Thanks, Sis!

Alright, alright. I know I should update more often but I've nothing much to blog about leh. Life has been pretty much relaxing and I'm spending more time with my family. :)

Speaking about family, my sis just came back from Adelaide few days back.

What are all these?

She helped me to carry back some of the stuff which I had asked her to buy. I know, it seems like a lot of stuff, hor? :P

From the middle (clockwise): iPod Classic, FM transmitter, armband, screen protective film, silicone case.

Those were the things I bought. An iPod Classic, you see it right.

Aud$432 for a 160gb iPod Classic.

I decided to pamper myself by getting a black 160gb iPod Classic after all the hardwork I had gone through in uni last year. Yes, it's real expensive but once in a blue moon mah. Somemore, my sis sponsored me Aud$150 for this. Might as well just grab it lah! Haha! Thanks a lot for the sponsorship, sis! :D

Elegant...

Now, let me show off this new toy of mine. Unlike other electronic stuff which were packed with some low quality cardboard, the packaging of this iPod was simple yet exceptionally wonderful. When I opened the black box, I found the iPod nicely fit in the box.

Shiny, glossy stainless steel.

Taking it out from the box, I could feel the iPod Classic a bit solid (heavy in another word). The backside was no other than the famous, shiny and glossy stainless steel. This is a downside as reviewed by a lot of people as scratches and fingerprints can be easily shown on the stainless steel. Nevertheless, I love the feel of the steel.

Why not iPod Nano but iPod Classic? This is due to the fact that, getting a larger capacity iPod would allow me to store all my favourite songs and also, all my photos. For me, size isn't a problem, thus, iPod Classic.

So, this is my newest toy. Although it cost me a bomb, I love it to the max. Maybe I treat it as a "graduation gift" from me to myself. Hehe.

My next target of gadgets are:

1. Laptop
2. Digital camera

Hope I can earn more money to fulfil my gadget needs. Oh, I'm also looking for more sponsorships. Anyone? ;)

How About a Brunei Trip?

I was with Royal Brunei Airlines when I came back from Perth. I stayed a night at Brunei, thanks to Kwong who offered me a place to stay. He was also the tourist guide who brought me around Brunei.

After picking me up from Brunei International Airport, he suggested to put all my stuff back at his home first. Actually, the main concern was the Apple Strudels. ;)

Excapade Sushi.

He, then, drove me to Gadong for dinner. What's better than the famous Excapade Sushi in Brunei?

Full house.

Wow! I was shocked by the amount of people in that restaurant. It's "people mountain people sea" (in Chinese means lots of people).

"You see that guy so jakun. Take photo of this restaurant for what?"

Although Kwong had booked a place in advance, we were not given any seats. We had to wait for about half an hour before we were being seated. I wonder what's the point of taking booking then...

So much food!!!

The photo only shows part of the food. Kwong ordered so much food that he forgot there were only two persons eating.

Just a brief review, the food was quite scrumptious except some were fried way too early. End up, not that fresh though. However, I would still recommend Excapade Sushi to everyone considering the reasonable price and also the numbers of choices they have. I would love to go there again if I have the chance.

Oh, did I mention? Kwong footed the bill for that night. Thanks to him for such a filling dinner. :)

We went for a walk around Gadong. There's a huge shopping mall which I couldn't remember the name. The night continued with him driving me around Brunei city. I must say the two mosques at Brunei were quite impressive. Too bad I didn't take any photos as the weather didn't permit me to do so.

Mosque in the day.

This is the photo of the mosque which I took the next day. According to Kwong, there were two huge mosques in Brunei; one belongs to the father of Sultan Brunei and one belongs to Sultan Brunei.

Since it was a bit late, we decided to call it a day after a drive around Brunei.

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Next day started off with brunch cooked by aunty (Kwong's mum). Without wasting any time, we went out to explore Brunei.

Istana Nurul Iman.

