vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Archive for June, 2006
Batu Ferringhi and Park Royal Hotel
Jun 25th
Last Sunday was a rare sunny and hot day. Rare because it rained every single day before that for the past week. Siang Leng and I went to Batu Ferringi to spend the afternoon there. It was our second visit in a year, nothing much changed in that area.
The skyline that day.. taken around 5.30pm. Before that the sun was so scorching hot, until we couldn’t even open our eyes completely!
Quite a lot of people thronged the beach that day, tourists(mostly from Middle East) were seen along the beach. Most of them were waiting for their turns to horse ride, jet ski, parachute and ride the banana boat.
The watersport’s owner must be smiling for the entire afternoon, the business was good! Look at the number of people riding the jet skis. The fishing boat shown is used to ferry people for fishing tours.
Walking along the beach we noticed this funny looking log. We found out that it was actually a broken steel pipe that was probably washed ashore by the waves.
Taking a closer look, there were mussels @ lala living on this thing, and there were plenty of them! They were alive and kept sticking their “tongue” out, very cute lol. We even took a video of them.
We have always entered the beach via Park Royal hotel. The staff does not really bother whether you are a hotel guest or not. They let you explore the hotel and use the facilities as you like such as the toilet, pool and ping pong table(with bats and ball) I think they do not mind too even if you swim in their swimming pool! So nice hor?
The pool view from the hotel lobby, right in front of the bar.
This is a very nice looking restaurant. I saw there was a small band that sings to dining guests, just like those shown in TV. They will bring along a big violin, guitar and sing those Mexican kind of songs lol.
Next week we will be back again! But this time we will travel to Pantai Kerachut instead, heard people say the beach is sandy white, less polluted and much less crowded 
Flame Steamboat Restaurant
Jun 24th
“Flame” Steamboat Restaurant is opened by a quite famous Hong Kong actor in the 90s, Mark Cheng. For those who don’t know him, maybe a cardboard version of himself could help to refresh your memory haha.
This is the guy who owns this chain of steamboat restaurants. The one we went to was located in Bayan Lepas area, in Krystal Point. You cannot miss it, it’s the corner shop. My brother actually went to this restaurant once with his Altera colleagues. He recommended it as it was quite unique, serving a lot of unheard soup bases. Normally when we go for steamboats, we only can choose from either Tomyam or Ching Thong right? Well “Flame” offers more than just two, they have Herbal Ching Thong, Ma Lat (spicy and numbing) and even Winter Melon Soup!
My sister’s birthday was coming soon(but already over if you are reading this lol) so we celebrated it here. We ordered the biggest set they have to offer @ RM168 called the “Prosperity Set”, but drinks were not included.
Peanuts, as starters. Let’s move on to see what ingredients were included in the set we had.
First, we have the free chilli sauce, lol. There are six containers here, but only 4 types to choose from actually. They were not very good, one was too sour while the other one was just normal sambal belacan. It would be much better if they had Thai chilli sauce.
Some pretty much normal looking vegetables, fresh nonetheless.
Kimchim mushroom, sui kao, yam paste slices, fish paste cubes(nice!) and some bean curd.
A few slices or pork meat, from the neck perhaps? So few that you can actually count the number of slices given, 6 only.
Even more fish balls, pastes and noodles. Common stuff.
Nicely arranged seafood, with a crab sitting on top of an array of prawns and cuttlefish. Speaking of which, I don’t remember eating any prawns that day, who finished it lol?!
This plate of mutton is actually a side-order. It was being offered as a new item and had a pretty good discount on it. It cost RM28 for a plate(usual price RM48) They were good and do not have the milky taste as disliked by some folks.
Tomyam soup base on the left, Herbal soup base on the right.
What we drank during the meal, Seasons’ Iced Lemon Tea. RM2.80 a can, what a rip off. I could’ve bought 3 cans with that price.. What to do, this is a rather high class restaurant..
Overall I would give this restaurant a 65/100 score. If you fancy steamboat with a variety of soup bases to choose from, along with some special ingredients, you could give it a try. The cheapest set comes at RM38 if I remember correctly which and serves 2, and RM68 for 4-6.
Bought a new camera!
Jun 20th
We finally did it! After months of planning Siang Leng and I shared the cost to purchase the DSLR camera we had always wanted, the Canon Powershot S3IS. This is like a dream come true for us We bought the camera from Fotocam in Perangin Mall. These are the breakdowns of our purchase:
- Camera – RM1600 (Retail price is RM1899)
- 4 x AA sized hahnel rechargeable batteries (inclusive of charger) – RM85
- 1GB SD memory card – RM99
- Original Canon carrying bag – RM35
- Anti scratch/fungus protection cover for the lense – RM136
- Total – RM1850
We walked around the Komtar area, entering at least 8 camera shops to search for the best deal. Some had a higher price for the camera, but cheaper accessories and vice versa. We wanted to purchase from Lam Loong, which sells the camera at RM1590, and gives free bag and tripod. But too bad their store had closed 
This is how the camera looks like. It weighs about half a kilogram.
The box and bag we bought.
Next day, we went to test out the camera’s photo taking abilites. Trying out the Super Macro feature using my mom’s orchid.
Check out the clarity of the drops of water!
Poor duck we had for lunch that day..
Bukit Mertajam, as seen from my house’s top floor. It was overcast at the time I took the photo.
A small village behind my house, also taken from the top floor. I love this camera!
