Royal Siam Kitchen

Went out to eat yesterday after a hectic day at work.. Initially we went Ria, a Malaysian restaurant in Leederville.. Thought it would be our first time trying this much acclaimed Malaysian restaurant.. Made a booking but there was no table free when we arrived..

The place was very noisy with loud annoying music.. Everyone had to raise their voice when talking and ended up with hoarse voice.. It's like eating Malaysian food in an Australian pub.. Probably that was why all the patrons were caucasians.. The staff were mostly caucasians also.. True Malaysians can't eat at such noisy place.. Too stressful.. So we left..

Went to Royal Siam Kithen... It's a small and rather unassuming restaurant along Royal Street in East Perth.. It's pretty small, probably that's why they just call themselves a kitchen..

Photo of the interior.. A couple of tables and if your eyesight is good enough, you can see a photo of a man hanging on the wall.. It's probably the Thai King, not the chef in case you are wondering..

Hot and spicy seafood tom yam soup was not bad.. The tom yam flavour was there but that was pretty much it.. It was just the soup and some seafood.. Would be better if they also throw in some tom yam ingredients like lemon grass, shallots and etc to make it look like you are really having tom yam..

Fish cake had a nice subtle fish flavour.. "Duh, of course, you don't call it fish cake for nothing" you may baulk.. But nowadays you can get such low quality fish cake that they taste worse than potatoes..

Steamed fish fillet.. The fish was ok in terms of freshness but quite tasteless.. Don't know what fish they used but probably not a fish you normally steam..

Prawn green curry was flavourful and rich.. Maybe a bit too rich as we couldn't finish it.. But it was good though..

Pretty nice dessert.. The lycee went pretty well with the vanilla icecream..

Taro icecream with sticky rice was also spot on..

Overall, this little Thai restaurant in East Perth is a like hidden gem.. Largely unknown but good quality food.. There are some areas they can improve on but their food is better than a lot of Thai restaurants in Perth..

Royal Siam Kitchen
82 Royal St
East Perth

Malaysia Bolih: 1Care!!

It seems like Malaysia government is going broke.. Too much corruption and money pocketed by cronies.. No more money for healthcare..

Now they come up with this 1Care thing.. You need to pay a 10% of your income to a central healthcare fund.. But can't choose your doctor.. Can't choose your medication apart from the cheapest generic.. Can't deal with complex health problems... Malaysia bolih!!

Creamy crab

Bought more crabs from the market.. Above is blue manna crab "before".. Below is blue manna crab "after".

Crab in Australia is not particularly cheap, but guess you can't compare everything with Malaysia..

Crab can be cooked many ways.. They are versatile.. This time I fried them first to make them tasty red, then simmered them briefly with creamy sauce.. Very quick.. Ideal survival cooking for those who don't have the luxury of free time but still want to eat crab..

Curry crab

It's crab season again in Perth.. Just bought some crabs from the market.. They are mostly blue manna crab..

Stir fried them with with a bit of curry powder and other stuff.. Very nice..

New mobile: Sony Ericsson Xperia

Just got ourselves some new mobiles to replace our aging Nokia... The Nokia phones served us pretty well but it's time to lay them to rest.. They have endured quite a fair wear and tear damage after all these years, their speaker volume is quite faint now and despite being rather "simple" phones, they have quite a temperament and crashed every now and then..

Anyway, we chose Sony Ericsson Xperia as replacement.. It was love at first sight.. The Xperia arc has to be one of the most stylish smartphones out there in the market..

Don't know why people like iPhone, it looks ugly like a box.. That's why iPhone cover is making such a killing.. People need to buy iPhone cover to make their phone attractive, otherwise it's just plain ugly.. It's like putting extra thick makeup.

On the other hand, Xperia arc is slim, sexy with an alluring curvature.. They look good naked..

We also got the smaller version, Xperia Ray.. Most smartphones nowadays are so huge that they can't hardly fit into a pocket.. Bigger a bit, people might as well just carry their laptop around with them.

We find Xperia Ray to be a good compromise, all the good stuff you get with a smartphone combine with the ease of being small..

We just started using them.. So far so good.. Good sharp screen.. Responsive touchpad.. No complaints so far..

Salad myths

Just read that certain salad sprouts were found to have high levels of the bacteria E.coli. Victorian salad sprouts test positive to E.coli.

There are some myths regarding salads..
1) Eating salad is healthy
Yea, even McDonald starts serving salad to appear "healthy".. True or not, it's up to you to decide but it's certainly not when it comes with generous amount of E.coli..

2) Eating salad or being vegetarian will help weight loss..
Probably true, but curiously, elephants are vegetarian also..

Frasers Restaurant Kings Park

Been to Frasers Restaurant with my colleagues the other day.. The restaurant is located in Kings Park, thus has a pretty nice view of Perth..

This park is quite a popular dating spot for couples thanks to its panoramic view of Perth city, especially at night when it's a bit dark and has some privacy..

The restaurant itself also can la.. but it can be a bit loud inside..

City of Perth in the background.. It's peaceful just sit around watching the cars, lights and the city lives by.. Watching other people being busy has a calming effect..

Anyway, moving on to the food..