Again, Kwong drove me around. We went to several places. One of them was Istana Nurul Iman (Istana means palace) which is the residence of Sultan Brunei. Too bad, no one was allowed to visit the palace except during Hari Raya when the Sultan is having open house.

Kampung Air.

For B$20, we went for a boat ride around Kampung Air (Water Village). All the houses are built on stilts over water. For your interests, Kampung Air here is the largest in the world.

Would you like to live in these houses?

The villagers have all the basic necessities like water, gas and electricity. They even have a school for the children. So, would you like to live in these houses?

Shell Petrol Station.

Look, there's a Shell Petrol Station available for the villagers to top up the fuel for their speedboats which are their main transport.

What a beautiful scenery...

The boat driver asked us if we were interested in Long-Nosed Monkey (Proboscis Monkey). Just add another B$10, he would take us further to look for that. Our curiosity told us to go for it.

Mangrove Forest (Hutan Paya Bakau).

Mangrove forest was all along the river. This is the habitat for the Long-Nosed Monkeys, according to the boat driver.

Spot the monkey.

We stopped at a spot while the boat driver was pointing at one of the trees. Both Kwong and me looked up at the trees and found several monkeys. Blame it on my camera that I couldn't take any nice photos for the monkeys. Anyone wanna sponsor me a DSLR camera? ;)

I must say this is a very interesting tour. If you are planning for a holiday at Brunei, why not spend an hour or so in this boat ride around Kampung Air? I'm sure you'll like it as I do.

Next two stops were museums; The Brunei Museum and Royal Regalia Museum. Nothing to shout about for the museums. I didn't take any photos as well. However, some might find Royal Regalia Museum is a must visit in Brunei because visitors can take a look at the Sultan's full royal regalia.

Classy and luxury hotel.

The last stop for the day was at The Empire Hotel and Country Club. This is the most classy and luxury hotel I've ever seen so far.

I just love this pool.

Relaxing...

Although this is only a hotel, you can expect a wonderful scenery here. For your interest, its Emperor Suite costs B$ 14,375 a night. This is equivalent to almost RM 33,000 a night. Who can afford this, I ask you.

Time to say goodbye...

After an eye-opening tour round the hotel, it marked the end of my one-day-trip in Brunei.

It's an enjoyable and relaxing trip. I would love to go back again especially for more food or maybe, spend a night at The Empire Hotel and Country Club (not the Emperor Suite though :P). Who want to join me?

I would like to thanks Kwong and his family for giving me such a good hospitality while I was there. I truly appreciate it. :)

Adventurous Lunch and Three Highschool Mates

Don't play play I tell you. Even if Miri couldn't offer you any good food, you can always travel to a nearby small town, Bekenu, for a marvelous meal. But don't worry lah. Miri still has some nice delicacies. :)

Sing Chiong Restaurant.

Bekenu is located about 45 minutes drive from Miri. People often go there for one reason which is to visit Sing Chiong Restaurant. Sing Chiong Restaurant is most famous for its Ikan Tutu (Tutu Fish) or Ikan Hantu.

Danny and Jing Jet.

My adventurous lunch was organised by Danny who is the driver of the day. Jing Jet was the invited guest. Haha! Guess what? These two guys were my highschool mates whom I've known for 10 years long!

Wild Boar Meat.

We ordered three dishes altogether. Wild Boar Meat was the first to be served. It's quite different from the normal pork that we consumed everyday because the meat was really lean.

Fried Midin in Belacan.

Next up is Fried Midin in Belacan. Midin is a native plant which grows wild in secondary forests. It is very popular among the Sarawakian as this plant is almost pesticide free. In addition, when it is fried with belacan (shrimp paste) or dried shrimps, it tastes real good!

However, the fried Midin here was a tad oily for my liking. Who said Malaysia is short of cooking oil supply? :P

Steamed Ikan Tutu.

Now, this is the Steamed Ikan Tutu I mentioned earlier. It was steamed in soy sauce and topped with generous amount of chives, chilli and deep fried ginger.

