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 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.

Hey ho Penang 01 ~ Pearl of Orient @ Penang trip again!

This is my... I lost count of my Penang trip. This trip was made at the end of the year near Christmas time so the air was rather festive, what with Bieber just releasing a Christmas CD making the girls go wild :D. Of course, along the way I must stop by at R&R Sungai Perak for lunch since they serve quite a large array of kampung food here, like the large and crispy fried anchovies.

My Penang Solo Stumble 04 ~ Tree Monkey Restaurant @ Tropical Spice Garden, Teluk Bahang, Penang

One of my favourite picture spot during my visit was the Tropical Spice Garden, situated along Teluk Bahang after a seaside drive by Tg Bungah. Boasted to be an eco – friendly park, this park houses various herbal plants in lush tropical setting. Prior to entering, you’ll be spritzed with a citronella spray which acted as mosquito repellent. How is that for eco – friendly?

I started my visit with a food peek at Tree Monkey, an al fresco diner serving Northern Thai cuisine. The place has a serve – no – pork status since they serve alcohol, opens daily at 9 am – 12 am. Apparently they served vegetarian too.

 They were having mocktail promotion at sunset hours at that time so I had my lovely Sunset Paradise with some appetizers. The waiter was like, “It’s not sunset yet.”, and I was like “I don’t care”. LOL

My Penang Solo Stumble 03 ~ Bayview Hotel Revolving Restaurant, Georgetown, Penang

During my stay I decided to have dinner at my hotel since I was just too tired and the jam outside looked pretty bad from my room. So that was how I ended up at the restaurant. There were other option like the Wake Japanese restaurant and KopiTiam but the revolving restaurant was having this buffet promotion at RM 48 so I thought, why not? The one that I had was 6-Course Western Set Dinner (Tuesday - Thursday, 6.30pm - 10.30pm). The restaurant offer other promo items too at good price.

My Penang Solo Stumble 01 ~ The Road Across Perak

It was on one clear, blue sky day that made me restless and longed for adventure. The last time I took a trip to Penang was like years ago and suddenly I was itching to go there. Hence the journey began. This took place somewhere around Hari Raya where the roads going outside KL is smother than coming into KL.

 It was a very smooth journey under the clear blue sky with lots of nice music. I really stocked up on my favourite MP3 ^_^

My quick lunch @ Little Penang Cafe, The Curve

Alone and in a hurry, I managed to stop by Little Penang Cafe for clean hawker food that I'd so enjoyed during my visits to Penang.

 They all look pretty nice to me but I was extremely hungry to wait for the seafood char kuey teow which would take 15 - 20 min so picked something else.

 Initially I ordered the cold barley lime but the taste was not to my liking. The lime taste was not there so I chucked it for sirap bandung cincau, which was nicer and not too sweet.

 This is Acar Fish Set: fried fish in pickled vegetable sauce, lobak (chicken in tofu skin), ju hu char (turnip stir fried with shrimp and slices of squid), sambal belacan for umph, white rice. If you like your fish in sweet and sour sauce, this is for you. The ju hu char can be substituted for kerabu pucuk paku (a kind of fern salad)

 Dessert! Pulut hitam in santan. Found 2 longan. Lovely! Not too sweet, just nice and creamy.

The crowd was really huge and non stop. As you can see, it's a kedai kopi ambience. Everyone just slurp and burp here regardless tie or no tie. Though food is nowhere to compare to actual Penang food, it is still above par and acceptable, a bit pricey though.

Address: 6 Jalan PJU 7/3, G43 The Curve, Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Petaling, Kuala Lumpur

Tel: (603)77280215

Opening Hours Daily:10a.m–10p.m

A Delicious Moment @ Delicious Cafe, One Utama Damansara

Breakfast time! ^_^  An excuse to drop by at Delicious again after some time.

 Corned Beef Hash with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes & two Fried Eggs. Initially I thought it'll be served as egg dropped on top of a mushy beef hash, the yolk soaking in but this is OK. i just dipped my hash into the yolk instead. Very hearty. Bread a bit dry though.

Roasted Vegetable Salad with Baby Spinach & Oriental Dressing. Tangy oriental dressing, a hint of lime juice there. Colourful ^_^

Breakfast hour is from 8 to 12 am with a special breakfast menu and kids menu. Dessert and other mains available.

Lot G316, Ground Floor, One Utama Shopping Centre (New Wing)
1, Lebuh Bandar Utama, Bandar Utama City Centre,
Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya.
T: 603 7724 1086  F: 603 7726 3441

B: MON-THU: 11.00am - 10.00pm, 
    FRI: 11.00am - 10.30pm
    SAT, SUN & PH: 10.00am - 10.30pm (Full Breakfast Menu Available till 12 noon)

Gino's Recipe @ Ara Damansara

At first glance, the place does not look impressive at all, in fact it looks more like those rundown near bankrupt kinda place. Sorry, no offense though.

I guess the inside kinda make up with it, blasting Italian songs to compliment the atmosphere.

Let’s start with entrée.

 I think we started good with garlic bread and bruschetta.

