CUMI and CIKI: Lifestyle, Food, Travel and Monkey Adventures!

A New Home for Cumi & Ciki!

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:18:00 +0000

Monkeys have moved to another forest!

www.cumidanciki.com

xoxo, cumi&ciki ;)

Winner for NAME THE PERSON & TATTOO is..
BABE IN THE CITY KL!

CONGRATS BABE!

Contest

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:06:00 +0000

QUESTION: 1. WHO'S TATTOO IS 'ALILFATMONKEY' LOOKING AT , and
2.WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Be the first person to answer the following question correctly on both Cumi & Ciki and alilfatmonkey's blog to win yourself a fabulous prize. Remember, you need to answer on both blogsites, correctly to be eligible. Trust me, you'll want this prize!

Click here to go to Alilfatmonkey's Blog to log in your answers after you're done here.

Terms & Conditions:
1. Luscious and 'Ahpa' (i.e: Lyrical Lemongrass & Fatboybakes) are NOT allowed to participate. Not because we hate cha, but because .. We are family (sister sledge!)...
Rules are rules.. (blame lilfatmonkey.. not me.. :P mwhahaahaha)
2. Bonus points for anyone who can guess what the prizes are too.
3. Comments will not be published until this weekend when the winner is announce. So get cracking now!
4. Have a good weekend now.

Good Luck and Happy Friday!

Enlisting the help of Netizens... in particular 1Malaysians

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:42:00 +0000

What fruit/plant/veg are the following?
We found these specimens at Tanah Rimba and Bukit Tinggi Market. Your help in identifying them will bring good karma to you for enlightening many other netizens.

Specimen A - Fruit. Looks like a yellow brinjal/persimmon. Tastes similar to a mildly sweet persimmon. Texture; smooth creamy/ over ripe persimmon. Size; a little bigger than a large orange.

Specimen B - Fruit. Probably non edible. Initially thought it was a poorly grown apple.

Specimen C - Fruit. Edible unknown. Should have taken home a sample.

Specimen D - Fruit. Again, i should have plucked one home to dissect!

This one is self explanatory... Binjai(Mangifera caesia). Saw this at a PLUS Highway stop. Initially thought it was another name for the ciku fruit but apparently its different fruit altogether. A sweet sour white flesh mango which is indigenous to Borneo according to Wiki and another blog. Size; a really large ciku! I didn't think about buying some for tasting until while typing this post.
There is also the wild mango variety called quinine which looks very similar to your supermarket mangoes, usually green and emits extra pungent mango scent when ripe. Usually very sweet and fibrous. I have a picture of it from a village orchard but can't seem to locate it for this post.

Cungdinh Vietnamese Restaurant, One Bangsar

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:36:00 +0000

Cungdinh Vietnamese Restaurant at One Bangsar - we love this place since it moved to the upstairs of the same building, along the One Bangsar row of bungalow restaurants. Downstairs is now Saigon, the club. Thank goodness the noise of the bar does not filter upstairs and you can hardly hear the ruckus going on below,as you eat. Anyway, the convenience of balcony dining is also an option now, since the place has relocated, and this is a real big plus. The manager is so nice that he does not mind if you dine inside, then outside, then inside... extremely charming service! One word of caution, if you fear mosquitoes, like moi, kindly dine inside.. that way you won't be a meal for those little bloodsuckers!

I love the Banh Beo as it is beautifully served on a tray, as individual dishes of steamed rice flour dough with tiny dried shrimp, spices and pork crackling (but in our case, fried breadcrumbs as this place is halal), served with a sweetened nuoc mam sauce. The fish sauce with the searing, hot chili is what gives it that tongue-numbing kick. Fantastic!

I told you it looked pretty!

Here we are on the balcony! My dining companions are great fun.. we can talk all night and still not run out of things to talk about. It's a real gift this talking non-stop business. It truly is:P

Tongue numbing BURN! You see the harmless looking skewers of prawn? At first we thought they were a push-over to eat. "Vietnamese food where got hot one.. ?" Exclaimed M at the start of the night. Boy was she wrong. The prawn is coated in this super-duper, rocket hot chili spices that will have your lips looking like Sophie Monk's trout pout in no time;) See how pouty we look?! Excellent food I must say. It felt light especially because of the greens they use in Vietnamese, and spicy enough to 'cut the grease' so.. yea, you end up not feeling much of your dinner at all.

The iced dessert to take the pain away - the Banh Flan.

The Banh flan(caramel flan) is a french dessert that made its way into vietnamese cuizine, via the french colonization of Vietnam. Just the thing to bring down the temperature in our mouths and help us recover from the killer spicy meal. This was on the house, so 'Thank you Mr. Manager'. We found this caramel flan flavoured with something that tasted like coffee and a little too egg-y. It was just so-so for us.

We also had the homemade vietnamese yogurt. This is my favourite dessert here.. much better than banh flan. It was more tart and had a thinner texture than your normal yogurt. Superbly smooth and creamy.

Finally, something to munch on whilst you chat and drink your vietnamese tea/coffee. Our friend M, was eating this like it was a main course. Says M... , "It's so nice hor... you can just eat it all in one go and not feel it!" Lucky thing it's ginger, and it's good for you! I am not so sure about the sugar coating though... can't be all that healthy consuming that much sugar huh?

Anyway, a great night out with my girl friends.. thank you for making it such a fun night out.. and thank you for the Vietnamese treat - great choice!

