The Omen

Music: None Mood: full

Last evening, there was this weird looking uncle who approached me all of a sudden in a hall. I guess he must be pretty drunk as he is flushed all over, from face to clothes. As he stood before me, he handed me a cookie and said, “Have a cookie and eat it,” then walked off to somewhere else towards another victim.

I have never accepted food from a total stranger and worst still, eat it too. I must have not been in my right mind that day; I tore opened the wrapper in a jiffy and obediently popped half the cookie into my mouth. The uncle did the same to the rest of his victim and surprisingly, they repeated what I just did moments ago as if they were being hypnotized.

As if this was not weird enough, two lions pounced out of nowhere all of a sudden and began attacking citizens in the hall. I was one of the unlucky people there; they brushed past me twice and bit me all over each time, the rest would look on without lending a helping hand.

Coming back to the weird uncle. Fortunately, I managed to snap a photo of him before he got away. Take a look at him and remember this highly Wanted face:


His attempt to choke me with a hidden paper in his cookie was unsuccessful too.

You think I so easy to die ar? He must have wanted me to dissolve it without knowing the killer message.

The man is out on a prowl now. If you see him, please catch and hide him in your home before he run amok again. He will work for you, will do OT everyday; kindly be duly warned about the sign that is about to follow you all year round, like this $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.................

Bellygood @ Sunway Mentari, Bandar Sunway

Music: F.I.R- 荆棘里的花 Mood: Youtube addiction

If eating can be translated to the same language as fashion, pork must be the ‘in’ thing now, like everyone swarming into Coach Outlets during the year-end clearance sale, a phenomenon that is unseen 6, 7 years ago. If you are resisting pork like avoiding the long gone J.E., you must be living in a cave since the outbreak.


Situated at the bustling site of Sunway, Sunway Mentari is famous for its wide variety of Steamboat restaurants. I, for one will feel surprised, how the odd one out can survive among giants like Tasty Pot and Yuen Steamboat. Bellygood was once called Wendy’s Bistro, perhaps to avoid answering repetitive questions like ‘who’s this Wendy fella?’, they changed the name to the current one for good, with two porky heads inserted into the O’s, brilliantly clarifying all queries once and for all.

We were there for dinner twice. First time, it was quite empty when we arrived at about 6 something, but they have reserved and combined a few tables probably for some gathering. Second round, we were the third occupants. In this tiny but homey restaurant, the conversation which I overheard from the old couple seated behind us was reassuring –
“I love their baby back ribs,”
“yep, that’s enough to bring us back here.”


Grilled Bacon Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing - RM23.90
I’m relieved to find the grilled bacon was not very oily as I couldn’t stomach too much of the substance. In fact, not a hint of oil can be found when you reach the bottom. The honey mustard must be home-made, so original and complementing.


Smoked Salmon Salad - RM23.90
The only meat on the menu that’s not pork. I enjoyed it as much as I enjoy eating sashimi, the serving is also more than enough for two.


Baked Portobello Mushroom with Garlic Butter and Cheese - RM12.50
I will label it ‘meaty’ as it’s so thick and juicy! This doesn’t have that sour aftertaste that mushrooms normally had, while the garlic butter give the mushrooms a fragrant finish.


Mixed Platter - RM23.90
A combination of grilled pork belly and grilled pork ribs, satisfying your crave for both parts at once. Their pork belly successfully defends itself as the signature dish everyone raved about. It was well marinated in pekin sauce, sweet and succulent minus the heavy porky odour.


Pork Chop Pan Seared with Pork Juice - RM25.90
This was not gamey, credit goes to the savory sauce that made the pork addictive. I absolutely love their mashed potato too!

Service is friendly and prompt as the owner’s daughter will be around to recommend dishes while her mother is one of the chefs behind all sumptuous dishes. Not ready to pay big bucks at German food Outlets? This is a place recommended for those who want to enjoy good pork at a very decent price.

