Month: July 2009

Gimme a break…

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kit_kat_strawberry_japan_bite

I’m a big fan of KIT KAT. It’s awesome stress food. I tend to reach for one at work (I keep a stash) when things get hectic and I need a quick break. I remember hunting down their limited editions back in 2006. They came out with Nestle Kit Kat Limited Edition X1 Cappuccino Flavor and Nestle Kit Kat Lemon Cheesecake Flavor Limited Edition 02. I’ve even had the Nestle Kit Kat Strawberry Limited Edition specially brought in from Japan.

kitkash

There are a lot of promotional bars in Melbourne when I was in university – from the KIT KA$H wafers to KIT KAT Chunky bars where a select few contains a fake plastic contraption (with a similar weight and size to the regular bars so you can’t distinguish it) which sings when you pull it out. If you get this “singing” Kit Kat bar, you’ve effectively won yourself a round-the-world trip.

display

I’ve always wondered why Malaysia doesn’t have similar promotions…until now:

shelf

I’ve always loved reading Roald Dahl’s works and I adore his vivid descriptions of food. This reminds me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The Golden Ticket…for adults! Instead of winning a trip to a chocolate factory, you get something much better – an all expenses paid trip for two to see MTV’s Featured Artist of the Month live in concert…anywhere in the world!

buy

Repeat after me: All expenses paid trip, anywhere in the world!

approve

I love travelling and music so I went to the nearest 7 Eleven after work and raided their Kit Kat supply. You just need to look out for this sticker:

sticker

Kit Kat has distilled the contest mechanics into three simple steps:

1. Have a break
2. Have a KIT KAT
3. Check inside pack

I’ve eaten several bars of Kit Kat today for lunch. I also got a couple of my coworkers to dig in – on the condition that the chocolate is free, but if there’s a prize inside, I’m keeping it. πŸ˜‰

guard

I haven’t found a pack with a prize yet, but I still have a stash of Kit Kat and the contest only ends on August 28 so there’s plenty of time to work my way through the Kit Kat bars. There are iPod Shuffles and music CDs up for grabs too…check out the details here.

wrapper

Good luck!

fingers

(Break a leg/finger)

Imagine this…

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amanda sleepy

You wake up at 4 am in the morning and walk out for some Maggi mee goreng at the local mamak. Secure in the knowledge that you won’t bump into anyone you know in the wee hours of the night (morning?) you come dressed in the finest regalia from your wardrobe:

The most tattered t-shirt in your collection with more holes than a chunk of Swiss cheese.

A tacky pair of shorts without an elastic waistband which you have to constantly pull up to avoid slipping down your expanding waistline.

Now imagine yourself with a bleary expression, eyes still puffy and bloodshot with sleep and the makings of a pimple of monstrous proportions manifesting on your nose.

Your hair tousled (and not the sexy kind of messy, just plain scruffy from sleeping before your hair is dry) and dressed in what would best be described as rags, you casually stroll down to devour a plate of Maggie mee goreng before heading back to sleep.

Imagine all the bad habits you do when no one else is looking – wiping your greasy mouth with the tail of your shirt and standing up to pay the bill when suddenly…

This hot chick from the table behind you looks at you and suddenly goes “Hey, do I know you?”

This moment is the dreaded instant best described as Jeng Jeng Jeng.

Startled, you reply in the affirmative while your sleep-addled brain tries to process just exactly who she is. You stare at her as she yaks in a cheerful manner, all the while painfully aware of the nipple piercing poking straight out of a hole in your t-shirt (with probably a few stray hairs around the aureole for good measure).

amanda nipple

Hello Amanda! You’re officially seen me at my worst. πŸ˜‰

Sg. Besi Wan Tan Mee

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besi wantan mee

Jessica was in the vicinity of my condo one night and asked if I wanted to eat some overwhelmingly delicious (those were her exact words) wantan mee in Sungai Besi.
HB: How overwhelming?
J: Power overwhelming.
I was sold. She’s such a Starcraft geek sometimes. Heh! I was up for it since I just got back from work so I drove down to Sg. Besi with her as the GPS. There are no signboards at the place – it looks like a car workshop which moonlights as a restaurant at night.

besi cooking

We arrived there at around 10 pm and the place was still bustling with customers. The friendly lady proprietor came over and took our order. She didn’t seem to mind the BYO (had a bottle of Absolut Vodka that I just plonked down on the table) and gave us the lowdown on the Good Stuff (TM) they have.

besi place

Sg. Besi Wan Tan Mee is famous for two things (one thing actually) – their wan tan mee with char siew. Their char siew is apparently their signature dish (according to the proprietor and Jess) so all their wan tan mee is served with awesome char siew.

