Jetsetting

We will be flying off for a long planned vacation in 7 hours time. We will be in 5 countries, 7 cities in 9 days.

I am soooo excited. Can't really recall when our last trip was. Hmm..... Well it was Gold Coast in March. Not so long ago but we can't stay cooped up working for too long cause "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"

Airborne

The GF said we have moles on the bottom of our feet, so much travel a lot. According to her individuals with moles on feet (IMF) are meant to travel frequently.

I hope we don't end up "holan" because my inadequate planning more often that not, gets us screwed up one place or the other. :P Fingers crossed.

We have done our research, packed our bags, prepared our shopping list .... all that's left to do is get on that plane.

So 1st stop, BANGKOK .... here we come.

Yippie!


Technorati Tags: Travel

Company Dinner @ Oscars

Main entrance

Last week my division had a small gathering at a local drinking hole (Oscar's Lounge Bar) a stone's throw from my office. It takes 5 mins 27 secs to reach there if you're strolling along. 4 mins 15 secs if you hurry.

The Bar

Small but comfy ambience

It is located facing the main street, which is brightly lit. However once you step foot into the lounge, you'll notice the indifference in lighting which was rather disturbing for me, since I have Astigmatism ( 散光 ).

Apart from that, there's nothing distinctive about the deco that stands out from the other bar and lounges.

The crew

I had no idea what the night's agenda is .... I still don't. I suspected someone's leaving soon, but everyone's lips are sealed. ;(

Arghhhh .... I'm burning ....

The service here was slow and appalling. In my opinion, it is a daunting task to find another establishment as horrendous as this. We had to yell for the waiter 2-3 times before we could even get our hands on the menu.

After ordering drinks and entrees, we requested for a wine/cocktail list. "OK" said the waiter. And that was the last we heard from him. He even had the nerve to walk by our table nonchalantly, looking at us in the eye then walking away.

We had to get the list by ourselves from the attending bartender.

Toblerone (5/5)

One of my colleagues ordered this cocktail. It is A Classic, Baileys, Frangelico, Mozart Black blended with Chocolate Sauce, Cream and Honey. It tasted like the alcoholic version of a chocolate sundae.

Everyone voted this as the best cocktail, deservingly so. You've gotta try it to believe how good it is.

Entree - Herbs & Garlic Pizza (3/5)

Kenneth & David (My manager)

Nina, Julieann & Glenn

Richie and Vas

Cabernet Merlot & Shiraz Cabernet

Some of the red wine ordered that night, both are house wines. I'm not really a wine enthusiast but these 2 aren't really up to par with some that I've tasted before.

Oscar Wilde

It is Bombay Sapphire Gin, Absinthe and Midori mixed with citrus. This is the first of both failed cocktails that I ordered that night.

Awful .... I passed it round the table for them to try. Some spat, some puked and the last one just pushed it to the end of the table and asked me to order another one.

Chicken Schnitzel (N/A)

Barramundi Fillet (N/A)

According to both colleagues who went for this, the fish was uncooked in the middle, a probable reason being the fish was frozen and not fresh. Both victims suffered stomach upsets the following day.

Despite the close shave with food poisoning, I felt this dish had the best presentation.

Pork Ribs (N/A)

Oscar's Steak (Medium Rare) with red wine sauce (4/5)

I chose the red wine sauce, expecting a wonderfully fused sauce, mixed with wine produced from fresh vineyards, topped with various herbs and spices.

The end result was no different from the normal mushroom sauce usually matched with steaks. The steak was done just fine, medium rare with slight streaks of blood oozing out of the capillaries when the knife sliced through the meat.

Perfecto!

Sweet Georgia Julep

Consists of Vanilla and Cointreau shaken with apple, lime, mind and topped with ginger. 2nd failed attempt. FYI both these cocktails were under the man drinks, and since I consider myself very much a man's man, I went for the top 2 drinks.

I think I'd stick to Toblerone, which is a girl's drink in the future. I have a tendency to try different varieties of alcohol. Especially cocktails which has a amazingly wide assortment to choose from, varying from country to country, even bar to bar.

