everybit of everything

Meatworks @ Solaris Mont Kiara

2010-07-18T09:59:00.004+08:00

Solaris gave me a perception of a super happening place but sadly, the restaurant which I was supposed to dine closed down its operation due to the level of 'happening' over there.

We were about to leave when we spotted MEATWORKS! Wouldn't it be a perfect place for a meat lover like me? :)

Too hungry to remember the names:
Eh, I remember this though, Melted Mushroom Burger. 200g of beef is certainly too much for me to digest.
The burger was great especially the thick fries.....below is the classic aglio olio
Enormous club sandwich (the bread!)
Overall, the food was good except the super slow and slack waiters that made the service REALLY bad!

Janzen is 13 months old

2010-06-30T09:51:00.004+08:00

Janzen has not been appearing in this blog for a long while. He grew a lot, in all aspects. Now, he can walk, run, crawl and baby-talk. Super dupper cute fellar but very naughty as well. I guess that it is about time to try out my lens!

Benefits of Cicular Polarizer (CPL) Filter

2010-06-28T09:35:00.004+08:00

Circular Polarizer Filter aka CPL filter is well known amongst landscape photographer. Well, I am not a landscape shooter but I may start shooting more of it though. Purchased a CPL filter recently and decided to give it a simple and short test.

Some say that CPL enhances contrast and brings out bluer skies! After some test, I can assure that yes it does make the picture more contrasy!

Below is without CPL:
This is with CPL!!!!
Noticed the difference? Both picture has been slightly brighten during post processing.

A night @ KL City Centre

2010-06-20T20:20:00.002+08:00

25 years living in KL, this is my very first time walking around the busiest street in Malaysia - The Bintang Walk. The objective of this outing is to capture scenes to show how busy KL city is. Converted the colorful pictures into black & white and I found out that it adds more impact! This is my favorite shot for the entire night. The red man and a busy city....!
Take some time off to think about what we missed in life, "busy" is a word that is becoming an excuse.

Yan Fay anticipating for something to happen, wandering and wondering......

Here are some colored version pictures.
It was indeed a great outing! My first time shooting 'motions' in a busy city. Stay tuned for my next assignment :)

Snapping away for wallpaper

2010-06-12T23:14:00.004+08:00

These are paper flowers which I find it interesting. Therefore, I gave myself an assignment to snap em' and make them as my pc wallpaper. I am seriously in need of a new set of wallpapers to be used on my pc. So, do you like any of em'? There red line on the left is very annoying, couldn't crop it off from the pic! Sigh..

A pic converted into black and white, increased the contrast to show more mood.

I love this!

On a 2nd thought, this is better!

At last, best shot of the day!!! Creamy bokeh! I am loving my new lens!

Bei Hai Restaurant @ Selayang 2

2010-05-19T09:37:00.008+08:00

This will be my 2nd visit to this restaurant. I was here last year and the post can be found here. We came here again this year to celebrate Janzen's 1 year old birthday.

As usual, you have to pick your seafood from the seafood wholesaler next door. For starters, we got ourselves some fresh oysters. Perhaps I was really hungry, all of the dishes tasted great!
Cheap and large tiger prawns. Best served by boiling it till it cooks. Yummy!

Geoduck sashimi. A bit too chewy and I did not really liked it. However, it went really well with the garlic sauce that they served.
Steam Tiger Garoupa. Not bad, they overcooked my fish the previous visit! This time, it was perfectly done.
Japanese Snails baked with cheese. Isn't edible snails called Escargot? It tasted like pizza + pancake! Not bad though.....
The last and most awaited dish of the night. Snow crab in salted egg. Very tender, sweet, fresh and simply amazing! However, the king crab that I had previously was slightly better!
A picture of Janzen cutting his first cake! he was afraid of the candle though. Hilarious~
All pictures taken with Canon Powershot! :)

Asian Festival of Speed (AFOS) 2010

2010-05-17T12:47:00.011+08:00

8 years ago, I was here watching Formula 1 Malaysia Grand Prix. Thanks to Jo, I have another chance to get myself here to witness the Asian Festival of Speed (AFOS) 2010. This time, I wasn't given a hillside pass but a Paddock Pass! WOOHOO! Ready for some steamy hot actions? 4 of us attended the event, Yan Fay, Jo and Kok Hoe.
Group shot using Ultra wide angle, thanks to Sam for lending me his camera!
Some coaching going on before the real action starts...
The sky was really nice over there in Sepang Circuit. Blue sky with a lot of clouds which I cant find it in KL.
The GT3 cars lining up, show casing the cars before the race!
The ladies were called the angels. I pity them because they have to hold the heavy pole and stand under the hot sun!
while waiting for instructions to go out....haha
The GT3 drivers are out to meet the fans
This is the first time I stood this close to the track!
Cars are coming back into the pit lane preparing for the race
It seems that it is a must to take pictures of the girls and I did what has to be done too :)
While editing my pictures, I realized that the girl below look a bit like Nicole Scherzinger.
That's all, and let the race begin.....burn the tires~~~~~

Spotted a blue Lambo at the car park!
It was a tiring yet fun event! This is my first time shooting in a race! Panning was really tough because the cars were REALLY FAST! The next thing I want to try is to shoot F1!

All pictures were taken with D90 + Nikon AF-S 18-105mm lens. Hope that you liked it......

Taipei 2010 - Day 5

2010-05-17T09:54:00.005+08:00

Day 5 - Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall (国父纪念堂)
The final day is a very short one because I have to leave Taipei by noon back to Malaysia. Hence, met up with Justin (who is currently working there) for breakfast, chit chat and some loitering around.
I had pretty high expectation before coming to this memorial hall, hoping to find something really interesting here but hmmm.....nothing interesting though. This pic is out of focus but I quite like it though
The end! That is the end of my 5 days in Taipei. Overall, not too bad but I prefer other cities than Taipei :). Taipei is slightly messy as compared to Hong Kong. We lost our way from our hotel to Ximending because of the lack of clear roadsigns. Shops in Taipei generally opens at 11am and closes 9.30 or 10pm! I expected Taipei to be a city that never sleeps but I was wrong. Perhaps I went to the wrong place! I got bored of having breakfast there because everything is basically the same, what ever biscuits 葱油饼，捉葱饼，蛋饼，煎饼etc....they are all the same with different fillings. It is like roti canai, roti telur, roti sardine etc.........

Apart from the breakfast, the snacks are quite tasty in general. Price is reasonable too. MRT and public transport can be better (but it is better than what I have here!). Pretty girls are everywhere too, they really know-how-to-dress!

There are still room for improvements for making their tourist attraction places better! For example, having better english translator and having more english signs etc. I was very disappointed with the National Palace Museum! It is like a showroom to showcase the old artifacts used during the ancient time in China. Not much explanation nor story in it. So it was pretty boring for me.

Shopping wise, it was so-so......The best part of the trip was the Hot Spring! Super super super relaxing!

