It's Insane!

Mrs Pitt sent me this link, it's so unbelievably insane I just have to blog about it! Remember to pause the video on my side bar when you play this (or else you will have two audio and visual source running simultaneously). To ensure smooth video playback, click on the big Play button and then click on the Pause button on the bottom left. Wait till the video finish loading (you will see a red bar moving from the left till the right), then click on Play again.

Enjoy the video....."Learning English The Japanese Way".

Fat One Steamboat

Once in awhile, the gang of us would have a craving to eat steamboat. However, I'm not talking about the ones in the restaurants but by the roadside, more known as "lok-lok". For the conventional steamboat style, the usual way of cooking the ingredients is by putting it into the boiling soup stock. However, in lok-lok; meats, eggs and all sorts of other stuff are skewered and dipped into a pot of boiling water and cooked.

You also have lok-lok stalls in hawker centres or coffeeshops apart from the mobile ones. In the shops, the boiling pot of water would be located in the middle of a round table. The plates of skewered food will then be placed around the pot for easy access. The water is boiled over fire from a little stove under the table with a running hose attached to a gas cyclinder nearby (talk about living/eating dangerously!). Ha ha ha... Anyway, we usually patronize the mobile stall in SS2, in front of 7-Eleven.
These are franchised stalls and are found almost everywhere. Some go by the name of Fat One Steamboat, some Fat Man Steamboat (eh, not that flattering to eat there actually, but I guess the whole lot of us customers don't mind!). If one were to noticed, you'll will realised that most of these stalls are located near 7-Eleven outlets, pubs and places that are open till late. They are also found in pasar malams (from 5 plus pm onwards) whereas they would only open at around 11 pm till early hours of the morning at the other locations. Blocks and blocks of ice are put near to the trays of skewered food to keep it fresh. You pick what you want and dip it into any of the pots of boiling water located around the mobile stall.The good thing about eating by the roadside is that it's a lot cooler and the group of us usually enjoy eating and bantering while standing around! Ah Joo, the stall owner even chats along with us as we gather around the stall.

Styrofoam boxes torn into halves to turn into makeshift plates are used to hold the skewered food and sauces. I love the chilli sauce here, really hot stuff! They also have a choice of sweet sauce and satay peanut sauce.
When we're done eating, we'll hand the sticks to Ah Joo and he'll count them. The prices range from RM0.50-RM2.00 each and the end of the sticks are colour coded to differentiate the price. I believe this is truly one of the ways to enjoy food and in a very local way indeed. Mrs Pitt, care to try the next time you're visiting Malaysia? ;o)

Skewered sticks of food inside a pot,
Cooked and dipped into chilli sauce that's real hot.
Look at all those sticks, now that's a lot,
Eating & laughing with friends; happiness that can't be bought!
- wmw

Doggone Christmas!

Well, 1 day and counting and I'm still pretty much the same...but just because I'm not feeling the Christmas spirit, doesn't mean others are the same too (though quite a number have told me that they are not in the Christmas mood either). Mmm...even dogs are in the Christmas spirit. Photo taken at Pet Safari, Ikano.
Since that dog's plastic, here's a real one. Took this years ago (on film, scanned copy) when I was in San Francisco. The owner was doing a photo shoot of his dog in a park. He's so adorable.........(I meant the dog! My apologies to the owner)
It's not that bad....there're still the makan gatherings to go too. Maybe I'm not feeling it this time round because it has been Christmas all year round for me! No matter what, to the rest, "HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS" and may your homes be filled with JOY, PEACE and LOVE!"

Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself.
~ Norman W. Brooks, "Let Every Day Be Christmas"

NOTE: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!". Miss you a lot. The fond memories you have given me makes me smile and that is enough for me to know and be reminded of how much you loved me and still do. I love you too, dad.

