Sekinchan Road Trip

So it’s been almost 3 months since I last saw both of my girlfriends. Although we live in the same state, our lifestyle and crazy work schedule makes it quite impossible for all three of us to meet up at the same time. So after much planning we decided on Sekinchan, as it was what we wanted an hour and half drive road trip, some sight seeing and finally some good food.

Honestly I’ve never heard of this place until one of my friend told me about it. I was instantly attracted to this place because being a pure city born kid, I’ve never set foot in a paddy field before and not to mention seeing live goats milling about. The ones I see are usually dead at the butcher shop …….as morbid as it sound LOL.

So what is Sekinchan?

Sekinchan is a small town located in the state of Selangor. It is located along the coastal Federal between the towns of Sabak Bernam and Tanjung Karang. It is a major rice producing area besides fishing.

Apparently it was just a normal sleepy town up until a Hong Kong TV drama did some scene around this place so it became a word of mouth thingy and eventually everyone wants to be where those actors were…..I think.

So what to do there………..

Well despite reading numerous blogs about this place, basically there is nothing much happening. I mean there is paddy gallery, the actual paddy field, the Pantai Redang and …..well that’s it I guess.

We all decided to meet up at Sri Damansara Mc Donald’s and from there we had a good hearty Malaysian breakfast at one very nice mamak shop. Then we all hopped in my friend’s car and went to start our adventure.

The drive to Sekinchan was about an hour and 30minutes. We took Guthrie highway I think, and it was a relaxing drive, no heavy traffic and the weather looked promising.

Along the way we saw a lot of quite unique food signboard. I have never heard of  “Cendol Bakar” LOL unfortunately the place was closed …..or else  I would have tried it. We also saw a couple of beautifully arranged fruit stall on the road side. But we decided to get them on our way back.

But after passing by a couple of “Karipap Gergasi” stall *Giant Currypuff, we gave in to our temptation and got ourselves one each. One giant currypuff cost RM 3.50 which is not bad considering how big and heavy it felt. It was freshly cooked so the whole car smelled of crispy delicious currypuff.

The size comparison 

We passed by a lot of temple, mosque and church along the way. Most of them a just a stone throw away from each other. That is how Malaysia is truly Asia 

I’m not quite sure what temple this is, but it look like a freaking ancient and beautiful!!! Although I later found out it was a brand new rebuild temple.

We finally arrived at Sekinchan!!! And by the time we found the ‘correct’ place to park our car, we saw plenty of  Chinese from mainland tourist getting off their respective tourist bus. Most of them we we giving us a weird look probably because there was only about 3 non Chinese walking around. Two Indian girls with a Malay girl, yeah we are an odd ‘herd’ LOL.

OMG, if you guys are planning to go Sekinchan please bring a sunglasses, plenty of water, an umbrella if you get burned easy and also please put on some lotion to protect your skin from the extreme heat.

I didn’t get to touch the paddy plant because people are waiting and walking about nearby so I felt like I needed to hurry up and take a picture before they take their turn.

So basically it a beautiful green scenery, it was doing amazing things to my eyes. It almost hurt me eyes to see so much green in one go………so typical of a city kid.

There is a gallery museum for you to ‘learn’ about Sekinchan and their paddy field but because we were on tight budget and the entry price was RM5.00, none of us wanted to go in.

So after getting a heatstroke from walking around, we bought ourselves some cold beverages and decided to check out the beach. The drive from Sekinchan paddy field to Pantai Redang is about 1.2km  and you may miss it if you are not looking for it. ….not sure what I even meant by that LOL.

The moment you get off the car, you can hear Korean song blasting from one of the many stalls set up at the beach.  While my girls stood under the tree shade with their drinks, I decided to walk around beach and take some pictures.

I’m quite surprised to see so many dead seashells on the beach. 

WOW……I mean the sea is far away so I’m able to get some pictures of shallow coral stones which had plenty of mini crabs crawling and dashing into all those holes. I could not get a decent picture of them because the sun was blinding and the crabs were moving too fast. GRRRR

The stalls sold many food, drinks, souvenirs and some even offer massage service. After walking about we took some pictures of the wishing tree which looks amazing but honestly we were starting to feel the heat of the blazing sun that we decided to cut short our milling about and head back to the car.

