Mot.Xam.

Max in India Part 3: Beauty does lie in the eyes of the beholder, and Taj Mahal is no exception!

2012-01-07T21:49:00.012+08:00

The three of us were soooooo glad when our trip to Agra from Jaipur was so hassle-free we did not complain about going on an empty stomach knowing that the train would depart at 5.10pm from Jaipur and only arrived Agra at 9.40pm. Yes people, we survived the ultimate Indian train ride for about four and a half hours and if you asked me; well, it was not too bad lah. I mean Hazriq and I did get to see a woman chasing a train at Agra Cantt and her two feet almost fell into the train track while the train was moving as she held on to the railing! No kidding. So a man pulled her up and I thanked God profusely that she was safe boarding the train in the end. It was like a Bollywood scene right there for a moment.

FYI we were on air-conditioned, second class chair car (CC) in this Jaipur-Agra leg and we paid only 324 Rupee, or approximately RM21.60 each for the journey. There was nothing much to see outside as it was dark and there was nothing much we could do but to take a nap and hoping that we would get there on time...because we were sooooooo hungry. Word.

Once we arrived Agra, it was cold and less than a minute a man quickly approached us and asked us if we needed a taxi to our hotel. Again initially we were so hesitated because we did not want to get duped again for the second time (lesson learned alright!) but we were so tired and we finally gave in.

On our way to the hotel, somehow this sense of trustworthiness on this man was slowly building from the inside of me and bear in mind! We just knew this guy barely few minutes ago and pronto!

He was to become our driver-cum-tourist-guide in Agra. :D

We stayed at Amar Yatri Niwas. After we checked in and kept our stuffs in our rooms, we had a very late dinner at their restaurant and it was a very pleasant Indian feast:

We love this!

We could not get away from paratha!

Yours truly and Hazriq showing off our beautiful intricate-looking hennas :) We took off the henna paste along our way to Agra and the result was just unbelievable.

After dinner, we went to bed early to see the sunrise in Taj Mahal the next day, as suggested by Hazriq.

Aiight so the moment that you avid readers have been waiting for. I bet if you have read the first and second part of my trip to India you might have been wondering if I have ever visited the prestigious Taj Mahal. FYI Taj Mahal is located in Agra; and since there is no direct flight to Agra from anywhere in the world the best way to come to this place is to fly to Delhi first (don't forget to tour Delhi also!) and perhaps you may want to go to Agra either via train, bus, or charter a driver. As for the three of us, we did the golden triangle tour (Delhi first, Jaipur second, Agra third and back to Delhi again) because we wanted to save the BEST for the LAST!

I was still pretty tired waking up to catch the sunrise in Taj Mahal, but boy when we got there with our Indian traditional costumes we bought in Jaipur I suddenly felt energized all over again knowing that I was about to see one of the legit wonders of the world.

The morning was cold and there were already a lot of people lining up for tickets. Ticket price? 750 Rupee or about RM50. And I'm telling you the rupee you have paid for is worth it! Security is pretty tight; you cannot bring food nor lighter in as far as I can remember so I suggest you go light visiting Taj Mahal. You need not to bring any water bottle because it will be provided to you; they will also give you covers for your shoes/slippers when you walk into/around the mausoleum.

You may say it's a gate or the main entrance of the Taj Mahal; I say it's the appetizer to my main course (to be captivated by the Taj Mahal)!
*drumrolls*

I remember when I first had this image threw right into my eyes; I was like 'OMG!', covered my mouth with my hands, and put on a failed falsetto scream. My good friend Natalie knows how to do it!

Indeed it is magnificent. At first the Taj Mahal looked like paintings in the sky, and I told myself that I have to touch it (like literally touching the marbles of the Taj Mahal) to signify that I am actually there not to just see it and keep saying it's unbelievable, but to come to my realization that it is real and not bogus! Another word.

The sunrise was simply unbelievable. God's beauty at its best!

Too good to be true. Just like paintings in the sky.

Namaste all the way from Taj Mahal ;)

And also, doing the sumazau like you just don't care all the way right in front of the Taj Mahal! :D

Postcard from India for you dear readers! :)
Hazzy & Steffy, I truly dedicate this post to you. :)

Woohoo! Hazriq we finally conquered Taj Mahal! :D

Them admiring the beauty of the mausoleum.

Yours truly stamping his marks on the Taj Mahal, period.

Worth the effort of waking up early to catch the sunrise. Worth the effort to don the Indian traditional costumes. No one can stop us!

Apart from admiring the beauty of Taj Mahal, we had a lot of fun doing one very stress-free photoshoot. One photo a la Street Fighter, two photos a la Bollywood.

Can you actually spot Steffy & Hazzy in this photo? :P

Ever wonder what is actually behind the Taj Mahal? Yamuna River.

Hazriq pumping his fists as he has only few more wonders to go towards 100% compliance of visiting all seven LEGIT wonders of the world. I have six more to go.

I just can't stop looking at it, period.

We spent about three good hours taking photos, admiring the beauty, projecting our thoughts and senses, freeing our minds and most of all having fun at the Taj Mahal. In Hindi, Mahal means amazingly or extremely beautiful and you actually pronounce it as "may-hey". Steffy was right about even taking photos of it will not capture the beauty nor the essence of the mausoleum; you have got to see it in your own eyes to believe. Up to this time as I write, I still remember my "OMG-covering my mouth-putting up a failed falsetto scream" moment.

Love is unconditional. Love knows no boundaries. And Shah Jahan could spend years and years of meticulously building this beauty in memory of his consort Mumtaz Mahal, while giving birth to their 14th child. Rumor has it that people who were involved in building and carving the Taj Mahal had their hands physically cut off after it was completed, as it was so beautiful that Shah Jahan did not want any other building to be re-modeled after it. True or not true, it is still and will continue to mesmerize the people who come to visit and see it in their own eyes.

Phew! After Taj Mahalling, we had breakfast at another rooftop restaurant; came back to the hotel to check out and visited Agra Fort before leaving Agra for New Delhi.

And yes, like Jaipur, we spent two good days in Agra.

See? Another paratha! We could not get away from it.

The main entrance of the Agra Fort. You probably would take note that we changed our clothes because the costumes were exclusively for our visit to Taj Mahal! :)

I asked our driver-cum-tourist-guide if we get to see the Taj Mahal from Agra Fort. He said yes, and there you go Hazzy admiring the Taj Mahal from a distance not too far from Agra Fort. :)

The garden at Agra Fort is amazing. Loving the fact that they plant beautiful flowers to make the place more lively! Or else it's just another ordinary fort.

Obviously when we visited Agra Fort it was completely overshadowed, hands down by Taj Mahal. Everyone knows the reason why.

Taj Mahal from a distance.

We always get creative when it comes to taking photos in another country :D

After visiting the two places, we rewarded ourselves with a very good Indian lunch and yes, parathas were always on our table. I am missing this for real! :D

The trip back to New Delhi from Agra (thus achieving the ultimate Golden Triangle) was smooth and more comfortable than the one we had from Jaipur to Agra. We were on first class and we paid about 772 Rupee, or about RM50 each for the journey. The journey was so comfortable that they serve food on board (and ice cream too! I had butterscotch, no kidding!) just like the photo you are looking at right now. It took us about 2 hours to get back to Delhi and that was it; one memorable trip that the three of us are to cherish for the rest of our lives.

The Golden Triangle. JYEAH!

Putting aside all the negative comments about India; I had a blast there. Truly an amazing time. Honestly, little did I realize that I would eventually step foot on that land in December last year. Travelling with Hazzy & Steffy made it even sweeter and I could not ask for more wonderful memories with them, as far as this trip is concerned. I really hope I can come back sometime soon (probably I should visit other places; Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad...) and yes you need a tourist visa to come to India! :)

Before I end this post, here are two tips for you when you're in India:

1. Indians love tipping so be sure to have extra money with you when you are on the go!

2. If you are approached by people trying to sell you souvenirs especially at places of attraction, if you're not interested (most of the time you're not buying them because it can get pretty annoying because they will make you feel obliged to buy them) just nod your head sideways vigorously a few times/back and forth and politely say 'NEHI!'. It means 'No' in Hindi.

Dhanyavad India for the inspiration!

Max in India Part 2: Jaipur Oh Jaipur!

2012-01-05T08:04:00.013+08:00

The second part of the Indian series I will bring you to the beautiful city of pink Jaipur. We were supposed to go there via train from Delhi but we were duped hastily on board the train, as we did not have proper tickets. We were EXTREMELY fumed. It was very ugly at first as we were told go to this so-called legit "tourism center" in hopes of sorting out our journey to Jaipur. In the end we missed the train and forked out about US$300 (mind you it's not in Malaysian Ringgit!) for chartering a car to Jaipur.

We were reluctant at first but once we were thinking about living, breathing and embracing Jaipur, we put our fumings aside (well they died down along the way anyways) and pronto! off we go to the pink city.

And hey, it turned out to be a pleasant journey after all :)

We were all napping when our driver woke me up and said "Max! look, monkeys!"
I woke up and I got this image. Ha!

OMG A camel! Who says only Egypt has camels? Who? Apparently the state of Rajasthan is very famous for camels. They are everywhere, period.

We stopped by for breakfast making our way to Jaipur and let me let you see what India has to offer, gastronomically:

The breakfast we had is pretty much Westernized; except for the paratha. Now that's something Indian. Goodness thinking about eating authentic paratha in India is making me hungry now as I write!

Once we arrived Jaipur, Jaigarh Fort is the first place we visited:

Breathtaking isn't it?

See? Another camel!

The state of Rajasthan is also very famous for their maharaja maharani dolls. I spotted them at Jaigarh Fort. With a man playing the tabla, they put on a puppet show.

Once we finished touring Jaigarh Fort, we made our way to the city and as we slowly descended down the hill, we told the driver to stop the car and just admired the beautiful view. That's the Jal Mahal by the way in the middle of Man Sagar Lake. Keep reading and scrolling down if you want a close-up of the majestic Jal Mahal! :D

When we finally arrived Jaipur, off shopping we went to buy us some kurtas, punjabis, pashminas, Indian fabrics, and the list goes on; souvenirs from India basically.

Us donning the kurta in Jaipur. Awesome!

Since we could not stop spotting camels there, Steffy & I decided to ride on it!

The place where we had the camel ride is not too far from Jal Mahal; in fact the lake where it is located is just right next to it so we went as closest as we could and took a photo with us three in it.

To top it all off in what to be a challenging and trying day in the beginning and turned out to be a great one towards the end, we had a great dinner, Rajasthani style.

After we had our dinner, there was a small performance going on and the dancer invited us to dance along with her. Again the Rajasthani style! What a great way to end the day.

The following day we visited these places:

The beautiful Amber Fort.

And who says only China has Great Wall? India has it too!

I had the chance to see snake charmers live in my own eyes, and I got to perform with them too! :)

I had all the courage in the world to kiss the snake!

I know henna is for the ladies but since we were in India and we didn't have anything to lose, why not give it a try?

Jantar Mantar.

The Albert Hall. It's actually a museum exhibiting a collection of arts and crafts. Worth the visit if you are an archaeology enthusiast.

The magnificient Hawa Mahal. Actually this is the reason why I wanted to include Jaipur in the itinerary so badly!

