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Retreat at Maxwell Hill, Taiping

>> Monday, December 31, 2007

Ah, it has been really long since I actually went for a good retreat. This time around, a few church friends & I went up to Maxwell Hill (Bukit Larut) in Taiping :) We were there for only 2 days 1 night (29-30 December 2007) as I can't take leave on the 31st of December...bah.The journey from KL to Taiping wasn't too long. We were pretty much excited cos it was the first time that this group is out for a retreat together...heehee... I can't recall why we we ended up with Maxwell Hill...hmm...but we sure enjoyed our short little break there ;)

There were 8 of us in total, 3 guys & 5 girls (we went in 2 cars). Thanks to a friend in Taiping, David, we got everything arranged for us nicely & all we had to do was just to pay & have fun! Hahaha... :lol: We stayed at The Nest, a bungalow situated right at the top of yet another 'hill'. The hike up to that bungalow was pretty tough as we had our bags & all, but it was enjoyable indeed. Heh.

Well, to cut the story short, the few activities that we had up there were sharing, worship, prayer, makan, UNO card game, & definitely a time of catching up (since we basically meet up only once a year when everyone comes back from overseas). We also went around Taiping town on our 2nd day for makan, makan, & more makan in the 2hours that we had before we left for KL again.

I reckon pictures will speak for itself ;) (though I didn't take that many with my camera this time around...) I would highly recommend this place if any of you would want a quiet & serene place to relax & shy away from the busy city life.

How our room looks like + the guys (Jinn, Nick, Chris)
room_d1

Lunch Day 1 at The Nest
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After lunch, we went for a walk... (L-R: Gloria, Nick, Yith, Jes, Chris, Hsu)
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This was something that I found interesting...I like the formation of the leaves :P Ferns!
fern_d1

The evening sky on Day 1
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Dinner Day 1 at The Nest- steamboat! Yummilicious! Food at The Nest is GOOD! :lol: The home-made fried beancurd items were exceptionally delicious! :P
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Group photos taken on Day2 at The Nest
groupPhotos_TheNest

2nd best cendol in Taiping town- Bismillah Cendol
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cendol2_d2

Somehow I feel that the cendol ain't that nice although the place is pretty packed. I much prefer the one that I had in Kuantan...hahaha...I'm yet to find the most delicious cendol, but frankly speaking, I'm not a great fan of cendol, so it won't be my priority to hunt for the nest cendol after all! ;)

I reckon this will be the last post from us for the year 2007. The year has been an exciting one, with loads of events, adventures, & transitions (from uni life to work life) for both Anne & myself. We hope that our dear readers will stay tuned as we continue on our journey for more food, fun, friendship, & adventures!

PerutBesi would like to wish all its readers a very Happy New Year & a great year ahead!!


- Ruth

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Merry Christmas!

>> Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Christmas is here! The city is brightly lit & almost every departmental store is having their Christmas & end year sales! How exciting :D

I wonder how many who are going through the hustel & bustle of this season know the true meaning of Christmas. This season is so commercialized that it is losing its meaning *sigh* The celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ marks Christmas. Without His birth, there's no need for us to celebrate Christmas (unless people just want to have some insignificant kinda celebration, without a purpose!).

The celebration comes along with Hope, Joy, a Promise fulfilled, & Love. With families & friends gathering for the celebration, loads of food to indulge in, a galore of gifts to open up, & a time where you would probably see most smiles :) , Christmas is truly a day to reflect on & enjoy.

We, the PerutBesi duo, would like to wish all our readers a wonderful Christmas & an exciting year ahead, filled with hope, promises fulfilled, & all things good! :lol: Stay tuned!

- Ruth & Anne

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Lindt Swiss Chocolate (Dark Collection)

>> Wednesday, December 19, 2007

What would make a PerutBesi-an happy? Mmm...certainly food! But what makes us even more delighted are chocolates! Even more, good chocolates!! :P

I had the pleasure to receive a box of dark chocolates from my friend, Nat, who just came back from Australia for a semester break. Wow... the chocolates that I received were wonderful! Certainly I can't compare Lindt Chocolates with Godiva Chocolatiers, but this collection is certainly gooood... thank you SO much, Nat!! :D

Named, Lindt Swiss Chocolate (Dark Collection), I found out that this collection costs almost RM70! *faints* There are only 14 chocolates in the gold-coloured box, which looks extremely classy, & I found it very difficult to move the chocolates from its comfort zone...haha...

