The Flaccid Mind

Quest for Sarawak Food?

Malaysians are suckers for food. They are very patriotic and jealously proud of their homegrown food. When they travel to other places for studying or working, the only thing they miss back home is food, not their friends or parents. Whenever they are outside of their hometown, if they happen to find or hear any eatery selling their homegrown food, they will jump to the earliest chance to taste the food and wear the hat of wannabe food critics.

When there is a discussion among friends from different places on food, the arguments never end. Penang-kias and char bors will forever say Penang food is the best in the world, their Laksa Penang is the sedap-est, Ipoh-mali leng cais and leng luis will say Ipoh food is the best in the universe, their Ipoh chicken rice is so damn tasty, Ampang people will say their Yong Tau Fu is the best you can find in the galaxy and not forgetting Sarawakians will say Laksa Sarawak juak lah sedap gik (still the one more tastier) and Kolo Mee pun sedap juak… (also tasty) because Sarawakians are modest people, they do not brag about how great their food is in the world or whatever shits… Ha! Ha! Ha!

So when I heard this phrase ‘Best Kolo Mee in KL’, I was damn excited and decided to give it a try? You see, I came across many eateries here in Klang Valley claiming they are selling authentic Kolo Mee, Laksa, Tomato Mee, Kampua Mee etc.. but honestly I yet to find any that is trust-able to dish out a ‘decent’ original version. Maybe the weather and surrounding here also play some factors to make the food taste uniquely ‘Sarawak’. (More trees in Sarawak, probably fresher air?? ROTFLMAO!) Ha! Ha! Ha!

Location : Restoran 2020, Pandan Indah, Kuala Lumpur

How to go there : Go to The Store Pandan Indah, the restaurant is directly opposite, facing A&W

Food : Kolo Mee

Photos :

The Stall

The Specimen

Verdict : Presentation is good, looks authentic with the ‘correct’ type of noodle used. Hey, some stalls selling Kolo Mee or Kampua but yet they are using different type of noodle! Original my foot! Different type of noodle sure give different taste le mah! Try making Laksa Penang and put yellow noodles instead of rice noodles. It is like selling Ipoh Chicken Rice without the bean sprouts lah! Get it? No fancy fancy toppings like prawns, vegetables bla bla. Kolo Mee is should look just like that. Plain and boring.

Just like how it is served in Sarawak, this stall got it right by using seasoned cut chillies as condiment with the Kolo Mee. The red chillies is served in vinegar. It adds to bit sour and hot taste for Kolo Mee. (But I never bother to mix the chilies with my Kolo Mee lah hahaha!) I cringed whenever the stalls here serve ’sambal’ or cili padi with the Kolo Mee. WTF?

I was slightly disappointedly with the taste. It could be because it was served a bit too wet and less oily than it should be hence the taste not really there. When I said wet, means after you finished eating the Kolo Mee, there are leftover ‘gravy’ in the bowl. The ‘authentic’ version when you finished it, nothing is left in the bowl except for the shining, oily bowl. Gravy? No no.. definitely zilch amount of gravy/water should left in the bowl (except for your saliva?).

The sweet taste you get when you eat Kolo Mee was lacking too. I must praise the effort of the stall’s owner using ‘authentic’ Kolo Mee noodle anyway, I asked him where he gets the noodle and he said he made it himself. Cool! The noodle itself, the ‘elasticity’, the ‘crunchiness’ and the texture resembles the Kolo Mee you eat back in the Land of Hornbills He probably should read this blog to improve a bit his Kolo Mee and ‘Best Kolo Mee’ title will belong to him kah! kah! kah!

Conclusion : Stingy me will give 6/10 for the above Kolo Mee.

Anyway, one thing to note, do not waste your time and money to eat your hometown food elsewhere and save your curses. For these so called “where where where” food, the taste is actually altered to meet the local people taste buds. (How to survive if they just open the stall for you Sarawakians? Penangites? Ipoh-mali?) If you tried the Penang prawn mee and Penang Char Kueh Teow in Sarawak, those actually can not be considered as the food from Penang, because the ingredients and the way they prepared it is totally different.

So if you really miss those food back home, you better look up for some friends from hometown who are going to your place to tapau (take away) it for you. Even though it will turn cold when it arrived on your hand but I am damn sure it still taste better than any that you can find in outside your hometown.

