Kenapa....? by Adam Ismadi

WARNING! today's entry contains some techno-bable, and for that i am sorry!

hmm... to me today i've achieve on of the first in my life. i've successfully installed a web server! and the fact that i do NOT have ;

1. a static ip
2. a server with a public ip (mine has a private ip behind a router)

stil i got through all it! and all software and services i got off the web are completely free! i am pretty happy with myself. yesterday i bought this cheapo internet sharing router cum 4 port switch. really cheap rm200. its a SMC7004VBR router. physically its a basic, 4 autosensing LAN port and 1 WAN port for my ADSL modem. as i said physically-basic, but this router has very good firewall utilities build-in! features that would normally exist in thousands of dollars worth routers! setting up very easy! well actually it not even susah just that i never thought setting everything up is so very easy!!! and free!!!

i am doing all this because i feel that my buddy's server in uk is unreliable! so have to take matter on to my own hands and set up a server myself. the router also support direct ip mapping so i can access a server within my private LAN from WAN (internet). and registered with dyndns.com for dynamic dns mapping. they will keep a mapping table of a user friendly DNS name avalable so that it will all point to my server's IP. now my server IP would change regularly, coz streamyx only offer dynamic IP whit is not a big deal to me. a way through that is by using dynamic dns and install a software on my server to inform dyndns.com everytime streamyx change my server's IP.

well sorry guys, saja nak tulis pasal benda2 yg aku baru test ni. another thing i am so much into networks, personally and professionally. networking is my job. it what i love to do. and apparent what i do for a living. after my degree went for microsoft's certs, MCP, MCSA, MCSE coz i though i need some cetification of my knowledge in Win2k. since i've done the software side of thing, gotto move on the hardware side ie. routers and if it can only be one, it always gonna be CISCO routers! now i am much more interested in network so now i am in traning for my CISCO certs, which are CCNA and CCNP... am enjoying every minute of it!

so hey if anyone has any query on networking issues... please give me a buzz will try to help u out or i will try ask around and get some possible solution.

Posted by AdamIsmadi at 2:35 pm | Permalink | Comments

aku kira dah quite experienced underwater photographer la... as i said quite. tak lah pro lagi. bnyk lagi yg kena blajar. angles, composition, exposure levels, the surrounding water particles, the proper usage of flash, behaviour of fish and on top of all that, there is the editing in photoshop. behaviour of fish penting, ko kena tahu bila the best time to get their pictures always be ready. have to think a step ahead of them. some fish do swim around so fast! susah gila nak ambik gambar!!!

incident yg aku nak cerita, ambik underwater photography ni ada jugak problem nya. one of them from the fish themselves. digital camera bila dah letak dalam underwater casing dan being submerge underwater to take pictures weirdly enuf the whole thing becomes one shiny object! macam ikan yg berkilat2 or something yg berkilat2... esp. when close to the water surface. ikan2 apa lagi, they get so intruiged and excited most of them do come close to me. dan start gigit the camera casing!!!

ok this sounds like all good things right? bila nak ambik gambar, subject dtg dekat, so tak payah nak kejar!? most of the time yes.... but other times no... ini result nya... mula2 jari tengah aku kena gigit dgn ikan sargeant major kira ikan kecik gigi pun sikit, mula2 aku ingat tak berdarah rupa2 nya luka jugak! tapi sikit... lepas tuu jari manis aku kena gigit dgn a spotted coral grouper. yg ini mmg bergigi... mmg tak nampak sngt kat picture tu tapi kesan gigi dia melengkung kat atas sendi jari manis aku. yg ini mmg berdarah agak teruk dan mmg ah sakit. bisa jugak siot! aku takut jaws dtg terkam aku! hehehe... sebelah gambar jari aku tu, adalah gambar ikan culprit yg telah NGAP jari manis aku sampai berdarah, sakit!!!



tngk jari aku kena gigit. bnyk kali kena gigit... berdarah2... aku tak kisah kalau, sargeant majors or fusiliers or ikan2 kecik2 dtg gigit sbb dia org takde gigi atau kecik shj... tapi bila spotted coral grouper dtg dekat dan gigit, itu lah hasih nya. actually aku rusau jugak bila dah berdarah sbb it can make the sharks become aggressive! tapi dekat area tepi pantai smua kecik2 dia mmg tak kacau org, but big ones aku kena jaga2 la...!

walaupun cedera parah akibat digigit ikan... yeah macam ah cedera parah! hehehe... tapi berdarah dan sakit gak! tapi mungkin kah sebab darah aku manis? sedap rasa nya berbanding darah org lain?! hehehe... yeah RIGHT!!!? walau apa pun aku mmg enjoy gile2 underwater photography... nothing can stop me from taking more pictures!!! well... NO PAIN, NO GAIN. betul tak?!

