Remember the good old days of computing when avoiding virus means scanning untrusted floppy disks and not accepting funny files from IRC? It was the time of megabyte hard disks and 14.4 kbps modem, and of course, a relatively trivial and safe online environment.
With the increasing popularity of the internet and diminishing use of floppy disks, computing security threats evolved to be more complicated. There aren’t just virus anymore, but trojan horses, malware, and a host of other nonsense.
This is when security software became essential of everyday computing. These days, not having your computer protected is akin to going into the African Safari naked and roam around with lions and vultures, not exactly a very smart thing to do.
A couple weeks ago I was invited to the launch of Trend Micro Titanium maximum security, the latest internet security software by Trend Micro, one of the big boys in this industry.
I have always been one of the fans of Trend Micro and been a user with their Housecall product as well as an administrator of their corporate anti-virus/malware/spam software, so personally this wasn’t just any product launch for me, I actually do have an active interest in what they are announcing.
speech by Product Marketing Manager Terence Tang & Director Goh Chee Hoh
The event was held at Grand Millenium KL over lunch time, which was rather convenient for me since it was a short walk from where I work.
Instead of the typical boring speech speech speech + powerpoint powerpoint powerpoint type of product launch, Trend Micro actually added quite a bit of spice to the day by having dance performances, games, and lucky draw in the event too.
comparison between old and new internet security software
I’m not gonna bore you too much with super detailed explanation on the software, but basically the points to be taken were:
stack em up game and dance performances
The number one complaint most people have when it comes to security software is that they make computer sluggish, well there’s good news. Comparing to previous version, Trend Micro Titanium uses 47% less memory (60 MB) and a quick scan takes only 16s instead of 2 minutes.
In fact, the software is a complete rewrite with a major overhaul in the architecture as well. Pretty cool technology at that (took 5 years to complete since it’s inception). If you’re interested in the tech, go to the product page.
food at Grand Millenium KL was quite impressive too.
If you’re looking for home computing protection, Trend Micro Titanium is definitely worth a serious consideration.
By the way, the lunch at Grand Millenium was quite impressive as well, we had chicken, fish maw soup (proved that you don’t need sharks fin), huge pomphret fish (but no waiter seems to know how to properly cut them these days), butter prawns and such.
A couple Fridays ago my buddies Terence and Horng made a trip down to KL and bought me birthday lunch. Since it was a little too early for the best roast pork at Wong Meng Kee (they only start serving at 12:30pm sharp), Terence suggested that we head to Thim Kee Steamed Fish, a place with the best Tilapia, according to Mr. Goh.
Thim Kee Steamed Fish at Pudu
As with anywhere in Pudu, parking is always a challenge, Pudu plaza car park is an option since the stall is situated just directly opposite the old mall. The hawker shack itself isn’t exactly the most comfortable of all dining places, but it’s largely sheltered, and relatively clean.
The three of us were joined by Sean, so four of us ordered up a total of four dishes to share.
delicious deep fried tilapia
First to come was their famous deep fried tilapia that was so crispy on the outside but still has its meat fresh tasting and tender (must be fried with really high temperature, check out the gas canisters on top collage). The fish is served on top of a sauce that carries a hint of sweetness and fermented bean flavor, unique and in a very good way.
This is a definite must order, I’ve never tasted tilapia so good, it’s even better than Sister Lan’s tilapia at Rawang.
butter squid, herbal steamed tilapia, fried chicken
The butter squid here is served in a clay pot and comes with butter in liquid state, which results in soft and tender squid but one that doesn’t get as much flavor from the butter/spice/curry leave. Still a dish worth ordering though.
Herbal steamed tilapia is another fish we ordered, since this place is famous for tilapia, so why not? I couldn’t find any fault from this dish except for the fact that there’s only so much you can get out of tilapia, I think this would taste much better if only it was a siakap (barramundi) or pomphret.
Fried chicken is another must-order dish. This tastes like a cross between Vietnamese style lemen grass chicken and traditional Malay pandan chicken but deep fried. The sauce that came with the chicken was sweet+spicy and definitely flavorful. I wanna have the whole chicken drumstick by myself next time!
note: GPS should be 3.136585, 101.713824
As with most hawker stalls at Pudu, price is rather reasonable. The total bill for four of us came to some RM 60+, we left with really satisfied stomachs. Will definitely return, thank you guys for treating!
p/s: By the way, do call and make a reservation to make sure fish and more importantly, seats are available!
Address:
Thim Kee Steamed Fish
Jalan 1/77c, Off Jalan Pudu,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.136585, 101.713824
Tel: 03-3986 3097
Several weeks ago I was invited by Miss Lim Su Ann aka pinkpau for a food review session at Skewers, a (mainly) BBQ joint located at one of the newer shopping malls that sprung out at Subang recently. This one aptly named Subang Avenue, located directly next to Carrefour hypermart.
Skewers restaurant at Subang Avenue
My partners in crime during this session were Suanie, Horng, Michael, and Haze. Pinkpau decided we do not deserve her attendance, but we still love her, I guess. hehehe
We were greeted by the very friendly (almost to a fault) part owner of the restaurant, Ken Low, and the host promptly ordered some sangria for us while waiting for dinner to commence.
spicy fish burger, different in a good way!
Do note, since most dishes at Skewers are grill to order, food can take slightly longer to arrive compare to your normal taichau kinda place (like New Paris). A little bit of a patience is usually needed for freshly prepared food.
