Foodie Road Trip : Nasi Kandar Line Clear, Penang Road - The Best Ever!

The latest of the foodie road trip, brought me to the island of pearls - Penang Island, Malaysia. Penang is THE place to head down to up north the peninsular Malaysia for the melting pot, totally only found in Malaysia, super delicious varieties of food! One dish you must always have a try in Penang is none other than the Nasi Kandar. Among one of the best Nasi Kandar in the city center of Penang is Nasi Kandar Line Clear.

[caption id="attachment_2369" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Nasi Kandar Line Clear at Penang Road - By far the one of the best Nasi Kandar in Penang! A must place to eat in Penang."][/caption]

This tiny restaurant is located along Penang Road just a couple of walk away from the Chowrasta Bazaar. It is basically sandwiched between another nasi kandar restaurant ( Nasi Kandar Yasmeen) and a shop lot. The easiest landmark to get to Penang Road is to head for Komtar - the tall white tower which is visible from the ferry ride towards Penang Island as you are approaching near the jetty.

 

[caption id="attachment_2370" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Nasi Kandar Line Clear is part of Penang's Heritage Restaurant and it has been in business since 1930"][/caption]

Line Clear has been serving its totally delicious nasi kandar and arrays of curries along with it since the 1930. Any businesses that have been going on for that long is a sure way to tell that it got to be good and yes they are among one of the best in town.

 

[caption id="attachment_2371" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Line Clear lunch hour queue"][/caption]

Nasi Kandar Line Clear is opened 24 hours around the clock and the dishes are cook hot and fresh on site. I couldn't get a picture of the food selections because of the lunch hour queue. In general you can choose to have plain rice with any choice of food/curries that you like or you can opt for the briyani rice. Some of the selections always readily available on the menus are super huge fish head curry, honey chicken, fried chicken, kurma, black chicken, curry chicken, mutton curry, fish curry, fried fish roe, selections of fried vegetables, eggs omelette and many more.

[caption id="attachment_2373" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Some of the dishes we picked up - Curry Chicken, Honey Chicken, Fried Chicken Mamak Style, Huge Spicy Red Prawn"][/caption]

My favourite choice for an awesome plate of  Nasi Kandar will usually be half plain white rice ( I always order half because the portion of rice is really huge), honey chicken, fried cabbage and the best of all is to request for 'kuah campur' - literally translated as 'mix gravy/curry' where you pour every single curries available on your plate of rice. By putting the 'curries' all the way on the plate, you get to taste the different flavour of spices, sweet, sour, and most importantly it's hot and spicy just how we Malaysians love it. We love our food hot and spicy man! And to quench your thirst and to overcome the heat of the nasi kandar, my pledge to you is to always order a 'teh tarik ais' (iced pulled tea). Penang's mamak style teh tarik ais is simply the best. It's cold, sweet, and a milky tea. Quite mutually agreed by many as the best combination to have with a plate of nasi kandar!

There you go , a little review of Nasi Kandar Line Clear only and only available by the roadside of Penang Road in Penang Island! If you are down in Penang Island, do hunt down for Nasi Kandar Line Clear. Ask around the locals for direction if you are lost and they may even give you other tips on better and new nasi kandar places to hunt down to!

I'm On A Meat Eating Diet Streak!

For the past couple of months, I think I have successfully lost a 'big' amount of weight and when I say 'big' it is actually a small figure comparatively to other normal, average people. The reason is simple - I am one of those people skinny people who struggle to gain even a kilo and losing even just a precious kilo can pretty much leaves me feeling lethargic and less energetic in a whole. Thus, for the sake of gaining quick kilos, I have decided to start eating more meat. And yes, I am officially on a meat eating diet streak! Welcome Read Meat!

By far, I have been taking in sugary soda drinks, lots of chocolates and chocolates cookies, cookies of all range, oily crisps and the best part of all less and less vegetables although I have managed to squeeze in a single fruit portion into the daily diet. Haha. So far, I am not seeing any increase on the weight and I wonder how far this is going to eventually 'hurt' my stomach.

Anyways, at the moment I am loving my meat and I shall have some hopefully delicious, juicy, tender and it melts in your mouth, 1 day old marinated steak for dinner tonight. Oh man, I'm salivating just thinking about it. Until more food updates to come and happy eating!

Spaghetti Crayfish Recipe in 30 Minutes

It's time again for a quick cook up for just 30 minutes.Trust me this is one super delicious meal you can whip up for lunch or dinner today. Let's get started with the Spaghetti Crayfish Recipe:

1. Get you hands on some fresh crayfish or some freshly cooked ones.

[caption id="attachment_2353" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Get your hands on some freshly cooked crayfish. We got one from a lady selling seafood along the coastal, sea view road from Kaikoura, New Zealand heading up north."][/caption]

 

2. The choice of pasta is totally up to you. For this version, I was actually using egg noodles because I just felt like it.Haha. You see cooking is fun and just go about with what you feel like having for the day and cook around it. Follow the cooking instructions for your pasta usually written on the cover of the pasta bag and it shouldn't take more than 12 minutes or so.

