After an eventful day, I was expecting Chee Kiong & Yan’s wedding dinner to be a quieter affair. How wrong was I! The night was filled with even more colourful events such as live band music and numerous performances that kept the guests entertained. The groomsmen also gave a surprise performance by singing a song together on the stage. On this note, I would like to wish this lovely couple, my heartiest congratulations and many happy journeys ahead. Here are some of the pictures taken…
Two of my articles written about Fei Fei Crab and Big Bowl Cafe were featured in FOOD Magazine September 2011 edition. You can read it online at http://issuu.com/foodmsia/docs/foodmag03
It was truly an exciting day at Segamat last week when Chee Kiong and Yan finally tied the knot. The fun started when the groomsmen accompanies the groom to the bride’s ‘house’ and were tested by the bridesmaids on a series of challenges before the groom can meet the bride. There were certainly a lot of funny moments when the groomsmen had to play some games oganised by the the bridesmaids. I was surprised that their family members were so sporting and cheered along the way. Overall, it was really an exciting day for them and I am glad that I was their wedding photographer to witness this momentous day.
The Star Metro
Thursday September 8, 2011
THE WINNERS of the inaugural Selangorlicious! Foodster Blogging Competition went home with a smile as their entries won them cash and other prizes.
Hari Raya is sweeter this year for full-time blogger Eddie Azman Samsuddin, 42, who goes by the identity ‘Cakap Niaga’ as he was crowned the Foodster of Selangor. The first prize winning entry Ayam Kampung Goreng dan Gulai was mouth-wateringly descriptive.
“Honestly, the winning blog entry wasn’t my effort alone. Cakap Niaga is a team effort and I’ve won this with my co-partner, Otai with the help of a few others,” said Eddie.
When asked, the blogger admitted that they never expected to win, much less winning the first prize.
“The winnings will be shared with my partner and I intend to buy a good camera to replace my old but trusty RM100 camera,” he said with happy laugh. Cakap Niaga takes home RM5,000 in cash and two holiday packages at the Sepang Gold Coast Resort and Hotel Grand Dorsett Subang.
The tantalising food images taken by Nigel Low won him the prize for best photography.
The corporate trainer indulged in his passion for photography for about five years now with 70% of the subject matter focused on food.
“I love food. My friends know I go out to find the best food out there and they also want to know where I go. So I write and put up the photographs in my personal blog,” he said.
Low, who owns one camera with three lenses, won RM1,000 and a digital SLR camera.
Other food on the Selangor menu that made the cut included Pantai Seafood, Mee Udang Nakhoda and Nasi Ambeng.
“Food plays a significant role in our lives, especially us Malaysians. Naturally, we engage bloggers to ‘hunt’ for great eateries and help to spread the word around in a relatively short period of time,” said Tourism Selangor general manager Noorul Ashikin Md Din.
Noorul added that the Selangorlicious portal will be a source of valuable information to local and foreign tourists on the best eating places in Selangor and the competition was the perfect platform to promote Selangor’s identity as a food haven.
The competition, which ran throughout May 2011, was mooted by Tourism Selangor and Storm Studio in an effort to identify the best makan places in the state. It was also a great way to get visitors to check out the delectable food places and generally, get to know Selangor better.
The Selangorlicious! Campaign did not end with the prize giving ceremony. A host of activities have been planned until June 2012, which is designated as the official food month for Selangor.
The public can participate in the planned weekly and monthly mini contests that will run soon. In fact, a Mandarin Foodster Blogging Competition will be announced this month. There will also be regular food trips for bloggers to try out new eateries all over Selangor.
Entries will be compiled into a quarterly newsletter and the best ones will be added into an annual directory.
Both the newsletter and annual directory will be distributed in the Klang Valley, Selangor, Penang and at Tourism Selangor foreign missions.
Restaurants, malls, stalls and eateries in Selangor are encouraged to send their promotion items to be disseminated via the Selangorlicious! portal as well as in the Tourism Selangor and Selangor Shines websites, Facebook fan pages and Twitter.
Original article: Link
By KomunitiKini on 29 Aug, 2011
Winners of the inaugural Selangorlicious! Foodster Blogging Competition went home with a smile as their entries won them cash and other prizes.
Hari Raya is sweeter this year for full time blogger Eddie Azman Samsuddin, 42, who goes by the identity ‘Cakap Niaga’ as he was crowned the ‘Foodster of Selangor’. The first prize winning entry ‘Ayam Kampung Goreng dan Gulai’ was mouth-wateringly descriptive.
Top winners (from left) – Hungry Female, Eddie, Rahman Zawawi and Nigel Low
“Honestly, the winning blog entry isn’t my effort alone. Cakap Niaga is a team effort and I’ve won this with my co-partner, Otai with the help of a few others,” said Eddie.
