Saturday, January 30, 2010

Dinner @ Jenjarom

Saturday, January 30, 2010 0 Comments
I had a great night out with my cousins at the local Chinese Vegetarian shop at Jenjarom. One of my cousin celebrated her birthday couple of days back and decided to treat us for dinner tonight. Dinner was great, the cake was lovely we had a blast of a time!! Some pictures I'm posting here...carefully edited because I know my cousin is not much of a look-at-me fan

Let's start with some food porn, shall we? 

After the jump:

 
Fried mushrooms which they called Fried "frog" due to the shape of the mushrooms

Sizzling tofu (made of soya), we requested them to use tofu instead of soft Japanese tofu (made of eggs)

 
Tom Yam Fish

  
Curry something

Fried hen

 
Stir-fry mixed vegeis

All the dishes arranged together for a good shot

 
The black forest birthday cake

Empty plates and dishes

 
Yours truly~

The World's Dirtiest Hotels

Saturday, January 30, 2010 0 Comments
I am writing this entry specifically for the guys at Comfort Hotel. I recently started writing free (read, people!!) reviews for hotels and places I have been to for TripAdvisor. I was browsing thru their site couple of days back and I noticed they have nothing on Banting. The only Banting they have are Banting, Toronto. So I went like ooook, so no one has introduced this small town and its mushrooming hotels. Mind you, the people at TripAdvisor recently released their World's Dirtiest Hotels and guess who made it twice in along with Thailand? Yup, we did.


For you lazy readers, just scroll and check out the list:


Dirtiest Hotels - Asia
(based on TripAdvisor traveler reviews)


1. Phi Phi Don Chukit Resort, Ko Phi Phi Don, Thailand


2. Raj Residency, Chennai (Madras), India


3. Goldkist Beach Resort, Singapore, Singapore


4. Mahkota Hotel Melaka, Melaka, Malaysia


5 Centaur Hotel, IGI Airport, New Delhi, India


6. Tatami Hampton Hotel, Hong Kong, China


7. Pearl of the Pacific Boracay Resort & Spa, Boracay, Philippines


8. First Hotel Bankok, Bangkok, Thailand


9. Seri Costa Hotel-Resort, Melaka, Malaysia


10. Royal Peacock Hotel, Singapore, Singapore




Damn embarrassing, and I read all the reviews for the 2 hotels in Malacca. Let me tell you, it was disgusting. I got so pissed I looked up on the net and emailed Mahkota Hotel this:


From: xxxx
To: reservation@mahkotahotel.com.my; klso@mahkotahotel.com.my; sgso@mahkotahotel.com.my
Sent: Fri, January 29, 2010 2:59:26 PM
Subject: Labeled Dirtiest Hotels in Asia

You must be very proud of yourselves.


http://www.tripadvisor.com/DirtyHotels-g187070


Regards
xxxxxx

If you felt that I was exaggerating, look at the pictures travelers posted. It's enough to gross you out.


Ok, now back to Comfort Hotel. I called up their Jalan Meru branch and the Chinese guy over the phone didn't understand a word I was saying. When I said free review his tone of voice changed. Sigh. So I called up their Shah Alam branch. The guy on the counter (god bless Rahman) was a dear chap who actually understood what freelance meant and I told him specifically I write for TripAdvisor. He thought I owned it (I had to correct him and read him the link)


I told him if he can pass the message to the manager or Mr. Chum Kim Hing and his wife, Madam Lim Sook Bee. So I left 2 messages-one with Rahman @ Shah Alam branch a written message for a skeptical looking lady whom I spoke to when I went to the Banting branch. I used layman terms with her. Words like "free publicity" and "free review" which I think she must have misinterpreted as "free night stay" because after I was done, she pretty much showed me the door. But stubborn as I am, I gave her my details and blog address (for good measure) And 3 emails to them. Hopefully they can reply me. Then I called up their HQ hotel @ Jalan Goh Hock Huat and managed to get their HQ contact numbers (which I hope will be open on Monday so I can ring them up, if they haven't call/email me yet by then!)


All this for a goddamn free review which some people misunderstood that I, a white-collar employee working at a corporate American company would charge them. Here I am trying to wash my karma by by giving back to the society but again I am misunderstood.


And I also took the courtesy to email TripAdvisor about their hotel and hurrah! They replied me stating they had listed the hotel and is up for it's 1st review! I hope as hell I get permitted to review them. If they disapprove, I will email TripAdvisor and request them to remove Comfort Hotel from their listing. No one should get a free listing and deny travelers to review them. What do you think readers? I am doing the right thing, yeah?

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

BFF Got Engaged Last Weekend

Tuesday, January 26, 2010 0 Comments
Among other brimming good news, my BFF got engaged last weekend to a very handsome man. She looked so feminine and demure I almost cried with joy!

I went to get her white roses as she wanted her hairdo to look like female lead of Om Shanti Om. Personally I think she would look great in a classic Hepburn but she wanted to avoid guests from sticking jasmine in her hair (for blessing and keeping bad luck away??)

I loved the whole ceremony. I had too much of chocolates and Jelly Beans (I got excited or JBs, ever since the Muslim government ran a biased article of JBs based on pigs, they stop selling them at Famous Amous) Damn politicians should watch Discovery. Its there how and what JBs are made of!! If you close your nose, you cant taste it because JBs runs on nose not tongue.