Add:
Cungdinh Vietnamese Restaurant (1st Floor)
One Bangsar,
Bangsar
(Non-pork)

Dragon-i , The Curve - Hairy Crab Promotion

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:09:00 +0000

sticky and icky.. I wonder if I am a hairy female or hairy male..
(if I am female.. someone please kindly pass me the razor) .

Oh! I am MALE.. and I am told.. i do not ooze ROE..

When one is called for a review on the Hairy Crab, specially flown weekly from the famous Tai Lake in China, one normally does not say no;) The latest promotion at Dragon-i, that is highly seasonal and is subject to availability, is the Hairy Crab set menu that costs RM 128.00/person (min 3 pax) with six dishes – Steamed shanghainese hairy crab, steamed shanghainese crab roe dumpling (xiao long bao a.k.a. XLB) , double-boiled chicken soup with fish maw & bamboo pith, sauteed fresh vegetable with crab roe, chinese fried rice, and for dessert, sesame dumpling in ginger soup.

Hairy Crabs (a.k.a. Dazha crab or Chinese mitten crab) are so named because their front claws have a thick mass of hair. While the crabs are considered the main delicacy of a meal, they usually do not appear in a traditional Chinese meal until the very end, after all the other dishes have been served.

Everyone tends to have his or her own style in tackling the crab to get to the meat. Most tend to eat the legs first because the flesh is pushed out of the shell and placed back in the shell again, intact. This makes eating the legs the easiest of tasks. After that, everyone rips into the shell bits, and eats pretty much everything else. The orange part is the roe and considered the best part. Crabs are considered to be yin (cold foods), so to balance it you eat them by dipping into vinegar with ginger and if you have Chinese wine to go with it, even better.

If you ask me, the set price of RM128 is a real steal because the taste is just out of this world. After fighting with the shell to get to the delicate pieces of meat and juicy roe, you want the taste to be worth all the effort. Although pricey, it truly is a Shanghainese dish that everyone needs to try at least once. The male roe is actually, ahem, sperm and is thick and gooey in consistency and heavy with feeling! We sampled the female hairy crab with the vegetables - sweet and succulent but less thick in texture. This was delicious too. The other dish I thoroughly enjoyed was the XLB. The less gamy taste (as it was not beef nor pork but rather crab meat) and the sweetness of the crab meat was uniquely pleasurable! Words cannot describe it - you best check it out for yourselves!

Kampung Boy and City Girl I have known for close to two years now, but hardly get the chance to meet up. I LOVE this couple, they are so cute! It was great seeing the dynamic blogging duo again, after so long.

I was also happy to meet Shell Food Station in person finally!.. and a new friend, Squall. I nearly fainted when Cheesie of Cheeserland and KY of KYSpeaks walked into the room. Being a real kipas (fan) of both blogs, it was really fun to chat and meet up with them in real life. They are both extremely friendly and down to earth people. So now I have more friends. Yay!

Thank you, Kong WK of PRKraft and Dragon-I for the invite. This was a great lunch and a fantastic weekend meet up with bloggers!

Address:
Dragon-i,
The Curve,
6 Jalan PJU 7/3,
Lot 136 & 137, 1F,
Mutiara Damansara,
PJ, Selangor
Tel: 03-7728 6888

(Non-Halal)

Forgive me if I act a little crabby.. I have just been turned inside out... and I AM afterall, a reconstructed crab!

read other reviews here, here .. and HERE!

Paypal Withdraws To Malaysian Bank Accounts!!

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:55:00 +0000

OMFG! I just found out today that paypal now withdraws to Malaysian Bank Accounts! This has got be so new that when I called up paypal, the female CON-sultant proceeded to give me the scripted reply of "paypal withdraw only to Malaysian Bank Debit Cards" until i mentioned to her about the newly publish webpages (see below). She immediately put me on hold, then returned soon after, apologizing for her mistake (apparently a very new initiative!) to confirm my claims.
Watch out netizens... A new world order of Malaysian online businesses will now sweep across the borderless internet world!

I wonder if Bank Negara had something to do with this?

Kolam 77, Restoran Sawadee 88, Chan Sow Lin.

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:59:00 +0000

Kolam 77, Off Chan Sow Lin, is spanking new.. When you see the sign however, you will get a rude shock. Don't let the dirty rubbish put you off.. if you stick to the 'off the beaten track' side road for just a little whilst more, you will be rewarded with great food! Kolam 77 is a Fish Farm.. where people go to fish, obviously. However, they also have a new Thai restaurant which serves really rather good food. So far we have not had that great experiences with Fish Farm Thai Food restaurants. The food just seems to have been sub-par and rather expensive.

Here we are Kolam 77, just 3 months old. Fishing area that is both shady and comfortable for the avid 'fisherman';)

This place even has a pool table.

See what I mean? The place is comfortable, tastefully designed and extremely airy even in the heat of day. Mr Lim the manager is an enthusiastic and friendly man. We had a great time chatting with him that day.

A map to help you find the location.

We were served the Pandan Chicken, piping hot. We found the portions a little too small. Taste wise just so-so.

Otak otak! This was a pleasant surprise. The otak-otak was oozing seafood freshness and sweetness.. not your conventional processed otak-otak, but rather one that was packed with seafood.

You will see chunks of fish, crab, prawn and squid falling out of the sweet centre as you break into it. If that does not get your saliva going, I don't know what will.

Fried Tong Fun (glass noodles) - more Chinese style than Thai style. I liked the fragrant stinky sotong/squid (the kind that is BBQ-ed to give it that fishy aroma) and the generous amount of seafood, yet again, in it. All I can keep thinking to myself is 'value for money'.

