Welcome the Dog

Tomorrow is the first day of the year of the Dog; my baby doggie will be the Queen of the house, so I wish every one of you Happy Chinese New Year.

However, my friend’s dog has a new costume for the New Year, her mother just made a RED Chinese costume for the dog, so I decided to share the picture here, with her permission, OKAY.

Just a brief note before the New day in New Year, wishing all of you have more fortune and good luck, and take good care!!!

Tag: CNY, Chinese New Year, Dog.

Baked or Steamed

If you are in Kedah, I recommend baked food, original Thai recipe but home made in Malaysia, cheap, fresh and tasty, no complaints.

So every time when I have someone coming over to visit me from other state, I will absolutely bring them for a BAKED party.

Okay, let me explain a bit more, normally when you have baked fish or/and BBQ stuff in the restaurant, they will bake the food directly on the fire, but this specific restaurant will mix fresh seafood with marinated sauce and cover the food with aluminium foil.

Therefore, when they serve you the food, you will think they had steamed it instead of baking it, because the skin of the seafood, especially fish is so soft and edible, not like some places, where the skin of the fish would be hard and black.

The most important aspect is the price, affordable, 4 persons having a big fish,some squids, prawns and crabs, don’t be surprise to get back some change if you pay RM 100 (USD 26.30), the bill will be around RM 70 (USD 18.50).

My friend from KL screamed for her life and asked, ARE they serious?

She didn’t believe the price, so I told her, “Dear, this is Alor Star, a seafood heaven.”

Tag: Baked Food, BBQ, Seafood.

Love is Hurt

Finally I had watched the movie “Memoirs of a Geisha”, a very touching movie, the actors and actress were damn good, and the script was so well written.

Although it was all about Geisha, but the director was able to bring out the message of love, and it really touched me when Sayuri (main character) said her heart was dying but slowly.

I suppose love hurts, not only was she a Geisha, but as long as you are a human person, one can't escape from this “curse”, being hurt is part of the love story, who haven’t taste the bitterness? I just wonder.

Being sentimental is kind of good, at least I won’t remember I had spent RM180 to eat a fish last Monday, I still feel bad now and I had blacklisted the restaurant.

Being Cheated is BAD, even when it comes to love.

Tag: LOVE, Geisha, Movie.

Call for Free

If you have fun with SKYPE or messenger voice conference, I believe VOIP STUNT will catch your attention.

With this new launched yet beta version program, not only will you enjoy free calls from PC to PC, but free calls to certain land line in more than 30 countries.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not an advertisement, I am not even get paid nor do I get free credit for telling you this.

However, my friend was very excited with this new stuff, can’t wait but called me for more than an hour, but he said the free trial is over after certain minutes, after that you need to buy credit to keep enjoying free calls, only when you call to mobile phones, will your credit be deducted.

I haven’t downloaded the program as yet, because I am not keen in it, since they are still in BETA version.

Tag: VOIP, Free Call, VOIP Call, VOIP Stunt.

Fortune for North

Do you believe in Feng Shui? Well, I am not really into it, but there is no harm in believing.

I was covering news for a Feng Shui talk tonight, and the Master said 2006 is a good year for the Northern part, so if you look at the map, Russia is the luckiest one.

The Master said, Russia is expected to have a very good performance in terms of economics, and they are going to be the leading country in the year 2006, but the BAD star will fall into the west, so America and Europe are expected to be out of luck, and they will be in an unstable and worrying situation.

Well, the Russian-Ukrainian dispute over natural gas prices is a good example, this has put almost the whole Europe in a “powerless” circumstances, and now because of the Arctic cold, Russia expected to cut electricity exports to help domestic users fend off the cold, again this will put Europe in the darkness worrying.

US is also not looking good after al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden threatened new attacks on the United States yesterday, if the States doesn’t accept their offer, where the Americans would reject President George W. Bush's continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

However, President George W. Bush has rejected the PEACE offer with the reason that they do not negotiate with terrorists.

So Americans are expected to be living in an environment of tight-securities and every one has to live in the constant fear, don’t you think this is so scary.

Back to the Feng Shui issue, after I analyzed the latest incidents, we can see the prediction of Feng Shui is happening already, but if you think (like I do) the Master analyzed the world-relation before his predictions of the future with Feng Shui theory, I have no comment, LOL.

Tag: Feng Shui, Russia, Europe, American, USA.

Little Me

It must be the movements of the stars and the planets, that lately I encounter a string of bad luck.

