Swinging Singapore!!

Back from Singapore!!! Had a wonderful time there, went to so many places and didn’t realize I need to walk so much in a tiny island like Singapore. Here and there, we were rushing to go here, meet there, getting lost (yeah lost in Singapore!!), etc. but it was all for fun. Even though I’ve been to Singapore on a number of occasions, but this time it was a bit more special ‘cause managed to meet up with many old friends and also met new ones. Siew Chyn and Mak, thanks for dropping by and spending time with me again and for Alan (also Ipoh mali punya!!), Raju (original Indian brotha from actual India!!) and Luda (she from Kazakhstan!! I like!!), it was so great meeting you all there. And for the many other Schlumberger friends I’ve met at training that I didn’t manage to spend more time with, glad to have worked and met you all too!!! That’s you Eng Eng, Srini, Jiayi, Arun, G.E., Manoj, and Naritoyo!!!

I guess this time in Singapore it was so memorable not only because of the sights and sounds of this vibrant city, but it was also the many friends that were with me that made it special.

In a nutshell, the main places I’ve been are Sentosa, Night Safari, the Singapore Flyer, Chinatown, Little India, Bugis area, Orchard area, Esplanade, Marina Bay area, Clarke Quay, Jurong (yes Jurong, long story haha), Suntec City, and a few places that I’ve dropped by which I can’t remember now haha.

Will I go back again? I’m already looking forward to another trip back there!! Maybe Christmas this year? Or for the Formula 1 race next year? But whenever it is, I’ll definitely be back, unless of course no one teman me there :(

But right now, have to settle my wedding preparations for this coming weekend and then another week after that, the actual wedding itself….God help me. It’s coming soon. *Gasp*.

Merdeka!!! Merdeka!!! Merdeka!!!

Merdeka's over, and it was a tad bit quiet this year wasn't it? Less fanfare and fireworks probably due to the double whammy of cost-cutting and the fear of A(H1N1) subdued the celebrations. But what was not shown on the outside, it was celebrated on the inside by many of most Malaysians I'm sure. As for me, well, hectic as usual with "the event" and busy delivering "bombs/summons". I was back in KL on Thursday, 27th Aug. until the 1st Sept., so here's a briefy on the days of Merdeka 2009.

Thursday, 27th August 2009.

Arrived LCCT airport and was immediately whisked away to Subang for my contractual obligations with a certain restaurant (hint: chicken rice). There’s no real contract in place of course, it’s just that every time I come back to KL, I always end up at this place one way or another. Thus, I’ve been “contracted” to this place. Can’t really complain coz the food is actually quite good…

Noon time, had to wait for my new cupboard to arrive. No probs on that as supplier was dead on time. Lovely.

By evening, went to meet up with SC to discuss on a certain performer for a certain event. Massive discussions ensued between me, SC and the performer until the wee hours of the morning. 3AM to be exact (actually there was more eating than discussing as we were at SS2 and simply just eat and eat and eat).

By that time, SC’s car which was park at her Subang office's basement car park was LOCKED, with roller-shutters dead shut all over. Massive panic erupted with SC, so had to ask a guard on opening the roller-shutters.

"Bolehkah encik tolong bukak pintu carpark?!!"

“Sorry ‘bang, pukul 6 pagi baru bukak.”

=.=”

“Tolonglah boss, bukak pintu saja la. Nanti pergi minum ok.

"Puasalah."

=.= """

All hope died on the spot.

It was 4AM and caught in between too early and too late to wait for 6AM, I ended up fetching SC back to Damansara Perdana instead. SC then had to bring along another fren the next day and drove 2 cars back to SC’s place. Talk about a logistics cock-up.


Friday, 28th August 2009.

Had to wait for another furniture to arrive, nothing to do but to rot at home until the lorry appears. All afternoon wasted. Haihz.

By night, SL was free from the shackles of work and ended up in Pyramid for dinner at Popeyes. Yes, Popeyes. Tempted by something that we haven’t tried, and thus ordered the below:

The fried chicken was just so-so lah. Spicier then the other fried chicken offerings out there, but really, it’s nothing to shout about. The taste is slightly different from the other fried chicken offerings out there, but nothing unique. But that biscuit on the side however was a surprise as it was shockingly good for a pathetic looking piece of side…

This fish burger was extraordinary ordinary. Nothing to go ga-ga over whatsoever. Was just abit surprised at the size of the offering though, as it will fill you up pretty darn good. Be warned of massive fish breath post finishing of dish.


Our healthy lifestyle continued by going straight for a movie, relaxing our tummies after a fatty round of fast food. Go large on life, I always say, the McD way. The movie was ‘Up’, and being a Pixar film, Pixar delivers what Pixar does best with sugar-coated sweetness of touching stories mixed with innocent jester that guarantees to satisfy the most lucrative demographic in the world, i.e. families. Overall, 8 out 10 if you are into 3-D cartoons/Pixar fare, or just 6 out of 10 if you prefer Wolverine to Shrek.


Saturday, 29th August 2009.

You know what, I have completely no clue on what I did on this day. I remember going for a swim at my friends apartment, had a simple dinner and then gone out with Z to Plaza TTDI for the Man Utd Vs. Arsenal match. Had a few beers, place a 10 bucks bet on Arsenal to win (yes, betted on Arsenal to win. Considering Arsenal was kicking massive ass from the previous matches and Man Utd lost to lowly Burnley of all teams, Arsenal was a safe bet. How happily wrong I was. Coz I’m actually a Man Utd fan hahaha).

