Leading the wild into the ways of the man…
HB 
Board ferry from Hong Kong to Macau
Puke on the ferry
Spend 2 hours clearing immigration
Get accosted by representatives of various casinos and board one of their free shuttles
Lose an insane amount of money
Eat a pork chop bun to try and cheer yourself up
Walk aimlessly around Senado Square
Contemplate suicide, settles for shaking fist at Grand Lisboa
Return to Hong Kong
This is a seasonal item available from boatHouse. Cempedak is a tropical jruit related to jackfruit. It tastes about the same – cloyingly sweet with a heady aroma.
Cempedak chicken is an entree that really challenges your palate – the chicken meat stuffed into the cempedak before being deep fried makes for an interesting sweet and salty interplay.
It’s crispy, greasy and juicy – the chunks of thigh meat inside the cempedak would likely burn your tongue the first time you greedily gobble it, but it’s awesome! 🙂
I went to New Zealand last year and traveled around the place. New Zealand is beautiful during summer. I reckon summer is the best time to visit NZ – having lived there, I know how unforgiving the cold winters can be and the reduced amount of daylight is a bit of a turnoff.
Summer on the other hand has plenty of sunlight and warmth to go and do the things you love. The pointed Mitre Peak shown above is probably one of the most famous sights at Milford Sound.
Milford Sound is a fjord that is probably NZ’s most popular tourist destination. The vista is truly breathtaking and the tips of the mountains are topped with permafrost…even in summer. Rudyard Kipling is said to have called it “the Eighth Wonder of the World”.
Rotorua is one of my favorite places in New Zealand. I fell in love with it the first time I was there – about 17 years ago. The smell of sulfur that assaults your nostrils as soon as you get there is off-putting to some…but to me it smells like VACATION! 😀
(which it was)
Glaciers in summer?
Yes! It is in fact the only time you can do a glacier hike. Summer is the best time to hit Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier and walk about the place.
It’s about 1-2 hours and an amazing experience for those who’s doing it for the first time. Imagine cooling off the summer heat with a nice visit to the glaciers. You can experience extreme hot and cold weathers – hell, almost four seasons, in just one trip. 🙂
New Zealand is one of the those places that has something for everyone:
I can go out and hit the exclusive clubs at Auckland Quay with my friends and end the night by eating a sausage roll to soak up the excess beer…and wake up the next day to go bungee jumping.
My sister can sit and have a long lunch at one of the quaint cafes.
My mom can take a leisurely stroll along Lake Tekapo.
My dad can soak up history by visiting the Church of the Good Shepard.
New Zealand is such an awesome place that you won’t be able to glean even the surface of what it has to offer in a single trip. I’ve did my high school in Christchurch and I’m lucky enough to have a sister who lives in Auckland so I can crash at her house, eat her food and drive her car for free visit her to enhance family ties.
However, it’s really not that expensive to visit New Zealand. The flights are very affordable with AirAsiaX. I also recommend staying at backpacker places and renting a car to drive around. Your license is valid in New Zealand. Begin your journey by surfing over to Pure Joy Summer 2011 where you can discover all the wonderful places you want to go.
Fancy a dip in the Champagne Pool? 
I started blogging really early. I started out way back in April 2002 when I was studying in Melbourne. There were only a couple of people blogging back then and it was still called a weblog and WordPress didn’t exist (needless to say Blogger).
Anyway, back in those days, people didn’t exactly have a super fast connection but I did. I was using the university OC-12 line so I wanted to be the first weblog updated daily with photos. I moved to Movable Type a few months later for a better CMS. I lost my entire blog once but got it back thanks to David Hicks from Australia, who had saved a copy of it.
I lost all the previous comments during a disastrous server migration once. That’s the reason why there are no comments in the previous posts. I switched to WordPress recently and will be finishing my design soon – but hell, I’ve been saying that for ages. 😉
My Nuffnang Story did not start until 2008. I just got out of rehab, started blogging again and saw that there were two Malaysian ad networks out there. I talked to Tim, who has a very sincere and personal touch, so I went exclusively Nuffnang.
