Ticklish Ribs & 'Wiches - 9 October 2015

So it was my mom's birthday and she said she wants to go somewhere nearby. I saw one of my friends posted on this restaurant at her facebook page, googled it and we decided to go. They only serve "Babi".

This restaurant is on the ground floor (next to the famous Sea Park Maybank). Parking can be a problem during lunch and dinner time. When I entered the restaurant, it was a small place (put in as many tables and chairs) and I thought it was a proper sit-in restaurant where you have the waiters and waitresses to take down your orders. 

Another section of the restaurant

Crowded on a Friday night and their simple decorations

However, their concept was:-

(a) you sit down; 
(b) go through their menu; 
(c) choose your meat, then choose your carbohydrate food (pasta, sandwich or rice); 
(d) decide whether you want to "Add-On";
(e) use the piece of paper provided for you on your table and tick what you want in that piece of paper;
(f) bring it to the counter to order your food;
(g) make payment; 
(h) cups will be given for you to fill up your soft drinks at the back; and
(i) take your own cutlers, serviettes and sauces.

As it's our 1st time to the restaurant, I think it was the restaurant owner that came to our table and explained to us how the concept works. Seriously, it was a SUPER COMPLICATED menu to start with. All I wanted was something simple and easy to read and decide on my food, but having to go through the boxes and which column to tick, it's simply not ideal especially when you are HUNGRY!!

The menu

Tick what you like to eat

So after we decided on our food, my husband went to the counter to order. He said each customers took at least 5-10 minutes to order as they are also confused. Again, my husband received help at the counter from the cashier and restaurant owner and he tried to help us simplify what we want........

Then we noticed that there are something rolling forward and backwards, it's where they roll their food over to their kitchen and back to the pick-up counter. Interesting!!

The tracks for the rolling of the food. 

Check out the food that we ordered below:-

Add -on Pasta (RM8.00) - pretty plain and I don't recommend this.

Add-on French fries (RM8.00)- quite nice

Got Balls with Rice (RM15.00) - not bad

The Ultimate Ribs Not Really (Full Serving) (RM38.00) -nice ribs but the sauce not to my liking

You Braised Me Up with Charcoal Bread with Extra Egg (RM16.00 + RM2.00)

Add-on  ZZZALAD (RM8.00)

Cappucino and Milo (RM5.00 and RM4.00)

The food were reasonable. I was informed by the waitress that if you rate them 5 stars on the trip advisor sites, you will get RM20.00 sandwich voucher. My friend who went there on the same day in the afternoon, rated 5 stars and got a free T-shirt. However, she said the T-shirt was not to her liking and she will not advertised Pork, etc and wear it publicly. I did not rate them at all as I don't think I will go back as the menu is too complicated and this restaurant caters for the young working adults!

The details of the restaurant:

Ticklish Ribs & 'Wiches

No.5, Ground Floor
Jalan 21/11A Sea Park

46300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan

Tel: 03-7865 9126
Opening hours :
Tuesday till Sunday
Lunch from 12.00 p.m. - 2.00 p.m.
Dinner from 6.00 p.m. - 10.00 p.m.
For more info, visit : http://www.ticklishribs.com/

Heritage Village, Jaya - 4 October 2015

This was my 2^nd visit to this Nyonya restaurant, specializing in Nasi Lemak and Nyonya dishes.  

This place served a variety selection of Nasi Lemak, i.e. you can have Nasi Lemak biasa or with Nasi Lemak Chicken Rendang, Assam Prawns or Beef Rendang (to name a few). If you don’t want to have Nasi Lemak, you can have the Nyonya Fried Rice, Char Koay Teow and side dishes like Pie Tee, Chicken Lor Bak, Rojak Buah, Ju Hu Char and other curry Nyonya dishes with rice. Their selections of drinks are fruit juices and local favourites like Cincau, Bandung Sirap Cincau, Organic Soya, Teh Tarik. No alcohol served in this restaurant.     

