KL Morning Dim Sum

And this entry marks the starting of my brief adventures in Kuala Lumpur.

I am not a frequent visitor to the big-city KL, hence I am not very well versed with the kind of local food, really good local food available there. Thanks for some beautiful friends I have there, I am introduced with plenty of stuff that I have not tried before.

YUM CHAAAAAAAAAAAA...

I believe Dim Sum is one of the unique culture originally started in Hong Kong, and brought forth, much being comercialised and now popularly spread through almost everywhere. Even in Perth, Dim Sum has also become one very important component of the ChinaTown area (Northbridge, off the Perth CBD) that you can spot a restaurant serving quite authentic dim sum for breakfast/lunch almost every one of two blocks you are passing by. Even the local Australians love dim sum there.

Frederick, a dear friend who came out all the way from the humble town of Malacca to Kuala Lumpur, met up with me and Chun Chow (click) and we began our morning with the glorious dim sum. This mini-gathering of us marked the first time the three of us great friends have ever come together for a meal in West Malaysia. All of us are from Kuching, and have parted ways for such a long time.

It was damned awesome seeing everyone again, catching up and reminiscing good old times.

OK, I am making myself sound like an old fart.

ENDLESS SELECTIONS

The morning was great, eating dim sum at the roadside under such perfect weather was truly something interesting. minus the part where the dust and BLACK fumes being emmited by the vehicles passing by Aahhhhh "fresh" air...

Unlike the original dim sum, where foods are being carted by the trolley, here it was served in large trays instead. I was happy to see some of the favorites being served here as well. The selection of varieties available was also very wide, and having just woke up in a grey-sky morning, feeling the drums beating uncontrollably in my tummy, almost everything there screamed my attention !!!

Looking at the trays and trays and trays of food coming and going I was having a tough time stopping myself from getting everything !! I mean, everything looked delicious, and should I not resist I would have gone away with a much thinner wallet.

FOOD ON OUR TABLE

What a great way to start a morning, if I have unlimited supply of cash, I would have gone for dim sum every morning !! Good company of friends, great food.. and you guys should have guessed it right by now, the only one very important part of the whole picture that is missing. With that one significant part, everything is complete.

And that part is none other than, camwhoring. Yes, you heard that right. I may not have camwhored for a long time, but screw everything else, I am now back in Malaysia and I will camwhore, and get everyone else around me to camwhore till the world spins around me.

FRED

CHUN CHOW

ROBIN

If only dim sum is readily available in Kuching. I know of some places that serve dim sum, not only the taste are not that authentic, but the price.. is a killer.

Perth dim sum is ownage, i would not rate them any less than Kuala Lumpur version, but heck you gotta fork out so much more for something similarly found here. Therefore, food to money ratio wise, of course, Malaysian food wins.

Har Kow, Siew Mai... Oohhhh I am so in love with you guys.

From KL to Kuching

Hellloooooooo Everyoneeeeeee...

Robin Wong is now officially in Kuching. KUUCCCCHHIIINNNGGGG... now somehow that name bears an entirely different meaning of home for me. I, truly am, very glad to be back to my beloved hometown, after being away for over a long dreadful, twisted year.

I know nothing beats waking up to a morning of fresh bowl of spicy Laksa, or hunting for Kolok Mee at ungodly hours. I know nothing beats the ugly cat statues loosely placed at random places throughout the city. I know there are new ownage shopping malls just recently opened, raising the standards of Kuching shopping to another level.

Ultimately, nothing can replace the comfort of my own room, my comfortable bed, and the best of all, the taste of my mum's cooking. It is the next best thing to heaven, if it is not already is itself.

Everything else, can wait.

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE

I do terribly miss the availability of having an internet broadband access at home. Now I have to hijack utilize the nearest available wi-fi connection to do my usual illegal internet browsing and downloading activities. Limitations of my laptop battery and privacy will definitely be a toublesome issue. can't download porn disceretely godammit On the brighter side of things, this gives me the privilege to update my blog and continue to share my beautiful life with you beautiful people out there. So yeah people, robinwong.blogspot.com is back in business.

For the past week and more, I have been spending my time with my beautiful friends in the giant city Kuala Lumpur. A lot has happened since my return to Malaysia, and for the coming next few entries, I shall chronicle my adventures (ok maybe not so adventurous) entry by entry. So be prepared for loads and loads of pictures will be coming up soon.