Posted by AdamIsmadi at 7:25 pm | Permalink | Comments

ok... this time around i stayed in Berjaya Georgetown Hotel. its a really city hotel, its actually a part of a shopping complex (1-Stop) behind gurney drive. got it quite cheap coz they were having an anniversary sale for the hotel. its rm140 per night plus breakfast and dinner. the hotel is err ok.... tiny swimming pool, old but usable gym, a cafe, a bar and a restaurant and thats it! its a pretty basic hotel really. the superior room is normal, with old bed sheets but high ceiling, TV with AXN (which is very nice). the toilet has a bath tab, which is useless i'd rather have a steam shower. this breakfast buffet typical hotel stuff. this food for the dinner buffet is typical as well just that the have this 2 huge freezer filled with Haagen-Daz ice cream! heavenly! hehehe...

sampai shj hotel jumaat late around 9pm terus pegi dinner, check in. saturday, got up, breakfast, a chinese guy picked me up for the pulau payar trip with the Langkawi Coral company. from penang 2 package available,

1. the platform package with buffet lunch, RM145
2. the beach package with juct packed lunch but on the beach, RM115.

since i already had buffet breakfast and dinner i opt for the second option! plus its on the beach! so off to pulau payar...

clockwise from top-left :
the permenant platform with underwater coral viewing chamber,
the beach over looking pulau lembu, good spot for scuba diving,
the azure blue water riddled with corals,
rocky side of the beach and the docks





the journey took 1 hour and 40 mins. all equipment are provided by them. took loads of pictures of clownfish, butterflyfish, moorish idol, parrotfish, wrasse, sargeant majors, fusiliers and some baby black-tip sharks! awesome! it quite easy to capture coral fishes on camera but to get a good focused on sharks are almost impossible. they are so agile, swift, and always swimming at a lightning speed. the water is good in the morning, azure-blue. but after lunch the weather turned against me. it rained and very cloudy and quite dark. its ok i did not waste the precious good weather in the morning... pictures...

clockwise from top-left :
false or common clownfish (nemo) surrounded with anemonies with poisonous tentacles,
a eight-banded butterfly fish,
an big old grouper (malay name - keratang) more than 1m long,
one of those belacak-type fish normally on the sed bed





clockwise from top-left :
a butterfly fish normally yellow this is a different variant,
fish from the wrasse family,
sponge corals all sorts of colours,
a moorish idol





clockwise from top left :
even more anomonies this one has those orange clownfish (the ones with only one stripe)
a baby black-tip shark on the move,
a black-backed butterfly fish,
a sargeant major and a parrot fish i think in there... among those sponge corals

Posted by AdamIsmadi at 9:47 am | Permalink | Comments

pagi2 tadi, lepas my morning coffee, tngh driving, aku bukak RED104.9 sbb dah kurang dengar ERA dan HITZ asyik repeating the same old songs. aku rasa my favourite station is RED104.9. dia org shj pasang lagu2 yg i used to like, back in the olden days! best RED they keep on playing the song that meant so much to me long time ago. bring back loads of memories. good and bad. so.... kadang2 dia org pasang lagu baru jugak, tadi tiba2 dia pasang satu lagu yg perempuan nyanyi. they sound so familiar to me. and the song have this ring that i know its typical of their songs. puas aku teka... aku mmg tak sure. sbb kalau lagu masa 80s or 90s i should all of them already, ler masa student keja dengar radio manjang! hehehhee....

the title is SOMETHING THAT YOU SAID. hmm... aku ingat siapa... rupa2 nya lepas 14 tahun! yes 14 tahun... with one of their last song ETERNAL FLAME, can you guys guess? if u can, then u could be as old as i am.... i felt like i'm a million years old! does not matter really coz i still feel great!!! hehehhe... its the BANGLES! yes the bangles, once a pop icon of the 80s. amazing right? look at them, they still look great! and that song is so spot on! very catchy, very mellow, very pop-ish all at the same time!!! give it a listen ok!!! luvly stuff...

