Salam Aidilfitri!

Salam Aidilfitri everyone. Maaf Zahir & Batin. Let's reset the forgiveness meters and start from scratch again.

Do drive safe where ever you got. Enjoy the moments with your loved ones and friends. Have fun eating all the Raya goodies. Remember to drinks lots of plain water. Exercise if you can. Most of all...have fun!

Goku Raku Ramen √

Hmmmm why did I put a √ on the blog post title? Read on...enjoy the pictures...sniff the pictures a little...lick the screen a little:D

Last week I hopped over the Goku Raku Ramen for a brilliant journey through ramen. I say journey as we given a tour on ramen making. Taught some fine stuff on ramen and the broths that go with different ramen. Learnt the art of making ramen and I figured out that I think I'll stick to eating:D

We started off with some green tea. A choice of hot or cold while waiting for the rest of the buddies to arrive.

Appetizer was Pirikara Negi Char Siew. This is one dish that has a fine art of eating. Basically grab a little of everything with the char siew as how executive chef Kanai San demonstrated to us. This is tough because I am quite bad with my chopsticks and trying to do that and holding the camera on the other hand...I relied of Chef being the model holding the char siew:D Now take a bite of the pretty yummy thing if you have a small mouth like me. Its a burst of flavours and textures. A wee juicy so do not choke:P

I love Gyozas. However there are not many places that I can find good gyozas that are crispy on one side and soft on the other. Yes...that is how good gyozas are supposed to be. At Goku Raku, gyozas are first fried. When its almost ready, some tempura sauce is poured into the pan. This results in the gyoza having 2 different textures i.e. nice and crisp on one side and yummily tender soft on the other side. A bite into each gyoza reveals a rich taste of fresh mice pork, onion, garlic, ginger, pork lard, cabbage and chives.

There is a choice of 2 dips for your gyoza. One is the original gyoza sauce and the other is known as the Shimizu San Special which has lemon, canola, soy sauce, shiso leaf and plus plus. You'll have to ask Shimizu San what the plus plus are:P My fave is of course Shimizu San sauce for its zesty taste.

Pork belly and tomato? Yeah pork belly and tomato make a good dish named Tomato Maki. Skewered and grilled, this maki is absolutely bursting with flavour. Juicy sweet tomato and the smokey salty taste of the pork belly will have you asking for more.

Another pork belly dish must have is the Buta Bara Kushi. A fried dish of pork belly and apple with some mustard is so delightful. Dip it into the given tonkutsu sauce. The batter allows the pork belly to remain juicy.

And if you like rice and specifically claypot rice, then the Ishiyaki Garlic Rice is a must have. A special sauce called the Stamina Sauce is added into the hot rice and stirred quickly. The results? Yummy flavorful rice of mince pork, egg, stamina sauce and garlic. This is also another possible rice dish that I will choose when I choose to carbo load before a run.

How can one visit Goku Raku Ramen and not have any ramen?

Since it was a group of 9 hungry stomachs, we were able to test 5 different ramen. And the 5 flavours were matched to the correct type of ramen. The basic principal would be to match the thinner ramen to a plainer soup while the thicker ramen goes better with full flavoured broths. There is also 2 types of oil that you can choose. Opt for the leek oil which is a little mild but nevertheless flavourful. The garlic oil is also known as mayu is a wee too strong for my liking.

Before we started on our ramen, we were given water with lemon. All our green tea was taken away, Chef Kanai San explained that the lemon infused water would clear our palettes better than green tea.

Tonkutsu Ramen is also known as the original ramen. The broth is made of only pork and boiled over a process of 17 hours to bring out the best of the pork. Being a lighter broth, we had this with the thinner ramen. I first tasted the noodle as is then tried it with leek oil followed with garlic oil. I opted to finish the rest if my Tonkutsu Ramen with the leek oil. It was milder but nevertheless flavourful with the pork based broth.

Miso Tonkutsu Ramen is a tad heavier than the original ramen. The added miso is a good choice for those who love miso for its salty "nutty taste". This particular ramen goes better with the garlic oil.

