Restoran A. Hassan Ayam Kampung

Di kawasan komersil baru Seksyen 7 Bandar Baru Bangi, ada restoran Hassan Ayam Kampung yang memang femes dengan ayam kampungnya, sejak dari outlet di Puchong dan Hentian Awan Besar tu. Cawangan kat Seksyen 7 ni besar, luas dan selesa sebab 2 tingkat dan berkonsepkan rumah kampung. Lauk-pauk dia pun diservekan di kedua-dua tingkat, so senanglah, tak payah turun naik kalau nak tengok lauk.

Lauk-pauk kat sini pun memang banyak pilihan lah - dari ayam, daging, ikan, sayur, kerabu - semuanya masakan tradisi kampung. Rasa pun boleh tahan, sedap dan berselera. Memang menjadi tumpuan lunch crowd dari pejabat-pejabat berdekatan.

Kalau berpeluang, singgah la kat sini, pilih tingkat atas so tak sesak sangat, kalau pegi masa weekdays. Cubalah rasa ayam kampung goreng yang memang specialty outlet ni. Juga rasalah lauk-lauk masakan kampung, tak rugi, at least boleh tahan la.

Info: Restoran ini dirasmikan oleh Tuan Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat, ada gambar dia kat dinding restoran. Selamber je Tok Guru datang tak ghoyak kan, kalau tak boleh la pegi jumpa dia, amik gambar..


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He he he
Saje nak tunjuk bukti kukuh
Bahawasanya
Tok Guru Nik Aziz
telah merasmikan kedai ini...

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Mali's Corner

Outlet: Mali's Corner

Where: Platinum Walk, Setapak

What: Char Kuey Teow, hawker food in a trendy place

Mali's Char Kuey Teow is so popular among KL-ites that its reputation is legendary, and can rank itself in the same hawker-fare bracket as Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa, Hokkien fried noodle, and others of its genre, as one of KL's must-try food. An appearance in Astro Prima's Warung Kita programme brought our attention to this particular warung (featured was Mali's original location in Wangsa Maju). However, Mali's has moved into the upmarket with an outlet at the Platinum Walk in Setapak.

The outlet is simple, nice and ordinary - so it fits the hawker food that it serves. Practicing the self-service concept, walk up to the counter and order. But you can have only char kuey teow, nasi lemak and nasi ayam hainan (up to 4 p.m.) here.

Pic 1 and 2: The service counters.

So go for the big one - order Char Kuey Teow Special - special because it is served with shrimps. And the shrimps are a lot - we counted nine succulent, big ones in the dish. As for the taste, it was just so mesmerising, every spoonful was majestic it simply melted in our mouth. You just want to have more.

Pic 3 and 4: Savour the succulent Char Kuey Teow Special. And empty your plate. See how many shrimps are served.

We also tried the nasi lemak - erm, well, it tasted like any average nasi lemak.

Verdict:

Staff: Friendly enough, but I do have a minor grouse - its self-service concept. When you serve hawker fare and only have three dishes on the menu, perhaps self-service is not the way to do it.

Decor: Simple but comfortable enough. But the open kitchen was a nice addition, so you can drool while they fry your order of char kuey teow.

Pic above: More dining space at the upper level of the outlet.

Food: Aiseh, no need to repeat myself here. Mali's deserves a spot in the Travel Channel as one of KL's international-class hawker food. Bourdain, try this one out.

Coming back: Definitely absolutely. KL's finest.

I'm Going to the Gatsby Deodorant Street Fair

Gatsby, the really popular and renown maker of quality beauty and hair care products for men, will be throwing a street-themed bash for its Malaysian consumers next month. Billed as the Gatsby Deodorant Street Fair, it will take place on the 17th of April 2010 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Front Foyer, Ground Floor of the Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur.

First established in 1976 by the Japanese company Mandom (of which Mandom has a far older history when it was still known as the Tancho Stick), the Gatsby brand shot to prominence with the release of "Moving Rubber", a series of exceptionally cool hair styling products. At the Street Fair, Gatsby will launch its latest product, the Double Protection Deodorant, which will be available in both roll-on and spray can variants. Knowing Gatsby as a stylish and exciting brand, the Street Fair is ought to be an enjoyable affair, with a lucky draw being the highlight of the day. Various exciting gadgets worth up to RM15,000 will be up for grabs.

