Ants in laptop...

Surfing around to find ways of getting rid of them... Haih, I thought this only happened in college days but apparently not... Some interesting ideas...
- switch on and keep for 2 days straight. I dunno if the ants get out first or my laptop dies first
- keep laptop in air tight container with ants bait. Where to get a huge airtight container la...
- putting laptop in ziplock bag and into the fridge. Like, seriously? o.O
- put cinnamon stick by the laptop. And my laptop will smell something close like cinnamon roll...
- blow dry the laptop.But the ants are INSIDE...

What I did was... modified no.1 with music blaring plus modified no 2 i.e. put ant bait nearby... it worked LOL :D

Breakfast at David's Diner, Greentown Ipoh, Perak

As usual, my activity when I finished my night call, is to look for breakfast before going home to sleep. So when I saw the banner at David's Diner announcing breakfast, of course I'd swerve in :D

The breakfast is buffet style, priced at RM14.90 and starts at 8 - 11 am. You get either juice or coffee or tea for drink. To start, I sampled the burrito, double - decker sandwich of chicken ham and cheese, and the scrambled egg. Not bad, but I wish they put more cheese on the burrito.

Senjyu re - visited @ The Curve, Mutiara Damansara

 Been some time since I last visited Senjyu for lunch and as usual the place never disappoint me. Ambiance and service are impeccable as always, portion is good with nice presentation, that's why I keep coming back here whenever I have the chance.

Breakfast at Old Andersonian Club & Cafeteria @ Jalan Hospital, Ipoh

 For me, I like to go to Anderson for breakkie on weekend because at 7 am, the place is totally deserted and quiet. I can sit there till 9 am undisturbed with my tablet and surf while sipping hot tea. No, I'm not an early bird, I only go there after I finish my night call at the hospital. There was a month where I frequently had on calls over weekends that uncle simply got used to me stuffing myself and self - serving myself with tosai and idli hahaha :D

Tea break at The Deli, Impiana Hotel, Ipoh, Perak

 Well, it happens that some conference was going on in Impiana Hotel in Ipoh, Perak. Or else I wouldn't happen to chance upon this deli for a cuppa. Pretty cozy, tucked at a corner near the lobby, Wifi available for leisurely surfing over a cuppa. Nothing to shout about, just your regular deli, convenient to drop by while waiting for the conference to start.

Lunch promotion @ David's Diner, Greentown Ipoh

Not a bad place to get a Western food lunch when we have the extra bucks to splurge because at a price of RM18.90 you can get a set lunch of a main, 2 sides, soup and a drink (lemonade). Portion wise they are not stingy with it.

I am making ~ Roasted vegetable salad

Another version of roasted vegetable salad, more sourish this time too as I use balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Technically you can use any vegetable you like, most veges are nice when grilled. Using pepper of 3 different colours brighten up the salad wonderfully.

Budget Travel @ Sabah ~ Suggested itenary

In my personal opinion, Kota Kinabalu is not the main highlight of your visit to Sabah. Spend a day or two in the city, probably during the last few days just to see what local city folks do, pick a Sunday so that you can visit the popular Gaya street market. Otherwise, visit Sabah if you want to snorkel around the islands, climb Mount Kinabalu and explore Kundasang, water rafting grade 3 – 4 at Padas or explore rural areas in rented car. Go here for basic preparation for your trip.

Get cheap flights on MAS when you book as early as 1 – 2 months. Expect to spend minimum RM500++. Hotels are easily booked via booking websites, which offer quite an extensive list and price range. There are the usual city hotels 2 -5 stars and numerous backpacker lodges.

Budget Travel @ Sabah 08 ~ Atkinson Clock Tower

 Situated along the Signal Hill road is the clock tower from the year 1903. 

Budget Travel @ Sabah 07 ~ City mosque Kota Kinabalu

If you come by tour package, most of the time they will bring you to see the City mosque at Likas bay area. It’s out of the city area not reachable by foot, mind you. Said to resemble the Nabawi mosque of Medina, the enhanced feature is the surrounding manmade lagoon giving the appearance of a floating mosque.  Not really a visiting highlight, if you ask me, if you are not a Muslim all you can do is snapping a few photos, and there are no other attraction place nearby. Getting there is a hassle unless you rented a car. As for me, I passed by it on my way to the city from my hotel at 1Borneo.

