Italian foods @ Bel Pasto Italian Restaurant; Kepong

Bel Pasto, Kepong branch is opened for quite some time already, however, I had rarely paid a visit due to parents who do not fancy of Italian foods. It is rare to have authentic Italian delicacies in Kepong area, moreover this shop is owned by Italian chefs.

The Italian set meal lunch set which costs RM9.90++ is inclusive of the choices of soup, main course, drinks, and dessert. The set meal lunch set is only available from 12pm till 3pm; and they only resume operation around 5pm till late night.

This blog post included meals that I had eaten at two different times in a year. I could only recall the 2nd time dining over here which was on 14th July 2013.A simple,quiet yet cozy dining restaurant that serves good Italian foods. You might be shocked when you stepped into Bel Pasto Italian Restaurant as waitress would be greeting you aloud.

The roof with hanging with grapes and leaves made me thought of picking grapes hanging over my head. Haha...

The chefs and the staffs

I ordered espresso as I need some doze of caffeine to keep me awake.

Wild mushroom soup with generous portions of mushrooms!

Chicken Cream Soup (RM4.90+ A La Carte) with milky creamy taste which I found the taste was less flavorsome.

Chicken Lasagna which is cheesy and tasty!

Hawaiian Chicken Pizza which is the typical choice that most would make when thought of pizzas.

So, we had ordered one as well.

The sliced ham matched with tomato sauce and cheese become good combination.

Perhaps the chef shall add more slices of pineapples.

The thin crust of the pizza which made it much different compared to those we ate in Pizza Hut.

Spaghetti bolognese

I couldn't remember the name of this spaghetti.

Briefly description: Seafood pasta which is covered with fresh clams and sliced ​​olives. 

The sauce is unique as sour and spicy; adding ravenousness.

The long-awaited tiramisu which costs only RM8.90.

Tiramisu is Italian dessert consisting of layers of sponge cake soaked in coffee and brandy or liqueur with powdered chocolate and mascarpone cheese. The top layer dusted with cocoa powder. Ever wondered of the meaning of ' Tiramisu' ? It means  "pick me up" or "lift me up"). This exquisite dessert leaves a lifelong imprint on my taste buds! You would fall in love with this Tiramisu at the first bite of it.

me

the one with his favorite tiramisu

If I had any more room in my stomach, we might have ordered the garlic breads to match with the wild mushroom soup.I could conclude that Bel Pasto Italian Restaurant offers appetizing Italian cuisines which has good quality. If you are craving for Tiramisu, do not hesitate to try Bel Pasto's signature Tiramisu which has perfect amount of sweetness and thick!

Top 5 Epicurean Destination Guide to Malacca

Talking about Malacca, most will only think of chicken rice balls, nyonya foods and Nadeje mille crepes. Hence, during this trip to Malacca, I had been requested for tantalizing my taste buds with delicacies that locals here would go.

Our first destination for breakfast: Pin Pin Hiong Foodshop
- Mee Sua (salted Chinese noodles made from wheat flour)

It's just located near The Orang Utan House. Well, the big crowds could be seen and most were still waiting the foods to be served. The hawkers remained cooking each bowl of mee sua individually in a large wok. I guess this is the way of maintaining the quality and taste of each bowl of mee sua. My mom and I had attempted to cook this dish however,  it tends to absorb a lot of stock too quickly causing a glob of fat noodles.

The flavorsome broth which cooked with porks' intestines, minced pork, sliced pork, pork liver and etc.

I just ordered minced pork/ sliced pork because I didn't favor pork's inner parts.As I sipped spoonfuls of  it, the deep hearty broth warmed my tummy and it's really tasted like home-cooked food.

Observing the other people's ordered foods, I found most had ordered oysters egg omelete and Joel informed that it's one of the signature dishes here. Okay, I will reserve my stomach for it next time.

品品香餐室 (Pin Pin Heong)
Working Hours: 7.30am – 3.00pm (Rest on Wednesday)
Address: Lorong Hang Jebat, 75200 Melaka

It's the ultimate combination of exotic spices and epicurean delights with the famous Taiwan noodles at Hing Loong Pork Chop and Spicy Beef Noodles (兴隆台湾面馆). Nah, if you are drooling over Taiwan foods, you shall not miss this out from your foods list!The shop sells mainly fried pork-chop noodles and spicy beef noodles. The owner of the shop is Taiwanese and she is quite friendly as she has personally topped up two slices of fried pork ribs after we talked with her.

The irresistible pork rib noodles

By the way, I still wonder what noodles they have used. Are these soya noodles? Hmm..

irresistible pork rib noodle

The well marinated, crispy and aromatic pork ribs

An extra order of the deep fried pork was ordered to satisfy our cravings.I forgot to capture the flavorsome soup which boiled from the pork bone for hours.

兴隆台湾面馆
Kedai Makan Heng Long Sdn.Bhd
No 11-j,Jalan Bachang,75350 Melaka

So, what's next epicurean delights that could make your taste buds are on a passage of exhilaration?! We headed to a place which have been well-known to tourists i.e. Sun May Hiong Pork Satay located at Jalan Kota Laksamana, Melaka. It's one of the best satays I had eaten before. What makes the satay different compared to the others is the peanut dip which has mixed with pineapple.