We had initially planned to buy some fresh seafood but I guess since it was Sunday most of the shops that sell bulk sea food was closed. So there goes our opportunity to buy fresh sea food.

Overall Rating: 5/10

Recommended for:

• Parents with 8-12 age kids who both can benefit from this trip. 
• For parents they are able to buy cheap food, seafood and some lazy day by the beach.
• Kids there is plenty of place for them to play around the beach and stalls there mainly sell toys and junk food.
• If you are passing through Sabak Bernam and you can stop by Sekinchan for a quick sightseeing or maybe stop by lunch or dinner.

Not recommended:

• If your sole purpose of your trip is to go to Sekinchan, besides beautiful scenery, its pretty much a sleepy town, nothing much to see or do besides paddy field, Chinese temple, and beach. If you are into seafood maybe this might be a bonus point.

Tip:

Heat is real here !!
So be warned to bring plenty of water and bring along sun protection things for your eyes and skin. 

Pets My Heart - Happiness in a box.......

If you are familiar with box subscription ….hold on wait a sec…..ok let me use another common word “BeautyBox” ahhh that rings a bell huh…..well that service is called box subscription service. 

So what is it? In simpler terms, it is the process of placing an order for a box full of surprises based on whatever genre you have subscribed.  For example the BeautyBox comes in a beautifully decorated box that contains 5 to 6 items of randomly selected beauty products. The catch is …….you don’t know what you will be getting…….sound a bit risky but hey think of it this way…….it’s like getting a birthday present every month only that you paid for it LOL.

So for years Malaysia has only offered beauty box and being a non make up person, I was insanely jealous of other countries that had awesome variety of box subscription services. So one day while I was stalking people in Facebook, I saw an ad on the side and it caught attention. It was a pet box subscription plan !!!! Being a dog lover, I was so happy that I am able to get something for my pet dog, Veer. At least there is different box subscription service!!!

Please visit this website get more information. URL :http://petsmyheart.com/

Go have a look at their website and see for yourself what deal is ideal for you and your pets.

To be honest pet food, toys and basically anything to do with pets is quite expensive. So a box containing two toys, four packets of snacks and 1 free homemade cookies for RM69 per month is not bad deal.

My box arrived a few days ago, I was at work and my mom took the package on my behalf. She immediately called me because the box is damaged. Thank god the contents were not. But it kind of ruined the whole aura for a millisecond.

Damaged box :(

what's inside......

 Toys

Two puppy/dog toys, each is a sturdy cloth material which is good because my dog hates anything to do with plastic or loud crackling toys. He avoids it like a plague.

The toys are in good condition, no tearing or damaged in anyway.  What I like about the toys, is that they do not have buttons or stick on eyes that can be chewed off. Which is good, because my dog loves to rip off anything that is not cloth material.

The dog/horse is a squeaky toy, it squeak when you press on the red star. I kept the monkey for next time, I only let him have one toy at one time. He has other tons of toys lying around the house.

the squeaky dog/horse......

My parents already opened the package before I did, so I had no idea that there were 4 packets of jerky until after I took this picture. Veer likes both the bow jerky and chicken jerky. He hesitated to eat the bow jerky at first but when he got the taste of it, he liked it.

 forgot another packet......

Veer enjoying a bow jerky strip

Again the homemade cookies here (in the picture) is half finished because it says on the back to consume it by two weeks. I had made my fair share of homemade dog cookies so I knew for sure Veer loved it very much. He ate this lot more compare to the jerky at first.

Conclusion in terms of website service and products.

Pros:

• The toys are of a good material and not damaged
• Jerkies are plenty in variety and not expired
• Added bonus of homemade cookies

Cons:

• Lack of variety in products
• No payment via bank in, which is pity because I do not own a credit card (although Mr Woon had helped me a great deal)

Suggestions:

• Should have a ratio of 1 toy, 2 snacks, 1 accessories, 1 toiletry product (shampoo, perfume)
• Include some pet related voucher or pet friendly restaurant/ hotel recommendation
• Something for owners as well (if as an added bouns) dog keychain, or small pet themed ID tags
• Maybe offer discount if we managed to get 5 people to join the box subscription

Overall I am happy with the box and I would definitely be ordering again soon. 

