Happy New Year 2015

"But in Malaysia, a sombre mood prevailed after the crash of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 carrying 162 people in Indonesia and flooding in the country's northeast which has displaced almost 250,000 people.

Year-end countdown celebrations have been cancelled, with many companies instead launching fundraising campaigns for flood victims."

- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/world/sydney-spectacular-leads-global-new-year-celebrations#sthash.K2XGj56x.dpuf

Samba Brazillian Buffet @ Avenue K

My cravings for good beef, lamb and seafood was satisfied with a trip to Samba in Avenue K. Samba is a new Brazillian buffet restaurant recently open at the 3rd Floor in Avenue K.

The 3rd floor is like a hidden treasure for food because you cannot see this floor from the Ground level. *thats why level 3 toilets are the best to use because its so clean!*

My usual haunts in Avenue K are the gym, Sushi Zanmai, MBG and the food court, Taste Enclave. Would you believe I have been having Sushi Zanmai on a weekly basis since it opened few months back.

Samba - quite expensive. Dinner cost rm100 and it does not include drinks. A glass of water cost rm15! For that buffet pricetag, it would be a once a tear occasion or once in a blue moon. 

The service was very good. The concept of the buffet- there were plenty of choices  on the buffet table ranging from cold seafood luke crabs, prawns, oysters and mussles, a variety of salad, fruits, desserts, soup, pasta, paella etc.

As for the meat like chicken, beef and lamb, a waiter comes around to your table to personally carve slices of meat of your choice for you. One slice may seem little and measly, but a combination of slices of meat was really filling. 

Ideally, this buffet is best to be eaten during dinner because too much meat makes us sleepy and you can spend plenty of time slowly enjoying the food. They also have an option for lunch buffet which consist of just meat, no sushi. Thats fine with me too coz the sushi did not really look good.

Overall, it was an enjoyable affair :)

Fresco, Jaya Grocer @ Intermark/ Double tree KL

I found out that I could go to Jaya Grocer in Intermark to buy fresh salmon or lamb or beef and have it cooked at Fresco. Fresco is a small restaurant located just outside the main entrance of Jaya Grocer. To get fresh salmon cooked on the spot With NO extra charges is a great deal!

Example: I buy a salmon from Jaya Grocer which cost rm21 and I get that exact portion cooked with no extra charge. We all know how measly portions in restaurants can be when it comes to serving salmon and lamb.

I also ordered something off the menu in Fresco - Aglio Oglio. It had beef bacon in it which was too salty to my liking but the spaghetti was reallllllly good.

This is my 2014 highly recommended place to have salmon and lamb and pasta :)

Bubba Gump Shrimp @ The Curve

Onion tower had too thick batter.

Bucket of fries, lobster, shrimp amd fish. Alll fried.

First time at Bubba Grump Shrimp and I regret choosing those two dishes because it was all fried stuff. But it did taste good if u r a fried food lover.

Mentaiko Spider Roll @ Sushi Zanmai

Sushi Zanmai is still my favourite restaurant for Japanese food! A must have - mentaiko spider roll

Urbean @ Avenue K

If you have not checked out Avenue K, you should. They have completely revamped the place and there are plenty more interesting shops than before. Previously, their concept was for the rich. Currently, the shops are more affordable such as Sushi Zanmai, Daiso, Nichii, H&M, FOS, Cotton On and others. Even their supermarket called Presto is not that expensive. 

There are a few restaurants located at the  Concourse level like Noodle Shack, Miso Korean BBQ, Expresso Lab, Old Chang Kee, The Loaf and Urbean.

I have tried Noodle Shack and Miso, but They were not to my liking.

Urbean's concept reminds me of Plan B. The menu is short and simple. I liked that they have smoked salmon in their menu at an affordable price.

Urbean's menu:

I had smoked salmon sandwich with their gourmet bread. Their gourmet bread was walnut bread. It was sooooo good omg that I gobbled up everything in a jiffy and I wanted more!! The layer of chives with cream cheese was amazing :)

I have been shopping at H n M more of late because of their buy 1 free 1 shirts which are good for gym.

