This is my last post for the year 2006! Time flies ain't it? Tomorrow I am on leave as I am going recce to Swiss Garden Resort & Spa Damai Laut for next year's Church Camp. Gonna be fun.

Whilst I am away on holiday, it will also be a time to reflect on the year that has pass. Amongst other things will be my involvement in blogging which has taken off this year with a bang! It's great to be able to meet so many friends through blogs as well as to share information with one another.

Now, talking about this blogging thingy, this must-have-own-domain disease which I contracted from 5xmom is making me finger-itchy and wallet-drying. To prepare myself for the hosting and domain buying exercise, I have indulged in PayPerPost and will embark on an ego-boosting exercise in 2007 when I have my own domain.

The headache is this: I have 2 main blogs which is this Whatever and that Hochiak!. The former has pr4 whilst the latter has pr3. I think the former is more long lasting as I can blab and blub about anything but the latter will require continuous experimenting in the kitchen for good food to come out in order to sustain the postings. Since the latter is about good food, I am flirting with the idea of putting food reviews there instead of here.

Oh...you are still reading till here. Thanks.

So, which blog shall I dot-com first? This or Hochiak?? I know some will say get two sekali. But then hor, I am still a full-time lawyer. This blog thingy must not take up too much of my time. So, one will do.

And then hor...which host shall I plunge my dot-com into? Bryan is a nice guy and 5xmom recommended him to me. Afterall, her empire resides in his kingdom. Mumsgather is also housed there. So, I might very well ask him to save a little patch of hard disk space for me. But then, should I even consider other hosts??? Minishorts is thinking also and shaolintiger has made some recommendations. Every other hosts look as good.

How ah? Can you spare me some headache and give me some advice so that when moi comes back next year, moi will have all the answers when moi open moi's mailbox and unleash the comments. At least, that will be your kind new year present to me. Merci beaucorp!

Till then, Happy New Year to you! Since I won't be online till after the new year (unless I spring a surprise), I shall reply to you "Happy New Year to You too!!".

P/s: Don't drink and drive!

Malaysians are great when it comes to getting facts and rumours all campur (mixed) in rojak (a type of salad) style. It's very hard to believe which is for real. For instance, the latest facts which were then denied and reclassified as rumour is about some buayas (crocodiles) experiencing freedom as a result of the flooding in the Kota Tinggi district.

What is most puzzling is this piece of news about buayas on the loose first appeared on national newspaper on Christmas Day where the Penghulu of Kesang Ishak Abu Bakar said that between 15 and 20 crocodiles were believed to have escaped from a farm here after it was flooded last Saturday. The reptiles were spotted in villages like Kampung Parit Ponorogo, Kampung Bumi Hijau and Kota Tinggi. To lend credence to the news, Rela members were reported to have spotted some of these reptiles. Hey, with all these facts and figures, I really thought it's for real and have been hoping that no untoward incident happen to the villagers there. It would be most tragic for the villagers to lose their belongings as a result of the floods and to lose their life or limbs to these escaped buayas.

In the same evening of Christmas, Bernama reported that there are no buayas on the loose according to a spokesman of the Teluk Sengat Crocodile Farm. Kota Tinggi District Deputy Police Chief DSP Muhammad Samsuddin when contacted said the police had not received any reports of killings of 2 buayas on the loose. Johor Lama Assemblywoman Asiah Ariff also said the same.

So, who are we to believe? Are there any buayas on the loose or not? I mean the reptiles, not the homo sapiens who think or behave like reptiles. Hmmm....come to think of it, I wonder which is higher in population : real crocodiles or homo sapien crocodile-wannabes...but that's a side-track issue.

At this time of havoc caused by the floods, the villagers of the areas reported need assurance from the relevant authorities that buayas on the loose are merely rumours spread by irresponsible people or rumours propagated by reporters who failed to check and verify their facts prior to printing. If indeed there are such crocs on the loose, then the public needs assurance that the authorities are stepping up efforts to catch these reptiles whilst being given advice on how to prevent themselves from being victims of these reptiles. The last thing these unfortunate villagers need is to live in fear and constantly watching over their foot for some buayas on the loose whilst rebuilding their lives when in actual fact, it's only a rumour.

