Leading the wild into the ways of the man…
Coffee Bean has a seasonal drinks promotion and the latest one is the eXtreme CARAMBA Ice Blended. It retails for RM 11 and it comes with the tagline “Get ready to Rhumba”.
It’s a great drink…the predominant taste is chocolate and no, we do not have a Starbucks in Kuching yet. I’m down with the flu now so I’ll post again tomorrow and reply all the comments then. Cheers!
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Crown Plaza has a Japanese BBQ Buffet at the resident Cafe Majestic every Saturday from 8:30 pm – 10:30 pm. It is a long running promotion with a sushi and sashimi bar, a Japanese food buffet spread and desserts inspired by The Empire of the Rising Sun.
The promotional literature goes “Indulge in a seemingly infinite supply of sushi, an array of salads, and a host of delightful hot dishes including barbecue favorites to a variety of tempting international desserts and authentic Japanese beverages.”
I went for the Japanese buffet at 9:30 pm with Cherie and started filling our plates (an hour before the buffet ends). Irene joined us soon after that and I think she was surprised at our healthy appetites. 😉
The first stop was the sushi / sashimi bar which also serves California Rolls and maki. There were also fresh salmon, tuna and octopus to be made into sashimi.
The sashimi chef did some slicing and dicing and we got a rather large platter of sashimi (raw fresh seafood).
Make us some sushi, Scotty!
…and while you’re at it, do California Rolls as well.
This is our platter of sashimi which I thought was worth the RM 55++ per person buffet admission price by itself.
Cherie is a big fan of ebiko – the stuff is fun to eat while *cough* as I’ve come to realize. It kinda pops in your mouth.
She also puts prawns and rolls them in ebiko, and that is equally fun to eat. It becomes an explosion of prawn, sweet mayonnaise and ebiko crunching…very interesting texture.
There was a lot of other stuff in the buffet table (which is separate from the sushi bar) – off the top of my head, there were Chawan Mushi, Kani Karage (fried soft crab – pictured above), gyoza, tempura, udon noodles, miso soup (obviously) and cha soba served in small, individual bowls.
It was a massacre! I think we took more than we were able to eat. 😉
Itadakimasu!
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senso is one of the latest hang out places in town – it’s located in Hilton Hotel in Kuching. It’s supposed to be a club…there is a resident DJ, but it feels more like a chill out place to me.
The interior of senso is done tastefully, with sophisticated seating arrangements and carefully placed decors and lighting to create a warm ambience.
The place is spacious, with precise attention on the different seating areas which range from bar stools to large, comfortable couches. There are personal flat screen TV’s and larger screens positioned sporadically.
The best seats in the place are behind the privacy shroud of the open bar (open as in open space, not as in free flow drinks). There is a long semi-circular area with tiny pillows as a back rest and tables planted every few feet.
There is a resident DJ playing chill out music on a lime green podium which matches the lime green seats and orange hued glowing tables at the back.
The bar area of senso is shrouded with a bead curtain that shimmers in the light, creating an impression of a water feature behind the bar. The service is attentive and the staff polite, which is expected of a joint of this nature.
Download: senso video tour [sixthseal.com]
You will require DivX [divx.com] to view the video.
It was Ee Fen’s last day in Kuching, so we went to senso for a couple of drinks. I went there with Cherie and Ericka and met up with a couple of Ee Fen’s friends there. Ee Fen is doing Pharmacy in IMU which is a Good Thing (TM). 😉
Senso has a wide variety of cocktails and snacks on their menu.
I had a Dirty Martini (RM 18) which is made with Bombay Sapphire, Extra Dry Vermouth, Olive Juice and Green Olives. Olives is teh pwn3d…
Senso has really nice toilets, and the toilet has…
…a flat screen TV.
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I met Fiona last night in Luconia – well, not actually last night, I’ve met her a while ago but only did take a photo of her last night.
Here is a photo of the three of us.
Download: Cherie and Fiona dancing [sixthseal.com]
I’m too busy with work to write much now, so download and watch the video taken last night instead. You will need DivX.
Got ****?
The title gives a whole new meaning to literal post titles, doesn’t it? 😉
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All Stars Sports Cafe is a sports themed restaurant and pub located in Mid Valley Megamall. It also has sports memorabilia and plasma TV’s dotted throughout the place tuned to satellite/cable sports channels.
The restaurant presents itself with a life-sized rock climbing figure hanging from an outcrop on top of the dining area in front. There are also various sports related autographed photos and posters adorning the walls.
