Star Wars: the Force Awakens: a New Hope

After episode 1-3, Star Wars series seriously lost all its steam and momentum that A New Hope, Empire Strike Back, Return of Jedi had set earlier. The Force Awakens kind of set a new hope to continuing the series.


Believe me, after Lucas poor outing with the prequel and Disney buying over Star Wars franchise, I have my doubts over episode 7. However, seeing what JJ Abrams did to Star Trek (plus having Lost in his CV), and the bombardment of write ups before the movie screening, again I see a glimmer of hope.



The Force Awakens follows the adventure of Rey and Finn, a scavenger and former storm trooper respectively. How they fit into the story of Hans, Luke, Leia will be slowly revealed in the movie. Without much spoiler, the whole movie is written to retain the feel of episode 4. The opening in a dessert planet, a deep secret stashed away in a droid, young chap trying hard to accept his (or her in this case) destiny to control the force, the death star (except in this movie, its a death planet), plenty of X-Wing vs TIE fighter and a glimpse of Star Wars world of weird creature. It is like watching A New Hope all over again. The casting is good, both the new character is rather likable, seeing Hans and Leia again reminded me of the good old days. Introduction to a new droid BB-8 seems like a Disney-like decision, to introduce a small cute character. Smart move, considering they can do many marketing merchandise on it.

So, with all the new technology and bigger budget does this movie make the franchise proud? Still too early to say. Like a New Hope, if watched as a stand alone movie, did not make much impact, but it set the stage ready for Empire Strike Back (which is my fav) and finale in Return of Jedi. As a part of the original trilogy, it is great. Force Awaken served as a bridge to a new story arc and to introduce some new character. As a stand alone movie, it is just average at most. But it could be part of a great new trilogy. The other thing this movie lacks is a legendary villain. Darth Vader did it almost instantaneously when he appeared in the Death Star. Kyro Ren here, as require by the story line, still has much more to be develop into the new Vader.


Many reviewers gave this movie such a high review that it actually raised my expectation. Not a good thing to do before going into the cinema hall. It is definitely a good movie, but we shall see whether it set the stage for a legendary story arc.

ratings: 3 half poink~!
comments: if you love episode 4, this will entertain you exactly the same.

Yut Kee: memories of Hainan delicacies

Everytime I heard Hainan pork/ chicken chop, I would remember how my dad used to take me to this old corner Chinese coffee shop in Kampar which made one of the best fried meehoon and Hainan chops. Therefore when my friend wanted to bring me to try Hainanese food in KL, I was simply ecstatic.


I do not know how to describe the roads in KL, so I have to apologize not able to direct anyone to Yut Kee. Just google the place and I am sure Google map would provide adequate directions. My friend was describing that this place used to operate in another building and have much history. During the Saturday lunch, the place is packed full of people, that we basically have to leave our names and wait outside. Good signs, I think, since everyone is willing to wait.

Although there is so many people, their system is working well. There will be staff directing us to our seats, another to take our orders, and the orders came very fast, considering the amount of patrons they need to serve. First for us to try is the Hainanese chicken chop (RM9.50). The meat is tender, the gravy is tasty, but I felt it is rather oily. I understand that the meat need to be deep fried with batter but I had tasted less oily elsewhere. My friend recommended roti babi (RM9), which is a must for pork lover. The meat is seasoned well, and with the bread, it felt like pork sandwich with special patty. Nice and filling. The price, is very reasonable given that we are eating in KL. It would not burn a hole in my pocket at all.


I was unable to try the other dish, but I am sure there are reasons why this place is so popular. I would love to try the chops again, but I hope they would reduce the oil.

ratings: 3 poink~!
comments: prepare to wait, but the food did not disappoint.

Yut Kee Restaurant
1, Jalan Kamunting, Kuala Lumpur.

Penang Road Delicacies: Good sample of Penang Offerings

I was cleaning my handphone when I stumbled upon some of the photos I took of Penang outing in the mid of the year. I was meant to write on it, but somehow it escape my mind, until now. Though in my last trip there I manage to go around Georgetown to taste the offering there, it was in Penang Road when Colleen and I really have the time to savor the famous Penang delicacies.



