J's Emo Song List

Monday blues after the long weekend! - Some of My Favourite Girly Emo Songs............
:)

TLC : Damaged
I'm falling in love,
There's one disadvantage,
I think you should know that I've been damaged...
(I like how it's from a conflicted point of view - very real, very human)


Avril Lavigne : Happy Ending
All this time you were pretending,
So much for my happy ending...
(OMG. A part of me is still an angsty teen! Haha...)


Rihanna : Rehab
When we first met,
I never felt something so strong,
You were like my lover,
And my best friend,
All wrapped into one...
(I have grown to hate her Umbrella song, mostly due to how much it's been overplayed... not that I've ever like the whole "-ella, -ella, -ella" part, but this song is nice...)


Duffy : Warwick Avenue
I've been confused outta my mind lately,
You think you're loving but you don't love me,
I want to be free, baby you've hurt me...
(A quiet yet powerful song... and a really simple video that I really like)


Amy Winehouse : Love Is a Losing Game
Oh, what a mess we made,
And now the final frame,
Love is a losing game.....
(This lady is PSYCHO... but so talented at the same time!)


Billie Holiday : Good Morning Heartache
Good morning heartache,
Thought we said goodbye last night,
I turned and tossed until it seems you heve gone,
But here you are with the dawn....
(A classic!)


Just thought I'd share a few of my favourite (sad) songs. Enjoy!


Not really *that* moody but bleh, it's Monday!,
J

TAGS: Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Personal

Supercar (Window) Shopping

Superficial, but so sexy lah!....

I am a (pretty) firm believer that a car is just a form of transportation - something to get you from point A to point B in (preferably) a comfortable and reliable manner.

On top of that, I hate that some cars are so ridiculously priced (eg. the Bugatti Veyron), that it seems that the sole reason for their existence is:
- an inducement of some sort of materialistic lust,
- as a tool of elitist behaviour,
- to taunt people who can't afford them, and/or
- generally, as a waste of hard earned money.

Still, it's hard to deny that some of those super expensive super cars are just so super sexy!
Hot red:
The classic Ferrari colour ...

Having a peek into the interior:
Nice! - leather interior ...

No lah.
It's not that I can afford such a frivolous but awesome car...
(Not now, and not anytime in my lifetime I think)

... but I just tumpang gembira ("follow along for fun") when a friend wanted to go window shopping for one.

Sleek grey - front:
Cool grey with outstanding racing stripes ...

Looks good from behind too:
Rear view ...

Sexy black:
Sleek and oozing sex appeal ...

Can touch ah?:
(Possibly, this is the closest I'll ever come to ever driving/ owning one... LOL)
Be still my beating heart! ...

*sigh*
So I guess I am just human after all - I know I shouldn't want/lust for such expensive cars, but I can't help it.
:)

Anyway, hope you have a great long Wesak weekend!


Will try to reflect on her flaws over Wesak,
J


TAGS: Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Personal

Little Taiwan @ One Utama Shopping Center, PJ

A branch of a Taiwanese restaurant chain, in One Utama Shopping Centre's new wing....

(Oops)
I found this set of photos in my external hard disk and realised that I forgot to blog about this place - it's about 6 months late!
:(

So, to be fair, I won't go into too much detail unless I'm absolutely sure.

Anyway, as you know, I love trying out new places. So, during one of my weekly quality time/ shopping trips with my mum, we walked around the corner of the new wing (where Giant used to be) to look for a lunch venue when the bright, chirpy colours of Little Taiwan caught our eyes:
Outside Little Taiwan...
To my dismay (after being seated), upon closer inspection it turned out the this eatery is Halal (Not a smidgen of pork in sight!). Still, it was comfortable, and there were some interesting items on the menu so we stayed:
Comfy interior...
My mum ordered the Claypot loh shuee fun (RM 10.90+):
Claypot of rat tail noodles!...
The serving size was big enough and the texture of the noodles were pretty good (quite smooth) but overall, it was just ok because it was semi-drowning in a sweet-ish dark sauce.
(Watery texture, mostly sweet, but slightly salty at the same time)

I had the Spicy Beef Noodles (RM 11.90+), which is supposed to be a Taiwanese speciality:
Spicy noodles...
Um.
It was fairly spicy and had beef, as advertised.... but it was also very very oily.

