kl

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!

Famous Ngau Kee Beef Noodles

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ngau kee famous beef noodles

Famous Ngau Kee Beef Noodles is a simple stall setup in front of a dilapidated row of what looks like pre-war shop houses in the middle of KL. It’s supposed to have really good beef noodles and I like eating things that go moo. The roadside stall was packed with people and double parked cars, which is always a good sign.

ngau kee sign

I know it’s famous because the signboard says so. 😉

ngau kee montage

Famous Ngau Kee Beef Noodles invented the concept of “open kitchen” before it became the in thing for trendy restaurants. They probably coined the freaking word. Pioneers, they are. The stall also has the time-honored tradition of only offering five (5) different types of drinks. You’ll be spoilt for choice! 😉

ngau kee beef noodles

Ngau Kee Beef Noodles is famous for it’s beef noodles – some of us went for the Mixed Beef with Dry Noodles (RM 6) while the others went for the Mixed Beef Soup Noodles (RM 6). It’s basically the same thing, except the beef balls and tripe is served on the side with clear soup for the dry version while the soup edition has everything in a bowl with a heartier broth. This is the flagship dish of the stall. You can add 10 beef balls for RM 6 or 10 pork balls for RM 10. Okay, that didn’t sound quite right, but I meant the side dishes.

ngau kee pj

It’s so good PJ people have been known to drive down to eat the beef noodles!

ngau kee chilli

The best thing about the stall is their patented (well, not really, but it must be the recipe of the grandma or something like that) chilli sauce. Best ever.

ngau-kee-map

Famous Ngau Kee Beef Noodles is located along Tingkat Tong Shin. It’s close to Jalan Alor, and you can’t miss the huge neon cow (bull?) on the stall. While the stall would not be winning awards for hygiene standards or interior design anytime soon, you just can’t beat the fabulous beef noodles there.

I kena mugged at Bangsar

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I was in the process of hailing a cab in Bangsar when three motorcycles stopped abruptly in front of me and five people alighted. I knew I was in trouble coz they were wearing full faced helmets but before I could do anything, one of them punched me in the stomach and pulled out a knife.

I knew I was fucked – five people, three armed with edged weapons and me, totally unarmed and alone. One of them demanded my cell phone and wallet and tried to physically get it from my pocket. I could see they were kinda nervous – I think they’re still newbies to the whole mugging scene. 😉

That, and the area is actually pretty well lit and it’s along a main road. I knew it would be a really bad idea to set a precedence by allowing him to get into my pants (no pun intended) since I’m likely to lose everything if that happens so I brushed his hands away. He didn’t really like that so he grabbed me by the collar and pointed his knife and me while shouting miscellaneous threats detrimental to my general well being.

I quickly got my cell phone out and passed it to him, and got my wallet out and threw it on the ground before walking (at a very rapid pace, which some people might describe as more as “running“) to the shops behind me.

I didn’t want them to get my dSLR – which they probably didn’t see as they didn’t surround me – they came from the front and the bag was slung around my back. Thus, by throwing the wallet on the ground, I can make a hasty retreat in the opposite direction.

Oh well, at least I wasn’t stabbed or beaten up before being relieved of my belongings. I think that’s a combination of good luck, amateur muggers, and being at a relatively well lit street. It was an opportunistic crime, me thinks – I was alone and thus an easy target. I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

I hailed two other cabs after that who won’t take me home when I told them I’ve just been robbed and can only pay them after I go up to my condo and come back down. I just kept mum the third time and only after reaching the condo did I tell the cabbie that I had to go up to get the money to pay him. He was quite unhappy about all that, but I told him to trust me and I give him RM 10 extra.

Thank God for cash reserves at home. I actually have to thank Zoe for that, coz she was indirectly was responsible for said cash reserves. I spilled her soup all over some RM 50 notes and laid them out to dry on the breakfast bar.

I lodged a police report at the station after that and went back home and realized that my power has been disconnected due to outstanding issues with the previous tenant (which I thought had been resolved and the bill paid!). It’s like Murphy’s Law, anything that could go wrong will. The HTC hasn’t been charged since I got it, and the battery died when I used it to go to Google Maps via EDGE.

