Famous Bak Kut Teh in Jalan Ipoh

Growing up in KL or shall I say Malaysia has given me the opportunity to relish some of the world's finest cuisine. Be it street food by the sidewalk or beautiful candle light gourmet meals, the options are aplenty and one of my favourites is the Bak Kut Teh, a local cuisine made by the Chinese community that can be found here and in Singapore.

This is our bowl of Bak Kut Teh after half the meal was over.
It looked awesome before we started but I was
too hungry to take the photos  first.. :)

So what is Bak Kut Teh? Since I am no expert  at the ingredients, ( I just love eating it) I sought the help of google. Well essentially, Bak Kut Teh roughly translates to Meat Bone Tea and it has pieces of pork meat and bones boiled in a broth with a lot of ingredients and herbs. When served, diners can opt to put in other stuff like vegetables and mushrooms.






Like every family we have our own special Bak Kut Teh shop and it is situated along Jalan Ipoh heading towards Chow Kit. It is the second shop from the left a few doors down from Ambank after the Damai Hospital ( I hope the description will help you find it). The Son In Bak Kut Teh shop is a small family run business and has been the talk of the town for years. Although there are two other Bak Kut Teh shops along the same row we feel that the soup and black sauce pork (i have no idea what the dish is called) is pretty delicious compared to the rest.

Sorry the photo is a little blur coz it was really dark and the signage was really bright.
To top it off I am not that great a photographer :p

As you walk in three brothers would be hard at work behind the stove and greeting guests. Although they take a little time to warm up to you, they treat you like old friends once they do. You can request for the vegetables, tauhu and mushrooms on the side or add it in the soup, the choice is yours and of course we cannot forget char kuey :). My siblings and mom prefer the black sauce pork dish but I am not a fan of that. However they swear by it so ya go ahead and try it out but let me say that this does not have dried chillies or anything in them so it may not be for everybody. Try a small bowl and order more if you like it. :)

Black sauce pork..

So if your in town and if you are looking for a little shop that serves tasty Bak Kut Teh do stop by.. :) 

Xin Jia Po

Hello Peeps,
I know it has  been way tooooo long since my last post. Guilty as charged!!! But sometimes its a little tiring to type away on your computer, draining your creative juices in the day and coming home to write a blogpost at night. However rest assured, I will try to make amends, well more for myself  than anyone else (i mean u readers) :).

So here goes...

My last visit to the Lion City was when I was five. My parents took me and my lil sister on a holiday to experience life on the other side of the waters. So my memory of Singapore was pretty hazy until recently when my friends/colleagues suggested a three day trip to catch the Harry Potter Exhibition. My first impression? Way to go Neighbour!!!

While I am a patriotic  Malaysian (I love my country, would not be able to imagine life anywhere else), I must admit we can take a few hints from our friends. The minute our bus reached the check post at Johor Bahru, I was shocked by the simplicity or should I say outdated Immigration post. Saddened by the sight that greeted me, i braced myself for Singapore's immigration check point and I was flabbergasted. They even greeted us in style, the office was qell equipped with state of the art machines and looked fabulous albeit the monotonous officers checking our passports.

Then came the MRT station, it is a mirror image of the Hong Kong MRT stations. The trains are on time, people are disciplined and of course the maps are really good. It makes it easier for tourists like me ( a dummy with no information) to move about without fear of getting lost. The only problem for me was,
everybody was almost mechanical. No one had any expressions, no  one was bothered about the people next to them, no one showed emotions. That was pretty sad for me. We were on our own, four ladies and not a single smile.... Sigh....

Jade Chan enjoying her train ride

Our friends Jade  and Xin Yi did an amazing job at getting us our hotel. The 5 Footway Inn is a hostel located at Aliwal Street and  serves tourists from all over the world. The room may be a little small for some but for us it was quaint, clean and a place to rest our head every night. Conveniently Arab street was just nearby and proved to be a great place to shop and move about.

