Entries for September, 2003
September 9th, 2003
New Blog
Posted by vampire at 05:21 AM on September 9, 2003.
Blog City is so often down that I'm frustrated with it... So I'm gonna use tabulas only. Someone gotta teach me how to make nice styles and templates for this blog site.
Whoever wanna start a new blog, please make me your referrer, so that I can get more space to put pics for you all to see... hehe ;)
Summary of what I did since arriving in Kuching. I had gone out with Darryl, John Ong, Jenny, YenHan, and of cos Panda. Had eaten Pork Leg Rice two nights in a row. This morning before I slept, I had laksa at 3rd mile roundabout there... The morning before that was kolomee at Padungan. Dinner is always rice. Had midin.
Just now went to Zhen How (liang teh shop near Tun Jugah shopping complex) to meet up with Lau & gf, Kang, John, and Darryl. Then went to m3 cybercafe to play wc3... Can't even defeat 3 normal computers in a 3v3 game with Darryl and John.
Now, Darryl is sleeping over at my place. He can't go back to his uncle's place so late at nite... We finished supper aftre wc3 session around 2.30am.
Kuching Mooncake Festival
Posted by vampire at 05:31 AM on September 9, 2003.
Hello everyone... Now I can follow
Wena's footsteps and 'kek' you ppl abt the food in Kch... hehe... So I went to the festival two nites in a row... It opened on the 6th, and will last for one week... Went with my family & Panda on the first nite, with Jenny & YenHan on the second nite... It's 6.51am now, and I haven't slept... I went to Petanak market around 2.20am for the Pork Leg Rice with my sis... Was hungry... I will be going for breakfast soon, most prob kolo mee... Hehe...
First off, the traffic there is so congested... It's so hard to find a place to park that my dad can't go into Carpenter Street. He had to wait in the car... There are quite a lot of music performances, dances, and food. There were not only Chinese stalls, but quite a number of Malay stalls as well...
First attraction: Ice-Cream Goyang Goyang
They fill the metal 'cones' with Miranda Green (Fruitade) or Red (Strawberry), insert a satay stick (just the stick, of cos), and they shake the top. The bottom is filled with ice. After a while, the green/red liquid freezes, and becomes popsicle on a stick... Unique...
I just went downstairs to take a light breakfast of half-boiled egg, tea, and a piece of kuih jala (the crispy, fine brown kuih, named after its net-like appearance). Going out to breakfast soon, yay, kolo mee...
Then, Panda (from Penang) tried Kompia. That's Foochow Burger. They usually put 'bak cho' (minced pork meat), but for that stall, you can choose from vege, chicken, or pork. 60 cents per burger. About 8cm in diameter.
We passed by many performances, but I recorded them in video mode. The files are too big for me to upload. Maybe I can pass to
Wena to upload them for me, but I'm sure she'll have better ones of her own.
One stall sold Buah Berangan. Chestnuts. They mix the chestnuts with black stones, and heat over fire. Costs Rm5 for 250 grams. Comes in a very nice packaging, and with instructions on how to kopek ('open') the chestnuts... Hehe...
I also bought something I never tried before (sort of). It's called Emperor Dragon Whisker. It's very sweet and the 'inti' (filling) is sticky mashed peanuts, like the ones used in the wedding sweets. It's freshly made, and soft. I ever tried something like this, called Danhua Cake, if I'm not mistaken, but it's hard, yellow in color, and comes in red plastic packaging.
One stall selling mooncakes and stuffs had a very cute bunny bread for one of the words for its sign.
There's lion dance performance, dragon dance, as well as fish dance (I think). In the pic below, there's one of the few performers handling a fish on a stick. They swim somewhat like the dragon for the dragon dance.
One 'special' attraction was a haircut stall. It charges only 50 cents per haircut. The barbers are young Chinese blonde guys. Cheapest haircut in Malaysia. Hehe...
My mom bought us (me, my sis, and Panda) one Ice Kantong each. It's something like ice balls of last generation. That's why my mom was attracted to it. My sis didn't want to eat, so my mom had it instead. It's crushed ice, wrapped around a thick satay stick, and soaked in Sarsi syrup. The way to eat is to soak, suck, soak, suck. We couldn't finish it. Too cold. It's put in a plastic bag only... Too cold to hold also. But another stall had a better way... They put in a paper cup.
