[Review] Haji Musa Ikan Bakar - Crystal Bay, Melaka

Dear visitors,

I have moved my posts about food and travel to my new blog with renewed look as below:
[FOOD] 20140711 Haji Musa Ikan Bakar @ Crystal Bay, Melaka

Feel free to pay a visit and also to read about my latest experience at
Travel Foodie

Thank you

Last edited: 06 July 2015

[Review] Bel Pasto Kepong

Bel Pasto, A fine meal everytime!

Bel Pasto, Kepong branch is opened for quite some time already and it is until recently I paid them a visit on a Friday evening for dinner. It is rare to see an Italian restaurant operate in a place like Kepong, and it is even ran by real Italians themselves. The first outlet is located at Aman Puri, which is also nearby Kepong. The Kepong outlet is located at a shop lot behind Carrefour Kepong alongside with many steamboat buffet restaurants like QQ buffet steamboat and BBQ. It is a humble and cozy restaurant with not much exterior design, which makes it a bit hard to notice if you are not reading the signboards one by one. Even thou the exterior of the restaurant is just a plain glass panel and a lunch promo panel, the interior is decorated like a typical Italian restaurant with paintings on the wall and square-patterned table cloths on wooden tables. I went early and there's only one table with customers while others were empty.

I've always heard good comments about the branch in Aman Puri but I guess I will give it a try for the Kepong branch, which some claimed, not as good as the Aman Puri branch. We ordered pasta only for this time, skipping the pizza and other main course first just to try out. Chicken Bolognese and Chicken Lasagne were our choice because I'm a fan of tomato sauce and I couldn't take beef.  Besides that, we also ordered their signature Tiramisu as dessert to compliment the meal. Drinks were just normal peach ice tea and ice blended Cappuccino.

Chicken Bolognese - RM9.90

The restaurant is operated by real Italians, meaning to say, I would be getting a more closer taste of authentic Italian cuisine (I suppose?) than other Italian chain restaurants in the shopping mall. As you can see in the picture, there's no fancy decorations on the plate, just pasta. The look may not be appealing, but how about the taste? The first bite of it you definitely will be able to taste the tomato from the sauce. The tomato sauce is different from what we usually taste outside or even different from the pasta sauce that we cooked at home. The reason is because the pasta sauce served in other restaurants or in our house are usually canned/bottled tomato puree that is processed in the factory and then further cooked into pasta sauce, which have a very vibrant red colour and strong sourish smell.

Simple pasta

The tomato sauce used in their pasta is obviously cooked from fresh tomatoes due to the distinctive colour and smell of local tomatoes. I knew because I cooked my own red sauce at home too and that flavour is very similar to what I prepared at home. Local tomatoes are more to orange colour than red and the flavour is not as rich as imported red tomatoes. It is a waste that they did not use imported red tomatoes as the ingredient for the sauce but at least you know they prepared it themselves instead of using pre-cooked cans of tomato puree, which might have artificial flavours and preservatives.

Enough talk about the sauce and move on to the pasta and the other ingredients. The pasta is very soft, in fact I would considered the softest spaghetti I had when compared to other restaurants I visited. To be honest, I prefer my spaghetti to be more chewy instead. Perhaps I should notify the waitress next time. Anyway, the pasta was well seasoned and the sauce is cooked with minced chicken meat and black pepper.

Chicken Lasagne - RM11.90

The next dish will be Chicken Lasagne, prepared directly in an oval bowl baked in the oven. The tomato sauce used is similar, or I would say same as the one in the Chicken Bolognese but with slightly stronger flavour. The aroma from the Mozzarella cheese definitely makes me drool over it and the portion is just nice for one person. Other than that, nothing much to shout about the Lasagne.

Tiramisu - RM8.90

The Tiramisu is actually what we really looking forward for in this meal. The waitress will ask whether to serve it before or after meal when ordering. The picture may not be able to tell you the portion but I can rest assure that this is a portion for two. Just take your typical cheese cake from Secret Recipe, and times two. That's the portion for the Tiramisu that they served and definitely worth the price of RM8.90.

