Remembering Lang Lang 郎郎
8 years ago
Thursday, November 29, 2007
KL Sentral 11 November 2007
As Tracy and I were walking from KL Sentral to the monorail station, there were two functions going on at the same time.
On the left was a Chinese function while on the right was an Indian function. I asked Tracy how could the audience listen and pay attention if there were people speaking at both functions at the same time. The mind boggles!
After we bought our monorail ticket and wanted to take a photo of the banana tree in the middle of the road in KL Sentral, a reporter and camera crew came near us. I avoided them right away but Tracy was put on the spotlight and asked her opinion on the opposition rally at Dataran Merdeka the day before.
On the left was a Chinese function while on the right was an Indian function. I asked Tracy how could the audience listen and pay attention if there were people speaking at both functions at the same time. The mind boggles!
After we bought our monorail ticket and wanted to take a photo of the banana tree in the middle of the road in KL Sentral, a reporter and camera crew came near us. I avoided them right away but Tracy was put on the spotlight and asked her opinion on the opposition rally at Dataran Merdeka the day before.
MPO at Petronas Philharmonic Hall 10 November 2007
A few weeks before I went to Kuala Lumpur, I already bought the tickets to listen to MPO through the internet (MPO website is http://www.malaysianphilharmonic.com). The time stated for the performance at the website was 8p.m. All I knew were the names of the conductor and soloist. I did not have any clue what was the theme that night.
The train was supposed to arrive at Setia Jaya at 520pm but it didn’t arrive until 540pm. When I looked over to the LDP Highway, the road was still congested.
I arrived at KLCC around 6.30p.m. and met Tracy. We went to collect the tickets and only realised then the actual time of the performance was 8.30p.m.
We decided to try out California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) at KLCC again. (A year ago we came to this restaurant to eat on recommendation by Andrew Chan. We ordered the original barbeque chicken at the time and it tasted absolutely mouth watering).
CPK is located at Lot 140, Level 1, KLCC.
This time we wanted to try something different so I suggested peking duck. What a big mistake that was! This fusion really did not go well at all. No doubt we finished the whole pizza but the taste and oomph were missing. So disappointing!
There were a lot of people outside the Petronas Philharmonic Hall when we arrived. The programme was not given free of charge, so I paid RM5 for it. Only then I discovered that the theme for that night’s performance was all 007 The Music of the James Bond films. So cool!
The Petronas Philharmonic Hall can sit about 900 people. Somehow the Hall looked bigger in the website.
Our seats were in the middle of the six seats, second row from the front on the left side of the Hall. The view was not that fantastic but for RM40 a seat, what else can we ask for? Seated on the right in the same row with us were two young ladies. The people on the left of us did not turn up at all.
By the time the performance started the whole hall was almost full. Some people were wearing quite formal while others smart casual. Three people were late but the usher still allowed them in.
Announcements were made concerning that all handphones had to be switched off and no photography was allowed. No handphone was audible that night but some people who were seated at the upper stalls took photos with their flash but they did not get caught since they were seated so high up.
The conductor was Carl Davis (www.carl-davis.com) while the soloist was Mary Carewe (www.marycarewe.com). The majority of the members of MPO were Westerners with only some Asians. The storyline of James Bond movies and theme songs were narrated/presented by Samantha Schubert.
The music being played that night included Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Diamonds are Forever, Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights, Licence to Kill, Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day and Casino Royale.
I really enjoyed myself and was shaking my head to the tune of the music all throughout the whole performance. There were only a handful of people doing the same thing that I did. The rest of the audiences were just sitting there.
After an hour of performance, there was an intermission of 20 minutes. Visit to the loo almost took 10 minutes because of the long queue.
The spotlight outside the Hall showed the word “007” in changing colours during the intermission but the movement was too fast for me to capture on my camera.
Before the performance ended, there was announcement on best dressed audience for the night. (I did not even know of such a competition). 3rd prize was won by a fair chinese lady in a coloured gown. 2nd prize was won by an Indian lady dressed in an above knee high black dress with mini pom-poms at the bottom of the dress. 1st prize was won by a bald Westerner wearing a white suit with bow tie and black pants who to me is a Jean-Luc Picard look-alike from the Star Trek: Next Generation fame. Thunderous applause were heard as he went up to collect his prize as the audience found it befitting that the prize was awarded to the right person.
Although at the end the audience gave thunderous applause to the conductor, soloist, presenter and the orchestra, there was no encore. All good things must come to an end!
We met Tracy’s cousin Lee San (who had been waiting for us the whole night) at Dome Cafe before taking the train to Paramount station and Tracy drove us home.
The train was supposed to arrive at Setia Jaya at 520pm but it didn’t arrive until 540pm. When I looked over to the LDP Highway, the road was still congested.
I arrived at KLCC around 6.30p.m. and met Tracy. We went to collect the tickets and only realised then the actual time of the performance was 8.30p.m.
We decided to try out California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) at KLCC again. (A year ago we came to this restaurant to eat on recommendation by Andrew Chan. We ordered the original barbeque chicken at the time and it tasted absolutely mouth watering).
CPK is located at Lot 140, Level 1, KLCC.
This time we wanted to try something different so I suggested peking duck. What a big mistake that was! This fusion really did not go well at all. No doubt we finished the whole pizza but the taste and oomph were missing. So disappointing!
There were a lot of people outside the Petronas Philharmonic Hall when we arrived. The programme was not given free of charge, so I paid RM5 for it. Only then I discovered that the theme for that night’s performance was all 007 The Music of the James Bond films. So cool!
The Petronas Philharmonic Hall can sit about 900 people. Somehow the Hall looked bigger in the website.
Our seats were in the middle of the six seats, second row from the front on the left side of the Hall. The view was not that fantastic but for RM40 a seat, what else can we ask for? Seated on the right in the same row with us were two young ladies. The people on the left of us did not turn up at all.
By the time the performance started the whole hall was almost full. Some people were wearing quite formal while others smart casual. Three people were late but the usher still allowed them in.
