Final Prep: Maxwell Hill Hike

In an attempt to squeeze in one final training before the Big K hike, the bunch planned to hike up Maxwell Hill.

This hike is supposed to simulate our hike from the foot of Mount Kinabalu to the first stop for the night at Laban Rata. Anyway I did some calculations and something seems to be wrong!

Foot of hill = 609m
Tea Garden = 656m
Bukit Larut (Maxwell) Rest House = 1,034m
Gunung Hijau (Speedy) Rest House = 1,113m
Telekom Station = 1,250m
Gunung Hijau Peak = 1,449m

From the foot of the hill of Maxwell to the top (Telekom station) is 641m whereas for Mount K, at the Timpohon Gate (1866m) to Laban Rata (3270m) is 1,404m! To make matters worse, we are hiking from the Mersilau route which will is about 2km further than the distance from Timpohon.

-___-

Note that figures are in height, not distance. Geez. Either the figures are wrong or erm, we will have a pretty rude shock on Kinabalu.

Made my way up to Penang from KL purposely for this hike (and also to collect some last minute additions for the trip). By the time I was ready for bed the night before, it was already 2am. My phone alarm buzzed at 5:15am the er, same day and I crawled out of bed, did my business and changed. Met up with the other kakis around 6:15am at Subaidah for breakfast.

Fuel of the day: roti kosong; telur separuh masak x2; washed down with a cup of kopi O kurang manis :p

The drive towards Taiping took us about an hour I think with TY being disciplined behind the wheels at 110-120 kmph. I had my backpack stuffed with 4x600ml water bottles, a clean pair of shirt, some snacks and my Powerpuff Bubbles towel. Oh ya, before leaving Penang I also tabao-ed a char siew pau and tau sa pau :D

Three cars from Penang with TY at the forefront; Ruo-Wen, YingQi and I; Evan's: Elaine, Soon Jiun; Zi Xiang's: Chin Teng, Min Fey & Pei En. Rendezvous at the foot of Maxwell with Mun Pung and beau, Shun Yuan. Lucky number for a hike.

This crazy fler actually carried up a 5 litre water bottle in a marketing shopping bag rofl.... Kiasu habis air this one.

Not to left out of the kiasu list are also Evan who dashed to the front of the group (and other groups) followed closely by K#2 Soon Jiun and his extra stick.

More proof.

The hike, I would describe as moderately in toughness. Roads are accessible as they are tarred and used by land rovers transporting visitors and baggage up and down the hill. There are also occasional optional jungle trails you can choose to hike from. These are steeper and feels more fun because you get to do actual hiking rather than the tame tar roads for sissies :p

One of the jungle trails we took. Use whatever roots within hand's reach to drag our asses up.

Oh, one more thing I love about hiking on Maxwell is the cool weather you enjoy on your way up. A light breeze gets the sweat evaporated, but still feels sticky nonetheless -_-

4 minute break after an hour hike. I think I am slightly worried hiking with this group is that some can go really fast, and some really slow. For sure our group will be split into God knows how many sub sections. I've been getting advice from other regular hikers up Mount K and they all say the same thing, take your time up and enjoy the view, don't let the guide rush you up, slowly hike up to avoid AMS (Altitude Mountain Sickness), etc. I am sure as hell to take my time to Laban Rata, since we are taking the more scenic route.

Evan trying to pole dance around SJ with SJ being annoyed and avoiding him.

Brings a whole new meaning to the 'green' toilet.

Unless I am very much mistaken, this is where the Tea Garden is. Though everything here still seems to be under construction and nothing interesting to photograph.

A refreshing fall around a bend.

I think at this point we were close (or already at) the Bukit Larut rest house. This is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes from the time we started at the foot where we were greeted by an abrupt change of plant life.

Syok, green everywhere. Wish I could bring a huge chunk back and let these grow beside my workstation.

Finally we take a break! My stomach was already growling at this point (although I already fed the stomach with a bar of Snickers).