The service in this restaurant is pretty slow. The 1^st time I was there, I took the menus myself. As it was quite busy, I did notice that an elderly couple walked out from the restaurant after they were not being given menus. As for my 2^nd time experience, the waiters and waitresses are not really friendly and appear to be clueless sometime, i.e. especially when you call them, one waitress seems to pretend not looking at you. Seriously, they need to do something with their servicing of customers.  

Once you have chosen your food and beverages, you need to pen down the code from the menu into a small piece of paper (your handwriting must be easy to read, neat and precise) so that they don’t get your orders wrong!

On my 2^nd visit, my family and I ordered the following:- 

Nasi Lemak Chicken Rendang (RM10.90)

Chicken Curry Kapitan with Rice (RM10.90) and Add-On Beef Rendang (RM8.90)

Nyonya Fried Rice (RM15.90)

Duck Egg Char Koay Teow (RM14.90)

Pie Tee (RM9.90) and Chicken Lor Bak (RM8.90)

The restaurant is small and although the service is slow and bad, the restaurant is normally crowded during weekends. We had to wait for approximately 15-20 minutes before foods are served.  

The Nasi Lemak and Nyonya Fried Rice are definitely thumbs up, Pie Tee and Chicken Lor Bak are alright but disappointment was the Duck Egg Char Koay Teow and definitely NOT RECOMMENDED. The Duck Egg Char Koay Teow was very plain, Koay Teow, beans sprout and duck egg!! What happen to “See Ham”? That’s a must for all Char Koay Teow! The portion is reasonable for 1 person, unless you go for their Signature King Nasi Lemak, which I ordered the 1^st time round and shared it with my parents.

The ambience of the restaurant is simple setting and pleasant. Not to worry about parking at the basement parking at Jaya and the fee is RM2 for weekends (not sure about weekdays), unless you don’t mind going round and round to find for a free parking on weekends at Jaya square.    

The details of the restaurant:

Heritage Village Jaya Shopping

No.L3-13, Jaya Shopping Centre

Suite 8-2, Menara CSM

Jalan Semangat Seksyen 14

46100 Petaling Jaya

Selangor Darul Ehsan

Tel: 03-7496 5647

Opening Hours : Daily from 10.00 a.m - 10.00 p.m. 

Summary of my review of Heritage Village:

+ Nasi Lemak and Nyonya dishes 
+ easy parking
+ reasonable price
- slow service 
- waiter and waitress not so friendly

U Pizzeria at USJ 21 - 4 October 2015

After teaching my last class for the day, which was baby ballet, my little girl was so hungry and I suggested pizza, a restaurant which was on the ground floor of the ballet school, which has opened its doors 2 weeks ago.  

This place served a variety selection of pizzas. Not only pizzas, this place also served pastas and some side dishes like chicken wings, Fun fries, mushroom soups, onion rings and nuggets. Their selection of drinks will be canned drinks. No alcohol served in this restaurant.

This is a self-service restaurant as you need to place your order at the counter, by choosing the type of crust and the size of pizza you want, whether combo meal or a’ la carte and made payment. We ordered the Combo 1, which consist of a small pizza for one person and a can drink for the price of RM10.90 and Fun fries for the price of RM3.90. You have the option to choose either pizza or pasta for Combo 1.  

Menu and Combo meal

BBQ Chicken Combo 1 (RM10.90)

Fun fried (RM3.90)

The restaurant is quite small and there are approximately 8-10 tables inside and 2 tables outside the restaurant. We had to wait for approximately 20-25 minutes before my small pizza and Fun fries are served.

I must say the pizza is pretty small as it’s not the size of a small pan pizza where you get it from Domino or Pizza Hut. The size itself from U Pizzeria is the size of a small pizza you get from your local bakery. If you are a BIG EATER, certainly a pizza that small is not suitable for you. The taste is just alright and nothing to shout about. The ambience of the restaurant is very simple indeed. Not to worry about parking as there are lots of parking around.   

