Month: July 2011

Freedom! Undid the Ipoh fiasco and off on a trip this weekend!

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jpn

Remember how I lost my wallet during a road trip to Ipoh a while back? That was more than a MONTH ago and I have been running around sans MyKad, driver’s license et al since then. It’s a wonder I haven’t been stopped. I made the police report on the 20th of June (3 weeks ago) but never bothered to replace all my stuff.

Well, I did go to JPJ once but they told me they couldn’t give me a driver’s license without my MyKad (it’s a national identity card, kinda like a social security number, except it stores way more personal information).

Thus, I have procrastinated until today to get it done. You know what they say about that – “Procrastination is like masturbation – it feels good at the time but in the end you’re only fucking yourself”.

Anyway, I woke up bright and early at 6:30 am today and went to Pusat Bandar Damansara to get my temporary MyKad done. It was finished within 5 minutes. I was duly amazed.

The next stop was to the bank to get my ATM and credit cards done. I only managed to go to one bank but it’s the one I use the most nowadays anyway. I got my credit card but for the ATM card, they’ll need authorization from my home branch so I’ll probably wait until I come back.

I’ve been using e-banking to transfer money to my friends accounts and using their ATM to withdraw for more than a month anyway. Heh. It can wait.

police report

Next, I decided to head down to JPJ in PJ (rhymes dunnit) to see how long it takes to replace a driver’s license. It’s behind the court (the place you go to when you’ve done something naughty, not the one you head down when you feel like a game of tennis) and my GPS says that there’s ANOTHER NRD right around the corner so should you feel the need to replace your MyKad and driver’s license in a single trip, just head there.

I paid all my summons (apparently you need to do that before you can renew your driver’s license) and renewed it for another 5 years so it was a good thing I did my credit card before that. I don’t have nearly enough cash on me to pay the ludicrous amount that I have for moving and static traffic violations. 🙁

This only took me 15 minutes, including the RM 10 I paid to get my photo done. It’s very fast. I’ve been putting off doing it coz I thought it would take ages but I finished everything within 2 hours!

Why the sudden call to action after more than a month of procrastination?

I’m heading down to JB this weekend to party at Freedom with Lainey bff. 😀

It’s going to be loads of fun…and that’s not all – after Freedom, we’ll be heading to Singapore (since it’s just across the border). w00t.

temporary mykad

Oh, and I noticed a strange thing while doing my MyKad and at JPJ – they actually show you the photo for your approval before they use it. Huh. Last time I did that, no one bothered, I wonder what has changed?

Pomelo

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pomelo

I bought this freakishly huge pomelo on a whim while grocery shopping last week. A friend of mine saw this in the produce section and said it looks larger than my head, which prompted the photo above. It really is larger than my head – by quite a fair bit. I have never seen such a gigantic pomelo before so I got it and its been sitting in the pantry ever since.

I am no stranger to pomelos – my maternal grandma had a pomelo tree in her yard and it seems that the damn things seem to fruit every single fucking day!

There will always be a bountiful harvest of pomelos, sliced and served on a plate whenever we went to visit. I hated fruits back then and I can’t say I’ve ever been a fan of pomelos since I was a kid. The bountiful harvest wasn’t to blame – my paternal grandma had a mango tree and I loved mangos. I still do.

The problem with pomelos is that it has a tart and bitter taste that didn’t agree very much with my youthful taste buds back then. I would eat it but not on its own.

…but why are we talking about pomelos anyway?

Well, coz the damn thing has been there for almost a week, taking up space and I’m looking for a recipe to use it in.

Wanderlust

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wanderlust

I travel around quite a bit. I tend to season my vacations with a healthy sprinkling of adventure since I’m a huge adrenaline junkie. I’ve gone bungee jumping, skydiving, snowboarding, and cliff jumping in various parts of the world and I pronounce it GOOD. 🙂

However, it’s not just the things that raises your heart rate that appeals to me – I love immersing myself in culture and experiencing new things. That is adventure to me as well – novelty seeking and wanderlust.

underground

I often find myself planning for the next trip as soon as I come back. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be off somewhere when you’re reading this.

Hell, I’m going on a road trip tomorrow and another one this weekend so chances are I’ll not be at home. The wanderlust is never sated in me. 😀

stonehenge

I update a lot while I’m away as well (much to the chagrin of my wallet) – anything from the usual social media suspects to sending an MMS of Stonehenge to my bff. Yes, I actually did that.

You know how data roaming can be a bit tricky at times?

adventure

I’ve got a question for you:

1. You’re in Australia using your postpaid line to stay connected on Twitter, Facebook and your blog
2. There is a 3 hour time difference and you’re flying off early tomorrow
3. When do you deactivate it?

I’ve always wondered – do you get charged for another day when the clock strikes 12 midnight in Malaysia or Australia local time?

