iamthewitch.com |
- Dim Sum at Jade Pot
- Hair Care Tips
- Malaccan Portuguese Cuisine at Simply Mel’s
- Diet for a Model
- Recipes & Hari Raya Centrepieces by Just Heavenly
- First Impressions & Communication Skills of A Model
- Springy Ramen Santouka at Tokyo Street
- Posing & Expression with Amber Chia
- Best of Lot 10 Hutong Food Court
- Fashion Sense & Trends with Keith Kee
| Posted: 17 Aug 2011 06:27 PM PDT  It’s been a long time since I last had my dose of dim sum, the dainty, bite-sized Chinese food that is usually taken during breakfast. Well, times have changed now, and many restaurants are offering dim sum from morning til night, providing a constant supply to satisfy one’s cravings should it occur any time of the day. And so fate had it that we were at Jade Pot Dim Sum Restaurant one day to satisfy our dim sum craving during lunch. Located along a busy road, I was glad to know that this restaurant is a whole bungalow on its own, with a compound for free car park.
Dim Sum menu Once we’re seated, we’re given a 2-page menu printed on a piece of laminated cardboard, with pictures of the dim sum available. A piece of order chit was provided as well, for us to tick the items desired. I liked their ordering system since it’s easy, straightforward and ensures dim sum are prepared only upon order.
Table settings We went a little overboard with the ordering, placing a tick next to almost half the items on the menu. Steamers upon steamers of dim sum were served after about 10 minutes of waiting. Well to make life easy, I’m going to rate the dim sum from Good to Mediocre to Poor, according to my humble opinion. GOOD I LOVED the Pan-fried Radish Cake! This was served piping hot with extremely crispy edges and a soft interior. Be careful not to burn your tongue with this. The trick is to cut and split it into quarters, letting them cool down for a while, before dipping it into chilli sauce and sinking your teeth into the crispy exterior. The good news is, it’s not even very oily. My favourite pick from the restaurant.
Pan-Fried Radish Cake (RM4.80) The Siew Mai or Pork Dumplings came in rather sizable portion, with each piece large enough to require at least 2 bites. It was packed with a mixture of pork and shrimp meat, making it a savoury yet succulent package. My only gripe was that they could have been steamed a little too long, as the discoloured tobiko showed.
Siew Mai / Pork dumplings (RM6.80) I have always been a fan of ribs, especially pork ribs. So when I saw Fried Spare Ribs with Fermented Beancurd on the menu, I just couldn’t resist from ordering a portion. This was also served fresh from the kitchen, burning hot and so fragrant! The taste of fermented beancurd was apparent, as well as the juiciness of the pork meat. Yum!
Fried Spare Ribs with Fermented Beancurd (RM8.80) We ordered a plate of Oyster Sauce Choy Sum to balance out our meat- and cholesterol-laden meal. Thankfully, the vegetables were young and tender, with a generous amount of oyster sauce on top. This was as good as boiled vegetables can be.
Oyster Sauce Choy Sum (RM6.80) The Jade Pot Egg Tarts were not the best I’ve had but they’re decent enough. Flaky pastry and warm egg custard, they hit all the right spots.
Jade Pot Egg Tarts (RM4.80) MEDIOCRE Now for some items which I thought needed improvement, starting with Har Kow or Prawn Dumpling. Although the size of the dumpling was above average with a generous amount of prawns within, the skin of the dumpling left much to be desired. Almost half the dumplings had their skin stuck to the steamer, making it tear easily while spilling the contents out. Messy! The skin was soft and borderline mushy, so I did not bother eating it. I hope they’ll improve on this since the fillings were generous and good. Would be a pity if they didn’t.
Har Kow / Prawn dumplings After the success of the pan-fried radish cake, I ordered the Stir-Fried Radish Cake, with high hopes. Alas, these were a little disappointing as they turned out to be lack of ‘wok hei’ or the heat of wok, and quite honestly, a little bland. Also, notice that the amount of bean sprouts on the plate was significantly higher than radish cakes.
Stir Fried Radish Cake (RM5.80) Char Siu Pao / BBQ Pork Bun is my default order in any dim sum restaurant, hence I have pretty high standards for it. These were sadly below par, since I found the filling of BBQ pork to be populated with fatty bits of meat. I would really prefer chunkier and leaner meat in those fluffy buns.
Char Siu Pao / BBQ Pork Bun (RM4.80)
Fatty bits of meat When I saw cheese in the Prawn and Cheese Roll, I told myself I simply had to try this! These were pretty decent, although the amount of cheese used could be more generous. But I have to say their prawns were really succulent!
Prawn and Cheese Roll (RM5.80) Chee Cheong Fun, or Rice Noodle Roll is another specialty in dim sum restaurants. As opposed to some chee cheong fun which might not have fillings inside, this one had at least a small prawn in each piece. No worries about missing out!
Fresh Prawn Rice Noodle Roll (RM5.80) Chinese Herbal Jelly or Guai Lin Ko was not too bad, it had the intense flavour that was heightened with the addition of syrup on top. The syrup provided a nice and sweet beginning but once the jelly started to digest, there’s a slight bitter aftertaste, just how it should be.
