Virum mihi, Camena, insece versutum*. Fat Boy Bakes' Banana Walnut Cake and Durian Poppy Cake.

Fat Boy Bakes, aka CY. Cult Baker extraordinaire. Quarter Marathoner. Did he live up to his expectation? I have only heard about this elusive cybersphere baker, after following some food blogs. Thanks to Cumi and Ciki, I had the opportunity to meet this famous baker in real life. Quiet and unassuming, humorous to boot. A perfect gentleman, which is the highest compliment that anybody can give. And always reply my text messages promptly to boot!

Had 2 birthdays in the office. Volunteered to get the cakes so that I can try out FBB's cakes. First was the Banana Walnut. My Boss is a health nut. Plus, the cake had to travel a daunting 300km to Terengganu because they will celebrate it there. After lunch, back at the office, I brought out the cake.

The Banana Walnut cake was still in pristine condition, it survived the journey unbattered and unbruised. Impressive! Cut it, smelled it and savoured it. Marvelous texture. Not the least bit bogged down in oil. Bananas not overpowering. Just nice mixture of walnuts and raisins. Perfection. Best Banana Cake I have ever tasted.

The cake was duly gobbled up by the entire office in 5 minutes.

2nd party for another collaegue of mine. Planned to be a lunch thingy, but there was some emergency at work and got postponed to a late tea time affair.

Durian Poppy Seed Cake.

Fragrant. Not overtly oily. Good texture, some hints of bitterness at the edges, slight bogging at the base, but still lovely. It came with some durian + dairy cream thingy to be smeared on top, but I was too eager to munch down the cake and forgot to take a picture.

Good thing it was a Friday. Because the whole office smelled of durians!! As per the banana cake, it got gobbled down in 5 minutes and I caught somebody licking off the cream from the container it came in!

Kudos to FBB, you really deserve your adulations and I am one of your fans now.

To those not familiar with Latin: *Virum mihi, Camena, insece versutum = "Tell me, O Muse, of the skillful man.", which is the first line of Homer's Odyssey.

Contact Info for FBB @ http://fatboybakes.blogspot.com/

Regression Therapy. Brunch, Marmalade @ Bangsar Shopping Village 2

"Regression is a form of retreat, going back to a time when the person felt safer and where the stresses in question were not known, or where an all-powerful parent would take them away."

interior of marmalade

"My only nostalgias are literary ones. My eyes fill with tears at the memory of my childhood but they are rhythmical tears in which some piece of prose is already in preparation. I remember it as something external to me and remember it through external things ; I remember only external things."

Was in the vicinity, and decided to get a bit of chow, because I missed breakfast in the morning. Decided to drop into Marmalade, after hearing some good things about the place. It's very hard to describe the decor of this place. Tasteful grey, halogen downlights, bright and cheery atmosphere with a mural on the wall resembling childish squiggles it induces calm and brings about a feeling of innocence. Bright and airy, plus a folkish soundtrack playing in the background, i felt like sucking my thumb again. The table tops unfortunately are stained and in dire need of replacement.

Paw Paw Salad. The colour is so vibrant!

"It isn't the cosy warmth of provincial evenings that fills me with tender feelings for my childhood but the way the table was laid for tea, the shapes of the furniture placed around the house, people's faces and physical gestures. My nostalgia is for certain pictures of the past."

Ordered the Paw Paw Salad. Technically, they were using Papaya and not the Paw Paw fruit. Capsicum, pine nuts and chicken meat and deep fried vermicelli strands completes this healthy amalgamation. It came lightly drizzled with vinaigrette dressing?. Visually appealing with lots of reds, high in fibre and antioxidants, it is not only delicious, but healthy as well. What a great way to start the day!

Lebanese Roll with Turkey Ham and Spinach

Next was the Lebanese roll with Turkey Ham and Spinach. Moist and filled with cheese and sweetened sauce, it was good. Another winner!

Sunrise over the East Coast Highway, Maran

"That's why I feel as much tenderness for my own childhood as for someone else's : lost in some indefinite past, they are both purely visual phenomena that I perceive with my literary mind. I do feel tenderness, not because I remember, but because I see."

