Restaurant Jiann Chyi

Location: No 156, Jalan Bagan Sekinchan, Sekinchan 45400, Selangor.
Tel: 603-3241 4690
Operating Hours: 7am - 3pm (closed on Friday)
GPS Coordinate: N3 30.276 E101 05.940

1. Shark Porridge
These are signature dishes of the restaurant. There are 2 flavours, normal porridge or hot spicy porridge. We did order both, and we can't really able to compare both. Though we are not sure where the shark came from, but I don't think the shark caught in the middle of the sea. I suppose it is those breed shark. The porridge is served together with fish ball as well.

2. Shark meat served with pork intestine

The shark meat (we was told this is tiger shark meat) served with pork intestine, and fried together with spring onion and coriander. This dish is best serve together with rice.

3. Catfish served with flavorful sauce

I would rate this as nice food as well. Cooked together with okra, dried chillies, onion, mustard leaves etc. Since we have ordered 2 dishes of shark, this would be an ideal choice of fish meat as it is something different.

4. Stir fried spicy prawns

This is quite special dish, as I didn't come across such a dish in KL. Though it is spicy prawns, I would say that it is not that spicy after all. Cooked together with onion and curry leaves.

Maybe due to all hypes surrounding the restaurant after it appeared on local food show (AEC hosted by Ah Xien), the restaurant swamp by a lot of people. Thus, it may be hard to come over here during weekend or public holiday if one does not pre-book the place and dishes. Though we have booked a table of 12 at 1.00pm, we were adviced to come back sharp on time (we were earlier before 1.00pm).

An outing to paddy field.... S.E.K.I.N.C.H.A.N.

We did our outing, indeed our first photography outing with some of office colleagues to Sekinchan as main purpose. Besides that, we also planned to have our lunch somewhere near to the place, recommended by one of the tv programme.

We decided to gather at office, takes our breakfast before starting our journey. We started our journey about 7.30am as per our schedule. None of us actually knows the route, though we are "leading" the way. We only know the road heading to Kuala Selangor.

Once we reached our destination, we wasting no time. The team immediately set-up their camera + equipment and start shooting their own photos. We are very blessed on the day itself, as the weather was very hot and sunny, good for outdoor photo shooting. Besides that, the paddy almost ripe, ready for harvest in 2 weeks time. This makes our shooting even nicer.

Besides the paddy field, there is temple built in the middle. This is a very colorful temple, with the paddy field in green color, the temple add contrast to the landscape. There is also a swiftlet house located at the paddy field.

Besides the beautiful paddy field, we stumbled upon few interesting things. There are lot of water lily on the drainage system available. On top of that, one will also find apple snails' eggs (known as Siput Gondang Emas). Though at first I don't know what is the pinkish thingy, later I found out from my friend about the eggs.

Once we have done with the photo shooting, we continue our journey for our eating plans.

Phở Hùng... Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup

Location: 241-243 Nguyễn Trãi, P. Nguyễn Cư Trinh, Q.1 - TP.HCM
Tel: 3838 5089
Operating Hours: 6am - 3am

My friend took me for breakfast at one of the famous beef noodle house, called "Phở Hùng", pronounce as 'fur hung'. This is the local franchise of the noodle house. There are another 2 restaurant of the same type:

Location 2: 288, Nguyen Tri Phuong, P.4, Q10, TP.HCM
Location 3: 371 Hai Ba Trung, P.8, Q3, TP.HCM

As I entered to the restaurant, I found out that this is one of the most hygiene. I would say that it spacious as well inside the restaurant setup. When the waiter gave us the menu, it has a very long list of all types of the beef noodle. I ordered the "Eye of round steak, well-done flank, soft tendon and honeycomb tripe".

It is quite a big bowl for me for breakfast. However, since the meat so soft and tendon, I manage to finish noodle. It is very delicious, served together with the soup. As usual, one can add the vegetable which already served on the table.

Besides the beef noodle, the restaurant also served multiple type of fruit drinks. Of course I've ordered my favourite fruit drink, ripe mango juice. My friend told me that he has brought me to the same restaurant during my previous visit few years back, but I totally can't remember that I came in before.

When I search through internet for this restaurant, I found out that this restaurant is not only famous in Vietnam, but also famous in States. There is website for the restaurant: http://www.pho-hung.com/index.php

Barbecue Garden.... midst of city

Location: 135A Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Dist. 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tel: (84-8) 3823 3340
Operating Hours: 7am - 11pm

I was planning to take my dinner Nam Bộ, but the plan changed last minute. When my counterpart came to my hotel to pick me up, he told me he will bring me to another nice place, similar to Nam Bộ. Since it is a new place for me, I don't mind to try it out.

The restaurant was somewhere near to the Ben Thanh market. It is an open air concept, which resembles a big garden with lighting lit-up at night. It is quite romantic I would say.

My friend ordered the dishes for us, about 6 of us. This time around, I didn't take any photo as it is too dim to take photo. I just enjoying the foods. This restaurant is targeting both the local and tourist, offering Western-Vietnamese taste. Whatever put on the table, I just tried it out.

There is one dish, where my Vietnamese friend asked me to eat first without knowing what it is exactly. I just put it into my mouth, chew and swallow it. However, all the dishes almost looks like the same for me, fried meat, either goat or beef. I just can't believe when my friend told me I just swallowed the goat part where it is use for milk production... OMG... since it is nice, I just continue eating. Yummy!!

Nice food besides Bến Thành Market

Location: Besides Bến Thành Market
Operation: The stall owner will only setup the stall during evening time, about 5pm.

