Travelling,Shopping and Food in Asia

Malaya got its indepnedence day on Aug 31,1957. And soon we will be celebrating the 50th independence day.

50 years of independence is not easy achieve but am glad to see that Malaysia has grown so much. My grandma used to tell me, hard it is during the japanese occupation & she has to work for a British family as a maid at her tender age.

I am glad to see the 3 races -Chinese,Indian & Malay live together under one roof in peace & harmony and together they create success.

I would to wish all Malaysians in regardless of where ever you are, wishing you Happy 50th Merdeka and may we all continue to enjoy the success of Malaysia.

Cheers!

If you are heading to Penang & checking out the food, my advise don't go to tourist food centre. Eat where the locals eat.
Here's another food directory - Penang Food. Sometimes if I have friends going to Penang, I will have a food hunt from morning to late evening. You will never get bore of Penang food...."Ho Chiak" as the local says. Penang is famous for hawkers food and some of the old restaturant still exist till today (during my granpa's era).

There's a place which I personally would like to advise not to go is the hawkers centre at the Esplanade.Standard of hygiene is quite bad.Good historical place but not the food.

Check it out & feel free to add on to the list.

http://blog.328gallery.com/?p=349

Bon Apetite!

Would to share this blog and if anyone interested to support them by all means go ahead.It was forwarded by my friend in Spore. I know they are in s'pore but if you have any friends & relatives in Spore, probably u could forward to them http://newlifeoutreach.blogspot.com/ . They need clothes, blankets,etc for these people.

They are a group of people who are helping the Hmong refugees who live over the hill of Chiang Mai.

Feel free to give away your winter clothes, blankets or anything that can be of service to this volunteers . Please be reminded DO NOT treat this as your dumping site for all your unwanted stuff.

May god bless everyone.

Sadhu!Sadhu!Sadhu!

Laap is a traditional salad in Laos.Want to share this salad that I tried while in Laos.Got the recipe from local resident.Very delicious & tasty.Served with glutinuous rice or just steamed rice

Ingredient

Mint leaf
Basil leaf
Spring Onion (cut finely)
Lemon Grass (cut finely)
Minced meat (Chicken, beef or pork)
Long beans (dice)
Shallots
Lime Juice
Small Chillies (Chili padi) - hot & spicy (cut finely)
Sugar to taste
Glutinous Rice (A handful, perhaps 50 g)

* There's no specific of how many grams of vege you need to put, it is up to you to portion it. The salad should taste spicy & sour.

Methods

1) Washed all the leaves and pluck the leaves into a salad mixing bowl
2) Marinade the meat with just salt & pepper. Stir fry or sauteed it over a pan with some oil
3) Slice the shallots finely
4) Washed the glutinuous rice and pan fried the rice over a heated pan till become golden brown (no oil). Let it cool down & then blend the rice with blender till become powder.Or use a pounder.
5) Cut the chilies
6) Mixed all the ingredient & ready to serve. Eat with steamed glutinous rice or plain rice.

We need a minimum of courage in life in order to make decisions. But since it is not good to decide things impulsively, a certain dose of indecsion is also necessary, just enough to evaluate the situation correctly or to take advice from those who are better informed. So indecision is useful to an extend. But once we have weighed the pros and cons, we need the strength to make our decision whatever problems we will have to face.I have to admit that I do not always follow my own advice on this point.

Gilchrist & Soames toothpaste made in China and shipped to hotels around the world may have a traces of the chemical diethylene glycol.Independent tests showed some samples contained diethylene glycol, a kidney and liver toxin and a central nervous system depressant.

The recall involves 0.65-ounce tubes of toothpaste made in China by Ming Fai Enterprises International Co. Ltd. and distributed under the Gilchrist & Soames name.

The FDA has posted a list of toothpastes found to contain diethylene glycol at
http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/toothpaste.html.

Hoteliers/Travel trade friends - read this one too
http://ehotelier.com/browse/news_more.php?id=D11755_0_11_0_M

Ingredient

200g Plain Flour
4 medium eggs
180g castor sugar
200g pure butter (Golden Churn,fernleaf)
250g mashed banana (pisang emas - direct translation golden banana)
1tsp of baking powder
1tbsp of milk
1tbsp of brandy (optional)

Get a cake tin for 1kg,brush it with melted butter & sprinkle some flour and make it even.Preheat the oven at 185 degree for 10 min before you fold in the flour.

