This morning was a blur as I awoke from my slumber to a back ache and a mind weary from a long and hard catering job.
The source of my ailments is the chaotic fiasco that was the outside catering at shah alam yesterday. After thorough meetings and an extremely long 'briefing', things still got out of hand for reasons that I can't comprehend. For no reason, additional trips had to be made to collect items left at the Club, which caused everything to go pear shaped. The huge thunderstorm added an extra dimension to the concept of Murphy's Law: When you think nothing will go wrong, something will. Oh well, that's the life of a caterer I guess. You plan for every eventuality, and next thing you know, something just jumps up and bites you in the arse.
So, it's the morning after, and my resolve is stronger to make a change for the better. I'm not so sure the people at APSB are ready for change, but I'm gonna give it my best shot. The least that I can expect to happen is for someone to wake up from their slumber, and rouse up everyone else to make that change.
This Sunday morning started off with us waking up at 830am, and shocking our system with some excellent tosai with some lovely tomato and coconut chutney. Then it's the TV with the Horse Wisperer, X-Men and now Which Planet ARe You From?. Let's see where the day will lead us.....
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
Sunday, 5th Oct 08. Final weekend before going back to work!!
After a long day on Saturday playing host to our close friends and family, Sunday morning was just another blur. Azie and I only woke up at 10am and found our little girls calmly watching their daily dose of cartoons. Mak got a call at 1015am, and it was Untie Bedah who told her she'll be popping in at 1030am. Well, that woke us up pretty quickly, and Azie started to cook a batch of Mee Hoon.
Untie Bedah and Uncle Mail only stayed for 10 minutes, and at around 2pm, Azie got a call from Achik announcing their arrival. Azie got down to cook some Macaroni while I got busy setting up the table once again. Pak Itam, Untie Azizah and Aiman then came over at 630pm and left by 8pm.
Right after that, we left home to raid Kak Ah's house (it was Kak Lin's brilliant idea). I can't even remember the last time I went to my sister's house, and I guess we'll try to make it a yearly affair. Abang Nizam cooked some nice mee hoon, and we spent the time watching Bourne Identity. We got home at 10pm, and watched Suster Ngesot and The Messenger. My back ache is not giving me too much grief, and hopefully it'll clear up by tomorrow morning
Untie Bedah and Uncle Mail only stayed for 10 minutes, and at around 2pm, Azie got a call from Achik announcing their arrival. Azie got down to cook some Macaroni while I got busy setting up the table once again. Pak Itam, Untie Azizah and Aiman then came over at 630pm and left by 8pm.
Right after that, we left home to raid Kak Ah's house (it was Kak Lin's brilliant idea). I can't even remember the last time I went to my sister's house, and I guess we'll try to make it a yearly affair. Abang Nizam cooked some nice mee hoon, and we spent the time watching Bourne Identity. We got home at 10pm, and watched Suster Ngesot and The Messenger. My back ache is not giving me too much grief, and hopefully it'll clear up by tomorrow morning
Adriana's 4th Birthday Party & Eid Ul Fitr 2008
Well, it's been a while since my last posting, around 4 months to be precise. Well, I think it's about time I ended my silence, so here goes nothing.
Since yesterday, Saturday the 4th Oct 08 was the first Eid Ul Fitr weekend, it was only fitting for us to organise a small party cum gathering to celebrate our lovely daughter's birthday. Azie invited her whole Kelly Selection team, while mak invited only very close friends and family.Azie started cooking before I woke up at 0730 hrs. I went with Mum to get some supplies at the Farmer's Market (Pasar Tani) while the girls were still deep in slumber. Bought some nasi lemak and roti canai for breakfast, which was the perfect elixir to start off our day.
While Azie was busy in the kitchen, I went about setting up the dining table and buffet area. I used all available Kain Pua to decorate all table tops, which ended up looking pretty neat. The menu was:
Nasi Minyak (Ghee Rice)
Kari Kambing (Thick Mutton Curry)
Ayam Panggang (Roasted Chicken)
Sambal Udang (Prawns cooked in chilli paste)
Salad Timun dan Tomato (Cucumber & Tomato Salad)
The first guests started to trickle in from 12 noon, and Mak Long was the last to leave at 1030pm. At 3pm, Azie brought out the birthday cake and the kids just gravitated towards it. All in all, it was another succesfull event, and we're glad our guests enjoyed the food, and hopefully they enjoyed our company as well.