Election 2013

I think I felt the passion of the Malaysian people much more than I ever did in previous elections. Not only the old, but the young were standing out too to fight for what they want. Isn't that what a democratic country is all about?

When I was in USA, my American friends were so passionate about the parties they wanted to vote for. They were so involved and knowledgable about political issues going on in their country while for me, I stayed away from politics just because politics is dirty everywhere. It did amaze me that american students in high school and colleges were holding conversations on politics and their opinions mattered. There were also plenty of American homes with American flags hoisted at the front of their houses the entire year, not just during Independence day or election time. How many Malaysian homes put up the Malaysia flag at any other times except Merdeka Day?

I never had interest in politics or election. Election every five years would just pass me by. I wouldnt even read the newspapers about what happened during the previous elections or the outcome of it. But, I guess because of technology -facebook and blogs- there has been so much input and opinions about the election, that its hard not to know at least the gist of what has happened. Its been long known that whatever has been written in our local newspapers were being controlled by the present gov. So, some facts may not be entirely correct. I know of people who have stopped buying newspapers just because of that.

All I am trying to say is that Eventhough I am far away, to be able to feel the vibe of what the people went through this time was encouraging and shows there is still a chance for change, just not this year.

Statistically, it was a pretty close fight.

One change I really want is to be known only as a Malaysian with equal rights, not chinese/indian/muslim Malaysians. I have had Scottish people asking me why We have to be so specific about our race when we were all born in the same country and hold the same colour passports. The People in Singapore are Singaporeans and in Indonesia are Indonesians. No further segregation needed. Also, opportunities should be based on knowledge and capabilities instead of racial quotas. Then, just maybe, more people will proudly hang the Malaysian flags outside their homes instead of the white-green flag or blue flag.

Miss Malaysia 2013

Have you seen our Miss Malaysia 2013, Carey Ng? I must say, she is pretty attractive. Unlike the previous Miss Malaysia winners, I only needed one glance at her to go 'Wow'.
Checkout her facebook page for more info.

Lululemon Malaysia by Lululemon Athletica

I have been mentioning Lululemon a couple of times in Facebook in the past hour. If you have not heard of Lululemon, it is because that brand has not penetrated the Malaysian market yet.

Fret not, because Lululemon Athletica is bringing Lululemon yogawear to Malaysia for a limited time only. This limited offer also comes with free delivery from Canada.

All you have to do is:
Place your orders by 2nd March 2013 and get free delivery. Mail to: athleticakl@gmail.com
You will receive your delivery in April 2013.

You can also follow Lululemon Malaysia on instagram: @lululemonmalaysia

What you should know:
You should know that Lululemon originated from Canada and right now, if you were to google 'Lululemon', you will see many pictures of ladies proudly posing with their Lululemon purchases. It is really the in thing right now in Canada and United States to own a Lululemon. So, why not grab the chance to own one.. Since it also comes with free delivery all the way from Canada, I would say that is a good bargain. You have noticed that the price is quite high, but thats because Lululemon is a very high end brand in Vancouver.

Why buy a Lululemon?
Just by looking at the pictures, you can see how it will accentuate your assets and make you feel good about yourself. Well, I have been told it does not really accentuate till you look too sexy or slutty. Everything just falls perfectly into place. A perfect fit.

Besides that, I loved the idea of a pocket with zip for the skirt and also a small pocket to keep your gym locker key when you wear a Lululemon sports bra.

The price is steep as the material is good and it was specially made for exercise. They have a few range where the material does not make you feel drenched in sweat after exercising. In addition, a friend who owned her Lululemon top for five years says it still looks brand new after so many wears. It does not shrink or becomes fuzzy after wash. The colour does not fade too.

