So the people have spoken and the Opposition has triumphed. They've surpassed their goal of denying BN a 2/3 majority in parliament and captured the states of Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Perak.
So, Mr Opposition....the fun and games are over. It's been relatively easy pointing out faults and failures of the government. Now you carry the responsibility of actually turning words into reality.
Frankly, I doubt if the opposition won because we think they can do a better job. No, this time, we were just punishing BN. It's a sad state of affairs for Malaysia when we vote not those who we think will serve best, but those who would screw us the least.
As the victory settles, will we see the opposition fighting amongst themselves? I do hope not. The new state governments will prove how well they can work together. I'm looking forward to see how they will manage their different philosophies. Will they do better or worse than a government formed along racial faults? Truly, if they work well, then there is hope yet for Bangsa Malaysia. It is far better to differ on policy than it is on the color of the skin.
Political PowerPlays
Pak Lah will resign soon. Najib will come into power but with a weak power base. It'll be a tough time for the government.
Khairy will consolidate and expand his power base. Hishamuddin might very well be the second Education Minister to not become PM (or first, discounting Anwar).
MCA is terribly weakened. Now is the time for political maneuvering. We'll have to see if the party can reform itself which may include a change of leadership.
Comments on where I voted
Selangor is an unexpected win. Now it'll be interesting to see if PKR can fulfil its election promises without bankrupting the state. And if you're truly transparent, how about releasing the state accounts.
Loh Gwo Burne is a rookie. He's not a politician. He's not a technocrat. And I doubt he's a good photographer. I think he'll be slaughtered in parliament. But he'll have the likes of Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh to cover his ass.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Food Review: Ole-ole Bali @ Sunway Pyramid
Ah, Chinese New Year! The one time of the year I have a free license to eat as much as I can. God bless this holiday.
But, I have to admit I'm a year older. Sigh, my stamina and endurance in stuffing my face is diminishing fast. So after a day of glorious taste sensations, we had a walkabout in Sunway Pyramid to help the food down.
Amazing, 4 hours later and I was still full. But, my more digestion-efficient companions wanted dinner.
So off we went and came across Ole-Ole Bali. Looked interesting so we had a go.
First impression: excellent and friendly service, unique ambiance. No noisy music playing and we could hold a decent conversation without shouting. That's inside looking out. You get to eat sitting on the raised platform is you like. Would be good to take a lie after the meal as well. But we went for table and chairs, thanks. Sigh, another sign I'm getting older.
Hmm, the menu doesn't star many traditional Bali fare. Disappointing, a lot of stuff that seems like cheap American food e.g. burgers, chips, steaks, deep-fried squid. I don't know, are they catering to the drinking crowd?
Anyway, we kept to the traditional dishes and here they are:
Here's the excellent squid salad. Basically, deep fried squid, the usual salad vegetables and a couple of keropok ikan bilis. But it was the sauce that made this. Light and tangy with chilli and hints of lemongrass and fish sauce (I doubt it's fish sauce but that's the closest description I can muster). RM 12.
Then here's the other salad. It's called Tipak Cantuk. Ok, that may be Balinese for Gado Gado because that's essentially what it was. Salad vegetables, eggs, tofu, shrimp, ketupat cubes with the requisite peanut sauce. RM 11.
And the main dish was the Nasi Campur Ole Ole. Sorry for the blurry pic but it was all I could do to hold off my ravenous friends. Kena marah for trying to find the right angle.You get the works with this. The rice was interesting: fragrant like nasi lemak. Ayam berempah, grilled fish, a satay, couple of prawns and some squid. RM 30.
Friends also had the Cucumber Mojito and the Lemongrass Mojito. RM 10 each. Can't comment since I didn't taste them. They said the drinks were quite refreshing. Ok, so is a Kopi O' Ais that costs 9x less.
So, can't say the food was inspiring. No impression of traditional Balinese flavours. Most of the food was grilled and deep-fried. Definitely, can't expect use of traditional herbs and spices.
Conclusion:
A nice, comfortable place to relax and have a filling meal. Food is not bad but not great either. You can definitely get better fare from any open-air medan selera. So you'll be paying mostly for the ambiance. Eat here if you want to. Just watch your cholesterol though: you might get a cardiac arrest from the prices.
I'm definitely not coming back.
But, I have to admit I'm a year older. Sigh, my stamina and endurance in stuffing my face is diminishing fast. So after a day of glorious taste sensations, we had a walkabout in Sunway Pyramid to help the food down.
Amazing, 4 hours later and I was still full. But, my more digestion-efficient companions wanted dinner.
So off we went and came across Ole-Ole Bali. Looked interesting so we had a go.
First impression: excellent and friendly service, unique ambiance. No noisy music playing and we could hold a decent conversation without shouting. That's inside looking out. You get to eat sitting on the raised platform is you like. Would be good to take a lie after the meal as well. But we went for table and chairs, thanks. Sigh, another sign I'm getting older.Hmm, the menu doesn't star many traditional Bali fare. Disappointing, a lot of stuff that seems like cheap American food e.g. burgers, chips, steaks, deep-fried squid. I don't know, are they catering to the drinking crowd?
Anyway, we kept to the traditional dishes and here they are:
Here's the excellent squid salad. Basically, deep fried squid, the usual salad vegetables and a couple of keropok ikan bilis. But it was the sauce that made this. Light and tangy with chilli and hints of lemongrass and fish sauce (I doubt it's fish sauce but that's the closest description I can muster). RM 12.