In Jaipur, we stayed at the wonderful Krishna Palace. The hotel exceeded our expectations; the room is clean and tidy, friendly people at the reception counter (especially the owner of Krishna Palace Mr. Vivek, he greeted us personally!) and we love heart love dining at the rooftop restaurant! Hazriq and I only paid about RM93 for the deluxe room that we stayed overnight. I'm not kidding! Click the photo below for the link to their website :)

Dhanyavad Krishna Palace!

I really miss this. My breakfast at the rooftop restaurant.

I lie if I tell you I don't love Jaipur. We spent two days living and breathing and embracing there. Not only the places of attraction are beautiful and inspiring; Jaipurians are very friendly and love to greet you at their best. This is also the city where I have begun to love drinking and sipping masala tea. And yeah, you really do see pink everywhere in Jaipur!

I will definitely miss the dancing, camel ride and performing together with the snake charmers.

I ♥ you Jaipur! Dhanyavad Jaipur for the experience!

Chele jao Agra hai! :)

Max in India Part 1: When I Thought I Would Never Visit India...Until Just Recently!

2012-01-03T21:27:00.007+08:00

It all started way back in October when my good friend Hazriq invited me if Steffy and I could join him on his trip to India in December. I vividly remember I did not even think carefully about it (considering the fact that we had about 2 months or less to plan ahead) and for experience sake I said with a no-nonsense resounding YES!

...and when Steffy said YES! too, I already knew somehow or rather this trip would become an awesome one. One of those trips we will cherish for the rest of our lives :D

What can I say about India in my own words? Three words. Colourful. Vibrant. Busy. If you see almost every woman in their sarees or punjabis, vehicles blowing horns (a proper substitution of the word ‘honking’) pretty much all the time when you are on the road and sooner or later you know that the drivers do it on purpose, children or teenagers wanting to take a photo with you because you look foreign enough to them in hopes of you publishing it somewhere realizing that they are one step closer to become famous or whatever; you know you stand firm and tall in India!

And YES! We geographically and literally achieved the Golden Triangle: Delhi - Jaipur - Agra.

The first part of my trip in India I will bring you avid readers of my blog to the capital city of New Delhi. When we arrived here and that once we got out of the airport it was chilly, less humid and dusty!

When you visit Delhi, don't ever forget to leave your footprints in these places! I'm not kidding.

Red Fort. One of the hundreds and thousands of forts in India but this one stands out not only it is big but it was built by the same dude who built the Taj Mahal. :)

When we were at Red Fort, these kids noticed our DSLRs thinking that by us giving them a chance to take a photo, they will be famous all around the world. So dear kids, I have successfully put it up for the whole world to see, literally!

India's answer to Arc de Triomphe - India Gate! :)

Humayun's Tomb. This was the model for the Taj Mahal in Agra. No kidding! You can actually see the resemblance.

Diggin' the Mughal architecture. In India, most (or probably almost all) of the places you visit the colours are in an earth tone scheme. Browns, tans, oranges, clementines, reds, greys, greens, whites here and there.

Jama Masjid. Again one of the famous mosques in India simply because it was built by the same dude who built the Taj Mahal! Goodness, Shah Jahan did play one very important role in building very famous and prominent landmarks in India which are very well known to the world today.

Will you look at the busy street! Chandni Chowk. Yes we were on a rickshaw going through that busy street. It was one heluva experience, but that is how you get to see Indians' way of living. Probably the first and last I would step foot on. I still can't imagine Delhi is home to 16 million people! No wonder it's unbelievably dense.

Delhi as a whole.

Last but not least, you MUST visit:

The remarkable Qutb Minar. It's actually a stand-alone minaret, and apparently the tallest in India according to Wikipedia. It is constructed with red sandstone and marble.

Red! Earth tone scheme!

If you think only other certain countries have their own well known ruins or remnants of one city's former glory, think again. India has Qutb Minar to prove that. In fact, a lot!

It may sound bizarre if I tell you that a DSLR is a must-carry item if you're traveling, not only they capture photos immortalizing the beauty and unforgettable memories, they do tell a story :)

Yours truly on a mission to conquer Delhi with his Delhi smart guide book.

Yours truly having a light conversation with his best friend Hazriq.

The three friends having a light moment in a rickshaw. Indian style.

Dhanyavad Delhi for the experience. I can forgive you for being dirty and dusty, no pun intended. We took 2 whole days to live, breathe and embrace this metropolis as it is. I have two tips to you dear readers:

1. The Hop On-Hop Off is indeed the best way to see Delhi! The boarding pass is only 300 Rupee (correct me if I'm wrong) and it can be used for two days! We were not on a guided tour; everything was pretty much planned carefully by us three as we die for adventures and thrills!

2. Be careful of people stalking you! Indians know you are a tourist (come on!) and they really take notice of you especially when they see you asking for directions. It happened when we wanted to go to Jama Masjid at Chandni Chowk and when we asked for directions one old man out of nowhere just came up and tried to help us. After that when we walked he was behind us all the time! It was creepy and when we saw McD we decided to walk in and hide. At the same time, we were all hungry anyways :D

Challenging indeed.

Chele jao Jaipur hai! :)

Food Blog #33: There's something about Sailors

2011-06-30T11:01:00.006+08:00

Ever since I visited Melbourne exactly last year, I always have a thing with anything Australian. And so a few days back I had my ostrich burger fix at Sailors Cafe at Millennium with Kim. The first time I got here I was introduced by Ina (boy she sure knows where to find good eat than I do in KK now) and the urge to come back and dine here has been growing ever since!

I didn't mind having ostrich burger again for the second time (because it was so good, healthy and orgasmic) but we did order other dishes, and on our table we had:

In all its glory, the FIX ( = ostrich burger that is) :D
am lovin' and feelin' every bite!
RM15.

Their signature simple salad medley was so good that I forgot I was in KK for awhile; definitely something that I would have eaten back in Melbourne.
RM9.

Kim ordered chicken mushroom and I loved how the mashed potato, the mushroom and the gravy went so well together. The chicken was already awesome in the beginning; tender, yummy, delish!
RM 14.

Lovin' the words on the wall. Talking about being expressive. Australian restaurant with great Sabahan touch :)

Do drop by this place if you want good food with affordable price:

Sailors Cafe
Lot 36, 1st Floor, Plaza Grand Millennium, Penampang Bypass, KK.

My name is Maxwell Tommie Lajawai and I approve this post.

Max in Melbourne Part 4: I will come back & Hotel Maya Kuala Lumpur

2011-06-16T11:47:00.009+08:00

And I truly had a blast in Melbourne that I need to divide my trip there into four different posts! Plus the wonderful 2 day/1 night stay at Hotel Maya which I crazily enjoyed all for MYR 0. Like seriously.

Alongside the Great Ocean Road and the city itself, I also went to Mt Dandenong which took me and my friends about an hour to get there. This place is like what Kundasang is to Sabah, only brutally colder, slightly easier to go about and very Australian. You can see the bird eye's view of the city here:

Optical illusion? Think again.

I will feel empty if I don't talk about food as we had lunch here before we headed back to the city, prior to our road trip we surfed the net and decided to give Cuckoo Restaurant for a try:

Pictures!

Yes yes yes! :D

The overview of the restaurant. It's a German restaurant and the waitress was thick with her German accent when she served us.

It was all-you-can-eat buffet and damn, when it comes to buffet, you just want to try everything, and I did just that.

We had these on our table:

Oh yes, our stomachs did explode the other day. Literally. Probably the best buffet I've ever had outside of Malaysia. If you are in Melbourne and ready to eat like a king, do drop by at this restaurant. According to their website the address is:

508 Mount Dandenong Tourist Road
Olinda VIC 3788, Australia

Oh and it's A$39.90 but it's worth it! The 5 kilos I gained were worth it :D

With this, I conclude my story on my fabulous trip in Melbourne. I was so inspired that I wrote to NST for their weekly Savvy Traveller column every Thursday and I was in the newspaper on 9th September 2010 :) Definitely icing on the cake & perfect birthday present for me, which I only redeemed in March. Bliss!

The trip to Land Down Under + The win + The bed + The shower/bath room + The hydrotherapy pool + The view = AWESOME

"When you are inspired to do something, you are bound to enjoy & cherish great moments" -Maxwell T Lajawai :D

Pictures are meant to be immortalized.

2011-06-16T10:59:00.004+08:00

So I did a sunset photoshoot with a good friend of mine, Steffy last Sunday and the outcome was simply remarkable:

It was quite cloudy on the horizon so we didn't really see the sunset, literally.

Spotted a group people practicing for the upcoming dragon boat race competition this weekend. I believe.

Yours truly and his best friend. No pun intended.

I ♥ Sabah and it will stay that way forever. :)

Location: Sutera Harbour
Camera: SONY DSLR-A200 :)

Max in Melbourne Part 3: The Great Ocean Road

2011-05-15T22:59:00.012+08:00

Finally I am unofficially done with my course! for the last few months I was so caught up with my final year projects and only now that I have plenty of time to update this blog of mine :)

So I'm not really finished talking about my wonderful trip to Melbourne last year.

I have to say, visiting Melbourne ain't complete if you don't experience the Great Ocean Road. Let me quote from my winning entry which I sent to NST last year and won a 2D/1N stay in a Studio room with breakfast for two and a 50-minute healing stone massage at the elegant Hotel Maya Kuala Lumpur:

"The Great Ocean Road will definitely be the pinnacle of your trip. You will see the beautiful side of Australia as you drive, overlooking the ocean and the hillside. once you have reached the Twelve Apostles, though numerically not 12 anymore, the view will definitely take your breath away. This journey takes about three to four hours from the city"

Get ready to be blown away readers! :)

I actually asked my friend to stop by the road side as I was soooooooooo captivated with what I saw. The ocean was on my left side; the beautiful hills and green pastures on my right side. I could not ask for more. Like the late Steve Irwin would always say,

"That's a beauty!"

We stopped by at Apollo Bay for a quick lunch and we had these:

Chicken Schnitzel. Crumbed chicken breast served with chips, salad and sweet chili on the side. Yummeh.

Mongolian beef. Generous tender strips of beef tossed in mongolian sauce with hokkien noodles and asian vegetables. Finally Something Asian! :)

Throughout the journey, I kept saying Australian this and that. Now that's Australian sheep! Epic man.

So when we arrived at Port Campbell National Park for the 12 Apostles, I was left speechless. Scroll further down please and you will know why :)

The winning photo :)
Obviously I had a blast in Melbourne. What more The Great Ocean Road. Simply magnificent.

Literally speechless eh?

It took about four hours to get there. Good thing I had a friend who had a friend who was willing to drive me there that time. Probably the best road trip I have ever had outside of Malaysia. Last week I was in a bookstore and came across a book on 1000 places to see before you die. The Great Ocean Road is in it!

1 down, 999 to go I believe :)

Delay no more: A special tribute to PCSB-SBO

2011-01-10T20:24:00.007+08:00

It was 2 years ago that I was so skeptical about undergoing my internship in this company. I was so worried that I would not be able to learn as much as I can; we're talking about a period of six months here people, and at that time I told myself I cannot waste six months for doing nothing. I gotta learn something. I even quarreled with my dad that I would be wasting my time doing nothing in the office because everyone will be so busy minding their own businesses.

In the end, I 'reluctantly' agreed.

And I was WRONG, and surprised at the same time.

It turned out to be something like a life-changing experience for me, and therefore I want to pay tribute to the people who have made this possible to me and for me and also for proving to me that interning in an oil and gas company can be really fun, exciting and a real experience not to be missed.