besi wantan mee duck

It costs RM 5.50 per plate and it’s worth every sen! The drive down was long but the food more than made up for it. It’s gotta be the best wan tan mee I’ve had in KL. The noodles are springy and flavorful and the char siew is to die for. It has a crispy edge, but is tender on the inside. The char siew is also slightly sweet, but not overpoweringly so and has an almost melt-in-your-mouth texture. Superlatives fail me.

besi wantan mee mushrooms

You can choose add-ons for just RM 1.50 to your wantan mee with char siew.
I had a duck drumstick (RM 8) with my wan tan mee. I choose the entire drum instead of an add-on.
Jess had the shitake mushroom add-on for RM 1.50. It’s juicy and flavorful; the mushrooms taste like it just came out of a pot of pork stew (perhaps the same one I ordered below). The mushrooms were practically engorged with delicious juices. Mmm…

besi pork

We also ordered a side dish of stewed pork leg (RM 10.00). Just coz I was craving for pork.

It’s so good I did my speed eating thing while Jessica filmed me. Watch me stuff my mouth like a pig on this (power) overwhelming(ly) delicious wan tan mee with char siew.

besi onions

You can also add fried onions to the wantan mee with char siew for that extra oomph! I have no idea how to direct you here since Jessica guided me but the address listed on the menu is:
No. 190H, Jalan 2 Β½ Mile, Off Sg. Besi, 55200 Kuala Lumpur.

besi me

Sungai Besi Wan Tan Mee – Best in Sg. Besi, KL, and some say, PJ.

Jab in the ass

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jab in the ass

I have been feeling slightly unwell since yesterday, but dismissed it as a particularly nasty bout of gastric (a decidedly un-masculine affliction) and soldiered on. I am rather puzzled though since I don’t get gastric and it’s never been as bad as this.

I went to see a doctor at the prompting (threat?) of a friend after work last night. I went at about 9 pm, just as the clinic was closing, so the doctor just gave me a perfunctory once over and prescribed some unknown tablets. I felt worse when I woke up this morning – acid reflux and the return of the cursed gastric pains with a Super Size Dose of Nausea (TM) so I quickly wrapped up the urgent stuff that was due at work and went to see a doctor at 10:30 am.

I turns out that I have peptic ulcers. The doctor found out coz I puked when she stuck that ice cream stick thing into my throat and there was blood in the vomit. Thus, she jabbed me in the ass and sent me back home…with a RM 60 bill.

Don’t stick that stick down my throat!

>.<

Claypot Chicken Rice

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jan claypot chicken rice

The humble Claypot Chicken Rice is something which I’ve actively hunted whenever I get a hankering for it (and even when I don’t). I remember having a family vacation when I was 7 years old, with my dad bringing me to Petaling Street and telling me that the claypot chicken rice over here in KL is good and “different” from what we get back home.

jan chicken rice setup

I don’t know why but that memory has always stayed with me. I’ve actively sought out this…er, nostalgia tinged delicacy since then. I was told that there’s a stall at Ming Tien food court that dishes out pretty good Claypot Chicken Rice so off I went with Jan to check it out.

jan chicken rice

The stall sells Claypot Chicken Rice (RM 5) and Claypot Pork Rice (RM 5.50) so if you have any illusions about it being halal, leave them at the door (or the arch rather). It’s pork. πŸ˜‰

jan feed

I ordered the Claypot Chicken Rice since the Claypot Pork Rice didn’t look that appealing from the photo, but rest assured, I’m going to check it out some other time. You’re gonna see a lot more of Ming Tien posts coz it’s near my condo and I like how they open till late. πŸ˜‰

jan chicken rice plate

It tastes pretty good, but it’s not the best I’ve had. The Claypot Chicken Rice was flavorful enough and came with the classic, sinful Crust of Charcoal Rice (TM) beneath. This is the best part of the dish, you scrape it into the pot to mix it around but if you’re a crust aficionado, you can opt to leave it longer so the crust will procreate into a veritable swarm of Crust Goodness (TM) from the residual heat from the claypot.

jan chicken rice eat

I don’t make any sense, do I?

jan chicken rice cook

I’ll tell you something though…what the cook lacks in skillz, he more than makes up for with pure enthusiasm. πŸ˜‰

I kneed you

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massage start

I was privy to a most relaxing massage at a (proper) spa called Vila Manja on Saturday. I’ve always had the impression that massage parlors exude a distinct aura of dubiousness but this one is 100% legitimate.

massage carol

There is a hole on the massage bed where you can put your face into and Someone-Who-Is-Not-Carol took a photo of me from beneath the table. I like this photo. It looks…er, intense.

massage face

I really enjoyed the massage…my neck and shoulders have been killing me for the past few months and the masseur positively worked magic with her fingertips.

massage me

I felt completely rejuvenated. In fact, I was so relaxed I fell asleep.

massage end

P/S – Please stop staring at my butt.