ok guys gambar penang dah siap... will post it tomorrow!!! gambar2 would include,
1. penang
2. pulau payar
3. bukit merah lake town resort
4. lata kinjang

Posted by AdamIsmadi at 8:14 am | Permalink | Comments

apa tak sakit nya... baru balik dari penang!!! yes, aku pegi penang late jumaat till sunday. aku baru sampai umah around pukul 9 pm tadi. badan letih gila. tapi yg penting hati happy, puas!!! macam2 berlaku masa trip kali ini.

yg paling gila, aku budget keta aku cukup minyak sbb aku suka isi kat petronas dapat rebet cash, so aku mmg nak isi kat petronas shj. most of the time tak ada problem! aku pun estimate satu full tank cukup dari KL ke penang. akan tetapi bertolak dari kl pukul 5.30pm jumaat. masa itu minyak dah kurang like rm10 bukan lagi full tank. ingat cukup la tapi, sbb aku speeding gila2 (bawak 130-145 km/j) minyak pun makan cepat. nak rush, tak nak sampai hotel lambat sngt supaya sempat nak dinner situ.

apa jadi!! lepas jambatan pulau pinang, right after the bridge keta semput2 sikit. aku ingat apa ler problem kereta ni!? aku dah check sebelum bertolak sepatut nya ok no prob. aku tngk gauge minyak mmg bawak E tapi aku rasa ok lagi! then semput makin teruk... ada time2 aku tekan padel minyak macam tak ada respond dari keta. hmm... makin tercekik2! then susah gak nak control keta! aku tutup air-cond. bawak slow2.... it get better. now mmg dah cuak! keta anytime leh mati! tercungap2 balik. aku cuba cari stesen minyak tak ada ler pulak!!! aku dah tak kisah apa2 minyak pun aku belasah skarang! tapi tak jumpa!

last2... nampak sign board stesen BP lagi 1 km huh lega... but keta makin nazak. sampai satu junction aku sebelum sampai stesen minyak BP keta tersedak2 then MATI! enjin mati aku biar kan kereta drift. gear free. no brakes. supaya dia berjalan sejauh mungkin! aku cuba start enjin but nope. tak nak hidup. lagi 20m ke station keta berenti. hmm... apa lagi! mmg nasib baik dekat depat stesen minyak BP tu! kalau tak mampus! member aku pun kluar keta dan tolak perlahan2... mmg malu beb, sampai stesen minyak keta kena TOLAK! org BP tanya apa hal, aku kata minyak habis!

malu gila! tapi apa nak buat... will learn from this incedent la! isik minyak and my car is as good as new. hope tak ada la major engine damage or problem sbb minyak habis. aku balik dari penang kereta aku ok shj. i think my car is A-OK!

itu lah satu-satu nya incedent yg klakar + scary + my first experience of that sort! hheheheee... will never let my car have less than quarter tank of fuel! cukup ah skali!

gonna sleep now... will write the rest tomorrow! plus the pictures...!

Posted by AdamIsmadi at 11:59 pm | Permalink | Comments

entah la, bulan ni tak pulak ke mana2. last month dah pegi penang. aku rasa mmg nak pegi penang lagi utk relax tapi teringin jugak nak pegi pulau payar lagi skali sbb nak ambik gambar swimming with sharks. itu adalah keistimewaan pulau payar. bnyk jugak tempat aku dah pegi. tapi pulau payar mmg special the number of timid sharks swimming around are quite alarming. if one wants to get in the water and swim with them, make sure no cuts, no blood. then its ok. but it is surely one of a kind type of experience. so i think might go straight to penang after 5pm friday.

i still have 2 more unused nights in berjaya penang. saturday morning go to payar. a whole day trip. i think its 150 per pax i guess from penang. btw payar is in between penang and langkawi just a little closer to langkawi. after payar ronda2 georgetown sample the food, there... pasembur padang kota.... and will look for the perfect laksa penang. sunday morning after breakfast balik kl but on the way nak stop kat bukit merah lake town resort. wanna see the orang utan island and the birds park i guess.

but bila nak pegi!? that is the question! mesti sebelum puasa. thats must, mati ah aku nak drive masa puasa. mengantuk! well expect more photos from that trip, cuma tak tahu lagi bila!?

