THE END

THE END

As the title implies, this is the end of my blogging days. Apparently I only need 7 posts on this blog to meet the requirements of my Computer Science program. So, this is the seventh and last post for you. I know the last few post were just posted today, a few hours ago, however, it was not rushed. I had been stock piling entries and being a perfectionist, never posted them as I did not have the time to proof read my entries. So enjoy this blog if you want. I f you want more, comment down below. Let the power of the people make me decide to continue this or not because I have other things to do. So to all you silent readers out there, Speak up. I want to hear your opinions on whether I should continue my blog or not. Until then, I bid you farewell.

Good bye you loners.

Edit: I apparently need to put a video in, so enjoy:

Ayers Rock Express Food Review

Ayers Rock Express Food Review

This place is called Ayers Rock Express. Located at Cyberjaya. I ordered the "Huge Burger" (correct me if  I am wrong, my memory sometimes fails me). It is a 200 gram burger patty with the usual lettuce and tomato with a white gravy.

The "Huge Burger"

The size did not startle me as I have seen bigger and taller burgers. However, it does excel in the size category as I had to open really wide to stuff it in my mouth. Initial thoughts? The burger was damn juicy. It might have lacked salt though, but it was super juicy. SO JUICY. EMPHASIS ON THE JUICY PART.

It has fries

The burger came with a side of fries which was o-kay. I mean, a burger without fries is just not worth it (with the exception of a few burger places. It adds a different texture to the soft buns, juicy tender burger and crisp lettuce.

Thick gloppy gravy

What made the burger different was its 'sauce'. It does not have the traditional ketchup and mayo. Instead, it has white gravy. The gravy added the much needed saltiness and pepper to the burger who lacked it. Thus making a great compliment to the burger.

Needless to say, I enjoyed this one. I will give it a 7/10. They just need to properly season the burger and maybe make the sauce silkier as it was very gloppy as though it was thickened by a bag of flour.

Ayob Cafe Food Review

Ayob Cafe Food Review

On the 4th of December, I had my dinner at a cafe located at Bistari De Kota near Kota Damansara. Needless to say, it was a meh. I ordered to dishes as I was with someone and mine was sub-par while hers was not good.

The "Fish and Chicken"

I ordered something on the menu called the Fish and Chicken. It was fish and chicken cutlets, breaded, fried and topped with black pepper sauce and served with french fries and a selection of fresh veggies. The sauce was good, border line great. It was better than the generic stuff you get other places who just pour a bottle of industrial made sauce in a pot, heat it up and serve it to you. It had a certain creaminess to it. The chicken as over cooked. It was stringy and lacked the juiciness you associate with a properly cooked chicken. The fish was a meh. 

The "Beef Steak"

My friend ordered the Beef Steak. It was as tough as leather. Nothing else needs to be said. Do not order this at all.

I will give this restaurant a 4/10 and I am being generous. With every order, you get a complimentary bun and fat spread. It was okay to say the least. Hey, free food, I ain't complaining.

THE NASI LEMAK DILEMMA

THE NASI LEMAK DILEMMA

I walked slowly, slower than I have ever walked before. Each step I took was so painful. My stomach was growling, beads of sweat were running down my forehead. I looked up, and saw that the mosque was literally 100 meters in front of me. Even though it was such a short distance, it felt like forever. But somehow, I managed to drag myself to the front of the main entrance. I took of my shoes and placed them neatly on the rack. I climb the short flight of stairs. Each step sent a burning pain through my feet up to my spine.

I slowly walked to the ablution area. There, I washed my face, hands and feet. The cool water was a blessing on my skin. I then took my ablution. I had a sudden surge of energy and I finally stood up right. I walked briskly to the prayer hall. But something caught my eye on the way there. On  a table, near the water dispenser, There was a box. It was filled to the brim with what looked like packs of nasi lemak. Upon closer inspection, My suspicions were confirmed. It was indeed a large pile of nasi lemak packets.

