M&M

Last Sunday I did M&Ms in my photography project. The result was so-so and I had made a notation to re-shoot M&Ms when I had the opportunity. I was doing my grocery shopping at Giant yesterday and as I was queuing to pay, there by the counter were these two cute M&M figurines. It gave me an idea immediately. I bought them at RM9.90 each and also another bag of M&Ms for the shoot.

The storyboard... In my mind I wanted to capture the two figurines with a background of lights bokeh. Simple... except the lights for the bokeh. If I had a christmas tree at home with christmas lights then it wouldn't be an issue at all, alas I didn't. Then I looked out my balcony and there were all the lights that I needed.  Then came the next problem... elevating the 'scene' to the level of the lights. The scene had to be about 5 feet high. Nothing in my apartment was that high. So I improvised. I used my ironing board as the base and elevated it further with two chairs.

It was not an easy shoot. If I stood I would be too high. If I sat I would be too low. So it was very uncomfortable. I took a total of 52 shots in this project.

This was taken at f/3.5, 1/60, ISO800, flash fired. This came out the sharpest due to the fast shutter speed and smaller aperture assisted with the flash. However, the downside was that the background was darker.

This was taken at f/2.8, 1/30, ISO1600. I like this better but it is not as sharp as I would have liked thanks to my shaky hands and the slower shutter speed and even that, I had to boost the ISO to 1600 to get it at 1/30. I really need to get myself a tripod....

This was taken at f/1.8, 1/50, ISO800. This ended up slightly underexposed so I had to compensate in the editing process. I like the bokeh produced by the larger aperture... round. Again... the tripod would have helped.

So... next item to buy is the tripod... and it ain't cheap. The one that I have my eyes on is approximately RM1k... and that is why I still haven't got it yet... sigh...

Something Freaky...

I was just about to get ready for bed so I thought I'd double lock my door like I normally do and head to bed. I take a peek through the peephole like I normally do too. I couldn't see anything. So I open the door to check. there was a shred of paper stuck to the peephole. Shit! Earlier in the evening I experienced the same thing. I thought it was strange at that point but shrugged it off as I thought that MAYBE it just got stuck there by chance. I looked down on the carpet and the earlier piece was still there. I pick both pieces up and went back into my room. It was freaky.

So, I SMS the Hotel Manager whom I knew to inform her about what happened. She called me back immediately. She found it very strange too and told me she would investigate. I hung up and then just for the sake of it took another peek at the peephole. What the fuck! It was blocked again! In less than 5 minutes? This was just too freaky. I called my friend and told her. She was baffled and assured me she'll investigate. Then I opened the door and removed it again.

Here they are... the three shreds of paper in order of occurrence from the left. It's just too freaky. Why would anyone want to do this? It's been an hour and it hasn't happened again. I wonder if I'll get any sleep at all tonight.

Damn! And it has to be Halloween tomorrow as well right? Fuck...

Penang - Day 2

Last night was not very different. I still haven't gotten used to the bed. Another sleepless night. Sigh...

The rest of the training was fine... right until the end. I knew that there would be some play with emotions at the end and I was prepared. Or, at least I thought I was...

The facilitator shared a story about a boy who wanted so much to tell his dad that he loved his dad but somehow couldn't bring himself to do it but instead said "Goodnight" to his dad only to lose his dad to an accident the following day. And that was all it took to have me sobbing away like a big baby. I was definitely the first to get all teary-eyed and I think I was the only male who did. I couldn't help it... it seems like yesterday that I lost my dad.

Anyway, Nancy the facilitator gave me a big hug after that. She knew... I've known Nancy for over 10 years now. In fact she was the one who interviewed me during the buy-over back then.

I decided to leave tomorrow as I didn't want to get caught in the jam at the bridge and also because I wanted to catch my 9:00 pm TV3 drama. That also meant it was best not to venture out for dinner. So, I took a quick walk to the nearby shopping center and bought my dinner.

My dinner... a dinner plate. I actually prefer the 'Original' but somehow today I thought I'd try this instead.

Ha, ha, ha... and this is my dessert of course...

