Month: September 2016

Love Live Cosplay Documentary feat. MilkyWay

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MilkyWay

Yes, I’m calling it a documentary coz I’m being pretentious and I spent 12 hours editing it. I was actually quite lucky coz I never read my emails (sorry guys but it’s true). It just so happened that I couldn’t sleep (see previous post) so I was going through all my stuff and I found a flyer about a cosplay event by Evolve Mall. I went to the event page and came across a promo video featuring the MilkyWay girls.

I thought it was really good. I’ve been watching a lot of cosplay dance covers by Love Live groups coz I want to make my own and also to improve my video editing skills. I creeped on the MilkyWay posts and found a girl called Vicky, who turned out to be one of the leaders. I messaged her the night before (yesterday) and asked if I could tag along and film them, not just their performance, but also shadow them and eat with them and interview them.

I gave her my number and she said she’ll discuss it with the other group members and got back to me 20 minutes later saying it was okay with everyone. Thus, I went there this morning to film them. They actually had two performances but I only managed to get the first one since I had to leave at 3 pm. It was a really fun experience since I’m a huge fan of Love Live and it’s always nice to see a local group do so well.

MilkyWay Love Live

I have been trying to make more YouTube videos lately – this is my second one specifically for this purpose. My better half and a LLSIF friend told me the first one was ultra shaky and barely watchable and I took that feedback to heart. This time, I spent 12 times the amount of post-production work on the video. Well, it probably won’t take so long for a pro but I just installed Adobe Premiere CC a few days ago!

I did learn a lot of things about video editing too, and I found out that I really like doing it. I like talking to people and getting good video and I like arranging the sequences to make a cohesive film. The music sequences in this one isn’t as good as I want coz I didn’t have a tripod with those swing/tilt/stabilize things. I’ll need to get one so next time I do something like this, I’ll have one static camera pointing at the stage (like how the music video is) on tripod while I actually hold the second camera.

I did have a second one today but I couldn’t operate both. The idea is the static one is for wide screen whole stage shots while the one you’re holding (with stabilizer) goes for close ups. Thus, I can focus on the trio who’s currently singing and this will allow me to cut from the full stage shot to a close up. Also, in the interview segment I had a lot of trouble deciphering the words.

That’s completely my fault coz I didn’t wire everyone up. I also didn’t have 9 microphone units but they’re actually quite cheap so I’ll definitely get some if I want to explore more on doing videos like this. When you record something with external sound, it gives you a lot of flexibility especially with B footage and the voice overs can even go on unrelated stuff, which I wish I did for editing ease.

Also, my Chinese isn’t very good. I can understand conversational Mandarin but once you get to difficult words, I’ll be totally lost. I went to New Zealand at quite a young age to study and I didn’t learn Chinese in Malaysia anyway. I had to puzzle out the meaning via context (very useful) and a bit of guesswork so I hope the translations are somewhat accurate.

I wanted translations and closed captions for YouTube coz the video is almost entirely in Chinese. YouTube is a very English-centric medium, unlike Nico Nico Douga or Youku so English subs are necessary. I want it when I watch the Love Live Sunshine radio dramas and skits anyway, wouldn’t be able to understand otherwise. Turn on CC if you want to read the English subs, I also spent a few hours writing them.

I’m getting a lot better in many ways and even though I’m very frustrated at not being able to sleep (the insomnia is killing me) at least I’m learning new skills and doing stuff that I love. Thanks to Vicky and the rest of the MilkyWay cosplay group for letting me hang out with them today! It was a really interesting experience and I’ll see you all at the next event.

I’ll be concentrating more on YouTube videos now so let me know what you think – feedback and criticism is always welcome. Cheers!

Moment Cuisine Steak House @ Kota Damansara

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Moment Cuisine Steak House

I have watched this new restaurant with interest. It wants to be a higher end steak house but the menu items have a decidedly local twist to it. The Dataran Sunway F&B scene is very competitive and many restaurants have tried and failed to make it big here. I have a seen a very promising new entry this year (a pho place) but this one doesn’t look like it’s going to be successful. It didn’t help that the restaurant was empty all the time.

Moment Cuisine Kota Damansara

I walked in this evening to see what they’re all about. They have plastic dishes on the front, so I know it’s all steaks but I wanted to try it for myself. Moment Cuisine feels like a steak house for local palates and even has the definition of rare, medium, medium well and well done on their menu. The interior looks a lot like a budget hotel trying to look classy, with linen covered high back chairs flanking glass topped tables.

Banana Milkshake (RM 10.90)

Banana Milkshake

I was interested to see they have a range of real milk shakes…meaning, milkshakes made with real fruits. I opted for banana and was pleasantly surprised to see it’s made with real bananas and not the nasty artificial flavoring from a bottle (looking at you Monin). It’s pretty good. I nearly ordered another one when I finished mine, but at RM 11 per glass, it’s a little on the high side.

