Mind Cruncher

It has been 2 months since my sojourn in USJ (Utara Subang Jaya). Time just flies. I remembered I used to count the days to my vacation when I was lying on my bed at night, couldn’t help but kept on hoping that my dreary exam was over in no time. Now, there are still 4 more days for me to fully enjoy my holidays and live life to the fullest!

“Chai Kuey”

I set out to USJ with mum and dad with the first stop of my foodie spree- Sg. Bakap. This place is always a must- stop station for us whenever we head down south, be it to Genting, Camerons or KL. The mouth-watering “Chai Kuey” is the famous delicacy there. The shop that serves this dish had already been operating when I wasn’t born. The Teo Chew have a lot of authentic foods that have been passed down for generations. Other than “Chai Kuey”, there is also the “Or Ni” (Yam dessert) that has always been my all-time favourite. Hitherto, I’ve only been to 2 places that have “Or Ni” in their menu, which are in Sg. Bakap and Selayang respectively. The one in Selayang is more improvised, in which it has a smoother texture and also incorporated pumpkin paste and gingko to it. The more traditional one is found in Sg Bakap, with a coarser texture and is made out entirely of yam. The uniqueness of the “Chai Kuey” in Sg. Bakap is that the skin is very thin, unlike the ones that are available in

Penang

. What’s more? Beneath the skin lies the fillings that are so juicy and delightful. “Chai Kuey” is served as one of the dish in Dim Sum style and the best thing is that they are fresh from the steamer. It could be taken as breakfast or even lunch. My family could always finish about an astonishing twenty plates of “Chai Kuey”, stacked nicely, waiting for the boss to tally them up.

Japanese Cuisine

Japanese buffet at Ogawa’s Kitchen

Upon reaching USJ, dad suggested that we go for a Japanese Buffet in Taipan (one of the districts in US J). The name of the restaurant evoked the household brand of the massage chair to me.Well, actually he wanted to celebrate my birthday for me. Although it was a belated birthday treat, it was indeed an excellent and economic repast for a Japanese cuisine. I think it was priced at RM 38++ because the outlet was still new but I can tell you that the Sashimi really wrapped the meal up as it was damn fresh. Besides, there were a melange of Japanese foods with the starters, main course and desserts.

Japanese buffet at Jogoya

Posing with a coconut..hehe.

            Ever experienced having a lunch that can last you till the next day? Bro recommended this place to me that was located in Starhill. Apparently, Jogoya has other branch in

Taiwan

apart from

Malaysia

. To make it up for the buffet late lunch that only begins at 2 p.m during weekdays, we just had light breakfast in the morning. That was the most exorbitant Japanese buffet that I’ve ever been to as it cost RM 78 per person (inclusive of service charge and government tax) and this spread is the cheapest one compared to having buffet lunch, dinner or supper.

Jogoya, 我来也！

I was enthralled by the bewildering variety of foods when we were ushered to our table. Everything looked so delicious and tantalising but how could I have a sample of everyone? How I wish I could have 2 stomachs so that I could gobble up everything that was on display. Apart from the assorted sushi and sashimi, there were different kinds of exotic seafood that were being served. I have only read about Dory fish or better known as ‘puffer fish’ but finally got to taste this fish there. Cooking this fish is a feat because the cook must know how to slice the flesh of the fish in order to avoid serving the poisonous part of the fish to the customers.

Zen Japanese Restaurant in Sunway Pyramid

            The serving was large so luckily bro, mum and I just ordered 2 set lunch. Mum’s udon was perfectly springy and a bit sticky and I’ve never really like udon that much until I tasted the udon there. Bro ordered a beef set which came with sashimi. I thought that the sashimi was like the ordinary sashimi that I used to have but bro said otherwise. Mum’s set was RM 32 whereas bro’s was RM 38. So, it was quite a costly and “just-nice-to-the-stomach’s” meal. Actually, bro recommended us that outlet because he said that the “cawamushi” there is delicious, which is very suitable for a “cawamushi”-lover like my mum.

Western Cuisine

Western Breakfast at SS15

As I have no car to roam about with my mum, my only companion here, I have to wait till Thursday, for bro to take us out since he is only free on that day. On a Thursday morning, bro had a whim to bring us out for breakfast in SS15, which is literally near his uni. I didn’t care much about the name of the restaurant but it served both western set breakfast in the morning and set lunch in the afternoon. Priced from RM5.50 onwards, one can indulge in an American breakfast or British breakfast. My pick was the most expensive one (RM 11.50). I had toast bread, which I slathered with butter and a plate of gratin which had slices of sausages and ham, covered with a layer of egg and cheese. Erm, what a wonderful and rich breakfast!

Carls’ Jr.

            I stumbled upon an advert about this outlet because of the appealing burger that they had advertised. I knew that I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but shouldn’t I give it a try to satisfy my gut? I ordered a “Portobello Mushroom” despite the fact that it topped the pricing chart as I wondered how would a burger taste like with mushroom married with the beef patty. Comments? Marvelous is the exact word to describe its taste. Since mum doesn’t take beef, she ordered a charboiled chicken burger. I think charboil must have meant that they use charcoal instead of gas to boil the chicken. I didn’t have a taste of that but mum’s facial expression told us all. However, taste came with a price to pay. You bet how much the burgers cost us! This burger outlet is definitely different from that of “Subway’s

Sandwich

”.

Subway

            

Sandwich

lovers can have their pick of their bread, fillings, sauces and condiments to go with their sandwich. It’s more towards making your own sandwich in a way except that you just have to point to them what you want. I chose turkey for my main filling and after finishing my portion, I still haven’t felt full yet. The sandwich wasn’t that bad but it didn’t cater to a glutton like me..haha…should have picked a larger bread but that would definitely be added to the bill and believe me, it wasn’t not cheap at all.

