Char Koay Teow Sg. Dua

So many people I know of have spoken about this very famous char koay teow. Supposedly one of the best char koay teow in the country! So, how can I not try it out, correct? The fact that I drive down to Pulau Pinang quite often makes it impossible for me to not eventually go to this place and try it out my self. In addition, I love char koay teow, particularly Penang char koay teow!

So, I went there with a whole bunch of people (my mom, 2 sisters, brother, aunt, cousin and cousin’s husband). Parking was a nightmare! Once the nightmare is over, another nightmare begins. The restaurant was packed. In fact it was a full house with no place to sit! However, we got lucky and did not have to wait too long to get tables. Yes we needed 2 tables, either the tables are small or there were too many of us… So, we ordered char koay teow for most of us and a couple of special char koay teow. It took almost forever for the food to come! We got sleepy and sort of ruined our appetite, but we tried to stay positive. Afterall, we heard good things about the char koay teow…

When the food finally arrive, to our surprise, the special char koay teow did not turn out to be what we expected. Ordinarily when we order special char koay teow, we will get extra prawns and cockle. Instead, the special char koay teow came with a sunny side up! Oh that is so not right! May not be wrong but it is not quite right… By the way, while we were waiting and thereafter eating, the crowd got bigger and people were actually standing and lining up in front of the restaurant!

Coming back to the famous Sg Dua char koay teow (so famous it has 2 branches at different locations!), I said to my brother, as he sat next to me, “Is it just me? Am I too particular about my food? Did I expect to much? Is it really true what people say about me having rather peculiar taste and preference for food?”… Too many questions that lead to only one answer from my brother, “Tak sedap sangat pun!”, which translates “Not very tasty/delicious!”. I was not sure whether I was right, that the char koay teow was not very tasty. However, everyone else had the same response! I was somewhat disappointed and I will give it 2.5/5. One more thing, the char koay teow came in such small plates that the dishes “fit in” just nicely in the plate, almost spilling out. My brother had to put his prawns in my plate (after I finish with my dish) to make space for the prawns in his plate…

ben’s at KLCC

I have heard not once but a few times from different resources about ben’s at KLCC. Most of the time, not good things. Therefore, I contemplated going/dining there but I thought I should experience it my self, good or bad.

So, I had gotten myself and a friend tickets for Stomp ’12. It was the afternoon show, so we decided to go out from morning, have a “tour” of KLCC and have lunch. Since it was to celebrate my friend’s birthday (a belated celebration and punishment for not wishing her on her birthday LOL), I let her decide on the itinerary of the day, including venue for lunch and dinner. Yes, we were out the whole day! She suggested ben’s. I agreed (with uncertainties deep within my heart!)

We arrived at ben’s sometime during lunch hour. I thought the place was going to be busy and crowded but to our luck, it was not that bad. Good sign? Bad sign? hmm… Anyway, we were attended to quite quickly. I ordered the Pad Thai Seafood Linguine and my friend ordered the Crispy Duck Confit Spaghettini. It did not take them too long to serve our orders. Here is my take on the two dishes -

(1) Pad Thai Seafood Linguine – Brilliant! I actually loved it! of course, I had no idea that it contains bean sprouts, which I do not take and I maintain my stand that beansprouts not only serve no purpose that it does not enhance the tast of food, in fact, it takes away the flavours! Nevertheless, I give this pasta 4.5/5

(2) Crispy Duck Confit Spaghettini – This pasta was excellent as well! I would not order anything “duck-y” and thanks to my friend for ordering it, I discovered another good dish! I give this pasta 4/5

Since it was supposed to be a birthday celebration, belated or otherwise, cake is necessary. My friend ordered Ben’s Chocolate Cake, recommended by the waiter and I ordered the Red Velvet Cake. I am secretly going around town trying out Red Velvet. Actually, I just realised that I have been doing that, without realising it! Here is my take on the cakes -

(1) Ben’s Chocolate Cake – OK. I have tasted (a lot) better chocolate cakes. It is “saved” by the cream ice cream. I give it 3/5

(2) Red Velvet Cake – Good! I love the cream cheese. I give it 4/5

You can visit their website for the menu at http://www.thebiggroup.co/bens/

How is That Possible? We are Capable of Many Things…

How is it possible for two people who, more often than not, cannot see eye to eye when it comes to work, can really fight it out when it comes to work, hang out and have very casual friendly conversations about things other than work?

- professionalism, ability to compartmentalize emotion separately from work, ability to understand human nature

How is it possible for two people to work so well with each other when they often have different perspectives to things?

- Professionalism, ability to listen, assess and rationalise, ability to accept different perspectives

How is it possible for friends to stab each other on the back?

- Human nature

How is it possible for a person to not like the other so much (i.e. “not your biggest fan”) but able to defend the other/stand up for that person against the bad things others are saying about that person?

- I suppose his/her mother taught him/her well and that he/she believes in bad karma

How is it possible for a mother to dump/throw her baby away (in the garbage bin/toilet/drain/etc)?

- Human nature

How is it possible for people to kill each other senselessly?

- Human nature

p/s – oh yes, I am bored and sleepy and am just not in the mood to blog about the important things like food… ;p

Lunch at Monte’s BSC

This will be a quick short post. Lunch is always a quick one and I do not have much to say,other than… Well, I had a good lunch on Friday!

The very moment I arrived, the waitress waived happily at me that I was a bit surprised. You know, that experience which you feel like, “what? She knows me? Have I been here THAT often?!”