Guai Lin Ko / Chinese Herbal Jelly (RM2.80) POOR Now I seldom classify food as poor, but the following dim sum dishes were just better left alone. The Steamed Beancurd Roll, for example, was clearly a case of over-steamed or overcooked. I’d like the beancurd roll to at least retain a slightly chewy bite to it after being steamed but these came out all soft and soggy.
Steamed Beancurd Roll (RM5.80) The Cantonese Bamboo Rice was a variation of the ‘loh mai kai’ with a different shape. Even though they had the contents of a typical loh mai kai (mushroom, chinese sausage, chicken), the rice was a disappointment. We found the rice to be pretty hard especially on the outer layer. Almost as if it was left out in the open for long, causing the outer layer to be dry and hardened.
Cantonese Bamboo Rice (RM4.80) The Dan Dan noodles looked pretty appealing on the menu, but what came was a small bowl of plain noodles with slightly spicy and savoury soup and nothing else.
Dan Dan Noodles (RM4.80) Steamed Chicken Feet was way too soft and overloaded with salt and pepper. The taste was a tad overwhelming for me to handle.
Steamed Chicken Feet (RM4.80) Last but not least, the Steamed Pork Spare Ribs was a huge disappointment. They were bland, overly soft, had more bones than meat and were overcooked.
Steamed Pork Spare Ribs (RM5.80) While there were certainly some hits and misses with this dim sum restaurant, I’d have to give it plus points for the spacious and comfortable dining environment that is also rather quiet. This would be what I have in mind for a weekend breakfast session where I’d like to sit back and relax with free flow of hot Chinese tea and nibble on my food, instead of being stared by customers for hogging the table for too long.
Dining environment at Jade Pot
Jade Pot Dim Sum & Steamboat Restaurant Jade Pot Dim Sum & Steamboat Restaurant (opposite Pearl International Hotel) |
| Posted: 16 Aug 2011 01:36 AM PDT  So far we have attended talks on fashion sense, communication, posing for photography and diet at Amber Chia Academy. This time, it was a talk on Hair! Yes, one cannot deny that hair is one of the most important element to a model’s look. Healthy hair shows that the model is hardworking, well-groomed and cares about her appearance. Plus, a person with nice and healthy hair would give the clients a better first impression compared to one with unkempt hair. Therefore, all of us were really excited that night for our Hair Talk by the group of professionals from Hair Atelier salon.
Hair Structure The talk started with a brief introduction on the cross-section of our hair. Each piece of hair consists of 3 sections – Cuticle (the outermost layer of the hair), Cortex (the middle section of the hair) and Medulla (the root of the hair). According to the speaker, the cuticle is the part that determines whether our hair is smooth and shiny, or rough and frizzy. If the hair is subjected to too many damaging process, the cuticle will be open, resulting in a rough hair surface.
Hair Cut tips On the other hand, the Cortex is the section that contains the colour and moisture information of our hair. When we go for a hair-dye process for example, the chemicals work to firstly open up the cuticles and secondly inserting colour pigments into our cortex, thereby giving our hair a different colour. Then, a hair treatment is necessary to close back the cuticles of our hair, ensuring a smooth finish after the hair dye. Now I know why the procedure is so complicated! It is also important to note that the cortex has to be well-nourished and well-moisturized to ensure continuous pigment generation that gives our hair colour. Once the pigmentation stops, that’s when the grey hair starts coming! *gasp*
Oval face shapes have nothing to worry about We were also shown different face shapes that would correspond to different hair styles. If you have an Oval shape face, then you’re very lucky. It’s the most versatile shape and would agree with any hairstyles chosen.
Long face For those with Long faces, the trick is to create an illusion and make your face shorter. Therefore, long and straight hair are a no-no, for it will only make your face longer. It is recommended to have your hair length around chin area to create more volume to the hair, hence making your face look more balanced. One more tip – fringe! It works wonders to soften your features and to make your face appear shorter.
Round face Apparently, the most difficult face shape to design for is the Square face. The strong jaw lines tend to make a person look masculine and strong. Therefore, the trick here is to soften or if possible, hide the jaw lines to make them less obvious. Layers on the side that frame the face would be wonderful, as well as some volume at the crown, to give an impression of a longer face.
Square face
Hair colour according to skin tone We were then shown something quite interesting by the stylists – the HairSys software that allows us to look at the magnified version of our hair and scalp. From this software, we were able to tell if our scalp is healthy and whether we have hair loss problem. We took turns trying out the software, and when my turn came, I was pretty nervous. I had never done this before and I was afraid to find out something that was not good.
Reading a brochure on the types of hair problem Luckily for me, I was told that my hair scalp was actually pretty normal. I was worried about having a hair loss problem since I always see plenty of hair lying on the floor at home, but apparently it’s normal to drop about 100 strands of hair daily.
Checking my hair and scalp What intrigued me more was the snapshot of my hair. We were taught that a normal hair follicle would have about 2-3 strands of hair growing from it but mine had like 4-5 strands! So it seems that my hair volume was actually more than the normal one, not to mention thicker.