(taken with my housemate's camera phone)
lindtSwissDarkChoc

lindtSwissDarkChoc1

I believe very strongly that such chocolates are to be slowly enjoyed. Not everyone knows how to enjoy such yummilicious chocolates, especially when it's dark chocolates. (I know for sure that my housemate can't appreciate such stuff) Eating such chocolates sure reminds me that life is indeed 'bitter sweet' & I like it that way ;)

- Ruth

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Weekend Down South...

>> Monday, December 17, 2007

I made a trip down south to JB with a friend, James, this recent weekend (Saturday-Sunday). The trip was indeed a short one, & quite a rushed one, but it was all good :) We were there to visit our friend, Mabel, who just came back from Aussie for her uni-break.

The entire trip was focused on eating, catching up, & sleeping...hahaha. Our first meal was beef noodles & duck cooked in soy sauce (lou ngap) at Cathay! The beef noodles were pretty good, I've to say. It's different from the Seremban one, but the meat was tender & the flavour was yummy! The duck was also very delicious! Too bad I didn't manage to take any photos throughout the entire trip using my camera as there were some problems with my camera batteries.

We also had the irresistable ice kacang at Taman Pelangi (with chocolate sauce!) & the ice jelly (finely shaved ice with lemon flavoured jelly, watermelon cubes, & canned fruits of all sorts) for tea on Saturday :P Yums! Enjoying such delights really make our day ;)

I have to recommend the dinner place that we went to. This restaurant is called San Low. It's located at Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru, & it serves very yummy fried baby squids, fried bee hoon, & many other dishes :P If you are around that area, you have to stop by that restaurant for a meal (usually opened for dinner). It's well patroned by locals & Singaporeans alike, & I reckon the price isn't too steep :)

I had such a wonderful time with my friends & family there that it was kinda sad to leave that place on Sunday afternoon. It'll be at least another 300+ days before I can meet up with Mabel again. Bah. I look forward to more makan & catch up trips like this. It may be rather tiring, but it's something that keeps me refreshed to face a new week ahead! ;)

Darling Mabes, James hon, & Ruthie
mabes_james_ruthie_JB07

- Ruth

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Hunt for Beef Noodles

Last Tuesday (11 December 2007) was a public holiday for Selangor (Sultan's birthday). I had a blast of a day! I decided to make a trip to Seremban...a totally mad idea, to meet my friend, Nat, & also to makan! Teeheehee :D

My housemate, Edwin, was very gracious to give me a lift to the nearest KTM station & I took a train all the way to Seremban to meet Nat. :) We had the famous Seremban beef noodles in town....this time around, we went to this shop called Yee Kee. It's a slightly more 'posh-looking' shop that sells beef noodles. The noodles are not too bad, really, but I reckon nothing beats the classic market ones!

(I finally uploaded the photos... :P)

A bowl of mixed beef noodles (dry) costs RM5.50
serembanBeefNoodles

The beef balls ain't too bad too... that costs around RM3.50 for a small bowl
serembanBeefBalls

Green tea costs roughly RM2 & it's not too bad in fragrance ;)
greenTea

I guess, what's best is not the food, but the fellowship & time of catching up with a friend. It's one of my best days for this week & I surely look forward to more fun at the end of the week as I'll be heading down south to JB & probably Singapore!

- Ruth

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The Graduated Perutbesi Duo!

>> Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Yup, we've finally graduated!! Alas, it was a long awaited journey. The past 3 years of studying was indeed an enriching one :) We'll share more on our convocation soon! As for now, do check out more on our convo in our Perutbesi in the Work-World page. Stay tuned!! :lol:

perutbesiGrads_convo07

- Ruth

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Tuna Boat

>> Tuesday, November 27, 2007

After an extremely long time of not having fun in the kitchen, I made the decision to get my hands dirty this morning. Here's introducing the Tuna Boat! I named it 'Tuna Boat' as the shape resembles a boat & it's loaded with tuna!

tunaBoat1

It's just a simple breakfast idea. With just less than RM6, you can provide breakfast for 5 people! A budget breakfast it is ;)

All you need is a french loaf a.k.a. baguette, a can of Tomato & Onion Tuna, 1 fresh tomato (chopped), 1 small cucumber (sliced), pepper, & some marjerin or butter for spread...oh, you'll need an oven toaster too!

