Food, Glorious Food!: April 2012 Edition (Subang Ku Restaurant, Senibong, Marmalade, T Forty Two, Periuk Belanga)

Another long overdue post, but rest assured I have some absolutely delicious offerings to share (although I might not recall all the details lah, hehe). So here goes...

First up is a seafood place that's been around for ages but only recently discovered by us. That too, by pure accident. One fine evening, we were craving for some crabs and decided to go to South Sea Seafood in Subang. But when we got there, the place was really crowded and I basically got pissed off by the lack of a queue system.

Frustrated, I then thought about this other place opposite Skypark that we often pass by but never tried before. We googled for a bit and saw some pretty good reviews.

There was ample parking space at Subang Ku Restaurant, and instantly we were greeted by good and attentive service. That's a plus point right there. We then ordered buttered prawns, vege, lala in oyster sauce and the piece de resistance, the salted egg crabs!

One by one the dishes came and we were wowed that each one delivered in terms of taste and presentation. The crabs especially, were absolutely wonderful, with plenty of flesh to chomp on.

Can't remember how much we paid (sorry!), but it was indeed a good experience, and we will definitely return!

Up next, more scrumptious seafood! Yes, I've blogged about Senibong in JB before, but when we returned there the other day, we decided to try another restaurant as recommended by a blog reader, i.e.: Permata Senibong Seafood & Steamboat, serving seafood with a nyonya twist!

We went a bit crazy by ordering more than we could eat. Or so it seemed.  Hehe. Of course, we had to have some sotong and that was first on the list! The sotong bakar was perfectly grilled and all the sambals tasted great. A good start to the meal!

Up next was something unique; kupang masak lemak cili api. It looked a lot too although we ordered the small size, but guess what? There was nothing left after we were done with it. Well, except for the shells, lah.

OK, then came our two favourite dishes. The first was siakap stim nyonya, which was absolutely DE-LI-CIOUS! We really didn't know what to expect, but the first sip of the soup was enough for us to give it a big fat thumb's up! It was sweet, sourish and a tad spicy. Not quite tiga rasa, but a milder yet more satisfying version. A real winner, this. 

The second one is our little one's favourite: gong gong in oyster sauce (even the name's cute)! First time eating it, you have to pull out the itsy-bitsy tail to get to the flesh. But it was worth it! Again, we finished every single one of these babies.

Overall, a great dining experience that was well worth the money. Definitely a mesti-cuba!

OK, time to leave behind the seafood and head back to KL for some "urban" experience. Haha. While at Bangsar Village the other day, we wanted to try something apart from one of the Ben's joints there and decided on Marmalade. Made a quick survey via google and most people had positive stuff to say about it.

The place is very children-friendly, from the decor, furnishings and its menu. But the experience turned to be just so-so for us. I ordered the beef pie and was disappointed that they used minced beef instead of beef chunks. The sides were just average.

The big breakfast too was just alright. Same goes with the apple crumble. Verdict? Meh.

Moving along. For tea one day, we dropped by T Forty Two at Empire Shopping Gallery. The macaroons on the window display did it for us, really. Apart from macaroons, they also serve scones, cakes, sandwiches, truffles, and a variety of teas.

And yes, the macaroons turned out to be really good! Not La Duree good, but one of the best I've had here in KL. BUT, please make 'em slightly bigger lah : )

It's a very pleasant place to chill out, have a spot of tea and read a hoity-toity magazine. Try it!

And lastly, it's time for some Johor food in Kelana Jaya! Found this place by accident, as I just couldn't resist the photos of soto at Periuk Belanga, Dataran Glomac when we drove past it. Yes, it's the same Periuk Belanga from Danga Bay, so I sort of knew what to expect.

Started off with lai cikang ais. No complaints there.

Then it was time for the soto. It was only slightly above-average. The kuah was good, and all the condiments were there but there was that extra something that was missing. But still sedap lah.