Faz and me on our bunk beds

Heading out for the Harry Potter Exhibition, we were excited (well maybe not Faz since she's not a fan), we hopped on to the train towards Marina Bay Sands.. Now I have heard plenty of stuff bout this place and the numerous Bollywood award shows that were held there just  made me more curious... I mean who wouldn't be? So anyways went we got there, I got the feeling that I was in 'i cant afford anything land'. hahaha am sure  i could afford something but ya... But the view from the bar (forgot d name of the club) is amazing!!!! loved dat!! Best of all was the Harry Potter Exhibition, stepping inside, I felt like I was part of the Magical World. Reading and watching the movies on the big screen just piqued my interest about the world behind the screens and the exhibition gave some answers and closure ( dramatic huh) :)

The view from Marina Bay Sands.. Out of this world

THE HARRY POTTER EXHIBITION WAS GREAT!!!

Next my favourite topic, food!!! Well I really cant tell the difference between Malaysian and Singaporean food. For me there is a fine line between the two. No insult meant for either country but ya... we share the same roots and our food must have meshed up somewhere along the lines... Places like Chijmes make eating and dining an experience to remember. Our simple gelato tasted fabulous.  Food in Singapore is just as great as Malaysia so thumbs up...

Gelato from Chijmes

So in short Singapore is an awesome place to hang out fr a couple of days.. I wouldn't stay too long but a short holiday is definitely a welcome break.. :)

Holidays

Hello,
It has been far too long since my last post. I promised myself I'd become a serious blogger but somehow I never find the time, between work, family and friends. Which made me realise, sometimes I need time for myself.

As I look back I realise that I have actually been on quite a few holidays since December last year. Although each was meant to be a relaxing one, I came home feeling tired but happy.

The first holiday was to my homeland Kota Kinabalu, Sabah in November last year. Although I was born there, my parents brought me back to homeland just months after leaving me with no memories of the land below the wind.Heading back there was both nostalgic and emotional... For weeks I could only think of my forthcoming holiday. Sabah is magnificient, I think it takes months and years to discover some of the hidden treasures this beautiful land has to offer. Thanks to my friend Gopi who is working at the Queen Elizabeth hospital, my friend Fazleena and I were given a glimpse of the place during the three days we were there.

A glimpse of Kota Kinabalu from the sky 

The Beautiful Beaches of Sabah

Kavadi

Next on the card was a little Penang trip I took with Gopi, his family and our friend Vimel from Aussie Land. The trip was a holy one to say the least as we planned it to coincide with the Thaipusam Festival that is quite the buzz in Penang. I must say it was a little dissapointing after all the hype associated with the celebrations in Penang. Even Gopi's father a hardcore Penangite said the festival lacked lustre this year. 

Nonetheless, we headed on, sampling famous cuisines along the way. Stopping every few hours to eat and explore new gastronomic delights. After years of traveling to Penang, Vimel and I finally made it up Penang hill and we pleasantly surprised by the view. Its Cameron Highlands in a smaller package. Nestled on top of the hill were a Mosque and another Subramaniam Temple.  Both structures have been built with much care over the years, providing residents and tourists a glimpse of the rich Malaysian heritage. 

Our main task in Penang was sampling the food

The beautiful Subramaniam temple up on Penang Hill

My final holiday as of March this year was a sojourn cum business trip I took with my aunts to Hyderabad city in India. Hyderabad a bustling city the state of Andra Pradesh is a largely Muslim populated town but getting around is a breeze as most of them speak Hindi and English. We were also lucky as one of my aunts live in Hyderabad so she took us around making traveling a breeze. The heat in the dessert like town was really unbearable and most women were forced to cover their mouth and face with shawls and for a touch of sophistication, many wore sunshades to beat out the glare and look cool doing it. Shopping there might not be for everyone but if you look close enough you might find a thing or two at the General Bazaar. I must admit throughout my one week sojourn, I enjoyed my auto rides more than anything (well besides my aunt's cooking). Since there were four of us at least at any one time, I was forced to sit on my aunt's lap or next to the auto driver. If I was given the chance I would have definitely loved to try my hand at driving the auto. However I must admit, only the bravest, fittest and fearless of all drivers should try driving around in Hyderabad, the land with no traffic rules. 

Auto ride

U will definitely find eager salesmen like this one showing off the sarees

This is how  you go out in Hyderabad... :)

All in all, I must say, each holiday has been a blessing. Bringing with it, new experiences, friends and memories. Although my time may be occupied by other more pressing things. These little short holidays make it all worthwhile. :)

Mum's the word

These past two weeks, I have learnt that the saying 'You never know how much you miss someone until they are gone", is absolutely true.

