A Pick n' Brew Halloween at 1 Utama

Was at 1 Utama today and they are currently running Halloween activities at the Highstreet Area on the Ground Floor. They have decorated the area very nicely according to the Halloween Theme. I was happy to know that Halloween is being celebrated here as it really a fun-filled event coupled with the fact that Halloween Day will always be a very special day to me :o)

Smiley, Silly and Scary Ghosts hanging around the spooky trees - watch out for 'em!

Loads of people were in this area for photo taking and also visiting the Halloween kiosks located around. One of the participating retailers taking part is Pick n' Brew which will be running special promotions till this coming weekend, November 2nd - which "Halloween Thrills" as the event is named will come to an end.

The decorated Pick n' Brew Halloween kiosk. Lots of people visiting the kiosk especially when there's FREE Graffiti Art Coffee given!

For the whole duration of "Halloween Thrills", Pick n' Brew will be giving away free Graffiti Art Coffee daily at 11 am and 5 pm (with an extra slot at 2 pm on weekends). Not only that, they are also selling Pumpkin Frappelicious (Pumpkin Ice Blended Drink) and Irish Cream Frappelicious at RM13 each where you will receive a free RM10 Cash Voucher which you can redeem when you dine at Pick n' Brew restaurant. I find the Pumpkin Frappelicious very invigorating, definitely different and nice while the Irish Cream Frappelicious would definitely satisfy any ice blended coffee lover. There is something free for all customers from the Pick n' Brew Halloween kiosk. Since it is Halloween month, Pick n' Brew is also selling Pumpkin Muffins (RM3.50), you'll get a free cup of black coffee. For a cup of Cafe Latte (RM7), a free Pumpkin Muffin! And if you do decide to get Pick n' Brew's Housecard which gives its members special privileges and benefits, you'll get a free cup of Pick n' Brew coffee. There are several tables and high chairs for customers to sit and enjoy their coffee and treats on the spot too.

Drop by and get some goodies from Pick n' Brew at the Halloween Kiosk and take photos of the Halloween decorations around. Reminder - it runs till this coming weekend, November 2nd at Ground Floor of the Highstreet area.


Pick n' Brew Restaurant is located at :
F233, First Floor Promenade
1 Utama Shopping Centre
(the end nearest to One World Hotel)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

When witches go riding,
and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers,
‘tis near Halloween.
~Author Unknown

Away...

Just a quick note to inform that I'll be away till Sunday. Stay tuned for my next short travel posts. Meanwhile I would like to wish all those celebrating the Festival of Lights...

HAPPY DEEPAVALI!

and to the rest, enjoy the long weekend!

May all have the "awareness of the inner light"

Somewhere In China, Westin Kuala Lumpur

I'm usually attending my meetings on Thursdays but I couldn't pass up on an invitation to attend a photo and film workshop sponsored by National Geographic and Astro. Thanks YY for the invite! Along with Teckiee, we headed to The Westin Kuala Lumpur last Thursday where the workshop was held. After registering, we helped ourselves to the some finger food and desserts. The workshop then started at around 8.30 with speeches from the Marketing Director of National Geographic Channel Asia, Basil Chua and Astro's Communications Director too.

Now about the Hutchens Brothers; taken from National Geographic website : -

About Peter and Jeff Hutchens

Peter Hutchens has shot and produced numerous programmes for National Geographic Channel. He was the youngest and only first-time filmmaker to produce a programme for the acclaimed Wide Angle series. Other NGC shows he has worked on are Inside, Hunter & Hunted, Is It Real?, and Lockdown series for which he has won several awards. He brings a creative eye, a passion for storytelling and an instinctive ability to relate cross-culturally.

Internationally awarded photographer Jeff Hutchens has shot professionally on six continents, where he's faced grizzly bears, lava floes, Komodo Dragons, and all manner of corrupt officials. From work on the surreality of life in China, to underground epidemics in the jungles of central Africa, to polar bears in the Arctic Circle, he captures images which convey a transcendent mood and subtle beauty. Jeff has won multiple awards in the World Press Photo Competition, National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) Best Of Photojournalism competition, Pictures Of The Year (POYi) and the White House News Photographers (WHNPA) Eyes Of History competition.

