Simon Says

Turning My Old Phone Into Facebook Phone

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

As I've blog before that I have an old Samsung phone that is not in use much anymore except for receiving calls from bank chasing me on my debts :p Recently, I don't even get calls from the banks anymore because I pay my debts on time now!!! Uhuhuhuhu.

Finally, I bought a XPAX prepaid package so that I can turn the old phone into my personal Facebook SMS Service phone.

Following the instruction from CHANNEL X, I key in "F" then text it to 32665. But low and behold, the confirmation that I got is "Sorry, we can't process your Facebook request right now. Please try again." I tried it for the 10th time, still no success. Then I dialed 1111 to call Celcom Careline. Found out from the helpful Careline staff that I need to call out to one credit deductible number first to activate my XPAX line because my line is still in pre-active status. So, those of you that just bought XPAX remember to do this step first before activating any CHANNEL X services first to avoid disappointment.

After activating my pre-active line, just one text to 32665, and I've got my activation code for my Facebook SMS Service. Then I have to login into my Facebook account, go to Settings > Account Settings > Mobile, add a phone. Choose Malaysia for the country and Celcom as the telco. I was be shown the step to text "f" to 32665, since I've done that already, I click next to key in the activation code I received. Voila. I received a confirmation SMS from 32665 telling me that my Facebook SMS Service is confirmed.

I keyed in my first Facebook status update using SMS even thought I am sitting in front of my laptop connecting through Celcom Broadband lol. There my status is updated almost immediately. So easy. Now I can put my old phone to good use. Any of you have old phone sitting around should try this too if you don't plan to buy a smart phone.

O'Briens Sandwich Delivery Service Launch

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:00:00 +0000

I got invited by WMW to attend the launching of O'Briens Sandwich Bars Delivery Service last Thursday. I was able to attend because I'm off shift on that day. I arrived there quite early about 9.45 am. I waited till 10 am only then I went to register. Once I registered I was presented with a goodies bag and a O'Briens Sandwich Bars member card. Nice. I found out later that there's RM 30 was loaded into the card already and inside the goodies bag are a lot of discount vouchers. You'll be seeing me eating O'Briens Sandwich a lot this month.

My member card.

My goodies bag if very fresh lol.

Jokes aside, just as the tag line on the paper bag says, the ingredients used to make the sandwich in O'Briens are really fresh. The bread are made and send to the outlets on the day itself and no leftover bread will be use. That's why you always get fresh bread.

Fresh ingredients.

Fresh breads.

Wilson, Jocelyn and Rebecca were there too. So, us bloggers of course sit together in a table. After all the media and guests settled down, it's time to start. Brian Pua the Operations & Business Development Director of Master Franchise of O'Briens Malaysia start with his speech of why O'Briens Malaysia is starting the delivery service and how it will be done.

Brian giving his speech.

After Brian's speech, it's Mr. Hugh Hoyes-Cock's, the CEO of O'Briens Irish Sandwich Cafe, Asia-Pacific based in Singapore turn to give his speech. We found out from him how Brian got his name. He says that Brian does not have an English name when he went over to Ireland for the training to manage the franchise of O'Briens Sandwich. His Chinese name is very hard for the ang moh there to pronounce, and so they gave him the name Brian lol.

Up next is Mr. Eoin Duggan the First Secretary of the Irish Embassy. He told us that even though Ireland and Malaysia are two quite small country but the trade between both countries has reached about RM 2.6 billion and growing.

The handsome First Secretary

After the speeches, it's time for a small ribbon cutting ceremony to launch the delivery service.

After the ribbon cutting session, two of the delivery staffs then come out and started the delivery motorcycle and horn to the loudest volume to symbolize the launch.

Now you can call 1300-30-3000 and have healthy fresh O'Briens Sandwich sent to your door step. From the delivery menu, I see there's large platter set too, which is very good for office that want to do an office breakfast or lunch or to hold a power lunch meetin in the office where they have VIP from oversea visiting for those MNC company. The O'Briens Malaysia menu can be downloaded here.

After the short launching ceremony, it's Q&A time. Some of the info I got is that the outlet in The Curve will cover until Kelana Jaya and Kepong area. There will be a delivery charge. As of now, there will not be any online ordering in Malaysia but if the response is great, they might replicate the online ordering system from O'Briens Ireland and bring it here.

Q&A

It's time to savour some of the delicious O'Briens Sandwiches prepared by the staff there. Slurp, I haven't have breakfast yet leh.

Egg sandwhich with crunchy beef bacon.

I love the beef bacon in the egg sandwich, which is quite crunchy and aromatic.

With Jocelyn Coco. Sorry, I didn't adjust the white balance.

O'Briens doesn't only serve up good quality sandwich but also have other stuff on their menu to cater of more taste bud. Like the healthy All Veggie Wrappo, which is very healthy, you'll like it if you like vegetable and sun-dried tomato. Marketing Director told us that their salmon quiche is very good and is one of the best selling item. When we wanted to order one that day, we're told that it's sold out. T_T. Never mind, I'll drop by another day to order the salmon quiche using my member card :p Who want to join me for an O'Briens meal? Got discount wor.

Sausages sandwich and chicken slice sandwich.

Wasn't able to try the sausages sandwich due to limited stock. You'll have to ask WMW about the taste lol.

Chicken slice, cheese, egg mayo and tuna sandwich. These are all mine muahahaha.

While most people left, we bloggers got a chance to chat with Hugh and Brian. Hugh even told us interesting story about unreasonable complains lodged by customers. He personally want every complaint lodge to O'Briens Singapore sent to him. Talk about hands on. He also told us how one Lebanese customer complains that the hummus served in O'Brien is not good enough. So, Hugh asked the customer to show him how to make a good hummus. Everything else is the same except for the important step that is different. First, the chick peas have to be wash after it was cooked and then crushes ice have to be add in when the chick peas are being blended.

I love the cheese sandwich the most, they put something like cranberry sauce in it, which goes very well with the cheddar cheese. Really, who want to join me for O'Briens? I got loads of discount voucher with me. If you're lazy to go out then just dial 1300-30-3000.

My History With Adidas Deodorant

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:26:00 +0000

Ok. This is a video blog of me and Adidas Action 3 Deodorant. We came way back. Yupe, way before it hits Malaysian shore. So, here's my short chronological video of me and Adidas Action 3 Deodorant. Wait, did I just repeat myself? Sorry, I was too excited watching my own video :p

Project Alpha Season 1 has successfully ended. Please don't forget to watch all the Project Alpha episodes too, those too are interesting. Thank you for the good show.

Phobia 2

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:00:00 +0000

Thanks to Nuffnang and David I was able to be the extra to go to the movie screening of Phobia 2. This horror flick is consists of 5 different short stories that were directed by 5 different directors. The directors were also that brought you Shutter, Dorm, Alone, Body and 401A.

Now I know why some of the film name like Shutter and Alone were mentioned in two of the stories. The 5 stories combines horror, drama, comedy and also real life situation like drug and human trafficking.

