| 10.7.09 |
| imperial duck anyone? |
 My phone camera sucks in taking pictures indoors. Anyway, I went for breakfast at the Imperial Duck, Kuching this morning. It is located in the same building as Lok Thian Restaurant (if I spelled it correctly). With so many customers during the lunchtime, it is no wonder this place is renovating. Mum, sis and I decided to have a taste of their dim sums.   Siew Mai...not badlah. But pricey.  Chicken feet. I still think Dong Guan's is better.  Har Kow. Yummy. Xiao Long Bao. Best item ordered. Lives up to expectations.   Duck porridge. Average.  Overall, I'd say the food is satisfactory but the service is very poor. The whole breakfast took 1 hour and my sis almost finish her porridge when the drinks were served. Probably the duck dishes are served faster (according to mum). Reviews on the rice and noodle dishes can be read here. I might still come back, but never for the dim sums. p/s if the duck is so imperial, why is it barbequed? Labels: family, food, Kuching |
posted by estella @ 10:24 AM  |
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| 9.7.09 |
| 5 minutes |
I am sitting at home
Not out to roam
Though I'll soon be gone
This is not an epitome
I watched TV
and then got ready
Went on a shopping spree
Bought nothing I see
I sat at a cafe
And drank ice latte
Reminiscing the month of May
When the skies were grey
I am typing though
The tale you never saw
An episode in the shadow
Of a half-closed door
I am wasting my time
But not a dime
Crapping so fine
This lousy rhyme |
| posted by estella @ 7:50 PM |
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| 6.7.09 |
| mighty minds challenge = mighty disappointment |
 Over the weekend, I went to the Spring in support of my bro participating in RHB-The Star Mighty Minds challenge 2009. As early as 9 something a.m., we dropped him there and went off.
Around 10 something, we went back. Seeing all the kiasu kids studying from textbooks, I offered my dear brother a piece of advice;- "Give up." Some even brought laptops!
 But it was all proven worthless. The questions are just too random. Ranging from football and Lion King (General knowledge) to heart and enzymes (Science), the 20 questions given resulted in a mixture of reactions. Being in the F4 and F5 catagory, I expect the teams to score around 140 (200 is the maximum mark). Surprisingly, my brother's team scored 170 and secured a place in the finals! Moreover, they were one of those on top of the scoreboard! O.o
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This section is for those participating next year:
The contestants will be sitting in front of the stage facing a screen. Each team of three will only be given 1 remote-like thingi which you can press to key in an answer (1= A, 2=B and so on). Before beginning the quiz, they will run a check to ensure all the remotes work.
The questions are pretty easy to understand. Different time is allocated for different questions and there will be a 10 sec countdown before the time is up. Stand up if your team's answer is not sensed. This quiz is not on who-answers-first basis but bear in mind that as a tie-breaker, they will refer back to see which team answers faster!
After every 7 questions, the scoreboard will be revealed, starting from the bottom scorers. You would want to see your school name later. If your school sends two teams, the team will be differentiated by the letters A or B (i.e. SMK ST THOMAS (A) and SMK ST THOMAS (B)). Only the top 30 will advance to the hands-on challenge. All marks will be leveled to zero in the 2nd round so just make sure you sail through the first!
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 Being the captain of the team, he had to listen to the briefing thereafter (2nd from the left, front row).
 The juniors (F123) were asked to construct a bridge for the hands on. Pretty easy task on my opinion. But the team I rooted for did not win the 1st prize. I was guessing they screwed up the presentation part (no offense, because your bridge was very good).
 One team doing the presentation. They were given 1 minute to talk.
 Later in the afternoon, the F4 and F5 went ahead with constructing "a mobile mousetrap propelled with elastic potential energy". How do you interpret this? Lets look into the dictionary.
Quote from the Merriam Webster dictionary:
- 1mo·bile
 - Pronunciation:
- \ˈmō-bəl, -ˌbī-əl also -ˌbēl\
- Function:
- adjective
- Etymology:
- Middle English mobyll, from Anglo-French moble, from Latin mobilis, from movēre to move
- Date:
- 15th century
The second problem is, there is two types of common mousetrap known to us Malaysians. First is the house type and the second one is the "snap" type (commonly used in english household). Out of 30 teams, only 4 did the "snap" type, including my brother's team, because no everyone knows how to build one with only a spring.
 Worse of all, the task required the trap to be propelled with e.p.e. Huh? Does it mean the trap or the whole trap? When the presentation was over, the organizers revealed their model mousetrap. Apparently, what they wanted was a house type mousetrap with wheels and pulled using a spring. Talk about randomness.
And so, the team with the closest design won. Just like that. It seems that luck played a more important role than knowledge. I mean, house type mousetrap working on threads? Thats so friggin childish. And worse, I didn't see everyone using the spring. E.P.E. clearly works only with springs.
