ICHIBAN RAMEN

I am a big fan of Japanese ramen. I will never get bored with ramen from Ajisen Ramen. However, there is none in Johor Bahru. I tried many ramen stores and they all suck. The worst are those with char siew meat as hard as solid metal and soggy ramen. This one is still acceptable to me.

They basically designed the interior with lotsa timber. I don't really fancy timber interiors, especially when it is overdone. It feels like a wooden house on stilts or something.

The blinds though is good for privacy as well as helping to diffuse the lights.

I ordered the green tea.

Lee Ling as always a diehard unagi fan must order something with unagi.

Some deep friend squid. It is well done and I do love it.

The ramen I ordered was with chicken. Upon reaching the seats, I noticed Ichiban Ramen is a Halal store. That means there is no pork. How can you have ramen without char siew and soup cooked hours with pig's big bones? Arggh!!! I know from Japanese drama that some of the best ramen cooks in Japan cook their soup with pig's bones 24 hours non-stop with fire. Too late for me to leave, but well, still my priority is to taste the noodles. I keep convincing myself that it is fine. Let me try ramen with no pork.

Me, feeling satisfied with Halal ramen. Although not the best ramen I ever tasted, it is better than nothing. The noodles are nice and the soup is ok.

FORMULA 1: SINGLE ENGINE FOR ALL TEAMS

Toyota and Ferrari were the first to oppose to the decision to use a single engine to cut costs in Formula 1. I disagree too as there is no much difference already between teams. The diversity will be lost. There is no difference already who you support as the core ingredient of every car is the same. What is the point of having a race anymore? Of course, if the proposal is carried forward, every team has a better chance to win, especially the poorer teams. Competition may become more fairer in a sense.

The race goes into the final leg of the season with Hamilton (94 points) and Massa (87 points) fighting it out in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Will the home advantage help Massa or will Hamilton finally win it after he failed last year at the very last race?

Hamilton versus Massa - the title permutations for Brazil
(article below from Formula1.com)

Either McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton or Ferrari’s Felipe Massa will be crowned 2008 drivers’ champion at this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix. With a seven-point lead, Hamilton is very much the favourite, but as we saw at Interlagos last year - when outsider Kimi Raikkonen came from behind to win - anything is possible. Here is what each man needs in order to take the title…

Hamilton will be champion if:
- He finishes fifth or higher
- He finishes sixth and Massa is second or lower
- He finishes seventh and Massa is second or lower
- He finishes eighth and Massa is third or lower
- He fails to score and Massa is third or lower

Massa will be champion if:
- He wins and Hamilton finishes sixth or lower
- He finishes second and Hamilton is eighth or lower

If the pair are tied on points at the end of Sunday afternoon (which would happen is Massa wins with Hamilton sixth, or if Massa finishes second with Hamilton eighth), Massa would win the title by virtue of more victories (six to Hamilton’s five) or more second-place finishes (three to Hamilton’s two).

In the constructors’ championship, Ferrari’s 11-point advantage over McLaren heading to Brazil puts them in a powerful position, while BMW Sauber’s 10-point deficit to McLaren means they still have an outside chance of stealing second place.

FOOTBALL: MARADONA FOR AFA?

National coach of Argentina will be Diego Maradona's new job soon. Can he make it? We don't see football geniuses becoming coaches much in the footballing world so he will be a great case study of what will happen. We know legends who are lousy preditors and bad commentersof football like Pele and Cruyff. I am not sure about their coaching skills though.

He coached Deportivo Mandiyu (1994) and Racing Club (1995) before but there was nothing spectacular about his achievements there. We shall see what he can do to the Argentinian side who have won just one out of the last seven qualifying matches to the World Cup. He will replace Alfio Basile and he could also have some technical staffs from the 1986 World Cup team. his greatest assets are his motivational powers and the admiration he commands from the players and the public. For me, I think the chance to coach talented players like Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero must be the reason behind his interest to coach Argentina.