Fernando Pessoa ~ Book of Disquiet

Completed the brunch with a Long Black and Fruit Juice. Dining at Marmalade was a strange experience. Somehow or another, it evokes memories of childhood, a time when everything was beautiful, simple and safe. I was a child again and the world is my oyster again. The food was comforting and good and the ambiance innocent and uncluttered.

Service was excellent, but the whole experience was spoiled by a table nearby, occupied by 2 Malay ladies, chatting away in English loudly with a very very local accent, bitching away about their colleagues. I quickly pressed the eject button. Sigh...

Creature of Habit, Creature of the Night. Bar Italia after hours.

By now, you would have noticed that I keep very irregular hours. Or rather, my job makes me keep irregular hours. I usually finish at 11 pm, and I really really have to thank Lyrical Lemongrass for introducing me to Bar Italia, a joint that keeps irregular hours like me. It opens from 7 am to 3 am, and the kitchen closes at 11:45pm. Wonderful. This would be my regular Italian joint now. I find myself returning ever so often, just to find comfort from the brilliant food there.

Knocked off late from work, as usual, and called up Mac, who was sleeping by then. "I wanna go for dinner, and I don't want to eat alone tonight!", I hollered into the phone. Mac grudgingly woke up, and I proceeded to call him up about 5 times to direct him to the place.

frittura di mare, this sea has only calamari and prawns. No fish!

Arrived there by 11.30 pm and was still warmly greeted by the waiters. Ordered the frittura di mare, which was a pleasant comfort food. Batter was crunchy and not weighed down in oil. The calamari was slightly soft, and the prawns were springy and fresh. No complaints.

Pollo Alla Griglia

The chicken smelled of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme ala Scraborough Fair. No, it did not. But close. Basil and rosemary ?scallions?. Chicken was tender and moist, and the potatoes and cauliflower was creamy and fragrant.

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, perfection in a plate

Al dente, perfettamente fatto. The best I've tasted so far. The smell of slightly singged garlic wafted from the plate as our waiter set it on the table. Just the right amount of olive oil, lightly dusted in salt with subtle taste of dried chilli (replacing the usual red pepper flakes). Brilliant.

Mac, still bleary eyed. Thanks for dinner!

Dessert, was gelato and limoncello.

Deafening silence. Island cafe, Pavilion

My teacher once admonished me, "If you have nothing good to say, just keep quiet."

Had Singapore Rojak for starters.

Whistles.........

Black Pepper Fried Tang Hoon with Soft Shelled Crabs. Their squiggly signature dish.

Hums a tune..........

Oh! The peach vodka was good.

.......

Service was excellent, nice place to watch the dusk falling. Good place to oogle at people.

Late night Dim Sum @ A little Dim Sum Place, SS2

Had to work very late one night, and after being sustained by a big humongous breakfast, and fruits throughout the day, i had hunger pangs at 11.00 pm. Suddenly thought of an unpretentious dim sum place I used to patronise in SS2. Epiphany!

At 11.15 pm, on a week day, it was still crowded. The Myanmar girl who used to serve me remembered me and told me that they had lots of durians pancake tonight. I usually order about 3 plates. It's that good.

All their Dim Sum are steamed after you order, so, be prepared to wait a little while.

Delicious Har Gao. Fresh springy prawns and non sticky skin that holds well after steaming. The waitress even remembered I love my Dim Sums with rice vinegar, although I have not been here for at least 6 months!

Scallop Dim Sum. Beautiful. Fresh juicy scallops again. Look at the perfect texture of the Dim Sum Skin. Still elastic, not the least bit sticky.

Fried Raddish with Bean Sprouts. Lovely, as usual, crunchy skin and powdery soft insides. Not too oily, full of Wok Hei, with bits of dried shrimp as a pleasant change.

And as for the Durian pancakes, sorry, no photo. Gasak every last bit, and then remembered i forgot to take 'em darned photos. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Their Sunshine Buns are ok too. Did not notice if they still had the nouveaux Dim Sum thingy or not. Wierd stuff like fried banana mangy, er... sorry, mango prawns and lily scallop roll which i did not care too much about and avoided after tasting it.