Posted by AdamIsmadi at 10:11 pm | Permalink | Comments

hmm... skarang aku selalu bangun pagi paling awal 6.30am paling lambat 7am. turn on the coffee maker, kemas kan katil, clear up things yg menyemak kan mata, then lepak2 minum coffee. i love this time in the morning. relax, enjoying my stong coffee pagi2... kalau dah malas2 pun jadi happy dan ceria sikit!

then mandi, pakai baju. breakfast, biasa nya macam2 ikut mood. tapi skarang nak kira begin a healthy life style, makan wheaties and cold milk. mmg favourite breakfast aku!

9 till 5 busy la... lepas habis rush balik.... nak elak kan jam... sampai umah around 5.30pm. tulis2 blog ke.. ikut mood la. sebab nak keep to healthy life style, kena la workout. aku start workout around 6pm lepas tulis blog ni.

then dah 7pm, mandi siap kluar pegi dinner, balik dari dinner dah 9pm. tengok DVD ke some sitcoms kat PC ke... dah pukul 11pm. and the whole cycle starts over again. over and over and over and over again! dah jadi robot ke aku ni?

mmg tak cukup time nak buat apa2 weekday, macam nak kluar shopping ke lepak2 dgn member ke. mmg tak daya malas takde mood. bair lepak umah relax2! skarang ni malam2 aku start tngk DVD satu title satu malam!

semalam aku tngk Legally Blonde 2 (LB2). hmm, not too bad la... tapi aku rasa the first one jauh lagi lawak, esp. dgn bend and snap! hehehe... i can still recall how funny the first one is! still LB2 is not too bad laa, boleh la tngk boleh enjoy. tapi jgn expect it to make u laugh like the first one!

malam ni tak tahu nak tngk apa lagi! kepada sesiapa yg tahu Will & Grace... that is my favourite sitcom. I love Karen. hehehe... aku dah manage utk download the whole 5 season of W&G. i think lagi lawak dari Friends though Friends pun best gak... rugi jugak this sitcom is not available here in Malaysia. pasal will (a gay guy) and grace (a straight girl). dia org housemates. very close to each other. will very reserved and grace is a weird girl but hot! they have 2 friends, jack (another gay guy) very much into himself, and karen (a married woman, with strong lesbian vibe!) she's always drunk. both love to bitch. hehehe... my favourite character is Karen. to me her character is even bigger than Will or Grace's. its the type of sitcom where u watch a million times over and still will not fully understand all the jokes! some are heavy in gay lingo. to those guys yg tak tahu siapa yg standing sebelah Grace, itu Leo. grace punya hubby. dia dah kawin! kesian Will. and stanley, karen punya hubby dah mati. the latest season 6 will start i think sometime next year!

ok its late i need to workout!

Posted by AdamIsmadi at 6:46 pm | Permalink | Comments

dari kecik lagi aku dah dididik utk capture the moment, to compose a frame, aku always picture a scenery in my head, how it would it appear on film. how i would i take the photo from which angle, what to focus, where to place the subject and so on... photography has always amazed me. since my very first camera, Canon EOS 550 which is a fully automatic SLR camera. i love that camera. even though its huge and heavy, has never let me down. never... i love the TTL flash, so many fun stuff i can do! but its all on film. i cannot really see the results immediately. thats why i love a digital camera. my first digital camera is the Canon A40 its cheap, when i bought it with 128MB about rm1100 this was last year...

apasal aku beli A40? hm... camera ni murah, 2Mp cukup laa aku rasa masa tu. aku tak nak beli mahal2 sbb aku hanya nak test digital camera shj. nak get the feeling first! and OMG the feeling is just out of this world. mmg best! ambik gambar terus jadi boleh review tngk in focus ke tidak, composition tu balanced ke tidak... Field of depth cukup tak? macam2 lagi boleh check. then balik umah boleh edit! wow.... mmg best so many things i can do with it! i love my digital camera!!!

