Xmas in Melaka 2007

Our Xmas was kinda silent this time around because one of my brother in law could not make it. So it was not a complete Xmas for us.

Juliette was waiting to play in the swimming pool that Grandma has bought with her older cousin Natasha. Grandma said never mind, we can get it ready for Chinese New Year instead. My brother in law is very busy at work so was unable to come back from Singapore.


We had some visitors visit us, Jasmin's niece and also both Uncle Kong and Uncle Meng. We had separate makan sessions with them before Xmas too.

With Uncle Kong we had a late nite supper at a Wan Tan noodle shop opposite Golden Mansion Restaurant in Melaka. Did you know the Wan Tan noodles in Melaka and Muar taste very different then the ones in KL. The flavour is different and so is the colour. I'll take a picture next time to show you the difference. Same like prawn noodles, in Muar, it is fried whereas in KL, it is soup based. It seems each time i see the food, i gobble it down before i can manage to take a picture....LOL.

Then we had a meal with Jasmin's niece, Yi Wen (I think the spelling is correct) and her fiance, Chee Jin. We had a small meal in Golden Mansion Restaurant, since Chee Jin is not into spicy food we had to order dishes that were quite "Ching" hehehe....


On the next day, we all went to Sibaraku in Mahkota Parade. The decor of the place was great and had that high class look, also the price was what attracted us, RM 130.94 for 6 pax (Rm 18.90 ++ per person). It was a Japanese buffet styled theme, so we went in with great anticipations.....alamak...the sushi spread (about 5 plates) was sorely lacking, they also had takoyaki and some mini apam balik, but the main dishes or meals were via the teppanyaki. The chef was ULTRA slow and incompetent, choosing to cook dishes to his convenience. It took too long and the catch of the buffet is to only allow you a time of 2 hours to eat there. Half the time, the things we ordered did not come or was replaced by something else, and when i ordered a portion of vegetables, it became four portions. Very very poorly managed and also lacking in service. If i had a choice, I'd think twice before i step in to this place again.

The food tasted ok, nothing too shout about, the price is so so, but they could have provided better service, such as having more chefs at the center counter then only one. Later we noticed that so happened that the chef assigned to our teppanyaki counter was the slowest of the lot. I noticed the other chefs utilizing the whole cooking area as compared to my chef who decided to do all his cooking in one corner of the whole "U" shaped cooking area. Just my luck.

It's all good, since the consoling fact was that we got to buy Uncle Meng a meal in Valley Square Restaurant after the day he was baptized (which was on Xmas by the way). For this, we decided to treat Uncle Meng and his son, Jeff to a meal in Valley Square. My bad...i decided to take pictures of the guests rather then the food. But i can tell you what we had.

1. Kai Lan Stir Fried
2. Butter Pork Ribs
3. Asam Fish
4. Stewed 3 layer pork
5. Egg Omelet
6. Bean curd with Crab Meat and Veg
7. Lor Hon Chai
8. Mongolian styled Ostrich Meat

Now is that menu impressive or what ? The damage was around RM 194.00 which i think was really reasonable considering that we had 11 people on the table.


All in all it was a simple and happy occasion, just that we miss Raphael, Fon and Natasha. This time around Xmas was kinda quiet.

Never mind....we'll meet up in Chinese New Year, where it will be Juliette's first CNY and also haih....time for us to cough up the Ang Pows too, since its the first CNY that we are married and celebrating too heheheh ....

(I'll be posting up the pictures later)

Isthmus KL

My wife's company had a function at Isthmus KL recently and the spouses were invited. As i was interested with the name i decided to surf the net with the link given to check the place out.






It was pictured as having a pleasant decor in a serene setting with nice soft lights. When we arrived at Isthmus, i can safely say the pictures on the website doesn't really captivate the beauty of the place. Its so lovely and comfortable, with the nice soft music in the background, lovely soft lights, it really sets the mood. You know how some places will have really cold air conditioning? This place was really nice, cool and cosy. I'd say the temperature was around 20s, really comfortable, not a bead of sweat.

I love the upper deck, which they say can be converted into a discussion or meeting area. Sittings were comfortable and wide enough for ample bodies people like me.

They were serving wine, and since i dun really know how to appreciate it, i think i'd rather stick to the beers. I had some Stella Artois, i think thats the name.....er.....yeah i think maybe a typo somewhere. The others were enjoying a choice of red and white wines and other house pourings.


We also had some finger foods server which was quite interesting, there 3 of them, we had duck pate' on baguette, a lotus looking dim sum and fried mushroom with anchovies. All this when we were chatting whilst waiting for the other guests to arrive.