The digital camera reviews give full-detailed information about the products of different camera brands. The wider range of camera accessories is provided by the different manufacturers of electronics. The mini digital camera is very small-sized camera; you may compare its size with the credit card. The helmet camera is the production of the most renowned brand of camera, having all main features of fine-quality.
Cherok Tok Kun
Jun 18th
Last Sunday Siang Leng and I went to Cherok Tok Kun for jungle trekking. We also wanted to take some photos using our new camera hehe. Anyway, Googling up “Cherok Tok Kun” only gives this answer
Cherok Tok Kun is a small village in Province Wellesley, Penang, Malaysia. It is the hometown and birthplace of Anwar Ibrahim, former deputy prime minister of Malaysia.
But whenever one mentions Tok Kun, they are referring to the Bukit Mertajam Recreational Forest.
The Bukit Mertajam Recreational Forest is suitable for camping and other recreational activities like jungle trekking and picnicking. There is also a small waterfall passing through the area where one can take a dip in the cool refreshing water.
The recreational forest has become very popular among the locals especially from the Seberang Perai Tengah district and neighbouring Kedah and Perak districts.
To get there, follow Jalan Kulim past St.Anne’s Church and the traffic light. You will see a BP petrol station on your left, drive further down until you spot a mosque on your right. Directly opposite the mosque is a small road with a big road sign indicating Jalan Kolam. Drive along the small road for about 1 KM and you will reach the gate to the forest. I have only been to Tok Kun 2 times before. The first time was with my family while second was 9 years ago on a Tae Kwon Do physical training session at Form 2 or 3. My mom said she dragged us up to the hill top lol.
The car park is not too big, many cars are double parking. It was quite funny to see some cars actually had to reverse all the way down from the slope because of insufficient parking. Beside the car park are a row of hawkers selling pisang goreng and lots of fruits.
Me enjoying pisang goreng. RM1 for five pieces, very worth 
I am not sure whether this even qualifies as a small waterfall. Small red sign on the left saying “AWAS Batu Licin”
A close up of the waterfall, “Hutan Lipur Bukit Mertajam” We spent 45 minutes trying to walk up to the hill but we were just too tired to continue. We were wondering if there is any waterfall on the hilltop, anyone who knows mind to tell? 
A lot of children playing and swimming in the water. I played in the water during the physical training, an unforgettable experience but I won’t do it again lol.
This tea house is quite new, it only opened last November. Quite a lot of customers as you can see from this photo. The structure of this tea house also reminded me of those in TVB dramas haha. Those swordsman like to yam cha, eat pao and then will kena ambush haha.
“Tea Spa Taman Rimba” offers many variety of tea leaves to choose from, costing from RM4.00 to RM7.00. Besides tea they also serve some snack dishes like “Char Yip Dan”, TeoChew fried mee, peanuts and tea boiled potato. I think Boon Siang will enjoy this place very much
Saw some ex-JSHS people(right side, 3 people in a table) drinking tea there, but I don’t think they know me. In this photo you can see some small chalets in the background. They are newly built too, and the committee is going to celebrate the completion by holding a buffet dinner and karaoke session for the completion.
Our snack that afternoon, “Char Yip Dan”, costs RM0.70 per egg. They were so fragrant that we couldn’t resist tasting them before we went home. We initially thought it was Bak Kut Teh, because they really smell alike. By the way, the photo qualities are very good right? So much better than my previous Konica Minolta Dimage X50
Dell Bayan Lepas
Jun 15th
Few days ago I found out that I have a couple of high school friends, whom I haven’t seen for up to 3 years working in Dell too. Kien Soon is conducting his industrial training while Hui Fang is working in the Procurement department in AP2. Li Hua is also interested in joining Dell but too bad I am leaving after today. A pity I didn’t have much time to catch up with them, everyone has been busy. Anyway since today’s my last day working here, let’s take a small tour around
This is the new cafeteria I have been talking about in my last entry, quite big eh? Just completed about 3 weeks ago, it replaces both Dell’s old bakery and canteen.
From what I heard, Dell have spent quite a lot in decorating the cafeteria with lightings and plants like these.
A small stage for performances? Not sure because I haven’t seen or heard one yet. Look at the colorful balls hanging from the ceiling, don’t you think the decoration is very Christmas oriented lol?
This is the breakfast I had today in the cafeteria, Western breakfast set @ RM2.50. It has a small portion of coleslaw(not nice, yucks) a slice of slightly toasted white bread, a fried egg, a slice of chicken ham, a sausage, and some baked beans. They also serve nasi lemak and fried noodles.
Lets move on to my working place ^_^ This place is where my team works. Previously it was occupied by Dell’s customer support team, they have moved downstairs. When they were here, the environment was quite hectic but now it’s all peaceful You can see my cubicle from here too, it’s just under the red balloon.
Shown here is my cubicle, with the standard notebook given to all developers, a Dell Latitude D600, Centrino 1.6GHz with 512MB RAM. Performs ok for normal desktop applications but tends to lag if developing in VS.NET.
From L to R: Stationaty, leaflets, a box scribble papers I “snaked” from my previous company lol and my water bottle.
From L to R: Walkman I borrowed from my sister, my badge, Milo, cup, sugar and my bag. It is unexplained why the walkman couldn’t receive any stations’ frequencies except FlyFM and 988. But once you step out of the building, reception will back to normal.. weird huh. 
A typical pantry here has 2 water dispensers and 2 vending machines. Sometimes people eat and have meetings here.
A close up of the vending machines, drinks are not free
Later today my team is organizing a farewell lunch for me at McD, so will try to snap some photos if possible
