Vegetarian Food For Healthy Living?

What's your take on vegetarian food? You know, like the ones they sell from hawker centers or stalls which are fully catered for vegetarians with not a trace of meat. There are a few benefits I can think of on why vegetarian meals are good for you.

1. Vegetables are good for you, at least that's what mum always says. Doctors say it too!
2. Less oil in vegetables, so you don't get fat so fast.
3. Less cancer causing carcinogens which are found in meat, so you don't die young.
4. Vegetables are cheaper! Try comparing a steak meal with a meal filled with vegetables and you'll definately notice the difference.
5. Meat makes your breath stinks when you don't brush often, vegetables are less stinky I guess. They're fresher!

Well, I was at SS2 the other day, and dropped by the food court. As I was undecided on which stall to eat, I just sauntered to this vegetarian stall. I'm not sure why, but every time I have vegetarian food, I will take the same choice of veggies. I find they are indeed tasty, the issue was, due to the lack of meat, where does the taste come from? Check out the vegetarian dish I ordered that day below.

Artificial meat, veggies, and fried soya fillets.

So how many of you are vegetarians, or eat healthily? As for me, I think I still need my meat every now and then. I found out each time I have a vegetarian meal, I get hungry again in a flash.

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How Do I Use This RM50?

I was given RM50 the other day by my mother in law. Normally that would be cause for excitement right? I mean, it's free money! Not this time. When she handed me the RM50 note, her parting words were "I cannot use this note, pls send it back to the bank". Bank? What bank? When I looked down on the note, then I understood what she meant. Have a look below.

My unusable RM50

I've read that it is possible to return torn notes back to our national bank if the majority of the note is still visible, but until now I could not find the time to send it back yet. Actually I do not know how, probably go to Bank Simpanan Nasional or something.

Anyway here's what I have tried to get rid of the note using a myriad of ways.

1. Passing to coffee shop auntie to buy breakfast - Rejected
Her exact words were "Aiyo!, Cannot use, cannot use" in cantonese. 

2. Using it at the highway tolls - Rejected
The operator promptly returned it to me, and she didn't even say anything, just glared at me with outstretched hands waiting for my toll money. I smiled back and paid my dues. 

3. Using it to buy movie tickets at GSC, TGV - Rejected
RM50 can pay for at least 4 movie tickets! Why do you reject me, now I cannot invite more friends to watch movie together.

4. Using it via bank cash deposit machine when paying for my home loan, credit card - Rejected
The machine vomited out my cash. Machines are getting smarter, one day they'll rule the world I tell you.
 
5. Thought of using by putting angpao for friends wedding! - Cancelled it.
I cancelled this plan because I knew I will feel guilty afterwards. Come on, later the restaurant don't accept my note how? Then my friend will trace back the RM50 to me.

Oh well, guess I'm still stuck with this note until I find time during office hours to go to the bank and enquire if they'll take it back.


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Sanctum 3D Movie Review

After hearing a couple of friends mentioning about this movie, I decided to catch it for myself today. I've heard mixed reviews over this movie "Sanctum 3D" which made me even more curious to see what the fuss is about. The banner shouts out "From executive producer James Cameron, creator of Titanic and Avatar". It shouldn't be a bad watch, i whispered to my movie partner just before entering GSC Midvalley Cinema.

Movie Poster

GSC Midvalley shows this movie in both 3D and 2D, but I caught the one in 2D because personally, I don't like wearing the 3D glasses unless absolutely necessary. They should make 3D glasses that can cater for movie goers who wears spectacles.

Sanctum

Coming back to the movie, in a nutshell, the movie revolves around this team of underwater cave divers going down one of the largest unexplored cave system (Esa-ala-Caves). We have some handsome actors, and 1 babe in the cast. The movie starts off with one team on the way to the cave, while another team with master diver Frank McGuire (Richard Roxburgh) has already been exploring the cave. Frank's son Josh played by Rhys Wakefield starts off being on bitter ends with his father. But as the movie progresses on, you see them building a strong father-son relationship which in my opinion was the better part of this movie. 


The movie picks up momentum when a cyclone hit the cave, and everything is flooded. Now our team has no way to get out except by diving even deeper, going through an underwater labyrinth. This is where the excitements starts. One by one, due to negligence, lack of skills, and a whole bunch of other circumstances, the body count increases, and the crew was left with only a couple of divers. One thing let to another and before you know it, everybody was fighting for their own survival. There was a slight twist in the end, but that was about all you get. 

