinces of Japan about 150 years ago. It was originally made as a toy for children of farmers. It developed into a modern craft from a simple toy as the countryside developed culturally. Having outgrown the status of being a toy for children, Kokeshi is now recognized as one of the traditional folk arts in Japan. Kokeshi is handmade by skilled craftsmen entirely from wood-cutting to painting. Sounds like I did my research about this thing,right? ;) All thanks for the information flyer included with the Kokeshi. haha. :D According to my friend, it's customary to give the blue one to your special someone and keep the red one. Blue to the ladies and red to the gentlemen. I guess it's something to remind you of the other person.

That's me?

2006-07-21T15:12:00.000+08:00

MyBirthdayGift, originally uploaded by hanlian.

Thanks to someone that just got back from down under, I'm liken to Homer.

Ok,so maybe I live to eat instead of eat to live but that's how it works in Malaysia,right? :D

Thank you very much, babyET. Much appreciated. ;)