Tuesday, September 30, 2008

A Pendatang in Kuala Lumpur City

This evening I went to Kuala Lumpur by KTM Komuter. At the train station, I felt like a visitor in her own country…there were more non-Malaysians waiting for the train and in the train itself.

Upon reaching the city, while walking towards Central Market, I observed the streets filled with many faces from Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and some which I cannot identify by nationality.

After getting the stuff I wanted at Jalan Silang, I walked towards Petaling Street aka China Town. By the name of China Town, it is expected and understood that most of the stalls would be owned & manned by Chinese traders. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Instead it was 90% manned by Pakistanese and Indians (as in Indians from India, not Malaysian Indians).

It is so sad as this was not the Chi Chong Kai atmospheres we experienced during the 80s and 90s.

The worst was the return train journey. Hordes of foreigners were at the ticketing booth and the word ‘ QUEUE ‘ is not part of their daily activity.

Getting on the train (which has run late by 30 minutes), I was practically squashed against the glass panel due to the tremendously large crowd Outstretched arms of various colors all over my head as they held on to the standing pole. I have to hunch myself in order not to knock into these arms and also to avoid staring at armpits. Luckily most of them were clad in long sleeves, o/wise I will really have some scary 'hairy’ view.

I truly felt like a pendatang in her own country..

Monday, September 29, 2008

ER GUI TOU TAI (Han Yu Pin Yin)

Yesterday, we went for a dinner buffet..

What I experienced and saw really is a big eye opener to me…

The restaurant buffet was from 7pm-9pm. Our family arrived punctually at 7pm..and after some confusion with our bookings, managed to be seated. The dining area was 95% fully occupied. As we walked towards our table, we saw huge piles of foods were already on the tables, with the diners seated and waiting

What really surprises me was that how can these people gorged themselves with so much food …I know the saying, so hungry until can eat a horse, but the amount (mountains more likely) of food on most tables was more than enough to feed an army.

Oklah, maybe since they have already paid for the dinner and it’s buffet style, they feel they are entitled to all the food, I have nothing against that..

The thing that pissed me off is the wasted unfinished untouched food at the end, this is definitely not the spirit of it’s original purpose.. doesn't one have more sin because of all this unnecessary wastage…

Donations for the poor would have served a better purpose than to gorge oneself silly, and waste the food unnecessarily because of kiasuimm..

My motto is take what you can finish, don't take what you think you can finish.... There is no necessity to stack/horde mountain of food at the beginning ...some leg exercises for the 2nd/3rd helpings will help better digestion for more consumption

Well, writing this article may lead me to see my Nabi ISA sooner than I may want to ..but wattahack

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Masak Masak Time

For Christmas 2006..I bought my 'little' girl, (well she is not so little now,,she is almost as tall as me) a tea set from IKEA for RM19.90. The tea set is so cute as they are a full set of miniature cups, plates, teapot , milk & sugar holders

From this picture, the tea set, does not look so small


now you can see that they are miniatures..

Decided to have nice tea consisting of bread, ham and eggs with the miniature set..it's nice to play 'masak-masak' sometimes



Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Bangkok / Thailand : Oct 2004

Our first overseas trip with Malaysia's LCC - AirAsia, was to Bangkok in late October 2004..


My daughter enjoying her 1st tuk tuk adventure ..she likes it so much that we took the tuk-tuk to every where...definitely fun ride with the wind in the hair & face, and also lots of complimentary soots and grease from BKK traffic





Golden Palace
Entrance is free for the Thais, others THB200/pax..
dress decently, meaning no shorts, or spaghetting straps T-shirt








The jaga pintu kids, trying to get some tips for BKK shopping



& the jaga pintu family..tips to recover some of the trip's expenses





We took a sunset cum dinner cruise on Chao Phraya River, on one of special cruise barges. The cruise was about 3 hours & pass through lots of illuminated wats (temples) along the river


nice yummy foods ..finger licking good




and good entertainment on board





















Train over the Death Railway at Kancaburi District
..this railway was built by the British & Australian POWs during WW II..

the creepy thing was when the train almost reached it's destination, my handphone just went dead..
View of River Kwai

