My typical office lunches

Back to the office for at least 2-3 days per week.

These days I having been eating out alot, as well as tapao from the stalls nearby my office.

Here's a pack of nasi kerabu with add-on chicken rendang. It has all the basic ingredients for a decent nasi kerabu...well, at least from my point of view.

The add-on chicken rendang was just for extra protein for a wholesome meal that lasted till dinner.

For RM7, this was indeed a satisfying meal. Well, i'm easily contented😀

Other than nasi kerabu, the nearby stalls also sell Malay nasi campur.

I would usually go for 2-3 dishes like below....begedil (potato patties), beansprout and sambal coated anchovies. These simple 'kampung-style' dishes remind me of the food i had back in the student years...so nostalgic!

On another day, there was a mini bazaar selling all sorts of snacks/foods like those pasar malam kinda stalls.

I bought a deep fried mini chicken chop aka mini 'Uncle Bob fried chicken' for RM1 per skewer.

the size as compared to the cup.

Tastewise just so-so only, just like a typical 'deep fried chicken chop sold in pasar malam' quality. Can't expect much when it is so dirt cheap. Definitely more flour than meat!

On certain days, i would also join my colleagues for dine-out.

Here we went to our fav kebab place at 'Mr. Kabab & Briyani' at Precint Diplomatic (Putrajaya).

My order would usually be 'beef botti kabab with mandy rice' @RM20+

This was on those days where we would want to have something different.

BON APPETIT!

Late Dinner @ Sweet Hut again

It was one of the late nite dinner/supper after work.

Most of the shops have closed and only left the fastfood chain which i dun fancy...

so i went to this restaurant again which opens until 12am during weekday (and until 1am on Fri).

I ordered a nasi lemak with chicken rendang @ RM15.90 nett

Service was quite slow despite only me alone dining-in. But they do take delivery orders from Grab/Foodpanda until 11pm (i think), hence that would justify.

The interior, despite looking clean and well kept, i felt that this place is quite understaff coz i only see one staff manning the drink counter, probably one chef only preparing food in the kitchen and one staff manning the cashier/cleaning tables/taking orders.

The other day when i went there (on Fri), it was 'full-house' and not a single staff bothering me...and i had a quick glance on every table, it seems like most of them were waiting for their foods.

Anyway, despite the slow service, food was great and chicken rendang was done nicely. Juicy chicken coated in thick rendang sauce. Aromatic rice and not-so-spicy sambal. I enjoy munching on the crispy anchovies and peanuts which go well with the cucumber/carrot pickles (acar on the side).

I would definitely order this again...only when there is less diners in the shop, so that i don't have to wait 'forever'.

Nite View @ Hard Rock Hotel Penang

The night view at the hotel is spectacular...so here's one final post to showcase the hotel at night.

(Below pic) From the main entrance, the lighting is already that impressive!

Several mini bulbs forming the word 'Hard Rock Penang' hung from the ceiling...

and the color changes every few seconds

from blue to grey....

then to red

and green...

A huge symbolic 'electric guitar' at the entrance. I believe this is their iconic item as a similar guitar is seen at Hard Rock Hotel Bali too.

The hotel is a 5-storey building facing the sea...Not much of fancy architecture, except that the pool landscape is extraordinary. The pool spans across the entire length of the building with a pool bar, kids center, playground/slides scattered throughout the area.

At night, the purple lighting from the rooms and the turquoise-ish pool creates a vibrant scenery.

the facade facing the pool and sea (further away).

Meanwhile, the interior decorations are somewhat...bizzare.

Apart from many posters of the bygone 'stars' hanging on the wall around the hotel, you could see a 'throne' next to the elevator...at every floor!

well, that's good for a short leg rest while waiting for the elevator, but actually there's no need for that since the wait does not take that long (it's only 5 stories!)

Last but not least, what's Hard Rock without a cafe and a merchandise shop?

yes, the famous Hard Rock Cafe (and the merchandise shop adjacent to it)....which are situated at the ground floor next to the main entrance

*i have blogged about Hard Rock Cafe in my previous post.

Now, back to my room....at nite, i could never get bored of this view...

while listening to the waves from the nearby sea....that lullabies me to sleep...ZzzZZzz

As i'm writing this, the event committee has already planned out the next company trip to.....

Lang Tengah island, sometime end of August...seems that the company is feeding us with lotsa 'vitamin-sea'

But unfortunately, due to the transportation mode (estimate 6-7 hours ride by bus to & fro respectively), i gotta skip that trip coz i can't take long bus journey.

Astana Putra @ Serdang

A newly joined colleague wanted to treat us a meal, initially we thought of goin to the 'Acre by Farm Fresh' which is actually a farm with eatery place. Unfortunately there was not much choice to choose during the day as it only serves pizza.

But the view was breathtaking!

sort of like a 'resort farm' which charges entrance fee if one would like to go for sight-seeing and a tractor ride.

We didn't go in but instead changed our lunch spot to the nearby restaurant....

Maybe one day i could drop by again during the evening to watch the sunset and have a brief tour at the farm.

