Laman Function House

This May 2010, Alamritz Catering & Wedding Planner will be catering for two weddings at Laman Function House. The first is Trevor's & Salwa's Wedding Reception on 15th May 2010, which we have already started to plan out today. 70% of the staffing, market list and general operations have been sorted out. Watch this space for further insights into how a 400 pax event is organised.

Kafe Chendana - April Full and all things nice!!!

April Fools!!! My yearly battle cry was helped by a Hair Loss Advert in The Star, which made me send out fake congratulatory sms's to people saying that they've won a 1 year supply of this wonder product. Needless to say, I got some sarcastic but mostly good humoured replies......I'm already looking forward to next year.....

After a fantastic March where we managed to make some sort of impact in Sg Penchala, the team was tested yet again with another bizzare promotion that took a whole 3 days of discussion, brain-storming and exchange of ideas to come up with:
Kafe Chendana's Inaugural Buffet Lunch at RM9.80 per pax.

Many people questioned our wisdom when this idea popped out. I mean, who would even think about creating a huge menu of 30-odd items, set-up the tiny cafe to look like a pseudo-hotel ballroom buffet line, and then charge only RM9.80 for the pleasure. Anyhow, from the positive feed-back we've gathered, we're not doing that badly; as long as X number of pax has their lunch at the kafe of course.

The first week of April was also spent designing the 2'x 5' buntings, as well as the A5 sized flyers to advertise this promotion. Insyallah, we hope to gain some sort of momentum in the first week, and build up towards to end of the month.

Even with the hectic schedule in running a steadily busy kafe, Eddy & I were also busy in preparing the tender document for a new site, which was submitted at 11:29am on 26th Apr 2010, 31 minutes from the deadline. If it's our rezeki, then we will win this tender exercise, and who know what the new site has in store for ACWP and all of us in the team.

Kafe Chendana - First Month of Operation

March came and went, and boy was it an eventful month, full of surprises and a steep learning curve for all involved.

The dressing up this tiny cafe with some decorative touches has gained favourable responses from our customers, who obviously appreciate how much effort we've put in to beautify the cafe, together with: the fresh cream and green colour scheme, the ivy and bird's nest hanging from the walls, the candle lanterns on stands that we put along the road frontage, the prominent banners displaying our special menu items, and the fairy light hung as high as the tree is tall, the clean open kitchen, and the staff in uniform who use trays to serve our customers.

It was also obvious from Week 1 that our Nasi Ayam Bakar and Chicken Chop will be a hit amongst our regulars, some even tapau-ing up to 4 orders at one go, not forgetting our huge charcoal-grilled toast (we serve 2 slices per order at RM2 per order). Of course with any new opening there will be kinks here and there that needs to be ironed our, and i must say that the ironing will be an on-going exercise.

We've also realised that besides Restoran 123 (the corner tomyam joint), we are the only place that shows Astro football programmes in Sg Penchala. During major games over the weekends, we now know how restaurants feel when valuable tables are taken up by hordes of people who only order drinks and sit for 2 hours.

We plan to create a football viewing corner, which only needs an extra tv and some chairs; let's hope business will be brisk so that we can afford to get a decent sized TV. Let's see what April has in store for us....

13th Mar 2010 - Another weekend is upon us

Boy am I tired from a hectic week, and I'm looking forward to some down time this weekend. First off is both little girls who became poorly last week, Adriana with her never-ending cough, and Alyssa loosing 2 nights of sleep from a painful ear infection. I brought them to Dr Murali on Saturday morning for their supply of medicine, and alas, Sunday morning I found Alyssa melancholic and too quiet for my liking, while Adriana was still coughing her lungs out.

After getting a referral letter from the clinic, picked up Azie and went to Pantai to get them admitted. The entire process was pain-free, with all hospital staff at their most efficient. After a bland-tasting lunch at the Sodexho run cafe, we finally reached our room at 2pm and the girls immediately got their right wrists fixed up with the needel for the drips. Surprisingly, the doctor said that both girls acted like true ladies with no tantrums or tears, unlike some adult patients she's had to stick needles into!!

In no time, both girls got down to exploring their room, discovered their remote controlled bed, and simply absorbed their 24 hour Astro cartoon channel.... after they were served with cake and milo for tea, they simply got comfortable and dived into back-to-back cartoons that they missed like Spongebob Squarepants, Cat Dog, Dibo the Gift Dragon, Animal Mechanical etc etc.

Kafe Chendana at Sg Penchala - The first month

This week is the first official week Kafe Chendana has opened its green doors to the public. Judging from the sales trend, and the positive feedback from our customers, we must be doing something right.

It is ironic that this very shop is under our management now, the same shop where we spent countless afternoons at the inner tables preparing papers for the Laman project. Now, I am semi-permanently working at the table directly next to the kitchen door.