I have always appreciated my mum for the woman she is, the mother who raised three children on her own all while facing various adversities. When we were kids, she toiled at work during the day and came home to make a meal for us, little brats.

As we grew older, her responsibilities at work grew, forcing her to cook only on weekends. We tried to do our own chores to ease her burden but every little gesture was never enough. Kids as we were, we didn't understand her hardship.

Then as time passed, we tried to help out more, but excuses got in the way. Studies became a priority. Assignments, classes, friends topped the to-do lists. And we forgot...

Now we have slowly started to chip in again at home but the full blown force of my mothers work at home hit us after she went off on a three week vacation earlier this month.

She decided to go on a holiday to Australia after much thought with her aunt, our grand aunt or granma as we prefer to call her.

cited for her, we urged her to enjoy her trip, forget all about us and let loose. In our glee, we didn't realise that we would grow up these three weeks.

Eager to prove to her that we would be okay with her gone, we jumped straight into chores. I decided to try cooking to make up for the home cooked food we would miss with our mum's absence.

Mum's home cooked meals are the best

Well I must say although the food my sister and I prepared was not up to mum's standard, it was edible, some were quite tasty in actual fact.

Our very own Tom Yum Soup

Then came the cleaning; vacumming, washing the bathrooms, mopping the floors, throwing garbage, sweeping the front porch... etc... the list goes on. All three of us took turns to do everything knowing that neither would survive doing all of these things alone..

It is now we understand how much she does for us and for that we will always be grateful...

My only hope is that we will continue these little chores that take up so much time and effort so that it will give mumsie some time off...

We miss you amma.. Have fun while your there but we can't wait for you to come home... :)

The New Year

Hello frens,
So here we are 11 days into the new year. So far I have only seen positive shout outs from my friends on FB. I guess it is too soon to start lamenting just yet.
My new year has been fairly simple. This year like every other year, I spent the eve at home with my mum minus the siblings who were out having fun. Then mom goes on a well deserved holiday to Sydney Australia with granma and I start to realise that damn Mummy did lots of stuff at home.. Thank god for Brother and Sister dear who gave me a hand or I would be screwed!!!

Thank God for Siblings

                                 
Anyways setting chores and responsibilities aside, this year also brought with it old friendships. For years, I have only had the pleasure of hanging out with my female college mates since we went on to the same university and still keep in touch each week. I miss the good old days with my guy friends who used to rock my TARC days, enlightening me on various teenage issues that I was unaware of. They made me realise there is a whole new world outside. After we left college, we only kept in touch via Facebook. Thank god for that. But its never the same is it? Talking over the phone or chatting can never make up for the fun we have when everyone is around. The beginning of this year spelt a reunion for five of us Tinnesh, Kelvin, Benny, Alric and Me. After a quick dinner with the boys minus Benny, we headed over to Temptations in Changkat for an awesome night. We never looked back since. We are planning on a holiday together and I cant wait.. :)

Benny and Me

Kelvin and Me

                             

Alric and Me

Next comes the more important thing in life "Marriage..." This year seems to be "THE" year for most of my friends... A number of them are getting married and man that is absolutely freaky. While I am happy for them, it scares me to think we may never be the same people again, change is bound to happen. Then again this simply means, we are mature and responsible enough to move on to the next stage in life and I am proud of my friends, Vasugi (who tied the knot in Dec), Vijenthi, who will follow suit in March, Tinnesh also in March, Hema (who will be getting engaged in May) and Marilyn who will be getting hitched in Dec. To you my friends I say good luck and all the best.

Vijen (right), Marilyn (second frm right) and Hema (third from right) will be off the marriage mart

Vasugi and Vinod at their wedding

To all of you,
Have a wonderful year ahead. Do not lose hope, do not grieve for losses, do not let failures dampen your spirits. Always remember everything happens for a reason.


HAPPY NEW YEAR

Change...

Everybody goes through a phase in life where change is imminent. I always thought I'd be stable and confident simply because I have always been satisfied with what I had. I hated change.