And of course, being a Japanese-based company, the Street Fair will also have a lot of fun and amusing games on offer. Among them is the Sumo Wrestling in air-bag suits, gladiator battles, and many more. You can be sure that the games will be funny, addictive and not really be about winning.

So mark your calendar for the Gatsby Deodorant Street Fair, and here are the details again:

Date: 17 April 2010

Time: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Location: Front Foyer, Ground Floor, Berjaya Times Square, KL

And do drop by this link for more info on the event. See you guys there!

Village View

Place: Village View, Jalan Reko, Bangi

Ambience and setting: Kampung-style, rustic Malay setting. Huge and spacious, but poorly-lit. For large family outing, choose the rumah kampung seating - a mock pondok with hollow space underneath the table so you can bersila or stretch your legs.

Food: Seafood, Malay and Thai cooking, Western

Review: We came in an entourage of fourteen, so the pondok was very suitable. At least the kids will not disturb other patrons. We find the Jalan Reko branch was very much bigger than the one at Selaman, and the waiters were a lot more efficient too. The service was okay, tak cepat sangat tapi tak la lambat sangat.

Food: Kitaorang rasa specialty sini ialah Ayam Boxing, Ayam Pandan (tak berapa sedap) dan mungkin Tomyam Poktek (serabut sangat). Tapi untuk malam itu, sebab Along dan Kak Fatin yang belanja, so kami tunggu makanan sampai je la, which was Siakap 3 Rasa (ikan garing, kuah ok), telur bungkus (pedas), Tomyam Campur (ok) dan Kailan Ikan Masin (tak nampak ikan masin). Overall, boleh la.

Verdict: Restoran konsep ni memang banyak kat Bangi - especially kat area Selaman (tapi jangan pegi Yankie's Hut tau) - dan kedua-dua cawangan Village View ini memang antara yang terbaik, choose the one at Jalan Reko if you want the ambience. Highly recommended.

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Why I Want The BlackBerry Storm 2

It was a dark and stormy night. This was my first stint deep in the jungle of a hostile country, as part of a reconnaissance mission. I was parachuted off a SOAR helicopter two days ago, and landed about twenty kilometres away from the missile silo. A fast, hard march ensured I arrived at the silo’s perimeters just after dark. I chose my lying-up position and camouflaged myself. My order was to observe and capture images, never to engage. I still had two hours before the first light of dawn emerged and so I caught a nap.

Awaking after about two hours later, I was startled by the sound of a convoy of army trucks arriving at the silo. I took out my smartphone and by the slightest touch of its screen, brought up its camera function. The 3.2 megapixels camera had autofocus function, so I did not have to worry about blurred images. I captured the images of the convoy unloading crates and crates of cargo. Satisfied with the images, I prepared it to be sent. A few more nimble touches of the screen, and the pictures were sent via email. It was technology at its best.

After that, I observed more activities at the silo and I took pictures of them all. Storage wasn’t a problem, as the smartphone had a 2 GB flash memory built inside its stylish yet rugged exterior. Everytime I sensed a picture was significant, I immediately sent it straight to intel. And never once the smartphone let me down.

When the day had turned into darkness, it was time for me to go. The darkness masked any moonlight and blanked out the stars, and I did not want to struggle to navigate my way out of here. I took out my now trusty smartphone, and started its GPS mode. The device kicked into gear and found the three satellites which are needed to triangulate my position. Within minutes, I had it. The rendezvous point was due North-West, and about thirteen kilometers away, so it was hard running all the way to make it on time for exfiltration.

The helicopter was there, and swiflty I was out of the jungle. I made a call to headquarters. The voice on the other was remarkably clear and crisp, this was one good phone. I confirmed: mission accomplished, now enroute for de-brief. I looked down on the jungle and thought about my short but important mission – I came in invisible but stormed like the whirlwind – the smartphone was a reliable partner.

And the smartphone’s name was apt too. It was called the BlackBerry Storm 2.

Celcom, which has recently become the no. 1 telco provider in Malaysia, is the most perfect home for the BlackBerry. Both brands are premium, innovative, timeless, dynamic and appeals to a wide range of users. Young and old, techie or not – all of them will appreciate BlackBerry’s top of the range technology with Celcom’s leading edge expertise. Celcom’s prepaid package, the simply-named but very catchy X, is very tantamount to the crucial teenagers and young adults market. Got X, got it all; seems to be the catchphrase of the cyber generation. Celcom’s BlackBerry X packages augur well for this age bracket – affordable but still maximizing the most that the BlackBerry could offer – messaging, calls, email, surfing, and lots more.