When asked, the blogger admitted that they never expected to win, much less winning the first prize. “The winnings will be shared with my partner and I intend to buy a good camera to replace my old and trusty RM100 camera,” said Eddie with a happy laugh. Cakap Niaga takes home RM5,000 in cash and two holiday packages at the Sepang Gold Coast Resort and Hotel Grand Dorsett Subang.
(From left) Winners of the Selangorlicious! Foodster Blogging competition — Hungry Female, Eddie, Rahman Zawawi and Nigel Low.
SUBANG JAYA:Winners of the inaugural Selangorlicious! Foodster Blogging competition went home with cash and other prizes recently.
Full-time blogger Eddie Azman Samsuddin, 42, who goes by the moniker Cakap Niaga was crowned the “Foodster of Selangor” with his entry Ayam Kampung Goreng dan Gulai.
“The winning blog entry is a team effort, with the help of my co-partner, Otai, and a few others,” said Eddie.
“The winnings will be shared with my partner. I will be buying a good camera to replace my old RM100 camera.”
Cakap Niaga takes home RM5,000 and holiday packages at the Sepang Gold Coast Resort and Hotel Grand Dorsett Subang.
Tempting food images taken by Nigel Low won him the best photography prize.
The corporate trainer had been taking photographs of food for five years.
“I love food. My friends know it’s my quest to find the best food. They often ask me where to find the best food, so I blog about these outlets.”
Low won RM1,000 and a digital SLR camera.
Other entries which made the cut included Pantai Seafood, Mee Udang Nakhoda and Nasi Ambeng.
The competition, which ran throughout May, was mooted by Tourism Selangor and Storm Studio to identify the best eating places in Selangor.
Tourism Selangor general manager Noorul Ashikin Md Din said the Selangorlicious portal is a source of valuable information on where to find the best eating places in the state and the competition was the perfect platform to promote Selangor as a food haven.
The campaign does not end with the prize-giving ceremony. A host of activities have been planned until June next year. It has been designated the state’s food month.
The public can participate in the weekly and monthly contests.
A Chinese-version of the Foodster Blogging competition will be announced this month.
There will be trips for bloggers to eat at new food outlets.
Entries to the Selangorlicious! competition will be compiled and featured in a quarterly newsletter and some will be added into an annual directory.
The newsletter and directory will be distributed in the Klang Valley, Selangor, Penang and at Tourism Selangor offices overseas.
Restaurants, malls, stalls and eateries are encouraged to send their promotional items to the Selangorlicious! portal, the Tourism Selangor and Selangor Shines websites, Facebook and Twitter.
Typically, most Malaysians have a common frame of mind where long queue of customers is usually associated with good food. This ‘herd mentality’ is also adopted by yours truly whenever I am out searching for food to eat. So when me and my friends who landed at Bentong town right after enjoying our ABC at Kow Po spotted a huge amount of people crowding around a little stall just beside Kedai Kopi Kwong Sen along Jalan Chui Yin, I knew that the food must be good.
The stall is manned by six people which is a rare sight but given the influx of customers during that mid afternoon, I can easily understand why. Apparently, the Chee Cheong Fun (Rice Noodle Roll) sold at this stall is very popular among the locals and tourists at this small town. Business was certainly brisk on that day and all the Chee Cheong Fun was sold out by 2 p.m. Luckily, I was one of the last few customer who was able to ‘tah pow’ a packet of noodle with a piece of Tau Fu Pock and Fu Chuk for RM 0.60 per piece.
The packaging is deceptively simple. Just a sheet of plastic wrapped with newspaper in an unassuming style with a rubber band to hold it all together.
Inside however was a whole different thing altogether.
The rice noodle was really thin and has a soft texture. Each bite gave a satisfying ‘hmmm…’ as the thinner texture of the noodle allows the gravy to absorb easily into it. Speaking of the gravy, it was more watered down compared to the ones in KL but flavour wise, it has a nice sweet and savoury taste which warrants a two thumbs up. I must also mentioned about the dollop of sambal which was really rich in chilli taste and complimented the gravy very well.
Unlike other Chee Cheong Fun shops that sell a whole array of Yong Tau Foo variants, the owners at this stall kept it simple with Fu Chuk and Tau Fu Pock being their main offerings. But as they say, sometimes it is good to keep things simple. Judging by the long queues, I doubt the sellers can afford to wait for customers to cherry pick their choice of Yong Tau Foo if there are a handful of them to choose from.
Make no mistake. This is the best Chee Cheong Fun that I have tasted so far. When I was trying to explain to the lady boss about taking pictures of its stall and putting it up on the Internet, the she said it was not necessary (in a polite manner) as their business is already too good!
