Le Pooh in KL - Part 1

I headed down to KL on 10 Nov and I have to say, it was a relief seeing the massive jam on the other side of the highway for a change. The holidays have just started, and everyone is scrambling to head north or out of KL. It also started raining cats and dogs when I reached KL and arrived at Sunway Pyramid, my stop of choice since I'll be staying with my bestie Jo as usual. Walked around for almost an hour before Jo and Alan arrived and we headed for Zen Japanese restaurant for dinner. I find that I frequent Japanese restaurants a bit too often whenever I drop by to KL. We ordered and Ichi was kind enough to drop by a bit later to join us for dinner.

I didn't manage take any pics coz we were famished. No time to snap, just swallow everything over a lively conversation. Later on, one of the waiters came to inform us that they delivered a wrong, smaller-portioned order of sukiyaki which was meant for another table. We ordered beef sukiyaki for 3-4, but it came as chicken in a measly pot for 1-2. I didn't care as we were too hungry and just polished off everything. On the plus side, they've prepared our original order after that and proceeded to serve it, and informed us that the wrong order was on the house!

Min Huei proceeded to arrive after we were done with dinner and we continued to chat. During that time, there were a couple of lil' kids (brother and sister I believe) running around the place, and the boy accidentally knocked onto a cute waiter (OK, I was checking him out) carrying a pot of hot green tea at table right next to ours, where 3 women were seated. Hot tea splashed all over the youngest woman's thighs and left arm. Luckily, the cute waiter managed to stop the little girl, who was chasing her brother, from hitting the teapot AGAIN!

Poor thing got scalded and her skin turned red instantly. Her mother and grandma (I assume) made a big scene of suing this and that and how the children's parents were so irresponsible etc. The kids belonged to the family sitting just a few tables away and the parents didn't even bother to come over and apologized, but instead the mother just kept yelling at the kids, especially the boy. Come on lah, they are KIDS after all. Yelling at them continuously for almost 10 minutes with public embarrassment in't gonna help. The boy's mother only went over to apologize, dragging the hysterical boy along, when the young woman's mother and grandma's rantings got even louder, to the point when everyone could hear. We felt that the apology definitely wasn't sincere, just to 'save face'. She was still dumping the blame on the sobbing mess of a boy the whole time. She even threatened to leave the crying boy at the mercy of the women and just walked away in anger. What a mother of the year she is!

Just a few hours, already drama started, but I digress. After dinner, we settled for some Chatime to chat over with. It was a pity Calvin couldn't make it as he was sick and he needed to prepare for a charity concert the next day, so recovery is more important. I must say, I'm a Chatime virgin and I love the chewy pearl balls. For some reason, mine was filled halfway up with balls -_-"

On Sunday, Jo and I headed to Gayvillion Pavillion for brunch in Ichiban Boshi. Min Huei joined us a little bit later.

The 3 of us went around for some shopping, but it was just window shopping, coz I couldn't find anything that I wanted. We even went to H&M in Lot 10, but came out empty-handed. My gaydar almost exploded though.

Then, it was time for SNOWFLAKES! I made sure brunch was light to make room for it. I love Ocha'ryo!~

Because 2 wasn't enough, I got another...for free! All thanks to Jo. I'm such a glutton.

After Snowflakes,we headed to Matic for a charity orchestra concert. Five members of the MPO (Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra) were there as guest performers that night. One of 'em was a harpist and the other 4 played in a string quartet. I thought the harpist was excellent. Particularly mesmerizing to me were one of the string quartet's female violinist. Such emotion and strong gestures, couldn't take my eyes of her during the performance. Definitely one of the highlights of the evening. Kudos to Camerata Musicales for putting up a great performance as well.

Another highlight for me was when one of the blind girls came on stage to sing Teresa Teng's classic, Ye Lai Xiang. It was really moving, and she had a good vocals too!~ After that night, we kept Ye Lai Xiang non-stop. Gay dou sei XD

Stay tuned for Part 2!~

Surprise Birthday!~

To be honest, I was a little moody on my b'day. But, only because everyone I knew was busy on that night. I actually didn't feel like going out but William insisted vehemently that I did, even if it was just the both of us. So, we ended up heading to Delicious at Straits Quay as originally planned, although we arrived at 10pm. I knew instantly something else was going on when William informed the waitress of a reservation for eight at 10pm. Jeng jeng jeng!~ (Although, I've already suspected something from William's earlier insistence)

Anyhow, I was really famished so I decided to order something light s I know sweet confections will be coming my way later on. Their kitchen closes at 10.30pm, but the waitress refused to take anymore orders when I wanted to order at 10.20pm. And, I had just came after gym and was famished. Strike 1!