Overall, this was an OK movie, but I had expected more coming from the director of Titanic and Avatar which were blockbusters. Probably the 3D version had more oomph to it, but I doubt it, as the movie is as good as the plot goes, and Sanctum's plot is rather shallow for a deep diving movie. 


I leave you with the trailer for this movie, and some screen captures I took off the net.

More screen captures

Our heroes squirming their way around tight spots

More tight spots

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KFC Toasted Pocketful

KFC, short for Kentucky Fried Chicken, but you don't see them using these words anymore. They have rebranded everything with just 3 letters, "KFC". I guess there isn't a need to introduce this famous fast food chain so I shall jump straight to the point.

First off, I don't normally go for fast food chains, and even if I do, I actually preferred McDonalds to KFC. Anyway that's beside the point, and there I was at KFC Jusco AU2 pondering on whether I should have it for dinner or not.

KFC Jusco AU2

Well, my stomach made the decision for me that day, as I noticed there was something new on the menu. KFC Toasted Pocketful was the name, and if I'm not mistaken it came out mid of last year, but was taken off the menu until recently in February 2011. Don't ask me why, as I'm not sure myself.

KFC Toasted Pocketful

The name reminded me of pocket lunches, and I guess it was called that because the packaging it came in does look like a pocket. The tagline for Toasted Pocketful? Take a bite out of the Unexpected! Ordered that, and the other usual suspects of KFC, namely its chicken (specifically ordered thighs), potato wedges with cheese, and coleslaw (my all time favourite!)

The packaging it came in

Toasted Pocketful - RM 10.60 (comes with potato wedges and drinks)

KFC Toasted Pocketful tasted good with ingredients made up of the Zinger chicken fillet, lettuce, corn kernels, crispy chicken strip, and Chacho's corn chips topped with jalapeno cheese sauce. Everything is wrapped nicely in a tortilla before being toasted. Appetizing indeed.

Potato Wedges with cheese (included in the combo meal)

My favourite! Large Coleslaw - RM 4.65

2 Pcs Thigh - RM 6.40

Overall, it was a quick and satisfying meal without burning a hole in my pocket. I must say KFC is an OK place, and when I'm not frequenting my McD's I would definately have my 2pcs KFC for a quick fix. Do check out the KFC Toasted Pocketful if you haven't tried it yet. 


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Won 2 Tickets To The Premiere Screening Of I Am Number Four

I was beaming from ear to ear when I received yet another lovely surprise from Nuffnang. This was from yet another one of Nuffnang's cool movie premiere's contest, and me being a freebies lover joint it. This time it was for a very cool movie, one of which I was really determined to catch, free or otherwise.

Nuffnang Email Invitation

The movie poster reads "From the directors of Disturbia, and producer Michael Bay", I guess you can't go very wrong with that. I've attached the sypnosis for this movie which I sourced online below.

Synopsis:
Three are dead. He is Number Four. D.J. Caruso (“Eagle Eye,” “Disturbia”) helms an action-packed thriller about an extraordinary young man, John Smith (Alex Pettyfer), who is a fugitive on the run from ruthless enemies sent to destroy him. Changing his identity, moving from town to town with his guardian Henri (Timothy Olyphant), John is always the new kid with no ties to his past. In the small Ohio town he now calls home, John encounters unexpected, life-changing events—his first love (Dianna Agron), powerful new abilities and a connection to the others who share his incredible destiny.

Well, my entry to the contest I've attached below. We were suppose to comment on what superpower we would have if we were an alien sent to Earth. Please don't laugh at my lame comment below.

Isaac Tan Says:
February 22nd, 2011 at 1:25 pm

What superpower I would have if I were an alien sent to Earth?

My first thoughts when I read this was, “Hey, this question has to be rephrased! It should read superpowers, not singular but plural as superhero SuperIsaac can’t just survive on one power alone. Come on! You don’t see Superman having only super strength. He has super speed, flame throwing eyes, a strong breathe that can chill or blow a car to the heavens. Oh, and he has my all time favorite power, super X-RAY Vision!! A superhero alien like myself cannot survive on one power alone, that’s just plain wrong!

