CNY in Ipoh

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drive

Ipoh is a small town (but one with city status) about 2 hours away from KL. I drove down to spend CNY with the Lim sisters – Eiling, Ziling and Yiling. Ipoh is surrounded by limestone hills and the “hard” water is said to contribute to the famed Ipoh leng luis. It’s commonly said that Ipoh is a leng lui (beautiful girl) manufacturing factory so I think I made the right decision to spend CNY there instead of back home. 😉

welcome

I was made to feel very welcome in Ipoh, thanks to the entire Lim clan.

roast duck

I ate a lot of food – this here is the famed Ipoh roasted duck. Besides eating…

gambling

…much of the time was spent in…er, diversifying my portfolio to include liquidity based assets.

visiting

We also hit a couple of houses, do the CNY visiting thing.

camwhoring

I also consumed quite a bit of ethanol-based drinks considering its CNY and all. No, don’t ask, think about how many people have asked me already before you do that. 😉

grapes

It has gone Pharaoh-nuff! Get it? Egyptian pharaoh with Ziling, my camwhoring buddy. =D

group

It was quite fun actually, visiting the Lim sister’s relatives and friends. I even met a couple of people who reads my blog. Greetings!

ezy

We had planned to spend a night there but ended up spending three days and two nights in Ipoh. There are just too many photos to post up so the next post would be about places and food in Ipoh.

end

Thanks to the EZY sisters for having me in Ipoh! =D

Happy CNY everyone!

lengzai

P/S – Did you know that Ipoh is also famous for their leng zai? 😉

Blink

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blink

I’ve been reading this book courtesy of Karen from work and it’s been helping me to uncomplicated my life. It’s Blink by Malcolm Galdwell and I highly recommend it if you haven’t read it already. It explores the first impressions we get when we sense something is “off” and I wish I had read it earlier and saved myself the trouble of going about it the traditional way.

Friend a.k.a. fiend: I have sliced you and found you wanting. Hypocrite. Backstabber. I think I’m much better than you coz at least I don’t talk shit behind your back.

Ex-girlfriend: I don’t think patching up is the solution coz the problem lies with me, not you. There is no saving the relationship, coz the greatest of the Four Horseman is the root of our problem. I’m sorry.

Taking advice from a book might not be the best decisions out there, and I’m sure many people (including my fiend) would have a lot to say about that but yeah, see if I care. You’re full of shit, and people smart enough to see that can slice you and see right through you.

Regular non-emo sixthseal.com programming will resume after I eat dinner. 😉

Nicholas CNY Open House

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nicholas cny spread

Nicholas had a CNY open house yesterday and we were treated to a sumptuous spread cooked by his dad. There were a lot of bloggers and Nuffies in attendance. I don’t really know my way to his house so I tailgated Chris. Chris is the best ever, not only did he haul me back home last year, he stopped after the toll when he realized (and I realized) I didn’t have a Touch’N Go card (thanks to the car wash dudes) so I swerved into the cash lane.

nicholas cny me

This is Nicholas. Thanks for having us over!

nicholas cny cendol

His mom was also very hospitable, making sure all of us was well fed and all that. I love this thing – it’s like having a bowl of chendol in a single bite. The jelly has a gula melaka base and the santan and squiggly green pieces in chendol on top so it’s like a scoop of the stuff in one bite! Nifty!

nicholas cny group

Okay, I’m going to get a haircut now before I start work tomorrow. I know I’ve been slacking on the Ipoh updates – I shall write as soon as I get my haircut. Priorities, ya know. My hair is a mess right now and I need to get there before it closes.

groupatnick

Happy CNY* everyone!

*CNY lasts for 15 days, unlike Christmas with only 12. =D

This speed writing post has been brought to you by sixthseal.com

Time spent: 3 minutes including photos.