Meanwhile, be extra wary of cheap crocodile skin handbags being sold...they could very well be from Kota Tinggi.

Hey! Next year is going to be Visit Malaysia Year 2007. I am sure you have heard about it. I was just thinking, why don't we Malaysian bloggers do something nice for this country of ours? Well, yeah, the government has previously lamblasted us for being a bunch of liars and rumour-mongers who are unable to separate fact from fiction but why bother with them?

Let us prove that we Malaysian bloggers are patriotic in nature and despite some of our fierce criticism of the government policies or sad state of affairs in some areas, Malaysia is still our Tanahair and loved by us. So, what better way than to blog something nice about our country with our foreign tourists / readers in mind, huh?

Perhaps if you have just visited a nice place in Malaysia, you might want to do some hoo-haa about it in your blog. Or post some really nice pictures of sceneries in Malaysia. I believe that we Malaysian bloggers have quite a sizeable readership especially those from other countries. It would be great to utilise blogs as a form of advertisement for our country. Well, if more tourists come by, the country will generate more income and more businessmen will be happy.

For starters, I would suggest that you place the official logo of VMY2007 somewhere in your blog and link it to http://www.tourism.gov.my which is the website of the Tourism Ministry of Malaysia. Create a buzz or something.

As for me, I have created a blog showing the latest promotions from hotels in the country. Hah! Now you know who has been pinging PPS with hotel promos! Yes, Malaysian Hotels' Promotions is gua punya kerja. Hopefully it will contribute sikit sikit to those wanting information on Malaysian hotels.

Hmm....just in case I am not the only one doing this, if you intend to take up this "patriotic duty", do leave a comment below lah. Then perhaps, we can link or something. Amacam???

By the way, I'll be away till after Christmas! So, Merry Christmas everyone and I hope you will experience the real meaning of Christmas in your own special way! God bless!

I just came back from JPJ after twiddling my thumbs.

There were 16 counters, only 6 were manned. Out of the 6, only 2 dealt with renewal of road tax as well as driver's license. When I took my number, there were 51 people waiting. So, that makes it an average of 25 customers per counter to deal with renewal of road tax and driver's license.

My transaction only took 1 minute to complete i.e the renewal of road tax. Impressive, isn't it? But it took me a 75 minute wait for my turn to come about. Simple mathematics will show that even if it took 2 minutes per customer, all it takes is a 50 minute wait. Then I realised,...

That guy at the counter was also processing renewal of road tax for a stack of registration cards for God-knows-who. Immediately after he finished my transaction, he quickly took one from the stack and dutifully processed it before he pressed for the next number in queue. I saw it happening because I moved to the next empty counter to sort out my papers whilst taking a peep at why the counters are moving so slow....

According to the Customers' Charter at JPJ, they strive to provide courteous, efficient and transparent service with a promise to complete a renewal of road tax transaction in 15 minutes per individual customer.

Customer Charter my foot!

I was watching the television yesterday when the advertisement for the Dumex Mamil Gold milk formula came up. It was a quiz show and the question was "What is the biggest organ of the body?" I shouted "The liver". A 6 year old kid on the "show" answered "The skin" and the emcee congratulated him for answering correctly. And the advertisement proceeded to talk about how Dumex Mamil Gold gives your child a head start in his brain development and intelligence.

I was so sure that my answer was correct and I told my wife I am going to do a search on the internet to prove the advertiser was wrong. How can the skin be an organ??? Of course, if one were to consider the "kueh chap" (a delicacy in Sarawak, Johor and Singapore) which consists of pigs organs, pig skin is included.