3. For the pasta or spaghetti sauce, these are the things that I used:

- I'm Asian and I love it spicy and hot, hence the red chilli is a must have. Chopped it up small for the extra kick of heat in the sauce and the other extra ingredient is to add on a couple of tea spoons of spicy curry powder. The curry powder I used for this dish is Vencat Curry Powder and you can get it readily available in most stores around New Zealand. I couldn't stress how much I adore this particular curry powder.

[caption id="attachment_2357" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The fiery Vencat Curry Powder!"][/caption]

- Diced some onions, tomatoes, celery (optional)

- Tomato puree or one of those tomato spaghetti sauce in the can or bottle

- Italian herbs or mix herbs (any kind of herbs of your choice)

- Cut up the crayfish into smaller pieces and keep the head too because that's where the sweet crayfish juices will come from

4. To make the Crayfish Pasta Sauce, simply heat the pot, pour some oil in and saute the onions, diced tomatoes, diced chilli and herbs. Next throw in the tomato puree / tomato spaghetti sauce and add in a bit of water. Just as the sauce started to boil, throw in the diced crayfish and the head. Throw in everything, don't even miss a leg of the crayfish. Haha. For taste, add on some pepper and salt. And you are ready to serve!

The end result of this Spaghetti Crayfish in a quick 30 minutes cook up looks like this:

[caption id="attachment_2354" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Any kind of noodles or pasta will work too! This one I used egg noodles instead. The most important part is the spaghetti sauce with the crayfish in it!"][/caption]

And the close up version of the Crayfish Pasta Sauce! Yum!

[caption id="attachment_2355" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The killer crayfish pasta or spaghetti sauce"][/caption]

Cooking pasta is really easy and if you happen to have crayfish available around you, you should try out this Spaghetti Crayfish Recipe. It is simply divine! Ah, I'm drooling just writing about this. Give this recipe a try and happy cooking!

Traveling Malaysia During Ramadan Month in August 2011| Food Bazaar Malaysia

The weather in general all over Peninsular Malaysia as of right now August 22 is wet, raining and cooling. I think most of us, well at least for me, I have been anticipating for some rain to come pouring to counter the hot weather. They also say that when it rains, it is a sign of blessing. Well I think it is true!

I'm not so sure if the rainy season is starting to kick in which explains the amount of rain we have been getting lately since the last couple of days. Most probably it is that time of the year again, when it rains, it pours. If you are traveling around Malaysia at this time of the year, please remember to at least have an umbrella handy and be prepared to get wet. There are still a lot of places for you to visit especially for this month, it is the month of Ramadan where the majority of Muslims in Malaysia is fasting for the whole month.

Being Malaysians, we love our food and at this point of the holy month, there will be a lot of food bazaars or what the local calls it as "Bazar Ramadan or Pasar Ramadan" and with these food bazaars around, it is the best time ever to sample delicious arrays of local food. The bazaars are located in most townships and it will be opened usually around 3pm until about 7+ pm just before the time where people will break their fast. These Bazar Ramadan all around Malaysia is the place to go to for FOOD and generally pretty much everyone (of different races and religions) in Malaysia will be doing some major food hunting down at these bazaars because it is the only time of the year where you get to feast and find certain type of food that you don't usually see on normal days being sold on the street.

Food prices are generally cheap, there are a lot of varieties that will drive you nuts and you will be tempted to buy a whole lot of food but you will certainly enjoy the chow down. :) Besides that, by the end of this month, after a long full month of fasting, the Muslims will be celebrating Eid or what the local will call it as "Hari Raya Aidilfitri" and usually there will be a lot of open houses going on for the next one month where everyone is welcome to pay a visit and have a big feast. There will be a lot of eating great food involved and if you are a foreigner traveling down in Malaysia by end of this month, do watch out for some major 'Hari Raya' Open Houses that the Prime Minister will usually host for everyone to come and eat free delicious Malaysian food on the first day of Eid.

So there you go, there are still a lot of things to look forward to in Malaysia at least in the food travel categories despite the rainy weather that has been pouring for days now in this month. It is a happy celebration of food for everyone in Malaysia now and of course a holy celebration for those Muslims in this holy month and that is more than enough reason for you to come over and travel in Malaysia this month. :)

Animals Anecdotes 27 : The Army of Ants

I stumbled upon these army of ants while I was hiking up a hill and these ants kept on marching in rows of what seemed like multiple rows of little black dots. They were literally 'streaming' through the jungle going up and down the hilly path and there were like hundreds or possibly thousands of them. When you are hiking in the jungle, watch out for these troopers especially if you are hiking in Malaysia. The last thing you wanted to do is to step on these black ants and I'm pretty sure they can sting you hard. So, do watch out!

