Sitiawan's First Gelato Shop!

Sitiawan is becoming posh!

First we have our brand new Tesco, and now, we have the our very own Gelato shop located right opposite my old school, SMJK Nan Hwa (and if you dont know where that is, shame on you!) called SWISSOMELT, a franchise and the first of its kind in Malaysia (or I was so told).



This place was very surprising to me because first of all, its located opposite a school, in an area not generally known as a hot spot here. One would expect a shop like this to appear perhaps IN Tesco, or at least around the Manjung area there, next to Old Town Coffee or City Kopitiam etc.


For those who don't know, Gelato is just a very nice and fancy word for a variation of Italian ice cream. There! Now you can feel smarter already :) So when you go to KL or Singapore or Italy and you see "Georgio's Gelato" or "Figaro's Awesome Gelato" you can just say "ceeehhhhh, only selling ice cream mah!" . Its just like how Americans pay $$$ for "Roti Canai Bawang" in some fancy Indian restaurant just coz it sounds exotic. Wait till they find out 'Roti' just means bread......


As you can tell from the pictures, this shop focuses primarily on selling Gelato, sandwiches, and coffee. None of us ordered coffee or milk shakes, but we did get their sandwiches and gelatos. They also offer Belgian waffles to go along with your ice cream for an extra RM2.50 (and yes, I know some of you are going "Wahhhhh, BELGIAN waffles meh!")

Cookies and Chips Gelato with Belgian Waffle

Chocolate Gelato with Belgian Waffle and chocolate chips

The selection of Gelato's while not many, were labeled pretty fancily which made me very curious to try the other flavors in the future. They also offer additional toppings such as hazelnut or chocolate chips and more for an additional RM0.50-0.80.

They also serve milk shakes, but unfortunately, besides sandwiches, they dont prepare meals such as steaks, hamburgers, noodles rice or whatever we would come to expect from a shop in Sitiawan. Same thing for snacks - no french fries, no nuggets etc.

The ice cream was, in my opinion, pretty decent. It didn't taste too cheap, but at the same time, it did not live quite to the dizzying satisfaction of say..Baskin Robbins or Haagen Daaz. But considering it's about 1/4 the price of those brands in comparison, I find it perfectly acceptable. Besides, where else can i get Rum flavored ice cream in Sitiawan? :)

Rum Raisin Gelato

I did not get to taste the waffles, but apparently my friends said it tasted.. weird? But, this being Sitiawan, i must admit I dont really trust their sense of taste (and yes I sound damn conceited here). But of course, if you choose to open a store in Sitiawan and the majority of people here don't appreciate your offerings, you're in trouble!

Chicken and Ham Sandwich with BBQ sauce

The picture above may show a chicken ham sandwich, but it could be turkey, beef or anything else, and it would look the same. That's my problem with their sandwiches, the presentation does not change from one another. The portion is large, and they come with a healthy dose of veges in it, but the MEAT portion is actually pretty lacking. The sauces are good though, ranging from Ranch to Habanero sauces. (and side note, not everyone eats all the veges in the bun. It would be nicer if the staff ASKED the customer whether there's any vegs eg. bell peppers that they want removed )

I may sound picky, and I am, but only because this is the first of its kind in Sitiawan, and I want it to do well. With better food choices and longer opening hours, this place may thrive well on businesses from adults and students from colleges/uni's back for the holidays.

Oh, when you do visit this place, do get this flier from them. Presenting this to them grants you a 20% discount on your bill, which is always nice ;).

SWISSOMELT does many things right. It has taken a regular shabby shoplot in this area and turned it into a presentable and comfortable location for people to frequent. And they also provide free Wi-fi, which is a very smart move. If they decide to offer discounts to students around the area, they may be able to profit where so many other restaurant here have failed.

Check it out, support a local shop's efforts in poshing up Sitiawan, and may many shops of this caliber appear soon in the years to come. :)

AMC Springtime Concert Review

I attended Ave Maria Convent's Springtime Concert last night at their school hall in Ipoh.


It was a very crowded event, with the number of female attendees far outnumbering the men. I also saw some females wearing "I Love PGS Band"(which I assume means Penang Girl's School) t-shirts attending the concert. This was surprising as I didn't expect people to travel down from Penang to watch this event. I must admit i was also very excited to see AMC's cheerleading squad, the Titans. Unfortunately, i did not get to know any of them :(

The presentation of the concert was good. They decided to start off the show by showcasing their drumline before the opening speeches. It was unexpected, and a nice way to start things off.

Then the performance actually started.

Now don't get me wrong, I liked all the fun pieces the band picked ranging from "Hawaii Five O" to "Nobody But You" to "The Moon Represents My Heart". But my problem comes from the mastery/composition of the songs. They just simply lacked something.

I dont know if it was the acoustics of the hall, but i just could not hear the brass players the majority of the whole show. And I was sitting at the 4th row from the front! Flutes were barely audible, although Horns were rich and reeds were good. Pit percussion was not synchronized well, and some of the musical selections just dragged on for too long.

