vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Archive for May, 2006
Massive jam in Penang
May 30th
Recently traffic jam is getting worse along the Penang Bridge. The lanes before the bridge’s toll are being reduced by 2 to accomodate the upgrading work being done. I think it is a part of the bridge widening project being carried on right now. The project is more than welcomed but unfortunately for the time being it created a bottleneck. That made those SMARTAG users’ life difficult (my brother is one of them) because it is located on the most right lane. Imagine cutting through those massive number of cars. Worse still, they are Penang drivers -_-
Today I forgot to bring my badge and my desk’s key to work. I only realized it when I was in front of my office! (too busy sleeping in the car, the jam lah 
) Without the badge is still ok, but without the key I cannot do my work today. Why? Because Dell’s employees are responsible to keep and lock up their laptops in their desks. You are allowed to bring the laptop home but who would do that? Allowing employees to bring laptop home = Supervisor’s expectation of you will work at home = No no for me. So what to do? I had to ask my brother to fetch me back home and get the key. Because of my carelessness my brother had to apply for emergency leave, sigh. Sorry man, will treat you a movie sometime later this weekend 
I miss those days, when the traffic is smooth
So there we were at the bridge again, it was 8.20am. The jam is so bad that it has became a standstill, moving a few metres and then stop.. It took us almost 1.5 hours to reach home, thanks to the jam very much -_-” I hope the 2nd link/bridge widening can complete faster, the jam is starting to drive me nuts.. Driving to work in KL also not so bad lah!
Only if ferries go to Bayan Lepas too..
Anyway one of my buddy went to download San XI after reading my post but only to find out it was a Japanese version with Chinese patch, he was quite upset lol. Actually those selling in *ahem cough* stores are also this version. The patch did convert most of the characters except some in-game dialogues. It is still playable lah, I don’t have any problems with it so far. If the patch works perfectly it would certainly add a lot of fun in the game. See what the officers talk also quite nice, especially in meetings.
The game so far has been good, I find it the most challenging version of San series. The AI is good and strong, a nuisance at times. Their attacks are non-stop, led by only the best officers. My campaign has been on going for 70 years now, there are only 3 rulers left: Yuan Shao, Liu Bei and Lu Bu (me) Liu Bei is the strongest now, sien. I have to ally with Yuan Shao to stop him -_- I have executed Guan Yu and Zhao Yun *sob* but he still doesn’t want to give up in attacking me.. Maybe tonight I will start another campaign fresh, playing as both Cao Cao and Lu Bu 
Oh ya, did anyone catch the news about Malaysia bringing Disneyland to Johore? Read it here. Well well, now I may have a reason to visit Johore already if the plan does commence 
Bukit Mertajam Alive
May 21st
[tag]Bukit Mertajam[/tag] described in pictures..
This always busy road is quiet on a Sunday morning.. Pre-war buildings on both side of the road
The famous Koay Chap stall, operated by my grandmother’s godsister and her husband
Senior citizens enjoying a cup of Kopi O and chatting..
People busying with their everyday life in BM
Wantan Mee @ Tua Pek Kong Bukit Mertajam
May 21st
Bukit Mertajam(BM) @ “Tua Shua Ka” has a lot of good food to offer, the infamous duck egg Char Koay Teow which only opens at night, the Dried Hokkien Mee in Sri Sentosa, Taman Sri Rambai’s Curry Mee, BM Market’s Koay Chap etc.
In a sunny Sunday morning, there’s nothing better than enjoying a bowl of “Tok Tok Mee”. It is also known as “Tokong Noodles” as the stall operates beside a temple. It has been there since my father’s childhood, which means 50 years of business!
The name “Tok Tok Mee” cames from the process of making the noodles. Early in the morning everyday, “tok tok” sound can be heard caused by bamboo sticks hitting and pressing the noodle’s dough.
It looks like Wantan Mee soup, and tastes a little like Sarawak Mee. The noodles can be ordered in 3 different ways: dried, half-dried or in soup. I like half-dried the most At a price of RM2.00 per bowl, it is a steal.
Mother’s Day Celebration @ Manila Place
May 20th
Last Saturday we took our mom to [tag]Penang[/tag] to celebrate [tag]Mother’s Day[/tag]. We have been planning this two weeks before that. She told us she would like to have a nice meal of chicken chop. Many places have been suggested, like buffet lunch in E & O or Evergreen Laurel Hotel, or Western food in The Ship or Eden.
We ended up looking for a restaurant randomly through The Star’s Metro centerspread and found one which matched mom’s requirement and our budget “[tag]Manila Place[/tag]” is a Western style restaurant located in the ground floor of [tag]Gurney Plaza[/tag] and had a Mother’s Day promotion going on for RM23.90, perfect.
Doesn’t this look sooo familiar?
Array of cakes displayed.. cheese cakes, banana chocolate, tarts, pies..
Entering this restaurant feels like entering “Secret Recipe” due to its decor, various chocolate and cheese cakes are displayed beside the counter. The Mother’s Day lunch set comprises of:
- Sharks fin soup with bun and butter
- Main Course
- Orange Ice Cream, and
- Hot/Cold Rose Tea
A normal set lunch would be
- Mushroom soup with bun and butter
- Main Course
- Chocolate/Vanilla/Strawberry Ice Cream, and
- Iced Lemon Tea
The entire restaurant is served young and attractive ladies, but clumsy. A plate was heard broken in the kitchen, and our fork was dropped by the waitress.. twice.
This was my main course, BBQ Chicken. Tasted good but I got a bit bored after a few bites.. 
My brother’s main course, Mixed Herbs Chicken. This is good stuff, very unique taste. I actually preferred this to my BBQ Chicken.
Nice decoration does have effect on your meal 
My sister’s main course, Fish & Chips. I hated it. Since suffering from a very severe diarrhoea caused by an unfresh salmon steak, I had a very bad experience in eating any fish cooked in any Western style.. But it was nice according to my sis.
The Sharks Fin Soup is watery unlike those we normally have in wedding dinners. Anyway it was still good, and the bun is very fresh The bun reminded me of those served in U-Nite, but let’s not bring back bad memories
This is most probably just Season’s canned Iced Lemon Tea..
Rose Tea which came with the Mother’s Day Set Lunch, no taste at all.. no good
This is the dessert served in the Mother’s Day Special Set Lunch, the texture is a bit different from normal ice cream. I think it is made by the chefs here themselves. Not very good IMO, the chefs need to work harder 
These are the available ice creams: chocolate, strawberry and orange flavored. The strawberry flavored is the nicest among all, a rare choice from me who loves chocolate 
My brother and I, we do not really look alike hor.. Many people have said I am his elder brother -_-” Do I really look that old? He is 5 years my senior leh.
Happy Mother’s Day!