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Penang Acar

  1. My contribution for the jamming at Kota Kemuning,,


    Ingredients :
    1 kg cucumber
    500g cabbage
    300g long bean (or French beans)
    300g carrot
    300g cauliflower

    1kg groundnuts (toasted and coarsely ground)

    100g sesame seeds (toasted)

    Grind these rempah ingredients :-
    6 stalks lemon grass (serai)
    5cm piece of galangal (lengkuas)
    5cm piece of fresh tumeric (kunyit)
    2.5cm of belacan (optional)
    300g shallots
    6 pips garlic
    30 dried chillies (seeded and soaked)
    4 candlenuts

1-1/2 cups oil
2 cups rice vinegar
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 tsp salt


Cut vegetables into 2.5cm lengths,

Remove seeds of cucumber but keep the skin, then toss in one teaspoon of salt and dry the slices under the sun.

Blanch the rest of the vegetables separately in a pan of boiling water with 1 cup of vinegar, starting with cabbage, followed by cauliflower and so on. The vegetables must not be overcooked or else they won’t be crunchy. Drain off the excess water from the vegetables before adding in the sauce.

Fry the grounded ingredients till fragrant or when oil surfaces. Ad vinegar, sugar and salt. Allow to cool for a couple of hours before adding vegetables. Sprinkle groundnuts and sesame seeds.

Best serve after the vegetables are soak overnite..

Monday, September 22, 2008

Feeling Under the Weather

Met up with my cousin, whom is on her one month holiday …she works Down Under

Wwow..so nice to have one month off, that is what I call a real HOLIDAY..a good time to get away from the office stress and recharge the battery and plan a good trip to make the air ticket worthwhile.

Had brunch with her at Lotus Restaurant, Jalan Gasing…they served yummy thosai, chapati and roti canais, & these pancakes go well with mutton & chicken curry..and a good TEH TARIK..



Nice foods are always sinful foods, and today I am paying for my sins, from Saturday nite's food at the jamming and yesterday’s brunch....

Think I am going to fall sick, maybe coming down with sore throat & fever …


And my cure to all these…the ever senang (easy) to cari air kelapa muda..works wonders for me …(pssttt..heard that the air kelapa muda is also a youth elixir..true or not.., never mindlah..minum dulu yah and kills 2 birds with one stone or rather, achieving two objectives with one drink)..


(Today, have good reason to pay the doctor a visit and extend my weekend wuahahaha..)

Friday, September 19, 2008

Vietnam Rice Paper Popiah

Presenting my popiah ingredients , with the Vietnam Rice Paper Sheet

The fried rice is extra, in case the Male in the house can't feel up his tank with enuf popiahs






First, soak the paper sheet in the water, then just scooped wat you feel like onto the popiah sheet




Wrap, wrap, roll, roll and you get this





or this







If you prefer something more solid,
popiah with fried rice as filling also can..






Have a nice Weekend everyone..

Malaysia Boleh - We are No # 1 (SATU)

well, well....we managed to come out the top in someting !
Read below article :-

Agence France-Presse - 9/18/2008 2:55 AM GMT

Malaysia's 'worst in the world' taxis tarnish national image

The ads promoting "Malaysia: Truly Asia" aim to welcome visitors with a warm smile to a prosperous and modern nation, so the taxi fleet branded "the worst in the world" can come as a bit of a shock.

Even the locals are not spared the shabby service of unkempt and hostile drivers behind the wheels of decrepit vehicles who refuse to use the meter, overcharge and pick-and-choose which destinations they will travel to.

At the popular KLCC mall under Kuala Lumpur's iconic Petronas Twin Towers is a typical scene, as a gang of cabbies negotiate with a young Norwegian couple just metres from a signboard warning against "taxi touts".

"Flat rate, flat rate, no metre," one driver insists as the tourists try to find a cab to take them to their hotel, less than two kilometres (1.2 miles) away.

Anxious to escape the baking heat, they agree to pay 25 ringgit (7.22 dollars) for a trip that would have cost less than three ringgit on the meter.

"Is it expensive? We don't know, we thought it is normal here," said the woman as they piled in with their shopping bags.

