Nasi Kandar Utara @ SS15

One of my favourite joints for lunch. In fact, it's the best of nasi kandar I've eaten so far. Located at SS15, Subang Jaya (along the same row as Oldtown Kopitiam), this place is usually packed during peak lunch hour. One of their signature dish is of course the deep fried chicken. I've never failed to order this each time I'm there. My usual side dishes to go along with it are salted egg, vegs, perkedel and papadams. The key ingredient for tasty nasi kandar is without a doubt the various curry gravies. I'll usually mixed all of em' together and my plate would be flooded to the brim as can be seen in the last photo posted above.

Another good thing about this place is that right behind this restaurant, you can find H2O Drink Station where they serve really good iced bubble tea. Nothing helps cool down oneself after a fiery curried laden lunch than a cup of cool bubble tea.

I'm always looking for an excuse to go there, so do buzz me if you wanna give it a try ya. :)

Lunch @ Madam Kwan's, Pavilion

Last Saturday, SY and I were both in Pavilion to catch Definitely, Maybe starring Ryan Reynolds and Rachel Weiss (dunno who the rest of the casts were). Before the movie, we walked around on the shiny tiled floors of the complex browsing for lunch and finally came to an agreement. We headed to Madam Kwan's.

Madam Kwan's is synonymous with their Nasi Bojari. A tri-coloured spiced rice served with a huge piece of crispy fried chicken thigh, a portion of prawn sambal and beef rendang. We both ordered the same entree'... and it didn't dissapoint one bit. SY also suggested that we have their bean sprouts stir fried with salted fish. Another double thumbs up for this veg dish. The bean sprouts were crunchy to the bite and complimented real well by the tiny bits of salted fish scattered abundantly about.

For desserts, SY had the ice campur (ABC) while I opted for the sago gula melaka. The ice campur came in a huge generous serving ... refreshing shaved ice topped with peanuts, cendol, kidney beans, jello etc and drizzled heavily with sweet syrup and evaporated milk. Just the way ice campur ought to traditionally be. My sago received the BIG OK from the both of us too. Rich and creamy, the sago were of a very bouncy texture. Squishing it inside your mouth is akin to chewing on bubble wraps. It's not everyday you get to savour something that's yummy and fun too. Haha. I also had their iced chinese tea and it came served in it's individual porcelain pot. Nice touch.

Dim Sum @ Imperial China

The li'll birdies chirped noisily outside, telling me it's time to wake up on this sunny Sunday morning. My trusty Sony radio clock indicated that it's 2 minutes to 11. Time for brunch!!! Teeth brushed, face washed and body showered, I was soon ushered by a typical sepet-eyed-hair-tied-immaculately-in-a-bun Chinese lady (flown straight in from China yo) in her skin tight cheongsam and seated at the lush crested-shaped crimson sofa at The Imperial China Restaurant at SS17 Subang Jaya.

Anyways, few words were exchanged between SY and I as we waited for the bespectacled waiter to take our order. The only sounds heard were the growling of our eager bellies ... her stomach goes 'GRRRRR' and mine would respond with a 'GRRRRRRRR'. Hahaha. Yes, you wouldn't like us in our state of hunger. You have been warned peeps. :P

Soon, our table was filled with bamboo baskets filled with the likes of steaming bbq pork buns (char siew pau), bouncy fried fish balls, deep fried 'lam yi' pork ribs, tasty prawn noodles served in the cutest claypot, flaky bbq pork pastry (char siew sou), yummy yong tau foo, delicious fried carrot cake, sticky lo mai kai, eggy egg tarts and smooth & sweet mango pudding. Washing it all down with some piping hot 'Char Wong' chinese tea, it's hard to top this wouldn't you agree? And with our cravings satisfied, SY and I just sat there lazily and began our latest habit of people watching. Some comments that came out of our dim sum filled mouth aren't that nice mind you, nasty stuff ... muahahaha ... again peeps, you have been warned. :D

Posted above are just some of the photos I took. Can you guess which is which??? Hehe.

P.S. Was actually suppose to do a BC replacement but cancelled it last minute the night before cause wasn't feeling all too good. Didn't wanna risk anything, so again, so sorry Joanne. Gomenasai.

Moments to cherish ...

There are times where we take those around us for granted. Times when we think we can afford to make mistakes, to wrong our loved ones especially ... quite simply because we think they love us too much.