So, order by 2nd March 2013 and judge for yourself. I believe the amount of people who have purchased one, came back for more after that :p

Star Trek Exhibition at The Science Centre

The Star Trek exhibition held at Bukit Kiara Science Centre ends on the first week of April. So, be sure to add this to your diary :)

My sister told me about the exhibition and told me to promote to my friends in KL. But, I did not because it is Star Trek. I am not a Star Trek fan to begin with. So, how was I to promote something when I have no interest with it ;p

Firstly, if you have not met my sister and want to meet her, then go to exhibition because she works there :):)

Look at that cool bubble my sister made!!

Secondly, it cost only RM20 per entry. My other sister from Canada says it cost 20Cad in Canada to see the exhibition there. So, it is cheap in KL, why not go. (If you cannot afford RM20, then go and play Phewtick. I am sure by April you will earn RM20 :P:P)

Thirdly, my family went to the Star Trek exhibition few days ago and I wished I was there after I saw the photos. The things I saw in the exhibition looked cool! Below are pictures taken during the exhibition I took from my sister's facebook.

I have nothing else to talk about the exhibition because I am not there.. Except, some people like my mum, will confuse Star Trek with Star Wars :P:P:P My mum says it is interesting...

Pulau Langkawi vacation 2012 (Part 1)

**I started off writing about my four day trip to Pulau Langkawi and in the end realised, I had too much to write about it till I have to split the post into parts. This is Part 1. I have so much to share and so many lovely memories in this island that it seemed like a waste to just have it etched in my memory and not on my blog.**

Almost every year I hope for a trip to Pulau Langkawi and I am glad to be able to make a trip there ever so often. Its like a getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city because Langkawi has no traffic jams, no congestion and its just rows and rows of greens. No, the island does not have nice beaches - the not-as-clear-as Redang's seawater and Langkawi's sand on the beach are not as soft as Redang Island's one. Its more like millions of tiny stones. But, I'd still rather make a trip to Langkawi than Penang, Malacca or Port Dickson.

Getting there:

This time round I took a flight to Langkawi Island with Air Asia. The ticket price was not as cheap as the first time I flew there because I booked quite late and it was a school holiday. So, rule number 1 to save travelling cost is to book early! Since it was only two people going to Langkawi, taking a flight would be a bit cheaper than driving. Of course, it also saves travelling time. I would have preferred to fly with Berjaya Air since their departure airport is much nearer than LCCT, but their airport tax was so high that the ticket totaled up to not being that worth it after all.

The one hour flight to Langkawi was a bliss. No crying babies. No stinky people. No kiasu people. And I offered help to an old lady in the plane to put her luggage in the compartment. She was like "Its so heavy because its 7kg." I was like okaayyy, prepping myself mentally to carry 7kg but sheesh, it was sooooo NOT 7kg. It was much much lighter!

Accommodation:

When I stay in Langkawi, I would either stay at Leisure Holidays Apartments or Berjaya Resort. Berjaya Resort, which is obviously a better choice is always fully book and needs advance booking. But, I was in luck to stay in Berjaya Resort this time. There are pros and cons to staying in a hotel than an apartment. One mainly being there are no cooking facilities in the hotel unlike at the apartment. Anyway, staying at Berjaya Langkawi Resort is always an amazing experience. I have stayed there a number of times and it is this resort that makes Langkawi so lovely to stay.

*the word 'lovely' was never part of my vocabulary until I stepped foot on Scottish soil......

A better glimpse of Berjaya Langkawi Resort is in my previous blog post.

Transportation in Langkawi:

I was a bit worried about car rentals in Langkawi because it was a school holiday. I learnt from my previous experience of travelling to Langkawi during a school holiday that:

- A road trip to Langkawi means getting stuck in horrendous traffic jam, bumper to bumper crawl on the highway.

- Car rental prices were hiked up by Langkawi rental companies because it is peak season. One experience I had was when I arrived at Langkawi's Jetty and one of the car company charged RM120 daily rental for a proton saga and we tried to bargain but all he said in Malay was, "If you do not want it, I can easily get another customer." At that time, the other rental companies were charging the same price too. So, we reluctantly rented the car.