Hock Lim Coffeeshop, PJ State (Non-Halal)

Lyn and family brought me to Hock Lim Coffeeshop in PJ State one late morning as she said we can get good wantan noodles there. There were several stalls and it wasn't packed yet as we arrived just before lunch hour. While I was taking photos, I saw this guy in the process of making trays of mini egg tarts. The homemade mini tarts were so cute, we just had to order some (5 pieces for RM3.00).
It came with a sunken middle, looked home made indeed ;o). Its crust was just nice, not too thick and flaky, it was quite good. This is more along the lines of an original egg tart rather than the Portuguese Egg Tart.
Next to the egg tart stall was the wantan noodle stall. The lady was busy preparing bowl after bowl as orders were coming in. When the noodles arrived, I realised what was probably the pull factor (apparently they sell out quite fast!). It was the lovely char siew (bbq pork)! The noodles and wantan itself were nice but still ordinary. The nicest wantan I had is from Sec 17, while I like the noodles from K. Intan (behind Happy Mansion - will blog on that later). So for wantan noodles with the best char siew, Hock Lim gets the vote from me.
Lyn ordered the curry noodles and I had a taste of the soup. It was pretty good too and Lyn said that she liked it.
At one corner of the coffeeshop, there is a stall selling all sorts of biscuits and tidbits. This is a pretty interesting coffeeshop with good food and snacks to boot too!

Mmm....I gotta start shopping for gifts soon. 3 days and counting till Christmas....I hope I'll catch the spirit in time!

Christmas carolers sing about peace on earth, but they don’t tell us where. - Anonymous

Where's The Christmas Spirit ?

It's the 20th, 5 more days and I'm not feeling the Christmas Spirit. I've not put up the Christmas tree and don't intend to, I've not bought any presents yet, I've not done anything Christmassy!
The malls are filled with Christmas trees and each decorated in its own theme. All along the concourse area, stalls and stalls are selling all the gifts that one might want to buy to give their loved ones, relatives and friends. It's packed on weekends and Christmas songs are being played everywhere.
People are also shopping like there's no tomorrow in hypermarkets. Gosh! Maybe they know something I don't? Is the rapture coming soon, like tomorrow? Ha ha ha...Why do I feel that it's all artificial hype ?
Maybe blogging about this would steer me towards it by the end of this post (which is about now!). Mmmm.....nope, still not feeling it! Am I the only one who's feeling (or shall I say, "not" feeling) this way?

From a commercial point of view, if Christmas did not exist it would be necessary to invent it. ~ Katharine Whitehorn

See Show, Eat Duck, Have Desserts!

Gosh! Exams are over! Yay! I hope I don't have to re-sit! Ha ha ha...(laughing in a delusional manner!). Oh well, I have been catching up on my sleep and running lots of errands. Before, I write about food. I must blog about the wonderful play I saw on Saturday night. Took Sis Mah to watch SIB's musical drama "Drunk Before Dawn". JC managed to get me two tickets from a friend; tickets for all the shows were sold out! I must say, it was very nice. Loved the songs and the story was good. Well, we aren't exactly talking about Broadway plays but in my opinion, it was better than a lot of shows that I've seen here. Professionally done, great cast and all, for the fact that this was coming from a church. Even if the message of God didn't touch the heart of the audiences, the play itself would have wowed them. After all, this play was inspired by a true story. On Dec 21, it will be shown in Kota Kinabalu at the Yayasan Sabah Auditorium to raise funds for charity! It's even on the website of the Sabah Tourism Board! Go see it the play if you can!

Okay, now back to my regular program! Food...Hee hee...This time my fave place for roast duck, Restoran I-Po in Taman Bayu Perdana, Klang (located a few shoplots away from the Maybank that's next to the Caltex petrol station). Why do I love the roast duck here? Obviously, for a sinful reason, ha ha ha....The difference here is that, upon taking the order for a duck, they will dunk the roast duck into hot oil (hidden from our view) for an extra minute or so. So, what we get is a roast duck with crispy skin. However, this means that the roast duck has a bit more oil. Complete the meal with the nice duck sauce and their special chilli sauce plus tasty soup and there you have it, a meal that truly makes your day! Well, it makes MY day at least. ;o) A whole duck is going for RM32 (unless there is a price hike from the time of my visit-not surprising, everything is going up, LDP toll, from RM1.00 to RM1.60! Gasp!).

