Pirates: on Strangers Tide: ahoy! lets go for adventure

I started as NOT a fan of Jack Sparrow. Yes, I may enjoy the first few movies, but not a fan still. So, when the 4th installment was out, it did not occur to me to watch it so early. Then again, as a twist of fate, I was able to get the ticket on the 2nd day, with 15 minutes to the show start, so why not?

Pirates of the Caribbeans: on Strangers Tide had the usual Johhny Depp as Jack Sparrow, but this time paired with Penelope Cruz. A lot of people scorned at that, but I dont care much as long as the movie works. The story was simple, Jack was looking for the fountain of youth. The Spaniards was looking for the fountain of youth. The British too. Throw in Captain Blackbeard who was also looking for the same thing. And there you have it, a great lump of adventure. Throw in some vicious mermaids and the game is afoot.

The chemistry was good between all the characters. Even between Penelope Cruz. Solid performance all over. The action was non stop, from the movie begins, until the end. The action sequence is played out more like a Jackie Chan movie. Funny moments in between action sequence rather than fights and stylish moves. There had been much genuine funny moments all around, although there are still moments I wish the film can do without.

Mind you, there are lots, lots of shortfall in the movies. That would probably why The Star give it a 3stars instead. I felt Jack Sparrow was given less emphasis, n probably rather stereotyped here. Maybe we got used to him being him after 3 movies. Dont get me wrong, there are lots of funny moment from Jack, and I cant imagine anyone else playing Sparrow than Johhny Depp, but I just expected more from him this round. They tried to introduce that Sparrow was in love with Angelica. NOT believable at all. Plus, it make Sparrow's character appeared weaker here. The love thingy between the mermaid and missionary was another cliche, not explored fully and rather forcefully done. There is also lots of holes not fully explained either (*spoiler alert*), like how Jack Sparrow got the map, how come there are flamable fluid on top of the fire house, how Angelica discover her relationship with Blackbeard.. so on...

Despite the shortfalls, comparison with the previous movies is inevitable. Verdict? it did lives up to expectation, in fact this movie is more straightforward, easier to understand. And I end up a fan of Jack Sparrow.

ratings: 4 poink!

comments: the mermaids here can beat the crap out of Edwards family from Twilight, they actually made him look sissy. And the best pirate story out there is One Piece!

Thor: good prelude, average movie

A short review here. After 2 attempts to watch Thor in 3D, we finally settle for the usual 2D. Anyway we had free vouchers.

Thor, as heavily promoted, is about the Norse God of Thunder from Marvel. As part of the prelude to Avengers, one can expect more to come later. And supposedly there are cameos of heroes here n there. (I can only spot Hawkeye).

Anyway, the story goes as Thor was the ignorant God, set to replace Odin was the king to Asgard. He was arrogant so nearly start a war between Frost Giant and Asgard. Odin was angry, banish him to earth (midgard) where finally he learn to be humble and worthy to wield Mjolnir. He regain his power in time to stop his half brother, the God of mischief, Loki and return to Asgard. Oh yeah, he got to kiss Natalie Portman as well.

Simple coming of age story. As a superhero movie, this only fares average. No bias view here as I dont really read Thor anyway. So many holes in the story. The romance between the leads was rather too fast paced. The conversion of Thor from someone arrogant to a humble hero was rather, hard to accept. The main problem is that there is no real climax to the whole story. One would expect HUGE battle worthy of the CGI. The destroyer battle with Thor was rather bland, cause it was just a huge robot with laser eyes. Cyclops can do better than that. The robot has NO character. The final battle with Loki was too mild for my taste. And to make Loki into someone less evil, that he was just a son looking for recognition from the father.

Still, if you take this as a prelude to Avengers, then, it would make more sense of greater thing to come. I would expect more to come in Captain America and Avengers. Then again, there will be Marvel 2nd outing for the summer, X-Men first class to look forward to.

ratings: 2 half poink!

comments: not actually bad, decent entertaining piece. Just that too mild, not enough fight, illogical character development pace.

