The vote is in!

Have you done your part and vote? Oh, don't worry the election is not here yet. I'm not talking about voting for your favourite political party but I'm talking about voting for your favourite M&M's coz you wouldn't want to miss winning M&M's prizes of your choice worth up to USD1000 right? Well, I'm a certified contest junkie so I enter any and every contest I can find. This one is no exception.

Last Sunday, after my family and I got out from the Pet World Malaysia 2011 exhibition, we went to Jusco to get some goat milk and we came across these colorful giant choc poppers near the LG entrance. There was altogether five of them, happily hopping around near the M&M's booth. My family and I was most attracted to the yellow one, coz he's just so cute holding his sign upside down. LOL! And so I did my part in voting for my favourite M&M's character - I think you can guess which one I voted for right? You can vote too, right here.

I feel for the people wearing these costumes. It is not an easy job, especially when dealing with kids. They can be unintentionally mean sometimes. LOL! Oh, I was also told that the mascots will be visiting local colleges and universities to garner votes. So don't forget to vote for your favourite guys!

We also voted for the best restaurant to eat in and the others won. I voted for Tony Roma's but everyone else said they want Manhattan Fish Market so I had to eat fish instead of meat that day. What can I say right, you gotta learn to compromise, especially with those whom you love.

 Yummeh!

 

But whatever it is though, it is fun to go out with your whole family once in a while, especially now that my brothers and I are all grown up. Try to spend as much time as you can with your family before it is too late.

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JEANYUMMY

Chinese Muslim Cuisine

In a country as diversified as Malaysia, it is not unusual to bump into someone who has the same skin color as you but might be of a different race and religion. So when the word Chinese and Muslim is brought together in the same sentence, it is not unusual either.

HOMST Restaurant is a Chinese Muslim Restaurant. The owner, Mr. Yusuf, is shy with the camera but he is very soft spoken and nice. I love that the restaurant is bright because then I'll be able to see everything on my plate. I don't mean that romantic lights are bad but I prefer this type of food outlet instead of an outlet that make me have to pick at my food one by one for fear if there's a bug hiding somewhere (yeah, I was always unlucky like that). The restaurant is also spacious and clean, which gives me a peace of mind all throughout my eating time.

There are a variety of food sold here, from fried stuffs - rice and mee - to a more specific dish that consists of beef, chicken, seafood, vegetables and others. Since I was at this restaurant to celebrate my aunt's and uncle's 19 years wedding anniversary, we chose to to have plain white rice for 5 people with 7 dishes.

Black Pepper Chicken

Sweet & Sour Lala

The Black Pepper Chicken is yummylicious. They serve you boneless chicken fried until it is crispy and mixed with black pepper sauce that is not too hot but enough to give you the "kick". Then we chose the Sweet & Sour Lala which gave us the exact taste - sweet and a little sour tangy taste. You can eat the Lala just like that too. I did exactly that and pretty much cleaned up the whole plate! LOL!

Bawal Putih Asam Deep Fried Fish

Buttered Prawns

Then there was the fish, which is one of the "important" food for my aunt. She can't eat without fish. We ordered the Bawal Putih Asam Deep Fried Fish. It is first deep fried so that there is no fishy smell and then cooked again with Asam, Lady Fingers and Tomatoes. However, you can still taste the sweet Bawal Putih even though it's been cooked twice. Oh, and the Butter Prawns is AMAZING! The fried egg floss is just so delish! I don't even eat the prawns at first - even though the prawns are big and fat! I was eating the floss bit by bit, savouring each taste.. Make me drool just thinking about it right now. Yums!

Kailan Oyster Sauce

Asparagus Belacan

Bean Sprouts Oyster Sauce

We had three types of vegetables. I usually need vegetable in my plate so having three types is no problem for me. The first one is Kailan Oyster Sauce. The Kailan is cooked with Oyster Sauce and topped off with some fried shallots. The second one is Asparagus Belacan. Asparagus is my favourite type of vege so I don't really care if it's fried with belacan or cooked with oyster sauce or anything else. Lastly is Bean Sprouts cooked with Oyster Sauce and topped with fried shallots too. We love that the Bean Sprouts are still crunchy and juicy!