Korean Cuisine

Dao Rae

            Whenever I come to USJ, I’ll definitely pop in to this place but whenever I mention about Korean food, mum would frown. Admittedly, I used to enjoy Korean food because I was influenced by the Korean dramas that I watched. Dad didn’t mind trying but he wouldn’t complain much about the food. For my sake, he brought us here again and this time, I was more sensible in ordering my food (that was not to be deceived by the pictures.) But dad fell into the same trap again. He ordered something like a poached egg on a broth which looked impressive but it turned out pale in comparison to the one depicted in the picture. The servings there were very large so through experience, we ordered 2 sets of BBQ (which is what Koreans are famed of), a bowl of congee (that my dad has ordered) and a bowl of humble noodles that tasted just like that. I think we were full to the brims that night because of the side dishes that they keep replenishing without extra surcharge. But I still enjoyed the BBQ beef and chicken, dipped in a special sauce accompanied by BBQ garlic and “sambal”, all wrapped with fresh lettuce. Although BBQ meat maybe carcinogenic because of the polyacrylamide, I think that the generous portion of the lettuce will have enough antioxidants to counter attack the free radicals that are produced. Anyway, BBQ is just a once-in- a- while affair if I’m able to resist.

            I came back to this restaurant again a couple of weeks later to try the set lunch that was priced at RM 14 nett each. As usual, it didn’t turn out well and it left me dismayed. Ironically, the business is always good as many customers come pouring in during lunch and dinner time. Maybe, they just enjoyed the BBQ afterall. Anyway, I will not go back to the same place again for Korean food because there are still a plethora of Korean restaurants in the vicinity.

Dumplings (Bak Chang)

            I’ve suggested to mum to try the dumplings at Kampung Ah Soh as televised by the ‘一日五餐’ programme on ASTRO. It seems that they are famous for their dumplings and was even touted as the first to bring in HK style dumpling to

Malaysia

. So on the Dumpling Festival, we had dumplings at one of their outlets in Bandar Puteri for lunch. We ordered the signature 黄金粽 (RM 12),nyonya dumpling that was yellowish white in colour and Hakka dumpling. The yellow-golden dumpling was elongated in shape and had dried oysters, a whole salted egg, Chinese sausage, and other fillings that are usually associated with a dumpling. The nyonya dumpling was special and when we wanted to 打包, there wasn’t any left. Dumplings at that restaurant were selling like hotcakes and the arresting one was the large abalone dumpling that was RM3 hundred something. Needless to say, that dumpling would have to be pre-ordered first but I don’t think anyone would try that, would they? Hakka dumpling was more or less like the ordinary dumpling except that it has more lard.

Fusion of Italian and Japanese Cuisine at Pasta de Gohan

            Aptly named, this restaurant is where east meets west. Italians like their pastas whereas Japanese can’t live a day without their staple food- rice or ‘gohan’ in Japanese. Afraid of ended up too full, we ordered a set that consisted a pick of your pasta, salad and macaroni coated with baked cheese. But the puller was none other than the pizza which had a poached egg, sitting right in the middle of our treat. Although it might be quite messy when the roller cut a swathe across the egg, the yolk actually spread on the thin crust of the pizza, so there was nothing to worry about. The serving was quite small, enough to be our starters but the price was like any other hefty meal for 2. Never mind that, at least we’ve landed our taste buds there and after all it’s worth trying something new. A sumptuous one indeed!

Lebanese Cuisine

Scouting around for food again after having our ‘starters’ at Pasta de Gohan, I couldn’t help but to dig in more. Initially, I thought of buying donuts from J.Co but I thought that it was too rich for me, so we dropped in to a Lebanese Restaurant after seeing an advert about that restaurant giving 20% discount for students. The perk of being a student is to enjoy discounted rate for many things, not to say eateries but cinema to boot. I went to The Pavilion for 2 times to have the redemption of my free cheesecakes in virtue of that. Bro and I went to GSC in Summit USJ for ‘Speed Racer’ and ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ with concessions to the ticket price and we kept the stub to redeem cheesecakes from “The Loaf” at The Pavilion which lasted until 30^th May. “The Loaf” was a bakery initiated by our former premier and the buns and cakes were dainty but the prices were surely eye-popping. Luckily, we just had to show our ticket stubs to have our choice of cheesecakes, which cost RM 5 per piece, to have it for free! If I do my math and considered paying for the cheesecake, my movie just cost me RM 1! Isn’t that wonderful? Before swaying too far from the Lebanese cuisine, I should strongly recommend those who wanna have a touch of Mediterranean food to go to Tarbush Restaurant in Sunway Pyramid. We later noticed that students would only be given discount after a certain date but that didn’t thwart us from trying that out. I first came to know about this special cuisine after watching the Asian Food Channel (AFC). Lebanese are loud and clear about their salad, which is a distinguished dish that takes pride of place of the Lebanese food. According to the host of AFC, she said that a Lebanese fare is not complete without a touch of the hand, which meant that the preparation of Lebanese food entailed a lot of hand work. We took the touted salad and it proved to be as good as it was hailed to be. There was a generous amount of parsley, olive, cherry tomatoes and some other ingredients that I haven’t seen before, topped off with olive oil as the dressing and a tinge of lemon for a slight tangy taste. We also ordered their mix grill, which was an assortment of beef, mutton, chicken, presented in different styles: meat pierced through a spit, meatballs and also slabs of meat. This dish came with pitta bread and we can also have a free flow of the bread. The appetizers like the olive and some weird pickles were also complementary. Lebanese cuisine isn’t oily and it is suitable for dieters and people who contract the metabolic syndrome. It was definitely a change of taste for a Chinese like me!

Aw,

Food

Republic

at The Pavilion..

As the Hokkiens always say, “Chin gao keng, keng teo chao geng geng”, which means if one is too fastidious in choosing, one will finally choose a rotten longan. As for me, this cliche holds true many times that I’ve begun not to dismiss the claim. Dad brought me to The Pavilion because I haven’t been there before. It was like any other posh, chic and groovy shopping malls that we have in downtown KL. The food court alone housed a vast array of cuisine so we decided to pamper ourselves with the varieties that were available. Customers were just spoilt for choice while I was searching around for the best option for myself. The Taiwanese cuisine at a corner caught my eye whereas mum tuck into her usual favourite- Vietnamese food. I ordered a piquant 麻辣 curry fish head that I have to wait for ages. To top it all, it was horrible. Mum and dad have already finished their food while waiting for me to ‘indulge’ in my so-called Taiwanese cuisine. Dad quipped that the most expensive lunch was the best of all, asking me why on earth would I order rice. I didn’t know it would turn up like that! Then mum quoted the horny cliche again. Well, well…yea, I take that but I hope I wouldn’t wind up like that when I’m finding a lifelong partner….