1. Cut the loaf into 'parts' & slice it into half (like the photo below).

2. Remove some of the 'bread inside' to create space for the filling.

3. Spread some butter or marjerin on the loaf & toast it for a while in the oven.

tunaBoat2

4. When the loaf is slightly toasted, place a layer of chopped fresh tomatoes into the 'boat', followed by the tuna.

5. Place the 'boat' into the oven to be toasted again.

tunaBoat3

6. When it's nicely golden-brown/toasted, place some cucumber slices into the 'boat'...it makes the Tuna Boat taste yummier ;)

tunaBoat4

7. Finally, wrap the Tuna Boat in clear wrap & you're ready to get to work with some wholesome, home-made breakfast! :P

tunaBoat5

Bon apetit! :lol:

- Ruth

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KL Coffee & Tea Festival

>> Saturday, November 24, 2007

Taken from: KL Coffee & Tea Festival 2007

KLCTFest_2007 The KL Coffee and Tea Festival 2007 is a three day celebration of everything related to coffee and tea. It showcases some of the finest coffees and teas brought together here in Kuala Lumpur by local and international companies.

With special samplings, fun coffee and tea related activities and great offers and discounts, it is an event not to be missed.

Date: December 7 - 9, 2007, Fri - Sun, 10 am - 10 pm (daily)
Place: Berjaya Convention Centre (6th Flr), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Among the many happenings at that festival are:


  • A Kung Fu Cha - demonstration
    A demonstration how Chinese Tea should be prepared. (Mandarin / English / Bahasa Malaysia)

  • Discussion - What makes a good cup of coffee

  • Sado - Japanese Tea Ceremony
    A re-enactment of a Japanese Tea Ceremony. (English / Mandarin)

  • Miss Coffee and Tea Competition

  • Talk - Cooking with tea

  • "Teh Tarik" Competition

  • How to brew the perfect cup of Coffee ... and many more!


For further information, check out the website

- Ruth

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'Oi Sam' Sandwich-Maker Speaks...

Wow. I didn't know that our dear Anne wrote a post on the simple sandwich that I made! It was her birthday recently, & due to my degenerating brain cells, I've somewhat forgotten to get her a gift, thus the sandwich.

I had a sudden craving for sandwiches, so I called up a friend & we went shopping together at Carrefour, Alamanda, in Putrajaya, for ingredients to make the sandwiches. After work on Wednesday, I went back, changed, & hopped into her car, filled with excitement. Somehow, being stuck in Cyberjaya makes me miss my artsy side of life, where I could express my artsy-side through food ;)

So, there I was on Wednesday night, prowling in the fresh market area for my 'prey' i.e. vegie & meat. :lol: I'm very fussy when it comes to choosing ingredients for my food, so I think I took more than half an hour to get all the ingredients:


  • 1 box Fresh butterhead (lettuce-like vegie, hydroponically grown)

  • 4 Tomatoes

  • 1 medium-sized Carrot

  • 1 packet of 12-slices Cheddar cheese

  • 1 packet of 10 smoked sausages

  • 1 loaf of bread

  • grounded black pepper

  • mayonaise (I have this in the house)


I woke up early on thursday morning & started washing the vegie, cutting them up, spreading the stuff onto the bread, & placing them in the oven toaster to melt the cheese. Wow. It took me more than an hour to complete everything, including cutting the sandwiches & wrapping them up with glad wrap (no nice containers in my rented place). Oh yeah, I made 6 sandwiches for 6 different people, including myself. :D I was late for work!! *faints*

Eating the sandwiches brought an indescribable level of satisfaction to my soul. The joy of making THE sandwich & seeing others eating them happily is estatic. Teeheehee :D There will be more home-cooked food coming up when I get my own space in Cyberjaya. I'm temporarily staying at my friend's place, so I didn't bring all my necessary stuff here :P

Stay tuned!

- Ruth

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'Oi Sam' Sandwich

>> Friday, November 23, 2007

This post is specially dedicated to Ruth. Thanks to her I had a fulfilling breakfast lunch at office today :D . Ruth specially made this sandwich (she called this 'oi sam' (love) sandwich) and drop it at my office this morning. It is so nice of her! *sob sob..so 'kam tung'.