Mango Dessert with Ice Cream (4/5)

Salt & Pepper Calamari (5/5)

Don't ask me why the Calamaris is after the dessert. The mouth just felt itchy and needed something to feel the void. ;P

Service bad, food so-so .... only positive feedback is everything's free! Thanks Mr. Kennedy!


Technorati Tags: Food, Dining, Bar, Sydney

Sin Ma Eatery @ Kingsford

Main entrance

Recently we visited SINMA LAKSA HOUSE, a local eatery just around the block from our living quarters.

Teh Tarik

Upon entering the establishment, the first thing that caught our eyes was the Teh Tarik,

Ice Kacang

And the Ice Kacang/Chendol stall. We didn't get to sample any of those cause we were still quite full from the KFC 2 hours ago.

Seating arrangement

It was packed to the brim when we entered, with customers mainly from the SinMa (Singapore & Malaysia) community from their ascents, coupled with a few red heads (Ang Mo).

The sitting arrangement was like normal restaurants, with ... erm well ... tables and chairs obviously. Square tables (for single plate customers) on one side and bigger round tables (for families and gangs) on the other.

Ordering counter

The main counter is designed to resemble the kopitiam style back home. It has a hugh steel block table with a glass panel complete with blazing neon lights. Peeking inside one will find various compartments showcasing the various dishes available for economic rice selections.

Penang Cha Kueh Tiaw $9.00 (4/5)

Our housemate ordered the Cha Kueh Tiaw (spicy). I had a taste and it was actually quite good. The cili they used was hot enough and the size of the kueh tiaw was just right. It came with an huge serving of fish cake slices, prawns and chicken bits.

KL Hokkien Mee $9.50 (4/5)

I had the Hokkien Mee, with thick black sauce and large yellow noodles. First thing I did was rid it of the sambal belachan. No food should go with sambal belachan cept for Nasi Lemak.

Fish Head Beehoon Soup $10.50 (2.5/5)

The GF opted for the Fish Head Beehoon Soup. We were used to the Singapore version with added milk which gave the dish a slightly sweet tinge. This particular one came with ginger slices and "kiam chai", resulting in an overall sour taste.

The housemate confirmed that this is the West Malaysian style. But we didn't really like the dish. Furthermore it came with fried fish rather than fresh fish.

Fish Eye Ball - FOC

The only positive thing about this dish is the addition of a Fish Eye Ball, which came at no additional cost.

Looks like your local mamak doesn't it?

The only drawback is one can't really eat in peace around here. We used a vast amount of our time and energy in the restaurant eavesdropping on the couple next to us, trying to determine whether they're Malaysians or Singaporeans from their ascents. Haha



The restaurant serves set steamboat meals as well. Maybe we'll try it some day. The staff confirmed our hunch that the proprietor hails from Malaysia.

Overall the ambience is good, food's farely similar to Malaysian dishes .... definitely a place to go if you miss the food back home.


Technorati Tags: Food, Dining, Sydney

Town Hall Train Station

Everyone has something to complaint about .... and that includes my GF.

She makes ridiculous claims that I always do things to make myself lose face. I shall not go into details but you get my drift. She also claims that I have an awful memory .... events that she reminiscences about is returned with a blank stare from me. ( "Are you sure it happened?" )

I am ashamed to admit this, but some of her claims are actually factual, while others are absolute lies based on pure coincidence, her biased opinions and erroneous observations.

The most recent ludicrous claim is that everytime I see her face when we're outside, I feel like poo-ing. Her exact words were, "KNS! Everytime see my face, give you urge to pangsai!"

.......

Closed doors

Coincidentally, we were outside shopping one day when .... I accidentally stole a glance at her pretty face. In an instance, I felt my bowels retracting and the urge to defecate surfaced.

Noticed how I coined the term "coincidentally"? That's because it's just coincidental.

I rushed to the nearest toilet, 15 mins away at the Town Hall Train Station.

Graffiti on walls

Now the toilets here are near decent, a far cry from what we have back home. The graffitis on the walls can actually be termed "art". Unlike the usual phrases like "CIBAI", "BABI", "LANCIAO", "CALL 016-XXXX for SEX" etc that we have plastered all over our toilet walls.