Meanwhile, we drove a short distance (from the 'farm') to Astana Putra, which is a restaurant serving local Malay food.

I had 'nasi kahwin' (RM15.90++) which seems to be a combination of 2 different types of rice (oily rice & tomato rice) that got 'kahwin' (married)😁

Side dishes for the nasi kahwin include a grilled chicken leg, a small bowl of veggie curry, acar and sambal (in saucer).

Tastewise not bad, feels like eating at 'kenduri kahwin' (Malay wedding banquet), but of course the real kenduri would have more dishes than just grilled chicken leg.

Looking at the menu is quite 'entertaining' coz of the fancy dishes name.

They have items like 'Bapak Mertuaku' (Father-in-law), Kambing Kat Kubur (Goat at Grave) etc.

To those who are curious and want to try that, these are just chicken and lamb😀.

Ambience-wise OK, slightly better environment than the usual stuffy eatery place as is it open-air (with roof) and has good ventilation.

Free self-service plain water and titbits provided while waiting for the food too.

I would surely visit again to try out other items in the menu.

BON APPETIT!

'Oriental Kopitiam' Egg Tarts

Recently 'Oriental Kopitiam' has opened an outlet in Pavilion Bukit Jalil. This eatery is quite popular and their Bandar Puteri Puchong outlet is famous for its super long queue!

Anyway, i did not queue for the dine-in, but instead just to 'tapao' their signature egg tarts...which is the 'best thickest egg tart' according to the Malaysian Guinness Book of Records.

RM9.90 for 2 pieces of egg tarts....

Since i was in Pavilion BJ, i might as well 'tapao' the polo bun from Nanyang Cafe too (no picture of how it looks like, but taste was just mediocre for the polo bun)

As for the 'Oriental Kopitam' signature egg tart, it has flaky crust like croissant, and the egg custard is slightly burnt similar to Portuguese egg tart. Quite delicious to munch on and perfect for teatime!

*though abit pricey

Meanwhile, i also dropped-by Burger King for their vanilla softserve. For RM1.50 per cone, this is much better taste, bigger and value-for-money than McD softserve.

I also bought a huge pack of Lay's truffle flavored potato chips from the 'Food Merchant'.

This pack costs RM12.90nett.

Imported from Taiwan. If you like truffle you would enjoy this chips😋.

I will get this again on my next visit (to Pavilion BJ) and hopefully i could also try the newly opened Jollibee😆

Day 3 Breakfast @ Hard Rock Hotel, Penang

Day 3 is the final day of my hotel stay....by now i've tried most of the food served in breakfast, though some dishes rotate daily.

Here's my first round...

From the local section, i had fried meehoon, fried rice, tofu, and curry mutton

and as usual, their nasi lemak....it was delicious despite the spicy sambal

i standby with glasses of water and juices

2nd round.....

prawn noodles....it was spicy coz of the chili flakes...this one is damn good too!

dim sum and currypuff

Overall food option is better than Club Med (Cherating)....but can't compare apple-to-apple...coz is a different player....perhaps I shall compare it with the Hard Rock in Bali.

Dining ambience i would prefer Hard Rock Bali as it is more spacious though you can't find Malaysian food like nasi lemak, fried kuey teow or prawn noodles over there...

But nevertheless, both have standard breakfast stuffs such as cereals, toasts, fruits & pancakes (in case you are not into local/regional cuisines).

~~~~~~

After the breakfast, it's time to check out....

Well, i will miss this hotel very much....particularly their cool bar at the pool...yea, if you are staying at the ground floor (having direct access to the pool from the room), you can actually swim from your room to this bar located in the middle of the pool.

Here are some of the views i took from my room (on different time & days)

nice evening weather throughout my stay (except that it was hot during the day)

sunset - the purple-ish sky

till then, ciao!

Last Month's Office "Makan Makan"

The office 'makan makan' resumes after a few months of quiet period. It was held at the office pantry (again) right after the staff meeting. Whenever there is a staff meeting, it would mean that the appraisal is coming soon😑

The food were all catered. Despite that, it was less extravagant compared to the previous one (held in Jan), coz there was no "1000 sticks satays"...and the number of dishes was far more lesser (by half) compared to that one. Well, smaller scale would be better as to prevent food wastage. But quality-wise and taste-wise, I would prefer the previous caterer.

The desserts were OK...I had a bowl of ais kacang (the kacang and ingredients were hidden beneath the shaved ice) and some local kuihs and fruits. 

There were about 10 main dishes served at the buffet line, so it was quite a hearty meal if tried out all the dishes + desserts.

On another day, during one of my visit to McD, i saw these tempting looking cakes at the McD Cafe counter. 

So tempting that i couldn't resist!

Bought the Belgian Choc Cake and Pandan Gula Melaka Cake.

The Belgian Choc cake easily melt when left at room temperature, thus need to put into the fridge ASAP.

Pandan Gula Melaka cake was sweet and aromatic. Similar to onde onde but in 'cake form'.

These cakes were sourced from Secret Recipe, hence the price is almost like Secret Recipe too. There is also Classic Cheesecakes which i did not try coz i can get the same from Secret Recipe.

BON APPETIT!