Yum Sandwich

I like this sandwich. I don't remember the exact name in the menu. Was it X-Sandwich, or X-Cuisine Sandwich, or ???. I really don't remember ;p.


Anyway, 3 slices of toasted white bread were sandwiched with ham, lettuce, grated carrots, cheese and mayo. The ham was a sliced shoulder ham, and it is definitely more yum than a mere sandwich ham. Hence, I like ;)).

The sandwich was RM6.80 per serving.

First Choice & Second Choice

New First Choice Restaurant at Pujut 5 is often very packed with customers. What's very good here is the curry fish.

The fish is first steamed and then doused with a thick curry gravy and then served in the claypot. Besides fish, there were sliced eggplant and okra.

Fish curry

The fish curry gravy was very thick - very lemak indeed. It was quite heavy with spices, not really fiery and just a bit tangy in taste. Highly recommended.

We also had the Deep-fried pork. It was another very good dish. The pork was well-marinated, and deep-fried to a golden perfection. As a result, it was savoury and crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside.

Deep-fried Pork

At the other side of the Pujut 5 shophouses is Lou Wai Lou, and we often dub it "Second Choice". Lol.

We were there on another occasion for dinner. We had cucumber and carrot pickles for appetiser.

Pickles

We ordered a Sea Cucumber Thick Soup. I forgot to snap a shot, but I assure you that it looks ordinary. ;p

We had Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs, Stir-fried Sweet Potato Leaves in Belacan, and also Deep-fried Oyster Mushroom in Butter Sauce.

Sweet & Sour Spare Ribs

Stir-fried Sweet Potato Leaves in Belacan

Deep-fried Oyster Mushroom in Butter Sauce

Well, I thought the food at Second Choice was not bad as well.The staff was quite amused that I was snapping photographs of the food. They did not believe me when I said I would post the pics online. Lol.

Don't Like The Massage

W**** saw an advert in the newspaper. 1 hour of Body Massage for RM50.40. Hence, we headed over there this afternoon - our first time at this spa.

The place looked nice, but the masseuses were young Chinese nationals. The one who did me was from Hunan. She told me that she had been here in Miri for half a year already.

Well, I must say that I did not enjoy the massage at all. I thought the girl lacked skills and the pressure she exerted was not strong enough.

Don't think I would go back there anymore.

Eating Green

The fastest way to contribute to greening the environment is to turn vegetarian.

This afternoon, we decided to serve a vegetarian lunch to a panel of judges who came to evaluate us for the National Level Sustainable School Award.

Well, this concept came about when we found out that one of the judges was vegetarian. So instead of catering vegetarian to him alone, we decided to turn lunch into a green affair.

I was impressed with the effort that my colleagues put into preparing the meal. They cooked everything themselves!

They also went all the way out to set the table in accordance with the "green" theme.

Garnishes on the plate

The plate is decorated with a leaf and a roselle. I have no idea what is the name of the leaf. Daun ririk? I asked around but then no one could give me a name. My colleagues made a refreshing drink from the roselle.

So creative are my colleagues!! I loved the boat.

The boat was made of dried tree fronds, and lined with more leaves. Inside was the vermicelli salad.

We had Nuba Laya, which is riced wrapped in leaf. Traditionally, daun isip is used. I have no idea whether daun isip is the same as daun ririk? Hmn, anyway, I liked the rice as it was served really warm.

Nuba Laya

Then there's Kerabu Pegaga. I did not give it a try, as I was not too fond of this herb.

Kerabu Pegaga

Next is Rendang Nangka Muda. I liked the gravy a lot.

Jackfruit Rendang

I also liked the Brinjal in Satay Gravy. It's the first time I had my brinjal in a peanut sauce as is it more often cooked in sambal. Hence, it's an interesting

Brinjal in Satay Sauce

I also liked the Sambal Tempe.

Sambal Tempe

But my favourite dish today would be the Pucuk Ubi. These tapioca leaves were pounded finely and then stir fried with chilli, garlic, shallots and finely chopped turmeric leaves. It was so good that we asked for refills. Lol.