From the moment of conception, it was agreed that the menu must not in anyway follow or copy the other types of food being offered at other eateries in Sg Penchala. Therefore, we chose a charcoal grill concept, where real charcoal is used to cook food items such as chicken chop, steaks, burgers, fish etc etc. Chef Hafidz came up with the unique and delicious Nasi Ayam Bakar, chicken rice but with charcoal grilled chicken, served with homemade soy and sweet chilli sauce.

It is still early, but I have a funny feeling that this kafe will gain some loyal customers, who are smitten with our brand of service, the delicious food in big portions coming out from Chef Hafidz's kitchen.

A hectic December 2009

So, its finally Dec 2009. The much awaited month, where I celebrate my birthday among other things. From 7-11 Dec 09, I practically lived at the Securities Commission where we catered for an international conference of 70 delegates. Through many logistical challenges, ACWP managed to produce delicious food, served amidst professional looking dining and buffet set-up. All in all, the delegates were obviously happy as most of them personally conveyed their thanks to me on the last day of the conference for the good service and delicious food served.

ACWP had a few weddings to decorate at KGPA, which kept Eddy and I busy. The wooden tunnel that Eddy's dad constructed was unveiled during a wedding, which took some guests breaths away. However, the atrocious rope decor was still a challenge to put up, until someone thinks of an easy way to tie it.

I spent the 15th Dec morning at Laman, getting the admin issues settled. I left early for Duta. Azie and the girls were all dressed up, and we left in the blue Kenari at 730pm. It was raining heavily which flooded the road. From the route we were taking, I guessed that dinner was a Victoria Station, which was right!!

Dinner was leisurely and we enjoyed watching the girls acting like young ladies. I ordered a Tenderloin, while Azie ordered escargot, mushroom soup for Alyssa, seafood chowder for Adriana. After the main course, the restaurant managed brought out a chocolate cake and sang the birthday song loudly with his Filipino waiter.

From a chance phone call and a few meetings with Kak Salmah of i-Lumen in Dsara Perdana, as well other shareholders at KLGCC, ACWP is on the way to manage Laman Function House in Sg Penchala, after settling some minor details.

With this, I look forward to a great 2010 where I foresee ACWP will rise to greater heights, and, all those involved with ACWP to enjoy the fruits of our labour sooner rather than later, insyallah.

After negotiating the tenancy agreement, Eddy and I got down to re-arranging the kitchen, getting the floor scrubbed, all 435 Chiavari chairs washed and dried, and changing the dirty ceiling scallops with new cloth. Designing a revised quotation format, menu format, as well as standard forms, I believe that ACWP will transform Laman into a fantastic venue that will be the talk of the town.

Dec 09 to me is the start of a new life for me personally, and a new beginning for my little family. Whatever effort I've put in the past few months, and early 2010 will determine my future, whether its a rosy one or otherwise.

Insyallah, with renewed vigour and resolve to transform my life, things should work out. Since I can't depend on anyone else but myself, I'll put in the hours to make my dream become a reality, god willing.

Adriana's 5th Birthday at Kelana Jaya

I can't believe it but the little baby girl that weighed 2.4 kg at birth on 8th Oct 2004 is turning 5 years old!!! This milestone will be cherished by me personally for so many reasons, many years down the road.

For the party in Kelana Jaya, I decided at the last minute to cook Chicken Rice instead. Early Saturday morning, I bought 2 big chickens from the pasar tani and by 9am, I was ready to start cooking the nasi ayam. First, I blended the 15 cloves of garlic and medium sized young ginger. 1 table spoon went into the rice pot 2 tablespoons of oil. After fragrant, I put in 3 pots of rice and filled up with enough water.

2 tablespoons of garlic ginger mash went in another pot, together with some cloves, star anise, cinnamon sticks and loads of water. The chicken is placed inside and brought to a slow boil. Then I blended 10 red chillies and mixed 1 tablespoon of the garlic ginger mash for the chilli sauce, then cooked some dark soy sauce mixed with some chicken stock and water to make the soy gravy. While the chicken rice is cooking, I made a dash to Giant to get the birthday cake where Adriana chose one with a bear on it.

Got home at 1030am and finished setting up the dinner table etc. The chicken came out nice and juicy, the soup was not that bad, but the rice was way too little. So, I quickly cooked 2 more pots of rice just in case.

By 130pm, Kak Ah and Kak Lin arrived and boy were we hungry by then. Everyone went quiet for a while, just "enjoying" my chicken rice which I thought was not such a bad attempt. After lunch, the cake came out and I melted when I saw Adriana's eyes just light up. Everyone sang a rocous version of the Happy Birthday song, which made Alyssa, Adam and Dini squeel with delight!! Then Adriana opened her presents and the puzzle that I bought for both girls took centre stage. Everyone left at around 5pm after the kids tired themselves out playing & running all over the house.