They took to the stage together and proceeded to show us snippets of each episodes; touching briefly on the scenes. We then had a 6 minute slideshow of Jeff's photos. They went on to tell us some of the techniques they used in filming and photo shooting. It was an interesting point of the workshop as they showed scenes which are pretty unusual in China, giving us an rare insight of China. After that, there was a Q&A session before the workshop ended around 9.30pm. Their approach towards documenting "Somewhere In China" is invigorating from what I saw; informative, entertaining and even funny at the same time. The camaraderie between the brothers is great and I guess that is a plus factor in making the show even more appealing.

There are 6 episodes in all, with the first shown on Oct 12. It's on every Sunday at 7 pm on National Geographic Channel 553. I'm gonna make sure I'll watch the remaining 5 episodes, Episode 2 is on today!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Joy Cafe, Jalan Riang 11 Happy Garden KL

(NON-HALAL)

As I was having dinner with my friends, we mentioned about our lunch at Joy Cafe many months ago (10 months to be exact!) and said that we should make another trip back there again. Coming home, I look through my archives and found Joy Cafe's photos and decided to finally blog about it.

It was after church and the lot of us (in two cars) decided to heed CW's recommendation and try out a new place (new then, it's about 1 year plus by now!) in Happy Garden. Apparently CW was saying the the lady owner, Joyce, used to cook lovely food for the church group gatherings before she finally decided to go into the food business for real together with her husband.

We had a tough time going through the menu selection as they had quite a variety. In the end most of us ended up ordering the Braised Beef Brisket Noodles (RM8.50).

The noodles are handmade by themselves and were al dente; lovely QQ bite to it. The beef brisket was tender to the bite but wasn't that soft and I enjoyed chomping on the white radish cubes too while slurping up the delicious soup.

Joy's Nasi Lemak Special (with chicken rendang and sotong, RM8.50). While the chicken rendang and sotong came across as rather normal to me, I did however like the rice as it was very fragrant and the grains are separated and not mushy. The sambal was quite hot, the way I like it!


Apart from our main meals, we also ordered some side dishes like the Braised Lamb Brisket in Hot Wok (RM15). I love lamb and this was lovely, the lamb had no strong gamey taste to it and the gravy was simply yummy.


For pork ribs lovers, guess this is something that you should order - Braised Pork Ribs in Hot Wok (RM15) with gravy spicier than the Lamb Brisket. I may be a fan of char siew and roast meat but I'm rather picky when it comes to preparation style and I'm not that fond of braised pork (braised lamb, YES!). So, I can't be too subjective about it as I tried one and found it just alright but the rest of the pork lovers said that it was good!


One of us ended up just ordering plain noodles (dry style) as we had all these side dishes to go with it. She enjoyed the homemade noodles just like we did with our earlier Beef Brisket. Yup, we gotta go back soon again for the noodles and the lamb brisket :o)

Joy Cafe
540 Jalan Riang 11
Happy Garden
58200 Kuala Lumpur

H/P : 012-2681123
Closed on Mondays, Opens 11am-10pm Tues to Sun

Joke told at dinner table :
Maggi Mee beat up Char Siew Bao and Char Siew Bao decided to seek revenge by getting his friends, the Bao Brothers; Tau Sar Bao, Lin Yoong Bao and Tai Bao to ambush Maggi Mee. However on seeing Spaghetti, all the Baos came out from hiding and started beating up Spaghetti. Char Siew Bao said this to the injured Spaghetti just before he and the Bao Brothers ran away from the scene, "Maggi Mee! Don't think I don't recognize you just because you went to do rebonding!"

What A Friday It Was!

At around 8.50 am on Friday, I had missed a call. When I checked the number, it was an unfamiliar 016 Digi number. However, a lady left a voicemail in Bahasa Malaysia asking me to return call as it was regarding the Star Movies Fan Fest.


