Month: October 2004

Behold! Hear me rant!

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This is directed at no one in particular, but the way I see it, if you’re asking me for a favor,
which I define as something that goes beyond my job scope, but I
willingly took upon coz I want to help you out, at least a simple
“Thank You” would please me.

I’m perfectly happy to draw a Visio diagram while I have a backlog
of my own work to do. I drew that diagram from 7:30 am to 8:00 am,
which is before my stipulated work hours. You wanted to rush
it out, I rushed it for you. This is not my project, but I’m perfectly
willing to help, to do this for the company.

I know people can be busy and caught up with other things, and I’m
not being sensitive here, but saying a simple “Thanks” goes a long way.
It makes people willing to help out the next time. Treating people like
they’re unimportant after the delegation (which is not my project to
begin with, but like I said, I used my private time to draw it) makes
people resentful.

It only takes one second to say “Thank You” and make people happy.

Upper management out there should take note of this. It doesn’t take
long to say it and make people feel appreciated. Good management
already knows that.

Essence of Fish (Pati Ikan Haruan)

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pati ikan haruan

I’ve heard of essence of chicken. Brand’s Essence of Chicken is like a household name over here. Essence of fish – now that’s new to me. I’ve never heard of essence of fish before, and was surprised to find one. This is Pati Ikan Haruan dengan Amerika Ginseng or Essence of Fish with American Ginseng.

essence of fish contents

It lists the popular radix ingredients used in traditional Chinese herb preparations in the contents. Ikan Haruan is written down as Cyprinus carpio which is the common carp. However, some sources translates Ikan Haruan as Channa striatus or Ophiocephalus striatus which is the infamous Asian snakehead fish.

essence of fish bottle

Here’s what the bottle looks like. It’s the classic design which
follows the time-honored form factor of the Essence of Chicken/Bird’s
Nest with Rock Sugar bottles. It’s a thick glass bottle with a tear-off
aluminum top which then reveals a thin cap which can be twisted off
easily.

essence of fish ginseng

Notice that this Essence of Fish is made in The People’s Republic of
China. This is supposed to be Healthy Stuff (TM) which parents used to
cram down their children’s throats while they’re swotting for exams.
You ask me, methamphetamine works much better than this placebo shit. 😉

essence of fish drink

It tasted fishy, as I expected. It tasted very, very fishy. Fishy stuff, revisited. Drink up, it’s good for you. 😉

Pure Fish Ball Cafe

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pure fish ball cafe

This is Pure Fish Ball Cafe which is famed for being the first to
introduce pure fish noodles here. Pure fish noodles means exactly what
it is – the noodles are made of fish! I’ve passed by this eating
establishment in Jalan Padungan many times, but never did get around to
reviewing it until lunch just now.

pure fish noodles

This is the famous Pure Fish Mee. It retails for RM
6 per bowl and its well worth it, considering what’s inside. It’s a
soup based dish with noodles made out of fish meat and various
condiments. There’s a whole lady finger stuffed with fish meat, crab
stick, tofu stuffed with fish meat, fish balls etc. You get the
idea…fishy stuff, basically. 😉

pure fish strands

Here’s a macro photo of the “fish noodles”. Perhaps a more accurate
description would be that fish meat was pressed into reels of noodles.

Details on Friday

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jail 2 years

I’ve been adviced that blogging about it is not a good idea and can
be used against me. I have removed the original post. For those who
read it, thanks for your support. For those who didn’t, the gist of it
is, I’m in a bit of trouble, the hearing is on Friday and I cannot
furnish any details until then, until the case is closed. I am
innocent, like I stated in my statement.

Thanks to Corporal Tina for playing the role of the Good Cop (TM).

Thanks to Mr. Wong for doing more than what’s required of an employer – I owe you one…

…and thanks to all my readers, for praying that everything will turn out okay.

Little Lebanon restaurant Ramadan Special review

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little lebanon

Little Lebanon is the premier restaurant serving middle eastern
cuisine in Kuching. It’s located in a very central location and it
currently has a Ramadan Berbuka Puasa set meal promotion for RM 25++.
Little Lebanon is a very popular eating establishment and is frequently
fully booked.

little leb al fresco

There is an al fresco dining area lining both balconies and nice
indoor seating as well. There is prayer mats aligned to Mecca to the
back and we saw several customers utilizing this commodity before
breaking fast. It’s the fasting month for Muslims now and there are a
lot of places vying for the lucrative end-of-day breaking of the fast.

little leb yoghurt drink

We arrived early so we had to wait for about half an hour before
dinner was served. We had fresh yoghurt drinks while we waited for the
meal. It’s offered in sweetened and natural options – I would recommend
the natural, unsweetened version. It’s almost pure yoghurt, thick and
filling. Divine!

little leb glow

Little Lebanon comes to life at about 7 pm…the interior lights are
turned on; everything is ready for the patrons, the table linen all
done nicely. Notice the Sahara tent in the middle? It’s a huge private
dining area for large groups – there’s room for 20 people in there.
It’s the prime dining spot in Little Lebanon.

little leb menu

There are two choices for the Arabic menu in the Little Lebanon –
the main difference is in the main…chicken or lamb, something that
reminds me of long haul flights. 😉 There are also two choices for the
Local menu, but people don’t go to Little Lebanon for that, we’re here
for Middle Eastern cuisine, so we went for the Arabic menu. Both Menu 1
and Menu 2 were ordered to provide the best variety.

