Sabah Trip - Tawau

I’m sad. I’m down. I have been aeroplaned. Quit clicking on thesaurus or pulling out massive dictionaries. You won’t find such Manglish word there. It means moi have been abandoned, neglected, forsaken, deserted etc etc etc. No no no not relationship but a vacation to Miri, East Malaysia. Thought this trip is secured since all 4 confirmed but I guess 9 months is a looonnnggg time. One bogged down with new position in Hong Kong, one is on probation due to new job and one have to juggle some maid issues. Left me. The return flight tickets were obtained for free in Jan’07, so names or flight dates changes are strictly not allowed. Tickets burnt. Calm down Tree-huggers, Air Asia’s booking confirmation ticket is only a thin sheet of print out, the open burning is negligible. *sigh*

Maybe a flashback on the highlights of a recent vacation will lift my holiday deprived spirit up a tiny bit. Bear with me, k.

End of June, 7 of us went to the Land Below The Wind, Sabah. Our initial plan was to trek Danum Valley, which none of us had been before, for a few days and then fly to Kota Kinabalu to conquer the highest mountain in our country again (Yes, most of us did this before. One did it 3 times!). Keyword here is ‘initial plan’. Found out Sabah’s world famous virgin forest reserve Danum Valley is accessible vide Lahad Datu, not Tawau. To further distort our ‘initial plan’, we failed to secure lodgings for a night at Laban Rata at the top of the mountain. So, the climb is out too. (Personally, I was glad. Phew.) Flight tickets already paid for and nobody bailed out, so we flew.

Tawau, a slow-paced quiet town. Quite dusty. Anyone knows why?

Being in Tawau without going to an island would be akin to visiting Penang not eating hawker fare – blasphemous.

Presenting Mataking Island Resort!

After much bargaining with it being the low season (according to our land transport driver, we just missed the influx of giggling Japanese beauties and yet a month too early for the invasion of the masculine Italians! What luck.) and our considerably high number, it was still pricey. RM350++ including land transfer from hotel to boat, boat ride to island, main meals, ONE night accommodation and transfer to airport to catch our flight to Kota Kinabalu the following day.

BUT wait. Look at what we enjoyed:- I broke my camera second day into the trip (mentioned briefly here whereby my sis got me this. Feel like dancing again .. ) so pictures were taken with my friend’s Canon (Actually quite a number of these were taken by her).

All aboard..

About an hour later …Marked territory ...Corals and crab visible above water

Fishes. Captured these without getting wet. Bet your haven't seen that flourescent yellow fish before!Clothed beach bunniesMain meals were served buffet style. Nothing to shout about but decent enough to keep us satisfied. Here's a 'lil peek ..Plain water, tea, coffee, cordial juices were available the whole day.

Now follow me to our chambers ..

2 to a garden chalet like this ..Envious? Good!

For my next post on Tawau, salivation will be induced by food not S.A.M - Single Available Malaysians. Let's not give more reasons for friends to up the price on my head ..

Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match.
Find me a find, catch me a catch.
Matchmaker, matchmaker, look through your book
And make me a perfect match.

Sliced and diced from here

Bongsen & Chinoz On The Park, Suria KLCC

Dinner time at Kuala Lumpur City Center again. Not my choice but since someone else offered to treat …

Ninny meeny minny .. Bongsen. 3 out of 4 of us (Incredulously including me who have salivate over pictures posted by fellow floggers) have not eaten here. 2 have not even heard nor noticed this place though they are regulars at Madam Kwan’s and House of Sundanese which are nearby. Maybe the proprietors should enhance the look of its entrance or exterior? Flashing running neon lights or something? =P

Service was excellent. Well, we were the only ones there. To be fair, the only dinner companion who had been there sang praises for the service during crowder lunch times too. Difference would be the attention showered by 2 dedicated staff who either stood nearby or swing by very often.