What if that love dies one day ... and the second chances, once abundant run dry. It'll hurt to say 'sorry' to deaf ears and 'I love you's to stoned broken hearts. Living in regret means going on with life ... bearing a tremendous burden, a pain that reaches the inner depth of one's soul.

So we learn from yesterday, work for today and live for tomorrow.

Makan Outing @ Lemon Garden Cafe, Shangri La Kuala Lumpur

Hey peeps, I'm trying to organize a makan outing. All are invited. It shall be at Lemon Garden Cafe at the Shangri La Hotel Kuala Lumpur. Tentative date is set on the 10th of May (Saturday).

It's gonna be a buffet dinner and on the menu is INTERNATIONAL BUFFET & SEAFOOD GALORE!!!

The price you ask ??? Well, prepare yourself because it's not for the faint hearted ... RM128++ per person. Yes, it's obscenely expensive but I was also told that it's one of the best buffet spread you can get in town in terms of quality and variety offered. The ladies can play dress up as well as the dress code is smart casual. Plenty of kodak-moment oppurtunities I'm sure.

So do let me know if there are any takers or else it shall just be SY and I. By then, don't blame me if you can only enjoy it from the photos posted here ya. :p

Hint 1 : If you have a special occasion coming up i.e. birthday, annyversary etc. why not use this outing as the reason to celebrate it. An added plus point is that you'll have the pleasure of enjoying my company as well. Hur hur hur.

Hint 2 : For instructors only ... hurry up, call your GXCs and go snag yourself a couple of extra classes to help offset this heavenly meal.

Mango Mania ... The Revisit

A continuation of sorts from the previous post ... so after a scrumptious dinner at The Banquet, SY and I hopped across the street and seated ourselves in Mango Mania. It's my second time here and I do foresee myself coming back here again in the near future. SY wanted their Yo Froz ... the smooth creamy mango yogurt I ordered the last time ... only now, she addded in pieces of sweet mangoes as well. The tangy sweetness from the mangoes complemented the yogurt exceptionally well I must say.

I went for the Cube Cube Mango which is essentially mango ice cream, mango juice, mango cubes and mango jello in a cup. This blogger love his mangoes, so being able to savour it in different forms and textures ... I'm going mango mania indeed. Hehehe. Really wanted to go for the mango cheesecake as well but the buldging tummy says no. Darn. :(

The Banquet on the 19th

April the 19th, it was a momentous li'll occasion for both SY and I (it's for us to know and for you to find out). So we decided to commemorate the day with a nice relaxing dinner at The Banquet @ BVII. We arrived slightly after the normal dinner rush hour, hence, seatings were aplenty. We were seated at a cosy corner and notice how my crisp Zara shirt blends in nicely with the rest of the decor'. Ahaks.

It's not our first time here, so we sort of knew what we wanted to order. Summoned the waiter and he sent our orders of tom yam soup (good), fried chicken wings coated with salted fish (very good), oven baked butter fish (yummy yummy yummy) and white wine clam pasta to the kitchen (yummy yummy). I must also add that each and everytime I come here, the service had been exquisite ... real top notch. :) (Maybe that's one of the reasons they could afford to overcharge us customers eh) :P

The last photo was taken as I was still undecided on what to order ... whether to go oriental or western. Ended up picking Italian with the clam pasta which was a splendid choice. The pasta was springy and tossed with loads of salty garlic. The wine was infused adequately within the pasta and the many juicy clams but not too much as to overwhelm the taste of the dish itself. I chose to exclude parsley though as I'm not a fan of this intense smelling herb.

The oven baked butter fish was cooked to perfection as usual. So flaky and when dipped in the honey mustard sauce ... ooo simply divineee. It's a dish that's gentle on the pallet and the baked potatoes on the side perfected this dish rather nicely.

The fiery tom yam soup was loaded with a generous amount of prawns, chicken, squid, mushroom and BIRD EYE CHILLIES. So good and yet sooooo spicy. A couple of sips and the nose starts to drip, the forehead revealed heavy beads of sweat and yet ... it keeps you wanting more. Deliciously deadly this concoction is.

Finally, the chicken wings ... unlike the usual 101-kinda-spice marinated ones, these v-shaped finger lickin' babies are coated with a mush of salted fish and it's to die for. Seriously, take a succulent bite and savour it by pressing it in between your toungue and pallet. Let the flavoursome juices coat each tastebuds and you'll get what I mean. Simply heavenly.