No, really. I tried spooning out the excess oil, then gave up eventually. Here's what I did manage to extract:
OIL...
As mentioned before, the serving size was pretty big so we didn't manage to try any of the desserts... but well, I don't think I would have taken the risk after our mains...

I have read online/ heard that some of the other dishes (like the deep fried Taiwanese styled chicken) and bubble tea can be nice though, so maybe we just chose the wrong things that day.

So it's: Modern, bright ambience, ok range of non-porky Taiwanese food, reasonable prices for shopping center setting BUT really, the taste is only just ok....

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Little Taiwan @ One Utama Shopping Centre


Lot LG 325, 1 Utama Shopping Center, Bandar Utama, 47800 PJ

Taste: 5
Ambience : 6
Service : 6
Price** : RM 25/+ per person
Parking: Difficult on weekends
(They also have branches in Pavilion, The Sphere, e@The Curve, IOI Mall, Jusco Malacca and Alamanda Putrajaya - for the full details click here)

** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.: 03-7729 5582
Opening Hours: 10am till late

NO PORK SERVED

OTHER REVIEWS:
- Vizylicious Munn
- Pink Parisian
- ~~JoJo in Da House~~
- Wanderlust


TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, One Utama Shopping Center, 1 Utama, Little Taiwan, Asian,Shopping Centre, Bandar Utama, KL, Kuala Lumpur

Yudi, Shanghai Jazz @ No Black Tie, KL

Amazing blast from the past....

After hearing Yudi Yap sing a few songs at Torch Song Massacre, I was enthralled.... so, when I found out that she was starring in a Shanghai Jazz performance at No Black Tie, I jumped at the chance to hear her again:
The foliage covered entrance to No Black Tie...
My goodness it was packed!:
(I was lucky I booked my table early enough - there were many people who still insisted on paying the cover charge to enter, even if it was standing room only. Some people even ended up sitting on the staircase inside....)
The band warms up as the crowd waits impatiently...
Although she can speak well in English, it's not her first language... So, Yudi mainly sang and spoke in Mandarin that night. Here's the thing though - my grasp of the Mandarin is BAD,... abysmal even.
=_=

Nonetheless, I still enjoyed the performance, a lot!*...
I'm sure it would have been better if I could fully understand the depth of the lyrics, but just listening to her smooth and seemingly effortless singing was magical - really felt like I was back in a classic lounge in the 60's.
(MAGICAL!)
(*LOL. The man from the group next to our table said he was surprised that "... so many of you young people also like this type of old singing ah?")

Yudi's singing was beautifully accompanied by the talented Tay Cher Siang (brilliant pianist, and he arranged the music too!):
Beautiful voice paired with beautiful music ...
Of course the experienced band members were fantastic too - they too made everything seem so effortless and easy:
- Salvador Guerzo (tenor sax),
- Valentino Soliano (bass), and
- Rizal Soliano (drums).

Lastly, a photo of me with Yudi:
(She's so slim and petite! - made me feel like a fat giant...)
Yudi - you are amazing! :)...
Sorry but the performance was only for 2 nights (a few weeks back already)... but just posting this up as a small homage to Yudi. :)
(And also so you know to look out for her next performance! I know I will...)

Also:
- Couldn't find much on her online (profile, etc)... just this article from 2009.