Kak Raja; goodness I learned a lot from her. She was the one responsible for guiding, developing and molding me into who I am today :) I remembered when I told her that I wanted more challenging assignments, she really did give me challenging assignments! Boy I had hard time doing them, but I enjoyed it at the same time. I really admire her for her courage, strength and determination, I mean, a lady engineer with a lot of testosterones around? I really miss having breakfast and chit-chatting with you kak!

Joy. Real name Nirwana Nurdin :) Sorry I didn't manage to attend your wedding last year :( I learn a lot from her too; she was the one responsible for assisting and helping me finishing the works I was assigned to. The one responsible for providing me those production data which I have to compile and interpret, and boy, those updated songs! She's the one!

Steffy & Wendy. Actually the first person I met in SRE was Steffy and little did I realize that we are going to be good buddies throughout! Who would have thought yeah. Ging-karas bah ini, jangan ko. Another lady engineer that I truly admire. The one responsible for getting me so interested on cameras (DSLRs especially, the recent pictures of me in Melbourne imply) and FYI, the DSLR that I am currently using now was used to be hers! I bought from her of course. And who does not know Wendy? Perhaps the most well known girl in SBO, you will always have a good time when you are with her. Bubbly, friendly and cheerful. Outing with these two girls is always a lot of fun!

Bah ging, seperti biasa kalau saya balik KK, misti jumpa ah! Seperti biasa orang bilang...

Shakir Nawi, probably my long lost brother in SBO. A fresh graduate from UTP, again I learned a lot from him. We pretty much did the assignments together and he was the one making me to realize that production chemistry is actually related to chemical engineering! I really miss you going to my workstation every morning asking me stuffs or just checking me out ;) Oh, and those discussions about those test reports, you really made me feel like an engineer yo!

And thank you so much for taking care of me when we were in Labuan the other day!

Sir Martin Huan. Really nice knowing you chap! The one responsible for giving me a lot of tips on where to go and what to do in Melbourne. Remember you accompanied me sending Wendy home and two days after that we all went to Kiansom waterfall? And the friend of mine in Melbourne you were dying to see on Facebook? Good times man. If we ever meet again, don't forget to spend me :P

Sonia Boy. I love your new haircut! Bahaha... The one who always made hot milo with me in the pantry. I always have great conversation with her, and we always have our special handshake every time we meet up! :D Next time when I'm back in KK Sweet Home, make yourself available bah ging... jarang-jarang kita jumpa ni tau, bukan macam dulu lagi...

Amilin aka Teddy Bear. The first one to approach me for lunch, and I turned it down :( I have to thank you because you sent me home the other day! I will never forget your kindness bro. We should definitely meet up again next time!

Jasamu dikenang.

Derrick and Kimi. Nice dudes to hang out with :) Kimi, I thank you for bringing me out in KL the other day. I had a lot of fun! Especially the day where we went to two open houses during the Raya break, and played bowling after that. Wow you really are getting a lot better than I do! I should catch up with you man haha XD

Ina. Same league with Kimi, I always have a great time with this girl. Too bad la I only got to know you 2 months before I said au revoir to SBO :( One of my bowling buddies, I always love our conversation over the dinner table! Because we always meet up for dinner! Haha!

Ezramian Jamian! Wendy's cousin. How can I not mention him? The first person I have spoken to and met in SBO. Practical student coordinator. I should give credits to him as he was the one to put me in SRE in the first place. Funny and cheerful. I will never forget your advice you gave me on my last day in SBO! This picture was taken when all the twelve practical students went to Pulau Manukan together with him, Shakir & Derrick in March 2010. Good times man, good times. Period!

KJ. Again another great chap to be with :) How can I not be thankful for you have fetched me at the airport the other day? ;)

Joshua Thomas! Another bowling buddy of mine! I was the one he always looked for when he wanted to play bowling. Goodness that is what friends are for. We didn't have our proper goodbye because he was in offshore when I was on my last day in SBO! :( Going to miss those bowling and pork-eating sessions with you ging ;)

So these people have proven me so wrong that I never had any dull moment in SBO. In fact, that 6-month period was probably the best times I have ever had in my life. Actually there are still a few people that I have yet to pay tribute here but I did say thank you to them in the email I sent to the whole department which I still keep. (TQ Steffy!)

I guess I have to thank my dad right now for pushing me so hard so that I did not turn down the offer to do my practical in SBO.

I was wrong after all..

...and I had helova good time!

As much as I want to go to offshore; I hope I can go there one day. :)

Food Blog #32 Max in Melbourne Part 2 :)

2011-01-09T22:43:00.007+08:00

Tada! The food I absolutely fell in love with throughout my 11 fabulous days in Melbourne.

And did I tell you that I actually gained 5 kilos alone? No kidding man.

I was barely 24 hours in Australia and my first dinner was in this Korean restaurant just next to Queen Victoria Market. What can I say? Fantastic.

So after I attended the Sunday mass in St. Patrick's Cathedral my friends took me to this Vietnamese restaurant where they serve good ol beef noodle soup. One thing about Melbourne is that it is soooo diverse and that you can almost get food of all kinds from all around the world. You name it they have it! Seriously.

Good thing that I visited this city during winter! Heart the spicy meatball soup in Centre Place. It's like Little New York in Melbourne, and I also heart the fact that they serve the soup with two generous slices of french bread! This is not the only soup that they have; they have all kinds!

Ahh, crepes. I swear to myself I've never had crepes before in my life until I went there and pfft! the rest is history :) Real French people really made this one for me and there was no real, authentic French ever said to me "merci, au revoir!" until I paid for it. That really made my day :D Sorry for I have forgotten the exact location of this cafe :(

See what my friend ordered :)

Godfather's Pizza. Read that? A pizza you can't refuse. It is so true.

I had this hot dog at VicMart and obviously, this was longer and bigger than the ones I usually have back home. Talking about hot dog orgy.

Hot chocolate that comes with marshmallows? Are you kidding me Melbourne? As far as I know, the usual hot chocolate I usually have stands alone by itself. But marshmallows? This is the reason why I should travel more often.

And this big breakfast? I finished them all. Plate was clean.

OMG Max Brenner *faint*

Part 2 coming soon! :)

Oh my, it has really been awhile! Max in Melbourne Part 1

2011-01-04T00:45:00.005+08:00

Dear readers,

Please forgive me.

I guess for the last few months I was too caught up with my studies until I did not have any time to post just anything, until right about now. I know I have yet to talk about my wonderful vacation in Melbourne that it got into me so deeply that I won myself a 2-day 1-night stay in a 5-star hotel in KL which I will reveal pretty soon, the food that I have devoured and pretty much what happened for the last few months!

Right, so I guess I shall continue my story in Melbourne, let me pick up where I last left...

Let these pictures speak for themselves!

P/S: I hope I don't upload the same pictures again!

St. Patrick's Cathedral. There's Vatican City in Melbourne, somewhat. Was fortunate enough to attend the Sunday mass, and twas AWESOME!

Queen Victoria Market. The place where I bought most of the souvenirs to bring back home for family and friends. Their wet market here is soooooooo clean. Not wet at all.

Ah, the Shrine of Remembrance. Great place to visit, free entrance, shutterbugs should not give this place a miss, totally.

The view from the top of the Shrine of Remembrance. The sun was shining so brightly and it was still cold.

The medals greatly displayed in the remembrance :)

Flinders Street Station lights up so majestically at night.

Oh my, postcard from Australia.

The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne will amaze you in so many ways.

Something you don't see back at home. I mean, wild ducks! C'mon!

Last but not least, since I'm a huge fan of tennis, I have finally visited 1/4 of the Grand Slam cities! Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Novak Djokovic...these players all won and lifted their trophies here! ;)

...and the journey continues.

Hope it's not too late for me to wish you readers a very Happy New Year!

Thanks for visiting my blog! :D

2010-08-01T10:28:00.002+08:00

Goodness me, it's August already!

I rarely put up a post without pictures, but for the sake of updating my blog before it gets too old for my last entry, I decided to at least write something just to check in what everyone has been up to lately.

Last night, I had a friend visiting this blog and telling me how hungry she quickly got after seeing those food pictures. Well, all I can say is my blog does make one's mouth waters and I often get this from people all the time. Even my mouth can water every time I see the pictures, so you can basically count me in!

Therefore, I thank you for visiting my blog! :) For the moment, I won't be able to put up new posts as promised as I am currently busy with my final year projects and all, but I try to make all up for it soon.

You visitors take care yeah!

Max

Food Blog #31

2010-07-11T15:31:00.007+08:00

This is a special post as I'm going to give you reasons why I love my hometown so much! Even though I had so much fun, a blast (literally) in Melbourne; I study in KL (it's OK now as I'm in my final year!), basically me away from home, there will always be a place, permanently for KK in my heart. In no particular order, the pictures below are my favourite food (more like I must have these when I'm home) that I would die for to eat :)

Yes, you hear me right, Maxwell Tommie Lajawai aka The Great's favourite food! :D

Goodness gracious! I can faint right now just by looking at these pictures. These dishes above are must haves for me when I'm back at home. Pork, sweet & sour sliced fish and pork soup...and I will eat these with minimum 2 plates of rice. Taken from Pasar Besar Kota Kinabalu.

Aesha Special! If you're in KK Waterfront, you must go to Aesha Corner. I will never order any other food in the menu than this one! I love the fact that they have everything in: Chicken, keropok (crackers), sambal (chili paste) + mayonnaise, and the fried rice! My good friends Wendy & Steffy know I will always order & eat this. Tutup mata diorang tau suda apa sa mo makan.

Tanjung Aru Plaza's BURGER, and it is HUGE. This is old school man. I love the fact that the portion is so generous that you can share it with your friends. Yeah, beware! you may need your friends to finish this burger, or Sabahans like me would say "Tapau ja ba ging kalau nda dapat kasi habis". They don't have to tell me that because I can finish it all by myself! I love food remember? :P

OK, avocado juice is not really a food. Well it was, before they blend and squeeze it to be drinkable. If you go to Tanjung Aru First Beach, this drink is a must! It is so creamy and milky, just the way I like it. It isn't really a juice, more like ice blended actually. But who actually cares? This drink is a thirst quencher, a winner hands down! XD

OK, this may look foreign to you. People will tell me the pizzas in the western countries are much better because they are more authentic! I don't really care because this pizza (the name's Margerita) is the bomb. Little Italy's Margerita, in my own words, completes me. Period. Go figure! :P

Wan Wan's Dried Noodles, Tom Yam and co. need no introduction. These dishes are to die for, period. The moment you step into the restaurant, though it's hot and makes you all sweaty, once the food comes to you, you know you are on board the Wan Wan Express :)

Beaufort Mee! Again need no introduction. I will always order this Ka Liau, period. Oh no my mouth waters...

Goodness, I think I have to stop. There are so many awesome KK food that I have yet to talk about, but I will save them in my next post! I warn you, there are SO MANY of them! :D

One Perfect Getaway to Melbourne, Australia!

2010-07-08T22:27:00.008+08:00

Finally, somewhere far! And this is just the beginning.

As much as I wanted to travel abroad, finally I've got the chance to visit Melbourne, Australia. I was in this beautiful city for 11 memorable days a week after I completed my internship in PCSB-SBO.

P/S: There will be a special post on my six-month internship which will be released by yours truly soon! :)

According to Wikipedia, which I did a little research prior to my visit to this very beautiful city, Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia after Sydney. In my own words, Melbourne has so many things to offer. The city is so full of life; and one should not be deceived as there are quite a large number of international communities from world all over, good enough to earn the phrase "melting pot of international flavours". The buildings in the city have great architecture, integrating old and new. So many good food, good places to go around.