I woke up this morning and went to Maybank first thing to get a new ATM card. I only had a couple of hundred in the house and I needed to pay TNB so I could get power reconnected. I need to have power to get some work done over the weekend in time for Monday and I needed the Internet for research.

I went back home and realized that I couldn’t call anyone at work to tell them I have to take emergency leave – all the contacts are in my cell phone! I couldn’t get online to type in the company’s website to get the number or MSN my coworkers coz my house does not have power (and thus no WiFi). I knew I had the business card of the boss somewhere from the interview so I searched for that and called him to tell him that I was mugged and needed to take a day off to resolve everything.

I should have drove to the office instead, it would have been much faster, but I was so stressed out at the thought of getting lost in PJ and KL that the thought never occurred to me!

Good things:
I still have my RM 3,800 Sony alpha 350
I still have the RM 3k + HTC Pocket PC which isn’t even mine

Bad things:
I lost my MyKad, driving license, credit card, debit card cum ATM card the first two of which will take AGES to replace.
I lost ALL the contacts in my cell phone and I haven’t backed it up for a long time.
I had to take Friday off so I could get all my stuff sorted out. The worst thing was, all the contacts for work was in my cell phone so I didn’t have the office number.
I got lost all over PJ and KL since I didn’t have a cell phone and couldn’t call to ask for directions.
I even got so lost I had to resort to paying a taxi RM 14 to guide me back home by driving in front of me!

Thanks Suanie! Appreciate you giving me directions to TNB and letting me into the office to use Google Maps.

I just got my SIM card back from DiGi Center in SS2. I need everyone who knows me to text 016 888 2069 with your name so I can repopulate my contacts list. I just got a replacement SIM card. It’s a good thing I have a HTC Touch passed to me by a friend so I can use that for the time being while I hold off on purchasing a cell phone until next month.

I am really broke this month, and I can’t buy a new phone until next month at least.

Anyway, thanks for all your concern, I’m fine and I still consider myself lucky coz I got away with the dSLR and the Pocket PC. I do not relish the thought of losing RM 7k + in gear.

Count the little blessings. 🙂

The week before work…

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recap post

I’m going to start work on Monday, and I finally got Streamyx in my condo. It doesn’t give me much time to do much (some really bad syntax going on here) but the recap of the previous week:

recap doreen

Met up with Yee Hou and Nicholas from Nuffnang. Also hooked up with Doreen (post on TGIF soon) and boyfriend, KY, Eiling, Rachel, Horng for dinner at SS 2. It took me a whole hour to get from Aman Suria to SS 2, which I’m sure is a record of sorts.

recap eiling

It also took me more than an hour to get from Sunway Pyramid to Aman Suria, but in my defense, I’m still unfamiliar with KL roads. I managed 1+ hour from KL (BB area) to Aman Suria today while playing host to my girlfriend’s ex-colleagues who came over from Sibu. It’s pretty good time, considering the fact that I nearly drove to Kuantan.

chunghwa cigarettes

I inherited a map of Klang Valley from KY, who also gave me a pack of Chung Hwa cigarettes, which in turn came from Cheesie.

absolut 100

Eiling was kind enough to bring back a bottle of Absolut 100 all the way from Dubai for me and won’t even accept payment. Thanks Eiling!

monthsary 3

I also celebrated our monthsary last night. We went to DucKing and racked up a bill of RM 280. I had trouble finding a florist and got Bloomings to deliver it to her office instead…all done online.

Thank God for the Internet.