aku suka go underwater, so naturally aku kena beli underwater casing. rm800 melayang. mula2 aku ingat mmg membazir tapi aku nak try jugak! aku pun ambik laa a gambar masa aku pegi redang first time aku pakai the underwater casing! takut gak masuk air!!! lepas tu bila aku view smua gambar aku kebiruan... tak clear... aku sedih gila beli mahal2 tapi gambar HAMPEH! tak pulang modal langsung!

lepas tuu aku pun browse web nak cari camera lain yg boleh ambik underwater pictures better. aku come across a guide on taking underwater pictures. dia ada ajar editing pakai adobe photoshop! sebenar nya cara light behave under water is different than in air. the colour will get the most difraction sbb wavelength plg besar kalau tak silap aku... hence so much blue being captured by the camera! adobe photoshop will elliminate the blue to balance it all out. macam yg mata kita akan nampak. aku pun install dan try... i got the shock of my life! bawah ni ada sample...



yg kiri before editing in Adobe Photoshop, yg kanan after editing. major difference right? now i am feeling that my trust old A40 has to go. for 2 reasons, 2Mp is just not enough for me, i do heavy editing and i do print them a lot!!! kat mesia tak kluar lagi tapi aku tngh budget nak beli the new Canon A80 4Mp (aku expect harga rm2000 or cheaper) with the faster Digic processor. Tapi kalau ada duit lebih teringin jugak nak beli Canon 10D the EOS lense digital camera. harga aku rasa rm4000

sorry guys... i'm into photography, food and travel so much! those are my major interest!

Posted by AdamIsmadi at 10:44 pm | Permalink | Comments

its just me. i'm trying to adapt to a new schedule i have. kinda busy, and kinda lazy. sorry guys! just wanna post a photo of my super cute nephew... Irfan

i just find him ultra adorable! but can be moody and difficult sometimes. well, he knows that he is in demand so he can basically gets everything his way all the time. I LOVE U, Irfan. his name is also so cute! oh yeah and i bought that cute little stripped red number he's wearing... bought another one too in blue... hehehe...

Posted by AdamIsmadi at 10:40 pm | Permalink | Comments

...more food reviews?

sebab aku suka food! i love them! hehehe... tapi makan pun makan jugak. kesihatan kena jaga! betul tak? ok... on to food. Chilli's is one of my all time favourites. bila aku dtg sini for 2 things... ok 4 things i love about chili's :

1. smua air gas (plus diet coke), lemon tea, fruit juices and coffee/tea free flow! boleh refill brapa bnyk kali ko nak!!! sampai meletup perut minum!
2. nachos dan salsa dia pun free flow boleh tambah brapa bnyk kali! and just undet rm10 best utk share ramai! beli satu share ramai2 sebalum menunggu the main dish! btw dia punya chili cheese sauce yg dtg skali mmg out of this world tapi tak leh tambah. takpe la bynk gila lemak pun! hehehe
3. old timer... ini burger favourite chili's mmg nice... cukup besar nak bagi kenyang and tak mahal sngt like rm15 ok la tuu!!! mesti mintak beef chili dia on the side so that u can eat it with the fries! eating it with the burger can be VERY messy!
4. my personal favourite... fajita. u have to try them... aku kalau nak makan fajitas mmg dtg sini or ada lagi satu tempat but aku suka chilli's lagi coz, air and nachos free flow!!!

kalau pegi chili's mesti pegi at least 3 or 4 org. baru best! share2 makanan! mesti order nachos yg ada chili cheese dan fajitas! mmg best gila! dan murah, well considering the location and its a restaurant, kira kurang rm30!

Food ... 8
Portion ... 9
Service ... 8
Price ... 7
Chilli's, bila aku nak makan fajitas sini la yg aku pegi. kalau aku nak hang out dgn member borak2 sambil minum free flow and nachos yg boleh tambah sampai pecah perut sini laa yg aku pegi!!! very good value for money great place to hang out with friends. laid back atmosphere, efficient service, and great food. ada lagi satu plus, the one in klcc has a beautiful view! hmmm... lama dah aku tak pegi sini. avoid the BBQ ribs... i'd avoid their steaks... but fajitas and old timer burger must have!!! MUST! lapar pulak aku!

Posted by AdamIsmadi at 7:47 pm | Permalink | Comments

...2003 US Open results?

both of my top favourites (men = roddick and women = henin) won the US Open! Andy Roddick defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3 7-6 6-3 even though Ferrero lost the match he is now ranked the No. 1 player in the world! its all good! Andy Roddick just won himself a cool 1 million dollar US! its he just a sweetie??? nyummm....