I ♥ you Melbourne! :)

Let these pictures speak for themselves:

Flinders Street Station. One of the major train stations in Melbourne. One iconic building, it lights up so brilliantly at night! :)

St Paul's Anglican Cathedral. One of the few cathedrals in Melbourne, just right next to Flinders. Can you spot the modern buildings behind it? Awesome, good that they preserve the old buildings.

So that's Eureka Tower! Apparently the tallest residential tower in Melbourne, and that's where my favourite place to go around, South Bank is. Ooh and that's Yarra River.

Federation Square! and this is the place where I...

took this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend the Tim Burton exhibition! I was barely a day in Australia, no sign of fatigue nor jet lag whatsoever yeah?

This alley is called Centre Place. I call it "Little New York in Melbourne". The food here is amazing. I recommend you to try this small restaurant where they sell different kinds of soups. This is where I had my Middle Eastern Meatballs soup that came with two generous slices of french breads.

More random but awesome pictures! :D

All these pictures were taken barely 24 hours since I stepped foot on Australia. Day 1 to be exact. I have yet to talk about the best part of my trip in Melbourne: Food! Do look forward to it!

Some of you might be considering visiting Melbourne already, no? ;)

For your viewing pleasure Part 7 ;)

2010-06-06T22:40:00.002+08:00

Kota Kinabalu City at night. Not so frantic, just the way I like it.

I like the way how this flame bends almost perfectly. Took this photo at Aesha's Corner @ KK Waterfront.

I love what I see high up in the sky. This is when you say to yourself, "God, I thank you for your beautiful creations!"

P/S: I will always love Sabah, always :)

Food Blog #30

2010-06-06T22:00:00.004+08:00

Praise the good Lord that it's my 30th post on food! :)

First and foremost, I have to thank my good friend KJ for this. He was the one who suggested this Japanese restaurant to me somewhere in Damai and spent me along the way :) Both of us adore Japanese food, period.

Well, I thought there were only handful of Japanese restaurants in KK where I normally go to (Nishiki, Wagamama) until Fukurou came into the picture. I had no idea whatsoever about the location of this restaurant, let alone its existence in KK! So KJ, you're the man! :D

OK, get ready to be hungry!

My bad for not being able to provide you readers the captions for every photo you see. All I can say is the food we ordered were so good/above average that I completely forgot to note down the name of every dish. The sushis, salmon, tofu, pickled vegetables, chicken teriyaki, pudding...everything was good from the get-go. No complaints!

I believe from these pictures you can tell that they are good. The restaurant is located on the same row as Yoyo@Damai, right at the very end opposite the car park building.

Fukurou's to go! :D

To come and think of it, my BB does take good pictures after all. Cute eh? :)

Quality of pictures :), :\ or :( ?

2010-05-15T21:48:00.002+08:00

If you would have noticed the pictures I've taken since the beginning of this year, they are a bit different from the pictures I took last year. This is because I changed my handphone to BlackBerry Curve 8900. I previously used SE K810i, still use it though for emergency. I am actually a bit disappointed with the quality of the pictures taken from BB, they look slightly blurry compared to SE. I can't help but to use it to take pictures; or maybe I just don't know how to take good pictures with a BB?
So what do you think? :), :\ or :( ?

Food Blog #29

2010-05-15T21:19:00.005+08:00

Goodness, it has been awhile, yet again!

A good friend of mine was good enough to spend me a good dinner last Wednesday (since I spent him twice already) at Upperstar Damai.

Upperstar is one of the most popular restaurants in KK; and now that they have three branches already: Lintas, Damai and the one in front of Hyatt Hotel. You are pretty much spoilt for choice! The one in Lintas is always full of customers regardless of any days. The one in front of Hyatt Hotel exudes that at-the-bar-get-me-a-tequila-shot feeling & the one in Damai probably gets you laid-back a little; and that was the exact way how I wanted it to be after working out that day :)

OK, pictures!

Grilled salmon. I've to say it was really good. Note the sauce on top of the salmon? Amazing. Everything was above average.

Bruschetta. The bread was a bit overgrilled, and I saw no main ingredient: tomatoes! Completely different from what I had the last time. The toppings were lettuce and cured meat. I gave this one a 5.5/10. Tough luck...

Overall I had a wonderful dinner; I really liked the grilled salmon. Be careful with the bones though, there were plenty of bones and I used my hand to take them out from my mouth. You may have to think twice about ordering the bruschetta though, if you're a conservative bruschetta eater like me you would probably be a bit disappointed. No tomatoes; ask the waiter if the toppings include tomatoes :P

Thanks KJ! :) Mentioned you in my blog haha xoxo

Earlier in the afternoon, I had lasagna for lunch in Secret Recipe @ Centre Point. I was tempted to take a picture and publish it in my blog. It was pretty good, although the portion could have been slightly bigger :P

I guess I've to be contented with the portion, after all I need to lose weight. I really like the wholemeal bun, eat it with the lasagna, ain't that bad after all.

Food Blog #28

2010-04-17T23:40:00.008+08:00

Back in KL where I study I almost have Indian food all the time! Be it breakfast, dinner or lunch. I always thought it was always difficult to look for a good Indian restaurant in Sabah until my unit section head spent us lunch last Wednesday :) Since I'm crazy about Indian food and all...

What did we eat?

Pictures please :)

I love this. Fish head curry. This is a must :)

Mine, and will you look at the generous portion :)

Look at those hands. They are helping themselves with the fish head curry, pappadoms and fish eggs (the ones with the fork in the picture) which I helplessly thought they were nuggets in the first place.

I think I'm going to faint. Fried mackerels, quails and vegetables on the other side of the table. 10/10 no doubt. My unit section head fed us really well :)

Since I rarely distribute photos of myself as well as people whom I know of, here's your rare chance to see a few:

Before

and after! I see no difference. Talking about being photogenic :D No hard feelings yo.
From left: Mr. Kamal, Stephen, Kak Fiza, Fairuz, Kak Raja (my SV *applause*) and Gerard.

Smile! Jangan tidak smile. :)
From left: Sonia, Steffy, Amilin, Fred, Joy & Soffie :D

From left: Joy, Soffie and yours truly.

From left: Sonia, Steffy & Amilin.

My hope of finding a good Indian restaurant in Sabah sweet home (and probably more) has been renewed! It's kinda embarrassing not to know the existence of Krishna Curry House which is situated in Millennium (the one where Ocean is). For you Indian food lovers like me out there who have all sorts of difficulties of finding a good Indian restaurant in KK, this is the place :) Everything was great, excellent from the get go :D

I was the only one who asked for more rice. Thank you Mr. Kamal for the lunch.

Food Blog #27

2010-04-11T17:37:00.005+08:00

What? It's April already?

Before I go on with my 27th food blog post, I just want to thank you guys so much for the wonderful comments. They may not be a lot, but I appreciate them as they are.

I love porridge! I mean, who does not?

I disagree when some people say porridge is the food for the sick and ailing. If it is cooked properly & correctly, porridge can be delicious, yummy, nutritious and healthy for you. That is why last Saturday after the Easter Vigil mass my family had porridge in Foh Sang for dinner.

Fish porridge. Wow, the portion is generous. Two to three people can have this together at one-go. Well, it depends on your hunger pangs. As for me, I finished this all by myself ;)

Seaweeds, carrots & cabbages are provided together with the porridge. Condiments I believe.

...and who would have thought that together with the porridge and condiments, my dad ordered zhu chap ( pig = pork+ skins + intestines) garnished with cucumber and hard boiled chicken eggs? Interesting. It ain't that bad.

So, if you're around KK and interested in late night dining/supper, drop by Foh Sang. There are a few restaurants/coffee shops to choose from; this place is full of activities day and night.

For your viewing pleasure Part 6 ;)

2010-03-21T15:06:00.003+08:00

For the last few weeks I did a lot of outdoor activities like jogging after work & I find it very de-stressing. It is definitely good for your health, physically and mentally. One of the places I like to jog (or hike) is in Bukit Padang where I can enjoy this...

Sunset from above :) Overlooking the city of KK.

Food Blog #26: "I live to eat, not eat to live"

2010-03-06T23:14:00.005+08:00

March 6th has to be the day to remember;

I ate and travelled like no other.

I had a lot of fun driving all the way to 1Borneo just to go to Dome for breakfast (did window shopping a bit but ended up buying an item) and from there to Centre Point for bowling & movie (not to mention window shopping, again) After movie, off to Tanjung Aru Azlan & I went for a relatively heavy dinner.

Breakfast:

Breaded Calamari. The portion may not look too generous enough but it does make you say "I'm full!" :)

Beef Bacon & Egg Baguette. I have to adore this. The baguette's a bit hard but anything else than that: awesome! Note the yolk and the homemade tomato sauce. This made my day!

Alrighty, that's breakfast. As for lunch,

A slice of tempting, sinful chocolate banana cake in Secret Recipe. Oh, destination: CP, Palm Square to be exact. I was still full that time, but I managed to devour it all. All I can say is I will always love chocolate banana cake, period. :)

Right, so after watching Solomon Kane, we went to Tanjung Aru for dinner:

Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice) Pattaya Seafood. Unique ain't it? Fried rice wrapped in eggs. After I had this I knew this was not enough so I ended up ordering...

Chicken & beef satays served with ketupat (sticky rice) and get this...

Barbecued Chicken's ass! more like, asses. Exotic enough eh? They are still meat though :P You have to try this when you're in Sabah, not so sure if they do sell in other places though.

Wow, I do live to eat, not eat to live after all :)

For your viewing pleasure Part 5 ;)

2010-02-28T21:14:00.004+08:00

This time in For your viewing pleasure I only have 3 pictures to share with y'all but I guess they are good enough to captivate you yeah?

Make it 3 reasons why you have to visit Sabah! :D

FYI, I took these photos from Hyatt Hotel, executive suite yo ;) just hours before emceeing a wedding reception. :D

Food Blog #25: Little Italy :D :D

2010-02-28T20:20:00.004+08:00

It has definitely been awhile. Hmmm.

Every time I'm home, I have always been dying to go to this restaurant. My friends think it's expensive to go there. Though it's going to burn quite a large hole in your pocket, the food is what matters most!

I bring you *drums please*:

Little Italy Pasta and Pizza Corner

The pictures!

Azlan's Marinara Tomato :) Pomodoro yum-yum!

Since this was my second dinner (I had dinner earlier already), Alif and I decided to share and had Small Margherita instead. Thin Crust. This pizza was beyond our wildest dreams :P

Friends I brought:

My boy Azlan, this boy can eat soooo fast that you don't actually realize that he has finished his food already.

Alif, probably my long lost brother. People tell me we look alike, no? He's one very health conscious boy I tell you! :)

See? I need no DSLRs to take a good photo. :)

Perfect score! I loved both the food we ordered. I still love them now, and since I will be in KK for the next 3-4 months, I will try my best to come down at least once a month. Once I got my pay! :D

I truly dedicate this post to Azlan and Alif, can't wait for our other activities to come :D

Location: Ground Floor, No. 23, Jalan Haji Saman, KK Sweet Home :) (Capital Hotel, in front of Wisma Merdeka yo)

Grazie Little Italy.