Dates

little leb dates

This is the first dish that came out – dates or kurma. It’s good –
the seeds are not as large as the ones I got the other day. It’s
customary to break the day’s fast with kurma (dates).

Bandung Drink

little leb bandung

This is a local favorite. It’s rose syrup with evaporated milk. It’s
creamy and thirst quenching at the same time. There are two options in
the menu – bandung drink and selasih drink.

Selasih Drink

little leb selasih

I’m not familiar with this one, but its very thirst quenching. It
seems to be a cordial of some sort, with jelly that looks like passion
fruit seeds.

Soup of the Day

little leb soup

This didn’t come out from a Campbell soup can – it’s made in house. It’s good, real soup, creamy and hearty.

Plate of Hommus and Baba Ghannouj with Lebanese Bread

little leb bread dip

The Lebanese bread came out piping hot.

little leb bread

It’s baked bread, with an interesting crispy/chewy texture that’s
unlike any other I’ve ever had. It goes very well with the two dips.

little leb dips

Mashed chickpeas blended with sesame seed paste and baked brinjal
blend. This is easily the best dish coz I like bread. I like oven baked
bread even more. Oven baked bread served hot is tops in my book. 🙂

little leb dips flash

This is a photo of the two dips taken with flash. I love the
presentation – the way they got the oil into the middle of the dip
intrigued me. It’s good, soaked up very well with the Lebanese bread.

Spaghetti with Yoghurt

little leb yogurt spag

This is an interesting appetizer…it’s a cold dish of spaghetti
cooked with yogurt and yogurt only. The spaghetti is done al dente and
the yoghurt sauce makes the whole appetizer cold.

little leb yogurt spag flash

Here’s what it looks like, taken with flash. It’s interesting, that’s for sure. It’s cold. It’s sour. It’s different! 🙂

Meat Sambousah

little leb samosa

Minced beef, finely chopped onions and pine nuts wrapped in thin pastry.

little leb samosa flash

Here’s a photo with flash, this warm sambouhsah is a nice item on
the menu since it came after the warm Lebanese bread and cold Yoghurt
Spaghetti. It’s a hot item again this time and this hot-cold-hot
appetizer leading up to the main meal is a very interesting decision on
the chef’s part.

Chicken with Polanjar Potatoes

little leb chicken main

It’s described as roasted chicken with buttered potatoes and that’s
not too far from the dish’s offerings. It’s given a Middle Eastern
twist with the unique blend of herbs. It also came with a side serving
of what looks like coleslaw, but isn’t.

Lamb Mansaf with Arabic Rice

little leb lamb main

This is the difference between Menu 1 and Menu 2. The lamb is served
around the rice, it’s good, cooked in some kind of creamy stew. The
Arabic rice has some mixed chopped nuts topping it up. It’s dubbed as
sliced lamb served with lamb sauce and rice. It’s good. This one has
more of a Middle Eastern twist to it than the Chicken. I’ll recommend
the lamb.

Fattoush

little leb fattoush

Finely chopped tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, parsley, mint leaves
dressed with pomegranate and lemon juice. It’s an acquired taste,
that’s all I can say. You can’t really see anything from the ambient
lighting so here’s one with flash:

little leb fattoush flash

It’s an interesting vegetable based dish with all sorts of crunchy
stuff lining the plate. There are nuts and hard biscuits and crunchy
bread crumbs. It’s an interesting dish. I use the word interesting
liberally to describe the food coz it’s…er, interesting. 😉

Arabic Dessert and Seasonal Fruits

little leb dessert

This is the dessert to end the, er…interesting course. The Arabic
dessert is some sweet concoction which I can’t put my finger on and
there’s some fruits served to the side.

little leb dessert flash

Here’s a clearer but more washed out picture taken with quick flash.

little leb sisha

We were offered sisha during the dessert
and this, to the best of my knowledge, is the only eating establishment
that offers sisha in Kuching. I immediately agreed – there was an
option of various fruit flavors and we went for the mixed one. Sisha
looks like a bong, heck, it is a bong, but the cone doesn’t have anything psychoactive inside.