The quaint little cafe where we topped up our water bottles.

Some serious male bonding. Recharged with half a char siew pau and another half of tau sa pau. Nothing better than greasy pork to lift up my energy bar after the looooong hike. And we still have some way more to go before we reach the Telekom station.

At this point Min Fey chucked his 5 litre water bottle after we distribute the contents amongst us. Lol.

We spent quite a while here, I think more than half an hour. Cleared our bladders and waited on the others to catch up (not-so-subtle hint that we were fast and leading).

Some great old memories that this building brings!

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Speedy! Half visible and hidden in mist as usual... A few of us - Evan, Kenneth, Lye Siong, TY and I spent a night up here back in 2006. I still have the photos and might blog about it. lol.

Ok, had a look at the photos and I look darn funny hahahahha must blog about it. See la if I rajin.

Some renovations works are being done on the bungalow apparently for a horror documentary filming by Astro. They booked Speedy for 2 whole months!

Trudging on...... 3 hours 45 minutes since the foot of the hill, we finally reach the Telekom station.

The view ain't that great here because everything else is shrouded in mist. So I present this disturbing photo instead.

Signboards also loose and falling off d.

Hmm... 3 hours 45 minutes including the long stop at the Maxwell Rest House. Average hiking time from Timpohon to Laban Rata is 7 hours. If the calculations and figures on top of this post is correct, then we will make average time from Mersilau to LR.

My Timberland's third hike. Still impressed by them as usual... worth every ringgit I spent on it (albeit at half price...)

Recharged again with some granola bars and Snickers.

Mun Pung and I were telling each other how heavenly it would be to have brought up a packet of nasi lemak that we can enjoy up here lol.

On any hike, reaching the summit is just a job half way complete, then there's the journey towards the pull of gravity.

The mist is gone: clear shot of Speedy.

Looks like a good setting for a horror movie. A bunch of hormone-filled teenagers on a road trip rendezvous. Anyways Astro (or whoever lah) have repainted the building. It used to be a bluish-green hue.

My wish turned reality: Sambal nasi lemak mmm... The rest house sells them, and they are not really expensive too! Normally any shops at this height would escalate even the simplest goods sky-high.

Sambal was just spicy enough. Had all the condiments I love. Sambal ikan bilis, peanuts, hard-boiled egg and a couple slices of cucumber.

Finally, a photo of the guys herping; and Evan's disappointed look when one of his cicaks ran off!

With all these hikes I sure hope as hell that I can make it all the way up Mount Kinabalu. Was supposed to go on a final hike up Apek San today but my sore throat from yesterday evolved into cough and flu today :(

Next post: the sumptuous meal we had after the hike :p

Madam Chiam Pan Mee

Update: It is NOT sai yong choy, but spinach soup -_-


Couple weekends ago, after an Apek San hike, Stanley wanted to try out another restaurant which was featured in the KL book bible. Normally we just settle with Sun Ming duck rice.

Photos courtesy of Stanley.

Serves more than just curry noodle.

The specialty here is of course, the pan mee. I ordered a small bowl, with an additional egg. Also ordered a bowl of sui kow.

Spring boiled egg, just the way I likey! There's all the usual pan mee condiments, minced pork in dark sauce, deep fried anchovies and half a lime to mix. The ingenious addition is the dried chili flakes and the spring boiled egg..mmmm. Can also ask for extra chili.

Mix everything together evenly and there you have a bowl of absolute goodness! It may not look like much in here, but trust me, all those condiments are perfect matches. The egg lends a sticky texture to the noodles and the chili flakes are a must. Similar but not alike with the pan mees I've tried before in Penang and SP.

Also comes together with a small bowl of soup- the sai yong choy. I'm more accustomed to the other type of leafy soup, which I can't recall the name. The leafy vegetables are the sticky type lol. Apologies for the not-so-helpful description :p

Next is the sui kow. Essentially dumplings with minced pork/chopped vegetable fillings and boiled in soup. It's nothing special la I think. I find the skin a tad too thick and Madam Chiam certainly skimped on the fillings.

