Meet my “Mah Li” plush toys!

Gong Hei Fatt Choy! How is everyone feeling this Chinese New Year? I’ve been pretty much busy with the usual festivities, coupled with dinners after dinners and house visiting of the relatives. This year around, it has been a rather busy affair but it was fun nevertheless. This Chinese New Year though was different than the rest, thanks to two new plush toys! :)

Now, what’s so special about these plush toys? If you had Astro or you visited Tesco, you would have seen my celebrity-like plush toys. They are the cute little white horses called the Astro Special Mah Li plush toys!

Snaps: Impromptu Food Tripping in Malacca

_{I have been pretty much delaying my blog posts, I’m horrible with keeping my blog updated that way. Things have been going on my mind about my blog, photography and my direction. I have doubts about these stuff, and it’s bugging me. But I’ll try to keep them aside, and keep myself blogging about things I love.}

* * * * * * * * * *

If you read my last food tripping post in Muar, I was absolutely disappointed in the food there. So much so, that we decided to hop over to Malacca from Muar in hope of better food, which was almost guaranteed because we went to Malacca before. Plus, I had some friends who are from Malacca and I asked them where to head to. The first stop is the famous popiah babi in Jalan Bunga Raya.  

 Pork Popiah | Roadside stall along Jalan Bunga Raya

Dad loved it so much the last time that he wanted to head here first before anything else. We got a little lost in finding our way there because the GPS wasn’t working, but we found it in the end. It is near a place called Madam King, if you don’t know, it’s actually a roadside stall. So, we stopped by the roadside and I went down to buy it. There wasn’t any queue when I arrived and a young chap with an old lady was at the stall. The lady took my order and proceeded to pick two wrapped rolls from a huge pile of already made popiah(s). The man was busy preparing more pre-made popiah(s).  

 Pork Popiah | Roadside stall along Jalan Bunga Raya

This is not a very flattering shot of the popiah but just to show you what it looks like. The first time I had this was during a BRATs camp, the first one that I helped out with. And oh, I remember how porky the popiah was. It was overwhelming, with pork taste all over and then you bite the crunchy pork lards; that is pretty much what an orgasm in your mouth feels like. Haha. Unfortunately, it didn’t taste the same like that anymore. I could bare notice the crispy pork lards, and what more the porky taste. Because the popiah was pre-made, it could have made the pork lard soggy and yes, the popiah was cold. My brother loved it still, but not so much for me.

 Pork Satay | Kedai Satay Xiang Ji

The next stop is pork satay, because I remember vaguely that Jason have mentioned it before years ago during my last trip down but I never got to try it. So, this time I decided to head to the shop for pork satay. The place itself wasn’t too difficult to find, I think it was in Waze too. 

 Pork Satay | Kedai Satay Xiang Ji

The first thing I thought was how tiny the pork satay sticks were. I have been probably too used to the Kajang satay, which was easily double the size. In terms of the taste, it was crispy and pretty much well marinated. But because it was so tiny, it didn’t leave much impression, to say the least, it really wasn’t worth the trip to this place. Apparently, there was a better one in Kajang according to Dad. I will admit though, it is something different for a first timer.

Next we headed to the Jonker Street which was walking distance from the pork satay place. Jonker Street was as happening as you would expect it to be on a weekend, there was the occasional human jam and what not. Along the street, they were plenty of peddlers all around. I never been one to try those, unless I know it’s damned good. Pretty much walked past them because you could get those type of food from the night market too. 

 Assorted Dim Sum | Jonker Street

As we walked further, I came across this lady selling a lot of dim sums! And it was so cheap, I didn’t pay but I think it was something like RM5 for 6 pieces. We could pick any of the flavours there, and the picture above is just one of the tray. The best part was that it was actually delicious, not bad. :)

 Baba Chendol | Jonker 88

The last time in Malacca, I had the ones from Donald and Lily’s which was also pretty famous already. But this time around, we wanted to try a different one and decided on Jonker 88 this time around. The place is located along Jonker Street and boy, there was a queue there. The place was rather small and it was packed, it might take some time just to get a seat. We tried two types of chendol; Baba Chendol and Durian Chendol. I have never been a fan of chendol or Gula Melaka, and the Baba Chendol  was just topped with so much Gula Melaka, it made me shudder with a spoonful of the chendol. Not my cup of tea, or any of my family’s. 