Anyways back to the engagement. There was a beginning (dressing up, arriving, waiting for the groom) and then it started raining and I got hungry. The groom was a bit late for the ceremony. Was about to start at 7 but they reached at 8 PM. And that's when I realised that the priest was also a Red Cross Instructor. Back when I was in uni, I went for a Disaster Recovery BootCamp and this guy was there conducting classes I dangerously came close to failing due to his extreme boringness in relaying the whole topic and I was woken up twice by some senior when I came close to dozing off.

Then there was the existing middle (exchange rings, sprinkling of flowers) and then the finale (taking pictures with the bride and groom!!)


And conclusion was a good meal as pictured above, and then the dash back home (still draped in Saree and Shu Eumura)

My uncle got excited when he saw Jane's pictures. I told him college girls are off limits! Kidding! That was a great night. I had never felt that good since Priyu got married!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Anonymous Blog Fan Angry At Me

Thursday, January 21, 2010 1 Comments
Here I am playing with baby Krish and passing time till its bedtime for me! I'm going to have a looong day tomorrow and I want to get an early head start!

And also lately I have been getting "spammed" by this reader who keeps leaving some angry comments on my blog. I changed my Comment Moderation and since then the bitch is unable to comment on my blog without revealing her identity so she post a note on my ChatBox. Here are my guesses on who that person is. First bet, you already know. You left a comment at 11.40ish last night. There can only be one person free enough to browse the web, update her FaceBook and peek at my blog to see if her comments are still there (my blog, I removed your comments) and then decide to leave a post on my ChatBox

Second bet is Satish's ex Sharan. If she left the comment, then I'm glad. The message went across. Leave. My boyfriend. Alone.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Cendol, Coconut Shake and Sight Seeing @ Malacca

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 0 Comments
Some more pictures! I had written two reviews for TripAdvisor, and I hope they publish it!


 
Loved the "Penchetak"

Old is gold!

 This guy makes so much money selling coconut blended with ice and vanilla ice cream. If he starts mixing it with Malibu I bet he will get all more non-muslim crowd!


 
The crowd at this shack was unbelievable. There was a long Q forming outside stretching to the roadside!

Chendol in an old shop at Jonker Street. I had blog about this shop last year as well.

Some old coins and money on display

Salvaged artifacts

Malacca As You Have Never Seen Before

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 0 Comments
We were walking to some Indian food shop to deliver some chapatis his mom had made. He took me to walk in the alleyway along Jonker Street and gosh I felt as if I was transformed back in time! The doors were slim and tall (just the way I like it!) and the whole place is so old and antique...then we came to the back of the restaurant and I was surprised to see them cooking using firewood!!! In Malaysia!! Firewood!! Shocking isn't it? The back of the restaurant smelled of spices and it was soo hot I started to sweat. I don't know how these guys can take the heat. (And this confirms it what goes in your curry dhal and makes it so yummy!) Never mind the pots were huge enough to sit a man or two and sauna themselves!!

I had fun! The guy even posed for a shot!

The back alleyway


Man cooking something

Water boiling

Man posing


The door to an old abandon shoplot

You don't get Lonely Planet to come this far!

Lunch @ Aldy Hotel Malacca

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 0 Comments
So here I am at work, after 2 weeks of walking on air and feeling heady with love..

I am so glad Satish came back, and I have to see him coming March.

Here are some pictures after our last lunch @ Aldy's-his favorite place. I had risotto and he had pizza. Drinks, I had strawberry and mango smoothie and he had a beer. I was surprised when I saw my dish. I had expected it to look pinkish white, possibly hinting of Italian herbs but he marinated my rice (basmati!!?) in mustard and cheese. My steamed aubergine tasted bitter but the cherry and sun-dried tomatoes made up for that. The sliced carrot was soft and lovely. Overall I'd rate this dish 5/10. Maybe if he hadn't spend time decorating the plate to make it look gourmet and spend more time making the dish taste as good as it looked I would have been happier. Oh well, that's hotel food for you!!

Total tab came up to RM 70++. Overpriced I know. But it was the closest from his home

My smoothie

His beer

My risotto. My "corn in cub" LOL

Side view

His beer and pizza


 
Bumped into Priyu's BFF...

My last day with Satish before he flew off back to Dubai

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Lunch at Kampung Vege

Tuesday, January 12, 2010 2 Comments
This place is located at the skirts of a Malay villlage and hence the shop name of Kampung Vege. Loved the food, except for the tom yum that day. It was very bland (well, to me) So my boyfriend finished it up and I ate the side dishes. Here's some pictures after the jump:

My blackcurrant smoothie

His Iced lemon tea

My tom yum

Something aptly named Testing 123

His curry mee

Car Mod Display on the Streets of Malacca!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010 1 Comments
Late evening cocktails at Geographer's in Jonker Street, Malacca

My drink

Nice huh?

Later will end up like this


 
Check out the miniature whiskies. Im surprised the glasses didn't break with all that sound and noise

Actually it was taken from an illegal car mod gathering in a carpark in front of 24/7 Mc Donald's at Dataran Pahlawan in Malacca. Some more pictures from the "gathering"

Car 1

Car 2

Car 3

Car 4

Car 5