I have all those cool super powers that my cousin Superman has and more! My unique powers would be the ability to teleport (similar to the hero in the movie Jumper) and also the ability to influence the minds of every human beings. With this, no one can stop me, and I’ll be the single most powerful being on this planet!! Muahahahaha! (I’ll be the evil Brain from the cartoon Pinky & The Brain!)

Thanks nuffnang for giving me another chance to use the creative juices in my brain! I do really wish I had the last superpower, the power of influencing would be super useful when I use it on the judges for this contest!!! LOL. now count to 1 backwards from 10. 10…9….8….7….. (you’re going to let me win these tickets) 6………..5 …. 4….3…..2…..1……

Thank you!!

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It's Still Christmas At Jaya Jusco AU2

I dropped by Jusco AU2 Keramat yesterday for dinner and some groceries shopping. While I was passing the centre court, my eyes met something which attracted my attention with its ingenuity and creativeness. It was a huge christmas tree made of recycled plastic bottles.

Recycled Bottles Christmas Tree

A little late for Christmas don't you think? That wasn't what made me feel the management of this mall is really creative. On closer inspection of the tree, I saw bright colored oranges hanging all round! Hey, the management actually re-used the christmas tree to cater for chinese new year! So we have a dual 2in1 tree for all occasions.

Oranges!

My suggestion would be to reuse it for hari raya by hanging ketupats on the tree, or maybe hang some easter bunnies for the Easter Day celebration! That will definately take the icing on the cake.

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Won 2 Tickets To The Premiere Screening Of Beastly

My day just got better the moment it hit 3pm today. *You've Got Mail*, my iPhone vibrated. When my eyes saw that the email that arrived was from Nuffnang titled "Invitation to...." my heart skipped a beat. I eagerly connected to 3G to download the whole email. Check it out below. 

My free premiere invitation to Beastly

It was an invitation to the new movie premiere "Beastly" this coming 2nd March at Cathay Cineplex, e@Curve. How did I get so lucky to win the tickets? Well, Nuffnang held a short contest for fellow nuffnangers to win these tickets just by writing a blog post completing the sentence "If I were a Beast given ONE chance to prove that I am worthy to be human again, I would..." 

My blog entry for the contest was posted last week, the link as below. Do check it out if you haven't yet.

http://www.isaactan.net/2011/02/beastly-movie.html

Official Movie Poster

Thank you Nuffnang for giving me the opportunity to catch this movie, before it goes live, and for free! Have I mentioned before I really love freebies? I really appreciate this. 

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Sweet Belgian Chocolates

Did you know Belgium chocolates are also called "Belgian Pralines"? Well I didn't, not until I did some digging up on it since after the day a friend of mine Suituapui gave it to me as a gift. The reason I went to find more info on it? Well, the chocolate tastes exquisite and I wanted to know what made it special!

Guylian Belgian Chocolates

Belgian chocolates are a unique in the sense that they have a hard shell (called pralines by the Belgium makers) which can be filled with a variety of fillings ranging from flavored nougats to creams such as coffee, hazelnut or fruit. In a nutshell (pun intended), they nearly always contain a hard chocolate shell with a softer, sometimes liquid filling.

Something I found off the internet which interested me: 


Sourced from wisegeek.com:   

In the chocolate making process, the cocoa beans are ground and mixed with sugar and cocoa butter and then smoothed out through tempering (careful addition of heat). Most chocolate companies receive their chocolate in solid form, which means it must be reheated in order to be usable. Belgian chocolate companies often receive their couverteur  (a special version of chocolate) in heated tanker trucks soon after the tempering process. Because the chocolate has not cooled, it retains much more of the aroma than the cooled varieties.

Yummy Belgian Chocs!

These chocolates may be pricier than your average chocolate bar, but nothing beats the great taste and knowing that the made in Belgium tag guarantees an above average quality chocolates! Check out how they look like below, Guylian even gave each piece a cool name!

Chocs in limited quantity

We have an assortment of pretty cool names which I took the liberty to list it down just because it was so unique, a mix of classical music and chocolate fillings. 

Massenet Manon - Chocomousse

Verdi Aida - Smooth Truffle Filling

Bach Toggata And Fugue - Gianduja

Puccini Madame Butterfly - Creme Orange Cream

Beethoven Moonlight Sonata - Creme Cappucino Cream

Donizetti Daughter Of The Regimen - Noisette Praline Roasted Hazelnut

Gounud Romeo And Juliet - Nougat-Praline

Mozart The Magic Flute - Noisette-Cappucino Roasted Hazelnut

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There Goes My Diet

Tonight I had a very late dinner at around 11pm. My stomach was already growling with hunger, but that's no excuse for me ordering the dish I had tonight. The coffee shop I dropped by was Restoran Wai Yat and it was located at Wangsa Maju Section 2, just behind my house.