Penang - Day 1

Day one in Penang. Had a sleepless night. It's usual for me due to the new bed and environment. In the little sleep that I got I dreamt of a centipede. I never did finish the dream as it was interrupted by an SMS at 0223 hours by someone who wanted to tell me how efficient I was. At that hour? Aiyoh... I didn't get a sound sleep after that. I tossed and turned all night and the next thing I know it was time to wake up.

The training was okay. I've been through many similar trainings. This one helped refresh my memory and also put things in perspective on how to apply things differently with the new generation of employees.

For dinner, the host took us to Northam Beach Café. It was a food court actually but it sure had a wide selection of cuisines. Japanese, Italian, Chinese, etc. There was halal food but mostly non-halal. We ordered all kinds of food and everyone wanted to pay.

This is the ABC with ice cream. This is the only thing I managed to pay for. It cost RM32.00 for 6 of these... 4 with ice cream and 2 without. Not cheap actually but it was good.

Then I ordered a betul-betul ho liao... prawn noodles. It was damn good. I was so tempted to order another bowl for myself but when I saw what the rest had ordered, I changed my mind. There was so much food and it would all have gone to waste.

Aww... Shucks...

It looked like it was going to pour this morning and since I had to vacate my apartment by the end of the month I decided I'd catch the gloomy morning scene before I lost the chance.

The phone rang at 8:33 am to the theme of Ironside. Only one person in my phone book with that ringtone... my boss. Alamak... not again... last week's argument was enough. I don't need another one. I've been having too many arguments with him in the last 8 months. Come to think of it, we've had more arguments in the past 8 months than over the last 10 years. I take the call and he asks if I am at work yet. Yes, I am... he's here too. Aiyoyoh... karavale, karavale... this is so unusual. I go to meet him and he asks that we adjourn to my office. That's even more strange. This is the first time he's been to my office.

Something's not right. He closes the door after he gets in. It was an hour session. He apologised for not guiding me properly since I took this challenge 8 months back. He must have heard or felt that I was serious when I said I was going to leave though he never touched on that topic. He explained many things which had to stay within the four walls of my office. There were emotional moments... him holding back his tears when I told him how shitty it is to be a senior management and to get your 10-year service cheque and letter from your own HR manager and the letter signed by the HR manager and not from the owner himself or Council. Of course he assumed responsibility for that failure. As usual... Well... to cut a long story short, he's managed to make me feel guilty. I tell you... this one man is the only thing binding me with this company.

Anyway... I have NOT changed my mind. He's got me mixed with my feelings and I MAY stay on but that certainly remains to be seen. I am still going ahead to recce the resort next month during Raya Haji and I called Mahmoud yesterday to ask him for leads on international postings. I'll be sending him my resume tomorrow.

Oh, by the way... in that discussion... I was told I now don't have to move from the apartment... damn... he sure knows how to go for the moral ground. His Sun Tzu is WAY superior to mine.

Naili's

I finished work pretty late today. I didn't feel like cooking as I was hungry so I thought I'd go out and have dinner. I fancied having something simple... maybe rice and a good soup. I thought of Naili's Place... the last time I was there they had a decent Sup Tulang. Just what I felt like having. So off I went... decided to go to the Ampang Point outlet figuring that it would be straight-forward if I took the AKLEH. Boy, was I wrong... for some reason there was a bottleneck getting off the AKLEH. I was stuck there for 30 minutes. My stomach rumbling away.

Cucur Ikan Bilis to start off. Love this... most people take it with the Thai Chilli sauce but I prefer it plain. It was gone in a mere minutes as I was so hungry.

My Sup Tulang. It's a very big bowl for RM8.00 and it had a lot of... yeah... bones... hahaha... and meat attached to the bones. I dunno... is it me or what but this didn't taste as good as the last time. But seriously, RM8.00 for this compared to the Cucur Ikan Bilis at RM6.00.

This is a SMALL Tom Yum at RM15.00. Okay it has squid and the bowl is a wee bit bigger than the Sup Tulang... but at almost double the price to justify 6 prawns? I dunno... something wrong with my values I think. Anyway, it was pretty decent Tom Yum for a paste-based soup. Good with steamed white rice.