I almost slept during "Symphonic Episode 1", and I couldn't tell if "Acceptance" started already or was it still a portion from the first music piece. The host's explanation of "Hidamari No Uta" felt longer than the actual piece itself, and it would have been better if it was told BEFORE the piece, not after it was performed.

I really enjoyed "Postcard from Singapore", which truly showcased the woodwind's capabilities and at the same time gave members a chance to relax and enjoy themselves.

"Lion King" and "Totoro" was blah. Again, Brass (or more specifically, trumpets!!) I cant hear you! But trombones were good though. Horns easily the best, rich and mellow.

But to be fair, its the early part of the year. I'm assuming the members are not at their peak capabilities yet. What they lacked in musical mastery they made up for it with enthusiastic faces, great energy, and a good and supportive crowd. It was also nice to see them picking popular tunes to entertain younger portions of the audiences (although it could be better!)

I loved how the girls were brave enough to dance and shake their bodies on stage though (and also bonus points for managing to drag their headmistress to dance together as well!) We'll never see that with our headmaster thats for sure.

AMC's performance last night definitely prioritized "Presentation" over "Content", but this doesnt mean the whole show was bad. It was very bearable, and definitely meant to be enjoyed with fun and not too much seriousness. The show definitely FELT like a success with the constant screaming of the female crowd *and my ears STILL hurt*

By the way dear concert audiences, you just made me laugh so hard last night. ENCORE (the request for one last performance to a band) is pronounced as ARN-core. Its French, so please do this exotic word justice. I don't blame people mispronouncing it (yelling N-core!!) due to its spelling, but repeatedly roaring it in a packed hall just tickles my funny bone.


Presentation : 8/10 - Excellent hosts, spirited faces by the performers

Musical content : 5/10 - Mostly boring/lacked synchronicity, although 'Postcard from Singapore' was good, could really appreciate the woodwinds there.

Atmosphere : 7/10 - Great screaming female audiences (although they do tend to interfere with the music), and i see great participation from parents and oldies :)

Facilities : 2/10 - I know you're a girls school but come on... ONE bathroom for the men??


Total score : 5.5/10 - Bearable, and definitely will be interested to come again. If only for the pretty performers and the chance to meet their cheerleaders :)

Mashimaro Warning

Was driving out of my taman when i spotted this.


Mashimaro, an iconic Japanese cartoon character, being tied up to a pole at a rubbish dump site.



Sign wasn't very clear so i brightened it up.

It essentially says : DONT THROW RUBBISH HERE OR ILL FINE UR ASS RM500.00!!

But i still saw rubbish surrounding it though.



Did they think Mashimaro was going to chase wrongdoers with its cuteness? @@

Sitiawan's new Pride and Joy

Its been slowly building hype for the past year.

I remember being amazed when i saw the construction begin back in May 2010. Work was fast paced, quick, and by August, and from what was once a golf driving range, we could now see the outline of what promised to be the biggest developed project in Manjung for the public in years.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, TESCO has finally opened in Manjung, Sitiawan, and apparently its the LARGEST TESCO in Malaysia! So beat that Ipoh TESCO! *my facts may be wrong, so if im wrong, please do let me know below*

If you are a Sitiawanian, obviously you would have already checked out this brand new hotspot by now. This post is for my fellow Sitiawanians all over the world, just to let you know that FINALLY, we can brag about having the best of SOMETHING in Malaysia to our high end KL/SG friends. :P

With news of TESCO opening, as expected, everyone flocked there to check it out. And of course, i went there to kepochi as well :D

I have not seen a crowd like this in Sitiawan ever! I feel so proud... >.<

First impression of TESCO: Wowwwwww~ Of course, i lowered my expectations la at first, but i was admittedly impressed by the planning and forethought given to the shops here.

The insides of TESCO grocery area is well laid out as well. The fish section is kept far from other sections to prevent bad smells, while fresh fruits and vegs are offered with alot of variety and choices. And oh! We have a deli/bakery section! When i got there i saw all the breads were sold out d! *P.S To my malay friends, I never knew u guys loved Kaya Puffs so much. I saw so many Malay families snatching up huge bags of kaya puffs to eat @@*

Entrance to the groceries stuffs... its really spacious~

GASP! POPULAR! A proper bookshop??

CHICKEN RICE SHOP??? OMG!

Roti Boy!! Wahhhh!!!

A new KFC. Posh, and clean and bright. Finally! :)

We have a BIGASS carpark! And more outside! Wooo!!

I know im perhaps overreacting to what many of you may consider as "normal" shops, but i still cant help but feel glad for Sitiawan. If there was any moment in Sitiawan history I would consider pivotal in our development in becoming an important city state, TESCO would be a major part of it (AND also the construction of Marina Island).



All I can say is, The Store, Billion, ECONSAVE, and Giant, you definitely will have alot of your customer base taken away. Better raise your level or be prepared to say bye bye to your $!






*Oh, and congrats to Raymond Su for apparently being the 1000th visitor here! If you're reading this now, you may claim ONE ice kacang from me as a treat by commenting down below. Or else, no treat! :P