A Pleasant Surprise from Perfisio Solutions – Battle of the Brains 2008

I answered a call from Perfisio Solutions (jaring payment agent) yesterday asking me to collect my son’s consolation prize for last year UPSR Battle of The Brains 2008 contest. It was indeed a surprise to me because I have totally forgotten about this competition. Better late than never! I collected the package for him at Perfisio Solutions, Section 14, PJ office. The large envelope contains 2 packets of Stabilo Stationery, a certificate and a RM100 cheque. Thank you, Perfisio!
My wife wanted my son to have a feel of the actual UPSR examination, so she registered him for this online trial exam. He has been playing the whole year through and both of us were actually quite worried about his preparation for the exam. During the online Battle of the Brain exam session, my son could not submit his mathematic calculation flow because he did not know how to use the submission software provided by the system, but he was able to submit the answer in the column provided. I guess he must have lost some marks there.
Anyway, I am glad that he actually won the consolation prize. Perfisio organises Battle of the Brains program every year for UPSR, PMR and SPM students. Registration is free for Astro account holder and also Tutor customers. You can register your children for this online trial exam next year if they are going to take the above mentioned exams. Registration only opens within certain period. Look out for the announcement in Astro.
To find out more visit their website http://bob.tutor.com.my/index.php

Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, The Curve – A Belated Birthday Celebration

My sister wanted to celebrate my eldest son belated birthday (belated due to his school examination week, can’t celebrate that time) and instead of having it at his favorite Japanese food restaurants, I wanted him to try something different. I suggested that he try the food at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurant. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurant opened its’ first outlet in 1996 on Cannery Row in Monterey, California. The theme of the restaurant is based on the 1994 box office blockbuster movie, Forrest Gump, staring Tom Hanks and Sally Field. This franchise restaurant provides a casual dining environment and they serve good varieties of nice western food! I like the old wood style setting of the restaurant. The foods that we ordered are Run Across America, BBQ Chicken Salad, BBQ Beef Back Ribs, Calamari Rings and Bubba Bake Seafood Rice. The Run Across America Sampler (RM43.90) is a huge appetizer consisting of Bubba's Far Out Dip and Chips, Chilly Shrimp, spicy Chicken Strips, Hush Pups, and Mama Blue's Fried Shrimp. The Bubba’s Far Out Dip and Chips is actually tortilla chips with dipping sauce. My kids love the Mama Blue’s Fried Shrimp. The shrimp cock tail is served cold with cubes of ice. It might take Asians like us a little time to acquire the taste. I love the natural sweetness of the cool prawns! The Spicy chicken strips are a little too sour. The spinach and potato salad is good too! This is a good family dish to order if you want to sample the food that is available in the menu. The BBQ Chicken Salad (RM24.95) is very flavorful with the chunks of chicken meat added. We ate all of it rather quickly. Nice! The BBQ Beef Back Ribs (RM 62.90) main course serving is quite large and it is served with fun fries. The BBQ sauce they use has a nice hickory smoke smell. Thumbs up for this dish! The Calamari Rings (RM17.90) is my daughter’s favorite. She and my eldest son ate the most! I love the taste of the Bubba Bake Seafood Rice (RM28.90). It is one of the best ones I ever tasted. The rice is creamy and the aroma really makes you wanted to eat more! I am still wondering what herbs they used to cook this dish. The dish might look small but it is actually very filling! It was a good night out for my family and my kids enjoyed the food very much. The total bill for 5 adults and 3 kids came up to be RM237.05.

PS : The Most Memorable Quote from Forrest Gump Movie, “Mama always said life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get” Bubba Gump Shrimp Co Restaurant, The Curve, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia Lot, 145, 1st Floor, Jalan PJU 7/3, The Curve, Mutiara Damansara, 47800, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. Tel : 03 77109862 Fax 03 77109864, Website : http://www.bubbagump.com/ Here are the random pictures that my little daughter helped to take.