Starting off with:

Novice

The camera angle used by the director is kind of an art house film. The message in Novice is to tell us that what goes around comes around, karma. Do not do bad or evil things or else sooner or later you'll have to face the devil inside you.

Ward

The story took place in a hospital, more precisely in a ward. The main character was warded in the same ward with an old man that is about to be taken of life support. Imagine the restlessness of the main character in this situation. One of the more horrific part in the 5 part.

Backpackers

This story is about two Japanese backpackers hitch a ride on a truck to Bangkok and things started to goes wrong. This part is the most boring unless you're a fan of Bio Hazard. Oh by the way, the Japanese girl is talking to her mum on the phone about shopping and the things are cheap in Thailand for those that doesn't understand Japanese because in this scene there's no subtitle.

Salvage

Personally, I felt that this is the most horrofic stories of the five. Second hand car dealer mum looking for his son that is playing in the car warehouse. After watching this story, I might not want to buy a second hand car anymore. Scary.

In The End

My guess is this part is directed by the director who made Alone. Took place in a studio where they were filming Alone 2 lol. This is my favourite part of all the five. It got the most response of the audience. A must watch. I don't want to spoil the surprise here. :p

Overall, Phobia 2 is worth to pay money and go to the cinema and watch. Hey, Thai horror movie if of good standard. It's already in a cinema near you, now go and have good scare and a good laugh. ;)

Rating: 3.75/5

The Craziest Project Alpha Blogger

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:25:00 +0000

Crazy! Crazy! These are the two first words from the opening song "Crazy" sang by Ash Nair that you'll hear when you are watching the Project Alpha video. Crazy is the right word to describe the current Project Alpha featured blogger that is on this week. It's non other than the infamous blogger from SixthSeal.com, Huai Bin.

Those of you who follow Huai Bin's blog will know that he used to do drugs. From designer drugs to heroin, which he also blog about he's usage of it. He went into rehab three times to kick of his drugs addiction. Finally in his 3rd time he successfully kick the habit after spending 1 and a half year in the rehabilitation center. From the video, he says that one can't even stand a day in rehab, and he's been in there for so long. That also explain his MIA from the blog scene during that time frame. Nicole, another Project Alpha blogger even did an interview with him for her column Blogged Out titled "Former drug blogger comes clean about his past" in The Star, Metro. He even got arrested for drugs possession. Now isn't that crazy? But he's come clean now. Drug free. If you want to listen to him telling the story catch it on Project Alpha. I'll show you Episode 1 here to get you started.

He also a fanatic for pain. I really don't know how many piercings and tattoos he has on or in his body. His wrist, tongue and even his nipples got piercing. His back and his hand got tattoo. The picture below is Huai Bin's X-ray film. You can see the piercing in the chest there. Taken from his blog post "Mama my nen nen got thing stuck inside"

He also like flammable stuff. He did experiment with petrol, kerosene, you name it. Maybe it's because it's influence by the pyrotechnics street show he saw at Gurney Drives when we were in Penang. You can see that in one of the episode in the ending credits you see him spitting out kerosene. My guess is that he's trying to perform one of the fire tricks.

Gurney Drives fire show.

Taken in Gurney Drives

He eats crazy stuff like live octopus and most recently dog meat when he was in Korea. When I was in Penang with him, even after each of us had 2 jugs of beer and were on the way to the hotel entrance after his friend dropped us back, he still can remember that we had planned to go eat Sup Torpedo (bull penis soup). The funny thing is, the day after, he totally forgot that he ever had Sup Torpedo.

We were pretty high on beer already.

Huai Bin with his bull penis.

Me with bull cock. Picture taken by Huai Bin. I think he's almost there.

So, if I say here that he's one of the craziest bloger yet that is in Project Alpha won't be to far fetched right? There were a lot of other crazy stuffs that is not proper to be blog about here :p
CRAZY! CRAZY! Project Alpha: SixSeal.com Episode 6, which will be the latest episode released today will be on his ex-gf. Stay tuned.

Oh, Huai Bin, if you are reading this. I bought the New Adidas Action 3 Sensitive deodorant already.

So, you can have my half-used Adidas Action 3 Sensitive for your er... sensitive nipples :p

Poke Your Friend in Facebook Through SMS

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

"Hey, I poked you in Facebook and I don't even need an Internet connection!" LOL, isn't it nice if you can tell this to your friend. Ahem... ok ok, I just shiok sendiri lah. Well, thanks to Xpax, even if you don't own a smart phone or a mini notebook or you have no Internet access, you can now poke your friend by just using SMS.

Of course, it's not only limited to poking, duh. Just by paying RM 1 for a week of unlimited access of most Facebook options like status update, wall posts, adding friends, writing notes and more here. It's very easy to activate the service. If you're already a Xpax user, just follow the steps below:

If you're not a Xpax user yet, go and switch to Xpax now and be the early adopter of the first Facebook SMS Service in Malaysia. 你 switch jor mei!?

No Compromise for Mister Potato Fiesta 2009

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:00:00 +0000

Last year, they've got Project Trafford. This year, it's time for the #1 Mister Potato Contest.

I am very fuzzy about my chips because I eats potato chips when I am watching TV. If my chips is not good, even if I am watching Oscar winning movie will turn into watching Turkey of the year. Searching high and low. Mister Potato is still my favourite potato chips of all time.

Why? It's crunchy. It's not too salty. And the most important of all, it taste like real fried potato. Unlike some other brand that maybe mixed a little bit too much corn flour to it. I make no compromise on the potato chips that I eat. Too salty, failed, not crunchy, failed. Good thing is that Mister Potato pass all the test with flying colour.

That's why I have to rob Robb (pun intended) to get the Mister Potato. I even kissed Robb to get more Mister Potato.

Now gimme all your Mister Potato so that I can go to Mister Potato Fiesta 2009. Muak.

Now back to the contest. You want to try your luck in winning some nice cash prize?

1st Prize - RM 5,000, 2nd Prize -RM 3,000 and 3rd Prize - RM 2,000

One can buy a lot of Mister Potato with the cash ^_^

There are 8 stages of game that you'll have to play. Like the Plucking game.

Chip chrunchiness audio test. You know why I have to kiss Robb now don't ya? See who's been playing the #1 Mister Potato Contest all this while.

Cash prizes asides, after completing the tasks, you can upload your photo of you dressed up as Mister Potato and if you garnered the most vote, you'll be invited to the Mister Potato Fiesta 2009.

Faster go here and play the games and win!

I'll get back to eat my Mister Potato.

Michael Jackson, This Is It!

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:19:00 +0000

Thanks to Nigel and Sony Pictures Malaysia, I was able to catch Michael Jackson, This Is It at the night of the premiere which was last Wednesday. Since Beyonce concert was postponed until further notice, why not go ahead and watch this concert that is made with heart and love. Trust me, you won't regret it. If Michael Jackson is still alive, I am sure he won't cancel or postpone his concert in Malaysia lol.

Source Wikipedia

Some fans in the premiere that night prepared a box of tissues just in case they can't hold their tear.

I borrow the tissues as props to take picture with Regina keke. Who's hands were those behind me??

The hands belong to these two jokers sitting behind me lor.

