Travel

Broga Hill on a Saturday

Broga Hill, I remembered my last experience there wasn’t quite a pleasant one.
No, there’s nothing wrong with Broga.
Just that I’m not quite interested in hiking itself.
People head over to Broga Hill and hike up to the peak for an awesome sunrise view.
Even without the sunrise, hiking up to the peak is still worth it.

The first time I went hiking at Broga is on the first day of 2011 in hope that I’ll get to reach the top and catch the sunrise.
But I did not make it, so were my friends.
I don’t normally hike, or even do any exercise at all for that matter.
Which makes this journey even harder for me, especially the sloppiness of the hill.

On one Saturday, I went to Broga for the second time but not for hiking this time.
Thank God.
We’re all there to escape our bustling city, to have some quiet time all by ourselves.
Poh Juan’s father own this place called Broga Eco Farm Resort and that’s how we decided to spend our Saturday.


* The view from where the resort is.


* Walkway filled with fruits.


* This is the resort, just three rooms for now.


* And this is the room we all slept in. This room is so huge, fitting in the 9 of us.


* Two of Poh Juan’s manual ATV (all-terrain vehicle).


* Pretty cool ay!? Poh Juan and Victor ready to roll while I enjoyed my Mahjong session in the living room.


* Saw lots of stray dogs walking around before I spot this cute puppy.


* So cute I was playing with it all day and the poor puppy slept on our shoes outside the door when we were all soundly asleep in the room.


* Me trying out the swing.


* Yan who prepared the barbecue.


* And that’s my fatty, forced to take a picture with me.


* Our char siew. Yes, we barbecued char siew this time.


* Guy’s job, nuff said.


* Lambs from previous barbecue session at Poh Juan’s house tasted much better. This was pre-marinated from supermarket.


* Chicken wings. Again, the chicken wing that Poh Juan marinated at Malacca tasted better too. In fact, what he marinated was pretty damn good, malay style it is.


* Girls taking care of the food while the guys getting the karaoke set fix. As for me, doing something real important which is snapping pictures. Hey, don’t look at me like that!!


* My bff’s bf enjoying his hot dog bun.


* Fatty likes the cute puppy too! (:


* Foon was back that day from Hong Kong and I was happy to see her.


* Taking a ride with ATV in between meals.

We ate, we sang, we drank, we gambled, and we chit-chat.
Not everyone appeared in my pictures, I was too lazy after my meal.
It was a simple so called getaway with a bunch of my friends. (:

Broga Eco Farm Resort is not for rent yet but soon it will be.
I’ll probably put more information by then.

Brunch at Seremban.

Seremban, the capital state of Negeri Sembilan is just 45 minutes drive away from KL.
‘What do you know about Seremban?’ If you ask me this question a year ago, I’ll answer you I know nothing except for the infamous Siew Pau and Siew Hai (Grilled Crab).
To me, states worth visiting in Malaysia will always be states like Penang, Ipoh, and Melaka.
These states are famous for food and the more popular a place is, the more happening it will be.
Which is why I ignored places like Seremban or Johor because to me these places are boring, with no activities for me.
I was wrong. Very wrong.

There are a lot more to explore and I shouldn’t be this ignorant.
In fact I’m pretty sick of places like Penang already, it’s time for something new.

Back to Seremban, all I know for now is that this place do have some really good food which most Malaysians do not know of.
How I get to know this if you wonder, it’s from Fatty because his hometown is in Seremban itself.

If you remember, I posted one of Seremban’s delicacies which is their Beef Noodles from her famous wet market.
Needless to say, I fell in love with it.
Then there was once where Fatty bought me a packet of noodles specially from Seremban which I have never heard of.
I was eagerly waiting while he reheated the noodles for me and I cant believe how good it tasted!
Ever since that day, I always asked him when do I get to go visit Seremban again for all the irresistable food.

And one fine day, he decided to bring me after much persuading.
We both woke up real early that day because if you’re late, there wont be much left for you.
You wouldn’t want to go back empty stomach, would you?


* On our way to Seremban. Haha! I’ve got no idea what is he trying to do with his palm.


* And then his fist!

We ate three different noodles that day.


* First destination, Kedai Kopi Yung Seng.


* It’s called ‘Ah Yi Lou Shu Fun” or ‘Ah Yi Noodles’ which too I have never heard of.


* This is how it looks like when the plate of ‘Ah Yi Noodles’ arrived at my table. What you see here is Seremban ‘Lou Shu Fun’ which is totally different from the normal ‘Lou Shu Fun’ we had in KL. Different in shape, look, and texture. ‘Ah Yi Lou Shu Fun’ has really thick gravy, served with shredded eggs, minced meat, and green onions.