 But the judges decisions were final. What can I say? This hands on challenge is epic fail. Even Felix have to wrap up the team's product to avoid embarrassment because it was too far off the judge's model. Poor thing. It's really unfortunate that the round 1 marks were not carried forward.
I'm just another dissatisfied onlooker ranting about losing a challenge. Rawr.Labels: Kuching, RHB-The Star Mighty Minds Challenge |
| posted by estella @ 12:08 PM |
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| 5.7.09 |
| Sarawak vs Sabah |
Here's a quick comparison;
Sabah has a nice waterfront view...
Sarawak has one too!
  Sabah has more clouds at some point, but Sarawak's skies are just spectacular during the evenings. No doubt, everyone would go wooo ahhh just staring up.
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Sabah has seafood centres which most of it are priced to kill, but Sarawak has Topspot Food Centre! Guaranteed satisfaction at Bukit Mata Stall 25, serving the best seafood in Kuching for an affordable price! XD
Sabah may serve more seafood since it is surrounded by seas but Kuching businessmen doesn't attempt to puncture your pockets. For all I know, KK food is utterly expensive. One plate of Kolo Mee is RM 5.50, while in Kuching, it is only RM3!
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Sabah has nice beaches on it's islands namely Manukan, Sapi and Mamutik...
But the sea is too salty and there are so many dead corals along the shore! On Damai beach, there's a cooling fresh water stream at one end. Sunset? Awesome.
I do agree Sabah is a better tourist spot for diving purposes but unfortunately, the underwater scene is not as expected...the reefs and anemones are mostly dead or brown. Probably Sipadan would be a better choice for diving (unless the colours are photoshopped)!
Water activities are very pricey as one banana boat ride (10 mins) costs RM40, and parasailing costs RM 90 per head. There are none of these in Sarawak but you may opt for boat rides, spa and even family water parks.
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In Sabah, the only delicacy I stumbled upon is the ABC with macaroni! Viola! It costs RM2 per bowl. The macaroni was soaked in water to soften. May sound eeky but it tastes ok. another surprising fact, most ABCs in Malaysia is added with crunchy peanuts. O.o But nothing beats Kuchingites and Penangites when it comes to food. Sarawak Laksa is still the best genuine delicacy I've ever known. To add to the list, we have our very own Kolo Mee and 5 layer teh c peng special.
Sabah lacks special delicacies that may leave you craving for more. I do like the open dining + live performance concept at the Summer Lodge area but that's it. Nothing else impresses me about Sabah food..
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SUMMING UP:
Both states have their own specialties and no doubt Sabah is better for adventure seekers (i.e. mountain climbing, trekking and snorkelling). Sarawak, on the other hand, hosts better the serene and peace lovers. It is indeed an ideal spot for relaxation and enjoyment.
THE VERDICT:
Aku tetap anak Sarawak. :DLabels: Kuching, Travelling |
| posted by estella @ 11:05 AM |
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| 4.7.09 |
| sabah boleh!! |
 So we took a midnight flight...and slept at the airport. Amazingly, both Yuxin and Adeline slept well throughout the night. O.o  But our sacrificed sleep was rewarded with an awesome mountain scenery...  At Kinabalu park, I spotted a real James Brooke butterfly!! Couldn't capture a perfect picture...  Mountain. (Shizz I'm getting lazier.)  One of my faves.  Canopy walk! It was such a tough climb up and I was totally grateful I did not challenge the Mount Kinabalu. Could have rolled down the mountain. Lol.  Imprisoned.  Great group pic at the Borneo Backpackers.  And we went snorkelling at Manukan and Sapi island the next day. We were brought on a speedboat with bottom window.  Great one for the album. Just love the natural lighting.  Ex-roommate pic- Li Yan and I.  And a babi hutan ran out of the jungle scavenging for food.  When we reached Sutera Harbour jetty, it was around 6 something already.  For dinner, we had seafood.  Yumm... (but still loses out to my mum's)  Crab.  Ye Ling fascinated with cockles.  We headed off to the Museum>Heritage Village>Art Gallery the next day. This is a pic of Yuxin and I atop the scariest bridge. Rusted and creaky.  When night falls, kids go hungry again. Our next stop was the Rainforest restaurant. Great food, really. Something up to Secret Recipe standard.  And we proceed to the BB bar where there is live permomance for happy hour. Our pick: The Long Island Iced Tea. Amateur.  What we slept on for 3 nights.  View from KK airport. Woke up early to avoid the 'jam'. Dayaaammm...I'm too lazy to be blogging right! Just came back from the Spring after witnessing my bro and his team being lead into disappointment after a long and grueling 10 hours. Pardon me. TT_TT
Labels: Friends, Travelling |
| posted by estella @ 8:14 PM |
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