Announcements were made concerning that all handphones had to be switched off and no photography was allowed. No handphone was audible that night but some people who were seated at the upper stalls took photos with their flash but they did not get caught since they were seated so high up.
The conductor was Carl Davis (www.carl-davis.com) while the soloist was Mary Carewe (www.marycarewe.com). The majority of the members of MPO were Westerners with only some Asians. The storyline of James Bond movies and theme songs were narrated/presented by Samantha Schubert.
The music being played that night included Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Diamonds are Forever, Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights, Licence to Kill, Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day and Casino Royale.
I really enjoyed myself and was shaking my head to the tune of the music all throughout the whole performance. There were only a handful of people doing the same thing that I did. The rest of the audiences were just sitting there.
After an hour of performance, there was an intermission of 20 minutes. Visit to the loo almost took 10 minutes because of the long queue.
The spotlight outside the Hall showed the word “007” in changing colours during the intermission but the movement was too fast for me to capture on my camera.
Before the performance ended, there was announcement on best dressed audience for the night. (I did not even know of such a competition). 3rd prize was won by a fair chinese lady in a coloured gown. 2nd prize was won by an Indian lady dressed in an above knee high black dress with mini pom-poms at the bottom of the dress. 1st prize was won by a bald Westerner wearing a white suit with bow tie and black pants who to me is a Jean-Luc Picard look-alike from the Star Trek: Next Generation fame. Thunderous applause were heard as he went up to collect his prize as the audience found it befitting that the prize was awarded to the right person.
Although at the end the audience gave thunderous applause to the conductor, soloist, presenter and the orchestra, there was no encore. All good things must come to an end!
We met Tracy’s cousin Lee San (who had been waiting for us the whole night) at Dome Cafe before taking the train to Paramount station and Tracy drove us home.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Sunway Pyramid 10 November 2007
Sunway Pyramid is a shopping centre located next to the Sunway Lagoon Theme Park in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. It has an ice skating rink.
After breakfast with Tracy‘s cousin San at one of the shoplots near Mentari Court, we walked over to Sunway Pyramid and then went our separate ways. San was in a hurry as she wanted to go to the city after window shopping in Sunway Pyramid while I was taking my sweet time.
The new wing of Sunway Pyramid opened a few months ago with anchor shops like Jusco and Giant Hypermarket. Upon arrival, I quickly checked out the toilet facilities and since it is newly opened, everything looks so new and clean.
I took some photos of Sunway Lagoon Theme Park from one of entrance of the new wing before making a few phone calls from my handphone. Talked to my former housemate and Aunty Linda in Tg. Malim.
The night before when Felix heard that Tracy and I were going to attend the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra tonight, he was interested to join us. But when I called Petronas Philharmonic Auditorium, the receptionist told me all tickets were sold out.
I went to the kitchen and clothes department of Jusco and Parkson but I didn’t manage to buy anything. I walked around for 4 hours before decided to take away some food for lunch. I wanted to go back to rest before attending the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) tonight. Tracy sms me to say that they were major traffic jams and she was taking the longest time to get home.
(After that I remembered what my brother Jeff (he’s working at The Star) had told me the night before. He told me not to go to Kuala Lumpur during the daytime because there would be an opposition rally. So the traffic jam must be the spill over from this event)
Bought a packet with a variety of sushi rolls, nasi lemak and two teriyaki chicken wings from Jusco.
When I walked out of Sunway Pyramid, there was a slight drizzle so I waited for the rain to stop before I walked back to Tracy’s apartment.
There was major traffic jam leading to Tracy’s apartment. The stroll back took me 20mins because the road was wet and I did not want to walk too fast.
When I reached Tracy’s apartment, I told her she would have major problem driving out from her apartment because of the massive traffic jam. We decided on the next course of action to take since she had to go for music practice and that night we will be attending MPO. If she was to come back to fetch me, we would definitely be late for the event.
She decided to change into the clothes she was going to wear to attend the MPO. She would park her car at Paramount Train Station and take the train to KLCC while I will change train at KL Sentral to go to KLCC.
The sushi rolls tasted great especially with a hungry stomach. The nasi lemak even tasted better. Such a simple meal, but I haven’t found one good nasi lemak available in Kota Kinabalu yet. The teriyaki chicken wing was well marinated and tasty.
I did not manage to rest because I was checking my emails and Facebook. After I showered and changed, I left the apartment at 5p.m.
After breakfast with Tracy‘s cousin San at one of the shoplots near Mentari Court, we walked over to Sunway Pyramid and then went our separate ways. San was in a hurry as she wanted to go to the city after window shopping in Sunway Pyramid while I was taking my sweet time.
The new wing of Sunway Pyramid opened a few months ago with anchor shops like Jusco and Giant Hypermarket. Upon arrival, I quickly checked out the toilet facilities and since it is newly opened, everything looks so new and clean.
I took some photos of Sunway Lagoon Theme Park from one of entrance of the new wing before making a few phone calls from my handphone. Talked to my former housemate and Aunty Linda in Tg. Malim.
The night before when Felix heard that Tracy and I were going to attend the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra tonight, he was interested to join us. But when I called Petronas Philharmonic Auditorium, the receptionist told me all tickets were sold out.
I went to the kitchen and clothes department of Jusco and Parkson but I didn’t manage to buy anything. I walked around for 4 hours before decided to take away some food for lunch. I wanted to go back to rest before attending the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) tonight. Tracy sms me to say that they were major traffic jams and she was taking the longest time to get home.
(After that I remembered what my brother Jeff (he’s working at The Star) had told me the night before. He told me not to go to Kuala Lumpur during the daytime because there would be an opposition rally. So the traffic jam must be the spill over from this event)
Bought a packet with a variety of sushi rolls, nasi lemak and two teriyaki chicken wings from Jusco.
When I walked out of Sunway Pyramid, there was a slight drizzle so I waited for the rain to stop before I walked back to Tracy’s apartment.
There was major traffic jam leading to Tracy’s apartment. The stroll back took me 20mins because the road was wet and I did not want to walk too fast.
