A Year Older…….

Posted by thammelissa in birthday August 27, 2011

Yesterday was my birthday. Those days I usually look forward this day. Somehow I don’t feel any difference now other than my age increased. Yet, that is reality.

Next year onwards, I am no longer calling myself as in age 20s! Not eligible anymore. Huhuhuu….

Darn…why am I sounding so sad larrr….. Its ok as long as I keep myself well, I still can look youthful right? (still not accepting the fact).

Well, I got a week off during the Raya Festive & Malaysia Independence Day! I can have a whole week enjoying life.(by being a Sleeping Beauty)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS to all Malaysians!!

*not going to put so many candles. So worry the cake will sink*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME….HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME…HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME….HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME…………………………………… yeah..claps!

Oyaki, The Loaf @ Tokyo Street, Pavilion KL

Posted by thammelissa in Bakery, Halal, Japanese, Pavilion, Snack August 26, 2011

Oyaki is a Japanese-Style bun. (looks like a pan-fried bun)

It was popular during Taisho period (1912-1925). The Oyaki dough was traditionally made from using local flour and water while the filling of the Oyaki was vegetables seasoned with Miso / Soy Sauce. Oyaki can be found in most of the bazaar in Japan and outside Japan during the Japan’s Festival celebration.

The Loaf has modified the traditional Oyaki to The Modern Taisho Oyaki by using Butter Roll Dough stuffed with more than 10 varieties of sweets and savories ingredients each to bake in oven instead of using the frying pan.

Other than Oyaki, The Loaf also offer the Japanese moist and creamy Roll Cakes such as Caramel Maple Syrup, Mixed Fruits, Green Tea, Red Bean and etc.

Located at 6th Floor of Pavilion. (at Tokyo Street)

Just a small shop. Suitable for take-away.

Today, there were more choices. Unlike during my first visit on the first weekend after it was newly launched.

There are 12 flavors shown on the menu. But not all available that day. Currently they are having this promotion of Buy 6 pcs for the price of 5!! Promotion ends on 31st August 2011. Ohh ya..the price per piece is at RM2.90.

Therefore I dapao back home to enjoy it with my family. It was nicely packed!

Above are types of Oyaki I chose and a cut section of each. The bun are quite soft. But I reheat them before consuming. I prefer it to be warm…as it will be nicer that way.

Sausage Cheese – Melted cheese on top with sausage filling. (good)

Chicken Mushroom – This is a deep fried type I suppose. Seeing the outer part coated with breadcrumbs (if I’m not mistaken). Filled with bite size mushrooms and cream. (good)

Bolognaise – Taste like the bolognaise spaghetti (good)

German Potato – Mashed potato filling with taste of peppercorns (not nice)

Chocolate Banana – Filled with taste of chocolate & banana. (good)

Kaya – Filled with kaya (coconut jam) (normal)

Last but not least. Before leaving, I got myself this lil rabbit from Zakka, Tokyo Street. Her name is FiFi…she’s quite shy…She sleeps with me every night. Hb is getting jealous. He claimed that my bed is filled with soft toys. Soon, its going to be fully occupied by them. Wanyi, if you are reading here, this is your favorite bitbit!

Oyaki, The Loaf

P6.35.00, Level 6

Pavilion Kuala Lumpur

168 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Website

Join their Facebook page

Five Makeup No – Nos – CloveTWO

Posted by thammelissa in My Beauty Diary August 25, 2011

Five Makeup No – Nos – CloveTWO.

Sharing 5 makeup NO-NOs to all ladies out there.

You want to look pretty? You want to impress you man? You want to be more confident?

Why not have a glance of yourself on the mirror before leaving home rather than scaring people. Looking natural and not overdo is the best!

Zero knowledge on make up? Why not spare sometime to view some makeup clips shared on youtube.

GOOD LUCK!