Ribena Special

I had the Ribena Special drink - Ribena Ice Blended with Lychee, Nata de Coco and two cubes of watermelon. This is the first time I tried this and I liked it. I didn't get the chance to snap the others' drinks though. The minute their order arrived, they sipped their drinks like crazy. LOL! All I know is that there were two coconuts, one cold Lychee juice and one Sirap Bandung on the table.

Two sides of the interior

If you would like to try some Chinese Muslim cuisine, head down to HOMST Restaurant. They have four outlets which are in Kajang, Shah Alam, Kota Damansara and Taman Tun Dr. Ismail (HQ). You'll go home full and satisfied with the price. Our total pocket damage was only RM187.00!

HOMST Restaurant Kajang

No. 47G & 48G, Jalan Prima Saujana 1/1A,

Seksyen 1, Taman Prima Saujana,

43000 Kajang, Selangor.

Tel : 03-87340760

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LADYJAVA | LINA219

Indian Cuisine | Vansh, Starhill Gallery, KL

Living in Malaysia amongst its multi-racial and multi-cultural people, there are many types of food and restaurant available. There's always the variety in choices and there's also that specialty of each restaurant which tantalizes my taste buds and can make me drool just by reading the description. Today, it is all about Indian food and let's see if this one particular restaurant in Starhill Gallery - VANSH - can deliver.

Vansh, Starhill Gallery

One of the things that I love about Indian food is the distinct spiciness which is very different compared to other spicy food that I can find. Briyani is one of the first things I would order at an Indian restaurant, along with Tandoori and maybe some Naan and Samosa. When Vansh prepared these (and many more), I was more than ready to try them out and see for myself if they're any better than how I usually get my Indian food.

I have to say that I am in love with the Lamb Briyani. The tender and juicy lamb hidden inside the Briyani is refreshing to my dry mouth. Not to mention that the portion is big enough for two! I also love the Samosa (vegetarian) due to the soft skin and not hard like the usual Samosa sold by the roadside stalls while the sauce was slightly sour, much to my liking. Not to forget, the Tandoori Lamb Chop (2 lamb chops marinated with spiced yogurt and roasted in the tandoor) just dance in my mouth and I managed to finish everything, right down to the last meat on the bones. I am not much of a lamb fan but that lamb was exceptional.

The Naan however, though it came in three variations, disappointed me. It tasted dry to my mouth and even the Butter Naan tasted plain to me. Although the Kashmiri Rogan Josh (lamb cubes simmered in a fennel scented yogurt gravy) looked beautiful but coupled with the Naan, it was still a disappointment. And then there was the Palak Paneer, at RM 28, it made a non-spinach fan like me look it in a different view altogether. Yums!

As the food kept coming, I managed to grab a little bit of this and that since I was afraid my stomach won't be able to handle the amount of food I am to ingest some more.

There was both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food served, maybe due to the fact that some Indians are also vegetarians for religious purposes. In my opinion, the Vegetarian Kebab Platter which features aloo mutter tikki, tandoori mushroom and tandoori paneer tikka is far better tasting than the Kebab Sampler Platter featuring malmali sheekh, murg malai tikka and tandoori tiger prawn. I say this because of  the stronger spicy and sour taste in the Vegetarian Platter in comparison to the bland taste and rough meat in the Sampler Platter.

Not long after that, I tried the Chilli Cheese Kulzza (fresh fluffy bread packed with mild yellow cheddar, piquant chilli and fresh coriander) and I just can't stop helping myself to a second and third piece. It is presented like a pizza and even though the chilli tastes weird when combined with coriander but I prefer it more than the Naan. I did not try the Honey Kulzza (RM 20) however because I do not like onion seeds and there were too much onion seeds on it for me to handle. The Lamb Vindaloo on the other hand, tastes pretty much like the Rogan Josh. I sort of wondered if I had tried the same thing but on the second try, I was right. There was nothing distinct about the vindaloo although the lamb was tender and the spices delicious.