I had entered a contest that Astro had in conjunction with the Star Movies Fan Fest that ended on Aug 31 and at that point, I really wanted to win something. But I had forgotten about this contest till Friday. Calling back the 016 Digi number twice and being unable to get someone to pick up a phone, I was beginning to wonder if it was a legit call or maybe someone who got hold of my data and was trying to pull a fast one on me. It was at this point that I decided to get in touch with an Astro contact of mine, YY, a very helpful person (whom I had briefly met once). I told her about the strange call I had and wanted to know if Astro would ever have any outsiders representing them and calling from a 016 Digi number. She wasn't too sure herself but told me that it was indeed a third party who handles the Star Movies Contest and that she will make some calls and find out for me.

5 hours passed and I didn't get a call from either 016 or YY. I was a bit restless and wanted to solve the mystery, trying to ascertain whether it was a genuine call rather than being excited that I have won something. I decided to call the 016 Digi number again and someone answered the call this time.

Me : "Tadi saya ada panggilan dari nombor ini. Ini tempat mana???"
(I had a call from this number. Where is this place???)

She : "Ini ................., Cik siapa?"
(This is.........., who are you, Miss?)

Me : "Saya W....M....W, tadi saya dengar voicemail, Cik kata Star Movies"
(I'm W... M... W..., I heard the voicemail just now and you mentioned Star Movies)

She : "Oh, awak Cik W... M... W...., bila awak nak datang ambik hadiah?"
(Oh, you're Miss W... M... W..., when are you coming to pick up your prize?)

Me : "Huh? Apa hadiah tu?"
(Huh? What prize is that?) - At this point I must say, I was just probably expecting to win a consolation prize as the whole matter was dealt in such a light manner by her.

She : "Ohh...hadiah Grand Prizeeeeee..."
(Oh....it's the Grand Prizeeee....)

Me : "Huh? Grand Prize???????" - Now, I heard it but it wasn't registering at that time.

She : "Ya, Grand Prize. Cik tak percaya?"
(Yes, Grand Prize. You don't believe?)

Me : "Saya tak percaya ni. Betul ke?"
(I don't believe it. It's it true?)

She : Ya cik. Cik menang ....
(Yes miss. You won....)

(Illustrated and detailed below for the benefit of those reading. She of course didn't say it in so many words)









Sony 40” HD Ready LCD TV with HDMI Cable (KLV-40V300A) (RM 5,499.00)

See that look of disbelief on Captain Jack Sparrow's face? I had that same look as I listened to her and she continued on...









Sony Home DVD Theatre System (DAV-DZ850KW) (RM 2,999.00)


and lastly some exclusive Star Movies merchandise

At this time, I was still skeptical but listened on as she told me to make arrangements to collect my prizes. I hung up, sitting down and staring at my phone in disbelief. I decided to call YY. When I did get her on the line, I started to tell her my conversation with the Malay lady and as I was almost reaching the part about her telling me that I won the Grand Prize, YY excitedly told me that I had indeed won the Grand Prize. There was a second or two of silence and I must say, YY was more happy and excited than I was at that time! I thank her for her help and after I got off the line, I was still sitting down and staring at my phone in my hand. I was dumbstruck.....and I'm still pretty dumbstruck. Well now, I'm happy and dumbstruck. Thank goodness I can type it all out. Hahaha....

Well, I've certainly won a few contest from Astro during my 5 years of being an Astro subscriber and I probably got back quite a fair share of my subscription fees ;o), This is my biggest win from any competition so far from Astro or from all the contests that I've participated here and there. A few exciting things that I've won from Astro so far (not including merchandise) :-

Trip to Hong Kong for 2 with front row seats tickets to watch Santana "Live" at the Hong Kong Harbour Fest

Il Divo concert tickets - 2 tickets worth RM1000 each with one night stay at Mandarin Oriental Hotel plus Spa Treatment for 2.