Taipei 2010 - Day 4

2010-05-17T09:29:00.007+08:00

Day 4 - Taiwan Presidential Palace (总统府), Taipei 101 (台北101), Taiwan National Palace Museum (国立故宫博物院), Xin Beitou (新北投温泉)

Breakfast and a pic of myself. Sandwich with egg, chicken floss and ham. Right bottom one is Roti Canai with ham and vegetables. I like them both. Notice the sign? It is a box for motorcycle to stop in front of the traffic lights. Due to the amount of motorcycles around, they seriously need this box at every traffic light.
Presidential Palace. The weather was pretty bad that morning. It was drizzling the entire morning.
Next destination, the super tall tower - Taipei 101.
This is pretty cool, there are bicycles for rent!
Taipei 101 mascot leading us up up up
Due to the bad weather, I converted this picture into black and white and loving the output.
More mascots....
Mum and sis with the golden mascot
Another angle
Our lunch was around Shilin Station. The Oyster with Egg (蚝煎) was quite awful. A lot of corn flour making it super sticky covered with orange colored sauce. Did not like it at all. Bottom left is the Oyster Meesua (蚝仔面线), not bad, quite nice. Bottom right is Taiwan Tempura (甜不辣), it is very different from the one we get from Shilin Snacks in KL. In Taiwan, the 甜不辣 is like our Malaysian Chee Cheong Fun (猪肠粉).
National Palace Museum. No cameras are allowed inside but I see many monkeys from the neighbouring countries snapping away using their handphones etc. Because of the monkeys, I left the place! They were really annoying, shouting and running inside of the supposed-to-be-quiet museum! ARH!
After some rest, I headed to Xin Beitou for HOT SPRING! I went there around 8~9pm! The trains for Xin Beitou Line is slightly diffferent with more decos.
Enjoying a cup of huge dessert after the wonderful hot spring bath!
Mr. Wilson and I :)

Taipei 2010 - Day 3

2010-05-12T09:30:00.006+08:00

Day 3 - Jinguashi (金瓜石), Jiufen (九份), Wufenpu (五分埔), Raohe Night Market (饶河观光夜市), Ximending 西门町
Took the bus early in the morning to get to Jinguashi (金瓜石). This place require slightly more than 1 hour bus ride from Taipei. Most of us slept in the bus because it was raining out there, cold and comfy.

It was really cold up there. Entrance was free for that day and I do not know why either.

The buildings were built by the Japanese. The designs were really nice and clean.

See the mist?

This is the tunnel where you need to pay to get it. I was thinking of trying my luck to get some gold out of it but the rain made me stay out from it.

Inside the gold museum, you will find this gigantic gold which weigh 220.30kg. Look at the price!

Took a bus to our next stop, Jiufen old street. Did not manage to snap any picture of the tiny entrance because of the rain. I think I need a weather proof DSLR.

Same as Jinguashi, the architectures were influenced by the Japanese. I like it~

There are 2 famous stalls which sell yam dessert (芋圆汤), we chose 赖阿婆 because we spotted it first. 阿柑姨 is really deep inside of Jiufen old street.

Stairs are everywhere and we have to climb and climb and keep climbing up the slippery stairs.

This is what you can see from Jiufen....

Look at the heavy mist...it was really cold

Wufenpu was our next destination. I expect this place to be super huge like the Chatuchak market in Bangkok. But..erh.......nowhere near that. There are much much much more to see at Chatuchak.

Dinner was 'served' in Raohe Night Market. Raohe Night Market is significantly smaller than Shilin but it is way more organized! Yes, I prefer Raohe over Shilin.

Remember this biscuit? The same one that I bought on my first day near our hotel.

Apparently, this one tasted much better! Is it because of the main branch which is Raohe? Hmm.

Look at the queue

Met up with Wilson at Ximending for a drink that night. Ximending at night:

That is the end of day 3. Jiufen is the best place that I have been in Taipei thus far. I love the buildings and the weather. :) nice!

Taipei 2010 - Day 2

2010-05-10T09:46:00.010+08:00

Day 2 - Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall (中正纪念堂)，Danshui Old Street (淡水老街)，Tamshui Fisherman Wharf (渔人码头)，Ding Tai Feng Restaurant(鼎泰丰)

Our first breakfast in Taipei is at 盛园豆浆, it is a famous shop amongst the local that sells soya bean and all sorts of snacks. Snapped a few pics before heading for breakfast.
Taiwan National Theatre
大饼包油条. Nothing to shout about, it is Roti Canai (non-oily) and Yau Char Guai.

Forgot the name of it but none of us liked it.

大饼包蛋. Egg wrapped with Roti Canai LOL. Not bad! It is exactly like ROTI TELUR!

Salty Soya Drink (咸豆浆).

Chai Kai Shek Memorial Hall (正中纪念堂). Beautiful! Why does it look so different from magazines, websites and TV???

Never mind, just snap a few more!

LOL, we were actually at the back of the stunning building! Frontal view of it:

Mum disturbing my camera :)

It is so beautiful that I have to snap a lot of pictures!

After that, we headed to Danshui Old Street. It is pretty far away from Taipei! The train journey was more than 30 minutes.

The pink fruit emits very strong smell that attracted us to buy it. Fresh, sweet and simply delicious. However, for NTD50, i think it is a bit too much. They should sell it at NTD20 for a smaller pack! I do not know the name of the tomato liked fruit, it was really sour! Bottom left is the gigantic squid tentacles deep fried to perfection! I love it! Bottom right is mixed seafood, such as baby lobsters, scallops, crabs etc. Both are equally NICE!

Condom chocolate and Sophie (sanity pads) marshmellows :).

The dessert on the left was so-so but that Taiwan Mochi on the right is quite cool. Made from milk!
Looking at the weather, we better make our way to Tamshui Fisherman Wharf before it rains.
Tada! Nothing much to offer here except taking pictures.
Head back to hotel for a short rest and we are off again Ding Tai Feng (忠孝东路) for dinner.
Tiring day 2.......

Taipei 2010 - Day 1

2010-05-10T09:16:00.010+08:00

Special thanks to Air Asia for making this trip so affordable! Honestly, Air Asia X is much more comfortable than Air Asia. This is due to the bigger air craft that they used. Nonetheless, both are affordable. My only entertainment throughout the flight, water & mp3. After a good 5 hours, I'm here at TaoYuen International Airport. KLIA feels much better than this :).
Us, waiting for the bus to pick us up to our hotel which is at Taipei, right opposite of Taipei Main station. The bus journey took slightly more than 1 hour.
Guess what? I spotted a Proton Gen2 along the highway! Sadly, I wasn't fast enough to snap a pic of it! Taipei main station!
The first shot and impression of Taipei: My hotel is just behind the row of shops on the left of the picture.
Day 1 - Ximending (西门町)& Shi Lin Night Market （士林夜市）.

First food from Taiwan: Spring Onion Biscuit (葱油饼) and Pepper Biscuit (胡椒饼). The spring onion biscuit taste like Roti Canai, but it is the not-oily-at-all-version. Pepper Biscuit was quite OK. It is from the Rao He Street Market （饶河观光夜市）branch.
As we walk and walk, we saw this street which is called the Camera Street in Tapei. Bo Ai Road (博爱路). Nothing to shout about though, Hong Kong has better choice and price :).
At last, after bumping around, losing our ways and getting lost. We are here at Ximending. According to many Taiwanese dramas, this is the shopping heaven and we should be able to spend many hours here! Yahoo!!!
Anyway, it was pretty disappointing, the place is small and it is really small. It feels like the higher-class-petaling-street in KL.
A must try 55cm ice-cream that only cost NTD25! Some places are selling it at NTD20 too! I chose the mango flavored ice cream. Verdict, not too sweet, juicy and fruity! But, a bit too HUGE.
I didn't know that Taipei has stopped pretty girls from selling 槟榔. Google for it and you will understand what I am trying to say here.
A must try food in Taipei (I was told). 阿宗面线 lived up to my expectation. AWESOME!
I went back the third day for a second dose of this thing! It is rice noodles (if I am not wrong) with pork intestines. The soup (I think it should be gravy because it is thick!) is very very delicious. A must try!
A closer look at it.
They do serve chillis for the spicy-food-lovers. However, I find that the chilli destroys the taste of it, so- I don't recommend it. This is the heart of Ximending.
西门红楼was our next stop. It is right opposite of Ximending shopping area. Nothing much to see inside as I am a not-artistic person at all.
Next stop Shilin Night Market. This is one messy place, there is a section which sells only food and there is another part which sells food and other stuffs :(. Okay, we headed to the section that sells food only to fill up our desires. XXXXXXXXXL chicken! The XXL chicken sold in Shilin Stall at KL is nowhere near the size of those found in Taipei. The best part is, it is only NTD50! Which is less than RM6! My mum loved it very much :)
Everything seems to be bloated in Taipei, take a look and you will understand. The white colored sausage is made out of Glutinous Rice. It is used for 大肠包小肠 where they will the Glutinous Rice Sausage as the bread to wrap a stick of Taiwan Sausage (台湾香肠) in it, topping with preserved vegetables, nuts etc. Quite nice!
I can't imagine myself gulping down a gigantic Taiwan Sausage ! That marks the end of our first day. Walking around Shilin Night Market, watching the stalls running away from the police, eating, drinking and shopping around.