Justin Henin-hardenne defeated Kim Clijsters in straight sets! 7-5 6-1 and henin too got a massive 1 million dollars US! the first time ever a tennis grand slam offered the same amount of prize money to men and women players! i think henin really deserved to win. I LOVE HER! she is just simply the very best!

well roddick's serve and henin's backhand both are fiercely powerful! i have to go practice now... yeah right! hehehe....

Posted by AdamIsmadi at 8:06 am | Permalink | Comments

...lama tak update?

well aku baru2 nie stuggle with the technical side of web publishing! where to host my pictures, how to write a bit of html. well i've them long time ago, but some syntax has changed and more new features on html. all i think most of the technical difficulties has been resolved! i am very pleased. dan lately aku selalu ada problem utk post kat blogger.com ni! but maybe system or server dia kot yg problematic nothing to do on my side! one more thing, blogger.com has been bought over by google, but since then i had so much trouble logging on the update my blog!

...dgn pinggang aku skarang?

much better. or almost complete recovery. semalam main tennis. nak lepas geram sbb lama dah tngk US Open, tapi tak jugak turun court sbb belum sihat penuh lagi pinggang aku. ok la main smalam i won of course, 6-2 6-0 6-4 hmmm... straight set, not bad eh?



...US Open updates?

paradorn srichaphan(11) dah kluar kalah dgn hewitt(6). now my favourite male player is andy roddick(4). he is so playful and not too serious like agassi(1)! roddick's serve is so freaking powerful! 140mph. thats mile per hour, i think thats more than 200kph!!! outrageously fast! and he has a very zippy pair of legs he runs around the court well! and a good technical play, though as technical wise might not be as good as agassi. but agassi is like 31yo, roddick is err 22yo? so very young so much more time to improve! and he is HOT!!! sizzlingly HOTTT!!! ouuuchhh! sweet innocent smile, relaxed playful attitude... u cannot avoid from liking this guy!!!



as for backhand, i am just amaze on how justin henin-hardenne (2) does that powerful top spin single handed backhand. it is simply stunning! the best match so far for me was the jeniffer capriati(6) vs. justin henin-hardenne(2). justin won the game, 3 set, with a tie breaker in the last set. the game goes on for almost 3 hours! it was so gripping and very very emotional! the two girls played tennis to brink of complete exhaustion! justin was starting to suffer muscle cramp on the thighs. coz they are still playing at pass midnight and it can be quite cold when its in the wee hours of morning and windy! ouch... very bad for the hot overworked muscles! but she pulled through like a true champion! anyhow thats the BEST game. we were rooting for justin to win this. since the local crowd being american do support jeniffer 110% and little support for justin! so unfair! GO JUSTIN GO!!! I LOVE U, JUSTIN HENIN (p/s : too bad though she is already married! ONE HOT LITTLE LADY!!! very HOT! and has a killer backhand to match!

...dgn bad/nasty people i've dated and still want to keep in touch with me?

hmm... aku tension jugak skarang ni. ada problem pasal someone (X) i dated in the past. we dated for like 3 - 4 months. both of us had fun. but X was always up to no good. well, most of the time. yes we had loads of fun! but on the other hand X is way too wild, erratic, unpredictable, shallow, selfish and on top of that all a big big LIAR! so after some time, i decided that NO, no more! i gotto stop seeing X. so, amazingly we became freinds. so its all fine. but X still wanted to be placed in front of everyone else in my life. as if X is someone special. i'd play along for a while. but hmm...

again after some time (its not only time that i've lost, money too! a large sum of it!) i had to move away from X. so i decided not to pick up X's calls or reply sms. now X is up with a different technique, through my close friends and housemates. X still has the nerve to call them and talked about me behind my back. well... i told my buddies to just ignore X. tapi aku mmg GERAM ah! macam kudis yg tak nak sembuh! well dulu lagi aku tahu X is not for me. tapi i have to go through it myself and learn my lesson! macam mana galak org menasihatkan aku pun, kadang2 aku still ikut kan perasaan jugak. i am only human right?!

