I went to Panzer Restaurant last night for dinner. My sources informed me that the place is about to close down and he suggested a bloggers meet at the soon to be defunct Panzer Restaurant before the fat lady sings. Unfortunately, we already made plans for the next weekend’s bloggers meet so thus I went with Faye instead to catch one last dinner before the place shuts down.
Panzer Restaurant has been a regular haunt of mine due to the proximity to my home but to be honest, the quasi Italian fusion food with heavy local influences isn’t really anything to write home about. However, I’ve heard rave reviews from other people. I just go there coz it’s convenient. *shrugs*
She ordered a cappuccino (RM 5) for her drink…
…while I went with the more manly Heineken (RM 7). 😉
We ordered the Crispy Breaded Prawns (RM 14.50) for the starter.
It’s served with sweat and spicy sauce, which made me more than a little dubious about trying the dish.
It turned out alright though, I think they meant sweet and spicy sauce there. 😉
I had the Spaghetti ai fruta di Mare (RM 19.50) for the mains.
It’s spaghetti with chilly, shrimps, prawns, fish and tomato sauce and is one of their premium dishes. I do not recommend their “flagship” Spaghetti Panzer (RM 16.50) since it’s a poor imitation of this dish and does not come with the fish.
Faye had the Lamb Shoulder Steak (RM 13). It comes with salad and French fries as well as the sauce of your choice.
She’s a big fan of garlic sauce despite the havoc it can wreck on your breath. 😉
We shared the Dragon Eye (RM 6.50) for dessert.
It’s dragon fruit slices with two scoops of the ice cream of your choice and whipped cream.
Panzer Restaurant – Catch it before it closes down for good.
The Sibu contingent of bloggers had a meet at Li Hua Hotel at 7:30 pm just now. STP suggested the Li Hua Hotel buffet @ RM 11.50 per person. He had nothing but good things to say about the ayam masak hitam there and thus, it was decided that the Sibu bloggers meet be held there.
There were four of us that had a mini-bloggers meet at Orchid Hotel before adjourning to R&R for drinks the previous night but it was so clandestine that the only other person I can name that was there is the delectable KLM. 😉
The Li Hua Hotel buffet is rather limited in it’s selection but there is a free flow of drinks. There is a very strange practice here though – the food is not refilled. Thus, once the meat and vegetables at the buffet table is gone, they won’t refill it, and the buffet is effectively over.
There was the obligatory steamed rice dish (which was about the ONLY dish that was refilled) – all the others were not, but STP got the waiter to come out with an additional dish – curry chicken, due to our turnout.
This is the flagship dish of Li Hua’s buffet – the ayam masak hitam. It’s chicken cooked in black sauce and herbs and translates as “chicken cooked black”.
There were also brinjals (eggplant) cooked in curry and roasted chicken.
Tofu and fried noodles were next on the buffet line…
…and the last buffet cart contained sweet and sour fish pieces and mixed vegetables. There were only six (6) dishes in total including the steamed rice and fried noodles. Most of us had already eaten though so it was alright, and the price was reasonable too.
This is what I foraged from the remainders of the buffet line. The orange juice (from concentrate, not fresh) has unlimited refills.
Here’s a closer look at my dish. I did not do the speed eating feature in my repertoire for fear of alienating the rest of the bloggers. 😉
I’m sure you recognize Mary of Kokoberry fame. We’re heading there again tomorrow at 11 am to bum free drinks off her. 😉
This is a group photo of the Sibu Bloggers United (SBU). I have been told that I’m likely to get a heart attack if I eat with this bunch of foodies. =D L-R:Mary, Huai Bin (me), Clare, Arthur and Clement.
bengbeng came at 9:15 pm to join us for a couple of drinks. He likes to remain anonymous though, so there’s no photos of him…unless you ask Clare nicely. 😉
It was fun meeting up with all of you. You should check out the feature done by bengbeng on Romeo & Juliet (Huai Bin & Mary). It was funny to pose for all those photos. Heh!
