Satay Station, Kampung Pandan, Sept 2011

Dear Diary,

I’ve passed this row of houses hundreds times. Never once I suspected that one of them is actually a restaurant. Nestled between houses along Jalan Kampung Pandan, Satay Station is a unique eating place. A residence building creatively converted into an eatery. An episode on Jalan Jalan Cari Makan over TV3 intrigues my interest to check it out.

You’ll be greeted by satay aroma as soon as you step inside the restaurant’s compound. The satays are char-grilled near the entrance; so, the first thing you see is rows of satays being grilled. You can choose to sit either inside or outside. For a truly traditional experience, you’re welcome to sit inside in a wooden kampung house. Makan bersila lagi. On the other hand if you want to soak in a more happening atmosphere, then seating in the courtyard would be your choice.

Chicken and beef satays are priced at RM1.00 per stick. Nasi impit, cucumber and onion are priced at RM2.00 per serving. Its peanut sauce complements the satay perfectly. Though a bit oily, it is full of flavor.

A word of caution - Don’t be greedy like me! I ordered both satay and Mee Rebus Bonda. Satay here is huge! It definitely fills you up after only a few satay sticks. In my case, together with the noodles I totally surrender after having 5 sticks of satay. Memang tersandaq la! Both are marvelous, by the way!

Parking space is limited. What we did was parked our car by the roadside opposite of the restaurant. Just make sure you don’t block anybody’s driveway :-)

Address: No 55, Jalan A, Jalan Kampung Pandan, 55100 Kuala Lumpur. Telephone number: 03 – 9284 6607 / 019 – 282 7134. Email: traditionalsatayhouse@yahoo.com Website: www.sataystation.blogspot.com

Johnny English

Dear Diary,

Don't know why but Zarra loves Mr. Bean so much

Our last activity on Malaysia Day 2011 before heading home was watching a movie. This impromptu event happened when Imran and Zarra saw Johnny English’s movie poster and screamed with joy, “Mr. Bean! Mr. Bean!” Looking how happy they were, Hubby caved in and bought tickets for midnight show. How crazy that was!

Johnny English Reborn is directed by Oliver Parker and lined up by Rowan Atkinson (Johnny English), Gillian Anderson (Pamela Thornton a.k.a Pegasus), Dominic West (Simon Ambrose) and Daniel Kaluuya (Agent Tucker).

The film’s synopsis taken from its website:

Rowan Atkinson returns to the role of the improbable secret agent who doesn’t know fear or danger in the comedy spy-thriller Johnny English Reborn. In his latest adventure, the most unlikely intelligence officer in Her Majesty’s Secret Service must stop a group of international assassins before they eliminate a world leader and cause global chaos.

In the years sinceMI-7’s top spy vanished off the grid, he has been honing his unique skills in a remote region of Asia. But when his agency superiors learn of an attempt against the Chinese premier’s life, they must hunt down the highly unorthodox agent. Now that the world needs him once again, Johnny English is back in action.

With one shot at redemption, he must employ the latest in hi-tech gadgets to unravel a web of conspiracy that runs throughout the KGB, CIA and even MI-7. With mere days until a heads of state conference, one man must use every trick in his playbook to protect us all. For Johnny English, disaster may be an option, but failure never is.

What can I say about Johnny English? Well, English is English. Rowan shines in his portrayal as a “dumb” secret agent. Though Johnny’s intentions are always good but he would end up messing things up. This is when hilarious moments are invented. However, luck is always on his side because no matter how messed up things are, everything will turn out alright finally.

Dome KLCC, Sept 2011

Dear Diary,

Tired from walking around KLCC, we decided to have some drinks and desserts. I, personally, wanted to have Starbucks’ ice blended but looking at the long queue, I quickly dismissed my intention. As an alternate choice, we opted for Dome which is just next door to Starbucks.

Chilled out at Dome by having these:

Brownie with Ice Cream - mine (yummy!)

Marble Cheesecake - Hubby’s (tasty but I like Secret Recipe’s more)

Banana Cupcake - Zarra’s (a bit dry to my taste)

Fries - the boys’

Coffee Twister - mine

Caramel Nut Crunch - Hubby’s

Chocolate Shake - Imran’s

While relaxing and eating, both Hubby and I looked at people walking by. Boy, all kinds of passerby can be found in KLCC. Malaysia has become a melting pot for people from all every corner of the world over the years.

Dome Cafe Malaysia's website - for more info...

PETRONAS Twin Towers

Dear Diary,

Whenever we drive by KLCC, I always see people from all walks of life taking pictures of the twin towers. Each time too without fail, I make a promise in my heart that one day I’ll memorialize them for my keepsake. Finally… pictures of our world famous landmark – PETRONAS Twin Towers.

Some information taken from the PETRONAS Twin Towers official website:

PETRONAS Twin Towers, the tallest twin structures in the world.

Located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, rising to 1,483 ft (451.9 m), the 88-storey PETRONAS Twin Towers is the crown of the capital city. Inspired by the geometric shape in Islamic art, PETRONAS Twin Towers is a gleaming mega-structure with a striking glass-and-steel combination and floor plans based on an eight-pointed star.

The twin towers are joined at level 41 and 42, 175 m above street level by a 192 ft long double-decker Skybridge; linking the two sky lobbies and facilitating the movement between the two towers.

