So what does being Malaysian mean to you?

It's a belated Malaysia day post for me here. Mainly since I couldn't be arsed to log on and surf the net yesterday as, if I remember correctly, it was such a beautiful day yesterday. Sun was out shining. Birds chirping. It was such a good day to just, go out there and do something. Celebrate Malaysia day. Out side. In the sun. Malaysian weather at it's best.

Which was why I ended up waking at 12. In the afternoon. Missing out the whole morning.

But basically it was such an eventful, activity packed day yesterday. Woke up, and immediately went out for brunch with a friend of mine at a mamak store nearby. Some roti canais and teh tarik kurang manis to go with it is the perfect way to start your day. Either that, or some nasi lemak would have been good too. But roti canai is great anyway.

Went to visit a couple who just received a newborn. They decided to have lunch at their place and invite a few close friend over. They cooked some good briyani rice with some chicken and lamb, and added to that with some excellent dessert thing which I really do not know what it is, but was good nonetheless, and ended the whole meal with some Kopi Luwak from Indonesia. Yes, I am the type of person that does enjoy a good cup of coffee, and the Luwak coffee really does taste good. Would I pay that amount of money for a cup of coffee everyday? Probably not. A simple cup of nescafe is all i need every morning to get me up and running. But for those special moments, a cup of Luwak would definitely be an excellent choice.

Then after a quick photo session with the newborn, I quickly ran off to another friend's house for a Hari Raya open house for more food. Briyani, Laksa, satay, ketupat, lemang, rendang, ayam, kambing, daging, itik. You name it. You got it. Actually I really enjoy going to open houses like this. You actually get to bump into a lot of friends here, and I ended up hanging out and chit chatting, catching up with friends from primary school and secondary school who I have probably not really been keeping in touch with. Really good to know that they are all doing well in their lives. Before I new it, I probably ended up staying there for more than a couple of hours.

Which then lead me to meeting up with another group of mates at the SS2 hawker stalls. Again, catching up with friends (OK I am lying here. These friends I probably see them more than once a week, so I would not really call it catching up). Just plain talking crap and nonsense over some char kuay teow, some o-chien (is that how you spell it? the fried egg with oysters in them) and topping it off with a ramly burger daging special. The works.

At the end of the day, I was just too completely exhausted that I just completely crashed into bed and missed the Liverpool Steau Beaucharest match which was played at 3am here. (We won 4-1 by the way. Woo hoo!)


So. What does it mean to be Malaysian to me?

Exactly how I spent my Malaysia Day. Spending time with my close friends and family who are all Malaysians irregardless of race, doing what all Malaysian love to do. Being Malaysian.

Another good chapati place

My love for Indian food has brought me to another place where I can say serves decent chapati. Some friends brought me to the Nasi Kandar Penang joint in Taman Tun, the one opposite the Maxis / Pizza Hut / IBM area. Actually I wasn't really looking to grab anything to eat actually but was more looking to get some teh tarik while we chatted into the wee hours of the morning.

However, me being the Indian food hantu that i am, just couldn't resist trying out the chapati they served there, since after a few teh tariks and an hour or two of talking cock with my buddies my lil tummy just started to cry out for something to fill it. Anyway, the chapati that came, on itself was OK-ish, pretty decent. Tasted like what your normal chapati would taste like, but the way they cooked / made it was in such a way that it wasn't really too thick and hence wasn't really that chewy (chewy and tough, the definition of bad chapatis... well for me at least...). I don't really know whether they purposely made it thin to make it taste good, or was it just another one of those cost cutting schemes. Whatever it was, it worked and it was good.

The side dishes that came with it on the other hand, was truly magnificent. Well, actually not all really, since the dhal wasn't really that outstanding, but the potato-ish thing that came with it is truly magnificent. I mean, the main issue that i had with the ones they serve in Citibank food court ( my normal lunch time fav chapati joint ), is that the potatoes are a bit large and hard, and when you eat them, since they are huge, the centers of the potatoes tastes quite bland. The ones in Nasi Kandar Penang however, were cut into small small pieces and were all mixed up together and mushy. At first when i looked at it, it gave me the impression that someone had chewed it for me first and through up on my plate. However, once you get a taste of it, mmm mmm... nice and soft and just complements the chapati to perfection with its mild amount of spices. No problem of any bland tasting potato centers since the small pieces ensure that the taste actually blends in properly into the potato, leaving no or a minimum amount of "tasteless area" in the potato. I actually ordered another chapati after that since i just couldn't get enough of the potatoes. Either that, or their tactic of giving smaller quantities of the food actually worked!!