Of course, nothing is better than ending an Indian meal with Masala Chai (tea) but I had to help myself with a few spoonfuls of sugar. I'm not so into the bitter cardamom taste though it is said to have medicinal values. I think the sugars I heaped into my cup neutralized the medicinal uses of the tea. LOL! And then, they served  us desserts - Khajoor Kulfi (homemade frosty flavoured with exotic dates) and Lychee Kulfi (homemade frosty flavoured with exotic lychees), something which I had never tried before. I absolutely love the Khajoor Kulfi. Dates never get out of fashion!

Although there are some food that went well with my taste buds but I think there are some too that requires a little bit of improvement. Dry or rough food in any restaurant is something not appreciated by the patrons. I'm sure everybody agrees with me when I say we'd love nothing more than to put something in our mouth and feel the taste and texture just blends together and make our tongue tingle with pleasure.

But don't just take my word for it! Try it yourself!

Vansh Restaurant.

Lot LG 9, Lower Ground Floor, 

Starhill Gallery, 55100 Kuala Lumpur

03-2142 6162

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MARIUCA

Addicted to Masterchef US TV Show

From the first time I watch the Masterchef USA series on Astro, I was hooked. So what did I do next? I went on YouTube and checked out videos of the whole season. LOL! I'm impatient like that, sorry. I love watching them cook and seeing the beautiful end result. It's so amazing to see how fast they work with their utensils and food to finish in time. If it were me, I won't be able to finish in 45 minutes. Seriously.

Does anyone here love cooking?

No, I don't like to cook. I'd rather wash the toilet than cook. Cooking is not one of my top favourite things to do. However, when it needs be, I think I can cook a decent meal. I don't have the proper training or what not, most of the time I'll just throw in whatever that's available or what I think can make the food turn out right. And usually the end result is edible enough that my whole family can finish it in one seating. I guess I'm lucky like that. It's just that I'm lazy to cook, that's all. I hate to clean the food, peel the onions, garlics and everything else. LOL! 

Oh, but baking, now that's another story. Baking is B-bunz's specialty. Can you believe it? He bakes super duper well! 

So anyway, I've found out that the winner of Masterchef USA Season 1 is Whitney Miller. It's no surprise, I think. From the first time I saw her in the first episode, I knew this girl is different than the rest. It doesn't matter than she's only 22 years old and pretty, her food looks amazing too. Maybe some people DO have the magical touch when it comes to cooking.

Graham Elliot, Gordon Ramsay, Whitney Miller, Joe Bastianich

Winning US$ 250,000 and a cookbook deal is just a bonus to the passion that had lived long within.

Oh and I also absolutely love the judges. I love how Gordon Ramsay talks. He looked like he's about to jump out of his skin any minute. And Graham Elliot's size makes him look cute instead of intimidating, though I'm sure he's intimidating enough in the kitchen. Joe Bastianich on the other hand, is so serious and he have this poker face that sometimes makes you wonder what's going through his mind when he's tasting all those food. But then again, maybe people who really appreciate a fine cooked food is like that. All in all, they're a great show to watch!

Right now, I am watching this show back to back on YouTube. Luckily I am free as a bird starting today. Phew! If you never seen this show before, go check them out ASAP.

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LADYJAVA

Pancakes are delicious!

But I didn't eat much pancakes that day. LOL!

A couple of weeks ago, B-bunz and I went to Paddington House of Pancakes in 1Utama for lunch. I've read about this place a few times but have never visit them before. I love to eat pancakes in the morning but that day, we thought of going for a massage first before lunch. B-bunz offered to treat me and himself for a massage at this Thai massage center in 1Utama level B1 but we didn't like the traditional massages at all. It does not help anything. Better get a massage at my own place. Sadly, my place is only for women. No men allowed. which is why B-bunz had to go for this alternative. However, since there's no slot for a massage in the morning, so we went to have our lunch at Paddington House of Pancakes first.