Method
1)Cream the butter & sugar together till it become pale. Use a whisk or mixer.
2) Add in the beaten eggs gradually.Make sure that beaten eggs are incorporated well with the batter or else you will get lumps
3)Sieved the plain flour together with the baking powder and fold in the batter gradually. When you fold the flour in the mixture, use a wooden spoon.Like 2 circle and a cut in the centre. Add in the mashed banana gradually while folding the flour.
4) Add in the milk & brandy. Milk is to moisture the cake and brandy will give extra ummp & keep longer.
5) Once is ready, pour the mixture in the cake tin, stamp the cake tin on the table so that the mixture is evenly spread. Put it in the oven for 45 min to bake. When is ready, use a skewer to check whether the cake is fully cooked without any uncooked mixture stick to the skewer.If it is not fully cook, put it back to the oven another 10min
6)Let it rest & turn over the cake. Serve when it is cold.

Bon Apetite!

There are things in life which are impossible to change, such as what color we are born, where we are born, who our parehts are, etc. Yes we do have many personal choices still free for us, such as which path we choose to take in life, which religion we choose, who our friends are (they should be everyone but the world does not accept this), etc. but the bottom line is that inside, we are ALL the same. It is the heart of a person which makes them, nothing else. When I say "heart" this refers as the heart and mind as one obviously. judgements, likes, dislikes... these things come so easily to most and are usually wrong anyway. Such a sad nonvirtous waste of time. I found this in a book I have and thought it would be a wonderful message to humanity as a whole, as one.:

UNDERSTANDING OTHERS

How can we develop the mind of awakening? All beings, as we do, aspire to be happy and fear suffering. When we deeply understand this, we see the source of joy and happiness for us; it is also like that for others. We can decide right now to give others this happiness through our physical work, speech, or mind. Even if we are not able to effectively help others in the present, we still have the possibility of giving right orientation to our mind. This is done by cultivating the aspiration to find ourselves in a situation that will allow us to do so.  In a similar way, let us look at the effect of a hurtful word addressed to us, or an action through which one seeks to harm us. The sensitivity of all beings is the same; just as we suffer, others do also. Therefore, we can understand the necessity for putting aside the part of our activity, speech, and mind that
can engender suffering within others. If it is impossible for us to immediately give up some aspects of our conduct, at least we can aspire that they will disappear sometime in the future. To keep an atitude orientated toward benefiting others within our heart is what is called the mind of awakening.

Some of you may have been to KL for shopping & food. But normally you will dine within the KL city restaurant and to be safe you will go to fast food chain as a tourist.

Anyway, here are some food outlet within KL and Petaling Jaya where the locals will go. You can just reach these places by taxis.

If you want to add on to my list..you are most welcome!

Wee Sang Kee, SS2/66: Bak Kut Teh - despite numerous claims for other places in Klang or Sg Way and negative feedback from friends. I just love the thick soup and special rice to go with the meat. It's a mix of slight herbal and dark sauce, not peppery. I've tried Sg Way's (peppery) and a few in Klang (no special rice except for butter rice and/or fried onions).

Tai Thong restaurant, 1st Floor Jalan SS2/67: favorite dim sum, selection is normal and quality is average (like the street kind). No expensive stuff like in hotels, just the normal expected quality in aircon chinese restaurant environment with quick service. Find this better than the Summer Palace near to Damansara Kim/Sprint highway.

Hong Seng restaurant, section 17 marketplace area, Corner restaurant, next to Magnum/Sports toto): Best roast pork (siew yuk), the original skinny, buttery and thin crispy skin kind ie. not the kind sold in markets or the chunky ones from roast pigs of chinese celebrations. The supply is limited, a little later than 1pm and it's almost gone. This is the kind which was available everywhere in the hey days but have gone south without a clue... probably lost the chain of supply. The chicken rice stall also sells very good Sour Vege (SHEUN CHOI), the kind made at home from leftovers and overnight ingredients.... a hit with women.

