Month: February 2005

Fatimah Restaurant, Negeri Sembilan

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fatimah restaurant ns

This is a 24 hour place in Negeri Sembilan – Fatimah Restaurant. I
noticed that we were passing signs that ends not in KL but in N.S.
(Negeri Sembilan). Our client/companion confirmed that we had indeed
crossed into another state, which explains the long drive…but
“crossing into another state” in Sarawak takes much longer than in Peninsula Malaysia. 😉

fatimah ns dish

Fatimah Restaurant is located on the way back from Port Dickson and
is under the jurisdiction of Majlis Perbandaran Port Dickson (MPPD),
which was the first sign that we weren’t in DBKL territory anymore. I
had nasi campur (chose the nasi kuning (yellow rice)), with nice, spicy ayam masak merah, curry kambing, and udang pedas. It was somewhere between Lukut and Sepang, I believe…it took several hours of driving…

It’s my first review of a place in Negeri Sembilan. 😉

Japanese choco mochi with peanut fillings

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ff mochi peanut trio

I got these from ff (see post below) during the weekend – it’s from
Japan, and since I can’t read the script, except the Romanized “choco”
word, I thought it would just be perfect for a sweet ending to the
dinner I just had. I’m in the habit of eating something sweet after a
salty meal…

ff mochi peanut single

Closer scrutiny reveals a photo of mochi – the glutinous rice based
food, and this looks a lot like the ones we eat at the paternal side of
the family during the festival. The maternal side makes it into a soup,
while we eat it dry, with either colored sugar (red), finely grounded
peanuts (optionally mixed with brown sugar) or both. There is an
outline of a peanut on the wrapper, so I figured I’m in for a treat.

ff mochi peanut open

There are two wrappers – the outer decorative one the inner
protective one, which reveals a confectionary that looks like toffee. I
took a bite of it…

ff mochi peanut bite

…and it has that melt-in-your mouth, saliva inducing soft and
chewy texture of mochi together with a peanut jelly filling which
tastes like peanuts. The integration of different and unexpected
textures is impressive – I couldn’t help but eat all of them.

It tastes more like toffee than chocolate, but they’re both cool with me, so it’s all good. 🙂

Anyway, I’m going to pack now – will be going on the 7 am flight out
of Kuching tomorrow and I’ll be staying at Cititel Hotel, Mid Valley
(the one just beside it) while I’m in KL.

Meeting e from LA and fish_fish from Japan in Kuching

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I managed to meet up with e and fish_fish over the weekend, despite
the hectic schedule at work. I got around to meeting up with them
during a break at Da Lai near King Center. This is a photo of us in
16:9 aspect ratio:

e fish_fish me

L-R: e [cooknengr.com], who is strictly heterosexual, as he informs me ;), fish_fish [blogspot.com], with a policy of not revealing herself in photos (it’s true – check her blog), and me.

e stuff

e kindly gave me some stuff from LA – Everclear high proof grain
alcohol, a can of Coors Light and two types of smokeless tobacco.
Thanks! I shall review them individually.

ff stuff

ff also brought back some stuff from Japan for me – a giant Kobe
Wine flavored Pocky which is only available in that prefecture in
Japan, Ramune – the drink with that push down ball, 5 packs of
different Japanese cigarettes from a vending machine and candy. Cheers!
I’m going to enjoy reviewing these.

My apologies for the late posting, have a lot on my plate at work.
I’ll be flying to KL early tomorrow morning and will be staying in a
hotel there. It’s a business trip, so I probably will be busy, but if
anyone wants to hook up, you can always try 016 869 0110. See ya!

The photo that locked me out of the car

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photo car lockout

This is a picture taken just now at the landmark Jalan Padungan cat
statue. It’s wearing CNY clothes, so I decided to pull up beside it to
get a shot before the clothes are taken down. The locality of this
Kuching cat statue is right beside a roundabout, but I figured that it
would take all of 5 seconds to take a photo, so I just got out in the
middle of the road.

This is the same flawed logic that got me an obstruction of traffic
ticket (which is still outstanding) while I popped into the local
7-Eleven “for a couple of minutes”.

I did manage to take several shots of the festive cat statue in less
than 30 minutes and walked back…to see the car engine still running,
with the doors closed and locked. This didn’t look right, but it took
another 5 seconds to realize that I’ve somehow locked myself out of a running car parked in the middle of a busy roundabout at night.

My first thought was to break the driver side window, figuring that
it wouldn’t cost as much as the other windows to regain access to the
locked car, so I wrapped my hand with excess shirt material and
forcibly hit the window…

…which didn’t even produce a hairline crack. That’s a good thing
in hindsight; coz the shattering glass would probably necessitate a
quick trip to the hospital.

I looked around and found a fire station about 50 meters away.
Salvation! The Fire and Rescue Department would have something heavy to
break windows with.