Summary Information:
No Black Tie @ Jalan Mesui, KL

Opening Hours: (approx.) 6pm till late
Phone: 03-2142 3737
Address: 17, Jalan Mesui, Off Jalan Nagasari, Kuala Lumpur
Website: Click here

NO PORK SERVED

MAP to No Black Tie:

View Larger Map

TAGS: Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Personal

Fraser's Hill Road Trip (Part 4)

Winding down at a picturesque place for English scones...

My goodness, the Smokehouse seems to have perfected the charming hilltop English Tudor style hotel/ restaurant concept - now established in 2 out of 3 popular hill-y holiday locations in Semenanjung Malaysia (namely, Frasers and Camerons)...
(They also have a branch in the Telawi street area, Bangsar KL but that's just a restaurant)

Anyway, since we were in the area, we decided to drop by the Fraser's Smokehouse to try the scones for tea and just chill out:
Just around the bend from the Smokehouse...
As expected, the Smokehouse had a lot of character - ever so slightly weathered (paint peeling/faded here and there) but beautiful all the same:
The Smokehouse up close...
They have a lovely dining area inside, but we were ushered to the garden/ patio area as that section is only opened during dinner:
The dining room...
Still, we didn't mind at all as it was really nice outside - the air was cool (although much warmer than we had hoped) and there was an idyllic garden beside us, inspiring thoughts of secret lands, magic and friendly fairies:
The garden...
Of course, we had to try the Devonshire Tea Set - 2 Scones with Cream, Jam, Butter and Tea for one (RM 18++):
The tiered tea set...
Overall, yummy without feeling too sinful - the scones were slightly crumbly yet quite moist, and tasted lovely topped with a dab of butter, fluffy cream and the well balanced home made jam.

Also, we ordered the Chocolate Lava Cake (RM 9++):
Cake and cherry...
This cake had me baffled...
.... because while it was quite chocolatey and was evidently a cake, I could find no reason why they would use the word "lava" to describe it.
(It's not bad lah actually. Just don't expect it to be oozing with yummy chocolate sauce...)

The one thing we ordered that was really disappointing (to me anyway) was the Bangers and Mash (RM 20++):
Sausages and potatoes...
They turned out to be synthetic tasting sausages (tasted like the ones you can get from any regular supermarket, although they are quite big), submerged in a watery sauce (which had a strangely bright yellow/orangey colour - added kunyit maybe?), atop a bed of ok tasting mash potatoes.

Anyway, we all definitely enjoyed our time there (sausages notwithstanding).... and I'd recommend it to anyone who is in Fraser's for a holiday. :)

Some more photos from that day:
- The Bird is watching us:
On the look out...
- Attack!:
A flock descended upon our table scraps moments after we walked away...
- Flowers:
Pretty blossoms...
- Us hot chicks:
(Woi. Don't roll your eyes lah - since they are pretty then I am pretty by association too lah)
Pretty girls!...

So it's: Idyllic setting in a English Tudor style house with a lovely garden, reasonable pricing (and taste) for tea time food considering its a tourist location/ hotel BUT hits and misses on the menu and the service, although friendly, is a little rough around the edges - nothing bad but could be better....

Summary Information:
The Smokehouse Hotel and Restaurant @ Frasers Hill

Opening Hours: 11am till late (separate menus for breakfast/lunch/tea/dinner time)
Phone: +609 362 2226
Address: Jalan Jeriau, 49000 Bukit Fraser, Pahang Darul Makmur, Malaysia.

NO PORK SERVED

BTW: They have 2 other branches:
Cameron Highlands, Tanah Rata area - restaurant and hotel (Ph: +605 491 1215), and
Bangsar, Telawi area - restaurant only (PH: +603 2163 3136)

THE REST OF THE SET - J'S FRASER'S HILLS 2010 POSTS:
- Fraser's Hill 2010, Part 1
- Fraser's Hill 2010, Part 2
- Fraser's Hill 2010, Part 3
- OR go to J's Main Travel Page for more options. :)


TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Cuti-Cuti Malaysia, Road Trip, Fraser's Hill, Ye Olde Smokehouse Restaurant and Hotel, English Tea,Pahang, Sightseeing, KL, Kuala Lumpur

Little Cups of Happiness

I love cupcakes....

