Little Thai Carnival at Jusco Metro Prima, Kepong Baru

Last week, while going to Jusco Metro Prima Shopping Center to shop for some groceries, it happen that there is a Little Thai Carnival going on there from 10th May 2011 till 9th June 2011. Located at ENEOS Center, there are kiosk selling clothes, shoes, handicraft and of course food from Thailand.

My only interest is the Thai food kiosk. The food kiosk is selling Thai food and snacks such as tom yam, Thai laksa, Somtham (Thai Green Mango Salad), Yam Wun Sen (Thai Seafood Salad), Mango Rice, Papprik Fried Rice, Thai Fried Rice, Spring Roll, Prawn Crackers, and Coconut. Each dish cost on RM5.

Some of the ingredients for Somtham (Thai Green Mango Salad)

Prawn Crakers, and Spring Roll

As for dessert, one can opt for Mango Rice. I was so tempted but I've already decided to order Somtham.

The Somtham will only be prepared when order is placed. The cook will ask if you want spicy or very spicy. I chose spicy which he then use one bird eye chilli to mix the Somtham. Very spicy, he'll use two bird eye chilis. Trust me, even the spicy version is already quite spicy. Those that can't eat spicy food at all will probably be better to order non-spicy version.

He will then starts to pound and mixes lime, raw long beans, tomato, fish sauce, bird eye chili, green mango, lime juice, peanuts, and sugar in a big ceramic mortar. When he finished with the pounding and mixing, he asked me to taste it. I told him not sour enough, so he add more lime juice.

I packed it home and eat it with other dishes as dinner. The somtham here is quite good, the portion is quiet big too for just RM5. If you happen to be in Jusco Metro Prima, do drop by to this Little Thai Carnival at Ground Floor in ENEOS Center. This carnival ends on 9th June 2011.

7aste is back, this time it's Queenstown

Thanks to 7aste, I've able to travel to Capetown, Monte Carlo and New York last year. Well, not exactly travel to those cities literally but able to have a feel of what it's like here in Malaysia through the awesome party that 7aste organized theme based on those cities.

This year, again 7aste will have a series of city themed parties. The first of the lot is Queenstown, New Zealand. From my experience from the previous three 7aste event last year. I will surely find these few elements in it.

Celebrities.

Games to win prizes.

I can still remember this lucky guy won a Samsung 32" LCD TV at the 7aste Cape Town event.

Of course, lots of free booze.

We had premium wine and beer at 7aste Monte Carlo.

One whole bottle of Jack Daniel and free flow of beers.

I can't wait to find out what will be in store this time at 7aste Queesntown event. Also, 7aste had recently revamp their website to be more contemporary and added a bit of sophistication in it.

Also, this time 7aste not only will be happening in Penang and Kuala Lumpur but Johor Bahru is added in as one of the venue too. So, people from Johor Bahru also can experience the inspiration brought by 7aste event.

7aste Queenstown will begin in

32 Mansion, Penang on 3rd June 2011. 7.30pm onwards

Then, move on to Johor Bahru at Booze on 10th June 2011, also 7.30pm onwards

And finally, stops in Kuala Lumpur at ECOBA on 17th June 2011, also 7.30pm onwards.

For those that will like to know more about 7aste happening near you, can like the 7aste Facebook Page or visit their website for more details.

Tenshi no Cafe 天使のCafe, e@Curve, Mutiara Damansara

Okairi Goshujin-sama means Welcome Home Master in Japanese. Hearing these words might be every otaku's dream. What's more, they will be able to see real life people dressed as French maid and butler to serve them in a cafe that is designed as if it came out of a manga or anime.

While previously one can only find these kind of fantasy cafe in Japan or Taiwan. Recently it seems that someone has brought this concept to Malaysia. I got to know about Tenshi no Cafe 天使のCafe which means Angel's Cafe in Japanese when I read Jason Mumbles' post on it. I also bought the group buying promotion from Hahah Deals, which will get me a package worth RM83 for only RM38. Two meal, two shakes and a dessert. Because there's more than 50 deals purchased, so there's a bonus of RM3 worth of “Spoon Feed – 3 spoons” and Choice of “Conventional Games” or “Playstation 3” for one round worth RM5.