Then, I went to the baked goods and dessert section to order a savory Cornish that was on display, only to be informed that it was a fake and again, that the kitchen was closed. I mean, how difficult is it to heat up something that was already prepared? It's not like I'm asking them to bake it from scratch. Strike 2!

Disappointed, I had to order molten chocolate cake as my dinner (which I only ate half coz I felt a little nauseous having something so sweet and rich on an empty stomach) and head back to the table as my dear friends started trickling in.

We forgot to take a group pic coz we were pretty rowdy. Shawn came carrying a Tiramisu cake from Ritz (awesome local bakery). It was lovely. So soft and smooth with a rich yet light and fluffy cream filling. Just splendid as always!~

Me, assuming a lady-like cake cutting pose, according to Shawn.

Part of the gang.

I think Shawn was trying to hail the waiter who repeatedly forgot the extra glass of water I requested for the past 10 mins or so. Strike 3!

Seriously, I don't know if it's due to a change of management or just incompetent staff who couldn't care less about good customer service, but this is just unacceptable. Delicious in Penang has earned a BAN in my books.

Subsequently, we decided to head over to Mr. Pot at Gurney Drive area for some proper food. Apparently, some of 'em hadn't had dinner as well, and I was still craving something savory for dinner. We ended the night in loads of uproarious laughter that drew awkward and possible annoyed looks from other tables. Did I care? Not the least coz it's mah birthday!~

Thank you so much Shawn, Alvin, Dennis, Justin, Scott, Ben, Marc, Danny and David for making it. Although we started out late coz everyone was busy earlier, I had a blast just coz you guys were there. It's all that matters to me. A special thanks to William for organizing this. I really appreciated it and am so TOUCHED.

Love you guys!~

The Desperate Datin

Michelle is a friend of mine from Penang who does funny stage performances and emcee'ing. This latest one during one of his her friend's wedding and is particularly funneh XD

You'd have to know some Hokkien to catch some of the jokes though.



He's She's such a natural XD

You can check out more of her videos in her YouTube channel.

Leavin' On A Jet Plane...

About 5 years ago, my bestie Joseph left Penang for KL to live with his BF.

Then Isaac moved to KL for work.

Months ago, my dear foodie Brendan began work in KL.

Last year, PC left for New Zealand to continue his PHD.

Recently, Shawn just left for greener pastures in New Zealand.

Yesterday, Albin made a sudden announcement that he's leaving Penang to return to his hometown by the end of Feb.

On the same day, my dear friend Sonia from KL called to tell me that she'll start work in China on 24 Feb.

I know it's not up to me. And I know that I can't stop anyone from moving on and getting a better life, but it feels like so many good friends have left.....and I'm feeling so lonely all of a sudden. My list of good friends here grows thin.

I miss you all =(

Entering Adulthood

11.1.11 was a special occasion. Not just because of it's numeral uniqueness, but it is the day zai2 could officially vote, drink and enter clubs without fear of raiding police dragging his skinny ass back to balai!

Naturally, we planned a surprise. Since zai2 hadn't been to The Ship before, Albin decided it was the right venue for this occasion.

As an appetizer, Albin ordered half a dozen escargot with cheesy, garlic sauce. Zai2 only ate a teensy piece, with great difficulty. I found it delightful though. First time eating a snail =P

Zai2 had fish baked in creamy and cheesy sauce. Very filling indeed.

The steaks were mediocre and felt rather tasteless to me.

I had the Chicken Au Chambertin (hope I spelt it right). It was just...meh, I've had better.

See, this ginna so excited to open his present.

Dennis got him a porcupine bag, to complement his porcupine hair XD

I bought zai2 something he always wanted. An ice-cream cake from Baskin Robbins, filled with strawberry cheesecake ice-cream and layered with caramel top. All 3 things zai2 loves...strawberries, cheese and caramel. Fat die us but as long as he's happy lor XD

Just a small, but still rather noisy gathering.