Seng Kee, Taman Tun Dr Ismail (behind Shakeys Pizza or Secret Recipe, Tun Mohd Fuad 1): Claypot 'loh shu fun' is their specialty and originated from their KL branch. As well as 'fried crispy pork noodles'. They serve dishes as well for those looking for a normal 'tai chow' chinese meal.

Roast duck
RESTORAN SUNRISE ,31 Jalan 21/1,SEA Park
HOPPY RESTAURANT , SS2/66 - different kinds of roast duck eg. classic, herbal, etc.
Name-unknown , section 17 marketplace area - corner shop, specializes in duck
Loong Foong Restaurant at Sea Park - selling in the evening only from 5pm. Go early or else one may have to wait . The duck is steaming hot. Sometimes by 8pm,they have everything sold out.

Chee Cheong Fun and Yong Tau Foo YHK Seafood Yong Tow Foo, 45, Jalan Brunei Barat, 55100 KL (near Wisma Shaw) Tel : 21489220 http://www.yhk-yongtowfoo.com/- nice chee cheong fun ie. with fried shrimps and shallots sprinklings, I can eat at least 2 plates to go with the crunchy yong tau foo and fried sui kow/wantan. Thank god, they had a branch opened in Damansara Uptown ( No.31 , Jln SS21/56B, Damansara Utama, PJ tel:77108131) and in an aircon environment. It's next to 'The Ship'.
The other one would be the O & S restaurant at Paramount Garden. The sauce is bit different from Penang cos this guy cook the "tim cheong" with chopped groundnuts & gula melaka. U can even eat your Chee Cheong Fun with Curry Chicken

Nasi lemak
Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa , 4 Jln. Raja Muda Musa, Kampung Baru, KL (03-2931358)- must try the fried chicken- opened at nights till early wee mornings.
Dharoos , Damansara Uptown - good tastes of mixed offerings eg. roti, simple nasi lemak (sambal, peanuts and rice) and maggi goreng
Deli terra , 3rd floor, Jaya jusco mid valley - quite generous portions of sambal and curry chicken.
Laksa Shack , LG flr, 1-utama
Madam Kwan's , KLCC or Bangsar

'Tai chow' restaurants
OK restaurant , Taman Tun Dr Ismail (next to Penang Village) - decent dishes in nice corner outdoor area, frequented by japanese and expats staying nearby

Restaurant Keen , SS20/11 & SS20/3, Damansara Kim, opposite end of Euro Deli - nice dishes with new variety (ask for recommendations), but may be hot due to indoor setting. This place also has claypot chicken rice stall and dim sum stall which I frequent quite often. The former serves quite tasty claypot rice and popular 'Sour vege stew'.

Restauran Yau Tak Teng , Jln Tun Mohd Fuad 1, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, opposite Secret Recipe/next to Guardian - this place is not spacious though and can be quiet smoky. Still, the crowd packs it in.

Pangkor Curry Fish Head Restoran , 59, Jln SS24/8, 47300 Taman Megah, PJ (opposite Fatty Crab).... popular for the curry fish head, this is an alternative to Fatty Crab customers who couldn't get seats. This place has more variations and options for crabs than Fatty Crab ie. marmite, sour spicy, kam heong, etc. Other offerings are nice too eg. pork ribs and prawns. However, the service here is slow though at peak hours ie. an hour of waiting.
Ah Sau , Jalan 223, PJ (I think... it's originally from KL).... popular for the hokkien fried noodles. Also try the the Fish glue soup too, it's soft and tasty