When I first landed in Kuala Lumpur, it was already nearing midnight. A dear friend, Chun Chow (click) came to grab me and off we went for a feast. After being away for so long, being the first true and pure Malaysian food I desperately stuffed into my ever-wanting-for-more mouth, the food I am displaying below... are truly...


The next best thing since Orgasm.


TEH "O" ICE

NASI GORENG KAMPUNG STYLE

You guys seriously think that tiny plate of nasi goreng is enough to fill my ever expanding tummy??


ROTI CHEESE NAAN

Darn, looking back at those pictures making me wanting to fly back to Kuala Lumpur for the mamak food again.

But heck, I should spend whatever time I have in Kuching and EAAAATTTTTT all the Kuching food before flying off again.

So any of you beautiful people out there wanting to meet up please do not hesitate to drop me a message at hamish7ian@hotmail.com. I shall get back to you on my contact details.

Lets go out for a bowl of laksa, anyone?

I Can Fly Malaysia Airlines

I am still in the giant city Kuala Lumpur, just got back from a mini-trip down to Malacca.

There are so much to blog about, so many pictures to show, and stories to tell. Yet I am so tired, and have not the luxury of my own internet connection to consume freely at the moment.

Hence do bear with me with my sporadic updates for now.

On my flight back from Perth to Kuala Lumpur on Malaysian Airlines (MAS) I spotted something on the LCD screen in front of me as the plane had just landed not so smoothly...

FLYING MALAYSIA AIRLINES..

Can you guys spot anything off the beat from that sentence?

So yeah, i was thanked by the crew for flying the Malaysia Airlines.

Stay tuned folks, for the turning point of robinwong.blogspot.com is happening now. I am no longer updating my blog about Perth and Australia anymore.

The focus has been shifted back to where I have started this blog at the first place, Malaysia, and more specifically, Kuching based entries.

I am back in Malaysia, and I will rock the world again.

Goodbye Perth, Hello Kay Elle

Hello everyone...

I have left my much beloved Perth, the land I have come to call as my second home. Leaving with such heavy heart, moving on with my life, I am currently safe, and enjoying a little break in the big city Kuala Lumpur in the company of great friends before I return to my most loved hometown: Kuching. (On 27th March, Thurs)

KUALA LUMPUR

For those of you in Kuala Lumpur who wish to reach me while I am here, do contact me on my email hamish7ian@hotmail.com and I shall provide my contact numbers to you.

At the moment, I shall just relax, unwind my mind, and breathe a little bit after a loooong year of hard work. I blardy deserve this small get-away and time of indulgence with the group of beautiful people that I love and care the most.

Shopping (or window shopping), oh-so-tasty Malaysian food and having great fun with friends are at my top priority now.



I am doing fine here, so do not worry so much about me, though my previous few entries might have indicated otherwise. I believe things happen for a reason, and I am starting to recognize and appreciate the pattern of the situations now. Chains of events that led to my current state could not have happened otherwise no matter what I could have done otherwise, and I must learn to accept the fact that some things are completely out of my hands. I must not lay low for too long, I must pick myself up and crawl my way back and catch up with life.

I must go on. No matter what.

Heavy talk aside, I am in Kuala Lumpur, and life is beautiful now.

Unfortunately, I do not have my own broadband connection, hence updates will be slow and painful. Please be patient with me, I beg you, and more updates, especially my last few days in Perth, and my trip and adventures in Kuala Lumpur soon.

Until then, do take good care, and continue dropping messages on this humble place of mine. Keep them coming, for I need encouragements and kind words from you lovely people out there more than ever now.

Thanks guys for being here, and I love you all.

Cheers.

All Good Things Come to an End

Edit: Added an excerpt from Kyle Xy Season 2 Episode "Hello" aired on 10/3/2007.

Kyle: (voice-over) The road we travel is unpredictable. Sometimes it's smooth, and sometimes it's filled with bumps. But if we're lucky, we find people to travel with us. Our journey is really a search, a yearning for love and connection, and sometimes it leads us back home.

I have..... only a few days left in Australia.