The movie will only be screened for two weeks. So you have only a week more to catch it before it is pulled from the big screen, and you will want to watch it in the big screen. Just for RM 10 or a bit more and you'll get to watch such a great concert made by the King of Pop. Go now. Still not convinced? Read Eyeris not a review on This Is It. He's better in telling it.

Updating Facebook Status Through SMS by XPAX

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:24:00 +0000

I don't have a smart phone so when I have something that I want to say in my Facebook status, I'll have to look for a PC to go online to update it. I used to be able to update on my status through SMS using PacMee service which is now defunct. I think Twitter killed it :p

Just so recently that I found out that Xpax is offering a service where you can update your Facebook status and a few other function like wall post and poke in Facebook just by using the good old SMS service. If you're already an Xpax user, all you have to do is:

It's quite easy isn't it? It only cost RM 1 for a week of unlimited access to this service and it's the first Facebook SMS Service in Malaysia. So be the first to one to own this service ;). Xpax always ditches out great new services at affordable price. I think it's time for me to change one of my prepaid mobile service to Xpax. For more information click here. What are you waiting for? Spend thousands on smart phone? :P

I'm Back From Nuffnang Blog Awards, Singapore

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:06:00 +0000

Hello! Hello! Hello!

It's been 3 days that this blog is not updated. Not too long nor too short lol. Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards ended successfully without much hiccups. It's is quite a grand gala dinner. Red carpet for the bloggers to walk on. Also a star studded event. It felt like a Oscar for blog event lol.

First of all, thank you Nuffnang for the invite and the hard work the Nuffies put in to make sure everything is running smoothly like the transportation, accommodation, seating, and tour. Although there's a minor hiccup in the accommodation part, which is due to the lack of experience from the hotel side in handling such a large crowd like us. Rough estimation of 120 people checking in at one go. And of course there's the mis-communication issue that was brought to light after so many hinting in twitter and what not.

Second is to thank all of you again that voted for me on the Slurpeelicious contest. Really appreciate it.

Most of you would have known by now that Xia Xue swept 3 awards, which is Most Influential, Best Blog Design and Region Best Blog (garnered from overall most votes).

While Malaysia very own Kenny Sia only manage to win the Best Entertainment Blog award. It's funny when Xia Xue was preparing to give her speech on her 3rd award of the night, Kenny went up the stage and did a Kanye West move on her. LOL.

A bit sad though that my taukehsoh didn't win the Best Travel Blog award. Ah, but getting nominated, already means her blog is one of the best in the category.

The Best Celebrity Blog went to Joanne Peh of Little Nyoya fame. No doubt about it, the other nominees are not as well known as her. The people there that night was like queuing up to take picture with her when she's on in the Nuffnang Award background area having her picture taken by the media. Talk about star attraction.

I voted for Hanis in the Best Celebrity Blog award though lol. I think Hanis accepted the result with an open heart.

I am so happy that YC won the Best Hidden Gem award. I diligently voted for her the past few weeks. Her doodling is very funny.

Well, whether the results is what you expected or not, everyone's a winner that night. Okay, so long for now. More on the Nuffnang AP Blog Awards trip in later post. I'll leave you guys with this scandalous picture of me trying to kiss Casey as ordered by my taukehsoh.

See you in Nuffnang Blog Awards in Singapore

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Tomorrow morning I will be going to Singapore for the Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards Gala Dinner. Journey starts in the morning 8 am. I most probably have no access to a computer while I am in Singapore, so there might no be any update until Monday 26th Oct. I think I will have my breakfast in Yut Kee, Jalan Dang Wangi. Anyone want to join me?

For those that will going see you tomorrow morning, especially those Group A-ce people. We'll be touring together. We're gonna have some fun because our IC (Person In Charge of Group A) will be Elaine, Elise, Firdy and Yee Hou.

So, while I am away for a few days. Please help vote for me in the Nuffnang Slurpeelicious contest. Click here then look for my picture as in the one below. Click Vote. You'll be ask to enter you e-mail address. Check your email because a verification of the vote will be send to you. Click on the auto generated link to verify your vote for me. Thank you very much.

Vote for me!

So cute right my expression, so go vote now. Here I share another picture of me with Slurpee that I didn't send in for the contest.

Thank you. 谢谢。Nandri. Terima kasih. ありがとうございます。당신을 감사하십시오. Merci. Grazie. Gracias. Вы. Obrigado. Σας ευχαριστούμε. Danke. Dank u. Kam Sia Lu. Duo Jeh Sai. Ng Goi Ngi.

Who is BeutifulNara?

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:55:00 +0000

To be honest. I only got to know about BeautifulNara when I see the announcement of Project Alpha. From the name BeutifulNara.com, one would have thought that the blogger behind it will be a female. Wrong! It's actually blog by a very down to earth guy that is working as an accountant. He's name is Nazuwan.

Find out from Episode 1, why the name BeautifulNara. I'm not going to tell you here.

How the hell did I know whether he's a down to earth and work as an accountant? Even before I watch the episodes in Project Alpha and I don't read the blog, I already know. That is because I met the man himself. Yupe. Nazuwan my man. I was at the XBerry Party and I saw Nicole and Casey in Italiannies, then I went to say hello to them. Nazuwan was there to with them. Nicole and Casey were so nice to treat us some pepperoni pizza. Yummy.

At first I don't know who he was because he didn't introduce himself as "Hi, I'm Beautiful Nara wtf." He look kinda familiar, so then I asked him, "You're BeautifulNara right?" He said,"Yes." After the meal, I bumped into Nazuwan and his best friend Hilmi.

Want to see how Hilmi looks like? See it for yourself in Episode 5 of Project Alpha:BeautifulNara.com. Sad to say, I didn't manage to take picture with Hilmi.

Why I say Nazuwan is a very down to earth guy? Well, he's very friendly and a bit shy in this kind of event. He saw some celebrity like Joe Flizzow, and wanted to take picture with him but do not dare. So, I, whom is a seasoned event camwhorer helped him to ask for a picture with Fizzoe and Rudy. LOL. Actually, Rudy knows me, so it's kind of easy. The next celebrity is Yasmin. I also helped to have our picture taken with her. Thanks Hilmi for being behind the camera. Oh, by the way, where's the pictures, tag me lah in FB? :p

The man from BeautifulNara.com

David from Nuffnang then invited him to an after party in MOS and Nazuwan was so kind to ask me to tag along. So, the three of us went to party! Oh, he may be a bit shy with celebrity but he blogs a lot about celebrity gossip kekeke. He also has a very pretty girl friend. I heard from Hilmi that they are going to engaged soon. Congrats bro.

Episode 6 will be Jojo chatting with his girl friend. It's not uploaded yet at the current time. Please check out Project Alpha for the latest episode.

Taken in MOS with Audrey. She's the first to appear in Project Alpha.

Catch the very 1st Episode of Project Alpha, featuring FourFeetNine.com:

Oh, by the way. Project Alpha is sponsored by Adidas New Action 3. Of which, I am a big fan of the product. I've been liking Adidas deodorant ever since my cousin Elaine gave one to me when I visited Hong Kong 3 years ago. At that time, it's hard to find Adidas deodorant in Malaysia. Only about a year ago, it's available and I quickly bought myself two Adidas Action 3 Sensitive.

