The Red Beanbag

The problem with Publika is that you'll have to walk around to find the place you want to go. We were there on Sunday for our 'second' round of breakfast.

After walking around for a while, we finally located O'Briens on the 1st floor but the air conditioning was so weak that we decided to find an alternative place to go.

Across on the other side was The Red Beanbag, seemingly filled with patrons. We thought we might as well check it out, since we didn't know where else to go.

Sack decorations on the wall. I didn't walk in all the way since we were seated right in front of the payment counter.

The menu was really cute, I liked it very much!

You know, I've been contemplating getting a typewriter just for the fun of it (how random is that?), but ... I think I'll just get a sewing machine instead.

The dessert section.

However do they keep the menu nice and clean and free from food stains is a mystery to me.

YK ordered the Latte (RM8) while I had the Flat White (RM8). Not too bad, but it went cold pretty quickly.

OKT ordered a Passion Fruit, Orange & Yoghurt smoothie (RM10) which was very watery. YB had the Golden Slumbers (RM10) which was just OK.

Both of them looked pretty forlorn with their drinks.

YB ordered the RBB's Speciality Eggs Benedict (RM15.90) and I bet it was because the asparagus caught his attention.

The eggs were nicely done and the mushrooms were yummy, but I feel like the asparagus was an odd addition to the dish. YB didn't think the bread combined well with the overall ingredients.

YK ordered the Baked Eggs (RM17.90) which looked scrumptious when served. I think it wasn't too bad, but I really don't know because I forgot to ask him for his verdict. ;D

OKT ordered the Foong's carrot cake (RM8.90) and I think it was a disaster (I could tell from OKT's dissatisfied and unhappy expression). I took two bites and gawd, all of us agreed that it was too wet. It was mushy like baby's food. Oh, and the cinnamon taste was too strong.

The cute little carrots on top didn't improve its taste. ;D

Oh well, I'm sure there are other who had a better experience than we did.

The Red Beanbag
Tel: 03 6211 5116
Address: A14-1-08, Solaris Dutamas, Kuala Lumpur
Opening Times: Tue-Fri, 8.30am-5pm; Sat-Sun,
9.30am-6pm

Reviews:
Kampungboycitygal
Bangsar babe
Eat Drink KL
Miss Adriennely

Things Don't Go As Planned

I only managed 3 types of cookies instead of four, as planned. =(

Update as at today: muscles are aching from the hike. I'll need to hike some more to improve my strength!

And look at how time flies, I don't have enough time to bake away. Grrr.

By the way, Nadal FTW for the Australian Open. Cross fingers! =)

Baking Frenzy For CNY

 And I'm still not done yet! HELP!!!
Why must I be so ambitious? Why did I think I could do it, bake cookies for Chinese New Year for the families?

.I started since Friday night, before my nose failed me. It was slowly getting blocked, and I knew I was going to lose my sense of smell and tasted.

Or should I have just given up?
NO!!
I stomped my feet when YB told me to "just buy the cookies".

"I told my family that I'll be baking them cookies," I insisted.

 cornflake cookies

 OK, I confess that my Friday night baking was a disaster, and I blame it on the main ingredient I used. I tried a shortcut and I failed. So, I'll have to redo a fresh batch all over again.

On Saturday, I proceeded to make cornflake cookies instead, which turned out alright. It wasn't the taste that I was going for. YB finds them a bit too sweet and I agree. The sweetness comes from the cornflakes. Hmmm.

 ugly looking pineapple tarts but taste SO good.

 Why must I be so bloody ambitious? Yes, you read me right. Pineapple Rolls, for goodness sake! I'm just a beginner, for crying out loud!

My Sunday evening was spent baking these babies, which turned out ... let me eat one now and see if I can find a justified description of it.

Erm. They DID taste yummy fresh from the oven, I swear!

Now they taste just OK (to me). *frowns*

BUGGER BUGGER BUGGER!
I need to find the recipe for the melt in your mouth ones... *wails*

But it's not too bad, I guess. If YB likes it, I guess my in-laws will be OK with them, too. Initially he was complaining that they were a bit too sweet, but now they don't. I guess the rolls take a bit of time to settle down or something.

(I can smell Indomie right now ... someone's making supper and it's not me!)

 pumpkin puree soup with fried chicken.

Sooooo much work for pumpkin soup! And yeah, chicken looks pathetic. I'm really bad at frying stuff. But I love pumpkin and the soup was yummy, but definitely not for someone who's on a diet. Tsk tsk.

That was our dinner on Sunday night. The chicken was marinated with cumin seeds, garam masala, dark soy sauce, pepper and salt. It was stuck in the fridge for 3-4 hours before cooking.