When I reached Tracy’s apartment, I told her she would have major problem driving out from her apartment because of the massive traffic jam. We decided on the next course of action to take since she had to go for music practice and that night we will be attending MPO. If she was to come back to fetch me, we would definitely be late for the event.
She decided to change into the clothes she was going to wear to attend the MPO. She would park her car at Paramount Train Station and take the train to KLCC while I will change train at KL Sentral to go to KLCC.
The sushi rolls tasted great especially with a hungry stomach. The nasi lemak even tasted better. Such a simple meal, but I haven’t found one good nasi lemak available in Kota Kinabalu yet. The teriyaki chicken wing was well marinated and tasty.
I did not manage to rest because I was checking my emails and Facebook. After I showered and changed, I left the apartment at 5p.m.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Kuala Lumpur Nightlife 9 November 2007
Before Felix Eng arrived, Tracy told me he wanted to drive up to Ipoh to eat the Ipoh chicken rice but I did not fancy to travel a total of 4 hours in one night just to have a meal especially when both of them had been working during the day eventhough the weekend was coming up.
Felix fetched us just after 7pm and we went to a shop in Petaling Jaya to have claypot rice. We had difficulty of finding the shop because the last time Felix went to this shop was more than ten years ago.
Although the shop is just a normal coffee shop, there were already a lot of people eating there. We ordered a beef claypot rice and two soups. We did not have to wait long for the food to arrive. The soup were tasty with the help of MSG of course! So I did not take much, only a few tablespoons. True enough, Felix’s choices are quite good: the claypot rice tasted great, the beef was well marinated and the rice had just enough sauce. Felix paid the bill of RM40.
He then asked me where I wanted to go and Tracy suggested 1 Utama Shopping Centre since the time was already 9ish. I only knew the location of IBM’s new office when he drove passed the building (so near 1 Utama). Only Felix managed to buy a shirt in our limited time in the shopping centre.
Tracy said she wanted to go to The Curve to see the lights there but Felix suggested somewhere even better. He drove us to Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square). Had a good time taking photos at Dataran Merdeka (what a sight to behold!) and then went around the Golden Triangle.
When we arrived at some shoplots near Mentari Court, Tracy and Felix ordered a drink but I didn't have any before Felix drove us home.
Felix fetched us just after 7pm and we went to a shop in Petaling Jaya to have claypot rice. We had difficulty of finding the shop because the last time Felix went to this shop was more than ten years ago.
Although the shop is just a normal coffee shop, there were already a lot of people eating there. We ordered a beef claypot rice and two soups. We did not have to wait long for the food to arrive. The soup were tasty with the help of MSG of course! So I did not take much, only a few tablespoons. True enough, Felix’s choices are quite good: the claypot rice tasted great, the beef was well marinated and the rice had just enough sauce. Felix paid the bill of RM40.
He then asked me where I wanted to go and Tracy suggested 1 Utama Shopping Centre since the time was already 9ish. I only knew the location of IBM’s new office when he drove passed the building (so near 1 Utama). Only Felix managed to buy a shirt in our limited time in the shopping centre.
Tracy said she wanted to go to The Curve to see the lights there but Felix suggested somewhere even better. He drove us to Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square). Had a good time taking photos at Dataran Merdeka (what a sight to behold!) and then went around the Golden Triangle.
When we arrived at some shoplots near Mentari Court, Tracy and Felix ordered a drink but I didn't have any before Felix drove us home.
Mentari Court and Taylor’s College, Sunway Campus 9 November 2007
After I alighted from the train at Setia Jaya Station, I took some photos of Mentari Court (where I was staying for the duration of my Kuala Lumpur trip) and Taylor’s College.
Shopping at Carrefour and Subang Parade Shopping Mall 9 November 2007
Before I even had a chance to get up at 9am, I had already received so many sms from my colleague asking me about different things that had to be done while I wasn’t working. Tracy had gone to work by then. She had to be in school by 740am.
Since I woke up late and that night Tracy and I were going to have dinner with her friend Felix, I decided not to go too far. I took the train from Setia Jaya and went to the next stop Subang Jaya along the Port Klang line. On the way, I sms a former housemate whose office is in Puchong whether he’s free to have lunch with me.
I walked around Carrefour which is situated next to the Subang Jaya train station. Carrefour Subang Jaya was having some renovation in the store at the time so one floor was closed. I was a bit disappointed since I was looking forward to shop at Carrefour again. But the consolation was that the kitchen department (one of my favourite department in a department store besides clothes department) was not closed so I bought an egg separator, a lemon squeezer and 4 different sizes of funnels. I had bought a lot of kitchen gadgets since my travel to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in recent years.
When my stomach started to make noise, I had to decide what to eat. I did not receive any reply from my former housemate so I called him instead. But unfortunately he does not use the handphone number anymore while he did not answer at another number I called. Oh well!
Tracy called to ask me where I was and what I was having for lunch. She told me I was not at the Subang Parade Shopping Mall but Carrefour. There wasn’t anything that fancies me in Carrefour eventhough there are Japanese restaurants, Kenny Rogers Roasters, The Chicken Rice Shop, KFC, McDonald’s and a food court. I wanted to try The Chicken Rice Shop but since there was not a single person inside the shop, I did not dare to go in.
I walked over to Subang Parade Shopping Mall and glanced at the Directory to see what foods are on offer. There were Chicken Rice Shop, Nando’s Chickenland, The Manhattan Fish Market, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Sakae Sushi, Secret Recipe, King Pie, Dome Café, Dave’s Deli, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Uncle Lim’s Café, T.G.I. Friday’s, Eden Restaurant, Coca Thai Restaurant, Oversea Restaurant, Rasa Thai & Satay Yanti’’s. etc.
I never ate in The Manhattan Fish Market so I went into this shop. It is operated by Revenue Valley Sdn. Bhd. and located at Lot 20E, F&H Lower Ground Floor, Subang Parade Shopping Mall (Tel: 03 56370121). Their website is www.manhattanfishmarket.com
I ordered a set lunch of Fish & Chips which included a glass of ice lemon tea, mushroom soup and Fish & Chips.