Restoren Wai Yat

As usual, I walked around the coffeeshop scanning for the dishes I would love to eat. Finally after contemplating for like 3 minutes, I went for the Fried Oyster stall, and ordered their smallest sized dish. The fried oyster came in 3 sizes, Small, Medium, and Large. Check out my fattening dish below.

Fried Oyster - RM7

The fried oyster was delicious to say the least. I don't like oysters which were very raw, and this one was cooked quite thoroughly, so there was no slimy juices coming out when I bit in. I love the way the eggs tasted, sometimes I wished I could order fried oyster without the oyster and just the eggs!

Half way through my dish, I suddenly realize I had just ordered the oiliest and fattening food in the coffeeshop! My partner was shaking her head, and I suddenly felt guilty. I was suppose to get into shape not the opposite! Oh well, there's always tomorrow to choose my meals more carefully.

Assam Boi Drink

Downed my meal with a cup of assam boi drink which was refreshing as it helped slightly in cleaning my mouth off all the oil from the fried oyster. I hereby apologize to my poor stomach and heart for taking such an unhealthy food, and I will eat more healthy food from now on. Don't give up on me just yet.

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Lasposa Bridal Gallery House At SS2

Every wedding couples have their pre-wedding photographs taken nowadays, be it at a bridal house, by a photography company, or by friends. Mine was no different, and yesterday was our turn to choose the wedding gowns for the pre-wedding photography session. Technically, she chose her gowns, I'm suppose to choose my tux and shirts on the day of the photography itself.

The bridal house we chose to have our photographs taken was Lasposa Bridal Gallery located in SS2. It was actually recommended by my partner's friend who took her pre-wedding and family photographs there.

LASPOSA Bridal Gallery Sdn Bhd
No.6, Jalan SS2/75,
47300 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor Darul Ehsan.
Tel : 03 - 7877 1782

We were there as per appointment at 11am. After a short discussion to finalize the shooting location as well as the number of wedding gowns, evening gowns, and casual wear needed, the battle to choose her wedding dress began. Yours truly was in charge of keeping her handbag safe, snapping pictures of her so she can browse through the dresses via the camera, and of course saying "mmm, ok... looks good!... can lar.. etc".

And it began..

One thing I like about Lasposa Bridal Gallery was that they spared no expenses to get a very wide range of wedding gowns and evening wear. The whole top floor of the place was literally packed with dresses that you could spend one whole day choosing. Check out some pictures I took below to get an idea of how many dresses were available. I think this is a very big plus point for Lasposa, you'll be spoilt for choice.

Her changing room

Wedding Gowns

More Wedding Gowns

Check out the choices.

They had guys clothing as well, but not as many as the wedding gowns of course. In fact when we were there choosing her clothes, I can't help but notice a group of ladies trying out the clothes. Initially I thought they were all brides to be, but the fact was they were there to rent some evening dresses for a company dinner. Lasposa does evening dresses rental as well. I'm not sure how much are the charges though.

Some Clothing For Me!

Of course while checking out the place, I couldn't help but capture the internal decorations Lasposa Gallery had put up. It was really classy to say the least.

Some beautiful lightings

A Collage Of Deco Photos

We spent close to 2 hours plus minus at Lasposa Gallery, but it was time well spent as my bride to be happily confirmed her wedding gowns for the photography session. We chose 2/3 wedding gowns, and 1 evening gown if I'm not mistaken. If she's happy, then I'm happy!

Her

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Free Breakfast With A Fellow Blogger

I woke up very early today, before 7am on a weekend. The occasion? One of my blogger friend is in town! He goes by the blog name Suituapui or STP for short. Truth to be told, he was one of my first blog friend since I started blogging end of last year, so I really appreciate the support he has given me.

It was really tough waking up this early on a Saturday, but miraculously I reached Hotel Bintang Warisan, Bukit Bintang where STP was staying at 7.30am. I was promised a free breakfast since STP had a breakfast coupon for 2 at the hotel's cafe.  Free Breakfast accepted because I was taught from young to never back down from a free meal!

