Canned Food - Are They Really Safe?

I was reading this post Zewt posted, and true enough that personally I have doubts on canned food & drink now. Although most of dairy products in Malaysia are cleared of Melamine, as per Zewt's posting, I still think there are substance that can be harmful to the body that have yet to be discovered.

I still remember during my primary school days, mom would wake up early to prepare breakfast for us. One of my all time favorite would be clipping 2 pieces of Gardenia bread onto the Ma Ling Luncheon Meat. I think till now you can still see the famous canned Ma Ling Luncheon Meat in those non-halal section of all hypermarts here. In Singapore, it was banned after test showed that its sample contained a cancer-causing antibiotic. Scarry innit???

And we were talking about a brand which already in the market for decades. And how sure are we that the rest of the canned food in the market now are safe? Are you confident enough to say that our all time favorite canned sardine, tuna & red beans are safe? How about the condensed milk & vaporated milk that we consume daily on our coffee & tea?

Thanks Zewt for sharing & reminding.

Sanook Dine|Club|Lounge

Today I am going to introduce you a new joint that I frequent a lot lately, Sanook Dine|Club|Lounge at Plaza Kelana Jaya. Don't ask me what Sanook means, it sounded a bit of Thai to me.

I am a bit choosy on the venue of my happy hour session with my buddies, we want nice environment, cheap booze, easy listening music & reasonably nice finger food. Sanook is located at the all new Plaza Kelana Jaya, to give a better picture of the location, please find the map below. It is right behind the now demolished Kelana Jaya Seafood Restaurant along the LDP.

Talking about affordable booze. My buddies know that I am not a beer fan, I never like beer, any beer for that reason. I am more of a Draught Guinness fan. And before the promotion ends, a perfect full pint of Guinness in Sanook now is only RM16++ and if you enjoy Kilkenny a full pint is about RM18++ now (happy hour ends at 9.30PM). Reasonable innit? I am not too sure about the happy hour rate for beer, but beer price is about the same everywhere, RM30plus, the promo is buy one jug free one mug.

And if you love single malt whisky like I do, check out their Singleton & Macallan pricing, one of the most affordable in town. Get wasted by the lakeside with fountains.

As for the food, so far all my buddies commented that their food is pretty nice & tasty. They serve from Western to Chinese ala carte and once in a while, there will be surprise menu on that particular day.



And while having my session there last night, I bumped into someone from GAB who told me that Sanook will be one of the few outlets in Selangor that will be hosting the new season of Tiger FC. There will be some activities there during matchday, it prompted me to start an event in Facebook for the upcoming clash of the titans match on 13th September 2008, the Kops versus the Devils. Up to date, 15 people already confirmed their attendance, if you are on Facebook, click on the event invitation here and RSVP.

So wear your jerseys and let's see who gonna kick whose ass that night. Be there early and be entertained with a giant 12ft x 9ft projector screen and 7 units of LG 42" LCD TV. Let's pray the weather is on our side :)

Alternatively you can call and make your reservations and oh ya, if you have a minimum of 4 pax and above in a group, there is pick up service available within a certain radius from the joint. Do check out....

Sanook Dine|Club|Lounge
Block C-06-G/1/2 Plaza Kelana Jaya, SS7/13A,
47301 Kelana Jaya,
Petaling Jaya.
Tel: +603-7877 3636
email: ben@sanook.com.my

MikeMmery Pimped Ole-Ole Bali, Sunway Pyramid

It had been a while since I last write about the makan places. I had this authentic Indonesian food at Sunway Pyramid, it resembles Bumbu Bali @ Bandar Puteri, Puchong which I did a posting for it in the past.

Food wise very much alike Bumbu's. The only thing which is much better is the restaurant's ambience & surroundings. Huge comfortable Balinese plank chair, the smell of some scented joss sticks make the place pretty relaxing and soothing.

But be aware when you order the food. Unless you had a big tank like mine, it is advisable especially for ladies to share their food. Because the portion is really big.

We had this Ayam Betutu and Siap Megoreng which all these specialties will be served with Nasi Kuning, Sambel Matah, Sambel Terasi, Rempeyek, Sauteed Kangkong & other condiments. Both come with half chicken. So imagine the portion.