Running Noses Suck Big Time

Oh yes they do. It's that time again when apparently there's a flu bug going around town. Not that bird flu thingy that has been going around in the news, well at least i would hope not, but just your normal runny nose, countless tissues gone into the dustbin right next to you sort of flu. I ESPECIALLY hate the feeling when you know you are about to sneeze, and then prepare yourself to sneeze, only for your body to decide not to sneeze at the very last second. Now THAT is an anti-climax.

Footie

Oh yes. Liverpool managed to not win again during the weekend eventhough they were totally dominating the game. I can't be arsed to give a player by player rating for the game as i would normally do, but i would like to voice out some points that i got from the match. It seems that el Kapitan is finally showing us what he is made of. I mean, my god, what would we have done without him. The determination, drive and passion that he showed against the Wanderers just HAS to be an example that just needs to be followed by the rest of the players. I mean, just imagine if the rest of them played with just half, if not as much, of passion that our captain shows. We would be invincible. Absolutely. The same though, can't be said about our other prodigal son, Micheal Owen. I just have this feeling that it's just time that we sold him off (although i would gladly be proven wrong, mind you) as he just seems so out of form and just a bit distracted and disinterested, and it just doesn't help things that he STILL hasn't signed a new contract, or even mildly indicated that he would. Show us the commitment. Show us the signature. Or just tell us what you intend to do, what's on your mind. I would be absolutely happy if he were just to come out and say something like..

"I love the club! I want to stay here forever! Gimme the contract... *scribble* *scribble* *scribble* (signing the contract).. there you go.. now lets go score some of 'em GOALS! Especially against those Manc scums!!".

OK, maybe a bit far fetched, but even if he were to come out and say something like..

"I will only sign the contract if can i see us playing Champions League football next season"

..then fair game. At least he has the balls to come out and put us all out of our misery and also clear the air on to his future and i also won't blame him *if* he wanted to leave as i have finally accepted that not everyone would stay on in the club forever, not even Gerrard. Anyway, was thinking about who i would like to see come in the summer if Owen does eventually leave. Cisse supposedly is already coming, but still, i just do not rate him just yet until i've seen him play a least a few games and also score a hattrick against Manchester United. I would really like to see Robbie Keane come. He is a young, proven talent (Ok, arguable proven) in the Premiership and would also offer a LOT to our team which we currently don't have. He is a player that can pass, has vision, create goals, has an OK-ish scoring record in the premiership, and also has excellent movement off the ball. I also wouldn't mind Simon Davies of Spurs as well to come, although he didn't have an excellent year this time due to injuries, but at the peak of his form, he can be a smashing player. Seriously, in the summer, i would be content with Keane and Davies coming in, and any one, if not all of the group of Heskey (for obvious reasons), Biscan (again, obvious), Diao (duh...), Cheryou (yes, he scores goals, and when he doesn't?), Diouf( Ok, i would keep him, but if a decent offer comes in, i won't shed a tear if he goes), Riise (has been too inconsistent of late, and never regained the form of 2 years ago) and even Murphy ( Again, i woould keep him as a squad player, but if a decent offer comes in... ).

Coffee

Was at McDonalds Bandar Utama over the weekend having a late supper and was thinking of getting some coffee with the burgers and all, but decided against it. It's not that i have anything against the coffee they have at your McD's (refillable during breakfasts!! and tastes GREAT with an Egg McMuffin at 9am on a Saturday morning, when you don't have to go to work), but i wanted to taste some of that gourmet coffee that you can get arond town. So, i decided to try out that Coffee Hut place that i've been meaning to try, situated right next to Rasta in Taman Tun as it seems this place serves uncountable varieties of local and imported coffee all.

I like to go to Rasta for the very reason that the parking is good, the place is adequately lit, food is good and the service is, well, prompt, considering the guys and gals that take the orders swarm around and attack each new customer like a group of vultures the SECOND your buttocks touch the face of the chair. Coffee Hut on the other hand, is so dimly lit that i was worried that the place might be offering some of those *dodgy* perishables, and the service, well, i had waited there for a total of 15 minutes, and i ended up walking towards the counter and ordering there.