The first time I met the Nuffies (although I don’t know if that term existed then) was in August 2008. I went to KL for the Chelsea match and had dinner with them in Jalan Alor. It was great to meet the people I’ve only known over the net (I was working in Sibu) for the first time.
…fast forward three years
I’ve been with Nuffnang for more than 3 years now and I have to say that it’s been a great time. I’ve been to a lot of their events and got to know all the Nuffies and fellow bloggers. It was still a small and close knit community about two years ago where you know everyone’s name.
Nuffnang, or rather, Nom Nom Media has grown by leaps and bounds since then with branches all over the world and sister companies like Churp Churp.
The community has grown larger now and the first Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards was held in Singapore in 2009. I went and had a blast! It was a very grand event that honored bloggers who excelled in their respective fields.
I won my first (and I think only) award for my blog when I snagged the Red Ribbon Media Awards in 2004. I believe that was the first time blogs were actually recognized in Malaysia in mainstream high-profile events. I didn’t submit my blog and never even knew such an award existed and was pleased when MAC flew me down to KL and put me up in the Mandarin Oriental for the gala dinner.
I got a pewter bowl for winning in the category of Non-Traditional Media (Blogs) and RM 2,500. It was a lot of fun and I can see how having awards can make a blogger feel appreciated. *cough* HINT *cough*
The nominations for the second Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards is open now. If you wish to do so, you can nominate my blog – I don’t know which category I’ll fit in though. It certainly doesn’t quality for Most Original Blog Design. 😉
Which one do I like to think I’ll be categorized under? I’ll say Best Lifestyle Blog seems to be the most fitting one, although I’ve always harbored a secret desire to win the Best Travel Blog. Heh.
Anyway, the Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards has always been a very exclusive event and if you want one of the 500 seats available for the dinner, here’s how you get it:
Step 1:
Choose one of your preferred options.
OPTION A
a) Write a blog post titled “My Nuffnang Story”.
b) Tell us about your journey with Nuffnang – the fun times you had, the friends you’ve made; if you’re new to Nuffnang, you can write about the things you are looking forward to as a part of the community!
OPTION B
a) Write a blog post titled “Nuffnang Blog Awards, Here I Come”.
b) Tell us the top 3 reasons why you want to attend the Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards 2011.
Step 2:
Your blog post must include information about the Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards as below (can be re-written in your own words if you wish):
Come 16 December 2011, 500 bloggers from around the Asia-Pacific region will flock to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards 2011 in Putrajaya Marriott. The Awards aims to not only honour the region’s best bloggers, but also to bring together blogger communities from across Asia-Pacific. The Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards is brought to you by Volkswagen Malaysia and Putrajaya Marriott.
Step 3:
Head on over here to submit your details and permalink.
The best and most creative entries will win one of the 500 seats available! Most important of all, have fun writing the post coz that’s what blogging is all about.
I’ve always had fun writing on the blog. I used to have a category called The making of… which is a bit like the Bonus Features you’ll find in a DVD disc. You have to see it to believe it. Heh! I believe that blogging should be fun above anything else, so enjoy yourselves! 🙂
I had a rather delicious start to the morning by having dim sum at around 7 am this morning. This is quite an unusual hour for me to be up on a Sunday morning. There is a very good reason for that though.
I didn’t sleep.
I have been up since I went to Lainey‘s birthday party since 8:30 pm on Saturday and spent 12 hours talking and nursing various alcoholic drinks (beer, cider, single malt, champagne, vodka) and shooting the breeze on a bewildering array of topics (to the casual listener) with Fresh, Gareth and Kim till dawn broke.
It’s been a long time since I did that. Heh. It was a lot of fun though and before crashing we headed to Jin Xuan in Puchong for dim sum.
Deep fried har kow
I usually don’t like deep fried dim sum but the har kaw (prawn dumplings) here are done quite well. No excessive crackly skin and it’s superb with a dash of mayonnaise. The ones with fu chuk (the soy bean byproduct) wrapped around prawns is good too – a nice variant of har kow.
Spare ribs (pai kuat)
This is really good as well. I like the ones that’s swimming in a pool of delicious marinate too:
It’s a bit hard to get at the meat, but when you do, it’s perfection.
