Celebrated Mother's Day with the in law at this restaurant... This was one of their favourite restaurant for crab... But too bad, the crab were all sold out when we reached there... My sister in law was craving for fried calamari and we decided to order and frankly speaking, it was really good...

Nowadays there's been a crazed in 'Batu Pahat' regarding this vegetable... I don't really know what vegetable it was... According to all the restaurant, these vegetables were organically grown... As for the taste, nothing special I'm afraid but the price was something of an eye opener... This very plate of vegetable cost RM48!!!

All the dishes were nice... Nothing to complaint about... The only thing that I don't really like about this restaurant was they always trying to recommend the most expensive food around... Already told them we wanted something more normal and yet they continued to recommend those really expensive fish and etc which was a BIG no no for me...

Overall Rating - 3.6/5

Restoran Loong Yuan Seafood

No. 35, Jalan Kuning,

Taman Murni,

83000 Batu Pahat,

Johor.

07-431 3963

The halfcut that I bought reached the workshop as promise... The workshop guys wasted no time and started to dismantle the engine from the halfcut... And here's the engine in its full glory... The 'Toyota 1JZ-GTE' was regarded as one of the most potent engine in 'Toyota' arsenal right after the '2JZ-GTE'... So I'm pretty happy with my purchase!!!

Everything's in a mess!!!

Stock 'Toyota 1JZ-GTE' auto ECU... Not going to upgrade it at the moment... If yes, most probably will install a piggyback ECU rather than a full blown standalone... I'm not targeting BIG horsepower here... Just some added power will do... Not going overboard with the car as I still need to chauffeur my clients around sometimes...

One of the CT12A turbine... This engine utilizes two of these turbine...

To be continue...

Wow another 'Donnie Yen' movie!!! Seems like he's really famous nowadays!!! You can see him starring in almost all new movies... Ok I might exaggerate a little bit... Since I'm his fans, any movie starring him will see me flocking to the cinema!!! Obviously I have really high expectation on his latest movie because almost all movie starring 'Donnie Yen' were awesome...

But I'm wrong this time... I really love story involving 'The Three Kingdom' but don't why I just don't like this one... In fact I'm really confuse about the storyline... I don't quite understand what are they trying to portray here... After watching the movie, I got a lot of ??? flying all over my head... But the action is still awesome though as always... Seems like not all 'Donnie Yen' movies are nice... So now, can anyone be kind enough to explain the movie storyline to me???

Another late write up as usual!!! This year we tried something different... My mum decided to try out one of the newest hotel in 'Batu Pahat'... 'Pine Tree Hotel' is the name... In my opinion, it was also one of the coolest hotel in my hometown... I really like their interior design... Minimalist and modern... The room was awesome too...

I'm really in love with my new 50mm lens!!!

Nice leg huh!!!

The designer did a really good job!!! Just love the reception area... 'Pine Tree Hotel' is not the most standard hotel around but definitely the coolest...

Although this is one of the coolest hotel in 'Batu Pahat', but this can't be said for their food or services!!! Foods are still acceptable but the service........... haiz, really hopeless in my opinion...

'South African Ostrich' according to them... Ostrich meat is suppose to be tender but theirs is rock hard!!! And please observe the sauce being serve...

'Grilled Salmon'...

'Tom Yam'...

'Chicken Chop'...

'Australian Beef'... Hard and over cook!!! So did you notice something similar with all these dishes except the 'Tom Yam'??? They served all the dishes with the same sauce... BBQ sauce for all!!! I love BBQ sauce but according to the menu, the 'Chicken Chop' and 'Ostrich' can be serve with either black pepper or mushroom sauce... So why BBQ sauce??? BBQ sauce is not even in the menu!!!

WORMS!!!

Very nice design and environment but spoil by the food and services offered but the rooms look superb though... Recommended for staying overnight but not for their food!!!

Overall Rating - 2/5

Pine Tree Hotel

36, Jalan Mengkudu,

83000 Batu Pahat,

Johor.

07-431 9933

Not again!!! Another battery problem it seems... The first time it happened when the car clock around 20,000++ km... Now the car mileage is around 60,000++ km and the battery is having problem again... This is the first time in my motoring life that I've encounter something like this... All my previous car have not been tow before... Not even once... But the 'Peugeot 308 Turbo' has been tow twice... Please I don't wish for a hat trick!!!

