Daily Grind

lunch date at Delicious, Dua Residency

rainy December

Stormy Friday

Warrior

I haven’t done a movie review in a while now. That’s also probably because I haven’t seen one which was so so gripping since “my sister’s keeper”, and I have to say Warrior is probably the most emotional movie I’ve watched this year. Despite its ridiculously clichéd script, I find this movie superbly engaging, impressive fight sequences (not like I know MMA that well anyway) and terrific performances from the 3 actors. 

Personally not an avid fan for fighter movies. Oscar award winning movie Million Dollar Baby left me with a heavy heart for days. Warrior however turned out to be a lot deeper than I’ve expected it to be. The emotions were so raw and powerful depicting the enduring love of a family but i don’t want to spill any beans so say no further…

Redang

  

Finally had time to post this up. Went to Redang Island in July… beach quality there was superb. Redang is a popular tourist/ diving spot among locals and foreigners and shame on me,  it was my very first visit despite being a Malaysian. Seriously, Malaysia is a country that has one of (or many) the most beautiful tropical beaches in the world, not to mention they are affordable too.

 

It was a relaxing leisure dive trip with my fellow diver friends from Ipoh.

Sleep… Dive… Eat…

for 4 days and 3 nights.

Osteria Mozza

In a recent trip to SIngapore during Raya holiday break, we checked out this famous celebrity chef Mario Batali’s restaurant in Marina Bay Sands. 

September

life has been treating me pretty well. in fact it's been so well that I'm beginning to prosper sideways... sigh! no thanks to rainy season i haven’t done any running in a while. so now it's time to buck up again, run run running man!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Kuala Sepetang, Tepi Sungai Seafood Restaurant

In a recent trip back to my hometown of Ipoh which I sometimes also call it a dead town, as the number of hangout and exploratory places are always so limited. Boy was I wrong. A trip to Kuala Sepetang was somewhat an eye-opener as I never knew there was such a great place existed in Perak!  Traditionally this a river port for local fishermen to offload their catch, well I think it still is today. Eating at this place guarantees the freshest seafood you can find, not to mention its tranquil and beautiful river mangrove scene which I find almost therapeutic.

nice view while enjoying our lunch

Kuala Sepetang is about 45 mins to an hour drive from Ipoh town. I say it makes a great day out on a lazy Sunday, where you get to enjoy the river view and fresh seafood. I will definitely revisit this place again.

Sungai (RT Weld Restaurant)
No 150 Tepi Sungai, Kuala Sepetang, 34650 Taiping
Tel : 05 8581169
Business Hour : 11am - 9.30pm
GPS Coordinates : N04 50.150 E100 37.620

Cordon Bleu, Jalan Kuala Kangsar

One of the best Hainanese Chicken Chop I’ve ever had actually, besides the ones that my mum makes of course. Chicken was pan-fried to perfection, served with fried egg and coselaw.   

This place is definitely a Ipoh hidden gem, it takes more than a local to know about the restaurant. Here’s a more detailed review with directions to get there:

http://ipohchai.com/chicken-chop-rice.php

Citrus, Ipoh

Most people (non-locals) who visit Ipoh will not think of going for steaks when the city is famous for local delicacies. I remember Piffs asked me a while back about fine dining restaurants in Ipoh, I was scratching my head hard. There’s one big boy in town starts with D but that’s pretty much it.  Now I found another good one, it’s called CITRUS.

We had their sampling menu for RM80/ per pax

Bobbi Pole

Pole Dancing for Fitness is a hot trend in Australia and in the US but it’s still a very new sport for women in Asia. I love to watch pole dancing competitions cos it always amazes me how strong the core of these superwomen are and yet, they possess such a feminine and curvy body. Honestly I was quite shy to admit my interests in this so I’ve always kept it under the carpet.

Until recently.

Mobile Blog Test

technologies bring family closer

Hen Night in Ipoh

My good friend is getting hitched next month. As part of the wedding ritual, me and some girlfriends threw her a hen night party in Ipoh last weekend.

 

L got her the frenchmaid costume from Bangkok; I got her the beautiful veil from Lovely Lace (RM60); Tiara for the girls (RM2.50 each); some generic games like Truth or Dare, I’ve Never and viola! With 15 sporting hens and a drunken bridezilla in tow, the party turned out to be a blast.

Happy Wesak Day

 

Leonardo’s Dining Room

Exactly one month ago, I have just turned 21. I wish! 

Anyway the point is I had a good celebration with some good friends at Leonardo, one of my favourite restaurants in KL. Located on the quieter area of Bangsar on Jalan Bangkung, with its inviting interior and ambience, dimly lit and sometimes can be a little chilly (so don’t wear too skimpy),  this restaurant offers a good selection of reasonably priced wine not to mention their fusion twist menu have always lived up to expectation.   

Still remember birthday girl was the first to reach the restaurant… the rest subsequently arrived only half an hour later. On a rainy Friday evening, it’s almost impossible to escape the atrocious KL traffic jam.