But even with the sad sui kow, I cannot stop myself from gushing about the chili pan mee hehehe. It really is that good! Screw the Sp and Penang pan mee, this wins the pan mee award :p

Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House
No 2, Jalan Cerdik, Taman Connaught,
Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.

Somewhere to Settle Down

Was away in Penang and SP for the weekend and I just got back at 8:30pm, showered and ate my way through two 'black gold' mangoes.

This begs the question, why is it that the whole family can't settle down in one place, how I wish I have a home to go to after I get back from work. Great home-cooked food, contented quiet nights with simplest pleasures...

More often than not, I wish I can spend a Saturday night with tabao-ed meal with some movie turned on in Astro. lol.

"Felt like a weary traveller pulling into his driveway."
Dan Brown in Deception Point

How aptly put.

Detoxification: Day III

I got up early this morning with a slight runny nose. Overly concerned, I abandoned all plans on detox :p So I had clear pork beehoon soup for lunch...

Seems a bit pointless by now to be blogging about detox which I've ditched since Day 1. But I need to finish what I started right. There are a couple of pictures of the usual stuff I'd cooked the night before. As expected, they might look like you've seen them before but no, this is definitely Day 3 detox food.

I had cut the carrots in pretty flower shapes. Also added raw shallots to the whole tumble of food. Adds a little spiciness to the salad. Me likey.

There ends the detox plan that... didn't quite turn out the way I expected.

Detoxification: Day II

I should call the Detoxification entries as 'The Failed Attempts of Detoxification' hahaha. I admit I succumb to temptation faster than you can say "McDonald's".

But McDonald's wasn't my downfall.
I prepared so much fruits and vegetables for Day 2 till I can sense the paper bag that holds all the food container and fruits is close to tearing apart :p

Before the downfall is revealed, let's go on a detox fairy tale walk and see what I had for Day 2 :p

Snap here, snap there, in the end they all look the same.... just possibly the carrots and the broccoli changed position. Well not my fault since there were very limited ingredients I bought at the market.
Anyway these vegetables were cooked the same time I made the porridge for Day 1. Hehe.. so you see the remnants of the mushrooms, red dates etc. Tastes goooood nevertheless!

Then the same snacks: Japanese zucchini and cherry tomatoes. Also red dragonfruit and sweet juicy oranges!

The red from the dragon fruit kind of got assimilated into the oranges so they look really cute with dark pinkish edges.
There's really a load of food for today... plus bananas and there shouldn't be any reason I should feel mournful or close to giving up... until I received an email saying that Kak Nurul (someone from admin) made sambal udang petai T____T

My weakness! How can I refuse that! Some more I ngam ngam went into the pantry and Kak Nurul was just taking out the huge bucket of sambal petai and was just about to heat it.

T___________T

The sambal udang and petai is heavenly loh ^^ Also had those with fried egg and ikan masin. Also got brinjal but there's like only 1 left after a few people helped themselves then I paiseh take the last one because I didn't contribute anything hehehe.

Justin and Shifa were livid.

Hehe.... nolar, they were pretty cool about it, but that was after they 'cuci' me kau kau. I coaxed them also lar saying I will still join the program lol. But it was really worth it la after kena scrub like that. Petai is soooooo goooood.

Dinner is a little bit more subdued. No cooking involved:

Bear in mind this is the non-ganas detox so cereal and milk oso can yay! Had my favorite Post's Shredded Wheat with Honey Nut yummmmm with sliced bananas, handful of raisins and almonds.

My newest addiction... Dunno why but I feel super happy whenever I eat Post cereals :D Used to favor the Post Selects Cranberry ones but after I tried this, all else seem bleargh.

I'm already contemplating what to have during the 'buka puasa' meal.... Well technically, the puasa already buka-ed but what the hell!