Prices reasonable. Har Gao about 4.90 per plate.

Non me lo so spiegare, "I can't figure it out"

Was cleaning up some stuff, and this was playing on the ipod (Lauran Pausini's Io Canto Album) Suddenly felt a little bit sad and nostalgic. You can google the translation .

Io non piango mai per te
Non farò niente di simile...nononono
Si, lo ammetto, un po’ ti penso
Ma mi scanso
Non mi tocchi più

Solo che pensavo a quanto è inutile farneticare
E credere di stare bene quando è inverno e te
Togli le tue mani calde
Non mi abbracci e mi ripeti che son grande,
mi ricordi che rivivo in tante cose...nananana
Case, libri, auto, viaggi, fogli di giornale
Che anche se non valgo niente perlomeno a te
Ti permetto di sognare
E se hai voglia, di lasciarti camminare
Scusa, sai, non ti vorrei mai disturbare
Ma vuoi dirmi come questo può finire?
Non melo so spiegare
Io no me lo so spiegare

La notte fonda e la luna piena
Ci offrivano da dono solo l’atmosfera
Ma l’amavo e l’amo ancora
Ogni dettaglio è aria che mi manca
E se sto così..sarà la primavera..
Ma non regge più la scusa...

Solo che pensavo a quanto è inutile farneticare
E credere di stare bene quando è inverno e te
Togli le tue mani calde
Non mi abbracci e mi ripeti che son grande,
mi ricordi che rivivo in tante cose...nananana
Case, libri, auto, viaggi, fogli di giornale
Che anche se non valgo niente perlomeno a te
Ti permetto di sognare..
Solo che pensavo a quanto è inutile farneticare
E credere di stare bene quando è inverno e te
Togli le tue mani calde
Non mi abbracci e mi ripeti che son grande,
mi ricordi che rivivo in tante cose...nananana
Case, libri, auto, viaggi, fogli di giornale
Che anche se non valgo niente perlomeno a te
Ti permetto di sognare
E se hai voglia, di lasciarti camminare
Scusa, sai, non ti vorrei mai disturbare
Ma vuoi dirmi come questo può finire?

In serch of The Holy Grail, I Went to Gardens, and climbed up The Yogi Tree

The Holy Grail of Gastronomic art, attainment of Nirvana for indulgent insatiable gluttons . Good tasting Healthy Food. That sounds like an oxymoron already. Preferably Low Cal. The ability to fend of dreaded diseases like Hypertension, Diabetes and Cancers will be a definite advantage. Ha! An adventure in search of the Holy Grail worthy of Indiana Jones.

And hence, the naughty android googled and found out about the Yogi Tree.

Entrance of the Yogi Tree. The tree would probably fall off if I climbed it! Ha ha!!

Fortunately in a fast paced, superficial city like KL, it does not take a lot of effort to climb The Yogi Tree. Just fend off crazy motorcyclists with a death wish on the road, crazy, selfish bus drivers that stop anywhere and everywhere, pay preposterous parking charges, flash your plastic around and an air conditioned Yogi Tree awaits you on the 1st floor of the Gardens Mid Valley after an effortless elevator ride.

The menu... Impressive

The menu was made from recycled paper. It is assuring to read that all the ingredients used are fresh, organic if possible, free from colouring and preservatives. Cooking method is slow, the breakfasts are grilled, not fried. Have a feeling that trans fat and MSG are probably dirty words in this establishment.

The eggs set. Egg whites folded all over, denying it perfect 10's

Ordered their egg set. Poached eggs with brown bread toast and home made baked beans. Eggs were almost perfect, save for the folded, crumpled up whites. Yolks had hard edges with runny centres which were deep orange in colour (Kampung eggs). Toast smelled delectable and was crunchy. Home made beans were slightly hard, and was not salty at all. Took a bit of time to get used to the taste, but it was ok.

Mushroom Pie... Heavenly, or rather, ermmm.... Nivarnaly

The mushroom pie with truffle oil was good. Unctuous and creamy filling, bursting with mushrooms (assorted) together with the earthy taste of truffle oil. Ambrosia to my deprived tummy. Can do this everyday. Very well done. The side salad with balsamic vinegar was a tad too sweet.

