Kaki Bola Fried Fish Head Noodle

Hello All! I'm sorry the food post came three weeks after I announced a come back. I was too busy with work. Then before I knew it, It was already time for me to go for my holidays in Perth and when I came back I went to Ipoh for a makan trip. (signals : more food post! yay!)

Getting back on the topic, Kaki Bola is located in Taman Segar Cheras, about 5 mins walk from Leisure Mall. Securing a parking is not too dificult too but on weekends you might need to park a little further and walk a bit.The place is always full on operating days and sharing tables with strangers and waiting for a seat is very normal. 

I don't think they serve any other mains there beside the fish head noodles - There could be but everyone there seems to order the noodles only.

The noodles came in two options - with or without milk. Without milk is the healthier choice but I find it lack in taste. It would be nicer if the clear soup tastes more sourish to give that 'oomp" .The fried fish used for both noodles is the same. Fresh all the time and taste good! 

This is the version with milk which I really like. Funny thing though is I don't actually eat fish and don't like the taste of milk. But somehow they manage to translate two things that I dislike into whole bowl of fresh goodness. It's not too thick to make you giddy but creamy enough to make it rich in taste. One thing I must mentioned here is how they can cook the bee hoon to perfection on the dot. Me like!

I also normally order a plate of fried fish cake to share cause I normally don't eat much of the fish. The first time we went there the fish paste were very much fluffier but next few visits it was flat. It was still nice nevertheless just that it looks awfully unappetizing.

The meal easily cost more than RM 20 for two. Not exactly cheap for breakfast but the portion is large enough for it to be considered your lunch. Don't go when you're famished though, waiting can goes up to 30 minutes especially on weekends.

Chefmel is back!

Wow, it's been a very, very long time since I last posted anything on this blog. Always wanted to but when you spent 15 hours daily in office and have a day off, all you want to do is to laze on the bed the whole day. One thing for sure, despite all the time spent to climb the work ladder , blogging has been a luxury I miss. 

For the past months everything has been wonderful in every sight of my life. I am feeling very comfortable with my work and really enjoy working with the people there. I have yet to reach my personal target but I am not too far in being one of the top performing ones in the department. 

I remembered when I started working I told myself that I would use a year to enjoy life to the fullest and live a luxurious life style. I've had that, even though not as luxurious to some but I've had a very, very comfortable life. The second year my goal is to travel as much as I can. I've been making short trips to couple of places locally - Malacca, Port Dickson and Langkawi. I'm going to Perth early next month and I've got my tickets booked for Bangkok and Jakarta. I am hoping to squeeze Kota Kinabalu in if the wallet permits ;p 

Physically wise, not good. I am putting on weight! *shouts* I'm trying to fix this up. I am hitting the gym very regularly now so wish me all the best. hehe!

and most of all, I found love when I completely stop searching. We started off quite dramatically I would say - in a good way, but I'm very assured that I am blessed with a good man. :) At least that's what I think for now. I know I am putting myself very vulnerable by the "amount" of love I have invested in a relationship so fresh but I am willing to take this leap of faith and work towards the light at the end of the tunnel. I can't believe I will write this but I fall in love over and over again when I wake up with him beside me every morning. 

I hope this update made up for the lost time. I'll be back blogging and trust me, i have a lot of tantalizing food photos to be shared! Stay tuned, people :)

Today I turn 24

I remembered writing this meme a year ago and I realized how much I have changed since. As much as I wish to write this year's version as passionate as I did last year, I couldn't. Maybe because I have grown slightly older and well, slightly less emotional. But, here you go :

1. Was being 23 good for you?

I would say it has. I started being 23, securing a permanent position for a job that is paying me more than a decent pay when a lot of young graduates are struggling to get a job. Monetary wise, I was and still am very happy.

But being in the rat race has make me feel like I don't really care about petty things as much as I did last time. Maybe because I don't have time to sit, ponder and be sour over things.

2. What was your favorite moment when you were 23?

I think it was inviting my parents for my convocation. I remembered telling my friend while I was studying that on my convocation, I want to able to pay for my parents, from the transportation, lodging and everything. I wanted it to be like an invitation and I did just that. For me to be able to do that, was very fulfilling and I know at that point of time my parents, was very proud of me.