Detoxification: Day I

Day 1 almost coming to an end and still going strong! (Actually I cheated a bit lo).

Prepared Day 1 lunch the night before, blanched and boiled a load of vegetables that I bought from the Sunday morning market.

Arranged all of them neatly according to type hehe. French beans, taters, broccoli and carrots! Cherry tomatoes and Japanese zucchini for snacks.

Sprinkled some roughly chopped almonds and freshly ground black pepper. It's very simple but it's so delicious! I think I won't mind having the same stuff for the three days of detoxification.

Anyway it wasn't exactly cheating la. Carigali Hess, an oil and gas company held a blood donation campaign in the TTFC where I go to gym. So, obviously after so much blood has been sucked out of me, I would need more energy than vegetables can ever give to regenerate those blood cells right?

Drink milo and eat bread ony.

Anyways. This round of detox really got me hungrier than what I can recall previously. Banana for breakfast, cherry tomatoes and zucchini later... more bananas, a pear....

Then got back from work d, wah all these fruits and vegetables only really making my digestive system working fast. Terus settle number 2.

^^"

Dinner is probably a more interesting affair. Jumbled whatever vegs I can get my hands on and cooked a brown rice porridge. I know that rice is also considered processed, yadda yadda, but this detox I'm going through is not the ganas type. Oat and milk is acceptable, and certain cereal. So I figured that if cereal is fine, brown rice should be even more so acceptable.

Porridge turned out to be pretty successful!

Thrown in carrots, french beans, broccoli (these 3 things I took them out after cooking them for next day's lunch. But certainly adds depth to the porridge), beancurd sticks (super awesome addition! Works really well with mushroom), mushroom, onions, taters, and finally sprinkled some toasted oat on top ;)

Sigh. 2 more days. I have a greasy, fried chicken craving already.

BiBiChik: Just Another Nonya Entry

I know it's a bit ironic to blog about greasy food when my previous post I was rambling about going on a detox diet. Bah. Anyway this was about a couple of weeks ago, completely forgotten that the pictures were still stored in the camera.

Obviously it was Stanley again who came up with the location of the next Food Venture. He says that he's been very curious about 'perut ikan', ever since I mentioned it to him some time ago when we were discussing nonya cuisine. Then I think he went on a search of restaurants around KL serving this type of dish lol.

The restaurant is a one-lot large and is situated in SS2, Petaling Jaya. Wasn't very hard to find the place. It's situated in the not-so-happening part of PJ. We reached at 9:30pm and were quite anxious whether the cook will still be willing to serve us as the place closes at 10pm. To our relief, they do.

BiBiChik, cute name for a not-so-cute restaurant. The place is also featured in Ho Chak 8TV.

Refillable Chinese tea.

After much debate and discussion, we finally decided on 4 dishes -_-. Of course a bit too much for 2 people dining but Stanley's greatest sin is gluttony triple -___-

Menu. Some of the restaurant specialty is the honey sotong or something like that and I forgot what else.

BiBiChik also offers a live band performance on weekends. As we were there on Friday, we didn't get to experience that.

Anway, I ain't there to listen to no jazz. Let the stars come out!

#1. Prawn sambal with petai.

What I think:
I am so used to Ah Ma's style of sambal petai that I do not find this homesick curable at all. BBC's version has a more prawns than petai (Stanley noted that the name of the dish is prawn sambal with petai, implying that petai as the side, so lack of petai is acceptable), sambal is too dry for my liking (I always prefer a healthy moist and rich sambal) and petai seems undercooked. Sigh. Upside is the abundance of prawns though.

#2. Otak-otak.

Again, another disappointment. The foundation of the otak-otak were all there but the 'oomph-ness' just isn't. All the fish fishes were stuffed to the bottom of the otak-otak instead of evenly distributed here and there and throughout. The daun kaduk is also undercooked. A typical (good) otak-otak would crumble as you pierce your form through but this is one feisty otak. We had to tear and pull to wreck the leaves apart. -__-

Steamed otak-otak is typically Northern nonya style whereas in the South, grilled otak is more common.