Golden Bowl seafood restaurant , SS2/61, 03-7876 7228 - opened in February 2004, this corner lot caught on fast, queues were showing every night. So, one early night, I decided to try it out hoping to beat the queues (which I did). Airconditioned but not enclosed, the environment is clean and cool. Not reading the newspaper clippings of reviews and praises, on the walls, I decided to ask the waiter dreading to hear the same old offerings of chinese dishes. I was surprised when every recommendation sounded unique and tempting. I was ordering whatever the waiter mentioned eg. prawns deepfried with salted egg in spicy sauce (RM40), beancurd(tofu pre-minced with vege RM12), pigeon (RM6) and kailan with toppings (RM15)... sorry about the inaccurate names but these are my own unprofessional descriptions. The service was fast considering a packed crowd... my wife and I couldn't stop to speak a word, the second we started digging it except for nodding and opening eyes wide with glee. Thumbs up from me.... caught glimpse from neighbouring table giving thumbs up to each other too. Bill was RM91, on the high side but it's about quality and satisfaction. Will come back again to try their signature dishes (from the newspaper reviews) ie. lamb, pork knuckle, yin yang prawns, tofu with gingko, etc..

Hawker stalls/coffeshop/restaurant

Seng Lee restaurant , Jalan Batai, Damansara Heights - famous for the char kway teoy and pork noodles. The former has generous portions and contributes greatly to the smoky atmosphere in the restaurant, but nobody seems to mind including expats who stand there patiently for their takeaways. The latter stall gives generous unhealthy portions of lard, but then again, unhealthy food always tastes better, right? The rojak stall at the entrance/road side is also very popular, their portions are humongous for RM3. Lots of peanut sprinklings and crunchy biscuits & yu tiao.

Yong Len restaurant , Jln Tun Mohd Faud 1, TTDI - not too busy and hot corner restaurant offering nice choices of prawn mee, laksa and wantan mee. Nearby roadside rojak stall is very popular also, with small queues now and then.

Penang village, 1 Lrg Rahim Kajai 13, TTDI - a recent hit chain of restaurants with nyonya & penang offerings in an oriental/nyonya/chinese fusion environment ie. high class hawker restaurant (that's how I describe to my foreign friends). My usual orders are prawn mee, char kway teow ( RM7.90), ice kacang (RM5.5)/ chendol and assam laksa. Ordering the nyonya dishes for a proper meal is also nice. Choosing the 'recommended' choices will be a sure hit eg. Chicken kapitan (RM13.90), samosa, brocolli and prawn ( RM14.90), Cincalok omelette (RM8.90), Yin yang Garoupa (RM48). Lunch crowd is to the brim compared to dinner.

Restoran Sun Hin Loong , SS2/67 - Good corner of SS2, where shops and food are aplenty. Good varieties include the prawn mee, nasi lemak, kampar ball noodle, dim sum, mixed rice. Situated next to another coffeshop behind it, Hock Seng Two (which has good wantan mee, curry puff, siew pau and curry laksa), this has a better advantage by having few tables in the open air.

Restoran Lim Ho , SS2/67 - Another good corner of SS2, where shops and food are aplenty. Good varieties include the prawn mee, Ipoh chee cheong fun, popiah, vegetarian mixed rice, fried noodles . Situated next to Gluttons corner, it has some tables in the open at night.

Pan mee
Restaurant Mao Tuck Teng , Jln Tun Mohd Fuad 1, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, KL (corner of shop block next/opposite to KFC)
Restaurant Megah Good Luck, SS24/11, Behind Fatty Crab , Taman Megah, PJ - tasty noodles with that flour fragrance and anchovy aroma, prefer the dry version.
Kin Kin Restaurant off Jln TAR- if u are game for spicy pan mee, go for this one. They used to sell under a huge tree but owned a restaurant now. It is the chillies that make it so special. It is not the normal sambal belacan but made from dried chillies.Try the dried pan mee & add the special chilli. Be ready to sweat. And you probably ask for 2nd bowl.Order your 2nd bowl in advance or else you may have to wait again.You got to wait at least 30 min during lunch hr.

SatayRestoran 'Satay Kajang' in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, same row as Honda (used to be Naza Motor)

Wantan mee Ho Weng Kee , SS2/66, PJ - specializes in wantan mee, with different meat choices eg. chicken feet, char siew, pork ribs, chicken shreds, etc.Char Siew
Meng Kee , Tengkat Tong Shin, the road behind Jln Alor (not Jln Bkt Bintang side), KL - the burnt and sticky type but leaner. Very popular and crowded during lunch and weekends. No dinner served.
Soo Kee , Jln Ampang, row of shops near to the Ampang Point interchange - the burnt and sticky kind of char siew

Hokkien fried noodles
Ah wa , 66, jalan 14/48, pj (the corner coffee shop behind the shell station on jalan 222) - the burnt taste and dark kind, on the dry side.

