"Ponteng kerja"

Today reminded me one of the good 'ol days during my sophomore year in college. I still remember joining some of my friends once in a blue moon to skip classes cuz the tutoring sessions were sometimes pointless & boring. We would catch a short movie in the cinema or just plain hanging out at nearby cafes with hopes that the tutor wouldn't see us loitering around.

How does my good memories relate to today, you wonder? Well, I sprained my right wrist without realising when & how it happened. For all I know, there was a slight pain yesterday morning but I ignored it & carried on with my weekly household chores. Early this morning, a sharp pain hit me hard & woke me up abruptly from my slumber. I felt numbness all over my wrist & could barely bend it nor open any door. Indeed I was struggling to endure the pain at work.

I took half day off & waited for WL to fetch me to the doctor's. It was a very sweet gesture from him making an effort to take emergency leave just to accompany me to the clinic. =) Visit at the doctor's only lasted slightly more than 30 minutes & we were left with nothing to do. Here's the fun part...instead of resting at home, we headed straight to Tropicana City Mall for a movie! Both of us could've return to the office but our procrastination got the better of us. =P This was one of those mischievious things that I've done with WL & it sure is great fun. XD

Malay chick-lits

I was never a fan of Malay books all these years. The last book I read was Bukit Kepong & Konserto Terakhir in preparation for SPM exam. Even then, I didn't finish the book & ended up reading the summarised version with ready-made exam questions. It takes a lot of effort to appreciate Malay literature, what more with an uninviting & poorly designed book cover.

Until recently while shopping with WL for his niece's birthday gift, I chanced upon a corner at MPH displaying chick-lit books written by local authors. Little did I expect that their cover designs have improved tremendously over the years. It's not like that the designers have any sense of originality to their designs as most of the designs are copied in a similar fashion from English chick-lit books. Well, at least they have a sense of creativity to actually copy someone better... =P

Tempted, I bought one of the book titled Renda Labuci Biru. If you observe carefully, the cover has been treated with matt finishing & the book title is embossed with spot UV. Now that is quite pretty for a Malay book cover.

On the inside front & back cover, there're images that can be cut out to be used as bookmark.

The book even has border designs in every page! Now that's tacky. -.-"

Nevertheless, the book seemed interesting cuz it has diagrams & images which are relevant to the storyline. I haven't had the time to read yet but I'm guessing the storyline will be a typical one. Will update this space soonest & I shall have my verdict.

Restoran Fu Gua Thong, Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park

Lately, Me & WL have been running out of ideas on where to have our dinners each Saturday. For a change, WL took me & his parents a little further from his home to try out this restaurant reknown for its bitter gourd soup. It's called Restoran Fu Gua Thong situated at Kuchai Lama.

Customers usually order the popular bitter gourd soup with pork or intestines. Considering WL's mum is a vegetarian, we opted for pork-free version of the soup.

The abscence of pork made the soup filled with strong bitterness from the bitter gourds. The bitter after taste lingered longer than how I expected it but the soup still tasted alright. Next, we ordered a pork dish cooked in kung po style & stir-fry mushrooms for the benefit of WL's mum. Both dishes tasted equally good, I must admit.

The last dish was my favourite cuz the sauce blended so well with the fish. I'm not exactly sure how to describe this dish in English but I can tell that it's another type of steamed fish. Really yummy~ =D

Frankly speaking, the price was a little expensive than what we've anticipated. This could be mainly due to the fish but we thought the price wouldn't differ much if we forgo the fish at the beginning. The restaurant is definitely worth the try but I doubt it would warrant a 2nd visit.

Address:
Restoran Fu Gua Thong
Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park
58200 Kuala Lumpur

Johnny English Reborn

One glance at this poster, one would immediately relate Rowan Atkinson aka Mr Bean to a slapstick humourist or someone who happens to have a hilarious face performing ridiculously stupid actions, stunts, facial expressions etc...you name it.

If it wasn't for WL, there's no way I would watch Johnny English Reborn in the cinema. Most of the comedies or parodies, in my opinion, is a waste of my time & money. I decided to give this movie a chance since I was immensely stressed the whole week & didn't even find time to release it. After all, it was a public holiday & I should let loose a little bit.

