Cone Pizzas

My kids were nagging me for pizzas, so I decided to take them to the newly open Cone Pizza outlet in IOI Boulevard. 

We ordered a margarita cone and a creamy chicken cone. The cones are basically 6-inch pizzas rolled into cones, and crispy when they are still hot.

The menu also says that they have mini 4-inch cones for tasting.

My kids nickname them "hot creamy cheesy ice cream".

The Mystery of Nasi Beringin

I met up with some friends from New Straits Times newspaper for lunch and they took me to this food court on the second floor of Menara Mutiara, Bangsar (GPS 3.122387,101.67524), just behind the NST building.

No one knows why this stall calls the dish "nasi beringin", but it tastes great.

The secret is in the way they cook the fragrant rice and the spices they use. The fried chicken and sotong are also superb.

You need to be there before 12.15pm because the queue starts at noon. Sometimes a customer orders a takeaway of 30-40 packets, which slows down the service even further.

The stall also provides catering services, and can be contacted at 012-325 2552.

9 Emperor Gods Festival

Each year on the 9th month of the Chinese calendar, we would expect rain for the first 9 days. This signifies that the 9 Emperor Gods Festival has arrived.

Each year, I will do my prayers at the 9 Emperor Gods Temple in Ampang. While I was little, my parents used to take me there in the morning under the rain, but in the past few years I visited the temple in the afternoon when it is less crowded and stormy.

This year, I did my prayers on the 5th day of the month.  

An opera is performed throughout the 9 days, and when I arrived, there was a show going on. You get to see a float procession too on the first and last days, where devotees invite the gods in and send them off. 

The festival is a worldwide celebration and here is a link for you to understand more about it.

Penang Hawker Food in KL

As usual, I was deliberating with the kids on where to have simple hawker food for breakfast. I decided we should have "authentic Penang cuisine" -- the kids assumed we needed to head north for that!

Instead, we ended up at SS2/66, at a restaurant called Lorong Seratus Tahun (GPS coordinates: 3.166537,101.693637).

Here you can enjoy just about anything, from char kuey teow and curry mee to chee cheong fun and loh bak. Great food, though the curry is still not as good as what you can find in Penang.

For those who aren't familiar with Penang chee cheong fun, a lot of places in Penang use prawn roe paste as the sauce, while in KL we get boring soya bean sauce.

The restaurant is a bit pricey though. The breakfast with my 4 kids set me back RM80. 

Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki basically means 'mix anything you like' (okono mi) and fry it.

I took my family to this new place called Haru Zen, located in IOI Boulevard. It is a Japanese restaurant, but it happens to have a big sign that says "okonomiyaki", which was one of the things that attracted me. It is non-halal and has several pork dishes; you can even have pork in an okonomiyaki.

We ordered at least five okonomiyakis and also some other dishes, like mixed seafood in aluminum foil, which is a new experience for me.

My son ordered the Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, which had pork, cabbage, eggs and noodles fried in two layers.

The only setback to the okonomiyaki experience is that they don't really have the big frying pan that you can sit around, like those in Japan. The great food makes up for it though!

Below is a video of my son waiting impatiently his okonomiyaki. 

Bravo Pizza Brava

After getting tired of eating so much meat, my friend suggested a small Italian place in Desa Sri Hartamas for dinner: Pizza Brava, which is actually next to Blackhole on Jalan 25/70A. 

They do good wood fire pizzas with thin crusts, and the pizzas have funny names. We ordered a Romeo pizza, but didn't match it with a Juliet. Instead I ordered some olio-style spicy spaghetti. 

The ambience doesn't really suit an Italian restaurant, but it's a nice place for a simple meal.

Bulletproof Managers at Dorsett

Bullet Proof Managers

This week, 18 managers from Dorsett International and 4 Dorsett properties graduated from The Bullet Proof Manager program.

As part of our talent management initiative, these are the managers who have been identified as future leaders of the company. The program spanned over 12 months and 24 modules, so those who crossed the finishing line were the most committed and capable associates.

Well done to the team for their commitment towards self-development! I look forward to their new leadership roles. 

The Dorsett International Team

Wantan Mee in Puchong

I sometimes have my breakfast at this coffee shop called KH20 (Jalan Kenari 21, opposite Pizza Hut) because the wantan mee is quite good.

The stall is called Ah Chai Wantan Noodle Stall. Ingredients like char siew, braised intestines, braised knuckles and wantan are a great value for money. They also put a lot of herbs in the soup.

The texture of the noodles isn't so good though. I normally go for the fettuccine-type noodles here. 

Besides the wantan mee, the duck rice here is also great.

Bayernhaus, CapSquare Mall

Bayernhaus is a German pub and restaurant with fantastic baby ribs and sausages. The pork knuckles aren't so great, I have to admit.

There is a vast selection of German beers. From Paulener (dark bier) and Dunkel to 111 (light German bier); you name it, they have it, all at reasonable prices.

Makes a great place for evening gatherings.

What is Success, Really?

Venerable Thubten Chodron

At the World Buddhist Conference last week, Venerable Thubten Chodron, who practises Tibetan Buddhism, asked a pertinent question during her talk, 'Bringing Harmony to the Workplace'.

What is success? 

She provided a scenario: when a person wants more money, he or she will work hard for the promotion, and that means more time will be devoted to the job, but he or she will obtain more money. The faster you climb, the higher you will go until you reach the top. Then, do you declare that achievement as success? When you examine the other aspects of your life, you realize you have lost time with your family; you have skipped your child's choir performance, you've missed your relative's funeral, and you forgot a loved one's birthday. Can you really call this success?

On the other hand, there is a person who earns just enough, and goes home to spend time with his or her family, with enough money to purchase a home and spend on education for the kids, but he or she may not be at the top of the organizational chart. Can you deem this second scenario success?

I immediately reflected on my current life and asked myself this question: is it worth carrying on with my current pace, or is it better to slow down, balancing all my matters, and being happy? 

Carl's Jr in Singapore

Normally when my Malay friends from Singapore pay a visit, their first request is to go to a fast food chain like Carl's Jr, Subway, and Tony Roma's, as they are halal in Malaysia.

When I visit countries outside Malaysia and am getting some fast food for myself, I love hamburgers.

In Singapore, I visited Carl's Jr and ordered a bacon cheeseburger. I have just one word to describe it: "Wow!"

It's a little too cheesy for me but it's still very nice. I will order the Western bacon burger next time, which doesn't have cheese!

Hard Rock Cafe Singapore

It was raining so heavily in Singapore that a few of us decided to seek refuge in the local Hard Rock Cafe.

The plus point about Hard Rock Cafes outside Malaysia is that they are non-halal.

We ordered the Tennessee-style Hickory Smoked BBQ Ribs, which was so tender that the meat practically slid off the bones. The waiters told me that the ribs are smoked for almost 6 hours.

We also had the Shredded Hickory BBQ Bacon Cheese Burger. I thought it was great, but I still prefer the lamb sandwich.

My best gastronomical experience with Hard Rock Cafe is the BBQ baby back in Gold Coast, Australia. It's always my first stop each time I visit the Gold Coast!