Shrimpz ethnic thai

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shrimpz

Shrimpz is a small little eating establishment located at Aman Suria that we discovered one night. We have been eating a lot of nasi kandar lately and wanted to eat some Chinese food (or Thai food, which is about the same in my books) so I stumbled upon this little gem quite by accident.

shrimpz montage

Shrimpz is apparently the sister restaurant of the flagship Shrimpz restaurant in Langkawi, according to the table liner. I can’t remember the last time I was in Langkawi, but the leaflet claims that Shrimpz Langkawi was and still is the only dining venue in Asia located within a shrimp farm, which is where I imagine they got their name.

shrimpz water feature

Shrimpz Kuala Lumpur is not located inside a shrimp farm, but they managed to re-create some of that ambiance with a water feature I like to call the “Sobriety Test” that is currently in vogue. The water feature is made up of stepping stones, and while it’s not as challenging as the bla bla bla Sobriety Test in Kuching, it’s still requires a certain level of dexterity to navigate.

shrimpz al fresco

Shrimpz is decorated Thai style, with a lot of Buddha statues (sans the body and head) and the al fresco dining area is interspaced with a lot of water features and bodies of water to simulate the Shrimpz Langkawi dining experience in a residential area. It looks clean (probably coz it’s new) and elegant, but the place does not serve alcohol, which is unusual for a restaurant like this.

shrimpz prawn

It is almost heretical to not order shrimp in an establishment called Shrimpz, and beheaded (Convert or die!) we might be have we not, so we requisitioned for their renowned Shrimps / Organic Tiger Prawns from Langkawi menu and had the Stir Fried Tiger Prawn with Petai and Belacan (RM 34.90). It had the exotic sounding name of Kun Pat Khapit Sator.

shrimpz prawn macro

It was alright, quite nice actually, but paying RM 34.90 for six (6) tiger prawns seems a little bit steep. It amounts to RM 5.81 per shrimp – not exactly cheap, but worth the price for the occasional indulgence. It tasted great with the petai and belacan gravy and I ate the entire crustacean whole, much to the horror of my girlfriend. It takes a man to eat the shell of a prawn. 😉

shrimpz drink

I had the Shrimpz Special (RM 8,90 – comma done either to emulate the French, or coz I had to much to drink is up to you to decide), which is a mixture of lime, lemongrass and mint leaves. I will not delve into the drink my girlfriend ordered, which would usually be OJ or watermelon juice or some other citrus based drink.

shrimpz crispy duck salad

This is the appetizer that we had – Shredded Crispy Duck Salad (RM 26.90). I know the dishes are coming out ass backwards, but I did it in chronological order – the exact same succession that night. The shredded crispy duck salad is excellent! My girlfriend loved it to bits (no pun intended). The fried shredded duck skin is sinfully delicious, with a satisfying crunch to it. Lovely.

shrimpz glass noodles

My girlfriend had the Thai Fried Glass Noodles (RM 13.90). It looks rather sad and much can be done about the presentation, but tastes fabulous. It was seriously mouth-watering despite the sorry looking presentation. It’s definitely one of their best mains.

shrimpz fried rice

I had the Fried Rice with Anchovy Sauce (Budu) and Petai (RM 9.90). I like the petai, I read an article not long ago about Malay families nowadays excluding this traditional dish from their diet. It’s raw vegetables, dipped into sauce. The fried rice was plain though, nothing special, but tastes great with the prawns.

shrimpz us

The food at Shrimpz is mostly good, especially the prawns…

shrimpz end

We literally licked our plates clean.

Saya (N)anti Rasuah

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saya nanti rasuah

I
was blindsided by a traffic police roadblock at the U-turn from Kelana
Jaya LRT station leading to Jalan Bahagia and Giant LDP while heading
towards the Kelana Parkview TMpoint to get my Streamyx sorted out. The
thing about KL U-turns is that it’s completely blocked by a mass of
concrete so you don’t know what’s on the other side, especially if
you’re going too fast.

Anyway, I did such a U-turn the other day
and immediately ran into a roadblock. It was so near the exit of the
U-turn that it’s a good thing I didn’t run literally into the
roadblock. I had hoped for a break since the traffic police was
stopping the car in front of me, so I quickly pulled the seatbelt on –
but no such luck. The eagle-eyed police saw me and gestured at me to
pull over.