Later we were sat down and our mean began, we were first served with something called "Simply Avacado". Jasmin liked it, but it was a tad bit sweet for me, being a savoury guy i prefered the second dish, the Salted Salmon, it was lovely. The food was served with flavour in mind and not to give you a bloated feel after or during dinner. The portions were sufficient to leave you wanting for the next dish, yet tummy pleasing enough to hold you over till the next plate. After that we were served with Mushroom soup followed by short speech and then the main course. Jasmin had the Cod Fish, whilst i had the Lamb. It was done lovely, with sufficient fat and meat to complement the meal. It was breaded with crumbs and sauteed' vegetables. Light and lovely, eventhough it was meat. The portions were good enought to allow you to even finish your desert and even have a cuppa after that.

All in all it was a lovely experience and a place that i would think to visit again sometime.

Kluang Noodle House

We were suppose to go to Jalan Chan Sow Lin to have fish for brunch, but was deterred by the horrid traffic snarl we encountered at the Damansara toll. My colleague who was on the same road, told me there was a road block near the Parliment thus causing the snarl. So i made an about turn to Aman Suria via Tropicana. Managed to buy some milk at the Tropicana Merchant Square and then head over to Aman Suria.




Wah.....since i was helping sis on house hunting i oso get to belanja mom and dad a simple meal in Restaurant Kluang Noodle House.





Been a few months....

We ordered :-

Kluang Laksa

Dry Tuna Laksa Noodle

Seafood Classic Noodles

"Mala" Soup Noodles





The noodles were excellently done, they are suppose to be hand made and from "Kluang" heheh, but seriously the dry noodle laksa and soup based laksa were special.

The broth is tangy and sour, the fillings are cucumber, pineapple and also tuna.....very special indeed, why coz you don't have the normal "Heh Kor" or prawn paste.

The "Mala" noodles were nice but the chilli oil is a bit over in my opinion. The seafood noodle was very clear and simple....nice as Dad enjoyed it.

A pot of Jasmine tea to clear it up and the damage is only RM 30.10 and some time to feed Juliette milk.



Great stuff.


J

House Hunting

My sister is on the lookout for a place, at first she is looking for a place in Kepong since it is near to where she works and the maintenance fee is supposedly cheap.

Here is where it got me thinking, i mean yah....the fee is cheap but Kepong? I don't mean to look down on the Kepong-gians but i just dun think the place is suitable for my sister. She says it toll-less and its near to Hartamas. Yes and yes, but she could do better. I mean with a budget of about 200k i think she can do better la....

So today is a holiday, it has slipped my mind which royalty's day it is, however, important things first.....i went scouting for my sister and the hunting ground for me is Kelana Jaya. Why? cos the amenities are superb, minus the traffic snarl la....however, since sis does not pull the same timing as most 9 to 5-ers, i think this is the best place, for value and also for easy access to almost EVERYWHERE !

1 Utama - Check
Hartamas - Check
SS2 - Check
Kay Ell - Check
Klang - Check

All easily accessible via the highways, and also the non-toll enabled bi-ways.

First i went to Kelana Idaman and also Suria Damansara, where the heck is that? Ah Ha ! You see there is so many choices.



Kelana Idaman is out of the questions, why ? Coz its a double storey house that cost RM 335'000.00.



HOWEVER, Suria Damansara, thats my first choice for my sister that i would recommend.

Price Range - RM 203'000.00 to RM 210'000.00
Size - 1100 Square Feet
Maintenance fee - RM 180 per month



The parking is covered and is really cool to look at....the area looks new and really posh looking. Plus its a condo man....what more can you ask for.

After that i went over to a few other places not worth mentioning....then i went to Crimson Kelana Jaya


This place is also good location wise. Its got access to the RAPID KL and also easily accessed via the old Subang Airport road and via the St. Francis church in the LDP road. You can also run out via Ara Damansara.

Price range - RM 228'000'00 ono (Negotiable)
Size - 1100 Square Feet
Maintenance Fee - RM 220.00 ++

Parking is also covered and the security is supposedly quite tight. Visitor parking is severely limited though.

Another note-worthy apartment/condo is the Shang Villa at Kelana Glomac Business Center area. That is also good in terms of location, minus the traffic snarl at times, but it is manageable.

Price range - RM 240'000.00
Size - 1300 Square Feet
Maintenance Fee - RM 200.00

This has semi-covered and also covered car parks. The place is old, however it is free hold and also has a very good location....heheh its overlooking the MAS Training center....who knows u can spy some stewardess mah....LOL (heheh sis is gonna smack me)

I think this area are the best, there are a few more, however i am looking more at the Suria Damansara as it is new and there are a few lots being sold.