Close up of hair and scalp
Normal hair scalp with 3 strands per follicle Overall, it was quite an eye-opening experience to learn so much about our hair, especially the inner structure of it. To summarize, here are some hair tips that I gathered from the talk:
Note: This is Part 10 of a series of my experience being a modeling student at Amber Chia Academy. Check out the remaining parts here. |
| Malaccan Portuguese Cuisine at Simply Mel’s Posted: 14 Aug 2011 08:03 PM PDT  Kristang is an ethnic group of people from a mix of Malaccan and Portuguese descent, originated after the conquest of Malacca by the Portuguese in 1511. While there are not many people of this ethnicity around the Klang Valley, I was fortunate to know a lovely person by the name of Alison, who is from the same descent. Her love and passion for food must have run in the family, for Simply Mel’s was born recently – a restaurant that specializes in Malaccan Portuguese cuisine, with her mom Melba as the head chef.
What’s that nut? Simply Mel’s is located in The Sphere, Bangsar South, a building that is filled with restaurants and coffee shops mainly catering to the working community in the surrounding area. It was my first time there, and I thought the place was really comfortable – easy and free parking (first 2 hours), spacious and no traffic jam! Ideal, isn’t it? I seldom raved about beverages in my food reviews, but I had to do so for this Assam Boi drink that was a combination of sour and sweet with a cooling finish, such a refreshing start before dinner.
Assam Boi (RM5.90) We were also served a plate of Karing-Karing (dried threadfish) which looked like giant ikan bilis, as appetizers. These were very crispy and addictive, though having too much of these would be too salty. Everything in moderation!
Karing-karing It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of spicy food, so when the bowl of fiery red Mel’s Malacca Laksa came, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of it! This was prepared with rice vermicelli in an aromatic coconut broth, fragranced with daun keso and lemongrass. I don’t know how she did it but I swear I could taste the coconut cream, the lemongrass and the lime used in this broth, on top of being spicy. What a plethora of flavours! It was not overly rich and it’s sufficiently spicy, I loved it.
Mel’s Malacca Laksa (RM16.90) Then, we had the Chicken Seybah, which was traditionally cooked with pig ears and belly. However, in an effort to make this place a Halal one, they improvised and made this dish with chicken instead. Mel makes her Chicken Seybah by braising her chicken with onions, garlic and two types of soy sauce. The chicken is cooked until the sauce caramalises and forms a thick layer on the skin. Finally, it’s topped with a smothering of Mel’s homemade chilli sauce. Needless to say, the chicken meat was oh-so-tender and smooth, not to mention they used my favourite part of chicken thigh here.
Chicken Seybah (RM16.90) Crab Stuffing was such a labour of love! I have mentioned in my blog before that I am not a fan of crabs simply because it takes too much effort just to extract a small amount of meat from its hard shell. Now, imagine someone who not only extracted the crab meat out, but combined it with diced turnip, carrots, prawns and onions, before frying and serving them nicely in a crab shell. The effort and the thoughtfulness in this dish moved me.
Crab Stuffing (RM21.90)
Generous stuffing of shredded fresh crab meat and more When the dish of Mel’s Pineapple Curry Melayu Prawn was served, I knew that I had to order a bowl of rice to go with it. The creamy curry with pineapple was very lemak and fragrant with a hint of sweetness from the pineapples. The prawns were huge and succulent no less, while the gravy was perfect with rice. Most importantly, this dish tasted very – well, home-cooked.
Mel’s Pineapple Curry Melayu Prawn (Regular RM17.90 / Large RM23.90) Talking about Malaccan Portuguese cuisine, one will never escape the popular Keluak Curry. The keluak nuts are hard to come by so Mel's sources them from a supplier in Malacca, who gets his high quality Keluak from Indonesia. The keluak nuts have to be soaked overnight to soften the shell, before cracking an opening to be cooked with various spices in a sourish curry broth with chicken. One is supposed to dig out the contents from within the nut to savour the full flavours of the keluak. The contents were black, soft and velvety with a nutty and slightly bitter aftertaste. I have to be honest to say that this is an acquired taste and I’m still acquiring it.
Keluak Curry (Regular RM18.90 / Large RM25.90) Terung Sambal, or pan-fried eggplant with Mel’s Sambal, was a dish that I wouldn’t have enjoyed a few years ago. I grew up hating eggplants (hate is a strong word, I know) thinking that they were too soft and mushy for my liking. Little did I know that when eggplant was cooked with sambal, it became this whole new dish that has now become my weakness. The soft and spongy texture of the eggplant just soaked up the savoury and spicy sambal, making it irresistible and moreish, perfect with rice. This was very good.
Terung Sambal (Regular RM9.90 / Large RM13.90) Ox Tongue Semur, a delicacy that was simmered for hours until tender, was quite a hit with a certain blogger. I was expecting the tongue to be chewy and tough, but a bite into it proved me very wrong. The ox tongue was so tender and soft, you could almost taste the hours used in this stew, giving it an almost melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Ox Tongue Semur (Regular RM18.90 / Large RM25.90) Of course, we had to have Mel’s Cincalok Omelette, for this is one of the signature Malaccan dishes that one must not miss. The fluffy pan fried omelette was cooked with onions, chili and cincalok – simple yet delicious.