My stomach was growling, it was asking me to take one packet, heck even two or three. But I was hesitating, you see, I was not the kind of person who took free things people give out. No, it is not because I am egoistic and super-rich that anything free is above. I believe that there are more people who deserve or desperately need these nasi lemak than me. But this time was the probable exception. I have not had anything to eat for the last 24 hours. I have just been very busy studying and doing work. I literally had no time to eat. Living in a University where everything is a 20 minute walk probably does not help either. 

So, due to my lustful hunger, I took one nasi lemak packet. I sat in a corner, examining what I took. I felt so guilty taking it. So many questions were racing through my mind. What if a hungry, homeless guy, came let to the mosque and the nasi lemak have all been taken? That means I have just taken a poor man's lunch. Or if there was a school child who waited for this nasi lemak the whole day because his parents could not afford to give him pocket money? I have taken his lunch and probably the only bite of food he is going to get for the rest of the day.

But my hunger took over my thoughts. It is telling me that I deserve this. I have not eaten for a day, and might continue as the day's schedule was quite packed. Also, this was to cover for all the times you have passed up the free food the weeks before at every single Friday prayer. Surely one nasi lemak would not kill anyone.

Then, my good side took over, it might. I have money, some people don't. I can choose to eat whatever and whenever I want, a luxury some people cannot afford. So I looked at this packet of innocent nasi lemak that is causing so much internal dilemma. I reasoned with myself one last time:

"Resources belong to the community, it is our social responsibility that it gets distributed to the ones who need it most"

So I got back up and walked over to the box. I saw that the large pile of nasi lemak was gone. I saw child, wearing school clothes, on his toes peering into the empty box. I just walked over, tapped his shoulder and gave him my packet of nasi lemak. He smiled wide, from cheek to cheek. He bowed and made what I think was sign language. I could not understand but i assumed it was a 'Thank You" I nodded.

I walked away a hungry man, but a happy man. That is what matters in the end.

First Short Story.Meh

First and foremost, okay fine, I haven't been updating my blog frequently (exams). Sue me. Actually don't. Here, have the first draft of my diabetes related story. The final draft has been sent to a competition i entered. SO... here

REAL-LIFE EXPERIENCES RELATED TO DIABETES

My name is Amar. I am 20 years old and I am a chef, food blogger, cookbook author and a diabetic. Being a diabetic and someone whose life revolves around food, you will never fail to receive comments from people about how you became diabetic because of your lifestyle; and I must admit that they are right, if only I had stuck to eating a bowl of salad with boiled chicken with no carbohydrates for the better part of my life, I would not have to inject my abdomen with insulin shots every time my blood sugar levels rise abnormally. However, I would like to point out to them that their opinions do not matter as they are wrong. I did get diabetes because of my eating habits, but only so because I was at a higher risk of diabetes than other normal human beings. My family has a long history of diabetic people so my chances of getting diabetes was pretty large. So, with this of myth thrown out the window, I would like to share with you the life - experiences of diabetic people in social and working situations.

During social gatherings and activities, especially in Malaysia, food tends to be put centre stage. We do not typically bring the food from the buffet table to our own private table to chat and eat, rather, we choose to chat and eat at the buffet table so that the food is nearer to us. Don’t get me wrong, diabetics can do this, no restrictions imposed upon them, but they have to be mindful of what they are stuffing in their mouths. Healthy people can just pick whatever they want and eat it without a worry in the world and talk to their acquaintances at the same time. Diabetics on the other hand have to watch what they are putting in their mouths just in case the food they are eating might send them into a diabetic coma. Other than that, we can do what other normal people do.

In a work setting, there is no distinctions between diabetic and non-diabetic workers. We do not get paid less or are given less work because of our medical condition. We only need a little time to check our blood sugar levels throughout the day and maybe administer insulin, only a few minutes is needed (Non- diabetics might take longer coffee breaks than our “insulin breaks”.. There might be a little bias during the job interview when the employer sees your medical history for the first time, but other than that, nothing much.

