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My Moleskine on Thailand

Before there were City Moleskines, I had already started a quick and dirty guide to Bangkok, Thailand in my Moleskine. This was for our trip to Bangkok in May 2006. Here are some of the pages:

Next year, we're planning a trip to Hong Kong and I've already started on the guide. But this time, I'm starting the guide from the back of the notebook. Since I use the Moleskine daily, I thought it would be better to write from the back so the guide won't be scattered all over the notebook.

We may not refer to the Moleskines that frequently in Hong Kong because the tourist maps are usually much better illustrated, but I enjoy writing in the Moleskine the destinations that we may visit, and discovering their attractions in advance.

That's just me. I like knowing as much as possible about a new place before arriving. SP on the other hand enjoys the exploration.

Pre-nup and a treat

After 6 months of procrastinating and busy work schedule, we've finally completed our prenuptial inquiry with the priest! The priest was very patient and explained all the questions to us, making sure without any doubt that both of us knew what we were getting into. Half an hour later, we've set the date for our wedding and now, what's left are the practical preparations like, "do we want flowers?", "where will we have the luncheon?", "who's going to photograph the wedding?".

And the treat? Dinner at Zealand Cafe, along Gurney Drive.

Korea House

SP and I were in KL during the DeepaRaya holidays and we visited a Korean restaurant - the Korea House. It's located at the popular Sri Hartamas area. I find it strange that the place is so popular but it sure is unique, with trendy bistros opening next to old-skool kopitiams. The shoplots look old, the walls are tiled with bathroom tiles (!) and the streets are narrow.

Korea House is another odd duck. A Korean restaurant but the interior is without a doubt very English Victorian decor. Don't expect Korean ambience, but the food is pretty good. And I'm not even a fan of Korean food!

It was a BBQ affair. We don't even have to lift a finger. The waiter did all the BBQ'ing for us.

So much kim-chi... I don't like kim-chi, but the BBQ meats were very nice - well marinated, and cooked to perfection. The stove uses charcoal! Maybe that added some flavour to the BBQ.

It was a nice experience, but not enough to persuade me to like Korean food. Kim-chi... too sour...

Yi Pin at Sg Nibong

YiPin
Originally uploaded by boysbytes.

This was another place that SP and I recently discovered. We've heard of this place a few months ago, but never gave it much thought because we weren't sure the food would be good.

Turns out, SP's colleagues brought her to Yi Pin for her birthday bash and she liked the food!

The place was sparsely decorated and the exterior was rather plain. But good looks are not what we're after. We want good food. I would have liked to say that Yi Pin didn't disappoint, but the food was only average for me. But SP insists that their steamed fish was delicious. It was already past lunch hour, and according to the waitress, we couldn't order that particular dish.

Anyways, we settled for claypot tofu, fish fillet in black bean sauce and some vegetables. The claypot tofu was pretty good - lots of meat and mushrooms and vegetables. The fish fillet was so-so, but I'm not really a fan of black bean sauce. And the vegetables (I can't remember the name) were nice, cooked in garlic. Very pleasant.

Looks like we'll have to revisit Yi Pin to try out the steamed fish.

Deepa-Genting-Raya

SP and I went to my parents' place in Genting. I stuffed myself silly during the 3 days I was there. Those mini-pretzels are really addictive.


My dad planted some sweet potatoes in the garden and my mom would pick the leaves and cook them for lunch or dinner. SP even helped to pick the leaves. It's like my very own "Little House on the Prairie" experience.

The pumpkin patch I mentioned from my last visit is going to be replaced. The last few pumpkins are huge! My mom hasn't decided what they would plant in its place. It's either kacang botol or kacang panjang.

Day by day...

ContactSheet-001
Originally uploaded by boysbytes.

I'd stand on the same spot and take a photo. Day or night, rain or shine.

Not any more.

New carpark

The new carpark is finally ready!

Lots of parking bays and a "sky bridge" that connects the carpark to the main building.

Shanghai Ding Tai Feng

SP told me about this new place near Queensbay - Shanghai Ding Tai Feng. Or as the sign shows, "House of Dumpling".

The place is still quite new, but I could see it's getting popular. SP actually heard about the place from a fellow blogger, and now you're hearing about it from us!

Getting there is quite easy. Just head to Gold Coast and turn into Queensbay. You can't miss the restaurant. Just look for the huge signboard on your right.



They mainly serve dimsum and a few handmade noodle dishes. SP told me about a few of their dimsums, but what really caught my attention was the dimsum with soup on the inside - siew loong pau. I really liked this dish, especially when it's still piping hot. Hold the dimsum in your spoon, bit a small bit on the side to let the steaming hot soup flow out, let it cool a little, and pop the whole thing into your mouth. Yum!

Then there's the oddly named "pockey mouse" dimsum. SP said they looked more like porcupines. Maybe the dish should be called "pokey mouse" instead. The pau skin is speckled with black seeds that I couldn't identify, and inside is a sweet filling. The speckled pau skin adds a very nice texture.

From top left: SP cornering the last "pockey mouse", "pockey mice" huddled together, roasted pork ramen, siew loong pau, deep fried red bean bun, Shanghai pot stickers.

Highly recommended. We would have ordered more if we had brought enough money. Nevermind. There's still next time.

View from the backseat

Whenever we go out for lunch, I have dibs on the backseat.

Food Loft

food loft
Originally uploaded by boysbytes.

I've heard of this new restaurant at Gurney Plaza. From what I hear, it sounds like a high class food court. So SP and I found ourselves outside Food Loft on a Friday night, and although the concept was a little like a food court, the ambience was way, way better.

