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Yay for an iPhone app that can check available flights and show me the cheapest ticket within minutes. Comparing results from all airlines available in Malaysia while on-the-go was never so simple!

I’m totally digging Malaysia Flight, a flight search engine application that is very useful for frequent travelers like me loves exploring local Malaysian hideouts and the SEA region. I know. I love my country alot! Minus those incompetent politicians of course.

Tada tada tada! Bought it at USD1.99 and it is worth every single cent! Check out the clean and neat user interface. This app is so straightforward and intuitive, nobody could go wrong with it!

Start by searching for the dates I want. Then decide whether I want a returned trip and results will be out in seconds!

Relevant flights are clearly listed according to Price, Time or Airlines. The tabs are right on the top of the screen.

After selecting the departing and returning flight of my choice, I just have to double-check the details before emailing the flight details to myself!

Haha. Yes, I still have to book the flights I’ve chosen at the respective airline’s webbie. I know! That’s such a boo boo right? But then again, the main rah rah of this application is to reduce research time for flights. Good enough. Now, I can do flight research and plan for short domestic escapades while commuting to work. Planning for a holiday is especially heartening on a deary Monday.

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To email the flight details, just click on the tiny envelope icon on the top right corner.

OMG so cheap right? The return tickets are also less than RM100.  I’m so gonna go Penang again. Each trip always leaves me wanting to come back for more. Don’t worry. This time, I promise I’ll blog about it.

Oh good news. Expect more makan trips from me after I’m back from Australia in Mid-May. I just RSVP-ed for an exclusive foodie trail at Batu Pahat in June and Cablenazi may be bringing me along for a business trip to Shanghai! And of course, I shall reveal more of my recommended haunts in JB.

I’ll be right back.

I realised that most Singaporeans are skeptical about travelling to JB after hearing horror stories about how cars get stolen and innocent people get murdered. Frankly, if you are feeling super anxious about crossing the borders, don’t bother venturing here because as a thriving city with extreme socio-economic strata, there are groups of people in JB who are not well-0ff. And you know when people get too desperate, they just do what they can to survive. So try not to be too conspicuous. Especially if you speak perfect English, wear full make-up, blings blings or carry branded handbags. Well, do what you can to keep yourself off the radar of vile characters.

I plan to share on how you can get around JB after exiting the CIQ customs. For those of you who took bus 170, 160, 950, CW1 or CW2 from Singapore and alighted at the CIQ, I’m pretty sure you’ve encountered those irritating cab driers who touts at the walkway heading towards City Square, the mall adjacent to the SG-JB custom. Don’t go with them! And walking is a no-no unless you are only planning to cross over to City Square or explore old JB town (the area where lots of old, quaint shop lots are located 5 minutes away from the mall).

The south of JB is most accessible. To explore close downtown areas such as Taman Pelangi, Taman Century and Taman Sentosa, I suggest taking cab from City Square. It will cost roughly RM6-8 to get to these 3 areas. Since cabbies in JB don’t charge by the meter, make sure you don’t get ‘cheated’. Negotiate the price when you get in.

You can either drive, cab or grab a bus to Taman Pelangi, Taman Century and Taman Sentosa to check out some local hot spots.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the Jusco Tebrau City. They have good house brands and is also right opposite Tesco, yet another huge hypermarket.  Ok you can grab a bus there if you don’t mind waiting but honestly, the bus system in JB is awkward. We are totally clueless on bus timings and there’s no official transportation guide. To explore the city via bus, get ready to be friendly and ask bus drivers where are they heading. Some pointers.

• A make shift bus terminal (that’s what I thought when I see mutiple bus stops) is just along the streets between City Square and Sultan Iskandar CIQ Complex. After crossing the borders, don’t cross the main road. Just follow the barricades and you’ll reach the bus stop. See the small yellow bus in the picture below? That’s where you can find buses heading towards north all the way to Johor Jaya, Jusco Tebrau City – meaning, the buses will pass by Plaza Pelangi and Taman Sentosa along Jalan Tebrau/Tebrau Highway.If you are willing to rough it out, I suggest taking bus 101 or 10A to go about downtown areas.

• Another ill-maintained bus ‘terminal’ is at the opposite side of City Square, right across the road where MacDonalds/Coffeebean is located. Make your way there if you are planning to go locations in the west of JB  such as Skudai, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, Taman Skudai Baru, Taman Bukit Indah, Taman Perling and Taman Nusa Bestari.

• Bus fares are cheap and cost just between Rm1-4.
• Bus conductors will be shouting and touting. Don’t be overwhelmed by their rantings. They are actually very helpful if you want to check with bus can bring you to your destination or find out when the next bus is ooming!
• Before boarding, confirm with the bus driver again if you are heading the right direction. If you have problems with the Malay language, write out the address in a paper and show him. Generally, bus drivers can read in Malay.
• There are more than 2 bus operators and you can easily tell by the colour and condition of the bus. I trust your judgement not to board any cranky looking old bus infested with cockroaches. Keep your eyes open for the yellow smiley Cause-Way Link buses or white-blue Maju Express.
• Be prepared to inhale lots of toxic fumes while waiting for your bus to arrive.