Salted shrimp scallops
This one is pretty good as well. I’m a huge fan of shrimp in general so anything with it can’t really go wrong. It has bits of scallops, salted egg, and other stuff inside too.
Golden flowing bun
I don’t know how this translates in Cantonese. It’s supposed to be the piece de resistance in Jin Xuan and is a custard bun with bits of salted egg (?) that flows like lava when you break it open.
The savory taste of salted egg is surprisingly good in the sweet custard bun. It’s supposed to be really runny and despite multiple exchanges initiated by Gareth to get the perfect golden flowing bun – all of them was just a tad overcooked this morning.
However, if I didn’t know better I would have though it was excellent. I’m definitely going back again for the golden flowing bun. I bet it’ll be orgasmic if they get it right. However, we didn’t get charged for it due to the poor quality control so I guess it’s free dessert. Heh.
I totally crashed and slept for 9 hours when I got home. I had a total blast though. It’s a good thing tomorrow’s a public holiday. Have a great time everyone! 🙂
This is currently the #1 trending topic on Twitter and I figured I’ll do the blog version of #10ThingsIFindAttractive
1. Nice eyes
It’s the window to the soul and all that. It’s the very first thing I notice about a girl actually. I look at the face and catch the eyes. I’m a sucker for nice eyes. I don’t have a particular type that I like – I don’t mind Occidental eyelids as long as it looks good. Bright and intelligent is the look I’m after – it says a lot about the person looking out from them.
2. Filial piety
I know it’s weird to include this in the list but hey, you were raised with certain values and you…well, value those values above all others. Nature vs nurture, this being nurture. I like someone who respects their family (if any). I’m a meet-the-family kind of guy and usually (means more than 50% – would put a higher figure but I don’t know if I can back it up ) their parents like me. I’ll like to raise a family with the same values – not the old skool MY WORD IS LAW version (au contraire) but one of mutual respect.
You want to know your children have your back, just as you’re there for your parents and this is a kind of thing that can only be pulled off with both parents believing in the same ideals.
3. Nice legs
Hey, what can I say? You know the question that goes “tits or ass”? I’m neither. I’m a leg person. I like nice legs. It’s what turns me on. I honestly don’t really care for breasts – my brain is just not wired like that, but legs…now that’s a whole different matter.
4. Thinks for herself
This is quite important as I abhor sheeple. I don’t like people who’s all cliquey and can’t think for themselves and follows the herd. Nope, not even if you’re the leader of the clique. I have nothing but contempt for group think.
Intelligence also goes into here. It’s either-or – someone who thinks for herself MUST be intelligent. It’s not a slippery slope argument, it just is. I love intelligence – it’s the smart ones that always attracts me.
5. Humor
I don’t need a comedian in my life. By humor, I don’t mean someone who cracks jokes every single day (that would be rather annoying). Humor is just perspective – a way of looking at our fucked up lives, shrugging and saying “Hey, it is what it is” with a wry grin.
In other words, someone who can still be upbeat in spite of all the shit life has thrown at you. Example:
Me: Fuck man, I’ve got liver cirrhosis.
Her: What song do you want me to play at your funeral?
Dark humor is fine, as long as you know she loves you and cares about you deep down. Devastated even, but still game for a final hurrah – a trip around the world in the last 3 months of your life.
6. Honesty
I once had an ex-girlfriend who told me something rather shocking. Verbatim:
Her: Huai Bin, we need to talk. I have something to tell you.
Me: What is it?
Her: You remember the Dormicum I took yesterday?
Me: How could I forget? I told you not to, coz you’re drinking after that.
Her: Well…I did and I ended up in a hotel room with this guy. I honestly can’t remember if we had sex. I think we might have but I’m not sure.
You know what? I forgave her for that. She was honest enough to want a relationship without lies and living with that guilt and I admired her for that. She considered hiding it from me but ended up choosing to tell me after a day. It was the bravest thing I’ve seen someone do as I know that she really loved me at that time and vice versa.
(after the initial shock and feelings of betrayal have passed)
Me: You did wear a condom right?
Her: I can’t remember but I’m pretty sure the guy would.
See: Dark humor. It really makes a relationship last.