[caption id="attachment_2339" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Highway of black ants in the jungle, Malaysia"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2340" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Army of Ants streaming their way through the jungle floor"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2341" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Black ants troopers heading to the tree"][/caption]

 

7 Random Interesting, Quick Facts About Kuching, Sarawak

I'll make this a short intro or more like a no intro at all. So here goes the 7 Random Interesting, Quick Facts About Kuching, Sarawak that you may want to know and probably agree at how interesting they really are. Let's get on with it ...

• I overheard a remark made by a fellow Brit on our shared van to Kuching town which was “Kuching is WAY greener and cleaner than Penang Island”. That I totally have to agree hands down.

[caption id="attachment_2327" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="A postcard picture of a cool dude of the ethnic people of Sarawak talking on the phone . This is yet another random interesting facts about Kuching, Sarawak. Mind you, Kuching is pretty urban and modern though, you don't get to see much of people dressing up like this in Kuching town. :)"][/caption]

• Kuching town center is pretty much 'walkable' provided that you walk around with good shoes, sunblock, sunglasses, hat/cap/umbrella because Kuching's heat is like “sweat dripping by the buckets kinda heat” and drinking up water throughout your 'walkabout around Kuching town' is a definite must!


• Main Bazaar Street is packed with shops after shops of Kuching's antiques and handicrafts. If you are into Arts and Galleries, it is a must to drop by “Artrageously Ramsayong Art Gallery” located at this Street. You must take a look at the intricate weavings of the bemban mats weaved by the local ethic people and appreciate the amount of effort being put behind the making of those intricately delicate and yes, outrageously beautiful mats.

[caption id="attachment_2328" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bemban Mat with Aeroplane design"][/caption]

• Kuching Waterfront which has an awesome view of the Sarawak River is pretty interesting by night time and there will be a lot of food stalls opened in the evening too. Do watch out for a man dressed in traditional Iban attire (nothing much really, just a tiny little 'underpant' with a long piece of beautifully weaved cloth covering the front), with lotsa interesting tatoos too, playing a Sape ( something like a guitar) and it's totally live music. You can drop him some tips and enjoy listening to him play some excellent tunes with his Sape. Oh, he got things amped up a little bit because he'd plugged his Sape with an amplifier. So if you hear some sort of traditional music playing around the waterfront, go hunt for its source and you may find him there.

[caption id="attachment_2329" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Iban guy playing Sape at Kuching Waterfront * excuse the picture quality of my low pixel camera phone :)"][/caption]

• I've never seen this anywhere but only in Kuching where they actually sweep up the street along the waterfront using a huge, fallen tree leaf and at first I thought it was a joke, but no really, the cleaners who cleans up the fallen leaves use one of those huge tree leaf to sweep up the street. How more eco-friendly can you get than that? Way to go Kuching!


• Sarawakians are so nice, warm, chatty and friendly where you can literally smile and walk up to a person and have a nice conversation over things. Trust me they will be more than happy to talk to you and help you if you ask for any especially when they find out that you are out of town-ers.


• The people are so friendly they kept on asking if I was from Kuching which was really odd and there came to a point where a friendly old lady literally came up to me and striked up 'interesting yet partly interrogative questions about my A-C ...haha' . Also, the lady cleaner at the Kuching Waterfront was really nice she was part sweeper, part Kuching tour guide at least to me and really you will be very happy and all smiley when you are in Kuching or anywhere around Sarawak. The local people are really that nice! :)

Suffice to say that I'm really glad I've finally stepped foot at Kuching. Sarawak is the largest state in Malaysia and of course, I'll go back down to Sarawak to explore more of the rainforests and the national parks. Hopefully, the next time around I'm down in Sarawak, I can learn up more Sarawakian slangs which I did learnt a few from the friendly 'old lady' and probably blend well with the locals again. It couldn't get any better when complete strangers simply open up to you during your travel. It makes traveling simply worthwhile.

Foodie Road Trip : Food You Must Have A Try While in Kuching, Sarawak

One major thing that I always seemed to look forward to during my travel is to hunt down for some of the best local cuisines and try them all as much as I could. One my first ever trip to Kuching, Sarawak about last month, I pretty much have some basic ideas on what are the food that you must have a try while in Kuching, Sarawak and listed below are some of the local dishes that I had tried, tasted and enjoyed in Kuching. So let's see what they are!

• Laksa Sarawak version Planet Sambal. Planet Sambal is a restaurant located at Jln Padungan which is "within walking distance" from let say Kuching Waterfront if walking is your thing and you seriously do not mind walking under the hot sun for about 40 minutes or probably more. Hehe. Yeah, I love to walk and it is so worth it to walk this far and accidentally bumped into this shop for a pretty good Laksa Sarawak. Although I was anticipating the curry to look curry-ish red instead of the one I had which was kinda greyish looking curry. The taste is excellent which is something I had never tasted before.  I could taste the distinct taste of the 'kerisik' - stir fry dessicated coconut and the laksa is very fragrance topped with generous amount of shrimps and other little bits of vegetables which is an excellent combo!

