Thursday, September 28, 2006

Uncle Burger hit by thieves

In a very sad development, our sponsor, Uncle Burger, reported that his stove, table and parasol was stolen from his residence yesterday morning at around 10:30am.

CN is back ... almost

Harroo! I'm back from the trip to Singapore!

Plenty of stuff to write about, but we are pooped :P Give me some time, ya ... would likely have something up by the end of this week; which is like, 24 hours away ...

Thursday, September 21, 2006

CN's trip, south of the border ...

We are going to Singapore!

Choice of transport? Luxury coach from Ipoh: A 20-seating, LCD-screening, DVD-playing fully-reclining chair, First-Class-lounge-on-wheels transport :D Not much of a choice anyway, given the spat between the Perak state government and AirAsia on the suspension of the budget airline's Ipoh-Senai route ...

But, hey: we are going on a roadtrip!

I'll be documenting the ride, and all else products and services (mostly food!) that one should come in contact with as a consumer traveling two-thirds the length of Peninsular Malaysia. I'll also be reviewing the products and services while in Singapore, thus making the following articles a first for CN as product/service reviews exiting Malaysian borders.

So wish me luck in getting some decent Internet connections on the way there, including Singapore - see you there!

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Consumer Nation officially on WordPress.com - welcome!

That's right, folks - CN is now fully powered by WordPress.com, the greatest blogging system in the universe. Well, ok ... not the universe, but it's darn good and as idiot-proof as a blogging interface can get. Sign up for one yourself!

Please read on for important information for existing CN Premier and Standard members!

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Pretty good!

It looks like we are almost on "all-systems-go" for Wordpress.com to host and manage Consumer Nation (or CN for short since our inception.)

Tuesday, September 5, 2006

A test site for Consumer Nation

Hi everyone that has happened to stumble upon this site!

I'm just testing out the WordPress.com functionality to see if we can work here the way a lazy fella like me would love to. That means NO more script security fixes, updates, upgrades, and stuff like that ... I'm currently hosting my stable of blogsites using WordPress, see.

Everything seems to be dumbed-down nicely from a long-time WP user's point of view ... but I dunno. There's still a whole bunch of "functionality" I believe I seriously do not need, nor do I wanna see as I'm of the type that loves to click at whatever crap I see ("Ooo ... what's this do ..?") and end up screwing myself :-(

Let's give this a couple of weeks and see what happens. Meanwhile, you can check with our sponsors Ipoh Blog & Podcast and KL Blog & Podcast.

Thanks for visiting!

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Schlotzsky's, Ipoh Parade

Alrighty - this is not gonna be a nice, long review. In fact, it's gonna be short and rather bitter :mad: cos I really did not expect what I had coming when I plonked down in this Schlotzsky's outlet which I had held in high regard - in the US, that is. Here? Sorry lah. Here's what happened ...

I was like, thirsty and slightly nibblish after window-shopping around Ipoh Parade with friends lah, right ... So we decided to sit down at this "Funny Name, Serious Sandwich" shop smack midways up/down the ground floor of the mall lah, right ... Order lah: 3 drinks, 2 plates of nibbles (something hot dog one, I forgot lah). Service cantik. Waiting time wasn't so cantik ... makan ok ... until I saw the bill.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

KFC inconsistencies

I've always had a nagging feeling that quality control - especially for an international food franchise - in Malaysian KFC outlets is, well ... non-existent. But I was never able to prove it in material - until now.

Recently I decided to try their new item: Cheesy BBQ Meltz. I was in Parit Buntar (Perak) one day, so here's what I ordered up at this town's only KFC outlet:

Stadium foodcourt

There is a name for these row of stalls wrapped around the exterior (well, it's on the east side) of Perak Stadium ... but I honestly never noticed. I just call it the stadium foodcourt. Maybe I'll notice it the next time I get around there; and update the title of this topic.

I like this place. Besides ample parking in front of the stalls on the service road, this place has quite a bit of variety for the breakfast and lunch going crowd. Most of the stalls are non-halal, but there's a strip closer to the swimming pools that caters specificly to Muslim patrons with Malay-owned stalls. Don't assume that all the other stalls in the foodcourt are non-halal though ...

Friday, August 11, 2006

Kedai Makanan & Minuman Taman Timur, Ipoh Garden East

Wow: I just realized this neighborhood kopitiam which I've been patronizing for yonks is named after a non-existent residential park ...



Anyways, Kedai Minuman & Makanan Taman Timur is the de facto kopitiam for me - if you wanna meet up with me, be there every morning, 8am to 9am :lol: I present to you here, the stuff that I think are passable for daily consumption (meaning you won't puke after having it for 3 days in a row) ...

