Bought from Australia

Greetings from Malaysia again! I arrived this morning at 11.30am with 2 heavy bags, all containing my loot (and dirty laundry) from Perth. I bought so much of jewelleries that it will please all the females at home. Some food stuff, clothings (I try not to buy so much as I'm hitting Bangkok end of the month), cookbooks for mom...

AND my favourite L'eau Par Kenzo Pour Homme for such a steal! Even after converting! It is in a coffret set, EDT 100ml + Shower Gel 100ml for only AUD55.80 (after conversion= RM134). The single 50ml is already retailing at RM180, Malaysia DF Price. Yes I know it's a male fragrance, but trust me it's the most unisex pour homme evarrrr. It was almost love at first sight when I went testing perfumes around the shop when I was still with my previous company. I also got two 20ml bottles of CK In2U at only AUD20 each.

I got most of my clothes from the factory outlet stores at Harbour Town. My most expensive purchase would be AUD 19.95. Given on a dollar-to-dollar comparison, the stuff here are so much cheaper! You'll find most of the shops with "Nothing over 9.95" corners. I got the colorful shawls at Cotton On for only AUD1 each, I bought all 4 colors :D The jewelleries I got was such a steal as well (again, the rule is don't convert...). You'll probably find some of them at Lings & Blings later :D



The most interesting steal however is these miniature bottles of famous liquor at AUD5.99 each from the duty free shop in Perth Airport. I wish I could buy all of them but liquor allowance for M'sians are only 3 bottles of these 200ml miniatures. I bought 3 when I arrived and another 3 when I departed.



The cutest has got to be the Absolut because I'm quite a biased like that, I love Absolut bottles! The picture above is a visual comparison- 1 litre, 20cl and 5cl. The 20cl looks too cuteeeee. Now someone must donate me a bottle of the Absolut Blue 5cl so that I can have a happy family :DDD



I don't have the litre size for Bailey's, so here's a visual comparison of the 20cl bottle and 5cl one. So cute right????

D'Fashion Cafe Value Set Lunch

Greetings from Perth! The weather is really hot (think: Malaysia with the heat but without the sweat). Anyway, it has been great so far... I'll blog about it with pictures when I get home.



I'll blog about this place behind my office which serves quite value for money set lunch. It thrives on a boutique-cafe concept, inspired by the likes of Zang Toi and Seed Cafe according to the owner and his gf. The front section of the shop is occupied by the boutique and the inner section is where the cafe is. The cafe sits about 20 pax, so it's small, nice and cozy.


Iced Ribena


Iced Mango

For every set lunch which is only available from 12-3pm, there is a drink, soup of the day, main course and dessert. All these for only RM9.90. Before you jump to the conclusion that the food they serve must be tasteless and substandard quality etc, this place serves yummy food at affordable price. Such a rarity these days...

Which is why I'm naming this Recession Food, awesome food at even awesomer price that anyone can afford in this 'economy cyclone' (learnt this from the Australian news, the term used to refer to the economic downturn/crisis in a nicer manner) times.


Nachos with Salsa Sauce- RM3.90


Soup of the Day

Starting off with a soup of the day...


Yu Shiang Eggplant Rice


Nasi Lemak

Proceeding with a main course of your choice... there's quite a number of variety, from Nasi Lemak (recommended) to Teriyaki Beef/Chicken Rice (recommended) to Chinese sounding dishes like Yu Shiang Eggplant Rice to more western fares like pastas.



And ending with either a scoop of ice cream, comes in few flavours such as Yam (I love yam!), Chocolate and Vanilla or their home made Rose Jelly (tried before but I prefer the ice cream).

And all these for only RM9.90! Guaranteed to fill you up and make you feel sleepy back at work!



It was my final meal at D'Fashion Cafe as my colleagues treated me for my farewell lunch. Already said recession mah....

Read here or here for more details.



D'Fashion Cafe
3-G, Jalan Ara 7/3a,
Bandar Sri Damansara, KL.
Business hours: 11am-9pm daily
Tel: 03-62753577

[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.]

A Night Out @ Shalome... Lifestyle Restaurant & Bar

Last Friday, I got a text from HB asking if I want to tag along for a dinner-get together hosted by a place in Taman Tun Dr Ismail called Shalome. Since there was nothing up in my agenda for the night, I agreed. Being not a direction and map savvy person that I am, I googled up the place and found the website.

