Stilnox – zolpidem experience report (100 mg oral)

stilnox zolpidem

Stilnox is the name zolpidem is marketed under by the sanofi-aventis
group. It is sold as Ambien in the US and Myslee in Japan. The three
names all refer to zolpidem tartrate tablets in 10 mg doses. It’s made
by the same company, just sold under different names in different
countries, a pharmaceutical practice I never did understand, like Roche
selling clonazepam as Klonopin in the US and Rivotril elsewhere.

stilnox blister back

Stilnox (zolpidem) is one of the four non-benzodiazepine novel
z-drugs. Zolpidem belongs to the imidazopyridine group of chemical
compounds. It has a very short half-life of just 2 hours and is
marketed as a hypnotic (sleeping pill). It was the second z-drug to
come out, debuting in 1992 after zopiclone (1989). The third z-drug is
zaleplon (Sonata), which is not available in Malaysia.

The fourth one (used to be only 3 of them) has just hit the market
under the name Lunesta (eszopiclone) and is the first one to be
approved for indefinite prescription (!). I’ve been following
eszopiclone for quite a while and it just came out (as in now), so it’s
not available in Malaysia yet. However, I just talked to my doctor
about this and he’s excited (my extreme enthusiasm about
pharmaceuticals is infectious) about it too.

Mostly about the “indefinite prescription” part, coz he’s been
giving me Dormicum (midazolam) 15 mg, Rivotril (clonazepam) 2 mg, and
Xanax (alprazolam) 0.25 mg. I’ve been getting this from him regularly
and he’s starting to talk about tapering, so I compromised on the Xanax
(used to have 0.5 mg). Which is fine by me, he doesn’t know about the
other two doctors who’re prescribing me other benzodiazepines. πŸ˜‰

He’s a nice doctor though – he’s made it clear that medical support
is will always be available from him due to my long history of
benzodiazepine use, so he’s only going to encourage me to taper off
Xanax and stay on Rivotril and Dormicum indefinitely. I appreciate him
for that. He’s the best doctor I have now, since the one in Sibu
stopped practicing due to the Big C (Bless Him!). There’s another nice
and understanding doctor here that I see, but he has a disturbing
tendency to read Bible verses to me…

The good doctor (the one I was talking about) is not a big fan of
the “lazy” (his words) people at BPFK and estimates that it’ll take 8
months before Singapore approves Lunesta and probably close to a year
before Malaysia gets the clinical data and safety profiles from other
countries and finally writes a monograph and by the time it’s approved,
it’ll be 2 years. I like his healthy disregard for the BPFK. πŸ˜‰ He’s
going to get it in for me anyway, which is great of him…hopefully,
I’ll be the first to sample eszopiclone in Malaysia.

I digress…back to zolpidem, I bought it from the pharmacy in Sibu
(amongst other things which I will post about soon). I don’t need
prescriptions coz the pharmacy is owned by someone related to my mom. I
think she’s my aunt or something. I didn’t know that until much later,
I just became friends with the son a couple of years ago, and now I
realize he’s my cousin. Jesus. I digress again. The Stilnox (zolpidem)
cost me RM 30 which means one 10 mg tablet is RM 3. I’ve had zolpidem
before (which is where the pill pictures come from), but not in 100 mg
doses. This will be my first time ingesting a high dose of zolpidem.

stilnox tablets

This experience report details the oral ingestion of zolpidem under the following parameters:

Dosage: 10 x 10 mg Stilnox (zolpidem tartrate) for 100 mg in a single dose.
Experiment aims: Exploring the pharmacodymanics of
high doses of zolpidem and reported visuals associated with it. (Read:
Get high and have fun. ;))
Other drug interactions: Methamphetamine use for the
past 72 hours (3 days) without sleep and food. Clonazepam, alprazolam
and lorazepam also taken during the past 8 hours before dosing.
Cannabis was smoked after dosing.

zolpidem experience

Download: Zolpidem (Stilnox) experience video [sixthseal.com]

Experience report (complete and uncorrected):

Damn, I just saw red spots (large ones) everywhere after I downed
100 mg of zolpidem (whole blister pack of 10 x 10 mg damn I can still
type ::))

Good; I already have sleep deprivation hallucinations coz ive been
up for 3 days without sleep and food. The fucking walls (thank god for
ms word auto capital letter) were CRAWLING. Fucking moving like I just
took a large amount of k (not line, just near till you can’t move).

