Matsuya

Located at Jalan Telawi 2 (near Bangsar Village II), this restaurant serves really good Japanese food. Below is my feedback:

Taste – Better than SZ

Food portion - Good

Food variety – Less than SZ

Alcoholic drinks – More than SZ

Price – More pricy than SZ

The cheapest set is around RM30++. All sets come with Japanese style salad, chawan mushi, miso soup and fruits. The bento set (RM50++) portion is quite huge with tempura, sashimi, fish and rice – recommended for 2 pax. Their sashimi is really fresh and sushi is handmade. Simply delicious! They have some other premium and rare dishes in the menu but I did not try.

Highly recommended for Japanese food lovers who doesn’t mind paying a bit more extra.

Note: This restaurant seems to be under the same group as Gin Shui Tei, the Japanese restaurant in Tropicana Golf and Country Resort.

It all starts with the salad and chawanmushi.

The bento set

The bento set

The sushi set

In Memory of May 5th

This is the day which we used to celebrate... shall we meet up dear HDS and ex-HDS?

BlackBall Dessert

Visited this dessert shop @ Jalan Burma (near the Police Station) in March when I was back in Penang. They have several shops/branches in KL as well. BlackBall perhaps is referring to the yam ball dessert which is their signature dish. Customers can choose from a selection of yam balls, potato balls etc. Well I am not a fan of yam and potatoes etc but the balls are chewy and delicious. A good try if you want to go for something different.

PJiuan: You should try since it’s vegetarian J

Soondaeya @ Ampang

Visited this Korean restaurant in Ampang last December after purchasing some Groupon vouchers. As the name “Soondaeya” implies, it is a restaurant specializing in pork intestine cuisine. This shop is located at a “hidden corner” of Ampang, I had difficulty finding this place even with a GPS.

The interior design of the restaurant was simple but cozy. I was rather worried about the type of food that they will be serving so I ordered a pork intestine soup and a fried pork cutlet (donkatsu). The side dishes served were cabbage and radish kimchi. Nothing fancy but the cabbage kimchi was extremely delicious – the best kimchi I ever have! And then came along the pork intestine soup and donkatsu. Well I would not recommend the donkatsu as the meat was quite thin, though the amount was substantial. However the pork intestine soup was quite nice. Yummy~ The price is quite reasonable – starting from RM20+ per dish.

I would strongly recommend this restaurant for those who want to try some authentic Korean food. It is not the type of cuisine that you can get at normal Korean restaurants. After the meal, you can make a visit to the Korean mini mart downstairs to get some soju.

Location: Soon Dae Ya Korean Restaurant, No. 17-L2, Jalan Ampang Putra 6, Ampang Putra, 68000 Ampang, Selangor Darul Ehsan.

Proud to be a Penangite!

Came across this while I was browsing the web – an article titled “Yahoo! Lists Penang among world’s top 10”. Well the article dated back to February last year (Click here to read the article). But yet I feel really proud as a Penangite!

Before leaving Penang for my studies, I took many things for granted – the good food, everywhere is in close proximity, everything is cheap. Penang’s community is very close and helpful. Everyone is somehow related to someone that you know – whether it’s the photoshop owner, the plumber, the hair dresser. If you need recommendations for plumber, you can ask the photoshop owner.

Penang is like an interception of the old and modern. For instance having Komtar, Prangin Mall and 1st Avenue - three shopping malls together (and nearby Gama - an extremely old but still surviving mini mall) and surrounded by pre-war houses. Simply Amazing!  

Not to mentioned – it’s an island with everything you need – hills, beaches, parks, food, water dams, shopping malls, pre-war houses, monkeys, fruit farms, trishaw, ferries, jetty.

House moving

9 months ago I moved to Sri Petaling because of work. 9 months later I am force to move again because the landlord is taking back the house. My new place is also in Sri Petaling, around 5 minutes from my current place. However the process of finding a new place, packing, unpacking and rearranging etc is a headache. Moving from a master bedroom to a medium bedroom, which is around 40% of my current room size is a big challenge. Tonight will be my last night online before moving to the new place. Looking around my room gives me the headache so I decided to blog a bit.  Argh… better start packing again!

