Belated Treat at Eden

Went to Eden Subang Parade again last nite for me belated treat. Coincidently they're having a promotion on their steaks. Monday, all steaks going at 50% discount. My cute auntie and my cute cousin (gosh, i'm forced to mention 'cute' again!!!) treated us to a dinner treat. Remember the cuzin who is a 'die-hard' MU fan?? Well, i was forced to mentioned it again....hehehe.

Cute cuzin had a well-done Sirloin Steak, cute anty had medium well Blackpepper Tenderloin and huby had Rib-Eye Steak (what a bunch of carnivors!!). While yours truly (not being a red-meat eater) opt for Grill Cod Fish. My cute anty and cute cuzin ordered extra side-dish - 'french-fries' cos we're all so bloddy hungry. We didn't wanna order any soup cos we decided that its gonna make us not enjoy the main dish more.

My cod fish comes with salad, blanched spinach, 2 types of sos , corn in a cob & mashed potatoes. The fish is so succelent and i don't have to eat it with the sos cos its just tasty on its own. The carnivors enjoyed their steaks nevertheless.

We're too full to go for desserts. We end up having coffee at Tokmak's house with some kuih raya and roti boy. I received lovely gifts from my anty and my 2 cuzins. Thank you very much, i liked all the gifts very much.

I will be out of the blogging scene for a week. Goin for road-trip up north. Hope to be back with more.

Food

Food, who doesn't love food??

We had glorious food during our teambuilding in Genting the other day. Since all hotels in Genting are fully booked hence we've got to stay in Awana. Breakfast at Awana was so-so, it gets bland on your 3rd day stay. For dinner, we had to take a shuttle to go to the skyway every nite. Some of the girls are really shrieking all the way when they got into the cable car. For me, its just so-so cos i'm used to cable cars.

Before we left for Kemensah, we had breakfast in the office pantry. JJ were so nice to get her mom cooked for us home-made tosai with coconut chutney and sambal ikan-bilis....sedap!! There were also some bakery bread from LL.

1st nite, we went to Ming Ren. We ordered the normal chinese dishes and also a request for Sharks Fin from IE. All of us had a bowl each. When the bill comes, its RM1,700!!! Surprise...surprise... that means each of our sharks fin costs rm120.00!!. Lucky thing the sharks fin is delicious with pieces of scallop and prawns and the fins are just so generous. I've never tasted the soup before, its something different from the normal sharks fin that usually you eat in restaurants. Other dishes includes my fave, steam cod-fish.

On the 2nd nite, we went to Genting Palace for another round of chinese, this time we ordered more but it cost less then the 1st day meal. We had steam-cod fish again, prawns, vege, soup, etc.

3rd day, before we all checked-out, we went for Genting indoor and outdoor parks. Later we had lunch in one of the noodle house restaurants. All of us had noodles and ah boss ordered extra dishes. Here are some photos about food...food....and more food.

Boston Grill + Fish & Co.

Boston Grill is an American Family restaurant that huby came across when he was having his field work in Cheras. He was looking at the menus the other day and said that he had to bring me to the place one day.

This afternoon, he took me to Tesco Extra Cheras, (used to be Makro). The restarant has a simple deco and the food price is so reasonable. The menus are limited at the moment. Altho they have a selection of steaks and burgers, their price is still a steal. They only have 2 types of soup (asparagus and mushroom). Their starter for onion ring cost only RM 5.00!! The deep fried mushrooms is only RM9.90. The place is still relatively new, they're just one month old, so there weren't many people during lunch time just now.

We 'sempat' lagi interview the staff. She said the place c0-own by a Malaysian (malay) but they also have a Singaporean partner. Its totally halal. The chef and most of the staff are malays. Go tryout when you are around Cheras area.

Huby had seafood platter while i had fish n chips (very typical of me!). I can tell you the battered fish is simply wonderful, not the normal kinda of breaded batter, this one is better!! Crispy and the fry is just perfect (not to hard and not too soft) it makes the fish succulent and juicy...i tell you!!. Huby's crispy squid and prawns were just right too, its fresh and the batter is crispy tasty. The tar-tar sauce is just so generous and their coleslaw is one of the best that we've tasted before!! The drinks are so cheap, a big tall glass of ice-lemon tea or any soft drinks cost only RM2.50 per glass!! In KL nowadays?? I don't think so. Even a bottle of Esprit fruit drink cost RM5.90.....izzit true?? Yes, only in Boston Grill.

We're planning to bring my parents there for my dad's birthday in November, insyallah. We're gonna try some other dishes pulak.

