The Chinese New Year Statistics Report

I know Chinese New Year is long gone but I am sure you do the same thing too after the 15-days festive celebration- COUNT ANG PAOs!!



(p/s: This post is intended to bring back the CNY mood in the midst of a very busy week at work)

Every year I do the same, in fact there's no particular ritual for me (some people tell me that they don't open their red packets till after the 15th, some tell me they don't open the ones given by their parents, some say they keep it in their wallets for blessings etc), I for one open my ang pao right after the person who gave it away looks the other way! *sniggers* :DDDDD

Here, I have compiled information and tabulate statictics charts and shall give you a report on my CNY revenue collection. I'm telling you I have been doing so much reports for the past week that drawing up a chart has become my forte at work these days...





Total Ang Pao collected this year would be 36 packets. Most of which are from relatives and a few from colleagues and boss. I wish I did a statistics report last year and the previous years so that the accountant in me knows whether this year's quantity collection has improved or eitherwise. I shall do that next year!



Of all colored ang paos ever manufactured, I like GOLD ze best! Gold packets always give me an impression that the amount given will justify the color. Most of the time it's just red inside but I've been pretty lucky this year as all gold packets I received is valued RM30 and above! Woohoo!

Before I reveal which ang pao packet is my favourite and will deserve the BEST LOOKING ANG PAO OF THE YEAR Award, allow me to show you some statistics first......



Banks love to give out ang pao packets during CNY and people love to use ang pao packets by banks on CNY, so it's not surprising that I received the most bank-sponsored ang paos, 25 out of 40 or 62.5%.



There were also some red packets from big corporations like Genting, CSM, SP Setia and Sunshine Supermarket (I remember very well it's from my Penang aunt as she gives out Sunshine Supermarket ang pao every single year and Penang is the only place with SS?). Then there were quite a few from Magnum, Sports Toto and Da Ma Cai (grrr, still geram with my 'so near yet so far' of hitting jackpot encounter).



Also, from the liquor companies, there's 2 from DOM Benedictine (by Bacardi Martini) and 2 from Martell (by Pernod Ricard). DOM's ang pao was quite bad quality, Martell's was much nicer :) There's also one from Hennesy (Gold Packets picture, 2nd from left).


The BEST LOOKING ANG PAO OF THE YEAR Award goes to.............



The Royal Bank of Scotland! This was given by Ms Koh, former Student Affairs Manager at our college. She always give very special looking ang paos and this year is of no exception! Besides being gold (my fav!), the design is very special, opens up like a paper wallet, very simple but creative!


The BEST BANK-SPONSORED ANG PAO Award goes to.......



OCBC Bank! I actually received 2 from OCBC Bank, one is red and the other is peachy pink. I think they produced a few designs, like a set- collect all 4 designs or something! For a relatively unpopular bank, OCBC did a good job here unlike the very boring designs by other banks. HSBC's ang paos are equally good too, as you can see above (the gold packets picture).


Ok, here comes the TOP REVENUE CONTRIBUTORS Award........



My Parents of course!!!

Here's the revenue statistics......



Top contributor would be my parents, followed by C's mom, my boss, Ms Koh and E's music teacher (who sells the most awesome kai see hor fun in the world)..... I did not put in the RM10 and RM5 contributors as there were too many and I can't possibly remember.



Looks quite a lot of money but I can assure you 3/4 of it is gone now, mainly to petrol and toll, mobile phone reloads, losing some to the friendly card games, my daily lunch money, financing my Perth trip in March, February household contribution etc.

You can also read Z's Ang Pao Awards here.

Bondi Beach Grill & Bar @ The Curve

This post takes us back to the CNY week (procrastination is something I do best) . Just 5 days after getting to know Mr Sixthseal.com in person. To be honest, I was quite an avid reader of his blog in those days, where I just love to read his posts on food (experiments and reviews) but it never did cross my mind that I will have the chance to do a food review with THE man himself.

We decided to try out a place we both have not been to before at The Curve and Bondi Beach crossed our minds, reason being it's new and I read somewhere that the set lunch is really worth it! FYI, Bondi Beach Bar & Grill is named and inspired by the Australian beach and offers Australian styled cuisines.



It was a quiet Friday afternoon, most people are either working or still enjoying the CNY holidays. The Set Lunch menu is only offered on weekdays from 12-3pm. Typical set lunch times but quite a pity that I don't work at The Curve area or else I'll be here every alternate days or on days when I need some 'happy meals' that won't burn a hole in my pocket.


Seafood Salad


Prawn Pinwheels

For starters, there's a choice of either the Seafood Salad, Chicken Yakitori or Prawn Pinwheels. HB had the Seafood Salad while I chose the Prawn Pinwheels. When the starters arrived, I actually had a shock! In a positive way though. The food were so well presented, with all the minor details (ie. sprinkling of herbs and perfect food arrangements). For a person who generally dislikes salad, HB's starter changed my mind completely. The seafood were generous and the vege was crisp. The Prawn Pinwheels did not disappoint either, it was fresh and came in 2 sticks with grilled prawns alternating between grilled onions, capsicums and tomato.