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Do you do roadside burgers?

Just curious: Do you eat burgers cooked at roadside stalls? If you do, where are you located in Malaysia?



Thursday, July 27, 2006

Oldtown Cafe, Medan Ipoh

Most of you in Ipoh would have noticed the "new face" of one of Ipoh's famous white coffee brewers - Oldtown Cafe. I'm not too sure who are its owners, but it's probably safe to say that Oldtown is somehow connected to the Nam Heong kopitiam (best known for its instant Old Town White Coffee, sold virtually everywhere). Maybe someone can enlighten me further here ... anyhow, on to my lil review!



Monday, July 24, 2006

The Mentally-Blind Motorist Syndrome

Recently, the Ipoh City Council went about the whole of Ipoh Garden and its surrounding areas, repainting road markers, lines, and parking lots. That's utterly commendable - syabas! Job long overdue, but still most welcome.

Having said that, the folks around Ipoh Garden have pretty much adapted to a "no-lines-so-taroh-onli-who-cares" mentality. Although the demarcation lines are highly visible now, motorists cannot "see" them anymore after over 10 years of driving around purely by experience around the area (where's the parking lot, stay off that road shoulder cos ada lobang, fire hydrant tarak pakai one so park onli nobody kacau one, etc.) - and here's the result:

 

Kinta City Foodcourt

Just a quick post on one of my favorite places to grab a quick bite: Kinta City Foodcourt - otherwise known to locals as "the Jusco foodcourt".

What I like about this foodcourt is the fact that it's big, convenient (especially when I need to grab some stuff at Jusco), air-conditioned, and clean. Plenty of parking space on Kinta City's roof parks and great access from there down to the foodcourt, too. A friend who works nearby told me once that this is the only logical place to have lunch during weekdays due to the abundance of parking lots, relatively sparse traffic - and air-conditioning on the cheap :P

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Bala's Chalet Hotel & Restaurant



Bala's Chalet Hotel & Restaurant was definitely not our first choice of accomodation. Going up to Cameron after 6pm at any given day is not a good idea. But we did so cos it's just too bloddy HOT at sea level Ipoh. No matter what, we're determined to catch some cool mountain air over the weekend. The idea is to get a truly great stay experience in Cameron without a reservation. Just to see if that is possible. We were shooting for some place that will accomodate our budget of RM100~150 for a night's stay.

D'Polo Restaurant

I should be getting all my road names right by now *sigh* ... maybe I'll get a roadmap of Ipoh later. Oops - hi :) Right! My review on D'Polo Restaurant in Ipoh, hehehe ...



D'Polo Restaurant is a multi-ethnic cuisine kinda eatery, set in the super-duper big compound of one of them big colonial bungalows around the former polo grounds. In fact, it's right in front of the grounds, on Jalan Brash. Please don't ask me what's the new name of that polo ground ... everybody knows the polo grounds, ok? *sigh* You probably made out there once before too (or maybe still do, hahaha!)

Monday, July 17, 2006

Restoran New Holly Wood

Don't ask me why they spelt Hollywood that way. Oh, I think I know - there's another "Hollywood" kopitiam thingy in town, near the Jalan Pasir Pinji / Kampar Road junction. As far as I know, these two aren't related ... I think :roll:

Anyways, this one - New Holly Wood - is located at the corner of Jalan Cecil Rae and ... uh ... Jalan Lee Kwee Foh (man, I didn't even know of such a name for the street). Still dunno where ah? Well, ask around for the Canning Garden wet market: it's at the corner of the only row of shophouses beside the market. No ping-pong to find ;-) The photo below shows the service road in front, with Jalan Cecil Rae being where you see the red brick wall at the background.



Thursday, July 13, 2006

Pro Car Care Centre

Alright, here we go on the Pro Car Care Centre review!

I must say from the onset that this review is based on a car wash done on member jkn's car. He was visiting and really needed to get his black Myvi spiffed up before he heads for his hometown up north. You know la; the thing about dark-colored cars ... sikit-sikit habuk all cover the thing :|



Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Nasi Goreng Paprik

It's quite a bitch to look for Malay food outlets in Cameron Highlands if you're an occassional tourist there - like me. The only places I know for sure is a foodcourt opposite HSBC bank in Tanah Rata, and another foodcourt next to the Brinchang central market. Since I was in Brinchang, I decided to get my regular dose of nasi paprik / nasi pattaya / tomyam at the market-foodcourt. Ok, ok: I know that ain't much Malay food but you tell me lah: where got authentic all-Malay food served nowadays in the Malay gerai??

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

FedEx

Alrighty: FedEx :D You just know this is gonna be good, don't ya? Well ... it is good. But not from the start ...