The appetizer we chose was this grilled eggplant with olives that was not much to my liking. The main course portion weren't too much. It's just nice if you're a small eater like me and you get full easily. 

B-bunz chose one of the meals from the "Pannakoek" section while I picked from the "Galettes" section. B-bunz had this lamb with pannakoek pancakes and salads while I had this lunch set meal called Texas that consists of my own chicken with mushroom sauce, whipped potato, soft drink and dessert. The dessert is made of a few dollar pancakes with one scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yums! Sorry, I lost the receipt and I'm not sure the real names of these meals.

B-bunz and I had a field day laughing at the "Pannakoek" word. We're talking and then we'll put in the "Pannakoek" word as if it's a curse word or something and end up laughing like crazy. LOL! Honestly, I have no idea what "Pannakoek" is.

B-bunz's meal 

Mine 

My dessert

And the total to it all, which includes B-bunz's ice lemon tea is RM76.00! However, we became hungry a few hours later, which means we should've helped ourselves with one of their Treasure Box too! I'll have to visit this place again soon.

Paddington House of Pancakes

G363, Ground Floor Rainforest,
1 Utama Shopping Centre
Bandar Utama Damansara
47800 Petaling Jaya
Tel / Fax : 03 7722 3206

Operating Hours : 10am - 11pm everyday

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MARIUCA

The Bloggers Gathering at HRC, Kuala Lumpur

01.10.2010

Hard Rock Cafe, Kuala Lumpur.

That's the date we all met at Hard Rock Cafe, Kuala Lumpur for dinner. The time stated to arrive is 8pm. I arrived at 9.15pm. LOL! That's over the fashionably late hour I think. Sorry all of you, I had to meet B-bunz halfway after he finish his work (which is late as usual) and the jam we had to go through is murder. How I sometimes wish we had a bike to squeeze through the jam in KL. 

B-bunz and I have officially named Friday night as Jam Night.

Thank goodness we did not lost our way. B-bunz and I are the types that don't go out much - especially not in KL. So, we weren't too sure where HRC is. I remembered passing that road whenever we're going to Pavillion from KLCC but I wasn't too sure if it's HRC or some other restaurant. So, with a printed map (from Google map) in hand, we both made our cautious way to HRC. 

When we arrived, there were empty seats at the end of the table, across Marzie and B and next to Adrian and wife. LJ greeted me with a big smile and wave which made me feel instantly comfortable though I've never met LJ before that night. LJ called B-bunz "B-bunz" and he blushed. In the dark HRC, I can see B-bunz blush. How cute. 

B-bunz : I never thought I can still blush at this age.

Bunz : Awww.. (secretly laughing behind him)

Hickory Smoked Bar-B-Que Beef Ribs

Fish and Chips

The minute we sat down, it was time to order. Everyone's nearly finishing their meals so B-bunz and I quickly ordered our drinks and then, our food. I had Hickory Smoked Bar-B-Que Beef Ribs (RM68) and B-bunz had Fish and Chips (RM25). After eating, and managing to finish my Hickory Smoked Bar-B-Que Beef Ribs myself (whoa!), it was photo-taking time with everyone. Sadly, by this time, my already sick camera went into coma. I know, I should do something about it pronto. *Sigh* I think B-bunz should flash the hardware first and see how it goes. If not, maybe I'll have to send it to the camera shop. *Sad*

All in all, I think the food I had was pretty good. The portion is pretty small compared to other Ribs I've eaten elsewhere. And not to mention that we were asked to leave the table at 10.15pm when it was reserved until 11pm is not so nice. Maybe HRC needs to find a bigger and better venue to accommodate their customers. And I find it weird that the bar (which is smoking area) is only 5 feet from the place we're eating (which they say is non-smoking area). I mean, the whole place is filled with cigarette smoke and smell. I'm still smoking second-hand smoke there. So funny la they!

Oh yeah, I am so grateful for the gifts the three ladies passed to me. None other than LJ, Marzie and Emila. The gifts are wonderful! Both B-bunz and I love the brownie from LJ! I feel weird not giving anything in return. Never mind, if there's a next gathering, I'll definitely give something interesting to everyone.