So, this morning, eager as ever to prove that the liver is the largest organ in the body, I did a google search "biggest body organ". Imagine my horror when a whole list of search results show "The Skin"!!!! Apparently, the liver is the 2nd largest body organ and the biggest internal body organ. So, I lost out on technical ground lah ... I guess the Klim Milk I drank when I was a toddler did not make me clever enough.

I wonder if it is too late to drink some Dumex Mamil Gold milk formula now. Bleh!

I took leave yesterday and spent time at home with my 2 daughters. The maid was also at home and she was of great help. It was nice to be able to spend some father-daughter time together. I took the elder one out earlier in the morning to fix the punctured car tyre (which is another story altogether which costs RM100.00 with all those alignment and camber fixes) and took her out again for a walk in the evening. I guess she enjoyed those time spent as well because she was asking a couple of times during the day whether I was going out or not.

As for the younger one, she is learning really fast now. It is fascinating to see how fast they catch up with things - I gave her a toy phone (hand-me-down toy from cousin brother) and told her "Hello! Hello!". Imagine my surprise when she held the handset to her ear! And she's not even 10 months! I think she'll ask for a real phone when she's 2 years old! Yesterday was also the first time I saw her "blowing her mouth" with a "bzzzz" sound. For now it's really cute to see her doing that but it gets a bit messy when she does that with her mouth full of porridge!

Thank God for kids to bring joy to your life!

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This is a sponsored post.

I have signed up for PayPerPost and recently, they have approved this blog. Which means, I shall have to disclose the truth and nothing but the truth about some of the posts here from now onwards. What the truth reveals is that some of the posts I make here are sponsored posts - meaning, I get paid for posting the contents on this blog.

Where I am posting about something which I get paid for, I shall place a note at the end of the post like this "This post is sponsored". I feel it is most proper to have a Disclosure Policy which states clearly and truthfully about the fact that I am sponsored to post contents about my sponsors so that readers of this blog are not misrepresented in any way. This is my Disclosure Policy:-

This policy is valid from 18 December 2006

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact pablopabla at gmail dot com.

This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

This blog abides by word of mouth marketing standards. We believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post will be clearly identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.

To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

If you like to shop online, it is best that you scout for coupons which can be used towards your online purchase. These coupons offer you special discounts or deals over and above what your online store offers.

NCNatural.com has a wide variety of Coupons & Discounts which can be used at major online retailers that ship their products to North Carolina. Some of the coupons which caught my eye include Amazon coupons and Toshiba. For instance, you get to save USD10 when you spend USD30 or more on children's apparels offered by Amazon.com. I am thinking of purchasing a laptop soon and the coupon codes from Toshiba eg, getting a free upgrade to XP Pro and Office Small Business 2003 on Toshiba Satellite M110 laptop sounds good indeed.

The site is updated daily and new deals and coupons are being offered from many merchants. The best thing is, these coupons are free! All you need to do is just to click on the coupon which interests you and you will be asked to copy a code in most instances. Quote the code when you make a purchase and you will enjoy instant deals as per the code.


This is a sponsored post.

After giving my 3 year-old daughter a bath, I towelled-dry my daughter and duly put on her dress. Whilst combing her hair, she pestered me to apply body lotion on her hands and legs. We usually put it on for her but I was plain lazy that morning.

After saying that she wants to quit and leave, in an about turn, our maid apologised for her actions and asked to be given a chance to continue working. Why she wanted to stay on? Well...she said she was wrong to have been insubordinate and she wants to change for the better. Moreover, she also said that she's attached to our two little girls and would miss them a lot.

It is true that our maid loves our two little girls and she likes playing with them (sometimes to the extent that we have to tell her to stop or the girls will have nightmares from playing too much during the day). She enjoys bathing them as well as feeding them. That is, when she is not in one of her foul moods.

Anyway, since she has asked for forgiveness, we can only accept her with open arms - but with a reminder to her to change her ways. We told her that whatever she has said to us is witnessed by God and as God's children, we (as employers) shall have to act as what God wants us to do. We are not to question her genuineness of her asking for forgiveness because God is ever watching us. For we are individually accountable to God for our actions and it would be a most grave mistake to refuse forgiveness to another when we take God's forgiveness so easily.