KGB @ Mid Valley

So the other day my sis and I was walking around Midvalley........endless hour of searching for me shoes for me and my bigfoot. So after  many hours, we decided we both wanted something really fast, but savory .....somewhere along the border line of Fast food but not too commercial.

Yes yes, We have mad conditions LOL.

So while deciding on which kind of food that goes into our very complicated conditions, we happened to walk pass KBG Burgers, And just so happens while I was walking pass one of the table, a couple of guys got up  and left (obviously loved what they ate because one of the guys actually took a bite out of his tissue paper LOL

So we decided KGB was our calling. Now now, KGB here has nothing to do with Russians and their military. It simply stands for K = Killer  G = Gourmet  B = Burgers. 

*Guys, I'm sorry, If the images are not very good because we were rushing (KTM not car) and my sister was too hungry to wait for me to take proper pictures. 

Ambiance: 4/10

I gave low rating is because its a small booth not a whole restaurant and it can get pretty loud and noisy because people are talking and doing people things LOL. 

I wish they had a small indoor seating rather then sharing the outside space with other smaller food booth. 

*My sis and I had quite the neighbor while we were waiting for our food. The dude was breaking up with her and it was rather sad because the gal was half crying and half flabbergasted. We could hear their conversation. So yeah .........it was that close. Not really a place you can sit in a large group for few hours and chat away.......

Tornado (Chicken) - RM15.90 + Add RM 6.50 Set Meal

  

Visual Observation: 7/10
It’s neatly presented and not sloppy. Looks appetizing. The thing about wrap food is if its not done properly it is going to look bad. But KGB nailed it!

Taste evaluation: 9/10
Grilled Chicken (not too thick or chunky - just nice), crispy onion rings, sunny side egg (OMG!!!) and buffalowing aoili sauce (flavored with hot and spicy mayonnaise).

My only complain is that my sunny egg was difficult to eat with the rest of the burger. Embarrassingly it ran down my hand when I took a big bite out of the burger. Not very lady like i tell you !!!

My sister had The Shack but as you can see I have no picture of it!!! Sigh.....

You can choose soft drinks along with fries and you can choose its flavour. We had cajun fries. It was mildly spicy and It was served hot and crispy. Nobody likes soggy fires :P

The bottle is tiny and I was so close to taking it along with me. It very rare to see Coca Cola served in bottles since we Malaysians are used to drinking it from Cans and plastic bottle. :P

It comes with other range of side orders and drinks but we didn't try them out .....which is why I wasn't so keen about wanting to write a review about KGB. But then again, while I can I try to share as much as I can. Does that even make sense ......Oh dear ......

I can share some of the pictures of the menu I managed to take. So you can see what other food and drinks as well as the prices offered.

If you are looking for a good tasty burger, this is the place to go :)

To know a racist .......

Someone asked me how do you define someone as racist ……….

I thought about it for a bit ……..then I told her ……well there is one experiment that I think maybe able to prove that person is a racist.

If you can put subject adult and a 3 year old child of a different race in a room, and observe this adult’s behavior ……you can tell that person is a definite racist.

How?

The reason I think a child is the best candidate is solely based on the theory no child is born a racist. That child represents two things innocents and his own race. And also to eliminate other possibility that may influence the subject adult.

Like how?

Well as an adult we tend to take a person’s history and their background facts to hate someone. Usually there is a reason. So if you use a child that barely has any bad history …..Then it falls down to that person’s race.

So if you place a 3 year old child in a room with a subject adult. We can see how the adult behave around the kid.

1. ·         Is the adult angry at that child just because of the child’s skin tone?
2. ·         Does the adult feel like harming that child either physically or emotionally even though the child did nothing?
3. ·         Does he feel disgusted with the child even though the child offers toys and candies to the adult?
4. ·         Is the adult angry about anything else besides the child’s race?

If all the answer is yes (except the last one). Then it is clear that the adult is racist.

Some may argue maybe the adult is just child hater or a sexist. I say in order to eliminate that possibility they only need to test the same adult with another child of the same race with the adult.  As for eliminating gender bias the same method can be used but eliminate the race difference.

If the adult show no aggression or disgust to a child of same race and of different gender, then there is possibility that he showed anger towards the child of a different race solely based on race, since we already eliminated the possibility that he has no problem with children and gender.

I know it sounds weird. But I thought about it for sometime……….. I could be wrong but I do have a theory.