All Star Sports Cafe also has a pool room and seating arrangements at the back of the restaurant (or front if you walk in via Mid Valley Megamall). The place serves alcohol and has an emphasis on western food, but also a menu with eastern cuisine.
Maisel’s Weisse (Dunken) beer (RM 26). This imported beer is served from a 0.5 liter glass beer flask that pours into a perfect 0.5 liter glass. The dark beer tastes sweet, with a strong malt aftertaste – it tastes like Guinness Malta.
The beer comes with a serving of bread – hot buns with a German butter and a knife to butter it with. I found that rather odd.
Four Seasons Platter
RM 40
The ultimate snack! Combining the unique tastes of Honey Crab Balls,
Soya Spring Roll, Hong Kong Sharksfin Egg and assorted Vegetables with
Prawn.
This is the first entry in the Four Seasons Platter appetizer – the plate is HUGE and long, easily occupying two tables. It’s crab meat and some other stuff wrapped in a roll.
This is the second feature of the Four Seasons Platter – prawns with sweet mayo sauce. It’s the best part of the platter.
The third component of the platter is deep fried soya spring rolls. It’s not that great.
This is the fourth part of the Four Seasons Platter – chicken. It’s just boneless chicken, but it’s very well flavored. Nice.
Grilled Norwegian Salmon
RM 32.50
Imported fresh Norwegian salmon fillet served with ratatouille and crusted potato.
The salmon was cooked to perfection – pretty in pink!
Grilled Turkey Ham Cheese Sandwich
RM 13.50
Toasted sandwich with ham, turkey slices and cheese.
It’s a good club-type sandwich, filling and not too painful for healing tongue piercings to chew. 😉
Surf n Turf
RM 42.50
Our petite sirloin steak and a big juicy tiger prawn, topped with home made garlic sauce.
This dish is really good – it’s a medium rare sirloin steak served with a large tiger prawn on top, allowing the prawn juices to seep into the steak. The garlic sauce goes very well with this unusual pairing, bringing out the best in both the seafood and the meat.
I was at All Stars Sports Cafe with Cherie and Eeva…
…and then all three of us got lost while stoned in Mid Valley. 😉
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I missed my flight back to Kuching due to an unfortunate incident at Chili’s – we thought it would be a good idea to have drinks there before we went to the airport (KLIA). The flight was at 10:15 pm and we were still at MidValley Megamall (have been staying in the Boulevard studio suites for the past few days) and we dropped by Chili’s at 9 pm.
TRIPLE PLAY
RM 21.95
Delicious Chicken Crispers(r), mouth-watering Boneless Buffalo Wings
and incredible Southwestern Eggrolls. Served with dipping sauces.
MOLTEN CHOCOLATE CAKE
RM 19.35
Warm chocolate cake with chocolate fudge filling. Topped with vanilla ice cream under a crunchy chocolate shell.
…and we ordered Chambord(r) 1800 Margarita (RM 28.95), a Mudslide (RM 15.90) and two pints of Tetley’s draft beer (RM 25 per pint) to wash down the starter and dessert and before we knew it, it was 9:30 pm.
Thus, I’ll be staying in KL until Tuesday night on my own expense. Tuesday is a holiday anyway… 😉
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Starbucks is having another festive themed drink to commemorate the upcoming Lunar New Year with the Caramel Macchiato (RM 13.50). The promotional poster has Chinese letters on it and other festive decors like firecrackers and the tagline is an uninspiring “Celebrating with Coffee”.
I passed by the Starbucks at MidValley Megamall after work just now and decided to have a large Caramel Macchiato. It’s two shots of espresso into foamed milk and it’s decorated with the signature criss-cross caramel topping.
It tastes great but for the life of me, I cannot correlate the relationship between a Caramel Macchiato and the upcoming Lunar New Year.
It makes my brain hurt just thinking about it so I’m going out clubbing tonight since all the work is done. 😉
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This is Lucas and Jess from Zurich, Switzerland. Jess is from Kuching and met Lucas (a Swiss) in NZ and now they’re living in Switzerland together. I met them at Luconia – apparently Jess reads my blog and recognized me. It’s a pleasure meeting with the both of you. Have a safe flight back!
I will be going to KL tomorrow on a business trip. I will be free on Friday and Sunday, let’s go clubbing on Saturday night, FA!
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New Year’s Eve ’05 and the countdown to New Year ’06 was celebrated in an unconventional venue this year – Somerset Gateway, Kuching. Somerset Gateway is a serviced apartment located in the heart of the city and it’s managed by The Ascott Group. It’s one of the best places to chill out and crash in and you can hit the clubbing districts and make it your base to boot.