Shemah, Bella, Marzie

Photo credit to Mariuca

Everybody! (except B-bunz & A)

Photo credit to Mariuca

Everybody (L-R) : Haaziq, Shemah, Bem, Soulie, LJ, Adrian & wife, Emila, Mariuca & B, Bella, Marvic & bf.

Hope this can be an annual event or something and hope more bloggers can gather together the next time. Thank you all for the warm friendship. You guys are awesome!

Hard Rock Cafe Malaysia
2, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel : 03-2715 5555

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MARIUCA

My unhappy Hari Raya

Ketupat

So it have been a few days since we celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri. I have been eating non-stop the past few days, I think I have gained at least 5 kilos from all the food I consumed. Luckily I haven't experienced any stomachaches or diarrhea. LOL! 

Kuah Lontong

My first day was filled with lontong. I love my mom's lontong. She cooks her Singapore lontong, which is different from the Malaysian type - I have no idea why. I had about 7 big helpings of her lontong that first day itself. However, what pissed me off on that first day was some kids who came by the house to ask for duit raya and kept ringing the bell even though it's already in the evening and when we didn't open the door, they kicked my father's Triton. 

The thing is, we don't want to let these kids in the house for Hari Raya because a few years ago we had a very bad experience with them. Some of them vandalised our furniture, some stole the little priceless things (such as crystals) that we had on display while some others had the gall to ask for extra duit raya. My dad gives RM10 to each of these kids, whom we do not know and we suspect come from the other housing area. Isn't RM10 enough already? Some people just give RM1 to kids they don't know. Because of that experience, we're very cautious of whom we let in to our house on Hari Raya. And from the looks of it, the parents of those kids who kicked my father's Triton must've forgotten to teach their children on the meaning of Aidilfitri.

And I also had to care for my aunt's kitten as she's in Singapore for Hari Raya. So, here's the little kitty. Her name's Daisy.

On the second of Hari Raya, my dad's Jaguar was stolen. And then it's used for a robbery somewhere else.

WTF right?? 

My dad left his Jaguar at our other house which have not been installed CCTV or alarm system yet because  he just bought that house. The reason he left the car there is because the garage in our current house is already full. Plus there are more land in the other house. But the thing that made me so grateful was, on that night, my dad told my mom that he wants to sleep over there because he's so tired and sleepy but my mom insisted he comes home because she's worried since there are no grills on the windows, it might not be safe. So they came home but it was almost 2am by then. My parents only left for the other house the next day around noon and when they arrived, they realized that the Jaguar is gone and the house was broken into.

At almost the same time, at another place somewhere in Kajang, a house was robbed and the robbers used my dad's Jaguar as the getaway car. The neighbours of that unlucky house caught the plate number and did a police report which tallies with my dad's police report and now they're busy looking for my dad's Jaguar.

I thought it was lucky though - what with gruesome death stories in the news these days - that my dad did not sleep over there that night. God knows what would've happened if he was there by himself. Subhanallah!

As you can see, it had not been a very fantastic couple of days. Sigh..

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SYAMIL A SAMAD

Shop & Dine | My 99th Post!

Finally, this is my 99th post! How awesome. I know I had begun publishing sparsely in the beginning but I hope I can do it more often now as well as making more friends in the blogosphere. So here's to another 99 more! Cheers!

Anyways, I know it is a little late to go shopping for Hari Raya considering that Hari Raya is just around the corner but, that's my family for you! We always do things last minute, sometimes it's annoying because then everybody will be rushing to get this and that but what to do, the Boss is the "Godfather" in this family. LOL! Still, it's better late than never right? Plus I needed a pair of jeans badly

We left home around 4.45pm to The Gardens, MidValley. By the time we arrived, we were looking for the best restaurant to break fast, hoping we could reserve a table before it's too late. But we had to go from one restaurant to another because the Boss kept questioning if this restaurant serves HALAL food or not and why does that restaurant say it serves HALAL food but no HALAL sign and started lecturing us on why we should not dine anywhere that serves alcohol, especially in Ramadhan to break our fast. OK, so he has a point but the restaurants in The Gardens are quite limited to fulfill those requirements.