Dinner @ Kampung Lobak Thai Seafood & BBQ, Seremban

Posted by thammelissa in Family, Food, Halal, Seremban, Thai August 24, 2011

I seldom travel downtown because I can get almost everything in Seremban 2 (another part of Seremban). There’s one night as Alex and I decided to head to Seremban town. We passed by this Kampung style restaurant located kinda off-sight, slightly below the road with many diners. Somehow, we did not have any thoughts to make a stop there. Until one day I saw a friend of mine posted the dish on his Facebook, saying “good Thai Food here”. All this while I thought its just an ordinary Malay restaurant serving Malay food (nasi goreng kampung, mee goreng, nasi paprik, mee bandung). One day, I told my colleague about this place. She went and returned the next day showing me a “thumb up”.

WOW….seems like I mustn’t miss this place. Moreover I love spicy food, especially Tom Yam, my favorite!!.

The Kampung Style Restaurant serving Thai Food. Good ventilation.

I noticed most of the diners are Chinese. Worry not…this is a HALAL restaurant.

Though it was crowded, but the food served were pretty quick!

Dun play play….got WiFi summore….

As I was busy shooting…my cheeky niece insisted me to take a photograph of her too… *her signature post*

Fresh Botak Coconut – RM5/ each

BBQ Cockles – RM8 (recommended)

The clams are fresh and not overdo. Lightly dip the bbq clams in the sauce. Both sauces were good. Very spicy too….

Kangkung Belacan – RM8 (recommended)

Kangkung or Water Spinach stir-fry with belacan (shrimp paste). A must have dish in a Thai restaurant! Anyway, this was good though.

Kailan with Salted Fish – RM8

Though the kailan wasn’t overcooked, but too bad don’t have much taste of the salted fish.

Basil Leaf Thai Style Chicken – RM10

We requested this to be cooked without chili. So that Vernice can eat. And she enjoyed it. If you dislike the taste of basil leaf, don’t worry because the flavor of basil leaves did not overpowered the taste of chicken and other marination.

Steam “Kang Som” Fish (Siakap) – RM53 (recommended)

The price of this fish is kinda expensive. However lets ignore the price and enjoy the dish. The fish was fresh. While the soup is spicy and has alil sourish taste. Served under the burning charcoal (underneath the tray). You may enjoy eating the HOT & SPICY fish, including the soup till last piece. Beware, the soup/ gravy is darn spicy. I needed a fire extinguisher!!!

Seafood Tom Yam – RM16 (M) (recommended)

A pot of hot & spicy tom yam, yet not too sour filled with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, crab, squids, prawns.

Green Curry – RM18 (L)

A literally sweet curry in Thai cuisine. Its is less spicy. What’s in the hot pot? There are eggplants, basil and chicken. Somehow I preferred the curry to be more concentrated.

Deep Fried Sotong with Garlic & Pepper – RM12 (recommended)

Deep fried squids was not bad. Not too dry or hard and they are crispy. With a light taste of garlic and pepper. Dip in the Thai chili sauce and pop into your mouth.

Pandan Chicken – RM7.50 (3 pcs) (recommended)

Boneless chicken are well marinated with seasonings and spices then wrapped with Pandan leaves before frying them. Wrapping with Pandan leaves able to enhance a sweet aroma towards the chicken.

The size of meat per piece was quite big. Moreover its tender and flavorful. Thumbs up!

Thab Thim Krob – RM3.50

Its a popular Thai dessert. Those red rubies like thing are actually chestnuts coated in tapioca flour. So, you will have the effect of chewy outside and crunchy inside. Served in the form of ice-shaved coconut milk together with slices of nangka(jack fruit).

Food : 4/5

Price : Affordable

Service : 4/5

Kampung Lobak Thai Seafood & BBQ

(next to Petronas)

No. 2388, Jalan Manickavasagam,

Lobak,

70200 Seremban, N.S.

Tel : 06-7612184

Food Galore @ Bazaar Ramadhan, Seremban 2

Posted by thammelissa in Dessert, Drinks, Halal, Malay, Seremban August 17, 2011

Selamat Hari Raya in around 2 weeks. The Ramadhan month, the Muslims around the world are compulsory to fast a month. Ramadhan is the 9th month according to the Islamic calendar, holiest month in the Islamic calendar. During month of Ramadhan, we can see that most of the restaurants, hotels being competitive in offering their best BUKA PUASA TREAT.