little leb filters

There are two filters provided with the sisha for hygienic reasons.

little leb sisha cone

Sisha is like a bong, except the smoke you’re inhaling is fragrant
incense. The fruit mix is a good choice, it’s a nice fusion. There’s no
nicotine or anything psychoactive in there, so don’t expect to get
anything out of it, but there’s something about smoking sweet fruit
smoke while talking and relaxing with a great view of the city…

little leb view

…it’s simply divine. Sisha seems like a popular choice here,
there’s at least one to every table. It only costs RM 12. Highly
recommended!

little leb me bernice

This is a farewell dinner of sorts for Bernice before she goes off
to KL. Little Lebanon is a nice place and their Arabic Berbuka Puasa
set at RM 25++ is a great deal. This time of the year is the best time
to try out the promotions going around as it allows a wide range of
dishes to be sampled for the breaking of fast ritual.

little leb sisha me

Peace be with you all, my dear readers… 😉

Kurma from Egypt

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egypt kurma pack

This 250 gram container is supposed to have kurma segar
or fresh dates from Egypt. Kurma usually comes out around this time of
the year – it’s a customary food to break the day’s fast.

egypt kurma sticker

There’s a sticker on the container which shows a local packing
company but the dates are supposed to hail from Egypt. There are two
pharaoh graphics meant to visually reinforce this claim as does the
“Products of Egypt” font. 😉

egypt kurma

Here’s what the dates look like – they’re generally large and
discolored. The flesh and the skin has two distinct textures, which is
bad in my book, I like them to be fused. The seeds are rather large,
but there’s enough flesh on each date to compensate for that.

egypt kurma seeds

The large seed has a, hmm…decidedly phallic look to it. 😉

Empire – my new haircut

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empire hairdresser

Empire is one of the many hairstylists (a pretentious word for
barber ;)) located at Wisma Saberkas. The shop’s logo looks like Empire
Records, but I sincerely doubt that this is one of their efforts in
diversification. 😉 I love the tiny little red blue swirling thing that
indicates a barber shop in the old days mounted to the side.

empire inside

The place is surprisingly empty for a Sunday afternoon. It’s staffed
by four female and two male hairstylists – all of them aesthetically
pleasing. 😉 I would highly recommend this place if you’re into that. I
was offered a shampoo and hair wash service by my hairstylist, Su Fang,
which I declined. I was strapped for time, didn’t want to waste my time
cutting my hair.

empire before

This is the ubiquitous “Before” shot. Quit the junkie jokes everyone
– it’s just a bad shot, alright. :p The quick flash was on, makes me
look washed out and all that. My hairstylist asked me about my age, and
she got it way off…I really look young for my age; or so it seems.
Heck, I’m even older than her.

empire nodding off

This is my hairstylist working on me. I don’t usually look like that
in real life, the quick flash washes out the details that’s all and I
was a little sedated during the haircut. 😉 Okay, I admit, I was kinda
nodding off at that time. It’s a little obvious. Hey, it’s Sunday;
don’t I have a right to relax a little? :p

empire mirror

Here’s a photo taken through the mirror – I just asked for it to be
cropped short. Su Fang (my hairstylist) told me that it’ll make me look
like a school boy, and I said, that’s the image I want to cultivate.
The little innocent school boy “I didn’t do it”/”It wasn’t me” look and
all that. 😉

empire me loi

Su Fang was good enough to compensate for my loi. I don’t
know what it’s called in English, you know that swirl that you have at
the top of the head? Yeah, some people have two (they’re supposed to be
evil ;)). My second one is to the upper right forehead, and she left
the hair a little longer there, coz I told her I don’t comb my hair.

empire me hairstylist

This is the finished “After” shot – it’s croppeds shot on all sides.
That’s my hairstylist beside me, her name is Su Fang. Empire is a great
place for a haircut, and the prices are reasonable too – RM 16 for mine.

w00t, I look like an innocent school boy again. 😉

Ericsson T-28 pixel burn

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t28 pixel burn

My trusty Ericsson T-28 has finally succumbed to my 4 years of rough
handing and general disregard. The LCD screen, for mysterious reasons,
seems to have suffered pixel burn. There is a hairline crack below the
screen, suggesting overt applied pressure, but it happened suddenly
without any catalyst.

t28 pixel boot

It boots up perfectly and accepts the phone lock code…

t28 pixel usable

…and it’s still usable. I can make calls, receive calls and all
that. It’s in perfect working order, except I can’t SMS (which I don’t
use anyway, too much of a hassle) and I can’t see the caller ID. I’ve
been putting off on getting a new cell phone for ages, didn’t think it
was worth it. It’s still usable so I’m still going to use it, but on
the other hand, I’m looking to get a new cell phone. I want GPRS and
EDGE support so I can get on the RM 99 unlimited use Digi package and
also an integrated good digicam.