Coconut

Apple Celery Juice

Those circled on the menu were what we had.Oh, and a most umexpected order - Curry Laksa. In a Vietnamese restaurant! @.@Was treated to:-Location:-

End of a satisfactory dinner. Drinks, anyone? Unfortunately, we went for it downstairs. It had to be al-fresco as friends smoked. Chose a table, sat down and started scrolling down drinks menu. Had to wait quite a while before orders were taken.

Vesper Martini. In the drinks menu, it is decribed as 'The James Bond classic from Casino Royale - gin, vodka + vermouth. Asked friend how it tasted he retorted, 'Like how it looks.'

A pot of Chamomile Tea to have with honey and another pot (not shown here) held Earl Grey. This you can ‘ka-sui’ (continuously add hot water) to your heart’s content.However, over here, waving down a waiter to do the task will wane your heart’s desire.

Hot Chocolate. My drink. Was looking forward to the presentation after reading this:-It arrived looking like this.Yes, it was most unfortunate we went for drinks downstairs ..

Grouchily paid:-Where we were:- Ground Floor facing the fountain (which maintenance seems slack lately), Suria KLCC

Ming Chun Kee Seafood Restaurant – Section 17, PJ (opposite Diethelm)

A firm favorite for many patrons, this place offers good food at good prices. No complaints here, save for the fact that it should have air-conditioning to prevent me from sweating.

My first encounter with this place was a couple of years ago, when a few of my colleagues decided to have a long overdue dinner cum get-together session to relive the good old days. I wasn’t sure of the directions to this place back then and the fact that we were searching for a restaurant within a block of old flats made my curiosity soar.

This time around, 2 tables, 20 people in total. The food was pre ordered as we called 3 hours earlier. Pictures are as follows:

Curry Fish Head – Would have preferred more gravy as I was scrapping the bare bottom of the pot for more curry. Went well with the rice. The fish was pretty good, not overcooked and the curry was very aromatic. Heaps of long beans, ladies’ finger and cabbage too.

Tofu with minced pork – Another favorite dish I grew up with. This came with the infamous Japanese tofu, mushroom slices and minced pork. The dish was great but it would have been better if we had more mushroom to go with.

Clams in Superior Soup – Tastes pretty much the same like many other restaurants but you get less empty shells here, hence less disappointment. Would have been better with more ginger.

Kung Pao Chicken – Pretty common dish, but the dried chilly was really spicy. Great, as I have this habit of sucking dried chilly, especially Kung Pao style. One complain here, not enough garnish – the cashew nuts.

4 Heavenly Kings – A dish that I have grown increasingly fond of, especially in this restaurant. The 4 types of veggies used consists of Petai, Brinjal, Long Beans and Ladies’ Finger. I’m not a fan of Petai and Ladies’ Finger, but the veggies are crispy-fried here making it really enjoyable.

Pork Knuckle – the photo you see here was taken immediately when the dish was served. 10 minutes later while were still carving our way through the meat and crispy skin, the waiter took the dish and sped back to the kitchen while mumbling something. Within 90 seconds, he reappeared with the dish, this time with another piece of knuckle on the plate, apologizing to us for the cook left this piece out before it was served. Oh well, we were certainly NOT complaining.

Kam Hiong CRAB! – It’s been a while since I last had crabs, though I still long for my favorite salted egg yolk crab. Anyway, the Kam Hiong crab here is rich in flavor, so rich that my fingers still smell of the Kam Hiong flavor the next day. However, the flesh was somewhat disappointing as it wasn’t really fresh…

A plate of watermelon cubes was served compliments of the boss… but somehow, I wasn’t really that satisfied. My tummy was full, but my taste buds were left craving for more…..

My tummy rating for this session – 6.4/10…

Restoran Unique Seafood, Setapak

This totally slipped my mind. This was way back In July'07 when the restaurant just opened for 1 month (I think). Thought I’ve posted this but noooo..A casual dinner at Mei Keng Fatt Seafood Restaurant inadvertently directed us here. We got wind that the restaurant’s seafood supplier has opened its own restaurant nearby charging lower prices. No name was mentioned but had an idea where it is located. Following weekend, we went to look and ended up having a grand dinner there. Ho-ho-ho do the dance do the dance! (yes I realise this is getting old).