We also ordered the asam pedas with rice. Doesn't look impressive, huh? But it did taste like a genuine Johor asam pedas. Not too overpowering, yet with just an enough amount of  "kick" to make it memorable. And I have to say that it did remind of my late grandmother's asam pedas.

And for "dessert", we had the rojak buah. It was good, but could have been better with some jambu air in the mix as well.

We'll probably be back to try out some of the other dishes, and oh yeah, the famous Fendi Ikan Bakar is just opposite this place! : ) Happy makan, folks!

Borneo International Marathon 2012: My Experience

Into it's 5th year already, I've heard so many good things about the Borneo International Marathon. And so, I made the early decision to register for it back in January, thinking it would be a nice little break for the fam as well. More on the jalan-jalan bits later on, but let's talk about the event itself now...

I collected my race kit from Suria Sabah Mall on Saturday, 5th May without any hitches whatsoever. The mall was very nearby our hotel, the Hyatt Regency, and there were sufficient signs to point me to the right place. The people manning the counters were nice and friendly and I collected my kit in a mere few minutes.

Having rented a car, I also made it a point to drive over to Likas Stadium that evening to check out the route and our Start & Finish points.

But knowing the route a day before proved to be pointless on event day cos as expected, the main roads leading to the stadium were closed and re-routed elsewhere. Yup, I woke up at 4.30am on Sunday, got prepared and drove out of the hotel around 5.10am. Then I got stopped and asked to turn back every time I tried getting to the coastal road. (I know, I know, they gave away pamphlets with the info, but I was just trying my luck!)

Stopped at one roundabout, I asked a cop for direction. "Saya bukan orang KK, tak tahu shortcut Encik," I said. He then asked me to take the Bukit Bendera route and pointed me to the road leading to it. At this point, I genuinely thought that I might miss the whole thing altogether just because I didn't know the directions!

I then saw a turning going uphill but with the word "Istana" written on the signboard, I didn't think it would be the right place. I drove further ahead and stumbled upon the red light district (!). And yes, I was THIS close to asking some transvestites for directions but they seemed, er, busy. But I did get help from a kind (24-hour) KFC staff. Turned out, yes, I was SUPPOSED to go uphill and take a left to the stadium.

And so, in a matter of minutes, the stadium was in view and I patted myself on the back. I get to run the damn thing after all! I parked the car and walked to the 10km starting line. At this point, I had two complaints. 1. There were no mobile toilets, so I had to do my thing at the back of some lorries. 2. There was no motivational music played. It was too quiet. Come on lah, play some shuffling songs or something.

Anyway, I then joined the entourage from Media Prima (and ex-Media Prima), who all looked chirpy and ready. We stretched and camwhored for a bit, and then it was time to run!

 

 As usual, I started a bit at the back, but it didn't take long to get past the gantry.



But really, I should change this "strategy" of starting at the back and once in a while try to work my way to the front of the pack. Otherwise, my "gun time" will always be poor, but even more frustrating, starting at the back would mean you have to get past the power-walkers, the "jalan bersaing" bunch and yes, boyfriends and girlfriends who walk holding hands and continuously smile at each other like it's bloody Valentine's Day.

OK, coming back to my own run, I must say that the weather was just absolutely beautiful. It was cool, and the sun was out later than usual (I was told). And as we turned into the coastal road, the sea breeze made it even more wonderful. Check out the views:

The first water station came after 4km. And I must stress that apart from the above complaints, everything else about the event was perfectly organised. Syabas!

We then got into the city centre area and for the first time too, my family was waiting to cheer me on and snap some pics! What a feeling it was to see their "muka-tak-mandi" waiting for me. Hehe.

We then made a u-turn and went back to the stadium on the same route. Unlike Brunei where we got fried, we were lucky enough to be shielded from the sun by shop houses and lorries conveniently parked along the coastal road!

Then we got into the stadium for the final 200m stretch. I actually felt good the whole way really, but my time fell a bit below expectation. No matter. I then joined the rest who had finished and waited and cheered on for the rest of the posse.

