Plus One Shabu Shabu

Saturday - We rarely go out Saturday for dinner, but yesterday, Hubby excitingly tells me that he plans to bring us go try the Plus One Shabu Shabu in One U. Yeay...outing on a Saturday nite! Knowing my boy wouldnt enjoy, I prepared him dinner first before we go out...and well...LUCKY LEH! U know why?!

OK, before that, Plus One Shabu Shabu is a newly opened steamboat restaurant chain, brought in by "hong-kies" la. Very similar to this popular Shabu Shabu in Bandar Puteri, Puchong, you get to have one individual pot to yourself. I guess the one significant different is the variety of soup base you get to choose from - and interesting ones too! I saw from their website that its located at the "previous" World of Fengshui, so, we found it pretty fast. (funny how World of Fengshui is closed, OR relocated - i dunno...I tot fengshui shop should have good biz coz they should have GOOD FENGSHUI ?! :P)

Anyway, the restaurant seems cozy and I liked the size of the table - big enuf to hold all the dishes. We were seated very quickly by a nice lady, 4 seater table. Although they have alot of selection, we managed to make up our minds rather fast also. Then I noticed this counter, full of different sauces. Nice nice...

The food were served very fast. But our good dinner turned bad soon after. The induction cooker hubby is using...turned off by itself. A waiter then helped swap to the next cooker on hubby's side of the table. Makan abit, then same thing happened. Then another waiter came to change the cooker to the previous side...makan abit, the same thing happened again! Hubby had to keep swapping between two sides of the cooker, while I have to stand up a few times for the waiter to access under the table to do something with the plugs. Wah...all mood off!

They changed our tables after one hour of tortured dinner...ok, new table...yeay! NO YEAY! I choosed my side and started eating, then soon, we heard the beeping sound of cooker turning off AGAIN! WAT THE HECK! Hubby madly changed to three other cooker on the table, but end up having the same problem....TALK ABOUT BAD LUCK! Mine no problem wor!

We started dinner like 7.15 and finished eating like 9.15. Two hours! The captain and waiters all already very pai seh dy....coz they can't find any other solutions for us.

I can hardly recall if the food is good or not...most of the time we are irritated by the beeping sound and having to stop coz the soup isnt boiling....bad dinner rite. Well, we were given special 20% off our bill as to compensate our bad time....Worth it or not? No lo........we still pay and did not really enjoy it.....:(

~when i read...its like...MEi....NU.......

~see how i say my boy won't be interested...? As soon as we sit down, he started asking to play games using my mobile

~hubby choosing wat to eat

~wide range of sauce to choose from

~chilis from HK ? no lah....

~jug of water-cress and honey

~my choice of soup - preserved eggs with chinese parsley broth

~hubby choosed Pork Bone with Corn Broth

~four seasons - shrimp ball, pork ball, fish ball and sotong ball

~rib eye steak

~i cannot decide which type of mushroom i want, so, i ordered MIXED. :)

~we ordered Tong Hou, but they say no more. So, changed to Yau Mak. Regret, coz alot of other dishes comes with it..like the mixed mushrooms.

~there! most of our dinner arrived very quickly.

Oh ya...I forgot about tis! They are having this promo, so, if your bill is over RM 50, you can order either fish, prawn or crab for RM 1 only. We got this.

~our Saturday dinner cost RM 79.80 - AFTER 20% discount from the bad time we had through-out. Ok, at least ada compensation. :)

My 2009 Target - FOUND.

OK, previously I mentioned about how I envy people having the "POWER" to read chinese books...So, I want to overcome that ENVY and DO IT!

It was my day off (4 days work week started)....so, I went for my usual hair-cut at the usual salon...I wasn't in a hurry and my hair-stylist, Karen had a quiet day also, we ended chatting for a good 3 hours... We talked about everything...sisters, families, husbands, food...and one we wouldn't avoid, our children. So she showed me a bunch of books she bought, well all in CHINESE of coz...on parenting and early childhood education. Karen nicely read some to me, some in summary....oh...I was overwhelmed with so many philosophys on parenting that we could easily apply to our daily life and bringing up our children. It was that second I have decided - I WANNA DO IT.

Bryan, at 5 is already a very challenging part of my life. Sometimes I don't know how, or WHAT is the best way I should teach him, correct him, overall bringing him up to be a good person. I've once tried looking for parenting books in English, and came to realised there isn't very much choices available. Furthermore, mostly written by Westerners, like that one book that I purchased - and turned out not as applicable to our culture. I'm not saying we should read Parenting BOoks to be a good parent, but sometimes we need to find some guides, or ways others had applied which, you know, may be better than how we choose to react to something.

Karen recommended this book by a chinese author from China - Lu Quen (hope i get this correct :P ) - Hao Fu Mu, Hao Hai Zhi (Good parents, Good Child). I went straight to the bookshop in Summit, but already sold out. But this book I bought is also written by the same author and also about parenting - SO - I didnt had my "new year resolutions" before, and I guess its not too late now...only April mah! THere, my resolution for 2009 - to finish this book which is in CHINESE. I managed 2 pages so far, with the help from hubby. I should get a dictionary soon...that translates chinese to english...GOT AH? i dunno.