Gokuraku Ramen is served in a thicker broth made of pork, chicken and fish. All the 3 ingredients are cooked for approximately 30 hours. The result is a very full bodied and slightly smokey flavoured soup. Being a thicker broth, this is best served with the thick ramen. When our noodles arrived, the ramen was still el dente and it cooked gradually as we ate it.

If you like miso and full flavoured broths, then the Gokuraku Miso Ramen would be the perfect ramen for you. Thick ramen soaked in a broth of miso, chicken, pork and vegetables, there is something comforting ramen dish. Take a mouthful of the ramen with the broth and the mince pork. Awesome!

And just when I thought that the Gokuraku Miso Ramen was the ultimate ramen, Chef Kanai San announces that there is indeed one more ramen seriously called the Ultimate Tonkutsu Ramen! Thick ramen in pork broth with char siew, bamboo, egg, black fungus, leek, garlic oil and seaweed, this is a seriously huge bowl of ramen. The egg is cooked just right. *Burp*

Good food must end with desserts. Our palettes were treated to 3 desserts Annin Tofu, Rare Cheese Cake and Banana Fritter with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Each uniquely different and delicious in its own right, I loved the Annin Tofu the most. This cold creamy almond jelly is not overly sweet either. Perfect after our full meal above. So good that one of our pals needed a second helping:D

Yummy Yummy?

Goku Raku Ramen

S25-S26 Level 2,

North Court,

Mid Valley Megamall.

• Its the same side as JUSCO, FOS and Thai Odyssey

• Check out their Facebook page www.facebook.com/GokurakuRamen to get more updates on their promotions:D

Hurry over to Gokuraku Ramen real soon. They are having a 50% off ramen dishes on Mondays and Tuesdays until September 2011

FREEBIES Time: Tiger Street Football

Its freebies time again. Up for grabs are 3 Exclusive Tiger Chiller Box with 3 cans of 500ml Tiger Beer in it.

Mind you, these are exclusive Tiger Chiller Boxes that is only given to teams that that have qualified for the Tiger Street Football National Finals. But THANX to the kind folks at GAB, you now have a chance to take one of these cool Tiger Chiller Box home with you in just 3 simple steps:

STEP 1: Watch the following video.

STEP 2: Answer a simple question "How many countries in total will be participating in the Tiger Street Football Grand Finals this 18 September at the 1Utama open air car park?"

STEP 3: Write your answer in the comment box with your email address so that I can touch base with you for your prize.

Simple isn't it? So hurry up and answer!

Terms & Conditions:

• This contest is open to all non-Muslim readers aged 18 year-old and above.

• The first three comments posted with the correct answer and email address will be selected as winners.

• The contest duration is from 26th until 1st September 2011.

• The prizes must be redeemed at the Tiger Street Football registration station on the 17 or 18 September at 1Utama (Car park next to TGIF). Prizes may not be redeemed for cash.