DANGAY BAY LANTERN FESTIVAL 2008

This is a super out-dated post. I was there at Danga Bay, Johor Bahru, Malaysia to celebrate the mooncake / lantern festival on the 14th September 2008. We wanted to just light up some lanterns but we were greeted with some stage performances of traditional Chinese dances and more. Singaporean artist, Mark Lee or Lee Guo Huang (李国煌) was there. He is one of my favourite Singaporean artists so we did drop by the stage which is just beside the beach to see him live.

We have to find places to hang the lanterns. We even use pencils as support apart from coconut trees.

He came to perform some Hokkien songs mostly from the local movies he starred in.

As a comedian, he of course also did some stage comedy in Mandarin and Hokkien. He shared with the crowd that he finally had a daugther after trying for many years. He said he heard that whether to get a son or daugther depends on whether you make love in the dark or with the lights on. He joked that if you make love in the dark purposely, what will happen if lightning strike suddenly halfway through?

He also did not miss the opportunity to promote Money Not Enough 2 (钱不够用2), the latest movie he starred in. He was asking whether the audience had watched the movie. I did when he asked and he asked where did we watch it. He should be very sure of the huge piracy market in Malaysia. One guy shouted he watched it through the pirated versions and even wanted to borrow Mark to watch. Mark replied that those who watch pirated versions will not hit any jackpots to get back at him. There was even an old man who offered a glass of alcohol to Mark to drink while he was singing.

There are extra candles so we decided to light them all up on the beach.

HOME-MADE KAMPUA

Disclaimer: This post is loaded with pork! Read at your own risk!

Kampua is a Foochow pronounciation of a Foochow noodle which is close to wantan mee. It is found a lot in Sibu, Sarawak. I am a bigger fan of kampua than kolo mee. I know many people told me that kolo mee tastes better because they have more ingredients. I for one like kampua for what it is, no matter how much less ingredients it has over kolo mee.

In Johor Bahru and Singapore, you can't really find a decent store selling kampua. Those which claimed to be Sarawak noodles are either kolo mee (another type from Kuching, Sarawak) or lousy versions which claimed to be similar. I tasted some and they taste like shit.

The only other alternative is to prepare yourself. Of course, you need to import the noodles over since you can't really find similar versions here. I know the local mee they love to use for wantan mee tastes and behaves like rubberbands. I hate those and I wonder why people love them.

The most important ingredient is Foochow cooking red wine and pig's oil. However, I don't have pig's oil so I am using vegetable oil. I tried olive oil but it is just too dry and not very suitable. I know it is dry but I wanted to try it out but it just won't work. Perhaps a more higher grade will work. Then, the oyster sauce for the minced meat.

Some white vinegar to give that extra sour taste for the sauce. It is almost extinct in Sibu to have people still using this but I love to have kampua with vinegar. I know one kopitiam in Sungai Merah to use it, I'm not sure whether they still do or is still around doing the business now.

Black pepper for the minced meat.

The skin for the 'bien nut' (literally Foochow translation of flat meat) or you can call it wantan here.

Salt for some saltiness apart from the vinegar's sourness.

Small onions to be deep fried.

Some vegetable for the soup.

The flat version of kampua noodle.

The round version of the kampua noodle.

Minced meat to be used for 'bien nut' and rolled up meat balls. In Sibu, Sarawak, they also use char siew meat but I don't have that so substituting it with minced meat.

Chopped small onions ready for deep frying.

Chopped garlic for the soup.

Small onions after deep frying.

Frying the minced meat.

Wrapping minced meat in the wantan skin to make 'bien nut'.

This amount is sufficient for each wrapping.

This is how they look in huge numbers.

Minced meat rolled into meatballs for the soup. In Sibu, they like to serve pig's liver in soup with vege too. It tastes great but eating too much liver is not good for health.

Cooking the 'bien nut'.

The 'bien nut' ready to be used with the noodle.

The 'bien nut' in soy sauce and fried small onions.

Adding the salt, soy sauce and fried small onions ready for mixing with the noodle. Add some chilli sauce to add some spiciness to the dish.

Cooking the noodle.

Adding the noodle to the plate with soy sauce and other ingredients.

The flat noodle finished product ready to serve. Add vege if you want.

The round noodle finished product ready to serve.