Post-run grub was in the form of cereal and the milo queue wasn't that long as well. Everyone was in good spirits, and that was the most important thing.

And oh yeah, I would like you to meet 62-year-old Dr. Majid. He told me that I inspired him to take up running and lose weight. He saw me on MHI, and in the past few months, he's lost 16kgs! And that morning, he actually ran the Half Marathon. You inspire me now, sir!

There were no goodie bags though, but we did leave with a nice medal and happy memories. Borneo International Marathon, bagus bah!

Borneo International Marathon 2012: All Set To Go!

Yup, I'm in Kota Kinabalu now and just one day away from the Borneo International Marathon. It'll be my first time running in this event, and despite the lack of training, I'm actually very much looking forward to it.

I picked up the race kit just now at the Suria Sabah Mall, just a few hundred metres from our hotel, the Hyatt Regency.

The mall itself is pretty good I must say with a lot of the top brands calling this place home. And the race kit collection was well-organized with plenty of friendly faces around.

So KK, get ready for a sea of yellow tomorrow! : )

Jom Heboh Ipoh 2012

It's been ages since my last visit to Ipoh, so it was pretty cool when I was told I'd be "on duty" at Jom Heboh this past weekend. We left KL on Friday evening and the drive took around 2 hours plus. We went into the city centre looking for a makan place, but driving "blind" with no map or guide whatsoever, we actually got lost, going round and round, without finding anything significant. So we decided just to check in to our hotel, the Impiana, and had some hotel grub.

The next day, it was time for me to suit up and face the Jom Heboh heat and crowd. Getting to the location, Stadium Indera Mulia, was pretty easy though. I just looked out for some stadium floodlights and drove towards it.

First up for me was co-hosting "Sembang-Sembang Jom Heboh" with "WHI"'s Azzura and "Mag 7"'s Irin.  And we had a special guest on set as well, Filipino award-winning actor, Dingdong Dantes! Yup, the dude's been raking in the ratings on TV3 through a few telenovelas, the latest one being "Endless Love". The buzz on Dingdong had been pretty good with him causing extreme excitement amongst Media Prima staff the day before Jom Heboh itself.

The interview itself went pretty well. And I must say Dingdong turned out to be a down-to-earth dude who loved to eat! He was game enough to brave the heat at the Women's booth and entertained all picture-taking requests from his fans. But then again, I was informed by his entourage that the weather's much more punishing in Manila, so I guess it wasn't too tough for him after all. Hehe.

And talking about the weather, it turned out to be pretty erratic throughout the entire two days there. It was nice and breezy in the morning, scorching hot in the afternoon, and it rained suddenly on both days after 4pm!

Apart from "Sembang-Sembang", I also recorded two other crossover segments that were aired around 4pm on Saturday and Sunday. But one of the highlights I need to mention here of course was my first taste of the famous "nasi ganja". Yup, that's the name, and you're allowed to say it out loud, like this... "SAYA NAK NASI GANJA!!!" Haha. Anyway, the kind peeps of TV3 got someone to buy a few packs of this local delicacy and together with Dindong and his entourage, we gobbled down the good stuff in no time at all.

My verdict? It's somewhat like nasi kandar but with a slightly different sambal concoction. The fried chicken was also absolutely delicious. So yes, as they say on social media-land... WIN!

We also had some time to do some ronda-ronda around Ipoh town. Weren't looking for anything in particular but I was told on fb to try out some of the food at  Dataran Ipoh.

The place wasn't too hard to find, but we had to follow our instincts as to which stall to choose. We saw one with a good crowd and ordered the char kuey teow. Which turned out to be pretty good, really.

I also organised the 15th round of Larian 40 Taman at Ipoh's famous Padang Polo, but that's for a different post altogether.

And oh, we also stopped by Ipoh Parade, but you know-lah, a mall's a mall, no matter where in Malaysia :) But I must say the crowd at Jom Heboh was really happening and the people came out in droves. Hate to use the cliche, but "Ipoh mali talak sombong!" Hehe.