The al fresco dining in The Pavilion

Going greens

When I was having a stint in USJ, our whole family would dine out once in a week but sometimes we would eat out more often when we felt like doing so. During the full moon and half moon of the month, we would go on a vegetarian diet. At times, mum would slave over the hot stove but sometimes, we would patronize some of the vegetarian restaurants in USJ. I went to the vege restaurant in The Summit, USJ for 擂茶, a kind of Hakka delicacy that I used to take in the coffee shop in Puchong, when I was working 2 years ago. Some people will detest that dish because it smells so pungent with the concoction of the Basil leaves. However, it’s a tonic in a way that it purifies the blood and is very rich in antioxidants. That was definitely my day. I’ve finally got to tuck into my beloved擂茶! Apart from that, we also went to 2 different vege restaurants near Sunway Pyramid during 2 occasions for 2 separate meals of vege. One was unique that it blended Japanese and Chinese cuisine together. I had my tomato rice which was wrapped inside a layer of ‘popiah’, unlike the typical nasi pattaya which is wrapped with a layer of omelette. There was another Chinese style vege restaurant in which we took the花生糊 and the fried pancake. Mum didn’t like it because she doesn’t have a sweet tooth so I was the one who finally cleared up everything. The sinful 花生糊 was damn sweet but since I was craving for it, it worth the calories.

‘Bak Kut Teh’

            It’s what Klang is famous for. Dad has been there with his friends on several occasions but he told me that the oldest shop that served one of the best ‘bak kut teh’ was shabby looking so he suggested us to try out his friend of a friend’s newly opened one- Ah Tau Seafood Bak Kut Teh. I asked one of my course mates who was from Klang to join me for branch but she already had an appointment with her friends, what a waste! The place evoked my memories of the restaurants in

China

. We could see the sifu in action from the glass showcase. The waiters served us tea with a Chinese tea set. Although my family loves tea, we do not possess the skills of brewing and serving tea so that it can retain its aroma. What we know best is to gulp down tea…haha…There were 3 different version of Bak Kut Teh: the normal one, the dry one and another one was served with clear soup. 油条or better known as油炸鬼 among Malaysians is a must to dip into the soup of the bak kut teh. I couldn’t remember how much meat that I took that it could last me till dinner. Whoosh, that showed how bad red meat is as it could linger in your body for so long. Just imagine the toxins that find time to accumulate inside the body, yuck! Anyway, it was the best of the best of the best ever bak kut teh that I’ve ever savoured!

‘Sawadikap’

            Bandar Puteri, Puchong is a new township that witness drastic development within a short period. The mushrooming offices are probably the reasons many food outlets attempt to seek business there. We went to “Ah Han Thai” to have dinner one day because I’ve yet to try any Thai food there. It wasn’t that authentic as they also have Western and Chinese cuisine in their menu. Nonetheless, the food was just moderately satisfying, partly because the cooks have added a considerable amount of oil and salt to our food so that they appeared to be greasy. The black pepper lamb wasn’t that bad though. In fact, Thai restaurants serve scrumptious steam fish, ‘otak-otak’, green curry chicken, ‘meng kham’ as the entree, pandan chicken, ‘kerabu mango’, ‘belacan fried rice’ etc. I’m not the one who likes to stick to the rut when ordering food so sometimes something new that I order may be lip-smacking but sometimes it doesn’t but eventually, it’s the feeling of satisfaction that I get to be adventurous.

Steamboat

            I’ll catch fleeting glimpses of steamboat restaurants when I sit back in the car, moving around the

Klang

Valley

. KL folks just like steamboat! Steamboat restaurants are always brimming with punters who are waiting to plunge into their spread even though the weather is torrid. I remembered having steamboat in

Cameron

Highlands

at night when I was young. Eating steamboat when the weather is cold is always a wonderful thing to do. Besides cuddling up to the ‘fire’, we can also take our own sweet time to eat till our hearts’ content. It’s also a good way for family bonding because while waiting for the ingredients to be cooked, we can chit-chat over dinner. What’s more if we have al fresco dining, it would be a time to glance at the stars and being brought close to the celestial. Of course when I went to

Yunnan

,

China

, we had the local’s steamboat. The pot was positioned in the center of the table which bore a big hole to have it in place. The waitress would then pour all the ingredients into the soup and keep on stirring and stirring. Mum said it was like the fodder for the pigs because of the way they served it. Back to the steamboat in USJ, dad brought us to his very regular restaurant, Pulau Ketam Seafood Restaurant for steamboat. The pot had a partition that separated tom yam and clear soup. The tom yam soup was unbelievable. I kept on eating and had been so lavish on my praise, ‘Ko pan gi ko tua te’ ( hokkien: cheap and large). Mum said at least for once she never heard be complaining…haha

Malay Cuisine

            In food, I’m not prejudice against any culture. I enjoyed taking their ‘ulam’ when I went to the Ramadhan buffet at Cititel Hotel last year. Till then, I’ve always wanted a second fare. When I went to the market with mum last Sunday, I saw a Malay vendor selling different kinds of ‘ulam’. Mum told me that her colleagues used to ask her to try them because one of its benefits is anti-aging (awet muda). Being vain is human so we bought ‘ulam raja’ and ‘daun selom’ as one of the dishes for our dinner. Usually, Malays will take ‘ulam’ with ‘sambal’ but I prefer just to eat it like that in order to taste the original taste of the food. ‘Ulam raja’ had a mango aftertaste whereas ‘daun selom’ tasted like the plant that my dad used to plant which was potent for diabetics. Also ‘Ko pan gi ko tua te’ as they only cost 50 cents for one whole bunch!

