Drama, drama, drama...

Life has been a drama over the past few days for me... I was worried like hell and was really busy settling every thing down. I must thank everybody who had helped and prayed, THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
Now that it has come to an end, I can finally sit down and update my blog a bit. And to match my title of the post, here are some movie reviews...

My Name is Khan
I know, I know it's an Indian movie. But not that you don't know I actually watch them, right? And come on, it has Kajol in it!!! Kajol is my one and only favourite Bollywood actress and I cannot even remember when was the last time I saw her in a movie! Yea, a few seconds guest appearance in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna! I miss her so much that when I saw the poster with her at the cinema I told myself I MUST watch this one!
My Name is Khan is not those ordinary singing and dancing Bollywood movie. In fact, there isn't a single singing and dancing scene. It's about a guy called Rizvan Khan (who is played by who else but the famous Shah Rukh Khan)who has Asperger's Syndrome went to the US and fell in love with Mandira who is a divorcee with a son. They eventually married and Mandira and her son changed their surname to 'Khan', which is a Muslim name.
After 9/11, things started to change and the Americans look at Muslim the bad way and eventually Mandira's son got killed in school and she starts to question her decision of marrying a Muslim guy. She eventually asked Rizvan to go away, and in anger, asked him to go off and tell everyone in America:"My name is Khan, and I'm not a terrorist", including the President. So off he went on a journey to meet the President and tell him that he is not a terrorist.
So the movie basically tells you about the whole journey, some very heart-warming, some very funny... What I like about the movie is that despite a serious theme, it was delivered with bit of humour, just because Rizvan has Asperger's Syndrome. For instance, when the police beat him asking him if he knows the terrorists, he says:"I think they are mad at me because I don't know about the Al-Qaeda, I think I should have study more about the Al-Qaeda!"What I don't like about the movie is the 'drama' itself. Like when all of a sudden all the Muslims just appear to help at the church... I went:"yea right..."But what is a Bollywood movie without the drama? Even the Mat Salleh in the movie have to act so dramatic... ==|||
Overall, I really like this movie, it's an one of a kind Bollywood movie, trust me. I love it! And I love Kajol and her being reunited with Shah Rukh Khan! I feel like they are just the best on scene couple, ever!
And I just found out that I've actually watched all 4 movies directed by the director Karan Johar! Call me a Chindian man... :p

Alice in Wonderland
Like many of you, I've been waiting to watch this movie since last year! Watching the trailer with Johnny Depp in the cute costume and make-up just excites me!
So I went, just the first day of the non-3D was up. I have no idea why I had to tell you the whole synopsis of My Name is Khan, which is what I normally don't. Just like this one, I don't plan to tell you too cos its a fairytale lar, most people know the story, roughly at least.
Anywayz, I like the graphic, I like Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter's performances in the movie, but the movie is just so-so. It's just very forgettable. I don't remember many interesting scenes...

It's Complicated
I'm a fan of Meryl Streep, if you haven't yet know. I think she is amazing.
So... In this movie she plays a divorcee having an affair with her ex-husband after more than 10 years of divorce. And there is another guy who appears in her life too. But the affair turns out to be a bitter one with the guy and also her children, blah blah blah...
I think the movie is really funny, if you actually prefer to watch Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin than Robert something, Taylor something or Zac something(I seriously don't remember the new actors' names!)... Meryl Streep is ALWAYS so natural in her performance, she is just too good she made the movie looks so good to watch too! Alec Baldwin is also very funny! By the way, both Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin did a great job at the Oscar, don't you guys think so??? I like how the movie talks about the children feeling about their parent and all, in a way it's so true and so touching.
Good one too. :)

"Sam Si" Stir-Fried Chicken 三丝炒鸡

It's weekend again and I cooked dinner for my dear again!
The "Sam Si" Stir-Fried Chicken is a recipe I learned from Crystal, my friend from Hong Kong when I was in Perth. If you can read Chinese words, you would understand "Sam Si" here means three strips, which means the carrot, celery and mushroom in this dish. I think it's quite a simple yet nutritious dish where I don't need to think of cooking a meat dish and another vege dish, it's all in one now! :D

What you need:*Chopped Garlic
*Mushrooms, carrot and celery cut into strips (and yes I spent hours cutting them...)
*Chicken cut into strips and marinate with some soya sauce, sesame oil and pepper, add some corn flour to make them more tender
*Chinese cooking wine

The method:
1. Simmer the garlic in hot oil.
2. Add in the chicken and stir fry them a bit.
3. Add in the mushroom and carrot and continue frying.
4. When the chicken is almost done, add in the celery and continue frying. You can add some water from time to time.
5. Finally, some wine! I just love wine in my food!
6. It's all done when the chicken are cooked!
*See you don't even need any salt or chicken stock because the dish get the taste from the marinated chicken!