My one year Graduate Development Programme has been completed, and since I was under a temporary residence, it was near to impossible to find a new job. Under my current circumstances, I would require an employer willing to sponsor my stay, and such is too much to ask for. I tried, and I could not get one in time. This sucks.

My first sponsorship to work as a graduate in Australia was a miracle itself, since almost everyone else would either already possess a permanent residence, or in the process of getting one. Do not even start asking why I could not get my permanent residence like everyone else did. It is a long, twisted story that could take centuries to be told.

Thus, I have not much of a choice, but to accept the situation as it is, and try to leave my beloved Perth behind, for now.

I will be flying back to Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, 18th March, have a brief stay for a week and home to Kuching on Thursday 27th March. If any of you beautiful people want to organize a meet up or anything, do let me know through my email address:

hamish7ian@hotmail.com

Unfortunately I do not have a local contact number yet, but I shall get one arranged as soon as I am back in Malaysia.

This is not the last of Perth, and I am going to fight my way back here. I have done it before, and I will do it again.

Looking at the bright side, I do get the chance to spend time with my family in Kuching, and catch up with some really great friends back home.

Another interesting pattern to note, I came to Perth on 17th March 2007, and I will be leaving Perth on 17th March 2008. Coincidence? Maybe, or maybe not.

I just can't help it but keep asking myself..

Why do all good things come to an end?

Side Note: This blog will become rather inactive when I am back in Malaysia, since I do not have a broadband connection back home. Time is difficult for me, so do bear with me, and stay with me in your thoughtful prayers.

Sunset Magic

I have been wanting to wake up ridiculously early in the morning to try out for a sunrise photoshoot at Matilda Bay. Unfortunately, as predictable as it can be for a guy who would stay up till ungodly hour playing Dota and chatting with friends over msn, I could never actually wake myself up, or rather pull myself out of the oh-so-comfortable bed. Sunrise aside, the next best thing would be the sunset.

This is my first attempt at sunset with Kodak C875. The colours reproduced are somewhat a litle too saturated, and though the ISO setting was set to only 100, there are noticable noise at the shadowy area of the photos. Oh well, I should not have expected that much from a budget camera anyway. Nevertheless, I do love some of the shots I have taken. They show the sky in a much more dramatic sense, golden touch of yellow/orange sunset.


Here is one shot I have taken at full wide angle mode, with no zoom.

SUNSET @ COTTESLOE

Of course, to make things more interesting, we want to get as close as possible to the sun. Setting my camera to full telephoto end (5x optical zoom) I managed to obtain the following shots, arranged chronologically to record the stunning effects of a sunset witnessed at a much loved local beach.

ABOVE THE CLOUDS

BURIED IN THE CLOUDS

BREAKING OUT FROM THE CLOUDS

DROPPING INTO THE OCEAN

SWALLOWED BY THE WATER

AND THEN, THERE WAS NONE

Anyone wanna come along with me some evening again to watch the sun disappear?

It would be fun, I promise.

Matilda Bay, Again

Alright I know I have blogged on Matilda Bay like uncountable times before on this blog, and some people would actually get sick of it already. However, I have just come to realise that I have not taken any pictures of Matilda Bay with my new camera yet. Maybe the camera is not so new, since I have had it for roughly half a year now, but all the pictures I have taken on Matilday Bay was with my old Kodak cx7430. Looking back at those pictures now, boy I can say there were plenty of rooms for improvement.

So equipped with the camera I am currently using, Kodak C875 (click), I strolled down to Matilda Bay by myself. I used to walk along Matilda Bay several times a week either before or after dinner long time ago, dating years back since my residential college stay. Back then, the water and sky could soothe my soul, and calm my worries. It was like one of the most effective relaxation method I could ever do to clear my mind and just, enjoy the surroundings. Unfortunately, not even the walk along the river this time could do much in sorting out my pretty messed up mind. Things are different now. Things are a lot different now.

Anyway, the best thing to do while your mind is occupied with so many things, is to occupy it with more things. Shooting pictures by far work wonders. Concentrating on working to get that perfect shot, drew a fair amount of juice from my brain, thus, it was the right diversion I just needed.

And so here are the results. I enjoyed taking these shots splendidly, and I hope you guys enjoy viewing them.