Peeling off its layers...

Another shot of the otak with the banana leaf (? not confirm with this, maybe lotus leaf? No idea)

#3. Perut ikan. Stanley's dream coming true...

What I think: Again, I think I will be giving more and more biased opinion just because I am accustomed to Ah Ma's great cooking. First of all, the fish stomach were cut too large and tend to be really chewy. They don't smell good too. Weird in fact. However Stanley seems really satisfied with the perut ikan. He finds it similar to assam laksa and has no problems adapting to its fishy taste.

By the way, as the food arrived, both Stanley and I were really into taking pictures of the food, not even touching them. The cook/owner seems to get suspicious and marched to our table asking us why we are snapping pictures hehehhehe. She had this very cute paranoid look. We assured her that it's only for personal view and we would like to recommend the place to others too only she left us in peace. She also said that rarely youngsters know how to savor perut ikan ;)

#4. Fried chicken in Bibi sauce.

Which I find similar to belacan chicken. This one gets a thumbs up from me. The inclusion of garlic in this dish is very obvious, which I definitely don't mind. I suppose I've always liked belacan chicken and I think you can never really go wrong with marinating and frying chicken hehehe. Stanley didn't like this one though because he found one of the pieces of chicken is still a bit raw close to the bones.

Bill came to about RM54 overall. I think the prawns with petai costs the most. I wouldn't be raving about this place, as I don't find the dishes 'click' with me lol. I still think Aunties Ssam rocks. I think I'll bring Papa and Mom over there whenever they visit KL.

Find BiBiChik at
No. 17 Jalan SS 2/30
47300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor

Anyway, what do you think of the pictures posted? Are they too large as compared to earlier posts (where I use the default sizes on blogger). Please comment.

I think when pictures are too large you tend to scroll and scroll and scrooolll to get to the bottom. Which can get really annoying.

Also since my photos are hosted on Photobucket, photo loading seems to be as fast as a crawling snail. I think I will revert to the default blogger layout.

p/s I went through my old posts, trying to search for an entry on Ah Ma's perut ikan and to my horror, there is actually an entry.... without a clear picture of the perut ikan! How can!

p/p/s Seriously considering taking some time off work - as in a long period of time - to learn Ah Ma's magic in nonya dishes prep.

Digestive Spring Cleaning

It's that time of the year (?) again!

Time to take out the trash and make the body pristine clean again! ;)

I'm talking about a body detox of course... Got up early this morning and bought several truck load full of fruits and vegetables from the Sunday morning market.

Two reasons I am doing this:
One. Close to being a health freak, been eating too much of those MSG filled food around KL and my digestives desperately need a break. Anyway, it's only 3 days.
Two. Justin, a colleague who is a bit chubby wants me to join him on a detox program lol. I think he wants to lose a bit of weight before his wedding ;) He's been acting like a detox salesperson, urging every single staff at work that passes by his place to join in the detox diet hahaha. But this time around it won't be much of a strict program. Oat and milk are still allowed but otherwise the same rules apply.

Non processed stuff, non of those MSG crap. The only seasoning permissible would be sea salt, grounded black pepper and..... pretty much that I think.

I spent close to RM50 worth of fruits and vegetables this morning. But considering the amount of fruits I've bought and that it's for at least 3 days, I think that's not too bad.

Broccoli, zucchini & carrots.

And an endless supply of fruits (yea rite! If Boy sees this probably hentam 1 time and everything is gone).

My favorite mangoes, "or kim", literally, black gold.

And bananas!

Imagine if I were to buy only 3 pieces of bananas, albeit bigger ones than these, at Cold Storage could easily go up to RM2-3. I got this whole bunch for RM2.60! Love the morning market...

Will be blogging closely on the progress of the detox ;)