BEGGAR'S CHICKEN @ BANTING.

beggar's chicken is undoubtedly a famous Chinese cuisine. originated from Hangzhou, the legend says that it was this beggar who stole a chicken invented this cuisine. apparently he hid the dead chicken in mud for quite some time before placing the chicken into fire as he was lack of cooking utensil. little did he know, the chicken that he cooked was so delicious that he started selling to the villagers. this only one of the many versions - we all know that usually the Chinese legends have many different versions. then again, from what i know, all the versions of this beggar's chicken legend eventually converge to the idea the hero marinating the chicken with mud.

&&& umm i am pretty sure the beggar's chicken nowadays is not marinated with mud... i hope wtf.

legends aside, on Tuesday, nine of us headed down to Banting to have a taste of this chicken that got everyone talking. Jun Loong's friend, Hui who stays in Banting recommended us this place called Viking Seafood Restaurant. apparently it is one of two the more famous restaurants serving beggar's chicken, correct me if i am wrong. also, apparently the other shop opens based on the old owner's mood wtf.

in the restaurant, we ordered two packs of beggar's chicken, fried kangkung, fried scallop, fried mantis prawn, steamed lala, steamed fish &&& oyster omelette to go with the rice. pictures in accordance to the order of the list,

nomnomnom the beggar's chicken was undoubtedly tasty. to me &&& the rest, we think that it tastes a bit like bah kut teh just that this is the chicken version. tender chicken meat, very flavourful with herbs. then again, we actually expected more since everyone is talking about it. still, i would highly recommended this place if you are a first-timer. on the other hand, the rest of the other dishes were so-so to me especially the fried kangkung, fried mantis prawn &&& steamed lala. the fried scallop was really awesome, no lies or exaggeration - it was in fact my favourite dish of the night; thinking about it right now makes me starve *salivates//. &&& oh, the steamed fish was really fresh yumms. a pretty satisfying dinner, overall.

oh, before i forget, Voon &&& i actually went into the kitchen to see how do they actually cook the chicken. from what i have heard, the chicken is supposed to be cooked in stove made of stones with fire burning on logs. however, this restaurant stopped using the traditional way, replacing the stone stove with sophisticated stoves. very disappointing to me who was very much interested in seeing the stone stove.

anyway, the bill came up to RM220.60 for the nine of us, inclusive of drinks (Chinese tea &&& four coconuts). splited, it is around RM25 per person after rounding up. pretty okayly priced i must say - we had a total of six side dishes aside from the two packs of beggar's chicken.

a second visit to this restaurant? i will consider since it is a tad bit far; if it's nearer, i will definitely pay a second visit to this restaurant without any second thought. &&& nahhh, my return will not be specially for beggar's chicken but instead, it will be for the fried scallop nomnomnom.

if you are interested, this restaurant is pretty easy to go actually: just follow the Banting signboard from Kesas Highway, then you just have to go all the way straight heading to Kuala Langat. you will pass by a ginormous flyover &&& are to see UDIM on the way. then when you finally reach to a T-junction (you will only encounter one), you turn left heading to Permatang Pasir. you will then see signboard to this restaurant. the whole journey (from the Kesas Highway junction to Banting)will take approximately 45 minutes.

suggestions of where to stop next? i am thinking of Jalan Alor nomnomnom.

MONASH CLAYTON.

&&& so i got the offer letter today!

although the minimum WAM requirement of 70 may be easy for many, it was a challenge for me as i am not the brightest student around - i worked hard, i really did. i guess that added on the happiness besides the fact that i actually made it through to achieve my only goal of year 2009. thanks a bunch to all who supported &&& encouraged me throughout the year, i really do appreciate it. also, special thanks for those who genuinely feel happy for me *hugs//

come to think of it, this feels so surreal. i feel like i am still in the dream that i have been dreaming, i really do. maybe it takes another one or two more days for me to realise that it is all coming true.

&&& many may ask, why not go Melbourne U since the requirement is the same? well, i am not sure why did i choose Monash Clayton over Melbourne U instead. my heart told me that this path that i chose to take is right, i trust my heart. besides, call me a jakun but i am not really a big fan of staying in the city.

now, i will have to issue the bankdraft by tomorrow so that i can send in the acceptance form by Wednesday. then i need to settle my flight ticket by Thursday before going for medical check-up for visa issuing by next week. one hell of a long process but i ain't complaining!

no more "omg i need to get into Monash Clayton" or "omg i don't think i can make it" or "omg where is the offer letter" or any of those annoying posts anymore, i promise.

bye, i shall now skip around the house naked!