Oh Black Velvet cupcake....
Marriage of Guinness and chocolate - How perfect you are!:
- sponge-y yet so very moist,
- chocolatey yet not too sweet,
- creamy yet not cloying!
Just before I attack...
My photos do you no justice at all!
... but I only have myself to blame - I was too eager to eat you, so I was careless when trying to capture your beauty with my camera....
CHOMP...

Thanks Babe_kl!
(YAY! I have finally tasted the lovely results of your baking skills!)
(Click HERE or HERE for the recipe)


Cannot bake to save her life so is very respectful and envious of those who can create such magic,
J

TAGS: Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Personal

3.6 The Best Tea Break in Town @ Star Hill Feast Village, KL

A great promotion at Star Hill Feast Gallery (Shook, Fisherman's Cove, Luk Yu Teahouse and Pak Loh Chiu Chow)....

[ BEGIN EDIT ]
(Nov 2010)

I guess the response to this offer must have been very good because it's still on till now, with no end in sight. So yay! for those who are in the area and want an affordable tea time in a posh setting. :)

Signing off,
J


[ END EDIT ]

Usually, "Star Hill Feast Gallery" and "cheap food" do not go together in the same sentence*,... because while you get good service, ambience and taste, you do have to pay a premium for it.
(*Unless the sentence is "Star Hill Feast Gallery does NOT serve cheap food")
Outside Star Hill ...
So, you would understand my amazement when I heard of this new promotion at 4 reputable restaurants** in the Star Hill Feast Gallery - a special tea time menu with RM3.60++ per item from 3 to 6pm daily!! (Now till 30th June 2010).
(** Shook, Fisherman's Cove, Luk Yu and Pak Loh Chiu Chow)

We figured seeing (or in this case, eating) is believing so we quickly hurried over to Shook to try it out:
(Ok - A bit off topic but Shook was kinda irritating - they say they don't accept table bookings for weekends, whilst the other restaurants do. So, we had to go over earlier and line up for a table... =_=)
Inside, in Shook...
The ambience there is as nice as I remembered - modern setting with lots of sunlight streaming in from the high ceiling. There was even some live music that day, with a hotel lounge type band playing jazzed up classics:
Sunny days pigging out...
There was a fairly long list of items that we could choose from, ranging from Asian to Western (Shook serves 3 cuisines - Chinese, Italian and Japanese):
A lot to choose from...
Honestly, we ate an astounding variety of food between the 4 of us... so I'll try to keep each description short.
:)

STARTERS:
- Ceasar Salad (add additional RM 3.60++ for chicken)
Veggies...
Tastes OK only. Tiny serving.
(Sooj says, "Oi. RM 3.60++ only leh. What do you expect?"

- Prawn Cocktail with Spicy Japanese Dressing:
The Prawn Cocktail ...
Also ok only. Prawns were fresh enough.

- Deep fried Seafood Fritters with Chili Dip:
Crispy fritters...
While we enjoyed these crispy fritters, we struggled to find the seafood within the julienned vegetables.

MAINS:
- Grilled Cumberland Sausage with Mashed Potatoes and Onion Sauce
Big sausage...
Yummy! Meaty sausage, flavourful and really yummy mash.

- 6 Inch Pepperoni Pizza
Thin pizza ...
Not bad. Crust was thin and reasonable amount of cheese and pepperoni.

- Grilled Chicken and Ham Sandwich With Fries
Simple sandwich, presented well...
Fluffy and slightly crisp bread (yum!) with not much filling but surprisingly satisfying.

- Seafood Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce
Spaghetti with seafood...
Not bad - small serving of pasta with a decent amount of seafood. Tomato sauce wasn't as robust as I would have liked though.