3. What was your least favorite moment of the year?

I'm the type that will always keep to my promises - the sole reason why I hardly make promises. I promised a friend that once I get a job I would fly to his place and visit him. So, on one very impulse weekend I flew to his place and flew back the next day. It should be a very romantic getaway - i mean it was, but that was also when I know, things are over and that we won't be seeing each other anymore, anytime soon.

4. What are your plans now that you are 24?

I'm looking into some investment and buying a hut for myself. *fingers crossed*

5. What date will remain etched in your memory?

November 11, 2011. I closed not only a chapter in my life but a book. and I'm very very proud of myself :)

6. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I would say, walking up the stage in front of thousands receiving my scroll.

7. What was your biggest failure?

I've been working for almost a year now and I have yet to go for a real holiday. I promised myself a good beach break next year.

8. Did you suffer any illness or injury?

I remembered I fainted outside a restaurant in June. Other than that, recently I had a terrible allergic reaction to some alien insects and went to see the doctor four times a week. Non of those visits work, not even two jabs. I was then referred to a specialist in Gleanegles and hallelujuah, the amazing doctor give me magic medicine! :D

9. What was the best thing you bought?

My clark's leather loafers. I think that's the best RM 300 i spent on! And definitely my Titanium glassed Ray Ban. Since then I just wish everyday is sunny. Hahah.

10. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

Human. My job requires me to deal with people from all walk of life and being exposed to these makes me realize how status is just a word. These are the people that really, really give you shits.

11. Where did most of your money go?

I finally realize I'm quite a shopaholic after all. So a lot of my money goes to my shopping trips.

12. What did you get really really really excited about?

Every 25th of the month. That's pay day! :D

13. What songs will always remind you were 23 years old once?

Muse - Unintended

14. Compared to when you were 23, were you :

a) Fatter or thinner? Thinner! :D

b) Happier or sadder? Definitely, happier.

c) Richer or poorer? Richer. ^.^

15. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Patience, and to think more before uttering my thoughts.

16. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Putting a 'closed' sign in my heart. Haha

17. How will you be spending Christmas?

I have not have any plans in particular yet but we'll see how it goes. :)

18. Did you fall in love when you were 23?

I didn't. If you read my last year's version you know that I was head over heels in love with someone. The "deleting" process took much longer than I expected and for a very long time, I was not ready for a new relationship. While I really did move on, I was still very much clinging to the thought of "what if". I was not ready to let anyone in my heart, let alone love someone. But I woke up one day telling myself "enough is enough. cukuplah sampai di sini sahaja episod kita kali ini.". I would say I'm really happy at how things is going and all I wish is for the best.

19. How many one night stands?

I wish I could write like 100. hahhaha! but nah, no. :p

20. What was your favourite TV show?

Bachelor, Bachelorette and Bachelor Pad. And this Singapore soap opera - The inlaws. I remembered sacrificing my sleep just to finish watching the dvds.

21. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate when you were 23?

Nah, I don't hate anyone last year, and I still don't this year.

22. What was/were the best books you read when you were 23?

What I wish I knew when I was 20.

23. What did you want and get?

iPad. Wish I got it much earlier! It's the awesome!

24. What did you want and not get?

Nothing. I pretty much bought everything I wanted. Yes, I know I'm blessed. :)

25. What was the best gift you received when you were 23?

A seiko watch. It's limited edition and there's only 2000 in this world. This is the 1087th.

26. What did you do on your 23rd Birthday?

Stuffing myself with lots and lots of pork. lol

27. What one thing would have made your year more satisfying?

I think it would be me doing the one day air tour on Cessna.

28. How would you describe your personal fashion concept when you were 23?

Pretty much the same. I really like the retro (or whatever you call it, I'm no fashionista.lol) so I have a number of those GAP and pull and bear's pants that I wear to work with a plain fitted shirt.

29. Who did you miss the most when you were 23?

For the longest time it was TL*, but now, it's someone else.

30. Did you treat somebody badly while you were 23?

I don't think I did. I hope I didn't. ;p

31. Did somebody treat you badly when you were 23?

I don't think so. I so nais one. Lol

32. A valuable life lesson you learned when you were 23.

Money can buy you happiness. It does not opens the door to happiness but it is the key to it.