From outside, Tenshi no Cafe looks like a home more than a cafe.

One of the house rule is no photography of the maid, food and interior. I kindly asked permission from the kawaii lady butler, so the only thing I cannot take with my camera is the staff there.

The ten house rules.

The interior is very bright with pink as the main colour. It looks very clean and comfortable. There is one area where there's a PS3 and a HD TV showing a Japanese group's MV.

Since the deal is enough to feed two person. I invited Emily to join me to discover this maid cafe concept that is new in Malaysia. But luck is not quite our side because we came last Saturday during lunch time and there are no maids but only butlers were there. According to the kawaii lady butler, the maids took half day leave to attend a cosplay event at Tropicana City Mall. Quite obvious that most of the staff here are also enthusiastic cosplayer.

From the deal, I can order one dessert, I chose Banana Split. Quite a while I didn't eat Banana Split already. My mistake is that I didn't ask it to be serve after the main finished. It was served first. Sigh.

Banana Split

Emily and I shared the banana split after we finished our mains. I should have left the choco stick for the maid (actually is the kawaii lady butler) to spoon feed me. Well, just the ice-cream and banana will do, so I got spoon fed by her on each flavour of ice-cream starting from chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. Emily just kept laughing during this spoon feeding session. One scoop is worth RM1, if you are interested to experience it. Go read Jason's post for the total experience captured on camera because he got invited to do a special review hence can take picture of everything.

Japanese fried rice with Ebi Tempura

We can order one dish from the Japanese Rice section and another dish that is worth not more than RM19.90. Since, Emily chose Japanese Curry Chicken Katsu Rice (RM 19.90). I'll have to choose Japanese Fried Rice with Ebi Tempura (RM 19.90) from the limited Japanese Rice section.

The fried rice has a lot of Edamame beans, tasted quite good too the fried rice. I suspect that the Ebi tempura is not fried in a oil that is hot enough because some the bread crumbs is still not quite cook yet.

Japanese Curry Chicken Katsu Rice (RM 19.90)

While my fried rice is nothing to shout about, Emily absolutely love the Japanese Curry Chicken Katsu Rice from presentation to taste. She told me it tasted much better than Full House's Japanese Curry rice. So, it's not only the good service that is provided here, the food here also taste not bad.

After, finishing our meals. It's time for some exercise. Which, I utilize the 1 round of PS3 game service. Again, I'll play PS3 motion game with the kawaii lady butler and not maid. The maids are not back yet. Actually 1 round of game means 5 minutes. I was able to play 3 different short motion sensor games with the lady butler. She kicked my ass by winning two games out of three.

The butlers and maids here are very polite and friendly. Ask them any question and they will politely answer you. There's one question that you cannot ask though, that will be their phone number :p If they are not too busy, they will sometime stay for a short chat with the customer. In term of service, I'll give it 10/10, ambiance 8/10 and food 6/10.

Well, before we left the place, we manage to see two maids that finally start their shift. If you are interested in the maids' picture, click here. Overall, this is a RM 38 well spent. Too bad it doesn't include a polaroid photo with the maid of my choice, which will cost RM 8.




Address:

Tenshi no Cafe
LG18, e@Curve
No. 2A, Jalan PJU 7/3, Mutiara Damansara,
47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan.

Other Ppl's View:
Jason Mumbles
Jerine Lay
I Am the Witch

Sakae Sushi, 1 Utama

When it comes to good value for money kaiten-zushi restaurant, one of the Malaysian favourite will be Sakae Sushi. Although, it only started coming to our shore a few years back, consider quite new as compared to the first kaiten-zushi chain in Malaysia which has operated more than 15 years, Sakae Sushi come out good in term of pricing and quality of the sushi.

Most might not know that recently the Sakae Sushi outlet in 1 Utama has just shifted from Ground Floor of the Promenade to the Lower Ground Promenade, which occupy a bigger space. Business is brisk and the smaller space can't cope with it, I think. So, don't be alarm when you can't find Sakae Sushi in Ground Floor Promenade of 1 Utama Old Wing. Just take the elevator and go down one floor to the Lower Ground Floor.