I'd have to thank my baby for proposing this movie. Not that he knew it would be so entertaining, but I was glad the movie came at the right time for him to suggest watching it when I needed something less serious. Love you babe! =)

For those of you who with opinions that Rowan Atkinson's jokes & antics are getting a little dated, not really in this movie. The jokes in the movie is witty but just bear in mind that they're for good laughs only. We need to be less serious once in a while. XD

Pic courtesy of MoviePosterDB.com

Plate to pixel

When MPH sent its usual weekly newsletters on online promotions, I caught sight of their 25% discounts on all photography related books. Curious, I clicked the link which led to several photography books for sale. Upon seeing a book on food photograhy, I was interested to purchase immediately. The book retails at RM95.80 but customers enjoy 25% off for online purchase. I decided to try my luck searching for it at BookXcess, hoping that I would get even cheaper price than RM71.85 but to no avail cuz it's a newly published book (May 2011). One glance at Kinokuniya's site shows the same retail price too.

With that in mind, I didn't think twice about placing order right away. Surprisingly, the book was delivered the next day which I thought would take up 3-5 days as stated in their site due to stock availability.

The exhilaration of touching a brand new book delivered to your doorstep is indescribable. =D

What the book thrives & lacks at the same time is the simplistic style of writing by the author who is both photographer & food stylist. I like how the book was written with a personal touch...not too formal & with minimal complicated jargons. Due to some absence of jargons & less straightforward phrases, the book tend to be a little lengthy & long-winded.

I'd have to admit the food pictures are gorgeous.

Draggy & long-winded the paragraphs may be, it still has pretty good explanations on camera gears & tips on how to DIY your soft box.

Sad to say, I haven't own a DSLR yet to experiment any of the tips in the book. I'm hoping to get it soon in October (*fingers crossed*). Will keep this page updated once I get started with my photography journey. Yippee! =)

Goku Raku Ramen, Mid Valley

I was intrigued about a new ramen shop at Mid Valley that WL was raving about for a couple of days. According to him, the secret behind such savoury broth in every bowl of their is the use of good quality pork as the main ingredient. I had a feeling that a dose of "ajinomoto" aka MSG adds a magic touch to the broth as well.

Anyhow, I was eager to try & got excited when WL had to drop by Mid Valley to buy a new pair of trainers. After all, he promised to bring me there knowing that I fancy good food as much as he does. We met up with my sister who so happened was busy scouting for mooncake for Mum & asked her to join us for dinner. The menu design with creative use of different materials exudes a sense of authenticity but not trying hard to be posh nor lavish. This is a one-of-a-kind that definitely caught my eye.

Inside the menu, there's a page that teaches you how to eat ramen the right way. How interesting can things get? =)

We made our orders & waited patiently for them to arrive, bowl after bowl. Being a photography lover in me, I just couldn't help toying with my iPhone camera while getting my sis to be my model. The glass drinks caught my attention too.

My bowl of ramen arrived first & it's called Char Siew Kuro Tonkotsu Ramen. Phew...a mouthful of words eh?

The taste is so rich in aroma & texture. Amazing~ Definitely a savoury bowl for the soul. Yum! Next came WL's choice called Ultimate Tonkotsu Ramen. Another delicious one, I'd say.

Lastly, my sis' order was served & this is how her ramen looks like. We had the option to add leek oil but only my sis requested for it. Unfortunately, it turned out too oily.

No doubt WL's order tasted fantastic but my sis had a little hard time consuming her noodles. It was oily but still good nonetheless. We have learnt our lesson not to add leek oil as the broth is slightly oily in nature.

Price is generally steep for a bowl of ramen & one might consider it not worth a 2nd visit. I'd beg to differ - althought pricey it may be, what you get is a humongous bowl of noodles with lots of fresh ingredients. Not to forget the fabulous broth boiled from fresh pork (plus a little MSG). I'm in for a 2nd visit for sure but not that frequent, of course. I'd give thumbs up for such gastronomic feat.

Address:
Lot S25 & S26
Level 2, North Court
Mid Valley Megamall
Kuala Lumpur

Contact:
03-2282 3924

Opening Hours:
10:00am - 10:00pm