It’s a Cinderella conundrum and something I plan to find out once and for all with Hotlink’s Prepaid Data Roaming. They’re the first in Malaysia to offer international data roaming while you’re on work or vacation somewhere else in the world. They’ve got 150 countries covered and counting!

script

I reckon it’ll be very useful while traveling. You know how much I love doing that.

Hotlink is running a contest called Bloggers without Borders where bloggers are divided into three categories – Food, Adventure and Fashion and we’ll get the chance to go to Manila, Bali and Bangkok respectively.

However, we have to earn that privilege and here’s where you come in. 🙂

Vote for me and suggest an activity you would like me to do. I’ll be heading down to Bali so there’s a lot of water sports going on there.

Here’s my video. I had a lot of fun doing it – enlisted the help of a random stranger who wanted to borrow my phone coz he forgot to bring his, behind-the-scenes stuff, driving with no hands (don’t try this at home) and other shenanigans.

haircut

I even got a haircut before making that video. 😉

I’ll be constantly updating and will be in touch if I get chosen to go to Bali so vote for me! I promise you, I’ll be game to do anything. Heh! There isn’t much I wouldn’t do actually.

Want me to jump of a plane without a chute and do a tandem harness in midair? Just ask me to. (Really, please, I would love to do this)

Want me to jump off a cliff? Yes, sir! (or ma’am)

Trust me, if you vote for me, you’ll get the chance to ask me to do stuff and see me tweet, Facebook and blog using Hotlink’s Prepaid Data Roaming JUST FOR YOU. No one else will be as fun and adventurous as me so you might as well get your friends to vote for me as well. 😉

You can vote for me here. 😀

gold coast

SixthSeal.com – delivering entertaining media since 2002. smirk

Ulu Yam Loh Mee

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ulu yam gps

It was an unfortunate GPS navigational error that ultimately brought us to this place in Selayang – some 20 km away from our original intended destination of Ulu Yam. Christy was talking about the fabulous Ulu Yam loh mee and I chose the first result that came up.

restoran soon yuen

Thus, we totally missed Ulu Yam Lama and headed into Selayang instead. Oh well, at least the names kinda rhyme. This coffee shop is adorned with a banner that proclaims its dedication to Ulu Yam loh mee (with that dastardly entry in the GPS echoing its wares).

ulu yam loh mee

Anyway, since we were there, we decided to order the loh mee (RM 5). It comes in a HUGE bowl – the portion is pretty generous but there’s only two shrimps and other miscellaneous bits of meat inside. The soup is nice and starchy though and a dash (or a pour in my case) of vinegar does wonders to the taste.

ulu yam us

The bottle of vinegar does not have a volume reducer (or whatever you call that doohickey) so I think I emptied near 50 ml of the stuff into my bowl but it’s all good – the loh mee portion is huge enough to diffuse all that vinegar. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that it tastes just right – much like how Baby Bear’s bowl of porridge must have tasted to the home invading Goldilocks.

ulu yam herbal tea

However, the best thing about Restoran Soon Yuan is their herbal tea. It’s RM 1.80 and is brewed with chrysanthemum, luo han guo and dried longans. It’s surprisingly refreshing!

ulu yam lor mee

Unfortunately, the loh mee is only serviceable (although I ate the entire bowl) and it’s missing a key ingredient – deep fried pork lard. The definitive Ulu Yam loh mee is here, according to Kim. I’ll have to head down to Ulu Yam Lama someday to taste authentic Ulu Yam loh mee.

This place lists the rather promisingly named African Fried Rice on its menu though.

Shotgun

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I remember back when I was studying in Christchurch, NZ it became something of a trend to call “shotgun” if you want the front seat beside the driver. I know, it sounds silly but we were all 15 back then (with some older kids) and 15 is the age when you can get your driver’s permit over there.

Anyway, there are RULES to calling shotgun – you can’t do it, say, as soon as you exit a car. I can’t remember all of them but basically a valid shotgun call is when everyone is heading off and you’re actually in the car park.

amsterdam central station

Well, it was during those high school years that I first started taking KLM for Singapore – New Zealand flights. I had to to spend the night in Changi when I came back coz it was cheaper to transit in Singapore than KL.

flower market

I have been to a lot of places since then including two sojourns to Europe earlier this year. The last Europe trip I went on was basically a backpacking trip, from London all the way to Latvia and Georgia. The only place (besides London) that I visited twice in a row was Amsterdam. I love the city and all it has to offer! 🙂

Well, KLM is the national airlines of the Dutch and they’re having this awesome contest where you can win a trip for two to Jakarta. The mechanism is pretty simple – it somehow reminded me of my adolescent shotgun anecdote.

amsterdam canal

I swear this has gotta be the best contest ever. It’s not a popularity contest so everyone gets an equal chance. It’s more like a lottery!