7. Public displays of affection
I’m one of the people who likes it. Seriously, it warms my heart to see couples in their old age holding hands. I’m not talking about hand snaking into flies and groping under skirts – not the “Get a fucking room” kind of PDA but a more subdued, constant touch like holding hands, leaning into me in a cinema etc.
8. Straight hair
I can’t explain it. I just don’t like curly hair – the texture isn’t for me. It’s just a quirk of mine, just like I don’t like too much makeup on a girl.
I have a slight inclination towards long hair but have seen girls with short hair that looks awesome too. Just as long as it’s straight.
9. Caring
This shouldn’t even be in the list. It’s a no-brainer. Everyone likes to feel cared for, even the toughest Neanderthal back in the days would probably grunt in agreement. The opposite can manifest – fake and “routine” deals like saying “How was your day, honey?” without meaning it.
(and not wanting to hear the answer)
I’ll go for a more sincere understanding that we care about each other any day.
10. Kindness
Isn’t this the same as caring? No, kindness is a way of life. It’s about forgiving and forgetting the small stuff (and even some of the big ones).
It’s what keeps you going when all the serotonin excitement has gone out of your relationship and you’ve settled into a more comfortable dopamine – oxytocin long term relationship.
It also helps if you break up – you don’t have a vengeful and angry ex girlfriend on your ass threatening to castrate you with a rusty butter knife.
Hey, always better to remain friends right? 🙂
What are the things you find attractive in the opposite (or same, if you swing that way) sex?
Honeymoon Dessert is a vast enterprise in Hong Kong with franchises all over the country specializing in one thing only – desserts! It’s like 7-Eleven over there, you can’t walk a couple of blocks without seeing a branch. Seriously!
We went to check out the very popular Honeymoon Dessert at the World Trade Centre in Causeway Bay. I’ve heard good things about their signature mango pudding desserts and would love to see how it measures up to my personal benchmark – Mango Tango in Bangkok.
Mango Sago (HKD 26)
This is what the waitress recommended. It’s their flagship dessert and it’s pretty basic – fresh mango cubes with sago. It’s about RM 10, which is surprisingly cheap. The price for a drink at one of Honeymoon Dessert’s competitors – Hui Lau Shan Healthy Dessert runs for about the same price.
Honeymoon Dessert does a pretty good rendition of the Mango Sago dessert – it tastes light yet creamy with a tart and sweet mango overtone but it can’t beat the mango desserts from Bangkok.
Mango Sago with Black Sesame Ice Cream (HKD 36)
Jeanie had this for her dessert. Well, it’s not technically dessert since we dropped by Honeymoon Dessert right before dinner. Heh. I really liked her order. The black sesame ice cream adds a whole new dimension to the humble mango sago dessert.
You can taste the rich notes of the melted black sesame ice cream and the crunch of the sesame adds to the texture of the dessert. The whole is much better than the sum of its parts. The mango comes served as an entire diced half fruit too. Highly recommended.
Honeymoon Egg Pudding (HKD 5)
There was a promotion going on where you can get an egg pudding for just HKD 5 (RM 2) if your order exceeds HKD 50 and we went for it. It comes served in a real egg shell, which makes a lot of sense considering the dessert shop would use a lot of fresh eggs. It’s a traditional egg pudding with caramel on top. It’s creamy, warm and sweet. Delicious!
Honeymoon Dessert lives up to its hype…kinda. It’s comes across as a bit overrated but that stems from expectations being pushed to an unreasonable (and unreachable) standard. With hindsight, it’s not a bad place to relax and order from the plethora of desserts options – be sure to drop by when you’re in Hong Kong and see what the fuss is all about.
Lan Kwai Fong – The Movie
We went to Lan Kwai Fong the very first night we arrived in HK. It was a Saturday and the place was packed – there were people cavorting on the streets, literally spilling out of the bars. What impressed me the most is despite the close quarters and loads of alcohol, I didn’t see any fights break out.
Dispel the gu wak jai (triad) movies you watched as a kid, man. Hong Kong is totally cosmopolitan now.
Anyway, fast forward to a couple of days later. We woke up with no plans and it was decided that we’ll take the MTR and pick a random station and see what’s there. I reckon it’s a good way to explore HK so that’s exactly what we did. We ended up in the MTR that exits from Telford Plaza and into this futuristic looking cinema.