If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time

2010-05-06T23:19:00.001+08:00

How nice if we could just turn back times sometimes....

LYRICS
How did I ever let you slip away
Never knowing I'd be singing this song someday
And now I'm sinking sinking to rise no more
Ever since you closed the door
(Chorus)
If I could turn turn back the hands of time
Then my darlin' you'd still be mine
If I could turn turn back the hands of time
Then my darlin' you'd still be mine
Funny funny how time goes by
And blessings are missed in the wink of an eye
Why oh why oh why should one have to go on suffering
When every day I plead please come back to me
(Chorus)
(Bridge)
And you had enough love for the both of us
But I, I did you wrong I admit I did
But now I'm facing the rest of my life alone
(Chorus)
I'd never hurt you (If I could turn back)
Never do you wrong (If I could turn back)
And never leave your side (If I could turn back)
If I could turn back the hands
There'll be nothing I wouldn't do for you (If I could turn back)
Forever honest and true to you (If I could turn back)
If you accept me back in your heart, I love you
If I could turn back the hands
(If I could turn back) That would be my will
(If I could turn back) Darlin' I'm begging you to take me by the hands
If I could turn back the hands
I'm going down yes I am (If I could turn back)
Down on my bended knee yeah (If I could turn back)
And I'm gonna be right there until you return to me
If I could turn back the hands
(If I could turn back) If I could just turn back that little clock on
the wall
(If I could turn back) Then I'd come to realize how much I love you,
love you, love you, love you, love you
If I could turn back the hands

Kitchen Village @ Cyberjaya

2010-05-04T11:50:00.004+08:00

Kitchen Village is a restaurant sleeping in the outskirt of Selangor - Cyberjaya. It was supposed to be a celebration for Janzen! He is turning 1 years old tomorrow!

It has been a tradition that we have to order beencurd whenever we dine outside, it is something for Janzen :). Black pepper ostrich, I love this very very much. Tender and succulent!
Butter fried chicken, not too bad..
Asam squid on hotplate. A very nice dish especially with rice!
Fish head curry. This is a disappointing one for me.
Overall, the food was good and I like the setup of the restaurant too.

I will be back

2010-04-28T13:34:00.006+08:00

Hey yo, sorry that the blog has been dead for quite some time.

The reasons are:
1) Busy
2) Busy
3) and busy
4) I have sold my camera

Well, there are some ups and downs and left and right, I will be back once I buy myself a new camera because I have sold my camera :)

I WILL BE BACK!

Janzen is gonna be a year old soon!!!! time FLEW

Veg Fish Farm @ Ampang

2010-03-29T09:23:00.005+08:00

It was raining cats and dogs and the whole Kuala Lumpur is filled with cars on a Friday evening. This dinner was supposed to be a surprise birthday dinner for Wing, but it seems that Jerry accidentally spilled the beans. I strongly suggest to patron this place earlier before the sun sets. It is located near Ampang-Lookout Point. To get to this restaurant, you have to manoeuvre through jungles and mountains! I am not kidding because I thought that Derek was driving me to a cemetery!

After some 5~10 minutes in the jungle, we came to a place with a pond where the tables are built-on-top-of-the-pond. Well, we reached at 9pm, sorry that I couldn't snap any picture of the surrounding.

Some Tody (fermented coconut wine) and stout!
The girls opted for coconut

Fried Paku-Pakis with belacan. The belacan made the vege taste good!

Supposed to be Lala (clam) with Soup but I am unsure where the did the soup go. Taste was normal, nothing to shout about.

Barbeque Lamb which is really tasty that we have to order a 2nd plate! This is easily the best dish for that night.

Thai style steam fish. The sauce is really nice, hint of sourness and sweetness. Unfortunately, the fish did not match up to the sauce because it has a strong "sandy" smell in it. It is pretty normal for fresh water fishes.

Barbeque Snails, not bad :) first time trying it though. The texture is similar to squid.

Barbeque crab. Orginal and sweet! It was barbequed very nicely, not overdone! The meat is fresh and sweet too..

Cake from secret recipe to celebrate Wing's birthday

Look at the number of candles!
A group picture. Well, it is normal that the photographer always get left out :'(.

We went to lookout-point right after dinner, the pictures are with Derek. Let's wait for him to post em' up.

i love koffee @ Menajalara KL

2010-03-28T18:33:00.003+08:00

A new coffee shop is in Menjalara town. This new shop is right above the currently-so-famous Old Town White Coffee at Menajalara.

Shown above is a cup of Orange Coffee. Very special but a bit too much foam to my liking.

Earth Hour 2010

2010-03-28T00:41:00.000+08:00

Did you participate in Earth Hour 2010?
The lights at my place were all switched off and my neighbors took part in this meaningful event too.

Same day last year, I was at The Curve enjoying my first Earth Hour.
It was also the day where I got my first flash, the Sony HVL-F42AM. It was a birthday gift that came way earlier so that I can learn how to use it before the BKK trip.

It has been a year, many have changed along the way, some are still changing. But, how many remained unchanged? Unchanged for better or worst?
Let's do our part to protect mother Earth.

The Future

2010-03-08T09:29:00.002+08:00

Is everything clear ahead? Or always blurry and uncertain?

Almond and Hazelnut Cookies

2010-03-02T08:16:00.006+08:00

Stephanie baked some cookies and she was kind enough to give me some for chinese new year. I called it nut cookies but she said that it is Almond + Hazelnut. Okay, whatever! Honestly, it was quite good, and I decided to post this to repay the effort :)

2010 CNY @ Genting

2010-03-01T13:15:00.006+08:00

I was drove all the way to Kampung Bukit Tinggi for dinner. It seems that this is Yan Fay's regular hangout spot for dinner. He ordered 5 dishes and I have no idea on the names of the dishes. There are 2 greens, 1 chicken, 1 pork and 1 beancurd LOL. Food is not bad, I like the beancurd and pork! A group picture before the next stop.

First attempt on slow shutter! I placed my camera on the video game machines for6 seconds.

We went out for a walk hoping wanting to catch some cold breeze but it ended up with disappointment. Hence, just snapping around!

Andrew and Angel

I like this pic very much! The red lights from the hotel illuminate the mist above the lamp post giving it a Gotham City kinda feel!

Yan Fay and June

Everybody! Oops, I am out-of-focused!

Can you imagine that Angel was actually running on the pebbles....crazy..

Something new from me again~

The Gelateria @ Kota Kemuning

2010-02-24T16:17:00.004+08:00

A friend recommended this and it is really far from my place!

The deco is really simple that it gave me a feeling that it is a small-scale-family-business where you will find the whole family working in the shop. . According to the owner, they are usually closed on Mondays to 'replenish' the gelato.

AppetizerSo, what so special about this place? Something on the menu that shocked me! Vanilla flavored spaghetti!!! I doubted and asked the owner and he reassured that YES it is vanilla flavored! okay, let's order one.

Tada!!!!! It is actually vanilla flavored gelato in the form of spaghetti! Cool right? Besides, they do have different "shapes" too! Lasagna and pizza!

Yugoslavian Beef Cevapcici in Rice Ring: The crave for meatballs was so strong and this was recommended. This is a must try! Super yummy, especially the gravy - heavy and simply delicious. However, the texture of the meatball is not as good as those found in Ikea though.

Spaghetti: This time it is the real one! It was supposed to be carbonara but I believed that the waiter got it wrong. It is a bit salty but it was good too (not great)

Beef soup. Tasted like beef + bean soup. I prefer Sup Tulang or the classic minestrone!

Clockwise: Affogato (with lavazza espresso), cafe espresso gelato, chocolate gelato

Cafe espresso was a tad too sweet, I would prefer it to have more espresso in it. Fortunately, the chocolate one was good, bitter yet not too sweet!