On one of my visits there, the three of us girls ordered a whole duck and the lady looked at us as if we were mad. Of course, after the meal, we showed her that we really loved the duck, were really hungry and that she was right, we were REALLY mad. LOL! A pic of the duck you say? Here it is! Oooh....I must make a trip to Klang for my roast duck soon, I'm craving for it now, looking at the pic!
As for desserts, we ended up trying this new place, Leo's Kafe in Bukit Tinggi. I was at Bukit Tinggi again recently at night. Wow! That place is really happening. Lots of packed restaurants and cafes. The roads were so busy and made even more crowded with the customers dining at the roadside. Gotta go back and try the other outlets there one day. Back to Leo's, we didn't try the food as we were still full. Anyway, the menu looks pretty ordinary and prices was reasonable.

The place is filled with "happy" colours. The staffs' uniform is a shocking pink t-shirt and pink bandanna; cute for the waitresses but not so for the waiters!

What caught my eye was the gelato selection. I quickly ordered one with biscotti (forgot the name - reasonably priced at RM5plus) and thoroughly enjoyed it. The rest of them had coffee.

I like the cute design they did, sort of like those in the States but of course, those in the States are a lot nicer and more complex like this little pic on the left that Mrs Pitt sent me when she was in Los Angeles. This is what she said about the drinks at Urth Cafe. "Check out the way they do the latte at this Urth Cafe. They make pictures with the milk and froth...leaf on one and a dolphin on the other. The best part is that the froth was thick enough that after drinking 1/3, the pic was still there!". Such a shame to drink and destroy the design, I'll probably admire it than to drink it!

Well, as for Leo's, can't say anything about the food as I didn't have any, but this looks like a good place to chill and catch up with friends, done over a cup of coffee and/or delicious gelato! By the way, whoever is reading this, how do you like your coffee (below are some sample answers!) ??? Do tell! Self censorship is advised! ;o)

He said : I like my coffee like my women: hot, strong, steamy.
She said : Chocolate, men, coffee - some things are better rich.
~ Author Unknown

Old Friends

Of late, I've gotten back in touch with 3 old friends. 2 from my secondary school days and 1 from my college days. Since Jen's passing, a few of us have made a promise to stay in touch. As I posted about one of our gatherings, I've always been one to try to be more proactive about meeting up with old friends. KCC told me that I could try looking up through the internet for one of my college friend's info as she's in the legal profession. True enough, I found her contact no., called her up and we met up not long after that. Turns out she stays in Section 17, a garden away from me! Gosh....we were so near yet so far, but at least we know now. When we met up, nothing much has changed, we are still the same in terms of character, though motherhood changed her life and "schedule" even as a she carries out her conveyancing work at home. So, if any of you out there need some conveyancing work done, ask me for her contact.

As for the the others, I bumped into my ex-classmate from my secondary school while I was walking around in Taman Connaught. I guess it was fate of some sort, I haven't been there for years and she was only there because she was not working yet but starting on her new job two days later. We chatted and I've been in touch with her on the phone and sms. Through her, I managed to get the contact of another friend of mine from the same school and we've been on the phone too. I'll be arranging for a meet up after my exams (Aaargh again, ha ha) The thing is that really, all 3 of these friends of mine and I just started talking like we weren't separated for all those years! Of course we have the usual, "What are you doing now?" kind of question but the closeness and familiarity are still there. We never raised the fact how and why we lost touch but are happy that we "found" each other once again. The oldest friend I have that I still keep in touch with was my kindergarten partner. I don't see her often but call her on her birthday (she's in Singapore) and meet up once in awhile when she's back here for holidays. Gees, I wonder what happened to the rest of my kindergarten schoolmates? What happened to us after our graduation day??? Ha ha ha....
Here's a snap of us October babies in my kindergarten class.....that's me, 2nd from the left at the bottom row (of course, I have to be near the cake! My love for food has been around since I was a baby! LOL..) Gosh! I was a lot tinier then. Those were my "lightweight" years, hee hee...Wow! I wonder what happened to the teachers. Look at those spectacles and outfits...groovy! ;op By the way, looking at this picture reminds me of another "lost" friend that I've been trying to locate. Her mom was either the headmistress or one of the teachers in my kindergarten! Wee Weng Chee, where in the world are you???? My last contact with her was when she was in California, USA. Who knows, maybe the internet can help me again. Well, I gotta go study a few chapters....sigh! Can't wait for the exam to be over and done with on Saturday!