Mushroom Lasagna and beetroot with white beans salad thingy.

Let's look at food which are much better presented.

The other day, YB wanted to eat out at Ben's General Food Store, at Publika. I think it's because he keeps seeing pictures of the food there on Facebook, or because I kept telling him about it?

Well, I've only been there once and I thought there was no harm in going there to try something new. YB chose the lasagna, which I think needs to be shared. It's rich and filling, definitely best shared.

chicken pie with limey barley and white mushroom salad thingy.

I opted for something else, although there was nothing else I wanted to try. Oh, I wanted to try the pizza but wasn't too sure if we could finish it.

The chicken pie was a bit dry inside, I won't recommend it. A friend of mine once ordered the Moroccan Lamb Pie and found it a bit dry, too. 

The salad was very interesting. I can't imagine serving it as a salad for my family or the in-laws, though. Hehe.

~

Happy Chinese New Year to you, if I don't catch you online again before then!

Work was ridiculously CRAZY the past 2 weeks that I'm so relieved it's over! We were busy computing whether we achieved our KPI for 2011 and completing our appraisal. I just had mine today with my supervisor and he has submitted it to the unit head who will review it with the head of department. Bah!

p.s. I hope I don't get mopey during CNY ... it will be different. I miss home soooo much! My sister has reminded me that I'll be the last to have met my niece (her daughter)! SIGH!!!! But we'll be back in KK during the Thaipusam weekend, anyway. ;)

We Saw a Whale Shark!

Yes, I do know that this post is a quarter of a year late, but it is only now that I manage to find the time to go through the pictures and arrange my thoughts a bit more clearly.

 Of course, with my poor memory, I may tend to forget bits and pieces of it.

But oh, this must be how it felt like three years ago when I hadn't started this running habit - more time to do other things! And probably get fat in the process, with all this sitting around, slouching over the laptop...

Oh and if sometimes you happen to read a blog post that sounds jumbled up and incoherent, that's probably because I was nodding off while trying to write! I've been so lethargic these days that I crash onto the bed by 10pm.

As you know, we finally found the time after the wedding to pursue our Advanced Open Water licence last September.

14th - 18th September 2011.

Wednesday afternoon – Leech and Ch’ng picked us up and we headed to Bukit Tinggi for lunch with GK. Lunch was OK, I suppose, I can't find the food pictures anymore.

Next, Ch’ng got into GK’s car and proceeded to lead the way towards Kemaman. With a walkie-talkie in each car, we could communicate and make silly remarks, laughing at each other and that kept us awake throughout the journey.

I insisted we dropped by Chukai for coffee/tea at Hai Peng coffeeshop, despite the idea being vetoed by Ch’ng. He wanted us to save space for dinner but come on, I rarely come by this part of Malaysia so it’s considered a must for me to drop by.

Shortly after, we somehow reached our dinner destination very early. Oops. I was still a bit stuffed but unfortunately, it was time for our early dinner before we headed off to Awana Kijal to spend the night. 

Thursday - We woke up before 6am to head off to arrive at Kuala Merang jetty to wait for our ferry.

We thought we could grab breakfast along the way but unfortunately, much to GK's annoyance, we were running late. In the end we had to eat at one of the stalls near the jetty. Not great, I’m afraid.

 At the Kuala Merang Jetty.

 

YB says I look like a mad person in the top right picture but I love it!

It took us about an hour to arrive at Redang Island. We were so excited! Blue skies and the clear blue seas and wind in your face … aaaah, it smelled like a holiday.

We stayed at Ayu Mayang Resort which was simple enough to cater for our needs. At least the water heater works and there’s air conditioning. ;)

After lunch we went for our first dive. The first one always gives YB and I the jitters, because clearly we weren’t water babies and it takes us a while to ‘warm up’ to the whole diving thing. Once we got comfortable underwater, it was lovely to enjoy the view and wave at the fishies. OK, I’m not sure who else waves at the fishies, but sometimes I do that. I mean, they’re staring at me as if to say hello, it would be rude not to acknowledge their presence, no? ;D

 

The things we do after lunch.
YB is very diligent at filling up his log book while mine is half filled.

Fast forward, we were knackered after dinner but we had to stay up to surprise YB for his birthday the next day (16^th). Our instructor said there was a briefing at 9pm so we made our way to the chalet he was staying at (Coral Redang).

[Pictures from the surprise party are here.]