While Azie was busy in the kitchen, I went about setting up the dining table and buffet area. I used all available Kain Pua to decorate all table tops, which ended up looking pretty neat. The menu was:
Nasi Minyak (Ghee Rice)
Kari Kambing (Thick Mutton Curry)
Ayam Panggang (Roasted Chicken)
Sambal Udang (Prawns cooked in chilli paste)
Salad Timun dan Tomato (Cucumber & Tomato Salad)
The first guests started to trickle in from 12 noon, and Mak Long was the last to leave at 1030pm. At 3pm, Azie brought out the birthday cake and the kids just gravitated towards it. All in all, it was another succesfull event, and we're glad our guests enjoyed the food, and hopefully they enjoyed our company as well.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Goodbye KK - 19 May 08
We woke up at 7am, and got to the breakfast room at 8am. It was full, and we got a table near the back and promptly got down to some serious eating. Since our airport pick-up was at 1030am, we rushed back to the hotel to finish packing, and left the room to check-out at 10am. Our coach arrived at 1045am and we reached KK's LCCT at 11am.While waiting to board the plane, an AirAsia staff turned a lot of heads. She turned out to be a stewardess on our flight, thank god. There was friendly banter among the men in the queue, and Azie encouraged us even more. I have never enjoyed a 2 hours flight than today's. I even paid attention when they had the safety briefing!! Anyway, I managed to speak to the lovely stewardess
when I said to her, 'one nasi lemak and one nasi beriani'. She even spoketo me, "would you like a drink, sir?'The food arrived in plastic containers, that doesn't do justiceto the RM8 bucks we paid for them. We arrived LCCT at 230pm and missed the first AirAsia coach to KL Sentral. We got the next one and reached Sentral at 330pm tired and hungry. Got some lousy food at the mamak restaurant next to the Monorel station, and caught a cab home. I couldn't wait to reach home, and I wasn't dissappointed when we were at the gate when our daughters screamed with delight to see us.
After a long 2 days, I was finally reunited with the lights of my life. Uploaded the latest pictures and showed mum and the girls our little holiday. After dinner, we set off for Sentul to send Rini and Adah home. Bg Meor looked well and his knee can bend more than 90 degrees. Got home at 10pm and put the girls straight to bed. While I was rocking my babies to sleep, I realised how much I loved them, and what would I do without them around. It just wouldn't be the same and that made me love them even more. I fell asleep with fond memories of the flight home, and my terrible nasi beriani meal and .......zzzzz
Kota Kinabalu Day 2 - 18 May 08
I woke up at 524am with a bad back ache, due to the walk and the soft mattress. Got dressed and left the room at 715am to go for breakfast. Found out breakfast was served at another hotel, Imperial, whichI thought was silly and the hotel should inform their guests by providing directions or briefing them.The restaurant was located on the rooftop and was quite nice, which cooled me down a lot. Had a nice egg omellette with toast but the coffee was weak.
After a hearty breakfast, set off for the tamu at 8am. Instead of going to the Jln Gaya tamu, we went to the seafront, where we found a small tamu right next to the Filipino Market. Discovered some weird things like green barnacles, edible brown corrals and live rock garoupa that didn't swim around. Just before we left the tamu, we saw a lady frying something in 3 little woks. It looked too oily so we didn't buy any.
When we reached the roadside, Azie hailed a bus which happened to be heading for Kampung Likas. It was a small mini bus, with loud Hindustani music blaring for its speakers. The bus followed a coconut tree-lined coastal road and entered the kampung area, which had an equal number of wooden and brick houses.
I then understood why some 
Sabahans envied the development that is taken for granted by their countrymen on the Peninsular. Our driver and conducter then decided that it's time for their breakfast, and proceeded to pull over to buy some mee hoon at a roadside stall. At the end of the journey, we were told that the Yayasan Sabah building was only 'about' 1 km by foot,and it's 'just over the bridge'. So, we set off on foot, crossed the busy road and over the bridge,and then realised....oi, it's more than 1 km!! Anyhow, we reached the roundabout in front of theYayasan 
Sabah building (which was nothing to shout about), and then decided to go back to town on the first thing that we can get, which happened to be a van.We got off near Kampung Ayer as we wanted to check out the tamu along Jalan Gaya. Well, we found out the hard way again that Jln Gaya was a very long road, and we joined the tamu somewhere in the middle.It's
quite an interesting tamu, with a nice mixture of stalls selling pearls, wood carvings, freshorchids, different snacks, clothes, shoes etc. We got our stock of 
Sabahan snacks and made our wayback to the hotel. Azie got into a movie on TV, while I went over to the cafe to update my holiday pics.