            In KL, dad brought us to his ex-squad mate’s son and daugther’s wedding. It was held at the Maktab Polis Cheras because he is the principal there. Unlike Chinese wedding, Malay’s ‘Kenduri’ are always in the afternoon, spanning from 12p.m to 4p.m. Bro and I felt like fishes which were out of water because the Malays were dressed resplendently in their traditional outfits and there were also a line of people with ‘kompang’ (drums). Luckily they didn’t bash at their ‘kompang’ to welcome us or not an unassuming person like me would really don’t know how to react. So all the while, I was putting a smile on my face. It was celebrated with pomp and pageantry with 2 wedding couples having their ‘bersanding’ ceremonies. Mum said that it’s a norm with the Malays for 2 siblings to walk down the aisle on the same day and I come to think of how pragmatic they are in saving so much money. The food was served in a buffet style, with mutton, beef, chicken, curry pickles (I call it curry because it’s spicy and red in colour), white rice, nasi briyani, tapai dessert and air

bandung

. The tapai dessert had an alchoholic taste. I just took a spoon of that because I thought that it wasn’t nice at all. I’ve been to many ‘kenduris’ before but this was quite different because it was like a buffet, which meant you could take how much you can. But in the kampung or for those who are not that well-off, we were only given a piece of chicken, beef and mutton each with their ‘acar’ or ‘kubis’. A normal visit to a Mamak’s Nasi Kandar would cost about RM 8 per plate (a vege, chicken and beef) but on that occasion, I took a helping of nasi briyani and all types of meat that they dished out. My, I wondered how did they cook all the meat until they were so succulent and tender? I remembered Prof Gulam, my microbiology professor who told us that CaCl₂ could be added to increase the water-binding capacity of the meat so that it tastes juicy. Did they add that? Being a first timer for nasi briyani or maybe I’ve eaten before but might have forgotten about it, I took a lot of that, thinking that it was like fried rice as it smelt so good. Unfortunately, I began to feel the uneasy feeling of fullness in my stomach until I couldn’t have any dissent dinner. Mum said she forgot to tell bro and I that nasi briyani is very filling because it uses ghee to cook. In other words, it’s like our Chinese ‘Bak Chang’ which is made of glutinous rice and shouldn’t be eaten too much or else there might be indigestion. Luckily ‘Eno’ came to my rescue to ease my indigestion!

Pasar Lewat Petang or Pasar Malam?

            The night market in USJ starts at about 4p.m. In

Penang

, or specifically in Farlim, our stalls are just setting up around 7 p.m. Unlike Farlim’s pasar malam which is very comprehensive, the night market in USJ is just a miniature of a wet market. Fruit stalls galore and meat and fishes are also sold there. I would always pester dad to buy cherries which cost about RM 5 for a mere 100 g! There was such a huge crowd at the fruit stalls and I guessed these city folks might have resorted to buy the fruits there as the price is cheaper than the hypermarkets like ‘Giant’. Food stalls were not as much as Farlim’s. I tried a ‘China Bun’ that only cost RM 1.40. The bun was so cute and it was made by cracking an egg into a round mould. After letting it set, shreds of pork were spread onto the egg and then a layer of flour was capped onto the egg. The Chinese nationals who sold that called them 中国汉堡包. Later when I came back to

Penang

, I saw the same stall at the Air Itam market, I mean having the same trade name selling it for RM 1.80. The night market in USJ also have economy rice which is not to be seen in Farlim, a Siamese style nasi lemak which looked very enticing and also a stall selling different kinds of nuts, also operated by a Chinese national. I bought the 山东花生, which I thought originated from 山东 but later was told by my bro that it was the usual peanuts that we take in restaurants. But I just couldn’t bring myself to believe that it was the usual peanuts that we take due to the aroma that’s very pleasing. Bro said that I’ve always put anything from

China

on the pedestal so that was the reason I couldn’t notice any difference in them. I also bought fava beans (kacang kuda) from the Chinese National. It only dawned on me that ‘kacang kuda’was called fava beans when I had my lecture on Food Commodity about nuts, beans and lentils during the 1^st sem of my 2^nd year. After visiting the night market in USJ, I can boast to the USJ denizens that Farlim’s night market is definitely a far cry from yours!

Roti at Sri Melur, USJ

            Even though many people were full of praise for Penang’s nasi kandar and the Mamak’s food, I seldom land my palates in anyone of them in

Penang

. But like my mum, we’ll surely not miss a chance to Sri Melur for our supper or breakfast. The Roti Tissue cost a whopping RM 4 but I think it’s because of the feat that made it so expensive for a mixture of flour and oil. It has been my once-in-a-while favourite (minus the condense milk and sugar) and it was about a metre long that it was served with two plates, placed near each other. The ‘Apom manis kosong’ (which means apom manis tak manis or apom manis without sugar) was also very different from our

Penang

’s ‘Apom’. It was shaped like a big bowl and could be dunked into the coconut milk. The chapatti was normal but among the health food like ‘apom manis kosong’, ‘tosai’ and ‘chapatti’, I like the first two more.

Miscellaneous

            For other western cuisines, we tried the set lunch at the Logenhaus in Taipan, USJ. Quite reasonable but I opted for udon beef noodles instead of the Western food because from the pictures in the menu, most of the western sets are deep-fried which is not my cup of tea. The oxtail soup is my dad’s delight and he always says that the ‘sup tulang’ sold by the Malays is also nice. The starter for my set was fried spring roll, ah, fried again but my dad’s western set started with garlic bread and mashed potatoes. I just love the mashed potatoes, they were awesome! The beef noodles made me reminisced of the days when my aunt who used to lived in KL brought bro and I for the famous beef noodles in the heart of KL that left both of us felt like puking because we were not used to the cow’s tongue, intestines etc. Unlike now, I thought that the udon beef noodles were yummy.

            Bro was the one who brought mum and I to the

Manhattan

’s Fish Market in Sunway Pyramid when

Penang

’s Queen’s Bay wasn’t opened yet. We had the ‘flame over our cheese’ lunch plate that time. Now, we opted for a healthier choice- the grilled set. Initially, we were wondering where to eat in Sunway. I thought of suggesting again but I was afraid that my parents would just pander to my whim and fancies. So dad decided to call it a ‘fishy’ day by dining at the

Manhattan

’s Fish Market.