Anyway, when you are at the counter, i noticed that they put in all the various coffee powders in jars across the table, and they were probably around 15 different coffee types. I decided to go for something local and tried a serving of the famous Kluang coffee and also later on some of their Ipoh coffee offering. All in all, it was a pretty good drink, and i realised that after a while i ended up actually liking the overall environment of the place. The coffee were priced at RM3 each, which i guess can be considered a bit steep since you would probably be getting your local coffee at the mamak stalls, although probably not the same Kluang or Ipoh variety, at much much cheaper. Will probably visit that place again and try some of their other local coffee varieties, or even some of their imported ones.

Now all this writing about coffee has started my cravings for a cuppa. Freshly brewed. Ahh... the smell of it.

Later.

Chinese Fried Rice with a Sunny Side Up On Top

I have been feeling so darn demotivated at work so far this week. I still do my work, but it just doesn't feel the same as before. I think it's due to the extra long Chinese New Year break and probably my mind is sub-conciously thinking ahead to the other 4 day weekend coming up this weekend. God, it was so hard to wake up on Monday morning. Some people are just plain inconsiderate. I need something to be done by tomorrow morning, but i need someone to finish his stuff first before i can start. So what does this evil evil human being do? He goes for a afternoon coffee break and finishes his stuff on time for him (i.e. just 5 minutes before 5:30 so that he can go home in time), but that means i have to stay on in the office after hours. This is probably another factor that adds to my demotivation of work.

I read in the paper that Erra Fazira ( Local female Malaysian artiste and one half Malay celebrity of the moment) was "overwhelmed with nervousness" while shooting her latest Malay flick Tujuh Perhentian. Just can't seem to stop the voices in my head screaming the words "cheap, publicity, and desperation". Usually i don't even bother with this sort of news, but somehow this one has just caught my eye. I seriously think that Erra is getting a bit too exposed already and people would probably start to get sick of her, but i would probably be wrong considering the fact that i predicted the same to Ms (Soon to be Mrs it seems..) Siti Nurhaliza in her early early years, and look whats happened to her! Again, god knows why I am keeping up with this "useful" piece of information but there you go.

I have started to have a weird fondness of Chinese Fried Rice with a sunny side on top lately and I just can't seem to get enough of it. I seriously do not know why. The first time i had it recently, before i started on my Chinese Fried Rice with a sunny side on top craving was probably a few weeks back during lunch, at one of the mamak stalls at the "island" along Jalan Semarak, just opposite Wisma Telekom Semarak, now the proud headquarters of the now number one (arguably) mobile telephony service provider, Celcom.

Don't know why, but somehow the service provided by the ex-numero uno (arguably as well) Maxis, which i have been a loyal customer for the past 4 years or so, have been utterly disappointing. Absolutely. I have lost count of the so many times my calls have been dropped, or the oh so many times people can't hear me, or when i can't hear to anything the other person is speaking. The only thing thats keeping me from changing over to Celcom would be my reluctance to change my handset number to a new one and the hassle that comes with it, although i have read somewhere before, don't exactly remember where, that there are proposals that numbers would be exchangeable between service providers, ie you can have a Celcom line and still keep your 012******* number with you. I, for one, would be all for this proposal, not because it would be oh so convenient to me, but also it would open up the market and increase competition between the service providers as a lot of the so called customer loyalty for a particular service provider, a huge chunk of customers are probably people like me who just can't be arsed to change as i want to keep my mobile number. Imagine, Maxis giving you crap service? Let me change to Celcom. I am still using my same number. Digi giving better rates and better coverage? Let me change to them instead. I am STILL using my same number! If this was the case, mobile telephony service providers would have to be on their toes constantly to keep their subscribers, and hence offering better deals to the consumers which can only be a good thing to us.

Later.

Halal Yee Sang Anyone?

Now, correct me if i am wrong, but Yee Sang is a Chinese traditional dish which is usually regarded as sort of a must for the annual reunion dinner. What usually happens a is that the Yee Sang dish would be put in the middle of the table and then everyone stands up mixes and tossed the food in the plate around together with their chopsticks, and supposedly, the higher you toss the food, the more prosperous you get in the following year. What i am told, by a colleague of mine that is, is that in your normal kopitiams, you can see the more traditional and elderly folks trying to outdo themselves by tossing the food higher and higher up in the air and would sometimes even go to the extent of standing on their chairs to toss the food higher and higher. OK, now THAT, i would want to see someday.