Molten Lava Chocolate Pudding. Yummmy! Note the oozy chocolate fiiling in the centre.

Molten Lava chocolate pudding. What an indulgence. It was not very sweet. To make up for the reduced sugar, they have upped the chocolatey taste. Smells good, with the oozy chocolate lava centre, served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, I was in Nirvana. Every morsel was a delight. Comfort food for the troubled soul.

So? Have I found the Holy Grail? The place where all can partake in food orgies with wanton hedonistic delight without fear of getting a thick midriff and inviting the dreaded diseases associated with gluttony? Unfortunately not.

Calorie wise, I think there probably may not be much difference from the breakfast elsewhere. But their fresh and whenever possible, organic ingredients plus a definitely less oily and sugary sweet dishes certainly makes it a healthier option compared with dining in conventional outlets. I certainly felt less sinful indulging myself here and it dispelled the notion than healthier alternatives means chewing food that tastes like cardboard and downing veges that taste like fresh cut grass.

Lovely food, spartan but cosy ambiance, unfortunately only so-so service makes it one of the to-breakfast-in place for me. The temperature was a bit hot in the morning too. Was sweating by the end of breakfast. Prices reasonable. Eggs set was about 12, Pie was about 15, Molten lava about 15. Sorry, I can't remember the prices very well.

The spartan interior of the Yogi Tree
Imagine the superfit mums and their kids here...
"Close your ears kids! Uncle Paranoid is gonna utter the T (Trans-fat) word!!! Argh!!!"...
"Hey! Trans fat is less obscene than a Fat Tranny, OK?!!", quips Uncle Paranoid

P.S. Tjun... Bring Aunty Meng here! She'll probably eat here!
P.S.S. Aunty Meng, see? I can do healthy too... Love ya!

Oh.. La..La... La Mian @ Crystal Jade, Lot 10

Had to drop by Isetan during lunch break to get a gift for someone. Decided to have something different for lunch, instead of the usual Italian fare at Changkat Bukit Bintang, or Chap Fan at Sungai Wang rooftop.

Passed by this sign countless times over the past 2 years. Somehow or another, never made it inside. Most of my friends know that I am not very partial towards Chinese food. Something about growing up in the East Coast, I think that makes the palate conditioned and numbed by spicy, kick in the butt food. After reading about the spicy version of La Mian from Cumi and Ciki's blog, I decided to venture up and see if my taste buds would be tantalized by Crystal Jade or not.

View from the top

Ordered a Spicy La Mian with Peanuts, (which made me reminisce about the peanut butter milk shake LL had at The Daily Grind...) Shou Xing Chicken, which is a cold dish, and some dumplings with pork and chives. I then crossed my fingers and closed my eyes.

Peanut Butter kimchi flavoured noodles! Ha Ha!

Within a short while, the noodles arrived (I was the only diner that time) and brought with it a fragrant aroma. The noodles were not accompanied by any toppings. The soup was sourish and spicy and had peanuts in it. Noodles slightly springy in consistency. No complaints there. To me(e), it tasted like instant Korean Kimchi noodles plus a dash of chopped peanuts/peanut butter. Not particularly palatable, but not inedible too. It's probably an acquired taste.

Shou Xing hic! hic! Chicken

The Shou Xing Wine chicken was cold, (the waitress did warn me that it was a cold dish) and the skin crunchy and the wine sauce fragrant. The chicken meat was springy too. Doooing...doooing... it went as I nimbly picked it up with my chopsticks. Nothing to complain about too.

Insipid Dumplings....

Dumplings slightly disappointing. Rather tasteless, although I tried dousing it with rice vinegar and sliced ginger. The filling was inadequate.

View of Bonton

I so wanted to like the food here and to give it a good review. Don't get me wrong. The food here was probably good. But somehow or another, it did not give me any kick. I need to familiarise myself with the bland taste of Northern Chinese cooking. No Chinese food connoisseur, but will be back to challenge my taste buds again.