After dinner, the both of us headed to Mango Mania across the street for dessert but that indulgence deserves its own entry. :P

Paddington's Pancake House @ 1 Utama

Over the weekend, SY and I made our way to 1 Utama to catch The Forbidden Kingdom starring two of Asia's biggest martial art stars, Jet Li and Jackie Chan. Heck, we even managed to snag ourselves a couple seat at RM2 extra per person. The seat was more comfy and spacious. There's also an asile of sorts in between every two seating. Well, enough about that. As for the movie ... well, that's another story to tell.

This entry tells of our lunch at Paddington's Pancake House. It's situated behind Oriental Cravings on the Ground floor of the New Wing. We had a ball of a time drooling over big bright coloured photos of mostly panckaes in their menu. I can't remember the names of the ones we ordered, so I'll just let the photos above 'do the talking'. For the first photo, can you see the melted mozzarella peeking between the two pieces of salami. Hehehe. Looks yummilicious no? ... trust me, it was worth every single calory consumed. *Slurps*

Happy B'day Big Guy :)

Last night, the gymrats gathered at Starbucks Taipan to celebrate a certain '28' (give or take 13 years) year old's big day. List of attendees included the b'day boy of course (Alfee), Juls, Lorraine, Su Yee, Alex C, Johnathan, Annie, Ping, SY and meself. Can't believe I forgot to take a group photo but if you insist on seeing one, pls make your way to Su Yee's blog.

We got him a Nike 90 gym bag and a slice of chocolate brownie with thick chocolate sauce and melted marshmallows poured heavily on top. B'day boy was generous enough to fork out moolah to vengefully inject our bloodstreams with loads of caffeine and sugar though. Aiks ... looks like the lot of us need to hit the gym again tomorrow no? Hehe. We sampled their Strogannof Pie (Sheperd's Pie but ala chicken) and Passion Fruit cake. The pie was kinda good with the hard pie crust holding in the creamy black peppered chicken stew. As for the passion fruit cake ... well, I wouldn't recommend it since it gave a very artifical sweetened taste. Bleh. Me no like and SY seconded it.

But as they say, it's the company that matters most and I guess we all had a great time catching up again. :)

Oh and that last photo shows Alex C on one of his better days. :P

Love is in the air ...

The rings so beautiful ... like one’s first kiss
The bond so pure ... seals true love and forever bliss

My heart's desire ...

I just finished my class in True Fitness Jaya33. Plopped myself on one of Coffee Bean's brown leathered chair and then she caught my eye. Oh what a beauty!!! I was hopelessly mesmerised as she boldly countered my stare with sheer arrogance. Dressed in midnight black, she exudes a sense of dominance ... a tough cookie for sure. Sitting still, I noticed her curves ... it hugged her figure flawlessly. I guess if you have it, why not flaunt it.

I couldn't resist it anymore ... I had to make a move. Each step I took echoed my thumping heartbeat. I was nervous and was afraid that it might show. Breathe Adrian ... breathe. As I neared her, I was wrapped in her aura of sexy shophistication ... I badly needed to touch her but others were looking. Each pair of eyes had the same look ... a look of eager desperation ... the closer I drew to her, the more hostile the other looks became. It was too much to bear ... I was drowning and yet ... and yet I wanted her so badly I'd risk anything.

I stood beside her and whipered 'Hey love'. She said nothing but opened up for me. The first thing that hit me was her smell, so intoxicating yet deep breaths I drew ... I can't get enough. I ran my hands against her inside and expensive leather greeted my caress ... ooo, naughty naughty girl ...

Push the right buttons and she'll let out a gentle purr I was told ... this is more than I can take. I needed to get away before I succumb to sin. I tried to make a dash for it ... but not before she handed me her number.

You want it too? Fine I guess ... good things are meant to be shared anyways ... here goes ... 265572

RM265,572.00 to be exact... that's how much she cost. The new Audi A4 ... my heart's desire.

Koko Ni Iru Yo & Soba Ni Iru Ne

The first video is the seen from the guy's perspective while the second one is the answer reply from the girl. The choruses are rather similar but the rest of the lyrics are different. Beautiful meaningful words. My favourite Jap Pop numbers at the moment. Enjoy it and lemme know what you guys think of it k. :)

At this very precise moment I would like to ...

I am sitting in my company's conference room now as I needed the huge table to work on some calculations. I've got A1 sized (that's 8 A4s put together) drawings to study with the technical specifications in freakin' font size 8!!! Seriously peeps, don't let your children be engineers. Tak berbaloi yo.