Money Pouch. Glamour name for bits of scallops and other seafood wrapped with beancurd skins in superior gravy. Call me uncultured but I prefer ‘sui-kows’ (prawn dumplings) since I felt the taste was downright bland. *duck to avoid hand swipes from dinner companions who shared good money for this dish*

Steamed Soon Hock (Grouper). Sweet succulent meat.Been advised that this is the kind of fish that size does matter. Choose one that weighs at least 1 kg to get solid meat.

Kailan Greens Stir-fried with 'Har-khau' (literally means prawn balls due to the way the deshelled prawns looked when cooked). Fresh and crunchy, both vegetables and seafood.ALASKAN SPIDER CRAB in superior soup!!! I repeat. ALASKAN SPIDER CRAB.Let's hear it again. ALASKAN SPIDER CRAB. Fuh *wipe brow*.This is what I really want to show off! ALASKAN SPIDER CRAB *swoon*

About the width of a spread out palm, it looked fierce but no big claws? Oh, the shell/shield was soft too.Thorns? What thorns? These? Bristles aje-lah – stiff hair. Yea yea I did have to brave myself before touching those. =P *swoon* That was it's claw. Puny huh. Also not much to dig from the fat body either. Sweet succulent meat concentrated in those thick spidery legs. *swoon*

Bill (Warning. This may rock your world. Mine swung, opened up and swallowed my money purse whole):-Address and map:-

Charity Bazaar & Food Fair, Angels Home OUG

Last Sunday, I went to this. As I (ahem) forecasted, it was a bright beautiful clear sunny Sunday. Phew, so so so baking hot! An air-conditioned car/buildings/office dweller like me just popped in and out. Hmm.. think I was there less than say, an hour. *shy*

The considerably thick crowd was thronging game stalls as well as those selling food, ladies’ accessories, toys, clothes, souvenirs and various kinds of knick knacks. The food on sale was impressive. There were fresh vegetables, fruits, nasi lemak, various fried rice and noodles, fresh juices and canned drinks, desserts such as local ‘kuihs’, cakes, cookies, ‘apom’, springrolls, curry puffs, fruit ‘rojak’, ‘tau-foo-fa’, sweets/candy and etc etc. Sadly no pictures here due to the number of excited buyers and even more excited sellers. My attempts turned out either too blur (accidental pushes) or blocked by hills of heads, if there’s such an expression.

Nevertheless, I went back, spread my do-goody goodies and snapped in peace with new toy.

Spent RM60 worth of coupons on these (clockwise from top left):- 10 crunchy green apples, 5 carrots, 4 sticks of bouncy fishballs, 2 boxes of fresh tau-foo-fa (soy bean dessert), 3 packs of buns, 3 herbal tea eggs, 2 homemade muffins, 1 packet of spicy bihun fried Siam style, 3 bags of candy, , and believe it or not, 7 of those dark coloured glass dessert plates! Oh, I bought 2 cups of freshly made Iced Organic Tomato Juice to drench my thirst when I was there too. The things you can get at a Charity Bazaar albeit relatively a small do, quite bizarre, no?

Hungry for more pictures? My visit may be short but timing impeccable. I caught the kids’ entertaining dances.

Here, let them make you smile too:-Adorable, no?

See? You should have dropped by.

Co Do, Midvalley

Needless to say, food blogs influence most to try places which otherwise look forbidden or just too quiet to attempt. I’m no different. Or should I say, I'm weak. I get influenced all the time. Don’t believe? When there’s a chance ask to see my light purse and bulging tummy.

Located on a higher floor with stairs to boot, it is quite safe to say I may never eat here (most friends can vouch for my dislike of stairs). Then came this You Get What You Give .. Sometimes and later, this Ipoh Mali Talak Sombong. My interest aroused and tummy craved, legs, no choice. Let’s do some climbing.