We had a pre-Chinese New Year project lunch the other day where my project team mates went to the extent of finding a Halal Yee Sang place so that i could join in on the "fun". I didn't really know at that time how difficult it is to find Halal Yee Sang, so i felt a bit obligated to join in considering the fact that they actually went to the trouble so that i could join in. If I wasn't around, probably they would go to some place like Peel Road or Jalan Imbi some place, their normal Chinese Food haunts when i don't follow them for the lunch break. So they decided to go to the Chinese Restaurant at Nikko Hotel for their dose of Project Yee Sang this year. Anyway, once we were there, i let the rest order whatever they wanted, which i really couldn't understand what on earth they were on about with the waitresses there. All they said was the food that they ordered consists of some Yee Sang and some dim sum after that.

The Yee Sang arrived quite some time later and i was starting to get a bit hungry already from the wait as i had already consumed my fortune cookie (Which I just can't seem to remember what it said, but from what i do remember was that it was supposed to be a prediction for 2008, which is like 5 years away, so if it indeed DID happen then, i would have long forgotten about the fortune cookie anyway) (also, are you supposed to eat it AFTER the meal or BEFORE?) and several cups of hot Chinese tea as well. Once it arrived, i could see that the plate consisted of some raw salmon, some shredded carrot and cucumber, some sort of cracker-ish stuff, and also some other stuff which i couldn't for the life of me recognise. Oh yeah, and they actually put some GOLD paper or some sort . It seems that it is supposed to be mixed into the Yee Sang and consumed by an unassuming "lucky" fella, and is supposed to bring prosperity to the person who consumers it. Interesting.

So everybody stood up, shouted "YAM SENG!!", or was it "YEE SANG!!", and took their chopsticks and started mixing it all up in the plate together. I was about to jump onto my chair and start throwing up the yee sang from way up there but luckily the person sitting next to me stopped me, and explained that people only do that in like the kopitiams and all and not at hotels. Darn. Oh well. Maybe some other time then. Anyway, after like 2-3 minutes and after getting the whole table messed up with the yee sang all splattered around (I am imagining how it would be if people actually DID stand on the chair and toss it from way up there!!), we each took a plate full of yee sang and started to eat. According to the more "knowledgeable" ones on the table, the yee sang we had that day was pretty decent. For me, i sort of find it a bit too sweet for my liking, but i wouldn't mind having it again. I was more interested in taking the salmon and also looking for the supposedly gold paper (which no one could find, so someone would have some gold swimming around in their stomach).

As for the dim sum that came after that, considering the fact that i've dim-sum-ed before, wasn't too much of a suprise other than two of the dishes. One of it was the chicken legs, which they call the Phoenix Claw (if my memory serves me well), which at first didn't look too appealing to me, but after a LOT of persuasion from everyone, i decided to give it a go. I must say that it did taste a bit weird, but really not that bad and i guess the only thing that stopped me before would probably be just the THOUGHT of eating the chicken legs and also the sight of it. Once you start "diggin in", it's not too bad. I was told after i finished mine that i was a "brave person" to have eaten it since most of the people on the table wouldn't have it ANYWAY!! Basterds. The other dim sum that i would say probably stood out from the rest would be some sort of deep fried dumpling with prawns and BANANAS in it! OK, i don't know about any of you, but for me, in general, prawns and bananas do NOT mix well together, and that dumpling that day wasn't an exception either.

Anyway, I just received a joke on my SMS a few minutes ago, and here it goes.

"Chinese New Year is very near, so the 12 animals of the Chinese calendar should meet again. Up till now, the meeting has not started as the monkey is still reading this message" - Ha ha ha.

Happy Chinese New Year.

Later.

I need my Chillies!!

Americans like 'em big. No, i wasn't talking about THAT, but in general, from my point of view, they like big things. Just look at their cars for instance. This is the country that made the SUV popular. But not your itsy bitsy teeny weeny SUVs that we Malaysian go crazy about like the CRV, or the Xtrail, or the Kia Sportage. I shouldn't even mention our local offering, the Kembara (is that an SUV in the first place?). No. Them Americans lust for 'em huge ass, gas guzzling Suburbans or Trailblazers. A small engined, fuel efficient, practical Honda Civic Hybrid for you, sir? No way. Gimme one of those Suburbans.