Ruth must had a tough time wrapping the sandwich this morning :D

oi sam sandwich

Toast+hotdog+tomato+lettuce+mayo+sesame seed *yum yum
oi sam sandwich2
Thanks Ruth! muacckks! :D

-Anne

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Serious Hunt for Good Food

>> Tuesday, November 20, 2007

We apologize for the lack of updates & info on this site. Currently, the both of us have started on our first job & are very, very busy. We're both stuck in Cyberjaya (different companies), without any good food, nor are there any food at good prices. Boo... :(

Perhaps, the only nicer food is at Padi, a cafe-like place, situated opposite DHL & Fujitsu in Cyberjaya. This restaurant stands beside the Old Town cafe & is forever packed with faithful patrons. There are several factors why it has a generous amount of crowd:

1. It's the only better place for a meal.
2. The price is ok...cheapest is RM5.90 for a plate of Chicken Chop Rice (Chicken chop+rice+fried egg+a bit of vege)
3. It's opposite offices with a mass of hungry humans who don't want to drive all the way out of Cyberjaya for a meal i.e. lunch.

I'll try to get smoe pics of that place to upload to this site. In time to come, we hope to pounce on some food stops near Cyberjaya to introduce Cyberjaya's better meal places to our faithful readers ;) Do stay tuned!

- Ruth

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Trip Back to Kuantan, 20-23 October 2007

>> Thursday, November 1, 2007

Anne & I were back in Kuantan last weekend for our industrial training presentation. The trip back was a very refreshing one, despite the minor load of the presentation :) It was a pity that Anne couldn’t join some friends & I on a short holiday prior to our presentation as she was not feeling well at that time. We were in Bentong, Kuantan, Kemaman (Terengganu), & Karak for the 4days 3nights trip :P

Below are snap shots of our little trip:

Day 1, 20th October 2007
– Stopped by at Bentong around lunch time for the famous ice kacang. This little coffee shop is situated at the main road of Bentong, opposite the Bentong bus terminal. A bowl of ‘ice kacang special’ costs RM3.50. The ice cream is ‘home-made’! Really delicious! :P

Bentong Ice Kacang
bentongIceKacang

- Stayed at Holiday Villa on our first night at Cherating. The chalet that we stayed in was cosy & it was directly facing the swimming pool!!

Outside our chalet: Joey, Yo, Ruth
joYoRuthHotel

- The weather on our 1st day was nice :) We had a lot of fun at the beach!

Ruth, Wen, Joey
ruthWenJoHavingFunAtCherating

- We drove to a place called Pantai Cherating, about 20 minutes from Holiday Villa, for dinner that night. The name of the restaurant is ‘Can’t Forget Seafood Restaurant’. Interesting name, eh? Indeed, the yummy food there is something that we won’t forget! :lol: After dinner, we actually did something quite interesting :D We went on a trip to see the fireflies. The fee/person was RM15 for a one-hour boat ride…*wah* It was kinda fun, but the mosquito bites were really something that we didn’t enjoy at all!

Directions to Can’t Forget Restaurant from Holiday Villa:
1. Holiday Villa on your right, go straight for about 10-15 min.
2. When you see a sign that reads ‘Pantai Cherating’ on your left, take the first right turning immediately.
3. Go all the way straight. You’ll see Cherating Bay Resort on your right & Residence Inn on your left. Keep going straight. You’ll pass a horse ranch on your left.
4. Take the right turning after the horse ranch. You’ll see a lot of small restaurants on both sides of the road. Keep going straight.
5. Almost to the end of the road, you’ll see the ‘Can’t Forget Seafood Restaurant’ on your right!

Menu
cantForgetMenu

Seafood Tom Yam (~ RM15)
seafoodTomYamCherating

Marmite Prawns (~ RM15)
marmitePrawnsCherating

Kam Heong Style Crabs (RM17 for ½ kg)
kamHeongCrabsCherating

Stir-fried Choy Sum with Salted Fish (~ RM8)
vegWithSaltedFishCherating

Fried Squid Rings (~ RM10)
friedSquidRingsCherating

Joey, promoting the restaurant
joeyPromotingSeafoodRestaurant

Yo & I in front of the restaurant
yoRuthPromotingSeafoodRestaurant

Boat trips available
boatTripsAvailable

Activities available at the beach area
activitiesCheratingBeach

Day 2, 21st October 2007
- I woke up early to catch the sunrise before heading off to the nearby Malay stall for some good nasi dagang :P The view of the sunrise was pretty! If I had woken up earlier, I would have caught an even nicer view…