Yeah things are starting to look strange now. Definite improvement
from the previous sleep dep visuals, this is more mellow, slow. Like
the start of an acid trip teaser visuals. I keep on forgetting wat I
wanted to do. Allthat meth no sleep and benzos (had al ot of diff ones
just now, I do that towards the end of the run while still injecting
just so I don’t go fucking psycho and assault someone, you know that
meth comedown violent feeling, so its good to temper it a bit with
benzos.

Was telling a friend that us Asians (in some more liberal countries
anyway) don’t really tell people from the US or UK about how large (wow
things are moving now, surfaces quivering and OEV, wow) anyway we don’t
tell coz the climate here allows some of us to buy benzos in huge
amounts and it’s always available in a pharmacy you know, and also the
multiple scripts you get from different docs. Imagine always having
large quantities of Dormicum, Xanax, Rivotril (Klonopin), Ativan,
Mogadon, Phenobarbital, Valium and so forth at home.

Imagine how big a habit you can work out in countries where benzos
are easily obtainable shit I forgot wat I wantd to say. Anyway, imagine
having all that benzos around and imagine the huge doses we need. I
hear US people saying that 30 mg diazepam is “excessive”. Jesus, I take
200 mg diazepam an drink red wine for fun..and someone said no one can
take 100 mg of valium and still stay awake. Was laughing coz when
you’re in a benzo friendly country you can get as much benzos as you
want, so its easy to work up to a habit for life.

US and other countries are diff, its harder to stockpile such a huge
amount since rx rules are tighter and pharms won’t sell it to profit
under the table. Thus, more people there are less experienced with
benzos so we usually don ‘t comment since we come from Benzo Bazaar. πŸ™‚

Ok donr writing, gonna check on visuals now coz I’ve been
steadfastly ifnoring hem for the past minutes while I concentrate and
finish what I was writing. Everything looks smooth now and I can seee
cardboard box that contains a fan slowly developing cracks and cracks
up.

I knew it! πŸ™‚ Meth runs without sleep (dep hallucinations) and
without food (ultra fast absorption) and zopidem or zopiclone will give
you nice visuals esp when you close your eyes (INTENSE). Benzos won’t
improve on the visuals, it just calms you down a bit, the only ones
there are from sleep dep/

But the z drugs (have not tried the other one not available here,
sonata I think) will IMPROVE on th visuals and calms you down too.
However, don’t mean to be dicksizing or anything, just stating the
obvious), you need to have a large benzo tolerance to remain awake at
large doses of benzos or zopidem/zopiclon. You gotta be awake to enjoy
the visuals. It’s nice, it’s not like the scary sleep dep ones but an
improved fun ad happy visual anomalies. Heh) smoking cannabis after
taking also makes it more fun.

I want to get sth to eat coz ihaven’t for 3 days but I dun think I
an be sober. I forget things instantly. Jesus. But I’m hugry and I need
water coz I hardly drank any during my meth run// will go now, it’s
okay, it’s the regular place, just get sth to take away and of course
drinks. I need to drink.

Wow fuck I closed my eyes for 10 seconds and I saw myself CLEARLY ,
saw my reflection clearly sitting on a train and looking out the dark
window. It was night. It was SO VIVID I couldn’t believe it/ I’ll
always take zopidem when coming down. Get entertained with these sweet
visuals before sleeping. I’m going to get food now though, wish me
luck, I can’t retain a memory for more than 2 secs/

Just want to tell you all that there’s SWARMS of schools of those
black worms/snakes moving around the room. They can turn bigger and
become translucent too. Heh I’m enjoying this. I can close my eyes and
see myself in a coffee shop with people moving around me to sit and eat
too, one guy had a yellow t shirt and was wearing glasses. So vivid and
nice these CEVs/ oops sorry I used the wron reference just now. All
above means OEV when I wrote CEV. Of course I got a lot of nice opened
eyed visuals but the ones I described as ultra pantone color vivid
comes in closed eyed visuals. It’s like the mind makes a dream for our
eyeballs. We could just be large balls floating on some God’s bar where
everyone is wearing a while robe and has a bread, yo know the works.