Suggestions for a new cell phone which meets those requirements anyone? Thanks!

Ringgit McSavers – New Chicken Burger, Orange McFizz, McDonald’s Privilege Card etc

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mcringgit savers

Ringgit McSavers comprise of the newly introduced concept of RM 2.50
McDonald’s menu items. Great savings, every day! I’m a big fan of
McDonald’s, as regular readers of this site know. i’m lovin’ it and all
that. 😉

ringgit mcsavers

I had a McAttack just now and went to the nearest McDonald’s to
check out their new Chicken Burger, which I’m told is not the same as a
McChicken. I had also wanted to try out the Orange McFizz.

mcd lime chill promo

I also noticed that they had a new drink out – Lime Chill. It’s
pre-blended and dispensed from one of those juice dispensers they have.
Notice the McDonald’s Privilege Card promotion to the side?

mcd priv front

On the same note, I was offered a loyalty card which they called the i’m lovin’ it Privilege Card. It costs RM 2 and comes in a siren red credit card format.

mcd priv back

Here’s the benefits this loyalty card gives you. I got one just for
fun, there’s not much benefits per se, but it’s well worth the RM 2 if
you eat at McD’s often.

mcd lime chill

Lime Chill is dubbed as The Zesty Thirst Quencher
and is available for RM 3.20 (22 oz) and RM 2.90 (16 oz). It tastes
good…it’s slightly carbonated and the taste is different from mere
lime juice but I can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s definitely
thirst quenching.

The Orange McFizz is made up of two drink combinations:

mcd mcfizz sprite
Sprite

mcd mcfizz oj
Minute Maid Orange Juice

I half expected it to be a Sprite and F&N Orange mix (which will
undoubtedly be mediocre) but to my pleasant surprise, I saw that it was
a mixture of 1/2 Sprite which was then topped up with Minute Maid
Orange Juice.

mcd orange mcfizz

The texture and taste is divine. It’s above the world! The thick
pure fruit juice of Minute Maid was offset by the carbonated fun of
Sprite to make this the King of Thirst Quenchers! The Sprite fizzles up
through the Minute Maid orange juice and the combination came out to be
slightly thick, yet satisfyingly liquid. i’m lovin’ it. 😉

mcd new chicken burger

I also had the aforementioned Chicken Burger, which
is a different menu item from the McChicken, the Chicken McDeluxe and
the Spicy Chicken McDeluxe. Chicken Burger is made from crusty grain
buns and has a great spicy sauce which is unlike any other I’ve tasted
before.

mcd new chicken eaten

Here’s what it looks like. It tastes really great – highly
recommended! The texture of the buns gives it a different zest that
makes this burger one of the greats.

Selamat berbuka puasa to all my Muslim readers. 😉

Sin Chua Huat bakery

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sin chua huat

Sin Chua Huat bakery is about as old skool as they come…this
establishment has been around for over three decades! It’s a permanent
fixture in the old Jalan Padungan section…this Chinese bakery dates
way back. The bakery has bags of flour lining the entrance and all the
preparation is all done in full view of the public…and this was way
before it was chic to have the visible chef concept. 😉 Old school, all
the way.

sch interior

The bread that this place offers are all oven baked…as in hot coal
brick oven. It’s the traditional method of baking and this place has
retained the method over the years. The picture below shows the first
section selling full loaves and half loaves of bread.

sch loaf bread

The half-loaf is meant for families who do not have the gastronomic
fortitude to eat through a full loaf and this practice of selling half
loaves has been marginalized to the point of extinction…except in old
Chinese bakeries.

sch generations

Sin Chua Huat bakery has been passed down from generation to
generation and you can see the wide age gap here – everyone chips in to
help in the bakery. It’s family owned and it’s said that the original
proprietor still comes out to help from time to time. Notice the butter
filling to the left and the coconut filling to the right?

sch empty buns

Sin Chua Huat sells four things and four things only – loaves of
freshly baked bread, empty buns and two types of filled buns. The
picture above shows the empty buns…it’s just bread made into buns.
The place sells home made kaya too, for complimenting their products.

sch filled buns

This is what this place is famous for – filled buns. They only have
two varieties – butter and coconut. The long ones are the butter buns
and the round ones are the coconut buns. We bought five of each for the
office. It costs 40 cents each.

sch tapau

The buns are baked twice a day…it’s best to go either very early
in the morning or mid afternoon. That’s when the buns come out warm and
fluffy.

sch coconut bun

This is the coconut bun. It round and the filling is made of shredded coconut and brown sugar.

sch butter bun

Here’s the butter bun. It’s the longer one and the filling is made of butter.

Sin Chua Huat is a must try if you’ve got a hankering for old skool Chinese pastries, done the traditional way.

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