[caption id="attachment_2308" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Laksa Sarawak at Planet Sambal Kuching"][/caption]

• While in the restaurant, I saw a few locals eating this bowl of white gooey stuffs called Linut or Ambuyat which reminded me of sticky glue and I couldn't resist myself from not trying it out and so I ordered one for RM3.50, I think. It came in a pretty big bowl, it's all white and sticky, pretty tasteless, warm and I think it's best eaten warm and I had to ask the waiter how I should I eat it. Haha. So you just swirl the sticky sago around your fork and dip it with the sambal belacan and swallow it down your throat. I attempted a couple of swirls, dipped in sambal and swallowed hard and I rest my case. I would say, it was an interesting food to eat. Hmm...

[caption id="attachment_2309" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Linut or Ambuyat with sambal belacan"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2310" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="(bottom to top) Laksa Sarawak Biasa, Linut, Laksa Sarawak Special - Planet Sambal"][/caption]

•  Planet Sambal also have a new dish listed which is the Laksa Lobster Sarawak. I was stuffed with my Laksa Sarawak and the Linut, so I had to pass on this one although it really look tempting and delicious. You should try it out if you are in Kuching at least at Planet Sambal, Jln Padungan. :)

[caption id="attachment_2314" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Laksa Lobster from Planet Sambal"][/caption]

• The next day, during our breakfast hunt, we walked down along Bishop Street and found probably the only Malay coffee shop opened along the street and one of us ordered Laksa Sarawak. Look closely, you will notice that this version of the laksa is different from the one I had at Planet Sambal. I would say, this is very curryish and suited much better with our tongues. Or probably we are used to having this type of red curry Laksa before, hence we concluded that we prefer and like this version of the Laksa Sarawak. But still, I would suggest you to try out the Laksa at Planet Sambal because it sure is different.

[caption id="attachment_2315" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Yet another version of Laksa Sarawak located along the narrow street of Bishopgate"][/caption]

•  We also tried out on other seafood which are pretty cheap in Kuching comparatively to seafood prices back in KL. The picture below, I wanted to show you that I tried out what the local calls it as 'Midin' - a stir fried fern or for the rest of us Malaysians it's better known as 'Pucuk Paku'.

[caption id="attachment_2316" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Midin - some kind of 'fern' that is usually eaten stir-fried or in Malay it's called 'pucuk paku'"][/caption]

•  While at Sarawak Cultural Village, we went to this Sago processing area and out of the Sago flour, you can make this lovely, sweet, light cracker called Tebaloi. It's an excellent food for snacks.

[caption id="attachment_2317" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Tebaloi - Sago Crackers made from sago flour. Really yummy and great for a light snack."][/caption]

•  This is the famous Ayam Pansuh or Manok Pansuh - chicken cooked in bamboo which I didn't have the chance to try. Haha. Maybe next time though.

[caption id="attachment_2318" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Ayam Pansuh or Manok Pansuh - chicken cooked in bamboo"][/caption]

Among other things you should have a try while you are in Kuching are these :

• Umai - A choice of either raw prawns or fish,  looks really yummy and the picture is beautifully captured by http://jamesjg.com/food-and-dining/umai

• Kek Lapis Sarawak - colourful, layered Sarawak cake. There are a lot of varieties and you can buy them best at Kampung Boyan. To get there take the 'bot tambang' at Kuching Waterfron for 5o cent one way to cross the Sarawak River towards Kampung Boyan. There will be shops selling a lot of these Kek Lapis there. You can also buy 'Terubuk Ikan Masin' - freshly salted fish from this area.

• Mee Kolok/ Kolo Mee - I haven't had the chance to try it but there are two version of this Mee Kolok - halal and non-halal.

• Fresh, cheap seafood at Top Spot Seafood Centre. There are a lot of stalls to choose from and the seafood centre is opened at night.

So there you go a list of food you must have a try while traveling in Kuching, Sarawak. That's a wrap for Foodie Road Trip as for now. :)

Mount Kinabalu - Low's Gully Rock Climbing | The North Face Borneo Big Wall Expedition 2009

I was browsing through Via Ferrata, Mount Kinabalu Facebook page the other day and I stumbled upon this incredible video footage of a bunch of guys, not just typical guys, they are the pros of rock climbing going on a Borneo Big Wall Expedition at Low's Gully,Mount Kinabalu, Sabah. Not only that they are the pioneers and it was the first ever ascents anyone had ever done. These guys are truly hard core climbers and they have the guts yo!

Check out the video and you'll be awed watching it especially when it comes to the part where the guy jumps from one side of the rock face to the other. Incredible!