Between the two soups, for this visit I prefer the Tom Yum. The Cucur Ikan Bilis is consistent.

Intai-Intai to Kunang-Kunang

I woke up early again today. Made my coffee and decided to watch my DVDs. I managed to finish Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and also Quantum of Solace. Brunch was sausages, burgers and drummets again. Then I did some cleaning and lazed around a bit.

By 3:30 pm, I was hungry again and decided to go out and have some sushi... yes Ampang Point again. By the time I got to Ampang Point it was 4:30 pm. Had my usual fare and then I decided to check out what was at CapSquare. There wasn't much to see there. I was in and out of that place in less than 30 minutes. I had my camera with me with just my 50 mm lens. I didn't feel like bringing the 55-250 mm zoom lens along as I didn't think there would be much use of it. I managed to snap a couple of shots without spending too much time looking for an appropriate angle. Here they are... nothing fancy... just straight forward and thoughtless shots.

A shot of the Petronas Twin Towers is a must... gee, I'm so Malaysian now. Just like how each and every local movie or drama MUST HAVE a Petronas Twin Tower background scene. Hahaha... and if you look at the left, that's proof that I was there.... as if I need to prove this to anyone. Hahaha...

Then there's the KL Tower... this is not so popular these days. I have some ideas for this but it will have to wait till I get a sturdy tripod.

Got myself a coffee at Starbuck's and left. Drove around a bit and was just about to head home when I thought of a place that I read about. It's called Intai-Intai... supposedly a well-kept secret. It's located somewhere along Jalan Ulu-Kelang. I came from Jalan Ampang and as I drove slowly on the left lane looking for signs of this restaurant I noticed the traffic building on the opposite direction. As I drove further down towards Setapak I realised that it is probably located on the opposite direction but since the traffic looked bad I decided not to make a U-turn. So I just drove on. I see the Muzium Orang Asli signboard so often and today I just decided to follow it and see where it was located.

I drive and drive following the signboard and the next thing I knew I was driving on Route 68. It took me all the way to Genting-Sempah. This route is no joke... kinda eerie and looks like a good place to dump dead bodies if you know what I mean. Winding like the Tapah route to Cameron Highlands and narrow too. I drove pretty slow since I was not familiar with the route. I arrived at Genting-Sempah just after 7:00 pm. Made a quick run to the washroom and quickly made my way back to KL.

I was starving by now so I decided to head on to Kunang-Kunang since it was the nearest place I could think of. I got to know of this place back when I used to plough the Karak highway regularly when I worked in Kuantan. Everytime I stopped to refuel at Shell, northbound on MRR2 just before you turn off to Karak Highway I would notice this restaurant as I pulled out of the petrol station. Eventually curiosity got the better of me and I stopped there one day and checked it out. It was oklah... garden a la feed-the-mosquitoes-while-you-dine concept. Just a note though which I think needs to be mentioned just in case. Not that I am a racist or anything... but in the few times I have been there I only saw Malays. So, if you're not comfortable then up to you lah. For me, I hantam je.... I kan Muhibbah?

Laksa Kedah... I think it was RM8.90++. It was very good the last time I was here but today, kurang sikit.

This is the Nasi Lemak Rendang Daging which I think was RM4.00++. No... I think it was RM4.00 extra for the rendang. A bit too much sliced serai in the rendang and a bit too much cardamom in my opinion.

The other side of the platter for a better view of the condiments. The ikan bilis was nice...

This is my favourite drink for this place... Watermelon Lychee. Totally refreshing and generous with their lychees too. The damage for those two dishes, my drink and a mango puree was RM32.00.

Bueno

This is my latest indulgence... Kinder Bueno. I had seen the ad on TV many times before but never did try it until lately when I was in Ipoh and was craving for a snack and this was the only thing left so I tried it. I am now hooked on it. Like I said before, I can't stop till I finish everything... and when I finished everything, I ended up being hyper and unable to sleep.

