I remember buying a compilation cassette sometimes back in 1996, it had a brown cover with the title “Alternative Rock” smeared across in red. This was the cassette that introduced me to songs like Girl from Mars by Ash, You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette , and Good by Better than Ezra.
But the one song from the compilation that made the biggest impression was Oasis’s Wonderwall. It was a song that struck everything in the right cord, with lyrics that Brandon Flowers of The Killers can only dream of writing. From then on I picked up songs like Don’t Look Back in Anger and Champaign Supernova, and Oasis became an integral part of my play list.
Our tickets to rock!
So when Gareth told me about Oasis coming to Singapore for a concert a few weeks ago, I replied “Lets make it happen!” without thinking twice.
For rock concerts, I never settle for anything less than the grand stand tickets. We managed to con Kim & Horny to each also fork up $98 SGD for a ticket (to fill up a car, you know, save money!) to the concert even though Horny didn’t actually know who is Liam or Noel. Amanda was a late addition to the road trip cos she was just too crazy over Oasis; plus, her relatively small size means that she fits in the center of the backseats.
chicken rice balls were yummy!
So last Sunday we departed from KL just before noon and decided to get our lunch (without any breakfast/brunch) at of Melaka, which also make a nice half way rest stop for the long journey.
We had an over fulfilling meal of chicken rice balls at Hoe Kee, and then stuffed ourselves with a bowl of cendol at Jonker88.
Which was all nice and dandy until we drove by this pohpiah stall and had to just cry in agony cos we were too full to even have a bite. Very tragic!
Subway with pork ham and pork bacon!
By the time we hit the road again it was around 2:30pm, we needed to collect tickets by 7pm for the 8pm concert. We thought we had plenty of time.
We didn’t factor in the stupidly inconsiderate drivers at Johor. It seems like the only way to overtake is via the left lane. The kiasu factor of those drivers really got into our nerves.
Alas, we got to the immigration at around 6pm, and forgot to bring along any immigration cards… So we had to go to the immigration office and witness the inefficiencies that infect even the Singaporean officers. It was a long an excruciating 45-minute (I had to call to make sure we could redeem our tickets past 7pm) process before we got out of there.
we were at the front with the crowd, and Liam being a badass
With the help of Gareth’s little portable Garmin GPS unit, we finally arrived at the Singapore National Stadium at 7:30 or so. Got our tickets and went to Subway for some pork sandwich goodness. By the time we got into the hall it was around 8:15.
Then Oasis came out and it was completely awesome!
pic taken without any zooming, that’s how close we were!
While the other two old men hang out at the side, Kim, Amanda and I made our way to the front of the crowd and managed to get ourselves about 4-5 rows back from the stage. The atmosphere was electric, and the crowd was crazy. Lotsa squeezing and pushing but generally everyone was just having blast.
At one particular point a dude with mohawk started dancing like a maniac and hit a lot of ppl within 2 feet of him. A burly dude grabbed his body and I sorta helped flip his legs up, and the dude got body surfed all the way to the back. We high five-ed 😀
Wonderwall!
With the last bit of GPS juice (car charger died) we managed to find our way back to the Johor border after the concert. By the time we got back to KL it was more than 3am already. We stayed in Singapore for a total of less than 5 hours. My shortest trip yet.
Next trip would be Melbourne to see Mell for a week. Can’t wait!
On the way to Singapore for Oasis concert last Sunday (which was awesome!), we made a pit stop by the historical town that is Melaka to refuel our stomachs.
When it comes to Melaka, there are a few types of food unique to the town: chicken rice balls, satey celup, popiah with lard, and cendol with gula melaka. We planned to make the most of this very short stopover by stuffing ourselves with as much as possible.
there’s a perpetual queue in front of the restaurant
I have previously tried two other chicken rice ball places in Melaka (all within walking distance), Chung Wah was the first I went, and while tasty, the place rather warm and a little too busy. On the other hand, my experience at Famosa Chicken Rice Ball was just not really good enough for me to write an entry about the restaurant.
Among the 3 places, Hoe Kee has the best and most comfortable seating areas (some sections air conditioned). While we had to wait for some 10 minutes to get a table, food was served within 5 minutes, so the overall waiting time wasn’t long at all.
chicken rice balls, cabbage, asam fish
Since it was already 1pm and we haven’t even had breakfast, we basically ordered everything the server suggested. Chicken rice balls for 5 person, asam fish, vegetable, 4 coconuts, and extra 15 rice balls (RM 6).
The half a chicken (RM 16) we got was very smooth and the meat really tasty, there were also plenty of chicken gizzards and liver which provided a different flavor to the chicken that goes very well with the soft but firm rice balls. Poor man’s pate, anyone?