Bondi Beach Grill & Bar Set Lunch

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bondi beach

Bondi Beach Grill & Bar is located at The Curve. I went to catch Inkheart just now with Yiling and decided to check out the latest eating establishment at The Curve at the same time. Yiling was so appallingly late we practically had to scoff down lunch to make it to the movie on time but we shall leave her tardiness for another post. :p

bondi beach interior

Bondi Beach Grill & Bar is named after the popular beach in Australia and I have it on good authority (I was there for four years) that it’s pronounced BOND-eye instead of BOND-ee. The interior is adorned with surfboards and other surfer memorabilia that recreates a pretty authentic feel of a laid back beach restaurant. There is even an al fresco dining area shaped like a hut and shaded from the sun.

bondi beach set lunch

Bondi Beach Grill & Bar has a Set Lunch menu for RM 14.90 with the following options:
Soup of the Day or Chicken Yakitori or Prawn Pinwheels or Seafood Salad
with
Char-Grilled Fillet of Dory with Lemon Butter Sauce & Steamed Rice or Creamy Seafood Pasta or Char-Grilled Minute Steak with Pepper Sauce & Fried Mini Rosti
and
Fresh Fruit Salad Topped with Vanilla Ice Cream

bondi watermelon

Hallelujah! I can finally take photos like these with my dSLR. 😉
This would be the freshly squeezed watermelon juice (RM 14), which I thought was appropriate for the setting. The set lunch does not come with drinks although iced water is complimentary.

bondi prawn pinwheels

Yiling went with the Prawn Pinwheels for starters. The presentation of Bondi Beach Grill & Bar is impeccable – I love the attention to detail, it shows true passion in the chef. It’s the little things like the sprinkling of oregano that makes the dish casual yet elegant. The Prawn Pinwheels are grilled to perfection and comes out juicy and crispy, another excellent contrast.

bondi seafood salad

I opted for the healthier sounding Seafood Salad for the appetizer. Bondi Beach is generous with the seafood – there is squid, shrimp and mussels on top of a bed of lettuce and cherry tomatoes. The dressing uses a lot of herbs that blends well with the light nature of the dish, yet imparting enough zest to jolt my jaded taste buds.

bondi minute steak

Yiling called dibs on the Char-Grilled Minute Steak with Pepper Sauce & Fried Mini Rosti for the main. She had already decided last night that she was going to order this and the plan was to order different items so we could try out different dishes. The Minute Steak, as the name suggests, is about 1/3 the size of a regular steak. I didn’t think much of it though, it was too well done for my tastes.

bondi seafood pasta

I wanted to order the dory fish but the waitress recommended the Creamy Seafood Pasta instead. I wasn’t disappointed. It’s absolutely fabulous! The Seafood Pasta is linguine cooked in a very creamy alfredo sauce served with generous portions of shrimp, squid and mussels. The creaminess of the pasta goes very well with the seafood – I’ve run out of superlatives to describe this dish, it’s simply delicious! It’s hands down the best pasta I’ve had this year.

bondi yiling

Yiling agrees, and she’s not even a fan of alfredo and other cream based sauces!

bondi dessert

The Fresh Fruit Salad Topped with Vanilla Ice Cream for dessert is presented well, with a hint of caramel sauce and just the right amount of ice cream. The fruits are chilled before serving, making this the perfect light and refreshing end to the meal.

bondi scoff

Unfortunately, we had to scoff it down coz we were late for the movie.

bondi beach us

The bill came up to RM 50.60 for two but that’s largely due to the watermelon juice that I ordered. The Bondi Beach Grill & Bar Set Lunch is RM 14.90 each. I have yet to check out their dinner menu, but if their set lunch is anything to go by, it would not disappoint. I highly recommend the Creamy Seafood Pasta.

Bon appetit!

RM 40 car wash

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rm40 car wash

I haven’t washed my car ever since it was shipped to KL about two months ago and I figured it was high time it got some foam lovin’ before I drove down to Ipoh. There is a car wash near my condo so I drove over and asked for it to be cleaned, both the interior and exterior. This was the eve of Chinese New Year and there was a long queue at the car wash. I was told to pick it up two hours later.

Car wash dude: Boss, sudah siap!
Me: Okay. Berapa?
Car wash dude: RM 40 sahaja.
Me: RM 40???
Car wash dude: Ya, sudah murah ini. Saya cuci luar dalam, vacuum, lap semua bersih bersih.
Me: Terlalu mahal la…RM 30 okay la.
Car wash dude: Tak dapat boss, sekarang Tahun Baru Cina, banyak orang mahu cuci kereta. Harga biasa ni, tak naik untuk Tahun Baru Cina.
Me: -_-!!!

