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Who’s up for some braised pork leg rice?

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Good Friday road trip to Sematan. Let the photos tell the story.

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A sudden crave for chicken rice this afternoon.

Picked up the wife from home and headed to our usual spot, ordered our usual.

Delicious and satisfied to the max. It was blazing hot so here goes our drink.

Definitely gotta try this drink if you haven’t.

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Its been more than 2000 days since my last update. So I’m back. No longer in Melbourne and back working in Kuching Malaysia. So i decided to continue sharing on this blog regarding my life and what I like to do. Some quick updates.

So talking about coffee. Currently I’m into specialty coffee roasting and selling beans online. I make espresso every morning before going to work and I just can’t get by the day without it.

Moving on to cars. I drive a 2012 Mazda CX5 which I got second hand and I’m loving it to the max from driving dynamics all the way to the audio quality. Swapped in a sports coilover suspension where it stiffen up the ride and max out stability and handling, at the cost of comfort and to be honest, it did wore out quite a lot of parts that I had to get em changed. Oh, the rims are original, just sprayed Matte Black lately. Looking to lower it a notch soon. Ok enough about cars.

Since back then, I never stopped taking photos... and I can’t deny how technology has evolved from those large DSLRs to the state of the art mirrorless full frame cameras available in the market. I currently own a Sony A7iii and a6400. As I go out everyday, my go to camera is always my trusty iPhone Xs Max where I can reach to it and snap whenever I want, just like this photo above.

So let me end this post with a snap of my lunch this afternoon. The beef was just superb and the curry rice, spicy and hot, just the way I like it. So I’m back on Tumblr and hope to update again real soon.

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It was a really sunny day in Melbourne. Had some fun photo hunting around with my buddy. Shot with the SX70 Polaroid Land Camera.

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Good Old Melbourne. Shot on AGFA Vista 400 film with Leica M6, Voightlander Nokton Classic 35mm, F1.4.

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Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road, Australia.

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Singapore with the Kodak Portra 400 Film

The city of Singapore, definitely full of opportunities out there for some great photography, may it be from street photography, to stunning landscape, to the pace of life. Stopped by this beautiful city for 5 days and 4 nights while travelling back to Malaysia from Melbourne. As usual, brought along my trusty Leica M6 which was loaded with my favourite color film, the Portra 400 by Kodak.

Shot at the Chinatown Complex Food Centre. Lighting was dim, however at ASA400, I really love how this film performs in low light situations, the colors just seem to pop out perfectly. Anyways, the Bak Chor Mee (Minced Pork Noodles) from the stall in the photo is da bomb! Remember to ask for extra chilli.

A hot and hazy afternoon at Orchard Road, doing some shopping. Enjoyed just hanging around and watch the life go by. Didn’t really shop much but it was a good afternoon walk.

Didn’t intend to stalk people on purpose, but sometimes when you frame your shot and focus through the rangefinder, you tend to keep an eye out on the interesting things happening around you. Taken at Bugis Junction.

One of the attractions here at Orchard Road. This time, I came back during the late evening as the sun goes down and the lights start to come out. Stop by one of these stalls and grab an ice cream either with biscuits or the good old sandwich.

Once again, busy Orchard Road. The shots that you can get here at night feels so different from the ones you get during daytime. Remember to keep your hands steady. Once again really want to emphasize on how much I love the colors of the Portra 400 during low light.

Another night Orchard Road shot. Took this on the way to Orchard Central for the SG Flight Simulations.

A shot taken at Tiong Bahru after having a satisfying breakfast at the hawker centre. Shutter of the Leica M6 is so quiet that it is so hard for people to realize that you are taking a picture of them.

June and July are one of the hottest months of the year. Taxi stand at Marina Square.

The view of the city from the Sands Skypark. Entrance fee was $23 for adults. Too bad that I didn’t stay till sunset.

The last glimpse of sunlight of the day. Really enjoyed shooting film in this city and impressed by the flexibility and dynamic range the Portra 400 has to give. Strongly recommend it for travel photography. Do check out the short video I made during this trip below.

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A 5D4N (24/7/15 - 28/7/15) trip to Singapore while on the way back to Malaysia from Melbourne. Mostly about eating and the awesome food in Singapore. Just nice to cover most of the well known places.

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Menya Sandaime @ Melbourne

Just opened recently on Russell Street in the CBD, Menya Sandaime seems to be one of the latest ramen place people are talking about. Went there quite late in the evening, around 8 30pm and the place was still quite crowded. Atmosphere wise, pretty Japanese and you can see the chefs in action.

Working hard in the kitchen, really amazed at the passion these people have in delivering their best in culinary. The menu was quite unique as we weren’t given a booklet or card type menus. 

Instead this was what the waitress presented us with. Kinda like an open container thingy. Variety wise I can say that they were quite creative with their different variations of Ramen, and yes, they only serve Japanese Ramen as their mains. So if you are looking at rice dishes, this is not the place. So I tried the Karakuchi Ramen, the be honest the thing that leading me to this choice is the little sticker on the side saying “SPICY”. Oh yeah I’m Malaysian!

So here it is, served in a bowl that is.....gigantic? While the food only filled up like one third of the entire bowl. That’s not the point here anyways. Taste wise, I would say the egg there wasn’t liquid-ish enough and the yolk was almost the “hard boil” type, if you get what I mean. On the other hand, the “cha-shu”, which is the pork really tasted great. It seemed like it had been lightly “char-grileed” before and was marinated perfectly with flavour. Now to the main point, and I think this is their weakness, that is the soup. It was just, not there yet, kind of too blend which turns me off, and it wasn’t really spicy as advertised. Afterall not a bad meal but I will think twice before coming back here again.

225 Russell Street,

Melbourne 3000 VIC.