Then here's the other salad. It's called Tipak Cantuk. Ok, that may be Balinese for Gado Gado because that's essentially what it was. Salad vegetables, eggs, tofu, shrimp, ketupat cubes with the requisite peanut sauce. RM 11.
And the main dish was the Nasi Campur Ole Ole. Sorry for the blurry pic but it was all I could do to hold off my ravenous friends. Kena marah for trying to find the right angle.You get the works with this. The rice was interesting: fragrant like nasi lemak. Ayam berempah, grilled fish, a satay, couple of prawns and some squid. RM 30.Friends also had the Cucumber Mojito and the Lemongrass Mojito. RM 10 each. Can't comment since I didn't taste them. They said the drinks were quite refreshing. Ok, so is a Kopi O' Ais that costs 9x less.
So, can't say the food was inspiring. No impression of traditional Balinese flavours. Most of the food was grilled and deep-fried. Definitely, can't expect use of traditional herbs and spices.
Conclusion:
A nice, comfortable place to relax and have a filling meal. Food is not bad but not great either. You can definitely get better fare from any open-air medan selera. So you'll be paying mostly for the ambiance. Eat here if you want to. Just watch your cholesterol though: you might get a cardiac arrest from the prices.
I'm definitely not coming back.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Food Review: Wan Tan Mee @ Parkway, SS19
I binged on breakfast today since I was feeling famished. So I headed over to Parkway, a chinese coffee shop in SS19, Subang Jaya. A variety of stalls but I decided to go for the Wan Tan Mee, RM3.50 per serving.
And here it is with all the essentials: char siew pork with sufficient layer of fat (very important), wheat noodles covered with tasty black sauce and aromatic sesame oil, crispy green vegetables and spring onions for the crunchy tang.
Must not forget the accompanying wan tan: minced pork dumplings boiled in pork broth seasoned with white pepper.
So how was it? One word: SLURP!! This is one of the best meals this year. Everything came together and the serving was well worth the money: palate and tummy were both satisfied; something quite rare.
Let's go through it per ingredient.
A small serving of green vegetables but it was cooked well. Still green, crunchy and fresh-tasting. Good, as typically, the vegetables are limp from overboiling.
The char siew pork was a bit dry. But surprisingly flavoured well, could taste the char siew sauce in every bite. Nevertheless, the texture was rough. I would say it didn't have the ideal amount of fat. So, not the best char siew but still a generous amount of good pork.
Wan tan mee is judged by its noodles. I must admit it's a matter of preference but I personally like mine chewy, long and full (this soaks up the sauce). This stall's noodles is spot on. The noodles were picked up by the chopsticks with ease. A good mouthful with a good amount of sauce. Nice, chewy texture: you're not left with mush in your mouth. Again, a generous serving. Excellent.
How about the wan tan? The wan tan skin is silky smooth. You can slide it down your throat if you wanted to but I've a habit of chewing my food. The minced pork meat wasn't bad but nothing spectacular either. Of course, like most minced meat, expect to come across some gristly bits. The soup is acceptable, sufficient flavour and right amount of pepper. Four satisfying pork dumplings in a decent bowl of soup.
So there you (or I) have it. Money well spent on a simple yet satisfying dish. Only one bad point: I was thirsty after the meal. A sure sign of MSG, probably in the soup. It wasn't a lot or I would have had a throbbing headache (I'm quite sensitive to MSG). Guess we can't avoid MSG when eating out.
And here it is with all the essentials: char siew pork with sufficient layer of fat (very important), wheat noodles covered with tasty black sauce and aromatic sesame oil, crispy green vegetables and spring onions for the crunchy tang.
Must not forget the accompanying wan tan: minced pork dumplings boiled in pork broth seasoned with white pepper.
So how was it? One word: SLURP!! This is one of the best meals this year. Everything came together and the serving was well worth the money: palate and tummy were both satisfied; something quite rare.
Let's go through it per ingredient.
A small serving of green vegetables but it was cooked well. Still green, crunchy and fresh-tasting. Good, as typically, the vegetables are limp from overboiling.
The char siew pork was a bit dry. But surprisingly flavoured well, could taste the char siew sauce in every bite. Nevertheless, the texture was rough. I would say it didn't have the ideal amount of fat. So, not the best char siew but still a generous amount of good pork.
Wan tan mee is judged by its noodles. I must admit it's a matter of preference but I personally like mine chewy, long and full (this soaks up the sauce). This stall's noodles is spot on. The noodles were picked up by the chopsticks with ease. A good mouthful with a good amount of sauce. Nice, chewy texture: you're not left with mush in your mouth. Again, a generous serving. Excellent.
How about the wan tan? The wan tan skin is silky smooth. You can slide it down your throat if you wanted to but I've a habit of chewing my food. The minced pork meat wasn't bad but nothing spectacular either. Of course, like most minced meat, expect to come across some gristly bits. The soup is acceptable, sufficient flavour and right amount of pepper. Four satisfying pork dumplings in a decent bowl of soup.
So there you (or I) have it. Money well spent on a simple yet satisfying dish. Only one bad point: I was thirsty after the meal. A sure sign of MSG, probably in the soup. It wasn't a lot or I would have had a throbbing headache (I'm quite sensitive to MSG). Guess we can't avoid MSG when eating out.
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