So, being a bit more experienced, I tried googling car rental companies or see if other travellers had recommendations on how to rent cars at affordable prices in Pulau Langkawi. I managed to get two mobile numbers of two rental companies and I called them to ask their prices. One was RM120 and the other RM140. I even enquired at Berjaya Langkawi resort and it was RM150 and they wanted to charge more if I wanted them to send it to the airport! It wasn't cheap to arrange a guest hotel pick-up from the airport or hire a cab. I finally gave up on trying to find a cheaper alternative and I was prepared to fork out that amount for car rental when I reached the island.

Alas, when I told my dad about it, he called his friend who was a frequent traveller to Langkawi and he advised me that it was easier to bargain when I am at the airport. Bargaining over the phone does not work. Hence, with 'positiveness' I arrived at the Langkawi airport and there were so many car rental to choose from -Left, Right, Center! I have rented an Avanza before at the airport the last time I went to Langkawi with my friends and I managed to bargain my way to a very decent rental deal. As I stood in front of all the car rental companies with all those rental people screaming for my attention, I opted for the company that was most isolated. I mean, IT WAS still Malaysia. Usually, even in KL, the more famous a shop is, the more expensive it was. So, I went to the row of rental companies on my far right. Lol behold, they were indeed 'desperate' to rent. It was an added bonus too when my partner and I both knew how to drive manual cars. RM150 for three days for a viva manual.

A funny thing was while we were waiting for out car to arrive, we realised that the two other groups that rented after us received their cars first. We were a bit worried what happened. We waited for like 25 minutes for our car. It did dawn on us that since our car was a manual, not many visitors to the island chose manuals to drive. Therefore, our car was parked really inside, blocked by other auto cars. When the lady who rented us the car told us the the car was less than one year old, it was hard to believe to. But, it was believable when we saw the car mileage which was less than 5000. I was satisfied.

Food:

Food are abundant in Langkawi. Rootian Restaurant was the recommended chinese restaurant where they serve really good crayfish. Well, I didn't have a taste of Rootian this trip. We get free Langkawi maps at the airport. On the map, it stated the location of the pasar malam and there were pasar malam every night! So, daily dinner was settled ;)

Langkawi's Pasar Malam (Night market) daily locations:

Monday - Jalan Makam Mahsuri Lama (off Ulu Melaka)

Tuesday - Kedawang

Wednesday - Kuah

Thursday - Bohor Tempoyak (off Pantai Cenang)

Friday - Padang Lalang (Near Tanjung Rhu)

Saturday - Kuah

Sunday - Padang Matsirat (1km from Airport)

Day 1's lunch was KFC. We were pretty hungry, after getting our car, there was a KFC at Telaga Harbour, on the way to Berjaya Langkawi Resort. Berjaya Langkawi Resort is located 5 minutes away from Telaga Harbour aka Harbour Park. The KFC chicken tasted really good. I had a lunch plate which consisted of two pieces of chicken. I was full after the first piece. Somehow, the pieces of chicken were bigger than the ones in KL. We tapao-ed the leftover chicken. Then, for dinner we went to a pasar malam at Padang Lalang. We bought satay, rambutan and mangosteen. We ate in the comfort of our hotel room.

On Day 2, we ate at The Loaf Bakery for lunch. Since TF hasn't tried The Loaf in Langkawi and KL, I decided to bring him to The Loaf at Telaga Harbour. Outside The Loaf you can see a row of sailboats parked. Some looked extravagant. Some were available for rent. I did do some raving reviews on The Loaf in Pavillion. I have dined at The Loaf in Langkawi a couple of times too. But, this time round, I was dissapointed with the food. We ordered a sandwich, crayfish bisque and tomato spaghetti.

The Loaf's Club Sandwich. This sandwich makes you full, but RM22 for this kind of sandwich.. uhmmm

Chunky Chicken pasta. It is tomato based. I had a taste of it in Pavillion before and it was to my liking before due to the bland taste and it still wasn't my favourite this time round.