            Dad told me that

Klang

Valley

’s Dim Sum was akin to

Hong Kong

’s. I dismissed his claim by saying that I would rather have Dim Sum at home (

Penang

) because I know of many places that served steaming hot and delectable Dim Sum. So dad took us to Bandar Puteri to substantiate his claim. Hong Kee Dim Sum Restaurant had its name felicitously chosen as it sounded like the dwellers of HK. My best pick would always be the pastries, buns and包子. I couldn’t really savour the taste of the egg tarts because they were delicately small. One bite and it’s gone. Of course there were different varieties of pastries and Dim Sum, thanks to the ingenious ‘sifu’. Ultimately, I have to admit that it lived up to its name.

            I may like buns but do I look like one? Haha…Buns were so aplenty in the

Klang

Valley

with the creative touch of the bakers. They could play with such limited ingredients to appeal to the customers. Every now and then, I would stop and look at the available buns if I happened to pass by any bakeries. In

Penang

, there weren’t as many bakeries as there were in KL. People are just so creative. The sight of buns would send my stomach growling even though I just had my meal. They were so irresistible!

Ciao

            The next time when I go back to USJ, many eateries will still await me to explore. I feel that we should keep on trying something new and have an eclectic taste so that we would live without regrets. For me, 最有口福的人是最幸福的人. Why keep on going to the same restaurant to order the same food over and over again? But with the imminent inflation, it should be wise for us to spend prudently. Many of us would want to scrimp on food but I strongly beg to differ. There’s nothing wrong to indulge in food once in a while and to embark on the food adventure. Believe me, the exquisite taste is memorable and there will be no regrets having lived in this world to taste such heavenly food. Wait till the food connoisseur wannabe to unravel the mysteries of Pizza Uno, Michelangelo and The Italianies!

        I was really pissed off by the parcel that I sent to my senior in Klang. I wrote the correct correspondent’s name, address and phone number but I was sent back the parcel today! I called my senior’s 012 number ( because the postman told me that they couldn’t reach her 016 number that I’ve given. I’ve always use to contact her by her 012 number until she msged me one day that she would be using the 016 number for a while but the main one was still the 012 number. That was hardly 3 weeks ago and I’ve forgotten that her 012 was still in use). So I phoned her and confirmed with her her address. No mistake. I was blowing my top so I phoned the customer service of ‘Post Laju’ in Pg. The personel said it was partly my fault for not stating both her numbers. Very well, I paid 8 sth for that, duly wrote every information down exp for her 2nd line and now she said that I would have to repay the 8 sth again for the parcel to be delivered again. After a lengthy conversation, saying that I wasn’t to be blamed, she agreed to meet me at her office, which is near the jetty to sort things out. Does that mean that she’ll waive the fee and have my parcel delivered or she just want to make things clear to me? I wouldn’t go all the way there if I still have to wind up paying 8 th again. That would be a waste of my effort, time, fuel=money….With spiralling prices of everything, we just have to tigthen our belts and plan for our journey so that we won’t waste the fuel unnecessarily. Then I got a call from my senior, saying that her landlady did receive the parcel yesterday but she dared not sign because the name of the correspondent didn’t ring a bell to her. What? I msged my senior right after I sent the parcel via ‘Post Laju’ on Saturday, telling her to expect it. She forgot to inform her landlady about that. I also couldn’t blame the landlady for not acknowledging the parcel because my senior’s chinese and english name are totally different. So maybe the landlady only calls my senior by her chinese name. By the way, my senior rented a room in Klang because she was undergoing a training there before she moves to Prai for her permanent placement. She wanted the notes that she had lent to me because she’s in the food industry and desperately needed the notes for references. Since I wasn’t in Pg when she called me to meet her up, I had to send it to her when I returned. Actually, I feel quite bad for not having the parcel delivered safe and sound to her. She’s a chummy senior and is very forthcoming too. Initially, she wanted to pay for the service but I thought that what was it in the money? Afterall, she had helped me a lot by lending me lecture notes and references for 2 years. But I was blown up because I have paid the money but the parcel couldn’t reach her! Arghh…Finally, she told me to pass it to her when she goes back to Penang. Until then, I wouldn’t know when will it be? Should I not send her parcel because of the few bucks and leave her struggling with her work? Sigh…Finally, I decided to avoid the hassle of going to the main post office to see the person in charge. Instead, I headed to the nearby post office to have the parcel sent again, this time with 2 handphone numbers written. Sometimes, we just get angry easily and that’s the time when we are not sensible. When we keep our cool and write out what had transpired, then only are we able to see through the things and really have an insight to a particular problem. This is really an expensive lesson that I’ve learnt!