Thanks to all those who have been concerned with what we went through last week. Indeed, God continues to speak and teach us day by day about his forgiveness.

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This post is sponsored.

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth...my two front teeth...yes my two front teeth. That's quite a well known children's favourite Christmas song.

But for me, perhaps, what I want for Christmas this year is a REPLACEMENT MAID. Our maid is acting up again and early this morning, she calls it quits. Not for the first time though. But I think enough is enough. Many friends and relatives have asked why we have been so patient with this maid of ours for the last 3 1/2 years. We also ask ourselves why. Why do we get ourselves into mental distress over a maid who is goes into insubordination moods as and when she feels like it? Why do we keep forgiving her over and over again?

Because Jesus, that's why. Because we identify ourselves with Jesus's suffering. Because despite our stubbornness and insubordination to God, God still forgives us when we repent. Of course, forgiveness shall require that the party at wrong does not repeat the same mistakes. It is not a blanket forgiveness as some might want to believe or are led to believe. Some think that Christians have a free passport where all they need to do is just to ask for forgiveness from God everytime they do something wrong. But they continue to repeat the wrongs wilfully. Take for example, gambling. It is forbidden by God. Let's just say I go to the casino and placed some bets. After that I ask God for forgiveness. Feeling "cleansed", I go about my life and a couple of days later, go back to the casino to try my luck again. And then I ask for forgiveness again. Afterall, God forgives, right? Right. But one would be wrong to assume that there will be no consequences for such repeated and wilful rebellious acts against God.

John 8:1 - 11 illustrates this:-

1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

11"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

Neither will I condemn my maid for her wrongful ways. I am not going to stop her from leaving. I have done all I can to correct her in her ways and my conscience is clear. I just hope that when she leaves this place, she would have learnt the things that we were trying to teach her thoughout the 3 1/2 years.

Meanwhile, will someone get me a replacement maid please??


Technorati Tags : Maids , Life , Reflections , Christmas

Malaysia will have 4 Malaysians in the current Asian Games squash event. Based on latest results, squash queen of Malaysia, Nicol David - who is also the current world champion and world no. 1, will meet Mak Pui Hin of Hong Kong whilst Sharon Wee (Malaysian no. 2) will play Chiu Wing Yin, also of Hong Kong in the other semifinal.

In the men's event, national no. 1, Azlan Iskandar will meet Mansoor Zaman of Pakistan after defeating another Pakistani, Aamir Khan. In the other semifinal, Ong Beng Hee will meet Saurav Ghosal of India.

It would be great if all four Malaysians beat their respective opponents to set up an all-Malaysian final in both the men and women's events. Whilst Nicol is expected to breeze through her opponent in the semi-final (and also expected to win this event), Sharon will have a tougher time against Chiu Wing Yin aka Rebecca Chiu, who was the last winner in the Busan Asian Games 4 years ago. Then, Rebecca upset Nicol to clinch the gold medal. If I am not mistaken, both Sharon and Rebecca are only 3 positions apart in the world rankings, so this match promises to be a tough one.

As for the men, Azlan should have a tough time dealing with Mansoor Zaman though Azlan is the top seed here. Azlan's recent form has not been too good and hopefully, he is peaking the right time. Ong Beng Hee, meanwhile, is expected to beat Saurav Ghosal whom...er...I have not heard before.

Yesterday, Malaysia won only 1 gold medal but 5 silver medals. 4 of the 5 silver medals were won (or rather, 4 gold medals were lost) in the 4 Karate finals. It's about time the squash quartet bring some much needed cheer to the Malaysian contingent, which frankly, I've been quite disappointed with their performances todate. Or is it because we are not good enough?