However this past month, everything has changed, am single now, i changed my phone (got the iPhone 4, amazing gadget), changed my hair colour, cut my hair, and got new clothes (all these wonderful, satisfying activities have left a big hole in my pocket)...

So why is change so difficult for some people to endure?

 Well in my case, its the fear of the unknown. I'm the kind of person who plans everything, from the time i get up (well i plan it but doesn't mean i get up on time la) to my life. Imagine just diving into the ocean, not knowing how to swim, not knowing if there will be someone there to save you or swim with you.

Another reason I believe, is self doubt. The 'What If" question is always playing at the back of my mind. Sitting on the high chair at the salon with brown dye on my head, I kept thinking over and over again, "What if I dont like it?", "What if it doesn't look professional?", "What if I look like a total estate?", "What if people stare at me?".. Crazy I know (because my sister kept telling me that) but its the same feeling you get when your sitting for a multiple choice exam and you don't know whether you have ticked the right answer. And if its the wrong one, you keep hitting your head!!!!

There are so many reasons for the fear of change. But recent times have taught me that, sometimes change is refreshing and welcome. We do not necessarily realise when it is time to let go, it could be your hair, your shoes, your favourite old t-shirt or even someone special but at the end of the day letting go and accepting change may be the best thing you can do for yourself.

There is always a reason for everything that happens. Hold on to that, believe and hope for the best. If it doesn't work your way, don't worry you will learn something new and the new experience will teach you to make a better choice next time.

'Change brings opportunity' - Nido Qubein 

The old me

The new me

Silk 'Vidya'

The name Silk Smitha has and always will draw a cheeky smile or covert glance at a mere mention. Known for her provocative dressing in the 1980's, Silk was synonymous with the words sex symbol.

However this sultry beauty with bedroom eyes never dreamed that she would die a sex icon with no other significant accomplishments to her name.

Born Vijayalakshmi in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, Smitha left school after her fourth standard due to financial constraints. She became a film star by accident when she moved with her aunt to Madras and was discovered by Indian director Vinu Chakravarthy at a flour mill. He renamed her Smitha and his wife taught her English, while she learned dancing from another teacher. 
Over the years, Silk tried in vain to get meatier roles that would strengthen her status as an 'actress'. She did try her hand at several roles in critically acclaimed movies including Layanam, Allagai Oivathillai and Moondram Pirai but directors kept knocking on her door for item songs, much to her dismay.
In fact, she even tried producing a film in 1995 but on Sept 23, 1996, she died after numerous heart breaks, financial difficulties and alcohol woes. It was widely speculated that Silk committed suicide but till date the theory has not been proved but friends, family and NGOs demanded for an inquest into her death despite police reports that concluded it was suicide. Nothing  was done.
Now the mystery that is Silk Smitha has been unearthed, rumour mills have started again after producer and queen of Hindi Serials Ekta Kapoor announced a movie on the life and times of Silk. Noted actress Vidya Balan is playing the southern beauty's role and she shares the screen with Nasseruddin Shah, Emraan Hashmi and Tusshar Kapoor (Ekta's brother) in the movie dubbed "The Dirty Picture".

While I love Vidya Balan for her immaculate acting skills, her finesse and beauty, I strongly doubt that she could pull off Silk's personal life on the silver screens. Believe or not I think she is too classy for this role.
Silk was a class of her own, she batted her lashes with a seductive smile (with even white teeth), she moved her hips like an expert courtesan and even made each sexy scene believeable. (don't believe me? check out Youtube). If it sounds like I admire the sex siren, well in a way I do. Nobody wants to be known as a mere item girl. I am sure it was difficult for her to put on a poker face and  do her job everyday. It must have been nearly impossible to rub shoulders with some (really bad looking) actors and pretend to love doing it. 
Can Vidya pull off the bedroom eyes and the sultry moves? Maybe not but I am sure she can pull off the desperation Silk felt, the pain she lived with and the loneliness that many say claimed Silk's life. 
So will the crowd love Vidya as Silk or will they walk out the theater on the day of the movie's release, Dec 2 (Silk's birth date) with disappointment? Let's wait and watch.

Vidya Balan may be too classy for this role

Silk was a class of her own