Address: Bellygood, 20, Jalan PJS 8/18, Sunway Mentari, 46150 Petaling Jaya
Contact no.: 03-5630 1699
Opening Hours: Tues – Sun, 11am – 11pm
Website: http://www.bellygood.com.my/Home.aspx
Map:

Shannen’s Farewell Dinner @ The Ming Room, BSC

Music: Joe Williams & Sarah Vaughan - If I Were A Bell Mood: lazy

I wanted to book Grand Imperial as everyone loved their dim sum but I couldn’t remember this restaurant’s name. So when I googled “BSC Chinese restaurant”, The Ming Room appeared and I trusted my instinct. I think I nearly killed myself when I found out it’s a wrong restaurant (Jess and Vanness marched confidently into Grand Imperial when I stood with mouth agape while spelling the restaurant’s name outside, luckily they didn’t barge into anyone’s pre-booked room). Good thing they just laughed off by saying Boss will only be the one feeling upset as he couldn’t see his Gong Li *wink*.

For those who haven’t already know, The Ming Room also belongs to Oriental Restaurants, the famous restaurant group around Klang Valley that specializes in fine dining Chinese Cuisine.

I have to shower praises to their PICs for being such good listeners. Why?

1) When I pre-ordered the menu over the phone, the lady Captain totally take note of our ten-pax headcount, and so the dishes served were for ten big eaters, not 2 males and 8 females.

2) When we requested the waitress who is in charge of serving us for the dishes to be served a little faster, she immediately called out in her walkie talkie , “Dishes for room XX, for ten-pax, must FAST, must FAST!”

3) Colleagues were so readily acknowledged of my photo addiction, they stopped the waitress from further dividing the dish into ten portion before the first dish was served until photos were taken. After that, this very same waitress took note and stopped her people from serving us before I sheepishly ran and snap EACH dish.

Even the tidbits were good.



北京片皮鸭 (Peking Duck)
The way of savouring a Peking duck is to slice out its skin, then place it with a piece of scallion wrapped in a thin sheet of pancake that is smoothen with a drop of sweet soy bean sauce. The skin is crispy and does not drip oil when eaten, the sweet soy sauce and scallion complements the whole package nicely. Boss thought the Grand Imperial serve better Peking Duck, I, too nodded in agreement.


味增炬白吞拿鱼 (Baked White Tuna Fish with Miso Sauce)
Everyone gets one big slice of this. Taste a little like the fried tuna found in bento sets, but this is not salty at all even it is served without rice, baked to perfection without any fishy aftertaste.


海鲜褒 (Claypot Seafood)
Rowena’s ideal pot of goodies. Everything was enormous, from prawn to sea cucumber, and very fresh.


菠菜鸳鸯豆腐 (Tofu with Bok Choi)
Since, we had claypot seafood, we opt for a different kind of tofu instead of the normal claypot tofu. They recommended this dish to me. The seaweed covered bean curd did not steal the limelight, but the soft spinach buried underneath was so tasteful, I think it might change a carnivore’s mind.


炭烧排骨 (Charcoal Grilled Spare Ribs)
Everyone had a jaw dropping moment when we were served a plate this each. Maybe it came from different pigs, the ribs’ quality varies. Jess’s one was tender, boss’s one however, was like chewing gum. I think he might have a stomach-full of indigested ribs that night!


生菜包鸭松 (Fried Minced Duck Meat with Lettuce)
Another duck dish. I didn’t try this but I thought most probably it is one of those not-too-bad creations – no one applauded or complained.


长寿面 (Longevity Noodles)
Longevity noodles, long enough to represent Shannen’s years of service in FX, and a happy long life ahead.


芝麻炸汤圆 (Deep-fried Sesame Glutinous Balls)
Like a finger food, these are made to satisfy one’s sweet tooth at two bites. It doesn’t spurt oil even though it’s deep-fried; fresh off the stove, this is crispy and light.

Talk to the finger; ask him how light the balls are.



野山雪梨炖白玉丹 (Double-boiled Sea Coconut with Snow Pear)
What a great appetizer to end the meal- refreshing, warm and unburdening.


The closing speech, swift and happy.


I know you fit in nicely at the new company now :) We wish you all the best, Shannen!