It can last very long because I work 12 hours per day and I still smell good, won't stain my shirt and best of all, my sensitive armpit won't be itchy like I had when I use other brand of deodorant. Since my old Adidas Action 3 left only half the amount, I went and bought myself the New Adidas Action 3 Sensitive. The new one, you don't have to take off any cover, just press and spray lol.

Guess which one is the New Adidas Action 3? ;)

Er...No prize for guessing the right one though :p

Of Miss World Malaysia & Pasta de Gohan, Sunway Pyramid

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Simon Says: Help vote for me on the Slurpeelicious contest. Click here then look for my picture and click vote! Oh, after you voted, check your e-mail because you'll be asked to verify your vote by clicking a auto generated link. Thanks.

Early this month, I went to Sunway Pyramid to support Bangsar Babe in the final of Miss World Malaysia 2009, she's one of the finalist. I reached there about 7 p.m. but the final only starts at 8 p.m. Since there's still time and my stomach is growling, so I went to Pasta de Gohan for dinner. (For guy that is not interested about food can scroll down for picture of the Miss World Malaysia 2009 :p)

I've been wanted to try Pasta de Gohan for a long time but alas, Sunway Pyramid is a place that I rarely step foot in unless there's any event there. This month and last month, I already went there 4 times for events like I.M. Magazine Launch, Miss World Malaysia 2009 Grand Finale, Digi D'Ultimate Birthday Bash and the most recent XPAX XBerry Party. Since, I am already here and there's enough cash in the wallet, so I won't miss this chance to try Pasta de Gohan, if not I won't know when I'll be coming to Sunway Pyramid again.

True to the name, they serve a lot of different style of pasta here. I am here to try their 和風
（wafu (Japanese)） style pasta. Started off with a Japanese clam chowder soup. One word can decribe this soup. SALTY! Even Campbell Soup will taste better than this. FAIL!

Rating: 1/5

For the pasta, I ordered 海胆 (uni) Sea Urchin Spaghetti in wafu sauce. I have to give credit that the pasta is cooked al dente, not to soggy and not to hard, just the right texture and springiness. I think a specially mixed soya sauce was used as the pasta sauce. Too bad the amount of sea urchin that was given is too little to mention here, well sea urchin is quite expensive stuff. They are only charging RM 30 plus (sorry I forgot the exact amount), so you can't expect a lot of sea urchin. This pasta is good for those that like sea urchin but for those that can't stand the special taste of sea urchin won't like it at all. I found that using sea urchin in a pasta is not a good idea at all. I still prefer to eat it in the form of sushi, sashimi or even uni tofu.

Rating: 3/5

Ah, this is quite a disappointment for my first time in Pasta de Gohan. It makes me wonder to come back again or not. Even though there are still a lot of different pasta that I haven't try yet, there's still the alternative Pasta Zanmai that got my thumbs up. Talking about that, it may be a time for me to revisit Pasta Zanmai, anyone want to join me? :p

Address:
Pasta de Gohan
Unit No. LG2.126A
Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall (new wing)

Tel No: 03 - 5621 8166

Other Ppl's View:

KampungBoyCityGal
Masak-masak
Julian Si
Brought Up 2 Share
Ai Wei
EatFirstThinkLater
SugarSugarBean
Motormouth

Okay, after filling up my stomach it's time for the show. It says to start at 8pm but the real time it starts is 9pm -_-

The invited guest will be serve with food from Sakae Sushi.

Asha Gill is one of the co-host that night for the finale.

The show opens with Soo Wincci doing a song from her debut EP. For those of you that don't read The Star, she's the winner of Miss World Malaysia 2008. While she's singing, a batch of finalists already getting ready near the stairs to the stage with their sports wear by Schwarzenbach.

The finalist getting ready to start. Sports wear is the first item.

And very quickly they changed into swimsuit. They were like running back to the backstage to change after the sports wear, that is what I meant very quickly.

Next up, is a more traditional taste. Baju Kebaya. 1Malaysia mah. I starting to think that this theme maybe a bit overuse as in what Jeff Ooi has written in this post, this post, and this post.

Bangsar Babe looking stunningly in her Baju Kebaya.

Her fellow contestant-mate.

Some touching up before going back on stage again.

They did a bit of catwalk with oil umbrella and Peranakan stlyed basket while wearing Baju Kebaya.

After that, the girls get to get some rest because it is time for the performance by the children of some orphanage and their instructors. They did a few nice songs, I only able to recognize You Raise Me Up.

Oh, the very confidence girl that was shown in the audition were invited to sing a Celine Dion's My Heart Will Goes On that she sang during the audition.

This is her cut of the auditioning:

Well, even if you don't make into the finals of Miss World Malaysia 2009, you are very suitable in the showbiz, because you sure got guts singing in front of so many people. I would have pee in my pants to be on stage. Salute.

It's time for the final dress, evening gown.

Bangsar Babe in her evening gown.

This also means it's time to announce the winner of the sub-category titles and the top 10 finalists that can go the Q&A round.

Hey, I see Miss Popular there.

As all of us expected, Bangsar Babe won the Miss Popular title. As expected of a blogger. She also made it to the top 10 finalists.

Sue Lynn walking down after doing her Q&A session.

I saw Soo Wincci wearing her crown and getting ready for her last performance that night.

The crowd outside started to noticed her and ask for picture with her. I joined in the fun as well lol.

While waiting for the result to be calculated. Asha Gill and her co-host went around to interview the family member of the top 10 finalists.

The youngest audience and supporter of that night.

I later went up to first floor to join the colleagues and friends of Sue Lynn.

Soo Wincci singing, while the finalists waiting nervously for the results to be calculated.

The results: *drum roll*

Second Runner-up goes to Christy Yeoh

Stefanie Chua got first runner-up and Thanuja was crown Miss World Malaysia 2009.

Later the organizer called Sue Lynn and told her that she's the 3rd Runner-up wtf. Well, it's a very good experience.

Me and Miss Popular.

Oh! Sushi, Mid Valley Megamall

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Before I went to the screening of BARD (Beyond A Reasonable Doubt lol) last month, I went to Oh! Sushi for dinner with Sheila that I invited to join me for the movie screening. At first I want to go to the Japanese Izakaya next to Oh! Sushi to eat Japanese curry pork cutlet rice but Sheila don't like to eat rice, so we embarked to Oh! Sushi for their ramen instead.

For appetizer, I ordered the salmon sashimi set that comes with raw salmon, raw salmon belly and salmon roe (ikura). I just can't stand to not order ikura if I happen to see it in the menu, just like uni (sea urchin) and foei gras.

The salmon sashimi and belly is quite fresh and the salmon roe is quite popping too.

Rating: 3.5/5

Sheila ordered a Chicken Mayonnaise ramen, this is the first time I see mayonnaise used in ramen. I tasted a bit of the soup. The taste is just ok only, and a bit too salty.