September 10th, 2003
BBQ Steamboat
Posted by vampire at 12:37 AM on September 10, 2003.
For dinner today, I went with Gek, Jenny & Bro, and YenHan to
Palm Garden Food Paradise
Liang Kee Commercial Center
4th Mile, Penrissen Road
We had a BBQ Steamboat buffet. Costs Rm16 per head, drinks not included. Big warning - drinks cost a bomb there. Chinese tea at Rm1.50 per glass... my god~! 5 of us, 7 glasses of Chinese Tea, 4 Teh Peng, Rm20. Crazy! Jenny chia-ed us all... Thank you!!!
Unfortunately, I had sore throat and couldn't eat that much BBQ stuff...
They had all sorts of mushrooms... I like! I also love quail's eggs... I took about 5 or 6. High in cholestrol...
We had lotsa prawns... lots & lots... Here's one plate we took in the beginning... Total, we took about 5 times that amount. Prawns only... Maybe that's why they charge the drinks so much.
Jenny & Gek took quite an amount of clams... At first they put them in soup, then found out that putting them on the BBQ tray is tastier. They have ice-cream there, too. Service is quite good. Food refill is sufficient. Environment is nice.
Dance / Techno
Posted by vampire at 05:24 AM on September 10, 2003.
My favorite genre for songs/music is dance/techno. Ever wondered why?
This genre is popular among ah bengs with their heavily modified tinted dark colored cars. Am I one? Noooo... I am anti-ahbeng.
Then it's because I love dancing? Nooo... I don't like dancing. There's another story to this, which I might post up next time. It gives me bad memories. I suck at it, too.
After much thought, I think the real reason is because songs of these kinds aren't really songs. One person who appreciate songs (he's anti-techno/dance), Marvin, once said that techno/dance songs has no meaningful lyrics, they play the same beat and sing the same line over and over again. This is so true. It's like there's no quality in the song. Some regard it as noise.
So, why do I still like them? When I listen to songs, I do not capture the meaning of them. I may be shallow. I do not ponder upon the lyrics of the songs. I can't even remember 50% of the lyrics. I just listen for the music, the beat. When I listen to dance, my spirits are sort of lifted. I do not need to think. It's like a party song. A happy song.
Why am I writing this now? I was downstairs, lying on the couch. I think too much when I am alone, with nothing to do. I am now jobless, aimless. I do not know whether to further my studies or find a job. I do not know where I should find a job. I do not know when either. Many things cross my mind in this kind of mind state.
[Race back in time] I constantly believed Primary 4 was the turning point in my life. I was then a bright, active young boy. Did well socially, and talkative. I joined clubs actively, etc. I felt that, when a gal that I cared very much for moved to another town, I was heartbroken. This almost made me who I am now. It changed my life. I became a loner. I don't mix well socially. Most important, I became very quiet.
Until now, I am still sort of like that boy, only mature. I can think. I care about others' feelings. I try to talk only when necessary, cos sometimes what I say doesn't make sense at all, and is pure crap.
Now, I will have a hard time facing the real world. I will be on my own soon. I will have to feed myself. Just a thought, from me.
September 12th, 2003
Holiday in Penang
Posted by vampire at 05:52 AM on September 12, 2003.
Finally I am gonna write about my holiday in Penang from September 2nd to September 6th. This is a long blog, be prepared for it. I was supposed to go there from Ipoh on September 1st, because it's a holiday, and my friends, batu2pahat, inn_chin, PYeong, Enhasa would be free to bring me around. When I arrived in Ipoh and tried to buy my bus ticket to Penang, the tickets are all sold out. I had to settle for a 3pm bus on Sept 2nd. That's the most suitable time as they would be free to pick me up after their work/training.
I took videos of their nice apartment (They are all staying together). But the files are too big to put online. It's on the 3rd floor of the building, the top. Here is a pic of the view from their balcony at night.
Here is a pic of Enhasa's soft toy (I think). The burger and the dog are separate toys. You can get the dog from Watson's. I've also seen the burger around.
I spent 3 nites in their apartment. I slept during the day, as they have work that time, and can't bring me around. I contacted Apple, but she did not call me out. :( Spent quite a lot of time copying and burning animes from PYeong. Thanks, dude~! I still have stuff I want to get from you, but I ran out of CD-Rs.