Then my lady friend had this Mixed Green Salad - a mixture of fresh vegetables, hard-boiled egg, fried shallots, fried tofu with spicy lemongrass & shallot dressing.



And the picture below is another Balinese specialties, Nasi Campur Ole-Ole. It is the combination of Balinese Grilled Lemongrass Prawns, Squid, Fish, choice of beef or chicken rendang & sate lilit, served with Lawar, Sambel Terasi and Sambel Matah.



And the desserts they served put Baskin Robbin to shame. We had this special Banana Bowl - three scoops of Ice Cream (vanilla, chocolate & strawberry), tempting toppings & bananas. Yummy... yummy...



And the damage - trust me, with this wholesome dinner, the damage is relatively be categorized under "Affordable & Reasonable".

Ayam Betutu - RM22
Siap Megoreng - RM21
Nasi Campur Ole-Ole - RM30
Mixed Green Salad - RM7
Banana Bowl - RM9
Service & BN's taxes (15%) - RM13.35
Total Damage - RM102.35

Tempting huh?

Where is Ole-Ole Bali?

0B-1C, Ground Floor,
Main Entrance,
Oasis Boulevard,
Sunway Pyramid
Tel: +603-7492 0308

Yuen Buffet Steamboat - Frightening Experience

Bumped into few bloggers accidentally over dinner a while ago, to be exact bumped into Stewie, Samantha, KY & partner. We happened to dine in the same steamboat restaurant, Yuen Buffet Steamboat in Sunway Mentari.







All pictures courtesy of KYSpeaks in his earlier post about this buffet steamboat outlet. To be frank, besides it is cheap, I am not totally overwhelmed or over excited about this steamboat place. I see people flooding this place, and I do not freaking understand people fight for food here. Damn it, I mean there will be scene like hungry ghosts lining up and pushing their way through just for CHICKEN WINGS. Niamah!

After dinner, chatted a little with Tim, he enlightened me on something, this blardy Yuen Restaurant is like a bomb, waiting to be exploded anytime. We both do not remember seeing water sprinkles or fire extinguishers in this building and it is a hazardous place really to dine. It is pretty frightening after he mentioned that to me. And sorry to Sam for the smoke (sorry, I indeed know you are allergic to smoke), KY you are too big to know me lar, I am just a small ikan bilis in this blogosphere. Keke... Anyway nice to meet you & your partner.

Thank Buddha it's holiday, I never like Monday Blues. Hope can catch a movie later with *ahem*

Hong Kong - Revisited

Sorry for the long delayed of my Hong Kong trip pictures. While posting this, I am actually already planning on my 2nd trip there end of this year, hopefully with my other half *cross finger that things will b positive*

Looking at the transportation system sometimes in other country really amazed me. In Malaysia, I do not bother to travel on Putra or Star LRT or our Rapid KL or Intrakota whatsoever. It seems like what these operators in Malaysia have narrow vision & all they care is profit only.

In other country I had traveled, the system is so well organized and coordinated. In other countries, even if you are tourist, you hardly being conned like you will be in Malaysia. Public transport in Hong Kong is so convenient that made car not a necessity there. As long as you are equipped with your Octopus card, you can travel anywhere via MTR, bus, taxi or tram.



I went to Kowloon from Tung Chung, as Tung Chung is in Lantau Island, it is not part of Hong Kong mainland. Tung Chung is where they housed the Disneyland and the International Airport. Traveling to Kowloon via Tung Chung MTR line is so convenient and it cost about HKD$16 and takes about 20 minutes or so to reach the Kowloon station. Upon reaching the station, I took the public bus that cost about HKD$5 or so to go to the Kowloon Central. Though I am a banana (yellow outside, white inside - meaning dunno how to read & write in Chinese lar), the signages are pretty helpful and informative. Trust me, you will never get lost there.



Walking around the narrow street of Hong Kong's uptown & downtown, you will see a lot of big sign boards hanging and dangling. Street is pretty clean and people do not simply smoke anywhere as they like.