We could be in that ball like matrix and the god eats it and poof
our plate of reality as we know it is gone with just one chew.
Everything we’ve known and loved. Forgotten coz we cease to exist after
that. Imagine if we’re really in dimensions. We could be in a baseball
in a God’s beer mug now and he nearly sipped the whole ball (quite big)
in but decided not to yet.

Last time not as intense coz no meth run (sleepdep) and 3 days
without sleep (dep) and food (metabolizedultra fast) plus absobtion.

I took zopidem alone (not whole blister pack but near it) a couple
of years ago and the visuals were dismal compared to this. And I cant
even remember your name Bob! I’m moving around, whee!

Note recipe:
3 days of tweaking the usual way with no food no sleep and minimal water
(I had to move very close co I had to make sure I was writing the
currect thing coz I forgot now and theres; a guy in a grey shirt
dancing in my peripheral visual (hallucinationsm the good ones oopslose
ability to type liaw’

shit drool is uncontrollable too, it kept dripping and drooling out
for a long time now, think its either the benzos or the excessive meth
runs of constant IV and smoking compulsively. That can make yu lose
control over body too. Droolin manifests frst.\\\\

and my walls are crawling again in nice big chunks now, not those small
pixels. This is a] large scale people painting the wall wth cements and
brick laying, wowl

Fucking entertaining I tell you, will do this again, defiately.

There is an old lady, quite big sizd, plybp. Damn the curse in word
coms in multiple shades of changing color and there’s an car exhause
following it. Old lady still there though. Just suddenly appear and sit
in the corner hugging her knees. Quite scared coz it’s probably just a
hallucination (even though I clearly sw her including her mostly blue
blouse the common chinese people wears in older days and she looks up
at e with her umbrealla tightly held on her lap. Life of a poor old
50+homemaler, just like in a cauge. She always looks at me when I look
at her. Please don’t talk t me right now I need fucking really
concentrate tremember everything which is important.

Oh yah I enjy ythose peple, they enjy making a home and they’re nice
always carring. I feel sorry for er, unfortauntely she left and a much
younger guy (who’s halluicioation coz I can see him when I turn around
only in my peri vision. Very real.

I had one last thing t saw but I forgot. Oh yeah remember now. I’m
not going to type now coz the fonts chages colors and the keys on my
keyboard keeps moving around to make me typo. I can hardly write now,
too many funky disco balls and flashes of people I talked to ujst now.
It\

Its peakig now, right now! The keyboards didn’t look right and kept
mophing and moving around ad deverywhing here is good now, the big
league hallucinations have come out in foce!!!!!!!!!

Walking hard textured walls moving and discussing, 4 of them.

I keep on drooling.

And I thought and FELT an early 30’s guy, from about here, just came
to push my chair in deeper so I wn’t fall down. Hey your mnitor is full
of animated videw wor. Even looking at dead monitor makes me se thigs.

Whoa, the world just like passed around me just now mst have oned
out the girl and his father stll here, and that’s tehe security guards
to carry our stuff now so I can put everthing in one place.

Its obvio I cam’t typ now s I’l enjoy rest of this three combo trip.
Its fun. P)Amesome experience right ater hard meth run with IB and
smoking I would lik to go (drolled) gain co I can’t write in this
state, strong OEV – opned eye visuals and my drool is stll on mhin and
inever bothered o wipe it

Hey that rcipe is the only way to go. I forgot now pkw4 l4y m4 yu4
J

Are so strong thJesis thhe trps sare so stron and insightlyu.

Jut quk jot recipe
1. dun et and skee I’m drooling ain.