Anyway, everyone was so relieved to sing the birthday song, posed for pictures and finish up their slice of cake, (which was pretty good!!) before quickly running off to bed. I don’t know about you, but diving can be quite tiring! It must be the sea water …

 

At Coral Redang Island Resort.

People bring their own stash of beer. YB lazing in the hammock while waiting for our next dive.

Friday – Everyone greeted YB with a happy birthday greeting. It was a deep dive that morning at Big Mount.

As we descended slowly and got used to our surroundings, we saw a huge shadow on our right. YB and I both swam towards it, wondering what it was. As we inched nearer, we saw the silhouette of the whale shark.

 
YB gripped my arm and we both looked at each other. Excitement shone in our eyes as we nodded at each other, giving each other the thumbs’ up sign. 

I could swear there were tears in my eyes, but who’s to know? ;D


We started gesturing to our fellow divers. Pretty lamely, I must say.


I mean, what on earth is the underwater sign for a whale shark?? When I saw Leech hovering slightly beneath me, I waved frantically at him and he gestured, “What?”

 
I frantically pointed at the direction of the whale shark and swam towards it, hoping he would follow me.

It was honestly a sight to behold. It was like, woahhhh.
 
I didn’t dare got near it but I was still near enough to see the spots on its body. YB, Ch’ng and everyone else swam as close as they could to touch it gently, while the photographers kept their distance in order to capture snapshots of it.
 

YB swimming alongside.

  A-m-a-z-i-n-g.

We swam it for a while, going wherever it was going. It was almost 10 minutes, I think.

And then, GK tapped it a bit too hard on its tail and the whale shark shot off.

Everyone glared at him as best as they could through their masks. I’m sure someone waved a fist at him, too.

Thereafter, our instructor took YB and I down to the seabed to continue with our deep dive – basically doing Maths underwater. I took a little longer just because I wanted to double check my answer. Ha!

As we ascended and got onto the boat, Ivan & GK were first, followed by YB and I, then Leech. We told our boat driver excitedly, “WHALE SHARK!!! WHALE SHARK!!!”

You see, when we arrived at the island, there was word around that a whale shark had been spotted recently and since then, every dive group was on the lookout for it. So we considered ourselves one of the LUCKIEST people to have witnessed such a beautiful gentle creature.

Our boat driver was excited, too. He insisted that Ivan showed him the pictures, to the extent that he forgot to help other divers up into the boat.

He immediately called up his friend on his phone to tell them, “Yoh, whale shark spotted here at Big Mount!”

IT WAS AWESOME, I cannot tell you just how awesome it is but YEAH!!!

I was just relieved that my mask didn’t fog up as much as it did the day before.

Everyone thanked YB for his birthday wish, i.e. seeing the whale shark. We were grateful for being a part of that special moment. Hehe.  

 

 Food's not that great, you can tell. But sometimes if you're lucky, one or two dishes could be good.

Chilling out at the neighbouring resort.

Saturday – We had to do a wreck dive which turned out pretty disastrous in a funny way. The visibility was so bad that we couldn’t see beyond 3 metres. I spent too long studying a dead fish under a log and when I looked up, YB was gone. The only person left was Leech. Everyone else were at the wrecks.
 
I gestured to Leech to go left, as I recalled the instructor saying that the wrecks were on the left as you descend along the rope.
 

But men being men, they don’t take directions from women well. You know that, right?

He insisted we go right. I shook my head and gestured left, but he INSISTED that it was right.

Fine. I shrugged and followed him, knowing that we were definitely going the wrong way.
 

The water was so sandy that you really wouldn’t know where you’re going. The wrecks were on a sandy bed, devoid of corals or anything else. 
 

We spent 30 minutes trying to find our way towards the wreck but we were clearly off the track. I kept smiling to myself, because I wanted to laugh. Leech was doing his kick cycle to see if he could retrace his steps but I could tell we were definitely way off track.
 

Eventually we ascended to the surface.
We saw our boat far far far away. We also saw YB on the other far side. Our instructor was already on the boat.


Apparently YB decided to look for me when he couldn’t spot me at the wrecks. Ch’ng saw our instructors signaling to each other that 3 people were missing, so one of them headed out to look for these 3 people.

But because visibility was SO bad, he got lost, too!
 
We all had a good laugh, really. Leech was worried that I’d freak out and panic but if I panicked, I think I would have resurfaced immediately!
 
Finally, we could all drink ourselves silly that night. But YB and I ended up playing some telematch games on the beach with a group of snorkelers. I’m sure there’s an embarrassing photo of me somewhere … let me check with PL.

One of the few things we saw: blue spotted stingray, nudibranch and a green turtle.