Joystar Garden is managed by Faye’s sister and she’s been insisting that I head over to review the place on the blog. I found the perfect opportunity this month – I have just been transferred into a new division with a great boss. I didn’t enjoy working in the previous division for personal reasons and I’m now doing what I like doing so I booked a table for six (6) for a Chinese banquet to celebrate. 🙂
Joystar Garden is located on the second floor and is fully air-conditioned. The ground floor of Joystar Garden is a coffee shop under the same proprietor. There are private rooms and a stage for speeches and karaoke sessions in the restaurant. The service is attentive and the waitress to diner ratio is kept very high so you’ll be hard pressed to be unable to summon a waitress’s attention.
The obligatory peanuts were served while we waited for everyone to arrive. Peanuts deep fried with batter is a traditional snack to munch on before the actual food arrives in Chinese restaurant banquets.
I had a small bottle of Guinness Stout to celebrate my new transfer into the division. I figured it was kinda sponsored by Guinness anyway from the earnings off the Nuffnang Guinness 9 Ball Tournament ads. 😉
This is the first dish that came out – Chinese banquets usually start with a dish containing several different items. It’s called Four Seasons or Hot & Cold Platter in generic terms and it’s a starter dish that serves as an appetizer. Joystar Garden’s version has wrapped rice vermicelli, shrimp, crab sticks, lemon chicken, and slices of pork intestines.
The second dish of a traditional Chinese banquet is usually the soup. This is Shark’s Fin soup and true to Chinese etiquette, it’s divided up on a separate table before the individual soup bowls are served to the diners. The remainder of the soup is placed at the center of the table for refills.
I could only discern one piece of shark’s fin in the soup but for the price, I didn’t really expect for it to be loaded with the stuff. 😉
The next dish that came out is sweet and sour pork ribs in a ring of yam (taro). It’s served with prawn crackers on the side.
I thought this dish tasted pretty good, with the sweet and sour pork ribs combining well with the sweet yam and the texture of the crackers.
The next dish is Thai style fish pieces. The portions were HUGE and (more than) a little too much for six people. I started feeling full around this time…and so did everyone else.
Next came the deep fried mayonnaise chicken. This dish was barely touched coz we were all so full at this point. I was told later that you should deduct two (2) people from the amount of food to tell the chef preparing Chinese banquets coz the portions are usually meant for the amount of people plus two so that everyone would have enough to eat.
The last dish that came out was the mixed vegetable dish. I couldn’t eat anymore – I was absolutely STUFFED at this point.
There is also the obligatory fruits platter at the end of the Chinese banquet. Joystar Garden served oranges and watermelons for the dessert with toothpicks.
The Joystar Garden Chinese banquet set cost RM 128 for six people not inclusive of drinks. You can get different customized sets on request. It cost me RM 161.80 for everything and it’s a special price from Faye’s sister. Thanks!
Caution: Joystar Garden has a karaoke setup that is very loud and this makes it a very non-conducive environment for conversation. Potential diners should be warned that less than sober mature ladies belting out Chinese golden oldies might appear on stage. I’ll let the video above speak for itself.
Mary texted me the previous night to inform me that the Kokoberry Crepes are now available. I told her I’ll be there right after work the next day so I arrived at about 6 pm at Kokoberry, Delta Mall yesterday evening to check out the crepes. I ordered a Hazelnut Chocolate Crepe (RM 2.80) and a Peanut Butter Crepe (RM 2.80).
I was initially unrecognized due to my office attire – it seems that I look different wearing work clothes than I do in casual wear. I’ve been told this much by a lot of people. I think it’s a combination of the way I style my hair during work (very conservative) and the long sleeved shirts that I wear (hides my tattoos).