This is the time where the traders busy setting up stalls at Bazaar. Which we called Bazaar Ramadhan. Here, you can find stalls selling varieties of mouth-watering food and drinks for the breaking of fast. These are different from night markets in the sense that these Ramadhan Bazaars sell mostly food and drinks for the breaking of fast. Hence, the bazaars normally will be open daily from 4pm and closes at about 7.15pm (right before the breaking of fast).

Yeah…I know.Its time to put on weight! Add extra kilos please…. ^^

Since 8TV commercial has added some restriction when you are at Bazaar Ramadhan, therefore I’m obeying it. Imma Chinese girl too…

1) Do not wear revealing clothes.

- See…me no dress sexily huh…(PASSED)

2) Do not be loud or obnoxious.

- I did follow o..I talked soft soft..just like a cat (PASSED)

3) Do be polite and discreet.

- I did say ‘Thank You’. See…pakcik is smiling happily… (PASSED)

4) Do not be greedy.

- Ahh..couldn’t pass. Too many nice food. Can’t resist. (FAILED)

I better be early before it gets crowded here. I went to this bazaar which is just a walking distance from my house, at Garden Homes Seremban 2. Go around 4.30pm will be the best time.

Lets see what I managed to share here. Unfortunately did not manage to cover all types of food. So sorry…..

Grilled Chicken (Ayam Percik) – a popular Malay dish. Chicken were marinated with spicy coconut gravy and cooked traditionally over a charcoal fire. Originated from Kelantan.

Ikan Bakar with sambal

Ikan Bakar berempah

BBQ Chicken Wings selling at RM2.20/ piece

Otak Otak

Nasi Ayam Goreng Berempah

Nasi Ayam (Ayam Percik)

Mee Rebus

The economy Fried Mee and Fried Kuey Teow at RM2

Hmmm….interesting Murtabak

Assorted Lauk Pauk

Kebab Ayam & Daging

Cucur Udang at RM3.50 (shrimp fritters served with special chili sauce)

Assorted Kuih Muih

Mini Burger filled with spicy sambal and cucumber. There are many names for this kuih. My mom’s favorite. And she named it ‘BOM’…haha..

Another stall of kuihs

Tepung Pelita – (Double layered rice flour dessert) Traditional Malay kuih. Creamy top (from the coconut milk) and sweet bottom.

Putu Piring - steamed rice cakes filled with gula Melaka(palm sugar) and serves it with grated coconut. (flat shape like a plate)

Putu Piring - steamed rice cakes filled with gula Melaka(palm sugar) and serves it with grated coconut. (cylindrical shape)

Kek Batik & Cempedak Goreng

Freshly made Onde-Onde (made from glutinous rice flour filled with palm sugar and coated with coconut on the outside)

Not forgetting to quench our thirst with these colorful drinks. TOO COLORFUL!

A big packet of drink for RM2.50. Remember to request for ‘kurang manis’!

The fasting month of Ramadan ends when the new moon is sighted (1st of Shawal month) with a Muslim festival known as Aidil Fitri or Hari Raya Puasa.

So, have you visited your nearest Bazaar Ramadhan to enjoy the Food Galore?

Do you remember your childhood games?

Posted by thammelissa in Memories August 16, 2011

Time to refresh the childhood memories.

How well do you remember it? How about your childhood games?What games do you usually played with your friends or school mates?

Usually it involves traditional games. Unlike children these day… its all about technology games. iPad, Play Station, iPhone and etc. Wonder do children this era know about traditional games? Or at least familiar with the names. I recalled playing these games between breaks. Such as during recess time, and spare time after school hours. It brings back lots of nostalgic memories.