I think it had been a year’s hiatus of blogging. Sometimes, I really want to pen some memorable events and thoughts down but I’m just too lazy to write. Last semester was indeed a rollercoaster ride for me. I accidentally bumped into a stop sign that appeared right in front of me at USM when I was too elated to have found a parking space to pay my fees. I was eyeing at that parking space because that place is always occupied with cars. That fateful turn to the right put me in a daze. I heard a bang and my car went up to the boulder which held that stop sign in place. I was so shocked and terrified that the stop sign has tilted to one side and that meant that my car might have bore the brunt. I then blankly reversed and parked my car at that ‘golden’ space and walked to the Treasury Department to have my fees paid. I was aware that an Indian sweeper witnessed the whole incident but I thought that he might not make a big issue out of it by lodging a report on me. I thought that nowadays people just won’t put their noses in someone else’s business but it proved me wrong. At first, I was quite wary of the stare of that Indian guy but I decided to pay my fees first then get my hell out of here. When I got out from the office, I was startled to see the ‘watchdogs’ sniffing and examining my car and the pole. Goodness gracious, it was a double whammy for me, already driving without a car sticker and now committed another offence by hitting the pole. My first instinct was to flee for my life. I scurried to a nearby building and peaked from behind the walls to see that the Indian sweeper was pointing towards my direction and my car. Damn it! I took refuge inside the building, while thinking of ways to entangle myself from this vexed situation. I felt like a fugitive, eluding from the eyes of the authorities. Then it dawned upon me that what if the ‘watchdogs’ clamped my car and I have to pay an addition compound? I took another peak from behind the wall again but this time, one of the ‘watchdogs’ beckoned to me to come and face the music. Well, after collecting my composure, I went and confronted them. Usually, I would be the fiery type but at that time, I was in the wrong and there was still a witness to testify. The ‘watchdogs’ interrogated me whether I was behind the tilted pole. I nodded and the ‘watchdogs’ went over to my car to take my car’s registration number. After which, they asked me to follow them to the Security’s Department. Knowing that it didn’t sound too good, I tried to put on a timid facade. I told them that I was panicked and was unable to follow them. One of them told me that I had to pay for the damage done and issued me a ‘saman’ for not having a car sticker. In the USM’s main campus, getting a sticker is harder than you think. There are many rules on who is eligible for it. I had managed to whizz through the check point for 3 semesters without a hitch but I admit that my heart was always throbbing when I pass through the check point. Another compassionate Indian ‘watchdog’ examined the pole and tried to push back the pole into its original position but to no avail. The Malay ‘watchdog’ insisted to give me a compound and wanted me to go over the department to record my statements. Of course, the M’s voice is definitely louder than the I’s. So, I drove my car there. In fact, there wasn’t much damage to my car. Some paint came off and there was just a small dent in my bumper. Guys, you should have seen that the pole was already unsteady because the cement that held on to it wasn’t firm. It was just my ‘luck’ to touch it and there it went to be the first “Leaning Pole of USM” created by me! I called my mum and see whether she could negotiate with the authorities or not. As I need to go for a lecture, I had to leave the unfinished business to my mum. They asked me to pay RM 50 for the patching of the cement to hold up the pole or I’ll have to pay more should they report the matter to the Housing Department. RM 50 for such a workmanship wasn’t worth it as the structure was already flimsy. Despite that, I had to pay RM 30 for not having a car sticker and another RM 300 to repaint my car. What a day!

Left-Isn’t that a magnificent patch-up?

I felt that this incident was destined to happen. I didn’t have lecture in the morning so mum asked me to go to JPJ with her to settle some stuffs. We each drove a car because I can straight away go to Uni after that. We didn’t know that JPJ had been relocated to somewhere else and we were lost on our way there. Since I arrived early, I thought of paying my fees. If I hadn’t gone to pay my fees, I wouldn’t have to fork up more for what I’ve incurred. But because of that incident, I manage to get a car sticker. Soon after, USM was abuzz with the rumours of the ‘Oily Man’. Apparently, the ‘Oily Man’ had to satisfy his lust by making the girls as his victims in order for him to ascend to a higher level of his black magical powers. The victims would only know that they were raped by the invisible ‘Oily Man’ after noticing that they were half-naked and parts of their body appeared to be greasy. The ‘Oily Man’ could penetrate walls according to some of my Malay friends. What seems intriguing was that he didn’t only prey on Malay girls. This monster is multi-racial and because of that, many of my friends who stayed in the hostels moved out to stay with their friends outside the campus. Some of my friends who hardly take pork would tuck into ‘Seow Bak’, ‘Lap Cheong’ and ‘Bak Kua’. Some even wanted to hang them on the windows to ward off the ‘Oily Man’. This incident was on the dailies and USM had more roadblocks ever since. Luckily, I already had the sticker or not I’ll be having a hard time playing hide-and-seek with the securities again. Although they still asked me to pull over to check my authenticity of my sticker, I wasn’t nervous as I was before.

因祸得福, that can sometimes be true as in my case. The bright side is, I do not have to worry about how to get a sticker and always running from the securities anymore!

Having expectations that are far beyond our limits will certainly let us down when we don’t expect the unexpected outcome. Man has expectations of all sorts that some may seem impossible but to some of us, it is the word ‘impossible’ that spurs us to change it to ‘nothing is impossible’.

Sometimes, we have to accept the fact that some things are really impossible. A person may be interested to pursue a course of his choice but his destiny maybe otherwise. No matter how hard he has tried to change his life, things just didn’t go the way he wanted them to be. Despite feeling disappointed by one debacle over another, his tenacity still propels him to defy the odds, as he strongly believes that there’s nothing impossible in life. How long will he come to a finality to appreciate what he has at present and just leave the bitter-sour experience behind?

This sounds familiar to the post STPM students every year when the STPM results were first announced, followed by the disclosure of the public university admission lists. Be prepared and expect the unexpected. Some students who never stood in the schools’ limelight might appear to be one of the schools’ high-achievers. Then again, when the 4 flat students apply for medicine, they wouldn’t have the faintest thought that their application would be turned down. Instead, some students whose marks were a bit lesser than them might be accepted into the medical schools. What to expect? Just expect the unexpected because what you have expected might somehow or other be something unexpected.

Having said that, I would like to relate to you the plight of my opposite neighbour. She was jubilant to be able to get 4 flat and thus has opted to do medicine instead of pharmacy that had always been her dream course. In spite of getting a perfect score in the exams, she was given her 6th choice of her application which is USM’s chemistry. Unexpected? Luckily, her parents decided to send her overseas to fulfill her dream to be a doc. Has she ever expected that she’ll be landing her foot on a new and alien ground? Never. So that’s unexpected.

There are also a lot of unexpected things that may crop up in a relationship. Let us say that a boy is after a girl and he expects that the girl will be his girlfriend. They may be seen going to the cinemas together but people couldn’t jump to the conclusion that they are ‘on’, like what most of us say. If a girl or boy expects too much from his or her partner, it will broaden the rift of their relationship sooner or later. Everything will go without a hitch if things just flow naturally. The more you expect of your partner, the more you’ll get upset when your partner does the unexpected things. Being in a relationship is just like being a tight-ropewalker standing on the swaying rope, unsteady, risky and uncertain of what’s going to happen with every move you take. A slight mistake and down you fall, fall into the deep ravine. No one can hear your scream even if you are screaming at the top of your lungs. There’s no more turning back. People can just hear your echo resonating and getting softer and softer. What’s done is done. Why don’t you, as a tightrope walker, concentrate on your every move and trust your balancing rod as you tread every step ahead? You wouldn’t have expected that to happen to you, would you? Mutual trust and don’t have high expectations of one another are the essences to a sustained relationship. Ignore the wind that may put you in the red zone as the most important thing is just to have faith in your instincts. Only then will you, as the tightrope walker, successfully land on safe ground on the other end of the rope.