I walked over and told the amused firemen about my predicament. The
head was aghast at the fact that I wanted to break the window to gain
quick access (had to meet someone) and offered to jimmy the lock for
me. I’ve thought about that too, but I haven’t really had much practice
doing it, considering grand theft auto wasn’t one of my career path
considerations…

Thus, the firemen trooped down to the roundabout. Imagine the sight
of about 13 firemen gathering around a car to force the lock open. It
was a sight to behold, I imagine…

fireman open car door

It just took 2 minutes for them to flip the lock and open the
passenger side door. I thanked the firemen and offered to buy them a
drink, which they accepted.

I learnt how to break into a locked car in 2 minutes flat today. Thanks firemen! 😉

Big nuts

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japan big nuts

I have a bag of really big nuts. No, it’s not what you think, but
thanks, I have a set of really big nuts too. 😉 I’ve been told that I’m
a little nuts as well, but that’s besides the point and the wordplay is
getting cheesy.

japan big nuts logo

The product I’m referring to though is this bag of big assorted
nuts. It’s made in Japan and retails for RM 19.50 for a large packet of
individually wrapped assorted nuts. I brought it to the office today.

japan big nuts five

The packaging on these snacks is very aesthetically pleasing, as
with most products originating from Japan. The packs are ingeniously
shaped like a pyramid, and opening it makes the packet “flat” for
easier extraction of nuts. There are five different varieties of nuts
and snacks in the pack.

japan big nuts green

The first packet is green and since I can’t read Japanese, I can’t
say for sure what kind of nuts it contains, but inference from taste
and sight suggest that it’s not a common nut.

japan big nuts green nuts

Here’s a look inside the green packet. I’m not sure what this
particular variety of nut is called…I’ve had them before, and it’s
not cashew nuts, peanuts, macadamia nuts or pistachios. It’s a crumbly
sort of nut with a lingering texture that sticks after you’re done
chewing them.

japan big nuts pink

The second packet is pink and the nuts on the packet illustration shows a familiar sight.

japan big nuts pink nuts

It’s peanuts with a twist – the nuts are coated with a sweet and
sticky substance and have dried seaweed (nori) pieces on it. It tastes
good, nori and peanuts naturally go well together.

japan big nuts yellow

This is the yellow pack and it’s the first to feature a non-nut product.

japan big nuts yellow nuts

The contents feature deep fried rice puffs with the same sweet
coating that’s on the peanuts pack. This is the best one from the pack.

japan big nuts blue

Next up is the blue colored pack, which contains another non-nut product.

japan big nuts blue nuts

It’s filled with long snacks which tastes really bland. It’s also
made from deep fried rice based flour and has bits of what seems like
peanut skin in it. Unlike the other pack contents, this one is neither
salty nor sweet…it’s just…bland.

japan big nuts orange

The last pack is orange colored and it’s a mix of nuts and snacks.

japan big nuts orange nuts

There are plain salted peanuts inside as well as deep fried salty
rice sticks. It’s a nice, if common, integration of nuts and snacks.

There are some good offerings in the big nuts pack, but the best
thing about the snack pack is in the presentation – it just looks good.
🙂

Samjin Mochi Ginseng Pie

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samjin mochi ginseng pie

Samjin is a South Korea based confectionary manufacturer which has a
line of Choco Mochi Cake as their signature line. Mochi is a made with
glutinous rice and comes in a deliciously chewy texture. It’s a
traditional Korean and Japanese snack.

ginseng mochi pie

My parents went to Korea for a vacation recently and bought back
several packs of Samjin Choco Mochi Cakes. It’s supposed to dominate
the market share in mochi confectionary in Korea. My favorite one is
the Ginseng Mochi Cake.

ginseng mochi slice

Ginseng Mochi Cake comes in a box containing five individually wrapped packs of the “Ginseng Pie”. The promotional spiel goes ‘Ginseng
Mochi Cake’ is enhanced in its taste as inserting Ginseng cream mixed
with extracts and powder from world famous Korean Ginseng in a rice cake, which doesn’t exactly make much grammatical sense. 😉

ginseng mochi wrapper

Samjin products are currently only sold in souvenir shops in Korea
and it’s surprisingly addictive. I’ve had the regular ones and the
Ginseng ones and while both have a wonderful chewy texture that makes
it impossible to eat just one, I like the Ginseng Pie better.

ginseng mochi inside

The interesting thing about Samjin Choco Mochi cakes is that the
chocolate is beige and crumbly…there’s a filling covered by the chewy
mochi and covered with chocolate. The Ginseng Mochi Cake has Korean
Ginseng added. I brought several boxes over and realized that I’ve
absently eaten one after another continuously…it’s really that good!

Mmm…chewy. 😉

RM 15 bowl of prawn noodles

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min kong cafe

Min Kong Cafe reputedly has the best prawn noodles in town, the
standard against which all prawn noodles are benchmarked against in
Sibu.

min kong inside

I went there for breakfast just now – it’s a popular place for
breakfast and people go there for the RM 15 prawn noodles. It’s the
flagship dish of this place.

rm15 prawn noodles

The prawn noodles is cooked Foochow style, with the noodles fried
before cooking and served in a large soup bowl with three large king
prawns, partially peeled.

rm15 prawn noodles close

It’s a hearty and warming breakfast, and no, the soup isn’t as
radioactive orange as the photo seems to indicate – it’s dark brown,
but the lighting conditions made it come out like that. It’s a good
place for breakfast if you like prawn noodles. The place also serves
fish noodles for RM 15.

