I woke up at 7 something this morning, even earlier than the usual working days. I showered and freshened up, took my trusted Canon 400D and went to the polling station just a couple kilometers away from my house. It was going to be my first time voting. I was as anxious as the first day of school.

find out your stream here

Fittingly, the polling station is at a school. There were already quite a number of people when I reached the station. I went to the checking station to find out that which stream I will be casting my ballot. It was a pretty fast process.

waiting in line

There were lines everywhere but the situation was in order and everyone behaved rather well. No shouting, no chantings, it was very quiet, and the process proceed without a hitch.

waiting in reflection, election 2008

When it was my turn, I gave the lady my IC. My IC number and my name was announced for checking, and I was given 2 tickets to put my precious crosses in. I duly did so and carefully put them in the ballot boxes. I’ve done my part.

register and get your tickets

Before leaving the station, I talked to a policeman and thank him for doing his part. He was friendly and even posed for this photo. We do have a future, don’t we?

smile, you’re on camera!

As I walked towards my car, I took this photo of expired banners and buntings with fellow voters leaving the station upon fulfilling their duty. I can’t help but be anxious for the result tonight.

If you are registered but haven’t voted yet, please do so. As of writing you still have 5 hours.

More photos at my flickr set.

Tags:  election 2008,  Malaysia,  pictures,  polling,  vote,  voting

Posted by KY | 31 Comments »

Every 4-5 years, we, Malaysians, will get to decide where the country is heading for the next term.

I am ashame to say that although I am a qualified voter since 2 terms ago, this is only the first time I am going to cast my ballot. I have SK to thank for bringing me to the Postal office for registration last September.

I was in the States and thus not able to vote on the 10th General Election. 4 years ago, there was the feel good factor, coupled with my laziness to register as a voter that prevented me from doing my part in this country. This year, I am doing it, and my vote will count.

I have slowly realized that the voting is not only a right, but a responsibility. A responsibility we shall honor for the sake of our countrymen and our motherland. Like it or not, I am born in this country and this is my home, I have a responsibility for her well being. I need to do my bit.

There are a few categories of people whom aren’t going to vote for one reasons or another. Some are too lazy, some don’t care, and some scared of the repercussions they might get if they vote against the power that be. Whatever your reason is, I respect your decision, but I might not be in agreement with you. It is sad to see people succumbed to the class bully, the scare tactic should not be effective in a democracy.

To those who will be voting, let our voice be heard.

Whoever you are going to vote for, vote wisely, vote for someone whom you think can give you a voice, can represent you, and can help move our country back to the right direction for I am saddened to see that she is veering a little off course now.

I will be very anxious this weekend.

remember remember, 8th of March
ballots, flyers, but no ink
to the casting stations let us rush
and let the real representative wins..

Tags:  ballot,  election,  general election,  Malaysia,  voting

Posted by KY | 22 Comments »

I recently got to know of this place since my house mate’s has her office moved to the area. Apparently Restaurant Meng Kee Char Siew (明记叉烧王) is already a pretty famous place, endorsed by TV shows such as Ho Chak from 8TV, and reviewed by many other food blogs too. I guess it was my turn to give it a try, and I did just that with the Goh sometimes last week.

kopitiam set up; the satisfied Goh

One thing about eating with Goh is that you can always be sure that the guy will over order. Restrain is not a word fond by the big dude. Hence, for the two of us, we ordered a healthy portion of char siew, a decent portion of chicken, a plate of vegetable, and a rather sinful dish of chicken liver and stomach. Of course, 2 plates of rice and soup came with all these.

yes, it was only for the two of us

While the chicken meat was pretty decent, and the innards rather rich. The char siew was really one of the best I’ve had. The taste and texture were spot on, slightly sweet but very flavorful. If only we can have this and the famous Pudu Siew Yoke (烧肉) at the same time and same place. ahh….

the restaurant is close to the Shah Alam stadium

At the end, it was a RM23 well spent on a pretty satisfying lunch. Of course, it wouldn’t be as expensive if you don’t order like a Goh.