And fuck my entire floor moved. Ants all I n rw I tink they’re still ther should I heck? Going tp cjec;l

Back. I just said that this combo is soooo good I havee to call it
psychedelics Try seeubg the walls behind you move straigt contnueslyl,
thhe cardnard boxes that are really dancing and moving. Oh, the
anterograde amnesia – second to one! πŸ™‚ I don’t ist wrote recoe

Recipe: (c0nceentrate)

Enough meth to IV or get big inhles, that works well too

Damn it, I an’t even remember wat I’m doing and the box seems to sliding cars like in thise KLIA bugues.

Cocntrate!

Recipe:

1. methamphetamine (crystal meth for IV and smoking ibsessively). High doss thanks for helping me type this.

Anyway,

Most have teams for ths journey
Methamphetamine (crystal meth) – to last you to remain waait no matter
wht hapend. – take lots, inject lots, keep on holding long huge pufs.
Dunno wat I’m talking now but just go intense until we die lah, we
don’t live long, so rather enjoy. everyonee kan?
YA!

The side of my cel phone is actually loving now, contbuously, swimming, the allows. I’m droling again.

Shit the rite haired very own woman is squatted here.whats the deal, I’m cofused.

OK
Recipe for Methamphetamine

Can’t concentrate and everything is moving now =m eveb durt’ uts like god aci/magicshrrom mix.

Why do I keep drooling?? Ca’t control the muscles theer.
I was sitting hefore 5 minte rereading the previous para and we don’t
now what to o. It’s prob coz excessive (I tweak like fuck, will put up
the video of me hell, I always except to die each time I quit.

Wahl ah ths box can squirm and loosen hs Sumi type arms and hes ,k
ij kuje he’s going to break out of the box soon bt of course I nw hat
this is just for the combo I too just iw ithub grab is happebng though
its very nice to see your new home deciraub fir 2 hurs. Wow is late and
I need to get something to eat. And I’m stone an what was hat I took?
Yah mth muns, toll me.

Sorry forgo the combo instro

Recipe:

1. Methamphetamine run (3 days without food and sleep and minimal water) +
2. Various benzodiazepines (optional, it’s just coz I dependant)
3. You should be very hungry by now, meth is just not telling you. SO
just constantly IV and smoke continuously until you go half crazy,
which wish
Crystal methamphetamine can do any time IT WANT featured the 3rd day.

I’m very very confused now though, the peak has passed – I love this trip.Thanks everyone!

Zolpidem is such a nice guy what did he do this to me. I know, I
wanted it, but you still have to take more benzos. Jesus, I looked over
the CRT monitor tat wasn’t functioning and I saw myself and screen
warping in 3d. Like I’m in a sitcom. Bizarre this 100 mg dose zopidem
when going out – the visuals are intense, you probably will forget
something (everything), I think she’s funny. She got me 100 mg fr RM 30
we’re firnds.

I’m at plateus now, no it should be alright if I drive very ery
safely. I want to grab something to eat and enjoy strilling around
while getting tis mellow ass hallucinations. Thanks!

P/S – My notebook case (black) was so intense just now.. Full opened
eyed hallucioations. Saw the bag beieng move. It moves like tentacles
until puzzled, I looked it in the eye and it’s stil don’t care and wave
the smaller strands and threads in front of my face.

I still can’t stop dooling the whole time. I think we’re still under
the influence but passed two hours already (prob coz I take lots). I’m
don’t have good motor control and I saw the ground in that room movep
like it was living.

OK im not making sense now. I will enjoy the rest of the trip and grab something to eat. Zopidem gets big tumbs up from me!

I’m at baseline now – it’s been 2 hours and 30 minutes or so since I
dosed. It’s great one, zolpidem – it gives visuals in the right
condition. I hereby declare myself fond of zolpidem and I realize that
a big part part of the reason I like it so much is the peak, where the
thought patterns gets all mixed up and the heavier visuals starts to
come and everything just gets intense and disorienting for a while.

It feels like everything is confusing and it feels like total abandon! πŸ™‚

I can see why people like this. The anterograde amnesia effects were
very strong as well, comparable to midazolam. I don’t know whether it
was the high dose I took but I can’t remember what happened an hour ago
coz the time skipped. Total abandon and time skipping – it’s gotta be
good. :p I can’t say I didn’t have fun though.