At least, the consolation is that the medals are won this time by Malaysian born athletes rather than naturalised Malaysians. I mean, what satisfaction can we get (apart from being higher on the medals table) when we offer citizenship to foreign athletes so that these athletes will compete in Malaysian colours and earn us a medal just for pride's sake? Imagine giving citizenship to Liu Xiang just so that he will run as a Malaysian athlete and win the gold medal in the 110 metres hurdles event. Yeah, he won. So what? It would have been different if he migrated to Malaysia when he was a child, grew up, started running the hurdles and became a champion.

Meanwhile, I shall stay glued for the latest results.


Technorati Tags : Asian Games , Asian , Sports , Squash , Malaysia

I changed the template for this blog AGAIN! Actually, I like this template more than the previous blue coloured template...it's cleaner and more pleasing to the eye, I think. I am also using this template for my food blog, albeit with a change in the header.

Changing templates is quite an exciting thing to do but it can be time consuming if you don't know what you are doing. The wordpress templates have more varieties and some are really really nice. In time to come, I shall be going dot com for this site as well as my food blog.

Watch this space!


Technorati Tags : Templates , Blogging

Alan Curbishley, the ex-Charlton boss, has been approached by West Ham to take over the hot seat following the sacking of Alan Pardew. As an ex-player of the Hammers back in 1975 - 1979, Alan was quoted to have said "West Ham want to talk to me and I would love to know what they want to say, of course I'm interested".

This will be interesting and I think it will be good for the Hammers if Alan takes up the job. He did a great job at Charlton and I think he will be able to do a greater job at West Ham considering the talents available in the club. Having the likes of young talents like Anton Ferdinand, Nigel Reo-Coker, Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez plus the experience of Teddy Sheringham, it is puzzling to find the club being at the bottom rung of the Premier League and struggling to win games.

In any event, I don't mind if they play badly in their next game, which is against Manchester United on the 17th December. West Ham has always been a bogey team for Manchester United and it will be a tough game indeed.


Technorati Tags : Football , West Ham , Manchester United , News

According to an AP Report, Indonesia will sign a limited air travel agreement with 3 neighbouring ASEAN countries namely Malaysia, Brunei and the Philipines which allows for unrestricted flights to designated destinations in each of the 4 countries for nominated airlines. This is aimed at increasing the flow of tourists between the signatory countries and I think Malaysia will definitely benefit - which is timely considering that next year is Visit Malaysia Year. I am sure Air Asia and Malaysia Airlines will be rubbing their hands in glee on the prospects of increased destinations and passengers to the other three countries in the pact.

Whilst the parties are signing the Open Skies policy, I hope they, especially Indonesia, does not forget about the Hazy Skies annual policy which has been plaguing some of the members of ASEAN especially Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. I believe that their duty of care towards the general health and well-being of their neighbours is of paramount importance and ought to be given as much attention, if not more priority, than this Open Skies policy - which is more commercial and inter-cultural in nature. We do not need to remind Indonesia that the annual Hazy Skies caused by the open burning in some parts of Indonesia has caused considerable inconvenience and health hazard to the citizens of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, not to mention annoyance at such an inconsiderate neighbour. Of course, whilst Indonesia has lamented the fact that it has a difficult task of monitoring and extinguishing some many hot spots, enforcement must be on-going and those responsible must be made to pay for their actions.


Technorati Tags : ASEAN , News , Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei , Philipines , Singapore , Airline , Haze

Go to Gmail sign-up, select your country of residency and type in your mobile phone number. Type the encryption code and click "Send Code". Wait for your sms 6-digit code. Mine came in about 15 seconds!

Next, key in your sms 6-digit code sent to you by Google and register away! You'll get an instant Gmail email address with 2.791gb (and counting) worth of space. Gmail used to be available only via invitation from existing Gmail account holders and even so, each account holder has a limited number of invitations available for sending out. When the mobile phone sign-up was first made available, it was confined to users in the United States. Now it has been extended to the countries above and I am glad to note that Malaysia is one of them. Notice that Turkey is the only European country where this facility is available?

What are you waiting for? Get Gmail now!