- Fish Tempura with Somen
Simple somen ...
Fish tempura was yummy but the noodles were just ok (simple - soup tasted like tempura dipping sauce).

- Chinese Noodles with Clam Broth
Clammy noodles...
Yum. Hearty soup (which tasted like it had a hint of Chinese rice wine) with fairly springy wantan noodles.

- Cantonese Seafood Fried Rice
Soupy fried rice ...
Mixed reactions. Most of us liked the fragrant fried rice with the slightly chinese herbal tasting soup.
(Depends on whether you like Chinese herbs I guess)

DESSERT:
- Banana Pancakes with Baskin Robbins Ice Cream
Teeny pancakes...
Yummy! Fluffy pancakes paired with decadent chocolate ice cream or maple syrup. We ordered 2 of these. :)
(Small gripe: They served us half melted ice cream 2 out of 2 times)

DRINKS:
- (Left to Right) Strawberry Tea, Raspberry Mojito and Lemon Lime Punch
Drinks were affordable too...
Although there was lots of ice vs. the actual drink, all of them were refreshing.
(Again, for RM 3.60++ each, in Star Hill = no complaints!)

- Coffee (Cappuccino)
Dose of caffeine ...
We were happy to see they had Lattes and Cappuccinos too! :)
(And the small cookie they served with it was delicious!)

All in all, not everything on the menu was nice and the serving size was generally quite small BUT service was friendly, the ambience was great and there were some really yummy dishes for RM 3.60++ each only!
(So worth it! :) :) :) - Our total damage that day was only RM 25 each!!)
(Psssst... Thanks so much for pointing out this promotion Wai Leng! *hugs*)

So, you know where I'll be every weekend till the end of June! Haha...
(If only my office was near Star Hill so that I eat there during weekdays too...)

Summary Information:
3.6 Tea Break Promo @ Star Hill Feast Gallery, KL

Opening Hours: 11am till late (This promo from 3 to 6pm daily till 30 June 2010)
Phone/ Halal-ness:
- Fisherman's Cove, 03-2782 3848, No pork served
- Luk Yu Teahouse, 03-2782 3850, No pork served
- Pak Loh Chiu Chow, 03-2782 3856, Non-halal
- Shook, 03-2719 8535, No pork served

Address: Starhill Gallery 181, Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Website: Click here

OTHER REVIEWS:
- Discover | Explore | Savour Great Food At Any Time!


TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Luk Yu Tea House, Pak Loh Chiu Chow, Shook, Bukit Bintang, Star Hill Feast Gallery, Japanese, Western, Chinese, Great Food Promotion, KL, Kuala Lumpur

The Bounty Hunter

Movie time! - Action, romance and comedy all rolled into one....

This week, I went to watch a new romantic comedy called The Bounty Hunter:
(Thanks for the tickets, TnG!)
The official movie poster...
I don't remember much about the movie... except that there was a heart attack inducing scene where Gerard Butler was standing half naked, rock hard abs and most of his manly physique on display (save for where he had his towel wrapped).
:D

Haha... Just kidding (sort of).
;)

Anyway, I don't want to give too much away since the movie has just started running,... but generally I thought the movie was ok:
- simple (and kinda cliched) plot,
- some really irritating characters, BUT
- passable acting,
- some good lines/ jokes,
- sufficient amount of eye candy for both guys and girls. :)

It's definitely not a bad movie (although Rotten Tomatoes has given it an earth shatteringly low score of 8%!)... as long as you don't expect too much.
(Hmmmm,... actually it's probably quite a good date night movie since Jennifer Aniston is good eye candy and there's some action - car chases/ guns/ etc - thrown in for the guys)
"Are you trying to seduce me?" ...

Main characters:
Jennifer Aniston as Nicole Hurley
Gerard Butler as Milo Boyd
Jason Sudeikis as Stewart <--- So annoying!
Peter Greene as Earl Mahler
Christine Baranski as Kitty Hurley <--- My favourite character in the movie! :)

Couldn't find the half naked Gerard Butler screenshot from this movie, so here's one from 300 instead...

