I Love Yoo Gurney Plaza

Now this franchise is not new, neither is it only confined to central Malaysia but there are more than 30 outlets all over Malaysia now. I Love Yoo brings the traditional Chinese breakfast and tea time favourites in a modern cafe setting, and it does it rather well even though if given the chance I will still jump at the chance to have "you tiao" at my nearest local market for breakfast. 

 I Love Yoo Gurney Plaza Penang

I Love Yoo (Gurney Plaza Branch)
170-4, Basement 1
Plaza Gurney, Penang.
Business Hours: Opens Daily: 10am - 10pm

Website: http://www.iloveyoo.com.my

A small variety of nice traditional "you tiao" and ham chim pengs (fried buns)

It was during one of my trips back to Penang where I dropped by Gurney Plaza and had a sudden hunger for some tea time snacks. Dropping by I Love Yoo, I was attracted by their "you tiao"s and fried buns which I promptly ordered on top of some porridge and soya drink. Simple yet filling, perfect to cure those afternoon hunger pangs.

#1 You Tiao (came in a set)

#2 Porridge (came in a set)

#3 Soya Drink in a bowl (came in a set)

The three items above came in a set costing RM6.50 which consisted of "you tiao", a bowl of porride and soya drink. I loved the "you tiao" as it was still hot and crispy. The porridge was okay, but left me feeling really thirsty afterwards, which was when the soya drink came in handy. 

#4 Fried Bun with red bean paste aka "Ham Chim Peng"

We ordered an extra dish, which was the Fried Bun with red bean paste or better known as "Ham Chim Peng" in Chinese. Crispy on the outer skin while fluffy and sweet inside, I actually did not mind having more of these buns. Of course, I did practise some self control and stuck with what we ordered. 

I Love Yoo was pretty good, the perfect tea time snack to have while shopping in any shopping complex. With the franchise opening everywhere including Midvalley, 1Utama, Sunway and many other major shopping malls in Klang Valley and Malaysia as a whole. Have you tried them yet?

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Future Music Festival Asia 2012

Something really big is coming to town, and it's coming really soon. It's the inaugural Future Music Festival Asia (FMFA for short) to be held in KL and it's coming this March 2012. This post shall be a promotional writeup to announce the coming of FMFA brought in by Future Entertainment and Livescape featuring numerous International, Regional and local line-up of DJs.

Future Music Festival Asia is Coming to KL!

Future Music Festival Asia Event Info
Where : Sepang International Circuit
When  : 17 March 2012
Time    : 2pm till late
Admission  : Super early bird RM98, Early bird RM138, Pre-sale RM158

The first edition of Future Music Festival Asia will take place at the Sepang International Circuit and will be the official opening event for the upcoming F1 Grand Prix week on the 17 March. The festival is scheduled to kick off at 2pm and go for 12 glorious hours of ground-breaking music. Tickets go on-sale now with prices from RM98 via www.airasiaredtix.com and its ticketing outlets.

The Banner for Future Music Festival Asia

So what is expected at this Future Music Festival Asia? FMF Asia’s debut will see The Chemical Brothers (DJ set) headlining the monster event. Other international acts performing include Tinie Tempah, Chase & Status, The Wombats, Pendulum (DJ Set), Grandmaster Flash, Sneaky Sound System, Cosmic Gate, Eddie Halliwell and many more.

Overseas' Future Music Festival Edition

The list of regional acts features some of the best in Asia and it includes, Shinichi Osawa (Japan), Jalebee Cartel (India), Nikhil+Pearl (India), Pet Conspiracy (China), Electrico (Singapore), Inquisitive (Singapore, Agrikulture (Indonesia), Sandwich (Philippines), Good Night Electric (Indonesia), Project E.A.R (SEA) and The Great Spy Experiment (Singapore).

On the local Malaysian front, we have Kyoto Protocol, Goldfish + Blink, Twilight Actiongirl, They Will Kill Us All, Mini Compo, Enterprise, Oh! Chentaku, Bud Culture, Terence C, Victor G, Fono, Bass Agents and Phil K Lee + Ian Ross.

Another Banner promoting Future Music Festival Asia

To replicate the same atmosphere and set up of Future Music Festival in Australia, there will be four stages to entertain the thousands of patrons expected to attend the party. Malaysia, being the first ever Future Music Festival venue outside of Australia will hopefully see the attendance of neighbouring countries around the region. Well, as for me, I'm pretty excited to catch this event this coming March which will definately be another new experience for me!

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Han Dynasty Restaurant Damansara

The other night, I had the opportunity to catch the "Ace Youth Charity Dinner" over at Han Dynasty Restaurant in Damansara which was previously known as Damansara Palace. It was my first time stepping foot here, and I was taken aback by the amount of youths and tables opened up for this charity dinner. 