RM0.60 each stock is considered reasonable but I do wish them to increase more meats per stick.

Sun May Hiong Pork Satay @ Jalan Kota Laksamana, Melaka
GPS Coordinates: N2 11.523 E102 14.655

Coincidentally, our food trip theme seems to be surrounded with pork only today.  The plan was to head to a satay celup place at night. However, we opted for lighter food i.e. putu piring which had me intrigued for quite some time. The long queue along the shop which made me wondered what it tastes like!

Round, steamed rice cake with a  mouthful of palm sugar and hugely shredded coconut.

The sweetness is pleasant and obviously this tasty, sweet putu piring is contributed by its high quality gula melaka.

Putu Piring (made by Chinese)

No. 252, Jalan Tengkera, Melaka

Lastly, not forgetting about the souvenir to be brought back home. The Malacca food trail will be incomplete without Nyonya delights and we brought back Nyonya Chang.For Nyonya food, it is highly recommended to ask locals to provide suggestions. You may click here to find out one of the best Nyonya foods I have tasted

The winter melon and coriander powder which cause it different compared to the ordinary rice dumplings.

Apart from blue color externally, the pork fillings are cooked with different seasonings.

I couldn't find words to describe it, but I could say that it's definitely worth savoring!!

Our tummies and stimulated taste-buds are thoroughly satisfied!

A quick recap:

1. Pin Pin Hiong Foodshop
2. Hing Loong Pork Chop and Spicy Beef Noodles
3. Sun May Hiong Pork Satay
4. Putu Piring @ Jalan Tengkera
5. Nyonya dumpling Malacca

~THE END~

Reunion with University Friends @ Wufu Chok Dee Thai Restaurant & Victorious Cafe

The distance and lapse of time hadn't weaken the friendship bond of us and most of us from North, K.L. and South coming over to Batu Pahat for a short reunion and to pass our internship log book. I had thought of jotting a short review of Wufu Chok Dee Thai Restaurant during my first visit, however I decided to leave a blog post when there's better moment.

Notably, Wufu Chok Dee Thai Restaurant which was famous in the town had been chosen to be dined at.
It's definitely the best moment with great foods and great friends. Nevertheless, it was also putting an end to our university life as the final task i.e. internship log book had passed to lecturer successfully.

The Thailand cuisines here were splendid and scrumptious with authenticity. By the way, anyone had even mis-pronounced the name of the restaurant to "Chor Dai Dee" i.e. the card game.

Tom Yum Seafood Soup which had appropriate sourness and spiciness.

Generous portion of fresh prawns, squids,mushrooms and other ingredients were found in this big pot of tom yum seafood soup.

A closer look of the big pot of tom yam soup (RM18)

Pineapple fried rice which was the next dish that had delighted much.

It was tasted nearly like the fried rice that my mom cooked. Well, awesome dish!

Crunchy~

BBQ Pork with Iced Fresh Kale served with dippings

The BBQ Pork was marinated well and remained tender and juicy at each bite. We had been wondered if we had been given chicken meat instead of pork as the meats are really tender and appetizing. There was a glass of water being served along with this dish and we were still doubted the usage of the glass of water ( unsure if it's juice or...).

Victorious Cafe was the next venue for our girls'cozy chat. Well, the delectable cakes with good friends would make the night ends with smile on each face of us.

The presence of you all had made my journey in university life becoming meaningful.

I miss you guys and hope for the next meet up ;)

Kanashii

It is strange that words are so inadequate to describe how's the feeling of the one when loneliness and sadness sets in. Sometimes, I do feel that bad relationship with siblings brings a terrible feeling, it makes me feel that I am isolated. It would be great that I able to have further studies at other states again. Having fun with friends makes me feel that I am not a loner.

I guess....

ASS.U.ME.

An assumption is based upon what one may have observed another one to do and then knowingly or unknowingly placed the previous observations into a pattern(s) of cycles that later form a label to what one mind would think is a probable act for the other one. This is something that happens to most people when interacting with a person for a period of time, They start to measure the other persons' reality, to their past impressions. 

Assumption is often be made by us most of the time. We assume that what we say and do can be understood by the ones who are closer with us. We assume that we don't need to thank parents for what they contribute. We assume that it is okay for friends to clear up mess for us. We assume that there's not a big deal to kidding with friends, not knowing that it may cause misunderstanding. 

I have inevitably adopted assumptions recently, and my friend shared with me this topic i.e. ' Assume'. Admittedly, I had never heard the phrase, "When you assume, it makes an ass out of you and me," until fairly recently. My friend told me about the root words of 'assume' which are:

Assume= Ass + u + me. 

Thus, by assuming we make an ass of not only others but ourselves too. I think that it is simply a human instinct to assume things, yet it often turn out to be different than what we assume or expect. Just because you perceive something a certain way, doesn't mean it is true. It boils up things easily especially with a false assumption. 