Childhood, revisited

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ppc arcade

It’s been a while since I’ve stepped foot into an arcade. We were waiting for Obsessed to start last night so we had 30 minutes to burn. PPC has never been to an arcade in her youth (Jesus, makes me wonder how she grew up) so we went in for some…

ppc mash

…button mashing fun!

ppc sweet

There was this claw crane machine called Big Sweet Land which pushes candy instead of plush toys. It’s a rip off – I got 3 sweets for 6 tokens. :p

ppc daytona

It’s back to old skool Daytona USA after that. I solidly beat PPC by 1 Β½ FULL rounds…just coz her accelerator pedal wasn’t working. Heh!

ppc ghost

There’s this arcade machine which has no English translations at all. It involves using two phone-looking-things to beat ghosts on the screen. The ghosts are behind a metal grill and in 2P mode, one side shows an image which looks like a wheel.

ppc prison

It took us three (3) tries before we finally figured out that one player is supposed to turn the wheel to raise the gate while the other pummels the ghosts coming out of the cell. It’s like being a prison warden of a correctional facility filled with dangerous supernatural entities. Fun.

ppc hockey

I also soundly thrashed PPC in air hockey. πŸ˜‰

Don’t ask me if Obsessed was a good movie. I promptly fell asleep after the opening credits. Serious.

Shark Fin Noodle

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shark fin noodle stall

This has gotta be one of the more decadent dishes you can afford to eat every day. Weighing in at a relatively easy-on-the-wallet price tag of RM 5.50, it’s practically a steal! This Shark Fin Noodles is located at Ming Tien food court, and I feel obliged to proclaim the goodness of this particular dish to all and sunder.

shark fin noodle owner

The Shark’s Fin Noodle stall serves up shark fin soup and shark fin noodles. Imagine noodles dumped into shark’s fin soup and you’ll have an idea about what this dish is all about. It’s almost criminal that most places do not serve this – it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that chucking some good ol’ noodles into leftover shark fin soup would make a tasty dish.

shark fin noodle setup

Granted, at the price you’re forking out (RM 5.50) you shouldn’t expect prime fin from a 3,000 kg shark inside your dish…my agaration tells me that there’s only a sliver (or two) of real shark fin inside the dish.

shark fin noodle

However, the texture is authentic enough, and the crab sticks and other miscellaneous ingredients coupled with the starchy and vinegar-ish soup fabricates a more-than-passable approximation of shark’s fins soup (with noodles).

shark fin noodles macro

I am actually quite intrigued about shark’s fin noodles. It’s almost a no-brainer to create something like this. Leftover soup? No worries! Just reheat and dump in some noodles for a meal. It’s the first time I’ve sampled this dish and it has already engendered a craving, nay, a hunger for shark fin noodles with a healthy dash of vinegar.

shark fin noodles ppc

It’s a bargain at RM 5.50!

shark fin noodles end

Ming Tien food court has a lot of great stalls and they open until 3 AM…perfect for washing down your alcohol with some solid food. πŸ˜‰

Thong Kee @ PJ Old Town, beside the “smelly market”

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Thong Kee area

I’ve always believed that the best and most delicious food is found in the dirtiest of places. It’s a Malaysian thing. Heh! The places with great food aren’t really big on hygiene. Jennifer and Wye Meng told us about this awesome dai chow place beside the “smelly PJ Old Town main pasar” and we all headed down for lunch.

Thong Kee pasar

It was better than I expected – overflowing rubbish bins, the smell of pork and fish from the main wet market, flies buzzing around. I was very pleased…the ambience is unbeatable! πŸ˜‰

Thong Kee stall

The stall you want is called Thong Kee – just look #47. Thong Kee is very popular, so look out for the teeming mass of hungry customers congregating there.

Thong Kee cendol

Wye Meng told us that the stall beside Thong Kee serves up a mean bowl of cendol. I ordered mine with extra gula melaka and fu yoh, it really is something wicked on a hot afternoon. It’s one of the best cendol I’ve had.

She’s quite familiar with this place so she ordered all the signature dishes:

Thong Kee hokkien

This is 福建米 (fuk kin mai) otherwise known as Hokkien style fried bee hoon.

Thong Kee hokkien dish

The rice vermicelli doesn’t look like rice vermicelli at all, but it more than makes up for it with the amount of seafood present. It’s an aquatic celebration! I ate quite a few marine species and pronounce it good!

Thong Kee wat tan hor

This is ζ»‘θ›‹ζ²³ (wat tan hor). It’s kwong fu style fried kueh tiaw. I obviously didn’t write the Chinese characters – those were kindly furnished by Wye Meng. I can’t write Chinese.