Pucuk Ubi

I could just have plain rice with pucuk ubi, forget about all the other dishes.

Gifts & souvenirs for our guests

Anyway, the judges were pretty impressed by our hospitality. Word got around, and tomorrow, another group of people from MMC are coming to visit us!!! **Shock**

Extra Holidays? Or Extra Nuisance?

"It's going to be holidays soon," many people tell me. Well, yes. But do people know what preparation for holidays entails? We don't just close a school anyhow. There are plenty to do before the school closes for the year.

That is why I get quite upset when I find out that school is allowed to close on 16 November, instead of 19 November as stipulated in the academic calendar. Closing 2 days earlier upsets all our year-end plans. We simply cannot do everything that we are supposed to do by 16 November.

On the other hand, choosing not to apply for the holidays will set tongues wagging. Teachers' morale will be affected when they assume that the school do not have their welfare at heart. We are caught in the middle. Close on 16 November and we won't get things done as they are supposed to to be done. Close on 19 November and teachers will start complaining.

As a result, we decided to compromise. We will apply for the holidays, and students' last day at school is 18 November. Teachers, on the other hand, are to return to school on 18 and 19 November. There are meetings to attend and paperwork to complete before the school closes proper.

For us at school, there is a checklist of things to do.
a) All exam papers have to be marked, and marks keyed in by 18 November.
b) All mark sheets be printed and exam results analysed, documented and submitted to the School Head.
c) All students' academic record books are filled, organised and handed in to the Level Head.
d) All students' co-curricular record books are collected, organised and handed in to the Level Head.
e) All students' co-curricular grade are filled and handed in to the Level Head.
f) All students' merit and demerit records are updated and handed in to the Level Head.
g) All students' reading records are in order, summarised and handed in to the Level Head.
h) Classroom inventory records are updated and handed to the Assets Committee
i) School fees records are in order, summarised and handed in to the Level Head
j) Students' personal records are in order, and handed in to the Students' Affairs
k) Prepare exam materials - such as notes and exercises - so that Forms 5 and 6 students have access to them in the duration of their examination.
l) Prepare school leaving certificates, and handed in to the school clerk for safekeeping.
m) Prepare testimonials for the school leavers, and hand in to the school clerk for safekeeping.
n) Prepare certificates for School-based Assessment, and hand in to the school clerk for safekeeping.

Well, those are what an ordinary teacher is expected to do. Those of us in the School Management Committee - senior assistants and departmental heads cum level heads - have to go through all those documents handed in to us.

It really takes a lot of effort and time to get things done, and done properly. I just feel that it is not very fair when holidays are granted to schools, and yet teachers cannot benefit, SIMPLY BECAUSE the announcement comes too sudden and too late.

Cleaning Up My Wardrobe

Mom keeps a lot of old things at home - outdated textbooks, old clothes, old kitchen utensils, and so on and so forth. I tell Mom to throw away all those stuff. But she keeps saying that she may need them some time later. I think Mom has a tendency to hoard. But so have many people out there.

I surely do not wish to be like Mom. Hence, from time to time, I force myself clear out my wardrobe. Many women's magazines provide guidelines to declutter the close. Basically, clothes that have not been worn for a year or more should be thrown out. One should also remove items that do not fit anymore.

Hence, this morning, I went through my closet to pick out unwanted clothes. Some are worn, but there are two brand new pieces in the lot which I had never worn ever!

So what do people generally do with those discarded clothes? Well, I know of a few friends who would give them away to close friends and relatives who do not mind hands-me-down and are able to fit into those shirts and blouses. Some would give them to the underprivileged.

This time, my clothes would go to the church, where they would be collected and distributed to longhouses in Selangau. I suppose the people there would find some use for the clothes. For me, it's just wonderful to have the closet cleared of clothes that I no longer wear.

Reply from MAS

Today, I received my reply from MAS. This is how it goes ...

Thank you for your email.

Appreciate if you could clear caches, clear cookies and delete some files under the Internet option tools before proceed with our online booking. Please use a new browser for a new transaction and kindly re-do the transaction as we do not have any issue from our end.

