Other than enjoying a good meal and traveling, the one other passion that I have is photography. I’ve owned an SLR for a few years now, and recently just bought a compact camera for traveling too.

These two gadgets each have their strengths and weaknesses, the big device produces better quality photos, but is bulky, complicated to use, and a drag to carry around when traveling. On the other hand, while the compact is tidy and convenient, you lose quite a lot of flexibility in terms of what you can do and the photo quality is generally subpar to an SLR.

Then i got my hands on this camera, the Olympus E-PL1. The latest Micro Four Third system from Olympus.

Olympus E-PL1 with 14-42mm kit lens (equivalent to 28-84mm)

The Micro 4/3rd format isn’t exactly a very new thing, but the Olympus E-PL1 incorporates every major features I have been looking for in a camera.

• small size (it’s only as big as those “prosumer” compacts)
• interchangeable lens
• SLR image quality
• ease of use (very important when you ask strangers to take photos of you)
• built in flash
• image stabilizer
• very good HD quality video

The sensor size of this camera is the same as other 4/3rd SLRs (such as the professional dSLR E-3) so you can be assured of the image quality. Compared to a compact camera that usually employs the 1/2.5″ sensor, the E-PL1 lets in almost 9 times as much light. The more light, the better, it’s very simple.

Live Guide feature

OK enough tech speak, there are a few features on the camera that I want to highlight.

First, the Live Guide. This feature makes using the camera quite a lot simpler, on the iAUTO mode, you get into Live Guide and choose the item to adjust – color saturation, white balance, brightness, field of depth, and so on.  This way, you get to see the effect live on the screen and make adjustment before shooting. Don’t need to remember things like to increase depth of field, you have to increase aperture, etc. Very nifty.

Food, food, food!

It doesn’t take a genius to know that I take photos of food in great quantity, it is basically the backbone of this blog anywaythat and the maps, right? )

nasi ayam – Wisma Central

The little camera that could, the E-PL1 takes excellent photos of food, SLR quality, no doubt. Even with the more challenging indoor shots, you can always use the Live Guide feature to correct white balance (to get a more natural color instead of overly yellow, for example). Furthermore, nice bokeh (blurred background) can be achieved pretty easily.

a pint of goodness

This picture demonstrates the ability of the camera to pick up amazing details even in pretty low light condition. The photo of Guinness was taken at Berlin Beirgarten at Solaris. Love the way water droplets around the glass is emphasized here.

four treasures (at DucKing)

While the previous picture of Guinness with it’s slightly off white balance still works out pretty well, you often want to get the correct natural color when it comes to shooting food. This is where the Live Guide comes in handy, I was able to use the feature to correct the white balance (hit Start/OK button then choose “color”) right there and then and get the picture I want.

Camera Size and Street Photography

Other than shooting food, I do quite a bit of street photography, and one thing about this genre of shooting that might not be apparent is the size of the camera one chooses.

hello mom, I’m in KL already!

With its small size and less imposing outlook, the E-PL1 excels in this form of photography. The heavier SLRs, while giving you good image quality, also leave you with sore shoulders and very tired arms after a day of hauling the equipment walking around town.

Other than being lighter, the camera is also quite a lot more stealthy and less intruding, a subtle but important factor in this case. When you have a big camera, people tend to be more aware and react too much to your equipment, the smaller Olympus lets the subject act the way they are and this makes shooting on the streets that much easier.

tower reflection

When fully extended, the 14-42mm kit lens shoots at an 84mm equivalent to traditional 35mm film camera. I was able to get this shot of KLCC with its reflection of one tower on the other. Again, even the most minute of details stands out.

HD Video

This baby also shoots video at 720p HD format, that’s 1280 x 720, or a gazillian times better than VGA especially on the bigger LCDs that we use these days.

The other advantage is that this SLR quality video is much better than basically any compact camera and most dedicated video cameras. You get to change different lenses to suits your need, and get the depth of field a compact can only dream of.