 Durian Chendol | Jonker 88

The durian chendol tasted much better, thankfully with lesser amount of Gula Melaka. This chendol has a subtle hint of durian flavour, I would think that those who stay away from durian would not actually minded them in here. I quite like it although it is not as good as the usual ones I’ll have in Malacca. Well, at least I tried a durian chendol once in my life. :) I probably would get another one if I’m down in Malacca again.

 Coconut Shake | Klebang Original Coconut Shake

I first heard about this coconut shake from my friends on Twitter, where they would rave and go on and on about how amazing I have to try this coconut shake. The very first time I tried it was in Rawang, near where I used to work and I tried it then out of curiosity. I didn’t know where the Klebang one was so I messaged a few Malacca-ians to ask, one told me that I could use Waze. Another gave me directions to the place and said I wouldn’t miss it for sure because it’ll be jammed leading up to the place. I didn’t believe him when he said that, I mean what place is capable of causing a jam just to get to a coconut shake place?

Boy, was I so wrong. I think we were in the car jamming our way to the place for a good 20 minutes. The best part was finally arriving at the place and I saw this extremely long, probably 1km long queue for coconut shake. If I hadn’t came all the way there just to had it, I would have left. But I decided to try it anyway. And it was AWWWWSOME! They had two versions, which I think didn’t make much difference. If you don’t know what it’s made of, it is actually coconut water blended with Wall’s vanilla ice cream. It’s really good; smooth and creamy with coconut yummy goodness!

 Tandoori Chicken | Pak Putra

The last stop for the day would be my all time favourite place in Malacca, the super duper famous Pak Putra. Really, I don’t think I need to elaborate further because I’m pretty sure you would have tried it before. You can tell how delicious the chicken is from the picture, because it’s juicy and well-marinated. I know some tandoori chicken can taste so dry and just ugh chewy.

Tandoori Chicken, served with onion, cucumber, lime and sauce | Pak Putra

Garlic Naan | Pak Putra

If you ever in Malacca, this place is a must visit and must try! Be there early though because it can get crowded later in the evening and their tandoori chicken might finish. If I lived in Malacca I would have this every weekend for sure. The price for the chicken has apparently increased from RM6.50 to RM8.00, so that is something you might want to take note of before ordering 10 plates. :p

* * * * * * * * * *

And that marks the end of my food tripping edition. I do hope I can go on another food tripping adventure, if anyone is up for it, let’s go for one! I’m planning for a Penang one soon, that place is practically a food haven.

till next time,

xoxo

Events: Malaysia International Shoe Festival 2014

It’s probably not such a huge surprise that I love shoes, I’m a girl, so technically I’m allowed to love shoes and to have more shoes than I could ever wear. :p Well, these are the perks of being a woman and I will definitely exercise that privilege. And it appears that my wishes came true (for more amazing gorgeous shoes!) because come March 2014 is the fifth installation of Malaysia International Shoe Festival.

Snaps: Food Tripping in Muar Town

So one fine day, out of the blue, Dad decided to head down to Muar for a gastronomic food trip. A few years ago, we have done a couple similar trips where the main and sole purpose of the trip was to eat all the acclaimed food (usually found on the streets, old school kopitiam and no frills restaurants) in the particular area, nearby or on the way. We did Ipoh, Taiping and also Malacca. Top on my list is Penang, but we have yet to cover that.

This time around it was the Muar town because there was a local food show which featured the Muar town. Dad headed online to the food blogs for suggestions and guides on where to eat in Muar; he compiled a list of them and we were off to Muar. We started the trip early because we were told that these stalls are only open for breakfast and lunch. It’s a small town so the mornings are where the action is. The journey to the town took us three hours and we arrived just slightly before nine.

* * * * * * * * * *

Fried Carrot Cake | Roadside stall, ftw.

Once we reached Muar town, we decided to go a few rounds around the streets to roughly know where the food places are and which roads they were on. After a couple rounds, we decided to park our car on a red street (the buildings on the street are all paint the same colour, so they are colour coordinated buildings on each street). When we got off the car, we saw a queue building up for fried carrot cake at a roadside stall. Since there were so many queuing up, we decided to join in and ordered one pack to eat and share.

 

I found it extremely amusing to watch this uncle cook the carrot cakes, he was cracking like 5 eggs at one go and then frying them up with the carrot cakes. Like the earlier picture above, it looks pretty much like that and he was doing it on repeat. Scoop pre-fried carrot cakes in, fry them a little, add sauces, crack eggs and fry more.