Today I am 24. I look forward to many more good things that is in store for me this year.

Jalan Alor Bukit Bintang

For many, Jalan Alor is just another tourist trap. For me on the otherside, this is a place that brought me plethora of good memories. I used to come here a lot when I was young for family holidays. My dad loved the place and still do! So coming back here (I know I am based in KL for almost a year now, but I spend most of my time working.) was a lot like walking back to a childhood story.The fact that we still order the same food makes the memory even more vivid.

This porridge here is from my father's favourite mee sua stall. They are famous for their pork mee sua and my dad worship this! They have it in the porridge version and taste as good! For RM5, this is worth every penny with the generous amount of pork and innards given.



Clams! How can you missed this when you're having street food? The clams was from the stall nearby but as much as I love clams, I didn't like that it was prepared too bloody for my liking. Chili sauce too lack the ooomph and spiciness.
.


Feeling rather guilty from the excessive order of greasy and cholesterol laden food we ordered a plate of sotong kangkung - just to fulfill the you know, vegetable quota. :p Not too bad, but not exactly something to shout about.



I thought the fried oyster was terrible. It was tasteless, the batter were not very cooked and the oysters were ...errm.. scarce. This costed RM 20 , definitely a killing price for a dish badly prepared. I remember it tasted really good, but back then I haven't been to Penang yet! Penang really does spoils your taste bud y'know? :)

and believe it or not, this place has the best fresh orange juice. It still taste the same after so many years! I never got to know what type of orange they use but I can assure you, not even a high class hotel could beat the taste! The moment I took the first sip I felt like I was deported 15 years back, where I was young and *cough*, very innocent. :P

My whole point of writing this is not really on Jalan Alor but how this place brought me memories and I miss my parents so much. Family holidays is something that is so hard to come by now. So if you had the privillege to work and still stays with your family, appreciate it. If you don't, make sure you call home. :)

TuneHotels.com Downtown Penang Review

*If you're not interested in the long winded complaint, you might want to scroll down for disgusting pictures first and then, that might triggered your interest to read the whole post!

Just very recently, I stayed with TuneHotels in downtown Penang. I remember writing a very positive review for this hotel sometime back.

I love the hotel cause it provides me what I wanted when I travel - cleanliness and simplicity. I mean when we travel, we don't actually spent 24 hours in there. All we need was a place to lay our tired bodies after spending the whole day discovering a new culture.

So, last week was my convocation. Penang was a transit for us and knowing that we will only be in Penang for few hours for two stops, I booked the hotel. It wasn't exactly cheap but I like the hotel cause I stayed there multiple times.

For the first night I had accidentally booked the rooms for the wrong dates - it was supposed to be 2 rooms for the 2nd of October and 1 room for the 4th of October. Turns out I was booking all 3 rooms to be checked in on 4th of October.

The receptionist show no empathy or any courtesy at all but I was pretty cool with that - I mean, what do I expect? This is not a full service hotel.

However I just wish there was a slight flexibility - I made it clear to her " i don't mind the payment for the room being forfeited, can I just have the towels that I paid for that room on 4th of October, since I'm not taking the room after all." She gave no explanation but push me to dead end with a 'no.period' reply.

Of course, the main point for this post is not about me not given the towel that I paid. I returned two days later for another pit stop before I return to KL the next two days.

This time tho, was a horror of all. I arrived after a very tiring day of my convocation - I woke up at 3.30 am in the morning. Such an early morning and the day only ended 8.30 p.m - with no rest in between , when I arrive at 10.00 pm, needless to say I was exhausted.

I was given a room that made me feel like my car is a better place to sleep.

The toilet reeks of urine the moment I open the glass door , the toilet roll look like it has been re-rolled (if you get what I meant - you know, the fall off and the worker re-roll them) and the whole shower place was with yellow stain. I didn't take a picture of that cause I was really tired and the next day I just couldn't wait to check out!

And then after taking my bath, I also discovered one of the ugliest side. I don't mind the room not being maintained, scrapes of old paints - accepted. But the fact that the previous guest had spilled water and it leaves such an ugly stain and they didn't even bother to clean up just make me questioned the hygiene of the hotel. If they didn't care - one may wonder if they even wash the bed sheets!

