A trip to Cameron Highlands would not be complete without the obligatory yin yang steamboat dinner, since the ambient temperature and wind chill factor can be pretty cold at night. We went southbound to Brinchang instead of Tanah Rata but it turns out that both towns were equally packed with tourists.
There are a lot of places offering steamboat dinners, most of them yin yang style – so called due to the two different broths and the similarity to the symbol of good and evil. We went to Restaurant Mountain House Hotel, which offers “organic” steamboat priced at RM 16 per head.
The yin yang steamboat comes with seafood, tofu (urgh…), noodles, rice vermicelli, assorted super processed food, and homegrown vegetables. Cameron Highlands produces a huge amount of fresh, organically grown vegetables, so it’s really cheap there…which is probably why we got an ultra generous portion of veggies.
The yin yang steamboat consists of a chicken broth and a tom yam broth – it’s usually a mild broth with a spicy broth, keeping with the themes of absolute good and absolute evil. Exhibit A above shows the patented sixthseal.com method of ensuring your noodles are cooked.
1. Use your chopsticks to snag some noodles. 2. Apply pressure to the noodles with your fingernails. 3. It needs to be slightly soggier than al dente – you’ll get a feel for it (pun not intended) the more you do it.
It was originally invented a good 17 years ago by yours truly, intended to gauge whether instant noodles are ready to eat when I started cooking Maggi at 10. 🙂
This photo is making the post look dated – I went to Cameron Highlands with my ex last month, but never got around to posting it until today due to a massive backlog of posts. Quickly switching subjects, the vegetables in Cameron Highlands comes in the most vibrant shade of green I have ever seen!
David was in town and an impromptu meet was scheduled at Starbucks in Centerpoint to celebrate the second (third?) coming of dabido. I haven’t actually met him in person before, but I’ve seen his comments everywhere (he’s like the greatest commenter of all time).
This is David, better known as dabido. He hails from Perth, Australia and we have a couple of mutual friends.
This is the very elusive FA…she will be flying off to Singapore (again). I shall be in Bali, BTW.
Suanie! I suspect the only reason we meet in Centerpoint is coz it’s close to her house. 😉 I can’t complain though, it’s close to my place as well. Heh!
FA with her patented pose…
…and her other classic feature. 😉
This is David teaching us the arcane magick of balancing a Frappuccino on his stomach.
I’ve always wanted to be a hitman ever since I was a little kid. People go through phases of wanting to be a policeman (or fireman) and progress to something more prestigious like a doctor (or lawyer) before settling on a realistic degree like computer science. Not me.
All I’ve ever wanted to be was an assassin. Not just your run of the mill assassin, mind, but a professional assassin. Utilizing various tools of the trade to deadly effect, and disappearing without a trace after the hit. Money flows into bank accounts in the Cayman Islands (or Aruba, or whichever country is in vogue for money laundering now) and you proceed to the next assignment.
However, I have a problem with hyperhidrosis. That’s a fancy medical term for excessive sweating. Thus, I gave up on my dreams coz you can’t really pull a ninja and sneak into someone’s house and patiently hide for 12 hours until he returns if you have underarm odor. You can’t be covert if your target can smell you from a mile away.
Thus, I was ecstatic when Rexona passed me a Rexona Men Absolute Survival Kit. Finally, my dreams can be realized. At last – a solution to the stumbling block of my dream career! I can finally give up my day job and become…a professional assassin.
I think they somehow knew what I wanted coz inside the kit was a Swiss Army knife and a (very) bright LED light. They also threw in a compass, perhaps from reading about the logistical problems I’ve been having driving around KL. Thus armed with the survival kit, I can finally go on my path of wanton destruction, carving a swath of dead bodies across the Klang Valley.
The Rexona Men Quantum provides me with 24-hour anti-perspirant protection. This is very useful, not just in the scenario outlined above, but also for those all-important client meetings. It helps me keep my cool and maintain a professional façade (while smelling fresh) during face-to-face meetings.
I have met up with several potential clients. The above is not a benign bloggers meet but a covert collective discussion about “getting rid” of certain other bloggers to increase traffic and income flow. Just look at the devious expressions on our faces. I must admit, I look a little bit out of place wearing a shirt and a tie at a mamak but I am learning…
One very positive client I met at Starbucks BB Plaza (wearing a casual Quiksilver shirt with a cigarette dangling in hand to blend in with the lala crowd at Sungai Wang – I learn fast) was with a poor girl who wants to “off” her good for nothing alcoholic boyfriend. I hear the last straw for her is the boyfriend committing the horrific crime of keeping her up late from the incessant updating of his stupid blog.
Her identity will not be revealed of course, but I have already assembled the tools of my trade:
You might not think a pair of scissors can do much, but remember what your mother told you about running with a pair.
Wooden chopsticks may look harmless to you, but it could poke out an eye or two.
A can opener does not look dangerous at all, but wait till I open up a can of whoopass…er, I mean Campbell’s soup and use the sharp edges against you. We’ll see what you think about can openers then, eh? :p
Even a hairdryer can do a lot of damage (as demonstrated in You Don’t Mess With The Zohan).