Mel’s Cincalok Omelette (RM15.90) Finally, it was time for desserts! Mel’s Ol’ Fashioned Chocolate cake was very moist without being oily. If you’re worried about it being too sweet, you can skip the icing layer on top, and stuff yourselves silly with the moist cake – it was rich, chocolatey and not overly sweet. Thumbs up!
Ol’ Fashioned Chocolate (RM6.90) For something warm, the Pulut Hitam was really quite comforting. Black glutinous rice dessert was served with a dollop of coconut cream if you wish and most importantly, loaded with longans. Not only is black glutinous rice high in fibre, this combination of a dessert was most delectable.
Pulut Hitam (RM 5.90) But if I had to pick a dessert from Simply Mel’s, it would have to be the Sago Biji – gloriously bouncy sago pearls topped with rich coconut milk and a generous amount of palm sugar (gula melaka), proved to be a potent combination that even a full stomach could not resist. This was decadent!
Sago Biji (RM5.90)
Aly & Aunty Mel The gorgeous meal and delightful company were more than I could ask for on a weeknight dinner after a long day at work. Much thanks t0 Aunty Mel and the lovely hosts Cheryl and Aly for having us. Aly’s shirt says “Beng Naki Kumi!“, which, in Kristang language means “Come here and eat!” With such an authentic and sumptuous array of food, I’ll definitely be back.
Dining environment at Simply Mel’s
Simply Mel’s Restaurant Simply Mel’s Restaurant |
| Posted: 11 Aug 2011 08:55 PM PDT  When I started joining modeling classes at Amber Chia Academy, I was under the impression that everyone of us would be asked to go on diets, to lose weight and to be stick-thin by the end of the course. And being the food-lover that I am, I was pretty worried about that. Luckily, although some of us were indeed advised to lose weight, we were not advised to do so drastically or through aggressive crash diets. This was all made clear when we were given a talk by Benny Ng, a nutritionist, on what a model’s diet should be.
Diet for a model
Benny Ng giving his talk He started the talk by showing us the conventional food pyramid, the triangular diagram that shows the recommended intake for each group of food. Obviously, the guideline has changed throughout the years, and carbohydrates (rice, bread, pasta) are no longer recommended as the food group with the biggest portion.
The old food pyramid Instead, the USDA has introduced a new and simpler method of dividing food groups on a plate, known as MyPlate. According to this NY Times article, MyPlate was a crucial part of Mrs. Obama’s campaign against obesity, and to remind consumers about the importance of a healthy diet. From the plate diagram, the biggest difference I noticed was that fruits and vegetables are now the biggest portion in a diet, as compared to rice and bread in the food pyramid. Also, the amount of dairy is reduced and there is no indication of fatty food on the plate. Personally I think this healthy diet makes so much more sense compared to the food pyramid, not to mention simpler to follow. As long as half of our daily diet consists of fruits and vegetables, we’re good.
MyPlate replacing the Food Pyramid According to Benny, as models, the consumption of alcohol is almost inevitable, especially during functions and or after-show events. The shocking revelation that I found out that night was that excessive amount of alcohol could actually be converted to fat! But that’s not to say that we should avoid alcohol completely. A drink a day for female or 2 drinks a day for male is actually good for the body. Just remember everything should be in moderation.
Alcohol consumption Also, we were taught on how to calculate the Body Mass Index (BMI), a common term to gauge whether one is over- or underweight, by dividing the body’s weight with the height squared. Do you have a healthy BMI?
Body Mass Index (BMI) Now for the part that we were most interested in, how to lose weight safely. True enough, crash diets, Atkin’s diet or anything of that sort is not recommended. Those are just short-term solutions that are hard to maintain, not to mention stripping off your body from essential nutrients. The healthy weight loss is about 0.5-1kg per week. In order to achieve that, we should reduce our daily calories by 500kcal and increase our physical activity to burn another 500kcal. In total, that would be 1000kcal burnt, resulting in a 1kg loss a week. If you only reduce your daily food intake by 500kcal without doing the extra physical activity, that would be a reduction of 500kcal or 0.5kg per week. Sounds straightforward enough?
How to lose weight safely A person’s normal calorie intake is about 2000kcal a day, so to follow the plan above would be reducing it to 1500kcal a day. Now, what would the diet of a 1500kcal be like? Look at the sample diet below, I’m surprised that the recommended food is actually pretty well-balanced (nothing of that fruits and water only sort of diet) and achieving less than 1500kcal a day is not that hard. In fact, the diet even included a night snack, something I thought was an absolute no-no to reduce weight. I guess I was wrong.
A sample diet The slide below shows some of the low calorie food that you could include in your diet. I noticed that bean sprouts have really low calories per 100g! OK from now on I should eat more bean sprouts to make me full without adding on too much calories. LOL!
Top 10 low calorie foods Last but not least, the talk ended with Benny advising us to practice a healthy diet by having food in moderation. Also, alcoholic or caffeinated drinks should be avoided if possible. This talk enlightened me that models can eat like other normal people too. It doesn’t mean that they have to starve themselves or go on crash diets. That’s definitely good news for me.