The drink was ok. The mushroom soup was a bit on the diluted side. The Fish & Chips consisted of two big pieces of fish and lots of chips with a dash of seasoning on top, quite a large serving. To accompany the fish and chips, there were three small bowls of chilli sauce, tartare sauce and garlic. I could only eat one piece of the fish because it was on the oily side and then there were a lot of chips so I couldn’t finish them as well. Total price came to RM21.74 including 15% tax.
I would think twice of going to The Manhattan Fish Market when it opens in 1 Borneo Hypermall Kota Kinabalu next year.
After lunch, I walked around Parkson for a while before taking the train back. I only bought a small rice scoop for my sushi making from Parkson.
Since I woke up late and that night Tracy and I were going to have dinner with her friend Felix, I decided not to go too far. I took the train from Setia Jaya and went to the next stop Subang Jaya along the Port Klang line. On the way, I sms a former housemate whose office is in Puchong whether he’s free to have lunch with me.
I walked around Carrefour which is situated next to the Subang Jaya train station. Carrefour Subang Jaya was having some renovation in the store at the time so one floor was closed. I was a bit disappointed since I was looking forward to shop at Carrefour again. But the consolation was that the kitchen department (one of my favourite department in a department store besides clothes department) was not closed so I bought an egg separator, a lemon squeezer and 4 different sizes of funnels. I had bought a lot of kitchen gadgets since my travel to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in recent years.
When my stomach started to make noise, I had to decide what to eat. I did not receive any reply from my former housemate so I called him instead. But unfortunately he does not use the handphone number anymore while he did not answer at another number I called. Oh well!
Tracy called to ask me where I was and what I was having for lunch. She told me I was not at the Subang Parade Shopping Mall but Carrefour. There wasn’t anything that fancies me in Carrefour eventhough there are Japanese restaurants, Kenny Rogers Roasters, The Chicken Rice Shop, KFC, McDonald’s and a food court. I wanted to try The Chicken Rice Shop but since there was not a single person inside the shop, I did not dare to go in.
I walked over to Subang Parade Shopping Mall and glanced at the Directory to see what foods are on offer. There were Chicken Rice Shop, Nando’s Chickenland, The Manhattan Fish Market, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Sakae Sushi, Secret Recipe, King Pie, Dome Café, Dave’s Deli, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Uncle Lim’s Café, T.G.I. Friday’s, Eden Restaurant, Coca Thai Restaurant, Oversea Restaurant, Rasa Thai & Satay Yanti’’s. etc.
I never ate in The Manhattan Fish Market so I went into this shop. It is operated by Revenue Valley Sdn. Bhd. and located at Lot 20E, F&H Lower Ground Floor, Subang Parade Shopping Mall (Tel: 03 56370121). Their website is www.manhattanfishmarket.com
I ordered a set lunch of Fish & Chips which included a glass of ice lemon tea, mushroom soup and Fish & Chips.
The drink was ok. The mushroom soup was a bit on the diluted side. The Fish & Chips consisted of two big pieces of fish and lots of chips with a dash of seasoning on top, quite a large serving. To accompany the fish and chips, there were three small bowls of chilli sauce, tartare sauce and garlic. I could only eat one piece of the fish because it was on the oily side and then there were a lot of chips so I couldn’t finish them as well. Total price came to RM21.74 including 15% tax.
I would think twice of going to The Manhattan Fish Market when it opens in 1 Borneo Hypermall Kota Kinabalu next year.
After lunch, I walked around Parkson for a while before taking the train back. I only bought a small rice scoop for my sushi making from Parkson.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Deepavali 8 November 2007 Part 4
After our fine dining experience in a 1 World-Class Venue, we walked around in order for our food to digest. By then, the weather had become very misty and it was so cooling and refreshing. It’s been a long long time I didn’t experience such weather.
We walked until the entrance of the Outdoor Themepark but by then, none of the rides were operating cos of the misty weather. Beside the Outdoor Themepark entrance is where the Arena of Stars situated, a venue where all the entertainment are held and shown on the television.
At about 4pm we went to queue up to buy our return ticket from Genting Highlands to Titiwangsa. The time shown on our coach tickets was 520p.m. Since we had to get back to Kuala Lumpur in a hurry in order to make it for Tracy’s ex principal’s Deepavali open house, we had to think of alternative transport. Therefore, we sold off our coach tickets to a middle-aged couple.
We saw two Chinese ladies enquiring about cab fare back to Kuala Lumpur. But when we asked them, they told us that only of them would be going back to Kuala Lumpur. So we still had to wait for one more person so that each of us would only pay RM20 for the cab ride. Before long, a guy was enquiring about cab fare and so the cab driver told us we could start our journey and told us to wait for him to drive his cab to near where we had alighted from the coach earlier on.
We found out a bit about our fellow cab riders. The guy lives in Singapore and he took a coach up from there overnight. When he arrived, he went straight to the casino. The lady is from Macau and would be going back there the next day using Air Asia.
We saved an hour by taking the cab and the cab driver stopped outside Menara Maybank for us to alight. The other two passengers were alighting at Pudu Raya.
From Menara Maybank, we took the monorail from Pasar Seni to KL Sentral. At KL Sentral we changed to train to proceed to Jalan Kastam, near Klang. By the time we arrived at Mr. Muniady’s house, the time was 8p.m.
We were served thosai and rice with chicken curry, beef curry and veges. Just like previous year when we were there, we enjoyed the food very much. Mrs. Muniady is a good cook. We renewed our friendship and they were telling us their son was supposed to study at University Malaysia Sabah but he chose to go to his choice in University Telekom Malaysia instead because he did not know anyone in Kota Kinabalu at the time.
Before we left at 930pm, the Muniadys reminded us to sit at the front of the train near the driver in case we met any undesirable person that may disturb us. But all we met was an Indian family with a little girl who couldn’t stop talking, jumping around and singing on the train.