I havent been to Penang for such a long time, but I could still remember the nice food there. Gone are the days where one need to travel to certain places for certain dish, the whole state is filled with eateries, stalls, restaurant that it is impossible to try everything. The first thing we tried is sit in Joo Hoi cafe and try some of Penang famous laksa there. To be fair, it is very aromatic with fish taste. The prawn paste certainly elevated the bowl of noodles to another level. However, this did not differ much from any good laksa in other place. I could recall I used to like the laksa in Air Itam; I was wondering would the laksa there would be better. The fried kueitiao, similar to the laksa, is nice, but did not stand out from the pack of good, nice charkueitiao. I guess this is the problem of globalization, we can find similar nice dish in other places. The Teochew cendol outside boast of a long queue. Yup, it is nice, the gula melaka is simply delicious. But, somehow I still prefer Donald & Lily's version in Melaka. We continue to wander around Lebuh Keng Kwee to Jalan Kuala Kangsar. Coincidentally we chanced upon a chucheongfun stall there in one of the corner shop (very sorry, forgot the name of the shop), the boss is so fluent in Cantonese that he actually impress me just by chatting. Surprisingly the chucheongfun is very very nice; with the mixed gravy,it  is the best dish we sample in Penang in that few days. I would love to try it again the next time we visit Penang.

I know many will beg to differ to say the food here is impressive. I do agree that it is good, just that I expected more. I also believe Penang has lots of more good food to offer, just that I need to try more in other place.

ratings: 3 poink~!
comments: go for the chucheongfun, Penang style, as it is not easy to find elsewhere and would not disappoint.

Food N Desire: innovative, but yet to impress

Many new eateries have been mushrooming around Medan Ipoh Bistari. Instead of the alcohol drinking sceneries in Ipoh Garden East, the nearby places are full of fine dining, western, Japanese or even Korean delicacies. Do not forget that Ipoh's best pizza is still in this area. Driving around the area always introduce new shops which I have not visited yet, so the other weekend, we decided to try this western offering, Food N Desire.

Located near Tesco Ipoh Garden, in Medan Ipoh Bistari, it is located in the same row as TWT, behind 7-11 convenient mart. Just try driving around and one would not miss the modern signboard. Being a new player, the place is not as packed as other shops. I would prefer it this way as I like peace and quiet with my dinner at times. It seems to be run by a family as the senior member invited us to our table. Service is attentive, and I simply love the simplistic and minimalist decoration. Nothing fancy but the design of the counter is simply ingenious for this kind of restaurant.

The menu is basically western offering, concentrating on burger (both pork and chicken) and sandwiches with some pasta and finger food choices. The burgers are innovative with fresh names such as Naked burger (nope, you do not need to take off your clothes to have that one). I chose the grillicious swiss mushroom pork burger (RM23.90). The self made pork patty felt slightly different with eastern tinge. Although I like the taste, the consistency of the patty felt bit of a letdown. It lack the patty consistency and felt more like chinese mince pork instead. However, adding in the mushroom and the dish is rather satisfying. The portobello grilled cheese sandwich (RM16.90), on the other hand, may appear simple enough to do at home, but actually tasted very good. The bacon, mushroom blended well, and did it job of satisfying my hunger. Expect to spend approximately RM20/ per dish/person here which is a norm for these type of eateries.

Overall, the dining experience is quite good. I have to hand it over to the chef, the food is very innovative, but have yet to impress me. Do not mistaken me, it is good, I will come back again, but just there are lots of stiff competition, especially in the same area.

ratings: 3 poink~!
comments: good for new dish, especially burgers, sandwiches and quiet comfortable dinner.

Food & Desire
18, Jalan Medan Ipoh 10
Medan Ipoh Bistari
012-5025540
open 1100-1530, 1900-2100
https://www.facebook.com/Foodndesire/

Sekinchan: tourism done right

It was a month back when Colleen and I was invited to join our colleagues in a short trip in our bid to support cuti-cuti Malaysia. It was really a long while since I visited Sekinchan, and given so many good review of the place, I was looking forward to the revisit.