This place actually is one of the tourist spots in Ho Chih Minh City. Many tourist will come over here for dinner, due to the local foods offered over here. It has lot of stalls selling local foods from north to south as well as seafood.

Besides food, there is also some stalls selling clothes, bags, shoes and souvenir around the corner.

1. Tilapia fish + vegetables
The fish is totally fresh, as I discovered when they start to grill the fish. It still moving. As when you order this dish, be expected to wait for about half an hour, as this is one of the signature dish around this area. Once the fish is served, it should be eat together with the vegetable. One has to roll the fish meat together with the vegetable in a soft, thin paper-like crepe. Once you roll it like 'popiah', one need to dip it to fish sauce before put into mouth. If you tried the fish meat just like that, it is very tasty due to the freshness of the fish.

2. Steamed prawn

When the prawn is served, actually it is cooked. However, it still need to be steamed for a while in front of us. What make me amazed what the waitress will peels off the shell from the prawn for us. This really helps us a lot, fully concentrate to enjoying the food.

Foot Massage Salon 137

Location: 137 Ham Nghi Str, Dist 1, HCM
Tel: (08) 3821 7362
Operating Hours: 9.30am - 11pm

This massage center was recommended by my friend, as I am here for the trip, so why not just try it out. It is very near to Ben Thanh Market. If you were at the market, one will see a big roundabout just right in front. Scout for Highlands Coffee shop, it is located at the same row with the coffee shop.

From outside the shop, it is lit up with red-light, seems something fishy here. Anyway, it is a pure massage center. Once entered the shop, I get a copy of the name card for the shop. Printed on the card, it telling me the massage will last for 90 minutes, served with ginger tea and gingersnap at the end of the session.

What stand out the most for me is the HOT STONE massage, one of the few massage style offered here. I never tried massage with stone before, of course I'm very excited about the whole process. This place is jammed by both the local as well as tourist.

The session includes:

• Herbal Foot Soak
• Facial and scalp
• Cucumber Facial
• Herbal Foot Wash
• Pressure Points (reflexology)
• Hand / Arm
• Shoulder
• Back / Bottom
• Hot Stone
• Walk on Back
• Back Extension
• Ginger Tea / Gingersnap

What can you ask more, when it will cost you about USD$10 per session. The whole session really amazing, totally different from the massage I had in Bangkok.

Restaurant Kien Kee

Location:
D-1, Jalan 10/3
43300 Seri Kembangan
Selangor
(Located behind the Post Office along Jln Besar)
Tel: 012-350 9900
GPS Coordinate: N3 01.330 E101 42.292

Operation: Closed on every Monday

1. Spicy Soup or "Lat Tong" 辣汤
This is the signature dish of the restaurant. It is very spicy soup, with the mixture of chicken, intestine, meat, pork tripe etc. Most of all, it contains lot of pepper. This is the best soup we have ever had, especially during the rainy days or winter time (hope we have winter in Malaysia). After we drank the soup, we were sweating a lot. It was still boiling hot when the soup is served. A small portion will do for 2 person like us.

2. Clay Pot Chicken or 花雕鸡

This is another dish that we usually ordered when we came over here. It was cooked with thick black sauce, Chinese rice wine and tender chicken meat. The gravy was extremely tasty, together served with the rice. It can't stop us from eating... yummy...!!!

Langkawi Geopark

Location: Langkawi

We went to the Geopark during our annual company retreat, which this year Langkawi was the chosen destination. The group decided to join the package tour to Langkawi Geopark since we has nothing to do during our 2nd day's morning.

Langkawi Geopark is a geographical park inscribed by UNESCO that covers the entire Langkawi archipelago. The geopark status was according by Unesco to Langkawi in 2007, making it the only geopark in Southeast Asia and the 52nd under the Unesco Global Geoparks Network. The Langkawi Geopark is said to have the best exposed and most complete Palaeozoic sedimentary sequence in Malaysia, formed during the Cambrian age 450-550 million years ago. LADA is tasked to take care for the development for it.

We entered through Kilim Karst Geoforest Park, and needed 3 boats altogether to ferry us.

The first pit-stop was a bat cave. We were there to watch the bat, which most of us has seen it before. We are not allowed to use the flash to take the photos, but some irresponsible tourists took the photo with the flash on. The tour guide told us it will make the bat blind for a while, as well as disturbing them.

I was more attracted to the mangroves area, It is well preserved. Along the way, the tour guide explained to us the rock formation, cave and the plant. Besides that, there are many colorful mini crab as well as monkeys.

The 2nd pit stop, we went to floating fish farm. Over here, they rare some type of fishes, and it is mainly for tourist attraction. We begins with the stingray feeding. The tour guide teach us how to feed the stringray. Of course we took this opportunity to try it on. Besides that, we can also feed mackerel and others giant fish.

The other interesting point is we are able to see how fish able to spit water out from their mouth to get the bread. The bread actually was glued to the wood, and the fish will spit water out from its mouth directly to the bread, and it will falls down to the water. How amazing it is. The fish is not rare, but swimming freely on the open water.

On the way to our next stop, our boatman saw sea otter. He purposely drove slowly to the river bank in order for us to catch a glimpse of it. According to our tour guide, sea otter is harmless. They actually will urinate in circle, make those fishes in the circle dizzy before eating them. Averagely, sea otter needs about 4kg of fish per day to survive.

Our final destination, or the main attraction would be the eagle feeding. The eagle will actually swoop down with amazing agility to snatch the chicken guts thrown into the river by the boatmen. However, if there are too many boat around, the eagle will reluntant to comes down. Up in the sky, you will able to see few hundreds of eagle flying around zooming and waiting for the timing to snatch the food.