Food Blog #24

2010-01-11T22:11:00.004+08:00

As my family and I were on our way to Kota Belud last Saturday to visit my sick uncle, we stopped by AramaiTii Seafood Restaurant & Cafe in Tuaran for a very quick dinner. Mind you, it was around 9pm and everyone was hungry.

Dad ordered:

Mee soup + sliced fish. Liked the soup.

Mom ordered:

Singapore fried mee hoon. Average. The cook can do better.

The children had rice and ordered:

Sizzling Japanese tofu. It wasn't that bad after all.

Sliced fish + ginger

Therefore, if you are on your way to the north side of Sabah (strictly at night & you need food) and since most of the coffee shops are closed, then this restaurant may just be the right place for you to satisfy your hunger. They even have a mini karaoke lounge if you suddenly feel like singing :D

Location: On your way to Tuaran, just before the bridge and junction to the town, on your right. Just look out for the signboard :)

Food Blog #23

2010-01-04T22:17:00.006+08:00

Not too late to wish you readers a very Happy New Year :)

Anyways, last November a good friend of mine took me out for dinner and I tell you;

It ain't cheap.

Well, above all I had a truly wonderful gastronomical experience :D

Considering the fact that the dinner was in Italiannies, The Gardens.

Pictures please:

We had bread with olive oil and some rosemary as a starter. Boy I know I would be up for an awesome dinner.

Hot chocolate with whipped cream. I think I'm going to die right about, now.

Period.

Tomato Bruschetta. Very easy on the stomach. Note the tomatoes in abundance, very.

The pizza we ordered. I think there were anchovies in it. Truly one of a kind. I liked the seasoning powder on top of it.

I digged this one. Salmon pasta. The moment it sank into my mouth I knew the pasta was good. Cooked to perfection. 10 out of 10 no doubt!

My belly exploded that night; and thankfully no one gave a damn about it ;) Twas indeed an experience. Dang! I still can't get over the pasta.

Do these pictures make your mouth waters now?

Food Blog #22

2009-12-26T22:36:00.004+08:00

One sentence.

I had the best Christmas Eve dinner (yet) at May Flower Restaurant. Flower Power! :D

The glorious dishes, in sequence:

Peanuts. My friend Nat's favorite food. Only with gravy and softer. Yum Yum indeed.

I like everything in this dish! I bet you're hungry now. This is only the second picture.

Shark fin soup. Old school.

Fish! Protein! Aah! *faint*
Seriously, this one is good. Fresh, soft, tender; cooked to perfection.

Peking duck served with tanned mantous. Two words: Tender, delicious.

Prawns. Excellent.

If you're a self-proclaimed carnivore, you will devour this happily :)

And if you're a vegan/vegetarian/herbivore, you will definitely like this. Cooked to perfection.

The ultimate fried rice with all the necessary ingredients in it.

Last but not least, dessert.
Lychee + ice + tofu to go down with the dishes above.

Well, if I said 'cooked to perfection' more than once, the food is superb. A gastronomical delight it is. This restaurant will not disappoint you.

Oh.

Location: Jalan Bundusan, near Taman Kemayan.

Hungry now huh? :P

For your viewing pleasure Part 4 ;)

2009-12-19T09:07:00.003+08:00

I can guarantee you when you see these pictures, you will love Sabah (more like the mighty Mount Kinabalu) even more :)

Took this one on the way to Mamutik half a year ago. You gotta give some love to the mighty Mt Kinabalu.

This one's Kundasang from the Kundasang Memorial Park. No Mt Kinabalu but the view is oh-so breathtaking. :D

Just before the cloud covers the mighty.

The best bridge in Sabah (yet) has to be this one! :) Will you look at that.

Another version of Mt Kinabalu. Practically/technically the same as the one immortalised on the flag :)

Just to let you know these pictures are extracted raw from my one and only digital camera. Even DSLRs can't beat this :P

Good news: This inactive blog is alive again :)

2009-12-19T08:58:00.002+08:00

Straight to the point: I have all the materials necessary to keep this blog alive and readable again. For the past 4 months this blog was very inactive and now that the write can spare more time writing (and rejuvenating) this blog, you guys can breathe easy (knowing that you don't have to see the same entry repeatedly) and expect even more from this blog. (more food blogs = temptations!)

I thank you so much for the comments, keep them rollin'! :)

Oh my, I love Sabah! Part 3

2009-08-22T19:07:00.009+08:00

I am getting better at this! :)

I love going on road trips, to me it is one of those activities where you can de-stress and see the world around you when you are moving. I was grateful and blessed to have the opportunity to bring my Peninsular friends to Kudat on July 2nd, the day after our island hopping trip (see previous post). This was only my second time to Kudat and my very first time driving long distance as the journey takes about 3 hours from KK Sweet Home to Kudat.

See my previous post on Kudat: http://motxam.blogspot.com/2008/12/kudattip-of-borneo.html

I have to say the journey was very routine: to stop by in Tuaran for non other than Tuaran Mee (that was our breakfast) and continued our journey to Kudat.

Let these pictures fascinate you:

Mighty Mount Kinabalu, blanketed with clouds. Zhi Kai told me it looked like Mount Fuji.

Eat right away! My friends enjoyed feasting the Tuaran Mee. Yeah! That's the spirit.

Before we went to Simpang Mengayau aka Tip Of Borneo, we spared our time to visit Bavanggazo Rungus Longhouse in Matunggong :)

The entrance to the longhouse. The fee to go in is only RM2 per person.

Sturdy enough to support me! :)

The gongs.

I could reach one of the pillars! I'm not that short after all.

The Rungus aunties who were selling the souvenirs were friendly enough to take pictures with us. They did not hesitate!

No doubt, the visit to the longhouse was truly an amazing experience :) We bought enough souvenirs. If you want to go to this longhouse, just make sure when you are on your way to Kudat the junction is on your left, very easy to locate actually as a huge signboard will lead you the way. After the visit, we went straight to the Tip Of Borneo (more like, ear of the dog if you do know how Sabah actually looks like, literally).

Once again, let these pictures fascinate you :)

Just like my maiden trip to this place last December, the feeling of in awe and gratefulness struck me again.

YES! The tide was low, the sea was so calm, now that I've got my chance to...

GO FURTHER! :D

Finally, and again for the second time, I conquered the Tip Of Borneo. This time I really made sure it was the tippest I could get :P

Oh my, the clear blue sea behind me, I could just jump in anytime you know. I did not really care of what happened to my skin. Tanned and burnt to the max!

The landmark is still there, all in its usual glory :)

Not long after that we went down and stopped by at the beach, just before the mini police station in the area. I was excited and more than in awe of the beauty. Nothing could stop me from stripping off my shirt and heading straight to the water! :)

LIFE'S A BEACH :D

Once again, I did not put on sunscreen, not even a drop of it. I'm the ultimate sun worshipper remember?

I wished I could stay a bit longer but the heat was so unbearable; and I should have brought extra clothes with me!

We managed to go around Kudat and had really good street food there. After I pumped fuel into my Grey Wira Aeroback, we went back to KK. Along the journey, we stopped by for food, again, and this time it was corn baby! :)

More like, smoked corn. You have to eat it hot; it does taste good! :)

My friends managed to look around when I bought smoked corns for them. I also bought the famous sweet potatoes for my parents to savor every mouthful of them :)
By the way, can you spot those sweet potatoes?

I also went for the extra miles (again, literally) to stop by in Kota Belud for toilet breaks and my friends managed to go around the town for awhile. Proof?

This is where my father was born :)

We reached KK around 7.30pm and the reward for such a great and exciting road trip? Seafood for dinner! Location? Welcome Seafood Restaurant in Jalan Bundusan; behind Supertanker. I guess these pictures will speak for themselves :)

I really enjoyed the dinner. Everything was great from the very first dish we ordered to the last. Hold on, I should have posted these pictures in Food Blog #21 instead! It doesn't matter I guess :P

I was dead tired but at the end of the day, the road trip to Kudat was worth it. My friends were impressed and one thing is for sure:

They got to see the more beautiful side of Sabah!

Oh my, I love Sabah! Part 2

2009-08-22T15:53:00.006+08:00

One thing I like about Sabah, Kota Kinabalu in particular is that everywhere is near: you want to climb the Mount Kinabalu (which is in my list of 1000 things to do before I die), the journey is only about 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on how fast you drive. You want to go to the beach (Tanjung Aru), drink fruit juice and enjoying the sunset, the journey is only about 10 minutes; and if you want to go to the islands? A fifteen-minute boat ride and voila! and you can finally say that you're in an island. That instant.

People who plan to go to Sabah! Attention! If you're in KK and you want to go to the islands, you are SPOILT FOR CHOICE. There are 5 beautiful and gorgeous islands to choose from: Sapi, Gaya, Manukan, Mamutik and Sulug.

Want to go to one island only? No problem.

More than one island? No problem as well. The more the merrier!

Last month, July 1st to be exact, I got the chance to go island hopping on three different islands (Mamutik-Manukan-Sapi) with my friends who came from the other side of South China Sea (Peninsular, geddit?) and the experience was MORE THAN MEMORABLE, hands down. :)

Let these pictures fascinate you:

A group photo is a must before the trip to the islands, period. :D

Speedboats awaiting people to hop in. This is the part where the real excitement begins!

I'm coming to conquer you islands!

First stop: Mamutik. Damn the beach. I didn't even put on sunscreen, mind you. I was so excited.

Kota Kinabalu from Mamutik. The mighty Mount Kinabalu can be clearly seen from here! :D

Mamutik oh Mamutik.

Damn the seawater. I could just dive in if I want to.
I think I said 'damn' twice already.

Zhi Kai aka Ah Ma loves Sabah! :)

Pulau Sulug, closer!

Pulau Manukan, in the background.

This photo is taken in Pulau Sapi, the last island of the three-island-hopping spree. I think of all the three islands we went, Sapi is the best of them all. Simply because I saw a wild sea turtle there! My friends and I managed to get someone to bring us to the other side of the island to snorkel and boy, the coral reefs and all, they are awesome! We were fortunate to see the sea turtle. If only I own a waterproof camera...

Last but not least,

I had a lot of fun doing this: parasailing! I had the best feeling ever; going up to the sky when the boat was going really fast and going down to the sea when the boat slowed down, all for 20 minutes. My RM55 was worth it, no doubt! I will definitely try this again next time! :D

Oh my, I love Sabah! Part 1

2009-08-19T12:58:00.005+08:00

Good riddance now that I have time to spare to write, I should go straight to my topic. Since I traveled quite often when I was back at home during my mid-year break it would be better for me to share this unforgettable experience with you; and I bring you my first part of "Oh my, I love Sabah!"

It was on the second week of June when my dad approached me if I could join him to go to Tenom and I quickly jumped from my couch and said an exciting "Yes!", without any hesitation :) And so, I went to Tenom for the first time of my life on June 15th. Once again, I let these pictures fascinate you! :D

Well will you look at that dense fog!
Picture taken along the Kimanis-Keningau road.

Well, if you use this particular route to Keningau/Tenom you cut the journey short by about 1.5 hours rather than going it all the way via Tambunan. Nice view by the way. We are talking about the Crocker Range here people!

So this is where the Crocker Range Park Station is! If you use this road from Kimanis and happen to see this signboard you are about 15 minutes away from Keningau.
By the way, can you spot lil' grasshopper?

Sabah Agricultural Park.

