Food Blog #14

Whenever I come across the word 'Japanese', the word 'food' follows suit. Since I'm not going back home for Chinese New Year, a good friend of mine was good enough to 'celebrate' with me by having dinner with me. Where? Sushi King! :D

The sushis we devoured :)





The Unadon Double we ordered, which is perfect for two, THAT if you don't mind sharing.

The second picture is actually a bowl of rice with eggs and some veggies, half eaten. We were so into the food until I realised that I needed to take some pictures of it. So there it is, half-eaten!

Overall I had a wonderful CNY dinner. No complaints. Everything was fresh and tasty, just the way I like it. Oh, the one we went is located in Ground Floor, Mid Valley. There is actually another Sushi King in the third floor, so you may find yourself torn in between the two!

Before I end this post:

To all my Chinese friends,

Happy Chinese 'Niu' Year! May the Year of the Ox bring you 'bullish' prosperity and good health!

Food blog #13 & among other things.

It has been awhile!

I spent my Christmas in Bundu Tuhan last year and after the Christmas morning mass we went to Restoran Bayu Kinabalu for our Christmas breakfast.

AND! we ordered:

Yum-Yum Tom Yam.


Grandpa ordered Fried Mee. Old school indeed.


One cup of hot Horlicks.
Just the way I like it.
HOT!

Restoran Bayu Kinabalu is located just before the National Park. So when you're on your way to Kundasang/Ranau, and your tummy needs food, do stop by this restaurant. They really serve good food and when you ask for hot drinks they really serve them hot :D

Oh, and don't get your tongues burned!

From Bundu Tuhan to Kuala Lumpur,

I always get excited when my father tells me that he's coming to KL. Not only I get to meet my best friend(Yea,my dad is like my best friend :D), he will make sure that I'm well fed. He came here on New Year's Day and we had these for dinner:

Can't complain!
Mouth watering wan tan (dumpling) soup.

Sliced fish cooked with spring onions.

Asparagus cooked with young corns and pork.

Old school char siew.
Take note of the gravy.

Location: Sungei Wang. Forgot the name of this Chinese restaurant but it's somewhere near the entrance.

What a great way to start the year with these delightful dishes.

Oh, before I end this post:

It's Inauguration Day today and Barack Obama is to officially become the 44th President of the United States. I wish him all the best in his presidential career and that he will be a good leader everyone can look up to. May God bless him.

Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama.

Tennis blog #3 & Food blog #12

First of all,

Congratulations to Elena Dementieva, Victoria Azarenka & Andy Murray for winning their respective titles in Auckland, Brisbane & Doha. Victoria won her maiden title after four attempts! She said quote "Everybody says the third time is the charm, but for me it's the fifth - I'm just glad I finally got it!"

I'm so happy for her.

Victoria Azarenka is a 19-year-old girl from Belarus.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Now let's talk about food!

Last weekend, Nat & I had these for dinner:

The writer's dinner.
He hoped for more beef.

Nat had salmon for dinner.

The dinner was all good, the food was tasty, customers (Nat & I) left happily. They were actually value meals (regular) and we had the options to choose either the miso soup or a soft drink to go with the food. We chose miso soup and it was good.

Still have no idea where we went?

Location: Yoshinoya, Mid Valley Megamall. It's in the lower ground floor.

Yoshinoya may be a Japanese fast food restaurant, but if you like your food to come out fast AND 'look healthy', then it's worth the visit. :)

Perhaps Yoshinoya will stamp its mark in Kota Kinabalu in the near future?

Tennis blog #2: My 5 male tennis players to watch this season.

5. Kei Nishikori (Japan)

He's one of only 2 Asians in the top 100 and this boy has a lot of potential. He stunned everyone by winning Delray Beach where he won against James Blake in the final & got into the fourth round of US Open last season. In the beginning of last season he was at 286th, and after putting on a very good performance he ended at 63rd. He will start the season at 61st.

4. Fernando Verdasco (Spain)

Fernando's known for helping Spain to capture the Davis Cup title last year and this man has one of the hardest, perhaps the most solid forehands on tour. He won Umag (in Croatia) and enjoyed a career high 11th last season. A southpaw, he uses a lot of slice to create a lot of swing which can become a headache to his opponent. I believe he's going to do well this season; with all the confidence he gained previously. He will start the season at 15th.

3. Ernests Gulbis (Latvia)

Ernests might have not won any titles last year; but that doesn't mean I'm not going to feature him. As I write this post, he won his first round match against top seed Novak Djokovic a.k.a The Djoker in the currently running Brisbane International tournament but lost his second round match to Paul Henri-Mathieu eventually. His best performance last season was in the French Open, where he got through to the QF, only to know he was beaten by King Nadal. I like the way he serves, and he's pretty aggresive on the baseline. He may need to work on his consistency though, as he tends to break down during tough situations. If he's putting everything right, an ATP title this season is surely within reach, and I believe he's looking forward to that. He will start the season at 53rd.

2. Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina)

This lanky Argentinian is very well known for winning 4 back to back titles last season at Stuttgart, Kitzbuhel (in Austria), Los Angeles & Washington D.C., and those 4 titles were his first four career titles!He was unbeatable for as many as 23 matches until his QF loss in the US Open. Pretty unbelievable for a 20-year-old guy who didn't do that well in tennis from the beginning. If he doesn't put so much pressure on himself, he will definitely reproduce his very fine form that got him winning 4 consecutive titles last season, this season. He enjoyed career high 8th, and qualified for the season ending championship in Shanghai. Kudos indeed. He will start the season at 9th.