2 of us. A set meal will do but which one?

Dragonfruit in salad always look so exotic so let’s do this. *both palms raised* Alright guilty. The idea of having vibrant colours in my pictures was uppermost in my mind then. (-_-)Iced Lime Tea. Though menu mentioned there is a choice between this and soya bean milk, we were not asked. Maybe they ran out of the latter? Good though.(Clockwise from top right of the picture below)

Vietnanmese Spring Rolls. Next visit I will order extra of these.

Dragonfruit Salad. Ah, good choice for photography, no? Tastewise, somehow I find it a tad too err .. salty? 0.o Better if the dressing is lighter.

Lotus Root Pancakes. I detected a 'cockcroachy' smell but Phitoy gladly took all. Hmm.. it's a just me moment again. *sigh*

Beef Ball Soup Hu Tieu. A bowl of comfort with bouncy balls but personally I would prefer less bean sprouts as I dislike the overpowering ‘raw green’ taste. Unlike the few Vietnamese restaurants I’ve been, the raw ‘taugeh’ was not served separately.Tomato Fried Rice. Maybe it was the time I took to position the plate all around the table trying to capture the best lighting (sounds like real pro eh. Ahem.) or maybe it was the cool air breeze (from air-conditioners). It was a bit cold. I prefer my fried food (especially rice and noodles) piping hot.Bill & Address:-

The Gift!

Curious about THE GIFT? Yeah, my newest freshest hottest precious huh huh huh??!!

Here it goes ...

A mention of this, I got this! Do the dance do the dance.

My new toy, my new joy!

Sister sister, how do I thank thee? More soup perhaps?

Silly grin at everyone.

Pssstt .. any idea where or how I can clothe it in something fitting, padded and (ahem) cheap?

Meeting Sis's Merdeka Weekend Eat List

Malaysia’s 50th Independence Day fell on a Friday. Admit it. First thing that went ‘ting-ting-ting!’ in most minds would be ‘Yay! Long weekend!’.

Sis came avisit from Uniquely Singapore bearing precious gift for me! More of that next post, k. Guarantee to evoke envy. In return I welcomed her the Malaysian Truly Asia way:- Food food and more food. Hey, the gift was ‘yit-lat-lat’ (fresh hot) from Japan, ok. Told it has yet to appear in Singapore least of all, Malaysia. So, it’s only fair I throw dietary caution to the gutters and pig out together-gather.

As expected, she gave me a ‘to eat’ list. Let’s see ..

1) Lardy dark luscious Hokkien Mee
2) Pristine smooth Chu Cheong Fan with bouncy Yong Tau Foo
3) Bak-kut-teh

Fine print at the bottom:- must have soup during all meals!

It’s smooth, shiny and way out cool! But naked. Unclothed. Hmm.. Oh, I digressed. Mind still on gift, naturally.

So off we went, Paymaster aka Phitoy (hehe!), Sis and I, on a journey of abundant food in the capital city of a free country’s Independence weekend. Not to bore you with all the inny-minny meals in between, I’ll just reveal the relatively big ones.

Independence Day

Breakfast at Imbi Market. A wet market where there’s more youths, couples and families than ‘Ah-Sohs’ doing daily marketing.

These were ordered on automatic gear:-

Hoilam-cha (Hainan coffee). 1 hot ‘galat’ (big one), 1 hot small served in cup and saucer and 1 iced.Toasted Bread. Came with slabs of butter (not margarine, no no) and kaya. When ordering, the staff will ask ‘keping’ or ‘bun’.

This is ‘keping’.This is bun.Dry and Wet Wantan Mee. Been told many times this is good. I cannot tell.Soup? Checked.

Total Price: From Hainan stall RM8 (I think) while the noodles RM4.00 each.

Location: Behind the less than busy Pasar Rakyat. No map as its website is inaccessible.