She even mentioned that if given a choice, they do not wish to have more new customers as it is tiring for them to do this everyday. Now, how often do you hear that?
If you happened to drop by the idyllic town of Bentong, make this stall your first priority for a delicious packet of Chee Cheong Fun.
I heard that they are opened from 11 a.m. onwards. Oh, there are no seats available at the stall so you have to ‘tah pow’ and eat at the Kedai Kopi Kwong Sen located just next to it.
Jalan Chui Yin
28700 Bentong
Pahang
Location Map
When I found out that I was selected as one of the thirty international bloggers participating in a five days tourism blogging for My Selangor Story 2011, I was really excited. After all, I love to travel and this campaign will open up my eyes to a whole new horizon to learn about the many places of interest in Selangor.
I will be able to meet many new faces along the journey. Hopefully, I will be able to get some good pictures during the trip as I love travel photography. You can see some of my past travel pictures by clicking here.
So watch out for this space as I embark on the five days journey from 28th September till 2nd October 2011. The journey is about to begin…
When Chee Kiong and Yan first mooted about asking me to do a pre-wedding shoot for them, I was really excited. After all, it was my first time doing pre-wedding photography and I didn’t want to disappoint the couple. The day finally came when I traveled to Hulu Langat with them for a full day shoot back in the month of May. Being an inexperience photographer, it was certainly a good learning experience for me. Anyway, the couple requested me not to put up their pre-wedding pictures until their wedding day was over as they wanted to keep the photos as a surprise for their family and friends.
On the side note, It was especially touching when I saw my photos being printed out on a full sized album for their remembrance. Here are some of the pictures taken for their pre-wedding. More pictures of their actual wedding day coming up next….
It is rare to come across a restaurant proudly accentuating its cooking philosophies from behind the kitchen doors. Hence, when Shirene, Sylvia, Agatha and Edmond shared their fascinating stories behind Joseph @ Kitchen, I soon realised that they have poured their heart and soul into creating culinary delights that would make their customers smile.
The first thing that I asked was “Where is Joseph?”, as I instinctively presumed that Joseph is the real owner of the restaurant. But that wasn’t the case.
It all started when a customer named Joseph dropped by their previous café at KL Sentral to have a meal one fine day. However, by a strange twist of fate, he ended up teaching them how to cook instead. Essentially, Joseph is a man who believes in cooking tasty food using simple ingredients. Now, this is an unfamiliar person that they knew nothing of other than his first name, stepping into their kitchen and generously imparting his knowledge about cooking. The peculiar part of this tale is that they had never knew his full name or his whereabouts. Much like a fleeting breeze, Joseph left soon after teaching them and never came back. Nevertheless, Joseph’s brief visit taught them many things about cooking among which is to always put their heart and soul in cooking. This simple yet profounding statement was the starting point for Joseph @ Kitchen in recognition of his contribution. They hope that by using the word ‘Joseph @ Kitchen’, he would one day find out about the restaurant and come visit them again.
As much as I was fascinated with their story, the food was equally enticing as well. So happened they were doing some in house food photography on that day and I happily helped them to take some food pictures before we sat down to taste the food.
First up was the Magic Bubble Coffee (RM 9.50). Using coffee rather than milk tea, I must admit that the first sip did not go too well with my taste bud due to the bitter taste of the coffee.
However, Joseph @ Kitchen cleverly combined the iced coffee with specially imported black pearls. Unlike the conventional black pearls sold elsewhere, the pearls used in Joseph @ Kitchen has sugar water contained inside its thin layer of jello skin which burst easily in the mouth thus emitting a nice sugary taste to compliment the bitter coffee. It was certainly an interesting beverage and I recommend it to anyone who like something as unique as this one.
Joseph @ Kitchen’s Tomato Pappa (RM 8.00) was certainly full of natural goodness. Using tomato puree and fresh tomatoes, it certainly packed a good punch. I could tell how much tomatoes were used judging by its thick and creamy texture.
Although it was sourish, the soup was a good appetizer to ‘open’ up the stomach for more tantalizing meals to be served.
If there is such thing as food romance, then I had certainly fallen in love with their Waldorf Salad (RM 10). Made from fresh apples, celery, raisins and walnuts, the salad was really appetizing.
The natural sweetness of the apple chunks complimented the slightly sourish taste of the Japanese mayonnaise while the crunchy walnuts provided a contrasting texture to the softer raisins. Highly recommended.