Ipod Shuffle 1G

Dinner with some of the Hong Kong cast of Heart Of Greed at Noble Banquet

and now this.....
The Grand Prize of the Star Movies Fan Fest Contest.

Yes, I'm really happy now :o). I really got to thank Astro for giving me a great weekend and most importantly God for his blessings!




HAVE A GREAT SUNDAY EVERYONE!

Nong & Jimmy Thai Seafood BBQ, Ampang

Looking through my archives yet again, I came across this set of photos taken a year back of which I have yet to blog! Once upon a time, 3 not so hungry floggers had dinner at Nong & Jimmy in Ampang. Here's the story...

I have been here on several occassions over several years. As a matter of fact I have not been back here since this dinner. Guess maybe it's time for me to go again? One of my fave food that I look forward to ordering are the mini chinese dough sticks or yau char gwai/yu tiao that comes with a plate of pandan kaya. For floggers that weren't so hungry, we ordered three plates of these yummy bites!

Since most of you know that I'm not really a fan of seafood, you must be wondering why am I eating here then? Well, I do miss the dough sticks and Nong & Jimmy's Thai Mango Salad which I love.

Nong & Jimmy's Thai Mango Salad is a wonderful combo of dried cuttlefish, chili padi (bird's eye chili), peanuts, onions with julienned mangoes that were not too raw and neither ripe. Spot on!

Mmmm....there's just something about fire and grilling seafood out in the open that gets the seafood lovers drooling. For me, I only hope the crabs had a quick death before they were transported to the BBQ grill 'cos I couldn't bear the sight and knowing that they could have been burnt alive. Luckily, there weren't any moving on this grill when I took this pic!

Gees, maybe I should turn vegetarian! But then give up on BBQ charsiew? Roast Duck? Roast Pork??? Sigh....Could I? Would I? :o(

Anyway, since this is a fave for one of us, we had to put an order in for one of these, prepared with Marmite.

The lone Marmite crab order which was I must say, was fresh and the meat was firm. Tastewise, it was just okay (bearing in mind, I'm not a seafood fan).


The grilled squid was excellent, abundance smokey flavour and slightly charred on the sides. We enjoyed this and yes this time it must be good (again bearing in mind, I'm not a seafood fan! hahaha...).


The potent Seafood Tom Yam with squid rings, prawns and a whole lot of other stuff; some edible while some to me are non-edible nuisance (but necessary for flavour and zest) as they get in the way when one is trying to scoop the soup out.

After this meal we went off for drinks (or so I thought) at Steven's Corner in Pandan Indah where the supposedly 3 not so hungry floggers who ate "adequately" for dinner ended up ordering ...


Squid again!!! Deep Fried Squid this time...I found this to be just average. If I want sinfully oil drenched but absolutely tasty deep fried squid, I'll go to my fave place for that. But that fave place of mine is another story...


Errrr.... with someone still saying that he could eat some more, we ordered the all time iconic Maggi Mee Goreng (Fried instant noodles) and he also wanted fried chicken too! I think I was pretty content with a drink or two at that time. I "fainted" at that time seeing him eat and was "revived" later. Hahaha....

Hence, no more photos ... and


THE END

Nong & Jimmy Thai Seafood BBQ,
Lot 27363, Jalan Cahaya 1
Taman Cahaya
Ampang
Selangor

Tel : 03-4251 1807
019-2611 345, 012-2738 069

Review from The Out Of Town Boy Who Knows His Way Around

Review from The Not So Hungry (But Starving It Seems!)

Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant? I'm halfway through my fishburger and I realize, Oh my God. I could be eating a slow learner.
~ Lynda Montgomery

Duck King @ Jaya One, Petaling Jaya

(Non-Halal)


If one were to drive along Jalan Damansara, you might notice a large overhead sign about Jaya One being The Food Place for PJ folks. Well, I have not been to all the restaurants in Jaya One and there are many indeed to choose from (and I can now have my Wendy's Shrimp Burger here too. Yay!).