More frequent visitors, however, are vocal in their criticism and say that aggressive and unprofessional drivers are tarnishing the nation's image as a squeaky clean and hospitable destination.

"I first visited Malaysia in 2006 and I was impressed by everything I saw except for the worst taxi service I have endured," said Kabir Dali, an Indian tourist waiting in vain for a metered taxi at another mall.

"I paid a whopping 260 ringgit (74 dollars) from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to town and was later told that was twice the proper amount."

Complaints about taxis are common in many countries, but in Malaysia it has escalated to an outpouring of frustration, on blog sites and in letters to newspapers.

In a survey by the local magazine The Expat, some 200 foreigners from 30 countries rated Malaysia the worst among 23 countries in terms of taxi quality, courtesy, availability and
expertise.

The respondents lashed the fleet as "a source of national shame" and "a serious threat to tourists -- rude bullies and extortionists".

Salvation is in sight though, as a number of smaller, up-scale operators enter the market to provide a more expensive but quality taxi service for frustrated visitors and locals.

The uniformed drivers, behind the wheels of smart new multi-purpose vehicles and sedans, switch on the meter as a matter of course and do not refuse destinations -- surprising and delighting commuters in the capital.

Abdul Razak, operations manager for Dubai-based Citicab which launched here in January, said that even in poorer nations such as Thailand and Indonesia, taxis are smarter and the drivers far more courteous.

"I would say it is the worst in this region, undoubtedly. I have travelled to all countries in this region and our company operates taxis in many parts of the world. The situation here is the worst I have seen," he told AFP.

"The vehicles are in shabby condition, the driver will take you if he likes your face -- that is, if he agrees with where you want to go for the price he insists on."

The government has called on taxi firms to lift their standards, but various campaigns have achieved little, and many blame the lack of enforcement on rampant corruption in the police and bureaucracy.

"It is difficult for the roads and traffic department to take stern action," said a security officer at one city mall as he watched the touts swoop.

"Taxi operators and the company which hold the licences are all linked to some politician or another," he said. "Drivers here are ruthless because they are unchecked by authorities who are almost non-existent."

John Koldowski, from the Pacific Asia Travel Association, said that "less than desirable" taxi drivers have an outsize impact on a nation's image.

"The first contact a tourist gets with locals is often during airport transits to hotels and it creates a very, very strong first impression, either be good or bad," he said.

"Authorities certainly need to do their jobs and act upon any complaints strongly, quickly and visibly

3 wise men

Always wanted to get a set of Fook Loke Sau (3 wise men) as house deco…

When in China, wanted to get those porcelain figurines. But had no time shop around ssslowly as the tour agent will zip you from one place to another before you can even leave some ‘foot prints’ . They would happily give you ample of time in gemshops, herbal tea shops, and where nots where they can earn commissions.. (roll eyes)

While in Saigon, we went to An Dong shopping centre in District 5..this market is a wholesale centre for clothes & handicrafts.

While wandering one of the handicraft stall, I saw these 3 handsome wise men smiling so so happily & warmly at me..I had to bring them home to KL..

As usual, after haggling and hard bargaining (women really really love to bargain..probably it’s part of our DNA system), these 3 wise men were packed into a box together with some other deco items. They were heavy but I happily lugged them home..


My FOOK LOKE SAU

Thursday, September 18, 2008

PUASA MONTH

This week is the 2nd week that my Muslim country men, women and children are having their puasa month…

Personally, I love puasa month, but at the same time also disliked it..I know, we women are sometimes so vain..cannot decide like or dislike..

Ok lah...I will tell you why i love and dislike this month

I love puasa month because during puasa month, there are so many buka puasa bazaars selling those enticing food…arrggghhhh. I can never never resist the urge to stop at the bazaars on my way home and tau pau all the kuih muih(s), nasi nasi and those yummy dishes, with cendol or cincau bandung..

this is the only month in the year we can have so much of nice yummy stuffs as appertizer / desserts ! (thinking of those kuih already make me salivating)

I 'disliked' puasa month because eating all those high cabs food, I grow fat..as is it, now I have already put an extra 2” = 5cm around my waistline…dare not step on the weight machine ... aiyooh

and the Syawal month is still 2 weeks away…

how ah to resist the urge to eat yummy yummy buka puasa stuff??