Rating: 2.5/5

As for me, of course I order something with pork. Mine is Kushu Ramen, the soup is cook using pork bone and there's chashu. Even, Sheila like the soup, which has a natural sweetness of the pork bone. I upgrade the ramen to use a special kind of ramen, which I forgot the name. It tasted just like the normal ramen, so don't bother to do the upgrade when you're there. Nevertheless, it's a nice delicous ramen.

Rating: 3.5/5

My movie kaki.

Some of the bloggers that went to the screening.

Address:

Oh! Sushi
Unit G-098,
Ground Floor,
Mid valley Megamall

Other Ppl's View:

Ai Wei
Lim Mei Yen
Bangsar Babe

Time Capsule 2012

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

I just joined the contest to upload an item or more that you want to put in a Time Capsule. Click here if you want to find out more. What did I put in the time capsule?

Well, I've uploaded a PSP loaded with songs from different decades in the memory stick. The songs are part of the changes in the culture and history of humankind. So, when the time capsule is open in the future. The future will know what kind of music in the 20th and 21st century human was listening to and the way the culture progress from the lyrics of the songs.

Oh, I'll put in the charger too just in case.

See how the world's going to end on December 21, 2012 ~~through a crystal ball I've provided~~ in a cinema near you in from 12th of November 2009 onwards (yes, you don't have to wait until 2012). Before that, go to www.2012.com.my to watch the trailer and join the time capsule contest to win some great prizes.

XBerry Party

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

I was lucky enough to get the exclusive invitation from Nuffnang and Celcom XPAX to the launching of XPAX Blackberry Curve 8520 last Saturday in The Repulic, Sunway Pyramid. In the last minute, I invited Zoe Yve to be my guest but the whole night I didn't talk to her much lol. This is the first time I come to The Republic, all I know is that Italiannies is just next to it. So, this is almost like Laundry and Italiannies in The Curve.

I registered myself with Jestina, whom is sweating under the humid weather that night.

We then follow Robb to the VVIP aread to cool off and have some free booze. Too many bloggers there that I can't really remember. Yennie Doll was one of the early bird with her bf.

I then went back to the registration counter to wait for Zoe Yve. I met Zac there and he asked me whether I see Marcus Tan Eng Soon or not. Er...I don't know who but I have a picture of him and he knows my name "-_-. Sorry, my bad. I like this kind of even because you can meet familiar faces and new faces every time. Good to know more friends that enemies, right?

For that night only the XPAX Blackberry Curve 8520 is selling for RM 888 so there is a lot of bargain hunter there. Don't worry, if you missed this there's still chance for a bargain, just for RM 998 you can get the same package from now till 15th November 2009. It also comes with a RM 50 reload. So hurry up before it's selling on normal price.

I want a BlackBerry Curve too. I never use any smart phone before. I think getting a BlackBerry Curve is a good entry smart phone for me. Because I have quite a big finger so the QWERTY keypad is really good for me. Of course, the push mail feature means I can check my office email even if I am not in the office.

Most importantly, I can update my Facebook status even when I am out or I can chat on MSN with my friends while waiting for my meal in a restaurant. What more, XPAX is now giving unlimited access for social networking application just for RM 1 per day. Check it out here. As I using prepaid service all this while, getting this plan is just nice for me.

I tried to steal it from Nicole but she just won't let go of hers. T_T

Even when she has two BlackBerry Curve 8250.

Okay lah, just kidding, the other BB Curve belongs to BeautifulNara.

Nazuwan, the person behind BeautifulNara.com. He's very down to earth in person.

The first performance is Shawn Lee. Once I look at the rundown and see the there will be B-boxing, I already know it most probably will be Shawn performing.

I've captured a short video of Shawn showing off his stuff.

The young and talented Shawn Lee.

Then it was Joe Flizzow's turn to wow the crowd with his hip hop grooving.

I then went in back to the VVIP area to get my free flow of beer, Black Label or Pepsi. It was quite humid that night, so I prefer to stay in the air-conditioned room lol.

Me and my guest, Zoe Yve. She just came from doing a catwalk for Hirajuku fashion show, that's why her makeup is a bit exaggerated.

Adele, Helenness, Rabecca and Mee Ling.

Helenness and Rabecca were there to buy the XPAX Blackberry Curve 8520 at a bargain price of RM 888. This Blackberry is quite popular among girls. Hope they didn't forget to get their free imported skin. Which you can get it too at RM 998 from now till 15th November 2009.

Ringo got her Blackberry Curve 8250 that night too.

So is Cindy.

Coming to event like this is very nice because I get to meet my high school juniors. Like Natalie and Vivien. Too bad Su Ann is in US now and I didn't see Ginny there.

SSG FTW!

I also need to thank Serge for always there to help me take picture.

Also bump into my man Rudy and Liana. Funny I didn't see Joyce there.

Of course event like this there will be Jessica.

The last but not least is of course DJ LapSap which will be spinning the music till the party's over.

After the XBerry Party, we celebrated the launching of XPAX Blackberry Curve 8520 with a small fireworks. Yes, a very small one.

Oh and not to be long winded here, RM 998 bargain is till 15th November 2009 only. Don't miss it. There's 3 packages that one can choose from as you can see from the image below. It only shows, BlackBerry Social (RM 1.00 Unlimited Access Per Day) and BlackBerry Advance 2.5G (RM 2.50 Unlimited Access Per Day). Not in the image is BlackBerry Advance 3G (RM 3.50 Unlimited Access Per Day). For a light user like me that want to be able to keep in touch through social network and also check my email, I think BlackBerry Advance 2.5G will be enough for me. So, which package you think is for you?

Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards, Here I Come

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:24:00 +0000

I checked my email today and I saw this:

Yupe. My entry post of Pringle and Uniquely Singapore pay off. I'll be packing my bags for the trip to Singapore from 23rd to 25th this month lol. See you people that got the invites to Nuffnang APAC Blog Awards on that day. Now I need to borrow a suit from my friend. Bak chor mee, here I come.

Pan Heong (品香吃家小馆) Revisited

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:06:00 +0000

About a month ago, my colleague suddenly suggested that we go to Pan Heong (品香吃家小馆), Batu Caves for lunch during our off shift day on Friday. Which is a good idea as I've not been to Pan Heong since my last visit here a year ago. This time, I swear that I will try out their porridge. As, Hitomi stay very near to Pan Heong, so I invited her along so that more people can share more food.

Of course, mee goreng mamak (RM 9) is a must order here. Still maintained the same standard. Very must emptied by us. Thus, I'll give it the same rating I gave it last I come.

Rating: 4/5

Mee Goreng Mamak RM 9

The main attraction in Pan Heong is of course the Sang Har Hor Fun (生虾河粉). It tasted good but not as excellent as the last I came. Maybe it's the prawn roe too little.

Rating: 4/5

Sang Har Hor Fun (生虾河粉) RM 36

The captain recommended us steamed ma yau fish (清蒸马友鱼). The fish is quite fresh but I think it's a bit overcook because the texture of the fish is quite rough. The sauce is nice enough to go with it. Lan Je is still the place I'll go for steamed fish, I'll skip this dish the next time I come here.