The waiters and waitresses were friendly and helpful. Since it was our first time at Food Loft, we didn't know how things worked. We sought their help a few times and soon we were comfortable ordering like regular customers.

Each of us were given a "food card" where we would order our food from the kitchen section and show the cashier our food card. That's how our orders are tracked.

There's quite a variety of food to choose from - there's the Nyonya kitchen, Western kitchen, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean... We were spoilt for choice...

I was most attracted by the dessert - the Jumbo Mango. It's a huge bowl of shaved ice, covered with mango puree and lots and lots of sweet delicious chunks of mango. Ooo... bliss...

Remember that food card? After our meal, we handed our food cards to the cashier and she'd tally up our bill. Sounds like a food court, doesn't it. But the decor, the efficient service, and comfortable environment made our first visit to Food Loft an enjoyable one.

SP and I will definitely revisit the Food Loft.

Shariff's Nasi Kandar

shariff
Originally uploaded by boysbytes.

Our favourite place for Nasi Kandar. The way I like my Nasi Kandar - rice drowned in curry... hmm...

zin deconstructed

zin
Originally uploaded by boysbytes.

What is "Deconstruction"?

An alternate view of a subject by breaking it up into individual parts that interact with each other, creating the subject as a whole.

Lunch with George(town)

Lunch with George(town)
Originally uploaded by boysbytes.

Seeing Red

Seeing Red
Originally uploaded by boysbytes.

Watch your head

RAZR V3i, Lomofied

A wedding at E&O

SP and I were invited to a wedding at E&O last night. It's the second time we've attending a wedding at E&O. I can see why couples chose the place - the setting and the ambience were beautiful.


We were dressed to the nines.

The dining hall looked grand. Perhaps to maintain the grandeur-like environment, the dishes were delivered rather slowly. However, this time was much faster than the first wedding we attended though...

There was live piano music played by a friend on stage. Very nicely planned wedding, with a very comfortable pace.

Mooncake Festivities

Friday was the mooncake festival, and we were invited to a potluck gathering organised by SP's friend. Traffic was bad that night, but we managed to grab a bucket of KFC and still arrived at the gathering pretty early.



Lots of cats at Gold Coast. This fellow wasn't camera shy.

Everyone brought lots of food - KFC, local kuih's, keropok, fried rice, even crab! I didn't try the crab because I didn't like messy food, but I did try a taste from all the food that night.


The decor was very nice. Minimalist, and white theme everywhere. I especially liked the embedded sound system and the LCD TV. It might be a plasma... I can't tell.


Everyone enjoyed meeting up again after the Sabah trip. The DVD SP and I made was a big hit. Lots of laughter, lots of good memories of the trip.

Our life on iLife

SP and I stayed up pretty late last Thursday to prepare the DVD of our trip to Sabah. Apple's iLife suite really simplified most of the work. The only time consuming parts were picking the photos and the music to accompany the slideshow.


We managed to finish the DVD on Friday, just in time for the potluck gathering that night. Our friends who joined us in Sabah were there along with a few friends.

They looked pretty happy with the DVD. I still have a few final touches to add to the DVD, but that shouldn't take too long.

The curious incident of a battery in the car park

I got a call from zin, asking for cmos' phone number. A few minutes later, zin called again asking for another colleague's phone number. If I weren't so sick with the flu, I may have wondered why zin was calling me so many times. But before my weary brain registered curiousity, zin called again. This time, he was asking for me.

Turns out his car battery was flat.

There's nothing more manly that 2 guys, standing next to their cars with the hoods propped up, and peering knowingly into the engine bay. *grunt, grunt*

Oh yeah, click the image for a larger view of the panorama.

We head out to Kota Kinabalu

Saturday - September 23, 2006
Day 1

We had a plane to catch. We had already packed the night before and just as we left our apartment, the heavens opened and it rained... like cats and dogs... it poured... and poured...

Naturally I got a good soaking. It was so bad that I was asked twice, why I was so wet - once by the Airasia personnel at the check-in counter, and another time by the security personnel at boarding terminal. Bleh...


To our surprise, our plane from Penang to Kuala Lumpur, and the connecting flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu was not delayed. Although we did hear (a loud groan from the passengers in the waiting room) that the next flight right after ours was going to be delayed by more than an hour. Thankfully it was not our flight.

We arrived at Kota Kinabalu's Terminal 2 airport. It hardly looked like an airport because it was very small. I later learned that Terminal 2 is still under construction as a Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) for Kota Kinabalu.

Our driver was already waiting for us to bring us to where we'd be staying in Kota Kinabalu for the next 5 days - Trekker's Lodge, right smack in the middle of Kota Kinabalu city.

The place was basic. Basic rooms, basic bathrooms, basic everything. At least it was clean.


Here's how the common area looks at Trekker's Lodge. Click the image for a larger version. We ate our breakfast here for the next few days - 2 slices of toast with butter and jam, a slice of local fruit and all the coffee or tea we can drink. I was actually rather pleased with the breakfast.

Trekker's Lodge is right smack in the middle of the city center so everything we needed was within walking distance. There's a 7-11 right around the corner, literally. There are a few restaurants nearby, less than 5 minutes away on foot. Reload cards, toiletries, medicine, snacks, beers, all just a short walk away.

The people running the place were all very friendly and very helpful. There's even a Travel Advisor, Mike, who hangs around the place and is a source of information for tours or trips around the city or the nearby islands for snorkling or diving.

Strangely we hardly saw many fellow trekkers. Maybe they were busy trekking or exploring the city to actually spend time at the common area. Nah, we didn't spend much time at the common area as well. We had a mountain to climb!

We're back!!!

Five days in Kota Kinabalu... and we're back. It'll take a few days to compile all the photos from everyone in our group.

It's been a blast!