Steamed Sotong in chili hot, sweet and sour sauce. The mint leaves and basil made this dish phenomenally good. They left the roe of the sotong in the sotong (which resembles some goey, white semi-translucent matter) which is apparently the 'good stuff' in the sotong. I beg to differ. I did not find the roe appealing. Cumi liked it a lot... said it had the texture of collagen..

Paku Pakis- fried with loads of prawn and belacan. Nice but a little too oily for me.

When the cock grazed my leg, I jumped in surprise. Most ladies would;)

Finally, some nice refreshing and cooling Leong Fun jelly dessert, on the house. - why thank you Mr Lim, how kind! A fantastic lunch, inclusive of a large bottle of Heineken, for just under RM90. I would say that this place serves great Chinese Thai food. C&c would highly recommend it to anybody looking to blow their brains out over a spicy Thai meal!

Kolam 77,
Restoran Sawadee 88,
Jalan 5, Off Jalan Chan Sow Lin,
KL.
Contact No - Kindly refer to the map above.
(Non-Halal)

Saw VI (2009) - Movie

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:01:00 +0000

I don't care if people think that the whole SAW franchise thing is lame or that the movie is stupid. I love SAW! As far as I am concerned, the gore, the B-grade acting (and B grade actresses with big breasts e.g. Jigsaw's wife) , the insane flashbacks and twists in plots till I don't know which way is front or back, can just keep rocking my world .. bring it on!

DAIKANYAMA Harajuku Harroween - Night of Kawaii Madness !!!

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:14:00 +0000

Blastique rocked the decks and we rocked the night! Daikanyama KL, partied with Demons, Harajuku Princesses, Sultans, Zombies and Ghouls.. till the wee hours of the morn.

Girls just wanna have fun.. Harajuku princesses getting ready for the night out..

Bald Eagle.. where's the love... ?

Someone removed BE's "kawaii" bone.. and didn't give it back:P

.
.

.
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Cursed land, decimated by time
Human life has been picked clean
Swamp filled with bodies

Re-animate to devourer
Eat alive all who step foot in this land
There is no hope for survival

They have mindless hunger in their eyes
Rotten fingers grip at your skin
Black teeth feast on your flesh

Releasing you of your life
Pulled into a pit of zombies

Feeding ground of the damned
Your body they consume
Flesh rips and bones snap
Ripped apart limb from limb
The last sight of your life
Is the face of death

Rotten and covered in maggots
This gore is your doom
Staying here forever
In this cursed zombie land
-poem from here

Kawaii 可愛

Kawaii is a Japanese term which means "cute". Cuteness seems to be a highly valued aesthetic quality in Japanese society and particularly Japanese pop culture, and overpowering cuteness seems to carry less of the stigma of infantilization as it does in many other cultures. Kawaii is pronounced /ka.wa.ii/ (not to be confused with "kowai", /ko.wa.i/ the Japanese term for "scary").

"Will you walk into my parlor?"
said the spider to the fly;
"Tis the prettiest little parlor that you ever did spy.
The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,
And I have many curious things to show when you are there."
"Oh no, no!" said the little fly,
"to ask me is in vain;
For who goes up your winding stair
can never come down again."

Happy Halloween from C&C !

Have a great week!

Footnote:
Thank you PA for your Will Quah shots
Thank you girls for making it a fun night out.. also Bald Eagle, Brother B and Nigel/Allan.
Thank you Barri for being a smashing host!

Happy Halloween Readers!

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:30:00 +0000

From ghoulies and ghosties,
Long-leggety beasties,
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us.

-Anonymous

Happy Harroween! From AWOL via Cumi&Ciki.. for the viewing pleasure of many more! MWuahaahaha!

Daikanyama presents RAW - The Acoustic Sing-Along Series No.1

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:50:00 +0000

A couple of days ago, we were invited by our good friend Barri, to RAW - The Acoustic Sing-Along Series No.1, at Daikanyama, Changkat Bukit Bintang. Most of you who know, or have been to Daikanyama are probably wondering, where on earth, this rather cozy restaurant, could possibly have space to hold parties etc.Well, the answer is that the upstairs of Daikanyama has been fully renovated and now functions as a really rather laid-back funky chill out area ideal for nights like RAW. Lounge chairs, a bar area, an out-door balcony area and DJ turntables complete the upper deck party area. Also, Flattops helped enhance the acoustics of the room.

As the young musicians took to the stage, they really wow-ed the crowd with their tight guitar sound and good vocals to boot. Towards the end of the night, there were a few impromptu guest appearances and some open-mike jamming. Even Barri did a rocking, solo performance on the guitar which really thrilled his guests - click on my u-tube link to hear just how good he was! (Photo a bit dark, sorry, because musicians love being shrouded in mystery). Gawd.. I had no idea he was so talented! Barri feels that this is how music-connecting-souls should be. Enough of the hum and drum of normal..! Of course c&c also love the gorgeous, extensive yet affordable selection of sake served at Daikanyama.. and the food... the oh, so tasty finger food.. Anyways, say no more.. we are looking forward to next week's series 2 .. for sure!

PHOTOS and VIDEO enclosed!

People chilling and waiting for the performance to start..

Some excellent acoustic guitar skills were showcased, followed by more open-mike jamming. The place is packed to the rafters. Paranoid Android who practically lives next to Daikanyama swings by for a quick shot of sake.. "But PA, we have a whole bottle! You were supposed to help us finish it.. not run home and work! Chis!"