(except with WAY better odds)

klm facebook

Basically, you have to Like the KLM Malaysia Facebook page and wait for the game to start. Once it begins, you’ll be able to see 1-3 planes. Each plane has 400 seats and ONE of those seats is the winning ticket. The Golden Ticket if you will…

…and if you happen to be lucky enough to tag that particular seat, well, you’ll be like Charlie and off to the destination you’ll go, courtesy of KLM. You’ll get to bring along a friend as well!

Now who’s gonna turn down a trip for two – especially if there’s a myriad of destinations to choose from. It’s as easy as it comes, kinda like playing Bingo, except again with better odds. 😉

Like the KLM Malaysia Facebook page now and get a chance to win flights for two!

nutcracker

I really expect a frenzy of activity when they start this coz the mechanics is simple, fair and the odds of winning are really high. 😀

Chilling with Christy at Colmar Tropicale, Bukit Tinggi

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swan pose

I just came back from a road trip to Bukit Tinggi (also called Berjaya Hills) with Christy, Hollie, Nic and Patricia. We headed up Monday morning and spent the night at the French medieval themed resort.

colmar tropicale

It seems that Colmar Tropicale has been around for quite a while and the last time I came here was during my birthday.

group

This time around it was supposed to be a very chill and relaxing trip and I think we spent the most time fishing for ducks (and eating). Heh.

room

Christy booked one of the regular rooms and I was bunking with her while the other 3 squeezed into another room.

hb christy

Some of them went to sleep as soon as we got there but me and Christy started watching TV and talking instead.

ryo zantei

Lunch at Ryo Zantei @ Japanese Gardens. Most of us had the Ten Zaru Soba (RM 29) coz the weather was rather hot. It’s cold soba with tempura and soy dressing topped with…

raw quail egg

…a raw quail egg.

ten zaru soba

Lovely.

japanese garden

Walking around the Japanese Gardens. A lot of people come up here to rent kimonos and have the Japanese tea ceremony that it’s become a bit of a cliché.

la boulangerie

Tea time pastries at La Boulangerie.

fishing

There was this duck pond full of yellow ducks with hooks which you “fish” with a pole. We spent the better part of an hour and about RM 50 trying to get a duck with a winning number on it.

stuffed toy

The fruits of our labor. One tiny stuffed toy.

breakfast

It was a lot of fun though and it’s surprisingly hypnotizing to watch the fake ducks swirl around the plastic inflatable pond.

la flamme

Dinner at La Flamme.

le vin

Drinks at Le Vin. Notice all the French names? We ordered a bottle of wine to share before finally retiring to the room.

christy colmar

I think me and Christy was the last ones to sleep – we spent the night in bed talking about all sorts of stuff…like long distance relationships back in your grandparent’s days where they had no technology. Heh.

Tai Wah pork noodles @ Singapore Food Trail

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tai wah pork noodles

Singapore Food Trail is located below the Singapore Flyer and aims to bring all the best hawker food in Singapore to one place. It’s kinda like the Lot 10 food court in KL – the crème de la crème of hawker food all represented in a single place.

singapore food trail

The setup in Singapore Food Trail has a lot of paraphernalia from the good ol’ days to better set the ambiance. There’s also an al fresco area for those who prefers to eat their food in a more authentic setting.

bird nest

I was pretty parched when I got there so I ordered a Bird’s Nest Drink for SGD 2.50. You can have it hot or cold and the large one comes in that huge tin mug your grandma drinks tea out of (or at least my grandma did) so it’s a pretty generous serving.

pork noodle

There’s a lot of tempting food around but I settled on High Street Tai Wah Pork Noodle. It has the longest queue of all the stalls and I reckon that if it’s so popular, I might as well try it. The people in front of me all ordered the pork noodle with broth (SGD 5) which is their flagship dish.

pork noodle stall

I’m not a big fan of soup dishes though so I went with the dry option. I also upsized it to medium for SGD 7. The dry pork noodle is exactly the same as the one with broth, except they seperate the soup into another bowl so it doesn’t saturate the noodles.

pork noodle soup

The Tai Wah pork noodle broth is really something to behold. You can see the quality of the soup with your naked eye – it takes a lot of boiling to get the marrow and nice bits out of pork bones and it makes the soup really good. I wished I had ordered the regular version, I wanted more of the soup.

pork noodle dry

The pork noodles is awesome too – it has most parts of the pig inside it and the noodles are nicely flavored with a slightly spicy sauce. There’s pork wantons, pork belly, pork meat balls, pork liver and even a sprinkling of dried cuttlefish. The dried cuttlefish is ingenious – it adds texture and flavor as well as a break from all the porcine goodness in the noodles.

pork noodle tiger

It’s goes very well with a cold Tiger on a hot Singaporean afternoon. Gotta drink the local suds when you’re there. 🙂

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