The clock is ticking and the year is finally winding down. It's been a year filled with so many experiences and emotions that it is simply difficult to list down every single thing in words. Let's not deny it. Problems were present this year. Obstacles had to be overcome this year.

True story for every single individual in this world.

One of the many things that I have appreciated this year however, was the thought of having this blog. It's a place where I can just let my passions run wild with no leases. It's a place where I can just look back and think to myself, hey, I've been to this place before and I loved/hated it. I simply love reminiscing as I can gather back my emotions from that particular place/incident as it provides a nice tickle to my soul.

However, it's also been true that thus far, every single thing right on this blog has been on either food or just overseas travelling matters. I would like to add a personal touch to it and there is certainly this one thing that I would love to venture into.

Since 2015 is dawning upon us, I should effectively start the ball rolling on an uncharted territory - "thought posts."

The people who know me personally do know that I am the kind where thoughts and ideas simply run riot in my mind. I do not have to speak my mind and it could be a shitty feeling if I don't at times.

In fact I'm a trier. I like to do things that I have not done before so that I can experience it(if it is not too dangerous). But trying can equate to and lead to so many different outcomes.

Trying can lead to jubilation.

Trying can lead to success.

Trying can ultimately be a really disappointing venture.

Trying can be misunderstood by others.

I know full well the coverage of these 4 outcomes. I have tasted each and every single one of those feelings entirely, over the past year or so especially.

My most important reflection of the year definitely embodies the word "TRYING."

Because it is this word that got me into so many different situations that made me experience and learn so much. I am not going to put in a self-centred post because I just dislike the idea of it but I am just going to share my reflections regardless.

Trying. It could mean that as a commander in BMT, you want to try to be different in handling different batches. You could want to be nice for the first. You could want to be fucked up for the second. You could want to be oblivious for the last. Just so you can experience how it feels like to have different personas. This definitely doesn't apply to all but to perhaps a minority of you, I'm sure that crossed your mine before. Don't have to feel guilty about it because it is normal.

Trying. It could mean that as a recruit or a cadet, you want to experience leadership appointments so that you can perhaps know how different it feels handling pressures and leading others in the military sense. You just want to try your best to see what your limit is regardless of how you perform.

Trying. It could mean that you try hard to get together with that someone you like regardless of the outcome.

Trying. It could mean something as simple as trying to get your driving license. You can fail at your first attempt. You could fail at your second or even the third. But ultimately, you feel jubilation when you do pass your test.

The thing that I have learnt and would like to bring across is this: Trying is good.

It doesn't mean that the outcome must be a positive one so that you can revel in it and remember it in a dreamy sense. It is the process that counts. Especially for young lads like myself, I feel that trying holds no boundaries. It is the journey and venture in that particular aspect that counts. You can be gung-ho or you can be a plain arsehole. It doesn't matter. It is the point whereby mistakes can be made and perhaps tolerated. Most importantly, lessons must be drawn from them and you improve yourself.

In fact to sum up my thoughts at this juncture, I've always remembered this quote from a certain someone.


If you were plain safe and just not willing to try anything, you simply would not know what the outcome to trying it out could be.

Success or failure?
What's the emotions you go through?
What's the experience like?

Simply quoted, you are just hanging in the balance and left in the lurch.

Trying is good. Yes. But trying is all about timing.

Trying doesn't mean mistakes are condoned.

These in fact are what I've learnt during my army tenure over the past 2 years.

You can try hard and one mistake you make could just leave you for dead. The hard fact of society.

Out in the working world, I doubt there will be many opportunities for people to try out many different things and experience them. One mistake could just end a promising career.

So while the clock is ticking on the youthful years in school, how about just try something you have never done before, the point in life where mistakes are probably condoned. I'm not asking you to break the law, etc. How about trying hard towards your passions and goals so that you live a colourful life with no regrets? Trying hard for what you want and even if failure is the outcome, it would have been a learning experience.

