Setia Eco 2010 Race Kit

Collected the race kit for 10km yesterday morning. At first couldn't find the place and got lost on the way. Made 2 phone calls to the office and were directed to Setia Alam Welcome Centre. Reached there around 11.30 a.m. Quite a handful of people were already there. Got the bib no. and vest fast and hassled free. Nice beautiful weather. 

Hers and His vest.

Hers and His bag

In addition there were sponsors booth e.g New Balance, Power Bar and Marathon Shop having atttactive promotions on their products for runners. I bought this Nathan Trail Mix Energy Belt for RM127.40 after a discount of 15%. Actual price was RM149.90. Now I don't have to stuff water bottle, gel, phone, power bars and sweets in my pockets. Wearing it, I hope I don't look like a plumber, a maintenance person or a tools man other than a runner!

 A snapshot of the bill for easy reference in the future.

Will be looking forward to the run next Saturday, 5th June, 2010.

Hope will be lucky and have a beautiful weather as today. No rain is good. Keeping my finger crossed!

Authentic Nasi Padang

There is a slight delay in posting this blog. And there are 2 reasons for it.

Reason 1 : Couldn't find the time.

Reason 2 : Same as reason 1.

Yeah, I've tried the nasi padang that I like at last. As June commented on my blog that there is suppose to be  a restaurant in Subang Parade but unsure if it was ready or not. We (Herman and I) decided to check it out on sunday (16/5/10) evening. The following was the actual (original and unedited) conversation on sunday afternoon in the car on the way back home from Bayu Perdana...

He : When you want to eat the nasi padang at Subang Parade?
Me : Why?
He : If you don't try now, afterwards got no chance to eat.
Me : Why?? (I was puzzled).
He : It might close shop.
Me : You really got a poison mouth.
He : Not poison but toxic.
Me : Next week lah...
He : Next week?? Tonight we try.
He had the final say.

That conversation lead us to this Sari Ratu Restaurant at Subang Parade.

The restaurant was half full with customers when we reached there around 6.30 pm. As we walked in we could see a wide range of vegetables, beef, chicken, fish etc... cooked in various style at the food counter. Oh...just what I  expected to see. As we stood there gawking at the food, the waitress (an Indonesian, I think) asked us what we wanted to eat and we pointed to a few dishes and she immediately took our orders. Very fast and efficient service.

We ordered these...

We had nasi putih, sayur terung, bergedel, sambal tempe, sambal udang, ayam gulai, sayur singkong and kentang teri. A little too much for 2 person. How about the food ? Should I say more?? The food is superbly delicious and hope it will stay that way!

There weren't much conversation during dinner and there are 2 reasons for it.

Reason 1 : We were enjoying the food...quietly.

Reason 2: We can't possibly talk with our mouth stuffed.

While eating, I had a feeling that this is gonna be expensive. The bill...there are 5% svc tax and 5% govt tax.

We are entitled to indulge in good food once in a while, don't we? And  unlike what the  toxic mouth said, I hope this restaurant will stay open forever.

Overall, the food is superb but the price of the food is on the high side.

Batam Food

Makan Time !

After I came back from Batam and having savour the masakan padang for the very 1st time, I took an instant liking for this food.

I told Herman about it and he reminded me that there is one Indonesian restaurant in USJ summit. It's not by chance that we come across this restaurant. Yes, we came here many times to look see, look see and even past by this restaurant but we were not inquisitive enough to give this place a try because back then our favourite eating  place was at Mandy's. 

Having said all that, we decided to lunch here for the 1st time. Never try never know. The name of this restaurant is Ayam Penyet Ria. Looking at the menu, it's not the masakan padang I hope for but nevertheless, it is authentic  Indonesian cuisine.

This is the story of Ayam Penyet Ria.

We both tried the ayam penyet which cost RM7.50. It consists of a piece of  fried chicken, kangkung , fried tempe,  fried  tauhu and sambal. The sambal is very spicy and very tasty. It is served with white rice and are charged separately at RM1.00 per plate.

We also tried the gado gado which cost RM4.50 per plate. The gravy of this vegetable rojak is simply delicious and is topped with keropok ubi kayu and keropok udang. Yummy.

Amongst others in the menu are lele penyet, empal penyet, ida penyet to name a few. All at a reasonable price with a 5% service tax and no govt tax.

Me, wearing the batam t-shirt waiting to try the food. 

As there are 5 outlets in Malaysia, I'm sure this cuisine has been enjoyed by many people. For me, it's a delight eating here as I like the sambal and the gado gado gravy and also brings back memories of my trip. And it's not just trying the food, it's also part of knowing the culture and the people of Batam, Indonesia.

My search of masakan padang continues...subang parade...perhaps? Yet to find out.


Cheers! :)

Batam Trip

I don't have an idea where Batam is located. So as usual before I hit the destination, I will google it 1st to read a thing or two about what to do and what to see.

28th April, 2010.

Yeah, another trip (3D2N free and easy) with MAA Takaful agents. 3 buses full on board. It was a long long journey of 7 hrs on the road with R & R stop in between. Set off from Klang at 6.30 a.m to Johor Bharu ferry terminal and from there another 1 1/2 hrs ferry ride to Batam.  Ferry ticket for adult is RM10.00. It was evening by the time we reached the island. Fortunately, the immigration check point was fast and hassle free. From here, the bus ride to the hotel was 15 minutes. Upon reaching, we were given a welcome drink. Checked in, unpacked, showered and hit the nearest food stall for dinner. After dinner we walked around nearby but the guys have their own agenda...discotheque for  dangdut or a massage.

We stayed at Hotel Nagoya Plasa which is located in the heart of Nagoya Town. Nagoya Hill shopping center, biggest mall in town is  just 5 minutes walk away. We did not sight-seeing much as there are not much to see (so I heard). For shopaholic, this is the right place to be. Things are very cheap, affordable and are  duty free throughout the island. Satisfaction guaranteed! There are a lot of shops in the mall selling leather goods, clothes, hand bags, shoes, kain batek,  etc..etc..and blackberry phones. All the h/p shops here sell  only blackberry phones. Seeing so many of it and  I am tempted to get my very own blackberry! You can shop till you drop or shop till you are broke, whichever comes 1st. I am not a shopaholic freak but I came home with a very pregnant luggage bag. And I was once a millionaire (in rupiah) in Batam but came home down, tired and broke. Poor me :)

On the 2nd day, 10 of us rented a van for a full day tour.  Cost us 70 thousand rupiah each. Our 1st stop was Barelang bridge. It was about an hour drive from town. And then we stopover at Yong Heng food trading and bought some food stuff and lastly to a famous kain batek shop. Our tour was cut short as some people wants more shopping, so we headed back to town.

 I had my 1st taste of masakan padang for lunch at a local restaurant and it was love at 1st taste. Tasty and delicious. Must hunt for this food in Klang! I heard there is one restaurant in USJ. Gonna check it out this weekend.

Ferry At JB Ferry Terminal. This ferry can accommodate 140 people.

Inside the ferry

Batam Ferry Terminal

With Ms Phang (MAA Takaful Marketing Manager)

Hotel Nagoya Plasa

At Barelang Bridge. One of the six bridges that connects 3 islands (Batam - Rempang - Gelang) together.

View from Barelang bridge. Wish I own one of the houses in that small island.

We left Batam the next day and took the ferry back to JB. Reached home at 1 am 1st May, 2010. It was an okay only trip for me but if I can get my hands on that blackberry phone, then it would be good!  As I google it again, there are some tourist attraction places that I missed out. Should I come back to this island for a 2nd round visit, I'll be doing more sight-seeing instead.

Cheers! :)