I'm really confuse to why can't the battery last a little bit longer??? I ask the technician from 'Peugeot' and they told me that the car have a lot of electronics, so obviously it consume a lot of battery... A modern 'BMW' or 'Mercedes Benz' have a lot of electronics too... But why their battery can last much longer compare to the 'Peugeot'??? My previous car battery last a staggering three years while the 'Peugeot' one last less than a year!!! We own the car for one year plus and this is the third batteries including the one that came with the car...

Those of you who drive the same car, please make sure that you ask the service advisor to get your battery check before your car reaches one year old because the warranty coverage for battery is only one year according to 'Peugeot'... I'm keeping my finger cross and hopefully this new battery can last at least a year!!!

p.s. Although I'm really frustrated with it, I'm still very much in love with our 'Pug'!!!

Since I got nothing to do, I decided to test my latest lens which is the 'Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM'... All these shots were taken wide open at F1.4... Man I'm in love with it the moment I saw the pics... Very nice bokeh if you ask me... Smooth and velvety and not forgetting pin sharp where I focus on!!!

I'm a sucker for bokeh so I guess I made the right choice for getting this lens... The only downside that I find with this lens is the minimum focus distance which is a bit longer compare to my old 'Sony' 50mm... Guess I have to live with it...

What I need to do now is to get use to the DOF which is very shallow and mis-focus is quite common if shoot af F1.4!!! Guess I need to practice more now...

I have always been a BIG fan of the 'Fast and Furious' franchise... Being a normal guy, there is nothing for me to dislike the movie... Cars and plenty of sexy ladies with their overly short pants that reveals half of their bums!!! The winning combination to capture the average Joe's attention... Throw in some storyline and you got yourself a BIG hit... The first one is a BIG hit if you ask me but this can't be said for the second one... I think that movie is a flop but still people are crazy over them when they released the third movie then the fourth and lastly the fifth (I can guarantee that this will not be the last installment!!!)

If you ask me, I think the latest one which is the one I'm blogging about is the nicest among the others... I know some of you may complain about the lack of cars, but they compensate it with a much better storyline and I believe this is a really good trade off... Besides that, they decided to bring back the lovely 'Gal Gadot' which really spice up the movie, a lot!!! I'm not going to talk about 'Paul Walker' or 'Vin Diesel' as I'm straight!!!

This is one of the better movie that I have watch this year... Hopefully they can continue with it and stop producing crappy one like '2 Fast 2 Furious'... Is ok if they decided to exclude some ultra cool cars but remember to bring back the character 'Gisele' play by 'Gal Gadot'!!! A really good movie and it is highly recommended!!!

Another 50mm??? You must be joking right??? Err nop I'm not joking!!! I really got myself a new 50mm... But after getting the new 'Sigma', I managed to sell off my old 'Sony' 50mm the very next day!!! Quite frankly, there is no point for me to have two 50mm lens... And obviously the 'Sony' is the one that needs to go!!! This is the first time that I ever own a third party lens... All these while I have been using either 'Sony' or 'Minolta' lens... I've heard a lot of mix reviews about third party lens and one of the most common one is quality control... But I'm quite happy with my 'Sigma'...

There is no other 50mm lens in the market quite like the 'Sigma'... The 'Sigma' is one huge beast for a 50mm lens... 72mm filter size anyone??? Just look at the comparison between the 'Sigma' and the 'Sony'... Almost double the size and definitely double the weight... Most people like their camera gears to be small but I like them big and heavy!!! As why I choose the 'Sigma' over the 'Sony' is obvious... The 'Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM' is one of the BEST 50mm lens available in the market right now... Everything is far more superior compare to my 'Sony'!!! the most obvious is F1.4 versus F1.8 for the aperture... The second one is the 'HSM' which is much more quieter and faster compare to 'Sony' 'SAM'!!!

Without the hood... Still very BIG if you as me...

Just look at the front element and you can see the difference!!! 72mm versus 49mm...

Prime lens will always be smaller compare to zoom lens... But take a look at this... The 'Sigma' is almost as tall as my 'Carl Zeiss'!!! The barrel is definitely bigger than the 'Zeiss'!!! Besides that, the front element is also bigger... 72mm versus 62mm this time...

Bye bye for now... You serve me well and you are the one who introduce me to the awesomeness of prime lens!!!

This is the other lens that I managed to sell the other day... This is my only tele zoom lens but I decided to sell it as I'm not using it... Better sell it to someone who can really benefit and utilizes it to the max rather than keeping it in my dry box...