Picture of our class students Note: This is Part 9 of a series of my experience being a modeling student at Amber Chia Academy. Check out the remaining parts here. |
| Recipes & Hari Raya Centrepieces by Just Heavenly Posted: 09 Aug 2011 07:25 PM PDT  Can you smell it? The end of the holy month of Ramadan and the beginning of Syawal, marking the celebration of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, is just around the corner. That means all things good – holidays, friends, family and most definitely – food! In conjunction with this festive season, Just Heavenly has come up with a brilliant idea to introduce Centrepieces to everyone. These are exceptionally gorgeous themed cakes that could be used either as decorative centrepieces on a table laden with food, or even as unique gifts during visiting. 1. Bulan Ramadhan Stars light the night sky of Ramadhan with your blessings as your loved ones receive this beautiful cake. Available as our famous CHOCOLATE and traditional SUGEE FRUIT in 9" round (approx 1.8kg), 11"x11"(approx 4.2kg), and 11"x 22"(approx 8.5kg) and from RM188 onwards.
Bulan Ramadhan 2. Wau Malaysia This centrepiece was created with the iconic Wau. Flying high in the wind and from your heart to your loved ones for their Raya table. Available as our famous CHOCOLATE and traditional SUGEE FRUIT in 9" round (approx 1.8kg), 11"x11"(approx 4.2kg), and 11"x 22"(approx 8.5kg) and from RM208 onwards.
Wau Malaysia 3. Pelita Ramadhan A flickering flame lights your path with God’s blessings which are passed on to the recipient when you give them this gorgeous centerpiece. Available as our famous CHOCOLATE and traditional SUGEE FRUIT in 9" round (approx 1.8kg), 11"x11"(approx 4.2kg), and 11"x 22"(approx 8.5kg) and from RM198 onwards.
Pelita Ramadhan 4. Plant Zombies – RM18 each
Plant Zombies 5. Angry Birds RM120 for all of them inclusive of the slingshot and the presentation tray.
Angry Birds cupcakes To add to the festive mood, Nigel of Just Heavenly was kind to share with us two of his prized recipes. The first was the Spiced Date Cake, a simple recipe that does not even require the mixer. Watch the video below to see what I mean. Spiced Date Cake Recipe
A video on how to make Spiced Date Cake
Nigel showing off his ingredients
Ingredients from (A)
Spiced Date Cake
Moist and dense cross-section of the cake Nougat / Torrone Recipe I LOVE Nougat! So I was especially excited with this recipe, since I never thought nougat making can be so fun!
Video on how to make Nougat
A Whiff of Lemon?
Freshly beaten egg whites with sugar syrup – glorious!
Nougat / Torrone It was such a fun and informative evening with great food and lovely company. Do try out the recipes, I know I’m going to try making the nougat soon. More information on the Raya centrepieces can be found here. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| First Impressions & Communication Skills of A Model Posted: 08 Aug 2011 07:00 PM PDT  It was a Tuesday when it happened – BANG! And all of us were shocked out of our skin in the midst of our conversations. We were, in fact, all sitting and chatting in the classroom while waiting for our guest speaker to arrive that night. True to the saying, “Starting with a bang”, she did so, literally. It turned out that she did not notice the glass door to the room and walked right through it, resulting in a sharp, resounding bang that sent echo throughout the whole building. It must have hurt. There she was, Cassandra Patrick, our speaker of the night, still rubbing her forehead from the mini accident.
A blank paper on everyone’s back Still, she laughed at herself, popping a silly joke about how she was clumsy and made us warm up to her immediately. So, that was it – our first impression of her, and it was definitely a memorable one. Cassandra Patrick is no longer a stranger in the world of modeling, having won several beauty pageants and graced many fashion shows. She was there to give us a talk on first impressions and a model’s communication skills.
Writing down our first impression To start off the session, she gave all of us a piece of white paper, with the instruction of sticking that piece of paper onto our backs. Then, each of us was supposed to go around and write down our first impression of the person with the paper, anonymously. So we went around writing on people’s backs, without them knowing who wrote which comment.
Stephy’s back It was quite an interesting way to find out what the others think of us, without them telling us to our face. My piece of paper contained mostly one thing – “You are so tall!” Well, now I know for sure what most people think of me when they first meet me!
Comments on my back
Comments on Allison’s back Cassandra spoke really well about what it’s like to be a model for about one hour, and I managed to take home some important pointers from the talk:
Picture with Cassandra Patrick Thanks to Cass, we felt so much more inspired and confident with ourselves now. By having an experienced model sharing her experience and wisdom with us only further prepared us for the modeling world outside, a competitive one in that. Now tell me, which other modeling academy goes so far to ensure our readiness? Note: This is Part 8 of a series of my experience being a modeling student at Amber Chia Academy. Check out the remaining parts here. |
| Springy Ramen Santouka at Tokyo Street Posted: 07 Aug 2011 09:22 PM PDT 
It was to my greatest delight to find that the well-known ramen chain from Hokkaido, Santouka Ramen has now landed on our shores, starting at Tokyo Street, Pavilion KL. According to their history, they strive to provide a classic ramen for all to enjoy, made with a simple soup that could be savored to the last spoonful and topped with fabulous Char-siu pork, creating a masterfully assembled ramen whose superior ingredients and magnificent, robust flavor would truly stand out and long-lasting. It’s seriously non-halal!