And ta da...This picture would serve as evidence that Ducum curi makan when I was taking this pic.
I garnished it a bit with the celery leaves.
Looks really really yummy hey??? I tell ya, even people who hates celery(like the bf) eat this cos the celery are cut into too tiny pieces! The smell wouldn't be so heavy lar!
We were camping in Ducum's room because someone took away the chair outside we can't have dinner like we normally do... Kesian...
I also made Old Cucumber Soup for dinner which was a very successful one too! :D

Bonus Pic:
Since my dear always come to my house with shorts or pants he wears all over outside, I wouldn't let him sit on my bed with them on. So I borrowed him my sleeping pants which looks so cute on him! But of course, I think my green polka dots one is cuter! :p

Home-cooked Wantan Mee

Just like my daddy, my dear loves Wantan Mee a lot, especially those slightly thicker Wantan Mee you can find in Taiping. So before I came back to KL, I got my mum to buy some fresh Wantan Mee for me, so that I can make them for my dear. So half of the dish is sponsored by my mum here. Thanks mummy! :)
I didn't have Wantan and Char Siew, it's totally a very simply home-cooked Wantan Mee...

Ingredients:
Wantan Mee, amount according to own preferences.
Hong Kong Choy Sum
Taiwanese Sausages sliced into pieces

The sauce:
Garlic Oil (thanks to mummy again! :) )
Light soya sauce
Dark soya sauce
Sesame Oil
Pepper

Method:
For Taiwanese Sausages
1. Just heat up a non-stick pan with oil, then fry them till they are cooked!

For the Choy Sum
1. Simple, just boil till they are cooked!

For the Noodles:
1. Boil in boiling water for about 1-2 minutes. Not too long okay cos then it will be too soft.
2. And then take the noodles out and put them into cold water.
3. Take them out again and put into hot water again. This whole process is called 过冷河，it's important to make sure the noodles doesn't stick together when you eat!
4. After that transfer the noodles onto your plate with the sauce already on the plate. Just toss them around to make sure the noodles are all covered with the sauce.
5. Add the vege and and sausages on top of the noodles and you're done!

Making Wantan Mee at home is fun especially when you can choose your own ingredients to be added in! Like me, I'm actually not a fan of Char Siew, not especially those lousy ones you always get with you Wantan Mee outside. So I added in my favourite Taiwanese Sausages! And my dear actually had three portion of the noodles when I cook for him. I think it will be quite expensive if you have three portion outside! See, that's the fun of D.I.Y! Plus, when your loved one praises you on your cooking, you'll be feeling so good!
Try cooking more at home, I'm sure you will enjoy it just like I do! :D

Highly recommended Sanuki Udon & my 3rd Lou Sang of the year

Late dinner @ Sanuki Udon, Taman DesaHere we are at Sanuki Udon!
Last Thursday my dear's cell group had a night-out makan activity at Taman Desa, so I tagged along after my gym session.Us, without the photographer...
Shirlexia with the very cute photographer~!
Ket Hon recommended this restaurant which looks very simple but sells probably the best and freshest Udon I've ever had in my life so far. I don't know how to describe, the Udon just taste really different. The best thing is, the price is so bloody reasonable!The very simple menu, at a glance~!
Over here they have Udon with a few flavours, and except for the curry flavour, the rest can be done in hot or cold! Pretty cool right? That night three of us had the curry one, including me. It was really nice, despite the fact that I'm not a Japanese curry's fan. The curry was nicely done, and the Udon is just fantastic! Dear's original and Ricko's Kakiage Cold Udon are pretty good too. Come to think of it, these guys were actually impressed with the Udon although they came with only vegetables and no meat at all! So I guess you can see how good the Udon here are!
We also ordered the Chicken Karage and Edamame which are ok-ok. But with the Udon price ranging from RM5-RM7 and sides at RM1-RM3, the food is just too good! The only complain is that I think the portion is too small for guys. I mean it was definitely enough for me, but not for the guys lor! My favourite Edamame at RM3.
Three pieces of Chicken Karage at RM3.
Cold Udon with Kakiage.
Cold Original Udon served with some Choy Sum.
The Curry Udon with onion, carrots and some minced chicken, I think.
They also sell fresh Udon for you to make them at home hey! AND!!! They are opening soon at Wisma Cosway! So, Ah Fa! Check this restaurant out! It's 'Starts at 5.30pm' lar... ==|||

