HAPPY LABOUR DAY!!!

Yay! No need to work so hard tomorrow cos it's May 1, Labour Day!

HAPPY HOLIDAY GUYS!!! :D

Simple Dinner @ Pa Ka Seng Seafood Restaurant, Setapak

Deardo and I decided to spend our Sunday in KL a few weeks back and asked Vivian to meet us there where we had a little sisterly time enjoying great food and shopping. 

Trying out new dresses at H&M! Don't ya love my new mint dress? 

At night I suggested that we send her back to Setapak where I also used to stay at during my two years college time. So much of flash back of memories going on my mind just by strolling past the mamak store, restaurants and the condos I used to live in. Of course, Setapak and Wangsa Maju has developed quite a lot since then with so much more condos and choices in terms of F&B! So... We randomly picked Pa Ka Seng Seafood Restaurant to have our dinner before sending Vivian home.

Totally stole this from a random blogger! Thanks yaw~! :p

The restaurant is very clean and new-looking but with a lot of people dining that night. Since we had quite a pricey lunch at Morganfirled's, we only ordered those not-so-pricey dishes for dinner.

Yuen Yong Tilapia Fish in Marmite and butter oats flavours. RM30.

Mantis Prawn with Salted Egg. RM15.

Claypot Tofu. RM15.

Stir-fry Mixed Vege. RM12.

To me, the most impressive dish was the Tilapia simply because I've not tried Tilapia cooked so complicatedly in my life! And because it was cooked both in Marmite and butter oats flavours, the fishy smell that normally comes with Tilapia are all gone! That was a really unique and yummy dish! :) (Actually I kinda miss it now that I'm typing this... ) The mantis prawn with salted egg was not too bad too, only complain is that the portion is a little too small. The Claypot Tofu and Stir-fry mixed vege were both slightly above average as well.

My Sunday night dinner companions! :)

With a pot of Chinese tea for three and two portions of rice, the bill came up to RM77.40. Not the cheapest seafood dinner in town but still very reasonable, especially considering the fact that the food were of satisfactory level, restaurant is quite clean and service is fast too! 
Vivian told me she knows of another nice place for dinner near her place and it might be cheaper too! Time to make another trip to Setapak! *rub palms~*

Pa Ka Seng Seafood Restaurant
21, Jalan Bunga Kantan,
Taman P. Ramlee,
53000 Setapak,
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 012-299 1685 (Mr. David Phoon)

Awesome Pork Ramen @ Menya Musashi, Isetan 1 Utama

I remember the last time we went to a really nice place for the most awesome Ramen was at Santouka Hokkaido Ramen at Pavilion. Needless to say, the Ramen was super good but it was also too expensive that we have not gone back for a second time so far.

And then Deardo found out about Menya Musashi through a colleague and one night after work we decided to give it a go. Situated in Eat Paradise, Isetan in One Utama, it is quite hard to identify this particular restaurant because well there are too many Japanese restaurants in that area and there are more than one that sell Ramen. So look out for the entrance, which has the name in Japanese, in stead of English!

We had to order and pay at the front counter before sitting down. And then we sat down and look around and wow~ Such interesting deco! It's basically a Samurai themed restaurant with a lot of cool paintings of Samurais and I was especially amazed by their Samurai lights hanging on the ceiling! They have their branding on all bowls, cutlery and serviettes, which is pretty cool too. The kitchen staffs, who aren't Japanese were yelling some taglines once in maybe every 10 minutes, which is cute even though I have zero idea what's the meaning and whether they even pronounce the Japanese line correctly! 

Good branding and deco speaks volume in food industry nowadays! 

And then came our food... 

The Special Shiro Set! 

My Shiro Ajitama Ramen! Look at the 'kaw kaw' soup! 

You can add curry powder and chili oil if you want to! 

Well the Ramen are differentiate by flavours and ingredients (although they all comes with pork). For instance, spicy or non-spicy and with egg or non-egg. Deardo ordered a Special Shiro Set at RM35. It comes with a Pork Ramen, a Terryiaki Chicken Rice, a salad, Gyoza and green tea. Quite a good deal  if you ask me. I went for a Shiro Ajitama Ramen, which comes with a hard-boiled egg and cost us RM24. Personally, I love the Ramen soup heaps. The thick pork broth and its fragrant made the bowl of Ramen so freaking delicious and unless if you are not a pork person, the bowl of Ramen is really super awesome! I almost finished the entire bowl of soup! The Terryiaki Chicken Rice was yummy too though not the best I've had lar. The Gyoza was just so-so. 