The North Face : Low's Gully - Borneo Big Wall Expedition 2009 (climbers : Alex Honnold, Conrad Anker, Mark Synnot, Jimmy Chin, and Kevin Thaw )

http://youtu.be/3XmHz4UDtWc

Animals Anecdotes 26 : Sally The Deaf Goat Missing In Action

This is something that don't happen everyday and it is really fun to share this anecdote. One fine day, this particular female goat, nicknamed Sally, decided to take a little breather and seek shelter from the blazing sun under the tree in front of the house. At this point, it was obvious that Sally had gone totally MIA from the rest of her pack. Little that I know that she was slightly under the weather but I kinda figured that something was a wee bit wrong with her because she tend to wobble as she walked and she was slightly blurry and looked rather confused.

[caption id="attachment_2289" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sally, the deaf goat resting in the middle of the street"][/caption]

After a bit of coaxing ( more like shooing her to go home), Sally decided to make a wobbly move and the next thing I knew, I didn't see her around anymore.

[caption id="attachment_2290" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sally finally decided that she gotta make a move from sitting right in the middle of the street."][/caption]

By noon, the weather took a turn from blazing hot sun to a heavy downpour. Around that time, I thought I saw a flicker of Sally taking shelter from the rain right at the neighbour's front gate and a few minutes later, Sally was gone again. By then, I was thinking, oh well, probably she ran off from the rain and had figured her way home. But no, I was wrong.

Two days later, the neighbour must have heard some noise coming from the drain in front of her house and there was Sally trapped in between the narrow hole of the drain. She was saved and looked absolutely exhausted.

[caption id="attachment_2291" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sally the goat saved from her fall into the drain. With her hearing problems, she is totally off balanced. Hence, she fell into the drain."][/caption]

One thing turned into another, someone tracked down Sally's owner and apparently Sally has been sick with some hearing problems. Due to that, she has problems to keep herself balanced and to keep up with the rest of her pack.

[caption id="attachment_2292" align="aligncenter" width="262" caption="Sally finally reunited with her owner. She had been gone for 3 days and they thought that they'd lost her. Lucky Sally, someone tracked down her owner!"][/caption]

Sally was finally reunited with her very happy owner and they took her home with the motorbike. Such a lucky gal, Sally the goat! I wonder how it must have been for Sally for the past 3 days living trapped inside the drain. For a goat, I could bet you that it was probably one of her biggest adventure ever in her life. I hope Sally has recovered from her hearing problems since then. :)

Rainforest World Music Festival 2011, Kuching Kicking Off Fri, July 8 2011

Oh yeah, the most anticipated Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF 2011) in Borneo - Kuching is kicking off tomorrow - Fri, July 8 2011.  I'll be flying down to Kuching tomorrow morning and I'm getting very excited! :)

It is going to be both my first time heading down to Kuching and joining the Rainforest World Music Festival. Double the excitements there ! I am expecting  to have a jolly good time throughout the three days event and hopefully I get to meet a lot of awesome, interesting people along the way too.

Another major thing to look forward to at the festival is the fact that  I'll be camping for three nights  in a row!  Man, you don't get to camp often, so I figured, why not be a true music festival go-ers and do it the best way which is to camp. I'm pretty sure fellow campers are really fun people to be around with. :)

For the love of music, discovering new cultures and traditions from the Sarawakians, stepping foot for the first time on another beautiful land of Borneo - Sarawak and for a good weather no matter what the weather forecast has predicted and yes, for a safe flight, good times and meeting interesting, unique and equally beautiful people, let's the party started tomorrow!

It's still not too late for you to come and join the rest of us at this Rainforest World Music Festival 2011. I will only get my festival tickets at the door so come on down to Kuching and join us from tomorrow until this weekend. The more the merrier, ya'll! If you are coming along, see you there!

 

 

 

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 26th June 2011 - Are you ready?

Hey, ya'll! The Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2011 is coming up this Sunday - 26th June ! Are you ready for some good and fun running?

Personally, I'm going to be easy on myself for this 10 km event which I will participate this Sunday. I'm not running for any top 3 placings like how I used to train and run about a decade ago. I've done some trainings and a trial run last weekend. The timing is fair enough for someone who recently started training to run again after years of long hiatus. Although, I really think my running coaches years back would have expected me to run at a better timing - about an hour for a 10 km run. Haha.

I figured that I should be able to finish a 10 km run probably about an hour and half and that will be a combination of running and fast walk. No need for extra exertion to finish the run but still you'll just never know. I may be fully motivated by other runners during the event day,hence there are highly likely that I'll be running faster than usual.

I'll be running light with no mp3 ( I think so - I still haven't decided on this one) and probably I'll stash some cash into my pocket ( still deciding on which pants to use) and I'll be running along with my handphone just for good measures since I don't intend to store anything at the locker. I may probably be taking the free bus ride from Kelana Jaya LRT station somewhere around 6 am. I really need to finalize on these. But no matter what, I'll get myself at the starting point somehow.