BEACH-LIKE RIVER FRONT

The CITY from AFAR

I particular love one feature that is included in my camera. For a budget camera (I bought it for only 200 bucks, thats roughly RM600) C875 is packed with a 5X Optical Zoom German built lens, which offers quite a flexible and handy telephoto capability. It may not seem sufficient for those zoom-hungry photographers, but it works decently well for an average user like me. Considering this camera is a budget camera, having anythig more than the standard 3X Zoom is a sure bonus by itself already.

The city in the previous shot seemed too far away?

Zoom in closer then..

ZOOMING in PERTH CITY

And the following shot (below) is to the limit of my camera zoom capacity. Not bad for just a 5X Zoom don't you think? If you refer back and compare to the previous Perth City from Afar picture that started from the Wide Angle end.

GOING in EVEN MORE CLOSER

Having the extra zoom also means having the upper hand in composition of several other shots. I can zoom in nearer to a bird without startling her.


The MARCH of the SEA-GULLS

WE STAND TOGETHER

On the FLOATING PLATFORM

I do not know but I do find those sea gulls rather annoying. Maybe it is because I watched Finding Nemo before I have actually seen on in real life myself.

If you mentioned Matilda Bay to anyone here locally, one thing that pops out from the mind will most definitely be the white boats. Line the floating boats parked neatly on the blue waters of the river, this place has quite a truly unique scenery. White boats, blue waters, overlooking Perth City, and the best part of all, it is just besides the University of Western Australia.


WHITE, GREEN and BLUE

WHITE BOATS

MORE WHITE BOATS

Such lovely place must be flocked with people from everywhere. It is one favourite spot for family gatherings, parties, picnics and even birthday celebrations. On warmer days, this place will definitely be packed in the evenings right before the sunset. Unfortunately the sun does not set on the city landscape view from Matilda Bay, it was actually on the totally opposite side.


PEOPLE on MATILDAY BAY

It was a good round of photo-shooting. Gosh it does get depressing sometimes taking pictures alone. I so need to find myself shooting partners that could go with me everytime my photography self runs amok and starts to point the camera at random things. Nevertheless, alone or not, it was still a tremendously fulfilling session. The reward comes when I view and edit the pictures on my computer later on the day.

Sea Fever

I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sails shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking.

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide,
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied,
And all I ask is a windy day with white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife,
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when then long trick's over.

By John Masefield (1878-1967)

Walking Around the City

I have not had a good walk around the city lately, not that I have much time to spare for myself . People seem to think that there is nothing much for the eyes to feast, since the shopping mall in the Perth CBD is rather restricted and, well, you may call it, stereotypical. As predictable as things may normally appear to be on the surface, if you take a look at it the second time, and really take a good look at it, there are things that could open the door to your interests.

I do not consider myself as an observant kind of person.

But when I walk around the city, I see plenty of things.

I see immense joy, sweetness and innocence.

I see deep passion for music.

I see people coming together and staying together.

I see time being mounted on a tower.

I see duplicity of an object.

I see a man inside a bunny.

There has been a lot on my mind lately. A heavy load that screams to be unloaded. I somehow feel like a bird, trapped in a cage, and wishing, hoping to break free and dive into the unfriendly skies.

A good walk was helpful in clearing some clutter in my head.

Maybe a memory loss now, and restarting my mind all over again on a fresh slate does not seem like a bad idea.

I see hope. I also see pain. And I see a lot of darkness.

Oh God, be with me.

Supper @ Concas

So there was this group of crazy people who suddenly got hungry in the middle of the night and decided to go out and fill in the empty stomach.

And off the group went to the place that serves the best Chilli Mussels in Perth.

CHILLI MUSSELS @ CONCAS

It was ungodly late at night, and I usually would push aside anything spicy especially when it is dangerously near bed time. Hence I had something else, which was equally satisfying.

LARGE SUPREME PIZZA

The pizza was spendid, crust was crispy but a little dry, and topped with generous amount of cheese and whatever regular stuff you would find in any ordinary Supreme pizza.

Gosh how I wish I could just fork out Malaysian Riggit 3 just for a bowl of Gubak Mee or Kolok Mee at anytime should my tummy summons for a quick yet filling snack.

Ok, that was totally random, but I do miss Kuching food.