I bet you wouldn’t want me to drop it inside your bathtub while you’re in it. 😉
I have started to become a master of disguise, dressed like a professional for a hit inside a corporate environment (really, sometime office politics are taken to the extreme)…
…or dressed like a street kid, ready to ruin someone’s perfectly good day.
I have gotten quite good at it too, taking a shower and applying Rexona Men Power before going through my wardrobe for the suitable attire for the current hit.
The last thing you will see is me shining a light in your eye and a stab to your jugular vein before you kick the bucket. With Rexona Men’s line of 24-hour anti-perspirant deodorants, I can easily hide inside your home for the entire day, just waiting for you to come back at night.
No sweat. Rexona Absolute Extreme Contest is based on the premise of writing about your dreams. If there was no limit to what you could do, what would your life be like?
Step 1: Write a blog entry on the theme “If I had an ABSOLUTE EXTREME life”. The style, content and length of this post is entirely up to you – be crazy, be cute, be funny, be extreme.
Step 2: Following the theme, take a photo of yourself in your most extreme moment with a bottle of Rexona Men Absolute Protection deodorant and include it with your entry. Push your imagination to the limit!
Step 3: Then, drop an email to rexonaabsolute@nuffnang.com with your full name and permalink of your written blog post before 29 January 2008 and you can stand a chance to win these prizes:
EXTREME PRIZES
Grand Prize x 1: Full Day Car Drifting Course (car provided) 2nd Prize x 1: White Water Rafting Experience for 2 3rd Prize x 1: Adventure Hike at Gombak Forest Reserve for 4 Consolation prizes x 7: Rexona Men Absolute Survival Kit
The contest prizes are really interesting. I would love to snag the full day car drifting course, using the provided car of course. I don’t want to crash my own car – I need it for my next assignment.
I know I’ll have a huge problem doing this in KL since the roads are so messed up I feel like killing myself. I can’t complete a scheduled hit if I can’t be there on time (or understand the instructions to get there).
I need to put the Rexona Men Ice Cool deodorant in my car just to cope with the stress of driving here…
Excuse me, I have to be somewhere. A business dispute has spiraled out of control and I’m needed to…uncomplicated matters. 😉
Ajisen Ramen is a ramen eating establishment in 1U. Oh wait, I usually start off my food reviews like this, time for something different. Ajisen Ramen is a Japanese place that we finally decided upon after countless minutes of aimless walking around 1U. I was there with Zoe to get a dSLR and to catch a movie (we watched Ip Man – not Internet Protocol Man, Ip Man).
The interior of Ajisen Raman is a bit predictable and antiseptic…nothing you won’t find in the other 1k odd Japanese restaurants out there.
Zoe is a vegetarian (by choice), which I keep on forgetting. She doesn’t really like meat, although I force fed her chicken in Nando’s. I cannot understand how someone can withstand the appeal of warm, succulent meat. Mmm…meat. Me carnivore. You vegan? I shall eat you!
This is Tuna Sakura (RM 6.80), which looks a lot like a certain part of the female anatomy. We had one each and I challenged Zoe to the Wasabi Challenge (TM).
Zoe
Me
Zoe opted for the rather tame Fish Ramen (RM 12.80), which is one of the recommended dishes. She’s not a big fan of meat, as stated above. It tasted great though – I love fish as well.
I went for the more masculine sounding Volcano Ramen (RM 19.80) which is not only a recommended dish but a 5-chilli rated dish. Very spicy. It comes with pieces of pork in a very savory soup. I like!
Ajisen Ramen is a great place to eat if you’re lost and craving for some ramen goodness. It’s located conveniently at some secluded corner of 1U which I can’t remember for the life of me…but that’s what the 1Utama directory is for right? 😉
AJ Hackett G-Force X is dubbed as the highest slingshot ride in Asia – a reverse bungee jump inside a capsule pulling up to 5G’s, which is more than a MIG-25 fighter plane. It’s also described as an anti-gravity machine. I lost all my photos from Sunway Lagoon but thankfully I went for the DVD package so I still have the video on YouTube. 🙂
The ride cost about RM 30 (there is a 50% discount for MyKad holders) inclusive of the DVD and a “Certificate of Insanity”. I was in with an Iranian tourist, who looked rather nervous during the ride, but chilled out at the end. I didn’t think the ride was anything special, to be honest.
It looks much better filmed from the outside – you can see the capsule slingshot up and get a scale of how high the ride is. It goes up to 65 meters reaching speeds of 120 km/h in 2 seconds before a sensation of weightlessness comes over you. It’s a pity I lost the video filmed from below together with the digicam at Sunway Lagoon. This video is ripped from the DVD featuring the camera inside the capsule.
I rate rides by whether it scares me or not and not one has ever put The Fear of God (TM) into my heart. However, it is a ride by AJ Hackett, and it’s worth a try with the discount for Malaysians.