April 10th

Below is a narration of an accident happened around 2 weeks ago:

This was the day before the Installation of the New King. I was all set for my trip to Ipoh the next day and about to go to sleep at around 11pm. Suddenly I recalled something which I need to get from the closet, a friend’s wedding present. With the lights off, I climbed onto the chair, searching for the present in the dark. 

Everything went well… until I lost balance and ended up spraining my ankle. Before I could react further, I fell from chair with a loud sound - *bang* on my back. I was able to maintain consciousness and tried to get up on my own. However my first attempt was unsuccessful. Lying down on the floor, I thought of all the worst possibilities. 

Luckily in the end I was able to get up on my own and walked to my bed. However the pain coming from my left leg was extremely painful. Sitting down on my bed, I tried examining my injury by trying to stand straight, but it wasn’t possible. Obviously there was a bone dislocation for my left leg and some pain from my back. Feeling worried, I suddenly recalled about a famous Chinese medicine “sifu” whom a friend talked about some time ago. This “sifu” worked till midnight at times. So immediately I called the friend for rescue. Indeed the “sifu” was still working and tomorrow he’ll be off as it will be a public holiday. I went there at around 2am and surprised to see many customers.  I was one of the last few customers and managed to get my treatment done by around 3am.

I had a good sleep that night – due to the pain from my leg and back, and of course staying up late. My original plan of enjoying the great Ipoh delicacies with friends was ruined due to this incident, which I regret it very much. I can walk normally now, with minor pain from time to time. Some bruises are still noticeable around my ankle but nothing serious. Without my ankle guard, I feel that my leg is going to get disconnected at times.

So lesson learned: Do not attempt dangerous or potentially dangerous moves while you are sleepy and with the lights off.

What do you want in life?

Recently I discussed with many people about this topic and realized that there are many lost souls. So I would like to share my 2 cents.

Most of my friends are in late 20s or early 30s. So what they want in life is normally about career. Many of them are not happy or satisfy with what they are currently doing. Some maybe due to misalignment of expectation and job scope, routine job scope, lack of career advancements options etc

Here are some questions to ponder about.

1) Are you happy/satisfy with your current life?

2) Why you are unhappy/ dissatisfy?

3) Do you know the “secrets” to happiness/ satisfaction?

4) Have you put in efforts or taken steps to achieve happiness/ satisfaction?

The above are relatively simple questions. If you ask a kid these questions they can easily answer you. There is no right or wrong answers. Your desires may change according to age, exposure, experience and so on. Nonetheless you can only be happy and satisfy whe you understand yourself, your desires, how to achieve them and make them happen.

Fear of failure may impede you from moving forward. So be brave and take chances.

Hope this helps.

Bangkok ‘11

Well for many Malaysians visiting to Bangkok is an annual thing. However for me it was a luxury. The reason is because since so many people have been there it is rather hard to find a travel companion. Finally I made my first trip to Bangkok last year. It was a short trip from December 21 to 25 with ten friends. The flight ticket cost me a bomb because it was around Christmas.

Bangkok looks very different from what I had in mind. The highway looks a lot like Malaysia’s, or perhaps the other way round. There are many modern and tall buildings in the city center. The Christmas decorations are very beautiful.

Traffic jams in Bangkok is much terrible than KL, vehicles on the road are hardly move an inch. Traffic jams can also happen at night around 9pm, in some alleys! There are many types of transportation and people there drive like crazy! I am glad to say that we had tried many types of transportation. The worst feeling I got was when taking a truck-like vehicle. I felt like I had been kidnapped and the drivers were sending us off to a land far far away.

Tuk tuk

Tips 1: When you are taking a taxi always ask the driver if they are going using meter. This is because during peak hours some metered taxi may choose to go on non meter.

Tips 2: Do not take trips or travel package from tuk tuk or taxi. It’s not value for money and at times may bring you to some shops or factories. Either take a proper day tour package from agencies or go by public transport and explore on your own.

Don’t judge the food by its appearance when you are in Thailand. Some food may looks non spicy but they are actually very spicy. I was suffering a lot during the trip due to my sensitive tummy. Some of the items on my black list include:

- Coffee – Super bad

- Milk Tea – Super sweet

Recommended restaurants:

- Somtam @ Siam Square Soi 5

- Ruen Mallika Royal Thai Cuisine – High end restaurant serving very delicious food.