Your visit to Tenom is incomplete if you don't come here! I definitely recommend people to go this park, very well maintained, one great place to chill out and enjoy the nature. I was hoping for the four season fruit but there was none. :(

There were a group of Australians who went on the tour with us and they called this quote "Cannonball Tree" ;)

It's worth to pay Tenom a visit! :)

For your viewing pleasure Part 3 ;)

2009-06-23T01:57:00.003+08:00

There's nothing like sitting on the beach watching a spectacular sunset.

The sun is above the horizon, sandwiched between Sulug and Manukan.

The sun is eaten by the horizon...

The sun has just sank into the horizon!

I love Sabah.

Food Blog #21

2009-06-23T01:20:00.003+08:00

Japanese food, again! This time it's at Hana Japanese Restaurant, City Mall.

About two weeks ago Clementine, Lynncilla and I decided to meet up and have lunch together in City Mall. What a mini reunion that was. Clementine's UK-bound this September and I just had to meet her and I only get to see Lynx once a year. Again when we met we were indecisive on where to have lunch (everyone was like "I'm cool anywhere") but at the end I suggested Hana and everyone agreed. (Yeay! :D)

We ordered:

Kiku Combo Sushi, RM20.
I love this one! So assorted.

Saba Shioyaki Set.
The fish is grilled to perfection. ;)

Clementine's Beef Teriyaki Set.
She finished it, so I believe it was good. :)

Dessert: Lemon ice-cream!

Overall, the experience was good. I especially liked the assorted sushis. Lynx was kind enough to let me devour two or three of them. Pretty good ambience. Little did we know that we were the last customers to dine in because they had to close at 2pm. We were so lucky! The people in the restaurant were 'surprisingly' courteous, because one of them politely asked us if we wanted order again since we finished our food and were so into talking and updating each other.

Oh, and we were the last customers to leave. ;)

Location: Very easy to locate, just next to Old Town White Coffee.

Congratulations to Federer & Kuznetsova!

2009-06-09T22:42:00.006+08:00

First of all, I want to congratulate Federer for finally, after umpteen times, winning his maiden French Open title. He truly deserves it, ever since Nadal lost in the fourth round, which came as a shocking to me, and to the tennis world obviously, because no one could beat him until a Swede by the name of Robin Soderling finally had the antidote to Nadal's very powerful, smart game on clay. He eventually went all the way to final and I actually tipped him to win it (since an underdog had to win it this time) and FedEx has got all the pressure to nail it this time around since King Nadal's demise on clay. However Soderling came up really short and FedEx won in 3 sets. I've to say well done!

I was wrong about Nadal winning his 5th straight Roland Garros. Tough luck.

(Refer to my previous post on this.)

Over to the ladies,

I've been a staunch supporter of Safina in this tournament. The first four matches she played was unbelievable: on demolition mode, only lost 5 games, until she met Dangerous Belarussian Azarenka, whom she dug it out in three sets, and the diminutive Slovak, whom she had little trouble in the beginning but finally beat her in straight sets. It was her second consecutive Roland Garros final and I've expecting her to beat Kuzy but then pressure got into her so bad she lost in straight sets 6-4 6-2. You could actually see nerves controlling her when she played in that final. Kuzy was just too good; it was her 2nd Grand Slam trophy, her first trophy was the US Open, having winning it way back in 2004 when she was just 19 years of age.

Once again congrats FedEx & Kuzy!

Federer deserves to kiss his trophy after going so close to it in the previous years.

Kuzy and Safina with the winner's and runner's up trophies respectively.

Okay, since we're in the middle of the year, let us see how are my players doing so far this season:

(Player)-(Position in the beginning of the season)-(Position in the middle of the season, as of June 8th 2009)

The men:

Kei Nishikori-61-113 (the heck?)

Fernando Verdasco-15-8

Ernests Gulbis-53-69

JM Del Potro-9-5

Andy Murray-4-3

The ladies:

Sorana Cirstea-36-27

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova-43-31

Agnieszka Radwanska-10-11

Caroline Wozniacki-12-9

Michelle Larcher de Brito-129-90

A very quick summary:

Nishikori's out due to injury, so he failed to defend his points. I-start-to-believe-in-myself Verdasco made his first Grand Slam SF at the Australian Open and has been progressing well ever since, Gulbis failed to defend his points in Roland Garros where he reache QF last year; he lost in the 2nd round this year, Del Potro keeps getting better, made his first Grand Slam SF at Roland Garros this year (lost to mighty FedEx). Murray has been very impressive so far this season, winning three big titles already and with Wimbledon beckons, I'm sure he's going to go far this time around. Nadal and FedEx have to really watch out.

Ladies!

Radwanska's the only blemish here; her results has been a so-so. No major breakthrough this season yet, nothing to shout about. Cirstea's record was 0-6 in the beginning until she played in Marbella where she got all the way to the SF and recently she made it to the QF at Roland Garros; good job. Pavlyuchenkova's results has been pretty good too, her best result yet is SF at Indian Wells, and her ranking propagated. Wozniacki is by far very impressive in the field. Still 19, her record currently stands at 37-12, the most number of matches won so far among the ladies, and her best result yet is F at Madrid. As of today, she has earned $867,484. She can practically buy anything she wants as a 19-year-old girl. De Brito has just made it to the Top 100, after reaching the 3rd round at Roland Garros recently. She made headlines for her grunting on court and her grunting, I tell you, is very long, unpleasant and extremely annoying. I did predict in my previous post that she's going to make the Top 100 and finally she did! Kudos indeed.

We'll see again how these players will fare in the 2nd half of the season! :D

Food Blog #20

2009-06-09T21:27:00.004+08:00

My twientieth post on food! Rejoice! :D

Everyone who knows me knows that I love food, and to exaggerate a bit, they sometimes use the word 'devour' instead of 'eat' when it comes to me and food.

"Max doesn't eat food, Max devours food!" :D

Well, I may cross over the line on that one. :P For your information my mouth can accept everything except To Sa Pau (yeah, I know) and up to this day I am still figuring it out why I can't put that thing into my mouth. I find it very unpleasant and the black paste really turns me off! Any help, please?

So okay, this twientieth post will be on Foh Chuan Restaurant. Goodness this restaurant is always packed during lunch time. Why? They serve good food, that's why! Here you go:

Bai Kut Wong, with the tomatoes and cucumbers. Classic. Damn the sauce...

Petchula + pork. I love this one!

Old school eggs cooked with 'red coloured pork' (or simply sasau). No doubt, 10 out of 10.

I ended up devouring two plates of rice with these dishes. My dad got worried because I just gobble up everything into my mouth without gaining any significant weight.

I exercise, dad.

;)

Here's a little bit about myself...and make it Food Blog #19 as well!

2009-06-02T00:15:00.011+08:00

Last Saturday I attended a family reunion (dad's side) at my granduncle's residence in Donggongon. I've to say I had a blast; got the chance to meet/catch up with the rest of the Lajawaians; met the extended families and just had a great time and enjoyed the activities that had been meticulously prepared for the day. Before I go further with the photos, here's a brief genealogy of my family:

LAJAWAI BOLINDA + LOTINGGI KALAWIT:

1) EDWIN SIKONG LAJAWAI
2) LOJUNIP LAJAWAI
3) PHILIP @ ULAK LAJAWAI
4) PETER MAYER MIOL LAJAWAI
5) TINJUNIM LAJAWAI
6) MONJONG LAJAWAI

Up to this day, only Peter Mayer Miol Lajawai is the surviving son of Lajawai & Lotinggi and currently resides in Miri, as the rest had passed away. May their souls rest in peace. Amen.

The photos!

The blue family representing Monjong Lajawai.

The red family representing Tinjunim Lajawai.

The green family (that's us! *round of applause*) representing Philip @ Ulak Lajawai.

The cream family representing Lojunip Lajawai.

The maroon family representing Edwin Sikong Lajawai.

My great-grandparents should be proud of this, to see their grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren continuing their legacy.

Lets talk food! Wee~ :D

The last time I attended a family reunion (mom's side) the food was horrible (sorry mom, I'm a little bit biased this time). Blame it on the mismanagement, they didn't work out the menu properly and every dish was BEEF! I believe not everyone really eats beef so next time sort the menu properly yea?

I have to give credits to the aunties who worked so hard in preparing the food. If I were an elaborate person I would say every dish that day was a gastronomical delight! Everything was NOT beef and I enjoyed and loved what I ate, and that's the most important thing to look for when you have a buffet. You enjoy and love what you eat, and no complaints!

Yummy!

Ooh...

Aah...

Ready to go to every Lajawaian's stomachs.

Damn those cakes!
*thumbs up*

Since it was also the first day of Kaamatan, the beating of the gongs made our day.

...and once you hear the beating of the gongs, like once Atama sang,
"Do the sumazau like you just don't care!"

Lajawai Bolinda's great-grandchildren. :D

Looking forward to the second one! :D

Food Blog #18

2009-05-23T00:08:00.004+08:00

Home is where the heart is; so as the food! :D

Last night my friends and I went to Ocean Cafe in Millennium for some Western food. I actually did not know the existence of this restaurant until a friend of mine posted about him craving for lemon chicken in Facebook and then one of his friends posted "You guys should go to Ocean! Their chicken chops are sooooo delicious!", and so from that moment on I told myself that I have to go there and blog about it...and I went and I'm blogging about it now! :D

*drumrolls*

Will you look at that! Ocean Chicken Chop, RM13.90. Two thumbs up, no doubt!

My friends ordered Grill Chicken Chop with Cheese, RM13.90.

Bet you're craving for chicken chop now, aren't you?

Still in its glory, the old school Beef Burger with Chips, RM6.90.

Sabah's own Kit Chai Ping.

I have nothing bad to say about the chicken chop I ordered; delicious and crispy all the way from the very first bite until the last. You may think I'm a little bit biased but for that night, I would give it a 10 out of 10. Why not? The portions were very generous (and will be, hopefully), and to enjoy it with your friends, you could not ask for more.

As for the Grill Chicken Chop with Cheese, again a little bit biased, 10 out of 10. The chicken was so tender, the cheese was in abundance, you just could not help but to sink your teeth into it happily. Thanks Nat & Dyan for giving me some of your Grill Chicken Chop with Cheese that night! Thanks for your generosity! Wee~

I came out a happy customer.

Thank you, Facebook.

Location: Millenium, in front of Chua Kah Seng, Penampang bypass.

Food Blog #17: It has been awhile!

2009-05-19T23:41:00.008+08:00

Finally, I'm back after a two-month hiatus. Now that I'm home (actually I have been at home since last Monday to be exact), I have got the time to blog and I'll definitely keep you updated from time to time ;)

So! Back to serious business,

Have you guys ever been to Kim Gary?

About 2 months ago my housemates and I went to Sunway Lagoon for some serious fun and after basking in the sun for the whole day (it rained eventually late in the afternoon, and I got myself darker) we rewarded ourselves with dinner at Kim Gary's. People have been telling me to go to this restaurant in particular just because it is popular & they serve good food, so in the end I might as well check myself out.

*drumrolls*

Borsch Soup: very much like tomato soup.

My friend's Nissin Noodle with Fried Egg and Luncheon Meat. Little that I know Nissin Noodle is actually Instant Noodle. Think Maggi, Cintan...

Lychee puddings! I strictly oppose the idea of serving puddings in the beginning. They are desserts, c'mon.

OKAY! They are both Cheese Baked Rice, and I don't know which one is Sliced Pork in Szechuan Style and the other Pork Chop. I think the latter is at the bottom.