Address: The Ming Room Restaurant, T109, 3rd Floor, Bangsar Shopping Centre (BSC), KL
Tel: 03-22848822
Opening Hours: Mon-Sat- 11.30am-3pm, 6pm-11pm

Sun & public holidays- 10am- 3pm, 6pm-11pm

Click here for map to Bangsar Shopping Centre.

Lynn's Wedding @ Oriental Pavilion, Jaya 33

Music: Dennis Lau - Prelude in F minor Mood: Tensed

Oh how happy a day it is to witness a couple of more than ten years to finally tie the knot in this lovely Saturday afternoon. Compared to their first wedding banquet back in Kelantan where about 700 guests attended the grand ceremony, this smaller scale luncheon was more like a warm get-together dedicated to their friends around Klang Valley.

I have to compliment the whole wedding package that included the wedding album, indoor and outdoor shots, 3 gowns and 2 MTVs (not sure whether this bunting is included or not). They look absolutely stunning!

I'm so glad to see them again, lovely lovely faces where I use to see daily.

Can you see a sea of purple?? There's me and uncle Kevin,

There's also Angie and hubby and of course the bride herself. It was purely coincidence!

For those who do not know, Oriental Pavilion is one of the restaurants under Oriental Group of Restaurants which specialises in Chinese fine dining (including Noble House, Noble Banquet, The Ming Room and Maju Palace). The food was without a doubt, tantalizing.

1)幸福四热荤 (Special Four Combinations)

2) 蟹皇鱼翅 (Braised Shark's Fin Soup with Crab roe)

3) 手扒鸡伴醉鸡卷 (Roasted Crispy Shatin Chicken with Drunken Chicken Roll)


4) 客家蒸河巴丁(Steamed Patin 'Hakka' Style)


5) 沙律鲜虾伴软壳蟹 (Salad Prawns & Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab)


6) 碧玉法海圃团 (Braised Assorted Mushroom Wrapped in Chinese Cabbage)


7) 潮酱银芽炒香饭 (Fried Rice with Bean Sprout & Teow Chew Spicy Sauce)


8) 千层马来糕伴酥皮窝饼 (Thousand Layered Sponge Custard & Chinese Pancake)


9) 红莲蜜影 (Double-Boiled Honeydew with White Fungus)

The duo who never fail to amuse. Dessert, anyone?

Since there's not many of us, 2 of our tables deemed to be the loudest during the toasting ceremony.

Again, I felt blessed to be among the happy faces.

No, I thank YOU! One big toast to an eternal tie and many little Weis and little Lynns to be hatched soon, Lynn ^^

One Chef @ Jaya One – Made With Love?

Music: 旺福-鸟呗 Mood: Hot

I’m not going to blog about this place. Instead, I’m going to tell you three mistakes one should never make before your first visit to a newly opened eatery.

What brought us here? Because other restaurants were so full till it spills, then we notice this bright new café at the same time.

We settled down and the blur new waiter took our orders minutes later and left in a hurry.

Mistake number 1: The blur new waiter forgot to repeat our orders, so did we.

As tables started to fill after awhile, we notice the second mistake.

Mistake number 2: We forgot to survey whether patrons who were before us have started eating or not. Turns out almost NO tables were served with food yet. What a way to chase away your customers.

Boss challenged, “I bet food will only be served at least after 1.20pm.” He said this somewhere at 12.50pm, and damn right he is. Our first drink only came 15 minutes after the order, subsequent drinks came 10 minutes apart. Over the drinks counter, I noticed the new kitchen crew blended my carrot juice not in a loud continuous Rrrrrrrr, but a stop and go and stop and go, maybe still fiddling how the juicer works. He filled my glass half full with ice so the drink turned out to be totally tasteless, the same applies to Jess’s iced cappuccino.

The turnaround time per dish is so slow, almost all customers had their eyes fixed upon the kitchen. Only one miserable dish is being served every 5 minutes!

Suddenly, boss exclaimed, “I know why our food is so slow! Look!” He spotted a tiny clause spread across the back flap of the menu.