ADRENALINE RUSH.

my heart sunked for 30 seconds when i checked my Monash e-mail yesterday - no offer letter for me. then again, as far as i am concerned, all who applied for both Caulfield &&& Clayton haven't gotten their offers from either. so i guess we just have to continue waiting *prays hard//

edited 5.30pm 12/12: Pey Jun got the offer from Clayton already! why haven't i? i am so freaking worried sick right now!

that aside,

after weeks of searching, i have finally gotten myself a pair of running shoes! although at a high price of MYR350, i must say that i am very much satisfied with the shoes. lo &&& behold, my wonderful pair of running shoes,

a Nike Free 5.0 V4 - extremely lightweight, seriously comfortable!

i know, i know it is a little too expensive but let's just take it as an investment for good health! i really don't know what is wrong with me but lately, i have been so pumped to exercise. i think maybe it's because i have been feeling really unhealthy for sleeping late &&& waking up late; imagine sleeping at 3.00am &&& waking up at 12.00pm almost everyday consistently wtf i wasn't even this consistent in studying.

to prove how excited i am, i have actually already lined up my activities:

Monday - jog in the morning
Tuesday - swim in the evening
Thursday - swim in the morning
Friday - jog in the evening

Ainsley will be joining forces with me for all the activities while Jun Loong will be joining only for jogging (right? or you want to join for swimming too?)! so yeah, i will be using the shoes twice a week for the years to come! &&& i think i would use it even more abroad since swimming sessions are close to impossible there... for reasons that i also don't know wtf.

so the moral of the story is, bye unhealthy life, hi healthy life! *grins//

&&& oh, i so cannot wait for next week! it is going to be an adventurous week, with food nomnomnom &&& some fun activities - i hope everything works out! &&& at last, a trip is forming though it's only between five of us, much much fun!

PORK BURGER @ CRISTANG.

if there is something that i really feel like eating now, it would be

these pork burgers from Cristang Restaurant.

when i read about it few months back in KY Speaks, i was really excited! i mean, who would have thought that pork burgers actually exist in Malaysia? i thought these burgers only exist in non-Muslimic countries like Thailand, China *bimbotic thinking wtf//

so yeah, last Wednesday, a few of us: Ainsley, Garry, Vincent, Sheng Ming, Jason, Ming Tjun &&& myself headed down to PJ to taste the burgers that i thought were non-existent in Malaysia wtf. the place, 8 Avenue, is quite easy to find actually but because we were not that familiar with the place, we took some extra time. 8 Avenue is actually really near PJ Hilton, so if you can find PJ Hilton, you can get to 8 Avenue by looking for the street called Jalan Jernih (8/1).

they have quite a number of burgers to choose from,

P1: pork patty
P2: P1 + back bacon
P3: P2 + minced pork chili con carne
P4: P3 + petai stuffed in patty
P5: P4 + grilled cajun prawns
P6: P5 + grilled fresh cut pineapples
P7: P6 + minced pork petai sambal

playing safe, i ordered P3 (the first picture) instead. the potato wedges they serve as side dish is crazily delicious - i couldn't get enough of it nomnomnom. the burger on the other hand, is undoubtedly delicious too! the chili con carne is really nice, not too yucky even if you eat a huge amount of it; it actually tastes a bit like Secret Recipe's spaghetti sauce, just this is without the pepper taste. the bacon, on the other hand, was heavenly, so does the pork patty! i am seriously salivating as i am typing this *salivates// yeah, it is that good!

P7 (the second picture) is equally good! Jason, Sheng Ming &&& Ainsley ordered it &&& i obviously got to taste it - i don't like petai that much but this tastes okay. i kinda liked it though i personally feel that P3 is more flavourful.

if you ask, i think the size of the burger is just nice - slightly smaller than the Carl's Jr burgers. it was pretty filling for me (lasted me for the rest of the day, i even skipped dinner) but people with big stomach like Ming Tjun, Sheng Ming &&& Vincent think that the burgers are pretty small. so i guess it really depends on the individual.

as for the price, the cheapest burger is approximately MYR17 while the most expensive is MYR31. then again, the quality of the food really lives up to the price! besides, you will get 20% off if you were to go on Wednesdays!

all in all, i am going to conclude that Kristang definitely serves the nicest pork burger around although i haven't eaten others in Malaysia before! this is because if it's not nice, then why would i be craving for it right now, right? i am dying to return there for another meal, anyone up for it? this time around, i would really love to try P5 or P6 the next time i go! i know they are technically the same thing, since P6 is P5 + grilled pineapple but i reckon that they taste the same because P3 tastes nothing like P7 at all. the extra ingredients make it taste all different!

&&& ahh, i cannot wait for our next food stop at perhaps Jalan Alor or better, Banting for beggar chicken! nomnomnom i am going to eat all i can!

ps. if you are wondering how am i doing these days without consuming meat, i am doing extremely fine! although i must admit that i almost died during the first three days but ngeh, i am taking it as a test to control my patience. Thursday will be my last day, so i am already thinking of what to eat on Friday! bah kut teh perhaps? &&& some nice fried chickens? nomnomnom.

SUMMER BREAK.

maybe it's because i am growing spiritually,

maybe it's because of the fact that i am leaving Malaysia soon,

maybe it's because i have a new understanding of happiness,

i am actually enjoying my life now - just staying at home &&& hanging out with people who i treasure. true enough, my life is pretty monotonous nowadays because this time around we are not having any trips but i must say that i am feeling more than happy.

i don't know why but i've come to believe that holidays are not how much fun you are getting nor how many places you travel to. instead, it is how much time you spend with your loved ones, how much time you spend to setting things straight, how much time you spend searching for answers to the many questions of life. pretty contradicts with what i wrote few weeks back but yeah, that just goes to show how one can change in such a short period of time.

in the mean time, i am still waiting for the offer letter from Clayton. i remember them saying something about sending by the 14th but yeah, i am still checking my Monash mail daily.

now, i gotta go trim my hair before heading to the mall (i hope) to buy some books to read.