BBQ Beef Back Ribs and Baked Seafood Rice Run across America Sampler Appetizer view from different angles Calamari Rings and BBQ Chicken Salad Put this sign 'Run Forrest Run' if you don't need the waiters service and 'Stop Forrest Stop' if you want them to attend to you!

This is how the waiters carry the drinks. There are groves at the bottom of the glass for them to fix it to the top of another glass.

Nice decors and lots of sauces on the shelfs. I would love to have these collections.

Pictures from Forrest Gump younger days and the most happiest moment when he married his childhood sweet heart, Jenny. Forrest and bride talking to his Army superior that he rescued in Vietnam. His army superior also helped him to invest the money he made from shrimp trawling in Apple Computer shares.

Forrest wedding photos and in army uniform with his sweetheart, Jenny.

More of Forrest Gump wedding photos and childhood sweetheart, Jenny

Aiya! Date at Tanjung Rambutan Cancelled!

Note : I passed through this place on 31st July 2010 and found that this restaurant is closed. A new one is operating at this location.

My Pre contract training group had earlier planned to have our ‘gila-gila’ (crazy) dinner and also farewell party for one of our hardworking branch staff at Restoran (restaurant) Tanjung Rambutan in Desa Aman Puri, Kepong. My business partner and I actually dropped by this all you can eat barbecue and steamboat restaurant a fortnight ago to evaluate the suitability of the place for our group dinner. We arrived there around 5.30pm, a little early; they have not finished setting up the steamboat buffet spread. Therefore I did not manage to snap any photo of the food the restaurant has to offer. Anyway, we found the place quite suitable to have our little 20 pax party. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have to change our venue to Johnny’s steamboat in 1 Utama. Sigh, cannot go ‘gila-gila’ already! Ha ha ha! Sorry, no food review this time!

Restaurant Tanjung Rambutan Buffet BBQ & Steamboat Address and Contact : No. 17A & 18A, Jalan Desa 2/8, Desa Aman Puri, 52100, Kepong, Selangor Tel : 03 62768086, 016 2012237, 012 3722101, 012 2336086
Business Hours : 6pm to 12am
All You Can Eat Buffet BBQ & Steamboat Price: RM21.80 Adults, RM10.80 Children, Below 80cm free, RM9.90 Birthday Boy/Girl, RM14.80 Senior Citizen, Buy 4 Adults 1 Free. I wonder whether they have special discount for former Tg Rambutan inmates? ROLF! Ha ha ha!

Map to Tg Rambutan Restaurant, Desa Aman Puri, Kepong

Chicken Ku Lo Yoke with Pineapple (Sweet and Sour Chicken) – Great Weekend Recipe

I got some leftover pieces of pineapple in my fridge and I know that if I leave it there, no one is going to eat it. Then I remembered that I still have one capsicum as well. So, it is time to cook up my kid’s favourite ku lo yoke (sweet and sour meat). The ku lo yoke dish served in restaurant are normally made from pork but I tried to use chicken meat instead. Here is my simplified ku lo yoke recipe.

Ingredients Meat
Chicken meat, 250 gms, minced
Onions, 1 pc, chopped finely
Pepper, a dash
Salt to taste
Corn flour (or tapioca flour), 2 table spoons

Sauce and garnish
Tomato Sauce, 7 table spoons
A little sugar
Capsicum, 1 pc, cut into cubes
Onions, 1 pc, cut into four
Pineapple, 1 slice, cut into small pieces

Mix all the meat ingredients together. Shape the mixture into round bite size marble like balls. Heat up wok and add in oil to deep fry the meat. Fry them until they turned golden brown. Drain away excess oil and put the meatballs aside. Put a little oil in wok and add onions. Pour in the tomato sauce, a little water, sugar, capsicum and pineapple. Add corn flour water mixture if the sauce is too watery. Bring to a boil and pour it on the meat balls. Serve with steamed rice.

