Luxury Dog Houses (Random)

European-Style housing with a television, air conditioning, garden and picket fence.......

My gosh, this is the dream house for my dear Rubee lor!

With that in mind, it's time i get my butt going and search around for the perfect accommdation for Rubee. A google search revealed a number of sources, most notably of this company called "La Petite Maison".

Initially, its main focus was on custom made playhouses for young children. Now it has extended to building luxury doghouses too.

A few questions ran through my mind.

Should i have the Mediterranean-style?

Or maybe a lazy pool for my pooch?

Given Rubee's age, he needs something more elderly friendly too!

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I miss a very important point (VIP).

If i remember correctly, i live in a HDB flat with no garden.

Oh, and i don't have US$20,000!

It seems that Rubee loves the rags anyway.

*a valid excuse*

Restoran Oversea (海外天大饭店) @ Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A colleague once told me

"If you are ever at Kuala Lumpur, always remember to eat at restoran oversea!"

The existence of this restaurant was not remote to me as I always travel to KL (Kuala Lumpur) and had read of its popularity from Hungrygowhere.com.

As luck had it, i never really had a chance to try it with so many street food stalls available and the lack of travel companions; for Chinese cuisine, it's more worth it (can order more dishes mah) if you have many people sharing!

Until a week ago.

No matter what i am going to say here, please remember that we were super duper full after a food filled day! And as the saying goes, when a person is hungry, every edible thing is delicious.

Which was definitely not the case that day.

Soup

Ms SaNeVa is Cantonese and she die die must have soup in every Chinese meal. Our initial agreement was to have a cheap bowl of soup for her.

Unfortunately, that soup was sold out and we exchanged for another strongly recommended soup by the restaurant's supervisor.

This was sent. A POT of soup fit for 10 persons!!!

Shaking our heads....... we were surprised to find half a chicken, big mushrooms, dried scallops, cabbage and even ham! The taste was so full of flavour with the ingredients complementing each other very well!

We managed to finish it although our stomachs were bursting!!

Vegetables with Macadamia Nuts

Quite a disappointment after what i had in Dian Xiao Er (Singapore). The french beans were overcooked, it's pretty obvious that the nuts were not fresh and overall, the dish was too oily.

Prawns

My memory told me it was supposed to be some butter prawns dish. Those strands could be butter. Other than that, there's nothing butter about this dish.

And seriously, cooked in the same way, prawns can NEVER EVER taste as good as prawns that are shelled. The only exception will be prawns cooked with oats.

BBQ Mix Platter

The reviewers in hungrygowhere.com indicated the char siew and suckling pig as the 'must tries'!

Knowing very well that it can be very scary to order a whole suckling pig plus a big plate of char siew for small group of tourists like us, on the menu was this item called the BBQ platter; a mix of roast duck, jellyfish, roast pork, suckling pig and char siew.

The first two were normal.

The roast pork was one of the best i ever had. Especially so when i heard the unmistakable cackling sound when my teeth sinked into the meat.

Having a bad experience with suckling pig the last round, i am happy that this suckling pig had just the right amount of fats with a well-done crispy skin that tasted all the more better with the bbq sauce available.

A good plate of char siew must be slightly charred. This char siew was too burnt but the caramelized delicious gravy was still very noticeable with a very tender and juicy soft interior!

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I bet you my mom would love the food in this place.

And i will definitely be back!

Price

Soup - RM50.00

Vegetables with Macadamia Nuts - RM16.00

Prawns - RM30.00

BBQ Mix Platter - RM35.00

Location

84-88, Jalan Imbi.

Very near to Times Square

Operation Hours

11:30am - 2:30pm

5:30pm - 10:30pm

Additional Information.

Spread over two levels, it might be disappointing if you do not make any reservations. Look at the board of reservations (shown below) for that night we were dining!

We were so so lucky to dine at Restoran Oversea without any reservation made!

The Bakery @ Genting Highlands, Malaysia

Ever found yourself in Genting Highlands on a chilly, misty morning at around 7am where the only food outlets in operation were the fast food restuarants and some premium coffee shops that charged you similar, if not higher prices than those back in Singapore?

Heck, they even charged RM1 (S$0.43) for one piece of butter in Macdonalds! Maybe I should even be grateful to them for barring me the extra pieces of unhealthy butter on my hotcakes?!?!? 

HELL BLOODY NO!

Here comes the hero to rescue us!

*drummings*

The Bakery at Genting Hotel!

Just look at the following few (non-drink) items at only RM4.80 (roughly S$2) each!! 

Chicken Pie

The signature dish for The Bakery, this chicken pie had very common ingredients like chicken meat, carrots and green peas. 

It was tasty but could be better if it's served piping hot! Hot pastries can be especially welcoming in the colder mornings for the highlands.

Wild Mushroom Quiche

My first quiche (pronounced as Keesh), i found this to be rather refreshing from the normal cake (i know it's not a cake!).

Beancurdy with just the slightest eggy, cheesy taste (not exactly palatable for many people), i especially loved the lightness of this dish and the inclusion of two best-loved ingredients; onions and mushrooms.

Almond Croissant

Flaky on the outside, soft on the inside......

What more to expect?

More almonds!