Last week, went to Fish & Co. at One Utama. Went there for my very belated birthday treat. I've been trying to get huby go to the place, so its his first time. He still prefers his Long John Silver fish but he enjoyed the food nevertheless. Monday, i'm getting another belated birthday treat from my anty and cuzin at Eden.....western food lagi...

The Ultimate Bourne

During raya, huby and me quickly took a small chance we had to watch a movie. The not to be missed The Ultimate Bourne, the 3rd Bourne installment. Its first being The Bourne Identity and second is The Bourne Supremacy.

The movie is led by of course the return of Matt Damon in a role that he is perfect for.

This film is nothing short of a thrill ride. The starting pacing is just fantastic and we are taken to many different countries. Just when we think that we have the answers we were given another page to turn to get deeper into the conspiracy. Jason Bourne is again fantastic. His action make up for more than his words could ever say. We were especially impressed with the rooftop chase sequence. And the motorbike chase through the streets of Tangier, Morocco, is relentless and riveting.

At the end of the movie, you have to wonder if there will be a 4th film in the series. I, for one, could only hope that there is. This movie is the Ultimate movie this month. I highly recommend it, and give it my highest rating of the month thus far.

Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument

The continuation of our BHPT is, we have to do the theory part. This time the company engagaed an external party. We had the theory from 23rd-24th Oct 07. Two full days. Since our department were relatively small, we had more fun! Its a learning process and now the team are more aware of each other's profile. We were even given the whole company's profile. This is so that we will know how to address or handle problem or conflict better. Helen Langhammer is our facilitator. She's from Scotland, married a Malaysian and has been staying in Malaysia for 6 years. She's done this theory with other dept, eg. finance, medical, hr, etc. She's so much fun and her training was really good, we understand the different prespectives and team diversity terms.

The Herrmann Brain Dominance instrument (HBDI) measures an individual's preferred thinking style and can be used to explore its impact on how they perceive the world, how they act and behave and the type of work they like to do.

The HBDI measures our preferences in terms of (a) how left of right brained we are (b) how cerebral or limbic we are. There are 4 shapes of colour that's divided = Blue, Green, Red and Yellow to identify a person's profile.

Blue = Focused on Task, Goals and Objectives. Driven to achieve. Keen business sense and awareness of cost and benefits. Logical, analytical and rational approach to problem solving. Fact-based decision making.

Green = Focused on how the task should be done. Able to identify the necessary steps in order to accomplish the objective. Keen eye for detail. Methodical, step-by-step approach to problem solving. Decisions made on past experience.

Red = Focused on developing the teams' spirit. Collaborate, co-operative approach to a task. Highly attuned to own and other's style, able to adapt communication to suit. Consensus approach to problem solving. Decision making based on 'gut-feel'.

Yellow = Focuses on generating new solutions and ideas. Big picture approach. Able to 'synthesize' and bring different concept together to create something new. Entrepreneurial and able to take risks. Creative and intuitive approach to problem solving. Looks towards the future in making decisions.

For those who understand HBDI terms, i'm pleased to announce that our department has a balance of both blue, green and red. Ah boss and MO is more blue cos they have eye for detail. Whereas ME, SH and me, we have a lot of red so we tend to inject fun in workplace....that's how we distress. I think our boss is so lucky to have us cos we have a mixed of blue, green and red. Hmm...dat means we have to work on our yellow. We have to work on our creativity.

After a few case study, we know that our department hardly have conflict. We work well with each other. We complement each other's attitude. We have to have a tough skin cos our job required us to deal with people and so we have to have the right attitude and more organised.

(i took below terms from the HBDI website)

Whole Brain Technology
Whole brain technology provides a powerful model for
understanding yourself and others
taking the emotional charge out of differences
communicating more effectively
making solid decisions
increasing team capacity and company success
When used as an operating philosophy Whole Brain Thinking can transform a person or a company. It is much more than a simple assessment.
The place to start is with the HBDI (Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument).
One's thinking style profile is derived from first answering a 120 question survey. The questions relate to one's thinking style preferences and are distributed over the four quadrants. Scores for each quadrant are plotted on diagonal lines that intersect at a zero point in the middle. A high score plotted in a quadrant indicates a high preference for the thinking style of that quadrant.

White Water Tube Water Rafting

Yeah, we did rubber tube rafting expedition!!

18th Oct 07, a 12 seater coach picks us up from Awana and off we went to Janda Baik. It was a short trip. Weather was excellent! It was a fun and splashing good time. I'm a water person, so i definately lurve this sports or anyting to do with water, except diving....i'm scared of deep-sea diving, so that's a no-no.