Restaurant Nepal Himalayan Cuisine @ Plaza Damas, Sri Hartamas

My sister decided to celebrate a much delayed father’s day by trying something different. So while browsing through Groupon site, she came across a Nepal cuisine. Since neither of us tried this type of cuisine before, we thought it would be a great father’s day gift.

Here is the deal: http://www.groupon.my/deals/klang/restaurant-nepal-himalayan-cuisine/718405239

Now if you are a very adventurous and not easily disappointed with the outcome, I dare say just walk in and go ahead with your eating adventure. But if you are trying to involve people who are not so keen with trying new cuisine, be sure to do some research or take a safer deals like such offered in groupon, because usually these deal are already pre-set and you can view and do some research about the selected dish and see if your guest are ok with it. No need to head scratch when you get there……….

Ok let’s begin ……..

Ambiance: 4/10

Now the reason I gave such a low rating is because I don’t feel like I could relate anything to Nepal or Nepalese theme. I felt quite disappointed with the ambiance of the restaurant because it lacked creativity and if I were to accidentally walk into the restaurant I could not have guessed anything about this place or what they offered.

Maybe it’s just me but the moment I walked in I could smell pressure cooked meat,while it was not unpleasant but it was not something you want to smell when you walk in. I wish they had some spices aroma or smell of burning incense. It could help accelerate the Nepal feel or something.  

The waiter allows you to choose your level of spiciness, ranging from spicy, moderately spicy or mild. We asked for mild since none of us could handle spicy food (I know we are weird bunch of Indians)

 Signature snack platter (RM24)

Visual Observation: 8/10

It’s neatly presented and not sloppy. It gives you a eyes full of the variety of snack size dishes. It also looks appetizing. Very convenient if you like to try more than one dish in a small portion.

Taste evaluation: 8/10

Chilli chicken (the red one with green capsicum)

The chicken was quite tough and it was not very spicy. It’s more like a Chinese style sweet and sour dish. 

Bhuteko bhatmas (Roasted soybean)

This is my favorite, it is really crunchy and it is a good combination with the other dishes. Soybeans are marinated in Nepalese spice. This could be awesome munchies while having a drink.

Nepali salad

This salad was very asian salad. It had lime taste and it also had some sweetness to it.

Aloo silam  (Boiled potatoes)

Potatoes were boiled and cooked in some Nepalese spices. It’s not spicy more like cumin and non spicy masala.

Momo dumplings

We got the steamed dumplings,which is like Chinese dumplings. I guess since Nepal is surrounded by China and India, their influence is absorbed into their food as well. The dumpling was a bit thick skinned and it was stuffed with mixture of some veggies and meat. It was quite yummy.

Mushroom peas

Again these are not spicy but more like cumin and non spicy masala.

Farsi ko daal ra khasi ko nail  (RM18)

Visual Observation: 7/10

It’s neatly presented and not sloppy. Looks appetizing. You can smell the thick pumpkin gravy.

Taste evaluation: 9/10

The thick pumpkin gravy is absolutely delicious. It goes well with white rice and it taste good on its own without the meat. The gravy is not spicy rather it’s sweet and savory. It blends well with the tender mutton. I love how the meat just falls off the bone.  It comes with big chunks of meat that suits 4 person.

My sister enjoyed this dish. She also loves bone marrow and she actually used a straw and sucked out the marrow. 

Useful tip, please do not attempt to bang or knock the marrow out of the bone. It makes a lot of noise and you can break or chip the plate.

Chatamari (RM 12)

Visual Observation: 5/10

It’s neat and looks yummy. Nothing to brag about.

Taste evaluation: 7/10

This is actually thin-crust battered rice crepes topped with minced chicken, spring onions, tomatoes, and egg. Basically it’s a omelet pizza LOL. It is not bad, I liked the thickness of the caked egg and crispy crepes. Perfect for a pleasant tea time snack.

Beverages

We had to order the drinks separately as it does not come with the Groupon deal. Honestly I felt like the drinks were rather expensive.

Mango Lassi (RM12) and Sweet Lassi (RM10)

Visual and taste evaluation: 10/10

OMG I love a good lassi anytime. They nailed it. The mango lassi was amazing. It was thick and the real blended sweet mango was exquisite. I love how it looked, so delicious and so OMG.