We had a satisfying dinner, that's for sure! :)

The bill came up to RM70.75, including green tea, service charge and government tax. While I think the portion aren't as big as the one at Santouka, there isn't anything else I would complain about the Ramen here. Plus, it is also slightly cheaper to eat here! So I'm definitely going back to try out maybe the spicy Ramen and also their very special dry Ramen! To those pork Ramen fans, here's another place you shouldn't miss!

Menya Musashi Ramen

2nd Floor,

Eat Paradise

Isetan Bandar Utama City Centre

Go Watch Warm Bodies!

Hi all!
Been pretty busy at work but sometimes at night or over the weekends fortunately, I got to catch some movies and I've been keeping those reviews for a while now. Time to share!

Life of Pi
I shall skip the storyline here cos I think most of you know (if you've seen it or read the book) or refuse to know (because you haven't watch the movie or read the book). Life of Pi is a beautiful movie, and by beautiful I mean the story, cinematography and C.G.
Obviously the story is very imaginary and fictional that I won't normally buy but the message behind the story is good and the way it was presented was brilliant! I mean, I must really salute Ang Lee for making a relationship between a human and a tiger so touching that it made me teared so much (p/s: even Deardo teared a little)! I think that's called Ang Lee's magic touch -- he always make characters so lovable, even when it is a fierce and dangerous animal like a tiger. 
Although everything looks and sounds so fictional, the C.G. was very well done! Amazingly real-looking tiger (which I heard was doTne by a group of Malaysians, well done guys!) and super gorgeous scenes and effects... Contributed well to a very nice movie well done.
Now that I've watched Life of Pi, I actually think it should be the winner of Best Film at the Oscars rather than Argo. But then again, the Americans always love all these heroic themed movies wurt! Anywayz, this is definitely a movie worth watching!

Django Unchained
I'm not a very Quentin Tarantino fan but as I watched the bits of the movies at the Oscars I thought hey the movie sounds cool now! So I took up the challenge to watch this freaking 2-hour-plus long movie...
No doubt, it has one of coolest script-writing I've ever seen. So quirky, cool and hilarious at times. Plus, the story, which happened in 1858 where Blacks are still considered slaves in the U.S. shows how the underdog rises is kinda like you know the 'Shirlexia type of movie'. It is definitely quite entertaining BUT urm, seriously a bit too long that I had to even fast forward a little...
The movie has a wonderful cast too in the likes of Christoph Waltz (undeniably great in this movie), Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington. I especially love the final scenes where Jamie Foxx bomb up Leonardo DiCaprio's (yes Leo is in it too!) house and Kerry Washington was waiting outside... Fuuuhhh... The scene was like so grand, cool and funny at the same time!
Oh yea, love the old school cowboy music too!
If the movie can be slightly shorter it would be perfectly perfect!

Zero Dark Thirty
Also another freaking long movie! Aarrrhhh...
Looking at the synopsis, I thought it was going to be a 2.5 hours movie with a lot of talking (or screaming) and Middle Eastern music playing at the back. But to my (or Deardo and I) surprise, the movie is pretty interesting and pretty action-packed.
As audience, I think Deardo and I really enjoyed the fact that although Maya (the main character) is fictional, all the happenings and incidents in the movie were actually based on true story. From 911 to the blast in London, etc, made us so wanted to refresh ourselves on the terrorist attacks that have happened over the past few years. Up till the final scenes where they decided to just check-into the house and kill Osama bin Laden, we were really holding our nerves watching it! It's like watching CSI or something, tracking from some lead to another lead until they finally got it right! So kan cheong!
I would like to pay my respect to Kathryn Bigelow because I think it is super cool for a woman to direct such a war/action/controversy movie. Seriously, that woman rocks! Jessica Chastain rocks too but yeah I don't really think that was her best performance, yet.
While there were some torturing scenes which I don't fancy watching at all, the movie is really entertaining and not boring at all despite its length. A movie you shouldn't miss!

Warm Bodies
Oh come on, Shirlexia watching a zombie-human love story? You gotta be kidding me!
Trust me, this is waaaaaaaaaaay better and waaaaaaaay less cheesy than Twilight ok! I think the story is quite a fresh breath of air to the current zombie/vampires craze as it actually let us see everything from a zombie's perspective. Seriously, this is the first time there is a movie where a zombie is the main guy and you have him telling you about his story, about the zombies around and how he fell in love with a girl. The script was hilarious and sarcastic! Love every bit of it!
But you know what, the most awesome thing about the movie gotta be the OST! Both the original scores and the oldies that they chose to use for the movie are like super nice!!! 
I am loving Nicholas Hoult a lot now cos he is the most geeky, cool and funny zombie I've ever seen! He makes me feel like having a zombie bf isn't too bad at all! :p
If you want me to rate this movie, it is going to be a sure 5/5 man!
(You know what it means when almost the entire review is in red right? :p)

G.I. Joe
Er nothing really special about the movie, honestly!