I’ve never paid RM 40 for a car wash before. It’s daylight robbery! It’s not even waxed; they just vacuumed the insides of the car and washed the outside. I must look like I’m not from around here, coz I was slaughtered by these dudes.

How much do you usually pay for a car wash in KL anyway?

P/S – I forgot to mention, my Touch’n Go card was stolen by these fellas too! I only realized the next day when I drove down to Ipoh and couldn’t find it in the coin drawer where I keep it when I had to pay for toll!

Lou Sang @ New Paris Restaurant SS2

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new paris

Restaurant New Paris is renowned for two things – their watermelon chicken and the speed their dishes are served. I was there for the second lou sang dinner of the year – there were 24 of us so we occupied two tables on the third floor. Yes, despite it’s humble exterior, Restaurant New Paris actually has three (!) floors of dining splendor.

new paris owner

I neglect to mention the other thing New Paris Restaurant in SS2 is famous for – the loudspeaker-toting proprietor. He takes his hailer and literally shouts out orders to the crew, you just have to experience it. Heh! You can see how often that is done by the well-loved and duct-taped hailer. Hail to the (real) King, baby! 😉
(no pun intended)

new paris interior

The full three stories of Restaurant New Paris are captured here. It wasn’t quite full when we arrived at 6:30 pm but by the time it reached around 7 pm the entire three floors of New Paris Restaurant was absolutely packed! It’s very popular, that’s for sure. I also learnt the arcane art of “cleansing” cups – you’re supposed to pour hot tea into one and then swirl it around before pouring it into the next cup. Rinse and repeat.

new paris lou sang

I present – the salmon yee sang of New Paris Restaurant! Most of the ingredients are sourced off-the-shelf…

new paris yee sang

…but it’s the ceremony that matters! More $ during the next year! More bonuses! Higher paychecks! Win 6k in Genting! Snag Cameron Diaz! Okay, maybe not that last one.

new paris aftermath

We were very enthusiastic about the entire thing…look at the aftermath of the lau sang session. I think some of it got into my drink as well… -_-!!!

new paris food

I like the quaint steamed rice in a pot that Restaurant New Paris serves their rice in. The butter prawns was tasty too. I wouldn’t be in a rush to write home about the omelet, vegetables, or the tofu but their pork leg is ze best! Excellent!

new paris fish

No Chinese New Year dinner would be complete without fish. This is ginger fish, steamed before being deep-fried. I was astounded that this was actually possible. How can you steam a fish and then deep fry it? Logistics aside, the ginger fish was great.

watermelon chicken

However, the signature dish of Restaurant New Paris is their watermelon chicken. It has scoops of fresh watermelon on the side with the hollowed out fruit being used as a receptacle for sweet and sour chicken. It’s fabulous and the presentation is great. It’s so good there was watermelon ball poaching amongst the two tables. 🙂

fionne wai yan

Wai Yan and Fionne.

new paris group

Restaurant New Paris serves good Chinese food and the upside is that they churn out their dishes really fast. I mean, really fast, as in Speedy Gonzalez kind of fast. The flagship watermelon chicken should not be missed. The chicken pieces are tender and flavorful and I could only find the Good Parts (TM) inside – drums, thighs etc.

Anyway, I’ll be driving down to Ipoh later for an overnight road trip. Catch you all tomorrow. Happy Chinese New Year everyone! 🙂

sixthseal.com wishes all a Happy Chinese New Year 2009

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gong-xi

My Photoshop skillz are legendary for being mediocre at best, which is why I outsource most of the stuff that requires design. 😉

I’ll not be going back this CNY, but to those of you who’re doing the reunion dinner, Happy Chinese New Year and may the Year of the Ox bring happiness, prosperity and all that is Good (TM) to your lives. =D

For those in the PJ area who is not going back and not having a reunion dinner a.k.a. orphans of circumstance like me, wanna go dinner or movie? The latter is a bit unorthodox but I’m driving down to Ipoh tomorrow morning so I can’t do drinking or stuff like that. Berhati-berhati di jalan raya and all that. 😉

Text me @ 016 888 2069

Gong Xi Fa Chai everyone!