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Manchester Press @ Melbourne

Hidden in one of the laneways of Melbourne, you might have heard about Manchester Press really often, however it really takes some “location hunting” in order to actually get to it. Situated at Rankins Lane, which is off Little Bourke St, the entrance of this cafe doesn’t really strikes the eye at first glance.

We came in pretty early this morning around 10am and the place was too crowded. Gotta love the atmosphere and the warm lighting inside. There isn’t much natural lighting today as it was really cloudy. This place is really well known for their coffee in terms of taste and latte art. Upon request, you can have various designs of latte art like faces, animals etc. 

To start the day I’ve got the cappuccino and their Texas Pulled Pork bagel. The cappuccino was really strong in aroma yet not overly bitter. I never add sugar to my coffee so to enjoy the aroma of the brew and this was nicely done, strong enough to get me awake through the day. The bagel on the other hand, served with salad was really filling despite the fact that it might look small in the photo. The pulled pork was marinated and slow cooked for 14 hours in their BBQ sauce. 

Really enjoyed the meal and looking forward to coming back. Took a shot of the entrance with the SX-70 before leaving.

8 Rankins Lane,

Melbourne 3000 VIC.

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Worked with a friend on this short film back in February.

Produced and filmed locally in Kuching, Malaysia.

Ever find yourself often wandering around trying to capture the perfect photo? Nowadays it's often to take digital photography for granted due to its convenience. But what if, you are shooting film, and there's only one available frame left?

Written and Directed by Prestley Y.S Shim Cinematography and Sound by Lucas N.E Moh

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Join me and Tin as we go about wondering around Canberra, the capital city of Australia. Great food and places. Travelog will be up soon!

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Travelog - Canberra Day 1 (9/5/2015)

Indeed, I decided to take a 4 days 3 nights short getaway right after my assignment was due. This time, it is to Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Yes...you didn't hear me wrong...I just said Canberra. You might be wondering, of all the places, why Canberra? Canberra is the capital city of Australia, and though it sounds like it should had been a big city and all those stuff, it is actually the opposite. There's basically close to no tourists attractions there at all. To be simple, it is just a small little place of administration and education. So back to why I chose to go there, firstly it was to visit a dear friend, and secondly, there just happened to have a promotion for Greyhound bus return tickets during that period of time. 

It takes around 8 hours bus ride to get from Melbourne to Canberra, and I chose to depart at 8am in the morning instead of the previous night because I was kinda concerned that I would be too tired when I arrive in Canberra early morning. Since my dear friend, Tin, is kind enough to offer me a place in his apartment, I did not have to worry about wasting a day on the bus, I just decided to stay for an extra day to make up for it. The bus journey was much better than I expected, free Wifi, USB charging and generous leg room makes the 8 hour journey nice and pleasant. There’s also a stop during mid day for you to buy some food and stretch your legs. Finally I arrived around 5 15pm and it was already getting dark in this mid Autumn season.

The first glimpse of Canberra, there really isn’t any tall buildings that you will expect to see in other major Australian cities. The streets are rather quiet and empty. As a Malaysian from Kuching, and Tin a Taiwanese who grew up in Singapore, we all have one thing in common. Being Chinese, WE ALL LOVE TO EAT :p. By the way, Tin here is the lead blogger of a food blog called “Hang On Arvo”, so he is definitely taking me for some great food!

First stop, dinner! Thai food has been very popular among Australians. There were like 2 or 3 Thai restaurants in the city centre of Canberra and we decided to dine at this one called “Lemon Grass”.

Atmosphere was really nice and cozy with yellowish lighting. The waitress sat us down at a merely small 2 seater table and we placed our order with her. After that we were thinking if our small table will be able to fit all the dishes we ordered hahahaha.

Pad Thai chicken was a great starter. The thing that I really liked about it was that the taste was just perfectly balanced. I find a lot of Pad Thai’s too sweet and that makes me feel sick after a few mouthful. This Pad Thai in particular was just nice.

This dish was the bomb. Deep Fried Pork Belly with Vegetables. Pork was perfectly marinated and the ratio of fatty to lean meat was just nice. That means you would not feel that it is too oily or it might be too dry. The sauce to compliment it was very fragrant. For me personally if it was a little bit more spicy, then everything would had been perfect.

This dish is recommended by the lead blogger, Tin. Thai Red Duck Curry. Love the tenderness of the duck meat and the fragrance of the curry. Have this dish with their coconut rice, it just blends together perfectly.

After dinner, we went around the “city” for a little walk and of course, looking for some desserts. As you can see in the photo above, that is basically half of the city centre of Canberra. There’s another street behind where the “Canberra Centre” mall is.  I think I took the above photo around 7 30pm, and it is already so empty. Can’t imagine how will I survive if I would had stayed there, good luck Tin!

Hang On Arvo lead blogger Mr Wang Tin Hsiao in action taking photographs of the Swiss Roll. It looks tasty, however it turned out to be the WORST swiss roll we ever tasted. Seriously I mean, it was supposed to be caramel swiss roll, but the caramel sauce tasted nothing more than sugar syrup, and you will expect the texture of the cake to be spongy and soft, however, it felt like bread and had no taste at all. 

This on the other hand was good. Lemon Meringue Tart. Tart was buttery and the lemon paste was not too sweet nor too sour. It just felt refreshing having it.

I guess that was it for Day 1. This was where I stayed for the 3 nights. Stay tuned for Day 2!

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Polaroid Stories Kuching No.8

So here goes the last shot. Main Bazaar street by the Kuching Waterfront. The really old heritage area now one of the main tourist attraction in Kuching.

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Polaroid Stories Kuching No.8

So here goes the last shot. Main Bazaar street by the Kuching Waterfront. The really old heritage area now one of the main tourist attraction in Kuching.