#1 Three Combinations Dish

Han Dynasty Restaurant (Formerly Damansara Palace)
Plot A, Persiaran Surian, Jalan PJU 3/31
Damansara PJ

Reaching the venue at around 8pm, it was already dark outside, coupled with the fact that the basement parking had no lights, I could actually feel the darkness when I stepped out of my car. It was not until 9pm plus that most of the attendees arrived, and we could begin our meal. That was when I realized a certain politician had arrived to lend support for Ace Youth's charity dinner. Anyway do check out the dishes we had that night as below.

Our menu for the night

#2 Chicken Soup with Corn

#3 Roasted Chicken

After the first dish which was okay with the three different combinations, the subsequent dishes that arrived was the Chicken with Corn Soup and Roasted Chicken. I did not find it really tasty, in fact it was a bit too bland for the taste. Also, I'm not sure about you, but I do find including the chicken head in the roasted chicken dish a bit too disturbing for me. 

#4 Butter Prawn with Oats

#5 Steamed Halibut with Soya Sauce

The Butter Prawns with Oats was the saving dish for the whole night, as I love the taste of the oats. The prawns itself wasn't extremely fresh, but together with those buttered oats, it was tasty enough. As for the Steamed Halibut dish however, I found the flesh really soft, just a tad too oily. 

#6 Braised Gluten with Mushroom

Braised Gluten with Mushroom, now this was a rather nice vegetarian dish with the mushrooms. A quick check online on what Gluten is, and I'm rather surprised to see a lot of articles promoting Gluten-Free dishes. So why are we having Gluten here? Probably it's a sign. 

Anyway, I managed to get a photo of the VIPs that attended that night together with some of the children from the home that the Ace Youth charity dinner was raising funds for. It was rather interesting to note all the happy faces that night.

Ace Youth Charity Dinner

Overall, it was an eventful dinner, where we got to see so many youths gathering in one large hall having a feast. The food however was not as good as I hoped for, probably because they had to prepare for a over 80 tables? Han Dynasty Restaurant, the restaurant itself was huge enough to cater for large scale events and dinners any day.

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New Toyota Prius C Media Launch

Toyota had their launching of the New Improved Toyota Prius together with the much awaited All-New Toyota Prius C recently over at Sunway Convention Centre. I had the opportunity to attend this and witness first hand the unveiling of these 2 very cool hybrid vehicles. The moment I laid eyes on the new Toyota Prius C, the first thing that went through my mind was, "This Prius C will definately be a hit among car lovers!".

Toyota Prius C Launch Event

Sitting though the product (Toyota Prius C) introduction, I was surprised to find out this chic youthful looking car is going to be sold for RM97k, cheaper than the current sub 100k hybrid which was the Honda Insight. Just looking at the Toyota Prius C got me all excited as I realize for this price range, with the looks, 1.5L engine capacity, and the rather spacious interior and boot, this hybrid is going to rock the market.

Unveiling of the price for Prius, Prius Luxury and the latest Prius C

The event was to showcase the new Toyota Prius and Prius Luxury on top of the new baby on the block, Toyota Prius C. However this post will be concentrating more on the Toyota Prius C as it is really an evolutionary new vehicle brought to Malaysia by Toyota. (http://www.toyota.com.my)

The Sparkling New Prius C

Got distracted momentarily by these ladies

An Overview of the New Toyota Prius

The new, improved PRIUS is driven by a hybrid system with a 1.8 liter petrol engine and electric motor offering class leading fuel efficiency and low emissions yet offers performance equivalent to a conventional 2.4 liter car. In addition, the new improved PRIUS comes with EV (Electric Vehicle) mode. 

The new improved PRIUS offers 2 variants (PRIUS 1.8 and PRIUS 1.8 Luxury). New key features of the new improved PRIUS are exterior design which expresses excellent aerodynamic performance and functional beauty, additional premium features such as LED headlamps, daytime running lights, JBL premium audio with reverse camera and leather seats.

It was question time for the media present

Coming back to the highlight of the event, the all new Toyota Prius C comes off being slightly smaller in size than the original Toyota Prius. Its body length of 3,995 mm is 485 mm shorter than the Prius while the overall width of 1,695 mm (excluding door mirrors) is just 25 mm less on either side. To match its compact proportions, the overall height is also lower at 1,455 mm.

The slightly modified version of Toyota Prius C

Under The Hood

Toyota’s proven Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) system, proven in the Prius, has been adapted to suit the smaller size of the Prius c. Components such as the engine, transaxle and battery have been made more compact and lighter, resulting in the HSD of the Prius c being 42 kgs lighter than that in the Prius.

Much of the powertrain mass is located lower and closer to the middle of the car while the battery is installed under the rear seat, contributing to better weight distribution and a lower centre of gravity for more stable handling.

That's the battery located under the rear seat

The engine is a 1NZ-FXE type and comes from the same family as the 1.5-litre VVT-i engine in the Vios. However, it runs on an Atkinson Cycle which has a higher compression ratio and different valve opening/closing characteristics. However, the operating temperatures are well controlled so RON95 unleaded petrol can be used even though the compression ratio is 13.4:1.