- Mango Tango – Serving a varieties of mango dessert @ Siam Square Soi 5

Many commented that KFC in Thailand is very nice but I didn’t get a chance to try it.

Recommended places:

- Grand Palace – Truly royalty. The buildings are like masterpieces!

- Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn)

- Tiger Temple – 2 hours from Bangkok city. It’s more like a reserve forest than temple. Get to see real tigers!

- Platinum Mall – Thailand’s largest fashion mall. Wholesaler for clothes and accessories. Ladies’ heaven. (Tips 3: Can only get discounts here if buying more than one)

- Chatuchak Weekend Market (also known as JJ Market) – Weekend wholesaler covering a huge geography. Can get all sorts of things from clothes, wedding gifts to handicrafts at a cheap price. Quite stuffy and uncomfortable when the weather is hot. (Tips 4: Can easily get lost and hard to return back to the same area. If there is anything you want to buy better buy it fast.)

Tips 5: Only shops with the sign “VAT Refund” will be entitled for VAT Refund at the airport.

Grand Palace

Tiger Temple

Recommended massage center:

Let’s Relax

Overall it was a great outing with friends. Check my FB for more pics.

Germany Part II – Walldorf & Heidelberg

There was a series of meetings from November 29 to December 2. I stayed in Heidelberg but attended meetings in Walldorf. Before the trip I was wondering why I am staying in Heidelberg, which is 20 minutes away from Walldorf. Now I understood the reason behind the arrangements - Walldorf is the home of a multinational software company SAP and there is hardly anything else around there. A lot of SAP employees stay in Heidelberg or other cities near Walldorf.

SAP campus @ Walldorf, Germany

Heidelberg is known as the “twin city” of Cambridge in UK. It is located beside the Neckar River and surrounded by mountains. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, home to the oldest university in Germany and famous for its castle. The buildings in Heidelberg Old Town are very interesting as each of them has a unique design. Due to the limited land, property in Heidelberg is one of the most expensive in Germany. The unemployment rate is 0%.

The Neckar River on a gloomy day

The trip was also a good meeting with my team members and other people whom I closely work with - a fellowship of food, beers and wine. I also met my mentor, Axel and his family on a Sunday.

There are many nice restaurants in Heidelberg Old Town (Altstadt) with beautiful interiors and home-made beer. You will be surprised that a lot of restaurants require booking in advance! To avoid disappointments, better do some proper planning upfront.

Recommended attractions in Heidelberg around November/December are the Heidelberg Castle, Philosopher’s Path (Philosophenweg), the Old Bridge and Christmas Markets.

The Old Bridge

The famous monkey at the Old Bridge

Christmas Markets are only available around November and December in Germany. It is a German tradition. The ones in Heidelberg Old Town is the best I came across due to a number of reasons – each stall is well decorated, it is surrounded by historical buildings and it is not too crowded. After a meal or shopping you can take a stroll around Old Town or along the Neckar River.

With colleagues at Heidelberg's Christmas Market

For the Heidelberg Castle, you can either take a 10 mins walk from Corn Market (Kornmarkt) or take the funicular train. Note: The entrance fee of Heidelberg Castle also includes entrance to the Pharmacy Museum. From the Heidelberg Castle you can have a very nice view of the Old Town, the Church, the Christmas Market and the Old Bridge. There is a Christmas Market at the Heidelberg’s Castle Garden on December 1-4, the perfect place to enjoy a splendid night view of Heidelberg Old Town and Castle from the Castle Garden with a cup of mulled/ hot wine!

The famous Heidelberg Castle

Inside Heidelberg Castle

Snapshots of the Pharmacy Museum

Night view of Heidelberg from Heidelberg Castle's garden.

If you want to have a nice view of Heidelberg Old Town, the Old Bridge and Heidelberg Castle across the Neckar River, then Philosopher’s Path (Philosophenweg) is the place. Walk across the Old Bridge from the Old Town and you will see a traffic light with some huge bungalows. Cross the road and you will see a small signboard to the Philosopher’s Path. It’s kind of hidden and it seems to be very quiet most of the time. Nonetheless a good place to get a nice view of Heidelberg.

At the beginning of the Philosopher's Path

View from the Philosopher's Path