Hidden Treasure...

Tucked in the corner of Jalan (more like a lorong) Hang Kasturi along Jonker street in Malacca lies an unassuming little teow chew restaurant called Teo Soon Long Chan.... From the outside, you would think it no different from a normal hawker coffee shop... but step inside and you are welcomed into this cosy little air conditioned restaurants lines with liquor bottles all around... There was only 7 tables in the room, which is why reservation is highly recommended...

To one side is a display of the fresh ingredients/seafood for the day... This uncle here takes your orders and when we asked what is their Signature Dish? His answer was simple "No signature dish, all is good. No need to ask where the source of the ingredients are from, as long as it taste good, that should be good enough!!" ..... and he was right.

On the other side was a counter and the liquor cabinet lining the walls.... That guy on the phone, is no ordinary guy. He got skills... you will know what I mean further down this post.... :)

To start of the dinner... let me introduce you to the sauces... haha!! This is a traditional teowchew tauchu with chilli sauce which is best eaten with the steam fish...

Next up is the sambal..and this is no ordinary sambal which you get at other regular restaurants... This has ikan bilis in them... plenty... It was Yum....!!!

Okay... to start the night off we had the Oyster Noodles which was highly recommended and every table seems to have ordered one... it was just yellow noodles fried hokkien style but with Oysters in them... Unless you are an oyster fan, this is nothing to shout about... Too oyster-ish for my taste....

Next we had the steam fish teowchew style... what other style can you order in a teowchew restaurant right? haha!! This was definitely the highlight for me... It was steamed just right... not over nor under done and the fish was fresh... the broth has just the right level of saltiness that made the whole dish work... It was so good I ordered another one at the end of our meal...

Oh ya... remember the guy at the counter... well he is highly skilled at cutting the fish up... he cuts and debones the entire fish in 22 precise cuts... Cool huh?

Another dish which was recommended by fellow bloggers was the fried soft shell crab... Although not a traditional teowchew dish but this was really well done... the batter was crunchy and the sweet sauce which accompanied the dish just complimented the taste of the crabs...

We were recommended the Bitter Gourd and Pork Ribs stew by the uncle and we gladly agreed... This was an extremely small dish but it tasted really good..the bitter gourd has just a slight twang of bitterness to it and it was soft to the bite... The pork ribs were small little succulent pieces of meat and the sauce was heavenly... Best eaten mixed with rice (which my eldest sis refused to the dismay of the owner)... It was thickened with yam instead of starch so it has a slight hint of yam in the aftertaste...

Next up was the fried mince pork balls.. This was pretty good... It was not spectacular but it was pretty good for pork balls... :)

Now, the final and apparently most popular dish which the uncle insisted we should end our meal with... Ohnee! Or better known as yam paste served with ginko and pumpkin... I need to say upfront that I am not a chinese dessert kinda person (especially when they are pasty) but I gave it a try since it was highly recommended...

I am now a convert... This ohnee was soooo good.. the texture was smooth and taken with the pumpkin it gave just the right balance of yammy gooey-ness and sweetness from the pumpkin... Really good.. no wonder this was their one and only dish which has been commercialised.

Look at the consistency of the yam... beautiful....

This is definitely one restaurant I would highly recommend if you are heading to Malacca... I am a malaccan and I only knew of this place recently.. How embarassing... :( Forget about the satay celup or the chicken rice balls... those are just hyped up food.. This is the real deal... just simple delicious teowchew dishes done very well...

Teo Soon Loong Chan Restaurant
55, Jalan Hang Kasturi

75200 Melaka, Malaysia

Tel: 06-2822353

Malakoff 2010

Just went for a 7km run yesterday... The irony of it was that from the day I registered for the run two months ago (after an invite from a fren) til yesterday, I did not go for a single jog... haha!! Lazy me...

The route, was treacherous.... There was too many hills to count but there were 2 which were distinctively steep and long... gosh! I wonder who picked this route... It was really killing me.. yeah there were downhill moments as well but the uphills were really bad... some I even needed to lean forward to balance myself...

Safe to say I walked up all the hills.. not run. haha!! :D

But hey, I still managed it in 56 mins considering my super unfit condition... I just told myself that I needed to get it done in less than an hour!!! Dont embarass yourself Aichin. ;)

How times have changed.

Do you remember during the good old days where many little Chinese kopitiam still existed? Then you would see many old uncles and grandpas just sit along the outside of the kopitiam with their backs facing the kopitiam?

They would stare out to the streets and chat amongst themselves.. I always wondered what were they looking at??!! Cars passing by? Or ppl walking by?

Well today I witnessed it again but under a very different circumstance. I am now sitting in Starbucks. An indoor Starbucks I must add and right in front of me sitting outside of the shop is 2 uncles sitting on either sides of the table with their backs against Starbucks looking outwards and having a chat. How times have changed from a mere streetside kopitiam to a shopping mall Starbucks but what hasn't change is the good old tradition of meeting up with your friends over a cuppa.

Think it didn't matter to them what the view was.. What's important is the companionship of a few good friends.