Then again, we just love to try anything that they claim to be from our hometown and then bitch about it right? Bitching is healthy, it keeps you occupied.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Posted in Food, Reviews, Sarawak | 45 Comments »

Look What You’ve Done! A Lot Like Love??

I watched “A Lot Like Love” that day on TV3. Yes I do no have Astro at home. Boycott Astro! Haha! No lah, it is hard to subscribe when you share the place with friends, you need a collective agreement to do things If I own the place I probably have it and then I will spend most of my time in front of the TV - Makan TV, Minum TV, Tidur TV. LOL!

I was reminded of “When Harry Met Sally” while watching this movie. After all, “When Harry Met Sally” is a legendary name in this particular genre - romantic comedy. If “When Harry Met Sally” raises the questions “Can men and women ever just be friends?” or “Can two friends sleep together and still love each other in the morning?” but in “A Lot Like Love” it asks the question “How long it takes for you to fall in love?” In this movie, a very long seven years!! Well, it takes some people years to fall in love at first sight, I guess. “A Lot Like Love” is not a cheap copy of “When Harry Met Sally” anyway. The story is very different.

In “When Harry Met Sally” the grand denouement of their long in the making couplehood happened when ‘Harry’ and ‘Sally’ finally do the ‘deed’ after his attempts to comfort her go one step too further than either character had anticipated. If you remember, this is where it all gets ugly for both characters until they finally realize they really do love each other and very much do deserve each other. We moviegoers knew going in that they will end up together so it was really a question of how and what would happen when they finally did hook up. Anything else regarding the characters or their lives was just gravy on the side that did not distract from Cupid’s grand design.

In “A Lot Like Love”, ‘Oliver’ and ‘Emily’ (Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet respectively) do the ‘deed’ practically from the first moment they meet and from there you are just left wondering why exactly they are not together. Throughout the years they keep meeting and they either do it or almost end up doing it but never quite making that connection that would lead to anything lasting. Somehow they fall in love but they still can not seem to get their bullshit together long enough to really be an item. (I was getting bored at this point. How longer of this is going on??) She is going to find herself and he is got this asinine diaper.com business he is trying to build. A lot is made of ‘Oliver’s master plan’ so that you are made to care about it nearly as much as his non-relationship with ‘Emily’.

“A Lot Like Love” deals with issues in real life. There are many people out there who feel pressured with the “master plan” of having a career, a wife/husband by the age of 30. Any of you out there can relate to this? I do not know a lot of guys that would continue following a girl around for that long. What are the odds? Hmmm…..If you think that love equals 10 dates over the span of 5 years and no sincere emotion then yes, this story was a lot like love. Muahahahahahaha!

Lesson of the day : Life is indeed short and a lot can happen when you are not paying attention. Enjoy every moment you can, and take some risks or you will be looking back on an awful lot of regret.

ps: I think I still love “When Harry Met Sally” more.

pss: I love this song very much I must post it up!

Jet - Look What You’Ve Done

Take my photo off the wall
If it just won’t sing for you
‘Cause all that’s left has gone away
And there’s nothing there for you to prove

Oh, look what you’ve done
You’ve made a fool of everyone
Oh well, it seems likes such fun
Until you lose what you had won

Give me back my point of view
‘Cause I just can’t think for you
I can hardly hear you say
What should I do, well you choose

Oh, look what you’ve done
You’ve made a fool of everyone
Oh well, it seems likes such fun
Until you lose what you had won

Oh, look what you’ve done
You’ve made a fool of everyone
A fool of everyone
A fool of everyone

Take my photo off the wall
If it just won’t sing for you
‘Cause all that’s left has gone away
And there’s nothing there for you to do

Oh, look what you’ve done
You’ve made a fool of everyone
Oh well, it seems likes such fun
Until you lose what you had won

Oh, look what you’ve done
You’ve made a fool of everyone
A fool of everyone
A fool of everyone

Popularity: 7% [?]

Posted in Personal, Reviews, Songs | 19 Comments »

Cloverfield - My Take

I just came back from watching Cloverfield. I wanted to watch American Gangster but my friend wanted to watch Cloverfield, so being a good friend and since the movie is produced by J.J. Abrams (Forever Young, Armageddon, Mission Impossible 3, Alias, Lost), I thought it will be good. Here is what I have to say after watching the movie.