On the last night, our dive instructors organised a lucky draw among their divers/snorkelers as well as a prize giving ceremony for the winners of the telematch games.

My lucky draw got me a TUSA tshirt! Ch'ng was jealous. =P

Sunday – oh bugger it was a week before our River Jungle Marathon so I made myself get out of bed early to go for a run. YB was already up early, taking pictures of the sunrise. PL and I had arranged to run that morning but she didn’t wait for me and by the time I arrived, she was doing her 2nd lap.

We found out on the boat the other day that we both took part in running events. ;)

The ferry on the way back was packed with people.

By the time we arrived in the evening, we met up with Des and Mae for dinner to regale them with our stories, especially our encounter with the whale shark.

We had text them the same afternoon we saw the whale shark, urging them to join us immediately.

~
YB and I can’t wait to go diving again but looking at our calendar, goodness knows how we’ll be able to fit in a quick weekend trip. I really hope we can because my buoyancy is still a bloody problem for me!

Pantry Magic

Location: 49, Jalan Telawi Tiga, Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.

I was mesmerised by the candy striped awning. I felt like I was walking along the streets in England. I'm not sure why I associated it with England but it didn't look like a store belonging to Malaysia, if you asked me.

It was just sooooo quaint, like an old toy store in England, don't you think?

Like a kid spotting a toy store, my eyes couldn't leave the store and I found my legs walking towards it.

But like a dirty beggar, I was hesitant. It looked so posh, fragile and expensive that I was terrified I would break something should I step in.

I stood outside and lingered for a while, before entering the store.

 Bright coloured moulds! Stainless steel utensils! Cupcake tier! Aaaaahhhhh how delightful!

All neatly arranged.

If this were my kitchen, the tidiness wouldn't last - it would be in a mess in no time at all!

I walked out later, empty-handed. Sigh. It wasn't for me, honestly. I'm such a poor baker that I don't think I'd qualify to indulge myself in such lovely items, =)

For more pictures of their colourful items, check out these sites:
Pantry Magic
Goreng.my
My Domestic Bliss
Home Sweet Home

Chickpea Corn Fritters

I love vada or vadai, or what we Malaysians would call or pronounce as "vadeh", that look like this. (There's background music on the blog, so be careful when you click on it.)

Made from dhal, it can look like a doughtnut with a hole in the middle or it could be fritter like. This savoury snack originated from South India.

Sometime in early December last year, I was craving for something spicy (fragrant curry leaves!) and chickpeas. Oh, and sweet corn. I lovvvvvve sweet corn, except not in apom balik, sorry.

Then I thought about falafel, too.

Oh, and corn fritters!

Gosh, I was pretty indecisive that time, I just wanted to eat everything.

With three different recipes as reference - chana dhal, corn fritters and falafel, I thought I'd combine them all and pray for the best.

It was workable, though I'm sure I could have done better with a complete set of ingredients, but ahhh, experiments are called experiments when one isn't too sure about the end results, no?

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup of canned chickpeas, drained.
3/4 cup of canned sweet corn, drained.
1/2 cup of chopped onion.
2 Tbsp cumin seeds
dessicated coconut
2 bird eye chilli, deseeded and chopped.
curry leaves, chopped.
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp pepper
salt to taste
oil for frying

Directions:
(I can't remember! But I think it went something like this.)
1. Mash chickpeas with a fork. Mix cumin seeds, dessicated coconut, chilli, coriander powder and pepper into the chickpeas.
2. Stir in onions and corn.
3. Make small and flat discs and arrange on the plate.
4. Heat oil for frying.
5. Fry til golden brown.

Erm, yeah, they're not golden brown, I know. I am pretty hopeless with frying fritters as you can see. But they tasted FANTASTIC (curry leaves and cumin seeds, mmmmm) and YB enjoyed them very much.

I would love to make them again some time soon but right now I'm trying to make cookies for Chinese New Year. So far, I've tried making peanut cookies and they were not too shabby! I'll need to make some more this weekend to give away to the family.

I just made pineapple jam for the pineapple tarts (I am such a newbie!) and let's pray they won't turn our disastrous or I'd be very upset. I promised my sisters I'll try to make them for CNY!

Can you believe it's 2 weeks to the Chinese New Year? Holy crap!

Medan To Lake Toba

19th - 21st August 2011.

Friday - We almost missed our flight that morning. The cab that took us, ran out of gas just 10 minutes away from LCCT. He told us that he thought he would have enough gas to take us to the airport, hence didn't see the need of refueling before our journey began.

We stood at the roadside, waiting for the cab driver's friend to save him (or us) by picking us up and dropping us off at the LCCT.