Happy birthday zai2!~

Partying Our Way To 2011

NOTE: I know that this is a LONG overdue post, but I got lazy and had trouble uploading the pics. There were too many ><

I definitely wanted to celebrate the coming of 2011 outdoors. Didn't wanna sit and rot at home while the rest of the world roared during countdown. No, I didn't plan to be Gurney Plaza, nor Esplanade where our dear CM Lim Guan Eng would be, and risk getting squashed by the masses and face the frustration of the possibility of counting down in the car amidst unmoving traffic due to blocked roads and block-headed revelers who might get a little too rowdy. I decided to head to Straits Quay with zai2 and meet up with friends there. Straits Quay is Penang's newest sea-front mall. Love the architecture but it's not fully populated yet. Only restaurants, quite 'atas' ones, have taken root. Incidentally, Straits Quay is also fast becoming a new 'IN' place for the vast population of Penang's gay people.

Massive Xmas tree...or just a tiny little zai2 XD

We also have a lighthouse, which now looks kinda eerie with the green light.

After spending 15 mins there with Isaac and Dennis, Isaac commented it was BORING. Well, the crowd congregating there were mostly family-oriented, and not even a small concert there could spice it up. SO, we decided to head over to Bagan instead. They were having a countdown event there too (which club/popular venue isn't), so we hastened our asses there. Traffic was surprisingly smooth, despite the fact that it was already past 11pm.

Can you see how hard we were partying down there?

'Train'ing to I Will Survive!~

Camwhoring on the dance floor XD

I partied so hard that night. It's been such a while since I went so wild. Drenched in sweat all the party and it's amazing my ass was still intact. Freakin' awesome way to welcome 2011!~

Shawnie's Farewell At Ingolf Kneipe

Yesterday, we headed down to Ingolf Kneipe German restaurant to have a farewell for our dear friend Shawn. He'll be leaving for New Zealand on 7 Jan, so you can still catch him until then.

Zai2 got an advance birthday gift for Shawn. A TENGA EGG XD

Ingolf Kneipe is very well known in Penang for it's great German beer and food with affordable prices. This place is always packed. If you don't have a reservation, you could end up waiting up to an hour for a table. Well, if you had to, you could chill at the bar with beer first.

Luckily for us, we DID have a reservation. We were in a German restaurant, so naturally, lots of meat and sausages!~

Zai2 and I felt really hungry, so we ordered the Caesar salad, which came lightly dressed with duck breast, crispy bacon bits and croutons. I hate a Caesar salad that's sodden with too much creamy dressing, so this was perfect. It also came with a small bread basket consisting of some sliced sourdough bread, sliced baguettes and butter.

We both also shared the Butcher's platter. It was a huge plate for various kinds of sausages and meat so we couldn't finish it. There was a big piece of roasted pork belly, which I'm usually not a fan off. But this was done superbly with the fat under the skin rendered down and absorbed into the meat. This resulted in a really crispy and caramelized skin with soft, buttery, tender pork. The various types of sausages on the platter were a delight as well. Very tasty and oozing with juiciness XD

The platter came accompanied by a thick onion gravy and German mustard. I absolutely LOVED the mustard, soooooooo good.

The pot pie was loaded with soft, fluffy mashed potato fused with oodles of melted cheese. Could use more meat sauce underneath though but no one was complaining.

Dennis had the special of the day which consisted of a duo of pork and chicken. I didn't get to taste it, but doesn't it look so inviting?

The beef roll that Shawn had was really good, according to him and zai2. And Zai2 doesn't even like beef!

Albin, a frequent patron here apparently, had the mixed grill. I wanted the bacon so bad =P

Our feast...can you believe the 6 of us managed to scoff this down our bellies?

Ingolf is definitely one of my fave places to eat. I've never had a bad or mediocre meal there. Everything is usually abundantly-portioned and very pleasant to the taste-buds.

We will DEFINITELY be missing our fave body-jammer in the group. Quite a few of my good friends have made a move elsewhere recently, either to green pastures or just a new change in their lives.

The Pooh Is 30!~

Yes, I just turned 30 yesterday. My 20s have gone and a new era has begun. The Pooh has left early adulthood and into his prime...

OMFGWTFBBQ, I'm 30!~

All drama aside, it's not really as bad as I often paint it to be. It's just another number and now that I'm there, I feel more or less happy. I'm a lot wiser and looking forward to the new chapter in my life. No doubt I'll still need to energy to deal with the scandalous little devil, but I think I can handle that.

B'day celebration was a simple one. Dinner @ US Pizza in Nagore road with Shawn, Jamas, Scott, Albin and Dennis. It wasn't a big crowd but I couldn't care less. Any time spent with close friends is always fun and worth it. Zai2 couldn't join coz he had some family issues, so it'll be another celebration by ourselves. Another reason both of us should celebrate is that zai2 finally got the temporary job in HSBC. The pay isn't that much, but at least it'll stop him from saying 'bo lui!' every time I wanna go out with him.