MAS Yee Sang Dinner for bloggers

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mas mums

Malaysia Airlines organized an yee sang dinner for bloggers at Mum’s Place. There were 25 bloggers in attendance occupying three tables – most of them familiar faces, but I met a couple of bloggers that I haven’t seen IRL before. It was fun! It’s my first yee sang dinner of the year.

yee sang

The yee sang with salmon!

lau sang

It’s a tradition in Singapore and Malaysia to lau sang during Chinese New Year. It’s supposed to kickstart an auspicious new year by collectively mixing the ingredients with chopsticks while chanting phrases like “prosperity in the year to come” and all that. 🙂

yee sang final

I just like the colors of the dish and the community aspects.

prawns

Steamed rice was served and a plethora of dishes came in quick succession after that. I love the huge prawns – very juicy and succulent.

assam fish

Another highlight is the Assam Fish. It’s fabulous!

food

Other memorable dishes were the chicken curry, vegetables, delicious beef slices and the desserts. I had a banana split.

camwhore

Camwhoring time was scheduled after dinner.

bloggers

Lots of familiar faces here…

people

…and people I haven’t met before or haven’t seen in a long time.

group

Miscellaneous group photos.

mug

Eh, dun la mug me after I just got mugged.

wai fong

Miss Wai Fong who hosted the dinner. Thanks!

group photo

MAS was also very receptive to suggestions on how to improve their service – I offered an experience when I was flying KL – Melbourne on New Year’s Eve and nothing happened at 12 AM. Most of the passengers were left hanging, awake and waiting for some sort of in-flight celebration, but the New Year passed with nary a peep. They took note of that, so I hope your NYE’s flight would be filled with merriment (or at least some party favors and an announcement). 😉

schwag

MAS was kind enough to give us all some home made pineapple tarts and a gift pack containing a diary, a DVD and a nifty red USB drive that can be twisted around your wrist like a bracelet. Nice!

More coverage here:
Sultan Muzaffar
Wingz
Red Mummy
Babe in the City

Update:

eevon

Eevon just sent me the wittiest offline comment a.k.a. text message this morning alerting me to a disastrous typo. Okay, it’s DIARY, not DAIRY. Amended. 🙂

Anyone NOT going home for CNY?

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cny ppl

I just woke up, having repaid my sleep debt for the week. I’m still feeling a little groggy though, slept for more than 18 hours (!). I was looking out my window while having a smoke, and saw two groups of people packing their bags into their cars to head home for CNY.

I’m not going home this Chinese New Year. 🙁 I’m sure going to miss my friends back home and the traditional grand fireworks display by the good citizens of Sibu. The tickets are too expensive and I didn’t think it was worth it to be going back for just four days.

(Un)fortunately my workplace decided to implement a one week compulsory holiday since too many people are taking long leaves for CNY. I checked AirAsia when I heard the news but the tickets are sold out to be in time for the reunion dinner (tomorrow night). The return tickets are also too expensive so I think I’m just going to chill here in KL.

train man

I’ll be reading a lot, catching up on my sleep and all that. I just started on this book – Train Man, literally a translation of Japan’s 2-Channel forum about a nerdy young guy who hooks up with this girl Hermes (which was dubbed so due to the teacups of the label she gave him when he “saves” her from a drunk on a train).

train man book

Engrossing read, I love the forum format of the book. Its funny and endearing at the same time.

Anyway, more updates later tonight. I haven’t properly woken up yet, I shall go in search for food.

Since this is a random post, I shall embed a viral video that’s been going around the office like crazy December 2008. I heard it just hit a friend’s workplace:

Anyone else not going home for CNY? Come, email me and we’ll work out something. Trip to Genting perhaps? Uncle Lim’s son owes me money from a disastrous trip there last year (lost on the fourth day after a winning streak on the first three days – arrgghhh) and thus I have decided to go back this year and get it back…with interest. 😉

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