Lou Sang Lunch @ Oriental Pavilion, Jaya 33
This is my first Lou Sang of the year. The second one was at home in Taiping where we Da Bao from Sushi King and I still think Sushi King's Yee Sang is the best so far.
So I had my third Lou Sang of the year last Friday, which is the last few days of CNY, this time around with my dear's bunch of car club friends, and their gfs and wife, of course.Very crowded Oriental Pavilion...
Us, without the photographer, Kevin.
With a restaurant like Oriental Pavilion, you can expect it to be slighty pricey lar. But surprisingly there were quite a big crowd over there, mostly having their Dim Sum though! Hmmm... Maybe I should go and try their Dim Sum one day!
Here are what we had...The Yee Sang set.
Super duper yummy Claypot Pork Belly with Eggplants.
Nai Bak in Seong Tong.
The Braised Imperial Beancurd with Spinach.
The.... Forgot the name, but you know what is it lar. :p
Smoked Farm Chicken is a MUST TRY!
Well I definitely love their Claypot Pork Belly with Eggplant and the Smoked Farm Chicken. I reckon the Braised Imperial Beancurd with Spinach is better at Duck King. Together with rice and tea for 9 person, it all came up to RM300 plus, urm around RM35 per pax lor.
Not too bad but not too fantastic lor. Anyone wanna go try their Dim Sum with me???

Valentine's Day & 14 Blades

Just to give you a break from food in my blog, here are two movies I've watched recently...

Valentine's Day
Well, with this kinda movie, all you can expect is just plain romance with a little bit of comedy in a few different stories. Of course, with this one, you would enjoy watching loads of movie stars showing their little acting skills! I'm really glad to see the long-time-no-see Julia Roberts! And guys should be excited that Jessica Alba and Jennifer Garner is in it! Ohyea, check out how 'sam pat' Taylor Swift can be in this movie too!
Well, stories wise, some of them are pretty interesting, like the ones with Anne Hathaway and Topher Grace, Jamie Foxx and Jessica Biel, Hector Elizondo and Shirley Maclaine. Those are really romantic stories that I would fancy lar.
I personally think Jessica Biel is doing pretty good in acting! And Anne Hathaway is just as good as I can remember. I also love the fact that there is Jamie Foxx in this movie cos I have never really seen him in a romance movie before!
Overall, not too bad a movie. Loving couples should really watch this, you would learn something from it.

锦衣卫 14 Blades
So far,我听到对这部电影的评价是有好有坏的。我尊重大家的看法，但是个人真的觉得这部片有点烂，根本不值得看！
好，故事其实不会说不好，只是中间的一些人物非常的不必要，而且特效有点夸张且不必要。我所谓的不必要的人物是吴尊，虽然我知道一班吴尊迷一定在抗议。但是一个这样的角色出现几分钟，又不是特别会打的，只是很爱打，莫名其妙去跟人家打，然后就被杀死了。而且造型抄足了Captain Jack Sparrow，没新意。说的比必要特效是甄子丹把那些刀拔出来时那些齿轮的特效部分，oh come on，人家爱的是甄子丹的功夫，不是刀拔出来时是怎么样的！更何况，特效做得很丑，transition又做得不好，好像突然之间不知道发生什么事似的，真的很想说“唔识就唔好学人做”啦！
Dear也说得对，怎么也都不能接受最后一场打戏是主角对上一个女对手，一点说服力也没有。更何况“脱脱”的所谓“特效”武工根本就不好看，hello？现在没有人要看那么多特效的啦，不然叶问会那么成功咩？那都是真功夫！而且最后“脱脱”死的时候好像很想死在主角怀里那样，他是暗恋男主角已久，就是期待能死在他怀里的一天吧？
总之，不好看！好演员就浪费了，烂演员就不用提啦！
希望叶问2不会那么令人失望就好~！

4th month anni @ Atrium Cafe, Pyramid Tower

By now I think Sunway Hotel should give me some special voucher or some membership card for being such a supporter to Atrium Cafe at Pyramid Tower. I had their hi-tea and breakfast and promoted them so well here in my blog! And it was one of their PR persons who came to comment in my blog telling me about the 40% discount promotion they have on their lunch and dinner buffet.
Well, I was expecting them to give me some voucher or special offer, but my dear and I went to try the dinner buffet without getting any of them... Oh.... :(