I wonder if there are a lot of people who are running alone on that day and if you are, probably we should start making friends. LOL.

Praying for good health, excellent running, super awesome weather condition, nice crowds and loads of fun this Sunday. See you guys at the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2011 yeah! Ooh, I can't wait ... or maybe I just can't wait for it to be over! :)

White Water Rafting Slim River, Perak

White water rafting has become an addiction to me and it I have official had my 4th white water rafting experience in two different rivers in Perak. One was at Sg.Kampar, Gopeng with the Riverbug crew and the latest one was at Slim River White Water Rafting or more precisely the rafting is located at Kg. Ulu Slim, Slim River.

Interesting things you may want to know about White Water Rafting at Slim River, Perak :

- The guides that we went with was with these guys http://www.thepaddlerz.com/ or better known as the Khersonese Expedition crew.

- The drive to Kg. Ulu Slim seems to take forever. Haha. That's how far it really is after you exited the toll at Behrang. Nevertheless, it was a nice winding, narrow road ride through the villages and oil palm plantations of course. This route would be even better if you are riding either on the motorbikes or bicycles.

- After you gathered and sign up your particulars at 'base camp', you get to board on the trucks. We chose this black truck / lorry and the ride was yet another adventure on its own. Totally off road muddy track, hilly, going through no where deeper into the jungle and more oil palm plantations. However most important of all is that  it is a super awesome route if you are riding on a quad bike or off road motorcycles.

- The whole white water rafting takes about an hour and a half, I think. But I thought it took longer time than that.

- We got to snack on some chocolates, apples and drink up at one rest point. That was a much needed break because I was super thirsty by then.

- There are a LOT of Rapids to look forward to at Slim River comparatively to the ones at Sg. Kampar. So on that note, if you must compare on the two rivers, Slim River has a lot more 'work' to offer and add on for your white water rafting experience. Hence, it doesn't matter that I've done this for the 4th time because every single rafting trip is different from the last and it is so much fun!

This is the most anticipated drop at Slim River - The L drop. I think we dropped at a 90 degrees angle and thankfully my raft and this raft above didn't flipped. A couple of other rafts flipped real bad and they were like hopeless little thing drifted, sunken for a few seconds by the mighty white water. It was good fun as well as nerve-wrecking to watch them flipped over their rafts since our raft was the first to made the run. * No one got injured during the drop, so all was well.

Also, did I mentioned that our sole, waterproof camera's battery died minutes before we actually hit the water to resume rafting? Yeah, it did and we were lucky enough to finally have a bit of battery on during this last and shot. ;)

In conclusion, white water rafting rocks no matter how many times you did it. I'm still addicted to water rafting and we shall see where else we will be 'rafting' in the future! So stay tuned on that one!

Running Playlist - Barbra Streisand : Duck Sauce

This Barbra Streisand song by Duck Sauce is my current craze! It pumps you up real good and it can be an incredible music companion while you are running. This song can boost up your energy and motivation in a beat. If you have never heard of this song before, you really SHOULD right now.

To download from Amazon , click here : Barbra Streisand by Duck Sauce MP3 Download

FYI, the AJ Hackett crew at Nevis Bungy got this Barbra Streisand tune pumping on full blast at the bungy platform. This song really helped to boost up the adrenaline in my blood just a little bit before I had my moment of free-falling at the Nevis Bungy. Otherwise, you can still count on Duck Sauce with their Barbra Streisand song while you are running.

This is yet another must have tune in your running playlist - Barbra Streisand, so go listen and load it on your mp3 now!

Foodie Road Trip : The Best Nyonya Laksa and Cendol in Melaka

Where can you find the Best Nyonya Laksa and Cendol in Melaka? Here is where you will get them :

[caption id="attachment_2216" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Ocean Cafe serves the best Nyonya Laksa in Melaka"][/caption]

The Best Nyonya Laksa and Cendol in Melaka (as of to date) can be found at Ocean Cafe! The shop is located somewhere around Jonker Walk and the best way to locate this cafe is by foot! We found out about this cafe by pure coincidence and it was not something planned at all. I just always knew that you can find some awesome Nyonya Laksa somewhere in around Jonker Walk and that was just about the only hint that I had.

You are heading to the right direction if you start seeing these houses of worships : The Buddist Temple, Mosque and the Hindu Temple.

Local call this street: Harmony Street - (from Left to Right) The Buddist temple, Mosque and Hindu Temple are located all on the same street. Ocean cafe is right opposite the Mosque and Hindu Temple

It is a long straight road and just keep going ahead until you see the mosque on your left and you will see Ocean Cafe  on your right. The Hindu temple is just a couple of steps ahead on the left side.