Technorati Tags : Gmail , Email , Technology , News

16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other. 18If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.'

Christians sometimes react in a negative and hostile manner when they are persecuted. Persecute, a verb, has one meaning i.e. cause to suffer (source- Wordnet). Christ has already forewarned His followers that they will be hated and persecuted just as He was hated by the world. And the hatred, was without a reason - though none can find fault with what He did (except the Pharasees of the day).

As His followers, we must continue to remind ourselves of Christ's suffering and what he had endured for our sake. Having reminded ourselves that we are not alone and are blessed indeed that we need not go through the suffering he endured (have you seen The Passion of the Christ?), we must then go on to listen and act on His commands "To love each other"(John 15:17b) for Christ also said:

43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:43-48)

It is a difficult journey to take indeed. As humans, though we may have been saved, traces of our past bondage and sins may still be lingering in us. Unless we are able to let go of the past and that includes praying for those who persecute or hate us, we would not be able to obtain the peace which is beyond understanding as promised by God.

It would be foolhardy to think that we can do it alone. Many Christians continue to struggle in their faith and walk with God by remaining as individuals who are unconnected with the rest of the believers. Jesus commanded that we remain in Him and in one another as His children. The early church grew because they devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer. They were on fire, so to speak. But it is the evil one's scheme to keep believers away from God and from one another. The evil one knows that a believer will be weaker when he is unchurched and having to cope with the persecutions and struggles all by himself.

Therefore, if you are still struggling on your own, in your faith and walk with God, continue to dwell on God's Words and seek counsel of fellow believers. Join a small group / cell group / prayer group for support, encouragement and accountability to one another. Whilst no believer is perfect, a group of believers who earnestly seek God's ways in their lives will be able to spur one another to perfection in Christ.


Technorati Tags : Christianity , Christian , Jesus , Jesus Christ , Bible

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grief to bear!
What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear!
All because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer!

There are two stalls selling Sarawak Laksa in Taman Megah, Petaling Jaya. One is in Restoran Gembira whilst another in Restoran Goodluck. Actually, both restorans face each other and Restoran Goodluck is situated next to the famous Fatty Crab Restaurant. I have tried the Sarawak Laksa at Restoran Gembira and was not gembira (happy) at all at the laksa dished out. The egg strips were over fried (some were on the verge of being burnt) and widely cut and there were no chinese celery sprinkle over it. The soup was also rather flat.

So, anyway, a young guy by the name of Alex runs the stall at Restoran Goodluck. He has been running this stall for 8 months and he hails from Kuching. So, at least, it is authentic Sarawakian fare. He does not run any stall in Kuching prior to his migration to Petaling Jaya to venture into the food business. Nevertheless, the Sarawak Laksa that he serves are quite on par with what is available in Kuching.



The Sarawak Laksa comes in 2 sizes - Normal or Large. I ordered the large bowl costing RM4.50. It comes with 3 medium sized prawns (quite fresh) and plenty of shredded chicken and bean sprouts. Unlike the Sarawak Laksa stall in Nam Chuan Restaurant, Alex uses the thin and fine-type of rice vermicelli (beehoon). So, a large bowl is actually very filling, what more with the santan-based soup. The soup is full bodied and has a very fragrant and familiar hint of spice used in Sarawak Laksa. Apparently, Alex gets his spices sent to him by air from Kuching on a regular basis. Oh by the way, Alex is quite generous with the portion of soup. Being quite a finicky Sarawak Laksa, I told him that if the laksa paste was increased just a little bit more, the taste would have been perfect (or at least, to my tastebud). In any event, I would rate this Sarawak Laksa a very close contender to the one at Nam Chuan Restaurant in Bangsar.



Apart from Sarawak Laksa, Alex also sells another Sarawakian favourite - the Tomato Kuey Teow. It is the first time I see it being sold in KL / PJ and this is one of my favourites - the others being the Kolo Mee and Kueh Chap. As I do not have 2 stomachs, I shall have to try the tomato kueh teow on another day.