Shalome is a Lifestyle Restaurant & Bar tucked in the hip neighborhood of TTDI. Upon reaching, I was greeted by Nicholas, and then got introduced to Jane, the PR of Shalome slash organizer of the night. HB came out from the washroom later, KY, Rachel and Yat arrived soon after and that's about the people I do actually know.

If you must know, it was my first time attending a Nuffnang gathering. You can almost tell I was a litttttle bit nervous about it but I shall quote HB, "Alcohol is the social lubricant".







Jane, being a hospitable host that she was treated us to a wholesome dinner. There were so much food that I jokingly asked her if we have eaten everything on the menu! Shalome offers a variety of food and drinks- from tapas to poultry to pastas to pizzas and from plain water to Macallan to Heinekken to cocktails and every possible alcohol drink you can think of. It's a lifestyle restaurant and bar after all!





I shall not comment much on the food as there were pretty good for bar-kinda food. We killed many prawns and fish and lamb and duck and chicken and mushrooms and potatoes and... you get my point ;)





While there were plenty to eat and drink from, entertainment is aplenty too. According to Jane, there is a live band performing every night and boy can these people sing very well! The singers belted some of the classics like Total Eclipse of the Heart (by Bonnie Tyler and reprised by Westlife) and some other oldies is goldies songs which was famous before my time (in other words, I cannot remember).







The only letdown perhaps is the too-loud music. Hey don't get me wrong, the music is good, but it's just too loud. It's almost as loud as clubs that you have to scream to get the messages across... until I had to resort to the cavemen way of communicating- sign languages and writing on notepads! Well that's my personal opinion of the place, though I know most people actually love the loud music.





Well to most people, the Equation of Having A Good Time is:

Loud Music + Alcohol + Good Food + Good Company = GOOD TIME



I certainly had a great time, free flow of Macallan and Glenfiddich 12 Yrs, and having the Elegancia as well. I also tried the Jameson, and Irish whisky which was on Frontier magazine's coverpage (can't remember which issue though). It has a really spicy note!!! Not my cup of tea whisky.

On that night, we also made friends with 2 of the bar's regulars and played the Game of Death. But lucky for us, Jane and I who had the ultimate punishment, we were made to down a jug of water instead of a jug of Macallan!



Never had so much water at one go in my life.

HB totally KO'ed after that, and the rest of us went mamak and called it a night.

Thanks Nuffnang, Jane and HB for the Saturday night out!

Read HB's story here. There's not much story though as he was KO'ed and now need somebody to F5 his memory. Lol.

~

On other news, I have thrown in my letter of resignation a month ago and yesterday was my last day in the office. Surely there's a few things I'll miss but I'm happy to be heading in a better direction now. I can't possibly say I'll be happier at my new place but after 8 months, I think I have quite enough of the old one and that I'd better be doing something that will help me build my career versus what I like to be doing.

Life's complicated that way but guess what! I'll be heading to Perth tonight, 11pm flight! So, have fun at your work while I have some Aussie sunshine and kangaroo satay for a week... Till then!

The Soya Shop @ Ikano Power Center

Last Saturday, I was supposed to play chaperon slash shopping slash makan buddy to Khian. The day's agenda was to SHOP, SHOP, EAT and SHOP! I was supposed to be the angel who whispers softly to Khian's ears everytime she wants to buy something on impulse, but guess who spent the most in the end??

:D



Our first stop was at FOS as it's always a must-go ground to hunt for cheap buys and cute t-shirts. However this time around, I had a bad experience with the outlet store and I'm boycotting it for 2 months! Gerammmm. We then proceeded to other shops and dropped by at Ikea Cafe for lunch. I love Ikea cafe! Meatballs, mmmm. Smoked salmon, mmmmm. Fried chicken wings, mmmmmmm.

After lunch and a little bit more of walking, we headed to Ikano where Khian was beginning to show signs of falling asleep. Perhaps it was due to me buying more stuff than her and it's always no fun watching other people buy. Heh. She suggested for teatime and we ended up at The Soya Shop.


Longan Tau Foo Fah- RM2.90


Red Bean Tong Yuen Tau Foo Fah- RM3.90

Khian had the Longan Tau Foo Fah with ginger syrup while I had the Red Bean Tong Yuen TFF with ginger syrup as well. There were 4 tong yuens given. The Longan TFF was served chilled while my Tong Yuen TFF was served slightly warm.



Both the TFF fared so-so. Perhaps coming from the Land of Funny Mountain TFF, we had our expectations abit too high and have probably accustomed our taste to the standards of Funny Mountain. The soya milk was too diluted and there was little taste of ginger. Though I despise ginger in all forms, I love my TFF and tong sui with powerpacked ginger taste. The tong yuen was ok though.

