Air conds Bangi / Tips on buying air conds/ Which air cond is the best?

It is always a headache buying air cond units. There's not much information that we could rely on when buying these things. Unlike buying cars, new or old, we could just read up the online materials or go to any showrooms and scout around for cars and test drive them. But how do you test drive air cond? There is no way that this can be done . We could only depend on recommendations by people who have used them. Below are my top 3 air con units that I would recommend to prospective buyers after several years of buying them.

My first choice air cond brand in Malaysia is the Panasonic brand, I have tested so many  brands such as York, Sanyo, Hitachi, Toshiba, Mitsubishi, Lg, Samsung and a few other Chinese brands. The Panasonic is the champion in terms of price, durability  and reliability. After a few years of using the brand , the unit would still give a nice cold breeze. In fact, most of the air cond  installers that I have talked to have also given their recommendations for this Japanese brand. Hence,  I too would strongly recommend to Bangians that if they want a good air cond unit just opt for the Panasonic brand. The compressor for the unit lasts very long. Overall this air cond is the King. It is like the Toyota of aircond.

The second best air cond that I would recommend to buyers or those who are looking for a replacement or buying a new unit is to go for Hitachi. Like the Panasonic, this Japanese brand is also an excellent unit. I would say that this it is good as the Panasonic brand except that it is slightly more expensive. Like Panasonic, the Hitachi brand will give you many years of trouble free cold air. I also notice that the size of the compressor is slightly smaller compared to the Panasonic. The compressor of the Hitachi unit is not that noisy as compared to the Mitsubishi. Overall it is a good buy

My third recommendation is Toshiba. I noticed that not many people have bought this brand. I am a little surprised by this. I really feel that the cold air provided by the Toshiba air cond is the best. In fact, the blower is the quietest and strongest of all the units that I have bought. This has also been confirmed most of the aircond installers that I talked to. One drawback of the Toshiba brand is that the spare parts are a bit expensive. I don't know to what extent this is true because the one that I have yet to break down. Anyway, this is what the installers have said.

I would not give advice that Bangians buy Korean aircond brands because they are not very cold. Even though the price is not as expensive as the Japanese  I still would not recommend buying the Korean made air conds unit. In the long run, the Japanese brands give you value for money. The York aircond especially the cooling king is reasonably good but the compressor is too noisy to my liking.  I would also stay away from Chinese brands. You know the Chines brands with their weird names and cheap pricing. If you have extra money to spend opt for the inverter unit but please be warned that the installation charges would cost you a bomb because the installers would need to use stronger copper piping and wiring. The inverter unit also uses a different type of gas which would cost slightly more.l

Islam under siege in Malaysia: Thanks to Saravanan and Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam of Herald

Muslims make up around 65% of the population of Malaysia. The rest consist of Buddhists, Hindus and Christians. Virtually all Malays in this country are Muslims. Only a handful of Malays or "OM" (Others Muslims) are apostates, atheists or  "terconvert"-( to use the  term by a quite famous lawyer blogger) to Christianity. Even  though Muslims make up more than 65% of the population of the country, Islam is actually under siege and under continual attack and pressure by the insensitive and insensitive Non Muslims and sometimes by what I call by the "Others Muslims" who claim to be liberal Muslims in order to test the Muslims'  resolve. The politically weak government of Ah Jib Gor takes no action to defend the official religion of the majority for fear of backlash from the Indian and chinese. Th.The  status and well being of Islam in this country is tied to politics and  the main party in the coalition does not want to be seen as being monotheistic in terms of religious rights. Lately, Muslims in Malaysia have seen a number of attacks on the religion.

Saravanan?

The latest to question  and provoke the sanctity of Islam as the official religion of Malaysia is a person who claims to be Mr.Saravanan who (with very aggressive tone)  called the Headmaster of a school in Puchong (Sek Keb. Puchong) to ask why "Ibadah Qurban" (The slaughtering of cows) was done  in the school and whether there was a MOE circular that allows it. He then posed the hypothetical question of "whether pigs could also be slaughtered in the school". He maintains that "Slaughtering animals in (the)school is not hygienic. It is also not good for young kids to see the animals suffering. As an animal lover, all sort of killing should be done in slaughter houses or in private places, not in the public.". This practice of Qurban or religious sacrifice has been done for years in schools. Why raised the question now.? Is this rational? This  is really  a dirty action by an ignorant Hindu  extremist who claimed that he was calling from abroad. This is an example of an emboldened insensitive Non-Muslim questioning the sanctity  of Islam and the Muslims in the country. The sad thing is that the politicians just kept quiet doing nothing to protect the sanctity of Islam 

Thaipusam body mutilation?

