Saturday 10 December 2016

KL Jaunt with the Boys

Had a wonderful time attending and Landscaping Maintenance Course in KL recently.

The tutors fro FRIM were all a wacky bunch regaling us with their tales. It was quite easy to see they had so much love for their craft.






The mixing and mashing of ideas of the various participants from all levels and offices in Malaysia. Hope to be able to do this again in the future.

Tuesday 29 November 2016

Bubbling resentment

I am beginning to feel signs of resentment slowly building up again.

Like somehow what I offer, do and give is still not enough.

Trying to grow even more and learn out of this experience, but beginning to feel a bit worse for wear now.

Many weeks of giving and giving I am realising that this may be a one party transaction.

Time to cast the net again perhaps.

Monday 12 September 2016

Dins @ Manhattan Seafood, Cenang Mall

Heya blog, been a while since I last updated with a new eatery to feature. We kind of got into a circuit of revisiting our favourite restaurants. As a result, trying new places we did not.

Mid Ramadhan (yes, months ago!), a new eatery opened in Cenang Mall, replacing my fave Japanese places (sob sob). Manhattan Seafood Market swung open its doors to all.

I generally do not visit a new restaurant, as I believe all new eateries will have teething problems with food quality or service. And so only fairly recently gave it a try.

The menu is similar to the one offered at any other of the same name as it is a franchise. So I wasnt expecting to be wowed by new stuff.

However, the quality here is noticeably better. The seafood tasted fresher, richer and more carefully cooked. I dont think it is because of the local seafood supply. Chain restaurants often used a centralise recipe and supplier to ensure consistency in food quality.

I would hazard that this outlet has good customer turnover so that their food stocks get a good replenishment cycling.

Anyways, Mom and I decided we were going to sample a many dishes as we could finish for this dinner and ordered a few things. Our 2 waiters (and 1 host) were knowledgeable and gave us insights to how big portions were.

First up to start were their Spicy Oyster Shooters. These were fresh and despite not having particularly large oysters per shot, they gave 2 per shooter and topped with a delightfuly sharp, tangy and spicy sambal salsa.
One would think the chilli hit would kill the delicate flavour of oysters but to me it prolonged the richness and metallic tang of the molluscs.



Then our Onion fritters arrived. Essentially sweet onions dipped in batter and fried to crisp golden scoopers. Pair this with their mayo/buttermilk side dip and it was heaven.



Midway our other starter arrived.

Tiny crisp whitebait atop fresh coleslaw. This dish I felt was good, but the portion size was on the small side.

Finally our main courses arrived. Mom's seafood in a pan thing came and my Seafood Curry a few moments later.



These were as expected, very comfortable portions great for filling up the belly. The flavours were punchy, spices full and fragrant and the seafood was cooked nicely. Fish can be a bitch to cook perfectly but these were done well. My slipper lobster too retained its size despite the slow simmering pot a curry dish would demand. I lapped up every single morsel and spoonful of the gravy. Imagine the sourish Indian/Mamak style curry, now imagine dipping toasted slivers of baguette in it and pushing that crunchy yet soaked piece of bread in you mouth. Uhhuh. Yup. Thats what I am talking about.

MFM is definitely not our kind of everyday food place, but for about Rm130 for all the food and 2 drinks (refillable) we can certainly see ourselves coming here for meals.

Thursday 14 July 2016

Post Raya Feels

So, 1st of Syawal, Aidil Fitri came recently and life now resumes after a very short break with family.

My sister, brother and sis-in-law and their boys came over to spend some time in Langkawi.


Cant believe how big the boys are now. With such distinct characters too. Amazing.

We had meals at many places too - home, Pizza Hut Cenang, Najjah Restaurant Padang Matsirat and McD (yes, McD!).



I wonder how much weight we put on after a month of fasting.







We mostly lounged around at home (punctuated with more food of course, it is the Salleh Family way) but it was good. Even managed to bring some Grilled Chicken Pasta Bake for the team at work which I heard was very quickly demolished.


Even the cats were happy being constantly showered with attention.