I had wanted to take a photo – my first traffic
ticket in KL, just after 5 days of driving over here, but that would
ruin my chances of getting off without a ticket since a photo would
mean they would have to do it the Proper Way (TM). Anyway, the
traffic police did the usual license and registration thing (except
over here it’s MyKad/IC and driving license), while I did my best pitch:

HB: Eh, sorry tuan,
I’m new to KL, just got here from Sarawak and I don’t know the way so I
was just reaching towards the back to get my map. I had the seatbelt on
all along.
Police: Map? What map? There’s no map in your car. *peers into the back seat of my car*
HB: Er…I
meant I was looking at the road signs. I have problems with my eyesight
so I had to squint a little. I just loosened the seatbelt, I had it on
all the time.
Police: No, you didn’t. You put it on when you saw me.
HB: Yes, I did, I had it on all the time. Honest. Anyway, since I’m new here, I was hoping you could help me out.
*I pull out my wallet and discreetly thumbed a RM 50 note out, just a little, to see his reaction*
Police: Hmm…well…
HB: Okay with you officer? Help me out here.
Police: Okay, like this also good. You senang, I senang. (Less hassle for the both of us)

rasuah 50

I passed him the RM 50 note and he passed me back my MyKad and driver’s license. The good Gabenor talks, and bullshit walks.

The long arm of the law, eh? 😉

Police: What’s your name?
HB: Poh.
Police: Okay, thank you Poh. It’s better this way. You senang, I senang. Drive safely.

Now,
this police gives me a big ass grin and smiled at me in an
uncharacteristically friendly manner as I was pulling off. He even
waved at me, I shit you not.

This got me wondering…have I given too much? I don’t want to spoil the market, what are the rates over here in KL?

I
don’t use a seatbelt coz I see it as a victim less crime. I don’t like
being restrained and I don’t see how it affects other people. It does
no harm to anyone except myself.

Nevertheless, how much do you pay for getting off without a ticket in KL? Can someone enlighten me on the rates for:
Driving without a seatbelt
Driving over the speed limit
Tinted windows
DUI/DWI

Rates for JPJ and our fine traffic police would be much appreciated.

I don’t want to spoil the market for my fellow KL-lites.

You know la, you senang, I senang. 😉

DIY – Home Improvement

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hi kit

I have been taking pains to furnish our new condo recently and the DIY bug has bitten my girlfriend big time, no thanks to her colleague. Her colleague is doing direct sales part-time and I’m told she does every -way there is out there. Amway, Cosway, Tupperware etc.

She brought home this rickety and capricious clothes hanger last night and practically forced me to fix it at 11 pm at night after dinner. It took me about 30 minutes to get it done – I’m more Tim than Al in the home improvement department, but in the end I managed to assemble the contraption and anchor it to one of the ceiling beams in our master bedroom.

hi diy

It took a long time before we realized that the RM 30 device wouldn’t reach the actual ceiling of the condo, so I settled for the beam while my girlfriend muttered something about it looking out of place. Hmph…

I would have preferred to save the hassle and get ready fixed furniture delivered straight in.

Nevertheless, the truism of beggars can’t be choosers applies and it had already cost us a significant chunk of our savings to get the condo up to reasonable living standards – air conditioning, fridge, washing machine, wardrobes, broadband, breakfast bar, and a king sized bed with Aussino fittings and pillows (as well as other creature comforts).

I felt a semblance of satisfaction in assembling the rickety clothes hanger – it was meant for my work shirts and my coats and ties and I’m grateful to my girlfriend for purchasing it.

It’s not a Kodak Moment, but definitely an arrghh arrggghh arrrggghh moment. 😉

More power!

The KL breakfast

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kl nasi lemak

You know, back where I come from, very few people could claim they had nasi lemak for breakfast. Sibu is a cultural abnormality – it looks predominantly Chinese (although the population census will tell you it’s predominantly Iban) so the usual breakfast is noodles or something to that effect.

kl nasi lemak van

Well, over here in KL, I’ve been eating a lot of nasi lemak. I’ve actually grown quite fond of this stuff, craving it even. I look anxiously out my condo window at 7 am sharp every morning to spot the nasi lemak vendor pulling up in his trusty old van and rush down to buy some while it’s still warm.

I still remember a snippet of conversation that occurred the first time I went:
Nasi lemak man: Ada apa lagi?
HB: Ketam. (Crabs)
Nasi lemak man’s wife: Ketam tak ada, tapi kerang ada. Si ham. (We don’t have crabs but we have clams)
HB: Oh ya, kerang. Brain not functioning today.