Rating: 3/5

Steamed Ma Yau (清蒸马友鱼) RM 24

Another popular dish that I didn't try last time I came to Pan Heong is their porridge. We ordered pork ribs porridge (排骨粥). I have no regrets ordering this. It comes with a generous amount of pork ribs and century eggs. It's not very salty and the porridge is very smooth, as what I call it in Cantonese, very "min". One can really taste that the porridge has been cooked using pork bones to have the natural sweetness in it. No wonder porridge is one of the must order dish here.

Rating: 4/5

We washed down all the food with a pot of pu er tea. This is a bloody good lunch. I surely with come to Pan Heong for a third visit.

My colleague trying to check for Wi Fi with my HP 6530b Notebook but too bad, Pan Heong don't have Wi Fi.

Address:
Pan Heong Restoran (品香吃家小馆)
No. 2 Jln Medan Batu Caves 2
Tel: 03-6187 7430
Business Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 3.30 p.m.

Google Map here.

Other Ppl's View:

Refer to my last visit here.

The Chefs Show Off in Kin Shui Tei

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:46:00 +0000

As I've promised, the videos of the sushi chef of Kin Shui Tei demonstrating how to cut a tai (snapper) and make it into sushi and the teppanyaki chef doing his stuff. Last but not least, Chef Simon Seow's very own fried rice on the teppanyaki (铁板烧).

But alas, Youtube is giving me some problem uploading the videos. I was only able to upload one video out of so many T_T. So, I'll be updating this page once the other videos are up, stay tuned.

First off, How to cut a tai (snapper):

Next update, How to slice a tai (snapper) into thin slices after cutting the whole:

Updated:

The chef then turn the tai slices into sushi:

We then moved to the teppanyaki kitchen. The chef here, cook up some delicious beef teppanyaki. Look at the fire goes!!

Master Chef Tanabe then asked the teppanyaki chef to make wasabi shoyu sauce for the beef teppanyaki:

He then fried some rice on the teppanyaki. Watch how he did some stunt with the bowl of fried rice.

It's time for the fresh prawn teppanyaki with the special house made mayonnaise sauce.

Last but not least, it's time for Chef Simon Seow to show you how to fried rice on the teppan and do the bowl flipping trick.

Hope you all enjoyed the videos.

Kin Shui Tei, Tropicana Golf & Country Club

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:30:00 +0000

Having good food is one of the best thing that I like to do, and having good food with friends and cronies (in food lah) is the best of the best. Another foodies meet up, this time it's on some high end Japanese food. Welcome to Kin Shui Tei in Tropicana Golf & Country Club. I'm not sure whether it's a coincident or KampungBoyCityGal like to organize food review session in clubs lol. Remember Phai Lin?

Kin Shui Tei is owned by the same company that runs Dessert's Bar and Nagomi Shabu-shabu. The foodies that we'll be having dinner with are Chris and Christine that were back from Glasgow, Ai Wei, Swee San, Lex & Weizhi, and yours truly. This is the first time meeting Christine and Ai Wei even though I've followed their blogs for quite some time now. It's like meeting a long lost friend wtf.

We were served edamame as appetizer. Yummy. Lex and I very fast walloped the whole plate :p

The first thing that caught my eyes in Kin Shui Tei is the menu. It's very big and quite heavy. When asked about this, the director of Kin Shui Tei told us that it was designed so that it can't be easily stolen. LOL. Sigh, what has it comes to this world that people steals menu. Well, I know some competitor might do it once in a while.

The menu length is from my head till my chest.

After placing our orders, we were then given a tour around the place.

VIP dining room.

Wafu style dining room.

There are also a few smaller wafu style dining room. You'll have to take of your shoes.

Teppanyaki Kitchen

Sushi and sashimi bar.

They also have variety of sake, wine and even champagne. After the tour, we've gotten very hungry. Let's start eating.

Swee San's tofu salad arrive first. She is very nice to let us taste a bit of it. I find it to be very refreshing indeed and very healthy too. Those whom is on a diet can try this.

Rating: 3.5/5

Tofu Salada

KBCG and I decided to shared a pot of uni tofu (sea urchin and tofu). This is like uni and tofu stew that is more towards the soupy side. A few slices of freshly imported sea urchin lies on soft tofu and shredded Japanese seawed. OMG! This dish is very good. I only can have one Chinese word to described this, "鲜", it's so damn fish and goat. We were reluctant to share this with the others but alas good food must be shared only then it'll be tastier :p This dish is on top of my recommended choice of dish to order here.

Rating: 5/5

Uni Tofu

I decided to order a salad myself too. RM 9 for an Onion Salada. The most value salad in the menu lol. While most of you thinks that onion salad must be very hard to swallow because raw onion can make the throats burn sometime. But not this onion here, it's not spicy at all but also have a bit of natural sweetness to it. Mixed it up with the onsen tamago, and voila a very refreshingly good appetizer.

Rating: 4/5

Christine had Unagi Sashimi set. She let us try the sashimi and I took a piece of maguro (tuna). Fresh!

Someone ordered Salmon Salada. Look at how fresh the salmon is. This is because some 80% of the ingredients are freshly flew in from Japan twice a week.

Weizhi had Salmon Porridge. Yes, I try a bit of it too. It is nice, not very salty like some that I've tried before. A good choice if you're looking for something that is not too heavy.

Rating: 4/5

Ai Wei whom doesn't eat beef ordered Chicken Sukiyaki Set instead of the normal beef that is found in sukiyaki. I had a piece of the chicken, not bad.

I forgot who had Ten Don (天丼) :p (No, it's not tendon, an anatomy of a cow)

I also ordered a plate of Fried Kaki (fried oyster). Oh my, it's crunchy outside and juicy inside. The oyster is very fresh too. Felt like it just came from the sea. Oh, Weizhi like the side salad very much. Of course I shared it with the all the people there, even though it's so addictive.

Rating: 4/5

For main, I ordered their monthly special, Stone Grilled Tuna. Well, the teriyaki sauce is a tad to sweet for my liking and I think the tuna is overcook due to photography by very one. So, this is a disadvantage when you ordered food that need to be cook at the right done-ness in a group food orgy. So, it really don't do justice to the rating. But the sauce is really quite sweet.

Rating: 2.5/5

I should've ordered Lex's Seafood Teppanyaki set. I tried a piece of his teppanyaki prawn, and I was deported back into the past when I first visited Tanjung Tualang and ate the fresh river prawn there. The prawn is so damn springy lor. Eat it together with the house made mayounaise, oh my god, instant orgasm. Another highly recommended dish from me.

Rating: 5/5

Salmon Steak is fresh but it's quite normal.

I didn't get the name of this dish below. Grilled Cod Fish in Pumpkin Sauce? :P

It's not the end of the run down after we finished our meals.

We were one happy bunch.

The sushi chef of Kin Shui Tei later show us of to cut a tai (snapper) and turn it into sushi. Also the teppanyaki chef show us how to flip a bowl with fried rice inside it with out dropping the rice. All this will be up in my next post with the videos that I took of the demonstration.