Ah, how good it feels! The hand of an old friend. ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Restoran Hau Kee Seafood, Taman Cheras

Celebrating KCC's birthday, we went up to Taman Cheras to give her a birthday dinner treat. She suggested eating at Restoran Hau Kee Seafood as she said that we should try one of their signature dishes which is the Seafood Fried Rice. It's so special that one has to order this fried rice a day in advance! (Hau Kee's tel. no. 03-9130 0113).When we arrived there, the place was already packed. So, either come earlier than usual or later than the norm! ;o)

We asked KCC to order the dishes as this was her territory. I did request for Superior Spinach soup as I was in the mood for some soup that night. KCC ordered Fried Lotus Root, Cheese Roll and Salted Egg Prawns. The Special Seafood Fried Rice being pre-ordered a day earlier was the first to be served. It was a wonderful sight to behold! Ha ha ha....

The Special Seafood Fried Rice was so delicious. Packed with prawns, crabmeat,golden anchovies, fresh and dried scallops, each spoonful was yummy!
Next came the Cheese Roll, it was a floury batter with soft filling of corn, bits of chicken ham and a bit of melted cheese (not too rich luckily). Another tasty dish!
The simple yet another delicious dish of fried lotus root.
The Salted Egg Prawn also deserved thumbs-up. I like it as it was the dry version, hence the prawns were still crispy!
The Superior Spinach Soup came in a little wok and was yummy too.

All in all, we really enjoyed the dishes at Hau Kee. The biggest surprise of all that night was that KCC had already prepaid the bill (she is a regular) on the day she ordered the rice. So, I don't really know how much this meal cost. We ended up only buying her drinks later and footing the bill for some light supper for her mom. Well, I'll be back but it looks like I have to eat here without inviting KCC next time! Thanks again, KCC. Oh, and remember this advice below... ;o)

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional. ~ Chili Davis

Peculiar Posting #2

I've been reading news of the internet and often come across peculiar news. My previous post on one was back in March this year. I think I should start a series on this! Really, I don't know whether it's more tragic or funny. (Additional fiction writing from WMW : Sigh, she would normally pour it herself into her mug before she drank it. Guess the poor man should have known what was coming when his wife bought a new mug just the day before...)

St. Louis woman shoots husband dead for giving her warm beer, cops say

ST. LOUIS - A St. Louis woman shot her husband to death after he gave her a can of warm beer, police said.

The shooting happened Sunday. Names have not been released. The woman was taken into custody.

The wife allegedly admitted shooting her husband, who was about 70 years old, in the kitchen of their home. The man was shot four or five times in the chest after giving his wife a can of warm Stag beer.

The house was among thousands in the St. Louis area that lost power after a winter storm hit the region Thursday.

Link : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16065183/

Beer is the cause and solution to all of life's problems. ~ Homer Simpson

Asiacafe, Subang

If my friends and I ever crave for Penang Char Kway Teow (fried flat noodles), we usually head to Asiacafe in Subang. It has lots and lots of hawker food stalls and lots of choices. There are a few stalls here that are pretty good. Of course, I haven't tried all of them, so, there might still be other hidden good food around.

There's my fave sushi stall...the soft shell crab roll topped with ebikko (fish roe) is my fave here.