Looking at them gives a warm fuzzy feeling and it puts a smile of my face. I hope when I grow old I would be able to have such a ritual. Then I must have lived a blessed life filled with wonderful friends.

Tiramisu + family = One great night!

Was invited to a big family pot luck get together and since mum was not around, sis and I had to conjure up something to bring... so we decided to be vague about it (in case what I have planned didnt turn out right) and tell them we will be bringing dessers... better to keep it open ended.. :D haha!

Have always wanted to try my hand at making tiramisu so this was perfect timing! I have a large enough group to consume whatever I made (provided it was successful).. So after looking through the internet for a decent recipe and some added modifications to the recipe after the trial batch I did last week, we were good to go... the results?

Looks right....
With the cocoa dusted, it looks perfect! hehehe! If I may say so myself...

Verdict from the family? It was all nods and thumbs up!!! Yaaay!! It was a success... I am so happy... :D Even got 2 request for recipe...

The family gathering was really great... didnt expect to have such a big group of ppl... all 6 uncles and 3 aunties were there with their families and in-laws... even my cousin who was in New Zealand came back... It was really fun catching up with everyone... It is nice to know that eventhough we were all very different ppl with different personalities and views, but because we were cousins, we still always have a great time chatting and just catching up with what's the latest news with each other.. from a cousin getting a really hot girlfriend to another cousin waiting for her PMR results...

It was definitely good times....

My little Skytrex adventure...

After a botched up ATV plans I decided to go for a Skytrex instead... Managed to get one friend to go with me since everyone else were not too keen... So off we went...

In the feeder bus to the Skytrex base... I am excited.. Can you tell?
All geared up!!!

After the first flying fox landing... I am still pumped.. The first jump was pretty scary considering it was really high up (approx 60ft up in the sky...)

Up another stair ladder.. those were the worst in my view.. way more tiring than the rest of the challenges... and there was 3!!!! :(

Wheeee!!!! I am flying!!! :D Walking across a series of upright pipes strung across 2 trees...

All the challenges were pretty moderate until it came to this one... "monkey bars"!! Way up in the sky... I have not played monkey bars for years now... haha! I am not sure my arms could take my weight!!! After a few deep breaths I attempted and...

YAAAYYY!! I made it.. hahaha!! I could actually swing myself across the entire stretch!! I didnt give up... *beams with pride* too bad no pics of me on the bars.. :(

Ackson obviously made it across as well... Unlike the guy behind him who gave up after the first rung and just pulley-ed himself across.. so embarassing...

More stairs... :( dont be fooled by the smile.. I hated them...

Look ma!! No hands, no hands!!! :D haha!! Walking on a tightrope...

A transversed stair ladder... pretty easy stuff.. :D

We are almost done... climbing down now...

Check the second last challenge... This one looks fun!! We had to swing on the ropes from one plank to the other making sure we catch the next rope when we landed...

After I got the hang of it, it was fun but I did fail during my first attempt.. lucky me I had the harness... *phew*

Final obstacle before we were done...

Okay... end of route... back to the base...

At the end of our little adventure... It was ALL Good..!!! :D

Hmmm... Definitely something I would go for again... any takers? :D hehe!!

For those who want to know more, check out http://www.skytrex-adventure.com/ for more details of the different routes available.. I went for the extreme at RM45 a pop.. not too bad a price I think considering it was a 2 hours trail...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Nope, I dont celebrate it... just felt like wishing...

Wouldnt mind having a chance to experience a real thanksgiving though... Anyone wants to invite me? :D hehe!

To what extent?

Wow! I was just delivered a shocker and am left pondering the question of "to what extent does one go to move on..?"

Is there truly a need to delete the past to move forward with someone new? I have always believed not but evidently not everyone concurs.. So how do you make out having a friendship with your ex being okay but when u get married then the ex must be axed our of your life as well? Delete fb fren, delete phone number, block all contact possible??!!!

Hmm.. As much as I would like to believe that I would know the person I used to date pretty well but I am beginning to think maybe not coz the person I knew treasured all forms of friendship.. But this person is now throwing away an 11 year friendship..

Of course I could look at it from a real negative point and say the wife did all that without his knowledge but is that really possible? Would someone be so oblivious to all the deletion and extermination of contact? I don't know.

All I can say is that I am feeling disturbed. Disturbed and disgusted actually. Where is the person I once knew? Or did that person ever exist in the first place..??

Chilling out!

Chilling out at the rooftop of the verve suites.. Great view, cushy seats, pool by the edge and me... This is the life..

Wish it was really mine.. :(

A handsome couple...

My uncle passed us some old photos today... They were found when they were cleaning up my grandma's place in malacca.. One of the photos found was an engagement photo of my mum and dad...

My dad was pretty good looking (albeit a tad girlish.. hehe)... and my mum was gorgeous too... Just couldnt help posting this photo up... It's a great picture! :D

Wanton noodles and good memories....

Yesterday night I completed a telecon at 10pm and I was famished by the end of it.. It doesnt help that I was working from KLCC and I did not have the access pass to the office yet.. I cant go out and grab a bite before the 8pm call coz I didnt have the reception is buzz me in... So waited I did...