Remember the quote,



This is the most important lesson that I have learnt from 2013-2014. I have grown stronger from trying instead of shirking and averting opportunities to try. And for the most part, although it has not been a pleasant journey, it was still a great life lesson that I have embraced with both hands.

I simply cannot wait for the upcoming 2015 to come. More challenges ahead for sure but more lessons to learn as well.

Yes, I know that this a food/travel blog but I just couldn't help it but to post on my reflections for the past 2 years. I love writing about my thoughts and I even keep a personal diary(who does it these days omg?!). It is something I would love to incorporate into this blog if it is possible.

I mean...there's no harm trying right?

So with that, Peanut has left a marker in 2014

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Signing off,
KY

P.S. Really hope the passengers on the AirAsia flight are safe and sound. #prayforqz8501

Christmas always has the capacity to excite any individual and I simply love how Christmas festivities always seem to be able to provide a pleasant cap to the year. So this time round on the second day of Christmas, I got to have an opportunity to soak in the festive mood with a meal at Prego Singapore.

Location:




Ambience:



Not surprisingly, the festive mood was up in the air at Prego. Christmas embellishments and lightings were prominent and the crowd was engaged in hearty talk and laughter.


The lighting in the place was comfortable albeit dim and the service all round from the staff was good. There were no qualms when handling our requests and a smile is ever-present on the faces of the staff. Simply put, the restaurant provided a pleasant atmosphere for dining.


Ratings: 3.9/5


Food:



The Prego menu was filled predominantly with Italian dishes as what one can expect from an Italian restaurant. Apart from the desserts and latte, I felt that the main courses and appetizers we chose left plenty more to be desired from them. The portion for the appetizers were small which was not surprising but still disappointing nevertheless. For the Chef's set lunch, the food chocies available were only the ones that had a Chef's hat beside their name on the menu.



The appetizers we chose were the Calamari Fritters and Prosciutto di Parma.


The Calamari Fritters were accompanied with a chilli sauce that had a sour falvour that I felt could go well with the spaghetti. It was however tough to bite and I have certainly tasted better Calamaris from Fast Food outlets.


On the other hand, the ham in Prosciutto Di Parma was tender and prepared my stomach well for plenty more dishes to come.


Moving on, the main courses we decided upon were the Linguine and Penne Tartufate.


The linguine had this light tasting flavour that was easy on the stomach but did not have a lasting impression on me unlike the penne which had a stronger flavour due its creamy sauce and fragrant mushrooms.


The servings were more than sufficient to fill up one's stomach especially during a pleasant Christmas phase. Simply put, they were extremely filling.


Desserts came next and it was probably the best part of the meal apart from the ambience. The in house special Tiramisu was delicieux and I loved the nougat flavour that came along with the homemade Gelato.

Taking pictures of the desserts especially the tiramisu was a tough ordeal. There they sit right in front of me and it was such a tantalizing experience as I could only get to taste it after I get a good shot of it so that I can share it. It was safe to say that after having a taste of the tiramisu, the food quality matches its unmistakable appealing appearance.

The soft interior and rich cheesy flavour topped off with the chocolate powder rounded off a decent meal at Prego. The only thing I could begrudge the tiramisu upon is that the chocolate clogs up and gets stuck to your teeth.


The homemade gelato came along with a choice of 2 flavours stated on the menu and also 2 biscuits that tasted like baked cookies and were equally scrumptious. The nougat would definitely satiate one that has a sweet tooth and I just simply loved that flavour.

Ratings: 3.5/5

Pricing:


Even though its fine dining, and the price is expected to be exorbitant, I still feel that the costs doesn't equate to the quality of food on offer here. It is easy to get a cheaper and tastier Italian dish outside of Prego. Only the desserts at Prego are value for money.


Even the latte that was heavenly costs in excess of $10 and it seriously can burn a hole in one's pocket.


Ratings: 1.5/5 (In accordance to how value for money it is)

Final words....