Budget Travel @ Sabah 06 ~ Kota Kinabalu city at a glance

This map can be found at the airport and local tourism office. Most of the hotels can be booked online at their respective websites or hotel – booking websites e.g. Agoda.com. Most places are reachable by foot. I am describing based on my 5 – year experience of living in this city and from my recent trip. Nothing has changed that much, the city may have become a bit busier if not cleaner. 

Budget Travel @ Sabah 05 ~ City Park

 Around City Park area is where you can find a lot of cheap accommodation, eateries and mode of transportations. From the city park you can see various shopping malls within walking distance, the post office, and shops selling non – branded items. Buses and minivans congregate nearby, taking you around town and to the deepest rural area. The minivans are pretty much the main mode of transportations for the rural folks. Not the safest choice, they are crampy and rickety, be wary of pick pockets too if you really want to take one. There are chartered vehicles around too; price usually starts at RM120 per ride. (My suggestion, if you want to go safely and conveniently to a far – off attraction e.g. Kundasang, get yourself into a tour package or rent a car. Sabah is pretty easy to navigate and the locals are very helpful in showing directions.)

Budget Travel @ Sabah 04 ~ Walking around the Philippine market area

If the weather is nice, put on your walking shoes and go snoop around the Philippine market area where you can find all sorts of local products ranging from dried seafood, local food and crafts.

Be adventurous and sample local food like bakso for breakfast at the top floor of the local market. Quench your thirst with cooling coconut drink at the ground floor. Of course, a word of caution here, hygiene can be questionable.

Budget Travel @ Sabah 03 ~ Chilling out at Brass Monkey and Party Play, Lintas area

Somewhere at Lintas area near the Klinik Kesihatan Luyang, you can find a bunch of great places to have lunch or dinner.  Ok, these places are not exactly a budget – price list but I splurged a bit to celebrate my long – awaited Sabah visit :D

First, we had our dinner at Brass Monkey. This place serves no pork and some dishes may contain alcohol, so ask your waiter upon ordering. It’s pretty popular for good western food.

Budget Travel @ Sabah 02 ~ Dinner from Apple Café, 1Borneo Hypermall

 

When I was a student I used to get my lunch / dinner here because the café offers variety of side dishes at an affordable price. It’s not exactly Malay food or Chinese food, more like a mix – up and fusion I guess. For a filling meal at affordable price, I couldn’t care less. They have never displayed a Halal status, but no pork is served here and you can see some Malays eating here too.

Budget Travel @ Sabah 01 ~ Courtyard Hotel @ 1Borneo Hypermall, Kota Kinabalu

My recent trip to Sabah for a course was on a tight budget, since I was saving up for something else.  I was lucky that I managed to get a decent price for MAS ticket (about RM600++) instead of the usual AirAsia (actually, if you can, try to get a MAS flight. They are much more comfortable, with free food unlike AirAsia where everything is charged). If you are travelling cheaply like me, and the next door Tunes Hotel is fully booked, Courtyard Hotel can be listed under your options. A bit crampy for some, but for a single person who goes out most of the time and comes back to the hotel room for a shower and a snooze, Courtyard is enough to accommodate you. Get the discounted price by booking via Agoda.com. Stay here if you are familiar with Kota Kinabalu city and have your own transport e.g. a rental car as it is located outside the city centre, next to the University Malaysia Sabah. As for me, I rented a car from the Terminal 1 airport, a Myvi @ RM130 / day.

Easy to make ~ Steamboat (chicken stock base)

I love steamboat. Who doesn't? On cold, rainy day, it's the best thing ever. And it's easy to make, easy to serve to a large group of people and it goes well with a good conversation.

I am making ~ Portuguese chicken

My attempt to produce something close to Nando's chicken I guess :D It did turned out well, and polished off in a jiffy. And it's not as complicated as you may think it is, just a bunch of spices and some cheats here and there.

I am making ~ Roasted tomato with mozarella cheese and basil

I love tomato, it's an easy vege that can be eaten on it's own, baked, made into soup, pureed, used in pasta sauce etc. This super - easy recipe is prepared with minimal ingredients and is used as an accompaniment to my roast chicken.

Masak - masak Melayu ~ Pucuk Manis masak lemak

 I assure you that this is one of the simplest, lazy bum cooking ever using coconut milk as a base gravy. At the market if you don't know how the plant looks like, just say as confidently as you can "kak, minta sayur manis satu" and the lady would pass you one bunch. As for my case, I remember how it looks like but I forget the name hence my idiotic question was "kak sayur apa ni?" @ "What vege is this?", much to their amusement as I hand over the vege, probably thinking that how on earth would I cook a vege of unknown name :p

I am making ~ Homemade beef burger

We screwed up our diet majorly when we decided to make burgers for iftar @ breaking the fast. Instead of the original healthy version, our calorie count was totally out when everyone started piling up ideas and toppings on the burgers. So the end product was a combo of 2 pieces of homemade beef burger patties with toppings of turkey ham, cheese, sauteed onions and enoki, lettuce, pickled cucumber, loads of tomato ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard, all piled between the buttered - and - grilled burger buns.