[ closed ] Image Paradise: not exactly in heave...

My third entry for the week. As a celebration to our wedding anniversary, we decided to eat out. And being adventurous as much as I can, we decided to go around Greentown to visit anywhere we havent tried before.So in Greentown business centre, most of them are old shops which is good, which means they were able to maintain business. At the same time, there are a number of new shops replacing old one.

One of which is Image Paradise, which replace Olivenz, which in turn was in the old ? Repulse Bay ( I hope my memory was correct). Situated beside Ye Olde English, you just need to find the green sign board. There should be something terribly wrong with the fengsui of this shop, seeing so many change of owner in such a short few years. Then again, being a stubborn couple, we still decide to pay this shop a visit. Cant be worse than O Place rite?

First, the deco. Something homely with lots, lots of photo frame. Until they ran out of money and decide to draw photo frame instead on the wall. Rather inconsistent, but still, I like the homely feel. On the other side of the wall, are montages of famous celebrities, from western to eastern. I cant see the connection. But being a new restaurant, this is still clean.

Service was ok. Though the food came bit late. Forgivable. Not great problem. The menu is typical of any kopitiam. Fair share of western food with lots of oriental flavoured dishes. Leaning more towards western, I dont recall seeing any Thai, Jap or Korean influence. Which is good.

The food arrived finally. First, my teriyaki burger (Rm 7.90). Hmmm.. the chicken was well marinated. Though a bit small in portion compared to the ones we found in Davids or Vegas. The bread was really really thick. (refer photo) Initially it gave the illusion the burger was real big but in actual fact, it is just the top bread which was thick. The taste. Well, I am not expert in Teriyaki, but I definitely tasted better ones than here. Ninja Joe comes to mind. In the end, felt bit cheated with the burger. I should learn my lesson that if i wanted burger for dinner, I will visit Ramly. The saving grace was the fries, which was thick and not oily at all.

Wife's hot plate mushroom sauce chicken chop (RM 17.90) was bitter sweet experience as well. When the sizzling pan arrived, it really really looked good. Generous piece of meat, cauliflower, potatoes, with mushroom on top. The first bite revealed the problem. You see, it is not the taste that is not good. Inappropriateness is the question. The plate looks very western. The taste tasted like really really oriental, taste like something my mum would cooked at home. Really Chiniese taste. In fact, this is the most Chinese Western dish ever. Tasted like it was cooked with oyster sauce. Once forgotten that this is a western dish, the chicken actually tasted not bad. However, the price was really high.

Overall, the price is high, not that we mind, but at least, we expect more for that kind of price. What more, they charge 5% service charge, which was not superb anyway.

ratings: 2 poink! (factor in the price)

comments: it is not really bad, however, for that kind of price and menu, there are way more choices around.

36 stalls: memories of Hainan chop rice

Continuing down the memory lane, I could still recall the good old days when dad used to bring me to the old Hainan style coffee shop where they made their own bread, steamed bread, and own coffee. When they were overtaken by the new generation of restaurant, coffee shop and kopitiam, it is very difficult to find their brand of food. True enough, you can still find steam bread in the chains of kopitiam but their own style of chicken/ pork chop or fried noodle is difficult to find.

In 36 stalls of Kampar, there is at least one- stall no 10. In Kampar old town, near the police station, beside Gold Wing coffee shop, near the end there is this stall manned by a middle age chinese chap. He manage to cook some decent Hainanese delicacy.

I never tried the friend noodle though, but everytime I come here, the pork/ chicken chop is a must to order. Though a bit expensive comparing to others, it costs bout RM 4 for a chicken/ pork chop rice. Of course you can argue that for Rm 5 you can order the newer version of chop rice where the meat is marinated the same for whatever sauce you order, and the usual run of the mill creamy, thai, mushroom, or mayo sauce. Then again, this is different so cant compare. The meat is usually devoid of fat, cut into slices. Dip into egg and deep friend, ended up with sweet sour sauce with a few green beans on top. That is a Hainanese style porkchop rice.