Their Grilled Steak Sandwich (RM 25.00) was another highlight in their menu. Cooked with 180gm patty, the rib eye steak was nicely grilled. The meat was certainly moist, juicy and full of beefy goodness. Instead of using corn flour to thicken the black pepper sauce, I was told that they used a special type of cheese to make the sauce thicker. Apart from being a healthier alternative, the cheese will not coagulate once the sauce has cooled down. Interestingly, I couldn’t taste the cheese which is what made the recipe so unusual. I can’t imagine having a cheesy black pepper sauce which is too bellyful to swallow.
Instead, it has a nice smooth pepperish and tangy lemon flavour. To ensure its freshness, the black pepper sauce will only be prepared upon order and not pre-cooked in a huge quantity
When Joseph @ Kitchen pointed out that not many restaurants out there can cook good spaghetti, I concurred with a heavy sigh. Thankfully, their Mushroom Olio (RM 15) was exceptionally good. Cooked with fresh Shiitake mushroom and herbs, they have competently used the right amount of ingredients to prepare this simple traditional spaghetti.
This yet-to-be-named dish was deceptively simple yet tasted very good. According to Agatha, Joseph @ Kitchen is planning to launch this starter (RM 12.00) in their forthcoming menu soon. During the food photography session, she kept insisting me to taste it as this is one of her favourite dish. After giving it a try, I must admit that it is my favourite too. I was told that the ingredients (prawns, dried chilies, sliced garlic and herbs) cannot be fried too long with olive oil. Otherwise, there would be an undesirable hint of bitterness in the dish.
The Calamari Ring (RM 8.00) was recently improvised to enhance the crispiness of its outer texture. Using a mixture of oats, the calamari rings were still crunchy after some time. I find that it is a light and appetizing enough to fill my stomach before diving into the main course.
Creamy White Mushroom (RM 8.00) is another recommended dish from Joseph @ Kitchen. If you love white mushroom and white creamy sauce, you are in for a treat. The mushroom was certainly fresh while the sauce was not overly creamy. I find that the taste very easy on the tongue.
Using fresh tomato puree, the Seafood Tomatoes (RM 18.00) the first thing that struck me was how fresh the spaghetti sauce was. Again, the dish draws attention to Joseph @ Kitchen’s philosophy in creating simple and healthy food that delights its customers.
Apart from all the meaty goodness, Joseph @ Kitchen does cater for vegetarians as well. Aptly called Veggie Lovers (RM 15), the spaghetti with white sauce does not contain any onion, garlic and egg. Honestly, I couldn’t tell that the dish was vegetarian based since the vegetarian prawns does look like the real thing from a quick glance. In fact, the cream sauce tasted very well despite the absence of garlic and onion. This is where Joseph @ Kitchen’s effort to continuously refine its recipe paid off handsomely as they cleverly used marinated herbs to substitute both garlic and onion.
Meat lovers should give the Grilled Beef Steak (RM 20.00) a try. Using 200gm of beef patty layered with black pepper sauce, I find that the beef was juicy and firm.
The potatoes were prepared using olive oil, herbs, pepper which is definitely a healthier alternative compared to French Fries.
Combining coffee and art, I simply went “Ooh…” when I saw the beautiful leaf pattern on Joseph @ Kitchen’s Cappuccino (RM 7).
The milk, foam and coffee were mixed together and poured onto the cup using a special technique called free pour. It takes years of training for a Barista to master the flair of producing great coffee art. They were nice enough to ask their Barista to show us how the cappuccino is produced.
Free pouring is different from the traditional way to making coffee art as the milk, foam and coffee are already mixed together when it is poured (or what is called ‘pulled’) onto the cup. The cappuccino was certainly smooth and rich with coffee aroma. Although it was bitter, I could taste a tinge of sweetness from the milk.
Another form of coffee art is known as ‘etching’. I took a sequence of shots to give a better idea on how the it was done.
The cappuccino has a sweeter taste due to the chocolate syrup used to make the patterns. It is interesting to know that Joseph @ Kitchen do offer coffee art classes to the pubic. Those who are interested can definitely give them a call to find out when the classes are held.
Suffice to say, Joseph @ Kitchen is a wonderful place to dine with its cozy ambiance and great food. Their passion for cooking is clearly reflected in their range of cuisines that are both healthy and tasty. With the big ‘smile’ on its logo, they have clearly not forgotten that great food will always put a smile on their customers’ face.
Joseph @ Kitchen
Unit 2-7, Second Floor
No.5, Jalan Bangsar Utama
59000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel : 03 – 2282 2242
Business Hour:
Mon – Fri: 7:00 a.m – 9:00 p.m
Saturday: 10 a.m. -9:00 p.m.
Sunday closed
Website: http://www.josephkitchen.com.my/
Location Map (Behind Bangsar LRT Station)
Paradox of Life 
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