BATU SEREMBAN

I usually get my grandma to sew the beanie bags for me, then filled with rice or beans. Using stones is actually the original method.

Batu seremban or five stones is a game originally played by girls. This is an easier game to play compare to congkak because it only needs five stones or five round objects to play with. You can either play with five, seven or nine objects determining to what type of game you are playing.The objective of the game is to throw one of the stones one at a time and sweeping another on the floor simultaneously catching the one you threw earlier on. This game continues to advance stages where the game gets complicated.

photo by Nyi Lin Win

GALAH PANJANG

We usually uses the badminton court as the galah panjang court.

Galah Panjang is not an individual traditional game. It requires 2 separate teams of attackers and defenders. Each team usually consists of not less than 4 players, thus the game is played by about 10 players. Each player is required to run past all defending lines from the first line to the last and run back towards the first line without any physical contact with the opposing team. If any member of the opposing team manages to touch any player, the player is considered ‘dead’ and out of the game.

TENG TENG

CONGKAK

It is a game which is played during one’s free time. Usually after a hard day’s work on the padifields. It is a game played by the women, especially liked by the youths.

Before playing a game of congkak one has to have a piece of wood 80cm in length and 18cm in width. That piece of wood would have two different types of holes, namely the lubang kampung (village) or lubang anak (child) and lubang rumah (house). The number of lubang kampung is usually in odd quantities of five, seven or sometimes nine in a row.

The lubang kampung is in two long rows where as the lubang rumah is represented with two bigger holes located either sides of the row of lubang kampung. The anak-anak buah(playing seeds) is usually represented by marbles, stones or shells which is kept in play by putting them into the holes.

It is easy to play the game. Basically, two players will move simultaneously. If either of the player reaches a hole with no more playing seeds, the player has to stop. He can only move when the opponent stops in the same dead end. The game of congkak ends when there is no more playing seeds in the lubang kampung or lubang anak. The player who has the most number of seeds in the lubang rumah wins the game.

MAIN GETAH

Uses rubber bands..preferable the colorful ones. Shouting “ZERO POINT” was fun! Unfortunately my rubber bands always got confiscated by the prefects. Sobs..Don’t understand why school don’t allowed us to play that. Anyway, we still curi-curi play lah….hahaha..

An informative article about this game HERE

PAPER DOLLS

Eagerly waited for the bread vendor to arrive. So that I can collect more! ^^

Ahh…I started to miss my old school now. The old CONVENT. There were so many playing spots, so many memories. Now, its no longer there. *sigh. It was demolished, then became an abandoned project and now its a “HUGE POOL”!

Brunch @ Kedai Makanan Yut Kee

Posted by thammelissa in Chinese, Food, Kuala Lumpur, Non-Halal August 12, 2011

An initial plan of having brunch here just before we begin our journey to Colmar Tropicale. This place was strongly recommended by Ashley. Ashley got to know about this place from her Boss. See….how the good stuff are passed around.

Somehow we got caught in the jam and only managed to reach there at around 12pm. A gentle reminder…this place is very crowded and be prepared to wait for your seat. If you are lucky, you can get your seat within 10 minutes. Though it is located in front of a busy road, getting a parking is not a big issue. Park behind its building. There’s an open air parking space *just pay lor….

The guys are waiting for their turn to be seated while I’m busy taking photo of the restaurant’s facade.

The Interior

An old coffee shop. Looks like a heritage shop too. I was told that this shop, Yut Kee was established since 1928. WOW! That was long! What is so good here that draws most of the crowd. The answer is PORK & Hainanese food. Which we hardly get one from the ordinary coffee shop.

guess I gotto apologize to pigs now. You are so cute and adorable…yet you are so delicious. Please do not hunt me….I LOVE YOU!