Why food is so slow? Because they don’t just prepare your food, they MAKE LOVE to it too! No wonder, since everyone is busy making love in the kitchen!

Mistake number 3: Read carefully all statements made by the restaurant before complaining. We all wailed, “We do good without love, just serve the damn food please!!!”

In the end, Jess’s order was being left out and we couldn’t care less about reminding them as it was already over 2 pm.

The verdict: Next time, ask first whether the food goes WITH LOVE or not and decide whether you want to pay 10% service charge to your added love.

Canton-i @ The Gardens & Sunway Pyramid

Music: None Mood: Sleepy

After the widely successful Dragon-i, the investors did not waste much time but to continue on digging the Chinese cuisine gold mine – Shanghainese then, Cantonese now. If Kim Gary Restaurants are much too ‘novice’ to some, Canton-i would be your veteran level pick.

Their pink and white theme certainly is chic and inviting. Mirrors are designed all over its walls to give an illusion of a spacious compound. Too bad reality prevails, the tables are arranged so close to each other, you can even eavesdrop clearly what your neighboring tables’ discussions are. This may seem fine in Kim Gary that targets youngsters, but no so in Canton-i.

Sunway Pyramid branch

I’ve combined two visits to two different outlets here: one at Sunway Pyramid, another at The Gardens which is the latest.

Honolulu Coffee (檀岛咖啡) - RM5.50
Originated from Honolulu Coffee Shop (檀岛咖啡饼店) at Central (中环), Hong Kong. A must-try for all coffee kaki-s.


Ngo Jie’s Steamed Mixed Vegetable Dumpling (娥姐蒸粉果) - RM8
Looks more on the greasy side, most probably done it on purpose to prevent them from sticking onto the paper. They said it tasted alright, with rich variety of fillings.

One may wonder how the name ‘Ngo Jie’ Fan Guo(娥姐蒸粉果) came about. In the early 40’s, a maid named ‘Ngo Jie’ worked in a rich family. One day, the family hosted a dinner and asked Ngo Jie to prepare a few special dishes. She came up with the idea of using grinded rice and water to make dumpling skins, stir-fried some pork, shrimp, mushroom and bamboo shoots as fillings, then steamed them into dumplings. The guests loved them so much, it was the talk of town soon after. Then, a restaurant owner though he would earn big bucks with this new creation, bought over Ngo Jie to work at the restaurant. True enough, the restaurant became more and more popular as a result of these dumplings. Till this day, the dumplings were named after Ngo Jie and were recreated in numerous shapes and with different fillings.


Steam Rice Flour Noodles with Chinese Dough Fritters (广东炸两) – RM7.80
The look of this popular Gwong Dong style snack speaks bluntly for itself: fried crullers wrap in chee cheong fun skin, eaten with hot dipping soy sauce. The sticky cheong fun skin is not too nicely done, but the crunchy crullers still saved the day.


Wonton & Char Siew Noodles (双拼捞面) – RM13.80
How can we leave this place without trying their self-proclaimed famous char siew? So we ordered this combination, the char siew were nicely covered in sticky sweet honey sauce, just nice to complement the ‘average’ noodles.


Stir Fried Rice Noodles with Sliced Beef (铁板沙爹干炒牛河) – RM15
Ordered this on a different visit at Pyramid branch. It’s a rather big portion and very aromatic. You will eventually have a hard time finishing as it is quite oily. Most probably it’s the hot plate that traps oil~


Fried Noodles with Shredded Pork & Mushroom (银芽花菇肉丝炒面) – RM14
An ordinary-looking dish but much less oily when it is served in a NORMAL plate. They go generous with shredded pork and were not rubbery, the springy noodles were quite tasty too. But then again, it is hard to mess up something ordinary like this.


Fried Turnip Cake with XO Sauce (XO酱炒萝卜糕) – RM12
A generous portion as well with good looking big prawns. This is great! They fried the cubes until a little charred, making the outer layer a bit crispy. Very flavourful and addictive!


Steamed Pork & Shrimp Dumplings (鲜虾烧卖) – RM9
Very pricey, but with four pieces per serving and a visible shrimp that topped each siu mai, I shall not complain.