If a Muslim wants to be a little naughty and mischievous, he could have asked why Indians  practise 'Thaipusam' with body mutilation and tongue piercing using non sterilized metal rods. The writer has even seen a youngster suspended from a Kavadi with dirty hooks pierced all over  his  body .This is not  hygienic at all. You can get all sort of diseases such as hepatitis and skin diseases from this 'uncivilized' action. What  if children see this?. Moreover, this procession is paraded along the main public road for hours that causes massive traffic jam. But Muslims in Malaysia never question that because we know that its their religious belief . So we expect the Non-Muslims also  to understand Muslim religious practices and rites that have been done for hundreds of years in the country. 

The Bible by Murphy Pakiam of Herald newspaper

Another provocative act committed by Non -Muslims particularly the radical and emboldened Christians in Malaysia is the use of the word Allah in their Bible.The idea was proposed Murphy Pakiam of the Catholic Herald newspaper who wanted to test the tolerance threshold of the Muslims . Why use the word Allah in the Bible?  Why not use word like Theos in Greek which means God?  Why not use Yhwh in Hebrew which also means God? Why not use an Indian word like "Siva" or Iban word or Chinese word to describe God. Allah in the context of Malaysia means Allah -God in Islam. 

The fact that Tan Sri Murphy Pakiam the titular head of the Catholic Church challenging the court to use the word Allah  is an insult to Muslims in Malaysia. Why not reach an understanding via compromises? Why bring it to the court? This court action is just to create anger among the Muslims who form the majority of the population . We in Malaysia have never questioned the use of the word Allah for the Ibans or kadazan-Dusuns all this while. Why provoke the Muslims now? Why use the legalistic channel to solve what is essentially a socio-religious and cultural issue? It is clear that in Malaysia, the Muslims are under siege as the direct result of the provocative acts of these DAP Christian extremists. They really want to teach the Muslims a lesson. They want to subjugate the Muslims with all their might.

We Muslims must stay united. We Muslims must be rational and argue intelligently to counter their arguments. We have to defend our rights. We have to protect our religion. We must not waver in our resolve in protecting our religion. More provocative acts will come and we have to defend ourselves and protect our religion. We must not let the politicians pawn our rights. 

Delicious Tandoori chicken , Lamb kebab , Beriani Gam Johor in Bandar Baru Bangi

Today is 17 of October 2013. The temperature  in Bangi is extremely hot at 12.30 pm .  I had my lunch of  the fantastic Kue Tiau  goreng and the sweet Cendol Bangi  by the shady  tree in front of the huge Hitachi electronics plant in Bandar Baru Bangi.. Right after a quick  lunch I headed straight to my  home and jumped onto  my cozy bed for a quick 30 min nap (such a unhealthy thing to do ) . The powerful 1.5  hp air cond in my room was on full blast but the heat was just too much to handle. I woke up rather lazily at 2.10 pm and drove  back to the office and now working on my desk top doing my usual work of writing and editing  papers. Nowadays, free time means writing up articles for ISI or Scopus journals. The maxim upheld  is " you publish or you parish". In my context is that I parish but I do it  the proper way. While writing the articles I was thinking of 3 nice dishes that I had recently in and  around Bandar Baru Bangi.

nice succulent Tandoori chicken

1.  The first dish is Tandori Chicken (RM 5-8) that I had at recently renovated Restoran Ameer Ali  in section 15 of Bandar Baru Bangi.. The chicken part that I chose was the thigh quarter because the meat is much more tender. The tandoori  was perfectly  done using the Tandoori oven. It was succulent and juicy and really melt in your mouth. OMG, I never had a tandoori this good before at a mamak restaurant. Normally, the tandoori chicken at a mamak restaurant is dry and overcook and at times burnt. At the restaurant it was really delicious. I had the Tandoori chicken with Bombay onions and some cucumbers which was dripped with slices of lemons and limes. That particular evening I ordered two sets of the same chicken parts. It must be the new cook as before this it was not as good as this. Anyway, the restaurant has been renovated to look more modern with nice vibrant colors. The restaurant now looks more like a nice diner rather than a mamak restaurant.