Therefore, there are actually many unexpected things that we’ll be facing in our lives. If everything just go as we have expected, there wouldn’t be spices in our lives.

The four-letter word can either be distasteful to us or it can also fill the void in our lives. The former is the cursing word that I absolutely abhor whereas the latter is the word that keeps a family close-knitted, bring peace to humanity and shower trust and care to friends and couples. More often than not, we refer the four-letter word to the vulgar language but not LOVE! Why? Aren’t we taught to be positive and always look at the brighter sides of all things?

Infatuation, romance and love are the most common topics that are bandied about by most teenagers and young adults. However, teenagers start dabbling in the so-called puppy love when they are trying to search for the unanswered questions about love.

A young lass may fall for a “cute” guy in her first glance or another lad may also had an unexplained feelings towards another gal in secret. Finally, the gal will decide to profess her infatuation to the guy or in the other way round whereby the guy will go for the first move. It’s always not easy to profess your feelings to another person as it requires a lot of courage. Somebody may have a sleepless night the day before he decides to express his feelings or the gal may be cracking her head so hard to think of how to phrase out her feelings in words and also not too sound too romantic in order not to be too “bold” to scare the guy away.

Hence, whatever the consequences will be, when anyone tries to kick-off a relationship with you, it’ll sometimes put somebody in a dilemma. Not only do you see sweat streaming down from the forehead of the one who professed, you’ll also hear palpitations from the heart of the other person. The reason for the accelerated heartbeat is either because of the person who has professed just dropped a bombshell to the other (in the case of unreciprocal love) or the other person had the “electrical” feelings (the feelings of being swept off the feet) for another one. If it is for the two aerial that match, it’ll be the birth of another chapter of happiness in this lovely couple’s lives. But if the other person has no “electrical” feelings, then it’s the word dilemma that I’ve just mentioned. ‘ Do I really have any likings for d other person?’ or ‘ Oh my God, I dunno how to reject him…how am I going to turn him down…how will he feel…arrh,I couldn’t utter those words…’. If all these questions keep hovering in your mind, u r surely in a raging dilemma. So how? Keep mum on this matter and continue letting d other person having false hopes on u or keep on building castles in the air?? If u ever let this feelings nourish, u should put it to a stop once and for all. I know it’s hard to tell the other party but I think it’s better for u to do so. If not, ur conscience will keep on tapping on ur door as u do not want the other party to miss d opportunity to find another partner in his or her life.

So what’s the next step? Resolve ur problems. As the Chinese adage goes, the person who created a problem must be d one who is going to solve it (解铃还需系铃人). Just keep reminding urself not to be so harsh and not to have any morbid apprehension.

Backache, muscle ache and headache,
It’s a package that I couldn’t take,
Playing a session of badminton was indeed my greatest mistake,
Argghh, it really hurts for heaven’s sake!

From a 21 year old vibrant young lady to a frail octogenarian. Believe me, that befell me after a tiring game of badminton with my high school friends in USM. Having bidden farewell to badminton a year ago and suddenly bounced into this game again didn’t sound promising at all. Playing on my bare foot further compounded the injuries that I have suffered. What silly rule is it to restrict us from wearing shoes that have black soles? Be rest assured because my shoes will not squirt black inks all over the courts!!

Fine, rather than forgoing a game with my friends, I prefer to risk having blisters on the soles of my feet. I remembered having those blisters when I continued learning taekwondo 3 years ago. My training spot was a ratty tennis court. Just imagine having to train in such environment whereby the floor was rough and holes could be seen everywhere. How could I tolerate that in the first place? Well, I told myself that I needed to get my black belt so badly and it was the only place that offered ITF (International Taekwondo Federation) training. With no other choices left, I bore with it for a year before I decided to chuck it up.

A year after I’ve stopped playing badminton, I begin to notice how drastically my skills have dropped. Not only did the game drain all my energy, it also left me with a terrible backache and exquisite muscle pain here and there. Guys, I have tasted the bad medicine for ridiculing my friends who felt the ache after an exercise hiatus! ☹ Ah, karma…

 

It has been a year ago since I last started blogging. Since then, I have been pestered by a friend to always update my blog. Sorry ya..like I’ve written in my description, I like watching dramas n tv so of course I’ll b a couch potato when I’m free.

   I’m now having my uni’s long vacation. Last week, I flew to KL and went to Genting with my family. Being 21 means tat I can go to d casino..phew..at last..Dad brought me to d international room n man, they really gamble on high stakes..It was really an eye-opening experience for me. People can just think of anything to gamble! It was a different world out there with people from all walks of life literally squandered their hard earned money happily…I was expecting some sorrowful faces when they lost a few hundred ringgit but I was completely wrong.. How I wish that all their bettings can go straight to my pocket..The bankers were all young lads n gals. Most of them were very nice looking n u shud c how they drew the cards n counted d chips adroitly. I had a good lecture fm dad about the various gambling games. It would be fun if I can just bet on a few penny on them…haha..sounds silly, isn’t it..Genting has changed a lot in just a few years and so do I. When I was young, Genting means nothing but amusement park to me. Now, it ’s merely a cool place for relaxing n entertainment purposes in d casino. No more thrill rides!!! I’ve already outgrew them. ( Jus an excuse for being a called a wimp..hehe..) A lot of chinese nationals were employed to work in d casinos. The chinese ladies are all thin and slender with their mesmerising, authentic chinese beauty. That’s why there’s always furore about d rate of unemployment of our locals..haha..Maybe brains and brawns are really another perk?

   So ladies, how can u maintain the suppleness of ur skin? Skin care products can amount to a huge amount of money. So we better find a financially sound hubby to fork up the essential vitamins for us!!…Hahahaha..

The glorious team….

          The 2006 World Cup Group G’s match between

Korea

and

Togo

was definitely an exciting one. I couldn’t help but kept on ranting and raving at the Korean’s team when their opponent scored the first goal during the first half of the match. Much to my chagrin, the Korean’s defence was no where to be seen when Kader kicked the ball into the goal. It was such an ignominy for letting the Africans to be ahead of them since the Koreans were the ex-semifinalist in the last World Cup, having

Italy

,

Portugal

and

Spain

defeated before paving their way to the semi-finals! That left us with food for thought: Do not underestimate the strength of the underdog.