We found a ‘Ramly’ burger stall and just had to eat an ‘ayam special’ with telur. My "go large on life" motto never ceases to leave me. After some chit-chat, and bla bla blas, went home at 5am.


Sunday, 30th August 2009.

Woke up late as hell. Bummed around the house. Ran around naked shouting “De Nazi’s are comminggg!!!”

Had a quick yamca session with a buddy from Labuan, and of course, gave out more summons. He’s bringing his gf along. First time can see his gf!!!

Night time, no large groups of agent H1N1 please (i.e big masses of peeps with potential H1N1 at clubs, fireworks shows, etc), so we headed to a slightly secluded restaurant for our Merdeka dinner. It was 'Han Woo Ri' @ Taipan area and In attendance? Me, SL, TK and V. OMG. V. Well what to do, old friends need to maintain some contact right. But I noticed all night long, V and TK never spoke at all!!! C’mon lah…Kiss and makeup ya?

Things we ordered:

Spicy BBQ Sliced Pork. Tastes alot like satay. Satay more cheaper. beh.

But the service is pretty good (as usual with Korean BBQ place in general). They cut, flip, change the metal plate very very regularly. OHhh speaking of service, when you leave the place, ALL the waiters will line-up and in synchronized fashion shouted "anyonghee kahshipsheeyo!!!!!" (or goodbye or something to that effect laaa) haha. Sigh, made me feel soooooo important!!!! Like VIP!!!! I don't mind to come again just to experience that again haha. Now that's sales tactics right?

Doooooone, yummy yummy. This is the usual sliced pork marinated in BBQ sauce. Not the best BBQ pork I've tasted but good nonetheless.

There's so many sides, I've actually lost count. I noticed kimchi, tofu, pickled asparagus, dried seaweed, sliced eggs etc etc etc. And it's unlimited. Free re-fills. The best.

The sauces didn't lose out either. Go dip-crazy!!

But this fried rice however, leaves much to be desired. No taste :( Still prefer Chinese fried rice muuuuch better. Btw, noticed Mickey Mouse?

Dessert drink was on the house. What was it already ah? I forgot. Soya rice or something funky like that haha. Tasted sweet. A good parting drink.

After the dinner has ended, V went her to her separate way while the rest met up with the usual gang at Station 1. Yup, Station 1. Of all places. Well better than another Kopitiam lah (I’m starting to feel intruded by these kopitiams mushrooming all over the place. Now’s there’s Papa Rich, what’s next Mama Poor? I feel we are forced to live with these establishments!!). Highlight of the night? TK going French over his uncle-esque Carlsberg Gold. 0.5% more alcohol!! Phoo-yooh!!! But tastes just the same lah (never fancied beer anyway). Here’s TK almost going orgasmic with a bottle…

"Bottles are my best friend. It offers me pleasures like no other...."

After all the gang’s fanfare has ended, I’ve sent SL home while I dropped by P & S’s house for some late night BBQ session (2AM to be exact, and BBQ indoors. Ohhh the fumes, the fumes. Thank God there’s no fire alarm, or the neighbors will be pissed). Chit-chatted and bla bla bla until 4AM.


Monday, 1st September 2009.

All these late nights were taking a toll on me as I was completely crashed for the day. Wanted to sleep so badly. But mum and dad shook me up like a hurricane for breakfast. Haihzz. There’s a nice Hainanese shop serving delicious ‘Mee Pok’ in SS2 they said. Fair enough, good food conquers all bad troubles, I always think. So off we go, and arrived at the shop to find that is it aptly named ‘Hainanese Taste’. How original!!

Here’s my breakie for the day:

Mee Pok with minced beef. Very tasty and quite spicy!!! Finally there’s an outlet for good Mee Pok around PJ…

Bored with the usual Old Town/Uncle Lim/Papa Rich kaya bread? Dread no more, here’s a excellent substitute. The bun is slightly crunchy on the outside but tender soft inside, and the kaya, Mmmmmm, perfect. I’m going back to this place just for the buns!!

After breakie, headed off to Mid Valley for our retail therapy. With no more cash to splash, window shopping was it. Dusk soon came and for dinner time at the Gardens, dropped by the ever-popular 'Fong Lye' Taiwanese joint for some grub:

The Tea Smoked Duck with Noodle. A weeeee bit expensive at RM15.80. But the duck portion is quite large to be fair, fit for 2 pax if you ask me (considering this as a noodle dish, not rice) and the smokey taste is very evident. The noodle's soup base is quite good too. Quite recommended.

One of their signature dishes, the (obviously) titled Taiwanese Burger!!! Ehhh, so where's the burger? THAT's the burger. Either the Taiwanese has a wicked sense of humor on what is called a burger, this is actually one heck of an original culinary concuction. There are many, many variants of a Taiwanese Burger, but generally it encompasses the skin similar to those found in 'Char Siew Pau' and it wraps in slabs of meat (usually pork belly, yuuum) and hints of some veggies. A must try if you haven't tried before!! Give it a kiss!!! MUACKKSS!!!

Another signature dish, the Sweet Potato Balls (but not really sure this is an authentic Taiwanese dish, coz China will no doubt claim property to this as well as it's easily found in chinese areas, and even Petaling Street has a stall that sells very very good potato balls). This is ever popular among the patrons in 'Fong Lye' as almost every tables ordered this. At RM5.30, you get I think 10 balls. A bit pricey, but hey, it's at the Gardens. Expected lah.

And with that, another Merdeka weekend drew to a close. It is one of the quieter Merdeka celebrations, but it was one of the most filling. My stomach’s still digesting the food as I write this. ***Bruurrp***