Coincidentally, Sakae Sushi also introduced some new items into their menu. Thanks to Gliteratti Plus of Nuffnang, I got invited to taste of of the items. Starting with Sakae Salad (RM 13.90++), a house specialty salad comprising of salmon, jelly fish, wakame, fried salmon skin, crisp garden-fresh greens served with plum dressing. Instead of a normal wafu salad dressing found in a Japanese restaurant, I can see a bit of Chinese influence for the dressing. It tasted a bit like eating yee sang during Chinese New Year. The plum dressing is sweet and only a bit of sourish.

Sakae Salad (RM 13.90++)

The favourite dish of most of us that night will be the Hotate Mentaiyaki (RM 20.90++), juicy scallops grilled with codfish roe and mayonnaise. The codfish roe mixed with mayonnaise alone is to die for. Put it on grilled fat juicy fresh scallops is ecstatic!

Hotate Mentaiyaki (RM 20.90++)

One serving is not enough for us, so we ordered another two servings of Hotate Mentaiyaki using the touch screen ordering system. Yes, all Sakae Sushi outlet will be upgraded to touch screen soon. Say goodbye the mouse clicking when ordering from the system. It's quite easy, just choose the category, then choose the dish you wanted and add to cart. Then you have to confirm your order from the View Cart menu. If not, the orders will not be sent to the kitchen.

No more mouse clicking.

We take food review very seriously.

Time for some fried stuff. Soft Shell Crab Tempura (RM 13.90++), generous portions of delicious soft shell crab, lightly battered and fried to crisp perfection. Well, we left nothing on the plate.

Soft Shell Crab Tempura (RM 13.90++)

This platter consists of a few items from the menu, namely Salmon Sushi (RM 3.99++ for 2 pieces), Sakae Candle (RM 10.90), Snowflake Salmon Delight (RM 9.80++/RM 7.80++ for SAKAECard Members) and Ebi Tempura Cheese Maki (RM 12.90++).

The salmon used here is of premium air-flown Norwegian salmon. The salmon sushi is slightly enhanced in term of a thicker cut of salmon, which means now you get more meat to rice ratio. Sakae Candle is a fun sushi consists of crab meat, avocado, Japanese cucumber, shrimp roe, codfish roe and mayonnaise. It's packed with flavours.

Snowflake Salmon Delight is a maki sushi with the sushi rice wrapping fresh salmon, omelette, Japanese cucumber, salmon skin, okaka flakes, mango, plum sauce and mayonnaise. This is one rereshing sushi. Those that like cheese will like the Ebi Tempura Cheese Maki, crispy tempura prawn rolls with a luscious finishing of cheese and spicy mayonnaise.

If you are wondering why it's called Sakae Candle. Well, it's because you can literally light up the sushi. Good for birthday occasion.

We also had some side orders.

Salmon Kanappe (RM 12.80++/RM 10.80++ for SAKAECard Member) from the Sakae Monthly Special for the month of May. Raw diced salmon on cheese and a pastry that is very much like pita bread.

Salmon Kanappe (RM 12.80++/RM 10.80++ for SAKAECard Member)

Tako Sushi (RM 3.99++ for two pieces). It's fresh and springy.

Tako Sushi (RM 3.99++ for two pieces)

I written many times before that I have this funny craving for ikura (salmon roe). So, I ordered Salmon Ikura Gunkan Sushi (RM 5.99++ for two pieces). Reminds me of Salmon Oyakodon. This is quite value for money, as ikura sushi is actually not cheap.

Salmon Ikura Gunkan Sushi (RM 5.99++ for two pieces)

Taken from the kaiten, Salmon Cheese Maki (RM 5.99++). Well, it's tasted ok.

Salmon Cheese Maki (RM 5.99++)

We like the mentaiko mayonnaise sauce to much that we ordered some Salmon Mentai Sushi (RM 5.99 ++ for two pieces). Mentai-sause with a slightly grilled raw salmon is really hard not to eat it.