Personally, I think there are more stuff to explore if you head north rather than west.

Well, hop on a bus if you are feeling slightly more adventurous. If not, stick to cabbing. Cabbing is good if you are running short of time but DO NOT go with the cab drivers who tout for passengers at the walkway heading towards City Square. Their charges are exorbitant.

Instead, continue walking to the mall and get to RHB bank located at level 1. Walk out of the slided doors and out to the main road. There is a shabby-looking taxi stand to your right. Wait for a cab there.

Another place where you can grab a cab is right outside the entrance/exit between Levi’s and a watch shop.

Otherwise, drive in with GPS/updated map. That said, be very careful. Roads in JB are going through major changes every now and then. Get a local friend to show you the way or get directions from them before you embark on this road trip. Do remember to never flaunt your stuff an hide everything in your boot including shopping bags.

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Have a good time discovering JB !

Spend a weekend over in KL to attend my bro’s graduation. We stayed at Nova Hotel which was somewhere behind Jalan Bukit Bintang and right next to it was this coffee shop. Dad said the displayed chickens looked nice so we popped by Alor Kopitiam for a quick lunch.

Beansprouts was 6/10. Served with light soya sauce, I think it would taste better if a few more dashes of sesame oil were added to this dish. Bean sprout is one of my favorite vegetable and I think bean sprouts taste better without salted fish! Yup no salted fish here and I liked the generous topping of crispy mini fried garlic cubes.

As I thought about the garlic, I realised how much I love plants from the onion family which includes the onion, shallot, leek, and chive. Hard not to love them. Their pungent yet spicy flavour always manages to mellow and sweeten any dish.

Chicken was 7/10. I was looking forward to a nice, slick texture but it was more firm than tender. Flavour-wise, it was decent and not so oily. Better than your average but I prefer my steam white chicken chilled with skin that is slick enough to slip down my throat. That said, this is one dish that finds many different tastes and palates. You may think otherwise on how the perfect chicken should taste like for a chicken rice dish so feel free to tell me what you think or drop a link to your favourite stall! I’m keen to check them out!

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The next dish is the star of Meng Kee Char Siu.

Char siu was 9/10! I loved it! You must visit this stall if you’re a fan of charred, savory, and sticky uber-sweet perfection char siu! The slices of meat were not lean but I can live with not being healthy for lunch that day. How could you resist chewy roasted pork with a super-sweet sticky outer crust? Well the meat is not your conventional tender char siu because it had a good bite and slight crisp to it. Apparently leaving the meat longer at high heat may charred the meat but makes it chewier. That explains why the cha siu was darker than those found elsewhere.

We ordered just these 3 dishes. The rice was below-par because there was a missing glossy texture to it. I’m so picky today! I don’t know why!

I think Chuck (I’ve changed Jack’s name after that dumb Jack Neo fiasco) takes pretty decent photos. Anyway lunch was RM58 for five! Kinda atrocious right? To think we were dining in a normal-looking coffee shop. Good thing the portions were not miserable and the char siu was good. I like my char siu hard, charred and sweet. You?

Meng Kee Char Siu
Alor Kopitiam
(next to Nova Hotel)
Jalan Alor
Kuala Lumpur
Closed on Sundays

Well, the KL trip was a very short one so I didn’t had much time to catch up with friends. Am grateful that sweetie-pie Marcky who wished he was pork and dainty Joanne who can’t wait to kill some Mat Rempits took me out for yummylicious supper. Unfortunately we didn’t took much pictures because most street food places in Malaysia are dark and romantic at night. Just fyi, we had beef balls somewhere near Jalan Alor again and then Chickuteh! Both were good!

Yes Marcky, I will be coming back for more of such dining escapades!

Pa insisted to grab lunch here when we were at Malacca 2 weeks ago. Well, he and ma dined here once with a few of their friends. But all they could remember was how yummy the food was. Yeah they even forgot the name of the restaurant! The only clue we had was roughly how the shop front looked like. Nevertheless, pa’s persistence to hunt down this restaurant tells me that lunch is going to be very good.

Thank goodness Bro got one of his university mate who happened to be around the area to help. His task was to bring us to an unidentified nyonya restaurant located next to a half-shop selling cendol and local snacks. He’s a very smart lad. He found Restoran Nyonya Suan in less than 10 minutes.

Everyone was HUNGRY! Our orders were taken to the kitchen even before our seats turned warm. Our first dish, the Assam Fish (RM30) was served in less than 15 minutes. Goodness. Spicy tamarind fish never tasted so good. I love my white rice with dishes like this! The fish was very fresh and was accompanied ladies fingers, eggplants, onions and tomatoes. I really love the tangy spicy gravy that had a slight creamy taste of coconut milk. It was more sourish than spicy and that really perks up the dish. It went so well with the steamed white rice that all of us got extra serving of rice.