We walked until the entrance of the Outdoor Themepark but by then, none of the rides were operating cos of the misty weather. Beside the Outdoor Themepark entrance is where the Arena of Stars situated, a venue where all the entertainment are held and shown on the television.
At about 4pm we went to queue up to buy our return ticket from Genting Highlands to Titiwangsa. The time shown on our coach tickets was 520p.m. Since we had to get back to Kuala Lumpur in a hurry in order to make it for Tracy’s ex principal’s Deepavali open house, we had to think of alternative transport. Therefore, we sold off our coach tickets to a middle-aged couple.
We saw two Chinese ladies enquiring about cab fare back to Kuala Lumpur. But when we asked them, they told us that only of them would be going back to Kuala Lumpur. So we still had to wait for one more person so that each of us would only pay RM20 for the cab ride. Before long, a guy was enquiring about cab fare and so the cab driver told us we could start our journey and told us to wait for him to drive his cab to near where we had alighted from the coach earlier on.
We found out a bit about our fellow cab riders. The guy lives in Singapore and he took a coach up from there overnight. When he arrived, he went straight to the casino. The lady is from Macau and would be going back there the next day using Air Asia.
We saved an hour by taking the cab and the cab driver stopped outside Menara Maybank for us to alight. The other two passengers were alighting at Pudu Raya.
From Menara Maybank, we took the monorail from Pasar Seni to KL Sentral. At KL Sentral we changed to train to proceed to Jalan Kastam, near Klang. By the time we arrived at Mr. Muniady’s house, the time was 8p.m.
We were served thosai and rice with chicken curry, beef curry and veges. Just like previous year when we were there, we enjoyed the food very much. Mrs. Muniady is a good cook. We renewed our friendship and they were telling us their son was supposed to study at University Malaysia Sabah but he chose to go to his choice in University Telekom Malaysia instead because he did not know anyone in Kota Kinabalu at the time.
Before we left at 930pm, the Muniadys reminded us to sit at the front of the train near the driver in case we met any undesirable person that may disturb us. But all we met was an Indian family with a little girl who couldn’t stop talking, jumping around and singing on the train.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Deepavali 8 November 2007 Part 3
Tracy called her good friend Felix Eng to recommend a restaurant we should eat for lunch. When we were at the indoor themepark, he recommended a European restaurant near the water canal but I didn’t take notice of the name. At the time we were not hungry and had kept on walking until he recommended another restaurant The Olive (Michelin Star Dining 07).
This continental restaurant is located at the Lobby Floor of the Genting Hotel (Tel: 603 6101 1118). It is featured in the Malaysia International Gourmet Festival 2 – 30 November 2007 book. It is not surprising that it is listed inside the book since it won an award (and I am sure among other awards) as stated below. Recently I also heard the restaurant being recommended by the deejays in the Light FM radio station.
(Copied from Genting Group Website: Award and Recognition)
Nov 2005 by World Asia Publishing : Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards 2005-2006
- Chairman, President and Chief Executive, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay: The Most Outstanding Hospitality Developer
- Genting Highlands Resort: Best Family Resort (Genting Theme Park)
- Genting Highlands Resort: Restaurant Of The Year (The Olive, Genting Hotel)
We were ushered into the restaurant by a lady who explained to us the set lunch menu (no a la carte menu was available). When I looked at the price, my jaw almost dropped out. It would be the most expensive meal I ever had in my entire life. But since it’s like one in a lifetime chance, I told myself, it’s now or never.
At first we were shown to a table just next to a table with a dozen VIPs (they all had suites and ties). But when the waiter asked whether we were ok with it, I told him I preferred another table and pointed to a table near the kitchen, the furthest from the VIPs. I reckoned I would not be able to enjoy myself completely if I was sitting next to those so called ‘important’ people.
The lunch menu consisted of:-
1. Marinated Salmon with Crabmeat “Belfry” (W. Gisselbrecht Riesling, France)
2. Steamed Fillet of Sea Bass “Oriental Style” or
3. Roast Baby Chicken with Lemon Oil Crust (Domaine Laporte Les Royaux Sancerre, France)
4. Anton’s Bread and Butter Pudding (Muscat Beaumes de Venice, France)
Complimentary of Almond Slice (Don’t know the exact name and I didn’t ask)
This menu was created by Chef Anton Mosimann, the King of Kitchens, the youngest ever Maitre Chef de Cuisine at London’s renowned Dorchester Hotel, the inventor of Cuisine Naturelle, and the winner of countless accolades including the Order of the British Empire from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Catey Lifetime Achievement Award.
We didn’t order any drinks but were served natural mineral water. I haven’t tasted any water like this before. It’s so refreshing drinking it. Next the waiter poured into a small plate a bit of olive oil and some sauce. The waiter explained us the sauce was for the bread. A small basket of bread was served next and I only took one since I did not want my stomach to become too full from eating bread. The waiter also took the liberty to get us some butter when he saw that we hardly touched the sauce. The bread tasted very fresh and I would have loved to have more.
I haven’t tasted any salmon like it prior to this. It was totally heavenly! It was so well marinated and every bite really brought out the distinct taste of the salmon.
Chef Anton Mosimann was so busy entertaining the VIPs. They took photos together, exchanged gifts with him and he autographed the menu for them.
Tracy’s Sea Bass was slightly on the fishy side. That was kind of disappointing. But my Baby Chicken was well marinated and tasted great but I didn’t finish the veges.
While we were eating our main course, the waiter helped us to take photos. Chef Anton Mosimann also took a photo with us and made sure that we were enjoying our food. He also autographed the menu for us.
Normally I don’t like to eat desserts cos they are always too sweet for me but I managed to finish the Bread and Butter Pudding.
By the time our complimentary Almond Slice came, we had the whole restaurant to ourselves.
I liked this restaurant because all the staffs are so friendly and always have a smile on their face. They did not prejudice us from the way we dressed since we only had tshirts on.