But fat fat loh...after all, Puasa comes only once a year rite...and like the Chinese says, 'sek tak hai fook' (can eat is good lah)

Happy Puasa Month..


PS : Lookng forward to the Hari Raya, then can go to buka rumah and enjoy the ketupat & yummy rendang...

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

VIETNAM- SAIGON BASIC TRAVEL INFORMATION

GETTING TO HO CHI MINH
Malaysia Airlines & Air Asia has 2 daily direct flights to this city.

VISA
Asian does not need any visa to enter this country. Citizens of Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Laos holding valid ordinary passports are exempt from visa requirements and are allowed to stay for not more than 30 days.

LANGUAGE
Vietnamese is the official language.
Most tourist guides speak languages: English, Chinese, French, Russian and Japanese.

The locals can also converse in Cantonese due to the influence of Hongkong's TVB series.

CURRENCIES
Vietnam Dong (VND) is the official currency here.

US dollars is widely used here…however have some Vietnam Dongs for smaller expenses, like taxi fares, hawker foods & shoppings in the markets.

US Dollars & other foreign currencies can be easily exchanged into VND at banks or with licensed money changer.

Credit cards are popularly used at big tourist centres and shopping malls.

Approx Exchange Rate :
@ US$1 = VND15,000 / @ RM1 = 5,000

TIME
Vietnam Standard Time is 7 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+7).

GETTING AROUND THE CITY & PLACES OF INTERESTS
There are various means of transportation: private driver, tour bus, and taxi and walking.

ELECTRICITY & WATER
Electricity in Vietnam is 220 Volts, alternating at 50 cycles per second. If you travel to Vietnam with a device that does not accept 220 Volts at 50 Hertz, you will need a voltage converter.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Historical Buildings - Saigon

We were supposed to join a Mekong Delta Tour, sailing from Saigon River to the Delta. This full day tour was US$16/pax, excluding meals. Unfortunately, the ship was under repair, trip cancelled.

We decided to hire a taxi to visit some historical buildings. Taxis are not so expensive, and the drivers are so so polite.



NOTRE DAME BASILICA
Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet)



interior of the church
impressive dome shaped roof




Glass windows from France’s Chartres Province, France




Donors plaque on the wall of the church


the emblem shows the completion date of this church 1880



















SAIGON POST OFFICE
Across the road is the Saigon Post Office, another impressive building with an equally impressive interior roof. The building was constructed when Vietnam was part of French Indocina in the early 20th century. It has a Gothic architectural style and was designed in harmony with the surrounding area.

Statues of Vietnam male/female soldiers outside the Post Office


Inside Post Office, very well maintain

This old gentleman, is a paid professional letter writer (and reader)..he writes in French and English and has been on a foreign magazine article. Truly a living heritage.











In case one is short of some money, no worries as there are ATMs around


Next Stop was at Ho Chi Minh Museum..this building is one of the fews dedicated to Uncle Ho...
many of the exhibits are photographs and documents..




Ho Chi Minh City Hall or Hotel de Ville de Saigon

was built in 1902-1908 with French colonial style.It was renamed after 1975 as Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee. Illuminated at night, the building is not opened to the public or for tourists.


A statue of Uncle Ho is found in park next to the building.



new & modern HSBC Building nearby City Hall


Chinese Catholic Church

Saw this while on the way to District 5 aka Chinatown..





-

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

More on Saigon

When in Saigon, do like the Saigonese does

sitting on low stools and eating Pho (noodles) ...this stall is at Ben Tanh Market.. .


this is some local sausages ...very yummy because it's not HALAL

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Saigon - Day 02/Aug 19 2008

We went to the Centre for Victims of Agent Orange. This centre is set up to give employment & source of income to citizens born with disabilities, caused by the side effects of chemical warfare during the war.

Cables Around Saigon

Saigon city is full of cables at every junctions and hanging from poles to poles, like decorations on a big Christmas Tree...horizontal wise