This sentence by Tun Mahathir Mohamad will forever etch in my mind, “We have not one but two towers.”

KLCC, Sept 2011

Dear Diary,

After a letdown dining experience, we walked around inside and outside KLCC. While burning off calories that we consumed, we also cuci-cuci mata (window shopped). Bersih berkilat mata jadinya ^_^

There was an Islamic apparel fashion show that night. We caught a glimpse of few famous designers and feasted our sights with beautiful models who paraded on the runway.

In addition to all these, there was a performance by local artists. We spent some time enjoying performances by Yasin, Hafiz AF and Stacy. All of them belted out their popular songs much to the crowd’s delights.

I was in the swing of things that I couldn’t bother to snap any pictures of either the event or performances.

Imperial Chakri Palace, KLCC, Sept 2011

Dear Diary,

It has been ages since I last set foot in KLCC. I couldn’t even recall the last time I went there. Since it has been so long, Hubby suggested for us to have an outing in KLCC on Malaysia Day last year. It was really something because we spent half of the night there.

As soon as arriving, the first thing that we did was searching for an eatery to have dinner. After searching high and low (because we didn’t really know what to have), we finally settled for Imperial Chakri Palace. The place looks promising enough. We were looking forward to enjoying dinner but it was a disappointing experience.

First, let’s take a look at what we ordered:

Khow Phad Gai (Fried Rice with Sliced Chicken)

Phad Thai Gung Sod (Fried Thai Noodle with Prawns, Crushed Peanuts & Chili Powder)

Crispy Soft Shell Crab with Sweet Spicy Sauce, Thai Mango Salad, Crackers & Fresh Salad served with Steamed Fragrant Rice

Khow Ob Sapparod (Pineapple Fried Rice with Shrimps)

Kuey Teow Ma Moung (Fresh Mango with Coconut Pudding Noodle)

Fresh Coconut, Watermelon Juice, Strawberry Juice & Pineapple Juice

I’m not saying that all foods that we ordered were not delicious but some of them were not as we’d hoped they would be. At an establishment like this with price tags leaning a bit upwards, for sure our expectations are also higher.

It was truly a case of indah khabar dari rupa. We could have dined tastier Thai cuisines at other Thai restaurants at same or much lower rates. Some benefit of the doubt, maybe its chef was having an “off” day.

Address: Lot 417B, Level 4, Suria KLCC. Telephone Number: 03 – 2382 7788 / 0887. Fax Number: 03 – 2382 0269. Website: www.rotolgroup.com

Ps: When it comes to food, my principle is I don’t mind paying extra if the food is scrumptious.

Tangled

Dear Diary,

I’ve watched Tangled at least three times a few weeks ago, maybe more. Every time we chanced upon it over Fox Movie Premium (Astro Channel 413), we’d stuck to it and watched it until the end. The kids of course love it and dear old me is also attracted to watch it again and again as if it has a magnetic pull.

My all time favorite Disney movie has been Beauty and the Beast. After watching Tangled, it comes close to wrestle the title from Beauty. Only the songs set both movies apart. All the lovely songs in Beauty and the Beast give the film an upper hand.

Back to Tangled now. It’s definitely a feel good movie. A Disney film, what do you expect! Tangled is a fairy-tale twist of Rapunzel. Directed by Byron Howard and Nathan Greno, the film uses voices of Mandy Moore (Rapunzel), Zachary Levi (Eugene/Flynn Rider) and Donna Murphy (Mother Gothel).

Rapunzel with her looooong golden hair is put away on a very high tower far far away from humanity. Influenced by all bad stories told by her mother, Mother Gothel, she actually believes it’s for her own good that she should be confined in the tower. So for 18 years, her world revolves inside the tower and around her mother. Without Rapunzel knowing, Mother Gothel is keeping her lock up for her own selfish reason. She wants to stay young forever. She’s actually a witch (remember, this is a Disney movie ^_^) who kidnapped Rapunzel from her real parents.

However, their quiet and protected life together turns into chaos when Flynn Rider, an outlaw, accidentally enters the tower while running away from palace guards. After some bargaining, Rapunzel’s adventure into the outside world begins. From here, the story gets more interesting.

The climax of the film is when Rapunzel confronts Mother Gothel about her real parents and she lost her golden hair. As in all fairy tales, Tangled ends with a happy ending. Again, it’s a DISNEY movie hahaha!

What I love most about Tangled is its extraordinary beautiful 3D characters. The animation closely depicts real human; body language, hair movement, etc. So damn believable!

* Picture courtesy from Yahoo! Movies

De Templer, Setapak, Sept 2011

Dear Diary,

Remember my entry about Irfan’s swollen eye?

After going for check up at a clinic, we went for dinner. Restaurant of our choice that night was De Templer. Located at Taman Melati, De Templer serves Muslim Chinese cuisines. We had…

Egg Custard Tart

Shang Hai Yam Cake

Thai Fried Rice

Chinese Fried Rice (without vegetables)

Mushroom Chicken Porridge

Cantonese Yee Mee

Watermelon & Mango Juices

All the foods that we ordered got two thumbs up from us.

Address: No. 17G & 19G, Jalan Melati Utama 4, Melati Utama, 53100 Setapak, Kuala Lumpur. Telephone Number: 03 – 6276 8000. Fax Number: 03 – 6276 8054.