Hotel Bintang Warisan Cafe

The cafe was quite cozy, with simple decor, but this was to be expected since the hotel itself wasn't a 5 star hotel to start with. Snapped a few pictures as below of the cafe itself, and promptly sat down to order our breakfast.

The Cafe

My order was the Nasi Lemak set as recommended by STP, while he ordered the Western Breakfast Set. Since the food was free, I didn't actually bother to glance at the price. Have a look below on some pictures I managed to capture before the food vanish into our stomach.

Nasi Lemak

The Nasi Lemak was ok, but I have to complain on the size of the rendang chicken given. It was such a minuscule piece that I could have finished it in one mouthful. They gave so much rice, but too little sambal! In the end I couldn't finish the rice because I ran out of kacang, sambal, and chicken. However I could find no fault with the taste, your everyday Malaysian Nasi Lemak flavour.

Western Breakfast Set

Both our nasi lemak and western breakfast sets came with coffee, and with sugar and cream it was a welcome drink in the early morning weather.

Black Coffee

While chatting with STP, I really have to admire his vast knowledge in food, education, and blogging in general. He came from Sibu, and had so much to share! From the short time of our meeting, my general knowledge went up 10%. I actually wanted to call the waiter to snap a picture of us together, but STP politely declined. My guess is famous people don't like to be photographed!

Before you can say "Isaac is handsome", it was already 10am! We said our goodbyes, and I was so surprised that on top of the free breakfast, I got a free present! Thank you Suituapui! You cannot imagine how much I love freebies. It was a good meet up, and I look forward to seeing you around again soon. For now, you know you have a loyal follower here, and it's not because you gave me chocs.

Freebies! Thanks!

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Won 2 Tickets To The Premiere Screening Of Drive Angry

Guess what? I've gotten myself 2 free movie tickets to the premiere screening of Drive Angry happening this 26th Feb. I knew shouting TGIF (Thank God It's Friday) this morning when I reached the office was bound to bring me some luck today, and it did! Again, these movie tickets were courtesy of Nuffnang. 

Check out the email I received which made my day today. 

Thanks Nuffnang!

The contest to win these tickets were fairly simple, all we had to do was to drop an entry comment finishing up the phrase "I don’t Drive Angry but I want to watch Nicholas Cage Drive Angry because..." Check out my entry below. 

Isaac Tan Says:
February 8th, 2011 at 9:20 am
 

I don’t Drive Angry but I want to watch Nicholas Cage Drive Angry because.. 

I love THE man himself, Nicholas Cage who has been my number 1 movie idol for ages, and I’ve never missed any of his movies. 

Like I said, I don’t drive angry. Driving angry is one heck of a dangerous stunt to do, and it may be a sure one way ticket to never-never land aka hell or heaven depending on individual, should you crash.

But in the movie, Nicolas Cage, came back from hell! With the devil down his tail, he still gets his stuff done with so much style and flair. Name me one other dude who can get that done other than Superman himself! 

So yes! I definately would want to watch Nicolas Cage drive angry! Drive angry if you must, but it’s not advisable by Isaac Tan!

Drive Angry Movie Poster

Also check out the official trailer below. This is one movie you shouldn't miss! I know I won't miss it.

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Sticky Traditional Hand Made Candies

I feel so outdated. Sticky traditional hand made candies shop was in existence in 1 Utama Mall for more than 2 years already, and I only saw it for the first time yesterday. I guess I'm not such a social mall loiterer as I thought I was. My only excuse was I'm not from around PJ area, so I rarely come over 1 Utama to shop.

sticky

This candy store is aptly named "STICKY", and what a sight it was. There was a crowd of customers and passerby watching the staff work their magic with the candies. It's amazing how they're able to hand-roll one big chunk of melted candy, flip it around, stretch it, twist it, and voila, small bits of chunky candies are produced! 

Melted Candy

The shop itself smelt strangely like wax, but in a nice candylike way. I just stood there watching the workers play with the molten candy like playing with cake dough.

Magicians!

Stretching the candy again and again, similar to stretching noodle dough.

After being totally obsessed with watching these guys work their magic, I took the chance to walk around the shop looking at the end product. They produce cute chunky small bits of colorful candies, with words and patterns. It's really beautiful, and I feel these candies would make the perfect gift for any occasion. If you were to drop by 1 Utama, do check out this special candy store!

Beautiful colorful candies

This image taken from http://tasty-foodies.blogspot.com

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