For most of my travel experience in other Asian countries, I always make it a point to go for local food, instead of fancy restaurant. During my first day there, I went to this local restaurant, in Hong Kong, they called it "Char Chan Teng" where most local common average Joe will patronized. Having a meal in Hong Kong is not cheap but be assured that your one value meal, you will be blardy full and will hardly get hungry easily. The value meal normally comes with a main (noodle/rice) & drink.

When you are in any "Char Chan Teng" in HK, the only drink you must drink will be the tea-milk or "Nai Char" they called in Cantonese. HK's tea-milk will put Wong Kok or Kimgary so called HK Char Chan Teng to shame.



I went breakfast with my brother at this particular "Char Chan Teng" in Kowloon. I had this beef fried with egg & rice. Yummy, yummy, yummy!!!



While my brother had this pork chop in sweet sour sauce & rice.



My brother's gf opted for their "Wan Tan Mee". Look at those dumplings, I had a bite. Again for the price you paid for it, you won't feel any bit cheated because the quality ingredients in it.



All in all, I spent about HKD$140 for the breakfast meal for 3 person, we felt bloated really finishing and beware, in HK, do not be a smart alec to order additional like what I normally did in Malaysia, cos it is not easy to finish the whole main meal by yourself.



HK people also like beef stew with its parts a lot, they called it "Ngau Lam", and no matter what the people commented how good is the Ngau Lam in Peel Road & Jalan Alor Malaysia, I beg to differ. HK got the best "Ngau Lam" ever!

Just look at this picture, too bad for those who do not take beef :P



As we walked around, in some of the major complexes you can see these horse statuettes, this is where the local Hongkie but their stake on the horse racing. Chinese people surely love gambling don't they? Hehehe...



Ok... it's about 2.30am now, tired of resizing my photos d, so what's the next thing I gonna write bout HK? A bit of teaser at the picture below.



OK dudes, I am signing off for now...

HONG KONG, I MISS YOU!!!

东涌 , Hong Kong

I have somehow miss HK a lot... blardy a lot... Phew... Back home is not so pleasurable really... My work been piling up and for the past few days since my return, I had been working till late, and by the time I finished, my energy level was so low that I am too tired and not inspired to write any shits here.

Work, work and work and my company sent me away for training again on the 24th-25th... off site full-day training and finally my weekend here back in Melaka, I can finally really sit my fat ass in this comfy sofa to BLOG!!!! ahhhhh.... ok here you go,


"Hujan emas di negara orang, hujan batu di negara sendiri"

These are some very true words, always pleasurable to visit some foreign countries and see how well they managed the country, the people, etc. In Malaysia, we talk about who's country this belongs to, we define Malaysian as bumiputra & non-bumiputra, double standard to own a house, many inequalities, etc.

In Hong Kong, as long as you got the dollar & cents, you will be on the go. On my first night in 东涌 (Tung Chung), waited for my sis as she was at work. I was waiting at this Citygate which housed plenty of branded factory outlets here, Esprit, Benetton, Ralph Lauren, Nike, Adidas, to name a few.

By the time she finished her work, we met up and we went for dinner together with another younger brother of mine who happened to be there honeymooning with his gf. We went to this famous Indian restaurant, which a lot of expatriates patronized this place. At the Tung Chung MTR Station, this restaurant has this pick up service to their restaurant.



The restaurant is known as "Curry Corner", and during my journey there by the pick up service, I met and chatted up with 2 gwai lous from Australia who worked as a private jet pilot in Hong Kong. Now you can imagine how many rich & famous in Hong Kong who owned private jets ya :)



This restaurant looked simple but it serves one of the best curry & massala I ever had in my whole life. I would say equivalent to India. The owner was from India anyway.



Without delay, we browsed through the menu and ordered the food as we felt like hungry ghosts. Ordered a few kind of massala & curries - fish, chicken, mutton, beef & potato. Check out the pictures below;














Tempting? I will be going to HK again end of the year.... anyone interested to join me? And I am not very sure whether these few curry & massala dishes we had expensive or not, the bill came at HKD350 (approx RM175) for 4 persons.

After dinner, went back to my sis place, my first time there. You cannot see any bungalows or link houses here in Tung Chung. What you see will be 70 storeys high condominums & apartments.