The Asam Fish (RM 30) came quite a bit later, which proved to be a nice timing since the very strong tasting curry wouldn’t work well with the milder flavored chicken if you have them in that order. The hardcore sourness and spicy nature of the dish might not suit everyone, but I really liked it.
Hoe Kee Chicken Rice is located at Jonker Street (Jalan Hang Jebat)
We ate so fast and so much that there wasn’t any stomach space left except for a bowl of cendol at Jonker88. It was dilemma looking at the popiah stall while being absolutely full, but alas, we made the decision not to have the possibility to puke in the car on the way to Singapore.
Lunch came to RM 77.20 in total, including the 4 coconuts (RM 16). That works out to be around RM 15.50 per person, pretty decent price for a very satisfying lunch at a comfortable environment.
Address: Hoe Kee Chicken Rice
4, 6, 8 Jalan Hang Jebat,
75200, Melaka GPS: 2.195441,102.247943 Tel: 06-283 4751 / 012-623 8431
First of all, I want to thank everyone for coming and made the fifth installment of our annual Xmas Eve Party a blasting success. There were some 40 people who turned up, quite a few bottles of liquors and wines brought by you, and again, Tuborg sponsored loads of free beer with their beer girl Siao Ling joining the party as well. It was awesome.
Due to the hectic schedule a week (including a trip to Singapore) prior to the party, my housemates and I only managed to put up some minor decoration and set up the place in the last 2 hours. I bought some x’mas lights for my two x’mas trees, reuse the deco, got some snacks, mixers, a Coleman huge ice box filled with ice from 7-11 and we were good to go.
free Tuborg beer, and lotsa socializing
The party got started at around 9pm with Terence, Chris, and Anthony arriving first. Sheryl, Cindy, and Simon arrived there after, and joined by Eiling, who managed to fetch Huai Bin to my place despite being already 3/4 drunk before the party even got started.
Suan, Alan, and Wei Yi were around when our favorite Tuborg girl Siao Ling showed up with all those beer just as my new ice box was yearning for some attention. We quickly set things up and the party really got started right after that.
As the resident alcohol pusher, Terence was doing a fine job ensuring everyone a fair chance to get royally drunk by mixing 2 huge glasses of alcohol laden concoction named Life and Death. Erna was very fortunate to have a few gulps and ended up missing half the party by passionately hugging my gate with a really stoned facial expression. Elfie was embarassed that her fellow Sabahan can’t hold her drinks.
There were some new faces in this year’s party, Shamsul, AC, Faye, Chris, Anthony, Rebecca, Jenson, Aireen, Daniel, and Debra are friends of friends or people whom I got to know via the blog but never met prior to this party.
Cindy, Selina, Siao Ling, Tock, Yee Hou, Firdy, Huai Bin, Elfie, Michael, Eiling, Erna, and Zoe are certainly are friends who attended the party for the first time. I got to know some of them via blog, random events, and via other friends.
There are also those who are no stranger to our little yearly celebration, Reta, Naufal, Nicholas, Alan, Adrian, Rachel, Kelvin, and Mohan all came to the party at least once before.
Then there is the group of my closest friends who were here since the get go. My housemate Horng, Suanie, Gareth, Kim, Huey Fang and Chan, and Terence. I am glad that my exgf Sheryl was able to make it after being away in Europe for post graduate studies for the past two years.
some of the more embarassing gift exchange moments
We didn’t actually have a dress theme this year. Instead, the legendary gift exchange has a little twist in it: It has to be something you can wear, and you must wear it after opening. This idea came from Horng, blame him if you were one of the victims.
Some of the more messed up gifts include a purple bra (I hope the size fits you, Elfie), disposable undearwear, a few boxes of condoms (Huai Bin wore one in public, scaring off all the girls), numerous underwear, socks & stockings, headgear, and lipsticks. The gift exchange was pretty intense, very dangerous.
the Heineken hat exchanged hands 5 times, stupid Michael!
The most saught after gift item was this Heineken hat brought by Michael. The hat was snatched up 5 times and ended up back to Michael just because Elfie wanted it (that’s wh4, stupid Michael). I think we should make it a rule that you can’t pick your own gift next year onwards.
some of the things people do when they are slightly influenced
Things got a little wilder after the gift exchange session as the blood alcohol mixture gets a bit out of hand for a few people. There’s this particular “Patrick” who can’t seem to walk properly and ended up passed out all over the place. The best thing was he kept saying “careful! careful! the earth is moving” and “are you guys ok?” everytime right before he passed out. Patrick is seen sleeping in two places with “James” sitting in both places in the collage above.