Although full, but not satisfied, I proceeded to Changkat Bukit Bintang again and hunted down my skewered tapas from Bermuda and Onion. I burped and I gave a sigh of satisfaction after the meal, walked to Bar Italia for a macchiato and a shot of limoncello. While walking back to Raja Chulan with slightly wobbly legs, i thought to myself, now, that's a big bang for my bucks...

Strange Bedfellows!

I'd like you to meet Sam, my latest acquisition... And my latest bed mate! To be perfectly honest, I have slept with uglier Mugs. Ha ha ha!


Got Sam while browsing at BSV II with the guys.

I hate Ikea sheets! Get me some Egyptian cottons, paranoidandroid, you cheapskate!

And meet my latest Mascot... Droidbot... which I got from Sabo's @ Pavilion. There goes my LCD TV.

La vita è così dolce

Life can be so sweet and beautiful. Yup..... Got my brolly from Cumi and Ciki and spent my afternoon in the company of some of the most interesting and sweet people you can ever find in KL.

Like minded food freaks and Momiji adorers, we had an interesting afternoon chatting about everything under the sun. Cumi and Ciki, as usual, are such a sweet couple. Full of zest and zeal for life, and exercise freaks, it is amazing how fit they are. Ciki's skin is practically glowing!


LL, is sweet and even tempered. The butt of sarcasm from both Nigel and FBB, she is always smiling and has such a zen-like peaceful countenance. Ha Ha... and she hates veges.

Hey! I am super macho.... I sat under the sun!

FBB just woke up from a hang over and still looks as if he was hung over... He was glum and sober but could still deliver his dead pan humour and sarcasm. Jon, the little Monkey was humourous, animated and witty. And Nigel of course did not fail to deliver.

Just like his heavenly cakes, bold, confident, flamboyant (all in a nice way), full of joy and life, he will always remain the life of the party. He filled the afternoon with wonderful anecdotes about life in KL in the 70's, on baking, quips and jokes about himself and other bloggers. Brilliantly funny with an acerbic wit to boot, he was the icing on the cake (pardon the pun) of the event.

"Where was I last night? How did I get home?", he ponders poignantly.....

We later adjourned to the Daily Grind for dessert because the heat was getting a little bit too intense and Niagara Falls was forming between my butt cracks!

We continued to chatter, and Nigel's 20 minutes only (because he had to shop for groceries to cook for Father's Day) dragged into another hour and half, easily. The conversation was animated and hilarious and time flew so quickly. We had the Lemon Cake, The Hummingbird cake which was both lovely. Another group over at the other table sent us their Red Velvet because we helped them sing the Birthday Song.

I've got a brilliant smile!


Ytze has beautiful ideas for Bento Boxes for the perfectionist Mums!

Thanks, guys for a wonderful afternoon. It was a real pleasure meeting up with you guys.

I'm a whore and a stalker! Bar Italia @ Changkat Bukit Bintang

I'm a breakfast whore. Really. My breakfast has to be big, good and substantial. I'm a coffee whore too. In fact my day does not start until I've had both a nice breakfast, and coffee. Slap me with your bruschetta, flog me with noodles, scald me with Bak Kut Teh. I'll promise to be a good boy and finish my breakfast!

I've got friends who cannot eat anything for breakfast. Did I say friends? Well, they have been downgraded to acquaintances. Ha ha...

A breakfast whore is different from a whore's breakfast which consists of a large mug of coffee and 4 ciggys. Those who call me a breakfast whore are having a whore's breakfast. :p So there.

To me, lunch is a dirty word during weekdays. Battling the sweltering heat, queueing up for food, gulping it down within one hour. Plus no alcohol. It can't be seriously considered a meal?

A stalker. Sends shiver down the spine doesn't it? I'm officially stalking Lyrical Lemongrass, because she has such wonderful places to recommend for breakfast. That's two in a row, honey!

Arived KL at 7:30. Had to go to the laundry to collect my clothes. Called up my boss to tell him to stick his job up a very specific orrifice in his nether regions. You know, the dark and dank one that never sees the sun. My job is so technical and boring. The only creativity I get during the the job is filling my claims at the end of the month. That's real creativity.

Ignore the previous passage. I did not.... I just called meekly to tell him I'll be going late at 3 pm. Somebody's got to pay for the food right?