Posted by AdamIsmadi at 5:32 am | Permalink | Comments

...nak cari jugak makanan 'Special' Penang?

bagi aku Pulau Pinang macam heaven nak makan2. best gila! tapi bare in mind the price of food here is comparable to KL. first i wanted to try was 'Laksa Penang'. i dont know of any specific location just try one on random. i was there 3 days and i can only eat laksa once or twice! it seems that i did manage to locate the delicious 'Laksa Penang' the ones i had is just ok, nothing special.



next was, Pasembur! this is actually my favourite. the last day we went to Padang Kota, and in front of the Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang, (MPPP) there's a bunch of stalls there near the waterfront. this stall only sell Pasembur and Rojak. they have every ingredients for u to choose. prawns, crabs, squids, fish roe, fish cakes/balls, taufu (beancurd), cucur udang(the KEY ingredient), hotdogs, cakoi and lots more. i had 2 cucur udang, some fish balls, and fish cakes. as usual when made into Pasembur they'll add cucumber and some waterchestnut. the most inportant ingredients in Pasembur is the Cucur Udang and the gravy/kuah. to me the kuah is just nice, not too nutty and thick (like the peanut gravy for satay). the verdict... divine! the service is lightning fast! this hawkers do not waste anytime preparing the food!! got mine in no time at all!!! the stall was very clean!



Food ... 8
Protion ... 8
Service ... 9
Price ... 7
O.S. Mohd Ibrahim Pasembur and Rojak ... this is the Pasembur Penang i hoped of finding. i payed RM5 for my plate which is fair but a fellow friend of mine payed RM10 with almost identical stuffs except he took a piece of squid. to me just stick to simple key stuffs like cucur udang, fish balls/cakes, taufu and leave the prawns/squid/crabs to the tourist to buy. freshness of this seafood is an issue. but hey if u like ur seafood in the Pasembur go ahead! be warned it could significantly bump up the price of the whole dish. still everything is good... no... they arrrreee Grrrreaaat! next time in Penang i will definitely eat here again, and again, and again! hehehe...

as for Nasi Kandar, there are everywhere! from the upscale Restaurant Kayu in downtown to the Kaya Manis Restaurant franchise to the small stalls along street corners, nasi kandar is everywhere. and most of this restaurants are running non-stop 24-hours a day! nasi kandar is really heavy meal. and it is really a southern indian food i think. curry curry and more curry! everything is fried and the vegetables are just over-cooked. but hey, that is just what nasi kandar is! what i would look for when eating nasi kandar is, one the fried chicken, it has to be BIG and crispy! two, the ocra/lady's finger/bendir in the fish head curry has to be somewhat fresh, still crunchy. three, the mixture of all types of curry gravy on the rice has to blend in well, nothing too spicy, too hot (typically they do pour in a little bit of every curry they have on to the rice). four, the papodums this is KEY, it has to be FRESH, crunchy!

Food ... 5
Portion ... 6
Service ... 6
Price ... 6
Restaurant Sri Pelita 24-Jam Nasi Kandar in Bayan Baru just before the airport if u are from georgetown. nothing special about this restaurant. we picked this one because we are hungry and this is the first restaurant we saw. the food is OK. nothing here that would make come there again though. just enough to fill my tummy. nothing memorable of the nasi kandar here! i wanted some fried fish roe (telur ikan goreng) but they didn't have it there. next time i am in Penang i'll try some other place!

...visit Penang, mana pegi?



hmm... drove around the city centre, Padang Kota, Fort Cornwallis, then straight to Batu Feringghi along the famous Gurney Drive, with such high concentration of tall skinny condominiums, i felt as if i am in south beach, florida or gold coast, australia but minus the fantastic beaches! actually i drove all the way around the Penang Island. through the hills and windy roads along balik pulau area to the busy jam-packed street in georgetown! had so much fun!



went on top of Penang Hill (bukit bendera) at night. its just RM4 for the tram ride up the hill. and the view at night is just gorgeous! we try to avoid it during the day, one, too many tourist around @ noisy! two, it can be covered in fog during the day and u won't be able to see anything. three, the lights from the city, port, penang bridge is just awesome. not to be missed. we went there around 9pm and we practiacally had the whole hill to ourselves! so quiet, fresh air, beautiful penang skyline at night! all for just RM4?! its a must see... at night! great place to chill and relax!