By the time I got out of the office all the shops in KLCC were closing so no food there.. :( Hopped into my car, fren asked me to drive to Subang and meet him up... Was contemplating it at first until my stomach started growling.. It was protesting against the long wait so as I was driving along Sg Besi I spotted the Wanton Noodle shop which was always jam packed with people... Always wondered why but I have never tried it prior to yesterday... So I decided, what the heck! let's stop and try then....

I ordered the standard Char Siew Wanton Noodles and waited a mere 5 mins for it to be served... Took my first bite and it brought back memories...

I started reminiscing about the good old days when I was still a small kuchirat... Our family used to drive down to Singapore every Chinese New Year and Christmas and it was a ritual to always stop at Ayer Hitam on our way down and have a plate of Char Siew Wanton Noodles... those were the good old days when we still had to use the trunk road to get to Singapore so it was a 7 hours drive. After a 4.5 hours drive the stop over was very much welcomed for us to stretch our legs and fill our tummies... the noodles were springy and had a very nice texture to it.... It just tasted really good.. and there would be aunties holding a wooden cross-like looking holder which they use to hang little bags of Okra and french beans for sale... The whole experience was very rustic... :)

As all good things, the ritual came to an end when PLUS highway was built and although sometimes we still drive into Ayer Hitam as a stopover, the Wanton noodle shop was never there anymore... They probably could not sustain with the drop in traffic since the highway started operations... What a waste... :( and I never found another wanton noodle shop that served that same kind of noodles...Until yesterday...

Yes, back to present... this wanton noodles was as close as possible to the one I had back in Ayer Hitam...

or maybe I was just really hungry....

All gone....

Terry Fox Run 2010

I went for the Terry Fox Run 2010 under "Team Shell" last Sunday at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa... Waaaah... the throngs of ppl we saw before we even arrived at the lake was ridiculous!! haha!! Parking was all the way to Istana Budaya...

When we arrive at the actual start point we saw a sea of ppl...plus a large group of Red caps (Shell) and another large group of Green cap (Petronas) and many other O&G companies... you would think the Terry Fox Run was for O&G and not cancer...haha!!

and then we were off!! Check out the amount off ppl running... It was literally impossible to run... Had to walk...

There was one team which caught my eye... The Baristas from Starbucks came in their uniform with apron..it was really cool to look at.... :) They were frenly too! Posed for the photo...haha!!

This picture is a bit dark but you should be able to make out the ppl across the lake.. yeah.. I was standing on this side and the front of the crowd was already on the other side... shows how many ppl participated huh?

Another interesting character was this guy from ntv7 advertising their up and coming run...I thought that was kinda funny...

More ppl...

The human barricade diverting the crowd to the right direction...

and we were done... Yaay!! Finish line... :D

Had muffins and water sponsored by Hilton after the run... :D Had to miss the Milo coz the line way across the whole field... :(

Shell Ecorace (long overdued)

In a last minute decision I decided to join a group of colleagues whom I was not acquainted with yet to participate in a race organised by Shell which they called Ecorace held on 2 Oct... (yes, this post is a month la... )

The race was a 4 part race which started off with a series of mini challenges like making roti canai, shifting fruits without our hands (watermelon was most difficult) etc...

So here we are in the beginning...

Then the second part was for us to scour the grounds of Batu Caves and find the actual matches to a bunch of photos we were given... Of course the photos led all the way up the stairs of Batu Caves... it wasnt as bad as I expected..haha! I have never been up but it was pretty easy...

Then we had to drive to the next location (while driving we had a mini treasure hunt) to go jungle trekking/hiking.... We went to Gua Damai which was located behind Batu Caves... surprisingly the trek was quite challenging due to the wet soil... After some time, the whole bottom of our shoes were filled with mud and could no longer grip the the ground and I slipped quite a number of times... The lucky thing was that we were kinda late in the treasure hunting so we arrived later than the main group of ppl...Blessing in disguise because we took the correct route while that group went the wrong way so we manage to finish the trekking in just over an hour....

You wouldnt believe what was the 4th challenge...after the really really tiring one-hour hike, we had to rock climb... and I mean real rock climb..not the studio walls but the actual surface of the cave.... The route I had to take was a 6A in terms of difficulty...Dont know how to explain but tough la... haha!!

Here is me getting ready to climb...

Hmm... where can I place my foot?

Wah...!! Target in sight! A bit more only... But how do I get there? no place to hold!!!

Finally I am just a few feet away....

Bit more bit more....

Yaaaayyy!!! I am there!! let me down...let me down!!! My arms were aching... Yes yes, professional rock climbers use their leg strength not arm... but I am not a professional.. so arms it is... :D (thank you Mr. Belayer, I knew you were kinda pulling me as well..hehe!)

And so that was the end of the race... by then our arms and legs were aching...I had so many bruises from the falls during the trekking... it was not a pretty sight...

But... guess what??!!! Hehehe!! My team came in 2nd place!!! Hurray for the underdogs.. All the other teams were formed way in advance but we managed to pull through... I must give credit to my teammates..they were fantastic!!! :D Real troopers!!!

We did good for amateurs....