After de-boning the tai, sliced it into thin slices.

Tai in thin slices.

Voila, Tai Nigiri Sushi.

Chef Ikuo Tanabe, the Master Chef of Kin Shui Tei.

Last but not least, we were treated with Macha Tiramisu (Green Tea Tiramisu). Remember, it shouldn't be sourish, if it is, please inform the staff and they'll change it for you.

Kin Shui Tei is one Japanese restaurant that I'll recommend to friend that need to bring important client to, anniversary dinner, or any important celebration. To be honest, the price here is a bit on the upper level but the freshness and the effort put in by the chef and staff makes every penny worth. For me, once in while of splurging for good food is a kind of reward to oneself.

Lex said I look like Air Asia wtf.

Address:

Kin Shui Tei Japanese Restaurant
Tropicana Golf & Country Resort,
Jalan Kelab Tropicana, 47410 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Google Map here.

Other Ppl's View:

VKeong
KampungBoyCityGal

Michaelangelo's, Solaris Mont Kiara

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Simon Says: I'll be going for Arthur Kopit's Oh Dad, Poor Dad tomorrow night. Anyone joining me?

I just remembered that I haven't post about Michaelangelo's after I read Hitomi's take on it. So, now here's my post. Let's start off with my favourite stout nowadays. Guiness Draught. Yummy.

I've shown you these tools before.

Yes, the tools are meant for us to eat escargots. Michaelangelo's version doesn't use cheese or cream. They use olive oil, garlic and herbs. We both found the escargots a bit too salty. I personally still prefer cheese or garlic sauce with the escargots.

Rating: 2.5/5

The lamb rack is of the dish in their promotion of giving a free house wine for each dish ordered from the promotion menu. So, for the free wine we ordered lamb rack. They recommended white wine to goes with the lamb.

Free house wine.

The portion is not very big. We got two lamb racks. It taste not bad.

Medium is the done-ness.

Rating: 3.5/5

A hit and a miss here. Will come back for some other food they offered here next time.

Playing with my escargot tool.

Of course the night doesn't end there. We still have room for dessert. Off we go to Honey Moon, Kepong.

I ordered Azuki Bean Black Grass Jelly (RM 5), I added one scoop of ice-cream to eat. I forgot how much is the extra charge for the ice-cream :p It taste not too bad.

Rating: 3.5/5

Our favourite of the night is Hitomi's choice of Sweet Memory which is purple glutinous rice ball and durian meat roll in to ball in milk. Recommended for durian lover.

Rating: 4/5

I can't help but think of something else when I look at the mascot of Honeymoon lol. What do you think of it?

After the dessert, we went to Desa Park City where Hitomi parked her car for a walk and some night photography before we call it a night.

Lan Je Steamed Tilapia, Kota Damansara

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:00:00 +0000

I got to know about Lan Je from KampungBoyCityGal's post. The way they describe the steamed tilapia is really hard to resists. So when my colleague asked me what do I recommend for our off shift lunch on Friday, I suggested Lan Je.

Lan Je has three outlets, the original is in Rawang (quite far), and the other two branches are in Kota Damansara and Balakong respectively. As the three of us stay near Kepong and Selayang, so the outlet in Kota Damansara is the obvious choice for us.

As I've already know what's the lunch crowd will be like during peak hour, we chose to go there at about 11.30 a.m. True enough, the lunch crowd is not there yet but there's already 4 to 5 tables taken by customers there.

To my surprise, Lan Je is a pork free restaurant but if you have watched the 15Malaysia film Halal, you will know that pork free doesn't mean Halal. As with any restaurant uses fresh market produce, the price is based on the market price of the day, which is listed on a whiteboard hanging on the wall.

We ordered a pot of boh lei (普洱 pu er tea) (lol sounds like boleh). The tauke lui (she seems to be the daughter of the boss of this outlet helping out during school holiday) asked us whether we want to order steamed tilapia for each of us. Just as she spoken, I saw the table next to us was served with one steamed tilapia per customer @_@ We declined the offer and ordered one bigger steamed tilapia mild spicy. There's a few level of steamed tilapia in term of spiciness in Lan Je, not spicy, mild spicy, very spicy and super spicy (it is the amount of cili padi they put that differs the spicy level lol). We ordered two more dishes, stir-fried choi tham (菜胆) and kungpo chicken (宫保鸡).

The first dish to reach our table is the stir-fried choi tham (菜胆). I like it very much because it is very fresh. I can feel the crispy texture once I bite into the leaf and the saltiness is just nice. Most of the saltiness comes from the fried small anchovies. I wonder where they sourced for the vegetable. I recommend this as the vegetable dish to order here.

Rating: 4/5

Next dish is kungpo chicken (宫保鸡), which is quite a disappointment, it's like the wok hei is not enough and the sauce on the chicken is a bit wet, from my point of view a good kungpo chicken, the sauce should be dry and absorbed into the chicken meat. That is why kungpo chicken is an easy dish to learn but hard to master. Make a self note, not to order kungpo chicken the next time I come here.

Rating: 2.5/5

The steamed tilapia took about 20 minutes to be ready and it was very well worth the wait. If a steamed fish is served to you in a short time, you will surely get a steamed fish that doesn't taste good. Why? Have you ever tasted nice steamed fish in wedding dinner? Because of time constraint, some restaurant steamed the fish first without the sauce, then when there's order, the cook just put the sauce and condiments on the steamed fish.

From the look at the fish eye, I already know that the tilapia is very fresh. True enough, I can't find gamey taste at all when I bite into it. The tilapia is not over or under cook either, just nice enough for the meat to be smooth and tender. No wonder each customer must order one steamed tilapia all for themselves. We ordered mild spicy. If, I have the steamed tilapia all to myself, I'll order super spicy ;)

Rating: 4.8/5

We've cleaned all three dishes. I of course finish off the fish head.

By the time we finish eating, the restaurant was already packed and there's customers waiting for table. True enough the steamed tilapia here is truly amazing. Will surely come for another visit.

Address:

Restoran Lan Je (籣姐清蒸非洲鱼)
F-50G & 51G, Jalan Teknologi 3/9
Bistari “DE” Kota
Kota Damansara
PJU 5, Petaling Jaya
Open from 11.30am-3pm, 6-9pm. Closed on Tuesdays.
Tel: 012-669 9919, 016-6189919

Map (click to enlarge):
Kota Damansara

Rawang

Balakong

Other Ppl's View:

Masak-masak
KampungBoyCityGal
A Whiff of Lemongrass
Motormouth

Indulge in the Uniquely Singapore experience

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:00:00 +0000

I've visited Singapore a few times before, mainly because my sister, brother-in-law and my mum are living there. So, do I get bored going there so many times? Of course not, there's so many interesting places that I still haven't go yet in Singapore, not to mention interesting food that I haven't try yet. The few times that I went, I didn't manage yet to go to Sentosa or ride on Singapore Flyer. I went to Sentosa once when I was still a kid but I heard there's a lot of new attraction added recently such as the Sky Tower , Underwater World Singapore, and Sentosa 4D Magix. There are still a lot of of attractions that I might not know of. That is why I should be given an opportunity to experience the rich blend in culture, cuisine, arts and architecture of Singapore. Then I can blog about it and help promote tourism in Singapore. :p

If given the opportunity to plan for a 1-day itinerary trip visiting Singapore. Most probably it'll be like this:

Picture source here.

