Warung Laos, Bandung, Indonesia

Braving the congested traffic in a slight drizzle, we stumbled upon a cosy Italian cafe right smack in the middle of the busy Cihampelas bargain street.Simple set-up, ran by locals, noisy. We were sceptical of the food quality so we decided to order just a few dishes good enough to tide us over until dinner time.Morale of the forthcoming story is NEVER ever judge a restaurant by what is playing on its blurry 21" box television (it was airing a rowdy local concert obviously held in an open field somewhere in the city).

Generous ingredients, attractive presentation, 2 thumbs up tasty! Potato Skins with Sausage Ommelette

In Indonesia, noticed that beef is the default meat, not chicken like on our shores. Please specify your preference if you are non-beef consumer like my friends. Else, a beef fan like me, be prepared to gag on the quantity. Lucky it was good though oily when cool.

Pollo Laos Pizza. He who does not drool at it is err blind? And err what do you call a smelling handicap?

Spaghetti Olio Ogeo. So simple yet so flavourful. Oops picture shows small portion due to the dish was forksfully attacked before it was wrestled away to capture a decent picture.

Bill:

The staff was unable to find me a namecard on that day so hopefully the address on the bill helps.

Shopfront looked like this:

Opposite it, this:

(shy) Shopping Qs and I.Note the small pot of syrup? Realising that we lack the powess of the locals' sweeter tooth, we got into the habit of asking for our drinks and syrup to be served separately throughout our trip in Indonesia.

Ahhh no work day with good food .. ahhhh...

Wake up E A R L Y when on holiday?

A dry spell of public holidays has begun. *sigh* Lucky I can still relive my 2nd Jakarta/Bandung trip through blogging. Procastination has its benefits. However for the fastidious (do you know there's such a word as pernickety?), please be advised that my postings are not in any sequence. Instead, I adopt the what's in the mood practice. There. Let's move on.

Early mornings? On no work days? Yes. Without setting the alarm. Especially when I can afford to put up in a hotel beyond our beloved country.

I'll pull away the hotel's soft cool covers and jump into shower. With a =D. Speedily dress, grab a book, run down the stairs (too excited to to wait for elevators. Disclaimer: Applicable ONLY when room is on 2nd floor and below).

Why?

For this which is strictly NOT available in hotel buffet breakfasts across Malaysia, the good 'ole B A C O N. Pity the ones served at Grand Selera Hotel in Bandung were not fried to a crisp but still delicious sin is delicious. Hmm maybe I should have asked the chef at the sizzling ommelette counter for a favour. =P

Oh the brekkie spread was nothing impressive but then again, I only focused on those dwi-layered thin slabs. Slap them on bread, noodles, porridge and of course, good to eat on its own.

Gobble up then ahhhhh ... life can be good, my friends!

So what makes you slid off the cosy bed early on holidays?

Community Service, sort of

Reminder / Deed of the Month

============================

Today's the day

Want to thank me?

Stay away from the Sogo Dept's stall cause I'll be there!

*squinting beady eyes and growling*

On 2nd thot, Mama brought me up right so on a more civil approach, thank you for your cooperation.

Restoran Wong Kee, Pudu

Dato' Siew Yok. That's the nic friends and acquintances been sputtering for eons. Yes, due to the exceptionally high price and mighty attitude. Horror stories kept me away until a kind Foodie took pity on me, waved a Star LRT ticket at me and WALLAH!

OH MY BOAR !

The expected to be crunchy part (skin) was downright crock-crock crunchy. 'chu-yau-char' taste.The expected to be soft part (fats) did melt in my mouth.The expected to be succulent (layered meat) was fragrant and well, succulent. Ahhhh... BUT please DO NOT be greedy. Overdosing not only tends to suffocate the climax on tongue but also hurt your pocket(s).

Definitely high price for RM15 per pax (a serving of lardy roast pork, a plate of steam white rice and glass of iced herbal tea). Pictured below is a plate of lardy sin for 2. Location: Opposite here, Restoran Yap Hup KeeNotes:

i) The siewyok proprietor may be deemed arrogant by certain quarters due to his persistence to start business punctually at 12.30pm (amended). Not a minute earlier. In addition, he'll only entertain additional orders after all patrons in the original queue have been served. Source: kind Foodie

ii) Words plastered on piece of crackling in opening picture is grabbed from Belinda Carlisle's hit, I Get Weak.

Pity outstanding charsiewsiuyok rarely be found at the same place. Ah, remember my masterpiece post? I'm still quite a regular there. 1 strip to eat in, 3 to go. =D

See's Candies from Californaieh....

Greetings,

Another super sweet post from Fezzaboy. This was my fiancee’s gift from her training stint at the States a couple of months back.

Visit the webpage for See’s Famous Old Time Candies and you’ll notice that it was founded in 1921. Good heritage.

The box, as pictured above is pretty unique in shinny silver with a glittery gold rubber band. First impression, not bad.

Open the box and you’ll a mail order catalogue with an address from the current president of See’s Candies, Brad Kinstler and a nutrition guide for those on the watchful side of their diet, not that it matters to me at all.

I love this box very much; the chocs are nicely balanced in terms of sweetness, taste, aroma and most importantly, the texture. Melts slowly to give your tongue ample time to savor every single drop of it. Here's a view of how the treasure chest looks like:

If you happen to be in California, check them out. It’s worth your effort or whomever you entrust to get a pack for you.

My tummy rating: 9.1/10

Restoran Aik Yuen, Off Jalan Pahang Kuala Lumpur

Once upon a post long longgg time ago ...

Ranting on.
What a let down. All the buzzing hype just led to a ‘poop’. No POW WOW or a squeak of KABOOM! A grand scale? Yeah, a notch above my eons ago Sketsa Hari Penyampaian Hadiah (For non-locally schooled, Prize Presentation Day Sketches).

Yes, talking about Mama Mia the musical (yeah yeah this is a much belated post too). Plenty of scenes with the main actors just standing around with not a memorable squawk. Put it another way, the supporting cast outshone the main characters. Read all the yappy yap high notes about the special props brought in vide humongous airplanes in the People’s Paper and what would one see? 2 partitions turning left and right for the whole duration of the show! Blah! If I have not stopped reading and believing the local papers earlier, that would had been the final straw.

Okay, maybe my opinion is in the minority since quite a large crowd lifted their bums to clap immediately when the show ended. But just maybe they can’t wait to leave, like me?
Ranting off.

Fortunately we had a lardy good dinner before show to help stomach the disappointment.

Crunchy Greens

Smooth Cantonese Noodles

Clams aka Lala. However given a choice, skip this.

Last but never ever least, Lardy Hokkien Noodles

Went Dutch with RM8 to RM10 per pax (I think).

Where else but at an old favourite

with its al-fresco kitchen

Easy to find: The corner shop is at the back of Tawakal Hospital, Jalan Pahang, right after the Pekeliling Roundabout.No supper. Lost appetite.