Sick

Been sick for the whole of past week. Horrible, horrible experience. First was joint aches (arthralgia), followed by fever for 3 days. Next, when I thought I was better, I went to starpoints hotel(food was horrible, AVOID at all costs) - and I got sick for another 4-5 days. The mere thought of food made me want to vomit, and the nauseated feeling lasted throughout the day. Not fun. :(

Posts soon, as of now recovering. :)

Gotcha @ Plaza Low Yat

I went to Gotcha at Plaza Low Yat today. It was actually quite easy to find! The place was quite big to my surprise, and the staff were really, really friendly, and the place was big, spacious and clean! Such a wonderful surprise, I rate it on par with the "big names" like Chatime and Gong Cha!

Gotcha!

Upon the friendly staff's recommendation, I took the "Mango Milk" while the other drink chosen by my brother was the Almond Honeydew Milk. Unlike other places where the staff tell you "I don't know which one nice, I haven't drunk it before", the staff here were quite knowledgeable and gave me good recommendations.

The menu

The Mango Milk was lovely! I am not a fan of too much milk personally, but Mango Milk(RM6.90) was not too milky and not overly sweet. It was a lovely mango plus a little milk taste, and the taste was just nice. Every mouthful came with real mango chunks, which I think is really great! There wasn't a time when I went "yuck" or "I'm tired of it", instead I just felt refreshed. Bottom line: I loved it!

Mango Milk

Almond Honeydew Milk(RM7.40) to me was ok, but my brother loved it. He associated the taste with the "high class drink" he took in Genting, which meant that this was up to par with even hotel / established management's Honeydew drink. We did not order the drinks with less sugar, and the drink was sweet enough without being sickening, and like their tagline goes, the drink is healthy.

Almond Honeydew Milk

It's a good place to check out, and I would go there again when I'm near :)

The clean and comfortable sitting area

Gem Restaurant @Petaling Jaya . . .Truly a Gem!

Having won RM5 credit from Groupon, I bought a deal for Indian food, since I've not had North indian food for a loooong time now. You know as Malaysians, we all love all sorts of food, and for me, Indian food is definitely one of them :)

Gem restaurant is a place that was there 10 years ago when I was still a school kid . . .  :) I passed it on my way to school every single day. Its actually pretty high class . . . And last friday, I finally had a chance to go in!

The interior is well decorated with Indian flavours. There are also 3D-feel sculpture like art on the wall.

The table was set, with 4 heavy cups on the table. It was 7pm when we arrived. We were the first, but was joined by another family in a while. 

Crab soup, definitely a must try. Tasty soup with 1/4 a crab each. Slightly spicy, but flavourful. :)

Appetizer, chicken drummet. Was awesome. Non spicy as well. I think I barely touched the sauce man.  

The fried mushroom is lovely(I don't know the name) and I highly recommend it! Even my dining partner, a non mushroom lover found it delightful!

The naan there, when taken while hot/ warm, is fluffy and heavenly. Reasonably priced as well., about RM3.90.

Abundance of food. Chicken and lamb and mushroom. :D Nice... But seriously spicy, which was kinda a torture, in a way :/ 

This, I remember. Its called Kulfi, its a type of Indian ice cream made of coconut, according to a friend (not milk). Seriously yummy, a MUST TRY eventhough that portion cost RM9.90.  :)

What was embarrassing that night was I mistook my uni lecturer as one of my mum's colleagues. So embarrassing, especially that it happened in front of the lecturer's family! I wished that there was a hole for me to hide my head into during that time man . . .

Indian food is never cheap. So if you want to eat, eat at a good place like this :D But be warned . . . Things that they say are "not spicy" might just cause you to tear like crazy!! It was a good experience, and if a deal like this pops up again, I'm sure I'll give it more than just a thought :)

Birthday Celebration part 3 aka Hi Tea @ Flavors, Swiss Garden & Residences

Happy birthday to all January babies!

(my mum always says if she knew I wanted to "come out so early" (3rd Jan), she would have tried to ask me come out earlier/at the end of the year...lol!)

Anyway, my other half and I went to Swiss Garden Flavor's Restaurant to celebrate :D We bought the hi tea coupon from everyday at 50% off, which of course was a steal :)

Pictures I managed to capture for the day :)

Flavor's Interior. 

The interior upon arrival. Lighting was nice, deco was classy, awesome ambiance. Bustling with people.  