When I arrived in Penang, I went for dinner at a Teochew Porridge shop in front of Bukit Jambul Shopping Complex. One of my fav places when I was doing my 3-month Industrial training in Penang. The Indians there sure know how to speak Hokkien fluently.
Supper that night was at Kayu Nasi Kandar Sdn Bhd, one of the biggest nasi kandar places in Penang. They have branches elsewhere in Malaysia, I heard. I did not try the nasi kandar there, as the price is expensive. Instead, I had a Tandoori Set, which comprises a piece of Tandoori Chicken (Rm4), and Naan Cheese (Rm3.50). It is northern Indian food.
batu2pahat & inn_chin shared the Roti Tisu Special. It's tall!!! Price: Rm3.
Chin was amazed by the bill/invoice given when the food is served. Each time we get a drink/food, the waiter adds an item to the list. We pay at the counter. This is so systematic compared to in Malacca. hehe...
On the second day there, we went to Prangin Mall. We had dinner at Hotmeals.com (It's not a website). They serve Korean/Japanese food. I had Unagi Udon (Eel noodles). Too hungry. Forgotten to take a pic of it. There, we shopped for pirated goods - Audio CDs, VCDs, DVDs, Software, etc.
I only have two complete meals a day there. I sleep about 12 hours a day there. I shouldn't have wasted so much time sleeping, but I did not have transport to go around, or anyone to bring me about.
For supper that night, everyone else was very tired, except for Chin. She accompanied me on motorbike ;) to one of my favourite nasi kandar places I've tried in Penang. It's called Masyhur Nasi Kandar, if I'm not mistaken. Located somewhere near Sunshine Square. Nasi kandars look gross, because they mix all kinds of gravy on it, but sure tastes nice~! My favourite is the Honey Chicken - sweeeet.
The next day's dinner is at Sunshine Square market. I came here to eat the Pasembor, sort of like Indian rojak. I like the crispy stuff. Supper after that was at Gurney Drive. I had Fried Sotong, and Tang Hoon soup.
During my stay there, I managed to watch two DVD movies while the rest were sleeping. "Down With Love" starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor is a nice romance film, with the setting in 1963. "Analyze That" is the sequel to "Analyze This". I prefer the first movie.
The next day, Panda, her bro and her mom picked me up, and became tour guides. First before breakfast, we drove somewhere to take this photograph of Balik Pulau (a place). Someone ;) thought it meant return to island. Hehe...
Then we went to Balik Pulau to shop for Nutmeg Juice Mix, and breakfast at one shop famous for its Assam Laksa (Panda's fav). We had to wait about half an hour before the stall owner opened for business. Business is that good till I heard there were people who ordered two bowls at once, afraid that they might have to wait very long or it might get sold out if they ordered the 2nd bowl after they finished their first. Same situation like CSP in Malacca.
After that, we head to a small place (forgot the name) for some drink called Ice Tingkap. Its ingredients include some herbs, some seeds which look like frogs eggs, and it is red in color. We ate tau kua and cucur udang (I think) with it.
We managed to stop by a Hindu temple to take pics.
Next stop before leaving Penang Island is the Him Heang shop. Will touch more on that when I have a blog on mooncakes. The shop is equivalent to (actually, more successful than) the Sin Hian Chia in Kuching.
Will post more next time. This seems too long. Hope I don bore anyone out there with this.
September 13th, 2003
Italian Job
Posted by vampire at 12:40 PM on September 13, 2003.
Last night I went to watch the Italian Job... Nice movie... Like them cars especially... I'd say it's better than Ocean's Eleven in the sense that it's more believable. Not hau siau. Two night ago, I wanted to watch this, but the projector got broken. I had to watch Sinbad instead. It's about 1.5 hrs long, and it's really enjoyable. I like cartoons. There's still a big kid in me.
Before that, dinner was at Hanii's Bistro somewhere near Pizza Hut and Sarawak Plaza. Food there is quite normal. Ppl recommend tomato mee there.
We (me, Panda, Darryl, Phylia, Tim) walked from the bistro to Star cineplex, and left the car there. After the movie, we wanted to try the sampan ride, but it was late, and just stopped raining. It costs Rm5 per person from one end to the other end of the Waterfront. Way more expensive than the last time I took it.