* Before you savour this plate of Seremban ‘Lou Shu Fun’, you need to stir and mix the black sauce along with the thick gravy. This plate of noodle is extremely cheap, only for Rm3.
I don’t quite know how to describe this noodle, really. A very simple noodle that taste good enough to turn your meal into an enjoyable one.


* Second destination, Pasar Besar Seremban or also known as Seremban famous wet market.


* Hioong Kee Mee Hoon Sotong, which is the noodle Fatty bought for me or we called it as ‘Yau Yu Mai Fun’ in Chinese.


* Served with a rather watery gravy, fried vermicelli (fried mee hoon), sotong, pork, and vegetables for only Rm3.50 per bowl. What specialty does this bowl of vermicelli with a few slices of pork and sotong hold? Well, the vermicelli is fried beforehand so it emits a pleasant crisp-burnt smell while the meat is braised in a huge pot to perfect tenderness and sliced to excellent thickness. When everything combines together, it’s a bowl made in heaven.

For my own preference, I’ll always go for thick gravy instead of watery gravy.
So if you’re like me, who cant get enough of this ‘bowl made in heaven’ and also a person who loves thick gravy as much as I do, try this :
Take away a bowl of noodles home and while you reheat it in a pot, add in corn flour to thicken the gravy.
I prefer it being in thick gravy, anytime.


* Third destination, also located inside Pasar Besar Seremban which is Seremban’s infamous beef noodle.


* Seremban ‘Lou Shu Fun’ served with a thick gravy, peanuts, sesame seeds and mixed beef. Looking at this picture alone makes me salivate. Sometimes it is pretty torturous to do food post. Dayumn! Rm6 if I’m not wrong.
Here’s the post where I’ve talked about it earlier on.

Instead of going to Melaka for food trip, try going to Seremban for a change.
In fact, you can actually do both in a day. You’ll reach Seremban before you reach Melaka anyway.
There are more good food from Seremban that I have yet to try, but someday I will when the boyfriend is free enough.

Time to gather your friends? (:

Birdman Eating and The Hardware Société

I was expecting a blog post from myself last week but little did I know my ‘timetable’ was be jam packed.
Tuesday and Wednesday was spent watching ‘Bottled Passion’, a TVB drama.
The habit of watching drama all day, from episode to episode is no longer in me.
Or I should say, not much drama interest me nowadays.

Saw my mom and brother watching ‘Bottled Passion’ and it looks so interesting I have to get it from my brother.
It was real good I finished it in 3 days, mainly because it’s a love story with a twist.
But I hate the ending so it kind of made me feel like I wasted my time watching it.
TVB should know by now that ‘unhappy ending’ will not make us, the audience happy.

After the drama, the rest of my days were spent outside of home hanging out with friends from Melbourne cause most of them are at KL for now. (:
Speaking of Melbourne, here is the post as promised.

Food from Melbourne’s cafe.
You see, it’s been pretty long (very damn long in fact) since I came home from Melbourne so I guess I probably cant describe how the food taste like anymore except that it tasted good wtf.
But I’ll try my best to dig out whatever I can remember from my brain.

First off, Birdman Eating.
Yes, what a name I thought to myself when Fatty first told me about it.
Birdman Eating : Odd name, simple, and brilliantly done (food and ambiance).

I do not do any research about restaurant or cafes during my stay in Melbourne (unlike here in KL) because obviously, it’s the boyf’s job while I visit him.
Apparently Birdman Eating is very famous for their baked eggs as I’ve mentioned in my previous post.


* The first thing that caught my eye when I stepped into Birdman Eating is their hanging carrots in plastic bags. What a decoration. The first one is a bird man like figure with colourful feathers, second is the hanging plastic-bag-carrots and the third are flowers in vases which they changed it on the spot when we’re there.
Very creatively done.


* One of the best Chai Latte I’ve ever tried in Melbourne which came in a rather unique red tin. Very aromatic and I really like it that way. Damn, I seriously miss drinking Chai Latte. $5.50.


* I guess we ordered baked eggs of the day which you can made your decision based on what they have on their blackboard. Just imagine, on a chilly early noon you’re served with pipping hot baked eggs with runny yolks on a metal skillet and with a sliced of buttered toast. Your day will be a wonderful one after eating the baked eggs, hah. $14.


* Soup of the day which I cant remember much.