My first experience dining at Kim Gary was okay; one major setback was that the drink I ordered (Horlicks) was too thick, viscous & sweet. We told the waiter to add more water and the result was still the same: thick, viscous & sweet! Couldn't help it.

I rarely distribute photos of myself in this blog, so if you want to have the idea of how darker I am now, here you go:

Can you spot the ultimate sun worshipper?

For your viewing pleasure Part 2 ;)

2009-03-21T13:40:00.005+08:00

It has been awhile :)

For the last two weeks I was up to heaps of assignments and meeting the due dates was a challenge itself. Now that I've got the time to blog for awhile (:D),here are some unreleased photos I took for the last few years, and I dedicate this post to the Land Below the Wind, the place I was born & raised.

The writer at the Tip of Borneo.
Simply breathtaking.

The mighty Mount Kinabalu in the background.
If you turn left, you're going to Tuaran/Kota Belud/Kudat...the northern part of Sabah.
If you turn right, you're going back to KK!

Sutera Harbour at night.

Bundu Tuhan.

Tanjung Aru.
Straight ahead: Sulug, Manukan & Mamutik.

KK from Bukit Padang :)

ENJOY! :D

Food Blog #16

2009-03-08T09:51:00.002+08:00

Tired of Pizza Hut and Domino's? Drag your feet to Papa John's Pizza :)

Appetizers please!

Old school mushroom soup.
I wished for a bigger portion.

...and then there were six onion rings.

There were eight of them initially, Joo Ming and I took one each, until I realised I had to take picture of these lil fellas.

Allhail breadsticks!
I heart the pizza sauce, and I know you're hungry!

Please drool:

Fisherman's catch indeed!

I'm speechless.

The pizza was really in 'good shape'. The texture of the pizza treated my mouth very well; very cheesy and not too spongy, just the way I liked it. I came out a very satisfied customer.

If only the service was not that slow, I would give perfect scores already.

Location: Lot 08-09, Ground Floor, East Wing, Berjaya Times Square KL.

For your viewing pleasure ;)

2009-02-23T17:25:00.007+08:00

These pictures were taken late November last year. We had a family gathering meeting over in my uncle's house in Donggongon and these decorations caught my eyes, literally. My uncle really knows how to 'keep' and 'show off' these 'stuffs' :D

City of KK from my dad's office.
Who says we still live on trees?

A fraction of KKIA.
Very much like KLIA in a smaller scale.
Who says KK does not have an airport?

That plane is going to Bandar Seri Begawan.

Say if you go to Tuaran, try going from the Sulaman Highway.
If you have reached the Taman Indah Permai intersection, turn left and go straight ahead.
You will happen to go across a bridge and I tell you, the view is oh-so breathtaking and if the sky is clear, you will see the majestic Mount Kinabalu in glory from that bridge.
Here are some proofs:

I politely asked my dad to slow down his Hilux and I could only take that much. The worst thing was I did not even bother to take pictures on my right side where the majestic Mount Kinabalu is, that if you are on your way to Tuaran. Well, there's always next time :D

Tennis blog #4

2009-02-23T16:40:00.005+08:00

Congratulations to:

Andy Roddick (USA), who won in Memphis;

Tommy Robredo (Spain), who looks a bit like Michael Owen, for clinching his second title of the year in Buenos Aires, and

Tommy and his trophy.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France), who looks EXACTLY like young Muhammad Ali, for claiming his second title of the year in Marseille.

He does look like young Muhammad Ali!
and he's quite a crowd charmer too.

Over to the ladies,

Venus Williams (USA), who won her 40th career title in Dubai and has earned career prize money of $22,465,918 so far (and still counting);

Victoria Azarenka (Belarus), for clinching her second title of the year in Memphis. She also won the doubles title with Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark);

Vicky and her trophy.

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (Spain), for capturing her maiden singles title in Bogota. Like Vicky, she won the doubles title with fellow Spaniard Nuria Llagostera Vives.

Vicky & Maria should celebrate!

These players deserved their titles.

This week the men will be playing in Acapulco (Mexico), Delray Beach (USA) and Dubai (UAE) while the ladies will be playing in Acapulco. All the best for all the participating players!

Food Blog #15

2009-02-13T22:41:00.004+08:00

So you're in Amcorp Mall, and you have no idea where to eat, then I just have the right place for you to fill your tanks!

Go to Ka Fei Dian.

I ordered:

Curry Laksa. Mind the portion.
It's a big one! :D

Thirst quenching soya cincau.

My friend Nat ordered:

Good ol' soya bean.

Egg Fried Rice with Curry Chicken.

Nat and I have been going to this restaurant 'regularly' whenever we go to Amcorp Mall simply because they serve good food. Very much like OldTown White Coffee, only better!Oh and the portions are very,very generous in this restaurant.

Where at?Ground floor.Somewhere near Famous Amos.

...and before I end this post,

Congratulations to Mark & Jessica for they become parents again! Jessica gave birth to baby Claude Tristan on February 1st at 3:48pm (yeah,I'm that precise) and here's a picture of Baby Tristan when he was just about 5 hours old.

Awww...

Congratulations to Serena & Nadal! :D

2009-02-03T21:18:00.004+08:00

For the past fortnight I had been following the Australian Open religiously. I tracked intensively my favourite players' progress in the tournament. Some did well, some did not. I'm very happy Serena won the women's singles title. She defeated Dinara Safina (also one of my girls) 6-0 6-3. It was her fourth Australian Open title, winning the title in 2003, 2005, 2007. Call that superstition! It was also her TENTH Grand Slam title. That title also gave her back the No.1 position, with who would win the title the no.1 position would be hers to take. She also won the women's doubles title with her sister Venus. With these two titles she earned $1,528,135 and I know, that's hell of A LOT OF MONEY.

When Serena's game is on, you just don't want to mess with her.

Moving over to the men's side, I actually thought Andy Murray would win the title, but he lost in the fourth round to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. Co-incidentally, these are the two players I featured in 'My 5 male tennis players to watch this season'. Fernando went all the way to the semi final, where he lost to Nadal in five thrilling sets.

As for the final, I actually thought that Roger Federer would win, but I knew I could not count Nadal out, because he's my favourite player! I screamed to delight when Federer had his forehand long and Nadal checked onto the ground, knowing that he has won the tournament. After the match, they had the prize giving ceremony, and Federer broke to tears, he could not hold it back. I know he wanted to win this title so badly to equal Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slams, but I guess pressure got him so badly. King Nadal defeated Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-2. Federer will have to wait a little while though, Rafael Nadal is just the undisputed King of Clay. Maybe Wimbledon?Or US Open? We'll see in about 5 months time.

By now you guys should realise that Nadal can play on all surfaces, OK?

All hail King Nadal!

Rafael Nadal deserves to 'bite' his trophy.

Serena and her trophy.
She's in 7th heaven, for sure.

Food Blog #14

2009-01-26T15:22:00.008+08:00

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.

2009-01-20T20:43:00.006+08:00

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

2009-01-11T10:57:00.004+08:00

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.

2009-01-07T17:43:00.005+08:00

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!

2009-01-05T23:27:00.007+08:00

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

2009-01-04T02:04:00.004+08:00

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-

2009-01-03T22:09:00.004+08:00

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!

Food Blog #10

2008-12-28T20:10:00.004+08:00

My tenth entry! :D

Before I leave for KL tomorrow, mom cooked a special dinner for me since I will not be having home cooked food until around May. Yeah, I'm not going back for Chinese New Year, a sacrifice that a full time student like me has to make.

My mom cooked:

Mixed vegetables = long beans + carrots + pepper

Pork soup

Fried Chicken Fillet, all time favourite :)

I'm definitely going to miss home cooked food all over again. Going to miss how my mom would bring the food to the table and scream at us to come down and eat.

I'm looking forward to the month of May already, when it's not year 2009 yet!

Food Blog #9

2008-12-27T23:18:00.007+08:00

I just got back from Promenade Hotel, went there to attend cousin's wedding dinner.

I love attending wedding dinners because they are where I look forward to those nicely presented dishes :D, and most of all listening to guests giving credits/complaining about the food.

My expectations were so high because Promenade is one of the best when it comes to food, especially for weddings and I have to say, the dishes I had were great. They exceeded my expectations! Well done. Kudos.

Bracing myself for the eight-course meal.

Four Hot & Cold Fish Combination.

Shark Fin's Soup with Crab Meat. The chefs nailed it.

Steamed Sea Fish Pattaya Style.
Hands down, the chef who cooked this got a deserving A+ from me.

Roasted Crispy Chicken with Prawn Crackers.
The chicken was really good, tender and not too salty.

Braised Fish Lips with Turkey Ham.

Braised Mixed Vegetables with 'Tau Kan'.
By the time this dish was served, I was already full, so us the other guests in my table.

Fried Rice with Anchovies
Ikan Bilis bah tu!

Chilled Longans Beancurd with Lemon & Ice.
I have a sweet tooth, period.

Everything was wonderful, from the food to the reception itself. I was so full that I could barely walk, must have fed myself really well.

Finally,

Congratulations to Jason and Michelle. May the both of you live happily ever after.

P/S: I'm in need of 100 sit ups and 100 push ups...

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

2008-12-26T22:57:00.003+08:00

"Today a saviour has been born to us, he is Christ the Lord"

Wishing you:

A Blessed and Wonderful Christmas & Happy New Year 2009

Food Blog #8

2008-12-26T21:25:00.011+08:00

The other day I went out with my ex classmates and we decided to meet in City Mall and had lunch in OldTown White Coffee.

I've been to the ones in KL, but not in Sabah.

Honey Lemon Ice to quench our thirsts. RM3.50.

Curry Mee, RM6.30.

Ipoh Chicken Hor Fun, RM6.30.

Kaya & Butter, Double, RM2.30.

During lunch, we mentioned about New York New York, the restaurant everyone in KK is talking about in 1Borneo because of the size of their burgers and in the discussion Chua mentioned about Fried Mars (the chocolate bar,think Snickers) + Ice Cream & of how she would love to try it...and the next minute off we went to 1Borneo, without hestitation, period. :D

I get people telling me to go to this restaurant & try their huge burgers. When we were deciding on what to order, I insisted & begged my two friends (CY & Kim) to order the burger but they told me that they were still full then and I would have to finish the burger by myself. I just want to see how BIG the burger is, but I guess maybe next time. If only they are boys *sigh*

We ended up having light food and we ordered:

Diet Friendly Tomato Bruschetta.

Ta-Da!
Fried SNICKERS + Strawberry Ice Cream, Strawberry & Chocolate Syrup.

Before sinking our teeth with the Tomato Bruschetta.

Ready to eat and enjoy :D

The dessert was great. It turned out to be Snickers instead, and not Mars as displayed in the menu, because when we dissect the batter we saw nuts, but twas all good. I loved the Tomato Bruschetta, loved the taste, loved the tomatoes in abundance. :)

My friends were right all along. There were two tables who had their burgers to be taken away; one could not finish even a quarter. I should've taken the pictures, but they were one sight too far.

New York New York Restaurant is in the ground floor, next to Secret Recipe.

Of Christmas fruitcake & home cooked food

2008-12-23T08:37:00.007+08:00

The other day my dad came back home from Le Meridien (apparently he had a function) and he got a Christmas fruitcake as a gift :)

Since I nailed my oatmeal cookies not too long ago (read my previous entry 'Baked to Perfection'), I'm really ambitious about baking a cake in the near future, and at the same time I know it's not easy with all the ingridients and stuffs, but I'm learning.