So we went to MidValley Megamall instead and walked straight to The Manhattan Fish Market. By then, it was already about 6.10pm. They said the tables are fully booked except for one where a Chinese family is sitting in. They told us to come by to the restaurant at exactly 7pm (the latest) to get that table or not they'll have to let others sit there. We had no problem with that, so we walked around for a bit, my mom and I bought some hair accessories and jewelries at a Sinma booth and my brother went to buy his Collector's Edition Mass Effect 2 PC game. Yup, I give you my brother, the ultimate gamer.

Only PART of the food we ordered

Soon after, we went to The Manhattan Fish Market to order and wait for Maghrib. It was a full house, of course, what do you expect on Ramadhan right? About one hour and a half later, we're all full and slightly sleepy. The food's not bad and the price are pretty reasonable. We had Butter Garlic Mussels (RM16.90), Fried Country Mushroom (RM9.90), Manhattan Caeser Salad (RM12.90), Grilled Platter for One (RM27.90), Fish & Chips (RM15.90), Grilled Manhattan King Salmon (RM26.90), Seafood Platter for Two (RM46.90), Mineral Water (RM2.90), Mango Juice (RM6.90), Earl Grey Tea (RM4.90), 100-Plus (RM5.90) and 3 Coke (RM17.70). The 100-Plus and Coke are bottomless which means it's refillable. I refilled mine three times. LOL! So total for all this including 10% Service Charge and 5% Govt Tax is RM231.73. For a party of five who have been fasting the whole day, it's not so bad - right?

Once our bellies are full, it's time for SHOPPING! Yeay! Went to cK and got the jeans I wanted. Finally my waist have gone up to 25 inches so it's easier for me to get some nice looking jeans and pants. But I still had to settle for the 24-inch sized jeans at Levi's. Got some polo shirts as well but haven't the chance to look for shoes yet. There were a few really attractive shoes (read : sparkling with crystals) and I'm SO lovin' it but maybe I'll have to make another trip for that one.

Finally, photo-taking time!

MidValley Center Court

Hope I will be able to sleep peacefully tonight.

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MARIUCA

Cute edible food

...is just so tempting right?

I love food and although I can't eat so much in one sitting but I can finish say, a 7-course meal if I take my time. Dessert is the best part of a meal! I totally love ice-cream. Vanilla, ice-cream tops the chart but if there's Strawberry or that Toffee Rainbow-coloured ice-cream, I take those too. I love those rainbow coloured toffee flavoured ice-cream like Paddle Pop. Yum!

However, right now I'm talking gonna talk about these cuties that I bought from Big Apple Donuts & Coffee. Have you guys ever been here before? Ever tried their donuts? I'm not much of a donut fan but when I feel like eating some, I would go get them at either Big Apple Donuts & Coffee or J.Co Donuts & Coffee shop.

So yesterday, while walking around in Alamanda trying to look for the best food for break fast, I couldn't resist to purchase these cuties at the Big Apple Donuts & Coffee shop.

These are called Donashi. They are inspired by Sushi and designed like those sushi with rice paste. There are quite a variety of flavours in - strawberry, blueberry, vanilla, custard, chocolate and so much more. Oh, do you see that round chocolate cup in the middle? That's the chocolate dip. You dip the donuts in the chocolate and then sink in your teeth into the donuts' soft middle where the rich cream is at and feel the taste wash in your mouth, your tongue and all the way to your throat before you swallow it down. (OMG, my description sounds erotic! LOL!)

  Ohh La La!

I was first attracted to the colour but let me tell you, the taste is just as beautiful. My brothers tasted them and went, "Delicious.. Yum Yum". Sadly B-bunz could not eat them coz he have sore tooth and the sweetness makes his tooth ache. 

How much is it? Only RM25 for 28 of these yummy edible cuties!

Look at those!

Tempted much?

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BLUECRYSTALDUDE