When the waiter saw that I was using my SCB credit card to pay for the bill, he asked whether we had HSBC credit card which would entitle us to 15% discount. Tracy had one and so she paid for the meal.
As we left the restaurant, the lady at the front told us to wait for her to come back. And she came back with two complimentary bags, one for each of us. Inside the The Olive bag, we found the following items:-
1. A bottle of The Olive olives
2. A Malaysia International Gourmet Festival 2 – 30 November 2007 book
3. A brochure introducing the 5 World-Class Chefs at The Olive from 7th September 2007 to 7th December 2007 (who are world-famous Michelin Star-awarded chefs).
4. A postcard from Mosimann’s London, 11B West Halkin Street, Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8JL (www.mosimann.com)
To sum up, what a gastronomic cuisine! Big hole in the pocket but an unforgettable fine dining experience.
This continental restaurant is located at the Lobby Floor of the Genting Hotel (Tel: 603 6101 1118). It is featured in the Malaysia International Gourmet Festival 2 – 30 November 2007 book. It is not surprising that it is listed inside the book since it won an award (and I am sure among other awards) as stated below. Recently I also heard the restaurant being recommended by the deejays in the Light FM radio station.
(Copied from Genting Group Website: Award and Recognition)
Nov 2005 by World Asia Publishing : Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards 2005-2006
- Chairman, President and Chief Executive, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay: The Most Outstanding Hospitality Developer
- Genting Highlands Resort: Best Family Resort (Genting Theme Park)
- Genting Highlands Resort: Restaurant Of The Year (The Olive, Genting Hotel)
We were ushered into the restaurant by a lady who explained to us the set lunch menu (no a la carte menu was available). When I looked at the price, my jaw almost dropped out. It would be the most expensive meal I ever had in my entire life. But since it’s like one in a lifetime chance, I told myself, it’s now or never.
At first we were shown to a table just next to a table with a dozen VIPs (they all had suites and ties). But when the waiter asked whether we were ok with it, I told him I preferred another table and pointed to a table near the kitchen, the furthest from the VIPs. I reckoned I would not be able to enjoy myself completely if I was sitting next to those so called ‘important’ people.
The lunch menu consisted of:-
1. Marinated Salmon with Crabmeat “Belfry” (W. Gisselbrecht Riesling, France)
2. Steamed Fillet of Sea Bass “Oriental Style” or
3. Roast Baby Chicken with Lemon Oil Crust (Domaine Laporte Les Royaux Sancerre, France)
4. Anton’s Bread and Butter Pudding (Muscat Beaumes de Venice, France)
Complimentary of Almond Slice (Don’t know the exact name and I didn’t ask)
This menu was created by Chef Anton Mosimann, the King of Kitchens, the youngest ever Maitre Chef de Cuisine at London’s renowned Dorchester Hotel, the inventor of Cuisine Naturelle, and the winner of countless accolades including the Order of the British Empire from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Catey Lifetime Achievement Award.
We didn’t order any drinks but were served natural mineral water. I haven’t tasted any water like this before. It’s so refreshing drinking it. Next the waiter poured into a small plate a bit of olive oil and some sauce. The waiter explained us the sauce was for the bread. A small basket of bread was served next and I only took one since I did not want my stomach to become too full from eating bread. The waiter also took the liberty to get us some butter when he saw that we hardly touched the sauce. The bread tasted very fresh and I would have loved to have more.
I haven’t tasted any salmon like it prior to this. It was totally heavenly! It was so well marinated and every bite really brought out the distinct taste of the salmon.
Chef Anton Mosimann was so busy entertaining the VIPs. They took photos together, exchanged gifts with him and he autographed the menu for them.
Tracy’s Sea Bass was slightly on the fishy side. That was kind of disappointing. But my Baby Chicken was well marinated and tasted great but I didn’t finish the veges.
While we were eating our main course, the waiter helped us to take photos. Chef Anton Mosimann also took a photo with us and made sure that we were enjoying our food. He also autographed the menu for us.
Normally I don’t like to eat desserts cos they are always too sweet for me but I managed to finish the Bread and Butter Pudding.
By the time our complimentary Almond Slice came, we had the whole restaurant to ourselves.
I liked this restaurant because all the staffs are so friendly and always have a smile on their face. They did not prejudice us from the way we dressed since we only had tshirts on.
When the waiter saw that I was using my SCB credit card to pay for the bill, he asked whether we had HSBC credit card which would entitle us to 15% discount. Tracy had one and so she paid for the meal.
As we left the restaurant, the lady at the front told us to wait for her to come back. And she came back with two complimentary bags, one for each of us. Inside the The Olive bag, we found the following items:-
1. A bottle of The Olive olives
2. A Malaysia International Gourmet Festival 2 – 30 November 2007 book
3. A brochure introducing the 5 World-Class Chefs at The Olive from 7th September 2007 to 7th December 2007 (who are world-famous Michelin Star-awarded chefs).
4. A postcard from Mosimann’s London, 11B West Halkin Street, Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8JL (www.mosimann.com)
To sum up, what a gastronomic cuisine! Big hole in the pocket but an unforgettable fine dining experience.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Deepavali 8 November 2007 Part 2
After breakfast, we went back to the coach stop to wait for our coach. There were so many middle aged people standing near the coach stop eventhough I heard they kept telling other people the time of their coach. They blocked the entrance to the coach eventhough their tickets stated a later time. We had difficulty in getting up the coach.
The seat number was written on the tickets and we got the back row. Before the coach left, some people came up eventhough there was no seat available. These people could not wait to ‘donate’ money to the casino and had come up to the coach eventhough their tickets were stated a later time. They had to sit on the staircase of the coach and some were standing for the one hour journey.
Since the road going up to Genting Highland was very winding and the driver was driving so fast, normally I would have a headache. Once again thank God for His protection. I was ok throughout the journey and upon arrival.
We walked around and took photos before deciding on a place to have lunch.
We also visited The late Dato Seri Lim Goh Tong’s Gallery and Tracy bought one of his books.