My parents room on the other side had this leaking roof top - which we brush off the thought that it might be from the toilet above our room. This was like a night mare for all of us.

At that point of time, I seriously questioning why was I paying RM 180+ for Tune Hotels when that is exactly the same price Cititel - a prominent 3 star hotel in Penang is charging. Not to mention everything cost me more than RM 250 as I had another unoccupied room due to wrong booking. To begin with, I did not book the place cause it was cheap. I could afford a better place - heck I was bunking in a suite the night before! I book the place cause I like the hotel but these experience totally screw up everything.

I'm gonna be honest here. While I sound very frustrated since the beginning of this post - the only point why it triggers me to write this was the receptionist. I told the receptionist what happen to the room I was given, not only he did not respond to me, he did not even look at me! The quote 'talk to my hand' totally applies here.

Just typing this and just thinking back of the facial reaction of that receptionist make my blood boils! A quick check in tripadvisor.com shows that a guest experience the same of what I felt. Exact quote "Humanity is therefore kept neutral or none if you call it. Hopefully it can be improved - basic courtesy."

I tweeted, and the manager of TuneHotels.com called me two hours or so later. I didn't think the complaint ends from that call because that call was merely addressing my complaint, there was no solution nor an apology. I do not expect compensation of any sort but just by calling me to ask me 'what I have tweeted' is not the solution.

And, I am still waiting for the solution. My only conclusion for now is that the hotel is only good for stay when it's still new.I just recently stayed the one in Bintulu and it was beautiful cause it was still very new, but hell no will I be staying there another year later!

Donald and Lily Melaka

wow, it's been a while since I last blogged and it's one luxury that I really, really miss.

Anyway, just last week I drove to Melaka with Huai Bin for a food trip!



The highlight of the trip for me was this place called Donald and Lily's. Huai Bin actually found the place while surfing for food while I was driving and wanted to go that night itself but it was a little late when we arrived. (Thinking back, I think we should have gone and try the ayam ponteh instead of the easily forgettable McQuek's satay celup).



I had a really good feeling the moment I enter the place. The whole place looks entirely like a home and it feels like dining at a friend's place. Whenever I enter a place that gives me this homey feeling, i'm almost 100% sure that a great spread of food is about to be served.



I wasn't wrong. The chendol we had was spectacular. I don't know if they had made the gula melaka themselves but it tasted like no other that Ive tasted. It was so good that Huai Bin had two bowls of it. Man, I wouldn't mind to pay RM 10 for this bowl of goodness if it's available in KL.



I don't think they have a specific menu though. The food options changes by days and the waiter would actually tell you what they have on that day. I love the hospitality though. The auntie who served us is really friendly.



I went for the mee siam. My mum made really good mee siam and she has set the bar so high that no where else could compare to the one she made. I didn't like that the sauce that came along was a little sweet. The fried beehoon too taste very mild. You can skip on this.



The curry laksa that Huai Bin had was nice though and he loved it. It was not too milky to the point that you'll feel "muak" just half way finishing that bowl of laksa but just thick enough to give the rich feeling.



I also ordered Tofu Rojak to share (but I ate most of it. Huai Bin doesn't eat much! T.T) . I don't actually eat tofu but since the lady recommended it and I wanted a side dish, I went for it. The rojak is a platter of fish cake, cucumber and pineapples served with rojak paste and homemade chili sauce. I don't know if it's a "Melaka thing" but the paste is really different, very distintive in taste a lot stronger on the prawn flavor. It goes really well with the fish cake. The only thing I didn't like about the rojak was the fact that the cucumber and pineapples is cubed.

I've always love how people Melaka (maybe cause I'm just a kampung girl at heart) is so laid back and you hardly see people rushing. Can't wait for my next trip to Melaka again sometime soon and yes, looking forward for that damn awesome chendol here again!

Life must be better than this

Hi and Hello everyone. I hope there is still real human reading my blog. I'm sorry I no longer have time to devote myself to this blog, but I promise this is not good bye. I'm still trying to find time to start blogging again.

I'm feeling slightly a little emo today and ... I've been wanting to write this for the longest time.