Arriving at Changi Airport eight in the morning. Before checking out, of course I'll do a bit of shopping for gifts to my sister, brother-in-law, my mum, my niece, and my nephew. Booze, chocolate and vitamins checked. I'll just take the MRT from Changi Airport to Tampines and from there take a bus to my sister's place which is just opposite Changi Prison. This might takes about 20 minutes. Oh, having an EZ-Link card will be more convenient while traveling on public transportation in Singapore. It's something like our Touch'nGO card in Malaysia but with more usage like buying drinks from vending machine and other cashless payment in participating merchants. So, if it's your first time going to Singapore and you plan to travel by public transportation, getting an EZ-Link card is a must.

At Tampines Mall (the Tampines Station is just in front of Tampines Mall), I'll go to Ya Kun there for my breakfast. I just love their kaya toast. Nothing like a nice local Singaporean breakfast to starts the day before all the traveling.

Picture source here.

After the scrumptious breakfast, most likely the time will be about 9.30 a.m. I'll take a bus from Tampines to go to my sister's place first to drop down my luggage. It only takes 15 minutes to reach her place that is just opposite Changi Prison. After dropping all the things, at 10 a.m. I'll take a taxi from Changi Prison and go to Takashimaya in Orchard Road. Time for shopping!!!

Oh, using the expressway I will be able to see Singapore Flyer.

Harrods in Takashimaya, Ngee Ann City.

Shopping for girls, 8 hours is still not enough but for a guy like me 2 hours is more than enough. Ah, how time flies, it's already noon. This means time for lunch. There's many eateries in shopping center in Orchard Road. I can go to Food Republic that has a lot of choices of local Singaporean hawker food or even to Tonkichi in Takashimaya for their buta katsu (Japanese fried pork chop) but alas I craved for the Ah Kow die die must try bak chor mee (minced pork noodle) in Hong Lim Market. Bak chor mee is a Uniquely Singapore hawker food that you can't find elsewhere that's why 1-day trip must die die go eat. I'll take the MRT from Orchard Road Station to Chinatown Station. Do some sight seeing in Chinatown while walking towards Hong Market is fun. Maybe I will buy some bak gua (pork jerky) on the way.

Hong Lim Bak Chor mee. One bowl is not enough but have to save space for other nice food.

Burp..After devouring the bowl of delicious bak chor mee, why stop there? Walk back to Chinatown (need the exercise to burn the calories) from Hong Lim Market to go to Mei Heong Yuen for their dessert. I especially like their walnut paste, I can't find it in Malaysia.

Spoil for choice.

Estimated time is now 3 p.m. Since there's time to kill before dinner (omg, thinking about dinner already?) I'll take the MRT to Habour Front and take the ferry to go to Underwater World Singapore in Sentosa for a relaxing tour of the aquarium after half a day of non stop traveling.

Picture source here.

After a fun filled and knowledgeable discovery of the underwater world creatures. I will travel to Clarke Quay. Estimating reaching there about 6 p.m. I've tried the Reverse Bungee Jump once in Clarke Quay when I was here 3 years ago. It was fun and exciting riding it. Once you're up on the air, you can see the bird eye view of Clarke Quay, even though for a few seconds, it's beautiful. So, the first thing I do when I reach Clarke Quay will be riding the Reverse Bungee Jump.

After the tossing up and down on the Reverse Bungee Jump, it's time to pay tribute to the five temple (stomach). Walk over to The Central which is nearby Clarke Quay. Inside Central are a lot of nice restaurants, there's Western, Japanese, Korean, German, and more than I can remember. It's like an International food arena here. I of course will be going to one particular Japanese restaurant here that serve up delicious buta katsu using Berkshire Pig (Black Pig) meat imported. TomTon is where I'll be having my dinner. This place was even recommended by Choi Lan (蔡瀾), a famous food critic from Hong Kong.

Dinner at TomTon.

I estimate that I'll finish dinner around 8p.m. and hey the night is still young. It's time to chill and party in the night at Clarke Quay. Before going to Clarke Quay, let's stop by Azabu Sabo for two scoops of Hokkaido ice-cream. This ice-cream stall is at Central facing the river between Clarke Quay and Central.

It's very popular.

Yummy Hokkaido ice-cream.

So, back to Clarke Quay again. There are a lot of nightspot in Clarke Quay that one can choose. There's a lounge named Clinic which all the the furniture and decoration look like the hospital's bed, wheel chair and drink is serve using syringe. In Clarke Quay, we also can find the first Hooters in Asia. I don't think Hooters will be opening in Malaysia soon.

Clinic.

Hooters girl.

The place that I really want to try out is Brewerkz. Why? Beer!!! Freshly brewed beer from their own microbrewery in the restaurant. Brewerkz has an outlet in Riverside Point, which is within walking distance from Clarke Quay.

Picture source here.

After a few rounds a fresh beer. I can opt to go back to my sister's place or take the taxi to Geylang for supper. Black pepper crab and claypot kung po frog seems nice. Depending whether I am tire or not, the supper is optional. Ah, 1 day is really not enough to tour Singapore.

Hope I can take more days off, so that I can...

Indulge in the Uniquely Singapore experience.

Taman Miharja Pan Mee

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:00:00 +0000

My colleagues and I used to go to Taman Miharja for the popular pan mee when we're on Sunday morning shift. But it's been a long time I never come here for pan mee already because a few of the makan kakis already left the company. So this post is way back a few months.

The pan mee stall will be packed on Sunday afternoon, so try to go before 11 am if you don't want to wait for table. The pan mee is prepared by an auntie, which I think is also the taukeh soh (lady boss).

I usually order soup pan mee here. The condiments that comes in it is mok yee (cloud ear fungus), potato leafs, fried anchovies (crunchy nevertheless) and pork balls. The pan mee here is not as smooth as the one in I ate in Mahajaya Business Center, Desa Petaling but it's not too bad. I like the generous amount of mok yee they gave.

For a bowl of pan mee to be delicious and stand out from the competition, the condiments must be generous and the right combination, pan mee must be smooth and firm, soup based goes well with the pan mee and one last important factor is the chili sauce. I like the chili sauce here but be warn, it's quite spicy and not for the faint hearted.

Oh, the pork balls here are very nice too. So we ordered an extra bowl of pork balls. Most of the customers do that here from my observation. Maybe it's because the pork balls is served very fast so that you can eat the balls while waiting for your pan mee to be cooked.

Rating: 4/5

Address:

Don't really know the address, except that it's just in front of Miharja Flats. You can refer to Masak-masak detailed instruction to go there.

Google Map here.

Other Ppl's View:

Masak-masak
Jenkin Yat

R.I.P. Boy ???? - 2009

yyseow@gmail.com (Simon Seow) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:00:00 +0000

R.I.P Boy ???? - 22 Sept 2009