Shio Ramen ready to be eaten We started the meal with their signature dish, the Tokusen Toroniku, which is essentially pork cheek slices with that tender bite and melt-in-your-mouth fatty layer. Pork cheek meat is extremely rare since there’s only 200-300g of it in each pig, making this a prized item that is highly sought after. And I can understand why – the rich taste and fatty meat blended together definitely pushed all the right buttons.
Tokusen Toroniku (Pork cheek char siu) I tried their Caesar Salad as well, which was interesting topped with a runny half-boiled egg and plenty of crumbs, making it a mixture of texture – crunchy, creamy and crumbly.
Caesar Salad The Komi Tamago may not look like an interesting dish to order but this boiled egg turned out to be a visual eye-candy! A cut through the middle of the egg revealed semi-runny yolk which was extremely decadent. The flavoured and savoury egg white combined with the glorious egg yolk proved to be a combination that would not fail.
Komi Tamago Some other appetizers we tried with the Tori Karaage (deep fried chicken) and Tori Gyoza (pan-fried dumplings). The karaage was served burning hot with exceptionally crispy skin that was too hard to resist, resulting in my burnt tongue.
Tori Karaage
Tori Gyoza Last but not least, of course we had to try the ramen at a ramen shop. Their signature ramen is the Shio Ramen, which had a mild and creamy soup seasoned with salt, topped with a Japanese pickled plum. I did not try this since I was in the mood for something spicy, but comments from fellow diners who had this were all good!
Shoyu Ramen (RM22.50 – S, RM25 – M) I, on the other hand, tried the Kara-Miso Ramen which was a soup with spicy soybean paste flavour. Don’t be scared away by the bright red broth for I found the level of spiciness to be pretty tolerable. In fact, it was spicy enough to keep me going, but without making me break buckets of sweat.
Kara-Miso Ramen (RM24.50 – S, RM27 – M)
The firm and springy ramen Dining at Hokkaido Santouka Ramen was a no-frills, fuss-free experience, with a simple one-page menu that focused on ramen, ramen and more ramen. Stick to the basics of Shio Ramen and pork cheek and you won’t leave the place disappointed!
Dining environment at Hokkaido Santouka Ramen
Hokkaido Santouka Ramen Since I was already in the vicinity of Tokyo Street, I couldn’t help but take some pictures of the area, and that famous banner at the entrance that so many people were posing with!
Tokyo Street banner at the entrance
Some of the shops at Tokyo Street Hokkaido Santouka Ramen |
| Posing & Expression with Amber Chia Posted: 04 Aug 2011 10:00 PM PDT  Throughout the whole Modeling Pro course at Amber Chia Academy, we met with a great deal of different instructors ranging from Ben the catwalk guru, to Kit Leu and Ethel, both experienced models, as well as Keith Kee the fashion designer. Finally, it was time for the principal, no other than Amber Chia herself, to impart some of her wisdom on us! Amber Chia was there for the 2.5-hour class to teach us how to pose and express ourselves facially on camera. When we think of her pose, the sexy and pouty lips look would immediately come to mind. The question is, will we be able to do that signature expression of hers?
Amber Chia giving us tips on facial expression and posing Class started with doing some facial warm-ups to relax our muscles and neck before starting the poses. Due to limited time, we were taught only one facial expression on camera, that is the sexy, seductive look that is supposed to entice the clients to pick us.
Lining up in front of the camera I wish I could say that it’s just a piece of cake to get one look right, but it’s not. Everyone has different facial features and flaws, so each of us will have our own ‘good’ angle. And to find that good angle, we need to experiment, experiment and experiment! It’s really quite tiring! The basic steps to remember is to work with the eyes and the lips. As Amber says, the eyes and lips can tell a story, so work with them!
Stephy with her sexy look It was really funny going around and seeing my classmates making their sexy faces to my camera! Do you think they nailed it?
Ai Lin & Rebecca with their sexy pose Before you continue reading, may I just ask you all NOT to laugh?
Practicing in front of the camera
Allison with her pose I believe my weakness was controlling my eyes to be more soft and sultry. Sometimes in the process of ‘softening’ the look of my eyes, my vision became blur and muscles started twitching. LOL!
The girls practicing This was how I looked like attempting the sexy look. Do you think the client will want to hire me if they see this look on my profile?
Attempting the sexy look Even though the talk was short, it was very informative. We could see Amber transforming her face into various expressions within seconds – sexy, sad, surprised, happy, angry – you name it, she can do it. To learn all her other expressions would require a whole standalone course on itself! Which is why she is starting a 6-week course called Modeling Advanced Photo & Video that is taught all by herself just on how to pose. Definitely a course to take for anyone who wants to venture into print ad.
with the principal of Amber Chia Academy Next class: Public speaking and communication skills by Cassandra Patrick. Stay tuned! Note: This is Part 7 of a series of my experience being a modeling student at Amber Chia Academy. Check out the remaining parts here. |
| Best of Lot 10 Hutong Food Court Posted: 03 Aug 2011 07:23 PM PDT  It’s true, Lot 10 Hutong food court has been around for more than a year now and I’m ashamed to say that I have just recently visited it for the very first time! Claimed to be Malaysia’s first and only destination that pays tribute to good food and the art of local cuisine, this swanky food court is situated on the lower ground floor of the bustling Lot 10 mall. In my 2 years of staying in KL, I have only stepped into Lot 10 for perhaps 2 times? And I’m kicking myself now for not going there more often, especially after discovering the food treasure that is Lot 10 Hutong.