"Chilled asparagus soup with manna crab and asparagus salad" is quite a mouthful for a starter menu item..

To be honest, the canned asparagus soup I bought from Coles tasted better.. Adding the manna crab was a bit odd.. It didn't accentuate the taste in any way.. Just seemed a bit out of place..

"Pan fried goat cheese gnocchi, wild mushroom, burnt butter sauce"

"Sashimi of tasmanian salmon, bluefin tuna, hiramasa kingfish"

"Fresh tumeric, fish fillet and king prawn curry, kaffir scented rice" lacked depth and flavour.. But it was kinda expected from caucasian preparing an Asian dish..

Forgot what this one was already.. Maybe it's the "Roast 'Mt Barker' chicken, turnip, baby heirloom carrot puree.

"'Line caught' pink snapper fillet, potato puree, salsa verde with fennel"... Fish was fresh.. Otherwise it didn't really stand out..

"Terriyaki beef fillet with bbq onions, teriyaki sauce"

"Churros in cinnamon sugar with chocolate diping sauce, vanila bean ice cream"

Overall, this is like your average caucasian restaurant but offers a fantastic view of Perth city.. The price was a bit more expensive..

Chinese New Year cookies

Chinese New Year is around the corner.. No holiday here.. But at least we have some CNY cookies from Malaysia..

You can buy CNY cookies in Perth also, but they are mostly China products (less delicious)..

Above is kuih kapit..

Don't know what this one is called.. It's keropok of some sorts..

Peanut cookies..

Don't know what this one is called.. In Malaysia we eat first, questions later..

Chicken floss roll..

Prawn rolls.. This one is real nice..

Pineapple jam cookies..

More cookies

Sun flower cookies..

The whole lot..

Come on.. It's just an Iphone..

Just read news about some China people gone mad about Iphone 4S.

BEIJING, Jan 13 — Apple Inc’s flagship Beijing store was pelted with eggs today when hundreds of enraged shoppers, many of whom had waited in line overnight, were told the store would not begin sales of the iPhone 4S as scheduled. Reuters 13/01/12

Having stayed in China for a couple of weeks, it's not hard to imagine this from happening.. Rude people lacking even the slightest etiquette and zero regard to people queueing..

But come on.. It's just a mobile phone.. You use it to call people, sms and maybe a couple of apps.. No need for poor manners..

Clothes that poke eye

The standard of English in Malaysia has deteriorated so much that it's no longer funny..

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's defence ministry on Tuesday blamed the use of Google Translate for the mangled English that appeared on its website sparking online ridicule.

The translations from the Malay language into English included dress guidelines for ministry staff that prohibited "clothes that poke eye" -- a reference to revealing attire. AFP 11/01/2012

Three dumb dumb anti whaling protesters

Apparently three unwelcomed idiots illegally boarded a Japanese whaling ship in international water yesterday as part of their anti-whaling protest.

They had the audacity to demand the Japanese crews to ferry them back to Australian shore and for the Japanese whaling fleet to piss off back to Japan..

Obviously that did not happen and these three idiots were detained by the crew. Now they are claiming that they are taken "hostage" and want Australian government to "take action".

As you can see, stupidity knows no bounds.

The three dumb dumb.

Code Geass R2

Code Geass R2 is the sequel to the previous series, Lelouch of the Rebellion.

It's an absolutely superb and amazing anime to watch that keeps you in suspense throughout with its intense battles and unpredictable turns of events..

This anime also draws many parallels with history..world war two, the two atomic bombings, the death of Jesus Christ etc and etc.. Its characters are well developed, each with their own individuality.. It brings out emotion and makes one ponders about the concept of forgiveness, justice and morality..

The ending was tragic yet beautiful.. It's a masterpiece..

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

Spent my time watching anime marathon.. 25 episodes of Code Geass in one day..

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion is a very entertaining and addictive Japanese anime.. Its genre is a sci-fci and warfare yet also touches a fair bit on philosophy and morality.

It shares some similarities with Death Note but it's thoroughly an anime in a class of its own..

In a nutshell, it's a movie about an exiled prince called Lelouch who was given some mind control ability going against the kingdom that his father controls.

Highly recommended.. Yes, adults can watch cartoon also..

BTW, this anime endorses Pizza Hut..

Ascot Waters

Had a leisurely stroll in Ascot Waters, a scenic little suburb by the Swan River in the City of Belmont.. Believe it or not, this site used to be a landfill.. It sure has changed a lot..

This suburb comes with its own marina.. Yea, so some of the houses come with both carparks and docking spots for boat..

Another view of the marina..

Some wild bird near the marina..

The wetland part of the suburb..

Well maintained garden..

A statue of large cat to scare away wild birds..

View of the Swan River.. The water was calm.. Plenty of wild birds here.. Good location for shooting crocodiles movie..

Crocodiles in the background..

A family of pelicans..

Black swans with its whiter cygnets.. Maybe the cygnets will become black also one day..

Black Swan with pelicans sharing the same habitat..

The walkway along the river provided good spot for evening stroll.. Just have to becareful of land mines created by birds and crocodiles..

Lonely pelican with an equally lonely seagull..

Some nicely trimmed and hedged Australian bush in the background..