Stir Fried Pork Belly and Celery with Life Oriental Barbecue Sauce Recipe

I normally use my own home made sauces in my recipe. However I was curious how Life Oriental bbq sauce taste like, so I bought one bottle to try it out. I guess my kids would also be happy to try out the new taste. Instead of using the sauce for bbq I decided to add some into my stir fried pork belly. The final taste of the dish turned out quite good. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
Pork Belly, 250 gms, cut into thin slices
Shou shing Chiew (Chinese cooking wine), 1 teaspoon
Corn starch, 2 teaspoon mix with water
Pepper, a dash
Onions, 2 pcs, cut into four
Garlic, 3 pcs, chopped finely
Life Oriental BBQ sauce, 2 teaspoons
Salt to taste
Celery, 1 stalk, cut into slices

Heat up wok and put in a little vegetable oil (around 2 table spoons). Sautéed garlic until fragrant. Add in the pork belly and fry until it is cook. Add shou shing chiew, pepper, life oriental bbq sauce and salt to taste. Put in the celery and corn starch water mixtute. Best eaten while dish is still hot!

Restoran Gafan – 10 Varieties of Claypot Rice, Paramount Garden, PJ (Moved to New Location, See address below)

Drunken Claypot Chicken Rice.............................and Salted Fish Claypot Chicken Rice

Lotus Roots soup............................................................Nice green spinach!

Crispy fried tofu with special homemade sauce

Simple menu with photo..........................................Simple, nice and clean restaurant!

Mr. Tham, my buddy is always on the lookout for any new restaurant around PJ area. Knowing that I am Foodie and into blogging about food, he would invite me to try out any good food around here. He told me that the famous Taman Connaught Clay pot Chicken rice has opened a branch in Taman Paramount and we set an appointment to meet up for lunch. When I arrived at the place around 11.40am, Tham and his wife were already there waiting for me. Actually, Restoran Gafan owners have set up this branch around seven months ago and it is managed by a husband wife team, Coco Chia and Vincent Leong. The place is brightly lit, need and clean. It is nice to have a good meal in such an ambient environment away from the afternoon heat! We ordered a pot of Salted Fish Chicken Rice, a pot of Drunken Chicken Rice, Deep Fried Bean curd, Green Spinach, Lotus Roots with Peanut soup and 3 glasses of Herbal Tea. The mui heong (mergui) salted fish is fresh and nice. Vincent told me that it is bought from their regular supplier in Kuantan and they would personally drive all the way there to select the mui heong salted fish. Nothing beats the nice aroma and flavour of salted fish mixed with perfectly cooked clay pot chicken rice. Restoran Gafan uses free range chicken to cook the chicken rice. The free range chicken meat is tender and quite lean. Free range chicken is a healthier choice than mass commercially farmed chicken in cages. We finished the first pot of Salted Fish Chicken Rice rather fast. The next dish was the Drunken Chicken Rice, Mrs. Tham’s favourite. The nice aroma of Chinese Cooking wine (Shou Sing Chiew) permeates the air when this dish arrives. The crunchy onions blends well with the wine and well marinated chicken. Thumbs up for this dish! I was told that the chicken rice is cooked using good quality non-stick claypot. It is easier to clean than conventional claypot. It is good know that I am eating out from a well cleaned claypot! The crispy fried tofu taste good with the homemade chilly sauce. The outer skin of the tofu is crispy but soft in the inside. It is made from blending a few ingredients and compressed before they are cut and deep fried. The double boiled Lotus roots with peanut soup have lots of natural sweetness in it. I noticed that there is a generous amount of chicken breast meat in it! The Green Spinach has a nice texture because only young leaves and shoots are used. The saltiness of this dish is just nice and I ate most of the vegetables! It tastes good with the crispy fried garlic garnish.

As we were eating our lunch we can hear the friendly and generous boss, Vincent asking his wife who was taking order from a table next to us to add more salted fish for a customer that just ordered his food. He seems to be able to remember what his regular customer preference is! Restoran Gafan signature dish is the Mutton Claypot Rice (RM10 for small claypot and RM19 for large) , Sausage Chicken Rice (RM8 for Small, RM14 for large), Salted Fish Chicken Rice (RM7 for small and RM13 for large) and Drunken Chicken Rice (RM9 for small and RM16 for large). I will be back here again soon to try out the Mutton Claypot Rice and Sausage Chicken Rice!