This is the camera to go if you want the best of both worlds, check out the microsite at http://evolvewitholympus.com.my for more information. Now is there anyone who wants to sponsor me to a photography trip?

Tags:  e-pl1,  four thirds,  lunch money,  olympus,  Photography

Posted by KY | 14 Comments »

Whenever I go back to Penang, the first meal that I usually seek out is a plate of awesome Char Kueh Teow. The Sister’s CKT used to be one of my favorites, but the standard there has unfortunately took a turn to the south in recent times, and now I usually go to the unanimous tourist’s choice – the Lorong Selamat CKT.

Char Kueh Teow, chives, prawns, cockles, bean sprouts

While some of the “locals’ might bark at this endorsement, I do sincerely think that Lorong Selamat CKT is superior to the others I’ve tried on the island, and I’ve spent over 18 years living there. Sometimes when a place gets famous, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is also overrated.

Unfortunately, I call PJ home these days and seldom head back to Penang. The craving for a good plate of CKT stays though. That big prawns, cockles, with plenty of bean sprouts, chives, an egg, and a dash of preserved vegetable fried with a flat noodle in a super heated wok, ahhh…

New Yee Sang kopitiam, PJ SS6; Char Kueh Teow

After all these years trying various Char Kueh Teow places around the Klang Valley, I’ve managed to found a few that does not disappoint, and this unsuspecting stall at New Yee Sang kopitiam at SS6 (nearby the KJ small Giant) is the latest addition.

The ingredients and taste is on par with the one at Seng Lee Kopitiam (behind Hock Lee at Damansara Heights), with pretty decent size prawns and a good enough “wok hei” too. And by the way, the same kopitiam serves pretty good umbra with sour plum drinks at RM 2.50 a glass that I order whenever I don’t need coffee.

Cheesie first ordered the Lui Char, but ultimately couldn’t resist the CKT

My other top CKT choice at Klang Valley was this stall at PJ State, but unfortunately the kopitiam has shut down and I have no idea where it went. Anyone with the information please let me know ya!

For halal version, give the Straits Cafe at BU Centrepoint a try, and these 4 (well, 3 now) are my regular CKT places, any other suggestions from you guys?

Address:
New Yee Sang kopitiam
Jalan SS 6/8
Kelana Jaya
GPS: 3.106717, 101.598178

Tags:  char-kueh-teow,  cheesie,  ckt,  kopitiam,  PJ

Posted by KY | 27 Comments »

The weather lately has been nothing short of spectacular, it is as if the power that be has stopped knowing how to pace and it is now either a thunderstorm (which is might fine), or a long baut really really hot max weather.

When it’s hot out, I always have one thing in mind, the very thing that made 7-Eleven a household name – SLURPEE! the coolest drink on earth.

To be frank, I have this other habit of enjoying slurpee in the winter when it is cold out too, but that doesn’t really apply to Malaysia.

ANYWAY, lest I digress.. Today I want to tell you about “My Funniest Slurpee Video” contest. How this work, is fairly simple

• Create a video between 30s to 2minutes showing your funny moment with Slurpee (any size and any flavor)
• Upload to youtube
• Register at http://www.slurpee.com.my/slurpeenation-register as a member of Slurpee nation and submit the video
• Video will be reviewed and approved within 24-hour
• You can submit multiple videos
• Get your friends to vote for your videos

This one is my video (very pro wan ok!)

As with any contest, we are also interested in the prizes. Instead of only one grand prize, there’s weekly prizes, grand prize, first prize, 2nd prize, 3rd prize, and even consolation prize!

Weekly prize is RM 500 cash + Slurpee T-shirt, the first one to be awarded on March 25, all the way till April 22. Five in total. The grand/first/2nd/3rd prizes all consists of vacations to Redang, Tioman, Langkawi, and Berjaya Hills. Very tempting!