After a much needed rest, we set off by taxi at 445pm to Tanjung Aru. We were dropped off at the main building, which housed a modern upmarket seafood restaurant. We then walked along the path fronting the sea, and got our first view of the Sabahan coastline. Wished I had my swimming trunks with me as the water really looked inviting. At the far end of the path we found a 
large complex that has close to100 small stalls selling all types of food. I saw an interesting way of displaying different types ofpickled fruits (jeruk), and fresh fruits. When we decided to sit down for a snack, I ordered an ABC while Azie ordered Satay Punggung Ayam. My ABC was interesting, the bottom part has a condensed milk base with black grass jelly (cincau), red cendol, sweetcorn, topped off with slices of watermelon and honeydew and 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream. After finishing off the pickled fruits, steamed groundnuts and corn on the cob, we continued our walk on the beach to catch the sunset.Tanjung Aru (Bay of Pines), is a huge crescent shaped bay. At 6pm, the beaches had dots of people here and there. We headed for the far
end of the beach 
but realised that it's about 
another km away, so we stopped at a boat carrier. While waiting for sunset, I chatted with Azie, and only later I realised that we haven't chatted like that since we had Adriana and Alyssa. Gradually the sky turned redder by the minute, and eventually the sun became a red circle, and then the sky transformed into this beautiful kaleidoscope of colours, with shades of red, orange, yellow. It was a spectacular scene, and I kept busy taking shots of the sunset, as well as sillhouetes of Azie. 
By 6:55pm it was all over, so Azie suggested we eat a snack of sotong panggang (barbequed squid). The service was so slow that we walked off, and took a cab back to town to go to the pasar malam area. We found a huge seafood restaurant near Kampung Ayer,and decided to have our dinner there. We ordered BBQ squids and Cantonese noodlesw which was delicious, but the squids were a little salty. After dinner, we walked around the area and saw GSC, and simply walked in and bought tickets for Iron Man. It was an entertaining movie, but I thought they could have developed each character further. Anyhow, we enjoyed the movie, and had a nice walk back to the hotel, and reached our room at 11pm. All in all, today started off interestingly, and ended with a great movie.
Boy, were we tired, and the sight of our made up room was a sight for sore butts...er I meant...sore eyes...LOL
Return to Kota Kinabalu - 17th May 08
Got up at 215am and got ready by 230am. Didn't want to disturb the girls as they were fast asleep. Cab arrived at 245am and went straight to Sentral to catch coach to LCCT. When we arrived Sentral, we were hijacked by an Aerobus tout who sold their ticket at RM8 and said their bus leaves at 315am, 15 minutes before AirAsia's coach. We were conned and bought the ticket and boarded the bus, which only left at 330am. The drive was fine until they changed drivers at the UKM toll, who drove at 120 km and left us flying in our seats. Arrived LCCT at415am, and went for breakfast/supper at McD's. Had Azie's Chicken McDelight, while she had a porridge, kept the spare McChicken just in case. Checked in at 510am and went to Gate 9. Boarded at 630am, sat on 2nd row from the front, and the plane did take off at 650am. 
Even though it was an Airbus, the seats were very tight and cramped, my knees had just 1 cm of clearance which made it really uncomfortable. Both of us got some much needed shut-eye which left us with a bad neck ache. We arrived KK at 905am, and the landing was smooth which ended with a tight left turn. We were made to wait for 10 minutes for our luggage, and only got out of the airport at 945am. Our airport transfer was also nowhere in sight, so I started my survey of KK by getting a map from the Sabah Tourism counter.
Our coaster finally arrived, and we proceeded to our hotel, Radius International. We passed Sutera Harbour, which looked really grand from the outside. I got a shock when the coaster dropped us off in front of some grubby shops opposite Centrepoint but found out that Radius was located on the 7th floor of the building. We got out into a compact and modern looking lobby. Checking was painful as they took forever to sort out our 6 rooms. Then we found out breakfast was not included, which was sorted out with Kelly's travel agent. Since it was only 1030am, our rooms were not ready so we left our luggage and decided to go for a walk. Our feet brought us to Sinuran Complex where we found our breakfast at Kajjol Restaurant, which served nice crispy roti canai with milky but weak Nescafe Ais. The shop next door looked interesting as they served steaming soups, and the crowd that thronged the shop looked satisfied. Told the young man behind the counter that we'll be backfor lunch.