Masak - masak pencuci mulut ~ Len Chee Kang

 Don't ask me to classify this dessert because I don't know my recipe falls under which category as I make it to my own preference i.e. putting in whatever that I like. Some may say that I'm over - influenced by the Chinese but I think it has a Malay touch to it too. If you Google "len chee kang", "lai chi kang", "lai chee kang" or whatever spelling version, you'll find both Malay and Chinese recipe versions but heck, this is Malaysia so anything goes as long as it's food and it's good. Both versions can be served hot or cold, and ingredients are usually similar so don't fret too much over it.

A dive into Aquaria, KLCC ~ The blue side of Level 2

Hello there Angels! How lucky of me to find two of them side by side basking up there :D

A dive into Aquaria, KLCC ~ Level 2

After you are done with touching and staring at level 1, step down to level 2 below. Be careful with the stairs and don't drop your camera into the tank below the stairs. It may not look deep enough but I don't think your camera would survive anyway.

A dive into Aquaria, KLCC ~ Level 1

Hello there from the bottom of the piranha tank... that is definitely not me because I am outside the tank on the dry side of Aquaria KLCC. And my entry was a breeze thanks to my Touch n' Go card, just touch it to the entry booth and you're in, no need of long que and the waste of paper. No discount, still full adult price at RM35 though.

Coffee break and a little bit of something @ Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Subang Parade

Is there anyone out there who do not know Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf? I don't think so. Nice coffee, nice ambiance, excellent place for hanging out and gossips. Or in my case, free Wifi and surfing and giggling over it. This is their outlet in Subang Parade, Subang Jaya.

Masak - masak Melayu ~ Gulai masak lemak cili padi ikan pekasam (sepat)

 I'm not a cook by nature, I cook only out of necessity i.e. when I feel like eating something that cannot be bought at the shop or something that I'm fussy of how it taste. This dish is my personal favourite because it's very homey dish that I learned by watching my mom made it and by mouth. And I love how pineapple soaks up the flavor of the gravy hence my recipe version is always overabundant with pineapple. Another thing about masak lemak cili padi is that its a very versatile base gravy, you can cook fish / chicken / egg with it.

Foodie @ KLCC ~ Parkview Deck Café

It was over tea and cookies break that I was pondering what to have for lunch aside from the conference food, because the day before experience with the free food really sucks... I am not picky, but the chef must have forgotten to add salt or to kindly provide a salt packet with the food. Nevertheless, I was totally bummed by the crummy food and spent the rest of the evening feeling hungry in the cold conference auditorium. Thank goodness there was endless supply of cookies and tea / coffee.

Coffee break @ Austin Chase, Plaza Shah Alam

Another new outlet opens at the recently closed down Old Time White Coffee spot. But how long will this one last is an interesting question. Sure, there's always a fad for new things and places in Shah Alam, but if you are too pricey and offers nothing much, you wont last long. So dear Austin Chase, I hope you last long enough for me to try a few stuffs on your menu.

Ikea Flower Therapy :D

I am a sucker for these kinda stuffs :D  And I just love window shopping at Ikea, it's some sort of retail therapy after a stressful week. The thing with Ikea is when you go in and browse all the furnished sections, you'll come out sighing and dreaming on what kinda house and money you'll wanna make :D It's some sort of motivation to me.

Tea break @ The Teapot Deli, SACC, Shah Alam

 After a round of shopping and before the next one, we had a break to let our poor legs rest. Looking for a nice baju kurung is not an easy job, mind you. SACC is a good place to look for nice and fancy frills, though price can be on the high side. It's known that some celebrities and mak datin come here to shop at the boutiques. But at least you know that not everyone in Shah Alam will be wearing the same thing as yours.

And so we end up in the Teapot Deli.

Penang again!!! 03 ~ Suffolk House ~ dream of romance

The romantic air surrounding this place and the lush garden on the outside make Suffolk House one of the favourite spot  for bridal photo shoot, evidenced by the presence of 2 couples doing theirs nearby when we arrived.