Oh... it's my late father's birthday today... Happy Birthday Dad... I miss you. :(

Lens Rosak

I sent my lens for repair today. It just stopped working... the auto focus wouldn't work. And sending the lens for repair ended up being so stressful.

I checked the web for an outlet where I could send my lens for repair. Through my own mistake of not reading the website PROPERLY, I went to BTS Canon EOS Pro Centre thinking they had service there. I could have gone to their Concept Store in Pavilion but BTS seemed the better choice as I was taking the monorail and the monorail station is at BTS. I left my office at about 10:10 am. The website stated that they opened at 10:00 am. When I arrived there, they were not open. I ask the neighbouring shop and they tell me that it will open at 11:00 am. I decided to wait and walk around. I went back at 10:50 am but was told that they do not do service there and they would have to send it out which would normally take up to two weeks.

I then checked the website through my phone and realised my mistake. So, I call the Concept Store in Pavilion.

Canon Store, Pavilion?

Yes.

Do you do service?

Yes.

Are you open?

Yes.

Which floor are you on?

5th Floor.

Ok, I'll come over now.

I take the train to the next station and walk over to Pavilion.

Good morning sir, can I help you?

I'd like to service my camera.

Oh, we don't do service here.

But I just called just now and someone says you do service here.

There were 3 of them there. They look at each other and then one replies that they didn't receive any calls. I was fuming by now. Why do I always end up being branded a liar? So I whipped my phone out and state what time I made the call and the number I dialled. By now, I had spotted the culprit. You can tell from the fidgeting and the facial expression. The person who greeted me confirms that it is their number and asks his colleagues sternly if they received the call. The coward standing at the corner, next to the phone then admits that he only received a call asking which floor they were on, nothing else. Wah... lagi lah panas! I repeated the entire conversation to him but he adamantly denies it. Bastard! Why do people lie over such petty things? Can't you just admit you made a mistake? Furious and fed up, I just said... Ok, fine... I'm a lying customer... it's ok... if you think I am a liar then I am a liar. Now... I have a problem with my lens can anyone help me here?

The guy who greeted me attended to me. Again I was told they do not do service there and was told it would have to be sent out. I gave up... so I said ok... just get it fixed. He does the checking, verification and what not. It was confirmed that the lens' auto focus had failed. He does the paperwork. As he was doing the paperwork I spoke to the other guy.... no, not the lying bastard... the other one. I explained that they should do something about the info on the web if they didn't want to get screwed again as the web stated that you provide service. The guy attending to me then says,

Oh, that! Yes, we do... that is express service... we charge extra.

How much extra?

RM350 extra. If you send it before noon we will return it to you the same day otherwise the following day.

RM350?!!! I might as well buy a new lens!

Yeah... this is mainly for camera body and urgent cases.

Why didn't you clarify this earlier?

..........

I dunno... this kind of shit happens all the time and everyday and everywhere. Most people just accept this nonsense. I just feel very pitiful for the lying bastard. No fucking backbone nor principals.

Cupcakes...

I love cupcakes... actually, not just cupcakes. I love all kinds of food. I love dessert. Many think that I don't because I always turn them down when they offer me sweets. I love chocolate. I love pineapple tarts. I love butter cookies. I love cakes. I guess I have a sweet tooth. So, why don't I indulge when I'm offered? Haaaa... I'll tell you why... when I start, there's no stopping until I finish everything. Hah! That's the problem. I stuffed my face with these cupcakes... they were nice, very nice. Thankfully I only had these two in my possession or it would have been a problem.

Cumulus

I got home and took a peek out the balcony and saw this. I was intrigued and fascinated at what I saw. Cumulus... that's all I remember from school. Which cumulus? I don't know. I'm intrigued and fascinated at it's density. It just looks so 'garang'...

A closer look at the clouds... I think it is a cumulus congestus.

Chicken Curry

I felt like having some chicken curry so I looked for some recipes online. I wanted my chicken curry to be as simple as possible, meaning without me having to go and buy a shit-load of spices. The limitations were, I had to have those ingredients at home already or at the worst be able to buy it from the shop downstairs at my apartment. There was no 100% fit so I had to improvise and put my own recipe together.

