Monday, December 31

Restaurant Hokkaido - Jalan Pahang, KL

It is hard to notice this restaurant which is hidden behind the streets of Jalan Pahang, KL.



Restaurant Hokkaido is brightly litted and displays a huge variety of fresh seafood, but not at an affordable price. Yes, it caters mainly to ang mohs and tourist that pack this place becuase it is situated near various 3 star hotels.


(An extensive variety of seafood of your choice)


(An extensive variety of vegetables too!)


(More seafood)


(This mixture of garlic, chilies and slight pinch of vineger is really unique and it goes well with any seafood, I think)


(Zhui Ha or directly translated as drunk prawns)

Of the 3 dishes that we ordered, the prawns were the best. Not only was it fresh, it was huge too! The soup tasted good and we are ready for more.



Then came the crabs. It was disappointing. The crabs were not really well prepared ... the crab meat was still soft and sticky. Yucky!



Although the gravy was nicely prepared, it did not complement the so-called-half-cooked crabs.



The best I think is always the "green". They can never go wrong with the "greens". This dissapointing dinner cost RM 78.30. Giving them the benefit of doubt, other seafood could have been better prepared.

Address: 60 & 68, Jalan Lumut, Damai Complex, Kuala Lumpur (Lookout for Vistana Hotel. It is located opposite the main entrance)
Tel: 03-4041 1316

"BURRPP"

Wednesday, December 26

Pulau Ketam (just heavenly crabs!)

Last weekend, Kate and I went to Pulau Ketam for 2 reasons:

1) Visit her grandparents
2) Was craving for a fresh, big and cheap meal of crabs


(Fully air-conditioned ferry, half leather seats with in-house DVD entertainment)

Here is how you get to Pulau Ketam. Drive along Federal Highway and follow the sign "Pulau Ketam Jetty".


(It is not a rubbish bin. Traders are transporting seafood and other items from/to jetty)

There is ample parking space at the jetty. Walk to the jetty and wait for the ferry. (Ladies, bring along the necessities to protect yourself from the sun)


(No seats available at Port Klang Jetty. Boat arrives every 45 minutes. YES! Thats how long we waited)

It takes about 45 minutes to reach Pulau Ketam but it is worth the wait, just keep thinking about oversized crabs and really cheap seafood.


(Sampan parking lot)

It cost RM 7.00 for a one-way trip. You can buy your tickets on the ferry. The last ferry that leaves Pulau Ketam is 5.30pm.


(Life jacket are now unwrapped but hangs on tightly to the tray. Seems like the life jackets are more scared than us humans)

I am suprised that even after the recent ferry incident which claimed a few lives, we were all still not asked to put on the lifejackets and worst still, no one demostrated the usage of such life saving floats (touch wood) should anything happen.

I tried removing a life jacket from the tray above us, but after several attempts of pulling and pushing it, the life jacket was still hanging on tightly to the tray. KNN ... what kind of safety is this?!


(Fu yoh .... DVD!)

While I wasn't entirely happy with the life jackets, I was happy to know that we would be entertained (for at least 45 minutes) with some latest movies played on the in-house Cinema.

And guess what! ..... It was karaoke ..... karaoke in Hokkien! Wah lau ... tears nearly fell from my eyes. Here is a short video of what I had to watch for at least 30 mins:



(I am unlucky. While I was uploading my video on YouTube, I came across another Hokkien Song ... but it is damn hillarious, and vulgar!)



Anyway, back to my topic, I survived 30 mins of Hokkien karaoke and was eager to leave the ferry when it arrived at Pulau Ketam.


(Walking into Pulau Ketam busy area from Ketam Jetty)

While I was younger (yeah...donkey years ago), Pulau Ketam's road were not made of bricks but only on wood and many cockle shells. The villagers travel via bicycle or walk within the island.


(Its all about food in Pulau Ketam)

It was rather quite becuase we reached about 3.30pm. It is usually crowded during public holidays and lunch hour on weekends. Many tourist and food lovers visit Pulau Ketam for the fresh-iest seafood and WHAT ELSE? .... CRABS LOR!


(Dried scallops, sotong, fish maw are all for sale)

Along the entrance of Pulau Ketam, you can buy all sorts of dried seafood. Many people mostly buy FRESH seafood home. You will notice it when you see them packed in white ice-boxes and a smile on their face.



There is even a tourist guide.



There are many restaurants in Pulau Ketam. Eating at the wrong one would spoil your day. Restaurant Kim Hoe is highly recommended. If you come during holidays to eat at Kim Hoe without reservations, you would end up waiting for hours (I SWEAR!).



Since it was neither lunch or dinner, we ordered 3 dishes. We ordered the "siong tong la la". This la la was really huge and needless to say, definately fresh-ier than the ones I had in KL.



Then came the fish ball soup. Nothing special but the fish ball was fresh and delicious.



Finally the dish of the day was the crabs.



The yummiest crabs ever! Big, full of meat and fresh. What else can I say?



We left Pulau Ketam full of satisfaction and were already thinking of the next trip with a bigger appetite.


(It's always refreshing to have a view like this)

"BURRPP"

Tuesday, December 25

Festival of BALLS

(Think straight!)