Thong Kee wat tan hor dish

The wat tan hor is starchy and they’re quite generous with the seafood too. Marine treasures abound inside the dish – everything from cuttlefish to prawns. Wat tan hor does not have a “taste” per se – it’s a rather plain dish, but it’s good to balance out the two salty dishes. I also like how they cracked a raw egg into the wat tan hor. Authentic!

Thong Kee pai guat

This is ζŽ’ιͺ¨η‚†η”Ÿι’ (pai guat man sang meen) – stew pork rib fried with wantan noodles. It’s called Specialty Sang Mee on the menu and it’s their flagship dish.

Thong Kee pai guat dish

The cook is magnanimous with the pork ribs – just look at the CHUNKS of pork ribs in the dish. The noodles is done well, chewy and slurp-ilicious! I like the gravy too. Mmm…salty. Two thumbs up for this one; it’s the best dish at the place!

Thong Kee end

The food was so good that I ate four (4) plates…and it nearly sent me into a post-lunch coma. I would definitely go again; it’s seriously first-rate hawker style food. Thanks to Jennifer and Wye Meng for buying us lunch. Next one on me! πŸ™‚

Drifting lessons

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I wonder if you know how they live in Tokyo?

drift

I went for a drifting course courtesy of Rexona last Sunday. My entry snagged the first prize so I woke up bright and early to drive to Bangsar. I had to meet PPC and Kalai (who was there on Official Business (TM)) before tailgating them to the venue coz I wasn’t familiar with that area (it’s about 45 minutes away).

racer chicks

The full day car drifting course was held at MAEPS in Serdang and I arrived just in time to see Tina and Carmen working on one of the cars that was provided. I took Tina’s car (coz my car’s suspension is too fucked up for that kind of driving) for the drifting session, which I inadvertently overheated. >.<Β  I guess I can’t do the same things I do in my driftcompany online games that I play in preparation to these drifts.

briefing

The first part of the session (AM) started with a briefing by Sean and was more about defensive driving and emergency maneuvers. We also did a slalom course with traffic cones as obstructions. I was a little apprehensive about running down the instructors since some of them had the appalling tendency of standing in the middle. My driving history is not exactly pristine. πŸ˜‰

I used my car for one exercise though; coz I figured it would be useful considering the unusual amount of accidents I’ve been through. This is the first part – it involves driving at high speed towards a cone barrier (without prepping yourself by letting go of the gas or brake anticipation) and jam the brakes after the last cone while swerving to avoid the barrierΒ into the side lane before moving back into the center.

me

Joe-Han was instructing me most of the time. I like the guy, and he can drift something awesome! The basics were covered in the morning and we had a one hour lunch break at the nearby (which is 15 minutes away) mamak before the afternoon session.

The afternoon (PM) session is the drifting course and the rain during lunch caused the track to be a little bit slippery, but it was a lot of fun. It was really hard to drift with a car that I’m not very familiar with, and most of the time, I didn’t make it at all. However, I managed to drift once without losing control and I was really pleased about that.

tent

Next up is the various methods you can use to do doughnuts. Watched Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift? It’s the technique where one car goes around the other car in a circular motion, using understeer (or izzit oversteer?).

slalom

There are three methods to do that and the easiest is the e-brake method followed by the clutch pop, and I managed to somewhat perfect the technique with Tina’s car. It kinda overheated after that though, and I was told that I’m very “persistent” as in I go all out and wouldn’t quit until I have it right. I know…its part of my personality. πŸ˜‰

Things I learned:
Always steer to the left while avoiding a probable collision – this is so you don’t run into incoming traffic.
The 9-3 position is the best way to drive long distance coz your heart won’t have to work as hard to pump blood to your extremities.
Do not drive with your thumb(s) inside the steering wheel; you’ll break them in a collision.
Push and pull with your hands mirroring each other when you drive. Don’t cross over coz if the airbags deploy on impact, the force will drive your arms towards your face, a Very Bad Thing (TM) if you like how you look. πŸ˜‰

ebrake

Other interesting things about Tina’s car:

She has this really nifty e-brake which doesn’t engage per se when you pull it (it goes back down) but it works for drifting, perfect for rally driving.

group

I sure hope Tina doesn’t see this but since I added her on FB I seriously doubt it. I was having a rather crude discussion on MSN with a friend and the gist of it is replicated here:

trust me
when she’s drifting
fu yoh
damn
i nearly jizzed my pants

tina

Tina, it’s a compliment! Racer chicks are hot. πŸ˜‰

cert

I got a cert for…er, Advanced Course Driving. I’m not sure I deserve it, so don’t look at me weird the next time I get into an accident. :p

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