Anyway, I've got a colleague sharing the table with me. He's also stuck in the similar unfortunate din like I am. Birds of a feather huh. All of a sudden he looked up and asked me "Hey, if you can do something of your choice right at this very precise moment, what will you be doing?"

I pondered for a while and I listed for him my choices in no particular order.

1) Get pissed drunk and dance in the rain without a care in the world

2) Be the summer breeze and roam the bright blue skies freely

3) Hugging that special someone and being hugged tightly in return

4) Sit on a sandy beach as the lapping waves tickle my feet

5) Sleeping on a gently swaying hammock

6) Line up everyone I hate and punch them right in the kisser ... and then do it over and over again

7) Sipping on gourmet coffee in a nice li'll cosy cafe as I watch this crazy world go by outside

8) Stand on the highest point of the Swiss Alps and scream my lungs out ... heck, I might even yoddle too :p

9) Run, run and keep on running into the crimson horizon

10) Be able to sing like Soul Ja

11) Downing bottles after bottles of Hoegaarden (the only beer I like)

That's all I can think of for now. So I asked my colleague the same question and he answered ... "I wish I can be at home to use my toilet because I don't like the office's toilet. The floor always wet wan"

*Adrian smacks own head*

TGIF!!!

I went vegetarian again ... this time it's 'Salted Tea' Rice

*Woot* My mom cooked this Hakka dish called 'Ham Cha' I think and it's loosely translated as 'salted tea'. It's fairly simple really, you mix a certain tea paste with water and a li'll bit of salt and bring it to boil. Next up, wash the variety of vegs, dice 'em up and stir fry with salt and other seasonings to taste. The veg goes on top of rice, throw in a handful of roasted peanuts and add in the tea-based soup. Some people like to flood the entire bowl with soup but as for me, the bare minimum will do. A healthy meal and believe me, it taste good too or at least that's what my tastebuds tell me. :) One of my favourite comfort food yo.

Wong Kok Char Chan Teng @ SS2, PJ

Both SY and I went over to TF, Jaya33 yesterday for a round of Body Combat. It was Kevin's class and after it's done, dinner beckons. We drove to nearby SS2 and found a parking spot (illegal one ... hehe) near Wong Kok Char Chan Teng. For those of you not in the know, WKCCT is one of the many Hong Kong type restaurants mushrooming all over the place ... very much like my all time favourites, Kim Gary and U Village. Apparently, WKCCT opened their latest outlet in the Pavilion as well and judging from the photos, it looked swanky. Must give it a try someday.

Anyways, we ordered pork chop hand-made fried noodles (nice), preserved veg & pork slices noodles (nice), some fried bacon & meat side dish (so-so only) and beverages consist of coke cuppacino (crazy caffeine overdose concoction) and some kinda sour plum juice cocktail (sweet and refreshing). Hehe ... do pardon the inconsistent provision of accurate information here but last night, I was very thirsty and hungry ... hence, my grey matters weren't in optimum drive. Notice how the photo quality were compromised too. As the saying goes, a hungry man is an angry man. Hehe.

Also, I was busy giving Roger Kwok (WKCCT's new brand ambassador) a thorough 'facial make-over'. So you could tell how hungry / angry I was then. Hmphhh!!!. You gotta love me no??? :p

Sometimes, love just ain't enough

Does the words tug on your heartstrings? It's really heartwrenching when it happens ... :(

P.S. I like the first one by Stephanie Sun better. The second one is by the original singer, Patti Smyth feat. Don Henley. What do you guys think?

A roof over my head

Ok, I'm 26 this year. I know I may pass off as a couple of years more mature than I really am but nevertheless, wipe that snigger of your face before I do it for ya. Kapish!!! Been running the rat race for slightly more than four years now and I think it's about time I make a commitment to adulthood. One sure way to do so is to purchase my very first home. I'm not looking at something overly fancy ... can't afford to at the moment anyway. So a nice comfy li'll pad will do. I've always envisioned my initial home purchase to be a condo. Some place with an good pool, panaromic view, pleasant landscaping ... well, you get the idea.

Location wise, would most definitely prefer it to be in the Klang Valley. Subang, Puchong, Damansara are all acceptable. Now comes the most important factor ... the cost. Well, I'm looking at anywhere between RM230k - RM250k. It doesn't have to be new, a 2nd hand unit would do fine as long as it's still in a fine condition.