My favourite still stands with the almond croissants from Toa Payoh Central!!!

Hot Chocolate 

Unlike the NORMAL hot chocolate, you have to do some work here!!

Two sticks of chocolate, one lump of chocolate and one glass of hot milk! Stir and you will get your hot chocolate!

At RM8.70 for a regular, i cannot decide if it's expensive or not.

On one hand, this was an uncommon way of serving.  On the other hand, the drink was not that tasty and i, as the patron, had to do some bloody work!

I prefer the hot chocolate from Krispy Kreme.

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Though my comments may seem pretty negative, i was in fact very satisfied for its quality offerings at a comparatively cheaper pricing.

With an alfresco area that is the perfect place to enjoy your warm pastries and hot chocolate tea, this bakery is going to be THE chill-out place whenever i am in Genting Highlands!

The view from the outdoor seating

My only regret?

Not having enough stomach space to try the wide range of delicious looking desserts!!

Location

Ground Level of Genting Hotel

Additional Information

There's a 10% service charge and 5% government tax!!

There's no wifi!!!

A decent cafe must have WIFI!!!

Destiny - Health Screening 2010

See this booklet above?

It holds an outcome that will affect my life drastically!

Two weeks back, i attended the annual medical screening exercise organised by NUS for its staff and students.

I did the same checkup last year and was informed that my cholesterol level was in the high range.

Not moderate high, not normal high but HIGH!

Someone must had mysteriously poured a litre of cooking oil down my throat!!! Anyway, long term medication would be FORCED upon me if the level continues to be this high.

For illustration,

My level was 260mg/dL; high risk.
 

And the ways to reduce it; cut down my meat intake, take more vegetables, take more fruits blah blah blah.

Awwwwwww how to survive sia.........?

I belong to the "live to eat" category.

Many of you would not have believed this but for the past year, i did try to change my food lifestyle. Buffets were not as frequent and even if i went out to eat, i tried to eat lesser.

My latest level?

226mg/dL; moderate high risk!

But hor......

How come i am heavier ah?!?!?!

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Must be the bones.

Krispy Kreme @ Times Square, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

STAY CALM!!!!

Don't get all excited because the best donut company in the world is not here in Singapore!! Not yet!!

Talking about Krispy Kreme, I blogged about it before, back in 2007 HERE.  

Picture was taken in 2007

Krispy Kreme is world renowned and donut lovers swear with their life that it is the best, I, for one, begged to differ from their hard core, insane devotion!

Since that entry in AD 2007, i told everyone i knew: "what's the big deal about Kripsy Kreme!?!?"

I WAS SO SO SO SO SO SO SO WRONG!

*kneel down in front of a printed out Krispy Kreme logo*

Remembering my last last trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in November 2009, tired me and sleepy Alex chanced upon a Krispy Kreme shop in Times Square. Our swollen feet needed a rest and the seats within looked comfortable enough.

Very paiseh (embarassed) to sit without buying anything right? So we got ourselves a mug of surprisingly yummy Hot Chocolate and ONE donut (original glazed).

Plain, unappealing donut.

This thought swirled in my brain before i took a bite.

Immediately, the layer of almost invisible sugar frosting surrounding the breast cotton soft doughnut broke into many pieces, like broken pieces of glass!! Both Alex and I looked at it, stupefied.

And the taste was so out of the world!

Oh man, it was the BEST donut i ever had!!!

Without any extra fillings, creams, decorations and blah blah blah.... you get what i mean.

Fast forward to the present!

Just a few days ago, the gang of four embarked on another food expedition and Krispy Kreme was one of the stops.

With the original glazed sold out (disbelief since it was only 4-5pm), we had to settle for something. Looking at the over two dozens variations within the glass counters, the gang of four chose the donuts for four!

1) New York Cheesecake

No taste of cheesecake. Can taste lemon though. FAIL!

2) Glazed Vanilla Cake

Dough was too dry, too hard. What vanilla? FAIL!

3) Glazed Chocolate Cake

Same like no 2, with just the slight whiff of chocolate. FAIL FAIL!!

4) Chocolate Iced Kreme Filled

The name was enough to pique my interest.

As expected, it was the best out of the four.

The dough was soft, the chocolate layer was not too thick and don't get me going on the kreme (or cream).

Swooshy smooth cream (like conditioner!!) that oozed out from the bite. Kon said it was just sugary whipped cream.

Whatever, it was delicious!!

The feast is not over yet!!

One of the counter panels displayed a 'doughnut sandwich' that looked suspiciously like the one i had over 10 years ago when Dunkin Donuts was still in Singapore.

The egg-stra donut with cheese brought back memories of my mugging days. It was not fabulous (like over the heaven kind) but some things are just like that. You eat them purely because of the good memories you have.

I am officially a Krispy Kreme fan!

At least for the Original Glazed and Shampoo Cream thingy!

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Krispy Kreme is located at a few locations in Malaysia.

Please visit http://www.krispykreme.com.my. 

Additional Information

Please do not attempt to import Krispy Kreme to Singapore. 

Judging from my two experiences, the taste will altered adversely. My original glazed donuts (24 pieces) looked as if they were sweating and the taste was just not the same.

You want Krispy Kreme in Singapore?

Join as a fan HERE!!!