As for the payment does not go through, can you kindly revert back to your issuing back due to certain bank does not allow to purchase ticket from Malaysia Airlines.

Regards
S*******
Business Support Centre
Malaysia Airlines

Well, in case any of you have problems like I had in booking a flight online, you can perhaps take note.

For me, I do not wish to try booking anymore.

Dinner @ 99 Cafe

S**** and I went for dinner at 99 Cafe recently. I ordered Seafood Noodles, and the vendor lady warned me that there were no shrimps, in case I wanted to change my mind. Not knowing what else to eat, I told her to proceed with the order.

Well, the noodles came with fish slices and fishball halves and blanched crinkly mustard. The noodles tasted good, but they were a tad too dry.

Seafood noodles

S**** had dumplings. They looked kind of miserable, floating in clear broth. However, she assured me that the dumplings were good. Hmn. Must give them a try in the future.

Dumplings in soup

Besides that, we ordered some finger food from the stalls outside the shop. The barbecued chicken wings were RM2.00 each. The wings were ordinary, and the colour looked a bit artificial.

Barbecued wings

We also had deep-fried mushroom meatballs and miniature Taiwanese sausages.

Mushroom meatballs & miniature Taiwanese sausages

Hmn. I think I preferr the mushroom meatballs sold by the uncle in front of Yong Le Cafe, opposite 99 Cafe. It's just that the uncle starts his business quite late - 8.00 p.m. These ones sold here were a bit salty. The Taiwanese sausages were standard, though.

Well, there were a lot of people dining here every evening, and actually, I do not mind hanging out here to snack and catch up with friends. ;)

Dinner @ Chicago 7

Well, the first thing I noticed about the guy who took my order was his nails. Gosh, they were longer than mine! To my common sense, anyone who works in F & B has to keep his/her nails trimmed. Hmn. How could his managers let him get away with long sharp nails. It's so unhygienic and it really puts me off!

Chicago 7 had a new outlet at Merdeka Mall here in Miri, and last night, S**** and I decided to have a meal there (despite the scary nails). We stood in front of the counter a long time, trying to decide whether to give it a try or not.

Frankly, the menu on display did not seem very tempting. After debilitating for a long time, we finally decided to go for it.

S**** ordered the Double Cheese Cow; we were both actually fascinated with the name. Lol. Cow? I ordered the Broaster chicken - which was supposed to be more tender, juicy and flavourful because they were cooked in a pressure fryer.

So how was the food? Well, S**** was not impressed with the burger. She thought the patties tasted like those frozen ones that can be easily brought from the supermarket. A thumbs down from S****.

Double Cheese Cow

The chicken, however, was alright. I told them I did not want breast meat, and at least they complied. They gave me a wing & a drum. At KFC, I told the girl I did not want breast meat. She said ok but gave one piece to me anyway. That KFC girl must have thought me stupid or something. Terrible, terrible. It happened to me twice at KFC already, and I've stopped going there for fried chicken.

Anyway, back to the Chicago 7 Broaster Chicken. Well, I must say that the chicken was not really that great, but it did taste alright. The chicken was served with coleslaw and mashed potatoes. I thought the coleslaw was too sour, but the mashed potatoes were quite nice.

Coleslaw

Mashed potatoes

Broaster Chicken Meal

Well, Chicago 7 is nothing to shout about, but it's alright if you just want to give the food a try.

Darn MAS

Last night, I went to the MAS office at the airport to pay for a flight which I booked online. However, at the airport, the price they asked for was different than that was offered online. Hence, I could not get my ticket issued. I was advised to try booking for the same flights again.

This morning, I tried booking - for the sixth time, mind you - and I could never get past this page.


For your information, I have tried booking since 13 October. The system recorded me booking 5 times already!

The MAS staff told me last night that there was a problem with the server. WTF!! Problem with server for the past 2 weeks? Why isn't anything done to rectify the problem? No wonder MAS records losses year after year.

This morning, I lodged a complaint at the website. I wonder what they would advise me to do, for I'm getting really annoyed and frustrated!

MH = Malaysian Hospitality? Urghh!! My foot!!