I’ll be flying back to Kuching later tonight…going back to work tomorrow.

KFC O.R. (Original Recipe) Fillet Burger

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kfc or burger banner

KFC OR Fillet Burger is the latest addition to KFC’s admittedly paltry burger portfolio. The O.R. stands for Original Recipe, as in the KFC chicken.

kfc or burger lost

The advertisements and promos for the KFC O.R. Fillet Burger centers
around “missing” and “lost” themes involving the burger in question.

kfc or burger car

One particularly amusing one involves a “car missing” poster which
describes the lost car, which was last seen with a KFC O.R. Fillet
Burger on the front seat.

The KFC Original Recipe (O.R.) Fillet Burger is basically a Zinger
with an Original Recipe fillet inside, instead of the Hot and Spicy
breaded fillet used in the Zinger.

kfc or burger size

The diminutive size hardly makes it justifiable for a meal though…and yes, that is the real size, it’s smaller than a soda can…

kfc or burger wrapper

The KFC O.R. Fillet Burger comes in a mild blue colored wrapping, which is a contrast to the siren red Zinger wrappers.

kfc or burger filling

The O.R. Fillet Burger comprises of a tender cut of KFC Original
Recipe chicken, lettuce and mayo…and that’s about it. It tastes good
though, a simple but satisfying burger. I have no beef (pun not
intended) with it except for the below average size (for a burger).

It’s just not meant for big appetites…

Pizza Hut’s New Rich Gold Crust Pizza

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ph rich gold crust pizza promo

Pizza Hut’s latest new crust is the much lauded Rich Gold Crust Pizza and it comes with the tagline Indulge in a golden ring of extraordinary flavors.
Extraordinary indeed! The new Pizza Hut Rich Gold Crust Pizza is the
best crust I’ve seen come out of their ovens in a long time!

ph rich gold crust top

The Rich Gold Crust Pizza is 18% larger than the average Pizza Hut
crust, but don’t let that figure put you off – what bulk is added is
good. The promotional liner goes “An exciting combination of a golden
ring of sweetness and savory mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese on
the crust”.

ph rich gold crust gist

Here is the gist of what the new crust has to offer – it’s basically
a three-ringed affair which consists of a sweet inner ring, a
mozzarella middle ring and a cheddar outer ring.

ph royal masala

We ordered it with the Royal Masala topping, the new crust is valid
for all the Family Favorites and Supremes set of toppings and the Royal
Masala topping goes very well with this crust, as we got to know
later…

ph rich crust double spinner

Behold the Rich Gold Crust Pizza Double Golden Spinner!
The waitress at Pizza Hut pulled out a new game, which seems to be a
Pizza Hut staple nowadays – they always seem to have an accompanying
new game for every new promotional item that they come out with. I got
the free ice blended coffee.

ph go icy

It’s from the new “Go Icy in Pizza Hut” ice blended drinks range
they’re trying to pitch – I choose the Mocha Frappe Freeze – “a rich
European Chocolate fantasy with the aroma of fresh toasted Arabica
coffee”.

ph mocha ice blended

It’s alright…it won’t be stepping on Starbucks turf anytime soon,
though it’s a good option for drinks in Pizza Hut. BTW, I actually got
another pizza with the Pizza Hut games when it first few iterations
came out.

ph rich gold crust pizza pizza

Here’s the Rich Gold Crust Pizza in all its glory, on a platter and hot from the oven…

ph rich gold crust pizza crust

You can see that the Rich Gold Crust takes up almost half of the
pizza, which I thought would be a bad thing, but it turns out that the
crust can pull its weight in the taste department too.

ph rich gold crust pizza slice

The first crust is actually made out of sweet potato (!).

ph rich gold crust pizza potato

The sweet richness of the first ring is palpable…the baked sweet
potato is still warm and slightly pliable under a thin baked in crust.

ph rich gold crust pizza mozzarella

The next layer is a generous portion of warm and malleable
mozzarella cheese, which provides a nice contrast to the first sweet
crust by giving it a tart and rich mouth-feel before surrendering to
the final thin conventional cheddar topped layer.

ph rich gold crust pizza masala

The Rich Gold Crust Pizza comes highly recommended from me. Try the
Royal Masala topping with it – the pizza goes from hearty meat flavored
to the surprisingly synergistic sweet, malleable baked potato in the
first crust, before it ends with a burst of tart, warm and rich
mozzarella cheese. Nice!

Exhibit A

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ache pains

Exhibit A above shows various benzodiazepines (diazepam, lorazepam),
non-benzodiazepine hypnotics (zopiclone) and dihydrocodeine tartate. I
have been generously self-medicating with 510 mg of DHC per night and I
realize that I’m getting pains and aches all over, in between doses.

Pains and aches, my friends, pains and aches…

Crap…

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