While waiting….I saw this fresh, hot golden block laid on the chopping board. What is that? It looks like a block of ham which I usually see from the Supermarket. This is actually ‘Roast Pork’. And its served from 11.30am onwards. (available only on Friday to Sunday) A whole block is at price of RM140 (huh…terkejut saya)

A plate of 2 slices ‘Roast Pork’ = RM14 (recommended)

Price of pork is getting expensive these days. Though this plate of 2 is not cheap but the taste was good le. Meat was stuffed with apricots, sage and pistachios to be roasted. Very crispy skin with tasty and tender meat. Me like that its not too dry or fat lor. .. Its served with apple sauce but I preferred to eat without the sauce.

**Though crowded, but the food arrived pretty quick**

Lets see what to order. Prices are clearly written on the huge menu.

Kopi Ping & Cham Ping

French Toast – RM 3.50

French Toast served with homemade kaya. I felt that the bread is just normal but the kaya was good. The kaya looks ugly but taste nice lor.

Pork Chop – RM 10 (recommended)

This is a Hainanese Style Pork Chop. A signature dish here. 2 slices of pork chop along with mixed vegetables, onion and potato wedges covered with brown sauce. Not sure how they cooked the gravy..but the taste goes well with the juicy pork. Love the gravy…slurp slurp..

Roti Babi (Pork Bun) – RM8 (recommended)

An egg batter bread sandwiched with shredded pork and onion. Some said with Chinese sausage and crabmeat. But I couldn’t taste it ler..

The golden brown bread with generous filling. Some said add few dash of Lea Perrin sauce for extra flavor. Isit?? Where’s the bottle of sauce?? Ahh..missed that. Anyway, I do feel that its good enough. Rather special to me.

Fried Hailam Mee – RM 6 (recommended)

Looks like Hokkien Mee…and don’t look presentable either. Surprisingly it taste good! Especially to eat the noodles with their sambal belacan. CAUTION! Its quite hot.

Char Siew Rice (BBQ Pork Rice) – RM 5.80

Hmm…this plate of char siew rice, nothing to shout about. So So only.

Last but not least, take away some cake slice.

Kaya Roll & Butter Cake…..yummy yummy…moist & buttery!!

Kedai Makanan Yut Kee
35, Jalan Dang Wangi (Campbell Road),
50100 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2698 8108
Business hours: 8am to 5pm
Closed on Mondays and the last Sunday of the month.

Dining @ La Flamme, Colmar Tropicale Berjaya Hills

Posted by thammelissa in Colmar Tropicale, Food, French, Halal, Pasta, Pizza August 11, 2011

All of us got the sudden hunger after returned from the mount climbing at Japanese Village and Botanical Garden. Oppss….not mount climbing…should be hills climbing. We returned to Colmar Square by the free shuttle bus. Ohh ya.. a good experience with the shuttle bus. Struggling up the hills, ferrying around 20+ people, with wear tire and broke down just on time it reaches the destination. BRAVO!

It was just around 5+pm and we decided to have our dinner already. Since we had an early lunch, therefore we consider that as a missed meal! Wahahaha…

Who cares anyway. Holiday is all about food and makan-ing. Right??

LA FLAMME; a sidewalk deli serving pastries, pastas and pizzas.

It ain’t cheap dining here. Anyway, we’ll see what do they deliver.

HAWAIIAN (Large) – RM37

Chicken, pineapple, mushroom and tomato concasse.

MARGHERITA (Small) – RM24

Tomato concasse, mozzarella cheese and mixed herbs

Both pizzas tasted so-so only and the dough was quite dry too. If only the toppings would to be extra, that would be better I guess.

SPICY VONGOLE – RM25

Vongole (Clams), cili padi, ginger, lemon grass in garlic butter sauce.

This fettuccine was good. Not over creamy. More like an Asian flavor pasta. I like the slight spicy from cili padi and ginger with the buttery cream sauce. I actually spoon up and finished the gravy! HEHE…

MARINARA – RM31

Prawn, mussels, fish cube, clam & squid with tomato concasse.