Now, I am not writing this story because I am trying to gain sympathy for diabetics, but essentially, I want to dispel the myth that diabetics are different from other people in this society. The fact is, the only thing differentiating us from the rest of society is the occasional insulin injection, medical check-ups every now and then and that we have to watch what we eat.

(Word count: 503 including title

Roti Tampal and Double Special Beef Burger

Salutations my fellow (hopefully existent) readers, as promised, I will write about either food reviews or short stories. For today's post, I will be writing a food review, or more accurately, two food reviews as I will be reviewing two foods that I ate during my recent bicycle trip to Putrajaya.

A plate of hot and crispy Roti Tampal served with a dollop of sambal and watery dhal. Excuse the helmet and gloves, I did say I was on a bicycle trip.

To start off, I had breakfast at a food court (medan selera in Malay) named Medan Selera Kampung Dato' Abu Bakar Baginda.  

I know that you cannot read what the sign says, my camera isn't the best in the world. Basically, the top part says that this is stall No.7 named Masakan Ibu. The menu lists Roti Canai and its many variations along with the price. Even though the menu says that my Roti Tampal should have costed RM 3, the nice lady at the counter charged me less than that.

I'll start with what a Roti Tampal actually is, it is just a Roti Canai (Roti Paratha if you are only familiar with the Singaporean way of naming things) with an egg (usually with a runny yolk) stuck on the roti canai. This is why it is named Roti Tampal (literally Glued Bread in english, reason why I hate translating our Malaysian Dishes name into english) as the egg is literally glued on the bread.

How the egg is "glued" to the bread however is no mystery as these stalls are usually open and you can have a peek behind the flat top grill to see the action. Usually, an egg is cracked directly on top of the flat top and a pre- cooked Roti Canai is placed on top firmly as to not break the yolk. As the egg cooks, the egg white solidifies on the Roti Canai, sticking itself. 

This Roti Tampal served to me was piping hot off the flat top, which is always and A+ in my books. The roti was crispy and yet fluffy at the same time, giving it a dual texture. The egg yolk  was still runny, turning itself into this yummy creamy sauce. The condiments however were a meh. Usually when you go to Mamak stalls, they serve you spicy curry and dhal, but it is different when you go to a Malay stall, your roti will usually be accompanied with sambal and dhal.

The sambal was okay, not the best but still palatable, the same thing could not be said about the dhal though as it just tasted like water with dhal powder mixed through. There were not even any lentils in sight, which is sad because dhal is literally the name of a lentil used in making the dhal.

All in all, this place gets a 3 out of 5 in the Taste-O-Meter. The meal costed RM 2 with iced water as my drink of choice.

The Double Special Beef Burger on a Charcoal sesame seed Bun with a side of fries.

After cycling for the next few hours, stopping here and there to savor the famous landmarks of Putrajaya and breathe in an unhealthy amount of haze, I stopped at the Selera Putra, which is another food court in Putrajaya located near the Putra Square (Dataran Putra). Just park your bicycle in the ample amount of bicycle parking facilities or park your car at the Putra Square. You will see an information counter, opposite the Perdana Putra, go there, a set of escalators should be on your  right if you are facing the tourists informational counter. Take the escalator down and you will see signs of the Selera Putra. If you still managed to get lost following these simple instructions, then go ahead and ask the nice people at the info counter, they will gladly show you the way. Take some brochures with you while youre at it. They make good reading material while you wait for your food.

There, you will find a variety of foods from traditional malay cuisine, to the typical mamak and also western fare. I chose to get the burger because.. I don't know, just because, I don't have to justify my every actions you know.

The name of the burger stall is Steam N Grill Burger. I ordered the Double Special Beef Burger on a charcoal bun Set with fries and a drink ( You get a choice of soft drinks, or mineral water). You also get to choose the bun as they have charcoal, whole meal, regular and a bun i forgot about. 