The price is pretty reasonable (I would say). The fake spaghetti was RM16.90 (huge portion!), the mains starts from RM12.90 with a cup of pandan water, and a scoop of gelato! The soup is priced at RM3.50 and the affogato is at RM8.90

Address:
6, Jalan Anggerik Vanilla V31/V, Kota Kemuning 40460 Shah Alam

Dynasty Dragon Seafood Restaurant (皇龙) @ IOI Mall, Puchong

2010-02-22T09:37:00.005+08:00

Our first Chinese New Year reunion dinner with Janzen (he is 9 months old now)! Initially, we were thinking of having 盆菜 here but it is a bit too pricey. Appetizer:nuts

Braised Assorted Dried Seafood in Claypot (发财海味煲): RM40 for this pathetic portion. Besides, I hardly find any seafood too.

Braised Beancurd with Abalone Shreds (鲍丝扒豆腐): The best for the night

Fried BBQ Pork with Soya Sauce(酱油爆花腩): Taste was ok but too salty
Stew Chicken with XO Sauce (XO 酱炆鸡): Taste was ok and it was my favorite for the night
Fried Rice with Preserved Meat (腊味炒饭): Not bad, but then I wouldn't pay RM20 for a bowl of fried rice
Fried Kailan in 2 ways (双叶炒芥兰): I like this! I like the crispy leaves that they pre fried and put it on top of the vege. Nice!
Overall, it was a big disappointment. The restaurant looks good but the food and service didn't meet up to our expectations.

- Added english name for the dishes as requested:)

Ribs @ Oasis @ Bandar Utama

2010-02-14T01:16:00.010+08:00

We had a simple CNY reunion dinner (as always since 2007 :) ) at Ribs @ Oasis at Bandar Utama for 2010.
The menu at Ribs is simple and clean - The way I like menus to be Ribs Drinks (RM6.50) - I have no idea how this thing taste... Coffee (RM5.50) - My first dose of caffeine for the day. They used a brand called Nespresso and the coffee does taste decent. Though it can be slightly richer than it was

Wild Mushroom Soup (RM8.00) - A signature dish but turned out to be a disappointment. By the way, I have very high 'requirements' for mushroom soup. It has to be rich, thick, wild and flavorful haha.
Deep Fried Pork Chunks (RM12.50) - It is actually deep fried pork belly. Not to bad! Tasted like it was marinated with 腩乳.

BBQ Baby Back Ribs (RM28.50) - Another signature dish. My sister complained that the portion is a bit too small. For the price, what to complain right? Nonetheless, the meat is pretty tender and utmost importantly, it was delicious.

Pork Loin Chop (RM30.50) - This was what I ordered and it turned out to be the best main dish of the night! :). The meat is very succulent and it almost melt in my mouth. Pork compliments well with the apple sauce as well. I strongly recommend this!

Pan Fried Fish (RM21.90) - Fish was not overcook and the tenderness was well preserved. Nothing much to shout about and it was quite good too.

We then finished the dinner with some desserts.

Affogato (RM10.90) - The espresso was a little too 'light'. The one I had with Illy Espresso at some other place is much better.
Chocolate Molten Cake (RM10.50) - For someone who has a 'decayed' sweet-tooth. Do you think that I will say that this isnt nice? Well, the cake is awesome...I should have ordered with Haagen Dazs instead.
Apple Banana Crumble (RM9.90) - Another awesome dessert. Hot and cold! Multiple texture from the crispy top to the hot and soft banana base....It gave me multiple pleasure when sinking it into my teeth.
This is definitely a place that I would go again in the near future. Price is pretty reasonable, service was pretty good too!

Random Flowers @ The Curve

2010-02-01T09:38:00.005+08:00

It was a sunny day and I brought my camera that day! Spotted some not so attractive flowers in The Curve and decided to make it a little more interesting :). Hope that I made though

Lion Dance @ The Curve

2010-02-01T08:12:00.003+08:00

Saw the setup of the show and was fortunate that I brought my camera along that day. The girl is arranging the ancient coins. At first, I was wondering what that is for too! It was actually used to create some high pitch sound when the coins fall on to the ground.

Many were snapping pictures before the show begins

2 lions were placed behind!

Here we go!

The awakening

Millipede

2010-01-31T10:54:00.005+08:00

Small creatures like a milipede can be inspiring. I watched this little milipede climb up the wall. It took it a lot of effort (it seems), no matter how many times I disturbed it and pushed it down the wall, it still did not give up and kept climbing up and up

Before & After Mints

2010-01-31T10:31:00.003+08:00

Seen this before? I have seen this many times but not get it until recently. There are other flavors such as lemon. Sugar - free mints but it has aspartame in it - as usual

This is how it is inside

It has funky design and concept but the mints certainly did not impress me at all. Not minty and the chocolate and orange mints were too light/mild/bland. - Tasteless..

Williams Mamak @ Taman Mayang Petaling Jaya

2010-01-14T09:27:00.005+08:00

It was Cheng Mun first time to this place and she said that it would be her last. LOL...

The food was nice but she just couldn't stand the environment (cleanliness to be exact).

Turkey Ham Carbonara (RM15) It ain't super creamy nor super cheesy. I like it very much..

Seafood Spaghetti (RM30)

Honestly, the amount of seafood sleeping on top of the spaghetti will make this cost more than RM30 at a decent restaurant. The seafood made it delicious, sweet and fresh!

Signature Fried Rice with Crab (RM25)

It was finished before I managed to snap!

The food 4/5, the environment 2/5, the price, 3/5 (pretty pricey for a mamak)

Sekinchan Paddy Field (2010)

2010-01-11T12:18:00.013+08:00

Four crazy fellars departed from Sg Buloh at 5:45am to Sekinchan while the moon is still hanging up up in the sky. Yan Fay, Ah Bee, Zee Jiun & I were on the way to catch sunrise at the paddy field.

Though it was really really far, we managed to reach before the sun came out! The super blue atmosphere before the sun came out:

The sun was hiding behind the clouds. The color rendition with the greens and sunlight was awesome

Harsh sunlight coming from the left side causing flare and a blown out sky. The colors it produced were stunning!

Zee Jiun trying to let the water flow into the fields

Another side of the paddy field where the rice is still green

Dried ones:

Where is the camera? lol

Ah Bee mimicking as a scarecrow

3 scarecrows and 1 cow 3 watering the paddy and 1 bodyguard Some head shots

That's the end of our photo shoot trip and we were so bloody hungry

Before breakfast, we headed to the village and spotted this superb lorryThe place is beautiful but we were there at the wrong time when the rice had been harvested. Definitely worth another trip there in the near future when Zee Jiun get himself a DSLR.Hope that you like the pics

Flora in front of my place

2010-01-08T21:51:00.002+08:00

It's Friday evening, walking around with my camera trying to snap some interesting stuffs around my house. Unfortunately, only managed to get 2 acceptable image after 30mins out there.

Nikon AF 85mm f/1.8D Test

2010-01-06T09:02:00.004+08:00

Portrait shooters or bokeh lovers will probably own a 85mm lens for its bright aperture and bokeh rendition. Full frame DSLR users will perhaps prefer the 135mm version for a better reach/bokeh.
Recently, I was given a chance to play with the Nikon AF 85mm f/1.8D No doubt that the DOF is really shallow! Unfortunately, shooting wide open (f/1.8) isn't that sharp if you pixel peep.

The lens was then took indoor for a further test on its bokeh. Pardon me for ISO1600 because the pictures were taken without flash.
It is very obvious that the lens performs better when stopped down to f/2.8. Frankly, both bokeh looks fine and somewhat similar to me.
It is indeed a fun lens to play with and I can't imagine how much more shallow the DOF can be on a 85mm f/1.4 lens that cost 3 times more.
Purple fringing seems to be a known problem for both 85mm lens (f/1.8 & f/1.4) which can be pretty annoying when you crop/pixel peep.