Anywayz, we started with some fruit of course, and then...The crab and Tandoori Chicken was fantastic that my dear couldn't stop getting more and more of them!
Sushi, salad and smoked salmon. I love the smoked salmon, it's not as salty as those common ones.
Oh yea! I love the grilled vege too!
The fresh seafood! Really fresh and yummy! Yum~Yum~!
And yes, the oysters there were very fresh too!
The Chicken Satay were nice!
My dear just love Wanton Noodles, but he said it wasn't too good wor.
Every time I walked past the hotel I see this very tempting roast lamb I always wanted to try! And it turned out it was good too! The texture is just so soft and you will just love it!
Claypot Yee Mee, one of their more local dishes. Not too fantastic though.
Of course there were a few more rounds of food before we called it a dinner!

Overall, I'm quite satisfied with the food and the service. It was much better than the hi-tea buffet I had over here, especially variety wise. The Chicken Tikah (or I think it should be Tandoori) is really really yummy that my dear had loads of them! Their seafood are definitely very fresh and worth a try. And the satay chicken and roast lamb wasn't too bad too! I think the only dish I really want to complain is the deep fried fish. I guess it was cold already that the flour is so thick and hard to eat. There were a few 'too Malay-styled' food we didn't really try though.
Including tax, the total came to RM89.70 for two persons! Hey that's less than 100 bucks for a buffet for two you know? Not too bad a deal lar, right?
The promotion at Atrium Cafe ends on 28th Feb, which is tomorrow! Yes, it's tomorrow! So if you want to try it, then go now!

And so we celebrated our 4th month anni with some nice food, thanks to my dear! We are stepping into the 5th month now~!

I'm impressed with food @ SSL Traders Hotel

New cafes and hotels pop-up like cendawan selepas hujan over the past few years in Taiping. Little might wonder are they going to survive? Well, from what I see, they are doing pretty good, especially during CNY season where we now have more choices to pick from for our gatherings!
After the Cincai Group gathering on the third day of CNY, dear, me, XT and KK went for a second round late afternoon at SSL Traders Hotel located at Jalan Kamunting. I can't recall the name of the cafe, but it's just at the right hand side of the hotel entrance.
I guess after days of Chinese food, I was a bit sick of them already that on that day we had Western food I felt SOOOO BLOODY GOOD! XT had Cabonara Spaghetti.
KK had the green salad, which looks pretty good hey!
I had the Club Sandwiches and dear had his Le Cordon Bleu which are both impressing.
I think their food are really not too bad, if according to Taiping's standard. At least I can see they make food with a heart, they don't simply do something random as your side dish you see. And the price is reasonable too!
So two days later I gave my family a lunch treat over there again just so to let them try! Believe it or not, my parent, even though staying probably less than 2km away from the hotel, haven't try the food here! But to my disappointment, lunch time is buffet time! :( No choice, we tried the lunch buffet. Originally it's RM10 per pax, but it was RM12 because it was CNY. Very boring punya lunch buffet...
Because the dishes are boring I had to snap only the vege soup for you to have a closer look.
That's me with Pa & Mi!
And this is no other than Ducum Tan!
And also... Vivian Tan!
The lunch buffet is boring lar, very Malay style dishes, with limited choices. But hey it's RM12, what else do you want? At least I think the food are edible lar.
After a while I saw people ordering food from the menu! Bloody hell! So I didn't care! I ordered two more dishes to share...My favourite... Club Sandwiches!
The Chicken Chop, I can't remember the full name, it's the first one of the chicken chop list.
Like I said, I love the Club Sandwiches a lot, it has grilled chicken, fried egg and ham in it! Looks really pretty and tasty to eat! And the Chicken Chop was very good too! And I love their vege sides!
I'm totally impressed with the food here actually. If you are craving for some Western food when you're in Taiping, you might want to give this cafe a try! But of course, you will have to bare with the fact that there are flies all over... :S
By the way, so far I've also heard loads of praises for their Bistro at the back of the hotel. You might want to check that out too.

Bonus pic:My mum wanted to go to the loo during our lunch. She walked to this entrance and came back laughing by herself. We were like...==||| And she couldn't even tell us what happen she just laughed and we all started laughing too! After a while she started to talk:"Restroom is toilet ah?" And then we all laughed like crazy! My dad was like:"What, you think Restroom is for you to rest?" And then somemore hor, she can continue saying:"Why don't they just put 'toilet' there?"
Hahahahahahaha... My blur blur yet funny mum! :p
Now everybody, go tell your mum RESTROOM=TOILET! LOL!