The details of the restaurant:

U Pizzeria

No.23, Jalan USJ 21/11

47620 UEP Subang Jaya

(shop-lot nearby to Main Place Mall)

Summary of my review of U Pizzeria:   

+ food (reasonable)

+ easy parking

+ reasonable price

- slow service 

- not many selection of drinks

I am 80's Cafe - 2 October 2015

My friends and I decided to meet up on a Friday night and wanted to try out something new with reasonable price. So, she booked a table at “I Am 80's Café”.

This cafe consist of a ground floor and basement. This cafe is located at the shop-lot in a housing area and the surrounding area of this place is pretty dark, so single lady, please ensure that there are someone to accompany you.   

We were ushered into their basement. Simple decorations, which in my view, only some items belong in the 80s and not all. We were hoping that they will play 80s music but they did not do so. We were pretty disappointed as we lived through the 80s.......

The basement and decorations

How many items can you identify from the 80s?

I thought the "roti" man that comes by your housing area still selling these items?

This place served Western food, which consist of pastas, sandwiches, steaks and desserts. No alcohol served in this cafe. However, you are welcome to bring your own booze. Check out the menu and the food below:-

Reasonable size of french fries to keep your kids happy

Mushroom Roller Chicken (RM25.00)

Smoked Duck Pesto (RM22.00)

Smoked Duck Ciabatta (RM20.00) 

Grilled Marinated Lam Rack (RM33.00)

Passion Fruit Tea (RM7.50)

I must say good services from the staff and food were not too bad. It's a child friendly restaurant as there are free area for your child to play while enjoying your food. I was also informed that every fortnight on a Sunday afternoon, the basement is actually open for animal lovers, i.e. you can bring your pooch there. You need to call them to find out and confirm whether it's pooch day or not.

We were quite full after dinner and did not try their signature dessert, Dancing in the Pan. Perhaps next time. 

The details of the cafe:

I Am 80s

No.35, Jalan SS 4C/5
Taman Rasa Sayang

47301 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan

Tel: 03-7497 2846
Opening hours : Daily from 10.30a.m. - 10.30 p.m.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/80scafe?fref=ts

Summary of my review of I Am 80s Cafe:   

+ food 

+ easy parking

+ reasonable price
+ good service

+ child friendly cafe

- closed at 10.30 p.m.
- bring your own alcohol

Malaysian Passport Renewals 2015

Normally I aim to reach the immigration before 7 a.m. to join the queue. My parents, daughter and myself arrived few minutes before 7.30am. Surprisingly there were not many people queuing up. The doors were open at 7.30a.m. and all of us rushed in to get a number. My dad and myself need to renew our passports and my daughter needs to insert her latest picture on her passport. The requirements for renewal, you need to bring along your current/expired passport and NRIC and as for insertion of a latest photo of a toddler, you need to bring two (2) passport photos and fill up a form (provided at the counter).

Once you have filled up the form, then a number will be given. If you are taking the passport photo from a studio, you need to ensure that it’s taken with a white background and your toddler’s ears and forehead must be seen. Also, ensure that your toddler is wearing a dark outfit. My dad managed to get number 1, daughter number 2 and myself number 3 and we were asked to go to “Kaunter Khas”, i.e. a counter for senior citizens, children below 2 years of age and pregnant woman. Your number will be called and you proceed to the counter.

The officers will ask you for your latest address and telephone number to be keyed into their system and take your thumb print. After that, you were asked to look into the camera and your photo to be taken. Again, forehead and ears must be seen in the photo. If you are wearing bright colours or design shirts, you are requested to put on the black jacket provided at each counter. Once your picture is taken, the officer will print out the form for you to verify and sign. As for insertion of new toddler photo, your toddler will need to thumb print.

The camera

My daughter was crying the whole time and refused to thumb print and I had to force it on her. After all the verification, go back to your seat and your number will be called again to make payment. Payment of RM200 for a 5 years passport and RM100 for senior citizens and free of charge for the insertion of a new toddler photo.

Passport will be ready in 1 hour, which in fact, it took them less than an hour. So make sure to wait for them to call your number and don’t go anywhere. So my time spent at the immigration, only 1 ½ hours from 7.30am – 9.00am. Super-fast working officers at this Wangsa Maju branch. I will only renew my passport at this branch.