Three shot glasses.. and then there were two.. boo-hoo :(
.
.

This shot turned out so cool! Barri looks like my favourite character from the arcade game, Mortal Kombat, Raiden.. the god of thunder. Sans white outfit and white hat, he still looks like he's about to unleash a bolt of lightning on his victims!

C&C getting pissed on sake.. ahem!

My favourite jerky snack at Daikanyama.. fish jerky dipped in mayo!

Barri on the right... looking shy because he got such an ovation after his song! Anyway, I figured I'd show you his face first before I played you the video because he is enveloped in darkness and you will never see his face on the video. Have no fear, its his voice and guitar playing that is the Phwar! factor:P

click here for u-tube video!

Cumi.. at the turn-tables.. don't ask me how he spins.. the answer is the opposite of "like a pro".

Music makes the world go round..

This Friday the 30th October 2009... is Harajuku Harroween Night at Daikanyama! (yes, it really is a typo - Halloween? geddit?) Girls, come dressed as the manic, colorful, punk Harajuku Girls and get two cocktails free! Just incase you do not know what a Harajuku girl looks like.. erm, looks like me :P (Kidding!) To give you a feel for it, kindly refer to the collage below...so get creative!

Photo from here

No mommy.. I don't smoke crack for breakfast and I am not color-blind either.. I am a Harajuku girl:P

Add:
Daikanyama,
42, Changkat Bukit Bintang,
50200 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel:603 2141 0323

(Pork Served)

Moghul Mahal, Northern Indian at Brickfields

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:56:00 +0000

Moghul Mahal is pronounced Moghul Meh-hel .. not so much 'mahal' as in expensive, but rather mahal as in Moghul Palace.. how grand! Good After Noon is a greeting offered, when one walks in for lunch at this restaurant:P

Fennel - on the house

People normally eat this last in any good Northern Indian restaurant.. but I love to eat it first as I enter the shop. What is it? Well, fennel seeds of course. The distinctive liquorice taste is so delicious and reminds me of candy. Not only that, fennel is one of the best digestive aids in town.. the seeds can be used in cooking, or made into a tasty licorice tea, and is useful to relieve abdominal cramps, gas and bloating. So the way I see it, if you eat this first (as opposed to at the end of the meal) .. then you can eat that much more.. without feeling sick.. you get my logic?

At Moghul Mahal, the first thing that catches your eye is, apart from spanking new, white and pristine tiles, this shop has the most amazing selection of Indian sweets. It goes on for as far as the eye can see. We spent ages photographing the candy but the waiters here were extremely helpful and took out tray after tray for us to shoot. How obliging;)

Pani Puri - RM5.00 per plate

Right, so fennel in my stomach and photos of sweets in my camera, it was time to order. The first thing that caught our eye on the menu was the Pani Puri. This Pani Puri is just so cute! It looks like a mini puri that is round and hollow in the centre, fried to a crisp and filled with a watery mixture of tamarind, cumin, chili, chaat masala, potato, onion and chickpeas. Its size is small enough to fit into even my mouth.

I love it. Make it so easy to gobble up in one swift movement. My good friend, Dr Suj, she told me that the Water green liquid is incredibly good for the stomach because of the tamarind pulp and the cumin water (cumin relieves flatulence, bloating, gas and a whole host of other related stomach ailments).

AWOL, being the obliging hand model for this shot! (she did not want to be photograhed because she was having a bad hair day).

Fresh Lassi.. smooth, thick and creamy.

Fish Tikka at RM12.00.. sizzling hot and soft and flaky in texture. Oh sweet, sweet fish of mine!

Freshest Na'an in town.
.
.

Cubes of addictive Palak Paneer..
.
.

Butter Chicken - RM13.00; Palak Paneer - RM8.00; Garlic Butter Na'an bread - RM2.50;
Kashmiri Na'an bread -RM4.50

Palak Paneer is my all time favourite vege dish.. for want of a better word. Anyway, this is as close as you will get to a vegetable dish in a Northern Indian restaurant. Palak Paneer goes great with anything.. From chapatis, puris, parathas to bhaturas.. it's all good. The texture of the cheese really gets under my skin. That almost rubbery, tasteless square chunks of curd, with that generous slathering of spinach is almost too astronomically good for words. Love.
My same friend Dr Suj also got all excited thinking that I wanted to try and make Palak Paneer when I asked her how it was made. Actually, all I wanted was to write it down for my blog!
Anyway Dr Suj told me that this is a rather easy dish to make.

Boil fresh milk.
Add lime juice and the milk starts to curdle.
Once curdled, strain through cloth.
Once all excess water is removed, tie it up,
and put a heavy pot over it for 2 hours,
until it flattens out.
Then open cloth and cut and fry to taste.
(so easy.. but I am sure I can't do it..! but, thank you Dr Suj:P)

Gulab Jamun - RM1.50 per ball.

Read about C&C's other favourite place, to buy Gulab Jamun .. here

Some people like it light and airy on the inside. Some people like it really heavy and soaked through with all the syrup and sugar.. I like my gulab both ways! The ones at Moghul Mahal are heavy and dense.

Finally, my companions (a lil fat monkey and AWOL) ended their lunch with a cup of Bru each .. and me, the black coffee. Bru is an instant coffee that has a unique aroma and taste due to a blend of 70% coffee and 30% Chicory, a perennial plant. A coffee favorite in India for those special times... and also here, in Kuala Lumpur, apparently :)

Bru + fresh cows milk = instant heaven in a cuppa!