Furthermore, the grand, first, and 2nd prize winners will also get 52 pieces of 22oz Slurpee vouchers!

So check out http://www.slurpee.com.my/myfunniestslurpeevideo.php, join the SLURPEE NATION, create your video and lets see if you can put u p any fight and be better than mine. hohoho!

I have the super casts of Koyuki and Cheesie on my video ok. Don’t mess!

Tags:  lunch money,  slurpee

Posted by KY | 15 Comments »

When the dragon OBC lady was still staying at BU, we used to go to Centrepoint quite often. Yes, we often caved into her insistence, arguing with suanie is often an exercise in futility.

Which led to this blog covering disproportionately high number of entries on restaurants in this little shopping mall. Bernards, Champs, Cagayan, Jade Garden, Momo (changed name/owner), and Shanghai 1930 (closed).

the Straits Cafe at BU Centrepoint

I had no idea when the Straits Cafe first appeared at Centrepoint, it has the look of one of those restaurants that I usually wouldn’t stepped in to try until being suggested, in this case, by Jaclyn, who has been quite a regular customer.

Tucked at the inside of Centrepoint, most tables are al fresco. No air conditioning, but there are quite a few big fans blowing about. The menu is filled with a mixture of local and Thai delights – char kueh teow, phat thai, various types of fried rice, mee goreng, even steamed siakap and daging masak merah. Quite a variety.

Char Kueh Teow, Prawn Mee, Crab Meat fried rice, Mee Siam

I had the prawn mee (RM 8.90) on my first visit with #porkgang, and char kueh teow (RM 8.90) on my second visit with Val (who was passing the Corica Apple Strudel from Perth). While both dishes weren’t the best that I’ve had, they did not disappoint at all, and probably one of the better halal version of these dishes I’ve had from anywhere.

Others were happy with mee siam (RM 7.90) that looked a bit uninspiring, and the crab mee fried rice (RM 8.90) Val ordered was actually quite tasty too, despite not seeing much crab meat in it. But it’s less than RM 10 per plate anyway, and crab meat’s expensive.

Lorbak, Ais Kacang, and Roselle drink

I didn’t particularly like the chicken lorbak (RM 7.90) which was a bit too dry for my taste, I still believe this is one of those items without a good substitute for good old fashion pork meat in it. Their fried chicken wings (RM 6.90) though, was very tasty!

The Straits Cafe offers quite a few choices for desserts, ais kacang (RM 5.00) wasn’t disappointing, and there were also penang rojak, cendol, logan jelly, and even Thai steamed tapioca. My personal favorite drinks at the place would be the Roselle ice, I last had it years ago during a food review at Coca restaurant and never seen it on any menu since. It’s a pretty special drink, try it when you have the chance.

Kim, Gareth, KY, Jac, Eric, Horng, Suanie, and Val (separate visit)

While not exactly the best food you can find, the Straits Cafe does offer pretty decent food at a price that is acceptable for the type of place it is. This would be one of the places I should keep in mind especially when bringing Muslim friends for food.

Address:
The Straits Cafe
Centrepoint,
Jalan Leboh Bandar Utama,
47800 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
GPS: 3.137988, 101.610124

Xpax Advert:

One of the offers Xpax Blackberry users enjoy is the on going Xpax Big Freekin’ Sale promotion that runs until the end of this month is the Free Blackberry Access.

The mechanic is very simple, as long as you subscribe to BB 250 for weekdays, you get the weekends free! That works out to be RM 2.50 x 5, or RM 12.50 per week, which is only about RM 60 per month for the prepaid Blackberry Access. A pretty good deal for the best network coverage, I’d say.

Tags:  BU,  centrepoint,  ckt,  eric,  gareth,  horng,  jaclyn,  kimberly,  prawn-mee,  suanie,  val,  valentina

Posted by KY | 15 Comments »

After having rojak opposite Taman Bahagia LRT station at 5pm (I really should blog about that stall) on Saturday, I kinda forgot about dinner till it was past way past 9 pm. Logged onto MSN and saw Haze online, so I asked what she was up to. Her reply “emoing cos no one eating dinner with me“.

