I am a strong believer that you gotta do something slightly crazy once in a while to stay sane in this world, so last Saturday I invited a bunch of daring friends and hosted an Insect Cook Out. The attendees were Kim, Su Ann, Sammy, Terence, ST, Dree, and of course my house mate Rachel. The following 6 minute video is the whole insect cook out adventure, check it out!

The whole idea actually started right after Terence, Dree, and I went to Bangkok and had our weird and wonderful creatures including insects, worms, and frogs. Kim was protesting the fact that we did not bring back anything for her, and that’s when Terence came up with the idea that we should just cook some ourselves.

the ingredients from aquarium shop and grocery store

I eventually tabled the idea to Kim and she responded enthusiastically, then I got Su Ann, Sammy, and the rest of the gang to join in as well. This thing is actually going to work!

So I set up the official time for this unusual cook out at 5pm on Saturday evening. I went out to grocery store to get the seasonings: pepper, curry leaves, shallots, dried chili, and garlic. Just half an hour before the cook out, I got to an aquarium shop near Sunway and got a box of good size worms (RM9) and 120 crickets (for RM3)

ahhh, glorious protein enriched food

Contrary to Su Ann’s believe that we googled for the recipe, it was completely original sans the “salt juice” suggested by Terence.

First I fry some shallots, garlic, dried chili, and curry leaves to flavor the oil. These are then taken out and the crickets and worms thrown in the hot oil. Some salt juice is then added for extra kick. It’s that simple, and boy it turned out great! (the insects were freeze in the fridge for about 15 minutes prior cooking to prevent them from jumping everywhere)

the crazy diners

The dish actually tasted a lot better than what we had in Bangkok, and we didn’t even save up anything for my buddy Douglas who came late. The worms were a bit like soft shell crab (as described by Sammy), and the crickets still juicy inside while crispy on the outside. Very nice.

There’ll be another short video for this where Rachel and Kim ate the bugs raw, stay tuned!

I’m so going to prepare this again for the next x’mas eve party!

Tags:  cookout,  crazy,  crickets,  dree,  eats,  insect,  kim,  ky,  rachel,  st,  su ann,  terence,  worms

Posted by KY | 75 Comments »

This is the best issue that SURF magazine has published so far, why? Cos you there is a 2 page story on yours truly as well as articles on my buddies ShaolinTiger and Boss Stewie from Nuffnang. Remember, remember, go get Issue #9 of SURF!

yeay KYspeaks is there!

This is actually the first time I appear in a magazine, previously there was a little article on NST for my Nokia N82’s Soul of the Night involvement, and then of course there’s the old Kosmo article on my Koi Pond. Now anyone wanna get me on TV or radio? hee-hee

Mouth Wide Open

The article carries quite a narcissistic tone, it is mostly about myself and this blog. There’s how I started the blog, what sort of food I like most, how I do reviews, and even my age is revealed *gasp*.

Of course, there is a similar 2 page article on the mat salleh ShaolinTiger, and a pretty good article on the two local blog advertising firms including Nuffnang, with yet another photo of Boss Stewie plastered on main media.

ShaolinTiger

Tim of Nuffnang

Get a copy yo!

Tags:  ky,  magazine,  media,  nuffnang,  proud,  shaolintiger,  surf,  timothy

Posted by KY | 40 Comments »

Check out my latest installation of KY TV, and this time it is my awesome Big Mac Chant!

This is actually my entry to McDonald’s Big Mac Chant Challenge that is currently running. If you think you can beat my video, make yourself an even better one (which I doubt!), upload it to youtube, and send your entry to BigMacChant@nuffnang.com with the title Big Mac Chant.

Oh, the chant is
“Two All-Beef Patties,
Special Sauce, Lettuce,
Cheese, Pickles, Onions
On A Sesame Seed Bun!”

Winner gets RM 10,000! I am imagining a holiday… if you’re a nuffnanger, do vote for me here!

Writing about this brings back quite a few memories. One of my buddies’ friend described how he once ate five Big Macs in a seating. Amazing. McDonald’s is also my first employer as I used to work for them after my high school PMR examination many years ago. It was at the Gurney branch in Penang, and I can proudly say that I went through the whole menu many times over. The other thing that I always remember is that we had to keep the kitchen spotlessly clean all the time. I have no doubt that McD keeps the highest standard of hygiene in any food outlets.

Ahh.. those memories. Now let me win my RM 10,000!

Tags:  big mac,  chant,  fast-food,  ky,  mcd,  mcdonald's,  nuffnang

Posted by KY | 30 Comments »

There are many blogs like this, but this one is mine.

It all started on 1st of February, 2005. 1095 days and 503 posts later, this blog is officially 3 year old, please do wish a Happy Birthday to KYspeaks.com!

happy 3rd anniversary!

Tags:  3 years old,  anniversary,  birthday,  blog,  ky

Posted by KY | 50 Comments »

Last Friday, the traveling Australian dude Dabido decided to spend a bunch of us to a vegetarian dinner on his last night in Kuala Lumpur. Suan decided that Jade Garden at Bandar Utama Centrepoint would be a good place for such occasion because she knows the food is great, or maybe just because it is a place close enough for her to walk there with her under utilized legs.

acha as appetizer, and the 4 season dish

Dinner was scheduled at 8, but inadvertently we only got to eat at around 9pm. I guess it is a good thing cos we were able to show Dabido the full extend of our culture, including the Malaysian Timing when it comes to having a group dinner. There was 14 of us split into 2 tables, and Suan ordered the food for everyone. Nice and dandy.

imitation luncheon meat, tofu, imitation fish with mango salad, fried vegetable

We had about 7 dishes in total. There’s the 4 season dish with some imitation meat and fake fish balls that actually tasted quite good despite it being a cold dish. The tofu soup was more like a thick broth that goes well with rice, I like the fungus that came with it. Then there’s my favorite, the imitation luncheon meat that tasted almost as good as the real thing minus the oily bit.

kang kung with nuts, tomyam soup, and the bunch of jokers

The imitation fish tasted pretty decent as well, and with no real fish in there, you don’t have to worry about getting your neck pierced by fish bones, which isn’t a particularly nice thing to do, speaking from experience. There’s also a fried kailan that tasted just like any fried kailan you’d expect. Other than that, we also have a fried kang kung dish with nuts and some imitation seafood that I didn’t think tasted very good, slightly too sourish with the imitation seafood a poor substitute for the real thing.

However, the tomyam soup with imitation squid and some very real tomato was an excellent dish. It was actually one of the best tomyam soup I’ve tasted and surely a must-order item if you find yourself at Jade Garden.

Jaime, Suan, Dabido, Jack, Erna, Reta, Paul, Kim, ST, Tim, Samantha

In all, it was a very good meal, and the total bill came to about RM 370 for 14 of us. That translate to about RM 26 per person for a pretty good vegetarian meal. The price is just slightly more than the Restaurant Kuan Yin at Seksyen 17 that I went, but with a nicer ambiance and free and easy to find parking spots at Centrepoint.

Thanks Dabido, see you at Perth!

map to BU Centrepoint

Address:
Centrepoint, Bandar Utama,
Petalig Jaya, 47800 Selangor
GPS: 3.137988, 101.610124
Tel: 03-7710 2939

Tags:  bandar-utama,  centrepoint,  chinese,  eats,  imitation fish,  ky,  luncheon meat,  vegetarian

Posted by KY | 15 Comments »