Snoozed a bit and proceeded to Bar Italia at Changkat Bukit Bintang.

Exterior view

Had a bit of trouble finding the place. No signboards yet. Went inside and well, it was pleasant. Cool. The heat in KL is unbearable this time of the year.

Ordered the New York Bagel with eggs, ham and ceddar cheese. Fragrant and delicious. But the egg was a little to well done. Slightly plasticky egg whites in fact, but it's ok. Anything is good after being deprived for 2 weeks from good food. And Ham... Oinky poinky Ham. Ich liebe dich...... Ti Amo...

Ordered the Orecchiette with Ham as well. Fragrant, sticky and extra creamy. Soft in the middle, chewy on the outside. The way it should be. The ultimate South Italian ear-shaped pan mee/meen fan go.

And finished off with a Pistachio Gelato... The most wonderful glob of sweet, rich, amazing confection ever. Visions of virgins feeding me with Pistachio Gelato in a beautiful Tuscan Graden with cypresses and fountains floated across my mind...

All that plus a machiato and a ginger beer came up to about RM 86. They are open from 7am til 3 am. Just my kind of sleazy joint. Kitchen, however closes at 11.45 pm.

Stairway to heaven

The washroom... definitely cool and sassy. Can imagine being a broadway star and sitting infront of the dressing room mirror.

As I walked out, I felt a spring in my step, and was humming a tune. " Io canto... le mani in tasca e canto....". I was deliriously happy but was rudely awakened from my food filled utopia and happiness by a phone call from the office. The vestial virgins in the pristine garden turned into ugly gnomes carrying loads of files and unread reports.

I proceeded to walk to my car, steps less springy, and started humming another tune..... " Ahhh.... Sholay Mio........" (Bastardized version of O sole mio) , and I imagined my boss singing it, while sticking my job up his unmentionable unmentionable......

And I still got the blues for good food!!!

Not been blogging about food recently. Stuck in the east coast and the food here is nothing to shout about anyway. Don't like slagging people off here, so, I shall keep my mouth shut instead. Ha Ha.... Maybe I'll share something else with you today.

Received a call from K at about 2 am this morning. She just had a big fight with her husband, H and was tearful. I have known H since Primary School. Had been working hard for the past week, and was unable to digest what she said until this evening, when I took my coffee break.

K, I am very sorry because I was too sleepy to entertain you last night. You were complaining about how cold and unromantic H is. Apparently he is not able to give you the attention that you hunger for. You suspect he is having an affair. You said he has never loved you at all.

You know that is not true. I was there when he bawled like a baby when you broke off with him, just barely a year after going steady with him. I was there when you were in the labour room, and he was so worried about you and the baby. Maybe times are bad, I don't know. You know how he is, always playing the role of a macho man. He does not like to talk about his problems.


Sometimes you can't see the sun because it just obscured by a tree. Move a bit and you will be blinded by it's brightness.


Just shift your focus a bit. The stone is in front, but the gorgeous view is behind the stone!


What appears to be a stream of water, when frozen and slowed down, is just composed of water droplets. I don't know what to say to make you feel better, but maybe things are not what they appear to be. Try to talk to him again. I apologize again for not being able to talk to you last night. Was really tired.

Can I share this poem with you, K?

Bluebird
By Charles Bukowski

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I'm not going
to let anybody see
you.

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I pur whiskey on him and inhale
cigarette smoke
and the whores and the bartenders
and the grocery clerks
never know that
he's
in there.

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say,
stay down, do you want to mess
me up?
you want to screw up the
works?
you want to blow my book sales in
Europe?

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too clever, I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody's asleep.
I say, I know that you're there,
so don't be
sad.
then I put him back,
but he's singing a little
in there, I haven't quite let him
die
and we sleep together like
that
with our
secret pact
and it's nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don't
weep, do
you?

http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/Charles-Bukowski/137

Try to find that bluebird inside him, and coax it out. Will meet up with you guys soon. Stay calm, and stay cool!

(Photos taken @ Kemaman, Terengganu with my cute little retro looking LX3. And i was not naked when I took the photo of the shower head! :p)