Moment’s House Grilled Australian Ribeye Steak (RM 43.90)

Moment House Steak

I ordered the house specialty, which is a ribeye from Australia. It comes with 3 choices of sauces – black pepper, mushroom and something called “Aromatic BBQ Sauce”. I went for the last one since I’m not very keen on the first two localized ones. The steak was very high quality. I was surprised – it’s all good meat with no gristle.

Moment Cuisine Steak

I had it rare and it came out rare. This is the most expensive item on the menu. The ribeye steak was juicy and tasty and goes very well with the apple barbecue sauce.

Moment Cuisine

Moment Cuisine Steak House surprised me. I expected them to do localized bad steak, and while the first part was correct (it is indeed tailored to local tastebuds) the second bit wasn’t. The cuts of beef were high quality and I enjoyed eating the steak. The cold sides could do with more work though. I don’t think they’ll do very well here since it’s neither here nor there but I’ll like to be proved wrong. It’s targeting Chinese customers e.g. the food isn’t halal and they serve pork chops too. Problem is, Chinese traditionally don’t eat a huge amount of meat. I don’t mind dropping in for another juicy steak, though at RM 63 for dinner, it’s not going to be a daily thing.

Grand Taipei, Sunway Giza Mall

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Grand Taipei

Grand Taipei is a relatively new cafe, restaurant and tea house (that’s what they call themselves) in Sunway Giza. If you thought it looked kinda familiar, you’ll be correct. There was a place called Taipei Taipei inside the mall a few years back. It didn’t do well and closed permanently. The old Taipei Taipei has been relaunched as Grand Taipei but the chopstick covers still has the old name.

Grand Taipei Sunway Giza

This spot seems to have bad feng shui or something. There has been a lot of different bars and restaurants at this exact spot which shuttered and got replaced by a new one. The latest to try is the ex-Taipei Taipei from inside the mall. The interior looks really nice – there’s an old movie projected to the walls, vintage furniture, jukebox, and a small stage.

Taiwanese Style Pork Chop with Rice (RM 15.90)

Taiwanese Pork Chop Rice

This is their signature dish! Grand Taipei does a mean pork chop rice. There’s a large slice of savory and delicious pork chop on top of a mound of rice. The rice isn’t just plain rice but mixed with minced stewed pork (what the Taiwanese called kou rou). There’s also a triangle of vinegar tofu which balances out the dish with a bit of acid, as well as vegetables. It’s pretty good, reminds me of the food I had in Taiwan.

Brown Sugar Red Bean Milk Tea (RM 9.90)

Red Bean Milk Tea

This is Taiwanese milk tea but with red bean instead of tapioca balls. They have a tapioca ball style bubble tea version for RM 8.90 too. It’s better to order the “RM 8 Business Lunch Set” which allows you to choose a drink and provides you with a daily side dish (pickled cucumbers shown above) so you save between RM 1 – RM 2 on your drink and get a small side.

Grand Taipei Me

Grand Taipei will have familiar food if you’ve been to the old Taipei Taipei. They specialize in pork chop rice and they’re pretty good at it. The pork chops are fried to order and it’s served hot. I like how they have multiple sourish sides (pickles, tofu) coz the oily pork chop can be a bit hard to stomach after a few bites and the acidic dishes help cleanse your palate. Lunch for me cost RM 23.90 which isn’t bad for the amount of meat they serve.

O Bahn Mi, 1 Utama

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O Bahn Mi

I want to eat bahn mi, my better half told me. “Pan mee?” I said, aghast. I hate the stuff. I had misheard. She meant the Vietnamese sandwich inspired by the French. We were at 1 Utama coz she wanted to look at mooncakes. O Bahn Mi is located on the ground floor and I thought I had been to one of their branches before (turns out not, that was quick bites). It also serves other Vietnamese street food.

Bahn Mi 1Utama

The place was packed on a Sunday morning which is surprising since the other F&B outlets were practically empty. O Bahn Mi is a popular destination due to their extremely quick turnover and relatively lower prices. You order at the counter and the food gets delivered to you a minute or two later. Besides bahn mi sandwiches, they also have pho and broken rice – one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes in Melbourne.

Grilled BBQ Pork Sandwich (RM 10.90)

Grilled BBQ Pork Sandwich

O Bahn Mi actually has a wide range of bahn mi sandwiches. This is one of their most popular ones. It’s served in a Vietnamese baguette about the size of a 6″ sub. I’ve been to Hanoi before and eaten this. We’ve also had bahn mi in Cambodia during our trip there. It’s a great option for breakfast, it’s sold out of carts in Vietnam and people eat it in the mornings. The one here is pretty decent too.