Janzen's New Hair Cut

2010-01-04T16:52:00.005+08:00

My sister gave Janzen some ugly haircut in Tanjung Sepat and I find it pretty ugly! LOL.

Nonetheless, I couldn't resist to post these cute pics I took recently. Arh, what a pleasant Sunday morning :)

Ipoh Day Trip (December 2009)

2009-12-30T08:50:00.009+08:00

A day trip to Ipoh in December. It all happened because of the so-famous Foh San Dim Sum. It is so famous that I really have to give it a try before 2010!Sheena, Abi, Zee Jiun and I left my place at 6am to beat the crowd for breakfast. This is Foh San Restaurant. Nice right? We reached there 8am+ and the place is already crowded with humans. Kah Ken and Ah Xian joined us too.I walked to the counter and asked if we have to queue for a table but later found out that I have to stand beside table and give pressure to those who are eating to give me theirs. I think they should give numbers instead....

Typical way of enjoying dim sum. But hey, it is damn packed here, can you finish it and get up? Note: There are only a few plates of dim sum!
At last, we managed to get a table, thanks to the waitress that chased the guy off trying to 'steal' our table. The waitress told the guy that we have been waiting and he shouldn't do that! Thanks yo!

Below is only 10% of what we ordered.

I ate a lot and the bill came up to RM94+ for 6 of us! Cheap right?
Sheena loved Old Town coffee and we headed to the ORIGINAL OLD TOWN WHITE COFFEE in IPOH! To my surprise, this shop is really old and classic! It is a typical coffee shop...

We got ourselves 3 hot and 1 cold white coffee for RM5.10! Cheap right? It would cost you more than RM10 in Old Town! Super aromatic and flavorful coffee...love it..

Next stop: Drive- thru Tau Fu Fah. You can opt to park your car and eat it in your car. However, we chose to eat beside the shop! They sell Tau Fu Fah, Soya Bean (drink) and Cincau at RM0.80. RM0.80 for 2 scoops of Tau Fu Fah ain't cheap. Ken joined us after work and brought us to this shop that sells Hor Hee Noodles.

Cam whoring in the car

Last stop: Pamelo!!!

The pamelo is slightly sweeter than those in KL:)

That marks the end of the trip. Special thanks to Ken for being our tour guide. This trip will be a memorable one because we found something rather interesting:

The PRESS @ Bangsar Shopping Centre

2009-12-28T13:43:00.004+08:00

I was @ The PRESS to celebrate Christmas 2009 and it was a big disappointment!
The place and deco was alright but the food and service was - 'oh my godz'...

Some chicken

Some lamb
Some venison
Sea bass + some ratatouille
Some Christmas special turkey
The portions were really 'some' and we ended up having our 'dinner' in Chilli's because what we had felt like appetizer!

Taiwan Street @ Tropicana City Mall

2009-12-14T08:45:00.004+08:00

Headed over to Tropicana City for dinner but ended up having it in Taiwan Street because of the limited choice of restaurants over there.

Taiwan Street reminds me of Little Taiwan in One Utama/Avenue K/KLCC. They must be from the same company. However, to some of you who might not know, the Little Taiwan in Avenue K serves pork whereas the others are Halal...weird uh?

Red Pearl Milk Tea (RM4.80)Bubble Red Tea (RM3.90)
My favorite drink, simple and cheap. The jasmine green tea version taste better

Braised Duck Rice (RM11.90)
The amount of meat they gave was pathetic

Tang Tang Noodle (RM8.90)
A very simple dish. Once, I mistaken this as the Tang Tang Noodles I ate in Dragon-i. Then, I realized that Dragon-i serves Shanghai food instead. Conclusion, Shanghai version is the one I prefer because of the heavier taste (the peanut soup based is yummy).

Chicken Chop Rice (RM11.90)
Chicken Chop Lao Su Fen (RM11.80)
This is actually Chicken Chop Rice without rice...haha. They replaced rice with Lao Su Fen and reduced the price by RM0.10.

Tada:
Janzen was so naughty and greedy!

Xmas Present 2009

2009-12-13T10:32:00.003+08:00

My current wallet has been more than 4 years old (I believe). Hence, I gave myself an excuse to buy a new one as xmas present for 2009.
Pictures were taken using 2 wireless flash oh!

Xmas @ The Curve

2009-12-10T10:50:00.005+08:00

Xmas is just around the corner and shopping malls are filling up the atmosphere with beautiful decorations. Here are some shots taken at The Curve
Playing with circular bokeh from the light bulbs
Pictures were made warmerCouldn't resist to take some pictures of these cupids

Chocolate Lounge @ The Curve

2009-12-09T13:02:00.003+08:00

Chocolate Lounge recently opened a new branch at The Curve. We walked by the other day after our weekend gym session and found something really interesting.
RM1.20 sundae
I would prefer it without the chocolate flakes though :)

Playing with Bokeh (Depth of field)

2009-12-08T10:23:00.004+08:00

Some of you might be thinking what the heck is Depth of field (DOF). Wikipedia explanation as below:

In optics, particularly as relates to film and photography, the depth of field (DOF) is the portion of a scene that appears acceptably sharp in the image. Although a lens can precisely focus at only one distance, the decrease in sharpness is gradual on each side of the focused distance, so that within the DOF, the unsharpness is imperceptible under normal viewing conditions.

I believe many started off with DSLR because of the shallow DOF that is not achievable in normal a point-and-shoot digital camera due to the smaller sensor. Well, I bought my first DSLR because I wanted a shallow DOF in my portrait shots too. In photography, we call the out-of-focus (blurriness) as bokeh.See the blurriness in the above picture? The plane at the pebble is in-focused and there rest are out-of-focused. This is what we call Bokeh.There was a time when I actually ditched bokeh and practice on getting tack-sharp pictures and better picture composition. Hey, my love with bokeh has came back and I am actually eyeing on a bigger aperture lens (bigger aperture has shallower DOF, hence more bokeh) such as the 50mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.8 lenses.

Bokeh is affected by
1) Aperture - Bigger creates more bokeh
2) Focal Length - 200mm creates more bokeh than 20mm at the same aperture
3) Distance of subject - The closer you get to a subject, the crazier the bokeh gets!

Would you like to help me fund for some Bokeh lenses? :)

Restaurant Fu Gua Thong （天天来苦瓜汤) @ Bandar Puteri Puchong

2009-12-04T14:42:00.013+08:00

This is my 3rd having 苦瓜汤 (Bitter Gourd Soup) and 2nd visit to this shop. I blogged about another shop earlier here. As promised, I will now introduce the famous one to you guys.

This shop is located Jalan Puteri 2/4, the shop lots right opposite of Giant Store @ Bandar Puteri Puchong. The other shop that I blogged earlier is just further down the same street.
Bitter Gourd Soup 苦瓜汤 (RM16)
Sorry for the bad picture composition. Everyone was so hungry that they didn't give me a chance to take a nice pic. Do you like Pork Noodles 猪肉粉? It taste like Pork Noodle soup + Bitter Gourd. I like!

Signature Fried Pork Belly 客家炸肉 RM4/pc (2 pcs below)
This is slightly better than those found in Hakka Rang Retaurant at Kota Damansara. Salty and meaty, great for meat lovers like me.

Sweet Potato Leaves with Belacan 番薯叶 (RM5)
Stir Fried Pork Intestine with Ginger and Spring Union 姜葱炒猪杂（RM8)
Simple and delicious dish only for intestines lover.

Thai Style Fish Fillet 泰式鱼片 (RM8)
This is one disappointing fillet. Portion is way too small and too much batter and too little meat.

Gung Bao Pork 宫保炒肉 (RM8)
Normal and nothing to shout about.

Menu and price list
They have a website too! www.fuguathong.com.my

2012 Movie Review

2009-12-03T08:23:00.008+08:00

Those who know me would know that I hardly watch movies. I prefer dramas over movies :).
Anyway, I wanted to watch 2012 pretty badly after the watching the trailers. Blockbuster for 2009?