Recipe

1 whole chicken cut into pieces

4 potatoes

2 tomatoes

2 star anise

4 cloves

2 inch cinnamon stick

5 sprigs curry leaves

2 serai, bruised

Ingredients to be ground

3 tbsp chili paste

1 large onion

5 cloves garlic

2 inches young ginger

1 inch kunyit

3 tbsp meat/chicken curry powder

10 cashewnuts

1 liter water

1 pkt coconut milk

seasoning

I had almost everything at home so I stopped by at the shop and bought what I didn't have which were curry leaves and the santan. I replaced candlenuts (buah keras) with cashewnuts.

As usual, I like to season my meat and let it marinade for a bit so I started with the chicken and marinated it with chicken stock granules.

Skin the potatoes. Quarter the potatoes and tomatoes and set aside. Then peel the ingredients to be ground and proceed to blend to a fine paste.

Heat some oil in a large pot, about 100ml or so. Throw in (not literally lah) the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, serai and curry leaves and sauté for a while. Then add in the grounded ingredients and stir-fry till fragrant and the oil begins to separate. This should be done on medium to low heat so your paste does not burn.

Add in the chicken and continue to fry for about 5 to 10 minutes until chicken is firm. Add in the water and bring to a simmer. Add your potatoes and continue to simmer at a low heat till potatoes and chicken are cooked. Add your tomatoes, cook for a few minutes then add your santan. Season to taste. As usual I season mine in the beginning and just add a touch at the end. I have stated 1 liter of water but you may need more so add more if you need to, depending on your preference on how thick you like your curry. It's easier to add water then to reduce your stock.

I was going to snap a picture with my DSLR but it was out of battery. I somehow left it on and it drained so I used my phone instead. This is after I added the tomatoes and santan.

Here it is, the final product. A picture taken with my phone too with the horrible LED flash.

I managed to charge my battery slightly and it had just enough juice to manage one shot. So, here it is.

My guests swear that it is good and even tapau-ed some home. And they say it is good enough for me to open a shop in the event I lose my job. Hahaha...

My Daily Cup

Everyone has their daily ritual. I know Lian’s was being gloomy for the first hour of her day… ha, ha, ha… don’t know if she still is. Would be bad if she still is as the weather where she’s residing in now is just as gloomy all year round. Hah!

My ritual is *ahem* visiting Bank Negara every morning but that is after I have my daily cup. My daily cup is extremely important as it makes the visit to the bank ‘smoother’ and it also prevents me from getting a severe headache. My daily cup is essentially coffee... not just coffee but strong coffee. The recipe is basically the same but the coffee I use varies depending on what’s on sale at the supermarket. My recipe is:

1 packet 3-in-1 instant coffee

1 packet Anlene milk

1 teaspoon instant coffee

1 teaspoon condensed milk

Pop the milk in the microwave for 2 minutes, add all other ingredients and some hot water and ‘tarik’ for about 10 times.

This is my daily cup... a nice 'tarik-ed' cup of deliciously strong coffee. And I have it in this same mug every single day. Got this mug back in 1997 as the pre-opening team. How time flies...

My preferred variation is Nescafé Gold 3-in-1 with a teaspoon of Nescafé Gold and the alternative would be Nescafé 3-in-1 Rich with a teaspoon of Nescafé Classic. Obviously the preferred variation is more expensive. The Gold range seldom has offers whilst the Rich type often has offers where you get 5 sticks extra… so since it is already cheaper and you then get 5 sticks extra it becomes a no-brainer, No?

Anlene is the milk of choice due to the extra calcium but I limit myself to no more than 2 cups of milk a day as I have the opinion that milk is a carcinogen. I read an article somewhere and I just believed it. This is not scientifically proven but... hey... what have I to lose?

When I have brewed coffee then it is different…. I take it black, no sugar. Ummppphhhh!

McDeluxe?

I was at Ampang Park and was deciding what to have for dinner when I came across this. I found it quite amusing... McDeluxe... heh, heh, heh... and open 24 hours too. I wonder if they have anything other than McChicken, if you know what I mean... ha, ha, ha...