It was pleasant to note that this particular toilet doesn't smell of faeces for once, a pleasant odour of roses fills the space. Resulting in an tranquil and serene environment, best suited for one to engage in some "Big" business.

And you know what the best thing is? There are toilet papers!

Many a time I had rushed to a toilet back home just to find that there are no toilet papers. You'll be lucky if there's a coin operated tissue paper dispenser outside.

But take my words for it, it's an intricate job to fumble your pockets for coins when the shit is already at the custom, ready to be excreted through your anus.




Now shoo and go away while I finish my business ....


Technorati Tags: Town Hall, Toilet

DIGI in Australia ?

The other day just when I was turning into my office, a wave of yellow flashed across my peripheral vision. Stunned in disbelief, I blinked and readjusted my focal point. And there it was again, the image as real as the sun itself.

This is what I saw

"Has DIGI came to Australia?" I asked myself. Just in case you've forgotten, DIGI had an amazingly brilliant advertisement titled the Yellow Man in the not too distanced past.

Here's a pic to tickle your memories

Well, no matter what it was, I released the throttle and engaged my brakes. In a swift action of the hand, I took a photo with my handy camera phone.

5 of them immediately stopped in their tracks, and ran across the street in my direction. OMG! "Should I run? Should I hide?" Before I gathered my senses, they surrounded me like cats cornering a rat.

And asked me for a donation. ;( Apparently they have no relations whatsoever to DIGI. They're the "Yellow Crusade", embarking on a fundraising walk across town in hopes of raising $50,000 for a cancer fund.

I am not exactly fond of giving away my hard earned money, especially to beggars. Nothing irks me more than seeing lazy-bone, pathetic losers with able bodies & perfect limbs, who are absolutely capable of feeding themselves.

Instead they write on a cardboard "Please help me, Give me money ... bla bla bla .... I am lazy" and place their lazy bums on the streets, stretch their palms out and beg. Well not exactly the last phrase but you get my point.

Unless of course .... they're totally hot chicks with big boobs and a cute bum to match. But then again that's a totally different situation. :P

Now don't give me that eye! I do donate generously to blind, handicapped beggars who really had no choice but to turn to begging to earn a living.

UnFortunately I was surrounded and had no choice in a charitable mood and considering its for a good cause, I decide to donate a GRAND TOTAL of $1.00. They asked for coins and that's all I had, trust me!

My $1 picture

Now they're $49,999 away from their donation goal. :P


Technorati Tags: Cancer Fund, Donation

Thomas Cup - China 3 VS Malaysia 2

Semi-finals Thomas Cup

MALAYSIA	CHINA
Player	Player	Score
		1	2	3
Chong Wei Lee	Dan Lin	21-12	21-14	0-0
Kien Keat Koo Boon Heong Tan	Yun Cai Haifeng Fu	16-21	17-21	0-0
Choong Hann Wong	Chunlai Bao	18-21	7-21	0-0
Zakry Abdul Latif Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari Mohd	Zhongbo Xie Zhendong Guo	21-17	21-15	0-0
Hafiz Hashim Muhammad	Jin Chen	12-21	16-21	0-0
POINTS 2 Malaysia 3 China

I had been an avid fan of badminton since young, and I was ecstatic to witness the Semi-finals match live on TV3 last night. If you're not into graphics, you may catch the text version HERE. Or for you lucky bastards back home, just watch the telly box.

Thomas Cup via streaming

FYI this year's THOMAS CUP is held in Jakarta, Indonesia. Too bad our region's badminton powerhouses, Malaysia and Indonesia both failed at the Semi-finals hurdle.

The match was both exciting and exhilarating .... we were practically jumping off our seats. Unfortunately, we were so close, yet so far. We did put up a good fight though .... leading 1-0, then trailing 1-2 to level at 2-2 before losing 2-3. Hafiz Hashim didn't fare too well in the last singles.

We don't seem to have good singles players anymore apart from Lee Wei Chong. Everyone's either too young, too old or is moonlighting. (Wong Choong Hann's is a part time commentator) Hopefully we'll see some fresh faces going through the ranks soon.

Eventhough we lost, it felt good to know Lin Dan lost to us once again. Muahahhaa

In the other Semi-finals, Indonesia lost to Korea 3 - 2.