And all this for just RM3.00. Food is so much cheaper in small towns compared to bigger cities like Kuala Lumpur. I am not usually a big fan of fried carrot cake so what I can tell you that it was tasty and the style is different than the KL ones. Here, it is a milder version compared to KL. Oh, this was a roadside stall so there was no tables and chairs provided, the locals usually pack them up and eat them elsewhere like a local coffee shop. So, we continued walking around until we reached a local coffee shop.

Just a note before I move on: For this trip, I was shooting with my Olympus 45mm f/1.8 ED M.Zuiko Digital. I was pretty much in a hurry to get my shots, so the pictures are not as focused and clear as I wanted it to be. I am still learning how to use this lens for food, bit tricky.

Muar Laksa | Hua Nam Chinese Kopitiam

When this arrived, it looks sinfully delicious. It probably also appeared that way for me because I was pretty deprived from ‘laksa’ for quite a while. Unfortunately though, this laksa, as good as it looks was rather disappointing. The soup wasn’t the thick, milky curry goodness I like. Taste wise, it was so bland, the Maggi curry flavoured instant noodles tasted better. =.=

Mixed Innards Pork Stall | Hua Nam Chinese Kopitiam

I remember my dad saying that you can eat all parts of a pig, pretty much everything of or from a pig can be eaten. And in this stall, you’ll find at least five different types of innards of a pig. They didn’t have pig’s blood here though, but it was probably because it won’t go well in the soup.

Mixed Innards Pork Soup | Hua Nam Chinese Kopitiam

The soup didn’t taste like much of overwhelming porky-ness, but it was a rather clear soup. There isn’t much to shout about this dish. This was served with a bowl of white rice. As for the innards, I don’t know how I should describe them further. While I don’t loathe them, I do sometimes enjoy eating them. So, this dish was fairly okay but not fantastic.

 Kuey Chap | Roadside stall just right outside Hua Nam Chinese Kopitiam

I was introduced to kuey chap, a flat, broad rice sheets in soup, served with a mixture of braised pork meat, innards (yes, again!), tofu and eggs. I’m a rather huge fan of anything braised, especially braised duck, tofu and eggs. This was only my second time trying this, the first was in Damansara Uptown and I loved that. So, I have my expectation set against that. Having that as a comparision, I would say the taste for the kuey chap here was milder and there was less “kick” I would say. The plate of braised goodness, was nice nevertheless. Just that the soup fell short.

Steamed Rice Cake With Preserved Radish | Roadside stall just right outside Hua Nam Chinese Kopitiam

I have always fancied these rice cakes ever since I was young. The ones sold in KL are the size of flat bowls and the topped with a mixed of salty and sweet preserved radish. But in Muar, the rice cakes are really really ridiculously tiny.

Steamed Rice Cake With Preserved Radish | Roadside stall just right outside Hua Nam Chinese Kopitiam

There are 8 pieces in the picture above and the uncle who sold it mentioned that he sells hundreds of them in a day. There were just so much effort to make them so tiny, I do not understand why. Actually I do. It was tastier to have them in bite sized pieces than one huge chunk. I quite like this.

After that, we left the kopitiam to do some walking around the town. It was a rather pleasant day, the wind was blowing and the sun was shining. It wasn’t the intense type, so it made walking around the little town a rather fun, easy feat. Like most old towns, there are plenty of photo opportunity everywhere. Unfortunately though, because I was there with my family, they were pretty much walking really quickly which made it so much harder to take pictures of any subjects. Here are some that I managed to, anyway.

| Inside an old barber shop |

| A mural at the back lane |

| The sugar cane man |

| The man who makes wooden coffins | 

| The road side stall |

During the walk about, there were actually plenty of roadside stalls selling all kind of food. But most of them at 10am were either close or they have just started opening their stall, so there actually wasn’t a need to arrive in Muar so early.

Muar Otak-Otak | Avenue 4 Food Court

We came across many stalls selling otak-otak and I must confess that those were my favourites. I couldn’t resist one. Well, actually I had more than one. This was really good, I don’t think you can go all that much wrong with otak-otak. :)

Wantan Noodles | RM3.50

After much walking around, we arrived at an acclaimed wantan noodles stall which was said to be the best in Muar. They were still setting up their stall when we arrived and we saw countless plates of wantans being placed in the fridge along with boxes load of noodles. At that point, it crossed my mind that it was so good that they sell so much in a day. And boy, was I wrong. It was the worst noodles I have ever eaten in my life. Even for RM3.50 I wouldn’t pay for it. The wantans skin was so thick, you might as well eat flour sheets. The soup was tasteless and the noodles was just bland. The char siew was meh.

