Pao Xiang Bak Kut Teh, Glenmarie

The franchise fever has been extended to the well-known Klang Bak Kut Teh!

Tried Bao Xiang at its original outlet at Klang a few years ago and could not find similar Bak Kut Teh else where since then! The soup served at Pao Xiang was thick (and perhaps too little; fairly inadequate for most diners) instead of watery with a mild herbal taste and there was a wide selection of external and internal meat parts you can possibly imagine/ get!

We gave a try at one of its branches recently. This Bak Kut Teh place at Glenmarie was clean, spacious and air-conditioned.

As mentioned, you get a abundant of choices in the parts of meat that you love from small bone (Sui Kut Tao), pork ribs (Pai Kut), soft bone (Luan Kut), pork belly (Sum Chan Bah), big bone (Tua Kut), trotter (Ka Chark), knuckle (Ka Wan), pork lean meat, intestines and etc. Some of the items were sold out when we wanted to order.

Hence, we settled with pork ribs. Big ones, well… at least they were bigger than those that I will usually get from Bak Kut Teh at other places.

As there was no more big bone (Tua Kut), we settled for small bone (Sui Kut Tao) where the meat was bounded by cotton string. This cooking method was claimed by Pao Xiang to be able to lock in the flavor better, able to maintain its shape and making the meat more solid yet tender and also to remove the excess fats. Although it was still fairly fatty! Haha.

We also ordered one of my mum’s favorite; knuckle (Ka Wan) to share. Mum likes the Ka Chark too, but they ran out of that as well, too bad.

Besides all the fats and protein, we had some greens (and some mushrooms; not in photo) to compensate! Fingers-crossed those fatty meat won’t clot our arteries as much :P

Ohh, not to forget their Chinese doughnuts/ You Tiao! Look, they were small and cute! Of coz, it tasted as good; fresh and crunchy (compared to those that I have had in the past) as if it was made to order. This you tiao was the best I have ever had thus far! Love You Tiao with Bak Kut Teh *yummm~

A sinful yet satisfied meal!! A place to be for meat/ Bak Kut Teh lovers!

Din Tai Fung, Pavillion

A wide spread franchise in Singapore, originally from Taiwan.

The food was fairly average but the crowd was so crazy whenever I walked pass any Din Tai Fung in Singapore. Without failed, there would always be a long queue at Din Tai Fung when it is close to meal time. In my personal opinion, I think it doesn’t make sense to queue up for them and hence I have only tried it once in Singapore (at non-peak hours).

Got a chance to try Din Tai Fung again (at non-peak hours too), simply because dad wanted to eat some Chinese food. We went in to the restaurant a bit earlier than lunch time which saved us from queuing up (otherwise, we might give it a missed) *phew~

Of all the appetizers, we chose the century egg with preserved ginger. I think my aunt’s homemade ones was better :P

We also ordered the breadcrumbs coated prawn with mango. Well, it was pretty average, I have tried something similar which was better elsewhere.

Din Tai Fung is famous for their Xiao Long Bao and La Mian, so without any hesitant, those were ordered too.

We had a serve of Baby Xiao Long Bao with Superior Broth.

And, a bowl of Braised Beef Noodles Soup.

And, we end our meal with something sweet, steamed Ma Lai Gao served with sesame paste and condensed milk .

Condensed milk, reminiscence of childhood, yummmmm~. That was the best part of the meal <3

Determination

LOOK! It is a bird, no it is a plane, NO it is SUPERMAN!

Wait, NO!!! It is really a BIRD. Not one, but two! It is a couple, working hard to build their home sweet home!

This is not the first time we have birds building their nest at our home. But look, this lovely couple was trying to build it at the almost impossible site - the dangling strings from a lamp at our garden. *amazed*

And the progress was definitely not easy for them. They started to work hard since last Saturday. And, when Dad first saw it, he threw away the bits and pieces he found on the strings. Not one time, but two times! GRrr…

(p/s: You must be wondering why did my dad do that to the poor birdies? He had his concerns and worries. The bird’s nest would be right in the middle of our side door once it is done. Hence, it would be an obstruction and Dad was worried that the bird’s nest would be too big and may cause any inconveniences. And Mum was also worried with the mess the birdies may cause. Nonetheless, after much persuasion and knowing the birds are only small little birds, they agreed to let them build their home sweet home at our place! *happy*)

When we thought Dad’s destruction had caused them to give up (as they did not return anymore after 2times of destructions on Saturday!) They were back with more materials on Sunday morning! Yipee~

We were so excited then! Dad commented I looked more excited than the birdies, haha. He also mentioned that the birdies would have a peaceful time doing their home on Monday when there would be no more stalking on them anymore. LOL. Can’t wait to see the favourable results next week when I am back home again, something to look forward to, tsk tsk.

This couple is really two lovely birdies with strong will. They do not fear of challenges. And obstacles have not stopped them from building their dreams at their target place.

We should be determined and fearless in pursuing our goals and dreams, just like these brave birdies. There would be defies and hindrances right ahead awaiting for us no matter what we are doing. That’s life! And that’s part of the learning process, part of our growth!

How you accept the challenges and deal with it is how you are going to shape yourself and your future!

Nothing is impossible as as the word itself says "I'M POSSIBLE!!"

Good luck folks! : )

Pappa Rich, City Square, Johor Bahru

What would you do on a pm off day?

We crossed the bridge to City Square JB to spend the afternoon with lots of food and fun! Woohoo~

It was almost 2pm when we reached City Square and we were starving! We were indecisive of where to refuel ourselves till we saw Pappa Rich. I have heard of this extensively growing food chain when I was at KL but never had a chance to try it, so off we went.