It grieves me to inform you that there will not be any 3rd placing playoff should be quite a good watch. Malaysia VS Indonesia, which should have been the finals in my opinion.


Remember to catch the finals (China VS Korea) tonight on 18th May - 7:00 pm (Malaysian Time)



Technorati Tags: Thomas Cup, Badminton, 2008

Palace Chinese Restaurant Yum Cha

Main entrance

Last weekend we visited the Palace Chinese Restaurant for Yum Cha. It is situated a stone's throw away from David Jones CBD.

Stairways to heaven?

After passing the main entrance, walk up the spiral stairs and be greeted by a giant chandelier. It looks really grand with the hand rails decked in gold. (paint that is)

Main dining area

The main dining area is what you'd expect from a chinese restaurant. Round shaped tables cramped together to get as many diners in as humanely possible.

Chinese caligraphy paintings decorate the walls and a main stage ( in red obviously) for wedding functions. The only thing amiss is a giant fish tank with prosperous fishes swimming around.

Egg tart (5/5)

The egg tart is quite superb. The crusts practically melts in your mouth while the aroma of egg tantalizes your taste buds.

We're heading to Macau pretty soon and I've heard some pretty good stuff about the Portugese Egg Tarts over there. I wonder how it'll fare?

Deep Fried Seafood Stick (4/5)

Sweet seafood on the inside, crispy on the outside. The filling is mainly prawns while the outer skin taste like yau cha guai.

Ham Soi Gok (2/5)

Literally means "Salty Water Corner". It is just moderate. I've tasted better ones elsewhere. Notice how they slice it in half for you?

If you're an Kan Cheong eater like me, I'm pretty sure you've bitten into one of these before and released a large quantity of vapour that burns your insides. ;(

Crusted Pork Buns (3/5)

Fung Zha - Chicken Feet (1/5)

If you don't mind the fact that these used to belong to chickens who thread around the ground filled with grim and dirt, then go for it.

I like the chicken feet in Australia, they're like really hugemongous with lots of meaty regions. But those served here are too salty for my liking.

Pai Kuat - Pork Ribs (0/5)

This is a classic example of a fine recipe gone disastrously wrong. It is full of fatty parts, too oily and absolutely horrendous to mouth. Only go for this dish if you're self abusive.

Pao - Dumplings (3/5)

Heong Pin Chinese Tea (Ratings N/A)

Sio Bee (3/5)

Ha Kao (4/5)

Looks like China Sui Jiao

Classic Dim Sum must-order dish. I'm used to my Ha Kao shaped like wanton, but the ones here are shaped like Sui Jiao.

I think it maximizes the space inside to stuff more prawn filling, because prawns were literally dropping out of my mouth as I took a bite.

Picture is taken before ordering, explaining the
lack of mouth watering dishes on table.

Crusted coconut dessert (2/5)

Lam pi lang pa lang ham tan da OR something like that (-1/5)

Concoction of almond and various ingredients, which I suspect consists of

• A. Toilet water
• B. Used sanitary pads
• C. Kerosene
• D. All of the above

Neither of us liked its taste, but then again one man's poison is another man's meat. Only a negative number rating (refer above) can do it justice.

It did have an interesting name though, albeit too long for my fancy. The waitress had to repeat 3 times before we understood her. Even then I still had trouble pronounciating it.

Chop system

Price ranges from $3.30 (small) - $12.00 (special/BBQ).

Service is slow because they've only got 1 push cart for each variety. Once you missed it, a lengthy void awaits you because the waiters/waitress have really short legs .... my explaination to why they need that long to round the place.

Unless you know what you want and order it straight from the kitchen. This option is unavailable to us as there's no menu and ....

• Waiter: You mat ye? ( What you want? )
• Me: LS: Ngo you (I want) "Lam pi lang pa lang ham tan da"
• Waiter: Huh? Lei kong mat? ( Pls repeat )
• Me: Lam pi lang pa lang ham tan da?
• Waiter: OK.

And comes back with an entirely different dish. Really fail-dot-com. :(



Technorati Tags: Yumcha, Dining, Sydney, Food