The dish that impressed me most was, oddly enough, not a grilled dish, it was their spicy fish burger! Spicy, fresh tasting, and very refreshing, everyone should try it!
tiger prawn, big beef burger, skewered lamb
Grilled tiger prawns were yummy too, no surprise there, and I also particularly love the skewered lamb, very succulent, goes very well with the rice and vegetable.
The humungous beef burger we had came with salad, chips, cheese, jalapeno peppers, egg, and even chili. It was very wholesome, but I though the meat was a bit dry though (they promise to look into it, so hopefully this has been fixed)
grilled chicken wings, squid with salted egg, skewered chicken
Then of course, there’s chicken wings (how can a BBQ place not serve chicken wings right?). Their version is different from your typical kopitiam/food court style but closer to American buffalo wings instead, tastes pretty good, but would be even better if there’s some sour cream to go with, I think.
Deep fried squid with salted egg is done very differently here too, instead of just the egg yolk, the entire salted egg is utilized here. This meant that the sauce turned out quite salty, which basically stops at being interesting but I don’t exactly find it an improvement over the more traditional yolk-only version. Perhaps this is will be changed in the future, according to Ken.
Skewered chicken is juicy and tasty, definitely makes good beer food.
apple crumple, something, tiramisu, and er.. something else
Skewers also serve quite a selection of desserts. We tried their apple crumple, tiramisu (pretty good!), and two other desserts that I can’t remember if you put a gun to my temple. They were pretty decent, but nothing really stands out though.
Suanie, KY, Michael, Haze, Ken, Horng
Overall I think Skewers is definitely a place worth visiting. Parking is ample (underground), the restaurant is nicely decorated and has a very nice alfresco dining area with a well stock alcohol menu too.
If you’re looking for a drinking place that also happen to serve more than decent dinner, you wouldn’t be disappointed.
Address:
Skewers
Subang Avenue, Jalan Kemajuan Subang
Jalan Kemajuan Subang, Selangor
GPS: 3.08215, 101.58929
Tel: 03-5632 1368
Restaurant O&S must be the most popular kopitiam at Taman Paramount/Seapark area (not to be confused with Taman Sea), and for one very simple reason – the place is filled with awesome hawker foods!
I’ve been here for so many occasions I mistakenly thought it was already covered on the blog, but it’s never too late I guess.
Restaurant O&S at Taman Paramount
The restaurant is opened for breakfast, lunch, and actually dinner too (with limited stalls operating, a siu chau for example). Breakfast/lunch on weekends is an affair not for the faint hearted, the place is absolutely packed, and you often have to share the same table with strangers ala HK style. It also goes without saying that securing a parking space isn’t a trivial matter around this area.
Then again, if there’s good food, that’s a small price to pay isn’t it?
Prawn Mee at restaurant O&S
The prawn mee at O&S is arguably the most famous dishes in this kopitiam. The stall here is operated by real Penangites (I always test their Hokkien) and offers both normal prawn mee soup, and loh mee (Penang style) soup. You can also opt for extra ingredients such as bigger prawns, pork ribs, and intestines.
A normal bowl goes for RM 4.50 and the soup really does pack a punch with that sweet prawn taste, on par with Yon Lee, TTDI, one of my favorite prawn mee places, with extra ingredients the price can go up to RM 7.50 or more but ohh soo tasty!
Penang Chee Cheong Fun & Laksa
Another thing that I always order at O&S is the Penang style chee cheong fun. The difference between this and HK chee cheong fun is that the Penang version comes with just the chee cheong fun, with har kou (prawn paste), dark sauce, chily, sesame seeds, and fried shallots. Less than RM 2 for a small plate, very addictive. There isn’t very many places you can find this.
Then there’s the asam laksa that is sworn by so many. Haze loved it and claimed that it tastes the same as her favorite Cheras pasar malam version. I tasted it a bit and it was actually quite good! Again, plenty of har kou too, and all the proper ingredients you’ll find in a bowl of Penang laksa like banana flower, cucumber, onion, and a big chunk of fish.
Haze and KY at restaurant O&S, Taman Paramount
There’re other good stuff at O&S that I shall be covering sometimes later, the Yeong Tau Foo, the steamed chicken rice, and more! Stay tuned 
this is how you get to O & S restaurant
Address:
Restaurant O&S
Jalan 20/14, Seapark,
Petaling Jaya
GPS: 3.107713, 101.624919
Many people don’t have a birthday song, but I sorta do. Thanks to Greenday and the popularity of Wake Me Up When September Ends, my birthday is made so much easier for everyone to remember.
Birthday Card from nuffnang!
Birthdays are usually a very low key affair to me, but my exact birthday many years ago was probably the most important time of my parents’ lives. So kudos to my mom and my late dad.
When I got home from futsal late last night, I saw an envelop stuck on my gate. An envelop with no stamp, no address, but a nicely drawn logo of this blog! It turned out to be a hand drawn birthday card from my friends at Nuffnang!
Thank you Tim, Robb, Pinky, Karen, Michelle, Yuenny, Jacqkie, Fresh, Angeline, Nick Gan, Rynna, Nicholas, Firdy, Sara Khoo and all <3 (I might have miss a name or two by not having the card with me now).
Twitter birthday wishes
Then there’s all the well wishes from friends on twitter. Birthdays were so much less busier 2 years ago without twitter, don’t you think? Thank you guys, much love
facebook birthday wishes
Ah and of course the messages on facebook from friends as near as my neighbour and as far as the States. Thank you all!
This birthday is going to be the best one yet for none other reason that I’m also now engaged to Haze (if you haven’t notice from facebook) hehehe.
Now back to replying more facebook/twitter messages.
p/s: and blog comments, ops!