Add:

Moghul Mahal Restaurant ,

153A, Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad.
50470 Brickfields,
KL.
Tel: 603 2272 5870

Frontera Bar & Grill, Jaya 1

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:10:00 +0000

Today, my friend J, who has perfected the art of talking a mile a minute, not even pausing for breath for a second, told me a rather interesting story about the origins of the Fajita. I googled it, and apparently, he was telling the truth.

You see, there was once a man, Mr. Homero who, as part of his graduate work in animal science at Texas A&M, was intrigued by a spike in the retail price of skirt steak (cheapo cut of meat from the cow). This sparked his research into the dish that took the reject cut of the cow, from poor man fodder, to the table of the rich.

During cattle roundups, beef were butchered regularly to feed the hands. Throw away items such as the hide, the head, the entrails, and meat trimmings such as 'skirt' were given to the Mexican vaqueros (cowboys) as part of their pay.
Considering the limited number of skirts per carcass and the fact the meat wasn't available commercially, the fajita tradition remained a poor man practice, and relatively obscure for many years, probably only familiar to vaqueros, butchers, and their families.

Then all of a sudden, Fajitas appear to have made the transition from obscurity to mainstream dining, starting with commercialization e.g. the opening of the first commercial fajita taco concession stand in the united states. Soon after, entrepreneurs started to recognized the commercial potential of this popular local Tex-Mex dish and chefs started putting "sizzling fajitas" on the menu of local diners and finally, the big time.. on the menu of the Hyatt's La Vista restaurant.. and the rest as they say was history.

That brings us to the great irony of fajita success: The more popular the dish became, the less likely it was to be made from the cheapest cut of steak! J thumped the table as he hit the climax in his story.
Everybody yawn... erm, I mean jumped up and applauded his story! Bravo J ! Now, can we please eat? :P

Frontera is located at Jaya One,
Best ever Chimicangas and Chili Burgers in Petaling Jaya! You must eat these two items.. you must.

Add:
Frontera Bar & Grill
18-G-2, Block L
Jaya One
No. 72A, Jalan University
Petaling Jaya
Tel: 603 7958 8515

He Pin Pan Mee Old Town, PJ

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:09:00 +0000

He Pin Coffee shop is tucked way in Old Town PJ and this old coffee shop bungalow is famous for the Pan Mee and Economy Rice. This place is normally packed to the rafters during lunch hour as well as the weekends.. and you get the Malay rice, Chinese Economy rice , Indian mee rebus stalls, all under one roof. Extremely Malaysian International.

The lady boss makes the Pan Mee noodles at a 100 miles an hour..

Squeeze, peel, pull and chuck into hot water.

..and repeat!

The bowl of Pan Mee for RM4 is ridiculously delicious. The pork soups stock is thick and sweet, the anchovies fried to perfection, the floating mince pork and mushrooms.. fresh as hell.
The chili is astronomically spicy. It had me in tears because I chucked 2 saucers of it into my soup, and then ate up Cumi's share by dipping my anchovies in it as well!
Talk about masochistic.

Pain!
So good.

but, PAIN!

The texture of the Pan Mee.. slightly slimy, chewy and al dente.
So good!
Must eat!

The way to this place.. He Pin coffee shop is located near Jalan 51/200.

To find it, take Jalan Penchala in Petaling Jaya and travel right to the end of the road.

SECRET LOVE IN PEACH BLOSSOM LAND (Movie)

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 01:25:00 +0000

I cannot understand mandarin! Im a banana.. however, even this ignoramus banana, found the following Stan Lai film amazing.

Anyway, Monday nights are movie nights at the Annexe Gallery (Central Market KL).
'Secret Love In Peach Blossom Land' is a Taiwanese film written and directed by Stan Lai, featuring Christopher Doyle as director of photography. When two opposing acting groups fight for the same rehearsal space, a comical situation emerges. One group is practicing a somewhat slapstick satire, the other a contemporary political romantic tragedy. They could not be more different or worlds apart from each other.
However,as the story unfolds, and the desperate acting troupes divide up the stage, the way Stan Lai merges the two dialogs makes the show magical. The style and the angles employed for shooting this movie are nothing shot of genius.

Go watch!

footnote:
*copied from biography of stan lai
Stan Lai is a highly influential award winning US-born Taiwan-based playwright and theatre director, also known for his award-winning feature films. He has been described by the BBC as “probably the best Chinese language playwright and director in the world” and his plays have been performed throughout the Chinese-speaking world. He is the writer and director of “Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land”, often touted as the most successful contemporary Chinese play. The film version of the play won the Caligari Prize at the Forum, Berlin (1992); the Best Picture and Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival (1993); and Singapore Film Festival (1993).

Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:14:00 +0000

It's the weekend.. and the sun is shining and the pool is beckoning..
Some silly, funny rhymes I read recently to put a smile on ur face;)

I want to feel your sweet embrace;
But don't take that paper bag off your face.

My love, you take my breath away.
What have you stepped in to smell this way?

What inspired this amorous rhyme?
Two parts vodka, one part lime:P

Smell you all later;)

HERE U GO HOT STUFF!

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:48:00 +0000

To all who participated - thank you! Your contest answers via email as well as the comment box were really spot on !

Unfortunately.. there can be only one winner.. and that is Keropokman! (your unpublished answers also very funny la.. maybe one day you can tell the Ahpa!)