Lunch at Pudu. Where else if not here to get all these at one place:-

Bell on table to call for service!Herbal Soup. Tasted a wee bit like watered down bak-kut-teh. I found it bitter but it was obvious I stood alone. Nevertheless, the mushrooms, sui-kow (prawn dumplings), beancurd skins and greens that came together went very well with a dash of soy sauce.Yong-tau-foo (Stuffed vegetables with fishpaste). This place is non-halal as the variety encompasses porkballs and fried intestines. Not shown here as we did not pick.Chu-cheong-fun (Steamed rice noodles sheets). Topped with salty fragrant minced fried dried shrimps. *smack lips*Soup? Checked in bold.

Bill:- The sequence of prices is as per the above except for RM3 being 2 Barli drinks. Again I stress, drinks are getting way too expensive nowadays. *sheesh* To ease those curious minds, the fur belongs to my mascot. Used its back for balance. =)

Address:-

Restoran Yap Hup Kee
45 Jalan Brunei Barat (off Pudu), Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: (603) 2148 9220.

Lazy me have resorted to hijacking (again) its immediate neighbour's webpage for directions.

Dinner at corner stall Opposite Shaw Parade Shopping Centre. Most locals and a few floggers have raved about this place before. Pity we were late so I was unable to show-off Double Boiled Herbal Chicken Soup in Coconut to sis. She was very disappointed but no, she did not ask to return the gift.

Precious, my precious.

Chinese Herbal Black Chicken Soup (front picture) and Chinese Herbal ‘Shui-yu’ (porpoise or turtle?) Soup. Believe to cleanse blood. Plenty of unchewable inedible bits though.Mui-choy-kau-yuk (Preserved vegetables with pork). See the sweet salty fatty goodness? One of the best we’ve had. And Wild Boar Curry! Tender soo tender...Soup? Checked way overboard. *show victory sign*

Price:- Again no bill but this time I wrote it down. RM24.00 for the above, 2 bowls of rice and 3 glasses of Chinese Herbal Tea. No breakdown by dishes though. =P

Location: A relatively big zing roofed shack behind Berjaya Times Square, opposite Shaw Parade Shopping Centre.

Post Independence Day

Breakfast on roadside Nasi Lemak. My Saturday mornings are committed. So, we just packed these gems (hers with Ayam Masak Merah while mine with Squid Curry) to have at a coffee shop. No pictures as those gems look real messy when unwrapped.

Yes, broke rule – no soup. Oops.

Price:- RM6 for both packs.

Location:- A 1-table stall set up in front of Restaurant ABC at Desa Petaling.

Speaking of wraps, ooooh gift came unwrapped, you know. Boxed but sis was not bothered with colour paper, ribbons and all that pomp. Moi glad. Easier to get hands on gift! So I did it again. Digressed. Hey, who’s typing here.

Lunch at Desa Petaling.

Pan Mee. 3 major differences in the servings here. Strictly no dry version. ‘Yin-choy’ (spinach?) instead of ‘shu-choy’ (small potato leaves) with loads of own fried shallots.

Now, these shallots are yummilicious. I detest those commercially prepacked ones. Taste like plastic.Porkballs (a side order). Go for these. Bouncy meatballs with a surprise within.Salty meat within. Hehe.Note: Do not underestimate the green chilli paste provided. It burns.

Soup? Checked aloud.

Total price for 2 bowls of noodles, 5 porkballs and 2 glasses of herbal tea:- RM15 or less. Maybe. Look, no receipt issued so I’m lost.

Location: From Seremban Highway going towards South (Seremban), turn left upwards into Desa Petaling right after passing MEI Furniture Expo. A bright Shell petrol station greets all. Go to the 2nd row of 4-storey shops behind it. This ‘I-can’t-find-name’ pan-mee shop is right smack in the middle.