For more info, please visit:
http://www.imi.gov.my/index.php/en/main-services/pasport/malaysian-international-passport

The contact details of the Immigration Department, Wangsa Maju:
Aras 1, Wisma Rampai
53300 Kuala Lumpur
Telephone : 03-4142 3449
Fax : 03-4142 3578

Skytrek at Taman Botani

I was asked to go to Skytrex, Shah Alam several years back by my friends and if I remember correctly, I was not interested back then.

Recently, I read in an article that Skytrex is a place to get your adrenaline pumping with its extreme activities. So, that’s when I decided to give it a try by booking my slot and invited my husband, sister-in-law and niece to join the fun and excitement. I successfully convinced them to go for the Extreme Challenge (which is the most difficult challenge in their circuit).

We booked the earliest slot at 8.30am on 26 September 2015 and was asked to be at Taman Botani, 30 minutes before the actual time. Prior entering Taman Botani, we have to pay RM3.00 to park our car just outside Taman Botani. We arrived at 7.45am and there was ample parking.  We waited for the guides to arrive. Our meeting point was at the green guardhouse.

Our guide arrived and took everyone’s attendance. We were asked to pay RM3.00 for each adult as entrance fee to Taman Botani. After that, we were asked to board a bus as the bus will take us 3km inside the 817 hectares forest of Taman Botani Negara, Shah Alam.

Upon arrival at their little counter, the guides took our attendance again. We were given a short briefing by the guides and asked to fill up and sign a disclaimer form. Then, we were handed with our pre-booked gloves. If you did not purchase a set off gloves during booking, it is advisable to purchase the said gloves as we were told that your hands will be holding the cables. The gloves have to be hard material, i.e. PVC gloves and not cotton gloves. The gloves cost RM5.00 per pair excluding GST. Other facilities provided are:-

1. lockers; prices start from RM3 for small, RM4 for medium and RM5 for large lockers with RM10 deposit (to be refunded upon returning the keys to the lockers);
2. bottle holder with a rental charge of RM2;
3. cold drinks

After that, we were asked to proceed to another counter for the guides to put the harnesses on us. Once the harnesses were fitted for the 25 participants in the slot, we were asked to go to the starting station for the start of our extreme challenges!

We were presented with a confusing looking contraption with a crampon-like thing on each side of a short cable.  Everyone was playing idiotically with the contraption trying to figure out how it worked but having no success.  Our guide then explained to the group how the “link-It” device works and demonstrated that one side (which is in a “C” shape and has an opening for a cable) must be connected properly to a cable before the clamp on the other side is able to be opened so that it can also be attached

Link-It

This one at a time theory is so that once connected, it is almost impossible to accidentally free yourself as one of the clips will have to be attached at any time. Of course the question everyone had was how you eventually leave the cable once you’re back down. Thankfully there was a bit of free cable at the end, so that you could attach to the cable and then slide off the side.  After a few minutes of playing everyone seemed to get the hang of it and we proceeded to the initiation.

Our first challenge was to climb up a ladder (approximately 5 metres) to a platform. Then using the “link-it” device, we have to go across to another platform. After that, it was flying fox, climb up a ladder again, flying fox, monkey bar, walk on the single cable, bicycle ride on the cable (seriously this is no fun as everybody was unable to stop and not enough of cushioning and you will CRASH!), walking across U-shape ropes, walking into the nets.

Please be reminded to read the instructions on each platform as to what to do. If you see only a single cable hanging, it means, flying fox. Also, certain platforms only allowed 2 or 3 persons to be there and certain platforms, there are no guides!! Always remember what the front person is doing and copy what he/she was doing and shout for HELP if you need to. The people in your group are friendly to help you out. 

For bookings and more information, please visit:

http://www.skytrex-adventure.com

Climbing up the ladder

Using the skills that you have learnt to good use and SAVE YOURSELF!

Walking on "U" ropes

Check out the "U" ropes

The "U" rope walk

U rope

Single cable walk

Inside our bus for our ride back to the guard house

.