1. Some of you may get the feeling of nauseous, dizziness, disoriented after watching the movie. Why?

“On the night of May 22, 2009, in which five friends throw a going-away party, a giant monster attacks Manhattan. The film depicts their attempts to survive the attack, presented as a recording from their hand-held video camera.” (wikipedia).

The film was edited to look like it was filmed with one hand-held camera, including jump cuts similar to ones found in home movies. Hence you get many shaky shots, the camera moving violently from one frame to another. If you watch The Blair Witch Project before, you get what I am trying to say.

The shaky-cam is pretty annoying, like it is purposely done that way, kinda cheap and crappy. I know it is meant to look like a home video, but the movements of the camera is too much. On my way out of the cinema, I saw a girl vomited. She was walking in front of me, then suddenly she stopped and just uwekkkkkkkssss, vomited there. Poor girl. Pretty bad heh?

I quote : “I-thought-my-eyeballs-were-bleeding exercise in visual disorientation.” (Rotten Tomato)

2. But the guy in the movie, despite his lousy filming with his forever shaking hands, he managed to film everything! Good war photographer material. How the fark you would be able to film everything when you are supposed to be running like crazy saving your ass from been eaten by the monster. Believe me, he just that good! At no time does he failed to keep an image on the screen. In the dark subway where they are attacked, when the girl he is been hot for is attacked and in need for help, while climbing from one very tall building to another, when they were in the helicopter which later crashed after it was whacked by the monster. Best photographer you can find

3. The most repeated dialogue in the movie is ‘Oh my god!’. You finished watching the movie, the dialogue still stuck there in your head, playing like a broken record. I lost count how many times they blurted it out on screen. OMG this, OMG that. After a while listening to that, it become super annoying and torturing, making you want to strangle yourself to death. It is like hearing Paris Hilton saying ‘It is hot!’

4. The movie reminds me of 9/11 attacks. Yes, bad taste. Buildings crumbling down, people running and screaming, emerging through a cloud of asbestos, shaky footages, very reminiscent of 9/11. I find it emotionally disturbing. I was in front of the television watching when the 9/11 attacks happened.

5. The whole story would not happened if this one guy, Rob didn’t try to find his girl. He slept with the girl, which is his best friend and then dumped her. He said something nasty to her at the party when she left with another guy. Then the giant ’scary’ creature plot came, he regretted and decided to look for her at her apartment, and getting his friends killed in the process. How cliche heh? Or dumb? Or romantic? Haha!!!

6. Hmm, it is a monster movie, but you hardly get to see the monster in a clear shot, er maybe just one. The monster moves around clumsily, rampaging through the city for no apparent reason, knocking down buildings, biting heads. (No, you didn’t get to see any severed heads, except for the Statue of Liberty head. Maybe the monster mission is to bite anything that resembles a head. LOL!) No information about what the creature is, where it might be from, or any speculation at all about it. None. Nil. Zilch. (I googled for images of the giant creature, but without much results. Hah!)

7. There is this one suprise (and confusing??) moment when this one girl, Marlena was bitten by this small creature (the monster’s little army?) and they walked into this one place that looks like a detention centre, army people moving around. Suddenly this Marlena started vomiting and crying blood. And you can see some movement in her stomach. Everybody go into panic mode, some military guys shouting “We have a bite!” — “We have a bite!”, then the Hazmat guys drag her away quickly. We can see her behind a curtain, expanding and popped, blood spattered everywhere. And that is it. You jumped to another scene. No explanation on what maybe ‘came out’ from Marlena or what caused her to ‘exploded’. (I suspected it was censored by our over zealous, forever politically correct censorship board. Maybe a gory scene, where some creatures come out from her body, like those you watched in Alien. Just maybe I have no idea. Stupid Malaysian censor! If you know something about this part, please tell me)

Well, I guess some movies just like that. You do not get to know everything. Why is that, why is this. What happened before. Not much explanations given, you just do your own conclusions, put all the pieces by yourself, ride along with the movie and enjoy it. After all, Why must everything be answered for you, heh?

Popularity: 9% [?]

Posted in Movies, Reviews | 18 Comments »