Only 6 of us for dinner, and we ordered 4 large pizzas. We couldn't help it coz there was a promotion of 2 pizzas for the price of 1 every Tuesday. As a result, we felt like hippos after makan. After stuffing our pie holes with the pizza pies, with some leftover to tapau for zai2, came the b'day cake. It was the chocolate mud cake from Secret Recipe and tasted as rich as it looked. We only managed to polish off a quarter of the cake, after Scott and Shawn took compromising pictures of me removing the candles with my mouth.

Too many calories later, we brought the house down with some good-natured bitching and laughs before we called it a night at...10pm. You knowlah, old people can't stay up late d.

Aiks, sudden back pain while posting this, I wonder why ><

Also, I suddenly noticed that I have 30 followers...coincidence?

Fabulous Week

A couple of weekends ago, I had the priviledge of playing host to a fellow CYT (cute young thing) aka chiku blogger from KL, along with zai2 and Tonnchita aka Dennis. Our dear Cookiedonut aka Jason is having a four month vacation *deeply envious* and one of his travel destinations involve the land of abundant delish and affordable food, PENANG! He was supposed to be on a trip with his college mates, but decided to arrive in Penang alone for the weekend before they arrived this evening. Dennis and I had actually met him in KL early this month when we were in Cheras for our leadership seminar, so Jason booked us for this weekend to have fun and food beforehand ^^.

Dennis picked him up from the airport early Saturday afternoon and checked him into Tune hotels smack in the middle of town. Seriously, if you're planning on dropping by Penang on a budget and limited transport or knowledge on how to move around while hungering for Penang food, stay in Tune hotel! You can get A LOT of Penang's best foods within walking distance at any time.

Without delay, Dennis brought Jason to Him Heang (on my recommendation coz he should not miss it) for their oh-so-famous Tau Sar Pneah, or Dao Sar Peng as Jason called it. This was followed by a nom-noming session at New World Park. Char Koay Teow (CKT), fried oyster, ais kacang, curry mee and I forgot what else they had, but they basically stuffed their faces XD. I could only meet up with them at night as I had a private function to attend that afternoon. For a slightly late dinner, I took them to have something 'light' at Esplanade. The food court in Esplanade houses one of the most HEAVENLY fruit rojaks in Penang (one of my ultimate fave rojak haunt is here), and so I ordered a heaping large plate worth RM12. We also have a famous Pasembur stall here so we ordered a pretty big plate too. We had two sausages, two eggs, one large fried prawn fritter, one fried beancurd (I think we call it that ><) and a potato as the main ingredients. All this is topped with lots of shredded turnip and cucumber, poured over with a divine sauce and a sprinkle of crushed peanuts. Both were so delish!~

After dinner, it was time to strip Jason of his BBC (Boom Boom Chambre) virginity. We got there early at about 11pm coz we wanted to secure a place to sit. 30 minutes later, the place was almost fully packed. I also noticed a new club opened right opposite BBC. It is the same mansion building occupied by the late MOMO club, and after being empty for almost a year, a new club called VOODOO has opened. A friend of mine took a few of us in for free to have a look. We even got ourselves stamped so we are recognized as paid patrons =P. VOODOO looks SUPER FABULOUS. Ok, jotting that place down for clubbing next.

Back to BBC, we had a blast there. I haven't been there in about 4 months (or more). The 'hostess' for the evening was Jada, and Brendan was right, she's absolutely hilarious! Laughed our asses off every time she spoke on stage. Freda was the usual 'hostess' and Jada only came to perform occasionally, so we were luckily that night. The dance shows as usual were great and well-choreographed with really jaw-dropping costumes. Loved the dance with the feather fans, so fabulous! For BBC virgins out there, BBC usually has stage shows every Wednesday and Saturday. On Saturday, there would be two shows, both featuring performances by the dance group and 'hostess', at 12am and 1.30am. The music at BBC improved a little from the last time I was there, which felt like a MJ or 80s nite at the time, seriously disappointing for clubbing music. And the DJ was still the same middle-aged fella who would gyrate of music only HE enjoyed, while the rest of the crowd stood still.