Blue Sky (RM 3.20 / RM 2.80)
Blue Sky is another one of the Top 9 concoctions of Kokoberry. It’s a bit like a float – it contains Sprite (or 7-Up) topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I honestly don’t know where the blue color comes from. It’s a refreshing drink though, due to the Sprite/7-Up base – perfect for a non-alcoholic thirst quencher after work. The Making of a Kokoberry Crepe
The batter is prepared (it takes about 15 minutes) and poured on a flat heating element.
Peanut butter is then slathered evenly on the cooking crepe.
Hazelnut chocolate crepes goes through the same process (but with hazelnut filling, of course).
This is a close up of the cooking crepe. Kokoberry’s crepes are thin and crispy, with a chewy end – it tastes surprisingly good.
The finished crepe is then lifted from the heating element and folded up. I got her to pose for a photograph so many times that I think her cheeks are sore from having to maintain a constant smile. 😉
This is what the finished Kokoberry Crepe looks like. The model is none other than Mary, the owner of the outlet.
Hmm…it doubles as a fan too! Cool. (Pun intended)
The crepes and drinks were on the house again, thanks to Mary. You shouldn’t keep doing this Mary, paiseh lah, next time I insist on paying or else I won’t go. :p
Kokoberry is a franchise specializing in bubble tea and other drinks. It’s a franchise that I saw in Miri and it’s now available in Sibu, operated by none other than fellow blogger Mary Ting in Delta Mall.
Kokoberry has a very impressive menu of drinks ranging from bubble tea to coffee. It focuses on milk based drinks and also has a range of crepes which were unfortunately out of stock this morning.
Mary (better known as goolooloo in the blogsphere) recommended the drinks from the Top 9 menu, which is the nine most popular drinks by Kokoberry. She was kind enough to allow me to tour behind the counter to take photos of Kokoberry.
This is the Blueberry Yogurt Shake (RM 4.20 / RM 3.80). It’s one of the premium drinks from the Top 9 menu that contains real fruit pieces. It tastes great and I bet it’ll do wonders for your bowel movements too. 😉
This is the Ice Blended Cappuccino (RM 4.30 / RM 3.90) which would make a great start to your day. I made an appointment with Mary at 10:30 am but I…er, kinda woke up late and only got there at 11:15 pm. The coffee gave my hungover neurons a kick start. 🙂
This is the Ice Cream Rainbow (RM 2.90 / RM 2.60) which is made with strawberry ice cream. Mary warned me that this is a very sweet drink and I have to agree, despite having a bit of a sweet tooth. Sugar rush! It contains bits of jelly and the squiggly green things in chendol, which adds to the texture of the drink.
I also found out that drinking from two different drinks at the same time does wonders to the texture and taste, much like the famous Ratatouille scene. 😉 Shotgun bubble tea!
This is Mary, who is the owner of Kokoberry. Kokoberry has a loyalty program that charges lower prices for members (hence the two prices listed above). She was kind enough to provide us the drinks for free. Thanks Mary!
Support your local blogger business initiatives! 🙂
Lisa Cheng is now a mom! She gave birth to a healthy baby boy and we went to the baby shower after work yesterday. His name is Ethan (as in Ethan Hawk) and there were about 20 of us old ex-classmates there for the baby shower at her home. It’s a strange feeling, being old…it’s just not that long ago that we were just 17 years old and having fun in high school. Fast forward to a decade later and we’re all now 27 and life just isn’t that simple anymore.
This is a rather blurry photo taken of the Class of ’97. I felt a little envious at some of the married couples with kids. I really want to find someone nice to settle down with and have little ones running about and all that. I won’t go out drinking Saturdays but wake up early on Monday to bring the kids to McDonald’s or to their grandparents. I thought that was dull and boring just a couple of years ago, but I swear to God, sometimes I want that kind of life so badly. Oh well…
Hello! My name is Sam and I went to the Borneo Cultural Festival just now coz I like bright, shiny lights. I don’t like crowds though but mom and dad was with me so it was OK.
This is a Heng Hua stall that my daddy told me is
my heritage. I tried to eat one of the pastries and it’s actually
pretty good. I got a boo boo though when I fell and scraped my knee
while trying to take photos.