This Must be the Place
Very artsy kinda movie which is a bit odd yet can be quite sarcastically funny. Still, Sean Penn and Francis McDormand were awesome in it!

Done!
To close the blog post, I've decided to share one of the tracks from Warm Bodies that is one of my favourites now... Enjoy! :)

The Evolution of My Voul-au-vent

I ran out of bread for breakfast for a few days and suddenly a light bulb just popped-up over my head from the brilliant part of my brain... I still have leftover puff pastry from the Christmas party last year! I made the Voulauvent pastry late at night and used them for breakfast over two days with different fillings, which are certainly super easy to make compared to my Seafood Voulauvent!

The Egg, Ham and Corn Mayo Voulauvent

I made the filling a day before to make sandwich so these were leftover which I kept in the fridge. Super easy to make. Just boil some eggs and mash them, add in some pre-boiled frozen corn, cut ham pieces, chopped onions (trust me, onions make the filling extra nice) then pour in some mayo and mix well. Add pepper and light soya sauce to taste, then sprinkle some paprika/curry powder to sort of garnish it a bit. 

 The Smoked Salmon Voulauvent

This is a totally lazy and random recipe and it was really a gamble cos I didn't know how it would taste like when I was making it! Usually I think people will use cream to make the dressing but I was lazy and didn't have cream at home anyway. So all I did was... Cut the smoked salmon into strips, add in some alfafa, pour some ranch dressing onto them and mix well. I added some coarse black pepper and chopped parsley to taste and that's it! 

It would be useless if I praise my creations myself but Deardo who took a break from oats because I was making all these breakfast for him love them heaps! Even the smoked salmon one which I did for the very first time! So the Deardo is happy and the home chef is happy too! :)

HAPPY WEEKEND GUYS!!! :D

Breakkie @ Antipodean Cafe, Bangsar (Finally!)

I have been wanting to pay Antipodean Cafe a visit for a long long time, ever since everyone has been saying how much they enjoy the food (which is supposed to be Aussie) there and how crowded it could be especially during weekends for breakfast. So, I finally made it there and it kinda like the time to decide if it is overrated or is it really that good! *stretch fingers~*

Deardo and I arrived at the cafe around 12pm after being refused entrace at Grand Imperial, BSC so naturally I was quite worry that it will take us a while until we can get a table for our late brunch. Luckily we got our table in less than 10 minutes. 

You get to read Aussie and UK newspapers here! 

Fresh flowers freshen up the dining table.

The cafe has quite a cool but simple design which I really like but Deardo and I both have a little problem with the 'very green' menu - they wrote everything on a blackboard and it can be very difficult to see it when you are sitting outside. We had to literally walked into the cafe to choose what we want to eat from the long list of choices they have. 

Choose your dish from the big-ass menu!

Well, since they are well known for their breakfast, Deardo and I decided to stick to that. I had the All Day Breakfast with Bacon and Deardo had the Big Breakfast with Sausage. Just to try out something different, we ordered a Mixed Salad with Cous Cous to share. Drinks are not included with the breakfast so we had to order drinks separately.

Big Breakfast with pork or chicken sausage at  RM19.

All Day Breakfast with Bacon at RM19.

Mixed Salad with Cous Cous at RM18.

Iced Latte at RM10.

Cappucino at RM9.

We were both very impressed at how fast their service is. It is quite obvious their items for the breakfast are pre-cooked to answer the high demand during the peak hours. Okay, now the verdict... Both breakfast are super big in portion and I think in a way worth the price, which is a very reasonable RM19. I personally love the bread, sauteed mushrooms and the very special (I suspect handmade) hash brown.The hash brown is really different compared to commercialised frozen ones and I think they added mustard seeds or something which made it really yummy! I'm not a fan of the whole load of very plain-tasting baked beans and the bacons which I prefer them to be crispier.The salad was average lar, nothing special except for the few pieces of cheese which I literally eat them all up without thinking much of the calories factor. :p

I looked too excited compared to Deardo? Ha...

The total bill, including service charge came up to RM82.50, which I supposed still slightly cheaper compared to other more commercialised cafes. Taste wise, it's not the best breakfast I've ever had yet I would definitely go back for the hash brown and the bread. We were both super full too after the meal so I think it was very much value for money. Overall, I wouldn't scream out and say hey Antipodean has the best breakfast but it is quite a good and reasonable option! Be there earlier though! :) 

Antipodean Cafe

No. 20, Jalan Telawi 2,

Bangsar, 59100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2282 0411

Looking Back...