Alex's stall is open everyday except alternate Mondays. Business starts at 7.30am running till past lunch.


Technorati Tags : Sarawak Laksa , Food , Malaysian Food , Review

40 motorcyclists were detained by the Muar Police early today in an operation to curb illegal motorcycling. The 4 hour operation beginning midnight till 4 am was successful in the apprehension of the 40 motorcyclists for various offences ranging from riding without licenses, machine modification and reckless riding. The operation was conducted following complaints by public about illegal motorcycle racing around the Tanjung Agas area. [source]

Kudos to the police for their work and success in nabbing these foolish and reckless motorcyclists. More of such operations should be conducted and on a continuous basis so that the rest of the Mat Rempits will be a thing of the past on Malaysian roads. At the same time, I also wonder whether the family members of these Mat Rempits have any inkling what their sons / daughters are doing in the wee hours of the morning. Going out to study hard for their SPM / STPM / College exams? Going out for tea with friends? What kind of friends are they hanging out with?

Riding without license, machine modifications and reckless riding are sure recipes for an increased chance of an accident happening. And when an accident happens, these motorcyclist heroes will have their bodies exposed to the solid surface of the road at a hurtling speed.

But then again, will they ponder at all about these in their jolly and high?


Technorati Tags : Mat Rempit , Malaysia , News

Take a drive to the Segambut roundabout and head towards the direction of Total Office and GBH on your left. You will see a traffic light in front of you. Take a right turn and you shall see a well-known restaurant on your left called Yu Ai (which sells the famous Segambut Tom Yam Noodles). Take a right turn into Persiaran Segambut Tengah 1. This Fried Chicken Rice stall is upon the first right hand turn. If you are lost, just ask any of the people in the vicinity.




I did not name the stall because the stall has no name. When I asked the proprietor about it, he just mentioned "Under the Big Tree". Thank you very much! That was very helpful. Anyway, where good food is concerned, the name is not important. Foodlovers will find you in any event.




So, we (3 of us) had a plate of rice each. The rice, which is very fragrant and fluffy, was probably cooked in chicken stock with plenty of garlic, shallots and pandan leaves. Borrowing what Gardenia said "You can even eat it on its own!". Quite a generous portion is given but don't worry. You will finish it in no time.




The highlight here is of course, the Fried Chicken which has made this stall so famous in the Klang Valley and now, worldwide thanks to the Internet. The Fried Chicken is very crispy on the outside. I would call it fried to perfection and would love to learn that skill one day. It must have to do with the skill of the person frying the chicken to have the skin fried till crisp (but not oily) whilst the meat is thoroughly cooked and retaining its tenderness and juice. The marinade is a closely guarded secret which renders the chicken really tasty. Most tables we see have extra servings of rice and chicken which is a testimony of how good it really is. The chilli sauce has a generous amount of garlic and compliments the Fried Chicken Rice really well. Unfortunately, the picture did not turn out well as I was getting impatient to sink my teeth into the rice whilst clicking away.

The Fried Chicken Rice is sold at RM3.20 for drumstick / thigh with rice. For a whole leg (drumstick + thigh), that will cost RM5.00. Not overly expensive considering that the chicken portion is quite big (unlike KFC).

Give it a try. Do remember that it is only sold on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10.30am till after lunch. Be early to get a seat or drool while you stand and wait for your turn.


Technorati Tags : Review , Malaysian Food , Chicken Rice , Gourmet

I finally mustered enough courage to change the template for this blog. Having surfed some sites, I came across Pannasmontata Templates, designed by an Italian girl named Cristina. She has some really good looking templates to choose from and I ended up trying this template. It took me quite a bit of time trying to figure out the various codes and modifying it to my preference.

Whilst the text is probably now easier to read (black text on white background), the photographs do not stand out as much as when they were placed on black background as the previous template shows. I can't have it both ways, I guess...unless anyone got a suggestion for me.

So, this is the template for now.


Technorati Tags: Templates , Technology , Website , Design