I heard sounds coming from the stage so I left mommy and daddy and went to watch some girls almost bo cheng sa one. I don’t know why but I felt funny down there after looking at the girls.
My hands were also shaking so the photos are blurry. I don’t know if
it’s from the girls or coz Huai Bin kor kor didn’t give me any pills
today. There are a lot of stalls at BCF with ethnic segregation e.g.
Melanau, Chinese etc.
The stage show then changed to guys so I don’t want to see anymore.
I went to walk around and saw this girl so I touch her nen nen. I don’t know why, but she scolded me and ignore me after that.
I was hungry after all that grabbing action and got myself rice cooked in bamboo to eat.
There was a man making popcorn and I ate that too.
I also bought four (4) SIM cards coz I’m retarded.
016 885 3221
016 864 7478
015 885 1428
014 680 7844
Seriously though, I’m think about maintaining just two (2) lines,
one for business and one for friends. I had a really good number (016
869 0110) but tardiness made me lose that one. I’m using 014 680 2348
right now.
Which of the four numbers above is the easiest to remember? 7478 and
7844 means something in Chinese but I don’t like the prefix. I want to
just maintain one.
It hasn’t been an hour since I arrived at Sibu and I hate it
already. I’m sorry to say it, but I hate Sibu. I hate everything about
it.
Sibu is just so…Chinese. I can’t read or write Chinese so the
Chinese signs irks me. I’m starting to loathe this place and the people.
I don’t know why or how I got this way. Perhaps I’m in my depressive
mood and the sheer Sibu-ness of Sibu just gets to me. I don’t think I
can stay here and work.
It hasn’t been an hour and I already abhor the idea of staying here.
I don’t know if Sibu has changed (probably not) or it’s me who’s changed but I can’t stand it anymore.
I didn’t know it was possible to change someone in a month, Steph.
I hate it when Sibu people don’t wait until people get out of an elevator before pushing in.
I used to do that too coz I’m from Sibu and I’m supposed to be rude and uncouth (or did I pick up the elevator trick from KL?).
Did my Sibu-ness drive you away? I’ll never know coz you’re not answering my calls.
I hate Sibu.
The pure, unadulterated Chinese-ness of this place is depressing and it’s driving me insane.
The entire sixthseal.com clan descended to Hong Ping Corner at the fast developing new Sibu Bus Terminal commercial area at Lorong 7, Jalan Pahlawan for the Mother’s Day dinner last night.
This is candid shot of everyone (Headcount: 14)
including the matriarch of the family before the gale force winds made
their grand appearance (which is the best part of this post, bar none).
It’s hard to coordinate shots what that much people…
This is a really funny video clip, especially when the expressions of the people are taken into consideration. 🙂
Sibu was struck by gale force winds last night and it caused a bit of a
havoc with chairs flying around and tables topping (with food on it).
Classic!
This is our table after everything has settled down – there were 3
mothers in here – the Grand Matriarch, and two others (one of whom is
mine). We ordered about 20 dishes in total and booked two adjoining
tables.
All Hail the Grand Matriarch!
(the one in dark red – she’s my grandmother, so sixthseal.com won’t
even exist without her and the procreation that she experimented with
many decades back)
I love this one – it’s a candid pan of my entire extended family and
back and the final money shot still makes me laugh (warmly) today. I
miss my cousins and aunties. 🙂
P/S – They all read this blog. Seriously.
I guess I’m the de facto superstar of the family (or the black sheep, depending on how you look at it).
My modem in Sibu was fried during a heavy thunderstorm in Sibu last
night (which tripped the ELCB from a near direct strike as well,
plunging the house into darkness) so I won’t be able to update until
Monday morning.
Anyway, I got an SMS from nepasalaver telling me
that our favorite local Malay tabloid is at it again – apparently, they
have a serious lack of content (not to mention a dismal understanding
of the English language). I hope they get more news coverage soon coz
digging out old stories is just…old… 😉