• The blog owner and Guinness Anchor Berhad reserve the right to cancel, modify, suspend or delay the Contest in the event of unforeseen circumstances beyond its reasonable control.

~~~What Tiger Street Football?~~~

Tiger proudly presents Tiger Street Football - the edgiest football celebration to ever take place on the streets of Malaysia! The Tiger Street Football National and Grand Finals will be kicking off this 17 and 18 September at the 1Utama open air car park, and it is going to be nothing short of the most fantastic street football celebration for fans, players and football lovers in Malaysia.

Tiger Street Football is an international street football festival that has been touring Asia, bringing the most intense street football tournaments to Singapore, Thailand, Guangzhou, Vietnam and Malaysia. The Grand Finals taking place in Malaysia will see the Tiger Street Football champions from each of those countries, along with two professional street football teams from Brazil and Holland battle it out for the top prize of USD30,000 and the coveted “King of the Streets” title.

Visit www.tigerstreetfootball.com for more info and updates.

24th Ops Sikap

Its the festive season and this time we join our Muslim pals to celebrate Hari Raya after a month of fasting. And it is during this merry time that we all drive around to visit them, balik kampung or even take time off to travel locally. Absolutely brilliant!

The police have launched the 24th Ops Sikap on Tuesday 23rd August 2011. Launched by YDH DCP Dato' Mohmad bin Salleh who also saw the support of the biking and sportscar community and even normal civilians like you and I.

The 24th Ops Sikap this round involves the police setting up speed traps at the hot spots of high accidents. The speed traps are meant to be a deterrent for speedsters who drive recklessly fast and end up endangering not just their own lives but that of their loved ones and innocent people around them. Its a simple logic. Drive too fast and you're not caable of controlling your car and what happens? Accident!

The second cause of fatalities and accidents is of course people who fall asleep while driving. Driving after a full meal or when one is tired is a bad idea. One can stop at the many rest stops for a break. Walk around. Have a drink. Stretch your legs. Wash your face. These are some of the possible way to break the monotony of driving whch hubby and I practice when we drive around for our trips.

To further advocate the idea of driving and riding safely, helmets and reflective jackets were also give out to the motorcyclist. Goodie bags were also given to both the motorcylist and motorist. In it were booklets on safetip driving or riding tips, drinking water and a slice of cake for the recipients to either eat when they broke fast or snack when they took a break from their driving.

This Ops Sikap is also tied in with "Kempen Rumah Selamat" i.e. safe home campaign. We all go off for our holidays and hope that our ouse is safe and intact when we return. Some guidelines given were to ensure we use proper locks or inform our neighbours that we will be away and ask them to help keep an eye. I never go off for any holidays without informing my neighbours on my block. And I would request that they in turn also keep me posted if they were to go for their holidays so that could keep an eye on their place.

The Ops Sikap starts from 23rd August to 6th September. Records has shown that the Ops Sikap which is into its 10th year has been successful in reducing the number of accidents and fatalities. So folks, stop looking at the campaign like its a money sucking campaign that the government has launch. Its for all road users safety.

Do note that the "saman ekor" or the sending of summonses to traffic offenders va the mail would be contonued where it is necessary but the cameras for the speed traps would be prominently located for motorists to see the cameras. There will also be sign boards to warn of any speed traps. And so if anyone insist of being a speedster you only have yourself to blame for your summon.

So folks...drive safe this festive season and happy holidays! Salam Aidil Fitri to my Muslim pals!

To Arthur!

I was invited to be part of the Arthur's Day Launch Party in Malaysia that kicked off at Beer Factory with the company of great friends and 400 loyal GUINNESS® fans who had changed their name to Arthur in tribute to Arthur Guinness and for a chance to be part of the Arthur's Day Launch Party. Absolutely fun and vibrant, it was everything that GUINNESS® is all about.

And if I could add on...absolutely yummy (you're hearing from a girl who loves GUINNESS® as it is and GUINNESS® in her recipes). Here's some pics of the yummy GUINNESS that was sent in again and again at our table.

Definitely there was yummy food too.

The party was also jam packed with amazing power packed performances by Malaysia's talented local artistes including Prema Yin, NakedBreed, Rosevelt, Dragon Sea, CSBTEA and James Baum. These 6 talented acts will be performing throughout the Arthur's Day parties for the opportunity to perform on the global stage with world reknowned icons on 23rd September 2011.

How to they "battle" it out? cast your votes online and also at the various Arthur's Day party venues that they are performing at. The Top 2 voted favourites will then be performing at the 23rd September concert. Hurry over to www.facebook.com/guinnessmalaysia to cast your votes and also get updates on Arthur's Day celebration details.

Yes there is one thorn among the roses and she's none their than Prema Yin! And if I could request, do vote for this Rock Princess Prema Yin! She's an absolutely talented and energetic power packed artiste. Vote for Prema Yin!

What's an Arthur's Day launch party without a toast to Arthur? The GUINNESS® folks, the artistes, the Arthurs, happy Arthur fans and friends And am glad to have caught up with law school mate Elaine Daly. TO ARTHUR!

So hurry over to www.facebook.com/guinnessmalaysia now to check out how you can be part of Arthur's Day celebrations on arTHURSDAY (do you know that Malaysia is the only venue in Asia selected to host the biggest celebration outside Ireland?) Check out the 600 Arthur's Day parties themed arTHURSDAY at over 100 GUINNESS® outlets, collect your limited edition GUINNESS® T Shirts with a new design revealed every Thursday until 22nd September.

TO ARTHUR!