Chicken Rice Balls | Jit Fatt Restaurant

After such disappointing luck with the noodles, we decided to head off to another recommended place to have chicken rice balls. I was with my dad when he was reading the review for this place. The blogger had claimed that it was really delicious and what not. BUT GUESS WHAT HE MUST HAVE NEVER TRIED CHICKEN RICE BALLS FROM MALACCA. BECAUSE THIS WAS THE WORST CHICKEN RICE, don’t even say chicken rice ball. Even just as a plain chicken rice, it was easily one of the worse chicken rice I have ever tasted.

I was pretty much so frustrated, that I told my Dad, “Can we just leave Muar for Malacca? There are so many better food in Malacca than here.” And my dad agreed! So, we were off to Malacca then. But before that, I wanted to try so badly this lime and lemon drink from one of the roadside stalls.

Lemon Lime Juice | RM 5.00

And damn, it was the best lime and lemon drink I have ever tasted. It was so strong, rich in the natural flavour of the lime and lemon. You can tell that this was 100% pure juice, it was one of those powerful drink you have for when you have an impending sore throat and you’ll be cured from it immediately. It was that good. So good, that we got a huge bottle of it for only RM5.00.

If you are ever in Muar, please just get this. This is Muar’s only saving grace, Muar is hardly a place for any gastronomic feast, I probably will never step my foot there anymore. Or I’m just having the worst luck in Muar when it comes to food, because one of my friend mentioned that food in Muar was nice. I didn’t go the same places she did, but the ones I had were disappointing.

* * * * * * * * * *

I’ll end this post now, and I will continue the Malacca part in another blog post. Do look out for the other post!

* * * * * * * * * *

Snaps: People of Pudu Market

| Good morning, from Pudu! |

* * * * * * * * * *

One of my New Year’s resolution was to pretty much procrastinate less and to work on my pictures as quickly after the shoot as I can. I think so far, it has been working pretty fine for me, I still have backlogs from last year (tonnes!) but this year, the backlog has not been piling up yet. I'll focus on not piling up this year's backlogs.

So anyway, I was back in Pudu for more shutter therapy with the usual guys; Jackie and Robin who have both diligently updated their blogs with the pictures. It’s no surprise that I’m always the last one to post it up. In my last visit to Pudu (Snaps: Olympus Malaysia’s First Street Walkabout in Pudu), I used only the Olympus M.Zuiko 60mm F2.8 macro lens to shoot. This time around I decided to shoot with Olympus 45mm f/1.8 ED M.Zuiko Digital instead, I have used that lens more than a couple of time before getting it and I must say it’s just love love love.

The lens is perfect for shooting portraits, and you’ll see from this post of the portraits of friendly strangers who allowed me to take a picture of them. The Pudu wet market is one of the friendliest place I have been for street photography, but of course, there are some who’d say no. There are more who welcomes the camera, and it’s fantastic to meet those people.

* * * * * * * * * *

| :{) |

| Ridiculously Photogenic Green Grocer |

* * * * * * * * * *

:)

Snaps: Embracing colours.

As I am typing this, I still can’t decide on a suitable title for this post. It was shot around Petaling Street and the neighbouring streets, but about half of the pictures this time are taken in Sri Mahamariamman Temple. As I have other pictures as well, I could not just title this post as just the temple name. I have only started shooting on the streets recently, but I realised that my pictures would so often be in black and white, or almost muted colours. You can check out my other Street Photography pictures.

This time around I have decided to go for colours; brilliant, vibrant colours. It feels awesome to think that when I was shooting, I never had any particular theme in mind. But as I was post-processing the pictures, somehow I opted for colourful edits instead. :) I hope you’ll enjoy the set as much I do.

* * * * * * * * * *

Snaps: Olympus Malaysia’s First Street Walkabout in Pudu

Trust me to blog about things that happened more than one month ago, because I can damn well procrastinate.

About one month ago, Olympus Malaysia organized their first ever street walkabout which was lead by none other than Robin Wong. If you know or heard of Robin, then you would know how amazing and awesome his street shots are. In fact, it was only because I tagged along with his earlier street walks that I begun to enjoy street photography. Previously, I didn’t understand how to take and find subjects on the street to photograph. It still doesn’t come too naturally for me yet, but I’m getting there slowly. You can check out my other street pictures here; Street Photography.

* * * * * * * * * *

We started things off by walking from Pudu Plaza (the meeting point) through the streets of Pudu and then, the Pudu wet market and back again to Pudu Plaza. The pictures in the set below won't be in the order taken but rather grouped together with a common theme.