I have been collecting some old photos at home over the past two trips home in preparation for a possible slides video for our wedding. It always make me laugh looking at those old photos (actually I always laugh at my sisters' photos instead of myself lar, haha). 

Such a poser, thank to my 4e and Ah Ku! 

The truth is when I was in high school, I didn't know how to appreciate everything I had back then and was a very rebellious girl and looking back, I know I was very silly. I actually grew up in a family full of love, care and laughter not only from Papo and Mamo but from my aunts, uncle and cousins. That is why nowadays I find that my sisters and I laugh at every tiny matter super easily! I think that is cool cos that just made us all very happy-go-lucky and could find happiness the simplest way! In other words, we have more positive energy than others! :)

I certainly went through different stages of fashion sense... LOL! 

When I was still quite slim and Ducum was so big! Check out the stuff I've added on my t-shirt myself! Didn't I tell you I wanted to be a fashion designer back then???

I truly enjoyed my childhood and if I could turn back time, I'll probably want to be less rebellious and be closer to Papo, especially. He has been there for me when I needed money, when I was so stubborn about studying overseas he gave up a lot of stuff to send me off (knowing the risk is to see me not returning from Australia), and was even there for me when I was a silly crazy fan who wanted to travel to see my favourite swimmer back then! I can never really utter how much I am thankful to have him or how much I love him because you know, it's just not what we typical Chinese children do. So yea, Papo, I know you know can already lar! :)

Phew, I see part of my wedding speech done! LOL!

Back when we were younger Mamo would buy birthday cake for Papo and we would make birthday cards for him and in turns Mamo never had any birthday cake! LOL!

Since it is such a random post, I'll just share more random photos of myself more recently... 

Photos from Sin Fei's wedding photographer and hey I think  the Miss Emcee looks good! :p

Very recent photo of me at work with my students who were the emcees of the night.

Have a good weekend ahead guys! :D

Dinner the Old School Way @ Sek Yuen Restaurant

Few months back after cousin Sin Fei's wedding, she and Ivan and the families had a thank you a.k.a farewell dinner for some family members before they flew back to Perth. Yea I know right? This is so extremely outdated! :S

Anywayz, before I open my mouth open my claws and type about how work and other commitments have taken up my blogging time, let's move on to the happier note of having free dinner at Sek Yuen Restaurant, a restaurant that I heard is about 60 plus years old! And sadly, I have not even heard of them before! What a terrible food lover am I? Gah...

The entire restaurant looks damn old school! I can imagine this is the kind of restaurant my parent had their wedding banquet at, all the neon lights, old school staircase and old school tables and chairs! Even their staff are middle-aged poeple! They all suddenly look so cute to me! 

I was very fascinated by the staircase and chairs!

Since it was a free dinner, all dishes were pre-ordered so we just basically came all the way to Pudu to wallup all the food! :)

Five Happiness to start the dinner with.

Very different looking shark fin soup.

Roast Duck.

Stir-fried Kailan with Sang Cheong (Intestines).

Sweet & Sour Pork for the ang mo-ish Ivan. Ha! 

Some chicken.

Steamed fish with ginger. 

Stir-fried Yao Mak that Deardo can make better one. 

The Five Happiness comes in an old school way, or at least that was what Sin Fei's FIL said. Supposedly not many restaurants out there nowadays make the Five Happiness entirely a cold plate. So yes something different and I must say, quite delicious too. The Shark Fin Soup here is also very interesting as I've never seen any shark fin soup looking and tasting like the one at Sek Yuen before this. In stead of a clear or slightly dark coloured soup, this one is in white like it is mix with milk! Well, whatever colour it is, it tastes fantastic! In fact, I think that was the best shark fin soup I've ever tried in my life! Think about how the best shark fin soup can be found in a not-so-5-star looking restaurant! 

My other favourite dish of the night has to be the Stir-Fried Kailan with Intestines (Sang Cheong). Forgive me if I'm being Suaku but that was the first time I've seen anything like that and it is freaking yummy! Love how the intestines tastes so crunchy yet you can feel they were all cleaned throughout! Yummy and unforgettable!!! 

Nop, the one at the right isn't Papo! 

The roast duck and Sweet and Sour Pork were pretty good too but the rest of the dishes were just average. 

I obviously didn't pay for the meal so I don't know how much was the meal but I must say I really enjoyed the meal a lot! The entire old school atmosphere and the very interesting yet home-cooked style of cooking really made the whole experience a cool one! If it is not the parking problem, I think I would love to go back to Sek Yuen soon to try their other dishes too! :)

Just to proof I was there! 

Sek Yuen Restaurant

No. 313-1 & 315,

Jalan Pudu,

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-9222 9457, 9222 9457