Hokkien Mee D'sara Uptown - Got wait for very long if u don't go early.And they have Guang Chow Roast Duck.

Restoran Lim (aka Chow Yang), SS2 - lots of people order aside from the hawker varieties Malaysian delicacies/street food The following are the rare delicacies being found around PJ except for morning markets and pasar malams (SS2). Gone are the days where these were delicious and easy to find, but now, very selective.

The 'Ham Cheen Peng' or chinese fried donut/pastry is best eaten fresh. That's why some popular stalls have queues waiting for the freshly fried ones eg. stall in front of Chow Yang (SS2) and front of Restoran Keen (SS20/11, Damansara Kim).

Seremban siew pau - a franchise business, the stalls are everywhere eg. SS2, Taman Megah selling the sweet and savoury delight. Over the years though, the pau's size is shrinking while costing RM1 each. A rare sight these days, a multipurpose goodies van carrying all sorts of buns, tidbits, sweets and stuff.

SEAFOOD
Restaurant Tak Fook - Located in Amanpuri near Sri Damansara.And they have a branch now at Puchong/ Crab is execellent.IS only RM18.00 per kg.But U got to try Crab with salted egg...yummy but they will cost RM20.00 per kg. IS the most reasonable charges so far fro crab. You must also try their "Dong po Rou" - with mantou, fried eggplant in claypot with mince meat & "tau pan cheong" & others that yu can ask for recommendation. Go early during weekend like at 6pm cos yuo probably get yr food 45 min later. If you go later, you probably got to wait but order your food first while waiting.

Kwai Lum - Kg Subang. They great ways of cooking crabs like sweet & sour, black pepper, "yim kuk", steam prawns with wine, deep fried chicken wing,grilled stingray etc..Food served very fast even though is packed.

BON APETITE!

When we say that the ignorant mind is perverse or wrong, we are  talking about the way it misconceives reality. Now the pertinent  questions are: What is reality? How is this mind mistaken about  reality? And in what way does the mind wrongly apprehend reality?

Reality or emptiness of true existence is something that can be established logically. There are sound, or perfect, reasons to prove the emptiness of inherent existence, and we can gain conviction in  these reasons. On the other hand, there is no logical way to prove true existence. True existence is what appears to an ordinary, untrained consciousness. But when it comes under logical scrutiny, true existence cannot be found. Even in our everyday life we often find contradictions between the way certain things appear and their actual mode of existence; that is, the way things actually exist is different from the way they appear to exist.

....Our perception of impermanent things like mountain ranges and houses does not conform to their actual mode of existence. Some of  these things have existed for many centuries, even thousands of years. And our minds perceive them in just that way--as lasting and
permanent, impervious to momentary change. Yet when we examine these objects on an atomic level, they disintegrate every moment;  they undergo momentary change. Science also describes a similar  pattern of change. These objects appear solid, stable, and lasting, but in their true nature, they constantly change, not keeping still even for a moment.

Caller : Hello, can I speak to Annie Wan? ( anyone)

Operator : Yes, you can speak to me.

Caller: No, I want to speak to Annie Wan!

Operator: You are talking to someone! Who is this?

Caller: I'm Sam Wan ( someone) And I need to talk to Annie Wan!
It's urgent.

Operator: I know you are someone and you want to talk to anyone!
But what's this urgent matter about?

Caller: Well... just tell my sister Annie Wan that our brother
Noel Wan ( no one ) was involved in an accident. Noel Wan got injured and now Noel Wan is being sent to the hospital. Right now, Avery Wan is on his way to the hospital.

Operator: Look if no one was injured and no one was sent to the
hospital, then the accident isn't an urgent matter! You may find this hilarious but I don't have time for this!

Caller: You are so rude! Who are you?

Operator: I'm Saw Lee. (sorry)

Caller: Yes! You should be sorry. Now give me your name!!