Anyways... back to dinner... it was either Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa or Manhattan's Fish Market. I finally decided on MFM since I've never tried it although the smell of the nasi lemak just next door was really inviting.

Manhattan Fish n Chips. There is a choice between Dory, Pollock or Cod fish. I opted for the Pollock which is RM16.90++. It was okay, nothing to shout about. The fries sucked... they were dry.

This is the Flaming Platter for One. It has a catch of the day, pan-fried and their 'award winning' flaming prawns served with buttered rice. They have a nice gimmick of flaming the prawns in front of you with a hand-held burner. I wonder who gave them the award for their prawns? It was just so-so... for RM27.90 I guess it is reasonable but the combination is bad. Way too creamy for me. Cream on the prawns, cream on the fish and buttered rice. I think I'll puke if I had to finish it. I just don't fancy creamy food. Oh, did I mention that the fries sucked? Heh, heh, heh...

I don't see myself going back there again...

Foursome...

I did my normal grocery shopping and cleaned the apartment. I had a date with two women in the late afternoon. I was running late so I called Brenda to say I that I was running late. She was okay with it and said that she would inform Christine. I picked Brenda from her home and asked her where was Christine? She didn't know so I called Christine. Christine said she was at her friend's house in Bukit Ceylon. She asked if I could pick her up there and said that her friend Janet wanted to tag along and asked me if it was okay. Hey! THREE women at once and they're all okay with it? Of course I'm okay with it. So I drive to Bukit Ceylon and picked Christine and Janet up. Then they decided that they wanted to go to Mid Valley. I don't like that place as it is too crowded but I can't disappoint three ladies can I?

So we arrive and walked around a bit. They walked while I engaged super slow mode and cuci mata. Then after a while we stopped for a drink while two of them had to have their cigarettes. We chit-chatted a bit and then it was time to leave. I sent all of them home and headed home ALONE.

By the way, Brenda is my mom... while Christine and Janet are my aunts. They're my Diamond Girls... heh, heh, heh...

Daging Masak Kicap & Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Padi

Tomorrow is grocery shopping day so I decided to clear the freezer. I had prawns, beef and chicken drumsticks in the freezer. A quick rummage through the refrigerator and I decided on the menu. It was to be Spicy Prawns, Daging Masak Kicap and Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Padi.

The Spicy Prawns. This is definitely a better picture compared to the previous one. Recipe is here...

Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Padi. I don't know what the authentic version is like but this is my adaptation from my memory based on what my mom taught me.

1 inch kunyit

15 cili padi

1 garlic

10 shallots

1 asam keping

1 serai

1 daun limau purut

1 cube chicken stock

1 tomato, quartered

1 nos coconut milk

Blend the ingredients. Bring the ingredients to boil with about 500ml of water and the chicken stock. Throw in the asam keping, serai, daun limau purut and chicken. Simmer till chicken is cooked. Add tomatoes then add coconut milk. Bring fire to a gentle simmer to avoid the coconut milk from curdling. Season to taste with salt and you're done.

Daging Masak Kicap. Again this is my adaptation done the Chinese way...

Marinade

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp osyter sauce

1 tsp corn starch

pepper

1 dry chili

1 bulb garlic (whole, skin on)

1 star anise

2 cm cinnamon stick

4 cloves

1 large onion, quartered

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp sugar or to taste

Slice the beef and marinate for about 30 minutes.

Heat some oil in a pot. Stir-fry the beef in very hot oil to seal the meat. Add about 500ml of water and add all remaining ingredients except sugar. Simmer till beef is tender adding water along the way if it is too thick. Add sugar to taste and you're done.

By the way... the garlic is thrown in whole for taste. If you peel it, very likely it will break up through the cooking process. The garlic is damn layan like this... syiok... kind of like roasted garlic.

Hokkaido

It's Ayu's birthday today and since the birthday girls just loves crabs I took her to Hokkaido as this is the nearest pork-free Chinese restaurant that I know of. The menu was simple. Dry Chilli Crabs and Steamed Sea Bass with Supreme Soy Sauce.