My dad had the sweet lassi, like its name it was sweet. He said it was a touch bit too sweet for his liking. But I guess that is how it was meant to be.  But it is delicious never the less.

Masala Tea

Visual and taste evaluation: 6/10

My mom had some hot masala tea, she said it did not have the strong Indian masala taste but rather it was quite pleasant and different kind of masala tea. I guess traditional Nepal spices are not very strong but rather unique on its own. 

Overall conclusion: Something different, will try again if they have new dishes.

While the food was delicious, I as an Indian (no matter how weird I am), For me i felt like the Nepal spices does not have a strong KAW or satisfying aftermeal feeling. It felt very unruffled and it does not quite hit my taste buds. It maybe different for other people. This is just my opinion after all. I do feel like the price for the food is rather steep. I can’t blame them considering the location of this place and its exotic flavors. The best way to try these dishes is to get a good deal in groupon.

Additional: 10% service charge RM3.90 + Service RM3.90 (ouch)

Interracial Relationship

Ahhhh………..Only this type of relationship fascinates me alot. I love all type of interracial relationship but I do have a favorite type, mine is White men with Black women (wmbw). For some reason this type of couple really looks so amazing in my eyes. As weird as it sounds, I really don’t know just how to express that feeling, but usually I prefer watching “love or romance” if it involve this type of couple. Something about them really ……….makes everything so darn interesting and did I mention that they make the cutest babies.

Alas, I’m not saying that I do not prefer other type or that I only consider wmbw as the only type of “approved” relationship. When I say interracial relationship, I mean any two different races falling for each other.

So what is so interesting about them?

It always intrigues me that two people of different race and culture are able to fall in love and unite. This is something not only easy but it also shows you that you are able to embrace another race and its culture. That finding love from a person that looks nothing like your race, nothing like your culture and able to accept that and want to be a part of it together.

Most of the time, these type of relationship are not easy. I’m not saying a non interracial relationship is a piece of cake, rather their challenges or problem they face is more compare a non interracial relationship.  Maybe their complications they face are what fascinates me more (does that even make sense?) Sorry if I offend non interracial relationship, you guys face problems and obstacle to but in my opinion you do not face some of the problems faced by interracial couple, you don’t have that “extra” obstacle to crossover.

You get me? (Gosh I feel like I’m not expressing myself accurately)

What do I mean by that? Well any interracial relationship is going to have to go through a disapproval or negative phase in their life. Although we live in a modern world with its fancy technologies, when it comes to race and religion, not everyone is going to be 100% approving of your decisions.

Your friends and parents maybe cool with your significant other, but there are always going to be some group of people who are always going to disapprove and censure your interracial relationship. Because as much as our technology changes every minute of the day, sadly enough our minds are still rooted towards racism.  We have yet to move away from it.

But despite all the disapproving looks and side comments, in the end you must remember “you can never please everyone”. If your partner loves you and you love them back, why not go ahead and build a life together. If that’s what makes you happy, take that white horse and ride away into the happy land with your loved one.

I’ve seen so many of my friends that are in an interracial relationship/marriage. It just woos me so much, I just can’t explain in words. If a boy of a different race is attracted to me ……..I would ask him so many questions? Not in doubt of his interest for me, but what about me that made him consider me as his love/crush interest.

Every time I spot an interracial couple, I always wonder about their story. Like what attracted you to him/her, did you ever doubt your interracial relationship, are you happy? Did you ever think you will end up in an interracial relationship? Do you think of your future cute buttons? So many questions.

If you ever watch Scandal (if not shoot yourself), the reason that drove to watch this show is because of the interracial relationship. Second is of course the actress and third the plot itself. I doubt I will watch the show with intense anticipation if there was not an interracial relationship going on. Because let’s face it, who in the right mind wants to watch about bunch of sleezy politicians making bad decisions.  

Same goes for any shows with interracial couples, it just heightens my interest to the show, unless I find the whole relationship not working towards a positive vibe.  So even when I read a book and if it involve a interracial couple, I’m all for it!

I support interracial relationship!!!! And if you are in one, go ahead and give yourself a hug.

One day I would love to have an interracial relationship, but until then I’m just gonna sit back and ‘like’ all the beautiful interracial couples in Tumblr.