The Interior

Toyota Prius C sports a rather futuristic design with two toned colours being used. Everything is set up in such a way that it actually feels much larger and spacious than it actually is. Going eco friendly without compromising on space, now that's one thing I like about this car.

The Back View of Toyota Prius C

The Toyota Prius C's boot

For a car this size, Toyota Prius C again surprised me with it's boot space. I had expected the space behind to be inadequate, but as can be seen from the photo above, there was ample space to fit a sub-woofer with lots of extra luggage.

The new, improved Prius comes in four colors and is priced at RM 139,900 for the Prius Standard and RM 145,500 for the Prius Luxury variant (on the road price with insurance), while the all new Prius C comes in five colors, with a starting price of RM 97,000 (on the road price with insurance). Both models have a 3 year or 100,000km warranty (whichever comes first).

The new improved Prius and all new Prius C will be available at selected Toyota Showrooms in Peninsular Malaysia from 24th February and East Malaysia on the 2nd March onwards. UMWT has targeted sales of 1,500 units for the new, improved Prius and 2,500 units for the all new Prius C this year. So what are you waiting for, if you are looking for an affordable sporty hybrid vehicle, the new Toyota Prius C is definately a viable choice!

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Pin Xiang Restaurant Aman Suria

During the final few days of the Chinese New Year festive holidays, I had the opportunity to dine at another eatery in Aman Suria. This round it was to be a complete Chinese dinner at Pin Xiang Restaurant where they are well known for their fresh and nicely cooked crabs. 

Pin Xiang Restaurant Aman Suria

Restaurant Pin Xiang
H-18-G, Jalan PJU 1/45
Aman Suria, Damansara
47301, Petaling Jaya
Tel: 603 8945 8733
Fax: 603 8945 5733

Reaching the restaurant at around 8pm, it was nice to see the place bustling with diners which means the food there had to be good to garner so many customers. I managed to see a lot of big families dining there, with most tables having Pin Xiang's signature crab delicacies. My apologies for not being able to publish the prices as this was a dinner treat, and I was not informed of the prices. Check out below on what we had that fine evening.

#1 Salmon Yee Sang

As it was still technically Chinese New Year at the time of dining, the 13th day to be exact, we were served with the traditional Salmon Yee Sang. Some high tosses later, we were ready to dig into more delicious dishes. 

#2 Yam Ring with Pou Ging Pork Ribs

#3 Marmite Pork Ribs

Now I'm a meat lover, love meat much more than seafood, hence when the first two dishes that came in the form of the Yam Ring with Pou Ging Pork Ribs and Marmite Pork Ribs, I was virtually grinning as I brought these delicious meaty pieces to my mouth. I do love pork being served this way, as they really brought out the taste. Nothing really special about these dishes though, it just happens to hit the right spot.

#4 Braised Chicken with Yam

#5 Stir Fried Bittergourd with Chinese Pickled Lettuce

Up next were the poultry and vegetable dishes before the seafood. I was told the Braised Chicken with Yam was one of Pin Xiang's signature dishes as well. It came in thick yam sauce which was okay, except I'm not too much of a yam fan. The Stir Fried Bittergourd with Chinese Pickled Lettuce was okay as well. From this point onwards, it was a seafood galore as fishes, prawns and crabs were brought out. 

#6 Fresh Garoupa Chunks

#7 Two-taste Prawns, Buttered and Salad Mayonnaise Prawns

For the fish lovers, the Fresh Garoupa dish had big chunks of fish inside which was just lovely. My eyes were fixated on the prawns though. We were served with one huge plate of prawns cooked in two different flavors, one side being the Buttered Prawns and the other the Salad Mayonnaise Prawns. To truly enjoy this dish, we had the option of using our fingers to peel off the shell, which we did. As the prawns were fresh, the shell fell off easily revealing the tasty white flesh underneath. What can I say, I liked the prawns.

#8 Fried Mantao to be dipped into the Crab sauces

#9 Butter Crab

#10 Sweet and Sour Crab

Pin Xiang is famous for its crabs, and that evening we had not one crab dish, but two different dishes with a truckload of crabs in it. I'm glad to say the crab dishes here really lived up to their top dish of Pin Xiang as it came out perfectly cooked. The Butter Crab had this creamy butter sauce which were perfect to be dipped with the Fried Mantao. Personally I don't really take a lot of crab, but from the small portions that I took, I would say the Hot & Sour Crab ranked higher that the buttered one as the combination of sweet, spicy and sour sauce blended well into the crab meat. 

Waxed Meat Rice

We ended the dinner with some Waxed Meat Rice which was good, perfectly sealing off a good night out with nice Chinese cuisine at Pin Xiang Restaurant. Do check out this restaurant should you be in the vicinity of Aman Suria and plan to get some nice Chinese food for dinner with the family. 

Related Aman Suria Food Posts:

• Andes BYO Aman Suria 
• Heritage Village Cafe Aman Suria

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