Plus, zolpidem has a short 2-3 hours half-life only so it’ll be
perfect for recreational use if you can remain awake on very high
doses. It feels good peaking at 100 mg of zolpidem on an empty stomach
and experiencing the delirium, disorientation and you won’t be able to
remember. πŸ˜‰

It’s all about the disorientating peak – it feels like magic mushrooms with hit of nitrous oxide. Nice…

Disclaimer: This is an April Fool’s day post.

The Bakery Moments

the bakery moments

The Bakery Moments is a Norwegian concept bakery located at The Curve in Mutiara Damansara that serves Norwegian bakery products.

bakery moments al fresco

The Bakery Moments has abundant seating arrangement, both indoor and
al fresco. This is the first outlet of The Bakery Moments in Malaysia.

bakery moments counter

The main counter of The Bakery Moments showcases some of their
bakery products. You’ll notice that The Bakery Moments has a stylized
y, which is made to look like a green heart and is a prominent element
throughout the bakery.

bakery moments cold deli

There is also a self-service deli/sandwich counter in the middle of
the place, with various bottled and canned drinks from mineral water to
coke available.

bread rack

The Bakery Moments also has a bread rack, true to its name and they offer a wide variety of different breads.

bakery moments deli

The cold sandwich counter features a wide range of sandwiches, with
fillings to please everyone from the vegan to the meat lover. I went
for the Swimming Shrimp Avocado (RM 12).

bakery moments time

I also ordered a Sunny bolle (RM 2.50) from the
main counter for something sweet. I love the attention to detail in The
Bakery Moments – everything from the stylized green heart logo to the
two clocks showing the time in Malaysia and Norway.

bakery moments lunch

This is what I had for lunch – there’s the Swimming Shrimp Avocado
sandwich (served on a plate by the waitress), a Sunny Bolle, and a 600
ml bottle of Aquarius mineral water. The staff also gave me a free
piece of chocolate cake.

bakery free choc cake

This is the generous piece of chocolate cake that came as a free
sample. It’s fluffy and nice, with just the right balance of sweetness
complemented by the smattering of dark chocolate chips on top.

sunny bolle

The Sunny Bolle is a pastry with hints of pineapple and cinnamon
which is a great combination. The Bakery Moments seem to cycle their
products fairly often as all the food I’ve had are fresh and don’t have
the stale tones that other bakeries often have.

swimming shrimp avocado

The Swimming Shrimp Avocado comes with generous amounts of filling
and can be heated upon request. I prefer to eat deli sandwiches cold
though, so I didn’t opt for that.

swimming shrimp avocado filling

Here’s a close look at the Swimming Shrimp Avocado – it has shrimps,
avocado, cream cheese, lettuce, spring onion and cucumber. The fillings
just burst with flavor and juices when bitten into.

The Bakery Moments @ The Curve comes highly recommended from me. It
has great bakery products and the service from the staff is excellent.

The Curve @ Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya

the curve

The Curve is the latest concept shopping mall that opened up in Mutiara Damansara, completing the Holy Trinity (IKEA-Ikano Power Center1 UtamaThe Curve)
of consumerism. The Curve is located right opposite Ikano Power Center
and the architecture of the place is dominated by…well, curves, so to
speak.

the curve tenent

The anchor tenant at the main entrance of The Curve is The Coffee
Bean and Tea Leaf. Despite the prime real estate space, it seems that
this coffee chain does not attract as much patrons as the Medusa
figurehead located further in The Curve. Personally, I’m partial to
Starbucks too, so I didn’t linger here.

the curve curving

The Curve is being promoted as a different designer shopping center
and it just opened recently so I decided to spend an afternoon there to
check it out. Please don’t let this photo of the rounded interior fool
you – the tenancy rates at The Curve is still relatively low, which is
understandable, considering it’s new.

the curve escalators

The escalators at The Curve are also subtly curved…I half expected
the toilets to be curved as well, but I can report with authority that
the washrooms at The Curve are perfectly conventional. The Curve
implements a very interesting concept of segregating the fashion
outlets from the eating establishments. The Fashion Mall covers the
interior of The Curve and The Street Mall twists and bends around the
exterior of the entire three storey shopping mall.