Sekinchan is located along the coastal road, in Sabak Bernam district in Selangor. We started off from Kampar, so we took the coastal road from Teluk Intan instead of taking the north south highway. The road may be bumpy, but one would see a lot of small town and palm oil estate along the way. We spent our night in A+ boutique hotel, it it deserve the grade. The room is nice, though not the cheapest. Although it is not within walking distance to the paddy field or the beach, it make up with lots of memorabilia and mural art with a roof top to hang out in. The free flow drinks in the lobby (albeit diluted) is the icing on the cake.

Now, 2 days 1 night, where shall we begin. Everyone who comes to Sekinchan would not miss the paddy field. It is the sole reason to visit this coastal town. The paddy field is accessible, even to cars. Picturesque, and if visited on the right timing, it would be all golden view. However, we were bit early, so it was still a vast green field. There is also a paddy factory, some mango orchard so the visit here would not be just for snapping selfies.

Next important to do, is the beach. It is a short but clean beach. In the afternoon, the fishing boat will return the town, near to the beach. Expect lots of stall, and a big tree filled with prayers ribbons. Again, it was developed nicely to suit visitors.

In the next morning, we went around again the town, looking for famous wall mural art. Do not expect the same as Penang/ Ipoh, the alley is rather small and unkempt. The art is average but maintenance was poor.

Things that we missed: we wanted to go to Kuala Selangor for the fireflies but it was raining heavily. Due to unsuitable timing, we did not manage to see the fisherman unload their catch of the day and distribute it. That would be a nice scene to photograph.

Food, what about the food: for a place famous for fresh seafood, it was rather disappointing. Maybe it is our luck. Our first lunch in town near the beach was good. The food was fresh, the shark even tasted good. Subsequent meals, however, were not as good. Our dinner away from Sekinchan, on the way to Kuala Selangor before turning back due to the rain, was expensive with tiny portion. Our breakfast with seafood bakuteh is equally disappointing. I can live with the no-add soup idea, but it is just normal bakuteh which still pale compare to Klang (or even Banting, which is not that far away). Finally we decided to eat normal hawker stall food for our last lunch. And surprise, surprise. They were good and reasonably priced. My advice, just limit the seafood meal to selected few restaurant, and eat in local stalls for majority of the meals. You might discover a gem.

We ended our trip with dry seafood shopping. The salted fish and dried la-la I bought was good and not every expensive. Come to think about it, Sekinchan really does not have much to do expect the paddy field and a small beach. However, even with small tourist attractions, it were manage well. Places were clean, attractions promoted well. In the end, even in a small town without much to do, we still manage to find the 2 days trip relaxing and nice.

ratings: 3 poink~!
comments: good for a day trip, for a more relaxing stop, opt for a night near the paddy field or town.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2: suited ending to the saga

It had been quite a long while since I last updated the blog. Yup, I am still alive, but caught up in work. So, it is a rather relief to get away to catch some good movies at the end of the year. Though Colleen had gave me the ultimate spoiler by telling how Hunger Games would end (she finished the books years ago before they were made into movies), we would still watch it for completion sake.

MockingJay Part 2 picks up where the first part end. It actually took me a while before I could recall how Part 1 ended. It is not an easy task especially I found the first part rather forgettable. And since there are no flashback, one must watched the previous movies in order to appreciate things happening in this round. Just to recap, President Snow and his twisted government created the Hunger Games to keep all the dystopian district in control. Basically representatives from each district battle it out in a trap laid map until only one survived. Peeta and Katniss won it in a special way that irked the government. One thing lead to another, both of them joined the rebellion against Snow. The final part deals with the last assault to overthrow the government.

Apparently the story and script stuck rather close to the book. Acting was good, after all these years, all the cast seems to ease into their role naturally. The story, indeed, deserve credit as it deals with dystopian world nicely, showing that corruption exist in all form. The twist in the end, is rather nice, all though still predictable. That is the problem with the film. It tried to be too heavy, dealing with heavy issues. Politics. Corruptions. Dystopian future. Betrayal. Identity. Revenge. So much so that it loses bit of the young adult theme it is suppose to be. The action is up to par, but just at only certain part of the show. In the end, it is still a befitted ending to the saga, but I would prefer Mazerunner formula for entertainment value, mindless, but fun to watch.


ratings: 3 poink~!
comments: having finish 2 series of Battle Royale manga, I still think Hunger Games borrowed heavily from the Japanese series.