Combination Beef Pho (RM 14.90)

Combination Beef Pho

I didn’t feel like eating bahn mi so I had their pho instead. The pho at O Bahn Mi is awesome! The soup is beefy and has tenderloin, brisket and meatballs inside. The also serve lots of herbs and aromatics on the side, including Thai basil. You really need this to make the pho better. A lot of places skimp on the fresh herbs and it’s not the same without it. This place makes it right. Delicious!

Caramel Flan (RM 5.90)

Caramel Flan

I love crème caramel. It’s actually a very common desert in the 80’s in Malaysia but not everyone knows that. Our house had a box at all times and in the past, coffee shops would serve this. Nowadays it’s very rare to find it while eating outside except at Ramadan bazaars. I’ve only seen it once when my dad came over to visit. We went to a random place and found it on the menu. The sprig of mint on the dessert adds a lot.

O Bahn Mi Us

I didn’t realize it at the time but they only charged me RM 1 for the Vietnamese coffee by upgrading me to one of their meal sets instead of charging it separately, which would have cost more. The meal for the two of us cost RM 31.60 at O Bahn Mi. It’s very reasonable compared to our usual brunch bill. The food is pretty good too. There are so many pho places nowadays compared to a few months back and there’s no one happier than me by this development coz I love pho!

Sanook @ Sunway Pyramid Hotel West

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Sanook Sunway Pyramid

It was a public holiday yesterday so I went out with my better half for dinner. We usually don’t eat outside on weekdays. I remember the banners advertising Sanook in Sunway Pyramid (it’s actually in the hotel beside the mall) and wanted to check it out. Sanook is billed as Thai-Japanese fusion cuisine and I thought that sounded really interesting.

Sanook

My dear likes to eat Thai food while I’m partial to Japanese so this is the perfect place for dinner. They spent a lot on branding – the entire outlet is colored in their orange trademark hue and the plates and bowls are all heart shaped. Ordering is done via an iPad on your table, which has beautiful photos and descriptions. You can also order something and set it to be delivered later, like for dessert.

Tiger Prawn Skewers with Sanook Sauce (RM 25.90)

Tiger Prawn Skewers

Sanook is well known for their skewers. This one is made with unshelled tiger prawns layered with some kebab-type vegetables. There’s 3 big prawns on 2 skewers for a total of 6. One thing about BBQ skewers is that it’s usually pretty bland and tasteless. Not this one, they have a strong garlic based Sanook sauce which miraculously stayed on the shell and added a lot of flavor to the prawns. Very good starter.

Grilled Unagi and Pan-Fried Beancurd (RM 38.90)

Grilled Unagi Beancurd

This is the main dish that I ordered. It’s unagi (saltwater eel) grilled with teriyaki sauce. There’s also two large slabs of beancurd which soaked up the sauce really well. I thought it was pretty good and the portion of eel is very generous for the price. I’ve always wanted more eel at Japanese restaurants and tried cooking my own eel once. I love the oily taste of eel.

Thai Spiky Lemongrass Tea and Thai Pandan Honey (RM 10.90 each)

Thai Pandan Honey

These are our drinks. I like my lemongrass drink coz of the lemon they put on top. It’s super sour and refreshing when squeezed. My better half had the pandan honey. It’s a little too sweet for me but it’s decent too. All the drinks are presented with a fresh pandan leaf tied to the side. It’s quite expensive for a normal drink but restaurants usually have a higher mark up.

Roasted Duck with Thai Red Curry (RM 25.90)

Thai Red Curry Duck

My dear had this coz she wanted a more Thai taste. It’s a whole breast of roasted duck that’s been deboned and put into Thai red curry. The curry is really spicy, but in a good way. There’s a lot of other things in the curry too. I thought the cherry tomatoes were a really good addition since it cuts through the richness of the duck.

Thai Volcano (RM 18.90)

Thai Volcano

This is my dessert. I was curious about the “Volcano” and ordered it to try. It turned out to be just Thai milk tea that’s shaved into a bowl. There’s also taro balls and slivers of nuts down there but it’s mostly just frozen milk tea. We like bingsu and I thought it’ll be something like that and while the concept is similar the execution is rather boring. We couldn’t finish it.

Mango Sticky Rice with Ice Cream (RM 15.90)

Mango Sticky Rice with Ice Cream

This is my dear’s dessert. It’s ice cream topped with glutinous rice and fresh mango slices inside a cone. I thought it was clever and she loved it too! It’s a well thought out dessert, a lot better than the Thai Volcano I ordered. The presentation was great, and it comes in two cones so we could each have one. Lovely stuff.

Sanook Us

I had seen the posters for Sanook last time I was in Sunway Pyramid. We were actually thinking about a Hokkaido ramen shop and a Korean celebrity chef restaurant (both beside it) before we settled here. The 3 F&B places are located side by side so we browsed the menus before coming to Sanook. It turned out to be a wonderful dinner during Merdeka. The bill came up to RM 168.65 for the both of us but it’s mostly coz of drinks and dessert. It’s good value for money though, we’ll be back again!

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