Then, there's my fave dessert stall where I normally get Durian Pancakes from (they have Mango, Jackfruit, Dragon Fruit too but my fave is still the Durian Pancakes). They also sell other desserts like puddings etc. etc.
A mention should go to the Chicken Kway Teow Soup (with prawn wantan). One of the better ones that I've tasted. I didn't take a photo of it, it's located opposite the Penang Char Kway Teow stall and occupies the corner lot. The little Takoyaki stall is quite good too. Okay, back to my fave Penang Char Kway Teow. Remember to look out for stall No. 5.
I always ask for extra beansprouts. It's slightly moist and the kway teow is separated and fried. So, each strand is tasty! Gosh, I think I'm going to have a plate of this later....Ha ha ha....Why do all the unhealthy food taste so good and why does the healthy food usually taste like grass???? Well, it's Friday! Have a good weekend. Mrs Pitt, don't forget to take time off to smell the flowers! Say Hi to Zahara for me. I have got to study! I'm having exams and it's hard retaining all those info in my head! Aargh...Ok, back to the books now.

I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma. ~ Eartha Kitt

Food Foundry, Section 17 PJ

When I started this blog, I didn't know I'll be heading this way. Sure, eating is my passion and friends were already commenting that I seem to talk and post a lot about food. Ha ha ha...Then came July, I got a new camera which takes pretty decent food pictures and it seems since then, this blog turned into somewhat of a food blog. In our daily lives, especially for those who work 9 to 5; breakfast, lunch and dinner (maybe supper?) are the highlights of each day. Don't you agree? LOL....well, as for me, it's that and also my travel. It's doesn't take a lot for me to be happy. Real simple happiness...and it goes a long way! Well, onward with the food!

Many have written about Food Foundry in Section 17 and for today, I won't be writing much but will let the pics do the "talking". The photos were collected over several trips to Food Foundry - I did not have all those food by myself and in one sitting! Though I'm sure some of you might think I can if I choose to! :op

The Western food is better than the Asian ones in my opinion and reasonably priced. The appetisers and snacks are pretty good too. I prefer the Original Mille Crepe cake along with a cup of nice black coffee for dessert (they have Chocolate, Strawberry and Green Tea flavours too). I can't seem to find this cake anywhere else in the Klang Valley, though it seems there's an even better version available in Malacca. So Malacca folks, lucky you! For more info on Food Foundry - menu, pricing and directions, click here.

Caesar Salad

Button Mushrooms

Kerabu Mango

Green Curry Mussels

Lamb Meatballs
Calamari Rings

Roasted Lamb Steak Sandwich

Grilled Lamb Chop

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Original Mille Crepe Cake

Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is. ~ Maxim Gorky

Tian Ya Ker Mee Cendawan, Lorong Haji Taib 5

I had read about the famous Kin Kin Pan Mee somewhere at Jalan T.A.R. However, I've not been there and during my earlier days when my office was nearer to KL, we use to frequent this stall at Lorong Haji Taib 5 instead.
To say that it's pure Pan Mee would not be right as its sign says Mee Cendawan (Mushroom Noodles). I had the opportunity to have breakfast here again after 3 years or so when I had to attend a course downtown. Being early, we had no problems looking for a empty car park lot as we arrived there at about 8.15am.

Well, it does have the same "stretched" flour noodles, done the way your regular bowl of pan mee is done. The lady here cooks it in a pot for about two servings over a fierce fire. She couldn't help smiling as I took pics of her.
However, as it says, it's full of mushrooms and with some meat (non-halal) - with no ikan bilis (anchovies) in sight. So, that's where the difference is. I had one with egg where it's at the bottom of the bowl (cooked when the flour noodles are poured onto it). Add in lots of fried shallots and this was one hot and piping bowl of breakfast goody from the backlane. Good food calls for certain things to be overlooked at times, you know what I mean? ;o) But that's what makes it so good too. Ha ha ha....Oh, do take note that they are closed on Tuesdays.

I keep trying to lose weight... but it keeps finding me! ~ Author Unknown