They make the Tiramisu according to real Italian recipe, i.e. by using Ladies finger biscuits, dipped into rich coffe and then covered with thick layers of mascarpone cheese and lastly decorated by generous amount of coffee powder and chocolate syrup. This is the real Tiramisu recipe and not some fake Tiramisu cake that is made of cream and cake that usually found in cake shops. I enjoyed having it and I felt like I could help myself for another piece. In fact, some people even claimed that it is better than the overrated Alexis Tiramisu that charge a bomb for its Tiramisu cake, but well, taste and preference is very subjective.

Overall, the dining experience here is pretty pleasant. I would like to visit here again next time to try their starters, pizza as well as the main courses before I give a conclusion about this place. The pasta did not really make a great impression on me but the Tiramisu did. I wouldn't mind to drop by after dinner to have a piece of Tiramisu with a cup of Cappuccino for dessert or supper. Perhaps I should also pay the Aman Puri branch a visit to compare the quality to see whether it is better or equal like some people claimed.

Update: Aman Puri branch visit
Their blog for menu: http://belpastoitalianrestaurant.blogspot.com/

Mini Food Blog

It has been awhile since I last updated this blog. Because most of the time I have been note taking and blogging using my phone instead and seldom online using PC.

Anyway, I have created a mini food blog through Evernote app and shared it with the public.

Everything is done and processed using my phone, give a hit at the side column or the link below!

https://www.evernote.com/pub/farscope/Minifoodblog

积极

积极，这个词，令我想起以前小学六年级时班主任交给我的两个字。
当年，老师印了一些词语，交给我们几个人，一人负责一个词。
我们的任务就是回家把它们上色，然后贴在班上的墙壁，作为勉励之用。

当年的我并不知道 “积极” 的含义，只知道是一些勉励词语。
回到家拿着那张印了 “积极” 两个字的白纸，问了妈妈 “积极是什么意识？”

妈妈含含糊糊的回答了，我也不清不楚的应了几声。
大概是说什么目标啊、努力啊、进取啊…就这样，手拿着颜色笔地把那个词给上色然后交给老师了。
“积极” 两个字，就这样贴在班里的墙壁上，直到我离开为止。

就这样一年一年的过去了，对于这两个字当然有更深的了解，也对我的人生有一定的影响。
很多时候，这 “积极” 的态度帮我度过了不少难关。
即使有时只有一个人，只要咬紧牙关，积极地面对，没有东西是做不了的。

然而这两个字，随着我开始工作后慢慢地消失了,我变得消极了。
每天日复一日的工作，也不知道自己在做什么，慢慢的失去自我，变得消极了。
对任何事也提不起劲，也不想去做。
有些东西明明很想去做，但是却找不到那股推动力，宁愿坐在那儿发呆，无所事事的过日子。

有时候东西开头了，却只有三分钟热度，就不了了之。
非常不喜欢这样的我。
当人长大了，责任大了，想得多了，顾虑也多了，自然的就会失去了年轻的魄力。
看着电视里的人能做他们想做的事，心里无比的羡慕，常问自己，人家可以，为何我不可？

现实往往就是如此，事与愿违。
我们看到的，都是那些能做到，有条件做到，还有有机会做到的人。
事实是很多人，想做也没办法做。
有人说，你要的人生就掌握在自己的手中，就看你敢不敢跨出第一步，积极地面对你理想的人生。

我能做到吗？我想，时时刻刻都想。
除非我能排除我所有的顾虑，不然梦想依然还是梦想。
我不能自私，我必须以大局为重。
看来，“积极” 还是留给找工吧……

Fast August

Updates slowed down a lot lately with only 4 entries last month. Been busying on other stuffs instead. August will be a very fast and happening month with many holidays around. Already been to a few places last weekend and might be posting about it if I have to time and idea to write about.

Just a blink of an eye and we are almost at the mid of August already and with the Raya holiday week around the corner and Merdeka Day following, August is definitely a fast month.