We had our all-time-favourite drinks since we were young , which is iced MILO! But a revolved version – MILO dinosaur; regular iced Milo topped with MILO powder. It reminded us of how we used to have Milo powder from the tins, grins.

For main course, we ordered a bowl of Assam Laksa to share. Yes, it didn’t look appetizing enough, and so was the taste :P. It was definitely not one of the good assam laksas that we had before.

Also, a share of Hainanese Chicken Rice with Bean Sprouts. The bean sprouts were fairly raw, which I didn’t like. I can’t tolerate under- or over-cooked bean sprouts, geez. Nonetheless, the rice was fairly good with a mild fragrance of chicken rice yet not too oily. And the chicken was smooth and tender. It was prepared the way we like. *satisfied*

Finally, we had Roti Bakar with Susu. Where the bread was toasted with butter and served with moderate amount of condensed milk! The sweetness was just nice. *drools* Simply divine with easily accessed ingredients and painless cooking method.

Their desserts were appealing but we had no room for them anymore. Next time maybe, tsk tsk.

Uncle Lim's, IPC

Dad likes to visit Uncle Lim’s at Ikano for a pit stop everytime when we come here.

The main reason is because the black coffee served here suits his taste at a reasonable price.

So, we had a “breakfast” set with kaya and margarine toast for afternoon tea… I prefer the kaya toast from Pot Aik Coffee Shop at my hometown. *winks

On top of half-boiled kampung eggs which were well-prepared that day. I HEART EGGS, as long as it is cooked to perfect! *yummylicious

And a bowl of red bean soup, with lots of red beans compared to other places that tend to be more watery most of the time…

I LOVE shopping with dad and mum to the max, with interval for pit stop of course <3

Just Thai, One Utama

Went to KL with my parents last weekend to do some home shopping, which include another grass cuuter (the 4th electronic one in less than 1.5years), another vaccum cleaner, more photo frames and etc =.=

Visited one of my favourites shopping malls- One Utama at Damansara. I like this shopping mall especially when it has had its new wing, which also means more shops and more restaurants/ cafe. It used to be my one of my hang out places when I was studying at Sunway College but staying at Sierramas, Sungai Buloh.

We decided to settle for Thai cuisine after 1st round of shopping. One main reason is because there are limited choices of good Thai cuisine back in my hometown. Just Thai was selected as it was the closest Thai restaurant from us at that point of time *tsk tsk.

Little did I know that Just Thai is a sister restaurant of Good Evening Bangkok (another Thai restaurant that I like at One Utama). It was only when I saw the same serviettes used at both restaurants then only I did some homework on it. Besides these two restaurants, SEA cuisine owns many other commonly seen Thai restaurants such as Flying Chilies, Absolute Thai and et cetera.

Our refuel after 1st round of shopping included Spicy Tom Yam with Seafood...

Our all-time favourite Green Curry Chicken...

Kangkong with Belachan...

And the highlight of our lunch - Deep Fried Garoupa with Thai Chilies Sauce. This was really thailicious. The fish was deep fried to perfect. The fish bones were crispy too. We finished up the the fish with almost no bones left to be cleared *nom nom nom

Ohhhh, another reason which my dad only told me when we reached One Utama was to get me a good pair of running shoes. I could not see any that I fancy in my hometown and didn't bother to look for any while I was in Singapore.

Dad and mum think that the old pair I had at home needed a substitution to give me better protection from injury and pain when I exercise. So both insisted that I get a new pair, and finally I settled with Nike Free XT that are light and comfy <3.

I am showered with so much lovessss! THANK YOU SO MUCH! *big hugs*

Love, Joy and Happiness

“To have and to hold, to love and to cherish”

Congratulations, H & F! And, thank you for inviting me to the 1st Malay's wedding I have ever attended. :)

We were early then coz some of them need to leave earlier before the “bersanding” ceremony at 2pm.

“Bersanding” is a ceremony that begins with the groom’s procession with friends, relatives, musicians and et cetera to meet the bride. Many a time, various good-humored attempts are made to stop the groom from getting to the bride. Which in a way, I think it is quite similar to Chinese’s wedding. *winks*

After all the joy and fun, the “bersanding” ceremony requires the bride and bridegroom to sit together on the bridal couch to be sprinkled with yellow rice and scented water by family members, relatives and guests as a sign of blessing.

Beside being really excited and happy on the special day, the bride was extremely friendly. Haha. She kept asking if we had eaten whenever she saw us that day. (p/s: perhaps we looked really hungry then *gasp*)

Ohhh, noOooo! They didn’t serve my favourite Roti Jala that the bride used to make for us and also not to forget the Ayam Masak Merah!! Special request was then made to the bride, who promises to compensate us in the upcoming Hari Raya open house. *happy*

At the time being, let’s just settled with what we could get first. Hehe.

Can’t wait for end of August 2011 to come. Grins.

Super Band Concert at Putra Indoor Stadium, Bukit Jalil

Accompany my dearest and beloved to the Super Band concert at the Putra Indoor Stadium, Bukit Jalil yesterday.

The tickets

The stage setting was not as good as A-mei's. And our seat were so front that I could hardly have a good overview of the stage.

The good thing is I did know most of the songs sing at the concert, some of the songs were way before I was born, 1972, 1982 etc. Luckily they are all well-known enough for me to have heard before.

My dearest enjoyed the concert to the max.