And as I said, I had a good lunch. Had the Cajun Chicken with iced lemon tea. I like the sauce. If I have to rate the food, I will give 3.5 out of 5. Although I like the chicken and the sauce, the sides were… Lets see, there were sliced carrots and broccoli and potatoes with cream (not sure about the cream). The carrots and broccoli were a bit too cooked. A light steam should do. Well, that is how I prefer my vegetables. And the potatoes, it is fine, just fine the way it was.

My colleague had the steak and she said it was good.

Nasi Lemak Bumbung… Yes, Seriously, Bumbung as in Roof!

No am not kidding! That place is called Bumbung, which in English translates to “roof”. I saw no relevance between the place and the name and the food served!

My brother was supposed to decide where to go for a nice nasi lemak. Ever since I came back from my UK holidays, I had been having this constant want for nasi lemak. God knows why although I do love nasi lemak, especially those with really hot “sambal”. So, instead of telling me the name or location, all he did was point the direction. He said turn right, turn left, go straight, do not stop at that traffic light… no he did not say that last bit ;D

The area was all too familiar. I do go there every now and then but have never been to that actual location where Bumbung is located. If you happened to just pass by the place, you may miss it. Also, would you be surprised if I say, it was at an alley, an alley behind old shops! Well guess what, I was shocked my self when we finally got there and my brother said, “Oh, by the way, this place is at a lorong belakang kedai!”. I went, “Ha?!” For those who know me, have you heard me say, “Come go to that gerai behind that street”? No, please do not answer ;p

And then, for the second time, I got a shock of my life! Not sure whether it qualifies as one of “the shock of my life” kind of shock but I was indeed shocked! The alley was so squeaky clean that I just… I do not know what to say, I have never seen an alley as clean and to a certain extent, beautiful as that! The road was clean, the whole alley was decorated with small potted trees and there were those colourful little wind fans! There were those small industrial fans to keep the area ventilated and cool and it was well lighted with sufficient lights. Seriously, you should perhaps just drop by for a look-see, if you can not bring your self to eat there.

Now, down to the main reason we were there, nasi lemak ayam goreng! The rice was just nice, not too “lemak”. The sambal was, well, so-so to me but since I have somewhat high level of hot and spicy endurance and “acquired” taste when it comes to sambal, it may be just nice to others. My brother liked it. The fried chicken (ayam goreng) and the sunny side up, was, well, it was mamak fried chicken and for crying out loud, a sunny side up, what can I say? If I have to rate the whole package, I will give 3.5 out of 5. But for the place itself, I have to give 4.5 out of 5. Oh, one more thing, the place was packed and I thought it was inappropriate for me to snap photos of the place when I will, as a result, be capturing photos of the patrons. But I do have a really closed up photo of the food.

(Device – hTc Desire S)

Maggie Goreng Hunt

I was thinking, after my medical check up next week, am going on a Maggie goreng hunt, a hunt for the best Maggie goreng. I somewhat stopped having it after my medical check up last year, when my doctor told me to either stop eating Maggie goreng or cut down as much as possible!

Any of you would like to suggest any place for me to try or check out, please let me know ya. Thanks.

Aura, Vibe, or Whatever you may call “It”

Some people emit really strong vibe, of how they feel usually. Some people can “feel” or sense the aura better than the rest. Which one are you?

What happens when the two (one who emits strong vibe and one who has sensitive sense) meet? Will it result in stronger vibe able to be felt by others around them?

What do you think? I suppose, our eyes are not the only thing that can tell people about us…

Belanga at the International Food Hall, the Intermark

 So, we put those photos away for a while, and let us get down with some writing on food.

Having lunch in this area (where my current office is located, at the other end of Jalan Tun Razak, in Kg Baru), is always a “chore” and a bore. Day in day out, it is either this or that or here or there and we will often end up at the same few eateries.

Yesterday, a friend offered to take me out for lunch. By “take me out” means driving out, which we only do on Fridays. We actually officially have only 45 minutes for lunch and driving out means taking more time…. So, we drove (or rather he drove) to the Intermark at the Double Tree by Hilton. The rest of the gang had not tried the new International Food Hall. I had been there a number of occasions. We had -

Nasi Dagang set that came with choice of either beef rendang or fried chicken (I had the beef rendang and it was good). Also came with the set was “kueh of the day”. The second time yesterday it was the same kueh of the day the week before!  Oh and also, choice of either sirap selasih or iced lemon tree for drinks. Coincidentally. Three of us had the same food with only one with a different choice of drink!

The “driver” friend and another had Subway. Well, I find no real need to talk about their lunch ;D

A little about the place. The International Food Hall does not appear like the usual Malaysian malls’ food courts or rather nowadays referred to as the food hall. It has only a handful of “stalls” opened with somewhat big space allocated for each and the areas appear to be under utilised. But hey, if the owner of that place does not need too many occupants, that is his choice but the consumers are left with limited choice, which usually results in the consumers opting for other places. I for one, find the place “cosy”. I do not like food courts, so I suppose that is why.

Oh, there is also the Italian restaurant, Porto Romano at the food hall. Perhaps you can check the place out and try the different food they offer.

Here and There : The Siem Reap Series… Part 3

Part 3

(Device – Sony Alpha 300)

Here and There : The Siem Reap Series… Part 2

Part 2 (Am trying not to post the parts too far apart)

 

(Device – Sony Alpha 300)