The movie wasn't that bad though. Story is pretty simple, acting is so-so, CG is cool! However, the movie left me a few questions to ask:

1) How did Dr. Satnam managed to call Dr. Helmsley to say goodbye? I thought that ground communications were all destroyed? That scene was touching but hey, can he still make calls?

2) Remember the scene after the dust cloud at the White House? If I am not mistaken, Mr. President was the only one that woke up watching the tsunami with USS John F. Kennedy hitting the white house. How cool right?

3) How did Jackson climb out from the camper after it went down with the earthquake in Yellowstone?

4) It doesn't quite make sense to me that a driller can actually stop the door of the ship from closing. It is supposed to be super powerful right?

5) Moreover, there isn't anything that can overwrite the system to start the engine without closing the door? Or did I miss anything here? The system designer should be sacked.

5) Is Noah a better swimmer than Jackson? I remembered that they left together after pulling out the driller from the gates right? Unfortunately, Noah is much faster than his dad! Perhaps the director wanted more excitement?

Bentley is a super nice car but cracking a joke in the movie seems so lame to me. "Engine Start!" arh....please~

One more, remember the scene with Queen Elizabeth and her dogs? It reminds me of Paris Hilton with a chihuahua. -_-''

Besides, I think Sasha shouldn't be killed in the movie. He is The-Hero!

I love the way Yuri speaks too. You know? He is "damnnnnnnn coooollll" - Low pitch and slow-mo

All in all, its 2 hours and 40 minutes worth of film, so no complaints paying for it haha. Anyway, I'd prefer the movie to be a little more complicated though :)

Ming & Ally Wedding

2009-12-01T17:15:00.009+08:00

A series of pictures taken from Ming & Ally's tea ceremony and dinner at Klang.

Wedding decoration to boost the atmosphereAlly is getting prepared for the big day!
The nails were 'beautified' earlier
Some dude apologies for being late for the show
The theme for the day
Finally, the bride has been kidnapped to their new home
The smoke from the fire-crackers filled up the frame
The big night
Only for the VIPs
Guests arrived earlier than expected! I was amazed!Champagne!
Time for a toast! oops, it is called yam-seng in Malaysia.
Laughter filled up the restaurant!

Zoo Negara

2009-11-21T23:44:00.008+08:00

How many of you Malaysian kids actually been to the zoo before? I know that our zoo "isn't that great" as compared to our "neighbors" but Yan Fay, Weng Keong, Zee Jiun and I paid a visit last Saturday.

The zoo increased the ticket from RM15 to RM20 and the parking fee from RM4 to RM4.20. Oh my god, a bad move indeed.

Seal from the animal show Wild boar always reminds me of curry! Curry wild boar FTW!
Spotted this monster near the hippo
Cute but huge hippo drinking
Hippo with a smile, isn't it cute?
Zee Jiun captured this and I find it interesting! Good catch
Greedy otter
Kangaroo lookalike creature from Australia. It is actually very small, size of a dog
Walk, walk, walk and we found something really gross. They actually hang the tigers and lions food for the public to see. Wouldn't it scare the children?
The King. Notice the catch-light in its eye?
The deers reminded me that xmas is just around the corner.

(The smaller pics are from flickr, click the thumbnails for a better resolution)
I gave myself an objective which is to capture a bird flying/take-off. Previously, I shot a few hundreds of picture but none of it are usable! Arh....

Phew, fortunately, I managed to capture some this time. Thanks to my friends that frighten the birds so that they fly hahah

A true macro lens might be useful for insects but I do not have one. Nonetheless, I love the bokeh (out of focus) from it. The spider is almost the size of my palm.
Weng Keong shooting through the cage

Restaurant Moon Hao Fook @ Bandar Puteri Puchong

2009-11-19T20:22:00.004+08:00

Have you heard of Bitter Gourd Soup 苦瓜汤? (Bitter Gourd also known as Bitter Melon). This is my 2nd time trying it. My first was also in Puchong but another shop down the same street. Unfortunately, the famous shop was closed on Monday and we were left with no choice but to try this not so famous one.You can opt to have the bitter gourd soup cooked with pork (with intestines) or fish in this shop. We ordered the pork version and it is quite a disappointing dish as compared to the other shop! This soup is really bitter as apposed to the other shop! None of us liked it
Hakka Fried Pork (客家炸肉) is so-so only! Fortunately, this not really tasty dish is the best one for the night.
Pork cooked with yam (芋头扣肉）. This is a really bad dish. I do not know why it tasted sourish. We thought that there was something wrong with it until they clarified that they added dates that caused the sourish taste. This will the first time in my life tasting a sour 芋头扣肉. Well, no one liked it too!
Nothing special about this vegetable, PHEW~
This will be my first and last time dining in this shop. Now, I know why the famous shop is so crowded and people are willing to queue than having their bitter gourd soup in this shop.

Stay tuned for the next post on the famous shop ok?

Chewy Junior Cream Puff @ Pavilion KL

2009-11-18T11:51:00.007+08:00

I have very sweet teeth (many) and got these cream puffs from Pavilion KL. These puffs are slightly different from the ordinary puffs where it is actually CHEWY.
Almond Chocolate
Blueberry Cheese
Haha, I dont remember the name:
Oreo
Apple Cheese
Strawberry Cheese
So, what's inside?
The texture is indeed interesting but I prefer the classic cream puffs stuffed with custard cream :) Yummy~a

Kissaten @ Jaya One PJ

2009-11-16T10:31:00.009+08:00

First of all, I would like to complain the design of Jaya One at SS14!! It was raining that night and we were forced to walk under the pour due to the roofless design without a sheltered walkway.

One of the staffs in Kissaten was kind enough to tell me that I can used another path instead. However, he told me when I was right in front of the shop. Funny enough, he condemned on the design of the mall too.

The beverage menu.
The food menuAs always, Japanese emphasize on food presentation! The menu is pretty with super large prints! I like it

I was thinking of what to have till I spotted this poster on the wall. Why pizza in a Japanese restaurant? It must be their signature dish!Elison ordered Shoyu Ramen Set (RM22.80)
It comes with green tea and Gyoza
Ramen is a bit too salty. It gets pretty gross after some time. Gyoza was quite nice, not oily and crispy on the top

Elizia's Salmon Steak Set (RM27.80)
How nice if they can remove the bones from the salmon
Mum had Olio Spaghetti Set (RM20.80) that comes with salty mushroom soup and salad
Mum complained that the spaghetti was salty too
Char Siew Pizza for me. This has to be the best dish for the night! (RM23.90)
Unfortunately, they ran out of cheese cake and we opt for Pumpkin Zenzai (RM7.90) instead.
I don't like pumpkin but they liked it.
Also, we ordered another Azuki Pancake (RM4.90).
Conclusion, they were pretty disappointed with the ultra salty dishes. Char Siew Pizza is pretty good though
PS: Photos were taken without flash, sorry!!!

Nikon AF-S 18-200mm VR

2009-11-13T00:33:00.005+08:00

This time, I am going to create some low key pictures rather than high key ones which I have been doing it lately.

Well, since Nikon is known to be the "darker" side (or Dark Side), low key should be good.
Contrast had been boosted hoping to achieve low-keys :) Full body shot at its longest52mm and 72mm lens cap

Mr Baoz!

2009-11-11T11:56:00.005+08:00

Mr Baoz! is a famous snack from Taiwan and they have a branch in One Utama. I always wanted to try it but I always ended up in front of the stall after having my meals in One Utama. Well, blame the location of the shop, it is right at the end of the mall, right opposite Cold Storage. Bad place ain't it?My perception of it was so wrong! They have various flavors from sweet to sour to SALTY!
We bought 6 of it

The salty series:

My favorite are Viennese Cheese Baoz and Sweet & Sour Fish Baoz. Viennese Cheese Baoz has the taste of pizza, a new experience on a BAO! In the other hand, I could not believe that Sweet & Sour Fish actually tasted quite good. Though I can't taste any fish in it, but the taste is heavy and I liked it!