The wide variety of food Famed for its street food, Lot 10 Hutong prides itself by housing some of the countries’ best eateries that have survived over 40 years with distinguished brands, including one that came all the way from Singapore. During my recent visit there with a group of friends, we managed to try out what we thought were some of the best dishes offered from Lot 10 Hutong, presented below in no particular order. #1: Campbell’s Popiah The popiah that is said to be sold out come evening time, these came in 3 different choices – Mini Popiah, Vegetable Skin Popiah and Egg Popiah. We ordered one of each and I loved the Mini and Egg version the most. They’re filled to the brim with various vegetables, nuts and delectable chili sauce that gave the whole combination a crunchy finish without guilt. And just so you know, we went back to place another order around 4pm that day and they were all sold out! Make sure you order this early to avoid disappointment.
Egg Popiah, Mini Popiah & Vegetable Popiah (RM2.50 – 3/pc)
Campbell Mini Popiah stall #2: Kong Tai Singapore Hokkien Noodles The plate of Singapore Hokkien Noodles was certainly very different from the Hokkien noodles that I’m used to in KL or Penang. Funny how one name can represent different dishes when it’s ordered from different regions in the country.
Singapore Hokkien noodles (RM8.30) Best of all, their workers all wore the unmistakable signature straw hat! Cute!
Kong Tai Singapore #3: Kum Leen Kee Hokkien Mee If you prefer the local KL version of Hokkien mee, you can check out the stall that easily had the longest queue there! Kum Leen Kee’s Hokkien Mee is fried with plenty of pork lard, pork bits and some shrimps in a thick and gooey black sauce. Some might find it a tad oily but that’s how a good plate of Hokkien mee should be – sinful, oily and fragrant! But make sure you eat this while it’s hot or the oil will start coagulating on the noodles and you definitely won’t want to eat that.
Kum Leen Kee Hokkien Mee (RM8.90)
Kum Leen Kee stall #4: Soong Kee Beef Noodles This came in a bowl of Hakka noodles topped with savoury minced meat of either pork or beef, and had a side of beef balls in soup. The noodles on its own were plain and bland, but give it a good toss with the minced meat and you’ll think otherwise. If you find it too dry, drizzle it with a few spoons of soup and you’re good to go. The side of beef balls, tripe and beef slices were all tender and bouncy, especially the beef balls.
Hakka noodles topped with minced meat (RM6.50 – S/ RM7.50 – L)
Beef balls, beef tripe and beef slices
Soong Kee Beef Noodles stall #5: Ho Weng Kee Wantan Noodles Wantan noodles are usually my default pick when I’m in any food court, especially one that I’m not familiar with. I always thought that wantan mee is a safe choice and that nothing much could go wrong with this dish. Well, not only did it not go wrong, it was really good! The noodles were springy and firm, and the BBQ pork / char siew was lean and fragrant, just the way I like it.
Wan tan Noodles (RM7.90)
BBQ pork / char siew at Ho Weng Kee stall #6: Hon Kee Porridge I have blogged about Hon Kee Porridge not once, but twice before, so naturally, my face lit up in delight to know that they, too, have a stall at Lot 10 Hutong. We had their signature Raw Fish Porridge that I always ordered, and the porridge came piping hot as expected. I could never get enough of their satin smooth and delicious porridge that was good even on its own. Of course, adding in the slices of fresh fish slices was just icing to the cake!
Raw Fish Porridge (RM7.80) #7: Oriental Dessert Ice Kacang Ice Kacang, or shaved ice topped with various beans and dressings, is a famous Malaysian dessert that is perfect on a warm afternoon. I loved the fact that Oriental Dessert uses gula melaka or palm sugar in the mix, topped with plenty of red bean, sweet corn, grass jelly, cendol and nuts. Look at the colourful combination! Give it a good mix and enjoy slurping in the crunchy, nutty and sweet goodness.
Ice Kacang (RM4.50)
Mmm.. gula melaka is the bomb!
Oriental Dessert stall #8: Backerei Banana Puff Backerei is the bakery that you will not miss, located just in front of the escalator coming from Ground floor. It offers a variety of pastries and puffs, but what excited me the most was the Banana Puff that we had after our meals. These unassuming puffs did not look very appealing to me at first, especially when I was full from all the dishes I had! But Saucer took a bite of it and said it’s really good and he seldom praised food so much so I had to take a bite too. And I was hooked! It was still warm when I ate it, complete with fluffy pastry and delicious banana filling inside that was not overly sweet. I love love love it!