A drive to Janda Baik was a short one. Once we reached the spot, we were been briefed by the guide, Brian. He has 2 other assistants. We were all equipped with helmet, tube, life-jacket and a paddle. Once we put on our gear, we're set up for first 2-by-2 training. Ah boss and his boss went first. Then MO and me, later the other girls.

There were many rapids that you have to go thru....the amazing thing is the tube will just take you thru the strong river current. It was an hour journey thru the rapid water where you have to handle the paddle and your tube. This is my second attempt. Last 2 years, we all had raft water rafting at the Kiulu River, Kota Kinabalu. Its a different kind of fun altogether. When you're doing tubing, you're totally on your own. Your friends will either be in front of your or behind you. All of us starts tagging in a diffrent order and we end up in diffrent order too. I just wish we had the time to swim in the river. We're not allowed as the current was too strong for us to do it.

My fren said, 'di saat-saat genting pun i masih lagi sempat 'posing' thumbs-up for the camera...hehehe...

My first feeling was.....ee scary jugak...but once you get the hang of it....hey i wanna do it again man!! The water was cool. Total FUN FUN FUN...SPLASHING FUN!

This above pic was taken after everybody came upshore. All wet, tired but happy!!

ATV (All Terrain Vehicle)

Every year, each department in the company have to have their own BHPT (Building High Performance Team). It is compulsory as the objective is to build bonding among peers and subordinate. Every department were given a same amount of budget, it is up to us to get concensus and think what we wanna do. Since our department is quite small and most of us are quite adventerous we opt to do something different then last year. Last year we all did a 7-rope course and flying fox in Swiss Garden Lumut.

This year, our department decided to do 2 challenging activities but we also do not want to travel far. I have to cut short my raya celebration to join the wagon.

Yes, we decided to try our hands on quad bike or ATV (All Terrain Vehicle). It is a machine with four wheels that can be used on all sorts of terrains. It’s something of a 4WD vehicle but as a bike. We found about the ATV through the internet and decided to give it a try.

On the 17th Oct 07, ME, LL, SH, JJ, MO, IE and myself (7 girls) and AW (our boss) hopped into a 12 seater coach. Took a leisurely drive to Kg Kemensah, Ulu Kelang. You must take the road that turns into Zoo Negara and drive straight on until you see yellow signs on the trees that say “ATV for rental. As your drive along the narrow road, you will notice arrows to Kemensah Chalets & Waterfalls. It is about 3km from the Zoo Negara junction. Along the way you will passed by green nature and river view.

We were greeted by owner Mas Faizil Khan and his cute assistant Pete.

All of us were first-timers. Our sessions began with a full briefing on the various functions of the ATV, like how to change the manual gears, how to use the brakes and reverse gear. Mas also briefed us on the safety procedures of riding an ATV and stressed that no matter what, we should not put our feet down and always use the brakes or handbrakes. Since they only have 1 automatic ATV, me, being very bad at manuals, get to ride on auto. Thanks to the rest who willingly took the manual ATV, thanks guys!! No doubt using auto is so easy, all you have to do is press on the throttle. While the rest have to use certain gears. All of us get to ride one each except IE, she is a volunteered pillion rider and she get to ride with our boss...hehehe.. Our boss get to ride a 2 seater red colour ATV, how cool is that!! But i can tell you, its not easy cos the machine is quite heavy.

After the briefing session, Mas told us to hop on and go around a huge rock several times. When he felt we were ready, he directed us to the training track behind the camp – basically a small route with obstacles. We had to learn how to manoeuvre our bikes around sharp corners, go uphill and downhill, negotiate a rocky path and muddy waters. Mas also mentioned that safety is important to them.

Luckily all of us passed the test and assembled to start the journey into the jungle. But i can tell you i'm nervous as hell man!! I've never done terrain before. Maybe when Mas saw my tense, he asked me to go first, hehehe.. We all have to tail his bike. Ah boss was last.

Mas led the pack while his assistant brought up the rear to ensure that no one got into difficulty.
As we approached a really steep hill – our first obstacle – Mas instructed us to use the first gear and reminded us not to put our foot down. We managed to climb the hill but not without first getting stuck in a few rocky places. No worries, though, as Mas and his assistant were always on hand to help us. Hats off to our boss too cos he was the only guy in our group who helped out the rest of us who 'terkandas' along the way. He also helped in riding the bike up hill when some of us could not ride it up. Thank you ah boss.