There were also some toe licking actions by Faye and Huai Bin, Siao Ling was, tragically, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The party was great, and it was only appropriate that we had to end it after the cops came at 3:30am saying we were a bit too loud. Some of us then headed to Ming Tien for an early morning breakfast where Rachel promptly vomit out the wan tan mee after consumption. I think she was eager to join Patrick and James as the third person to throw up.
Again, thanks for coming, Merry Christmas and see you guys next year!
One of the most often asked questions I get is “How the hell are you being still skinny when you are having all these food all the time!?” with a sometimes not overly friendly tone. Well, I live a reasonably active lifestyle.
To stay reasonably healthy and not let the excess calories pile up around the midsection, I exercise regularly. In addition to my regular badminton, futsal, and ping pong regime on a weekly basis, I have recently trying to pick up golf with my housemate and best buddy Horng at the driving range.
Horng and I whacking some balls
As it turns out, golfing is a lot harder than it seems. This is my 4th session at the driving range and has changed the way I swing the club as many times from pointers given by others and our observations of other experienced players. Still I get less than half the balls flying properly.
Last night we went to the driving range at Sunway again, and when Amanda called up for a yumcha session we asked her to join us instead. The good thing about this place is that food and drinks are available, and the whole session is actually no different from going out at mamak, except you get to exercise in between drinks and snacks. Killing two birds with a golf ball, pretty nifty.
check out the video with me and Amanda miss hitting the ball
The first time I went to the driving range I ended up with sore back, thighs, and arm. Who says golf isn’t proper exercise? I think I’m gonna do this on a regular basis, and hopefully we’d improve enough to go to the course in a few month’s time.
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I’m also heading to Singapore for the vPost-Nuffnang Christmas Party with a bunch of Nuffnang gang and bloggers. My second visit to Singapore this month! See you there if you’re attending it too!
The last time I went to Changkat Bukit Bintang for a meal was over half a year ago at Bermuda and Onions for a very satisfying lunch. I had actually never been to that part of town at night, so it was actually pretty surprising for me when I went to Gypsy Wine and Bar to discover that the street is filled with quite a number of restaurants and pubs bustling with foreigners and locals alike.
Gypsy Bar & Wine at Changkat Bukit Bintang
The reason I picked Gypsy Wine and Bar, of course, was mainly due to the Guinness-infused Christmas main course promotion they are running. If you didn’t catch my previous posts on Ronnie Q at Bangsar and Cafe Chulo at Jaya One , lets just recap on how this works:
order a Guinness-infused Christmas main course
fill up a voucher with your details
tear it in half and give the side with your details to the restaurant to redeem a small pint of Guinness Draught
keep the other half of the voucher to get RM12 off 3 pint of Guinness Draught on next visit
Guinness Draught, the season of smoothness!
Amanda and I ordered entrees from the promotional menu, Guinness-infused lamb skewer, and seafood spaghetti. We also asked for half a dozen oysters (as it was still during happy hour) and mussels as appetizer to get the evening started.
half dozen raw oysters, mussels “kam heong” style
The oysters (RM 17.99) were very fresh and delicious (they somehow gave us 7 instead of half dozen). I like to have mine with just a little bit of lemon while Amanda loves to add a tad of Tabasco sauce with hers. We of course, washed it down with the smoothness of Guinness Draughts.
Curiously, the mussels (RM12) served was prepared in “kam heong” style that is usually associated with roadside stalls preparing lala, such as the stall at SS4. They actually tasted pretty good though.
lamb skewer and seafood spaghetti
The lamb skewer ( RM 23) was a proper Guinness-infused dish. Four pretty big chunk of marinated lamb skewered to perfection and sits on a bed of sauteed pea, mushroom, and tomato; served with brown sauce. The lamb was very juicy and you can actually taste the distinct Guinness influenced in it, which complements the bold taste of the lamb very well. A bit of lamb, a spoonful of sauteed peas & mushroom, and a gulp of Guinness Draught, perfect.
The seafood spaghetti (RM 22) came with a generous portion of mussels, squid rings, and prawns in tomato-based sauce. I like the fact that plenty of garlic is used in this dish and the taste did not disappoint at all.
Amanda & a couple of 1/2 pint Guinness Draughts
The dinner came to just over RM 80 for two of us. Four dishes including fresh oysters, a couple 1/2 pint Guinness Daught, very good music (80s during dinner time, you know Gorge Michael, Boy George etc), and excellent ambiance. I think I shall visit that part of KL more often.
Gypsy is located along Changkat Bukit Bintang
Address: No. 33 Jalan Changkat Bukit Bintang,
55100 Kuala Lumpur GPS:3.147749, 101.707209 Tel:016-365 6113