Salmon Mentai Sushi (RM 5.99 ++ for two pieces)

We end our sushi-licious meal with sorbet as dessert, there are currently 3 flavours to choose, Pineapple (RM 10.90 ++), Orange and Lemon (RM 8.90 ++). I have to say that the sorbet tasted very good, soft in texture and not too sweet. My recommendation for dessert in Sakae Sushi.

Pineapple Sorbet (RM 10.90 ++)

Orange Sorbet (RM 8.90 ++)

Lemon Sorbet (RM 8.90 ++)

If you are looking of budget and good quality sushi. Then Sakae Sushi is one of the place that can offer that and more.

There is a Facebook contest running on Sakae Sushi Malaysia Like Page. Check out their like page for more details. A Sakae plush toy and RM 50 voucher can be won. Contest ends on 31st May 2011 11.59 p.m.





Address:

Sakae Sushi
LG 225, Lower Ground Promenade,
1 Utama Shopping Centre.
Tel: 03-7726 6428

For the location of all Sakae Sushi outlets click here.

Lazy Meal: Wild Rocket and Ham Sandwich

I am kind of lazy when it comes to preparing my own meal, that's why most of the time I will eat outside if no one cooks at home. Sometime I do prepare my own meal at home but it will be mostly food that is easy to prepare like Korean instant noodle and sandwich.

Sandwich is one of my favourite because I can play mixed and match with the fillings and dressing in between the bread. One of the favourite herb that I like to use when making a sandwich is wild rocket. It has a distinct aroma and taste. Yes, it's a bit bitter yet there's this taste that I found very captivating that I can't describe. Please note that Wild Rocket and Rocket are very different in terms of the taste and aroma. I prefer Wild Rocket, once I tried using Rocket because I can't find Wild Rocket, it just can't give me the same taste.

So, what I usually do is buy sandwich ham as one of the filling for my sandwich. Sandwich ham has a thicker cut than the normal ham, some cut is in square, which is a nice fit for the normal bread size. The one I bought that day is cut in rectangular, so I have to trim the extra a bit.

As for the bread, I like wholemeal bread because of the texture and the wheat taste that is very nice when used in a sandwich. I chose High5 instead of Gardenia because it can last longer in term of expiration date but I think Gardenia tasted slightly better.

Pure salted butter is used as the spreading. No margarine or any hydrogenated vegetable oil for me please.

One or two pinch of freshly grounded pepper to give the Wild Rocket a bit of spice. Usually I use yellow mustard for dressing but I remembered after I checkout from the cashier. So, I'll have to do without dressing. Of course, you can always use your favourite dressing here like honey mustard, mayonnaise, thousand island, french dressing and etc.

I made a mistake of putting the wild rocket in the freezer which made it very wet and turned soggy. I put it in the freezer because my cooler is not working.

Nice, simple and tasty sandwich. Wild Rocket and Ham Sandwich. I made this for breakfast but it can be eaten during anytime of the day.

Ingredients:

Butter for the spread
4 to 6 slices of wholemeal bread (depending of how many you wanted to make)
2 to 3 slices of sandwich ham
Wild Rocket a pack which is enough to make 8 to 10 sandwiches
Grounded white pepper.
Dressing (any salad dressing that you like, for me I prefer yellow mustard)

Instruction:

1. Spread the wholemeal bread with butter.
2. Put a slice of sandwich ham on a slice of wholemeal bread.
3. Put some wild rocket on top of the ham, ground a bit of white pepper on it.
4. Put your dressing on the ham and wild rocket. Cover it with another slice of wholemeal bread.
5. Repeat steps on the same bread with another slice of bread as top if you want to make a Double Decker.

周杰倫 Jay Chou's Songs ala Acapella by PennYo

I came to know about PennYo, a Chinese acappella group from the University of Pennsylvania. When Dan Zhang, one of their member emailed me to ask me help spread the word about their group since he got to know from my blog post that I am a Jay Chou's fan.

I listen to some of their covers on 周杰倫 Jay Chou's songs that they did in acapella (They called it Jay-cappella). Hey, they are great. I think if Jay Chou got to listen to their job, maybe they can collaborate on a song.