Lamb kebab at Taktaz

2. The second dish that I had was called the lamb kebab (kobbideh) (RM 12-18) depending on the size served) at an Iranian restaurant called Taktaz  in Serdang not far from BBB  . I heard that the restaurant was operated  an ex chef at the Iranian embassy. The restaurant is not that big but decorated very much like well an Iranian restaurant. At the entrance of the restaurant there is a small water fountain minus the water. It was not working. The lamb kebab (kobiddeh) was really succulent and juicy and missing was the smell of a lamb. My youngest son loves it so much. We have been to the restaurant almost half a dozen times. The fantastic lamb was served with long and fluffy Iranian rice. The Iranian rice is  a bit slim and long . I have to warn you that the rice is not as aromatic as the rice dish prepared at an Arab restaurant. My son says it was too simple but I nevertheless enjoy the rice very much. It is served with butter that is given separately. The rice was also coated with some saffron to make it more aromatic and colorful.The portion given was enough for a big man like me.

Beriani Gam Johor

The third dish that I had was Beriani Gam Johor (RM 8-10) at Anje restaurant in section 15 of  Bandar Baru Bangi.The place is quite famous to people staying in BBB. At the restaurant, I would normally order the beriani with ayam kampung. One thing nice about the beriani is that the chicken is served hot. The restaurateur would only fry the chicken when there are customers around and as such the chicken is always served hot off the oven. However, one thing not nice about the restaurant is that it is self served. So its difficult to bring in your foreign guests to have lunch at the place. Service ,however, was quite good considering the place is quite big with so many dining tables. Cleanliness is average.The biryani rice used is is the cheap Basmathi type but with enough flavor and condiments. Considering the price I believe the Beriani Gam Johor is quite good.

So there you these are some of the nice dishes in and around Bandar Baru Bangi. I hope you would go to these places to try out the dishes. Coming back to my work -publication is important but food is more important. These dishes are some of the beauties of life. One day you are going to die but you should not die hungry.  You need to taste some of the good things in life.Your life has to be immersed with some flavor but  try to eat in moderation. I do too.

Bandar Baru Bangi: A dirty and dangerous city / BBBangi kotor dan bahaya

Bandar Baru Bangi is now my hometown. This new city is getting more mature in development and in terms of age. The people too are getting older. I first came to the town when I was 23. Now I'm into the 5 series. 15-20 years ago the town would be deserted when the time came for Hari Raya celebrations because most of the inhabitants would rush back to their kampungs  like Sungai Petani, Kota Bahru or Sungkai. But not anymore, the children of the folks of Bangi would be coming back home instead  to visit their parents. Bangi is now a fast and stable town with all the essential  amenities available. It is the place where the majority of the population are from the middle class group of mainly Malay ethnicity. Despite being more mature and becoming a fast developing town, the place is unfortunately quite dirty (despite having several areas deemed "zon bersih") and dangerous. 

The town is clearly not up to the standard in terms of cleanliness. For one, if you go to the shop houses in front of the Billion shopping centre in section 8 ,you would notice that  rubbish has not been collected. The area in section 8 is littered with rubbish uncollected for days. I believe the contractor who is given the job to take care of the cleanliness of the area has not been doing a good job. When I had my evening roti canai at one of the restaurants at the area recently , I felt that I was somewhere in Vietnam or or Cambodia and not in the academic town of Bangi. Rubbish was everywhere in the area. I hope the relevant  people in charge of the monitoring the performance of the contractors really do their jobs instead of just collecting their fat salaries every month. There should be some form of actions and accountability. The Menteri Besar of Selangor, YAB Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim,  should also monitor the situation and please don't consider this as a petty issue.

BBB kotor?

Another dirty area in Bangi is the area around McDonald's restaurant especially at the back of the fast food restaurant .The field around  the area is not well manicured. The grass there is long and the place is left unkempt. Could it be that the area too is under the charge of the contractor in Section 8 in which is known for being a really dirty place. If you jog around the Tasik chempaka you would see that the grass around the McDonald area is not trimmed and could be a potential spot where would be muggers or rapists would do their unlawful businesses. I hope the Majlis Daerah or the local council take this matter seriously and do something about the cleanliness and unkempt area  near the Billion shopping centre.