Dinner at Jalan Loke Yew. Last on sis’s eat list. Artery clogging black beauty. Haven’t been here for the longest time. Heard the cooks have changed and taste deteriorated. On top of that, last couple of visits, we found the service was getting from bad to worse. Impatient waiters (middle aged Chinese guys), wrong and forgotten orders. This visit sealed it as a place we will return again. And again. Service by the foreigners (How does one call people from Myanmars? Myanmar-ians or still Burmese?) was impeccable!

Drinks. 1 Barley iced and 2 'ket-chai-suin-mui' (Calamansi+sour plum drink). Whoa. The green juice made from cheap ingredients were pricey - RM2.50 each! Thick but steep. *sigh*Bak-Gau (Pork Soup). It was drizzling. Quite a cold night. Need I say more?Kon-Chau-Hor (Stir-fried Flat Rice Noodles Dry Style). Break a raw egg atop, fold in the piping hot noodles and shove into mouth. Yes, tastes have colours! Little Chef was so spot on.Fukin-Mai-Fun-Min (Vermicelli and Fat Yellow Noodles stir-fried in Black Soy Sauce). Lardy lard lard with ‘wok-hei’ to boot. Swoon-worthy stuff.

Fishcakes. Well let's just say these won't be our staple order there.Bill:-Address:- Familiar with exquisite Café Café Restaurant? Same row at the other end.

Post post Independence Day

Brunch at Robson Height. 11ish am. We were the first customers.

Mun-fan (Steamed White Rice soaked in Gravy). I suggested this instead of having the usual white rice. I had better but the other 2 were happy with it.Guinness Pork Ribs. Flavourful but the lean parts were a bit tough. King Crab Restaurant at Taman Megah's is way better.Black Peppered Beef. The meat was juicy and tender but the sauce a tad too salty.Seong-Thong-Yuin-Choy (Spinach in Superior Soup). Checkety-check-check soup.Bill:-Address:-Guess I did meet dearest gift bearer’s expectations.

Yay yay yay * punch air*.

Can feel most are saying it was way too easy but hey, it did involve a bit of brain juice and plenty of gastric juices, k. Of course the gift is still with me today. I carry it everywhere I go. Naked and all.

Stroking the surface now. OooooOoo *high*.

Weng Kee Ice Kacang – PJ Old Town.

This is my favorite Ice Kacang stall. Located in PJ Old Town’s food court next to the bus terminal, this stall is often crowded with people ordering ice kacang or even red bean ice to eat in and/or take-away. Personally, most of the Ice Kacangs I’ve tasted are much more or less the same. I mean, just how different can a bowl of Ice Kacang get besides the usual offerings of shaved ice, condensed milk, rose syrup, gula melaka, corn, cendol, red bean and grass jelly? Of course, in some places, I’ve experienced “Nam Yue” peanuts (appetizers in Chinese Restaurants), kidney beans, “agar-agar”, flax seeds and even raisins. This stall however, “enlightened” me with its good balance of ingredients and taste.

After a not so satisfying dim sum brunch at Oriental Pavilion PJ on Independence Day, this place was unanimously voted as our next destination to give our taste buds a proper closing, at least until dinner. Parking is a bit of a hassle as there are only limited spots in the market compound. If your search fails, try the perimeters of the market or even the houses.

Visually, the ice kacang here is identical to what you get from food courts and dessert houses but this one is simply delicious, neither too sweet nor plain, it’s just more satisfying than others. I have experienced before, a couple of times when I just couldn’t finish the bowl I ordered but not in this place. The usual ingredients are found here, syrup, milk, gula melaka, corn, red bean, grass jelly and cendol. Thankfully, kidney beans are not available here. I just don’t like it.

The serving isn’t too big, but definitely sufficient to cure your cold-dessert cravings after a meal; whether you’re drinking it from the bowl after the stir-till-melt technique or straight from the carve. Definitely worth a try.

This was taken after a few big scoops....

Boh Liao!!!..... all slurped up in less than 20 minutes.

My Tummy rating: 8.7/10