We then explored the Warisan shopping mall, which was interesting as they had small double storied shops. The central courtyard had small kiosks selling ice cream and steamed sweet corn and a playground. Went went back to the hotel at 12pm and were given the keys to Room 101, which was small and had no windows. I went back to reception and managed to get room 601, which was exactly the same size, but had a window looking out into a 'courtyard'. Took a much needed shower, and rested for a while by down loading pictures from my camera and mobile to my trusty laptop.
By 230pm we were hungry, and got dressed to get some food. We headed for the soup shop and we were not disappointed. I ordered Soup Tulang (Beef Soup) with white rice, while Azie ordered Noodle Soup(Mee Sup) and Rojak Mee (Noodle Rojak). The drinks reached our tables within 30 seconds, and all our food arrived within 1 minute after ordering!! I was pleasantly surprised as the restaurant was heaving with people, but service was outstanding!! The beef broth was interesting as it didn't have the taste of the normal spices I'm familiar with, like cloves, star anise, cinnammon stick and cardammon seeds. The taste was of boiled beef bones, some fried shallots and spring onions.
My 3 big pieces of beef came on the bone, which explains why the broth tasted so wholesome.
We were also given a tray filled with condiments such as white vinegar, thick soy sauce, and a tub of fiery chilli sauce. Azie tried mixing the thick soy with the chilli sauce, which added the perfect zing to our beef broth. The beef itself was tender and was heartily downed with spoonfulls of mildly spicy beef broth. My white rice was also the perfect accompaniment to the soup. The rojak was also interesting as the gravy was thick and full of flavour, with keledek to make it thick. Instead of the usual squids, they added pieces of chicken breast and sliced beef to go with the julienne of cucumbers and tofu. We somehow managed to finish off our meal, which only came up to RM17, and Azie commented that this simple meal was more worth it compared to the McD's breakfast at the LCCT which cost us RM27!! 
After checking out rows of interesting shops, we made our way back to the hotel for a rest. I went to get some drinks at Centrepoint, while Azie waited at the hotel. Finally found a supermarket at the basement and got some crisps and drinks. Got back to the hotel, took a hot shower and sat down to upload pictures. Azie called Rini, and we talked to our daughters for a few minutes. I then realised how they've grown as we're having an intelligent conversation with them. After speaking to them, I didn't feel so bad leaving them behind. Managed to get online, so updated my online family tree. Watched a hisdustan movie, followed with a monster crocodile movie until 530pm. Azie had dozzed off by then and I decided to take a nap and set my alarm clock for 7pm as we planned to check out the night market. Well, we must have been tired as we slept for 12 straight hours and only got up on Sunday morning!!
Even though it was an Airbus, the seats were very tight and cramped, my knees had just 1 cm of clearance which made it really uncomfortable. Both of us got some much needed shut-eye which left us with a bad neck ache. We arrived KK at 905am, and the landing was smooth which ended with a tight left turn. We were made to wait for 10 minutes for our luggage, and only got out of the airport at 945am. Our airport transfer was also nowhere in sight, so I started my survey of KK by getting a map from the Sabah Tourism counter.
Our coaster finally arrived, and we proceeded to our hotel, Radius International. We passed Sutera Harbour, which looked really grand from the outside. I got a shock when the coaster dropped us off in front of some grubby shops opposite Centrepoint but found out that Radius was located on the 7th floor of the building. We got out into a compact and modern looking lobby. Checking was painful as they took forever to sort out our 6 rooms. Then we found out breakfast was not included, which was sorted out with Kelly's travel agent. Since it was only 1030am, our rooms were not ready so we left our luggage and decided to go for a walk. Our feet brought us to Sinuran Complex where we found our breakfast at Kajjol Restaurant, which served nice crispy roti canai with milky but weak Nescafe Ais. The shop next door looked interesting as they served steaming soups, and the crowd that thronged the shop looked satisfied. Told the young man behind the counter that we'll be backfor lunch.
We then explored the Warisan shopping mall, which was interesting as they had small double storied shops. The central courtyard had small kiosks selling ice cream and steamed sweet corn and a playground. Went went back to the hotel at 12pm and were given the keys to Room 101, which was small and had no windows. I went back to reception and managed to get room 601, which was exactly the same size, but had a window looking out into a 'courtyard'. Took a much needed shower, and rested for a while by down loading pictures from my camera and mobile to my trusty laptop.