[caption id="attachment_2224" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Ocean Cafe has the best nyoya laksa in Melaka town"][/caption]

We seriously wouldn't even think of dropping by the cafe if the cafe lady owner didn't invited us in to have a go at her laksa. You really don't expect to see that many cafe around this Jln Tukang Emas so finding one during that lunch hour time couldn't be of a better timing. We were hungry, the laksa looks tempting and I have been craving for a proper Nyonya Laksa since last year and yes, we came at the right timing, found the best shop all at once.

So what makes Ocean Cafe Nyonya Laksa the best laksa I've ever tasted?

[caption id="attachment_2218" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Nyonya Laksa by Oceon Cafe - Best Nyonya Laksa in Melaka"][/caption]

The Nyonya Laksa smell and tasted really good. In case you dont' know, Laksa from the Southern side of Malaysia is what we from the North will call it as Curry Mee. So this is different from your usual Asam Laksa dish.

We've been told by the chef herself that she uses a lot of fresh ingredients and herbs to bring out the best smelling fragrance in her laksa. She even makes her own curry paste ( I think) and  the laksa soup is rich in flavour, thick and when you taste it you can tell that a lot of work in terms of the ingredients have been put to make that delicious dish. The noodles used for this laksa is a mix of yellow mee and meehoon. This Nyonya Laksa is also topped with crunchy bean sprouts, fresh juicy cockles ( I kid you not on this one - very juicy okay! ), some fish cakes, half an egg and other yummy stuffs too.

Next up, we were asked if we wanted to have a go at the cendol too and of course we said Yes! She mentioned that her cendol is different because she uses only Gula Melaka and that's the key to having the best cendol ever! Gula Melaka has a rich, thick sugary taste to it and that makes a cendol a Real Cendol! Haha.

[caption id="attachment_2221" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The best Cendol ever!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2222" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Laoban (boss in Mandarin) making cendol"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2223" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Barley Lime Ice - recommended beverage by Ocean Cafe lady chef"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2225" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The full menu"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2226" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The modest prep kitchen - typical hawker stall style"][/caption]

Last but not least, you will be a happy camper if you can have a taste of this Nyonya Laksa. That I can guarantee you! Check out the picture below if you don't believe it. Haha.

[caption id="attachment_2227" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="When you eat Laksa, you will always end up looking like this : A happy eater!"][/caption]

I don't know about other places and I've heard of really excellent feedbacks from this cafe on their Nyonya Laksa. Hence, the next time you happen to hang around Jonker Walk in Melaka, do take the time to hunt down this place. It will be worth the walk and search!

Best Nyonya Laksa & Cendol In Melaka ( as rated by me and a lot of other people especially backpacking foreigners and locals too) is located at this addresss :

Ocean Cafe, Jln Tukang Emas 20 ( near Jonker Walk, opposite of Mosque and Hindu Temple)

Quad Biking : It Gets Even Better After You Crash!

When it comes down to quad biking and especially when it is your first time riding a quad bike, things only get even better when you experienced your first ever bike crash! Yes, bike riding gets crazily addictive even after you crash. You got to believe me on that one, although  I have to admit that I was a little bit traumatized for a good few minutes after the crash.

Cutting the long and boring story short ( I hope this excites you instead), I figured that I should at least capture the quad bike crashing moment and the best thing I could come up with was to illustrate the crash with my sketches. Below is the closest on what  I could vividly remember during my quad biking crash at Queenstown, New Zealand :

[caption id="attachment_2199" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="This is how I crashed on my quad bike and yes, I sketched this one up myself . :)"][/caption]

Let's close up on the sketch shall we.



1. I lost control of the quad during a turning (it wasn't even a sharp turning) and I hit straight on towards a 'huge ass' pole. Haha talking about being a big time klutz right!



2. Naturally, after a strong impact one will fall and in my case, I plunged forward over the handle bar and the sequence of events followed by a couple of front rolls all over the ground. This was an awesome stunt and I remembered falling over the yellow fender of my quad, tucking in my head and did a front roll like a gymnast!



3 & 4.  I continued on rolling while both my legs went scraping against the wire fence.



5. Finally, the rolling stopped with me falling flat on my stomach with my face down kissing the dirt on the ground.



6. I rolled myself to face up and at this point, I felt a sharp pain on my right side around the pelvic area. I tried to stand up but I can't and I laid there on the ground for a couple of seconds feeling utterly hopeless.

7. I tried again to stand up from my left side and pushed myself upward and...



8. Phew, it was a huge relief to be up again. The next thing I knew, the guide came running back to find me and he saw that I had crashed and the first thing he asked was, " Are you okay? Did you break any bones? ". He did looked genuinely worried there but all was good. I was fine and I continued the next hour quad biking on the off road adventure.

The quad biking adventure in Queenstown, New Zealand was awesome and it gets way awesome-r after I crashed! And this, shall be a great adventure story that I can always talk or brag about always in the future. Have you any great biking incident that you can always share or brag about with people? Do share it with me! :)

Photo Travel : Quad Biking in Queenstown, New Zealand

I've never rode on a four wheeler or quad bike or the ATV bike before, hence having a go at it while I was in Queenstown, New Zealand for our close to a month Great Kiwi Road Trip, couldn't have been any better than that. It was superb and a MUST DO thing for anyone looking for a real biking, dirt road adventure.