After my incredibly harrowing experience at the counters of Poslaju, I took the rest of that evening off to ponder just what the heck did I do ... I actually spurned our national courier who's almost guaranteed to be cheaper than any other commercial courier - let alone #1 big boy FedEx. But I was sooo pissed with the experience, I thought, hell: I'd pay to have my ego stroked!

Starbucks Coffee in town!

Ok, fine - you might think that all Starbucks Coffee outlets there ever is and was, would offer the same thing to you - right?

Wrong. There are plenty of things that can make your cuppa at your local Starbucks go all nice and aromatic ... and plenty more that can really f*** it up, and take the rest of the day to hell with it.

Sunday, July 9, 2006

Excuse me, where is the hand washing basin??

Post contributed by member definite_maybe

Hi CN .. sowieeeee .. It has been very crazy weeks/months for me .. work, family, love life .. sigh .. sometimes i think i fall into the category of abnormal people .. :-(

Anyway .. I just got back from Cameron Highlands .. and yess it is still cool .. literally :-D Just not as cool as last time .. global warming?? Ask Bush about that! Anyway, on my way back, I stopped for lunch at a food court at Brinchang, it's the one in front of Hotel Jasmine, right adjacent to Brinchang Central Market .. and i noticed there weren't any hand-washing basins/sinks .. I wonder how the premise was approved as one of the requirements for setting up food premises is to have adequate hand washing facilities. I have to go into the kitchen to wash my hands and .. hmm ..

I think Majlis Daerah CH should visit this place and do something about it. I mean .. it is clean alright .. but no hand washing sink??? It's unacceptable, man ..

Note: This post has been read 63 times in the past.

Friday, July 7, 2006

Medan Gopeng Bus Terminal

Continuing on with the Ipoh Blog & Podcast article on Ipoh's worst public infrastructure, I have here yet another recent photo of this public disgrace:



Kek Look Tong Cave Temple

Ok here are some photos of my last two visits to the Kek Look Tong Cave Temple. I'm no religious expert, and therefore cannot say much about that when it comes to this cave ... just there as a humble observer of Nature :)

Getting there can be a bit tricky if you don't slow down to read the teeny-weeny yellow signs that point you there and through a maze of houses. It's off the road that links Tiger Lane or uh ... Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, I think (ok I suck at "new" names for Ipoh's roads) to Gunung Rapat. I honestly don't know what that road's called ... just turn off Tiger Lane when you hit the traffic lights in front of Jabatan Kimia ...



Lumut Waterfront

I went to Lumut last Saturday with some friends as a quick getaway. They wanted to go somewhere with a beach ... but since everyone was only free after 3pm - and I feel that beach experiences are only good in the mornings 'til late noon (ok call me weird; fine) - so we settled for someplace with a shoreline instead :mrgreen:

I'll save talk on the journey there. Suffice to say, it's pretty uneventful save for a brief stop to get some takeaway bubur kacang merah and bubur kacang hijau at a roadside stall near Bandar Seri Iskandar which caught my attention on my previous trips to the seaside. Oh - I'd like to make it known for those of us who don't do the Ipoh-Lumut route often: beware of speed traps along the way. The stretches in the Manjung district are a popular haunting ground for traffic cops and the JPJ :???: Observing speed limits and such, the trip takes about an hour and a half from Ipoh. I can sense the speedster CN members here rolling their eyes at me now ...

Friday, June 30, 2006

Poslaju for international deliveries

I had to send 4 pieces of A4-sized documents urgently to the US. The first people I think of to do this for me is Poslaju Malaysia, secondly - if you must know - is FedEx. More on FedEx later ...Edit July 11, 2006: Read about my FedEx experience!

So ok, I filled in the international airwaybill; waited patiently for my number to be called and attended to. DING! I'm up ...

Thursday, June 29, 2006

TechStar ST-029 DVD/MP4 Player

Before I commence, I'll like to state for the record that I actually bought this player after testing it at the shop - in this case, it's Giant Hypermarket, Sunway City Ipoh ... uh, Ipoh :P Got a story to tell on Giant too, but more on them later.

Why On Earth ... I already have a DVD player in the house. The reason I wanted another is because I needed my home DVD player to play MP4 video discs - the old one couldn't do that. I wouldn't wanna get into specifics about what MP4 is; just suffice for all to know that MP4 is just another form of video on a shiny disc, like VCD or SVCD or DVD. Other "names" for MP4 video you'll probably see pasted on DVD player boxes with such playback capability are "XviD", or "DivX".

So ok: Onto the TechStar DVD/MP4 player, model ST-029 ... which of course, plays MP4 discs.