the curve aisle

I found the architecture to be very novel and charming…each floor
is logically partitioned into two sections – The Walk and The Street.
It gave me the feeling that The Curve is half a shopping mall, albeit a
very artistically designed one. The Walk refers to the air-conditioned
interior of the mall and it leads out to The Terrace.

the curve in out transition

The Street takes up all the outdoor space around and inside the
mall. It’s an open aired path lined with shops. The right side of The
Street is dubbed the Western Courtyard, while the left flank is called
the Asian Courtyard. The Street is almost as big as The Walk and each
of the five floors follows the same The Street-The Walk partitioning,
including the two basement car parks. I’m just as confused as you are
regarding the architectural decisions and would in fact like to have
whatever he/she was taking when this concept mall was drawn up.

the curve walk

The Ground Floor, First Floor and Second Floor all leads out to The
Street at various points. It’s meant to be a mall that embraces the air
conditioned comfort of modern shopping malls on one side and an al
fresco open air retail space on the other half. It’s not as bad as it
sounds though; The Curve is just a three storey mall, so it would take
a lot of effort just to get lost. The balcony lining The Street is
densely packed with ceiling fans, which is a really good idea in our
climate.

the curve water feature

The Street leads to The Piazza at the end of the shopping mall and
the same segmented design is replicated across all the floors so it’s
actually pretty nice to walk around inside before stepping out to
stroll around in the fresh air. There are also several decorative
structures interspaced outside, like this water feature (a pretentious
name for a fountain) and gazebos. That’s a T.G.I. Fridays behind the
fountain.

the curve walkway

The palm tree lined street is a refreshing change from the usual
enclosed shopping centers around here. There are also transparent glass
walkways interconnecting the two courtyards at the upper floors of The
Street. I had lunch at the excellent The Bakery Moments (review
tomorrow) – a Norwegian bakery concept store that just opened its first
establishment here.

The Curve seems to have the potential to become a great specialty
mall like bsc in Bangsar. It’s small but cozy, and while it’s true that
The Curve can’t compete in size or secure mega anchor tenants unlike
the two massive neighboring shopping malls, it makes up for it with
quality specialty cafes, bistros and other eating establishments. I
like The Curve – it exudes a certain charm that large commercialized
shopping malls lack…

Butler’s Family Restaurants, KLIA

butlers family restaurant

Butler’s Family Restaurants (with an ‘s’
apparently) is located near the arrival hall of KLIA (Malaysia’s
international airport). My flight arrived one hour early and Air Asia
does not serve meals on their flights so I decided to grab some
breakfast here before I head out of the airport. I’ve passed by
Butler’s Family Restaurant more than a few times but never did feel the
urge to sample their food offerings.

butlers family restaurant counter

Butler’s was not exactly bristling with patrons when I walked in. In
fact, I’ve never seen the place even partially full in all my flights
through KLIA. Nevertheless, I was undeterred by the lack of clientele
and ordered from the breakfast menu. Butler’s Family Restaurant serves
breakfast from 5 am – 11 am.

butlers family restaurant breakfast

I had the Butler’s Special (RM 6.80) which took ages to arrive
because (and I quote) “the order number was obscured by your notebook,
so we didn’t know you still have outstanding orders”. No apologies,
just a matter of fact statement. I told her that I could count the
number of people in Butler’s on the fingers of one hand, and I couldn’t
understand how an order could be missed. She just reiterated the
obscured order number and told me it’s on the way and left.

I don’t know where they hire these people, but they should not be in
customer service. I had not had my morning coffee yet (and that’s not a
good thing), so I walked over to the counter and asked for the manager,
who apologized for the waitress. I was pretty irate though, and the
manager probably sensed this, and offered me a drink while I wait for
the Butler’s Special to be served. Thus, I had coffee on the house, and
all is forgiven. πŸ˜‰

butlers family restaurant special

The less-than-stellar service aside, I can’t recommend this eating establishment with a good conscience though. Butler’s Special
isn’t anything special at all…the dish comprises of a sunny side up
egg, hash browns, a sausage, toasted bread, butter and jam. It was
supposed to have a muffin as well, which the waitress forgot and made
me have to go back again. I don’t like having to make so many return
trips just to get food and I made that very clear when I went for my
muffin.