Banana Puff (RM3.90/piece)
Backerei Stall #9: Hai Peng Coffee at Hutong Coffee Shop It was the first time I heard of the brand Hai Peng but it’s apparently a very famous coffee brand in Kemaman, Terrengganu. Well, now you don’t have to travel all the way to Terrengganu to savour this coffee, for it’s available in the Hutong Coffee Shop here. We tried the cold and hot version, and I found the cold to be sweeter in taste while the hot was more fragrant and thick. No prize for guessing which was a better one!
The thick Hai Peng coffee (RM2.90)
Black and concentrated Hai Peng coffee #10: Ghee Hiang Souvenirs Last but not least, Lot 10 Hutong does not only offer food and beverages for diners there, there is also a stall selling souvenirs in the form of cookies and instant white coffee. Ghee Hiang is easily one of the most recognizable brand in Penang, also claimed to be the oldest one around. Selling various cookies such as Tau Sar Peah, Phong Peah and its signature teelseed oil, you’ll be glad to know that you can get all of them right here in KL.
Tau Sar Peah, Almond Cookies and Teelseed oil
Ghee Hiang stall I think having a food court that combines some of the country’s finest food and cuisine is a brilliant idea, not to mention convenient especially to tourists. No doubt the quality and standard may not be as good as the original stall but I’d say it’s close enough! What’s more, you get to enjoy all of these in a hip shopping mall with air-conditioned comfortable seating environment? I definitely wouldn’t mind a second visit.
Dining area of Lot 10 Hutong food court
Lot 10 Hutong Lot 10 Hutong Food Court |
| Fashion Sense & Trends with Keith Kee Posted: 01 Aug 2011 08:55 PM PDT  Many people think that joining the modeling academy is all about catwalk, catwalk and more catwalk. It’s enlightening to know that after joining the Amber Chia Academy, I was not taught just catwalk alone. The class schedule included many bonus talks that are beneficial to models, which I thought was a brilliant way to groom us into a complete package. I mean, if a model can strut the runway with perfect catwalk but has terrible fashion sense or does not know how to socialize, the model certainly cannot go very far, can she? And I believe that’s the same reason why ACA nurtures its students with plenty of courses such as fashion, hair, nutrition as well as public-speaking, to groom them into not just any catwalk models but a professional model.
Fashion Sense and Trends by Keith Kee Last week was the first class we attended without doing catwalk. It was a bonus talk by renowned fashion designer Keith Kee, who is no stranger especially in the bridal fashion industry. I believe I might have even tried on some of his gowns during my own wedding gown fitting!
Body proportion consists of 8 heads Basically, we were taught 3 main topics on Fashion, which are Body Proportion, Colour Combination and Clothing Style. Keith stressed over and over again that the most important element that we have to know about ourselves is our body proportion. Not everyone is born with equal proportion of waist and legs, some might have longer waist (body) and shorter legs while others could be vice-versa. The idea in fashion is to dress ourselves up to create a proportionate body. The normal human height is divided into 8-head length, and a proportionate body should have about 3.5-4 heads at the upper body and 4-4.5 heads at the legs.
Cold and Warm colours Next, we were taught on the colour combination in fashion – the difference between Cold, Warm and Earth colours. Anyone with fashion sense should know that cold and warm colours usually do not match well, so we’re advised to avoid that combination. For me, I always like to combine colours with Earth tones (black, white, brown) to be on the safe side!
Possible colour combinations The fun part about this talk was Keith actually brought in a wardrobe of clothes for us to try on! Each of us was given an assignment to dress according to a particular colour combination. Then, we’re given some time to choose the outfit based on the requirement, try it out and let the others comment on our choice.
The wardrobe of clothes Rebecca was first to go, and I think she was given the colour combination of Earth + Cold? That’s why she ended up with a black dress and a blue belt. Keith commented that her combination was good, and he located her waist to see if her body was proportionate. You see, if a person has a short waist, his advice was to place the belt lower to create the illusion that the waist is longer. The same applies otherwise. In this case though, Rebecca was said to have the correct proportion of waist to legs, so she’s fine with where her waist is.
Rebecca with Earth + Cold combination Some of the other combinations are shown below:
Stephy with Earth + Earth combination
Jolene with Earth + Warm combination
Jia Yi with Warm + Warm combination
Allison with Cold + Cold combination
Jean with Print + Earth Colour
Ai Lin – can you guess her combination? When it came to my turn, I was supposed to look for Print + One Colour combination. My first pick was this tube dress in grey with a striped jacket. But guess what? I could not fit into that size S tube! *embarrassed* So, I returned to the wardrobe and picked what I thought was a safe choice – an elastic maxi dress. *LOL* The dress was flowery and pink, and I had to look for another piece with One Colour to match with it. Due to the limited choices, I only found a white sleeveless piece to go with it, and I think I looked horrendous! Even Keith commented that while my colour combination was correct, the fashion style was off. I had to agree!
Print + One Colour It was also from this class that I found out that my waist to leg ratio was proportionate (yay!), and that I should not wear high-waisted dresses that would make me look like I have a short body! (I certainly have a few of them in my closet Note: This is Part 6 of a series of my experience being a modeling student at Amber Chia Academy. Check out the remaining parts here. |
) Well, we learn something new everyday, don’t we? | You are subscribed to email updates from iamthewitch Food and Travel Escapades To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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