Hardcore supporters!

          I bet the Koreans who were watching the match relayed live from

Frankfurt

,

Germany

would be dismal over their adversary’s first goal. However, it might be a blessing in disguise for the Korean’s team as they have been resting on their laurels about their resounding victory attained at their own soil 4 years ago. Only then that I saw the true colours of the Koreans. Despite a goal away, they still held on like grim death in the hope to regain what they have achieved during the last World Cup.

          I watched with bated breath as the Koreans changed their tactics in the second half of the match. Needless to say, we Asians are short of stature compared to the Africans or Caucasians. That was why the Africans have an edge over the Koreans. With such a tall and sturdy built, they looked formidable to the petite Koreans. More often than not, I saw the Africans being rough with the Koreans by jolting them aside when they were after the ball or made them slipped when the Koreans were in possession of the ball. Luckily, all those actions which happened right under the nose of the referee didn’t go unnoticed. One of the African players were given the red card for manhandling Park Ji Sung ( the Manchester United player ). Playing with the dearth of an African player certainly augured well for the Koreans as they immediately secured a goal, thanks to Lee Chun Soo’s riveting free-kick. Lee Chun Soo has been very prominent because of his “golden crown”.

Lee exilarated …

          Since then, there was only a goal shy from victory for the two teams. I, along with the Koreans were putting our fingers crossed, hoping that some Korean players would score a winning goal. The Africans’ hope to make their mark in their debut in the World Cup was snuffed out by the Koreans when Ahn Jung Hwan whizzed the ball into goal post. Goal!!! Ahn Jung Hwan. I remembered him playing during the last World Cup tournament. Of course, he’ll be

Korea

’s hero for the time being.

AhnJung Hwan(right)

         Amidst jubilation for the triumphant moment, the Red Devils should be geared up to face the French next week. Although it’ll be a difficult match for the Koreans, I still hope that they can stun the French by chalking up a win over them. The chances are slim but miracles do happen, don’t they?

By the stalwart of the Korean’s football team :p

       

       Most Korean dramas’ theme revolve around romance which usually feature a damsel in distress, often trampled on by another lady who shares the same crush as the former. I notice most Korean dramas have a lot of similarities. First, a person will have no recollection of what had happened after a mishap( Save Your Last Dance For Me, Stairway To Heaven,My 19 Year Old Sis-In-Law, Green Rose..).Then ,they will have contract marriages(Full House, Wonderful Life, My 19 Year Old Sis-In-Law..). Another familiar one is the ill treatment of the daughter in-law by the mother in-law(Wonderful Life, My 19 Year Old Sis-In-Law, Memories Of Bali..). The exchange of necklaces as the symbol of love is also an emblem of Korean dramas(Save Your Last Dance For Me, Stairway To Heaven,My 19 Year Old Sis-In-Law….).

       When I watched " My 19 Year Old Sis-In -Law", there was a scene which was recrudescent of the scene in "Save Your Last Dance For Me". The person of a higher authority asked his employee to smile…smile…And another one in which the children  mimic the grumblings of their mum (Wonderful Life, My 19 Year Old Sis-In Law..). Albeit the themes are about the same, I still wallow in watching Korean dramas simply because different actors or actresses will act in their own unique way and that will eventually evaporated my boredom. But to top it all, it’s the theme songs that have enchanted me .

         So far, I’ve only come across a drama that has it’s own originality and it’s none other than my favourite actress’s drama-I Really Really Like You.Or maybe I haven’t watched any dramas that have a similar theme with this one…hehe.. Here, my idol spoke in a Korean’s dialect as she acted as a yokel who’s naive and ingenuous.

          After watching scores of K-dramas , I would conclude that the must see and most interesting drama is SBS’s drama- SAVE YOUR LAST DANCE FOR ME.

      I came back from the 4days buddhist camp yesterday feeling exhausted but happy.Nothing have been so meaningful compared to my stint in Than Tsiang Temple. We had a b’day celebration for the old whose b’day is in June. The gala was organised by the participants and all the old folks from the Than Tsiang’s Old Folks’ Home were invited.

     My group took charge at escorting the old to the hall and serve them food. The sight of the feeble old folks made my heart sank. How could their children forsake them when they need them the most?? Those people have forgotten how stoically they parents have brought them up . Who were the ones who fed us when we were toddlers? Who were the ones who cleaned us up when we were dirty? Who were the ones who held on to our hands when we stumbled? They are none other than our parents whom some have abandoned in the old folks’ home! Leaving the old in the old folks’ home is just the same as sending a baby to the orphanage. If our parents can tend to us when we were young, why can’t we do the same thing when they grow old? Some leave their parents in such homes as they regard them as a burden but have they ever complained that we were their burden when we were young?

      I was assigned to feed a debilitated old man who was on a wheelchair. When I knelt beside him, feeding him with food, I suddenly thought of my grandma. She is also bed-ridden but I have never knelt and served her like what I did to that old man before. I was contrited because I can shower a stranger with love but I never did that to my own grandma. The old man whom I attended to was expressionless and straight-faced. He wouldn’t answer me although I tried to asked him what he wanted to eat. However, he will accept the food that I fed but turned away when he didn’t wanna eat. I was able to serve him quite well through experience by seing how my grandpa served my grandma in KL.

           After finishing his food, I showed the old man the love-shaped card that was made by the other members to him. He was still tight-lipped when I asked him whether he wants to keep it as a souvenier . I saw tears welled up in his eyes.  I thought to myself that the reason for him to keep mum is because he was too depressed. Maybe he was thinking that how nice it would be if his children or grandchildren could serve him like what I did. After I stood away, he took the card and slipped into his pocket. I felt so touched by his gestures. Afterall, he stills appreciate what I have done for him!!!

        Children should be filial to their parents and let them enjoy their twilight years with you by their side. What they yearn most is the love from their family members and seing their children and grandchildren leading a harmonious life!!!