Now, i don't have anything against SUVs (And i don't have anything against Americans either). I, myself, would love to ditch my seven year old, power window failing, body parts shaking piece of Malaysia Boleh technology called the Satria and get myself one of those Ford Escapes or one of those Nissan XTrails. But once my heart has stopped thinking and my head kicks into gear, i just realize that one of those aren't really practical for now. I mean, i LOVE the interior space and the huge boot, and the ego boost of potraying a macho, outdoor-ish sort of image to everyone. But the mileage you get from one of those SUVs aren't really what you could call economical. And for someone like me who can barely afford paying the gas of a puny 1.3cc engined piece of semi-malaysian engineering, i guess i'll just have to put off my SUV driving plans for the time being.

Another thing that Americans like 'em huge are their food. The portions that they serve at ANY American styled restaurant, and you will see what i mean. The quantity of food that they consume in a single serving is unbelieveable. I just had a project team lunch a few days back at the Chillies in KLCC and i must say the portions that they serve there are definitely "American". Chillies is one of my favourite places to eat. The food is good there. The portions are extremely good. The atmosphere is, well, OK lah. But the one major gripe that i have with them is their "No Bookings, First Come First Served" policy. I know that they have enough people going there for dinners and lunches to not give a damn about their booking policy, but it is just a major pain in the arse when you want to have a group lunch there for 10 people. It also doesnt help that they ALSO have another policy that you need to have at least 3/4 of your total group before they give you a table. So, out the window goes the plan to send one fella first to book the tables and wait for us to get there. But what the heck. I STILL go there for their nachos and fajitas and their chocolate dessert. Dammit. I can't for the life of me remember what its called!

Anyway, i ordered myself the BBQ ribs that day since i felt like trying something new. The dish, when it came well, didn't really look THAT appealing. It was just one huge slab of ribs, and at the side some fries and one full corn on the cob served with it. Thats it. No garnishing whatsoever, and no vegetables to come with it. One cut into the meat and you know that the meat that they serve there is some good grade A prime and tender beef. However, once i started to eat it, i sort of started to remember that BBQ isn't really one of my favourite flavours. It sort of tastes like tomato sauce, it has the sour-ish tomato taste to it, but its not exactly tomato sauce. It also has a tinge of spiciness to it. Actually now that i'm thinking about it, BBQ sauce could indeed be made of tomatoes. Maybe i should check this one out. Anyway, after a few cuts of the ribs, you just start to get a bit sick of the whole thing. And eating the fries and corn doesnt really help that much either. All in all, i didn't particular enjoy it as much as i would have enjoyed some Mushroom Jack Fajitas or the Swiss Mushroom Burger, or the Big Daddy Dawg, so i guess, this particular order goes into my "never again" list. I didnt even manage to finish all the ribs, although this i would blame it on the amount of buffallo wings, fajita nachos and selery sticks i consumed before while waiting for some late comers to arrive (yes, it was ME who was sent early to go and book tables!).

On another note, a friend of mine just offered to me two tickets to the Lord of the Rings movie marathon this Friday which i declined. I just don't see the point of going into the cinema at 11pm on a Friday night and watching 3 movies back to back until 10 am the next morning. I mean, i DO want to see the movie very very very much, but cant get any tickets for this weekend (can't be arsed to tranverse through the crowd and all, just not my thing ). I just don't see the point of staying up all night watching the other 2 movies first, and by the time you get to the 3rd movie, which i guess would start around 7am, you would be like totally stoned that you wouldnt be able to concentrate on the movie, and hence, would bring down the enjoyment level of the whole experience. By the time it all ends, you would be left felling dazed and with sort of a jet lag, and you would throw away you're whole Saturday trying to recover. So probably i'll just do myself a huge favour and watch it sometime later, when the crowd isn't that huge.

Laters

Garlic smell out of your mouth is disgusting!!

A few months back i was happily enjoying my double whopper with cheese meal with some of my colleagues at our regular "fine dining" haunt, the Burger King at the Concourse Level of KLCC. Nicely chomping my way into the succulent, flamed grilled double beef patties i have been accustomed to, i was approached by this person wearing in a nice stripy short sleeve shirt sporting a nametag with a picture of a crown and the letters M A N A G E R spelt on it. There were some other letter on it, i assume it was his name, but it just doesnt come to mind.

"YES!! I did refill my large coke 10 times!! So what?! Its a free refill!! And yes, i DID pay for my meal", those words almost came out of my mouth. But before i could utter one word, the manager nicely held in front of me some quarters of some burgers on a plate. Me, being a bit confused went a bit blur, so the manager explained that they are giving out free samplets of this new burger they want to introduce in Malaysia, called the garlic burger or some dodgy name like that. So yes, i happily accepted the offer of trying it out at the expense of filling up a feedback form.