I love the couple, they’re very friendly people with a great sense of humor. I’ve seen a lot of people from the neighborhood offices purchasing his warez too. Nasi lemak for breakfast is pretty common over here in KL. I’ve grown to love the stuff – I like it with clams (kerang, not ketam), lots of sambal, a fried egg and a piece of chicken drumstick.

kl nasi lemak macro

It’s pure artery clogging goodness! 😉

(which I’m sure I’ll regret when I’m 50 and my cholesterol level starts to soar)

sixthseal.com does KL

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kl car

My car has just survived the RM 3,500 journey from Sibu to KL inside a container through the South China Sea. It seems pretty much intact, although I nearly backed into another car yesterday. Much has been said about KL drivers being reckless and aggressive…which is pretty much the same way I drive. I think I’ll do okay here. 😉

I’m going to drive down to KL tomorrow to see if I still remember how to…and meanwhile, on the home front, the fridge has just arrived:

kl fridge

…albeit with a dent, but that’s okay coz I got the Best Denki guys to hook up the washing machine completely for me to compensate for that:

kl wash

The TM Homeline people are coming to install my line on Monday, and Streamyx should be up 24-72 hours later. I noticed that math is not my true calling (understatement of the year). I went for the fixed line + Streamyx option coz I thought the Streamyx Combo package actually works out to be more expensive.

sixthseal.com math:
TM Homeline: RM 26
Streamyx: RM 88

is cheaper than the RM 110 per month for the Streamyx Combo, which comes with the TM Homeline RM 26 fees waived, coz I didn’t need the free wireless modem (since I already have one). I actually told the sales representative that I don’t want to be paying RM 22 dollars per month extra for a modem and will be going for the separate TM Homeline + Streamyx package coz it’s cheaper.

She actually gave me a blank stare, and opened her mouth before shutting it again, realizing the futility of reasoning with an illogical person.

I was only thinking of RM 88 vs RM 110 and it just hit me that I would be paying RM 4 LESS with the Streamyx Combo AND getting a FREE wireless modem to boot since the TM Homeline fee is waived in this package.

Flawed logic, that’s me down to a T.

Budget inns in KL costs RM 60

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lcct lounge

I flew in to KL on the last flight out of Sibu and arrived exhausted, hoping to stay at the executive lounge for the night. Unfortunately, the LCC-T premium lounge experience charges a not-so-low-cost of RM 80 for 3 hours (!). Thus, I took the SkyBus down to KL Central and looked for a budget inn to stay.

hotel de sentral

There is one right opposite the station, called De Sentral Hotel. The front glass façade is grilled and padlocked from the inside to prevent untoward incidents. I’ve never thought of KL Central as a crime prone area but the person of Indian nationality clutching a can of Guinness Stout and drinking out of it from a straw (?) while occasionally throwing up foam into the gutter seem to intimidate quite a few passerby’s. 😉

hotel de sentral montage

De Sentral Hotel isn’t anything to write home about – the “hotel” is actually a converted shoplot, as can be seen by the maze-like interconnections between the rooms. It is relatively clean, with shared bathrooms and a room that has a sink and a single bed. It costs RM 60 nett per night and even comes with a small TV to boot.

hotel de sentral room

Much to my dismay though, the rooms are freshly painted. The entire area insults the olfactory senses with the miasma of fresh paint, which never fails to give me migraines. It’s a good thing I’m still down with the flu so my desensitized sinuses were a blessing in disguise.

hotel de sentral light

There is a small window inside every room, which unfortunately has the side effect of causing the hallway light to shine right into your eyes – not exactly ideal sleeping conditions. Oh well. I was just there for the night before picking up the keys to the condo the next morning.

Anyway, I’ve moved into the new condo and am in the process of getting a TM Homeline and Streamyx. I don’t have net access at home so I have been relegated to updating at either Starbucks or McDonald’s. I have been busy moving house during the weekend, but I promise there will be daily updates from now on.

Cheers!

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