Address:
20 (Ground), Jalan Pekedai U1/36
Hicom Glenmarie Industrial Park
Shah Alam
Tel: 019-379 3629

Tags:  bbq-pork,  char-siew,  chinese-food,  Eats,  glendmarie,  Malaysia,  roasted-pork,  shah-alam

Posted by KY | 12 Comments »

It’s been a while since I had some Lam Mee (淋面), so when I went there to yum char with my buddy Kenneth last weekend, I ordered a plate of this wholesome noodle dish despite having just had lunch a little over an hour.

ahh… mouth watering

Living Food Restaurant has been in operation for quite a number of years, and is actually operated by the sister of the famous May King Lam Mee at Pudu. The interior of the restaurant, while resembles a kopitiam, is clean and air conditioned.

Ordering food is very simple too, just write down the number of items you want on the little ordering template provided, and hand it to the waiter. Prices are written on a giant board on the wall, so you can work with your budget. It’s simple and minimizes a lot of waiting time.

ordering is easy as 1-2-3

I ordered the Lam Mee with thin noodle and mee hun, while Kenneth had the more traditional version with the thicker noodle. The dish basically resembles Loh Mee (卤面) in Penang, like the famous outlet in Chai Leng Park, Penang. The biggest difference being the chili paste provided, Loh Mee usually comes with the Prawn Mee style chili paste and finely chopped garlic, while Lam Mee here comes with a thinner, but spicier chili paste.

prices are written on the wall

The flavor of the dish was very good, with the sauce thick and best served warm. The ingredients include prawn, slices of pork, bean sprouts, fried shallots, some green onion as garnish, and of course, your choice of noodle. We also ordered some “fu chuk”, fish ball, and deep fried “sui kow” in an attempt to stuff ourselves.

Living Food Restaurant is located at Uptown

The main dish costs from RM 4.50 to RM 5.30, and the side orders were RM0.80 a piece. Pretty reasonably priced, and a satisfying tea time indeed. Do note that this restaurant is not opened for dinner though, they only serve from morning till around 6pm.

This Lam Mee place is just a few shops away from Sate Kajang Haji Samuri, and just behind the economical Hokano Japanese restaurant

Address:
67, Jalan SS21/37
Damansara Utama
47400 PJ, Selangor

Tags:  hawker-food,  lam-mee,  loh-mee,  Malaysia,  prawn,  sui-kow,  uptown

Posted by KY | 13 Comments »

Guest pass thanks to Mack

So I went to the Bukit Jalil Stadium the grand match MyTeam vs Malaysia (well, the under 20s) thanks to Mack’s invitation. As many of you would have known by now, the final score was 2-1 with Malaysia edging over Shebby’s bunch of hopefuls.

MyTeam lads put up a show

Reaching Bukit Jalil at 15 minutes before kickoff was a mistake. We had not anticipated the huge turn up for the game. Took us some half an hour to finally get into the parking lot after having misdirected by the clueless traffic controllers. We got to the stand just right after MyTeam scored the opening goal.

2 of the 50,000 strong crowds, no prize guessing who they are

After half time, Malaysia leveled with some really poor goal keeping on MyTeam’s part with a less than impressive free kick. 10 minutes later, Malaysia U-20 boys scored on another slightly more impressive free kick to take the lead for good. MyTeam did try to fight back and came close to even the score on 92nd minute but the ball hit the post. The crowd would have gone absolutely wild had the ball went in.

That’s Pak Lah’s booth

MyTeam, while playing with lots of heart, ultimately lack the few important ingredients that might have help change the outcome. The teamplay and player fitness was poor due to the relative short time since they team was formed, and the lack of big game experience. However, Shebby’s boys did well and deserve some respect.

Tags:  Bukit-Jalil,  football,  Malaysia,  MyTeam

Posted by KY | 10 Comments »