Moments of simple bliss can often be missed mainly because we often forget to look for and enjoy it. But reminisce about your past, and I bet you the world, something will make you curl your lips and smile.

Selamat Hari Raya everyone.

Thursday 7 July 2016

Post Raya Dinner @ The Pizza Maker, Pantai Tengah Langkawi

We have been hankering for some Pizza in Langkawi but the usual selection of Pizza Hut, and a few other local more obvious shops such as Artisan's Pizza, Khairie's Pizza, among others were not gonna quite cut it.

So, I fired up the Tripadvisor App and searched for Pizza. The Pizza Maker turned out to have the best ratings, and deservedly so we would soon find out (though there are a couple of reviewers who rated this place poorly, unfairly confusing another place with it).

We arrived for dinner at about 8.30pm, in a windy downpour and found the place already had many tables occupied, despite the wet weather.






We ordered to share between the three of us, a Bowl of Tuna Mixed-Salad, a Calzone (and chose fillings of Beef Bacon, Grana and Rocket leaves) and the Pizza Diavolo with add-on of Beef Bacon.





We were NOT disappointed- the portions were very comfortable, the aromas mouthwatering, the pizza crust exhibiting just the right balance of crunch and chewiness.



The flavour? You know the Chef takes pride in his craft. DELICIOUS! Fresh ingredients layered on top of more fresh ingredients.



Do yourself a favour by coming to the Pizza Maker in Pantai Tengah located at Tropical Resort (use Google Maps or Waze).

Good food and good service, the place was busy during our visit but the food arrived relatively fast anyways.

SEDAP!

Sunday 3 July 2016

Iftar @ Bella Vista Langkawi

Last day of Ramadhan Buffet and we celebrate it by having it at Nautilus Restaurant, Bella Vista Langkawi (actually sebab tempat lain semua have stopped offering Buffets).






Saturday 25 June 2016

Langkawi Chronicles: Buka @ Bayu

After so many Buffet dinners, I finally had sufficient presence of mind to actually snap some pictures for the blog.

Had a bit more 'jalan jalan cari makan' this year, compared against last. Which also explains why there is hardly any reduction in my weight this time around, fasting notwithstanding.

Bayu Restaurant, is located in Ombak Villa, Langkawi Lagoon resort off Teriang, Langkawi.







And this is Mak, smiling over the feast.





All things considered the food was good - Fish Mandhy and Tube Pasta Casserole was particularly yummy, as was their Lamb and Beef Koftas, as expected of a 4 star establishment.

Service was speedy (though replenishment for certaim food items were slow), probably on account of the throngs of people who kwpt attacking certain dishes and beverage. Iftar worked outbto about RM84 for 2 persons (usual is RM48/adult).

We will be coming back to the restaurant a few days from now for a Company Get-Together Dinner and I am so looking forward to it.

Monday 20 June 2016

Good read

This is a good read.

Maybe I have staff who feel this way.

Bad mistakes that make staff leave.

The horizon is far, but people will still walk towards it.


Tuesday 14 June 2016

Du'a in Ramadhan.

اَللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ
Ya Allah,tunjukkanlah kami jalan yg lurus..

صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ اَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ
Iaitu jalan golongan yg Engkau kurniakan nikmat kpada mereka..

مِنَ النًّبِيِّينَ وَ الصِّدِّيقِينَ وَ الشُّهَدَآءِ وَ الصَّـالِحِينَ
Yang terdiri daripada para nabi,para siddiq(org2 yg benar),para syahid dan orang2 soleh..

وَ حَسُنَ اُوْلَـاءِكَ رَفِيقًا
Dan merekalah sebaik2 pendamping..

اَللَّهُمَّ الجْعَلْنَا مِنْ اَهْلِ الْعِبَادَة
Ya Allah jadikanlah kami dari kalangan ahli ibadah..

وَلَا تَجْعَلْنَا مِنْ اَهْلِ الْمَعْصِيَّة
Dan janganlah Engkau jadikan kami dari pelaku maksiat....

اَللَّهُمَّ يَا مُصَرِّفَ الْقُلُوبِ
Ya Allah ,yang mengawal hati..