Creamy Seafood Pasta


Char-grilled Minute Steak w Fried Mini Rosti

For our mains, HB had the Creamy Seafood Pasta while I chose the Char-grilled Minute Steak w Fried Mini Rosti. I did my 'homework' before going for the review, so I know what I want to order. Moreover, it was a good thing that I did my 'homework' as I was 45 mins late for the lunch and HB gave me a good lecture on punctuality -_- but we're on a clean slate now! HB's pasta was in a good sizeable potion, creamy and generous portion of mussels, prawns and squids. I didn't think much of the it as I am not a fan of cream-based pasta, as how HB didn't think much of my dish as well. Which is good, because it means more for him and more for me!

:DDDDD

Contrary to what HB thinks of my dish, I found my minute steak to be okay. For the price I am paying, it's not surprising the steak is small but it fed me well. The sauce has a bit of black pepper taste and complemented the steak well. The fried rosti was good too, I like thick cut chips sometimes.


Fresh Fruit Salad Topped w Vanilla Ice Cream

For desserts, there wasn't a choice so it was Fresh Fruit Salad Topped w Vanilla Ice Cream as written in the menu. Again, the chefs at Bondi Beach has done a wonderful job by giving its customers a fine dining experience for the price of normal cafes. I love how the food is presented, even if it's just a simple dessert. Cubes of watermelon, papaya and honeydew drizzled with caramel sauce and topped with vanilla ice cream in a martini glass as desserts made the whole set lunch experience very well worth it.


Watermelon Juice

HB had the watermelon juice which is an ala carte item. Opt for the plain water if you must (if you only want to spend no more than RM14.90 though it's not tax inclusive yet) and the best thing is it comes refillable. I like eateries that provide the free plain water and refillable option.

Bondi Beach is one place I would strongly recommend for a wholesome yet affordable lunch at RM14.90.

Read HB's review here.



Bondi Beach Grill & Bar
Lot 146, Level 1,
The Curve.
(Next to Bubba Shrimp & Co.)

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

So Near Yet So Far

Remember my previous post on the ingenius ang pao idea by Pernod Ricard? Well, I was very excited about the results. Who wouldn't as the ticket may have a chance of striking the jackpot righttttt...?

The number's 9392, 9392, 9392... repeat and remember that.

Let's check the results.



It came out 3rd prize- 9293!! Well because I am not well versed with how the game goes, I thought I might have some chances in getting some money because my number has 9, 2, 9, and 3 numbers, but only reversed. A quick check with Khian and HB, I was left disappointed :( Apparently I can only consider 'winning' if I have all the combinations.

Sighs, why..... I think the 'so near yet so far' feeling is worst than not striking any number at all!

p/s: HB said if I could have won RM500 if I had all the combinations or my ticket no. was 9293.

Pernod Ricard CNY Dinner @ Ming Cuisine

The thing with working for a company that has dealings with liquor is the awesome invitations to dinners and functions with guaranteed goodies and free flow liquor. Sounds like a dreamjob, yes, no? Being a Buyer for the liquor category certainly has its perks ;)

I regretted not bringing my camera along the previous CNY Lunch organized by Bacardi Martini, which was quite interesting, both the dishes and the people. So I told myself I need to bring my camera this time around! After all, these are blogging materials what.



This year's dinner was held at Ming Cuisine, Section 19 PJ. It is a relatively new place that houses a chinese restaurant and nightclub... hmmm. Anyway, we were greeted by a lion dance at the entrance. Kinda 'extravagant' since it's after CNY and there's a lion dance!



Another reason why I said it's 'extravagant'. Look at the number of tables! From my guess, there should be at least 30 tables. Pernod Ricard literally booked the whole restaurant for the night's dinner. I told Iryna, my boss,"This looks like a wedding dinner!" True enough, it does seem like one with all the "Yammmmmmmmm SENGs!" and the VIPs hopping from table to table to shake hands and cheers. The only missing element is the karaoke session, haha!





Oh, yes. Before I forget about the big roasted pig at the restaurant entrance. The 'butcher' was chopping up plates after plates of delicious looking roasted pork belly for every table. Quite a pity that I didn't get to try it as this plate was taken from the VIP's table and I am not seated there :( When I went over to settle down at my own table, the whole plate is polished off already. Must be some really good roasted pork belly, eh.



Did I mention it was free flow of Chivas 12Yrs, Martell Cordon Bleu and some red wine and bubbly?



The dinner finally started and the obligatory Yee Sang was served. What makes this Yee Sang more special besides having one after CNY is the additional soft shell crab on top of the obligatory salmon slices. Oh and btw, the salmon slices were in thick cuts too. You know it's good when I have second servings! Ok, I had second servings.



Lou, lou, lou! Not low, low, low ok? Lou to good health! Lou to good wealth! Lou to wishes coming true! Lou to better economy, steady jobs, promotions, strike lottery, boss good mood, etcetera etcetera etcetera.