The Dry Chilli Crabs is a signature dish at Hokkaido. Actually, I think it is Kam Heong Crabs but since they have a predominantly Malay clientele it probably 'evolved' to Dry Chilli Crabs for simplicity.

A closer look at the crabs and if it's not close enough click on it... if you don't already know. It is literally finger licking good.

The Steamed Sea Bass with Supreme Soy Sauce. It was nice and so was mine. Confirm... mine is 'restaurant quality'...

Dusk...

The view from my balcony does help to calm me whenever I feel gloomy.... a handheld shot with a 50mm prime lens.

Day Out

On Raya night I happened to catch CSI: Miami on ASTRO while visiting. I don't have ASTRO at home so I'm stuck with the normal free channels on TV. ASTRO was showing Season 7 of CSI: Miami while NTV7 was showing Season 6. So, on my way home after pigging out last night I dropped by at the DVD store and bought myself Season 6 and Season 7.

I slept late last night thanks to Lieutenant Horatio Caine and gang. I woke up early and continued where I left off last night. Breakfast was sausages, chicken luncheon and eggs. I decided not to be a couch potato all day and planned to visit the Bird Park since I haven't been spending time with my camera. One episode led to another and another and the next thing I knew it was already 3:00pm.

I was still determined to go and I was hungry. The park closes at 6:00pm. So I decided to get my food at the park itself. I had a Tenderloin Steak at The Hornbill Restaurant and Cafe adjacent to the park. The steak was crap. It was the saltiest steak I have ever had in my entire life. Alas, I was hungry...

The restaurant has a balcony overlooking the park so if you don't want to go in you can still chill out and makan-makan at the restaurant and still see some birds. Probably about two species only from the vantage point. The park entrance fee is RM15.00 for MyKad holders. The park was okay but I guess I was late and I may have to revisit it. The pictures are here at my Flickr page.

As I was driving home, I suddenly remembered a conversation during Raya about a Lookout Point in KL, specifically in the Ampang area. I grew up in the Ampang area but I have never heard of this so I decided to check it out. A quick check on my Garmin Mobile XT and I found the place. I had the system navigate me there.

It costs RM3.00 to drive in and an additional RM3.00 if you decide to drive to the top and have your car jockey parked. I recommend you walk... it's less than 100 meters to the top.

There are 3 restaurants there. Haven @ The Peak, Bread and Olive Cafe and Gasoline. I went to Haven @ The Peak.

This is one of the views from the balcony of Haven @ The Peak. The have two balconies. One upstairs and one downstairs. Upstairs is covered while downstairs is open. Notice the row of blue roofed buildings? Notice how it somewhat sinks in the center? Strange huh?

Another view during sunset. Sadly the sunset wasn't spectacular as there were clouds. Another visit is in order or maybe many more.

This is their Mee Mamak Special. Costs RM11.00+. It's good... for me lah. Special comes with chicken, prawns and sotong.

Kampung Fried Rice at RM8.00+. Quite good but it was not spicy enough though...

Chocolate Ice Cream. Whoa! RM5.00+ per scoop. That's RM10.00+ here and it tastes like Walls or Magnolia. Better not order this...

Ice Blended Chocolate. RM7.00+ for this and it was just so-so, I was told.

Shoestring Fries at RM6.00+. What can I say? They're fries... please excuse the dark photos, didn't want to use the flash.

That's the other two restaurants. Gasoline at the far end. Bread and Olive just in front. They both have the open and closed, lower and upper floors respectively.

Okay... two shots of the city from where I was seated. I didn't have a tripod so I placed the camera on the balcony's beam. 30 seconds @ f8 and ISO100 with my 50mm prime lens.

Another shot from the base of the look out tower, handheld. 50mm prime lens @ f1.8, 1/5 seconds and ISO800.

There weren't many people when I arrived at about 6:15pm but when I left it was quite full and there were many more people arriving. I definitely will be coming back here.. for a late night snack probably.

Wanna guess what I did when I got home? I had butter cookies while I continued watching CSI:Miami...