So I asked her to join me for late dinner, and by the time we got started it was already way past 10pm.

While most restaurants have closed and started cleaning up already, the night is still young at Berlin Biergarten. That was the first reason I chose to go there, secondly, they sells non-halal bratwurst, and thirdly, the Guinness promotion is on-going.

Having the promotion is definitely one of the biggest reasons I chose Berlin Biergarten instead of other outlets. I’ve done quite a few Guinness food reviews and they’ve always been good experiences.

Berlin Biergarten German Bar & Restaurant

Berlin Biergarten is located on the first floor at Solaris, just a stone’s throw away from the now pretty famous Tenji Japanese buffet. While the name translate to beer garden, it actually does offer a pretty comprehensive food menu too.

While there are some tables inside the smallish outfit, almost everyone chooses to dine al fresco style here, and like most outlets of this type, there’s a projector screen showing live sports too. A pretty chilling environment.

free pork balls with Guinness, Farmer’s Bratwurst

The Guinness promotion at Berlin Beirgarten is pretty simple:

• 4 perfect pint (330ml) of Guinness for RM 60
• get a free finger food/appetizer from the menu

I chose the pork ball (worth RM 19.90 if I remember correctly). They were pretty firm and rather flavorful, the sweetish sauce and the pork went really well with the slight after taste of bitterness of Guinness that I love so much. It was the yums!

Berlin rosemary lamb

Upon recommendation from the server, I chose the Farmer’s Bratwurst (RM 28). The two German sausage doesn’t look big here, but they were actually quite a decent portion. It was a good thing I didn’t ended up ordering the Berlin Sausage Selection (RM 59) that comes with 7-8 bratwursts.

The pan fried sausages were very very good, with the accompanying gravy and dill potato salad being very good side kicks. However, I have to say that german bread dumpling (looks almost exactly like wedges) did taste a bit weird to me though.

Haze the awesome artist, and KY with some Guinness

The other dish we ordered was the Beriln Rosemary Lamb (RM 48). Stripes of lamb with plenty of mint sauce resting on mash, steamed vegetable, and surrounded by chili paste and bits of bell pepper. The presentation definitely scores an A. Thankfully, the taste department is in sync with how well the dish looked.

Other than the carrot being a bit raw, the lamb was soft and flavorful, with plenty of mint sauce to give it that aroma and if you so prefer, the spicy chili sauce to add some kick too.

There are interesting dishes in the menu like Scotch Egg (with pork!), carrot in beer, and sundried tomato with mussels that look pretty promising. I shall return to this place for a second round.

The Guinness promotion of St Patrick’s Finger Food Festival runs from now until 31st of March, 2010 with more than 100 outlets nationwide, don’t miss out! Other outlets that are participating in this promotion includes, but not limited to:

• Jarrod & Rawlins
• Meson
• Cafe Chulo
• Muse
• Delaney’s
• Ronnie Q
• The Magnificent Fish & Chips

Besides Finger Food Festival, there’s also the St. Patrick’s Hat promotion. A 13oz pint is a stamp, and 20oz pint 2 stamps, collect 12, send the redemption card in, and get a free St. Patrick’s Hat.

If you can’t wait, the Instant Reward gives you a Guinness St. Patrick’s luggage lock with every 3 pints of Guinness Draught or a bucket of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. There are three designs in all!

There’s also the St. Patrick’s Day celebration at 1 Utama on the 19th of March from 6pm onwards! Check out guinness.com.my/stpatricks for more.

Address:
Berlin Biergarten
Lot J-01-04
Solaris Mont Kiara
50480 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.174689, 101.659595
Tel: 03-6203 0958

Tags:  bratwurst,  guinness,  haze,  lamb,  sausage,  solaris

Posted by KY | 29 Comments »