Toilet post#15

Further to my previous post , here's the washroom. As per it's main entrance and building, the space within was just as impressive.

Pity the floor was icky wet and a stronger air deodoriser would be most appreciated.

De Chiengmai Thai Seafood Restaurant, Sungai Buloh

I first came across this place here. My interest was piqued. My friends doomed. What else but was on a mission to pester left right center to form a makan group to this place. It was tough because the designated driver is aware of the roads there being under massive construction which means nightmarish jams and confusing. Finally managed to gather 4.

Cannot recall the time we left KL but there was still light. Traffic crawled on most roads followed by getting lost in the mess on the Sungai Buloh main road. Twice. Once we overshot a turning so we had to go a long way before a u-turn was possible, second time we turned back on a relatively small kampung (village) road, we had no confidence in going further, which turned out to lead to the restaurant. Tummies grumbling, people blaming. Oh, what a fun ride.

Nightfall, we arrived to this:-Impressive huh. That's the best part.

Oh, the food? Not worth the hassle.But since I took pictures, let's not waste them. We had these:-

Som Tam (Young Papaya Salad). Bland.Kerabu Pauh. Bland.Tomyam Gong (Prawns in Hot & Sour Soup). Possible once dehydrated sands of salt will appear.Pandan Chicken. 1st picture shows the minuscule pieces wrapped in pandanus leaves while the following was when it's unwrapped to be nibbled (small piece-mar).Stir Fried Green Vegetables (Kailan) with Garlic and Salted FishDeep Fried Squids (but listed as 'udang' ie. prawns) in Batter. Lucky the chilli sauce helped.Green Chicken Curry. Watery with few tough pieces of meat.Thai Style Fried Rice. First Thai restaurant we came across that do not have Pineapple Fried Rice.Steamed White Rice. Came in individually steamed metal bowls.Free parking on it's ample grounds but please note that there is no free plain water available as they only serve bottled water.

Unsatisfactory (to us but certainly not to most as the tables were full) meal cost:-Address & Contact:-

Brinchang night market.

The Brinchang pasar malam has always been one of the more happening spots in Cameron Highlands come weekend nights. Food, clothing, toys, accessories and more food bring tourists from all over the place to this spot. So big that the authorities have to move the night market away from its previous spot, at the car park in front of the shop houses where you'll find a Secret Recipe outlet and several popular steamboat restaurants.

After some home-cooked dinner, we decided to get out and get some snack; what better place than a nightmarket to get foooooood oh glorious food. Parking was tough, especially during long holiday seasons but heck, you'll just have to turn a few rounds and be patient.

The first stall we went to sold sea coconut, mangosteen and durian. The sea coconut however, came in 2 forms, the raw sea coconut in its fruit itself and the common cold drink in a cup. Wanna see how it looks like? Here it is....

From the top of the fruit, only 3 small sections hold the flesh of the sea coconut. Remove it and you'll be able to scoop the flesh out. This is a FIRST for me, though we've all had sea coconut but i doubt many have seen it in its original form.

And when you're done, you can actually bring the shell home and turn it into your very own Halloween Sea Coconut....

We also tried the sea coconut drink, much more or less the same like the ones in KL.

And here's the "pak cik" who owns the stall in action.

Next up, chocolate strawberries mien... I don't know but i just don't fancy it. Marshmallows are great but strawberries? Me no like it very much, me still prefer strawberries the way they are.

I've always been a sucker for apam baliks, apoms and etc.... this one has got great aroma, hooking me up ala Homer Simpson style to a leg of ham. This one's kinda dry though, but those who love it with coconut will dig this.

This was my favourite stall, the one that sells dim sum, lovely food for a cold and chilly night like this. One thing that scares me is that siew mai was pretty big in size, much bigger than the ones here in KL. Could it be made from human flesh?..... Nevermind, makan first.....

Here we have the sweet potato balls. Remembered that these used to be super stuffed with sweeto potato but now, it's more commercialised here and it's fast becoming sweeto flour balls... only flour and sugar are used to make these.... disappointed....

And heres a view of the night market.... a must for travellers during weekends..unless you don't like crowded places like my dad.

Lovely experience, but even if i reside here, don't think i fancy coming here every weekend unless i'm super duper bored and there's a need to see some fresh faces around.

Tummy rating: 6.2/10..... but the holiday there was nice....

Ocen Seafood Restaurant, Tanjung Sepat

One of those impromptu outstation trip just for dinner. 2 cars 6 pax. Destination Tanjung Sepat, a fishing village after Teluk Batik for the obvious - seafood.

Journey started at 4pm. Arrived at 6pm. See? Still in bright daylight and we thought we were early. Nay. There was already a crowd waiting for available tables!There was no queue system. Was told to just stand or sit around the area and they supposed to call once there's a table available. You mean they can recognise us and know when is our rightful turn? Sceptical, right? We checked thrice (once in Cantonese, once in Mandarin and lastly in Hokkien) with the much harrassed looking man-boss, lady-boss, staff and almost anyone who has a minute for us. Make that a second. Yup. That's the no-system system. Take it or leave it. We did think of trying another outlet just next door but it was quite empty. (-_-)" Since we did travel far for this, the majority of us voted to wait it out.

There was narrow jetty next to the restaurant where most patrons were killing time walking up and down while locals sat fishing. We did have plenty of time so we ...