Of course, comparing with the olden days are rather unfair, but to give credit, the taste is rather similar. Then again, this type of chops are rare, I think so far, there is only one other place in Ipoh I manage to find, but not so in Kampar. Probably come try it for the nostalgic flavour.

ratings: 3 poink!

comments: again, it brings back old memories, so I can be bias here. .....

36 stalls: memories of Indian fried beehoon

This was a lucky week, I had chance to go out and have breakfast here in Kampar, which is something I hardly do for the past few years. All the morning I spent at home is basically sleeping. So, consider this a good morning, I manage to catch up with a few friends in the local stalls.

To most Kamparians, we would know where when we mention 36 stalls. One of the earlier attempts to centralize the food stalls, this is probably the 2nd largest collection of food stalls beside the one near wet market. Situated in Kampar old town, near the police station and the old Rex cinema, the stalls are just beside Gold Wing coffee shop. Of course, there are 36 stalls here, most of them were operating before the shift eons ago.

The reason I specifically want to come here is for this. Stall no.6. I dont think there is a name to it, but among the Chinese dominated stalls, you would find this young cheerful Indian chap manning the stalls. Best thing is, the chap never stop smiling at me. Other stalls may have few food for you to choose from, this stall only have one. Fried beehoon, Indian style. I had been eating from this chap since my younger days, this is at least the 2nd generation. They used to sell in the ice kacang shop of Fong Man Kee.

Of course, you cant compare the taste of the olden days with now. It was really really out of this world when I first ate during my young days. Probably throughout the years, the recipe had sort of tone down, the taste definitely was not as good as when the father was cooking.

But, it is still good. The fried beehoon basically is a bit on the spicy side, but still far from hot. The main difference is that the beehoon is rather wet, which usually I would not like in the first place. However, it just blended in rather well here. The wet style of frying beehoon, the spices and even a bit taste of overburnt (hangit) which blended in nicely. Eat it with a piece of chicken cooked with the similar recipe, and it is nice breakfast. The chicken is still far from those of rendang style, but eaten with the beehoon, it is a nice companion. (Rm 3.00)

Then again, eating from here brings back good old memories, and the fried beehoon here was rather special, difficult to find elsewhere.

ratings: 3 half poink!

comments: not everyones cup of tea, but rather unique in its way.

San Chong Seng: out of this world satay

I had noticed that I seldom wrote review on my hometown Kampar. Probably we seldom eat now nowadays, and even when we did, we only frequent a few joints we were used to. And we put diversity over taste, so as long as the choice of food is a lot, even though it tasted just ok, we dun mind putting up with it. Practicality, not something I am proud of, as a food lover. Another thing that I seldom reviewed is bout stall food. Why, most of them are so medicore, I cant find anything nice (or nasty) to say bout them. However, once in a while, there are exception.

In the old town of Kampar, just behind the old bus station, the same side road as the post office, at the corner, you would find San Chong Seng coffee shop. From the outside, it is a normal coffee shop, with a few stalls, around 6-8 stalls functioning, ranging from clay pot dish, fried noodles (dai chow), chakuetiao, HK chucheongfun, wantan mee, curry mee, and some stalls I had not seen them open before. Operating in morning and also night, this is a frequent joint for the elder generation, especially on weekends for certain reason. The food here is average to the most, but there is one stall which stands above the rest.

Did not see whether there was a name to it, but the satay here is simply awesome. Simple menu, it is either chicken or beef satay, cost RM0.40 per sticks. The stall is run by a modest middle age Malay couple, who are rather friendly. Opening from 6pm, they sell until the satay is sold out, which is rather unpredictable at times. The satay, given the price, is definitely not as big as the satay kajang, but the normal satay you would find in most satay stalls. However, the meat is so juicy, not as dried as the one we tried in Serai. In comparison, those in Serai felt like the satay was harvest from Ethiopia, although the size was bigger. It was marinated so well, that the taste was equally good in every bite. The satay was cooked just nice, with minimal charred, and the meat did not stick to the stick. Even by looking at it, you would know this is definitely a A class satay. The only drawback was the sauce. Although it is filled with nut, I preferred mine hotter. The satay is served with cucumber, minus the onion, which is fine with me, cause I dont eat raw onion anyway.