However, I had managed to overcome all this, thanks to the cartoon Chicken Little, I have learnt that every day is a NEW day, yeah, no matter how bad the day may be, I am still alive and I am longing for the good day ahead.

So I decided to do something that I was really wanting to do for quite sometime now, buying myself a new washing machine, and a table with rollers where I can move everywhere with my laptop.

Although I still need to face and handle all the problems, I am telling myself to be strong, because I am Little Me, every day is a NEW day!

Okay, despite being in my late 20s but it is not too late for the Cartoon fever, LOL.

Tag: Cartoon, Little Chicken, Cartoons.

SICKeningly Slow

When a butterfly cannot fly swiftly, I am STUCK.
All this years I got stuck with MSN messenger, no other reason but convenience, multifunctional and user friendly, nevertheless the most important part is speed.

I was very satisfied with the performance of MSN messenger for the last few years, but not until I had upgraded to version 7.5.

Slow to start up. It really SUCKs, sometimes it hangs or logs off without any reason, and the worse is when you need it the most, you cannot log into the messenger,you have to try and try several times, I was really pissed off.

I am using a high speed laptop with Centrino mobile technology, never had problems with other programs but the latest version of MSN messenger has really got me down, so I started to use Gtalk and Yahoo messenger.

However, I still prefer MSN messenger, can’t help but wonder will they ever hear my complain, while upgrading the functions kindly also consider the aspect of speed, nobody likes a sluggish gadget these days.

Tag: MSN, Messenger, MSN Messenger.

Pineapple Luck

If a Christmas tree is a must for the Christmas decoration, any plants with a GOOD name will be a Chinese New Year tree, actually not tree, only small plants.

Getting a plant to put in the house during Chinese New Year is an art, the most common plant to get is Golden Lime which brings money and good luck, but Lime is too old “fashion” nowadays.

Therefore you can get more interesting plants in the market now, which are more colorful or creative, perhaps more than creative.

In Malaysia, Chinese in different areas will have different “NEEDs”; in Northern part where there is a majority of Hokkiens, they particularly love pineapples, because pineapple in Hokkien is “ Ong Lai” which means Good Fortune comes.

Hence there no surprise to discover that pineapples will be the most popular fruit during Chinese New year.

However, this year in the market you can get giant Pineapple, excuse me, not really a pineapple, but a creative art from bamboos to create a pineapple shape plant. The bamboos they used are Guan Yin Zu which also called as Chimonobambusa marmorea Makino or Marbled Bamboo.

These pineapples are quite pricy, available between 2 feet and 6 feet and it would cost you from RM 288 (USD 75.80) to RM 1228 (USD 323.20). @_@

Tag: Bamboo, CNY, Chinese New Year, Pineapple, Plant.

Basket Sweet

There is 2 more weeks to celebrate the Chinese New Year, and the most important delicacy during this festival is called Nian Gao, or like what Fairuz told me today its also called as Basket delicacy.

The main ingredient in Nian Gao is glutinous rice flour and sugar, which gives it the stickiness. The process involves steaming. Nian Gao in Malaysia commonly come as a short cylinder wrapped in a banana leaves

Nian Gao can be steamed & eaten with shredded coconut, which I prefer the most, but I like to eat the fresh one, the best is one that has been freshly made, you can just eat without reheating.

Another way to serve Nian Gao is to deep fry it. After cutting into square pieces, it is sandwiched between some sweet potatoes or yam, and then it is deep-fried after dipping into egg and some flour.

As what my old people always say, Nian-Gao which translated as year-cakes symbolizes getting a lot of promotions, because the name is also short for the phrase “nian-nian gao-sheng” which mean to get promoted higher every year.

There is another old folk story where it is believed that on the 24th day of the 12th lunar month, the Kitchen God will return to heaven to give a report to the Jade Emperor regarding each family, The idea is to offer such super sticky gluey Nian Gao to him so that he would find it difficult for him to talk thereby talk less when reporting to the Jade Emperor.

Tag: Niao Gao, CNY, Chinese New Year, Chinese Delicacy, New Year Cake.

A Sign

an omen......Good or Bad?
Today when a friend who hadn’t contacted me for more than 8 years, all of a sudden JUMPED into my MSN messenger, what a surprise, the moment he said hi, my 8 feet tall newspaper fell down and broke my table.

Is it a bad sign or something else?

If it was a sign, then what is the hidden message? I know it was just a coincidence, but why has it to happen just at that moment.

However, it was quite strange that 2 of my “friends” who hadn’t send me a mail or even drop by line for more than 8 years, suddenly remembered they have a friend, and wanted to contact me.