Looking back at my personal photos, I realize now I look so haggered, tired and old. I mean I can be very bubbly, funny and cheerful at work but deep down inside of me I felt really empty.



True enough people would say when you work, you get to buy anything you want without having to ask money from anyone. I like this part of the freedom and having no commitment, I would say my pay has allowed me to shop happily.



But put aside all that luxurious lifestyle, (it's luxurious for me because before I started working I didn't spent so much on well, say for instance a piece of tshirt?) i pretty much felt like my life is meaningless.

I go to work, come back and sleep. This routine has been repeating for the past 6 months!

Can someone tell me how to make my life more ka-rer-ful?

Non Food

Anecdote of the week :

- I fainted outside a restaurant after suffering from a bad gastric, and went for a shisha dinner. champion they say :P I told my friend to open the car door for me but before he could open, I fainted. The restaurant staff helped and massaged my head while my colleagues panicked (told by them when i sedarkan diri. lol) I woke up minutes later and first thing I asked was.. " what happen?" and my colleagues started to shout " Are you ok or not!! oi!! " It was a funny but very scary moment. Imagine if I passed out and never wake up. =s

- I cried for the third day now because my colleague resigned. I know it's lame, very lame - especially when I haven't cried for 8 months!! But it so happen that while I'm having one of the stress-est job that could really dry your brain juice up, I have a bunch of great friends. and by friends I meant genuine one. Not the kind who back stabs you and all the politics shit.

We go for trainings by batch for a month before we really started working hands on, all of us became very, very close. and this colleague who resigned is the one I'm the closest with. It felt like something is missing and for once I felt like I'm in an empty office. And I'm feeling this in a department (yes just one department!) that has 400 people ok! All of us actually cried (even the macho men!) when she left and this isn't something you usually see in office especially in a fast pace foreign organization! I'm still very much in an emo state btw. :(

Just let me end with something my colleague wrote on facebook :

"a stranger. it takes a stranger to make us realize that sometimes in real life you just cant change anything. no matter how hard you try. a stranger sometimes could make you feel so touched and lose control completely. a stranger that could make everything in the world feel less a bad place to live in. i guess a stranger can really bring colours in our life. a stranger."

My Firefly Experience

Again and again, I've alwalys confessed how much I love plane rides and the aviation industry as a whole. Airports and plane rides thrills me and for me it's the best way of rejuvenating myself after working so hard. However that also meant that I tend to pamper myself and go for a full service airline. Don't get me wrong though, I have no problem on boarding a low cost airline or community airline, whichever way you may like to put it.



So just last week I was once again back to Kuching for a break and took Firefly for the first time. I won't say I bought it cheap tho. It was RM 198 inclusive of tax - without food and luggage check in. But again, regardless of how much I pay, a budget airline is a budget airline. I don't expect much from it. I'm not going to whine about the leg space or the fact that there's no inflight food served. (like how most people do - especially those who probably fly only once or twice and never boarded a full service airline before)

My parents took Firefly earlier this year and I did the check in for them and I was attended by two very rude staff. This time though, the ground staff were very polite and even willingly complied to my request of a seat exchange. I thought " wow, they have improved!" The flight was however delayed for almost an hour but it was a relieve for me cause I arrived the airport very late and I had wanted to get something from the airport.



The moment I entered the plane was when the bad experience started. I was welcome by cabin crews who looked very unfriendly, tired and errrr ... blur. I don't expect them to greet me with an ear to ear smile and guide me to my place or things like that, but all the cabin crews looked like they are untrained?

The major faux pas for me was when I reached my seat and have yet to even land on the seat, one cabin crew came to me and say - "Please tighten your seat belt." I gave her a dazed look and replied "what?" and even at this point I was not even seating! She then answered me like it was my first time boarding the plane - "You have to tighten your seat belt." It's ridiculous and pardon my words, stupid - because I have yet to even sit how the heck do I even tighten my seat belt!

When the crews have already armed the doors, I moved my luggage(just a small beg) up the seat next to me since I knew there wasn't gonna be anyone seating but one crew walked pass and said I couldn't put it on the chair. I thought ok, fine, I'll put it on the leg space of the seat and minutes later another cabin crew told me I have to put it "under" the seat. I was very irritated at that point, not only on the rules but the way I was told by the crew. I fly very often - and I do not have any crews from any airline telling me where to put my beg! No issues when I put my luggage on the seat either!