The Appetizer corner

The choices were abundant, with fresh leaves, salads etc. there was even a cheese counter with a few variants of cheese for our hi-tea! :)

The dedicated waffle corner :)

Rushed at it since I'm a sucker for waffles + honey :D :D :D

Appetizers and Waffles! :D

Started by taking appetizers and waffles with honey, my all time favourite. Appetizer section is well stocked. the beef salad was gooooood X) 

 Fresh oysters :D

Having gone for a few hi-tea buffets now, I can say this is one of the better ones. (see the osyters!? :) )there were fresh oysters and prawns. I was there for close to 2 hrs and they had refilled at least twice (although people took it just as fast!)

 Dessert corner

The dessert corner was honestly the most well stocked of the place, with generous varieties of puddings, cakes, fruits etc. Most were good, one should save space for some delightful desert and the end. 

 Colourful palate of desserts! :D

My plate of desserts, shared with my awesome partner :) tried mixed berries, christmas cake, puddings, custard creams etc :)

 Main course

Notice that I din't talk much bout main course? There were 3 counters like the above 1, serving Malay dishes, Western dishes and Chinese dishes each. Food was fair (well it is a high tea not "lunch" per say), the roast beef was AWESOME. I think the specialty here is beef la :D

 Dimsum and Noodles 

Dimsum and noodles station was also another station featured outside the restaurant, with tomyum and soup noodles, and various paos and dimsums serving outside, constantly manned by 2 chefs.

 Soup

Can't run away from soup apparently :p I tried main courses including their soup and dishes, which I find pretty mediocre. Decent but nothing special. Again, apart from the roast beef :D

 Thumbs up 

His verdict: good. 

Just don't overeat at buffets - suffer only later when too full. 

Happy birthday Mr Handsome Boy :) 

May you have an awesome year ahead :) :)

Posing outside Flavor's restaurant. We enjoyed ourselves, staff were courteous, service was good (eg water was constantly refilled).

All in all enjoyed ourselves, stuffing ourselves, taking seconds (coz variety limited), chatting, taking photos :) A great day with great company :) Now, no more in denial . . . Older ady lah :/

My verdict: 4/5

Comment: Ambiance was good, food quality was fresh and above average, service was prompt and friendly, beef was da bomb. Kinda could do with a wider variety of main dishes though. :) Worth coming, would definitely consider if an offer comes up again :)

Breakfast @ Cempaka Service Suites

My pageviews everyday average around 3 or less. Heh, This sorta means I have privacy, means that I can post (just about) everything I want.

Blogging to me is a rare luxury of sorts, tho I have tons of pictures to upload. I should however watermark my pictures :) The last sets of pics were so light it was barely visible...

anyway, stayed over @ Cempaka hotel /suite and had buffet breakfast today.

Some breakfast pics :D

Double Sunny Side Up!!

I love sunny side ups! I always thought sunny side up was d bomb..until I got a surprise when I got double egg! :D Double sunny day! Eheh. The chef is awesome I think. But as a consequence, so busy taking photo that my egg was cold the time I ate it...:/ But still nice nontheless :D

NO APPLES

Ahahaha. A you can see there are fruits, But no apples. You know they always say that "an apple a day keeps the doctor away"? since I'm gonna be a doctor, I can't keep myself away right! (Lol) Anyway there wasn't any apple :P (lameness aside :P )

Of coz ate slightly more than that, burnt 2 pieces of bread in the process (think their toaster was spoilt). just for fun:

Proof in "black and white"

It was smoking hot but naturally, Not edible...

They have pretty simple but nice Christmas deco that they started doing yesterday. I'll see if I can snap a picture of it. As usual, pretty photographs courtesy of my shutterbug youngest bro... :)

Vietnamese Food @ O Viet, Pyramid

So just in case you din't know, I'm quite into buy deals online lately. For a year or so already, actually :P

Anyway, Groupon came up with this deal, RM50 for 4 portions of Vietnamese noodles/vermicelli and an Imperial roll. The original price was nearly twice at RM99.55. I went on the 16/11, a rainy Wednesday evening.

(Having not blogged for some time, I feel that I'm kinda cacat at words now :/ )
So I'll let some pictures do the talking =)

So yes, the exterior.

O Viet @ Sunway Pyramid

I think it recently went through a facelift or something. Environment is warm and cozy.

 The interior, Chinese lanterns and ambience.

The "other side" we were sitting, separated by metal fence like thingy. People started filling up the place at 8pm onwards. . .

Dainty decorations on the wall

As the deal din't come with drinks, my bro and dad ordered fruit juices, while I settled on refillable jasmine plus strawberry tea.

Pineapple juice, supposedly without ice or sugar.

Rating: 3.8/5, Price around RM7 or 8.
Pretty standard, I suspect they still did add a tad bit of sugar.