The seat number was written on the tickets and we got the back row. Before the coach left, some people came up eventhough there was no seat available. These people could not wait to ‘donate’ money to the casino and had come up to the coach eventhough their tickets were stated a later time. They had to sit on the staircase of the coach and some were standing for the one hour journey.
Since the road going up to Genting Highland was very winding and the driver was driving so fast, normally I would have a headache. Once again thank God for His protection. I was ok throughout the journey and upon arrival.
We walked around and took photos before deciding on a place to have lunch.
We also visited The late Dato Seri Lim Goh Tong’s Gallery and Tracy bought one of his books.
Deepavali 8 November 2007 Part 1
I woke up at 7am so that we could get out from Tracy’s apartment by 8am. Had a cup of Milo before left the apartment. She had her usual daily intake of nutritious drink.
‘Setia Jaya’ train station is located behind Tracy’s apartment and Taylors College Sunway campus.
We took the train from ‘Setia Jaya’ to KL Sentral and walked over to the monorail station to take the monorail to Titiwangsa. We sat at the front and I was able to take a shot of the driver from the back with his gear.
Upon arrival at Titiwangsa station before 10am, we went to buy our coach ticket to Genting Highlands. Our tickets were for 10.50am so we proceeded over to some shops to fill our stomach passing by Vistana Hotel.
We found a mamak stall/shop and decided to have ‘roti’. I ordered a roti canai with hot Milo while Tracy ordered a roti telur with ‘teh tarik’. The meal came to less that RM5.
‘Setia Jaya’ train station is located behind Tracy’s apartment and Taylors College Sunway campus.
We took the train from ‘Setia Jaya’ to KL Sentral and walked over to the monorail station to take the monorail to Titiwangsa. We sat at the front and I was able to take a shot of the driver from the back with his gear.
Upon arrival at Titiwangsa station before 10am, we went to buy our coach ticket to Genting Highlands. Our tickets were for 10.50am so we proceeded over to some shops to fill our stomach passing by Vistana Hotel.
We found a mamak stall/shop and decided to have ‘roti’. I ordered a roti canai with hot Milo while Tracy ordered a roti telur with ‘teh tarik’. The meal came to less that RM5.
Trip to Kuala Lumpur 7 November 2007
'Pho'
I left work at 415pm to go home to do my final packing for my trip to Kuala Lumpur. Had a light dinner after 6pm and my brother-in-law drove me to Terminal 2 to catch my 8.05pm flight to Kuala Lumpur.
When I was queuing up to check in for my flight, I saw my colleague John Saw with his friends, whom he introduced to me. They were on the same flight as me.
I knew that the flight was not going to be full so I boarded the plane almost after everyone else had started leaving the departure lounge.
I found a seat in the middle of the plane near the left aisle where the wings are located. There was no one beside me and the person sitting next to the window on the same row as me was a University Malaysia Sabah student (I assumed she is one since she’s wearing a UMS jacket).
The flight to Kuala Lumpur was one of the most terrible flights I had been on. Due to lots of clouds, the plane kept on shaking the whole night. If that was twenty years ago, I think I would have terrible bout of air sickness on board or upon arrival. But I was ok the whole trip and thank God for covering me. The UMS student kept on burping the whole night and she did not cover her mouth so it was kinda disgusting to me.
The plane left Kota Kinabalu on time and arrived in Kuala Lumpur on time.
After collecting my luggages, I had problem finding my friend’s car because I haven’t seen a ‘Persona’ in Kota Kinabalu before. My friend had to get out from the car to accompany me to the car. The 'Persona' is very comfortable and spacious but I cannot compare it to the Gen 2 because I have never ridden on it before. My friend bought the car for RM48K.
Had a good time catching up with this friend before we arrived at Mentari Court, Sunway where I was staying with Tracy Ten for the duration of my trip.
Tracy brought me to Taman Megah for supper after midnight. I was disappointed that the ‘Asam Laksa’ store had closed.
I was surveying through the stalls before I finally decided to have ‘pho’. ‘Pho’ is originated from Vietnam and it is a bowl of beef noodles. The people at the store sounded like Vietnamese when I was ordering the noodles.
The ‘pho’ was still not as authentic as the ones I always had in Australia but nonetheless it was still a satisfying meal for a growling stomach. It still lacked herbs and spices.
Went to bed after 2am on Deepavali 8 November 2007 after discussing with Tracy what we were going to do on Deepavali. We decided to go up to Genting Highlands for a day trip and after coming back to Kuala Lumpur, we would go and visit her ex vice principal Mr. Muniady’s open house at Jalan Kastam, near Klang.
Tracy brought me to Taman Megah for supper after midnight. I was disappointed that the ‘Asam Laksa’ store had closed.
I was surveying through the stalls before I finally decided to have ‘pho’. ‘Pho’ is originated from Vietnam and it is a bowl of beef noodles. The people at the store sounded like Vietnamese when I was ordering the noodles.
The ‘pho’ was still not as authentic as the ones I always had in Australia but nonetheless it was still a satisfying meal for a growling stomach. It still lacked herbs and spices.
Went to bed after 2am on Deepavali 8 November 2007 after discussing with Tracy what we were going to do on Deepavali. We decided to go up to Genting Highlands for a day trip and after coming back to Kuala Lumpur, we would go and visit her ex vice principal Mr. Muniady’s open house at Jalan Kastam, near Klang.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Dinner at Upper Star 6 November 2007
Choo Siow Chin came to KK after spending a few days at Kundasang. She told Lily Tan she wanted to have Western food and Lily suggested Little Italy. But we ended up at Upper Star since we never try the food here before.
Upper Star is a pub opposite Hyatt Hotel in Kota Kinabalu with downstairs being al fresco while upstairs air-conditioned. Besides being a pub, this place also serves food at a very reasonable price.
We proceeded to upstairs and it’s a bit dark. The music is loud but since the seats are quite close to each other, having conversations is still ok.
Lily ordered chicken salad. Choo said she wanted to eat lamb chops and chicken cabonara so I didn’t order anything and shared the food with her. In fact three of us ended up sharing food together.