Unfortunately, while i went up the first hill, i think my bike lost power (or maybe i didn't full throttle) and it sort of slide down. I can tell you, the rest of my life flashes over me!! For awhile i thot i'm gonna topple, alhamdulilah, i didn't. As i was going up, my right thumb got stung by horde of thornes, hence i cannot full throttle for power. I panicked but managed to brake. I couldn't do it and went down from the bike. So Pete had to bring the bike up hill for me. I hurt my right thumb as it bled. You need to use your thumb to press the throttle and i can tell you, you better have a strong thumb!

The rest of the ride was really enjoyable as we learned how to control the bike through rough terrain and sharp corners. It was quite tiring at first as the steering was slightly heavy but we soon got used to it and breezed through the jungle. Your muscle become cramp but your objective is to reach the waterfall.

Mas was very knowledgeable and explained to us what happens if leeches get to our skin. He said do not panicked, instead get him to pick up the leeches and he will dispose it. And yes, altho there were sun on that day, leeches were so attracted to people like SH, LL, IE, AW and me!! And there were screams!!

It was supposed to be a 40 minutes of challenging jungle tracks, but we all were way behind time. As i mentioned earlier, we were all first timers, furtheremore, majority of us are girls, so you know what i mean. We had few stops as some of us are still not used to start the engine, few stop to take pics, etc. Instead of 40 mins, it became 2-3 hours!!

We reached to a stop but before that we have to turn back our ATV because we will use the same trail to go back. After the stop, we had to do a bit of jungle trekking, about 10 minutes to Khamisah Waterfalls, a beautiful seven-tier waterfall that was relatively free of rubbish since its a forest reserve. Mas told us that the water is safe to drink. I know i did!! And it taste like spring water!! We had our sandwhich while enjoying the pollution free environment.

Did I mentioned that i was a pillion rider when i hurt my thumb? Yeah, Pete had to ride and i get to enjoy the jungle-view more as i had a driver, hehehe. The ride back was equally enjoyable. Once we reached the 'tar' road, Pete became my pillion rider. Since its a short ride to the base, i ride the bike with my 'injured' thumb!!

Everyone of us enjoyed the adventure. Hmm...I will definitely do this again.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

Wishing muslims all over Malaysia a Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Maaf Zahir & Batin.

I will be celebrating Hari Raya this year with my inlaws. Insyallah, i will be leaving for Seremban on the eve nite of raya. I will break-fast with my family before i leave for Seremban. I will be back to KL on the 3rd raya. Insyallah, i will be spending 3rd and 4th raya visiting relatives on my side.

Usually, the norm, i will bake at least 2 types of cakes and send to my parents place (chocolate cake with chocolate topping and plain butter cake). I've already bought for my mom 3 types of raya cookies. And then its my contribution to cook nasi impit and kuah kacang for my mom. This year my brother and his wife will be at my parents house to help around. I'm bringing the famous Kelana Jaya Bahulu for my inlaws and bake a 'date' cake.

On the 5th of raya, i will be heading to Awana Genting for our 3D/2N stay, SOD deparment off-site teambuilding. We will be doing ATV activites and tube water rafting (hope to be able to capture those moments to blog). I will be back to the office on the 22nd of October 2007. This blogger will be taking 'off' blogging for awhile.

For those who will be driving to their home town or anywhere on the highways, have a safe journey and safe drive. Enjoy ketupat, rendang and the many types of raya cookies and cakes. Happy visiting!!

Selamat Hari Raya, salah dan silap harap di ampun.

Wasalam.

Team Dinner at the Cinnamon

Last nite, our boss invited us for Ramadhan break fast at Cinnamon, One World Hotel. The girls left office exactly after 5pm. However, we were all stucked in a massive jam for one whole hour. By the time we reached One Utama, we were tired and decided to go straight to the hotel and chat.

The place was fully packed. We were seated outside, which were very romantic and cooling. My boss's boss were quite happy with the place and the food and of course the company, hehehe. He said with the amount of price he's paying, the arrays of food, were just endless. Yay, we get his thumb's up!!

I only went for their Japanese and Chinese. Basically i had dimsum, sashimi, lok-lok, some chinese dishes, schezuan soup + bread, fruits and the marshmellow and strawberry dipped in the sinful chocolate fountain (buat rugi jer bayar mahal tapi makan sikit :) I didn't even go for their ice-cream or their ABC or their many types of fruit juice and desserts. Our big boss n "M" had their fave oyster, mussels, salmon (which she said very fresh) and salad. Ah Boss ate briyani, pasta, soup and some japanese. While the others had a little bit of this and that.

Probably with the SOD's laughing and making jokes, we were already too full (makan angin) kot...hehehe.

We all left around 9:45pm. Most of us had our tummy full (yeah, full of water and laughter!!)