MERRY CHRISTMAS

Yippee!!! I’m going away for a Long….. holiday. Just a little break away from normality. Gonna be back sometimes next year so don’t miss me k. Hahaha! Anyway, have a very Joyous Christmas and Happy Holiday. Don’t be naughty when I’m gone. Bon Voyage!

HOT CHOCOLATE

Make your own hot chocolate. That’s what you get when you ordered the signature hot chocolate at Café Chino at Hilton Kuching. What you get basically are a mug of piping hot fresh milk accompany by a glass full of chocolate stick, an extra small cup of fresh milk and a cookie. It is all presented nicely on a rectangular serving plate waiting for you to make your own little experiment.

your set of hot chocolate making toy

You just have to dip the chocolate stick into the hot milk and let it melts. Slowly, you’ll see the white coloured milk turn into dark chocolate. It’s nice that they do this since you can control how chocolaty you want your hot chocolate to be.

just swirl your chocolate round and round

If you wan it to be mild, just add a little more milk or more chocolate if you want it rich. You can even ignore every step and eat the chocolate stick it self and drink the milk. That’s another way of enjoying you hot chocolate.

DRIVE COURTEOUSLY

I found Kuchings’ drivers annoying, inconsiderate and lazy. Why I said what I just said was because everywhere we turn or drive, we bound to bump into those drivers that fall into the categories that I’ve just mentioned. Let’s face it, who among us didn’t encounter a driver who suddenly turned to the left or right without prior notice by giving the proper signaling. They acted as if there’s no other cars on the road and as if the drivers behind them can read their mind when they are going to turn. If you simply lazy or ignorance to use your signal light provided to you in your car, please do us a favour and take it out since you are not going to use it. Might even save you some money next time if you wish to purchase a new car. Then there’s this group of drivers who drives as if the car is so heavy that it only can reaches 40 km/hr on the fast lane. Do they know that the purpose of the fast lane which by the way is the lane to the left is for FAST cars? Please don’t hog the road as if you are the only one using the road. I think if I go on about all the inconsiderate stuff the drivers do, I’ll bored you guys to death. I just want to remind all of you out there, please drive courteously and safely. Be a responsible driver.

PIKOM PC FAIR 2006

PIKOM PC Fair is here again to rob us poor and naïve souls of our hard earned monies. No matter how much we tried to avoid going to the fair, we still fail to resists the urged to see what’s new and what’s on offer. I was one of them unfortunately. What to do? Can’t resist the temptation to see what’s on offer and what’s new out there. The fair was held at its usual place which is Level 5 Permata Carpark.

PIKOM PC Fair 2006

People came out in full force for this fair. Cars were parked everywhere near to the venue and this makes the whole place jammed up with traffic. Just to show everyone how intolerant people of Kuching are. We managed to find a nice parking space inside the multi storey carpark. From my point of view, I think the organizer should either change their venue next year or the management of the venue should look into their facilities there. There were only 2 working lifts there and the pace for the lift was even slower than walking up the stairs. We opt for the stairs instead as not to become part of the packed sardines in the lift. The event itself was a success looking at the crowds at the fair.

look at the crowd!

The whole area was like a warehouse for gadgets ranging from multimedia speakers to little pen drives. Not forgetting your usual desktop computers and note books. Even little accessories for your desktop and note books are on display and sold here such as note book pouches, arm rest, cooler etc etc.

BENQ, TOSHIBA, PenDrive, HP, acer

I was hesitating to blow a hole in my wallet but the temptation just gave in that night. I bought a nice set of speaker that looks like a house décor itself for only RM99.00 and also a Micro SD memory card at RM56.00 for 1Gb.

speaker that i bought

this is where i bought my memory card, CHEAP!

That’s a really good bargain considering the quality of the product that I got. Next time if the PC fair is here again, please lock me up.

DURIAN

long live the KING!

Does it make me less Malaysian if I don’t go crazy or eat Durian as what the whole nation is going ga…ga… about each time the King of Fruits make it appearances. I can’t remember when was the last time I even remotely touch or taste this exquisite fruit. All I can recall was how bad I vomited after I had my BIG share of the King long…long… time ago. I think it was from that experience I started to have a love and hate relationship with the King. Each time when people asked me do I like the King, I politely replied “I don fancy it but I don’t hate it.” I guess my reply somehow makes me less Malaysian. Well, let’s just say that I and the King have an understanding not to cross our path in life.

MR. HO's FINE FOODS

Mr. Ho's Fine Foods at ground floor Crown Square

Guess what just landed in this little place called Kuching? Mr. Ho’s Fine Foods! Yippee!!! At last we have a decent gourmet deli in our side of the town and we got to taste what’s the rave all about their famous roast PORK! They just opened an outlet here at Crown Square just opposite Hock Lee Centre. The whole Crown Square was just renovated to up grade their shopping mall and that is why you can see nice shops opening in there. Mr. Ho’s Fine Foods comprises of its famous deli and gourmet grocery shop. You can get imported and local cold cuts like sandwich ham, honey glazed ham, lamb rack, ribs, sausages and salamis.

fresh meat!