The cinema is built like an edged structure with different colors somehow transported in from the future. It was then then I declared I’m going to watch a movie…in Hong Kong. Hey, it’s one of the things you’ve gotta do when you’re there.
Watch a Hong Kong movie in Hong Kong. Tickets should be around HKD 50 (RM 20) per person. Expect HK schoolgirls in uniform sitting behind you.
We picked a local production called Lan Kwai Fong (although the Cantonese characters apparently says something else). I half expected to be bored coz I was never a huge fan of Hong Kong movies and the ex warned me that it has a very cliched storyline. Hell, if I didn’t know better I would have though she didn’t want to watch it. Heh.
However Lan Kwai Fong (the movie) surprised me. The plot is very meh but the character development is something I can relate to. I see myself in one of them and my friends in most of the main and supporting cast. Definitely a must watch if you’re ever in HK.
Oh, you might want to visit Lan Kwai Fong first – I found that it increased my enjoyment of the movie tremendously, having been to the places in the movie. 🙂
I headed down to Cheras over the weekend to check out June’s family’s bak kut teh place. It’s at Taman Segar, just a stone’s throw away from Cheras Leisure Mall (if you’re an Olympic grade shot-putter that is). I was particularly interested in the dry bak kut teh noodles – bit of a novelty there. 🙂
Xingang serves bak kut teh as its main fare, but being a neighborhood shop, it also has chicken rice, fish and other miscellaneous dishes. What is interesting about the bak kut teh is that they don’t use a lot of herbs to cover up the lack of pork flavors – this BKT broth really has been boiling for a long time.
Go early if you want to have the bak kut teh noodles – it is one of the highlight of the lunch. Xingang is built so it feels like you’re seating al fresco but there’s air conditioning coming from the vents on top. I noticed this provides the best balance for eating BKT (not so cold as to make your dishes cool down the minute it gets set down and not so hot to leave you reaching for multiple glasses of iced water).
Big Bone Claypot Bak Kut Teh
This is a huge shank of pork. I love how the meat falls of the bones. The broth is really good – full of BKT flavors and garlicky to boot.
The huge bone allows you to pick the meat choices that you like – lean, fatty and even tendons. Mmm…
Bak Kut Teh Intestines & Stomach
Intestines. Notice anything different? The intestines are stuffed with intestines, like what I imagine a Matryoshka doll’s innards would look like. You know, one of those Russian nesting dolls that goes into another bigger doll etc etc.
You can order a plethora of cuts from trotters (pig’s feet) to braised egg and it comes in a small side dish filled with the item and some BKT soup, KK style.
Xingang Special Mix Bak Kut Teh
This is where you can choose three types of meat to go into your BKT. We opted for the dry version which is absolutely fabulous. It comes cooked in a spicy claypot with the dried chillis and okra.
I found the addition of okra to be particularly delicious. The okra starts out raw and gets cooked by the claypot heat. It goes very well with the dry salty BKT pork and the hint of spiciness in this dry BKT makes it one of the best I’ve ever had.
Bak Kut Teh Noodles
This is what I came for! You can choose between the dry (RM 6) or wet (RM 5.50) version. I went with the former, which comes with a bowl of BKT soup so you won’t be left wanting. The noodles are hand tossed and served with dry BKT pieces and garnished with a healthy sprinkling of mouth watering scallions.
I had this for my main dish (although I had rice as well, which comes sprinkled with deep fried onions) and liked it a lot. I also had a bowl of tong shui but it’s something one of June’s aunts made so don’t expect to see it on the menu.
Xingang is located at Jalan Manis 7 and has one of the best BKT outside of Klang. I really liked how hearty the soup is – it’s been boiled with a lot of pork and you can taste the care that went into it. The BKT noodles is awesome too – there’s a side of cabbage to offset the spiciness of the dried BKT pork slices.
Thanks for the lunch June! I will definitely be going again. I hear there are some other attractions in the Cheras area that I should be aware of. Heh.
I recently went to the newly launched Racks Bar and Baby Backs in Changkat Bukit Bintang for dinner. This place specializes in pork ribs and also has a menu with a plethora of all things porcine.