With most of us being duck fans (the eating kind!) and the birthday girl being a big duck fan, it was decided rather easily to dine at Duck King - bracing ourselves for a weekend dinner!

Making dinner weekend reservations, we were told that there are two sessions to choose from; 6-8pm and 8pm-10pm. Yes, they are THAT packed - apparently since they first opened their doors in February this year.

So, try weekdays if you want a more blissful ambiance (meaning lower noise level) and more attentive service. You know what they say about noise and Chinese restaurants, and here's one originating from Indonesia.

Here's a pic of the lovely roast meat and poultry, talk about shooting ducks! Hahaha...I know, lame but I can't help myself! The steam chicken at the bottom seems to be alive and doing some sort of a dance! Must be the Chicken Dance...ok, ok...I gotta stop myself, must be high on sugar!


Well, one thing for sure I was probably a bit intoxicated from this Drunken Prawn dish (RM24/USD7) at that time (plus the red wine we had). The prawn was fresh and springy and the soup certainly put us in a merry mood :o)


I liked this Beancurd with Minced Chicken (RM16.80/USD4.80). I'm still pretty much a kid at heart, you know - how kids love gravy! We cleared everything on this plate with probably about a teaspoon of gravy left!


The half Roast Duck (RM26.80/USD7.70) was lovely...with skin that "breaks" when we bit into it. Tender and none of the gamey taste at all.


We also had the Black Bean Clams (RM14.80/USD4.20) which also came with bell peppers/capsicum. It was very flavourful indeed; bordering on the salty side though. Must be accompanied by steamed white rice for balance.

If one is in the mood for something different when it comes to rice, you can try the Lard Oil Rice aka Sinful Rice (RM2.00/USD0.60).

Drizzled with some light soy sauce and lard oil, this will send lard lovers not to the heavens but to the moon and back while the health conscious usually cringe in horror and disgust upon seeing this.

But of course, this is not to be consumed daily...the thought of that makes me cringe too even though I'm one of those who have been to the moon and back.....

"Fly me to the moon
and let me sing among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
on Jupiter and Mars..."

(eh...time to go for karaoke soon!)

But of course we just had to order Peking Duck (though Duck King serves duck in nine variants) but found it just okay. Maybe the duck skin wasn't as crispy as the roast duck because of the added sweet sauce which could have soften it. I also found the quantity of skin in each roll inadequate, therefore lacking "oomph".



But the night ended on a good note when these buns were served. Having ordered the Peking Duck earlier and stripped it of it's skin, we opted for these buns with Black Pepper Duck Meat.

We loved these as it was very tasty but I felt that the duck meat was minced a tad much, it should be a bit chunkier so that we could actually feel the meat when we bite into one of these deep fried buns.

Duck King
8-G Block M, Jaya One
No. 72-A Jalan Universiti
46200 Petaling Jaya
Tel : 03-7957 9819

Opens Daily : 11 am- 10.30 pm &
from 9 am on Sundays & Public Holidays

Others who have either gone to the moon and back or cringed in horror : -

Ling239

Jet

Pure Glutton

Singing songs like 'The Man I Love' or 'Porgy' is no more work than sitting down and eating Chinese roast duck, and I love roast duck - Billie Holiday

Exotic Enigmatic Egypt! Part 13 - Final

Picking up from Part 12, we went around Karnak Temple and proceeded to move on to the Temple Of Luxor.

Look how tiny we are against the statues!

If these walls could talk, I can just imagine the wonderful stories that would unfold.

Finally....Part 13, the final part of my Egypt trip. As I recall the highlights of the trip, I miss the fun I had with friends and also walking amongst the wonders of Egypt. We had a whale of a time buying little souvenirs along the way. Each and every one of us left Egypt with a Nubian bracelet for sure (some with two or three!) apart from snapping up other goodies. Unbelievable and hard to fathom but yet there I was amidst this real life National Geographic documentary. It was a great journey, I'm thankful that I have had a chance to visit Egypt in this lifetime of mine and with good company to boot too!