Blur? Good. It was done on purpose. As usual, I did not ask for their permission to showcase their faces here. Just to make it a tad difficult for people to recognise them unless those who already knew them. In any case, they are single & available! (In the event there's no more comment or posting after such an announcement, yes, I'm in hiding.)

First picture on the top left is the view of the restaurant from the jetty. Next to it is the restaurant's main entrance from the road. Bottom two are respectively the concrete section and the wooden plank part which is further away from shore.

We waited and waited until ..

Finally, we decided the no-system system is not working. Desperate time calls for desperate measure. We employed the stand closely by tables which were at the end of their meals tactic. Bet most of you are familiar with it. No? Not Malaysian is it?

It worked like a charm.

For the effort, we were rewarded with these:-

Fresh Coconut Drinks. Not too old, not too young. Ahhhhh.. sweet and fragrant.

Lemon Chicken. One of us is not really a seafood fan so this was to pacify him. Surprisingly, this was good.

Claypot Drunken Prawns. Err.. boss, more wine? We may look young but trust me, are of legal age d. =P

Boiled Baby Squids. Al-dente and went very well with the chilli sauce provided.

Oyster omelette. An apparently frequent patron advised us to request to have the oysters on top of the fried eggs. He claimed it will taste better. Verdict:- We didn't finish this dish. =(

Fried fish. I cannot recall what the fish was but it was small and sweet. Just ask and the boss will recommend it. It is one of their best sellers. Although deep fried in light batter, it did not toughen nor dry the meat. I was happily munching on the pieces whole when friends informed that there were actually small bones intact. No, that did not stop me. Crunch crunch crunch.

Choy-tam (Brussels sprouts?) Stir-fried with Garlic

When we ordered, crabs finished. When we were about to settle the bill, harrased boss told us that fresh crabs arrived. *Haiz* Overall, the taste was alright except for the fried fish which was muacks muacks muacks. Most seafood finished at about 9pm and late arrivals had to be turned away. The harrassed boss started to smile and went on chatty mode then. He mentioned that the crowd is thick on most days but that day (1/5/2007, a public holiday), it was a mob, hence his queue 'no-system' system failed. Also boasted that if everyday's business is so crazy, he'll opt to close shop and do something less stressful!

Dinner bill (minus petrol and toll and time and stress fighting for table):-

Address & contact:- Sorry, no map on namecard and I am a directions-cum-map-drawing illiterate. Do call the boss for directions.

Oh, just for info, I'll be away to The Land of Roadside Skewered Food for the next 3 days! Wheeee!!!

Max! Kitchen & Wines, Kuala Lumpur

5 June 2009 Update: Saw a notice outside the closed restaurant stating that they have moved to somewhere around Jalan Imbi (I think). I'll take down the particulars next time. Sorry for the incomplete info. Was in a hurry. =P

My Sunday dinner companions were quite mad at me. Initial reason, I was raving and raving nonstop about this place (some say like mosquito). Secondly, we went with great anticipation to have darkness greet us. Twice. Thirdly, they found out I have never ate there. All the raving was based on blogs. They were not angry because I am merely echoing other people's opinions but because I did not read in detail so as to realise the restaurant closes on Sundays. -_-"

Then came our dear new Agong to the rescue. It was during the public holiday declared on 26/4/2007 to commemorate his installation as our 13th Yang di-Pertuan Agong that gave me a chance to redeem myself.

On my (ahem) recommendations, our table was weighed down with these:-

Fresh Fruit Juices.

Iced Cappucinos. As good as it looked.Fresh loaves with Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar. We requested for butter and asked for seconds. Good start.Charred Portobello Mushroom. Pretty plump ones.Yabbies Lobster & Shellfish Bisque. My order. Wise order. *pat self*2 orders of US Sea Scallops with Balsamic Reduction. Supposedly a shared order. But I fished the most off one plate. Well worth the scowls the others gave me.2 orders of Shiraz Braised Wagyu Beef Cheeks. Err.. we preferred those from Ninja Jones Japanese Restaurant at Northpoint, Midvalley.Lemon Butter Poached Cod Fish Fillet. Friend was guarding this tightly. ;)Duck Breast, Oven Roasted. Too ducky for me but Phitoy whacked it happily.Warm Varlhona Chocolate Souffle with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. I took half portion. Yummy.Crisp Kataifi Pastry Wrapped Strawberry with Passion Fruit - Coconut Ice Cream. My personal order. *another self pat*Note:
My pictures do not do justice to the presentation of the dishes. See? All appeared to be in the same dark brown tones. *Haiz* As mentioned before, I suck at taking pictures in dim lighting as I detest using the flash. =(

Frankly, I did not particularly enjoy the mains except for the scallops (nothing can possibly go wrong with scallops for me) as much as the desserts. Maybe it was due to the stuffed nose I was plagued with or maybe due my tastebuds being more at home with stronger flavours. As expected the others enjoyed it immensely. 2 of them even complimented me on the dishes recommendation and patted my back for choosing a great restaurant. 1 of them bought my meal! A happy holiday is definitely made of these.

A heartiest thank you, fellow floggers!

Our bill:-

The address & map (from namecard):-

Oh, do note that this restaurant is super flogger friendly. Snap all you want and the proprietor cum master chef will be more than happy to answer any enquiries. When I was there, Max insisted that I should check out Precious Pea's blog. Hey Max, Pea & I are already like this *intertwined index & middle finger*, k. Nope he didn't fall for it, so no free dessert. =P