J

An outing...

Well i went to collect some books from a friend in Sri Damansara and then we pop-ed by The Curve to meet my sis and to catch up at the same time let Juliette see her aunt.

Mom wanted to eat something and sis wanted to treat us, we decided to split and went for Shila Korean BBQ Buffet. Horrible food but good service.

Anyways....The Curve was set for Christmas and the decorations were up and running. I dunno....somehow something is missing for Xmas, the celebration has not kicked in yet i guess. People were mingling and taking pictures like it was any normal day.






We went shopping after that, mom got some Karaoke vcd, sis got some dresses and i got a Headphone, Juliette got some milk (normal la....waddaya expect) and lots of love from Grandma and Aunty Linda.





Here are some of the pictures....judge for your selves. I dunno seems, Xmas these days are meant for buying and spending and shopping hahahaha.....i guess we just lost the true meaning of spending time with loved ones.







I got a lot to think about these days as i grow older.....life is just not that simple anymore these days. Everything has got subtle meanings, a lot of things are more than meets the eye.


Later on Sunday, i took a drive back to my place in Klang to do some spring cleaning and also to check up on the house as we only go back on the weekends.



Juliette was bz with my wallet, jam was horrendous as Astro decided to have a carnival at the Section 13 stadium area which in-advertently caused havoc to traffic at surrounding areas. The cops were just being Malaysian, which is being stoopid, since they allowed people to park all over the place and blocking one of the main roads into Shah Alam area. Dense fellas, have them park at the properly allocated slots la....

So after cleaning up the Klang house, we drove back and rest, Juliette was having fun with her grand dad and i rested before we turn in for the nite.

Christmas is coming....

Well...Christmas is coming....being a non-Christian, it is going to be special this time around. Why? well for 1 reason, my wife is a catholic and it is going to be our daughter's first Xmas with us and her extended family.

My memories of Xmas are filled with times enjoying food prepared by friends celebrating the auspicious day in December. Now i will be learning to celebrate it with my daughter. My in-laws live in Melaka and there, the celebrations are quite happening.

I’m referring to Portuguese Settlement in Melaka. The Portuguese Settlement in Melaka is a preserved land for descendents of Portuguese, situated along the coast, and accessing from Ujong Pasir. This is where my in-laws live. Its actually 10 to 15 minutes walking distance to the settlement.

Every year, when Christmas is around the corner, residents in Portuguese Settlement will spend some efforts and loads of money decorating their houses and streets, to create Christmas ambiance within the square. At this time traffic is horrendous, you can hardly drive around there.

This is a far cry from KL City....even Chinese New Year or Hari Raya even Deepavali is celebrated without much fanfare these days.

I don't mean to envy our neighbors, but Singapore's Orchard Road is a sight to behold when we go down the street during Xmas.

Anyways....i'm preparing to get ready for Xmas with Juliette and get as much pictures as possible to keep a record of her as she grows up.

I know my wife will prolly scream at me for not PRINTING any but taking more and more pictures...hehehe i better develop a few soon before the Home Minister arrives on our Malaysian shores this week hahahahahah !

J

Korean Soju

Ahh....i tot it was suppose to be Shoju.....i was mistaken. Anyways, back when i was entertaining some Korean counterparts. They were drinking Soju.

Here is a little history about the Soju from Wikipedia.

Soju is a distilled beverage native to Korea. Nowadays, soju is generally considered as alcoholic beverages manufactured by brand companies in South Korea but the latter is a derivative of Korean traditional soju mainly made with rice. The main ingredient for the brand soju is potato, almost always in combination with other ingredients such as wheat, barley, sweet potato, or tapioca (called dangmil in Korean). Soju is clear in color and typically varies in alcohol content from about 20% to about 45% alcohol by volume (ABV), with 20% ABV being most common. Its taste is comparable to vodka, though it is often slightly sweeter due to the addition of sugar in the manufacturing process.

Extracted from wikipedia.

History

Soju was first distilled around A.D. 1300 during the Mongol war with Korea. The Mongols had acquired the technique of distilling arak from the Persians during their invasion of Central Asia/Middle East around 1256, then it was subsequently introduced to Koreans and distilleries were set up around the city of Kaesong (Hangul: 개성). Indeed, in the area surrounding Kaesong, soju is known as arak-ju (Hangul: 아락주).

Editor : che......like i know so much hahahaha......