I would say that the sauce was not rich enough. Moreover the Rotini was like not fully cooked and the clams were not so fresh =(

**This meal was not enough for 6 of us…we had another round of dinner at

La Blason (A restaurant serving Malaysian and international specialties). We end up paying another RM55++ for a buffet dinner which was much better ^^

Price : Quite expensive because the portion was small (imposed 10% government tax & 6% service tax)

Service : Poor

Ambiance : Fair

La Flamme

Colmar Tropicale, Berjaya Hills – Malaysia
KM48, Persimpangan Bertingkat Lebuhraya Karak
28750 Bukit Tinggi, Bentong, Pahang
Malaysia

Happy Moment We Had @ Colmar Tropicale, Bukit Tinggi

Posted by thammelissa in Colmar Tropicale, Friends, MALAYSIA, Travel August 10, 2011

Having thoughts of traveling together stuck in our mind every now and then. Perhaps it was because of the past memories we had in Taiwan 2010 which was indeed a memorable one. I can still remember how we made lame jokes, laughs, munching non-stop from one point to another. Was really fun and enjoying trip we traveled together. Though we do not meet nor speak to each other often, we made effort to meet occasionally. (few months once??)

This round, we decided to go for a short trip. A 2D/1N at Colmar Tropicale, Berjaya Hills located at Bukit Tinggi. If you are traveling from KL, its just 45 minutes drive. We thought this could be a good choice since it do not require long hours journey. Moreover it would be a good experience to Yew Kong & Wanyi…ya…their 1st time there.

“Relish in century old Alsace charm at this French-themed resort, settled at 2,700 feet above sea-level amidst 80 acres of rainforests.”

We SO look forward to this trip. Wanyi who is now temporary residing in Singapore made the effort traveling back to KL and was happily waiting for the day to come. All 6 of us; Mel, Alex, Ashley, Andrew, Wanyi & Yew Kong checked in at 2pm.

Superior Suite

We booked the room from its website a month earlier in order to enjoy discount up to 25%. All rooms are quaintly French and fully equipped with modern facilities. We were surprised with the spacious, clean & comfy room.

Where is my Prince?? Ain’t it look like castle?

External Facade

I just don’t understand…we’ve climbed so high….yet I do not feel any breeze or cold at all ler….why ar??

The French Theme Village. I was quite impressed that they actually maintain the place well. This was my 3rd time there. My very first visit there was with Alex at year 2007.

Red Carriage…and where are the white horses?

After struggling up the winding and narrow road to the hill, we finally reached the main entrance!

I climbed up to enjoy the full view. Ops..did I say climbed up? Nah…I’m just too lazy…just use the elevator!

Wanyi, Myself & Ashley

This was so funny! Wanyi said, looks like they were in a football match! Hahaha..

The Square – Facade at Night

Well, nothing much we can do at night. You may choose to watch the short stage performance, Foot reflexology(quite expensive), or game room. However we chose to have long hours dinner and talk rubbish at the same time ^^.

Other attractions includes Japanese Village & Rabbit Park

Japanese Tea House & Koi Pond

Ryo Zan Tei at Japanese Village

Cutie Rabbit at Rabbit Park…look just like soft toy! The fur is smooth & soft.

An entrance fee of RM3 is required upon entry.

The gorgeous yet arrogant peacock at Rabbit Park

huhuhu…Happy Moment has come to an end. Such a coincident that Friendship day falls on August 7…Therefore…I’m wishing you guy “HAPPY FRIENDSHIP DAY!!” Lets toast for our friendship…..

See you guys again…….

“If you do not wish to stay overnight, all you have to do is just pay an entrance fee of RM12. However, be prepare to spend on the food. That’s because the food & beverage here are quite pricey. A good place to relax and spending a night will be good enough. Other than sight seeing, nothing much you can do there.”

For complete set of photos; please CLICK HERE.

Colmar Tropicale, Berjaya Hills – Malaysia
KM48, Persimpangan Bertingkat Lebuhraya Karak
28750 Bukit Tinggi, Bentong, Pahang
Malaysia