Then we had the Ayam Rendang (RM9) which was awesome! This Nyonya flavoured chicken was hot, spicy, sweet and had a distinct coconut flavour! This dish was so good my tastebuds are still dancing with joy. Do you now that Rendang is a dish which originated from the Minangkabau ethnic group of Indonesia ? Apparently Nyonya cooking in the South (Malacca and Singapore) has an Indonesian influence. Thus, the Nyonya food is generally sweeter, richer with liberal use of coconut milk and traditional Malay spices. That explains the richly pep up chicken chunks that had thoroughly absorbed the spicy condiments. Ah fusion food at its best.

Ma loovess sotong/squid so we got the Sotong Kunyit (RM10). Other than the kunyit/tumeric, the dish was laced with lots of fresh aromatic herbs that made the scrumptious dry sauce. My guess, the sotong was stir fried with a blend of chilies, shallots, lemongrass and belachan (dried shrimp paste). Nonetheless, the main ingredient, turmeric did gave an essential earthiness to the dish and I can taste a tinge of lime which left a pleasing soft citrus tang. Mm delicious!

The Telur Dadar Cincalok (RM8) was probably the only dish there I couldn’t appreciate. Though the addition of Cincalok (fermented small shrimps usually served as a condiment together with chillis, shallots and lime juice) gave the typical omelette an exotic twist, I thought that it was a tad too salty.

My favourite! Brinjals! That’s the Terung Sambal Cili (RM8). Mouthwatering. I love the combination of sambal prawn on top of brinjals. These purple delights carried a peculiar pungent-spicy taste when accompanied by fragrant curry and fiery sambal. Am really puzzled why Cablenazi hates this tasty vegetable so much. Tsk Tsk Tsk

Oh one thing you must must must get here is the nyonya cendol, shaved ice with tiny green starch noodles, red beans and syrup! Mmm the taste of fresh coconut and gula Melaka/palm sugar charmed me and by the way a bowl cost RM2 only!

A trip to Malacca is nothing without a bowl of cendol. It’s a excellent choice to quench your thirst after all that well-seasoned Nyonya food.

Pss you know, thanks to MediaCorp mass advertisement of peranakan culture, I used to secretly thought that Peranakan cuisine is overrated. Not anymore. The peranakan lunch I had at Restoran Nyonya Suan has exceeded my expectation.

Dear Gilbert Nyam, I will be back.

Restoran Nyonya Suan
No G12 & G14, Jalan PM 3,
Plaza Mahkota, Bandar Hilir,
75000 Melaka.
Tel: 06- 286 4252

Next time you’re around Plaza Pelangi area, look out for this particular hawker stall called Sin Hock Guan Permas Jaya (Tangkak) Beef Noodles in Kakilang Food Court Centre. Well Tangkak is a little town in Johor known for its beef noodles. If I’m not mistaken Tangkak is along the way to Muar where I managed to grab some Bak Kut Teh and Thai seafood previously when I was there.

Look how gorgeous the bowl of beef goodness is. I always order the dry version because I prefer having my thick white rice noodles drenched in thick beefy gravy. The QQ rice noodles is accompanied by tender morsels of braised beef brisket, beef tendons, slices of beef tenderloin, bits of salted vegetables, some peanuts and lots of spring onions! In my opinion, this tasted better than the pricey Hock Lam Beef Noodle I had in Singapore.

Are you a huge fan of chewy beef tendon? I am! I love that piece of gelatinous, transparent, soft yet chewy morsel to bits. The texture of the beef tendon here texture is similar to boiled pig’s ear but it is bouncier and does not taste as funky. Nonetheless, it’ll taste bland if not for the yummy beefy saucy. Thumbs up for the tangy flavoursome sauce.

Every bowl of beef noodles comes with special homemade chilli sauce and a steaming bowl of beef soup. The chili sauce is strangely appetising. Must be the dollop of extra spicy green chilli the auntie mixed with the usual red one. I suspect she used those tiny chilli padi! By the way the chilli sauce is slightly thicker than what you get when you order chicken rice. It is perfect for dipping the beef.

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Oh before digging into this dish, do remember to add a sprinkle of fresh lime juice on the noodles and chilli sauce to enhance the flavour. Mix well! If you like more lime, just request from the friendly auntie at the stall. It’s free. I always get extra lime because I like my beef and noodles to have a zestier taste.

It cost just RM6 for a small bowl of beef noodles and RM8 for the larger serving. Unless you’re really hungry, I think the small serving is perfectly fine for a hearty lunch. I always drop by when I’m in Pelangi area and craving for BEEF.

Don’t worry you can’t miss Kakilang because it is a corner lot coffeeshop. Ah it’s very near Restoran Mei Sin that sells Mee Hoon Kueh. Mom likes it alot too and most of the time, I’ll be here with her after shopping at Plaza Pelangi. Yup that mall is actually of walkable distance to this food centre. Just 2-3 minutes drive away?

Actually there’re a few places that sells beef noodles in JB, I know of another stall at Ang Kim Chwee Coffee Shop which sells this scrumptious delight somewhere near the CIQ. Will cover that next round! Watch this space!

Kakilang Food Court Centre
Jalan Abiad 1
Taman Maju Jaya
80400 Johor Bahru