The Laof's crayfish bisque was supposed to be the highlight of the meal because that tasted so fantastic the last time I tried it years ago when I was there. Unfortunately, this time round it had a bitter taste, like it was burnt. It definitely did not taste or look like the crayfish bisque I used to have years ago. If I could find the crayfish bisque picture last and compare it, there will be obvious differences. RM25

Day 2 and Day 3 we had lunch at a Thai Restaurant at Kuah Town. For the life of me I cannot remember the name of the restaurant. All I recall was that it was located on the same row as Maybank, but the next block. Its a corner shop and its walking distance to Plaza Langkawi shopping mall. I really wanted Thai food when I was in Langkawi because I knew the Thai food would be good since Thailand is located near Langkawi. I have tried Barn Thai and Wan Thai restaurant on my previous trips. This time on Day 2, before we began our shopping at Kuah Town, we stumbled upon a Thai restaurant. I am really guessing its called Thai Town, Thai Seafood Restaurant. I tried to google but almost all the reviews were about Wan Thai Restaurant.

Anyway, the Thai food there was so delicious that we went there again for lunch on Day 3. On Day 2, we ordered Red Tom yam seafood and salted egg squid. It was just as snack since we ate at The Loaf before that. I only took a picture of whatever was left after we finished because I was really enjoying the meal till I forgot to take pictures.

The aftermath of gobbling down delicious Thai food in Langkawi

On Day 3, we came back for lunch and ordered the Red Tom Yam Seafood again, fried squid and dried chilli crayfish. This time round I did take pictures.

Red Tom Yam Seafood - Consist of squids, fish, prawns, tomatoes drowned with red, spicy , sour tom yam. It was really spicy because I asked for extra spicy. Spicy but delicious!

Fried squid- Tastefully fried till crispy on the putside and soft on the inside

Dried chilli crayfish - Was good but not fabulous. In my opinion, Rootian restaurant's crayfish dish tasted better.

On the Second day, I have been looking forward to head to Tanjung Rhu for a really good nasi lemak. I stumbled upon this delicious nasi lemak when I was in Langkawi 6 six years ago. At that time my dad was having a meeting at Four Seasons Hotel. So, after dropping off my dad at that hotel, we took a drive to Tanjung Rhu beach, situated nearby the Four Seasons Hotel. The first time I had the nasi lemaks, it was 7am in the morning. The shop is more like a shack because its dark. Somehow they never turn on the lights in their shop. It doesn't really give a first good impression. But, their nasi lemak bungkus, which cost RM1 was the bomb! Its a hard to resist craving I cannot get enough of.

The yummy nasi lemak

Tanjung Rhu beach

The place to find good nasi lemak in Langkawi

Day 2's dinner was pasar malam food again. This time we went to Kuah Town's pasar malam. We did see a few familiar foodseller faces that we saw at Padang Lalang's pasar malam. This time we had satay, roti jala and something else I don't remember. Coconut water for Rm1 was a necessity. Near Kuah Town's pasar malam there is a food court where we sat to eat the food we bought. Drink stalls were only open at the food court at that time. After pasar malam, we did go to Langkawi Parade shopping mall, situated near Kuah Town. We parked along the road. There was this burger stall which was really good. It has always been there since I first came to Langkawi. RM4 for a burger was pretty decent. The way it was cooked was also good.

Day 3's lunch was the Thai food. For dinner we could not go to the pasar malam because it was raining cats and dogs. Therefore, we randomly scouted for food. We ended up at Telaga Harbour ordering a pizza. There was this new restaurant called Artisans Pizzeria, which was opened a few months ago at Harbour Park. They do have other branches at Pantain Cenang and Kuah Town. TF was amazed by the generous amount of toppings the pizza chef puts on our pizzas. Artisans Pizzeria do delivery too.

The open concept of the kitchen at Artisans Pizzeria

TF watching the chef in action

Hawaiian Chicken Pizza... so so so delicious

The second pizza we ordered. Don't remember the name, but it was good.

When we were decideing which pizza to order, their sample size of the pizza for 8 inch looked small. But when we received our pizza, it was very filling and satisfying.

Day 4's breakfast was instant noodles before we went to the airport to fly back to KL.

Click: Langkawi Part 2