The trees in Bangi must be trimmed-A potential danger

The Bangi town is not only dirty but also dangerous to motorists. It is really dangerous. I'm talking about the very shady and mature trees planted along most roads in Bandar Baru Bangi. The Majis Daerah people do do some trimmings but of late I see that the branches of the trees have been protruding into the road ares. This could be a potential and hazardous thing to Bangians who drive frequently. The branches are getting bigger and covering more than half of the road. Driving in the midday is very nice but  I shudder to think what would happen if these thick branches were to break and fell onto the motorist. It happened to me once and a small branch or a large twig fell on my car and denting the body of the car. Luckily, it missed the windshield. I believe fatalities could happen if the tress by the road side are not trimmed to the desired length. Majilis Daerah Kajang please monitor the situation. We don't want anything bad to happen

Bandar Baru Bangi is fast developing and an important town after Shah Alam. The standard of cleanliness and safety should be the same as the state capital. I really hope that the Majlis Daerah Kajang really do the irwork by ensuring that our Bangi town is safe and clean. Please make sure that the appointed contractors do their work.We are very proud of our town, Bandar Baru Bangi a fast developing town.

Best breakfast in Bangi/ Tempat Sarapan pagi paling sedap di Bangi

I have to make a confession that I know a very nice place in Bangi to have breakfast (this later). I have stayed in Bangi for almost 30 years and I did not know that there is a nice little place to have a good  and cheap breakfast. Normally for breakfast I would go to McDonald's to have their special breakfasts that cost between RM4-5. I like the coffee at the fast food place so much because  it's arabica coffee is so aromatic and it is included in the meal. The best thing is the price of the breakfast which is not more than RM 5, including taxes.

The best  place now to have breakfast in Bangi is somewhere in the middle of the food court in Section 1 of Bandar Baru Bangi. It is hidden from the main road.That is the reason that I did not get to know that there is a nice place to have your 'sarapan/ pagi or minum pagi " (breakfast). All this while I have been driving around the food court without walking into it. I actually found this place after all the restaurants that surround the food court were closed and that I was forced me to walk into the middle of the food court. I finally saw the place and had my  breakfast there  and has been to the place every morning since that day.

nasi lemak Bangi

The restaurant has no name but is is at the opposite of Maybank Bangi in section 1 at the far end of the parking lot. You will see lots of heavy trucks using the parking lot. It is at the back of the public toilet in section 1 of Bangi. Dont worry about the toilet because it not that close and you wont smell anything bad. The owners, husband and wife team, I think are from Kelantan. They are assisted at the stall  by a young pretty woman (probably the co-owner's  younger sister). It is not the main reason for me being there although I do get some special treatment ever since I walked into the stall. She knows already what I drink and eat. Moreover, she would serve me fast.

Bihun goreng Bangi

The place is good to have nasi lemak (rm 2). The nasi lemak is the best in Bangi with enough santan (coconut milk) to sweeten the already aromatic rice. The nasi lemak is served with awesome sambal sotong or the fantastic sambal kerang.There is also sambal sardin and sambal telor puyoh (quail eggs) The sambal is pefectly cooked with not to hot chilies and slightly sweeten (kelantanese style but tastes great). Sometimes I would have roti canai with the sambal instead of the ordinary fish curry or the dhal gravy. Another dish to have there  is the kelantanese type bihun goreng (RM 2). It is done to perfection (sometomes a bit dry) although not dressed with lots of vegetable. I also don't even see too much green used in the bihun goreng. I would have the bihun goreng together with mee goreng and a sunny side egg freshly cooked with no oil  using the roti canai pan. It is really heaven. You must taste this at the restaurant.

Roti canai telor Bangi

The roti telor is also fantastic . It is served with lots of onions and green chillies. Wow, it really tastes good with the sambal and the curry which is not too sourish. It is a Malay roti canai as opposed to the Indian type roti which has to be eaten with lots of gravy (berenang type). This roti is soft or crispy depending on how you ordered and can be dipped with only some gravies. That is how good it is. You must go to this stall. You will not be shortchanged in terms of taste. Guys this is the place to have your breakfast in Bangi and also enjoy looking at the cute kampung girl (Please do not stare at her).