صَرِّفْ قُلُوبَنَا عَلَى طَاعَتِكَ
Bimbinglah hati kami untuk mentaatiMu..

اَللَّهُمَّ يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ
Ya Allah,yang membolak balikkan hati..

ثَبِّتْ قُلُوبَنَا عَلَى دِينِكَ
Tetapkanlah hati kami atas agamaMu...

Ameen...

Thursday 9 June 2016

Brownout

Read this somewhere -

“They seem to be performing fine: putting in massive hours, grinding out work while contributing to teams, and saying all the right things in meetings. However, they are operating in a silent state of continual overwhelm, and the predictable consequence is disengagement.”

And the end result is they leave.

Sunday 5 June 2016

Hello Ramadhan.

It has been the longest time since I did an introspective blogpost.

Felt like it was just weeks ago we celebrated Syawal and yet here we are, at the fasting month's doorstep again.

I chanced upon a beautiful video about racial origins today on social media. This video was about the idea that no human is an island. That we are unique yet completely everybody. About there being no such thing as a master race.

The individuals in the clip had so much revealed to them, with some of them carrying DNA markers from as far as they could have ever believed.

A lady found herself in tears , welcoming with open arms, an actual blood cousin, from Turkey, a country she professes to disdain. Under the honest eye of science, she learned firsthand the futility of hanging on to racial bias.

Another chap, Ray - strong, masculine and prideful of his English heritage also came to know he had a quarter of his genes originating from Germany. A country his family has fought against in the wars before.

As I am sat there watching them, I quietly enjoyed his small world-view crashing down. Not so smug now eh?

Then it happened.

The realisation that I am racist too.

In my own closeted mindset, I assumed that Ray was this 'on-his-high-horse-white-is-right' type of person. Oh the hipocrisy of it all. In that split second, racism reared its hideous head. From the recesses of my own heart.

Let it be known that internalised hate, bigotry and racism, even when unspoken and hidden, even in jest as I often do exclaiming I am not Malay, is still an evil to be confronted.

Because if we do not combat it it becomes so easy to nourish the notion that we are better than others. This holier-than-thou attitude will manifest into more sinister forms. Always ready in the darkness to pounce onto anyone who dares opine differently.

I blush in shame recalling the times I acted in a racist manner - behind the wheels, in discussion with trusted mates or even by my lonesome.

Islam teaches to treat all as your brothers, love all your neighbours equally and there should be no compulsion upon those who are not Muslim. There are lines in the holy Quran that speaks of unbelievers but these are never, never to be used as a cheap excuse to hate. They are there in the good book as a descriptive adjective, a historical record if you may, of an era when so much was happening.

It is not a free-pass to treat others as beneath us. Ever.

People who pick and choose to practice only specific parts, separate from the holistic teaching Islam has to offer, is completely missing the point and have in fact ran astray.

Thusly, back to the slap to the face.

What should anyone, when at times we can be so far removed from the tenets of Islam, ever do?

Start with continously striving to cleanse our heart of bigotry. Small steps.

I am Mohd Razee B Mohd Salleh and I am from everybody.

Welcome back Ramadhan. It has been too long since we last met.

Why

What were you thinking McD?

Friday 3 June 2016

Out & About: Sakae Sushi, Aman Sentral, Kedah

It was a long day yesterday, full of walking around and getting up and waiting. Barely had time for lunch.

Thus when the opportunity presented itself, I went to Sakae Sushi for an early dinner/late lunch.

Didn't have that much. Thankfully the quality was still fairly good.




Started with a glug of iced green tea before enjoying my slices of Salmon and Butter Fish Sashimi. They felt a bit waterlogged (you will know if you have eaten really good Sashimi what this means) but the flesh was still firm.

Then came my Yasai Kakiage and Vegetable Tempura.




These two dishes are a constant in Sakae and they offer most bang for the buck if just prepared upon order. The battered vegetables were moist and succulent on the inside with a delightful crunchy exterior. And the portion is fairly large for RM4.99 and RM6.99 a plate respectively.

Cleansed my palate with some pickled young ginger after before making my way back home.