Gimme my roadside TFF and soya bean anytime!


The Soya Shop
Lower Ground Floor,
Ikano Power Center.
thesoyashop.com

[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.]

Outback Steakhouse @ Bangsar Village

Back in the days when I was working for Fidani during the 3 weeks before Christmas at a little booth in Bangsar Village, I had to clock in (though not literally) about 9 hours on weekdays and 12 hours on weekends. It was very tiring, typical promoter job with the exception that I sold high class and delicious chocolates and my 3 weeks pay was more than some people's salary for a month!

Due to the long hours and freezing cold environment, meal times are the only times I rejoiced most. But because I was working in a place called Bangsar, food there were expensive. Once in a while you try to indulge but most often it burns a hole in your pocket. I had ALOT of nasi lemak tambah kari and telur mata kerbau from Devi's Corner then, very unhealthy but it's the cheapest thing there.


We're the Ipoh girls :D

I remember passing by Outback Steakhouse almost every time I had to get my nasi lemak. It was like a sacred place- only for those with money, and I hadn't any, that's why had to work-loh! I was so tempted to go in but eventually didn't but this is one off the checklist now as I decided to make a visit to the restaurant last Friday for a dinner get-together with my childhood friends- Khian and Mel.


Aussie Cheese Fries- RM17.95
Aussie cheese topped with Monteray Jack, Cheddar cheeses and bacon served with spicy ranch dressing


Bushman 'Shrooms- RM17.95
Mushrooms breaded and deep fried served with spicy ranch dressing

As usual, I was tasked with ordering the appetizers. The Aussie Cheese Fries was my pick as it looked so delectable (and sinful) in the menu. We were torn between the Buffalo Chicken Wings and Bushman 'Shrooms but eventually picked the latter. The cheese fries came a bit cold and the cheese were already hardened while the fries stuck to each other. We were abit disappointed though, moreover the bacon bits were so little, so different from the picture in the menu! The deep fried mushrooms fared a little bit better, but we agreed that TGIF's version is better than Outback's. At least at TGIF's the batter was golden brown and fluffy.


Campfire Salmon- RM34.95

Mel had the Campfire Salmon which came drenched with what looked like tomato sauce. Taste wise, the salmon was ok, fresh but Mel commented that she prefered the one in Tony Roma's.


Sizzling Sirloin- RM34.95
A sizzling plate of tender beef, sliced and served over grilled onions and a fresh medley of grilled vegetables

The sirloin was a little bit too well done, Khian had ordered it to be 70% but later we laughed at her and asked her what "70%" means? As expected, we thought the chef couldn't interpret 70% and decided to just make it 101%. The meat was abit stiff but the grilled onions were awesome. I love it!


Outback Sirloin- RM44.95
An 8-Ounce center-cut sirloin, seasoned and seared to perfection served with corn on the cob, steamed vegies and garlic mashed potato

I chose the very tempting Outback Sirloin. You should look at the picture in the menu, anyone would be tempted too, including vegans! I opted for it to be done Medium-Rare.



It was TEH AWESOME.



Because it was so awesome, here's another picture. And no, I did not get any bad stomachache after that.

The outside was grilled perfectly leaving the center inside still reddish. I know most people can't take beef, moreover it being a little bit raw but you're reading the blog of a person who loves beef and loves the half raw wagyu maki at Senjyu. The meat was so tender, it was almost effortless to eat it! I think this was the only consolation to the whole meal, at least I was satisfied.

The bill came at RM173.35, inclusive of 15% (un)necessary taxes, not cheap, similar to TGIF and Chilli's pricing. However, good news is iced/warm water is free and comes refillable- phew, now you can save on drinks and oder another appetizer!


p/s: I've posted an update on TENJI's buffet promotion. Click here to read :)


Outback Steakhouse
GL-6, Bangsar Village
No.1 Jalan Telawi Satu
Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2287 7850
www.outback-sea.com/my

[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.]

Sunday Update

While I was on my way back home this evening, the clouds were distinctly fighting with each other. There is apparently 2 clans- the Black and the White. The Subang Jaya side was on the dark side while USJ spots a clearer sky.



It started pouring soon after. First soft droplets of water which evolved into hard droplets that hit the windshield with a ice cubes-like sound effects. You know the rain is going to be strong.



As Priscilla Patrick will say during the traffic reports, "Traffic is backed up to the Kewajipan Roundabout........"

Rainy season. Good for sleeping. Good night, ta!