 

The evening began with quite a number of starters to share. Among which I find their pork knuckle platter being the champ. It’s their signature dish so I would highly recommend it. They also have an acquired dish called Kentucky Fried Frogs, which I have adventurously ordered but didn’t have the chance to eat! That dish was gone in seconds. O_o 

Ristretto, Mont Kiara

The other day my friend Victor was telling me about the latest and bestest coffee in town is located in Mont Kiara. I have been doing a fair bit of house hunting in that area of late but never come across this place called “The Fare”. Anyway it didn’t particularly caught my mind until yesterday, which was a public holiday, and we couldn’t find a place that’s opened for lunch so we decided to give this place a try and called up Vic for directions.

 

This place is secluded alright. If you are coming from Mt. Kiara and if Baskin Robbins is on your right, keep going till you reach the second turning on right. Turn in and go straight, you will reach Mont Kiara 10 which is still under construction. Ristretto is located at the ground floor of The Fare.

This place instantly earned our brownie points cos it was opened on a public holiday! :)

 

Avillion Resort, Port Dickson

If you live in KL, ever wonder where is the nearest decent resort that you can escape to? Personally, I find Avillion Resort offers the closest distance and yet secluded enough to be away from the hustle and bustle. Port Dickson beach is crap so don’t bother, but Avillion is a good resort with nice facilities. Their Avispa is commendable. 

Wordless Wednesday

(18 – 31 March) London

Feels great to be back to this familiar old city since my last visit here 3 years ago. This city hasn’t changed much at all after so long. Even the all-day travel card still looks exactly the same. Nevertheless this is definitely a memory down the lane trip for me although not necessarily liking the nomadic way of traveling for these 2 weeks.

more about the trip later.

Eat Pray Love – Bali Three

We stayed at Mutiara Bali Boutique Villa situated at the beautiful area of Seminyak.

I’ll let pictures to take you through the post.

Every villa is nicely segregated to ensure ample privacy for guests.

Eat Pray Love – Bali Two

Bali as an island is bigger than most people would imagine. It takes about 30 mins by car to get from one place to another, be it to beaches, volcano mountains, towns or villages. Having a hired driver made logistic a lot easier for us and we got to 2 spend days in this wonderful place called Ubud.

 

Eat Pray Love – Bali One

How time flies, can you believe that we are almost approaching the end of quarter one already? What have we achieved though?! Checkpoint, checkpoint. Anyway I am actually on my way to London while writing this post. Will be plugging in a few more from my travel trips late last year (Bali + The States) which i never got round writing it, for your reading pleasure while I’m away for the next 2 – 3 weeks.  Enjoy!

 

As I reflect…

Sometimes things may not happen as planned, while at times some things may go awfully wrong. We often complain life is hard on us... but when you look at the apocalypse of Japan’s tsunami on Friday, won’t you agree how lucky we actually are?

Imagine your house disappears, your car floats away like a toy, your family members missing... and everything you've worked for for the past 30 years of your life is swept away in just minutes. When I watched the CNN clip on repeat, it was surreal. I just couldn’t imagine myself being able to cope with the fear and lost of such a scale… 

Despite the awful weekend which I hope will never happen again in my lifetime, I feel really so lucky that I’m safe in the comfort of home and still have a chance to argue with loved ones. Life isn’t so bad afterall is it.

My heart achingly goes to Japan.  

Pressroom Bangsar

Last weekend was my sister’s birthday. Lazy to cook, I decided to treat sis to dinner at Pressroom @ BSC, it’s a vintage European brasserie serving French and English food. 

They have a good variety of wine from many countries, sis and I were so delighted to find our favourite Chablis in their wine list!

The Haute Food Co

If you are looking for cozy new cafes in KL, here’s an idea. Thanks to Piffles who found this place through blog reviews and suggested that we should check it out. I’m the kind of person who is usually disciplined with the weekdays diet but when it comes to weekend (Sunday in particular), I tend to indulge a bit more and let my hair down. The Haute Food Co, Haute is pronounced as “Oht” is a small joint located in Plaza Damas, Sri Hartmas. 

You can choose alfresco or indoor but since the weather wasn’t breezy, we picked the indoor seats.

Singapore Night Safari

I’ve heard about the SG Night Safari since ages ago and finally, I had a chance to see it myself earlier this month. Frankly, I’m not really a zoo person. I like animals but the ones I usually see in the zoo are pretty depressing, as they are either sedated to sleep most of the times or miserably locked in cages. tell me, when was the last time you visited a zoo and actually saw a cheerful animal? Anyway, point aside I was pretty excited about the Night Safari because conceptually the animals are supposed to be living in the wild!

A school of pretty flamingos dancing in the muddy pool

Tit Bits of Singa-land

Some random pictures I took in Singapore recently.

Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin at Ion Orchard– I opted for chicken meat instead of their signature pork katsu but I have to say it’s delicious all the same. Be it the curry, batter, radish pickles or rice, all cooked to perfection.  yummy!