Prices : Small Chicken Rice Claypot, Range from RM7 to RM10 Large Chicken Rice Claypot, Range from RM13 to RM19 Small Plate Vegetable, Range from RM4 to RM6 Large Plate Vegetable, Range from RM6 to RM10 Soup, RM4 per serving

Address: No Longer in this Location (Restoran Gafan, PJ Branch No. 11 Jalan 20/13, Paramount Garden, 463, PJ, Selangor)

New Location : Taman Segar, Perdana Cheras (Near Quepec, beside Econsave) Tel : 017 6083228, 019 4358999 (Ms. Coco Chia, Mr.Vincent Leong) Business Hours: 11am to 3 pm, 5.30pm to 10 pm,

 Latitude 3° 6'22.07"N Longitude 101°37'30.98"E Map to Restoran Gafan, Paramount Garden, PJ

Coffee Shop Talk with my American Friend about Divorce-hit Terengganu wants to spice up sex life of newly-weds as reported in The Star – 2nd Nov 2009

As usual, I was having my morning breakfast and coffee with my American friend at Ah Lian Kopitiam (Coffee Shop) while reading the morning paper..........

John : Look at this Pete, the authorities in Terengganu is trying to reduce divorce rate in the state by improving sexual relationship of married couples.

Me : Ya John, they are blaming body odour, routine sex and boring pyjamas as the top reasons for the high divorce rate. One marriage even ended because the spouse smelled of fish cracker!

John : Amazing, they even suggested that couples bathe together and cosmetic companies to come up with perfume to enhance their sexual relationship.

Me : Ha ha ha.....

Then Ah Lian came by...

Me : Good morning Ah Lian, wah, you smell nice today, looks nice too. New perfume?

Ah Lian : Ya lor, the salesgirl at the perfume counter recommended me this new brand. I think it is called Enchiladas!

John : Why in a sudden you wear so nice, put on make up and use new perfume? Before Ah Lian could answer ...Ah Beng......said...

Ah Beng : You don’t know meh? Ah Lian is worried that her body ‘coffee smell’ will keep her partner up all night.....ha ha ha, breath in too much cafeine.....ha ha ha!

Ah Lian : Hey Ah Beng, you don’t insult me ah! Your wife complains to me you got Chicken Rice smell all over you! Sometime Chicken smells also....don’t know whether is from the ‘featherless chicken’ or not? Ha ha ha!

Ah Beng : Choi choi choi, I am clean lar!

Related Posts on Jokes about my American Friend1) Jokes – My American Friend got Chased Out from a Restaurant.2) Jokes – My American Friend in the Pub.3) Jokes – My American Eats Satay at Kajang.4)Jokes – A Lady Whacked My American Friend with an Umbrella.5)Jokes – My American Friend Watched Tiger Show in Pattaya, Thailand.6) http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2008/12/my-american-friend-went-out-for-date.html7) http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2009/06/my-american-friend-celebrates-chinese.html8) http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-american-friend-and-ah-lians-cash.html 9)http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-american-friend-and-datuks-indecent.html10)http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-american-friend-and-bob-bull.html11)http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-american-friend-and-food-fight-ah.html

Propeller Launcher Toy

I was going through my eldest son’s old toy box and found this propeller launcher toy. I remember, as a kid I used to enjoy playing with this toy. Some of you might call it ‘helicopter’. The launcher is a simple gadget using rubber bands as a recoil spring so that whenever you pull the monofilament string it will recoil back to its original position. My friends and I had hours of fun trying to see whose propeller can fly the highest at the field near my house. My little toddler seems amused by this little gadget. I ended up having to launch the propeller using the launcher many times for him because he cannot get it right! I guess this little wonderful and simple toy will not be popular anymore soon as many kids nowadays prefer to play computer games. What was your favourite toy?