 I don’t mind it, the watery tomato – based seafood soup is OK for the garlic bread, just a bit sloppy in appearance. Not all seafood soup needs to be thick to be nice. The amount of clams, calamari rings, mussels and prawns are adequate enough for 2 people to share.

 Mussels baked with cheese – I’m on a strict diet but they look nice on the plate of salad.

 Main: baked salmon with capers.

 Main: I love my rack of lamb. The sauce is tangy, but the lamb a bit tough.

 Main: baked aubergine. Cheese and eggplant never taste better!

Classic; Thomas Kemper root beer.

But I’m not sure whether I should label this post as Italian or Mediterranean food as Gino seems to be covering both. By the way, I heard their aglio olio is pretty nice. Next time then =)

Amazingly, this place does not serve alcohol and non of the food is cooked with alcohol.


1-06G Blk1, Jalan PJU 1A/1, Ara Damansara
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia 47301
03-7842 6637

Deliciously delicious @ Delicious Cafe, OneUtama

 Tucked cozily in OneUtama new wing, a cafe - concept eatery that pleasure you with its food and ambiance. In this, Eastern & Oriental never fails to amaze.

 Balsamic Wild Mushroom Salad. It's savory, and the feta cheese gives it a nice twist and the pine nuts a crunch. A good entree.

 My favourite main: Pan Seared Cod served with Sauteed Prawns on Ratatouille & Fried Potatoes

 Classic old: English Fish & Chips. A bit weird though, the way they wrap the fish is like goreng pisang.

 The Chocolate Brownie is to die for!! Literally, a killer if for 1 person for after a heavy meal, the love at first bite turns awry after the 10th bite. What better excuse to share?

Ice Orange tea and Ice Lychee tea for a hot day quencher.

Other than the Western menu, Delicious offers Oriental, light snacks which they called Grazing (like a cow?), pasta, sandwiches and burgers, and a variety of salad. Once in a while I just love dropping by for a salad in excuse for dessert =) Lunch time on weekdays see lone rangers tucked with a good book or iPad, simply just for the food or ambiance.

F315, First Floor,
1 Utama Phase 2 Shopping Centre,
Bandar Utama,
47400, Petaling Jaya

Italian food @ The Italiannies @ Empire before it blew up

I haven't got over the shock of Empire blowing up like that in a gas explosion. I mean, gosh, it was one of those popular shopping place ever with pretty much high end stuffs. It's kinda a let down that such a grand - looking building can actually have a lousy happening as that. I wonder how long would it take to restore the Empire again.

My last dining visit to Empire was to the Italiannies to have some grubs with some people. Though previously I've sworn to not go there again, in the end peer pressure wins hands donw =p Oh well, majority rules.

 Rustic bar style kinda ambiance as compared to their other branch.

 Nope, nobody's performing.

Strawberry splash - which actually is OK.

 Quattro platter of calamari rings, fried vege, some cheese balls and and couscous balls. Huge platter, not for 3 small sized persons.

To counter the friend stuffs, we had the caesar salad. I must say that artichoke is an acquired taste.

I must say that I enjoyed the conversation more than the food. In the end, my opinion still does not change. Maybe it's just me.


Italiannies Empire Shopping Gallery
G16, Empire Shopping Gallery,
Jalan SS16/1, 47500 Subang Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia
tel: +603 - 5637 7259
email: usersupport@italiannies.com.my

My Perak Solo Stumble 03 - a day on Ipoh field

Traffic was still OK considering that it's still the early days of raya. After a while of aimless driving, I came across the Padang Ipoh or Ipoh Field is located on Jalan S.P. Seenivasagam. Behind it is the aristocratic club for royals, the Ipoh Club.

My Perak Solo Stumble 01 - A night in Ipoh

Exploring Ipoh took me only one day to navigate through this old historical mining city.  A capital of Perak, it is the fourth largest city in Malaysia with it’s own collection of historical attractions. Since the map promised easy navigation, it took me only 5 minutes to decide to visit this city on a whim on one fine day. It was a city that I frequented often last time when I was studying in Perak.

By the time I reached Ipoh, it was already night time and had to check in to my hotel, Tower Residence. Not a very popular choice, but in the heart of the city nevertheless, which was my main reason of selection. It’s a 3 star hotel, just for basic so nothing to shout about. But my stay was pleasant and comfortable, the room is clean and neat, the staffs friendly.

 My Superior room.

Train sushi @ Sakae Sushi again!! At OneUtama

It's one of those days that you just feel like having train sushi. Where else except for my favourite Japanese food joint in OneUtama after a long day shopping =)

One thing about Sakae Sushi is that they always have some sort of promotion going on with a particular theme. I think this one is the salmon promotion but I only took what that seems interesting and some old favourites.  Though sometimes I have to admit, I simply grab whatever that looks interesting to me. Sakae Sushi never fails to give a twist in every sushi they created. And it's cheap, just nice for snacking.

 Like this seasoned octopus with chili flakes

 I just love this one, salmon with those tomato cherry slices on top.

 shrimp with salmon roe

 hamashi sashimi

 soft shell crabs in thin omelette wrap. Crunchy!

 The whole table spread! As usual, my inari and miso soup are a must!

Finishing of with a dessert of lemon sorbert.