They came in almost at the same time and brought back lot of memories. I suppose I am no longer a sunny boy they used to know, but there is one thing remain unchanged, I am still good to a friend.

They said they missed me a lot although they hadn't contacted me all this years, but they had me in their minds.

I think this is what we call friendship, no need to commit to anything, but when the right time comes, the reunion is always surprise to us.

Tag: Friend, Friendship, Sign.

Pork in Soup

If you like pork, then don’t miss the Bak Ku Teh (mostly translated as Pork Rib Herbal Tea Soup) when you are visiting Malaysia or Singapore.

Bak Ku Teh is well known for heating up our body system but it is healthy food, especially when you need something to warm your stomach, Bak Ku Teh is always the BEST to fulfill your need.

However, the best of Bak Ku Teh is not found anywhere of Malaysia but central, where there is a place called Klang as quoted in the Bak Ku Teh history, they believed that Klang is the place where Bak Ku Teh has first been commercialized.

I won’t talk much about it, because I still cannot get good Bak Ku Teh in northern part of Malaysia, if you like to know more, you can go there to enjoy the Bak Ku Teh ^_^

Tag: Bak Ku Teh, Food, Pork, Soup.

Secret Recipe

Finally the Secret Recipe is opened in Alor Star at end of last year, Alina couldn’t wait and SMS-ed me to tell the good news while I was still in Rome, for my Christmas holidays.

Yes, we absolutely need a proper restaurant here, no offence but the food in Alor Star still SUCKs, I don’t want you to feel that I am complaining that the food here is bad, but just to tell you a horrible experience I had encountered.

I was having my Tomyam seafood in a Hotel restaurant, I thought that being hotel it won’t be that bad since they need to maintain a reputation, but I was so disappointed when the food was served.

Can you imagine that the food was stale and was smelling, so I had complained to the waiter and so they replaced the food, which was still bad.

Okay, that is not the last, I went to a cake house to have my banana chocolate cake, guess what? This was the first sour cake I had in my life, and when I complained to the waiter, they insisted that the cake was fresh.

However, there were too much bad experiences but I have no intention to spoil you bloggers' appetite, so forget about it.

If you wonder what is Secret Recipe, you can visit here to find out more.

Tag: Secret Recipe, Food, Kedah, Malaysia.

Cat and Dog

Fairuz gave me a pair of belated Christmas present and souvenir from his trip to East Malaysia which was half a year ago, is a pair of Cat and Dog.

Although it is a bit late to have a Christmas present, but still it is a belated SURPRISE to me, and the present is so cute (too obvious) LOL.

However the souvenir which is a Cat from Kuching (one of the state in East Malaysia), which also mean CAT in Malay, that’s why they have cats everywhere, but it’s a shame that I have never been there.

Despite visiting so many countries, I have never been to East Malaysia, too complicated to explain but I promise to go there very soon.

Tag: Cat, Dog, Present, East Malaysia, Malaysia.

EW Pasta

The Pasta looking good.
What is EW? I mean East and West lor.

Since I just came back from Italy, I bought some nice local Pasta with me back to Malaysia, so I must cook and eat, right?

Hehehe, I have a reputation for being a food adventurer; I am willing to try most of the food (not included wild animal, OKAY!!!) and I like to experiment new foods, like mix and match my clothes, I used to mix and match my food.

So with the Pasta I had bought from Italy, I was having my “east meet west” dinner, where I cook the Pasta with oriental ingredients.

Firstly, I cooked the Pasta in boiling water as usual, and then I stir the Pasta with Chinese sesame oil instead of olive oil, smells and tastes better.

Secondly, I cut the Bak Gua (barbecued meat in red color) into slices, and added some anchovies before putting them into the microwave for a minute, after that I poured the whole thing into the Pasta, stir it well before you start your meal.

Easy to cook and not oily at all, just like cooking a pack of instant noodle, but the Pasta with my EW style is healthier and taste better, I am loving it, Finger licking good (wonder McDonald or KFC will ask me to pay for the copyright!) LOL

Tag: Pasta, Food, East, East Meet West, Anchovies.

Sauce for Dogs

When you need sauce to enhance the taste of your food, dogs have the same need, that’s why you can buy tasty sauce for your doggie, which will get your dogs happy to have their meal.

I heard about this sauce thing before, but was not really into it, considering the possibility to cause my dog to shed hair which is the main reason why I wasn't keen at all.

However, today when I went to the pet shop to stock up dog food just to make sure my doggie has enough food during the Chinese New Year, I was given a bottle of Sauce for Dogs for free.