Here's one that PennYo did, which is a medley on Jay Chou's songs 霍元甲, 夜的第七章,and 飄移.

PennYo: Fa Ru Xue 发如雪 (Jay Chou A Cappella Cover):

While 淘汰 is not sang by Jay Chou but it's written by him for Eason Chan, whom is another great singer that I like even before Jay Chou's debut.

While they did a lot of Jay Chou's song, it doesn't meant they only do Jay Chou's song. There are a lot of other Chinese songs that they did an acapella version, like of my my all time favourite, 新不了情.

Last that I'll share here is one of my favourite Jay Chou's song, 安静.

There are a lot of acapella groups out there that do covers of English song but it's quite rare to find an acapella group that do cover on Chinese songs. I subscribed to PennYo. Hope they will get more popular and will be able to stage a tour to Asia, especially Malaysia.

You can subscribe to PennYo's YouTube Channel for more of their amazing acapella covers.

HyppTV Party at Neo Tamarind, Kuala Lumpur

Last week, I went to the party celebrating the 1st Anniversary of HyppTV and also it reaching 80,000 subscribers. I myself is one of the 80,000 subscribers because I subscribe to Unifi High Speed Broadband which also comes with HyppTV. It's good to have a new paid TV service, competition is good for the consumers. The best thing about HyppTV is that it comes with free channels and you can subscribe to their premium channel by choosing the channel you wanted and don't have to subscribe to a package of channels with some channel that you don't want.

This is the first time I come to Neo Tamarind. Before I go into the place, from the outside one would have thought that this is a Balinese Spa. Ah, I miss Bali.

There is a big glass that at the kitchen, so we can see that chefs busy preparing the finger foods. The finger foods that night is great.

If you have a HD TV and is just using it to watch BlueRay or play PS3, then you might want to consider suscribing to HyppTV because it has a few HD channels such as Universal Channel HD, FOX Crime HD, iConcerts HD and LUXE.TV HD (this is a free channel). Wih popular series like CSI, Bones, Law and Order and more in HD format. That is really putting your HD TV to good use. Besides, you'll also get high speed broadband connection from 5MBPS onwards.

Fan of MasterChef series and Top Gear? Well, you can get it from the premium channels BBC Knowledge and BBC Lifesytle. Manchester United fans will surely want to subscribe to MUTV channel. Missed a movie that you wanted to watch? Search through the abundance of movie titles from Video On Demand service, cheaper than buying DVD. Get more info here.

The staff all dressed up.

The theme of the party is dress as a movie star or character. I tried to be Sammo Hung but I don't have the traditional Chinese shirt. So, I just make my hair with gray highlights, like him in Ip Man 2.

There is also a game challenge for all the guests there to take part in. Each have to complete 3 tasks at 3 different station. The grand prize will win an iPad2. OMG. The first task is to answer a question related to HyppTV. This is quite easy for me because I am already subscribing to their service.

After completing each task, a stamp will be given. The second task is by far the easiest for those that have Twitter or Facebook account. It's to update or Tweet about HyppTV party with the tag #hypptv. Just go to the laptop provided there to update or just show the station master your update. Of course, the laptop all connected using Unifi.

The 3rd and final task is to write your message on the bubble provided and take a polaroid picture. Stick it to the stamped form. After all tasks were completed then drop the form into the box.

The time that all the guests are waiting is the prize announcement. There's a lucky draw session, also Best Dressed Male and Female, Best Picture and of course the Grand Prize, iPad2.

Guess who won the iPad2? Well, the news should be known to all of you now in this fast pace Internet world. Michelle is the winner!

The party then ends with cake cutting to celebrate HyppTV 1st year anniversary.

Michelle was so happy that she won the iPad2 that she holding the board upside down :p, as for me, I won't be going home empty handed because I got the Desperate Housewives Juicer from and early question and answer game. The question is, which 3 HSBB speed that Unifi is providing for home user? Easy, 5mbps, 10mbps and 20mbps.

It was quite a fun party. Everyone went home with something. There were goodies bags given out to each guest. Happy Birthday to HyppTV and congratulations on getting 80,000 subscribers in just a year.