A Peek Into Hai Peng Kuantan's Life

Date: 25 July 2009, Saturday
Venue: Hai Peng Kopitiam, Kuantan
Occasion: Brunch & meet up with David, Hai Peng Kuantan's owner
Halal: Yes

I was actually very excited to meet up with David :) Though I felt a 'lil shy (yes, I do feel shy at times) to meet up with the owner of a kopitiam without any formal invitation, I went on with the plan to just drop by for a simple meal & a catch-up.

Aaron & I took our brunch at Hai Peng Kuantan before heading to Pekan. I had to have the laksa cos I just missed it! The noodles aren't the usual yellow noodles used in curry laksa, nor is it the common 'lai fun' used in asam laksa. I really feel that the noodles used is actually spaghetti! Yums! Furthermore, the laksa is the Siamese style laksa - slightly thick, fragrant, & has fish bits :D It's not the best, but it's good for me :) Aaron prefers curry laksa over all types of laksa; me prefer Siamese laksa! *woot!*

Iced coffee

David actually contacted me through email, seeking permission to use one of my photos of a soft boiled egg taken at his place. It was a pleasant surprise indeed that someone would actually contact me for such a thing :) *delighted* In a way, I was also wondering how David would be & whether it will be awkward for me to actually chat with the owner of a kopitiam; I've never done so before. To my delight, David is a very nice to chat person! :D

Throughout the entire conversation with David, which lasted at least 1.5 hours, I was told that the one aim of Hai Peng Kuantan was not to provide the best food or drinks to their patrons, but to provide a "homey" place for family & friends to gather over a cup of coffee, a slice of toast, or just a bowl of laksa for that matter. Interesting.

Although this is an income-generating business, David doesn't put that as his priority. All he is interested in are the lives that walk into his kopitiam (he knows almost all his regular customers & have sat down for chit-chat with them)! If you ever get a chance to meet & talk to him personally, you'll find out how friendly he is :)

David & the PerutBesi

When I asked him to recommend his best-sellers or just what's the one famous food item that's offered in Hai Peng Kuantan, he couldn't narrow it down to just one item. He explained that people actually drop by at Hai Peng for various reasons - some love the wholemeal home-made toast with home-cooked kaya & butter (he can confidently claim that he's the 1st to introduce wholemeal toast at a kopitiam in Kuantan), others go all the way to his kopitiam just for the nasi lemak/laksa, while others drop by everyday for a glass of iced coffee to cool them down on a hot day. Whatever reasons people have to drop by at Hai Peng, it's certainly for something that paints a smile over their faces :)

It was almost an instant bond among David, Aaron, & myself! :D We talked from life in general to cars, football, school days (Aaron & David were from the same school), to perspective in life & human character. Very interesting to sit down, listen, & talk when I could....hahaha...when it comes to things like cars & football, I'll let the gentlemen do the talking & bonding ;)


Hai Peng Kopitiam
Jln Haji Abdul Aziz
25000 Kuantan
Pahang Darul Makmur.


Ah, what a lovely Saturday :) Thank you SO much for the lovely meal & chat, David!

After that makan & chat, Aaron & I left for Pekan to visit his workplace/site, which is also my new uni ground! :D Wheeee.......we're pretty tired after traveling here there for half the day... there was family gathering/Aaron's birthday dinner at night, so we headed back to rest & enjoy the dinner (chef Eugene cooked up a yummilicious meal!)... me enjoyed the Saturday! :D


Here are some photos to share:

At UMP, Pekan's grounds

The Lecture Hall (Dewan Kuliah)
So nice lor! Our old lecture halls are classroom style!

One of the 2 faculties there
Just check out the lovely sky above!!! *day dreams*

Electric & Electronic Engineering Faculty

Mechanical Engineering Faculty

Students' Temporary Canteen

Construction Workers' Toilet

Flags! State flag, Country flag, & Uni flag :D

The uni area
The total area of the university is actually REALLY large...as what Aaron have said to me before, "you can't even see the other end of the uni from one end"

The construction workers' temporary squatters

At the dinner:

Garden Salad

Orange Salad Dressing
VERY interesting & makes the salad very 'zesty'

Sausages & aunty Angie's shepherd pie
*drools*

Mushroom Pasta

The people

- Ruth

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Belly Good, Dataran Mentari, Sunway

Date: 10 July 2009 (yet another overdue post!*wergh*)
Venue: Belly Good Restaurant, Dataran Mentari, Bandar Sunway
Occasion: Dinner with STheng & Kenneth
Overall comment: Nice ambiance & pretty delicious pork dishes. The pork belly that I had was lovely!
Halal: No

It was a rare occasion where I could just meet up with Kenneth for a meal. It has been AGES since I last met him! Nice :) Theng & I decided on this place as it was better than having the usual steamboat buffets. Pork is good! *drools*

I've heard 'bout this place from another blogger some time time ago (can't remember who! I think it's Bangsar-babe), so I thought it'll be worth a try to really find out how it tastes. Not too bad, really :) I'm quite satisfied with it. It's certainly not the best, but for the price you pay & the portion you get, plus the taste of the food served, it's all worth the eat ;) Do try it out one day!

Display of porkilicious sausages & other pork dishes

Iced Coffee with Vanilla Ice Cream (RM9.50/glass)

Baked Portobello Mushrooms with Bacon & Cheese (RM12.50/serving)
- Imported mushrooms with melted cheese & chopped bacon -
Quite delicious as the mushrooms were fragrant & juicy as well. The bacon made the mushroom very flavorful, while the cheese gave a sense of satisfaction to the gastronomic experience.