I went to 1U with Zoe yesterday to get a new digicam. I figured I would be better off getting a dSLR this time, despite the bulkiness. Correct that – it is because of the bulkiness. It would be really hard to lose a dSLR and the neck strap offers some level of protection against water hazards – I dropped a digicam into a waterfall last year.
I got the Sony a350 package with a double zoom lens kit – DT18-70mm F3.5-5.6 / DT55-200 mm F4-5.6. No, I don’t know what the numbers mean either. 😉
The salesperson also offered a Sony bag for RM 160 or a Sony bag + extra battery for RM 350, of which I took the latter. He then proceeded to go on about screen protectors:
Sales guy: The Sony alpha LCD can be easily scratched. You should probably get a screen protector for it. HB: You’re trying to sell me more stuff right? Is this your third pitch now? Sales guy: Er…well we can give you a discount… Sales girl (interjecting): No, we’ll give it to you for free. Sales guy: She’s such a nice person. HB: Yes, she is. Thank you. 🙂
It cost me about RM 3,800 for everything. I am officially broke for the entire month of January. The first shot of Zoe above is the first ever shot by the sixthseal.com Sony alpha 350.
This is the second. Heh!
Props to Suanie for your generous offer to teman me when I was down.
Cheers Eiling for driving 45 minutes down to teman me.
You three get an unlimited lifetime voucher redeemable 5 times, anytime, anywhere, anything (within reason – terms and conditions apply). 😉
P/S – Zoe, your heart will not stop beating unless you have a cardiac arrest. It’s really painful when that happens so you won’t be able to talk. The medulla oblongata ensures that our hearts (and breathing) is regulated automagically. 😉
I have got to be the unluckiest person around. I was at Sunway Lagoon with my ex-boss from Sibu and his friends yesterday and dropped my digicam at the very last roller coaster ride. I think they have signs against loose items for a reason. I miss all the wonderful photos and videos (especially the AJ Hackett G-Force X one – it looks better taken from the outside, though I have the DVD which I will upload soon) that’s lost – two days worth.
I miss The Apartment set of photos and the G-Force X video the most. Oh well, at least I have a temperamental Sony T-70 as a backup while I go hunting for a dSLR later. You can’t very well lose a dSLR, it being the size that it is.
I lost/dropped four (4) digicams in less than a year. That’s not good. Okay, I’m officially pokkai this month.
Ironically, I lost the digicam at the Lost City roller coaster ride. Hmm…
I spent New Year’s Eve 2008 at home, as promised, sans ethanol. I was actually helping my girlfriend…er, ex-girlfriend pack. She moved out yesterday and I must admit – the condo feels a little lonely and depressing without her.
I wake up the middle of the night missing the warmth of her body, I reach out with my hand to hold the non-existent hand beside me, and this morning, I caught myself saying “Dear, where’s the…” before stopping myself.
Oh well, life goes on. I will probably write about what happened when I have time.
Anyway, anyone interested in sharing the rent at a condominium in Petaling Jaya? Email me.
Oh, and I was in rehab in 2007, thus the title. I don’t recall the fine rehabilitation center throwing a grand NYE bash. 😉
I stayed at home this year, just like in ’07. Perhaps there’s some truth to Pat’s saying. :p
Planet DELL organized an event at Palate Palette last night. It was hyped as the party “before the eve of the new year” and features Lap Sap as one of their performers.
The PJ gang (we have earned this moniker due to a misdemeanor and possible felony committed by all of us) descended to the heart of KL to attend this event. The invite came courtesy of Rachel Ying.
We got the customary wristband as well as two badges (“Yours is an emo journo” – no shit, Sherlock) and stuff to play with. Yeah, yeah, go ahead, say “Hi, sixthseal.com, darling” and do the air kiss thing. The event was like an invasion of the hip, trendy, trust-fund kids – the Who’s Who of KL, or their offspring anyway. Attack of the Killer Trust Fund Kids. I can’t be fucked to look up who their dads are. 😉
Lap Sap didn’t make much of an impression on me. I don’t know what this event is about actually – we were given badges and felt tip pens to graffiti with, but nothing ever happened. It’s more like…a chill out session, which is fine and all, and the old me would have jumped at the open bar, but I guess I was expecting more.
I wasn’t really impressed by the fact that we had to pay for water, but alcoholic drinks were on the house. I mean, come on, that’s illegal in Australia. Clubs should have free water, no two ways about it. I normally won’t complain, since ethanol is my main tipple but I’m trying to wean off alcohol on the day before my New Year’s resolution kicked in.
It sounds a bit wrong after I’ve just said that, but here’s a photo of me doing Jello vodka shots with Lainie.
Kimberly, who related an anecdote to me about someone asking her if her real family name is Cun. Heh!
Joyce, with her RM 20,000 haircut. 😉
The artsy (fartsy) décor of Palate Palette.
Kim being enthusiastic about the badges.
Planet DELL was alright if I was in the mood to drink…which I usually am. It’s the dearth of participant interaction that killed the event. It’s all good if you just want to hit the gin + tonic and free beers, but if you want more, it’s a bit of a letdown. We left rather early at about 10:30 pm.