During the safety demonstration, I still thought they looked really blur and lacked the confidence a cabin crew should have.Thought the picture above could be an unlucky bad shot ? Let me show you another one below.



Seriously the facial expression from this particular crew totally amazed me. Speaking of the crews, Firefly really, really and must I emphasize again, REALLY need to train their crews on their language. Their English is bad, their Malay language is embarrassingly terrible.

Like any other budget airlines, they will start their inflight service once the seat belt sign is off. I was really tired since my flight was right after work and fell asleep minutes after take off. To my surprise, they actually woke me(and then every other sleeping customer) up to ask if I want to buy any food. Now, this is something I felt they should really improve on. I understand that they wanna make the utmost earnings from the inflight sales but you do not and NEVER wake a sleeping customer up just to ask if they would like to buy any inflight food!



I obliged anyway since I've already woken up and I was gonna write this review. Price wise it is almost similar to the other budget airline. I had tea (RM4) and Nasi Lemak(RM10). The tea was the 3 in 1 Lipton while the nasi lemak was nothing remarkable but edible. However as much as I have really high tolerance for spicy food, I felt like the nasi lemak is a tad too spicy for cabin temperature. I actually felt quite uncomfortable after that.

I think after this, I'm seriously gonna think twice or even thrice before flying with Firefly again. They gave me such a bad first experience that I have no plans to even want to put them as an option for flying domestic again.

Kuching, yet again!

Wow, I always feel like time flies every time I blog. How did time passed? It's already almost the middle of the year!

The past one month I've been working extra hours just to earn slightly higher pay. Ok lah, not slightly but an amount that would made a difference. Haha. At some point I was working Monday to Sunday and then Monday again! For the past two days, I was actually working 12 hours a day.

I don't know what I was chasing but the feeling of making myself feel extra tired is quite addictive. It's hard to explain but it's like drugs. haha. I'm also glad to announce that my job is starting to blend in with my life that working everyday without a break feels like something normal to me. It has become a routine and every morning I wake up feeling like I need to go to work asap! It's a good sign right? haha.

Anyway, I'll be on a week break and I'm flying back to Kuching tomorrow after work! I'll have to really rush tho. My flight's at 8.45pm! Just pray that nothing goes wrong with the KLIA transit or the LRT. hehe.

Till then, much love from me.

p/s : any of my readers (i trust I still have a few :S ) is a member of the Original Bootcamp?

Double White Button Lamb Burger with Italian Rocket Salad

I've been cooking quite a lot lately. Maybe cause work has settled in a little bit for me - can't deny that I still suck. lol. Complicated dishes are however very much restricted to only weekends. Not only because of time constraint, but they're quite expensive to cook =x

Ingredients are :

Darabif 4 x 100g Lamb Patties (RM9.98) and Heinz Mushroom Soup (RM 5.80)



Burger Roll (RM 2.20) and Heinz Sandwich Spread (RM 6.80).



Canola Spread *healthy mode* (RM4.60 fr six small tub)



Fresh white button mushrooms (RM 5.99)

This recipe is quite easy to prepare and it takes no more than 30 minutes since everything is literally "processed." First, pan fry the patties and once they're cook, put a slice of cheese over and let it melt on the patties and sandwich two patties together.

Put them aside and prepare the mushroom sauce. Heat up half the can of the mushroom soup together with the fresh sliced button mushrooms. Cook till they thicken up!



Then it's time to scoop them up and "spread" them on your patties. oh yeah, don't forget to toast your burger rolls with the canola oil!



In my effort to stay healthy, I've also added in the rocket salad. I got them pre-packed in a bowl with all the leaves and balsamic dressing. This thing are genius! All you need to do is tossed everything in the bowl and they even come with fork and spoon!

Serve the tossed salad with your burger. It's extremely filling and satisfying! Goes really well with a good pint of lager.



Can't wait for the weekends cause I've already got idea on what to cook! I've been having so much maggi, eggs and sausages. Food that makes me feel bimbotic. lol