Sausage Platter (RM26.90/serving)
- Three types of sausages: pork chorizo, pork oriental, & spicy Hungarian, served with fries & Thai chili sauce -
Never underestimate these sausages. It's very filling! I like the way the sausages were nicely cooked - it's crispy on the outside, tender on the inside :) *yums*

Mixed Platter (RM23.90/serving)
- Grilled pork belly & pork ribs bathed in the House Special Rib/Belly Sauce, accompanied by mash & coleslaw -
The meat was tender & juicy - just nice; not overdone :) The sauce is kinda interesting...it's sweet & slightly savory, and it felt as if there's some fruit base for the sauce. This is one sauce where I just can't decipher what are the possible ingredients! Oh yes, the mash was really delicious too....*lip smacking*

Ratings:
Presentation: * * * *
Price: * * *
Environment: * * * 1/2
Taste: * * * 1/2
Service: * * * 1/2


Overall:

- Ruth

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Summer Soiree by Haagan Dazs

*finally some time to update this post! I've uploaded the pics that I took with the comments!!- 27 July 2009*

*****
Date: 16 July 2009, Thursday
Venue: Concourse, Ground Floor, Bangsar Village II
Time: 7:30p.m. (but started only around 8:00p.m.)
Dress Code: Summer Colors
Occasion: Celebration of food & fashion with Haagan Dazs' new flavor, Apricot & Cream

A group of us food bloggers were invited to this special event by Haagan Dazs. Thanks to Bangsar-Babe who forwarded the invitation to me (and I guess some of the others as well), we got to attend this event :) Special thanks also to Regina Robin, PR Consultant from Pat-Lin Communications Sdn Bhd, for the invitation.

I haven't had the time to sort out all the photos taken at the event (those from my camera), so I'm just gonna share with all of you a preview of what happened at the event through photos curteosy of Jek Tan/Frat Mustard.

(written on 22 July 2009)

Here's what we're treated to:

The newly introduced "Apricot & Cream" ice-cream
Nice, firm, not too sweet, a lil zesty, creamy & has apricot bits kinda refreshing dessert that will cool you down on a hot day ;)

Eager Frat

Frat was too eager to dunk into the delicious & lucious ice cream...

Some savory finger food

Some sweet finger food

Fashion show - Apricot & Cream Collection

15 summer dresses/apparels desgined by 3 young designers were showcased on that night. Here are 2 photos of the models/dresses...we didn't get the front seats as they were all reserved for the media...

More photos taken by Ruth!

Celebrity shot ;)
I managed to get Elaine to take a pic with me...darn, I feel like a rice bucket when I stand next to her...round round wan :(

On the overall, the event was successful. Everyone was quite satisfied with the ice cream served & we even had small bites of finger food served...but foodies like us won't get full with those :P After spending half an hour eating that ONE scoop of ice cream and less than 4 finger food items, I joined the rest of the gang for 'dinner' at Alexis...the fellowship/catch-up that I had with Christopher C, who came as my partner for the event & the dinner sessions with Jek, Rach, BabeKL, & Captain Hook was lovely :)


Dinner at Alexis, Bangsar

Seafood Spaghetti
Quite an interesting packaging...they wrapped it up like some 'ta-pau-ed' noodles & cut the pack open for a delicious, steaming-hot pasta meal! :) Taste was ok la...not excellent :)

Tiramisu with Strawberry Sauce
I thought it was a lil dry...taste wise was alright...I still miss the Berry Meringue that I had last time! *drools*

I'm looking forward to more food events!!! Bring more excitement to my life! *woohoo!!*


- Ruth

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Restoran Sheng Kee Fish Head Noodles

I dislike it when I don't really have much time to get my blog posts done...quite a number of blog posts waiting to be written & published! *sigh* Anyways, here's a post that I owe my colleagues...my colleagues were asking me 'bout it d...sorry, sorry...

*****
Date: 9 July 2009, Thursday
Venue: Restoran Sheng Kee, Taman Equine, Seri Kembangan
Occasion: Lunch with colleagues
Overall comment: Large portions which made it worth paying & eating, but the taste wasn't all that excellent :)
Halal: No

The restaurant

Deep-Fried "Nam Yue" Pork (can't recall the price!)
Really gooooood....crispy on the outside, tender & juicy on the inside!!! *chants:"I want more! I want more!"*

"Sek Pan" Fish Head Mee Hoon (RM22.00/medium) - could feed 3-4 persons
The soup was okay...a lil too salty though...too much salted veggie. Fish wasn't VERY fresh though...a bit 'seng'/'fishy smell'...overall it's alright, large serving & keeps you full, but not very tasty.

That's how large the medium serving is when compared to the cup...hahaha...

"Soong Yue" Fish Head Noodles (around RM17.00/medium)

Cheaper fish, but has more bones.

Fried Dry-Style Hor Fun (RM5.00/serving)
Erm...tastes alright. Nothing to shout about.

Map to Sheng Kee

View PerutBesi in a larger map

Restaurant Sheng Kee
9, Jalan Equine 9
Taman Equine
43300 Seri Kembangan
Selangor Darul Ehsan.
Tel: (+603)8942 9006
H/p: (+016) 206 5633


Ratings:
Presentation: * * *
Price: * *
Environment: * * *
Taste: * *
Service: * * 1/2

Overall

- Ruth

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