Will I buy again? For sure I will because they gave me a RM5 voucher! :)

Price:
Each Baoz range from RM2.00 to RM3.50.
3 pieces box set for RM8.50
6 pieces box set for RM15.90
12 pieces box set for RM29.90

More expensive than donuts!!

New Toy for November 2009

2009-11-09T10:01:00.002+08:00

Well, not toy for me :'(. Janzen came back from Mid Valley on Saturday with several new toys. It must be a present for his 0.5 years old celebration.

The 'shit massager'. This 'shit' emits some weird sound when you hit the bottom of it. Elison told me that this could be used as a massager and that is why I named it shit massager.Red giraffe I supposed.
Cute balloon spidey. They said that Janzen broke the stick (that holds the spidey) minutes after buying it. Strong boy uh~
Piranha, but a cute one
This is my sleeping pillow because Janzen does not like it. I guess that it is a bit too big for him, for now.

Lightning!

2009-11-04T12:40:00.005+08:00

Waiting for the lightning.....waiting and waiting....Yeah, there was a thunder but the lightning wasn't in front of my camera. But, it lighted up the whole sky. Nice, isn't it?
After waiting and waiting for more than 30 mins....Finally, I captured something, it's really something only.
Best shot of the night after 45mins. Picture below was taken with 30 seconds shutter. It is a great time for me to capture some really nice lightning during this monsoon season. Stay tuned!
Got something interesting last night:

Kalvin Birthday + Halloween Celebration @ T.G.I. Fridays

2009-11-02T12:18:00.008+08:00

We celebrated Kalvin's belated birthday and Halloween at TGI Fridays. It was supposed to be a surprise for Kalvin but I think he somehow knew about it.

The theme for that night was Pirates and none of us dressed like a pirate LOL.
Halloween decorations in the restaurant.
Wing was so obsessed with the big gorilla that she actually 'ordered' 'it' for some pics.
The flash was a bit too harsh that I can actually see the mouth through the gorilla's nose and the guy inside is actually smiling for the shots too. haha

TGI Crew made Kal stand on the chair and sing. As always, they made him blow the candles from an impossible distance too.
Happy birthday to you~ happy birthday to you~
The lovely couple (bila mau kahwin?)
The guys
& the ladies
Jack Sparrow joined the pack~
Apart from the dinner and cake, we gave Kal a better surprise! In fact, we were SURPRISED too :)

A bunch of people came to us with one of them wearing a sexy police uniform. It was supposed to be a bachelorette party (Hen night) for the police cum bride-to-be police.

It was so fun to see Kal being forced-feed like a goose.
More suprises to come, Kal got caught red handed! (I shall remove this pic if it's the will of PTYY)
Awh, how sweet. I want to celebrate my next birthday in TGI Fridays too :)

Kal: SURPRISED!!!!

Tony Roma decoration for the day was pretty nice and I liked it. It reminds me of the garbage dump in the movie District 9.

Bento Milk Tablet

2009-11-02T11:32:00.002+08:00

This is something that really brings back memories. I used to eat a lot of these sweets when I was small. My sis brought some back from Mid Valley that day and I realized that it is called - Bento. Those were the days, and I really feel old now.

Flowers @ My House ver.3

2009-10-29T16:15:00.003+08:00

I posted something similar like this before here and found that the shots were pretty horrible. Mum bought new flowers and I have more to shoot now...

It is time for me to practice before heading to the Orchid Farm with Yan Fay and Ah Bi

KBU Graduation Ceremony 2009 (Part 3)

2009-10-27T12:26:00.005+08:00

I admit I do miss my old Canon 40d that can burst 6.5fps! However, I have to make use of what I have now ~4.5fps

KBU Graduation Ceremony 2009 (Part 2)

2009-10-27T11:48:00.006+08:00

Here comes the 2nd set - Not so serious ones

I proved to Ah Bi (Weng Koeng) that I can capture the whole scene with 35mm :)

KBU Graduation Ceremony 2009 (Part 1)

2009-10-26T16:31:00.011+08:00

24 October 2009 will be a very special day for those who were in KBU International College. I was there to participate in such a wonderful and meaningful day as well.

My graduation ceremony was held in Shangri-La Hotel back in 2007. Somehow, I prefer to have it in your own campus.

As usual, there were tons of flowers that made it there too

Some pictures that I took for our fellow graduands.

Congratulations folks~

Unknown Lizard

2009-10-26T15:43:00.002+08:00

Yan Fay's New Toy

2009-10-22T23:21:00.006+08:00

Nikon had a fair in Mid Valley last week from 14 ~ 18 October 2009. I went there 3 days in a row and tried many poisonous cameras and lens, D3, D3X, D700, AF-S 50mm f/1.4, AF-S 12-24mm F/4. I didn't try the 600mm f/2.8 because that lens is probably a price of a car :)

Yan Fay grabbed himself a Nikon D5000 after trying out Nikon D3000, Canon 500d, Canon 1000d and Sony A330.

Nikon gave this interesting paper bag with "Can your compact digital do this?". They were actually promoting the new Nikon S1000pj point & shoot digital camera with projector function. Sheena wasn't impress with the picture quality from that camera so I don't think I should talk about it. I'd get the Panasonic LX-3 or Canon G10/G11 anytime :), Sony has a nice WX-1 too!

We went to Mage Cafe for some board games after dinner at Hakka Rang Restaurant.

It is time for me to spread some love of what a 50mm prime lens can do:

Yan Fay, see that pic below? sharp and nice bokeh right? :)

Janzen is 5 months old

2009-10-22T14:03:00.006+08:00

Our dear Mr. Janzen Lim is 5 months old!!!
Some cute cute little pics I took, this dude is getting really naughty! He can't stay still for me to shoot! In front of my sister's (Elizia) new house in Seri Kembangan. It was still under renovation last week.
He is always superbly happy after taking his nap
Like father like son, he loves the TV like his dad.
A 5 months old boy is supporting himself with his arms! I am impress and he was excited too
Mum cutting his nails...Janzen loves fingers, I do not know whyA happy boy
That is a bad boy enjoying his finger-licking-good
The first day in his new house in Seri Kembangan. I guess he was frightened. My brother-in-law bought a red leather sofa like mine too
2 mins after the above:10 seconds after the above, he is hungry

Lotte Cinnamon Gum

2009-10-21T10:22:00.002+08:00

Not only it sounds weird but it taste a bit weird too. I like cinnamon but cinnamon in a bubble gum has gone a bit too far...

Japanes Ramen & Pan Mee @ Seri Kembangan

2009-10-19T15:37:00.003+08:00

Yes... I did the spell-check but the name of the stall is "Japanes Ramen ..." NOT "Japansese Ramen...." :)

It is a stall along the main road...Over here, you can opt to have the ordinary pan mee & ramen or you can go with the spinach version where they mix spinach into it. It is also called 日本菠菜拉面 in chinese.

Besides, you can have it with normal soup, spicy soup or have it in the dry version.
All of us ordered the Ramen version, the pan mee version will have anchovy, mushrooms and minced pork as toppings.

Spinach Ramen in Spicy Soup (RM3.00):
I would prefer it to be slightly spicier
Dry Spinach Ramen (RM3.00):
This taste better than the normal l
Spinach Ramen (RM3.00)
The main attraction of this place is of course of the price! At only RM3.00, you get a super big bowl of ramen! Apart from that, take a look at the toppings they used. They are not stingy in giving many toppings in huge portion.
The best part is the vegetable they used, they are fresh and not like those half-dead vegetables that you often find in a bowl of noodle.

Woo Pin Fish Head Noodle @Taman Desa

2009-10-19T10:52:00.004+08:00

This used to be one of our hang-out-spot for lunch when I was working at TPM Bukit Jalil. It is always super crowded and damn difficult to get a proper table and parking space. Sometimes we were left with no choice but to share the table with others...