Sunrise
cheratingSunrise1



CheratingSunrise2

cheratingSunrise3

Lovely Waves at Cherating
CheratingWaves

Nasi Dagang
nasiDagangCherating

makLongNasiDagang

- While I went out to church that day, the rest went to Kemaman. They visited the famous Hai Peng Kopitiam, went to a very beautiful beach called Pantai Teluk Mak Nik, & even had the chance to see how batik is made!

Vietnamese Coffee at Hai Peng, Kemaman
(This is how the coffee is brewed. The coffee beans are grinded & placed on a special filter, while the coffee slower trickles into the cup. Professionally, the cup should be transparent, but this is a typical kopitiam… :lol: )
vietnameseCoffeeHaiPeng

brewingVietnameseCoffeeHaiPeng

Pantai Teluk Mak Nik
pantaiTelukMakNikSign

pantaiTelukMakNikBeach1

pantaiTelukMakNikBeach2

- After church, I had a taste of the famous cendol in Kuantan. This stall is parked outside a row of shops along Jalan Beserah. It’s not that difficult to locate it, but you just have to be observant to spot this stall ;) The prices are very reasonable, so no worries!

cendolJalanBeserah

Cendol Campur (RM1.20/bowl): shaved ice in coconut milk & brown sugar, served with green cendol, jelly bits, soft red beans, sweet corn, & peanuts.
cendolCampurJalanBeserah

Cendol Campur Pulut (RM1.50/bowl): shaved ice in coconut milk & brown sugar, served with green cendol, jelly bits, soft red beans, sweet corn, peanuts, & baked glutinous rice
cendolPulutJalanBeserah


Day 3, 22nd October 2007
- Before checking in to the next hotel, Vistana Hotel, Kuantan, 3 of us friends headed to Hai Peng Kopitiam, Kuantan, for some coffee. Hai Peng, Kuantan, is situated opposite Public Bank & Am Bank in Kuantan. I can’t recall the road name, but it’s a road apart (parallel) from Jalan Besar. According to Joey, this branch of Hai Peng serves better toast & somewhat more fragrant coffee as compared to the Kemaman branch.

Hai Peng’s Ice Coffee
haiPengIceCoffee

Toast bread (lightly wholemeal) with Butter and Kaya
haiPengToast

Half-boiled Eggs
haiPengHalfBoiledEggs

Delicious bread & coffee!
ruthAtHaiPeng

- In the evening, we went to Teluk Cempedak (TC) for a stroll & supposedly to climb some rocks, but the weather didn’t permit us to do so in the end *aww*

Joey & Ruth at TC
joeyRuthAtTC

Ruth & Yo on top of some rocks
ruthYoOnRocks

- We had dinner at a cozy restaurant called ‘The Cottage’, on the row of shops before Public Bank & Am Bank. Joey wanted to have the petai fried beehoon, which is only available in Kuantan in 2 places, Meng Yang coffee shop (closed that night), & The Cottage.

Petai Fried Rice (yeah, she changed her mind)
petaiFriedRice

Claypot Loh Shu Fun
claypotLohShuFunKuantan

Seafood Tom Yam (the one at Can’t Forget Seafood Restaurant is still much better)
tomYamBeehoon

Day 4, 22nd October 2007
- Before heading back to uni for our presentation, we made our final food-stop, roti canai at Kubang Buaya. This stall is a really humble Malay stall & no one would have ever known of its existence, but I assure you that it serves pretty delicious roti canai at just RM0.70! The stall is located at Jalan Kubang Buaya 56.

Roti Canai (RM0.70/piece)
rotiCanaiKubangBuaya

Roti Telur (RM1.30/piece)
rotiTelurKubangBuaya

The Roti Canai Stall
rotiCanaiStallKubangBuaya

- After our presentation, which was in the late afternoon, we spent some time with some friends at the cafeteria before heading back to Petaling Jaya. The journey home was a very peaceful one & the entire 4days 3nights was certainly a trip that we’ll cherish for a long, long time.

The journey home…
journeyHomeFromKuantan

- Ruth

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