So, keropokman (who lives in Sing) take ur pick.. i buy u dinner in Sing.. anywhere with degustation menu budget of SGD50 per head (hahaha.. that rules out Iggy's, but all mamak and coffee shop included) and you can invite ANYONE u like, to tag along.. (on themselves:P)

thank u for participating!

xoxo,ciki

Contest!

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:34:00 +0000

10 things u need to stop tweeting..

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:19:00 +0000

CLICK ME!

By George.. this is hilarious!

Thank you, thank you @oatmeal, via @treyratcliff (of stuck in customs) who passed on the golden rules of tweeting.. don't be an a**.. be interesting!

Enjoy peeps!

Zhen Liew Shiang Sentul

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:34:00 +0000

In the event of a holiday, such as Deepavali, and one needs to travel far and wide to search for food...
One should always, check that one is completely equipped with the following.

Seat-belts & designer t-shirts, Frame 1 .. CHECK.

Seat-belts & designer t-shirts, Frame 2 - CHECK.

Stylo-mylo cameras - CHECK.

beer - CHECK.

inexhaustible source of beer - CHECK.

Inexhaustible source of greasy, tasty food - CHECK.

Ridiculous cheepo greeting card to your friend, Lemongrass, celebrating Deepavali
via tweetphoto on iphone - CHECK.

Beer chugging, kok-talking, food hoovers - CHECK.

Add:
Zhen Liew Shiang,
No. 30, Jalan 14/48A
Sentul Raya
Off Jalan Sentul
51000 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 603 4041 3781

Spot the Difference!

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:59:00 +0000

Spot the differences between Photo A & B ..

Spot the most number of differences between the two photos correctly and name them, and win an attractive mystery prize.. and I don't mean Ciki (!)

Deadline 22nd Oct 2009 midnight.
You may email your answers to us at cumidanciki at gmail dot com if you are kiasu and don't want people copying your answer,
Or you may click this link to leave your comments on the same photo above:
Tweetphoto: Agentcikay

Results on the weekend.
(By the way, the photos are totally unadulterated. We were surprised how they turned out ourselves. Kind of made our hair stand on end! See this same shot, from the other perspective here!)

Iggy's Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:20:00 +0000

When I heard that one of my clients was taking ME to dinner at Iggy's (Ranked No.45 on the S Pellegrino World's 50 best restaurants List 2009) I made sure my camera had batteries in it.. and that my hair looked great.

Hmmm.. which Louboutin shall I wear :P
(photo from here)

Don't get me wrong, I don't really care as much, if a restaurant has great ambiance, subtle subliminal music, or if the place looks chic and smells like the air that surrounds Harrods florist or that the food is wine paired to perfection. I do care however, if the food tastes good, is made with the freshest and most exquisite ingredients and is worth the mega bucks (yes, us poor Malaysians .. convert the currency and weep) I am paying for it.

At Iggy's whilst the deco and ambiance of the place is not something you would call super modern (the main dining room looks cozy rather than clinical), the food itself is really rather cutting edge, beautifully presented and encompasses all the subtleties and style of modern cuisine. Iggy plays with textures, colors, and flavours like how a child plays without inhibitions at Kindergarten art class.

There is only one thing on the Dinner Menu.
The Gastronomic menu of $195++ (without booze) whether you walk in at 9pm or 11pm, that's what you get.
So is it any wonder that the waiters are really good and well informed on the menu? Not really.

We were served two amuse bouche, on the house , which was a rather nice touch, I thought. How generous.

The first one you see is the sashimi-grade sea urchin served on a bed of shiso jelly topped with cauliflower mousse. Wow, this sea-urchin was smooth on the palate and really pleasing to the eye. It looked like someone served up spring on a white plate.

Dishes here are served in incredibly small portions .. very elegant.. but it kind of makes you gulp at the amount you are paying for that tiny morsel of food. Do the math and you will see that you are paying approximately SGD50 for each dish served. Holy Smokes.

Anyway, speaking of smoke, this second amuse bouche (also on the house) was smoke trout, and cherry wood was employed to produce the white fumes inside that futuristic looking semi-metallic semi-perspex orb.

The waiter said - please take it up in one swift motion and stick it in your mouth, for maximum satisfaction. I like this place. You get to be uncouth with your food. Iggy's is really cool.

Smoky, woody, and fishy.. I really dig caviar (not lump fish either.. but beluga). So high class, so much finesse.. so gone in 2 seconds.
One of our dining companions dropped her portion when she lifted up the fine cracker. The waiter was upon it like a hawk and replaced the whole orb, with a new one, in 5 seconds flat. What a champion. I wanted to swoop in on the fallen morsel and chuck it in my mouth but he was too fast for me. Yes, service is good - discreet yet attentive, with lightning reflexes.

Looking at the Hamachi, you could say that the Japanese Kaiseki dining style has also been an influence at Iggy's.
Classy, delicate and 'no rush' are words that come to mind, eating this young, sweet yellowtail.
Be prepared to dine for at least two and a half to three hours here.

At Iggy’s you get to eat rare Japanese mushrooms gathered at their apex of maturity and served at the exact correct point of mature-ness. (Is there such a word?)
Not only that.. you get to play with foam while you eat your food.
Yes, that's right... the waiter says.. TOSS your food in the foam for maximum satisfaction. These people at Iggy's .. they are pretty narcissistic.. everything is sung to the tune of maximum pleasure.. maximum satisfaction.. maximum wallet deflation.

Sanma on wild rice , olive and thyme.
I hate eating rice. Ask anybody who has tried to serve me rice.They'd tell you.
This wild rice however... is so good it does not taste like rice. It taste like sweet, aromatic pearls of fibre, masked in the form of rice. I could eat this everyday.