Good desserts all round but exorbitant appetizers and main courses make Prego a less desirable place to enjoy fine dining. However, its location is easily accessible and a comfortable ambience makes up for the food quality on offer here. However, I would say that I would not be coming back to this place any time soon.


So with that, Peanut has left a marker on another food place.

Stay tuned for more adventures and Merry Xmas everyone!

Signing off,
KY

Long bus rides, good food, tropical-like surroundings - these things are what you get to experience in a trip to our neighbours Malaysia. The trip to Ipoh in particular had more of the annoying long bus rides but also plenty of good food to savour. And talking about good food, I do have plenty of pictures and thoughts that I would like to share on them.


Before I have even set foot upon Ipoh, I knew that the town had a real variety of delicious foods available. Ipoh Hor Fun, Tau Hway, Chicken rice.....and the list goes on.


The only drawbacks of going to Ipoh by bus is that the journey takes almost 8 hours and you can say that in my 3 days 2 nights trip there, almost a quarter of the time was spent on the bus and that is definitely not something worth going through.

However, for a guided tour that cost only around $270, with a great stay at LostWorld Hotel, with all meals catered for and a theme park(which included a time at the hot spring) to experience, I would still say that it was a real value for money trip even if the travelling time was torridly lengthy.


Apart from the hot springs, the real highlight of the trip was none other than the parts where I get to enjoy my meals. The restaurants I went to were decent but the best foods were still the ones I got to try during my Free and Easy Time.

The first of those was the Tau Fu Huay I tried that was right beside the LostWorld hot springs.


Before I even got a try at the Tau Fu Huay, I was amused. What? Malaysia has got hot springs? I don't remember that Malaysia has got any volcanoes that the hot springs could come from. So after much probing, I discovered, oh, the hot springs actually come from the mountainous area a kilometre away.

What strikes me as weird is that the hot springs are only hot during the night. I simply wonder why. Perhaps it was due to the large crowd that is around when the theme park is open. The nighttime experience at the hot springs was wholly different and provided much warmth, or rather, heat, that made my sleep all the more comfortable after the soaking of the hot springs.



Tau Fu Huay:


Enjoying a serving of Tau Fu Huay after the hot spring soak was a pleasant experience. The Tau Fu Hway looks unspectacular, but its authentic taste was unmistakable. It had the smoothest texture as compared to the other Tau Huays I tried in Singapore and although it had the same honey flavour as the Rochor beancurds, it wasn't as sweet as the Rochor ones. Instead, it had a sweet flavour that wasn't overpowering.


Unfortunately. the guided tour restricted me towards only this Tau Fu Huay stall in Ipoh and I did not have the chance to try out other outlets. What I do know is that there are plentiful of other such stalls around but the most famous of which is named Funny Mountain(奇蜂). It is in close proximity to the venue of the chicken rice place that I am going to write about next.

The pricing for the Tau Fu Huay at Lost World costs 3RMB and they sell herbal jelly and mochis as well.



Chicken Rice:

Lou Wong Chicken Rice at Jalan Yau Tet Shin is a famous brand in the town of Ipoh. The stall is usually jam packed with customers especially during mealtimes and weekends.



To get a seat in this venue, reservations in advance are mandatory otherwise, you would be disappointed. Their famous dishes are the chicken feet, beansprouts and the Ipoh Hor Fun.


The beansprouts especially have a freshness that are unlike those found in the supermarkets. According to the shopowners, the beansprouts are grown and watered with fresh well water which contributes to the refreshing taste. It does not have the stench and overwhelming taste that is accompanied with beansprouts and it is also crunchy which serves as a decent appetizing dish.


Moving on, there's a saying that goes that you need to eat more chicken feet so that you can have strong legs. I do have my reservations about this saying and perhaps it is true but there can be no mistaking the taste of the chicken feet they sell at this place. The skin and tender meat is smooth and its taste so addictive that you would simply want to take more of it.


The Ipoh Horfun has the same soup base as the meatball soup they serve(which I really love). It is quite salty but endearing at the same time. The Hor Fun is soft but not outstanding. However, I would still think that it is an interesting taste that is still worth experiencing.