I’ve written about this place for Lifestyle Asia – the Nice Racks in Changkat Bukit Bintang article is a piece I did for them as a freelance writer.
The starters
Special pigs in special blankets (RM 24)
The suggestive presentation is intentional. Heh. These are spiced oxfords wrapped in parma ham. Parma ham is a slow dry cured ham from Italy – it takes 12 months to complete and is served uncooked. The result is a sweet slice of heaven with a heavy pork fat aftertaste.
Asparagus under prosciutto (RM 22)
The steamed and buttered asparagus gives a little balance to the food pyramid. It’s quite refreshing after all the pork dishes and asparagus is one of the few vegetables I actually like.
Angels in parma (RM 32)
I love oysters and I love Prosciutto di Parma (Parma ham). What could go wrong with a combination of the both? It’s delicious and the spicy sambal on top provides a fusion twist! I’m a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to oysters – I still prefer it au naturale but this is horizon expanding stuff.
Peaches ‘n’ parma (RM 22)
This is a brilliant implementation that wraps parma ham around fresh peaches before grilling it. The sweet peach juices provides a nice contrast to the savory parma ham. It’s my personal favorite from the appetizers menu.
Racks of Ruin
These shooters comes in a rack of 12 for RM 200 and is also the part of the namesake of the restaurant (in addition to racks of pork).
The Molotov
This Shock and Awe shooter is made with vodka, tequila, Jack Daniels and…Tabasco sauce. The last ingredient will leave mere mortals gasping for breath. It’s one of the stronger shooters and it makes sense to put in Tabasco sauce as it masks the copious amounts of alcohol well.
Test Tube Babies
Vodka, peach schnapps and a dash of cranberry. This is to extinguish the fire caused by The Molotov. It’s sweet and a more traditional shooter.
Illusion
The mix of Midori melon, pineapple juice, vodka and run is positively delicious. I think of it as a holiday drink, something to sip while lounging by the beaches.
Mains
Cut, pickles, jams, mustard and bread (RM 54)
This is a selection of cold cuts with jams and breads (all made in-house). I like the freshly baked bread – it goes very well with their apple-chilli jam and the slivers of cheese and cold cuts provides the savory twist to the sweet jam slathered bread.
Racks pork burger (RM 28)
Nestled among the buns is a 7 oz juicy home-made patty. The pork patty is juicy and tender, one of the best pork burgers I’ve ever had. Don’t be fooled by the deceptively simple presentation – this is great stuff. The burger has the works, the only beef () I have with it is crispy bacon. I’m a soggy bacon kinda guy but I’m sure they’ll switch it if you ask.
Racks big BAD sandwich (RM 26)
The BAD stands for bacon, avocado and dried tomatoes. The fascinating thing about Racks is that they use their own oven to dry the tomatoes – it’s not something you get off-the-shelf and it shows in the taste. I found the bread a bit too much though but that may be coz I’ve been eating a lot of it in the previous dishes.
Hot & Spicy Pork Ribs (RM 52 full rack, RM 32 half rack)
The piece de resistance. It reminds me of this pizza place near my campus when I was studying in Melbourne. They make the best hot and spicy pork ribs ever and I’ve struggled to find an equally good one since. This fits the bill. It’s really something you can get your hands into – a sticky, messy but delicious eating experience.
Sweet & Sticky Pork Ribs (RM 52 full rack, RM 32 half rack)
This is my favorite dish of the night. It’s the marmalade glaze and scallions that sold it for me. The pork ribs at Racks are slow braised and glazed on the spit for six hours and it shows – the meat literally falls of the bone and melts in your mouth. This comes highly recommended from me – the sweet marmalade sauce complements the pork ribs nicely.
Racks Bar and Baby Backs will be coming up with more varieties of pork ribs in the future. I can’t wait to try it – the Sweet & Sticky pork ribs had me craving for more. Thanks for the invite Winnie, Shu Min and Paul! They also have an an all-you-can-drink apple martini breakfast on weekends – just add on RM 48 for free flow drinks. I like how Racks makes their dishes to order and most of the ingredients are made in-house too.
Racks is located beside Finnegan’s on Changkat Bukit Bintang.