still to me the best thing about Penang is the food. the beaches in penang i'd avoid completely. the penang hill trip is a great thing to do especially an night! and one more thing... we drove to Penang. we took the Penang bridge comming into penang and we took the Classic Yellow Penang Ferry on the way back to kl. not many people realised that it is free going OUT of Penang, either through the bridge or the ferry.



coming into Penang however u have to pay RM7 for the bridge or the ferry. i still remember the first time i was in Penang we used the ferry. i still recall the same smell and feeling on the ferry. i feel as if i was a 9 year old kid again! brings back whole loads of sweet memories...



one more place we visited was the Penang Botanical Gardens which is beautiful! its hilly unlike any lake gardens in KL. and it has a river running through it, complete with a miniature Peang Bridge where u can take pictures because u can no longer stop on the real bridge to take pictures! the lake gardens are also home for cute monkeys which can be aggressive when provoked. best to avoid from feeding them!!

...Penang highlights?
1. Classic Yellow Penang Ferry
2. Penang Hill or Bukit Bendera
3. View of Geargetown skyline from the top of Penang Hill at night
4. The Penang Botanical Gardens
5. Monkeys at the garden
6. Gurney Drive
7. Padang Kota or Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang
8. Finally, the star attraction, O.S. Mohd. Ibrahim Pasembur dan Rojak

i will be coming back to Penang next month before puasa...!

Posted by AdamIsmadi at 8:28 pm | Permalink | Comments

...dgn kisah trip sempena 'Merdeka' di Penang?

bertolak dari KL jumaat ptg, terus masuk highway sampai ke Kuala Kangsar. hmm... ada 3 org yg ikut skali budak MCKK so dia org nak tngk skolah lama dia org. sampai shj kita org check in ke rest house kuala kangsar kat atas bukit. the place is basic but big and clean enough... ada A/C, bathroom, a living area, kira good deal la... boleh tido 4 org. just rm80 no breakfast though. 1 katil single (tido sorang) dan 1 katil king (tido 3org). smua baik2 dan well behave dlm trip ni. no funny business!

since aku bukan budak MCKK dia org yg bawak aku around the school dgn keta. actually mmg sesiapa shj boleh bawak keta masuk the school grounds!? mmg shocking... kalau kat sekolah aku siang2 pun kena ada permission dari pengetua, itu siang2, ini kita org macam joyride dlm the campus pukul 11 malam! the tour continues the next morning!

dia org cakap MCKK dah repaint the whole building to its original colour. tapi i dont really care that much bukan sekolah aku pun! hehehe... tapi macam pelajar sekolah2 asrama penuh yg lain the school spirit still run deep through their veins. termasuk lah aku!

bersambung...

Posted by AdamIsmadi at 7:21 pm | Permalink | Comments

...ada new look and comment box?

hmmm... aku rasa the old page was too boring, difficult to read, and tasteless. to my taste that is! please tell me if there is anything i can improve to this blog's layout, fonts, size, colours... anything! just drop your comments in the Tag-Board ok? aku nak letak some pics from my albums... aku ni kira minat gila ambik gambar, amature photographer la! lagi2 underwater photography. Shout Out box yg aku pakai dulu buat hal! server dia jadi gila kot. entah la?! so aku mmg kena change to a new commenting system. aku tngk Leez punya blog pakai the same Tag-Board. very good stuff! walaupun the new layout looks kinda dark, tapi its more forgiving to the eyes and some pics yg aku akan letak later will brighten up the page a bit.

...aku letih gila hari ni, walaupun aku balik dari Penang semalam?

semalam pukul 11.30pm, sampai umah bukan TV tngk tennis, davenport vs. minah russian. tak tahu siapa menang 3 minit aku tngk TV aku dah lelap kat situ! mmg komma... tak sedar apa2! letih gila kot! hari ni masih letih... aku dah tukar layout blog ni. tapi tak siap penuh lagi. nak lepak gambar2 sikit... nak tambah2 links lagi... hal2 kat Penang itu aku tulis esok. ok laa... aku nak rest lagi, still very tired! btw... srichaphan lepas ke 3rd round dia kena lawan hewitt aku rasa... aku penyokong srichaphan! go ASEAN go!!! hehehe...

Posted by AdamIsmadi at 3:53 pm | Permalink | Comments