Overall, this had been one of the best satay experience we ever had, second only to the ones in Cameron Highlands, Brinchang. The taste is rather consistent, making this our staple food whenever we visit this coffee shop.

ratings: 4 half poink!

comments: the sauce not enough, and not hot enough. Put those Satay Kajang wannabe to shame.

O Place: sometimes,more is less

Very rarely we've been to the same place within 2 weeks. Came here with a friend during lunch hour break, and came here again during one dinner with family. Just because parking is ample, no need to break your head to find parking.

O Place is situated in Greentown business centre, in one of the old bungalow near to where MP is. It is directly opposite where Laksamana Chenho is, the same row as Mikes place and Vanggey rice, though further down the road.

Deco was really nice. I would just come for the environment. Though converted from a bungalow, it retained the feel of an old house, the partition, the old gates, the staircase.... it felt like a boutique restaurant. The theme of the deco was similar to Secret Recipe though, all red and white.

This had brought the fusion cafe to a new height. Usually, fusion cafe would be the usual chops, steak plus local oriental dish. Sometimes, you would find japanese udon, rarely bentos. But here, in addition to that, it had extra some of the tong-sui such as toufufa, glutinous rice ball plus bibimbap. Yes, it is BIBIMBAP. Korean stone bowl rice, or as my wife usually put it, appeared like dog rice. Heck, as long as it is tasty, I dun care what you call it. I was so impressed at the selection, that I ordered it in both occasion I've been here.

Alas, the food came. My first bibimbap was a normal one in the set lunch. It tasted fine, the taste was not as heavy as the ones I had in Yaewon. More acceptable. Just felt like normal rice with bit of vege and sauce. So, I told myself to order some other selection the next time I come. So, the next round, I ordered Thai sauce bibimbap (Rm10.90). The taste was slightly sour, which would expected from Thai taste. But beside that, so many things were wrong. There were addition of raisin (what was raisin doing in a Thai dish?) and so much of pineapple (I am not a pineapple person, and I dun expect to see so much in any Thai dish). In the end, the taste was neither here nor there. Definitely not my cup of tea. Wife ordered asam laksa (RM7.90). She was so upset with it, I had to finish the half of the bowl. It was too thick in the taste, too hot (not spicy, but hot), HOWEVER, the important ingredient of "hago" or prawn paste was missing (or at least we didnt taste any). The noodle was one of the worst we ever tasted, the consistency was like glue. At least mum in law's dish of thai sauce chicken rice (RM7.90) was salvageable. I thought it was nicely done, though the chicken was not well marinated. However, mum also complain the taste was too heavy that by the 3/4 of the dish, she felt it was too much for her. Then came the sesame rice ball (glutinous rice ball) (RM4.90), finally something sweet. The rice ball was

obviously from some packet. The soup was the killer. We understand that it was suppose to be ginger tea, we would expect something like the normal taufufa type. But the ginger was so strong that it felt like something cooked for a new born mother.

In the end? It was rather disappointing dinner, then again, the selection was really wide and the deco is good, I wont be surprise to come back again. Just for the parking space. And the price was rather reasonable for a place like this. Then again, the food was not really great to begin with.

ratings: 2 poink! (wife insist to give one only)

comments: do not order street food from kopitiam place. they usually never do it well. but, some, have the ability to ruin it. I guess, the bibimbap and the bento was the saving grace, as you wont find it in most kopitiam or fusion joint.

O Place

104A, Jalan Sultan Abdul Jalil, Greentown, 30450, Ipoh.