Celcom have grown rapidly in the last five years, and it looks like that they are going to stay at the summit for a long, long time.

Tooth Fairy

Tooth Fairy (PG-13)

Look, The Rock seldom chooses a bad script, but sometimes he stumbled upon an average one. Like this movie, for instance, which was pretty average - but The Rock puts in his charming persona (and his famous wink) to pull this movie above average. Not entirely funny, but enjoyable, the Tooth Fairy is a feel-good movie suitable for the whole family. It's about going for your dreams as shown by The Rock's character as an ice hockey player who quite never make it, and paralleled by his girlfriend's son's ambition to become a guitar player.

Tooth Fairy casts The Rock as a once-promising hockey player Derek Thompson, who has been stuck in minor-league obscurity for years. Nicknamed "The Tooth Fairy" for his signature move which is a brutal whack that always costs his opponent a tooth, Derek spends more time in the penalty box than on the ice. Having given up on his dream of stardom long ago, he feels little guilt about shattering the hopes of others, even his girlfriend's young daughter who still believes in tiny fairies that steal into children's rooms in the middle of the night exchanging lost teeth for dollar bills.

Derek is charged with "disseminating disbelief" and promptly summoned to tooth fairy headquarters, where he's outfitted with wings and a uniform and ordered to spend two weeks collecting kiddie teeth. This movie is quite predictable but some of the jokes are good enough and The Rock will keep you entertained with his lovable screen persona.

Most memorable moments:

1. Billy Crystal's cameo, as Jerry, the fairyland's inventory keeper. Short, but extremely hilarious appearance from the veteran.
2. The Rock and his case worker, Tracy trading jokes about 'wings'.
3. The scene before The Rock and Tracy says goodbye - "Maybe we can stay in touch," - "Yeah, we can email or something," - "Wait, do you blog? Do you have a blog? I'd love to read your blog!" - "Oh, oh, yeah - we can Facebook too!"

This is a good movie for the whole family, and deserves a shot simply because of The Rock's performance. Mummy gives Tooth Fairy a 3.8 rating.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

Outlet: Bubba Gump Shrimp

Where: Sunway Pyramid

What: American diner based on the fictional Bubba Shrimpin’ business in the Forrest Gump movie.

Perhaps you’ve all been to this outlet by now, and for us, this is our third time to Bubba’s, but our maiden visit to this Sunway Pyramid branch. Before that, let me tell you what I personally like about Bubba’s. First, it’s an all-American diner, so the staff are friendly and the food portion’s huge. But secondly, and most importantly, they do not serve pork or alcoholic sauce/drink/seasoning in their dishes. In the US, they do serve pork chops or use wine sauce and whatnots, but they make an effort to subsitute it over here in Malaysia. Commendable, because some American franchise, like TGI Friday’s, never do it – they still use Jack Daniels in their steak – although you can ask for it to be subsituted, but that’s not the point. You’re in Malaysia lah, TGI Friday’s, not Miami.

So top marks for Bubba’s, and even higher marks for their food. Always, always, always, order shrimp when you’re here, do not order something like rice or chicken in Bubba’s. Go for the shrimps, and there is a lot of variety to choose from. As the portion is huge, my wife and I shared the Bourbon Street Boromundi – shrimp in sauce, grilled boromuni fish, mashed potatoes and garnished with nachos. Awesome! The shrimps bathed in the sauce, and dripped when you chew. Fresh and juicy, the flavour of the dish simply fills your mouth and mesmerises your senses.

As for our drinks, Mummy ordered the Jenny’s favourite – a concoction of raspberry, vanilla and strawberry, and it was heavenly smooth and cool. A must-try, it will complement any food absolutely. I had the Speckled Lemonade, a tad sour but it was okay.

We also had a side order of fries for the kids, and the fries were served the real American way, meaning it was big, tasty and full. For a change, I recommend you to have the fries with malt vinegar, maybe you’ll like it!

Verdict:

Staff: How’s-it-goin’ and how-ya-doin’ are what they’ll greet you in Bubba’s, so that means they’re friendly and efficient.

Décor: The walls are adorned with memorabilla from Forrest Gump, and some American vehicle number plates. And of course, a lot of décor from where Forrest Gump came from, Alabama.

Food: Shrimps. Order shrimps. Any kind of. End of story.

Coming back?: You betcha.