Okay, so back to the Christmas fruitcake my dad got from Le Meridien, it is baked to perfection!Everything was good; from the little decorations to that every bite you take! The cake wasn't hard and buttery; it was soft, not too spongy & the fella who baked this just studied every details! Kudos indeed. I think he put red wine into the cake or else it would not be a good Christmas fruitcake nor they have that 'yum-yum-I-want-another-slice' factor. Even after you keep them in the refrigerator it was still very much soft and not that hard to bite. Overall the texture was good.

A piece of art.

Naked without the little decorations.
This is definitely icing on a cake! Yeah Christmas.

I'm inspired! :D Within 2 days my family devoured everything minus the decorations, they are not edible for Christmas' sake.

I love home cooked food! I mean who does not?

I went to Kota Belud last Saturday (Dec 19th to be exact) to meet my relatives (my dad was born and raised there) and these were what I had for dinner :-

Long beans cooked with dried shrimps, now we're talking!

Ikan masin, direct translation, Salted fish.

I love this one!It's chicken cooked with big, golden onions and chilli paste, if I were not mistaken.

Twas our beloved bapa's birthday and he turned 62.
Chocolate cake, this one is home made as well!

I dedicate this post to my relatives who were in KB that day as I had fun, as always.
Kak Long & Banut, if you read this post I thank you for the wonderful dinner! I had two plates of rice!

Food Blog #7

2008-12-23T07:51:00.004+08:00

If you're own your way to the northern part of Sabah (Kota Belud, Kudat, Kota Marudu), most of the time you will find yourself stopping by in Tuaran for food, and I just have the right restaurant for you to satisfy your hunger pangs.

Say if you want to have a decent lunch or you just can't resist a plate of rice more than a plate of Tuaran Mee (which I posted earlier)...

...come to Lok Kyun restaurant.

Sweet and sour pork, old school.

Meatball soup, I repeat Sabahans can't live without soup!

Sayur sawi cooked with garlic.

Tofu yum yum :D

I've to say I had a great lunch. Those dishes only cost Rm31.50 and that fed the four of us. I heard people from KK are willing to drive to Tuaran just to come to this restaurant to have lunch or the famous Tuaran Mee. It's worth the 30-minute journey!

Food Blog #6

2008-12-18T00:56:00.003+08:00

If you are in or around Donggongon town, looking for a decent dinner/supper, then do come down to 818 Food Court.

The writer's Mee Goreng Basah Seafood (Direct translation: Wet Fried Mee Seafood)

Crabs!This dish costs Rm30, the one where the shells are edible.

The crab meat...tempting huh?

Singapore Fried Mee Hoon

'Wan Tan Ho Seafood'

This restaurant is very much packed at night. They also sell BBQ honey chicken wings but the crabs had us full so we decided not to order. The bill amounted Rm53 and that fed the four of us, which I thought it was quite reasonable considering we had crabs for dinner.

Location: Donggongon, it's in the same building where the TAR College is.

Food Blog #5

2008-12-15T17:46:00.003+08:00

I'm not done with my Kudat trip yet. So if you happen to be in Kudat, and clueless about where to have lunch do come to this small restaurant called '2899'.

Pork cooked with soy sauce and sayur sawi cooked with garlic. Old school.

Sweet and sour sliced fish. Note the thick sauce.

Winter melon soup.
Sabahans just can't live without soup.

I love the fact that they serve rice on a purple plate.

By now at least you know where to hunt for food in Kudat. The lunch was good (I had 2 plates of rice) and reasonable. When we came to this restaurant the owner kindly asked us to come into the kitchen to see what's for lunch, because some of the food had been prepared earlier like the pork cooked with soy sauce. Oh and you get the chance to see the cooking live :D

Location: Kudat, next to the fish market. It's among this one row of small restaurants (like terrace houses, only smaller) and look for '2899'!

Kudat/Tip Of Borneo

2008-12-13T21:18:00.014+08:00

Kudat is located on the northern part of Sabah, about 190km north of Kota Kinabalu. The journey would take about 3 hours and along the journey we(me, dad, and Melissa, the writer's younger sister) stopped by a few places for food :)

On your way to Kudat, you must stop by in Tuaran for their famous Tuaran Mee. It's basically Fried Mee with eggs served with Char Siew (pork, in Sabah we simply say "Sasau")

After filling up our "tanks" with Tuaran Mee, we continued our journey and along the way, we stopped by for food, again :D

It's not uncommon to see stalls being set up alongside of the road in Sabah. Most of them sell traditional food, local fruit and handicrafts, and we had:

Sweet corn, smoked/barbecued. In Dusun it's called "Linugu".

This stall we stopped by were selling...birds! Birds they caught from the forest. They are actually parrots and can be kept as pets (they make good tunes) and in Dusun these birds are called "Toripos", according to dad.

After 'Linugu-ing', we continued our journey and two hours later, we reached Kudat around 6.30pm and checked in at Kudat Golf & Marina Resort. We decided to have dinner in the town itself and dad suggested that...

...we would have our dinner in this restaurant.

"Bai Kut Wong"

Butter Prawn

Sayur sawi cooked with garlic.

Dinner was really good and it seems like you guys do not have to worry about looking for good food in Kudat. Sungai Wang Restaurant is worth your every penny.

AND!Your visit to Kudat is incomplete if you don't go to Tanjung Simpang Mengayau, or the tip of Borneo.

Long way to go to the Northernmost Tip of Borneo.

The 'tippest' the writer could get.

Simply breathtaking.

The landmark.

Yes!The writer finally left his footprints at the tip of Borneo.

At one point I kept telling to myself how amazing and beautiful God's creations are.The panoramic views make really beautiful postcards, period.

More pictures from Kudat:

Tip of Borneo, sunset.

The writer just wants to jump in and enjoy the superb crystal clear sea water.

Bay at Kudat Golf & Marina Resort.

Kudat to go! :D

Food Blog #4

2008-12-09T21:29:00.004+08:00

Sabah is famous for its Beaufort Mee!

Beaufort Mee is actually Kon Lou Mee served with pork and some spring onion, but it ain't any other ordinary Kon Lou Mee, probably because of the ingredients used or the way the prepare it, as it has that 'slurrp' factor and the texture of the mee/mee hoon/kuey teow is more 'moisty'.

So my Sunday breakfast made perfect with:

Extra Large Kon Lou Mee (Beaufort Mee)
In Sabah, they call it 'Ka Liao' (from Mandarin 'Jia Liao'), a term that you want your portion to be of extra large type.

The writer's brother ordered Extra Large Kon Lou Kuey Teow.

The writer's mom ordered Kon Lou Mee Hoon.

I forgot the name of the restaurant but it's in Foh Sang, at the very corner of a shophouse and in the same row as BSN and those mini markets :)

...oh and yes, there is a town called Beaufort in Sabah.

Food Blog #3

2008-12-05T11:49:00.004+08:00

If you like your dinner to be simple, nothing fanciful, then you should drop by at New Man Tai Restaurant.
My family ordered:

Pig skin soup

Sweet and sour pork, cooked to perfection.

YES!Bittergourd cooked with beef. The writer is a big fan of bittergourd!

This restaurant is very famous for its sayur sawi cooked with pork. I believe it has to do with the gravy, it's thick and delicious, and I notice every time I have dinner almost every table orders this dish.

This restaurant opens in the morning and in the evening, and always take their days off on Wednesdays.

Location: Jalan Bundusan (Jalan Duta), next to Supertanker.

World AIDS Day

2008-12-02T01:19:00.004+08:00

As you read this post,

someone contracts HIV and dies from AIDS.

People living with HIV deserve our support,

they don't deserve discrimination.

People living with HIV deserve proper medical treatments to live,

they don't deserve to die.

People living with HIV deserve a place just like me and you,

they don't deserve total isolation.

So let us join our forces together,

in combating HIV and AIDS.

Kota Kinabalu at its best!

2008-11-30T19:39:00.003+08:00

I let these pictures speak for themselves.

Pulau Sulug, Pulau Mamutik and Pulau Manukan. Pulau Mamutik is a bit shy for the writer's camera.

Pulau Gaya.

The writer is planning to worship the sun!
What a great day to sun-bathe ;)

I actually took these pictures on a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon & the sky was majestic baby blue good enough for postcards :D

Food Blog #2

2008-11-30T19:13:00.004+08:00

If you love dim sum, like me, you should really come to Foo Phing Dim Sum, Hilltop.

Sorry folks, they were in the writer's digestive system already.

This one is called "No Mi Kai". Direct translation, glutinous rice with chicken, mushroom & "Lap Cheong" (direct translation: pig sausage). I had this one for breakfast and boy, I enjoyed it.

"Zhu Rou Pau" (Direct Translation: Pork Bun)

The writer's favourite: CHICKEN FEET!

Yummy...

Location: Hilltop. It's in the new building (the new Commercial Centre,I believe, correct me if I'm wrong).

P/S: Mouth-watering enough, Shaun?

Baked to perfection.

2008-11-26T00:59:00.006+08:00

I just got off from the kitchen moments ago.
It was my second attempt to bake cookies all by myself and it turned out to be, well, surprisingly very good.
Oatmeal cookies to be exact!
I actually got the recipe from a blog and decided to give it a try.

Proof: Pictures :)

The multi-purpose oven is doing its wonders :D

The first batch of the oatmeal cookies just got off from the oven.

These cookies deserve to be in the cookie jar, big time.

I love the way the raisins popped out from the cookies.

I have to say, I nailed it :), and I still can't believe I made all these cookies on my own!

Oh yeah, the recipe:
Oatmeal cookies
1. 1 cup light brown sugar
2. 1/2 cup castor sugar
3. 125g butter
4. 3 eggs
5. 1 tsp vanilla essence
6. 2 tsp baking powder
7. 4 heap tsp of peanut butter
8. raisins (the amount is of what you desire)
9. 4 cups of oats (quick cooking type)

Preheat the oven to 150-180 degree Celsius. Cream butter and the two types of sugar, and add vanilla essence. Mix baking powder together with the oats and add into the batter. Later, add peanut butter and the raisins. This batter will later turn into dough. Bake about 15 to 20 minutes and voila! Oatmeal cookies ready to be served. (Not that hard eh?)

All the best :)

Nothing beats homemade cookies.

Food Blog #1

2008-11-24T00:04:00.007+08:00

My maiden food blog! :)
Let me set the record straight,
You guys should try Win Lap's Kon Lou Mee.

The Kon Lou Mee comes with a bowl of soup with meatballs, wan tan (dumpling) and pork in it. Truly Sabahan style. Price is at RM5.

My dad had a mild headache that Sunday morning, so he ordered this plate of bittergourd cooked with pork, black beans, ginger and some chillis, and boy they taste good. The writer is a big fan of bittergourd :)

Apart from Kon Lou Mee, they have Kon Lou Kuey Teow as well. My younger brother ordered this plate of Kon Lou Kuey Teow with "Sau Nyuk" (roasted pig) on top of it.

Win Lap is also well known for their Mee Soup.

So folks, do come down to Kedai Kopi dan Makan Win Lap for their Kon Lou Mee (Meehoon/Kuey Teow) or Mee (Meehoon/Kuey Teow) Soup. It's definitely worth the visit.
By the way, you guys can actually decide how your plate of Kon Lou Mee or a bowl of Mee Soup is going to be like, so it's totally up to you!

Location: Somewhere in Kepayan, near Taman Selesa to be exact.

P/S: Mouth watering enough, Shaun?