Here's what some others thought of the movie:
- the Nomad Gourmand
- EwinEe.com
- Keeping It Simple and Stupid
- So What's Up?
- I Come, I See, I Hunt, I Chiak


Happy Monday!*,
J

* Is there such a thing? :)

TAGS: Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, KL, Kuala Lumpur, Personal

Pannaz @ Damansara Perdana, KL

New-ish restaurant in the Damansara Perdana area....

Pannaz is about a year old and came highly recommended by my old friend San (and seconded by Fabian and Lil and Haz and many others).
:)
(So how could I not try it, right?)

It's pretty conveniently located, just off the main Curve area, in Damansara Perdana:
On the corner facing the main road/ Metropolitan Square condo...
Hmmmm....
I have to admit that I was having second thoughts when I first walked in - Not that the restaurant didn't look nice... but it turned out that Fabian and I were the only people dining there on that rainy Tuesday night*:
(*Could have been because of the rain... San and Fabian mentioned that it can get very packed sometimes.... eg. Saturday dinner time)
Simple...
Since it was a cold night, I decided to start with the Tomato Soup (RM 8.90):
Cup of Soup...
The serving size was quite small, but ok lah considering that it costs <9 bucks.

I suspect most of it came out of a can but I kinda liked the thick, hearty soup with a slightly tart and cheesey taste.
(The fluffy toasted bun on the side went well with it - wouldn't mind ordering this again)

For the mains, we tried the BBQ Chicken (RM 17.90):
The bbq chicken ...
Yummy!
So simple yet it works - Tender chicken, topped with a slightly crisp skin with that had that lovely fragrant (charred) BBQ taste.
(Strangely, the chicken came with a slice of grilled honeydew - am not sure how the sweet, soft fruit was supposed to complement the chicken, but hey if you don't like it you can just put it aside....)

Next, the also very highly recommended BBQ Lamb (RM 17.90):
My BBQ Lamb...
Not bad, but of the 2 mains, I prefer the chicken.

(Here's a closer look at the lamb)
Pre-chomp ...
The lamb was pretty generously portioned (considering it only costs 18 bucks!) and was very tender.... but somehow I think the overmarinated it?
(If there's such a thing)

Basically, the taste of herbs (and whatever else they marinated it with) became a bit overpowering after a few bites. Also, the mint sauce tasted a bit sweet (which I don't like). I had to drown it in the accompanying black pepper sauce to try to balance out the taste.

To cap off the night we tried the Warm chocolate cake (RM 9):
Our dessert ...
Overall, it was also not bad - fairly smooth texture, chocolatey enough to satiate any cravings, and contrasted well against the vanilla ice cream...
(Would have been better if it were served warmer though - mine arrived at the table lukewarm...)

(BTW Fabian says: The bread and butter pudding here is nice!)

Map:
"Borrowed" from the Pannaz website ...


So it's: Good selection of fairly tasty grilled/ BBQ western food and some Asian dishes for decent prices, simple comfortable ambience (please go try! don't be put off by the fact that it is suffering from - unexplainable - empty restaurant syndrome!) BUT nothing bad to say actually... :)

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Pannaz @ Damansara Perdana, KL

Lot No. G-8, Ground Floor, Jln PJU 8/3A,
D19 Damansara Perdana, 47820 Petaling Jaya

Taste: 7
Ambience : 6
Service : 7
Price** : RM 36 per person
Parking: OK

** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks

Telephone No.: 03-7710 0099
Opening Hours: Mon to Sat - 10am to 10pm

NO PORK SERVED

OTHER REVIEWS:
- A Malaysian Life
- Malaysian Food Guide
- Half Blood Aby's Blog


TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Damansara Perdana, Pannaz BBQ Restaurant, KL, Kuala Lumpur