Anyway, a group of us (spearheaded by me and Cherie) booked a 2-bedroom serviced apartment for RM 380 per night. It is a reasonable rate coz the facilities are great; and the privacy and security, better. I think we checked in sometime around 8 pm with everything we needed to usher in the New Year with the insobriety that New Year celebrations demand. 😉
The apartment we were in was the last one available that night which is either due to the high influx of tourists and travelers or locals having a home session coz most of the clubs were raided during New Year’s Eve. Oh, and about the title, there were no sex, drugs and rock and roll…at least not all three – we listen to hard trance. 😉 That’s a joke, btw.
These are the first two fugitives – it looks like we’re on the run. I thought that was pretty funny.
Download: Somerset Gateway, Kuching video tour [sixthseal.com]
This is the kitchen / food preparation area of Somerset Gateway serviced apartments. They have a fridge, freezer, all the utensils and cooking implements you need (except scissors!), plates, glasses, and they even threw in a front loader washing machine and a dryer on the side. You get the idea…
This is the master bedroom…it’s just beside the guest bedroom (or the other bedroom) and it has a huge bed instead of two single beds like in the guest bedroom.
There is also a toilet / shower and bath area which is inside the master bedroom. There is a smaller shower and toilet outside.
There is also a chill out chair and the entire apartment provides a really great view of Kuching. It’s amazing to just suddenly drag open the blinds and let the amazing panorama of Kuching hit you, it’s nice. I usually just look out but I learnt that trick from Cherie.
Download: Somerset Gateway view [sixthseal.com]
It was close to 10 pm on the last day of 2005 when we turned down the lights and chilled out.
There were trip toys and party packs and glow sticks to play around with…
…and we totally missed the countdown coz we were pretty fucked up by 11 pm.
Cherie: When’s the countdown?
Huai Bin: I’m not sure but I think it’s coming soon.
Hope: What’s wrong with you guys? It’s already 3 am in the morning! You totally missed the countdown.
Cherie + Huai Bin: Okay.
(a few minutes pass)
Cherie: When’s the countdown again?
I think that went on for quite a while. 😉
Anyway, we crashed until 2 pm and went to chill at the pool on the 15th floor. There is a sauna and other facilities as well, including a couple of tanning chairs.
There were some other guests frolicking around in the wading pool and eating chicken wings.
The only thing we could eat (drink?) was bubble tea with lots of Chivas inside.
Coffee Master does room service in Somerset Gateway, Kuching so the four of us ordered a lot of juice (self-infused with more Chivas) and some untoasted club sandwiches for later when we have the munchies.
Before
(Soap dish)
After
(Ashtray)
But nah, we didn’t thrash the place.
I think we actually cleaned up pretty much everything for them…at least Cherie did.
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Lighting Reaction XTREME is the “Latest, greatest shock product” and comes with wonderfully hyperbolic taglines like Dueling for the 21st Century
and my personal favorite “red to green, get ready to scream”. Lightning
Reaction is basically a reflex based drinking game with an electric
shock delivered to the slower (or more intoxicated) players.
The Lightning Reaction XTREME contraption can accommodate up to four
(4) players with a minimum of two (2) players. It looks fairly benign
but with fresh batteries, it can deliver a rather pleasant shock. It
won’t kill you, and some of the more sado masochistic ones amongst us
just shock ourselves for fun. It seriously feels good – especially when
you hold more than one of the handles and let it shock you (it kinda
“sticks” to you while the electric shock is delivered, much like how a
real shock “grips” you).
Lightning Reaction XTREME has cords extending out to four handles
with a grip and a red “trigger” on each one. There are two variations
of the game – Lightning Reaction and Lightning Reaction XTREME.
The huge button in the middle is depressed to start the game and it
starts flashing red for a random number of seconds before turning
green. The fastest person to press the trigger on their respective
handles wins in Lightning Reaction XTREME and all the others gets a
shock (and has to drink) while only the slowest player to react gets
shocked and has to drink in Lightning Reaction Regular Mode.
There’s no way to cheat coz pressing the trigger prematurely (before
the flashing red light with accompanying sound effects turns green) is
a foul and that person gets shocked and has to drink.
It’s a great drinking game!
Download: Lightning Reaction XTREME [sixthseal.com]
The movie shows Cherie, Huai Bin (me), Shin and Hope playing the game with Jimmy bringing beer and stout for the drinking game. You just gotta love the horror movie suspense sound effects…
Lightning Reaction – If you snooze you looze!
Happy New Year 2006 everyone! Party hard and party safe!
Cheers,
sixthseal.com