Any input guys??? Would really appreciate it.

If you're happy and you know it, clap you HAIR!!!

This is an old ad. Just recalled about it yesterday and found it on Youtube. Seriously, it blew me away when I first saw it and literally made me ROFL. Enjoy it k. :D

More photos on Pick & Brew ...

Pick & Brew @ 1 Utama

How did you spend your Sunday??? I had a great one. Kick started it off by picking SY up and headed to Jaya 33 for BC. It was my first time teaching again (replacing Kevin) after my surgery and I really enjoyed it. At the very least, I now know that my fitness level is good enough to last one whole class and perhaps a li’ll bit more. :p

After that, the both of us headed to 1 Utama as we had already bought movie tickets for Escape From Huang Shi starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Chow Yuen Fatt, Michelle Yeoh and Radha Mitchell. Based on a true story, it tells the tale of an inexperienced English reporter, George Hogg during the dreadful times of the Japanese invasion of China. From a reporter, Hogg gradually played the role of father and teacher to a group of 60 orphans in Huang Shi. As the Japanese army marched closer to Huang Shi, Hogg decided to relocate everyone to Shandan through the Silk Road. A 600 miles journey (mostly on foot) … depicting the bravery and steely determination of Hogg and the children as they battled the harsh elements of Mother Nature and much more. Brilliant cinematography overall … just something one would expect from a USD40 million production.

This time around, we also had the opportunity to have our lunch in Pick & Brew. Wonderful atmosphere for a relaxing meal and service was excellent (though a waiter … probably new at his job mixed up my coffee order). It's located between the Old and New wing of the complex (a couple of shoplots away from Wong Kok Char Chan Teng).

Foodwise, nothing short of YUMMILICIOUS!!! Upon being seated on really comfy grey sofa chairs, we were served with some complimentary baguette and olive bread. It went well with the dip of virgin olive oil and sour vinegar ala Itallianies style.

We started off with some warm chicken served on a bed of mixed lettuce, sweet apples and other garden vegs. Do take note that it’s big enough a portion for two ya. The chicken was juicy and succulent. Pairing it with the crunchy greens, it gives the tastebuds a very tasty sensation indeed. SY decided to go local and had their nasi kerabu while I had their oven baked oats and almond crusted snapper served with boiled potatoes and cherry tomatoes. Our beverages consisted of iced fruit tea and iced black tea with soda. The iced fruit tea had a generous amount of tiny diced apples mixed in which was ultimately very refreshing (perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon) while the black tea was infused with a dash of soda to give it that zesty aftertaste.

The snapper was well cooked, the fish was very fresh and I thoroughly enjoyed its tasty texture. The sauce drizzled on the side complimented the dish perfectly while the spiced tomato puree worked well to excite the appetite. The nasi kerabu did not dissapoint either. The rice was unlike the traditional ones I usually have, can't really put my finger on it but the spice tasted different ... a good kinda different nevertheless. Served with a sizeable piece of chicken chop, it was a dish well presented and kept the pallet oh-so-happy too. Oh and the prawn crackers was a nice touch to remind one of kampung familiarity.

Halfway through her meal, SY noticed that the chicken chop on her nasi kerabu wasn’t well cooked enough, so we sent it back to the kitchen to be re-heated. Moments later, her meal came back satisfactory and the management insisted that we choose a slice of cake (on the house of course) as a token of their earnest apology. Being nice people, we definitely do not want to deny them their sincerity and hence, a rich creamy slice of blueberry cheesecake was served. Hahaha. But seriously, it's this kind of welcoming service that keep the customers coming back.

You simply must have one of their gourmet coffees there. Wide selections of coffee beans from all over the world are available here and Pick & Brew are master connoisseurs at mixing and blending them together to produce any taste to cater for coffee lovers. They also separate their coffees in terms of mild, medium and strong for customers to make a better judgment when ordering their favourite brew.

I went for Prominence … a blend of dunno-what coffee beans (sorry la … don’t remember already) that gives off a hint of bitter dark chocolate. When the coffee was poured out of its Italian moka pot into my cup, the aroma radiated was simply deliciously sublime. Good coffee makes this blogger happy. :D

Oh and I also signed up as their member for a fee of RM10. This will entitle me to collect Beanie points for future benefits and redemptions.

Me give this place a double thumbs up!!! Shall be back in the near future to sample the rest of their menu.