Guess I'm right that the guy that helped me out yesterday was a cheater!!! I tried calling him this morning and afternoon and guessed what, he's not answering my call!!! Nothing to be shocked about as this was what I'm expecting... Don't get me wrong because I'm not asking him to bank in the money... The moment I gave him the money, I knew that I'm not getting it back (I paid him more than he should get!!!)... I'm just trying to prove that good people are hard to come by!!! And I got the answer... But luckily, he didn't do anything to me... The only thing that I'm worried about was whether he's a real police or not... If he's genuine then there would be no more problems but if he's really an impersonator, then we really need to becareful as this was a really serious problem!!! Is it really that easy to get cuff and walkie talkie which connects to the police channel??? I know the uniform is the easy part, but those things that I mention earlier are quite hard to get I guess... Just something to share so that next time any of you who encounter something like me can know that it is not safe to simply trust those that offer to help... If is possible, just wait for those 'PLUS' guys or get your own mechanic!!!

Today was the first time I encountered this!!! Stranded in the middle of nowhere and no one else to help you!!! If you traveled using the 'North-South Highway' this morning, most probably you saw my car stranded by the road side somewhere near 'Seremban'!!! After transplanting a new engine to my 'FrankenBenz', this was the first time I'm forced to stop the car by the road side...

Actually there is nothing serious with my car... Just that the stupid fan hit the radiator and causes it to leak!!! Really bad leak!!! I waited for a while and someone stopped their car and offered some help... In my mind, I know they wanted money but I'm desperate enough to let them help... He claimed that he's a police but of course I don't trust him... Nobody can be trusted these days!!!

He took out my radiator and sent it to a workshop while I followed him leaving my poor baby by the road side!!! This was also a first for me, abandoning my car at the road side!!! Luckily he really sent me to the correct place and I got my radiator fix... As for the fan, it was a bit hard to find unless you went to a 'chop shop' aka 'kedai potong' so I decided to leave it alone since the crack was not that severe and most of the fin were still intact...

Then the claim policeman took me to his house and told me that he needed a lift since I abandoned my plan and decided to head back to KL... Frankly speaking I can't believe I said ok to him since I barely know him... But to my surprised, he came out with his police uniform on!!! He also got his cuff and walkie talkie with him... Guess he's not bullshitting...

Upon reaching KL, I paid him the amount that he wanted (he told me that he's helping me and don't wish to be paid but when he reached KL he told me that he forgotten his wallet and needed some money and said that he will bank in the money once he got back and of course I don't believe his word but I gave him the money anyway since he helped me out earlier and I know where he lives, phone number and also IC... But I'm not expecting him to bank in the money as I know good people seldom exist and I'm not fortunate enough to meet one)... But to be frank, I don't really give a damn whether he's a real police or an impersonator!!! I'm just glad that my car's ok and moving... That's it...

When it comes to suspension, I'm always a fan of 'Titan'... Be it normal absorber or adjustable coilovers... So obviously when it comes to the suspension part for my 'FrankenBenz', it will definitely be 'Titan'... I like the way they setup the suspension... Firm while not too harsh... You can tell them your preference and they will set it up for you... Fully customizable!!! According to some from the forum, they traded in their 'Bilstein' suspension after using it for only three months for a set from 'Titan'!!!

Adjustable coilovers...

After talking to Richard which is the owner there, I decided to go for their custom absorbers with the original spring... When Richard told me that they will cut my original spring, I got a shock of my life because cut spring is a BIG no no in terms of handling!!! But since he's the expert I decided to go with it...

He also recommended adjustable suspension to me but since I'm on a tight budget, I decided to skip this (But eventually I ended up with adjustable suspension!!! This will be in another blog title)...

Notice my fender??? The aftermaths of fender pounding!!!

Change my absorber mounting as well since it's all hardened and cracked up!!!

Brand spanking new!!!

Ta dah!!! Still with the old disc brake of mine...

This is what it looks like after lowering the car... No more 4 x 4 stance!!! Looks so much meaner now...

The rear of the car... Looks a bit high from this pic... My car is setup to two finger gap between the tyres and the fender...

Found this BMW E38 with a BIG V8 up front and rolling on gigantic 20" rims!!! Crazy stuff...

First impression on the absorber is really good... Not trashy or bone jarring hard... Definitely much firmer compare to the original which rides like a boat!!! Turn in is also much keener now although it still can hide the fact that this is a very heavy car... With the original engine, this setup is really really good... But I don't know how it feels like after I transplant the 'Toyota 1JZ-GTE' in... Is it enough to cope with the extra power and torque??? This is a BIG question for me... But Richard assure me that the suspension is more than capable to cope with it...

To be continue...