The signboard says "Pulau Ketam Seafood" but they actually serve Fish Head Noodle during lunch time. Recently, they extended the business hour till 10pm! No more rushing to this place for lunch!! Yeahoo....
Fish Head Noodle - I ordered the Fish Paste version and changed the Meehoon into Yee Mee. It was fantastic! RM6.50 only :)
All time fav - Fish Head Noodle
This is one of my fav spot for fish head noodle. The soup is fresh and flavorful with a slight touch of evaporated milk. Unlike some other shops that actually use a lot of milk which I do not really like.

There is actually one shop that serves better fish head noodle than this but I couldn't remember the exact location. It is somewhere in Cheras..

Green..green....green....@ The Curve

2009-10-19T10:37:00.006+08:00

Shot some GREENS a while ago with max active-d-lighting and depth-of-field (DOF).

Davidoff Coffee

2009-10-10T12:31:00.006+08:00

Davidoff Coffee....

Bought all 3 of em' Bailey's + coffee taste good too!

See that ugly reflection in the last pic?? I edited it into:
Better?

Yan Fay's Birthday @ Wong Kok 1 Utama

2009-09-29T18:16:00.005+08:00

It was Yan Fay's birthday and we decided to give him a surprise by organizing a small gathering with some friends. We landed @ wong kok to get the complimentary giant size tea!
Enjoy the photos:
Birthday boy:
Lai Yee, Yan Fay and Lee:

June & Jackie:

We were lucky to get ~10 in such a short period of time (1 day to be exact)

Here we are:

He made some super long wishES~

Hui Ting & Yan Fay
Siew Yann and Lai Yee:
Me and Weng Keong
Some candid shots
Siew Yann: June:

It was a simple but nice gathering!

Crocs Crazy

2009-09-29T11:00:00.002+08:00

My first impression about Crocs wasn't a good one. How would one pay RM100++ for a pair of rubber slipper (some call it shoe)??? Besides, it looks pretty weird too isn't it? Perhaps Phua Chu Kang's yellow rubber-market-shoe made it famous ...

Unfortunately, once I tried it, I fell in love with it! It feels so comfortable and clean walking in a pair of Crocs! My first pair of Crocs were from Hong Kong.

My feet were super sore after walking from Tsim Tsa Tsui to Mong Kok and Mong Kok to Sham Shui Po and from...all in all, its walking and walking in Hong Kong! I was lucky to find a good bargain for Crocs there and it served me pretty well from that day onwards!
The green Crocs is my first and it has been loyal to me. I used it during my HK, Bangkok and Siem Reap trip!!!!! Amazing right?

Thanks to Sing Yew and Pikki who bought me a grey one! I couldn't resist but to stock up another orange one in Singapore :)....

Loitering @ Singapore

2009-09-26T19:48:00.013+08:00

I was in Singapore during Hari Raya break to chill and meet up some friends. Not many pics because I did not go to any interesting places such as Jurong BirdPark, Sentosa Island etc....

We went to 3Monkeys in Orchard to watch Kurma the stand-up comedian. Thanks to Jyy Mei and Terrence for bringing us there. He/She (Kurma) reminds me of Russell Peters...Supper that night at "Yong He" 永和豆浆
ION Mall in Orchard. The architecture is interesting, it is the shape of that fruit shown below:
The MRT entrance is amazing too!
Pauline & Sheena
I like this:
My randomness on Orchard Road: Night Safari was promoting the Halloween themed safari (I guess). Zombie and Pinocchio
Do not know what this is
Vampire
Cool uh?
Looks like hunchback + hulk lol....
Adam's Family?
I like the way he mimics the way a zombie walks
Another cool new mall, Orchard Central. There is this super long escalator right beside the building. I actually went in to the mall just to experience it.
This is what you can see from the escalator (mid-way), I was a bit scared though! Imagine if the glass besides break????? I might just ......
Shot this from the top!
Formula 1 preparation!!
Waiting for my dinner @ Bugis Junction
The sweet couple
I always find walking in Singapore is always to peaceful!
You can't Cycle HERE!
@ MRT station
Nothing much to do in Singapore. I spotted this TCC cafe in Bugis Junction a day ago. Super comfy settings and super cold. The air-cond vent is just right above our HEADS
TCC Premium Coffee, you should try this, it is a coffee that I have not tasted before...
TCC Ice Coffee, looks like stout beer right?
Saw this interesting restaurant in Tampines - Manpuku!
The concept is similar to Marche but this is the Jap version of it.

Broga Hills

2009-09-14T16:00:00.011+08:00

Do not know why I agreed to join Weng Keong to Broga Hills last Sunday as I don't like Jungles especially insects and ugly little creatures.
Woke up at 3:30am that day and was caught up with a roadblock on Sungai Buloh highway at 4am!! It was on a Sunday morning! OMG!

We (Weng Keong, Zee Jiun, Yan Fay and I) started our journey from Menjalara at ~4:20am. There were 4 pandas in the car because all of us had sleeping disorder that night, nervous perhaps LOL! It was raining the whole morning and I thought that we have to call it off.

Contacted Ding along the way and we met up for breakfast (though they came after we finished). We were so cruel to leave them there and started hiking at 6am. Those who are reading this please remember to bring your TORCH-LIGHT! I did not bring mine and it was soooo dark that I can hardly see what is in front of me....an experience for a city boy like me....

After 45mins, we reached the 2nd stop (there is another higher spot but it is not a good spot for pictures). The weather was perfect after the fall earlier. The wind is strong and cold, it gave me a feeling that I was in Genting Highlands - Nice.

The 3rd stop:
Supposed to catch the sunrise but thanks to the fog/mist/haze....
Fortunately, managed to catch a few different pic of the sky with different colors

My fav pic. The red tints on the cloud and bluish sky blends really well...
The sky color changes during the entire process (sunrise)...I increased the contrast for 2 of the pics above to bring out the clouds...
Shot with GND filter:
This was after the sun came out, super 'blurry' right?
It was actually pretty dark that time and I have to pump the ISO really high. Model wannabe (abi) pro-photogs wanabe (ZJ)...though they looked GAY
Lame but it was fun!
Phew, managed to get 2 nice shots after MANY MANY un-synchronized shots. People around there must be thinking that we were a bunch of crazy monkeys
ZJ was actually holding the camera and I fire it with the controller in the hand
Another nice one:This is better:
Walking on air..
MeYan FayDing Ding I like this shot very much, I do not know why but I like the feel of it...very natural
Wei Keat, Ah Xiong,Gerrard, Gary and Ding Ding (from top clockwise)Wei Keat, nice catch:
Time to get down, pretty slippery but fun... We saw a couple having some great time there......aren't they all sticky and wet?
Playing with silhouette
Don't ask me way but this pic gave me a feeling of - Transformers....
All of us were super hungry and we drove to Negeri Sembilan for breakfast, it was 10am!!!
It is actually a 5mins drive from Broga Hills. Turn left from Broga and head straight to Broga town until you see this police station.
ZJ recommended this place for breakfast. He said that the PanMee here is super good!
Spot the stall?
ZJ also said that this cup of chendol was featured in the newspaper!
RM2.20 per cup. Quite nice but I prefer it to be sweeter with more gula Melaka. The best chendols are still in Melacca!
Dry Pan Mee (L) RM3.50
Pan Mee Soup (L) RM3.50
The Pan Mee portion was really really really a lot and I couldn't finished it. The soup is clear and tasteless like fishball noodle. I like the noodles though, the texture is nice and chewy....not toso soft nor too hard or starchy.

Thanks abi for organizing such a wonderful trip! So where's next? Pisang Hill? Full of leeches? Count me OUT! LOL

TeoChew Preserved Vegetable Moon Cake 梅菜月饼

2009-09-14T10:49:00.004+08:00

You must be thinking that they have went overboard in coming up with new Mooncakes. I had the same thought too but I was wrong. 梅菜月饼 (Preserved Vegetable Moon cake) is actually something from Teochew.
Google 梅菜 if you do not know what it is!
However, the 梅菜 (Preserved Vegetable) taste is soooo mild that I couldn't taste it at all. Nonetheless, it is quite good, sweet and slightly salty and most importantly is the price! It is only RM5.80 for this huge moon cake!