The muffin wasn’t even good…it was dry and stale…

I appreciate the manager’s efforts to make things right, but the
food is deplorable and the service non-existent, so please, if you
happen to pass by Butler’s Family Restaurant in KLIA – keep walking! πŸ˜‰

Starbucks Enticing Espresso Rhumba Frappuccino

starbucks curve

I’m at the Starbucks in The Curve right now; enjoying a Venti sized Espresso Rhumba Frappuccino.
I’ve been here since noon – I heard it’s the newest concept shopping
mall in KL and came here to check it out (photos and write-up later).

espresso rhumba frappuccino banner

The Starbucks “Enticing” Espresso Rhumba Frappuccino is billed as
“our signature Espresso blended with ice, coffee and rhumba chocolate
chips, topped with whipped cream and delicious chocolate drizzle”.

espresso rhumba frappuccino walls

It’s the latest promotion at Starbucks and the windows are adorned with the Espresso Rhumba Frappuccino stickers. The Tall sized ones goes for RM 11.50, the Grande ones for RM 12.50 and the Venti for RM 13.50.

espresso rhumba frappuccino

I went for the Venti size, which is what I usually get…there’s no
such thing as too much coffee. πŸ˜‰ It tastes good – the Espresso Rhumba
Frappuccino has bits of chocolate in it that melts in your mouth (as
long as you don’t choke on it first by sucking too hard).

starbucks curve bulls

I’m just chilling here with the Espresso Rhumba Frappuccino and a
bottle of Perrier before waiting for my flight back to Kuching. It’s a
business trip and I’ve finished the assignment here so I’ll just be
looking at the…bulls…

Hmm…

Oh, and the Starbucks staff just gave me a free sample of the Caramel Frappaccino.

Restoren Islamik Balkis

restoren islamik balkis

Restoren Islamik Balkis is a Halal eating establishment in Sibu. I
like the name of the place so we decided to go there for lunch. Just
because it has a cool name.

islamik balkis food

I had nasi briyani (RM 5) which came in one of those huge steel
plates. Restoren Islamik Balkis serves very generous portions of food.
The nasi briyani came with a prime cut of chicken too – the classic 10
piece cut that produces the drum attached to the thigh (I’m being
pretentious here ;)). My gf went for the roti telur which she finished,
so I guess it was good.

islamik balkis briyani

I’ll recommend going to Restoran Islamik Balkis for the nasi briyani
though – the meat is very tender, with an almost melt in your mouth
texture, and the rice is soft and tastes better than most nasi briyanis
I’ve had. It comes with three different kinds of dips too. There’s a
fourth receptacle on the dish but I’m not sure if they left out one or
it’s meant for discarded bones. πŸ˜‰

Restoren Islamik Balkis – the best nasi briyani in Sibu to date…

…and no, they did not pay me to say that. πŸ˜‰

The art of garlic

garlic main

Finely chopped garlic is usually a mainstay in banquet style Chinese
restaurants. I’ve recently been introduced to an unorthodox but
delectable method of extreme garlic consumption from a dining
companion. He is truly the undisputed sifu of garlic consumption – the
man eats bowlfuls of garlic and I don’t mean the sauce sized ones…I mean the soup sized ones.

garlic peanuts

The art of garlic consumption applies to the peanuts Chinese
restaurants serve when everyone is seated. Before I was enlightened by
the ways of the garlic, I used to eat the salted peanuts as is…just
like everyone else. I have discovered a innovative method of peanut
enjoyment via excessive garlic consumption and I’ve never looked back.
I feel that it’s my duty to pass on the gastronomic garlic kung fu
before all knowledge of this art is lost. πŸ˜‰

garlic prep

The first thing to do is to fill the sauce bowl with garlic. The key
to a successful mixture is to pile the finely chopped garlic into the
sauce bowl. As a reference, please crosscheck the first picture with
this one. I took all that garlic. It should look like a mountain (or at
least a small hill) by the time you’re done.