It has a bacon flavor, I just need to mix 2 tablespoon of sauce with a cup of dog food, simply pour and stir.

I asked at least three times the shopkeeper to make sure my dog won’t have shedding problem with the sauce, I saw him kept nodding the head and said no problem, I agreed to give it a try.

I think my dog would love it, because she always like tasty food.

Tag: Dog Food, Sauce, Dog.

Instant Life

Most of the imported instant noodles is RAMEN.
I got hooked onto instant noodles in my daily meal when I was working in Penang, can save more money and it is quite easy to cook.

However, I stop having instant noodle when I started to have hair-shedding problems, I was only early 20s.

I cooked a pack of RAMEN today, I added Pickled Lettuce and anchovies.
But now, I started all over again, because I found some nice imported instant noodle from Japan and Korea, the taste is Fucking Good, so I cannot resist the temptation, but I have to control myself not to eat too often.

A pack of this imported instant noodle is not cheap, it cost RM2.50 (USD 0.67) compared to the local product which only cost around RM0.40 (USD 0.11), so much of a difference but taste good, yummy ^_^

Tag: Instant Noodles, Instant Food, Japan, Korea, Ramen.

Double Protection

I was quite pissed off a few days ago when I could not log into my HSBC internet banking account, and the system froze my account after 3 attempts, I am sure that the password was correct, because I always noted down my password.

So I called the bank to unfreeze the account but they requested a Pin-Code, Damn it I have no idea about the pin or whatsoever, so they kindly asked me to apply for my pin in the nearest office.

Okay, their nearest office in my area needed a 45 minute drive.

However, I got myself a reason to go back to hometown and of course eat some good food and had a nice shopping after the Pin thing was done.

So I went back to Penang this afternoon, first thing I did was to rush to the bank, the staff of the bank were pretty and helpful, but I wondered why they ask me about the DEVICE.


Who in the hell knows about the device that I should have? I supposed the lady sensed I haven't a clue, so she started to explain the device and help me to register for the free device, of course she helped me to activate the thing and I was so happy but then that was 2 hours later.

Anyway, since the device is free and they made sure everything is done, 2 hours was worth it, what’s a consolation!

Okay, the DEVICE will generate a password when I push the button, so when logging into my account, instead of just keying in my user name and password, I need to key in the Device’s password too.

I am impress with their thoughtfulness in terms of online security, so I responded with a smile of satisfaction, then the lady reminded me with a serious tone but keep on a smiling face.

She said, “If you lose the device, we will charge RM50 for its replacement, and don’t keep playing with the button.”

You know what? I almost answered, “Yes Mum!” hahahaha

Tag: HSBC, Bank, Internet Banking, E-Bank.

Hijau Kuning

If you are a regular visitor to my blog, and remember my previous posts, then you know that I have mentioned about HijauKuning (green and yellow) in Vege-fruit Appetizer which was a combination of cucumber and pineapple.

As the color of the Flag of the state of Kedah, green and yellow in food will create some sort of patriotic passion, you can have cucumber and pineapple as “patriotic” appetizer in Malay cuisine.

However, there are many more expressions of eating the Chinese style “patriotism” side dish, where the Chinese here like to mix chillies and garlic with soya sauce, which is also green and yellow, but spicy and smelly.

Anyway, I kind of like this combination, especially when you eat it with Bak Gu Tek (pork ribs herbal soup).

Tag: Food, Malaysian Food, Chili, Garlic, Patriotism.

Short Break

It is almost 4 days since I updated my blog, a bit busy and lazy after coming back from Rome, so sorry fellow bloggers to keep you all waiting.

However, A new look for New Journey was done within 3 nights, the html code was very hard to keep TIDY (since I am just an amateur), tried many times to get things right, so don’t be surprise at the time I spent on the smallest detail (which you won’t notice) for it look perfect.

Thank GOD, everything is okay now, New Journey has a new fresh look with more BITEs, oppppps I meant more Food.

So everyone, here is my belated Happy New Year greetings! And A Happy Lunar New Year too.

Carrot Dancing

The carrot cakes covered with chili sauce.
In Malaysia, Chai Tao Kuih is usually in a shape of a square, Chai Tao means Carrot in the Hokkien dialect, and Kuih means delicacy, so Chai Tao Kuih if is translated in English it should read as: carrot cake.

In certain places, Chai Tao Kuih is also called as Kiam Kuih, Kiam means salty which well describe the taste of Chai Tao Kuih.

I love this since I was a kid, never miss a bite.LOL

Tag: Food, Malaysian Food, Malay Cuisine, Carrot, Delicacy.