Instead of the usual sharks fin soup, we were each treated to a mini pot of Fatt Tiu Cheong, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall instead. Quite a lovely surprise I'll say. What's even better was when the 'uncle' seated next to me started adding 2 spoonfuls of Martell CB to everyone's pot claiming it tastes better that way! I was bit skeptical at first, not knowing if alcohol being added to hot soup will result to explosion or will speed the drunken process but ok it does tastes better :/

And then the fish, vegetarian dish and prawns came...







Followed by the must have CNY dish, glutinous rice with waxed meat...



And desserts! No, the free flow liquor isn't considered a dessert.





I love the desserts! It has been such a long time I had fried yam with nian gao!! And remember about my blog post on CNY Set Meals where I complained that restaurants don't serve memorable desserts anymore? Well thank god PR had Tong Yuen as the dessert. It was so good and comforting.

PR was very generous with the flow of liquor, I even saw people carrying cases of liquor to the makeshift bar as supplies were running low. And what's better is this miniature bottles of Martell CB and Chivas 12Yrs. They have the normal sized ones as well but we were more fascinated with the mini versions. I took 2 empty Martell CB and half a bottle of Chivas 12Yrs and subsequently gave a bottle of CB and Chivas to my boss as she loves Chivas. The way to buy (my) boss's heart is through whisky, yes Iryna? *wink wink*


Now you see a full bottle...


And now you don't!

Seriously, nolah it was my token of appreciation to her for bringing me to the dinner. Really wan!



The picture above has got to be my favourite shot of the night. Hardcore pimping for Martell not intended!

Last but not least, pictures with people!



Pernod Ricard's Managing Director, CK Tan a.k.a. Ze Big Boss addressing the crowd before chowing down!



Some of the powerful men and women in the industry. Not too sure about the guy in blue but the other guy next to him is Ze Owner of your favourite clubbing joints- Passion, Poppy and Rum Jungle. Should have asked for a No-Cover-Charge card from him haha. The lady next to him is his wife of course. My lady boss, Iryna hereafter known as Ze Boss is the one in red cheongsam.



Ze Boss seen here with Pernod Ricard's Ze Big Boss's wife.



Ze Boss with the guy with Iphone and cool cigarette case. Sorry mate, donch know your name!



And lastly, my own picture taken with my camera. Seen here with some of the Table 7 members and my supplier, Maria.

Thanks for the dinner Pernod Ricard, Maria for the invitation and Iryna for bringing me there, if you're reading this ;) I certainly had fun!



And this is PR's style of giving the Ang Pao. Either you strike alot or you got nothing in the end. I find this ang pao idea pretty ingenius. To married people, no you cannot do that next year, I still want my ang pao to be in cold hard cash tqverymuch.

Oh yeah the draw is on Sunday, tomorrow. Lookout for the winning numbers for me!

Happy Valentine's Day, peeps!

Qing Zhao Xiao Cai @ Kota Kinabalu

I am back from what I can say to be my final trip to Kota Kinabalu. A place that would hold many fond memories for me. While I have never set foot at the East side of Malaysia before joining the company, I can now proudly say that I have been to Kota Kinabalu 5 times within 8 months! Even more than I have been back to Ipoh for the year!



Forgive me if I misspelt the name of this little shop sandwiched between many other shops in the quaint little town of Kota Kinabalu. I was told it is in Beverly Hills, no not the US of A's Beverly Hills, this is the KK's version of Beverly Hills. If not mistaken, it's somewhere near Jalan Bundusan-Jalan Penampang. Special thanks to Eric (my Lady Boss's business partner, Angie's old friend) who brought us there.





What brought us back here again is the craving for the comfort food served here- porridge. And in the case of Qing Zhao Xiao Cai, it is not just plain porridge but the Sweet Potato Porridge and the other various side dishes. The dishes have a very homely feel and taste, something different from the usual seafood we have while we were in KK. The simple meal of porridge with century egg/ stir fried string beans/ fried omelette/ minced pork patty w salted egg/ etc. is the epitome of comfort food, especially when you're far away from home, after a hard day's work.......







If you would have expected service to be slow for a small simple set up like this, then you are wrong. Food arrived very quickly, almost like it was fast food, Chinese style. The good news is, the food quality was not compromised. Perhaps part of the reason why we came back for more (I had this during my first trip to KK, such a coincidence that I am having it for my final trip as well- starts with a bang, ends with a bang?) is because of the awesome red snapper fillet. It was smooth and fresh, with the right taste of soy sauce and a little bit of garlic, we would all agree if they name this Ze Fish.



The Star Number 2 was the century eggs. Take a look at it and you should know why it should be called Ze Century Egg as well.



I enjoyed myself very much for the 2 nights' dinners. The first night, Eric took us to Dowish Restaurant, a seafood place at Penampang Road and we had the most awesomest seafood dinner, even better than Ocean Seafood Village. My only regret is not taking the camera with me... now I don't have pictures to show you guys how awesome it was :(

Thanks Angie, Iryna and Eric for sharing these delicious meals with me, now I wish that wasn't my last trip to KK with you guys for I will truly miss the laughs and silly jokes.