Last Saturday wasn't too bad, music was good enough that we could dance and enjoy it, although some of the Lady Gaga remixes were in bad taste. As the night progressed, the music spiraled back to disappointment. I think that's why the crowd usually leaves after the last show. Zai2 and I didn't drink, but Dennis and Jason did. And Jason drinks pretty fast too. Hehe, drunk CYTs can be fun to play with, especially during clubbing. Somemore, my little devil is around, so...habislah Jason, lost like 50% of his 'kesucian' XD. After all that dancing, shaking,
molestingand good laughs, we called it a night at around 2am since I had an Indian wedding to attend on Sunday morning.

On Sunday, Dennis again played host during the day. I was too pooped coz I slept at 4am+ and woke up early in the morning for the wedding. Zai2 and I picked them up for dinner and we headed for New Lane hawker food. We had sotong kangkung (heavenly sauce!), chee cheong fun with thick prawn paste, belacan chicken and beancurd, wet popiah, wantan mee and fried prawns(in place of oysters). Mmm...food was really good =P. After that, I suggested we went for lok-lok at Pulau Tikus, which elicited a high-pitch screech of excitement from Jason. That boy really loves lok-lok, or anything in a form of a stick, dunno which XD.

Lok-Lok at Pulau Tikus was average for me, didn't eat much of it. They were out of cockles (si hum!), which was Jason's fave. However, they did have skewered mantis prawn, first time seeing it at a lok-lok place. After that, I wanted to surprise Jason with a really luscious dessert place along Gurney Drive called Crepe Cottage. Turns out Dennis has already brought him there (potong stim), but we still headed there anyway. This is a place NOT to be missed when you're here. It's kinda difficult to detect although it's just by the side of the road since it doesn't stand out.

Crepe Cottage is a very affordable, quaint little gem of a place that serves both savoury and sweet crepes and desserts. It's run by a widow and her family (I think). Since we were rather stuffed, we only ordered two things. The expresso crepe came with a large thin slice of dark coffee-infused crepe, a side of large scoop of fresh almond-vanilla ice-cream and dollops of fresh cream and had a drizzle of caramel sauce throughout the dish. We didn't manage to take a pic coz it landed into our tummies pretty fast.

The HIGHLIGHT was the Mango Cup that came after. All four of us were astounded when it arrived. If the room was dark, we could've lit it up with the light from our eyes. Mango cup came with a thin, crispy crepe shaped like a bowl filled with generous slices of sweet mango, topped with two LARGE scoops of heavenly mango ice-cream and a couple dollops of fresh cream. And there was more cream on the side. A really BIG portion for only RM11, really worth it! Mmm...and it tasted as divine as it looks *DROOL*. Again, thanks a lot to Brendan for recommending this. With dessert, we also brought the house down with our intense laughter, especially Dennis. Laugh until wanna kena sawan babi liddat! Thanks to me of course XD

We went there again last night for Jason's last supper in Penang (his third visit there in a week XD). This time Shawn tagged along. Ordered a few of their savoury items and they did NOT disappoint. Crepe Cottage is very generous with their servings, despite the low price. Jason had the seafood pasta that was loaded with large slices of fish and prawns. Zai2 had the Chicken Cheese Pocket (I think that's what it's called) that was filled with lots of cheese and minced, herb-ed chicken topped with generous lemon cream sauce. One bite and you were in heaven, unless of course if you're lactose intolerant =P. I had the Cheese-crumbled Chicken. A butterflied, deep-fried chicken breast breaded with cheesy bread crumbs topped with a citrus sauce and came with a side of stir-fried vegetables and a crepe. After we finished our dinner, rain began to drizzle but we decided to continue sitting outside and held two umbrellas to shield ourselves, much to the amusement of the staff. We immediately moved inside when we saw a few people leaving and found a table enough for four and got ready to order dessert. Just as we're settling down at the table, THIS came to our table.

And it was on the house! Apparently the lady owner came and told us it was free for us since we stayed outside despite the rain and didn't leave. What a lovely gesture! Of course, we HAD to order the Mango Cup again. Seriously, love Crepe Cottage to bits. Awesome food, very affordable prices (the most expensive item on the menu is only RM20) and really generous with the ingredients. On top of that, NO service charge!

After having all the yummies in our tummies, camwhoring ensued.

Jason boarded a plane back to KL on Friday morning. We'll miss
molestingextending our Penang hospitality to you back here. Also, go back to gym to burn off everything you ate XD

PS: William Ng aka Suneo, bila datang Penang? BBC and food waiting for you!~