* A picture while we were walking towards the tram station. I will definitely be back for more baked eggs, some time this year. (:

So if you happened to be in Melbourne, do drop by on a Sunday morning for some perfectly bake baked eggs.
This will not disappoint you, I swear.
It’s located at Fitzroy and here’s the address.

Birdman Eating
238 Gertrude Street
Fitzroy, VIC 3065

Mon-Fri 7am–10:30pm
Sat-Sun 8am–10:30pm

Next on is The Hardware Société.
Did not bother much on why Birdman Eating is called Birdman Eating but how did The Hardware Société’s name came by is from the lane itself, located at Hardware street.
So next time if you cant figure what name to give your cafe, you can try ‘Hang Tuah Société’ if your cafe is at Jalan Hang Tuah.
Damn, Malaysia’s street name never sound right.


* Another perfect place for a warm hearty breakfast. I seriously love eating breakfast in Melbourne.


* If you pay attention enough, most of the newly opened cafes in KL look like the above picture. Probably inspired by cafes from the west.
The Hardware Société’s interior actually looked much better than the picture above. I was too busy catching up with my friend and too busy focusing on food. Cant be bothered with pictures that very moment. But do google for it if you’re interested and you’ll be amaze.

Expect to see a line of people waiting for tables when you’re there, probably a very normal scene for The Hardware Société.

Do forgive me because I am not able to name a single dish here, my brain failed me.
So this time round, I’ll just say I’ll let the pictures do the talking.


* Chai Latte in a pot wrapped by a cute and colourful knit. Told you I love Chai Latte, just simply irresistible.


* My friends were not quite used to the taste and the combination of ingredients the cafe offered.


* Just take a look at the peas/beans!


* This is the best dish but I cant remember what it is.


* I was really happy when I get to meet Foon in Melbourne and that’s where we enjoyed our breakfast together.

The Hardware Société is located in CBD, in the heart of Melbourne city.

The Hardware Société
120 Hardware Street
Melbourne VIC 3000

Opening hours:
Mon – Fri 7.30am – 3pm
Sat – 8.30am – 2pm

Now you see the difference between Malaysia’s cafe and Melbourne’s?
Or you still don’t?
Sometimes it just feels like these Melburnians put so much heart and effort in their food and drinks.
Damn, Melburnians can really cook!
Worth every penny you pay!

How I spent my Christmas this year.

First off, a very very belated Merry Christmas to all of you.
If you follow me on twitter, you’d know by now that I went to Hatyai with my friends for Christmas.
But that wasn’t me and fatty’s initial plan.

Weeks ago, he went to Singapore with his family for a day for some reason and he came back telling me that the streets on Singapore are all decorated with Christmas lights and tress.
He told me Singapore looks really beautiful and that he would want to bring me over for Christmas and of course upon hearing this I was mad excited.

We did some research and realized that it was quite costly for the both of us to spend our Christmas there.
And as you all know, it’s Christmas which means everything will be much more expensive especially the accommodation.
The cost for a room per night itself can already cover my Hatyai trip expenses.
Which explains my trip.

We were still deciding on where to go until Gavin came up with the idea of going to Hatyai.
And off we go, the eight of us.
We departed on the 23rd, Friday midnight after our super at Jalan Alor. The guys drove for seven to eight hours, all the way to Thailand’s border.

I think we reached the border at about 11am (I was busy sleeping).
We parked our car at the duty free car park and get a van to fetch us to our hotel.
Before that, we had to line up at the immigration to get our passports stamped and the amount of people waiting in line shocked us.
We were all like, ‘Fck do we really have to go through this!?’.
Then there came a savior or money-eater we called it.
He said for Rm20 per pax we would be able to stamp our passports immediately without having to wait in the line.
Greedy man!! RM20 is hell lot and we said no. We bargained and he agreed to Rm15 per pax.
Still a greedy man but we, the lazy men agreed to it.

After getting our passport stamped we told the van driver to bring us to a famous chicken rice shop which is just along the way to Hatyai.
I researched it on the net but I do not know what the restaurant is called. Also my friend told me that there is really a famous chicken rice shop and they said it’s good.
But I guess he brought us to the wrong one!


* There’s crowd in it and I thought, ‘YES’ because I’m hungry!


* Our sugarcane drink.

One thing good about Hatyai is that there are still some people who speak Mandarin/ Hokkien and that ease the trip a little.
None of us knows how to speak Hokkien except for Ben, so whenever we’re not able to communicate we would ask him to try to speak in Hokkien and see if they understand him.
Thank god for the fat translator.