After that it started raining again. Darryl had to run to the car, while we waited at the shops opposite the Waterfront... what a hero, hahaha... Here are some pics of the waterfront. A little blur.
By that time, I was hungry... After sending Phylia home, we tried The Junk opposite St Mary's Primary School, but the kitchen was already closed at 11.30pm... so early! So, we head a few meters away to Life Kopitiam. A new place, classic chinese style. They had a spitoon under every table. It may look like tam pooi. After ordering our drinks and food, they told us that they have no more food left. Again we head elsewhere.
This time is Point One Cafeteria at Ban Hock Road. A nice setting there. I had tau sa pau, and some mee to satisfy my hunger, before we head to Woodlands to play pool. I lost 4 games to Darryl... argh!
When I came back, I was sleepy already. So I head to bed after reading the papers.
Penang Holiday Part II
Posted by vampire at 01:44 PM on September 13, 2003.
This blog continues where I left off that day.
So, this is what we had for dinner at the Nyonya Restaurant in Penang. The signboard is Nyonya Baba Restaurant. But in the menu, the shop's name is Dragon King Nyonya Restaurant.
One dish was Jiu Hu Char. Sliced cuttlefish, cooked with turnips, carrots, and mushroom.
The otak-otak here is not Muar style. It's nyonya style. Tastes like masak lemak.
The Pai-Tee here is nice. Unlike in Malacca's Bibik Neo Resturant, they ready it for you.
We also ordered Inchee Kaybin, but didn't took pics of it (forgotten). It's some sorta Fried Chicken, nyonya style seasoning.
Here's Steamed Lady's Fingers... Dip in the sambal, and straight into the mouth. Nyonya style... They had another sauce to dip in, I forgot the name. I didn't get to try this, but it's more suitable than the sambal, from the others' opinion.
Dessert was for Panda's bro, J-W. Cendol, and with very thick santan.
September 15th, 2003
September 16th, 2003
Special Mooncakes
Posted by vampire at 04:52 AM on September 16, 2003.
I would love to see tags and comments on my blogs. That motivates me to post up more blogs, so that you ppl can enjoy. So far, my pics don't have faces or ppl in it... It may soon change...
Today (night), I bring to you the special mooncakes. First up is one that MrMiaow likes... My fav also... It's green in color. This one has tau sa filling. The one I love has yellow cheese fillings... Yummy! But that, my mum have to order from someone else long before Mooncake Festival. Pity I couldn't have it this year. My mum didn't order.
Next up, something from Kuching, white flat mooncake. It's vrey sweet. Bought this at the Mooncake Festival. Panda, from Penang, never tried this before.
Another type also can't be found in West M'sia (correct me if I'm wrong) is this other type of flat mooncake. Sticky sweet filling.
I've run out of mooncake pics. But I still have some Penang biscuits and pniah pics for some other time. Here's a pic of Panda's soft toy.
Guess who's this in Penang?
:((
Posted by vampire at 08:57 AM on September 16, 2003.
Every morning for the past 7 years, when my dad woke up, he opened the house gate for my dogs to go out do their business. After that, my dogs would automatically come back for their breakfast feeding, usually some biscuits...
I used to have three dogs... One died of old age about one year ago, and another died last semester due to some illness... So one remained... It's name is Snowy, named after Tintin's terrier in the comics.
This morning, it did not return for it's breakfast. Sommore, today's breakfast was special. It was a slice of pizza from a normal bakery shop. When I went out with my parents & Panda for breakfast, I saw Snowy lying on the ground, and I can see that it had fallen into the drain, and was wet and a bit black. It just took a bath two days ago and was pearly white, and fluffy. And yesterday, it's collar was adjusted nicely by Panda.
I had thought it was just tired, and approached it. To my shock and horror, its eyes were wide open, its mouth gaping. There were bite wounds on the neck. Snowy is dead! :(( *sob*sob*
September 20th, 2003
Penang Biscuits
Posted by vampire at 03:13 PM on September 20, 2003.
Been lazy to update my blog... Sleeping most of the time, and doing lotsa stuff, like going to the bank, repair my wrist watch, etc. I still have one more bank to go to change my ATM card and make my new IC.