1. Andy Murray (Great Britain)

What can I say about this Scot? He already reached great height last season, and he will reach greater height this season. He recently won a winner-takes-it-all tournament in Abu Dhabi (in UAE) where he defeated Nadal & Federer and got himself $250,000 richer. What a great start to the season. Last season he won 5 titles, 2 of them being the ATP Master Series in Cincinnati & Madrid. He also reached the final of the US Open where FedEx tamely defeated him. One of the 4 Grand Slams, at least, is within reach if he can keep up the momentum. Go Murray! He will start at 4th.

All the best to my 'bets' haha :D

Let the game begins!

Okay, so let me get away from food for awhile :D

The tennis season has just begun and the men are currently playing in Doha, Chennai & Brisbane while the women are playing in Auckland & Brisbane this week. This season has got to be THE season to watch because we'll see if Rafael Nadal is going to keep the pole position for the second year running and can Jelena Jankovic resist the rest of the girls who are also vying for that coveted no.1 spot or otherwise.

And here are my five predictions for this season, see if i'm correct or not:

1) That Jelena Jankovic will win her first Grand Slam title.

2) The Russian girls are going to dominate again, period. (Safina, Dementieva, Zvonareva.. and the rest of the ...evas.)

3) Novak Djokovic & Andy Murray will do better this season. Both Nadal & Federer have to watch out.

4) More younger tennis players will get noticed.

5) ....Nadal will win Roland Garros again, period. He got no flaws on clay.

Before I round things up here are my own 5 female tennis players to watch out this season:

5. Sorana Cirstea (Romania)
She won her first title last year in Tashkent and currently the top Romanian female tennis player & she's definitely one player to watch this season. She will start the season at 36th.

4. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia)

What a name. She was the youngest player to play in Wimbledon last season and managed to get to the 3rd round, which is something that she can be proud of. In the beginning of the last season she was at 281st and worked her way up, finally finishing at 45th. She will turn 18 this year and the experiences she gained in the last season will definitely make her a stronger player this season. She will start the season at 43rd.

3. Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland)

Lat season, she was the first Polish to earn more than $1 million & had really good results in all the 4 Grand Slams she competed in. She already won 4 single titles and has the game to beat higher-ranked players. She will start the season at 10th. Poland is proud to have this girl making headlines in tennis :)

2. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark)

2008 turned out to be a brilliant year for Caroline. She won not 1, 2 but 3 single titles at Stockholm, New Haven & Tokyo. Like Radwanska, she had good results in all the 4 Grand Slams she competed in. She almost won 4 titles (in Luxembourg, where she lost to Elena Dementieva in the final) last season & I believe she will become a stronger, sharper player this season. She's only 18, but has got nothing to lose. She will start the season at 12th. Almost there!

1. Michelle Larcher De Brito (Portugal)

Surprised? This girl's only 15 years old and already did quite well last season. She would have competed in the junior circuits and won so many junior titles but opted to play in the professional tour instead. She reached QF in Tashkent (a tremendous achievement for a 15-year-old girl) and defeated Radwanska & Flavia Pennetta, her first and second career Top 20 win. She pushed Serena Williams to three sets (at Stanford) and eventually lost to her. Although she was not in the top 100, this girl still has so many things to learn and if everything comes out right she will do well this season, at least get into the top 100. She's still young, c'mon! Probably the next Martina Hingis. She will start the season at 129th.

P/S: If she can gamble, why can't I?

The next post I'll be talking about the opposite sex so watch out you tennis fans :)

Sights to behold

I actually took this photo in 2007, was on my way to Kota Belud. The sea was crystal clear and the weather was just perfectly fine, good enough to impress me to take a photo.
Location: Tanjung Lipat, Likas-Sulaman Highway.

Kundasang at night, Christmas Eve 2008. After mass we went to Perkasa Hotel and once we got up there we were shrouded in mist.

My skills are getting better :D
Took this in my grandfather's house in Bundu Tuhan.

Ahh, the majestic Mount Kinabalu.
I just have to take this photo before it disappears!
Location: My grandfather's house in Bundu Tuhan.



Tip Of Borneo, sunset.
The picture says it all.

Sabah's a bee-you-tee!

Food Blog #11 -Amazing Race version-

My friend and I were pretty indecisive on what to do on New Year's Eve and after putting so much thoughts into it, we decided to watch a movie and have dinner afterwards.

Route #1: Taman Jaya LRT Station to Berjaya Times Square

It was around 3.30pm and when we went to the counter to buy tickets, the movie we wanted to watch had sold out (Alright, it's "Yes Man"). Damn I thought. We did not want to wait for the next screening which was at 7.50pm as it would have been late then so we decided to gamble a bit. We were to go to Pavilion.

Route #2: Berjaya Times Square to Pavilion

There were a lot of people but we still managed to get to the cinema. We went straight to the counter to buy the tickets and we managed to get the 4.30pm show, and we had about 5 minutes left!The gambling was all worth it. Phewwie~
After Yes Man, we had dinner in Old Town White Coffee, because we wanted something 'laid-back', and we ordered:

Nissin Mee with Chicken Ham + Egg
The noodles tasted like instant noodles (think Maggi) but it was all good.


Mee Jawa


Blueberry Ice Cream


Honey Lemon Ice.
The one I had in City Mall KK is way better, there was hardly any honey!

The blueberry ice cream saved the day in what to be quite a mediocre, tasteless dinner. I still ended up finishing my Maggi because I was hungry then & my mother taught me to 'respect food'. The service was rather quick, though. I would rate a 5.5 out of 10.

Route #3: Bukit Bintang Monorail Station to Bukit Nanas Monorail Station, then transit in Dang Wangi LRT Station to Taman Jaya LRT Station

We walked so much that we left early, should have waited until midnight but my right leg just killed me that night. I ended up ushering in the New Year in my room, nursing my right leg, yikes. It's okay now, don't worry. I guess my right leg passed out that night, too much lactic acid.

Happy New Year!