* Very dry chicken. Seriously I think the van driver brought us to the wrong chicken rice shop. ):


* But the siu yuk is pretty good. Very crispy skin they have.

After our breakfast/ lunch we slept all the way till we reach our hotel at Songkhla.
Why Songkhla is because by the time we wanted to book our hotel in Hatyai town, it is already fully book so we’re left with no choice.
We stayed at Pavilion Hotel in Songkhla and the first thing we did upon reaching the hotel is sleeping like there’s no tomorrow after the very long ride before going out for dinner.

Take note: Do not book hotels in Songkhla if you’re not as desperate as we are because honestly speaking it’s a waste of time and money.
From our hotel to Hatyai town cost us about 500 to 600 Baht and it takes about half to one hour, depending on the speed of the tuk tuk.

The first tuk tuk we took to Hatyai town is mad slow and according to Gavin who sat in front, next to the driver, he only drove like 40 to 50 km/h. Not to mention that the roof of this tuk tuk we picked is extremely low, makes it hard for the boys to sit.
Hatyai’s tuk tuk is very much different from Bangkok’s. I did not take a picture of it but here it is, from google.


* Bangkok’s tuk tuks are motorbikes which maximum can probably only fit in 3 people but Hatyai’s tuk tuk is a van or mini lorry which can fit in about 8 people.


* Fatty looks like he’s lost, haha.


* Bff


* Alvin and his girlf Mai, camwhoring?


* Gavin and Zoe, the entertainer. :D

We walked around Hatyai town looking for a suitable restaurant for us to have our dinner.
Passed by one restaurant that has chinese words all around and is very packed with people but we figured that it might be very costly because they target people like us, tourists.
As we continue walking we saw another restaurant, ‘Hong Gei’ and the lady knows how to speak Cantonese, so this restaurant it is.


* Very refreshing guava juice.


* Something you must order no matter which restaurant you’re in, Tom Yam.


* Deep fry pork knuckle, extremely delicious.

Everything from that restaurant is pretty good, from their Thai steam fish to fry green leaves.
One of the best meal we had there.


* And THIS!! Is of course, our second best meal! Extremely large prawn!

We walked around the town after our dinner, giving it some time for digestion before we head to massage parlor.
We walked into one, somewhere around Lee Garden Hotel named Sawasdee and all of us went for Thai full body massage.
That is by far the cheapest massage in my entire life. 200 Bath per hour for a full body massage.
Oh you gotta be kidding me.

We all enjoyed the massage session especially fatty.
After massaging, we decided to take away whatever we can from the street and have another eating session at Mc Donalds.
Of course, one of the must do in Thailand is visiting their Mc Donalds because theirs’ are more awesome than ours’. Pfft.
Pork burger!
But this time, pork burger isn’t the champion.
I shall reveal at the end of my post.


* Durian sticky rice that I did not try. Durians over there are HUGE, just do a comparison with that white styrofoam in the picture.

After our meal, the alcoholics bout beer and off we go back to our hotel.
We picked a different tuk tuk this time, we picked one with speakers and we party our way back to hotel.


* That’s where the party begins.


* That’s Alvin, attempting suicide haha.


* Gavin, Zoe, Fatty and me. (:

Went back to hotel and it’s time for gift exchange.
I bought a pair of monster socks from Topshop and Alvin got mine, while I got the best gift of the day.
A Starbucks tumbler. Hehehehe.


* Look at bff, that’s her present. HAHAHAHAHAHA!

We end our night with laughter and cheap beers.
I should have just down some beers and sleep soundly but I did not.
I lay on bed feeling extremely scared (yah yah I’m afraid of ghost and I scare myself often wtf), so I just grab fatty as close to me as possible and keep praying.
Amitabha!!! Thank god nothing happened, I heard too many stories no thanks to people who told me.

The next day all of us woke up feeling oh-so-okay but that 40/50 km/h tuk tuk driver has to ruin our mood!
Not knowing where to eat I asked the receptionist and she wrote us the name of the restaurant just somewhere nearby our hotel.
We were reluctant to go for that slow ass tuk tuk at first but there wasn’t any more tuk tuk for us to choose from.
And this slow ass tuk tuk is seriously a cheater because he brought us to the wrong restaurant and that bloody restaurant is bloody expensive with food that is not even half as nice to begin with.
Kena conned! We were all so pissed at that tuk tuk driver, seriously.
He should have told us that he do not know where the restaurant is instead of just dumping us just like that.
But we figured the restaurant owner is his friend, pfft!!!