garlic vinegar

The garlic mound should then be doused with vinegar. It’s the one of
the far right. Garlic mountains are always made with vinegar. Soy sauce
is a big no-no. Go with the vinegar love.

garlic soak

The next step is to soak (marinate) several peanuts in the garlic-vinegar concoction for at least several minutes.

garlic eat

The peanuts in garlic are ready to eat after that. It is extremely
essential that chopsticks are used. Each peanut should be scooped up
with an excessive amount of garlic and the whole portion should be
chewed thoroughly to allow the garlic flavors to propagate through the
palate.

Trust me, it’s good. I’m an extreme garlic convert now. πŸ˜‰

garlic main course

It also helps to pass the time before the main courses arrive…

Maggie Mee Assam Laksa

maggie mee assam laksa

There is nothing much that can comparable to the homely feeling of
eating a bowl of steaming hot instant noodles, home cooked naturally. I
have been deprived of this simple pleasure for so long (it comes with
not having cooking facilities at my place ;)) that I’ve almost
forgotten how good it is.

I don’t even like Maggie Mee Assam Laksa (I’ll go for Curry flavor
any day)…but it kinda grows on you…and there’s just something about
two packets of Maggie Mee noodles, cooked slightly soggy, with just the
right amount of soup and two eggs that’s really heartening. It’s like
coming home. πŸ™‚

Gelato Cafe

gelato cafe

Gelato Cafe is the new Sugarbun offshoot that’s
supposed to fill the void in iced confectionary products that was left
when the previous Sugarbun attempt in this market (remember the
Caprilla chain?) folded. Oh, and btw, I’m in Sibu now due to a last
minute, wtf, let’s head home decision. πŸ˜‰

gelato cafe counter

Gelato Cafe occupies a small compartment beside the Sugarbun outlet
in Jalan Wong Nai Siong. It’s a really small place, but I’ll go with
cozy instead, considering we have shares in Sugarbun. πŸ˜‰

gelato cafe seats

The seating arrangements put me at a loss for words though…it’s…very colorful…

gelato cafe menu

Gelato Cafe has a less than stellar portfolio though – there is a total of eight (8) menu items.

gelato cafe waffle

This is the Waffle Gelato (RM 3.90) that my gf ordered. It was alright, with one minor issue…it’s not gelato…

gelato cafe shell

I went for the Almond Shell Delight (RM 2.90) which is one of my favorite things to order. Imagine eating the plate after you’re done with the dish! πŸ˜‰

gelato cafe quick

This is the strangely named Gelato Quick (RM 3.90)
that we shared. It has two scoops of something-which-is-not-gelato
garnished with peach slices, coconut shavings, corn, a cherry and one
of those cocktail sticks you can poke your eye with.

gelato cafe sign

Gelato Cafe also has a prominently displayed sign that made me laugh
out loud. It’s not gelato, but it’s cheap (as long as you don’t break
any glasses) and the sign is really something you need to check out. πŸ˜‰

Thanks to Big D for the US $ (and also the grandma card)!

big d kc

I received an envelope from Derek in the mail today. Big D is one of
the senior moderators at limteh.com and he was kind enough to help out
with the bandwidth bills of the sixthseal.com umbrella of sites.

big d kc grandma

The contribution was double wrapped (two envelopes – the only way to
send cash via post) and the bills hidden inside a Hallmark greeting
card. There was a US$ 20 bill and a US$ 10 bill. The card happens to be
one for grandmothers, I appreciate the thought, grandson. πŸ˜‰

big d kc cash

This is the “Happy Birthday Grandma” card that Big D sent the cash
with. I figure the post office people would feel really bad if they
didn’t deliver this to a poor old helpless lady. Heh! The
correspondence is applied mosaic for confidentiality.

big d kc us

In God We Trust.

Thanks, my friend…it’s really great that you went though all the
trouble, much love (in a totally heterosexual, brotherly way, of course
;)), mate!

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