By 230pm we were hungry, and got dressed to get some food. We headed for the soup shop and we were not disappointed. I ordered Soup Tulang (Beef Soup) with white rice, while Azie ordered Noodle Soup(Mee Sup) and Rojak Mee (Noodle Rojak). The drinks reached our tables within 30 seconds, and all our food arrived within 1 minute after ordering!! I was pleasantly surprised as the restaurant was heaving with people, but service was outstanding!! The beef broth was interesting as it didn't have the taste of the normal spices I'm familiar with, like cloves, star anise, cinnammon stick and cardammon seeds. The taste was of boiled beef bones, some fried shallots and spring onions.
My 3 big pieces of beef came on the bone, which explains why the broth tasted so wholesome.
We were also given a tray filled with condiments such as white vinegar, thick soy sauce, and a tub of fiery chilli sauce. Azie tried mixing the thick soy with the chilli sauce, which added the perfect zing to our beef broth. The beef itself was tender and was heartily downed with spoonfulls of mildly spicy beef broth. My white rice was also the perfect accompaniment to the soup. The rojak was also interesting as the gravy was thick and full of flavour, with keledek to make it thick. Instead of the usual squids, they added pieces of chicken breast and sliced beef to go with the julienne of cucumbers and tofu. We somehow managed to finish off our meal, which only came up to RM17, and Azie commented that this simple meal was more worth it compared to the McD's breakfast at the LCCT which cost us RM27!! 
After checking out rows of interesting shops, we made our way back to the hotel for a rest. I went to get some drinks at Centrepoint, while Azie waited at the hotel. Finally found a supermarket at the basement and got some crisps and drinks. Got back to the hotel, took a hot shower and sat down to upload pictures. Azie called Rini, and we talked to our daughters for a few minutes. I then realised how they've grown as we're having an intelligent conversation with them. After speaking to them, I didn't feel so bad leaving them behind. Managed to get online, so updated my online family tree. Watched a hisdustan movie, followed with a monster crocodile movie until 530pm. Azie had dozzed off by then and I decided to take a nap and set my alarm clock for 7pm as we planned to check out the night market. Well, we must have been tired as we slept for 12 straight hours and only got up on Sunday morning!!
The day before leaving for KK - 16 May 08
The day started off as normal, with us bundling the girls into the carfor the journey to KL to send their mummy. Breakfast was at celah bedahwhere the bibik can't get enough of Alyssa & Adriana. Got home and brought mak to the pasar tani with Alyssa to get some veggie and to Giant to get chicken. Stopped by the pharmacy and got home at 11am. Since it was too hot, didn't go to for my jog.
Mak started to prepare lunch and since she was cooking my favourite sambal goreng, decided to start my video documentation of her famous recipes. Got some nice shots of the ingredients and videos of her cooking the dish. Mak Lim arrived at 4pm. After Friday prayers, sat down with a large tupperware of iced syrup and got busy with my online family tree. Got an sms from Unt Nik that she was arriving KL at 6pm.
Left home at 510pm and headed straight for PWTC. Since I was passing Sentul, thought wrongly of picking the girls up. By that time they were already on the LRT so abandoned the idea and went to PWTC. The girls were already in front of Legend, and Azie arrived10 minutes later. When we got to PWTC, Unt Nik was nowhere in sight, Azie found her behind the Putra Terminal. KL was badly jammed, so headed for Bank Negara roundabout, and went thru Penchala Link and reached home at 715pm.
Dinner was served and at 9pm left home to send the ladies to Cik Ka's house. On the way Unt Nik told some juicy gossip about the BP wedding, which continued at Cik Ka's house. Got home at 10pm, and only started packing at 1030pm. Went to bed at 1140pm and set the alarm clock for 2am.
Mak started to prepare lunch and since she was cooking my favourite sambal goreng, decided to start my video documentation of her famous recipes. Got some nice shots of the ingredients and videos of her cooking the dish. Mak Lim arrived at 4pm. After Friday prayers, sat down with a large tupperware of iced syrup and got busy with my online family tree. Got an sms from Unt Nik that she was arriving KL at 6pm.
Left home at 510pm and headed straight for PWTC. Since I was passing Sentul, thought wrongly of picking the girls up. By that time they were already on the LRT so abandoned the idea and went to PWTC. The girls were already in front of Legend, and Azie arrived10 minutes later. When we got to PWTC, Unt Nik was nowhere in sight, Azie found her behind the Putra Terminal. KL was badly jammed, so headed for Bank Negara roundabout, and went thru Penchala Link and reached home at 715pm.
Dinner was served and at 9pm left home to send the ladies to Cik Ka's house. On the way Unt Nik told some juicy gossip about the BP wedding, which continued at Cik Ka's house. Got home at 10pm, and only started packing at 1030pm. Went to bed at 1140pm and set the alarm clock for 2am.
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