I went to watch Daddy Day Care... I'd say, it's a family show. If you're into dumb/stupid movies like "Dude Where's My Car", this is a no-no.
I also bought an anime "Operation 2" for Rm12. Sadly it's only 20 minutes, and there's an Operation 3... Sigh...
This blog's about Penang biscuits, from the famous shop, Him Heang. The one most ppl buy is the Tambun pia. The filling sorta like the one in ang ku kueh, only salty, not sweet.
My mom asked me to buy Beh Teh Saw also. It's hard, and the filling is sticky and salty sweet.
I decided to try the Xiang Bing too. It's shaped like Tambun pia, but smaller, and the filling is brown, salty too. I like this cos I can eat it in one mouthful.
September 21st, 2003
Lazy Days
Posted by vampire at 11:36 PM on September 21, 2003.
Went to watch Turn Left, Turn Right by Gigi Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro, with my ex-classmates. The story is interesting, but it has lotsa 'repetitive' scenes. Cos it tells the story from both sides. I'll give it 4 out of 5 stars for the story, 2.5 stars for the directing.
Met Liszt at The Venue last night during dinner. Kuching is so small... hehe...
Then, breakfast today, met Maui's parents, and also Desmond from uni. I heard Desmond and Jackson gonna work in 1st Silicon. Howe Tian, too, if offered the job.
Congrats to Chee Pan on getting his job as a Test Engineer in Carsem. Close to home, and earning money. Way to go!!!
The past two days, I've been sleeping early and waking up early, like 7.30-8.30am. That's so un-normal~!! Now that my sis has gone back to Malacca to study, I gotta fetch my mom home from work, and have to be awake at that time. Usually, my sis does the job... Hehe...
Here are a couple of pics of the Dorayaki (Doraemon's doughnut) I had in Ipoh. Bought from Ipoh Parade Lower Ground Floor. You can choose from the fillings of Peanut Butter, Kaya, Tau Sar, etc. I don recommend peanut butter, cos it drips. I think in Kuching, they sell this too in Wisma Saberkas, but the shape isn't the same.
September 23rd, 2003
Naruto
Posted by vampire at 02:07 AM on September 23, 2003.
I started watching Naruto (donno if I mentioned this before)... I'm kinda blur now. I am writing this blog out of boredom. No one to chat with at this time, 2am.
And AXN is showing Ranma 1/2 now. Just started today. Shows 2 episodes back-to-back every weekday from 7-8pm. It's an old anime. Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, School Life. The main character (guy) turns into a girl when kenak cold water, and vice versa with hot water. His father turns into a panda when contact with cold water, and vice versa with hot water. The whole anime, lotsa water.
I like MrMiaow's blog, constantly updated... And I see you are having so much fun there, so many activities!! hehe... and i am rotting in Kuching... I gotta find something to do soon.
Found out Informatics does not offer MCSE course under Graduate Training Scheme (GTS). Most probably will be taking up Accounting course with my fren, Lau, to pass time until Chinese New Year. After that, baru seriously work full time.
Still in the process of applying British-Chevening scholarship... Filling up forms is a bother. I've gotta fill up 4 forms, contact referees, mail them, wait for their reply, etc, etc.
Gonna go sleep now... Gotta wake up early tomorrow. Ppl coming to fix the door at my house. Termite-eaten. Sweet dreams, all!
September 26th, 2003
Again, lazy!
Posted by vampire at 03:37 AM on September 26, 2003.
I've got quite a number of nice pics, but lazy to upload, edit, etc.
Two nights ago, I went to Hai Pa Wang somewhere at Jln Lumba Kuda. It's a Chinese restaurant, but serves halal food. I'd say you go to
Wena's blog for more details, for the moment. Lazy to post up pics.
After that, we went to Coffee Master at Somerset Gateway, next to the IBMS building. They serve coffee like Coffee Bean, but at a much cheaper price, cos they use local Sarawakian Gourmet Coffee...
Today, Darryl took off for UK... Won't be seeing him for another year at least. After that I went to watch The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It's a movie with an interesting story, and again quite poor directing. The movie isn't smooth. It leaves you with a feeling of rush to present everything in the comic that the movie was adapted from. I've yet to see the comic, though. But it's quite a something that should be watched. Rating 6.5 outta 10.