Siloso Beach

During a recent trip to Singapore I was craving for some suntan and beach goodies, so we went to Siloso at Sentosa to check out the beach on a beautiful Saturday. The weather was sublime.   

You can get there either by bus or taxi. But as a tourist, I did my part and took a cable car from Mount. Faber to Sentosa Island. It costs SGD 22 for a single ride.

Singapore Food Galore

One thing I learnt about dining in SG, it’s absolutely essential to make table reservations in advance. Especially if you plan to dine out on a weekend, most of the popular restaurants in SG are usually already fully booked. On a Sat night, we took a cab to this family run Italian restaurant somewhere in Bukit Timah in an attempt to get some delicious Italiana, but only to find out they require 5 weeks booking in advance.

5 WEEKS!!! That’s crazy.

Universal Studio Singapore

Visiting Universal Studio is like experiencing movies come to live. Imagine shaking hands with ogre Shrek and Fiona; or dance with the Madagascar’s animals (for real); or be awed by the magnificent Return of The Mummies. Oh not to mention learn how these million dollar production movies were made!

Uniquely Singapore

For suburban working middle class Malaysians like you and I – one of the major attractions in neighboring Singapore is of course, SHOPPING! hehe Orchard Road is a shopping haven, it’s a 2 kilometers road beautifully landscaped and flanked by distinctive shopping malls catered for all walks of life. Last I heard the number is still on the rise. So if you are like me who have limited time to spend on shopping, it’s wise to do some research and devise a little smart plan before the trip, prioritize which shopping malls will best cater your tastes and needs so that you can make the most out of your shopping spree. :)
  

I’ve picked Ion Mall as it has a good mixed of European and local brands and style, followed by Takashimaya, Paragon and Wheelock Place.

Shangri-la at Orange Grove Road

Lodging in Singapore is getting crazy expensive despite the rise of hoteliers there. This trip, I get to stay at Shangri-la Hotel for 4 nights… not the kind of contem boutique hotels I’d normally go for but it was luxurious alright. The hotel is tucked behind shopping paradise Orchard Road (about 10 minutes walk) and covered in lushes of greens. Superb location I’d say.  

 

Their swimming pool is massive. Sunbathing beds are usually covered in shades thus provides a cooling effect even on a hot day. I took dips at the jacuzzi, swam laps, read a book and in between I still managed to squeeze in a siesta.

Aeroline to Singapore

New Year is always good. Holiday after holiday… while we are busy being caught up with all the year end celebrations and before we know, it’s time to usher the brand new year again. Aren’t we little spoilt brats sometimes? :)  Since my last visit to Singapore over a year ago, I decided to visit the city again over the recent Thaipusam weekend. Just want to get away from KL for a little breather and to do some CNY shopping, and also to visit my good friend Claire and her hubby who have moved to SG recently.

The Hill, Damansara Heights

The Hill is one of the latest hip bar in downtown KL, tucked on the hilltop of Damansara Heights. When my overseas friends were back here for the festive holidays last month, I took them there to check out their cool localized cocktails. ;)

 

Ranging from Milo Ais ( Kahlua infused) to Weed Killer (as potent as it sounds), my favourite is still the sexy Watermelon Slush (probably the only Vodka mixed cocktail I would take)

New Year Eve

New Year Eve this year was a quiet affair. Being a fireworks person, I even skipped watching the live show to avoid the crazy new year traffic. So instead of joining the crowd, I went to Bin’s place to catch up with my old pal Cat. 

Get to enjoy a can of french pate that Cat brought from Paris

Christmas Pot Luck

1 month ago…

Vonsie: The host will cook roast chicken + vegetables

Me: Ok Steph will try to cook this time too! 2 dishes!

Lorraine: no Lorraine will try not to poison her friends. She will bring dessert + wine

John Heng: John has no kitchen at home. He will bring satay

  

There you go, second week into December we had a lovely Christmas Pot Luck party at Vonsie and Alan’s cosy residence.

Christmas at Le Bouchon

Last year’s Christmas, I stayed in KL and celebrated the ocassion with a good friend back from London. In Malaysia, for those who celebrate Christmas non-religously it usually means eating out. Anyway, we made a last min change and decided to go to Le Bouchon for dinner. Thinking it was perhaps a better choice over roast turkey with raisin rice at an Indochine Thai restaurant… NOT. It was a disappointment. I wonder if their french chef has gone back to France for Christmas or something cos the food really wasn’t the same as the last time I went.

Surprisingly quiet with lots of empty tables on a Christmas night. Unusual sight

Tamarind Hill

Caught up with Ian one last time over dinner before he goes back to London tomorrow. At first I was a little apprehensive as the menu suggested more western influence than Thai/ Indochinese… but food and overall dining experience turned out to be rather pleasant. I have a picky friend, you see.

Nice romantic ambient but a tad too dim for us folks. We were kind of literally eating in the dark.