Now, my rule of thumb when filling out feedback forms is to always give out bad reviews and always try and find something that annoys me or something that isn't right. I mean, *if* they even look at my feedback, they would at least find some areas of improvement right? I mean, it can only get better for us consumers. Anyway, if i really DON'T find anything to complain about, which usually isn't the case, i wouldn't like come up with any out of my imagination, so i guess, fair enough. For my review of the "Garlic Burger" then, i was very dissapointed with it then. I mean, it just tasted like a two garlic breads which didnt have enough garlic taste in them with a beef patty slidded in between. And i told them that in the feedback form. DO you like this product? NO. Would you buy it? NO. What would make this product even better? IF it came with a check for a million bucks inserted in between the burger it will be a much MUCH better product! OK, just joking, but maybe if they put in some mayonaise, and some lettuce, then MAYBE, it might taste a bit more decent. So that was it.

Fast forward to yesterday. To my suprise, while driving through the drive thru burger King at Sri Hartamas, they were promoting the "Garlicka Burger" there. From the looks of the picture, it looked pretty decent and me being the adventurous and forgiving type decided to give it another chance. So yeah, i went to the ordering counter and ordered a Garlicka Burger and one regular fries. When receiving the packet from the pickup counter, i checked to see whether my order was correct ( I always do this now since one day where i didn't check and the people working there decided to NOT put in my fries and onion rings... oh well ), i saw a Junior Whopper in there instead. After complaining to the poor fella there, it turns out that the Garlicka burger doesnt have its own wrapping yet, so they reuse the Junior Whopper instead. Driving back, you could smell the garlic aroma coming out of the paper bag and it was mesmerizing! It didn't help either that it was like half past 10 and i had an early lunch as well.

Getting back home, turning on the Astro,( Darn, Now i just remembered that i missed Top Gear yesterday. I guess they are showing it tonight at 12:30am), i opened up the wrapping to unravel my dinner. Presentation wise, it didnt look as appealing as it looked on the picture (as per normal, i am such a sucker for these things), and guess what!? Mayo AND lettuce inside the burger!! I know i know i know. I am sure that after numerous months of satisfaction surveys and studies and testing, they came up with the conclusion that by adding mayo and lettuce would enhance the taste of the burger, and it was definitely not because of some irritating customer's ( who continously rambles and complains) measely suggestion to add in lettuce and mayo. But i like to think that, yes, my suggestion was indeed heard by the Burger King management, and it was MY suggestion that actually made a difference in this world. Why? Because it makes me feel good. That's why. Cheap thrill. What the heck!

Anyway, chomping my way into it, it seems that the burger is still pretty taste less. I think it could be because they didnt actually put that much mayo in it. Now, come to think of it, did it actually HAVE mayo in it in the first place!! Anyway, the bread tasted like you standard issue burger buns and the beef, well there's no flame grilled beef burger patties better than the Burger king one is there? But still, for a killer product, you need that extra bit of special taste in there, and for the garlicka burger (actually i dont even know wheter i spelled it correctly), the special bit which is supposed to be the garlic taste just doens't do it. I mean, i think its concept that is flawed since, the garlic flavour is meant to be a flavour enhancer, not the MAIN flavor. So just put a bit of it, and you just get a hint of it, which is insufficient. If you put blob of it, it tastes just downright disgusting. Burger King decided to put a bit of it, and basically it just tastes like a garlic bread with not enough garlic on it, with a beef patty in the middle and some lettuce. I mean, the garlic is barely noticeable that it seems like a Swiss Mushroom without the swiss mushroom, a cheese burger without the cheese or tomato sauce or gerkin, like a whooper without the whopper (?). I rate the Burger King Garlicka Burger 1 1/2 burgers out of five.

Anyway, note to self. Next trip to Burger King, get yourself a swiss mushroom. Gotta make a move. Now where's my mints. THis garlic smell coming out of my mouth is disgusting!!

Laters.

Good Chapattis Are Hard to Find

OK, during lunch time today, was wondering what i was gonna indulge myself in. Being based around the KLCC area, the options available to the lunch crowd are enormous. Then a colleague of mine suggested that we visit the food court on the 5th floor of Menara Citibank. He heard that there's a stall there that serves decent chapattis. Me, being the Indian food "hantu" that i am, quickly agreed, and we were quickly on our way walking along Jalan Ampang towards Citibank.