The assumption that I made today made a sweet conversation be ended badly. It made terrible mood existed throughout the night. 

 "You should never assume. 

You know what happens when you assume. 

You make an ass out of you and me because that's how it's spelled."

-Ellen DeGeneres 

Unforgettable Formula 1 Paddock Visit

Once I heard that Joel won the formula 1 paddock club visit through Oris Facebook Contest, I was doubted what so special with paddock visit as most of my friends went to watch the motor races instead of visiting paddock clubs. He elucidated to me that what paddock visit is so grand about. Free flow of food, nice view of the race, getting VIPs treatment and may have the luck to meet the drivers in flesh! Hence, when I was extended an invite by Joel to the Paddock by Williams F1 team via Oris Facebook Contest, I accepted his invitation as his partner to visit Formula 1 Paddock Visit without second thought.

He had also won an exclusive signed glove set by Pastor Maldonado apart from two exclusive Williams F1 Hospitality Paddock Passes. 

Facebook contest winners at the ORIS F1 event: (L-R) Joel Quek, ORIS Ambassador Pastor Maldonado, Gajendheran Nadaesan, Victor Wong (guest), Taib Idris, and ORIS Regional Manager, Karim Gerber.

Before heading to Sepang International Circuit, we had our group photos. Each of the contest winners can bring along his guest for this event :）

It was my first time to step into Sepang International Circuit. Swiping into the F1 paddock with the free passes, we had our camera ready for photo-shooting. 

At Williams F1 Hospitality Lounge, Ms. Amanda Rusell-Lowe welcomed us with open arms. She explained to us about the entire experience here included paddock , pit access (for next competition's winner), VIPs treatment and chances to explore the dashboard or steering wheel. 

Each of us were given Willams F1 team hospitality suite 's food menu with an image clearly explained the features of dashboard, free paddock pass and earplugs.

Seems like holding game dashboard, nah.. it's a dashboard for racing in Formula 1.

While waiting for the paddock visit, we were treated like VIPs. Pleasant fine-dining and I hope the portion could be bigger. LOL.

Every food suits my appetite, hmm..

Everybody was too hungry and had started to eat our starters delightfully once they are served. 

 The main course of meal | Main event :)

I ordered my roast duckling.

He chose fried sea bass and the meat are very succulent! 

The twins had their spaghetti and the prawns were in big sizes. 

Before the events of the Malaysian Grand Prix 2013 officially kicked off on the next day, we were led by Ms. Amanda for the main event of the day i.e. paddock visit. In general, paddock is the place where the team vehicles are parked, sometimes including the pit building and that's where the team garages are. Upon entering the garage, we passed by the pit lanes, seeing stacks of tires along the way. I had been told that two front and two rear wheels are going to be used during the race while the rest would be spare tires in stacks.

The paddock visit allowed us to gain insights on the power of the engines, the design of the body work, the unique technology and the technician teams' efforts in ensuring everything is fine before the drivers compete. 

The Williams F1 team were busy working on the cars, tuning and checking every single component before the qualifying race commenced.

Awesome!! A close-up look on the car design.

I would say that the best venue to be at F1 race is the paddock because the drivers aren't on the track fighting with each other wheel-to-wheel. We had opportunity to see test drivers testing the sport car.You would never know when the drivers will appear so we spent a splendid amount of time at the paddock waiting for the super stars to pass by. 

Joel managed to capture photo with  Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas. So envy!

After an hour at the paddock visit, we went back to lounge as the qualifying race was going to commence soon. We had our desserts while watching the qualifying race.

Free flow of drinks and this is my cappuccino. Slurppp..

Rain fell during the last part of qualifying race and it was Vettel who managed to grab pole position in a dramatic finished to the session. We went out from lounge to walk around, hoping that could capture photos with the drivers or Tan Sri Tony Fernandez. However, most of the drivers were busy preparing for the race on the next day and we didn't see any of them coming out from pit lane. However, I managed to capture some behind-the-scene shots from the Formula One paddock! The pit crews were busy again checking, cleaning and preparing tires for the race on the next day.

I spotted this handsome journalist!  (Joel said this was the best shot as it could prove we did come to paddock!)

As shown in above photo, the flat screen television showing all the racing action live on Grand Prix TV Superscreen. Around 5pm, Ms. Amanda said the words we least wanted to hear which was, “Well, that’s all about it.”. Before walking to the paddock entrance, we took photo with Ms. Amanda and hoped that we would meet again in future. Hopefully have the opportunity to be one of the guests of paddock in F1 again.

With our friendly Ms. Amanda.

Last but not least, this is our shiny, green, titanium credentials for entering paddock.

A tour to Formula 1 paddock was truly overwhelming. Until today, I couldn't believe that I was there. 

Advantages of A Visit to Formula 1 Paddock:

• Free flow of food and drinks

• Opportunity to meet F1 drivers

• Races could be watched in LIVE

• Marvelous access to pit lane walkabouts , garages and lounge

• Unforgettable experience to witness many behind scenes.

• Luxurious ticket to enter circuit is excluded (applicable if invited)

• A privileged tour to paddock with clear guidance given.

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