All the food was great for their price. The chicken cabonara was only a small plate but we can’t complain cos it’s less than RM10 a plate. There were three big pieces of lamb chops per serving with french fries and coleslaw. Our only complaint was that there was insufficient gravy accompanying the lamb chops.
When Sophia Tsen arrived, she also ordered lamb chops and had fun digging into them cos she was extremely hungry. She also shared some of the coleslaw and French fries with me.
Choo and Lily went over to Hyatt to buy some cakes. We all shared a piece of tiramisu and chocolate cake for dessert.
Lily treated all of us and the total bill came to less than RM50. Thank you Lily.
Upper Star is a pub opposite Hyatt Hotel in Kota Kinabalu with downstairs being al fresco while upstairs air-conditioned. Besides being a pub, this place also serves food at a very reasonable price.
We proceeded to upstairs and it’s a bit dark. The music is loud but since the seats are quite close to each other, having conversations is still ok.
Lily ordered chicken salad. Choo said she wanted to eat lamb chops and chicken cabonara so I didn’t order anything and shared the food with her. In fact three of us ended up sharing food together.
All the food was great for their price. The chicken cabonara was only a small plate but we can’t complain cos it’s less than RM10 a plate. There were three big pieces of lamb chops per serving with french fries and coleslaw. Our only complaint was that there was insufficient gravy accompanying the lamb chops.
When Sophia Tsen arrived, she also ordered lamb chops and had fun digging into them cos she was extremely hungry. She also shared some of the coleslaw and French fries with me.
Choo and Lily went over to Hyatt to buy some cakes. We all shared a piece of tiramisu and chocolate cake for dessert.
Lily treated all of us and the total bill came to less than RM50. Thank you Lily.
Homemade Sushi 4 November 2007
This was the second time I made sushi recently. The difference was this second time I was using sushi rice and Japanese rice vinegar. So the outcome was totally different from the first time and tasted so much better! Yum Yum!
Chloe and I brought the sushi to school/work respectively for breakfast for the next few days after I made the sushi.
Chloe and I brought the sushi to school/work respectively for breakfast for the next few days after I made the sushi.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Annual Leave Approval 31 October 2007
This morning I applied for my leave for next week to go to Kuala Lumpur and it was approved. I am so happy.
When I told Lily Tan through Windows Live Messenger, she said she saluted me for my faith because I had bought my airtickets first before even applying for my leave.
Well, let’s do some analyses here. So far this year I had only taken 2 half day leave (both on Saturday) – one half for the Eve of Chinese New Year and the other half for my trip back to Sandakan during TYT’s long weekend. So I concluded:-
1. My bosses cannot reject me for taking my annual leave since I am still entitled to have 19 days of leave this year.
2. During the time when I am on leave, my bosses and family would have gone for their Mediterranean cruise.
Even if my bosses don’t approve my leave, I had thought of using both reasons above to help them change their minds but I didn’t need to use them. :)
I not only had bought my airtickets, I also had bought tickets to listen to Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) performing in ‘Dewan Filharmonik’ Petronas, Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur. So I need to be on leave!
When I told Lily Tan through Windows Live Messenger, she said she saluted me for my faith because I had bought my airtickets first before even applying for my leave.
Well, let’s do some analyses here. So far this year I had only taken 2 half day leave (both on Saturday) – one half for the Eve of Chinese New Year and the other half for my trip back to Sandakan during TYT’s long weekend. So I concluded:-
1. My bosses cannot reject me for taking my annual leave since I am still entitled to have 19 days of leave this year.
2. During the time when I am on leave, my bosses and family would have gone for their Mediterranean cruise.
Even if my bosses don’t approve my leave, I had thought of using both reasons above to help them change their minds but I didn’t need to use them. :)
I not only had bought my airtickets, I also had bought tickets to listen to Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) performing in ‘Dewan Filharmonik’ Petronas, Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur. So I need to be on leave!
Company Lunch at Seremban Seafood 31 October 2007
Today bosses treated us to lunch at Seremban Seafood. It is located at Lot No. 126, Ground and 1st Floor, Block O, Lorong Plaza Permai 5, Alamesra Plaza Permai, Kota Kinabalu. It is near the on going project 1 Borneo site.
Lady boss had ordered the food earlier so we were ushered to 1st Floor with air-conditioner. The Ground Floor looks like any normal coffee shops and only a few tables were occupied. 1st Floor is able to accomodate about 40 people.
First impression was that service was very slow since we were already half an hour late. But we still had to wait for the food to arrive.
Dishes we had were: Steamed corn fed chicken; kangkung stir fried with chillies; choy sim stir fried with garlic; poached prawns; yam ring with chicken and veges; steamed century eggs duck egg and chicken egg; and claypot fish. Dessert were watermelon and papaya.
There was a young waiter and he was utterly rude and careless. He not only spilled the sauce from the steamed chicken on my colleague, he didn’t even apologise! Before the fruits were served, he was trying to clean up the table and when he was near me, he touched my cup of chinese tea!
Overall, the food was ok but the service stinks! And the bill was quite expensive as well.
Lady boss had ordered the food earlier so we were ushered to 1st Floor with air-conditioner. The Ground Floor looks like any normal coffee shops and only a few tables were occupied. 1st Floor is able to accomodate about 40 people.
First impression was that service was very slow since we were already half an hour late. But we still had to wait for the food to arrive.
Dishes we had were: Steamed corn fed chicken; kangkung stir fried with chillies; choy sim stir fried with garlic; poached prawns; yam ring with chicken and veges; steamed century eggs duck egg and chicken egg; and claypot fish. Dessert were watermelon and papaya.
There was a young waiter and he was utterly rude and careless. He not only spilled the sauce from the steamed chicken on my colleague, he didn’t even apologise! Before the fruits were served, he was trying to clean up the table and when he was near me, he touched my cup of chinese tea!
Overall, the food was ok but the service stinks! And the bill was quite expensive as well.
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