The burger was juicy, I liked the meat as it was well seasoned and juices were overflowing from it signalling that it wasn't cooked until it was basically charcoal. The bun however, had no "wow" factor at all. It is just a bun they made with added charcoal powder. It didn't affect the taste at all. It is just a marketing gimmick to differentiate themselves from other burger stalls from the rest of the country. They had this thousand island colored sauce which is good and better than just regular mayonnaise. The cheese was not the best, but then, this is an affordable burger, I cant expect imported Italian mozzarella. 

The fries were not enough, that I could say. I was hoping for a handful of fries (my handful, not some midget handful), but what I got was a small packet equivalent to a Mc Donald's small fries. They were good but not hand cut, heritage bred, sea salt seasoned potato frites, so they just served as a side, nothing more.

All in all, I would still give this a 3 out of 5 in the Taste-O-Meter. The meal was Rm16. 

So in conclusion, both meals are average, not above and below, as they had no 'wow' factor in taste. Would I recommend you to stop and eat at these places? Why not? They are not too terrible and moderately priced, so give em a chance.

Introduction to this blog

Alright, before I even type anything about this blog itself, I would like to get a few things off my chest. Just think of this paragraph as a pre-intro, if such a term exists that is. You may choose to skip this paragraph all together as you may or may not find it interesting. I am starting this blog as it is one of the assignments for my university's Computer Science course. Never in a million years would  I imagine starting a blog, yet here I am, sitting in front of a desktop computer in the library, writing a blog post. I try to keep my digital footprint on the internet at a minimal as I am not one to update my everyday life on the internet, but since this is a mandatory assignment, aimed at introducing technology and making students more IT literate, I'll just have to play along. I think this pre-intro is long enough, so lets start talking about the blog shall we?

I tend to write a lot, so here is a picture of a kitten in a cup, take a rest if you want and continue reading. (Before I get sued and my blog taken down, here: Courtesy of Google Images)

To start, lets talk about the title of this blog, Malaysian Food and Stories. I picked this title because it contains two of the things that I am most passionate about, food and writing short stories. So, in essence, this blog is pretty self - explanatory. What you can expect from this blog are food reviews (mostly university foods, because you know, I am in university) and also short stories of varying lengths and genres, depending on my mood.

I most probably bored you to death with the last paragraph, so here, more kittens. (Courtesy of Google Images)

Now, about the food reviews, I like to stick to a format when doing these kinds of things. So in my reviews, be prepared to see the picture of the food, a brief description of the dish in my point of view, price of the food and also the place.

Next, the short stories. Please do not expect much from this, I write because I like to express my creativity and what pleases me, at times does not please everyone around me. I would like to keep the curse words in my stories at a minimum at the request of my peers, but you cannot change who I am, so if you don't want to read my stories, then by all means, DO NOT READ MY FREAKING STORIES. Also, if i see my short stories being plagiarized, imma smack you.

About the schedule of my blog posts, you can expect a food review and a short story per week. However, I might not upload it at the same times each week. I may upload a food review on Tuesday and a short story on Sunday on say next week, but it might not be the same for the week after that. Please bear with me on this as I am a very busy university student.

Nasi Lemak, the quintessential Malaysian dish. Nothing to do with the blog post really, just hungry. Yumm. (Courtesy Of Google Images, seriously I'm getting tired of writing this, just assume that all the images on this blog are from google images unless stated otherwise)

I think this the end of my intro. If you made it this far, congratulations my friend, you have an attention span longer than that of a monkey. Give yourself a pat on the back. So to recap, food review, short story, computer science assignment, yada yada yada etc etc etc bla bla bla. I trust that if you have made it this far, you would at least know an understand what i just wrote, so i don't need to recapitulate anything.

Here, a trophy for surviving my blog intro. Show it to some friends so that you can finally say you won something in your life. (Yes, it is still from Google Images)

Kbye. Hohoho.