One thing i dont understand about the Menara Citibank food court is, at the ground floor, to get pass the security guard there, we need to take a piece of paper to "indicate" that we are going to the food court. A plain, yellow piece of paper with "Menara Citibank Food Court" stamped on it or something. And what do you do with it? Absolutely nothing. I mean, its not good enough just to tell the fella that we are going to the food court, we need to pick up the piece of paper in front of him and then only go past him. And then after that what are you to do with it? THey don't check for it when you leave, so you're left with this small piece of paper in your hands that is not much of use. I mean it's not big enough to actually write anything meaningful on, ( maybe you could like write your phone number on it and pass it to the chun looking girls sitting across you at the food court, but then they'll be thinking what a cheapskate you are using THAT piece of paper with Menara Citibank printed on it), so out into the bin it goes.

Anyway, i must say, the chapatti they serve there is pretty decent. I had one chapatti, some potato curryish / dhallish thing, some spicy-ish chicken, and also some lamb kema, which was the pick of the side dishes. And all that for 4 ringgit. CHeap or what? Also they serve some pretty decent teh susu lembu there as well.

Anyway, now thinking of it, let me list down the Indian Food places that i frequent around KL and PJ.

Kanna Curry House at the Rothmans Roundabout PJ. OK, the banana leaf rice here is the BEST i've had so far. I love the veggies that they serve, especially if they serve their spinach fresh and pipping hot. And the fried chicken there is excellent as well. They also serve some pretty decent payasum on fridays as well. I didnt find out about this place until one of my colleagues actually brought me there, and to think i live around that area and didnt know about it. Nowadays, Banana Leaf Rice in PJ, i go to Kanna.

Raju's along Jalan Gasing in PJ. I go to this place for breakfast almost EVERY weekend. My biasa weekend breakfast order there would be two roti canais, ayam goreng, and a teh tarik. The roti canai there is unbelieveable. And also, they serve some damn good red chutney / sambal during the weekends, which is the reason i go to this place during the weekends only. The sambal just has no substitute when i eat it with the roti canai there. There was once, i went during a weekday, and they didnt serve the sambal, the experience just wasn't the same. The drinks there also could do with a little improvement as well.

An-Nuja Curry House - Opposite Pudu Raya station. Special Chicken Briyani. That is the speciality of this place, and it is indeed absolutely special. I eat nothing else at this place. Absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious. The place looks quite cramped and a tad bit run down, but that doesnt stop the crowd from coming here! I usually try and go before the lunch crowd arrives here, or sometimes, after. I've actually seen Karpal Singh eat lunch here as well. Dont know why i am mentioning that, but what the heck.

Sri Paandi PJ Sect 17 - I go to this place quite frequently since its close to my house, and closes later than Kanna (why on earth does this place close sooo early, at 8pm). Banana Leaf Rice is decent. Oh yeah, they serve what i call "Indian Style" potato chips as well, which i end up ordering extra and sometimes just cant stop munching. Went once to the Sri Paandi in Bangsar when it first opened and had a very unpleasant experience. It was like the second day it was opened or something, and the fella took ages to serve us, and when the food finally came, the rice was cold, and the curry was even colder!! Me and my friend quickly refused to eat and walked away. That was the last time i ever went there!! But i guess that would probably be those "glitches" that occur when you first start up. But still, cold rice and curry.. unforgiveable!!

Rasta TTDI - Actually i dont know whether its Indian Food, but this place has the best tasting Garlic Cheese Naan with Tandoori. Also enjoy eating their Kacang Phool there.

OK, now, talking about all this food has made me hungry. I'm sure i've missed out on some places, but these are the main ones that come to mind i guess. Anyway, Gotta make a move now.

Laters

Hey there.. it's been a while since my last entry. Been rather busy lately. Been staffed onto a new project and all so getting bloody hectic and all. Fasting month now, and everyone's out for lunch, leaving me here alone in the project room. Sheesh.

Been surfing the net and found another interesting site for cars and all stuff related to that.

Car Spy Shots


Anyway, am thinking of where to break fast with my girlfriend tonight. Been trying to think of some place nice, but my mind can't seem to stop thinking about the new KFC wedges that come with mayonaise and cheese... my god.. am salivating now just thinking of it.

Anyway.. back to surfing the net.