Look at the meat.

The meat was very smooth, tender and juicy. And no doubt, it was really fresh. If I was given two words to describe this fish, it's going to be "HO JIAK" (delicious in Hokkien dialect)!

The bill came out a bit high as expected. All these dishes including drinks cost us RM78. For me, I think it's worth the money considering the high quality and also the huge portion of food they served.

I strongly recommend Sing Chiong Restaurant to everyone especially their famous Ikan Tutu. :) I wonder if they would give me a discount the next time I dine in for this review...

Thanks Dancing Queen!

Wah! Just as I was browsing through my photos, I realised that I haven't blogged about this. How forgetful I am!

What's in the container?

From the photo, can you roughly guess what's in the container?

Cheese Cake!

It's actually Dancing Queen's famous Cheese Cake! It was so kind of her to make me one. The Cheese Cake was very nice that my mama actually finished 3/4 of it. Haha!

Dancing Queen, thanks a lot for your Cheese Cake! I'm blessed! :)

Best "Lao Shu Fen" in Miri

Mirians nowadays might forget Open Market Miri for breakfast after so many kopitiams (coffee shop) grow like mushrooms after rain.

Lo's Noodle Stall.

There is a particular stall at Open Market which is very well-known among the Mirians; Lo's Noodle Stall. Why is it so famous? Because it serves the best "lao shu fen" in Miri!

Best lao shu fen in Miri.

This is the lao shu fen I'm talking about. Unlike other stalls in Miri which is factory made, the lao shu fen here is home-made by the stall proprietor.

A closer look.

The lao shu fen is topped generously with minced meat, preserved vegetable and chives. Somehow, I think the mixture of these three ingredients make this bowl of lao shu fen rather special.

Most of the lao shu fen I've tried in Miri does not have preserved vegetable and also, the minced meat is just not as good as this stall. Secret recipe, maybe? ;)

Saliva dripping yet?

The texture of the lao shu fen here is just right. How to describe it? I think Q Q texture is the best word. Eat it with the minced meat, it tastes heavenly good.

A glass of kopi-c?

For those who haven't tried this lao shu fen yet, what are you waiting for? Head over to Open Market and try it yourself. However, make sure you reach there before lunch time because it is normally sold out then!

This is a MUST try! I can guarantee you will definitely like it!

Mana Satu (Which One)?

Do you all remember when I blogged about The Best Fried Kueh Tiaw In Miri? After I've posted that, I received comments from Jane and Dancing Queen that there's another cafe in Miri which serves very tasty fried kueh tiaw. They think that the fried kueh tiaw in this cafe could take over the title of the best fried kueh tiaw in Miri. Got that nice meh?

Seng Guan Cafe.

Seng Guan Cafe is the cafe they were referring to. It is located at Pelita Commercial Centre where the building is the same row as Hot Cross Bun.

Pinang Kerang (Penang Clam) Fried Kueh Tiaw.

I went to the cafe with my parents the other day. When I reached there, I ordered the fried kueh tiaw without hesitation. There are other different stalls such as chicken rice, kolo mee, pan mee and etc. Just in case you opted not to have their famous fried kueh tiaw.

The famous...

Within 10 minutes, the fried kueh tiaw were already served on the table. A first glance at it, it's the normal Penang fried kueh tiaw with clams, prawns, chives, bean sprouts and dried Chinese sausage as ingredients.

Penang Fried Kueh Tiaw.

This fried kueh tiaw is not too oily and has quite strong "wok hei". The clams definitely bring out a special taste to the fried kueh tiaw.

Since I'm not a fan of clams (I normally pick out all the clams and leave it aside), I would still prefer my Best Fried Kueh Tiaw In Miri. I like my fried kueh tiaw with eggs and vege instead of clams and chives.

Anyway, I would say different people have different tastebuds. Try it yourself and taste it yourself! :)