His friend grumbled along the way, wondering why couldn't the guy have sufficiently refueled before the long trip to the airport.

At the airport with 30 minutes before the gates closed, we had to beg the counter to accept our baggage check-in and then made a run towards the departure hall.

Poor parents-in-law! It was like a family version of The Amazing Race with all the stress and running involved. ;D

Arriving at Polonia International Airport Medan, our tour guide and driver whisked us off to visit Istana Maimoon. It was built by Sultan of Deli in 1888. Its unique interior designs reflect the influence of Malay, Indian, Spanish and Italian style.

We left Medan and made our way to Brastagi, stopping by at Mikie Holiday Hotel for lunch. Nothing fancy, just some dishes to be eaten with rice. (see top pic below)

There was another couple who were part of our tour and soon we realised that their presence made it a bit awkward for us: the husband never uttered a word, while the wife would do her best to chat with my in-laws. It was really weird!

After lunch, we proceeded to Brastagi and checked in to our hotel, the Grand Mutiara Hotel. The balcony in our room opened up to the gardens, tempting us to go out and play instead. But it was drizzling.

Our guide brought us to the market selling fresh fruits and vegetables and plants. We looked around but bought nothing.

That hairy puffer fish-like fruit caught my eye. After a quick walk around, we took shelter at a stall selling corn on the cob. The couple sat far from us, and separately. Really weird!

Dinner was the usual awkwardness at the hotel.

Saturday - The next morning, we made our way towards Lake Toba. First stop was the Sipisopiso waterfall, located at the North side of Lake Toba.

Misty morning at the Sipisopiso waterfalls. Everyone took an opportunity to use the loo with small fee.

The waterfall is a 110m drop from a cave opening. There were steps leading closer to the waterfall but as we weren't given much time to explore, YB and I couldn't get close enough to the bottom.

Next, we dropped by Pematang Purba to visit the old Simalungun Batak Long House. Only Batak tribe chiefs display a bull's head on their roof.

The Simalungun Batak Long House is also known as Rumah Bolon.

We proceeded to Parapat and stopped at Simarjarunjung to taste their ginger tea, served with banana fritter.

It was the banana fritter that was the deciding factor for us. Well, my in-laws enjoyed their ginger tea. It was too strong for me, honestly.  Brrr!

It cost Rupiah 14,000 per serving, I think.

Arriving at Parapat shortly, we took the ferry/boat to cross the lake to Samosir Island.

We soaked in the sights of Lake Toba.

And then the boys started singing ... which was quite bad, to be honest. I knew they were going to ask for donations. =P

We first visited the Ambarita village to see chair stones.

A different type of longhouse, compared to the Rumah Bolon.

Don't you think the statue overseeing the donation box reminds you of Punch, of Punch & Judy?

From there, we stopped by the Tomok village to see .. erm ... something.

There were many souvenir stalls along the way but nothing fancy really caught our eye. I bought a scarf, along with the mum-in-law, who did her best to haggle. I also bought a tshirt from an old lady, although I really didn't want to buy it as she refused to give me a new one.

Another stall owner wanted to exchange money with us as she had accepted Malaysian Ringgit from a previous customer. The MIL obliged her.

We then checked in to Niagara Hotel, which offers a great view of the lake.

We realised that both the hotels we stayed had no lifts, causing us to walk up and down the stairs. Pity the porters and old folks.

We also wondered why their notes tend to end up disgustingly 'kiam chai' (preserved vegetable) like. Ugh.

Dinner was no biggie. We couldn't find a place to sit around and chat as there was no lobby for guests to mingle. There was only a lounge for guests to mingle, provided you ordered a drink.

 

Sunday - The next morning after breakfast, we had to check out to make our way back to Medan.

The breakfast buffet was full with rowdy visitors, queuing up for fried vermicelli and rice, eggs and cereal.

It was long and bumpy ride back to Medan, about 4 hours of torture. We only stopped along the way to buy some souvenir biscuits/candy from Teng Teng.

We didn't get to visit the kuih lapis or kuih bika bakeries. =(

There was plenty of trishaws on the road but I think it would be madness to take the trishaw and get stuck in traffic. 

Our guide dropped us at one of the shopping malls in town where we found a food court to partake our lunch. Hmmm, it was the only time we could get a taste of their Indonesian dishes like soto, fried ikan keli and ayam penyet.

The 3 days 2 nights trip was just right, with too much free time on our hands. Besides Lake Toba, there really wasn't much to see along the way. It so happened that a few of my colleagues had also recently went to Medan to visit Lake Toba as well and they too, shared the view.