My sis stayed in one of these condominiums, the Carribean Coast, with the built up of only about 600sq feet and cost about near to a million ringgit. Crazy huh? That's Hong Kong. Though high in density, the security is tight. You will be greeted all day long by professional local staff in monkey suits. My sis stays in 33rd floor, just a short tour around here with a few pictures of the place that I stayed for the 4 nights I had in HK.















Finally a picture of from the house balcony. Warning: few post to come I will still write about my HK travelogy with plenty more pictures.

Cheers!

I Love Hong Kong

Getting to Hong Kong from Macao is easy. You can either take the First Ferry or the Turbo Jet. I took the First Ferry which will stop over the Tsim Tsa Tsui ferry terminal which pretty near to Central Hong Kong.

The ferry service took about 45-60minutes and it cost only about HKD$140 (appx RM70) for one way. The service & seating are much better than the A320 Air Asia, believe it! People greet you with a broad smile and inside there is a large LCD screen to entertain you. If you are hungry, you can buy snacks at the counter at a very affordable price.



Upon reaching Hong Kong China Terminal in the heart of Kowloon, public transportation here I give 7-stars rating, Malaysia is no where near or would I say KL not even 10% near to the standard here in Hong Kong. Although the frontliners in the service industry here cannot really speak a fluent English, but if you know Cantonese or Mandarin, there would not be any problem. What amazed me was, most of the workers here, whether the service frontliners, ticketing staff, cleaners, waiters, waitress, etc, majority are local not like back in our country. I start to fall in love in Hong Kong d, at least no issue on ketuanan Melayu or ketuanan Cina here. As long as you can contribute to this country, you will be treated equally.

In the bus waiting area, you will see this bus route signage, find the destination you want to go, and follow the bus number stated in that signage pole. For my case, I took the bus 215x to the nearest Kowloon MTR station. My sister was on a working day, so I told her I would be fine all by myself, as long as I know where to meet her up.



Again, at the MTR station, things are pretty at ease. At first impression, you will be confused as there are 4-5 different kind of MTR lines here, but as long as you know where you heading to, just follow the signage to your terminal. In my case, I am heading to Tung Chung in Lantau Island.





Lantau Island is the largest island in Hong Kong hosting the new international airport, the Disneyland & Ngong Ping 360. My sister stays in Tung Chung, a huge metropolitan. Pretty posh area (do not ask me how much she earns :P)

The ride from Kowloon - Tung Chung via MTR is about 20minutes. And upon reaching Tung Chung terminal, you will arrive in another enormous shopping mall called the CityGate. This area housed all the factory outlets, big brands like Nike, Adidas, Puma, Polo RL, Esprit, etc got their outlets here.



OK, I will put shopping aside at the moment. Felt blardy hungry at this point as I reached about 2pm here and not been having breakfast & lunch, at this point hungry man is an angry man d. So I head straight to the Food Republic, City Gate. So my first meal in Hong Kong is...



Hainanese Chicken Rice... :) Happy, happy man now. But the cost pretty high HKD$55 (appx RM25) excluding drinks. It came close to HKD$70 with the iced milk tea. No matter where you go in Hong Kong, always order iced milk tea, as nobody in Malaysia can beat them, not the artificial Wong Kok Char Chan Teng or KimGary in Malaysia, they are nothing!

Soon after lunch, it was still early, my sis only can meet me up at about 7-ish, so decided to pimp their local Starbucks. But this Citygate complex unfortunately does not house Starbucks, in substitute to it, it's the Pacific Cafe. They make fantastic latte & chocolate to go! I did not see any Coffee Bean in HK throughout my stay here. Pretty nice place to hang out - why????



Besides the wifi that kept me occupied, do not forget Tung Chung is the metropolitan nearest to the airport, meaning to say, you will see dozens of air stewardess walking around this complex. Now you know why I am not boring ya :P

I will write more the next post ya, it is pretty late now, gotta do my final packing before I am heading back home tomorrow. The post above was on my encounters in HK on the 16/04/08, it had been like my 5th day here already. Be right back on Tuesday with more pictures ya :)

I "HEART" HONG KONG!!!!!