After our kena-con-lunch we went to a temple located at Songkhla called Chedi Thaimongkhon.
The temple is located uphill and we have to pay 30 Bath each for the cable lift ride.
Yes, not cable car but cable lift.


* That’s how we roll.


* Me and Zoe.


* By the beach.

No pictures of temple because I was busy praying and by the time I’m done with my praying it rained!! There were so much more that I have yet to explore but it rained! What on earth ):


* This is all I’ve got, hahahah.


* Kepala senget.


* Boyf #likeaboss.


* Some floating market it seems.

After our praying x raining session we went to Hatyai again to eat and to shop.
First we went to floating market but there’s nothing floating on that day because it rain.


* Fried quill egg.


* Would you like to try some!? Worms and more worms. Disgusting!

Shopping in Hatyai IS NOT FUN and it just makes me miss Bangkok even more! Rawr!
First they have ugly clothes or okay clothes, then their ugly clothes are really expensive comparing to Bangkok’s.
I can get a dress for 10 Bath in Bangkok but in Hatyai a top cost 20 Bath!
For reals!!???

It’s okay it’s okay, fatty said we’ll go to Bangkok together in the future because he knows how much I love that place! (:

Overall, Hatyai is quite a boring place but a boring place can still be fun when we have friends around.
The whole trip cost me 4000 Bath, it should be cheaper if not for the tuk tuk service from hotel to Hatyai town.


* Mc Donald’s Spinach pie, the best pie on earth I swear!!! MC DONALD Y U IS NO HAZ SPINACH PIE IN MSIA!?

Two Bangkok post here and here if you’d like to know more.

I AM MISSING THE SPINACH PIE ALREADY!!!

Penang, how I miss you.

I went to Penang last weekend and it has made an impact on me. Not a good impact I must say.
I drag going to work so much on the first day.
I just wanna be on a holiday and enjoy life.
But of course that doesn’t sound quite possible. Or you can say, DREAM ON!

I have been going to Penang for three consecutive years including this and this time round, there’s no pictures.
This is a lazy trip, eat and sleep and that’s about it.
The best food I ate in Penang was the Asam Laksa. So darn good, I feel like I can eat a bowl even if I’m mad full.
But I didn’t of course.

We stayed in BayView Resort and although the hotel is a little worn out, I still did enjoy my stay there.
The dark room we slept in.

I miss Penang and the trip already!
I miss sticking to the boyf day and night, haha fuck-his-life.
I miss all the crapping moments in the car.

It was a great trip and I cant wait for another one to come.

My one day road trip in Melbourne.

Yes, I do go to road trip too, I don’t just stay in the city.
But just one road trip for the entire three months if my memory did not fail me, it was way too cold for us to go on a road trip.

Ben rented a car and off we go to Mount Dandenong. (:
First stop was Puffing Billy. It’s a century old steam train that will bring us around the mountain allowing us to have a view at the scenic Dandenong ranges.
There’s a history to it but I cant quite remember it right now, haha.
The price is slightly expensive to me but I did had fun sitting on a steam train listening to the puff-puff sound that the train makes. (:


* Say hi to billy.


* Train stop.


* And the best part is of course we get to sit at the edge and put our legs outside!


* Like this! :D


* And stuck my head outside hoping that there aint any giant knife chopping my head away.


* ‘putt-putt’


* We didn’t go all the way, we just stop at the middle, get down and snapped some pictures.


* It’s really really cold.

Went for late lunch after saying bye to Billy at a place I cant remember.
I just remember seeing lots of cows when I was enjoying my meal. Or was it lots of sheep?
The restaurant is surrounded by beautiful trees.


* Lovely branches and dried leaves. Love it!

Leave the place and went uphill to enjoy the friggin cold breeze and beautiful view.
Boyf said I sure will like this and brought me to this Giant’s Chair.


* Trying to show how giant the chair is.


* I wonder how many times he sat on this Giant’s Chair, haha.


* If only my picture can tell you how cold it is at that very moment.


* This is a tree hole ….


* …for people like me to make a wish. ‘Dear tree hole, ………’


* Of all trees, why did I picked the one that look most pathetic?


* He’d been to all these places for a few times, yet he brought me there for me to enjoy my holiday. How nice of him (:

Since the boyf bought his i4, we’ve always been taking pictures with Instagram. Especially me because it can save me lotsa hassle from editing my pictures and I took all of ’em with his account.
He don’t really bother accepting requests or stuff like that, so three weeks back I took over and created my own account instead. muahaha!
Follow me if you wish, just look for ‘peggychow’. (:

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