I was told by the waiter that the Chef himself, Chef Dorin Schuster likes to employ a light touch in cooking his food, and that is how he so successfully brings out the subtle flavours in a dish. Of course, make no mistake, the fact that the produce is crazy-fresh contributes to how fantastic things taste.

I drank bubbly all night. I did not get a headache.
The Champagne at Iggy's is touched with magic.
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Yes, apparently each and every course of the degustation, is paired with the wine (white or red) which brings out the best of the flavours, but I did not care.
I had magic in a flute.

Ok, at the risk of sounding like a clueless bum who describes her food in monosyllabic words, the pasta was great.
Al dente pasta, but just a mouthful of it, and the zucchini imparted an almost crunchy texture ( I swear it was deep fried). The mullet roe completed the taste to perfection.

Why would someone serve you oats (healthy) and gizzards(unhealthy bordering on grisly) with something as posh as lobster.
Because, it's the perfect ensemble, that's why.
Exquisite. I would not have thought to cook this myself, but now, I might actually contemplate cooking this for my husband tomorrow. Really.

Self explanatory photo.

Another one of our dining companions muttered that it was pretty useless washing your palette, when the food tasted so damn good so far.
.
.
.

But when they brought out the next dish we soon understood why.

Grade 9 wagyu - very brave and original to serve the almost 'slimy' wagyu (because it was so rare) with the even slimier vegetable, the lady's fingers.
Sigh. You should know by now, that at Iggy's, they can near pull anything off.

Of course. That's why they are Iggy's.
Hands down, my favourite course of the night.

I gave up my magic flute and changed to the Burgundy for this course.

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For this dessert, the juicy sweet seed pulp, and slightly gritty flesh of the feijoa was purposely converted into a smooth jelly - complete contradiction in texture. So molecular.
Lovely and refreshing. I felt like I could start the entire course over:P

Who thinks I overate.. raise your hand.
The little cake was rich, and thick with cream nuts and fruit.
A gorgeous mini tiramisu.

If you are a big kid at heart, like I am, then you will love the "pop-rocks" tart.. on the house. By the way, one can almost be sure that one's bill will be directly proportional to the number of items you are given, 'on the house' - I may be wrong.. but no, I think I'm right.
Hugely entertaining, these cute bite size morsels explode and crackle in your mouth.
Our waiter's advice, kindly consume in one swift mouth full and do not chew, rather SUCK for maximum satisfaction. Sounds like a comment I've heard one too many times but not at the dining table.

Well a fantastic experience.
What can I say, except... for maximum satisfaction, just visit Iggy's!

THE END.

Add:
Iggy,
1 Cuscaden Road,
The Regent Singapore,
Singapore 249715

Strongly advised to call
65 6732 2234 for reservations.

Zombieland 2009 - Movie

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:04:00 +0000

photo from here

I love Woody Harrelson in most movies... he's one of my all time fav 'funny-men' and have you seen him in that movie, dressed up as a tranny? Unbelievable.
Anyway, what's better than Woody Harrelson? Both Woody Harrelson AND Bill Murray in the same movie! Two of the funniest guys alive.

Zombieland.. This spoof on the zombie genre literally and figuratively is killer. It's LOL (laugh-out-loud) funny, the gore is beautifully over-the-top, and the wicked script is laced with a cutting wit.

RULE #1 .. CARDIO!

Oh, I loved it!
Go watch it!

Dubrovnik, Solaris Mt. Kiara

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:43:00 +0000

(photo from here)
Not unlike FBB, I have never been to Norway.., however, unlike FBB, I have not been to Croatia either!
Nope, never been to Dubrovnik.

Whatever the case may be, just one bite of their Lamb Peka.. and I was sold.

We had the pleasure of meeting Dina, owner of Dubrovnik (and Chef's daughter) at Solaris Mt Kiara just last week, over a Bloggers event organized specially for us.
After some opening remarks from Alice George, of Alice George (PR Company), the dinner was soon on the way.

Wow, this dinner was packed with both familiar as well as new faces (to me), and Cumi & Ciki would like to thank Jek Tan of theQguides dot com for making this event possible.

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First up, the drinks.

I was a bit surprised when they told us we had to share the cocktails and mocktails served, with a straw each, so I decided to give most of them a pass. As such I cannot really say how nice they were. You may want to read about the Macha Soy Shakes, Virgin Mojitos, Blueberry Shakes.. here.

More communal mocktails. I must say, they are really pretty to photograph though.

This was Cumi's favourite dish of the night! The Orzo prawn..
One might think it was tomato rice but no.. the grains are actually pasta, chopped up to give that risotto or rice-like look.
The texture and the flavour of the pasta went superbly well with the prawns.
Très très yum.

The next dish they served was the Spaghetti ala Buzara. This was supposed to be an aglio olio but with prawns. A gorgeous white wine based sauce with loads of herbs and garlic, this dish was another winner.

This was my favourite dish of the night! Being from the typical 'O' Blood type group, I really dig my red meats. I was really happy when they brought out that plate of lamb, sizzling and steaming and oozing lamb fumes.
Anyway, I ate at least 6 pieces of Lamb Peka.. and it was superb.
Lamb peka is seasoned with a special croatian spice mix called vegeta and is cooked in a wood fired oven in a cast iron pan.. It has that meaty, hearty taste and slightly barbaric rip-meat-off-the-bone eating style that kind of makes you think you are partaking in some ancient medieval dinner banquet. Now, the only thing missing was my goblet of wine.. mmm, where is it..