Zhi Bao Chicken:


Sorry I do not have any photos of this dish. I took it for granted initially. It looked extremely oily and did not seem that it was worthy of any pictures. After I took a bite at it, I felt that the chicken was quite tasty just that it was extremely oily like what you would expect from such a dish. The stall that sold this chicken is also along the same stretch of road as the Funny Mountain Tau Fu Huay shop and the Lou Wang chicken rice stall.

Lost World Desserts:


How can I miss out on desserts? The Gula Melaka with Ice Cream at the Restaurant right beside the zoo in Lost World theme park and the Ice Cream Waffle sold there were cheap(Ringgit 4.50 for the Gula Melaka Ice Cream, 7 for Ice Cream and additional cost for toppings) The Gula Melaka had an intriguing taste much like a hybrid taste of chendol and rice cake while the chocolate syrup over the crispy waffle for the Ice cream waffle was the pick of the bunch.


Most of what I have written about are all around the vicinity of Lost World and only the chicken rice and Zhi Bao Chicken are the exceptions. The reason why is due to the fact that we did not venture out of the area on the second day and spent most of our time at the Lost World Theme Park. The only time we left that area was when we did our shopping at the new shopping mall at IEON. Buying the book," Love Rosie" there was a real blessing in disguise. It was a great read that killed much of my time on the bus.


It was still a good getaway from Singapore and I simply can't wait for the next few trips to come over the next month or so!

Krabi, Myanmar and Vietnam here I come!


So with that, Peanut has left a marker on another food place.

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Signing off,
KY

Countdown of less than 24 hours and I will be on the coach for my first post-ORD trip. Yes I know. It's Malaysia that I am going to. Singaporeans usually go there. What can be so interesting and exciting about a trip there?

Intriguingly, I have a theme park, hot spring and plenty of food and shopping to look forward to during my time in Ipoh over the next 4 days. I simply cannot wait. Being overseas to satiate my wanderlust mood is still awesome.

Since I am going to be MIA for the next few days, why not just do one last post before my trip?

So......to start things off, I need to backtrack abit.


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Once upon a time, I was still.....wearing green and serving the nation.

It was a time when trainings were tough and superiors demanding which is why feeling frustrated is an inevitable emotion to experience.

So one fine day after a Nsman IPPT, we wanted to have a satiating meal for our empty stomachs before we made our way back to camp. Discussions amongst the 3 of us(my officer, clerk and myself) were intense and we could not decide upon what we wanted to have for our lunch.

And then, we saw....a dessert place outside the stretch of road of Nee Soon Camp.


It was none other than," The Daily Scoop."


What made this moment all the more gratifying was that it was a really torrid, hot and long day for all of us. Thinking about ice cream and savouring it was an emotion to revel in.

Ambience:


We were greeted with a really vibrant setting the moment we stepped foot into the Daily Scoop. What was great about the ambience was that, it had a very spacious feel about it, probably because of the bright setting of the place.


Its location isn't the most accessible but it still had customers ranging from students, the working class and if you include us, soldiers searching for food to satisfy our tummy.


The seats were comfortable and there was an overall pleasant feel to the whole place.

Food:


Ice cream isn't always the best option for lunch but in this scenario, it was still a decent position that we could be in considering how we felt then.


What we ordered then was the raspberry and rum flavour. Mine had waffle along with it.



The raspberry provided a sour yet sweet experience whilst the rum flavour had that tinge of alcohol to it. I am not a fan of rum but it provided a decent flavourful experience. I liked the waffle they provided and all in all, good food for our stomach and soul.

Pricing:


As NSFs then, I felt that it had a reasonable price as can be seen from the picture and I would say that it is affordable to people from all walks of life.

It is not considered dirt cheap but definitely, worth every penny if you try it.

Location and other branches:





So with that, Peanut has left a marker on another food place.

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Signing off,
KY