Korean government policy

From 1965 until 1991, in order to alleviate rice shortages, the Korean government prohibited the traditional methods of distilling soju from pure grain. Soju was then made primarily through dilution by mixing pure ethanol with water and flavoring. The vast majority of inexpensive soju available today is produced in this manner. Soju produced through dilution from ethanol is known as diluted soju, while soju produced by distillation from grain is known as distilled soju. The Korean government regulates the alcohol content of diluted soju to less than 35%.

Popularity in Korea

Because of its ready availability and its low price relative to other alcoholic beverages, soju has become one of the most popular alcoholic beverages in Korea. More than 3 billion bottles were consumed in South Korea in 2004. ^[1] However, other drinks such as beer, whisky, and wine have been gaining popularity in recent years.

Along with the mass-produced brands, which are widely available in Korea, there are several regions which are famous for making soju in a more traditional way, with the soju made in Andong being the most famous. Soju is typically consumed in small shot glasses.

Anyways....its kinda sweet and also smooth to swallow, and after then 3rd bottle hahaha everything is abit woozy then heheheh !


J

Juliette Video Update

Hey honey....since ure in Australia i thought i'd upload this up for you to see what baby is up too last nite..

and....here is another of her playing with Mickey Mouse which her grand dad bought for her

We miss you mommy ! We alwiz think of you when Mickey Mouse is not around heheheh :)


Luv you hon...take care and come back to us safely ok? God Speed !

Mitsubishi Lancer 2.0 GT....Waah! Chun and Cheap....BUT ?

I was scouring the Motor Trader for cars to ogle at and i spied the Mitsubishi Lancer 2.0 GT.



Mak oi....this car is the bomb la....looking at the specs its awesome.

More on the car here.

I was practically drooling when i was reading the specs! Price is reasonable for a CBU Japan imported car at RM 115k with 3 years free maintenance and 5 years warranty. I sourced it here at Motor Trader's forum.

Wargh ! FIRST ! they are planning to increase the price by a minimum of 5 k to 10 k, then to add insult to injury they want you to wait for 8 months. Why? coz they under estimated the response and THOUGHT THAT WE THE MALAYSIANS would only support Proton, but err...Perodua i support la....their choices best memang bagus hahahahaha. Aiya...... what the heck la.... a little more prodding and checking i found out that Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia oso got tie in with EON, hence the in-efficiency of handling the car la....err....as according to some ppl in the forums.

What the heck la....its time like this that strengthens the peoples believe on the in-ability of some people on handling simple stuffs like dis....

In the end i'd just get a Jap rather then a local one, why ? DO i even need to bother to explain?

Tell me one good reason to get another Proton ? Man....the quality is not on par with today's international standards.


Haih....

Flying

Jasmin is going to Australia for 10 days, YAYYY !!!!! I mean, how horrible....hehehehe

Here i am driving to KLIA to send her off, man, it's gonna be hectic to take care of Juliette in the evenings by my self.




After that i had to taverse the notorious LDP to get back to the office....Tired la....wake up at 5 am to send wife to airport !


Even though my mom will be around, its gonna be tiring for me !

Ahhh....10 days of boot camp :) hehehe

Ear Candling

After the fish escapade on Saturday, we went to Jaya Shopping center in Section 14. I used to frequent this place when i was young with Allen to the arcades.

Ahh....nostalgic memories, also to check out the then popular Pineapple computers and Spectron computer games center in Asia Jaya also.

Now its kinda dead, except for the selected old school restaurants like Jaya Noodle House and some hard ware shop in the place.

We found a nice 2 year old christian souvenir shop and decided to shop around for some gifts for Jasmin to pass on to her Autralian counterparts when she flies on Monday (today). We got some nice stuffs (clocks and t-shirts) and some nick and nacks.

Later we were supposed to meet a good friend of Jasmin, Adrian. He made the banner for our wedding in the Church of the Divine Mercy. He wanted to pass on a baby gift which was long overdue, due to some delays on both our parts.

So whilst waiting for him , we decided to do EAR CANDLING....hahah what? did u hear me rite? Yup yup! Ear Candling.... After listening to the whole deal we decided to try la....

It really softens all the pressure points according to the "sifu" there. I felt lighter in the head after the session (hehehe no pun intended). Jasmin also had to clear her ears, as in her case, the wax harden and needed to removed professionally, after that she felt better.






After that we went to Jaya Noodle House, boy was the food still a class above the rest man....prices were reasonable i guess.....Adrian must sure be stuffed then hahahahah we ordered so much.... :)

Juliette was having fun too :)