I was a bit shy I ate so many, so I tried to make my Lamb look dainty.. like fine dining style. I think I did pretty well with the composition:P

Lamb Burgers! These had a great aroma and taste, but Cumi found the texture a bit too minced (till it felt like meatballs rather than a burger patty) and me, too salty.

The lamb burgers are pretty though, and these look like great party food, because they are bite-size as opposed to super-sized.

This is the croatian goulash. Cheesier than I remember eating it in Budapest.. but of course, that was the Hungarian goulash.. so obviously it looks and taste a little different. This one actually came across like a lasagna. Thick and really rich.

The Hungarian Goulash.

Loads of delicious side dishes to pick from.. let me see.. we had the gratinated jacket potatoes, sautéed button mushrooms, croatian spinach and mushroom with greens.

Finally, the highlight of the night. The Chef appears!
Now THIS, in my mind, is what a Chef looks like. Very cool guy.
Anyway, he proceeds to make one of my all time favourite desserts, the Crêpe Suzette.

With a sauce of caramelized sugar, orange juice, lightly grated orange peel and liqueur (usually Grand Marnier) on top, which is flambéed.. life does not get any better than this. Sigh... too good for words.
.
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The grand finale to the night - The Chef describes his favourite wines from the Rhone Valley.

All in all, a rather lovely evening and we felt privileged meeting the new faces and making new friends.. and of course the food.. always the food!
Thanks once again to Dina, Alice George and theQguides for organizing this event.
.
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Anyway, just in case you were curious (not), our submissions to the Tent Card competition.. Both Cumi and Ciki won something each.. Thank you @fratmustard and @alisonjvictor for the prizes!
We love them.. we swear we will use up the 50 dollar vouchers.. ASAP:P

Ciki's submissions (so girly right..?) No.1

Ciki's submission No.2

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Cumi's Submission No.1 (so macho!)

Cumi's submission No.2

*footnote: all backdrops for the tent-cards were taken around the Solaris grounds, at Mt. Kiara. Thank you to all the sporting poeple who stopped to help pose with the Frat and Ally Tent Card!

THE END!

Shun

noreply@blogger.com (CUMI & CIKI) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:09:00 +0000

Shun Subang Jaya prides itself on its sets, and special lunch offers.
We read about this place on Masak-masak's site, a while back .. but did not get a chance to swing by till now. Where else can you get a Wagyu set lunch for RM43.00? It really blows the mind when you see the quality of the Wagyu served here.

At dinner time, their specialty is the Yakitori. We were here for lunch, so no Yakitori for us, this time.

Shun also prides itself on the authenticity of its traditional Japanese cuisine and the freshness of its Sashimi.
They ran out of Tuna Belly. This is the first thing I asked for, and the first thing they replied "out of stock!" to :(
Anyway, the next best thing they could offer was the Sea Urchin and this small plate set us back by RM58. Rich, smooth and sweet.. this is Japan's answer to the French Foie Gras. As long as you just let the dollop melt in your mouth and not count the calories, you will be a happy camper.

Salmon/Shiro Maguro - RM35.00

Most succulent salmon in this part of town, I dare say.

Sanma Shioyaki - RM39.00

The Promotional Sanma.
Fresh as hell and with enough natural fat and oil to give this fish some kick.

For the avid drinker, there is always the lightly seasoned mushrooms to grill.
Slow and steady, this 'cook it yourself' dish makes excellent conversation tidbit as you nibble, chew, grill, throw back some sake and chat with your companions over a long, drawn out, meal..

This is a real time waster, to be savoured and enjoyed.. and prolonged!

Plump white mushroom bodies look so delectable.. so pleasing to the eye.

Kobe Beef Steak -RM120.00

Since we have heard about the Wagyu set ,we wanted to try out the other types of Wagyu beef on offer.
The Kobe Beef! .. It doesn't get better than this. RM120 for this steak of Kobe - out of this world. The fat to lean ratio really had my eating companions knickers in a knot.. you could see the rapturous look on their faces .. bittersweet agony, that the experience might soon pass, but OH! the joy in living the moment.. all rolled into one emotion/sensation - Kobe!

Killer good.

Wagyu Tataki - RM65.00

Then the other variation of the Wagyu on cold soba.
OMG! This was priced at RM65, (as it was Wagyu and not Kobe) but man, if you can take my humble opinion into consideration, then I would tell you that THIS even out performed the Kobe Beef steak.
I think the fact that this was just lightly seared Wagyu beef (red, raw centre) and that the dressing and the intrinsic taste of the soba just brought out the meat juices and flavours to perfection, made it just that much better than the Kobe beef.
So much more 'interesting' in taste as well as sensation, as a dish!

My favourite of the day.

Shun No.1 - RM18.00

White tuna .. this was a fusion dish. The white sheets of tuna was wrapped round a cheese like center and baked.

A clever, creative dish (check out the name), with flavours enhanced by the seaweed.

Finally clam soup.
No complaints here. Piping hot and sweet, this really hit the spot and wrapped up the entire lunch experience in a nice, pretty bow.

Shun - excellent sets and promotional items. Just check with the waitress. Do not expect much in terms of ambiance. Even the upstairs section smelt a little musty. But if cosmetics are not important, and good food is what you are looking for, then we highly recommend this place to anyone in search of great Japanese!

Add:
Shun Japanese,
No. 4A, Jalan SS 12/1B,
Subang Jaya,
PJ,
Tel: 603 5637 9186
Pork Free.

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