Jasmine and strawberry tea

Rating: 3/5, Price: RM6.90
My dad found it weird, while I find it mediocre. Strange tasting, not bitter but nothing exotic as well.

The food:

 Mixed Roll Delite

Rating: 3/5, Original price RM18.90
A high class (read: more expensive) version of your street popiah. Ingredients were ok, but doesn't give you the refreshing taste your hawker side noodle gives you.

 Vietnamese Beef Noodles

Rating: 3/5, Original price RM15.90
The special guest had this since we were taking the dry stuff. He said it was ok. . .Although I have to admit that I had tasted a better version at Pho Hoa @ Curve, Damansara Utama. This just din't impress me.

Grilled prawn with imperial roll noodles

Rating: 3.5/5, Original price RM17.90
Somewhat traditional Vietnamese Vermicelli with prawns and spring roll, which my bro and I took. Again, I feel that the Viet Vermicelli @ Pho Hoa is better. The sauce they provided there was refreshing, while there was no sauce here apart from sour chilli paste. Portion of ingredients were fair, and I have to credit them for giving us the usual portion as those who bought it at original price.


Apart from that, my dad had the traditional chicken and prawn noodle( no picture, originally RM15.90). Again not impressive, as my dad described it as "your normal kuey teow soup at the hawker stall".


Overall the experience was a normal one, nothing impressive. I'll probably not come back again since I can get the same stuff at a fraction of the price.


Overall ratings: 
Food: 3/5, again, nothing to shout about. Wouldn't highly recommend it.
Ambiance: 4/5 - The ambience was pretty high class, no dirty cushions etc
Service: 4/5, no complains, though a tad slow at times
Price: 3/5 (Based on the deal price), Din't feel like the food was amazing.


Overall rating: 6/10.


My first food review in this bloggie (I think) :)

Happy

Despite having a huge ulcer on the right side near my wisdom tooth, despite the fact that it hurts to eat and talk, I feel happy. 


For the past few days, I've felt happy. Maybe the better word is joy. Its a stage of acceptance I think, when one accepts that what one wants may not be the best for himself, and instead, God has better plans. 


Last year, I still wasn't happy. Sure,I'm not happy everyday. Life has its ups and downs, and frankly, sucks sometimes. 


But today at least, I will let myself feel the joy that is running through my veins, A joy that flows from appreciating what I have, from my awesome family and friends to what and all He has placed in my life. 


A few pics from the "hols" in September/ October :D Of beloved people :)

@Lil pantry with Sooky :) 

Boy, havn't I seen her in a long, long time... I remember we used to be twins *good memories*. Girl I miss u. Ps: you're beautiful. (I mean it!)

Meet up with Rachel@ Wang river

Kinda hard to imagine we date back "so long" now...Since high school! Gurl was good meeting up with you. Love to see the strong, confident woman you are right now. Go rock the architecture world! :) 

SPONGEBOB!!! 

No, I din't go to Bikini Bottoms. :P Neither is it Jellyfish Fields. 

This was actually @ Shah Alam I City, outside the Snow walk which we din't go in :) 

@Genting theme park with Mr. Tallman :D

Being too old to go into the park(self declared), we just walked all around the hotels, walkways, indoor themepark areas etc, enjoying the cool air. Oh, and stuffing ourselves at the best buffet lunch available there @ coffee terrace. hee *gains weight like nobody's business....nooooooo! * 

For this and much more, I thank God for all I have. Even if all the riches in the world doesn't belong to me, I give thanks, for all I have now is enough for me.


"Happiness is not a matter of good fortune or worldly possessions. It's a mental attitude. It comes from appreciating what we have, instead of being miserable about what we don't have. It's so simple?yet so hard for the human mind to comprehend."
Bits and Pieces 

The Seremban Chronicles Continue...

Finally! Some pictures that I'm happily uploading :D

Cendol @Haji Sariff

Cendol(normal) was good. But the company was what made it worthwhile. :)

 Ellysyia @ Kampung Angkat Sejagong

Again I was placed in a semi-modern house...in a kampung. Haha. Anyway its true...that the villagers accept people with open arms and open hearts. And what we gave is nothing like what we got in return...be it the hospitality or care or even material wise. they may not have much, but they give freely...

MunYee@ KKS 

A super cute adorable girl whom I was able to "bond" with during her 1/2 hour visit to the clinic. She's 4, and her mum is only 19! Her hyperactive self and not-afraid-of-anything + cheeky personality reminds me of my past(or what I hear of my past)...

On a lighter and random note, the other 3 girls (instead of just 1 initially) in the seremban pink party house is officially "taken" aka attached... :D