It was a weekend to feast BECAUSE it was "Tung Zhi" or "Winter Solstice Festival".

Kate's mom is a great cook. She whipped up a feast for the family and she also made the biggest BALLS a.k.a "Tong Yuen" is have ever placed in my mouth. It was so yummy!


(Oversized balls)

Did you ever wonder the origins of such BALLS?

"Tung Zhi" is the thanksgiving festival of the Chinese calendar. It means “the arrival of winter”. It is an occasion for the family to get together to celebrate the good year they have had WHICH IS ALSO a reason to eat!!

"Tong Yuen" is a sweet gingerish soup of glutinous rice flour balls. Eating "Tong Yuen" symbolises family unity and prosperity.


(A meal without msg and Ajinomoto)

After "Tong Yuen", we enjoyed the best dishes ever, called Home-Cooked-Food.

"BURRPP"


Saturday, December 22

Restaurant Loong Kee, KL

The streets are quiet at night opposite GH (General Hospital) but right opposite it, there is a restaurant which is always packed with food lovers.

Yes, Restaurant Loong Kee.



The seats are all placed by the walkway so bare in mind that the only smell of fresh air is the car fumes and good food, of course.


(The chefs whipping out our dinner)


(Salted egg yoke mantis prawn)

We were recommended to try this dish. No regrets! Generous amount of salted egg yoke is cooked with "shokolingam" mantis prawn to perfection.


(Close up shot before it goes into the mouth!)

It was mouth watering and we topped up another big bowl of rice to go with this dish.


(Yummylicious pork ribs)

Another recommended dish is the pork ribs ... can't remember the name of the dish but it was coated and cooked with a very tasteful sauce, never tasted anywhere else before! Don't miss out this dish!



As always, the "greens" as advised.

It was a satisfying dinner for 2 but at RM 38.90, I thought it was a bit pricey. Will I return? Hell yeah!

"BURRPP"

Friday, December 21

Are you an addict? (Seriously)

I am an addict.

It is not easy for me to announce this publicly. I wish to share this so that no one takes the same road like I did.

Peers and friends introduced me to this "fix". I have never missed a dose of it. I think about it from the time I wake up. It is on my mind when I am at work.



So I decided to seek help and my results were:



By the way, the pictures of the pills are vitamins. So are you an addict? Prevention is better than cure.

"BURRPP"

BAD Kut Teh - Restaurant Sem Kim, Jalan Ipoh

I love pork. Period.



Sem Kim is one of my most patrionized BKT outlet but of late, quality is an issue.



Sem Kim used to be my favourite late night supper spot with some friends. The BKT soup was irresistable, but not of late.



Somehow it is no match to Restaurant Ban Lee.


(Onion rice still taste equally good)


(The "yau char kueh" is as hard as a rock. Avoid this at all cost)


(The hot pot style keeps the soup hot for only 1 minute. What a waste of time)



My BKT menu is always the usual combo of 3 parts:

1) G chang - I think its the thigh meat (minus the fat? HOW CAN!?)
2) G dou - Stomach (sliced very thin so you don't get the satisfaction)
3) G cheung - Intestines (very pepper-rish)



Of course, the "greens" again for a perceived balanced diet. It is oily so please tell them to put less oil and minus the onion toppings (it does not taste fresh).

Oh well, after that dinner, I bid farewell to Sem Kim for the last time.

"BURRPP"

Wednesday, December 19

Jolin Tsai concert (PART 2) - Showtime..ZZzz

Concerts I have attended, although not many. After every concert, I will always ask myself the 1 million dollar question:

WAS IT WORTH IT? Just this time, HELL NO!



Last weekend, me and thousands of others watched a Taiwanese superstar perform live on stage.



Expectations were high and emotions were wild when she appeared before our eyes (not me but the bunch of people around me).



So she sang, danced and shook her bootie glaringly in front of VIP seat "suckers". It was what anyone would expect from any performence right?



Somehow, a few of us did not feel "turned on". There was nothing special, REALLY, except for her XXXS clothes.



The funniest part I recalled was she dressed in black, looked ready to belt out a techno-cum damn sentimental song but sang a fast-tempo-kiddy song. MCH .... nearly gave me a heart attack. Apalar ... dress to the music la puhleaseeee!



I was really dissapointed at this point as my hard earned money was just to watch her move/jump around the stage singing a few of the hit songs for 1 1/2 hour only.



For the record, this is shortest concert ever. Even when perverts shouted "ENCOREeee ....ENCOREee....", she came back to sing one song, waved goodbye and left. The band then immediately packed their stuff .... WHY? Rushing ah? Scared miss flight is it?



To add on to my frustration was these bunch of EXTREMELY DEDICATED and RESPONSIBLE underaged security people. All they do is walk up to your face (if so happen you were trying to take a picture), and flash you these UGLY signs:



They were so busy walking up and down giving you the "SIGN" but thousands of camera flashes were flashing away ... "yeh-nah-dehhhh".

So Kate and I left the hall, walked around and decided to redeem our concert tickets.



Although we did not leave with the exact redemption, it was good enough to cover our supper and quarter of the price we paid for our concert tickets ..... at least, it felt more satisfying then watching her sing.

With that, JT concerts are in my BANNED list.

"BURRPP"