Steamed Prawn Dumplings (状元虾饺皇) – RM10
I can see big fresh shrimps in each translucent piece… This must be devoured whole since the thin skin tears easily.


Steamed Prawn Dumplings in Soup (虾饺皇)
A different but common variation in soup - ordinary and forgettable.


Deep Fried Aromatic Duck Spring Roll (香酥鸭丝春卷) – RM9
Didn’t tried this but the others who did, have no complains or exclamations over it. I think the fried skin was too overpowering, making the duck fillings almost forgettable.


Steamed Egg Yolk & Custard Bun (香芋流沙奶皇包) – RM6
I’ve read and seen pictures of the oozing custard fillings. Yes, the violet buns are soft; but alas, where oh where is the wondrous overflowing picture?? This proves that there’s no QC around here. I’ll try this again at One Utama branch, MUST do so.


Steamed Fish Maw Stuffed with Minced Pork & Prawn (百花酿鱼肚) – RM13
This was included in their new menu. I totally enjoyed the texture of well minced meat with fish maw underneath. The fish maw was not gummy or tasteless but blends in nicely with good steaming techniques. Thumbs up for the innovative dim sum!


Sliced Fish & Lean Meat Congee (双拼粥-鲩鱼片 & 咸瘦肉) – RM11.80


Sliced Fish & Meatballs Congee (鲩鱼片肉丸粥) – RM11.80
A mixture of several types of rice and boiled for more than five hours – resulting these smooth-like-baby food kind of congee. Thick, silky and fragrant.


Red Bean with Black Jelly Sago Cream (红豆凉粉捞) – RM8
Ordered this for the sake of mum’s craving for sweet desserts. What black jelly sago cream… looked more like chin cau with melted cream. So tasteless and disappointing.


Sweetened Ground Peanut Puree (花生糊) – RM6
Looks sweet but to my surprise, it’s just nice and not gooey. I only took two sips, the next thing I knew, dad gobbled the entire serving in less than five minutes.

If price is not an issue, this is a good place for families to enjoy lunch before shopping. ACTUALLY, Canton-i’s main attraction is the so called famous roast pork but we did not try them as I think they were overpriced. I will revisit again, maybe to try the roast pork on one fine day if I ever come across with more recommendations!

Location: LG-202 & 203A, Lower Ground Floor, The Gardens
Tel: 03- 22846888
Website: www.canton-i.com

Popular Warehouse Sale @ The Summit, USJ

Music: Olive- L.O.V.E Mood: Trying to relax

I remember my first visit to The Summit, it was in Form Three during a visit organized by the school's Unit Kemahiran Hidup to a Dinasour Exhibition. I could vividly recalled that their lifts wasn't functioning, so we took the escalators floor by floor from the top to lower ground floor. Then I swore that I don't want to set foot here anymore.

But then again... Here I am, TEN years later to check out this Popular Bookstore Warehouse Sale urged by Shannen, who claimed to be 'the most unbelievable warehouse sale' she's ever been.

Guess what? We parked at Level B3 and the lifts were NOT FUNCTIONING. This HAS to be some kind of joke! How could something happened twice after 10 years -_-||| So we clambered up to lower ground floor then use the escalators up to 4th floor. I already started cursing under my breath "This has got to be 'unbelievable' or else...!"


First look at this immediately reminds me of Big Bad Wolf Books Warehouse Sale early this year, only difference is 70% will be Chinese books. Most books are deducted up to 80%!



Recipe books that are normally priced at RM35++ are down to a mere RM7. This is a time you can see aunties jamming their shopping baskets with books instead of groceries.


Failed to find a traveling guide to Bangkok, I rummaged through a lot of China related traveling guides instead.


Fictions have at least 70% discount.


Some at 90%....


Some even at a durian runtuh price of RM1.


ALL Children books have 80% discount, this section is so long I couldn't even see the other end.


The minority English books have 20%~70% deductions.


Three of us bought no less than 30 books at the price of not more than RM130! What are you waiting for? It's up till next week!