They are freshly flown from KL and customer gets to choose which part they like from the display counter. It’s just like those butcher shop you see at overseas. You can also get your craving for REAL sandwiches here from their deli. Imagining REAL ham and other condiments in between two slices of bread served to you fresh with a nice cup of hot tea or coffee. Other than that, you can get their famous roast pork and roast honey ham from their deli counter. Even though I don’t really fancy my meat with all the fat, I was surprise how delicious the roast pork is. The skin is crispy with a little fat in between the skin and the lean meat. The lady there told us it goes well with beer and I couldn’t agree more.

roast pork

Incidentally, they have a bar there which is going to be operational soon once they got the right staff to serve those thirsty beer guzzlers.

a nice place to unwind at the terrace

Coming back to its core business, you can also get imported jams, cheese, cookies, preserved fruits and even caviar.

well stocked grocery store

They also stock an impressive wine and beer selection in their well organized and spacious shop.

nice selection of wine

Next time when you happen to be in that area, drop by to Mr. Ho’s Fine Foods and you’ll be glad to do that. Now, I have to go make myself some sandwiches.

TANG REN

This is a follow up to my previous post “Zhi Wei”. After the hearty meal, we thought of what better way to finish off a meal than a nice dessert. I think GOD must have knew what we wanted and granted us our wish right there. We stepped out from Zhi Wei and were greeted with a new dessert shop just next door. How cliché! Tang Ren Dessert House is basically a traditional Chinese dessert shop selling hot and cold stuff.

Tang Ren dessert house

The interior looks basic with wooden tables and chairs, just like the shop next door. Pictures of their dessert decorated the red painted wall. Other than that, it was quite bare for a shop. I think what they want to convey here is that; don’t judge a book by its cover which meant their house special, DESSERT!

simple decor

Since we had our share of drinks next door, we skipped the herbal drinks section and go straight to the dessert section. We ordered mango pudding, lychee pudding with soy milk, sweet glutinous rice ball in soy milk and black glutinous rice with coconut milk.

hmm.... what to have??

The pudding was the cold dessert while the later two was hot stuff. The pudding was a refreshing dessert that is smooth and sweet with the fresh fruits juices. The sweet glutinous rice ball was stuff with peanut sauce, black sesame sauce or red bean paste and cooked in soy milk. A nice warm dessert that is not so sweet to makes you want a second helping. The black glutinous rice in coconut milk is a rich dessert that is fragrant with the smell of the coconut milk.

black glutinous rice, lychee pudding, glutinous rice ball, mango pudding

Other than what we ordered, they also have toast and Nyonya delicacies. The prices are very reasonable from RM1.80 for herbal drinks to RM3.00 for the hot or cold desserts. The Chinese believes that certain desserts can reduce the body heat on a hot day and keep the body warm on a cold night. They also believe that some desserts have medication benefits to our body. Let’s enjoy our dessert and have no guilt next time.

ZHI WEI

Ever tried Hakka food before? For me, I think all the different Chinese community delicacies are the same. Hehehe! I meant they have the same style of cooking and almost identical taste. Maybe it’s just me or my ignorance taste bud. Well, I went to this Hakka restaurant located at Ang Cheng Ho road opposite Grand Continental Hotel.

non pretentious place

It’s just a simple restaurant without all the fancy Chinese restaurant décor normally we saw. It looks more like an ordinary café than a restaurant. Wooden chairs and tables were well placed in the restaurant to give comfort to dinners who dine there.

simple and nice

From the crowd in the restaurant, I presume the food must be good. Ordering food from the menu was made easier with the help of photos of each food item displayed nicely in their huge menu.

easy to read menu

The price was reasonable ranging from RM3.00 for a simple noodle to RM15.00 for prawns and other sea food. The food was mainly home style cooking that makes you feel eating mama’s cooking at home. We ordered stir fried vegetables, Chinese style pork chop, ‘Fu Yong’ egg and Japanese tofu in hot sauce. I wouldn’t say the food was fantastic but it was just nice to makes you feel at home.

"Fu Yong" egg, Japanese tofu in hot sauce, Chinese style pork chop, stir fried vegetables

goes well with rice, the soup is on the house

freashing drink after a hearty meal

The whole meal was made even more fulfilling with the company around. So next time if you want some home cook meal with reasonable pricing, Zhi Wei is the place to go to satisfy your hunger for mama’s cooking.

the mess we made after the meal

WORLD AIDS DAY

Let us all remember today those who suffered and died from Aids throughout the world. Let's not neglect or afraid of those who suffered from Aids. They need our care and sympathy. Remember that it's never too late to be safe than sorry.