Penang again!!! 02 ~ Suffolk House again ~ tea time ~

I'm starting to make it a compulsory thing to visit Suffolk House at Ayer Hitam whenever  I dropped by in Penang because one, I'm totally hooked to the afternoon tea after my first visit here and two, I really love soaking up in the romantic ambiance of this place. I can sit here all day sipping tea and never leave Penang :D

Penang again!!! 01 ~ The Gurney Resort Hotel & Residences

At the 21st floor, facing the ocean and clear blue sky... I can stay in my room the whole day just for this on the bed... Hello Gurney ~ !

Peace... @ Purple Cane Teahouse, Ipoh

 Here you get the Zen feeling while sipping high quality tea... Screw the traffic jam and difficult parking. It's worth the trouble to get here, that scratch - and - win parking ticket too.

Simple grub @ Gino, Ara Damansara

It's one of those days when we crave for simple Italian grubs for lunch where nothing is too complicated and everything feels familiar... Again, Gino at Ara Damansara. And goodness me, now the waiters have known all of our faces :D

Tapa @ La Bodega, Bangsar Shopping Centre

Tapas, or appetizers, make good accompaniment to gossips and catching up. Add in some Spanish music to spice up the ambiance, you can go on chatting with your besties till the sun goes down. Welcome to La Bodega tapas y vinos @ Bangsar Shopping Centre

Tea for two @ T Forty Two, Empire Gallery

While looking around for something sweet to sink our teeth in after lunch, passed by T Forty Two @ the Empire gallery and we thought why not spice up our dessert a little bit with some hi tea stuffs and stick out our pinkies over delicate china.

Teh Tarik Place @ Empire - your upbeat Malay stall

What brought us into this place was this hanging rattan chair. We thought it would be cool to swing around while eating and chit chatting hehehe :D The concept of this place is what you'd call an upbeat, expensive Mamak / hawker stall.

Olio Olio delight @ Gino's Recipe, Ara Damansara

It seems that we can never get tired of this place :D From time to time when we are looking for great, non - syubhah halal pork - free Italian food, Gino here in Ara Damansara is where we head to. Of course, there's one in Kepong Village too but that is when we catch up with the latest movie.

Indian & Western fusion @ Chelllas, Sungai Buloh

Not your usual Indian food restaurant, I may say since there are some Western food and fusion thrown in here. Location wise, is a bit hidden and need a lot of knowledge on Sungai buloh geography to discover this place. A big thankee to my pal for bringing me here :D

Your contemporary Italian food at D' italiane kitchen @ Sunway Giza, Damansara

 This place is located in Sunway Giza where I always do my manicure. After all the dainty works on my nail, a scrumptious lunch and continuing gossip are a good finish :D

Tea break @ Sri Hainan kopitiam, Shah Alam

It's not often that I eat out in my own hometown since I'm forever working somewhere else other than my own place, but I can say that Shah Alam has its own perks with good food and places to chill out. Until recently did I have the chance to visit this long established kopitiam, Sri Hainan in Section 9.

First thing that I noticed are the bird cages used as part of their deco in the ceiling, antique - looking fans aside. Rustic, eh? :D

A taste of Middle East @ Sahara Tent, Shah Alam Mall

 Who would have thought that this Middle East diner actually originated from New Zealand??? Voted as one of the best of such diner in Malaysia by Tourism Malaysia itself, the diner first give our KL -  ites a taste of its Bedouin ambiance and of course, Arabic food.

Upbeat mamak food @ Uncle K Kopitiam, SACC Shah Alam

Uncle K @ SACC is a good chill - out  place if you are looking for air - conditioned mamak - cum - kopitiam kinda place. They serve nasi kandar, mamak food and the kinda food that you can find at a Malay stall, in a kopitiam setting i.e. the furnishing.

Trying the big set @ Rakuzen, Empire Gallery

 After a long break from Japanese food, we decided that a dinner at Rakuzen might help with our cravings =) That time it was an off season thus we got a nice place by the window to watch the rain and traffic down there. Crowd was OK at that time at the Empire Gallery. The perks of the off season also means faster and more efficient service, never before I felt like I'm gonna burst from too much ocha hehehe =D

Ni Anago (broiled sea eel) and Inari sushi. For me sea eel tastes better than river eel. Inari is my old - time favourite, just love that sweet bean curd skin!

Masak - masak Melayu ~ Ikan kembung masak kicap berempah

This is a variant of masak kicap ikan kembung recipe, more spices and tamarind paste added in instead of just soy sauce. Has some sweet and sour taste to it, also spicier. I think this is the Southern states variant.