Another important thing to note is : Quad Biking can be ADDICTIVE! If speed and thrill is your kind of game, Quad Biking is an absolute MUST TRY!

[caption id="attachment_2188" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Yours truly posing on a quad bike minutes after I had an awesome 'fall & flip' from the quad bike"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2189" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Splashing through the water on the quad bike"][/caption]

Juicy things you ought to know on my first time quad biking experience :

1. It was awesome shite and  I want to do it again and again!

2. It got a whole lot better because I met with an accident with my quad and no, nobody hit me. Instead, I hit a mega huge fencing pole for no reason at all and I literally 'flew' over the handle bar, flipped 360 degrees twice, scraped my legs over the wire of the fence and finally, falling flat on my stomach. All that happened in a split second while my quad bike and my friend were already ahead of me in front and yes, it took them sometime to realize that I had gone MIA. Lol!

Oh, other than that, I'm perfectly FINE! Thank God!

3. I love speed and drifting at cornering whenever I drive and I got to do just that on those many corners with the quad! Super great fun!

4. With my level of competency on the quad, I was riding on automatic transmission all the way (that's on the 3rd gear I think) and I was only riding on the Beginners Trail for about an hour 15minutes. It was exhausting, bumpy but with tonnes of fun!

5. I'm in love with quad and now I'm having some crazy ideas to get one in the future or at least if I can't get a quad, I should get a motorbike.

6. It was a great quad biking experience after going through an insanely exhilarating and heart wrenching free fall from my first ever bungy jump at Nevis Bungy the day before.

So yeah, if you happen to travel around to Queenstown, New Zealand and you are in need for an adrenaline fix, make sure you go crazy with some off road biking experience either on the quads or bikes. You will absolutely love it to bits :)

* There are a few off road quads and bikes tours that you can choose from in Queenstown. The one that I went with was with :

Off Road Adventures, Queenstown : www.offroad.co.nz (0800 633 7623)

How To Make Banana Lassi?

Lassi is an Indian yoghurt drink or some of us might want to call it a smoothie. The most common lassi is the mango lassi but this time around I made one with bananas instead. I do think that you can throw in pretty much any type of fruits of your liking to make a really delicious lassi drink. So how do you make banana lassi?

Lassi drink is super simple to make. All you ever need to make a banana lassi are these :

[caption id="attachment_2177" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="How to make banana lassi? Needs a blender to mix banana, yoghurt, honey and ice cubes (optional)"][/caption]

Banana Lassi Recipe ( for 1 serving / 1 glass)

- A blender

- Fruit of choice - 1 Banana, Mangoes, Strawberries or any type of fruits at all ( cut or diced these fruits so that it blends easily in the blender)

- Yoghurt - about 4 big tablespoons, it can be more so it's up to you

- Honey (optional) - I happened to have a jar of Manuka Honey laying around so I drop about 1 teaspoon of it into the blender

- Some ice cubes (optional)

Instructions :

Simply throw the diced up banana, yoghurt, honey and ice cubes into the blender, blend well and it's good to drink!

[caption id="attachment_2178" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Banana Lassi with yoghurt, banana and a special one - Manuka Honey"][/caption]

Some recipes do add in some milk, cardamom powder and even vanilla pod into their lassi minus the ice and honey. Hence it goes to show that you can have it however that you like to have in your lassi. Either way as long as you have the yoghurt and fruit combination, that should be a lassi drink alright.

In addition, this banana lassi or any lassi is best served cold and it can be a great drink to have during a hot summer day. There you go a perfectly easy Banana Lassi recipe that you can make at home on your own. I still wonder though, why in the world they always charge so much for a big glass of lassi in the restaurant. Haha.

 

 

 

 

 

Animals Anecdotes 25 : A Noisy and Wet Myna

It's been raining almost the whole morning today and all the little birdies were soaking wet thanks to the rain. One particular Myna took shelter on the balcony and she ( I'm suggesting that it's a female Myna) was totally drenched from  head to toe. Haha.

As she went about staying out from the rain and shook herself dry, she kept on making really noisy Myna chirpings . I wonder what she was saying but it certainly must have been something like this , " Oh, shoot! It rained so heavily, now I'm soaking wet and it is taking ages to dry off these feathers. I need a hair dryer PRONTO! " . Haha!

 

[caption id="attachment_2168" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Noisy and wet Myna taking shelter at the balcony, keeping herself out of the rain"][/caption]

I wish that's what the Myna was literally saying and off she flew seconds after I opened the door to the balcony towards the coconut tree just opposite the house. It was still drizzling out there but she was close to dry by then. So, she'll be fine. At least  she's way less drenched and cold than before. :)