Well people, Wish me LUCK!

~the book cover

~i skipped prefix and started here. See the things i scribbled on it, my struggle with one page...:)

Wan Wan Ju

"Homework" has now become a routine for my boy. I'm still adapting to the fact that the education level now is so much different! At his age, I've just started kindergarten and learning alphabets, but now, they are already making words from alphabets.

Anyway, I'm not a chinese educated person and found much disadvantages for not knowing how to read chinese. I've picked up alot of characters by self-learning thru reading song lyrics, but its limited. I envy people having the "power" to read Chinese papers and books. Not all type of books we can find in English rite!

Well...with that I have insisted that my boy MUST learn chinese. I've already enrolled him for Primary one in a Chinese school in Puchong...hopefully will get lah!

His kindi has already started him with Chinese, but i somehow not sure the teacher is good leh! I mean, when he brings back his homework, then when he wanna form that chinese character, the strokes is wrong. Dunno if he has forgotten, or really DUNNO. Well, now standard still low, so i can help, but later in primary, he will need his daddy help lo. Lucky daddy knows chinese!

~this is happy homework face...."NOT" usual. hahah

~smile diminishes....keke

~not very nice, but ok for his age lah!

I Miss Hong KONG!!!

I blame Facebook...! :)

Today i viewed a fren's photo of his recent trip to Hong Kong...i think for his honeymoon....Brought back all the fanfastic memory of my visit there last year....I WANNA GO AGAIN!!!

Hong Kong is such a great place to go, great food, nice weather, nice people, the convinience of travel...you name it. Another girl fren of mine will be going there end of this year for her honeymoon also....wah..envy envy!

I initially planned to bring Bryan there for the Disneyland, but in view of the current economic recession...all plans have to be delayed. I'm now on a 4 days work week, so, less pay means i have to be careful in my spending...haih....hope the situation goes well soon soon soon!

Anyway, I'll be dreaming of Hong Kong today....

Hubby and I have this dream to visit Japan....but i miss Hong Kong....if you were me, and have the budget to go, would u choose to go Japan or Hong Kong again?! hahahha!

Pasta Zanmai - Midvalley Megamall

Another meet up session for me and my girls...this round we went for Pasta Zanmai in Midvalley..... WOW! I SUKA! Kekek...

They serve...erm..itallian food-Jap style. There...i think that pretty much how I can describe it la. Too bad I didnt bring along my camera, so, I took photos just using my mobile....and turns out, of coz, NOT good. But i still wanna post it up here, just to record it down here in my "journal"... :)

The menu is very interesting, coz alot of pictures.... I love it when each food they serve comes with a photo...u know wat to expect - although most of the times, wat is served is less nicer than what we expect to get. But hor, remember this common phrase - FOR ILLUSTRATION PURPOSES ONLY. :P

Dessert Menu lagi interesting. I wish I could order all ! Show u the dessert and drinks menu first...Nice hor!


~my selection!

Surprisingly, I think we didnt take too much time to choose wat we wanted to eat. We ordered a mash potato salad - something like our appetizer - just one for four of us. But its enuf to kick us up. I loved the texture and its creammy taste. Then, each of us ordered a pasta - SET comes with a miso soup and salad. Topping up our main course is a pizza - we choose scallop pizza. Oh ya, DRINKs...is a Jug of Ice Fruit Tea. Loved it.

~the real deal. Cream sauce pasta with jap mushrooms with hot spring egg (half-boiled egg lo) Picture more mushrooms rite!

~Yen and Yvonne's deal - Unagi.

~Bee ordered salmon sashimi pasta with sesame seed. That's Bee's hand crushing those sesames....Fun meal :)

~the end product.

~our drinks - ICE FRUIT TEA in a JUG. just enuf for four of us. Well...no one complaint not enuf la...

~scallop pizza

DESSERT TIME! :) We actually choosed two desserts to share, one CHOCO BANANA and one GREEN TEA TIRAMISU. Maybe very late liao, no more green tea tiramisu wor...so, cancel la. End up sharing just one dessert - Choco Banana PARFAIT.

~the picture of the Choco Banana in the menu.........

.....VS REAL PRODUCT. hahah ...very different rite. BUT still nice la....Its layers of banana, oreos, corn-flakes, ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate fudge. I give it a 10/10!

The next day, I went on to search the word PARFAIT... just to know actually HOW to pronounce it, and wat the hell it meant! Ladies....for you...:

Par-fait (pronounced : pahr-fey) is a French word meaning "perfect."

Meaning : a dessert of ice cream and fruit or ice cream and syrup in alternate layers, often topped with whipped cream and served in a tall, narrow, short-stemmed glass.

There....now next time we know how to say it OUT LOUD! Hahah...

And oh....Thanks to Bee and Yvonne for the treat! (speaking on behalf of Yen also) :)

See u guys soon!!! MUAKS!

Tenji

People have been talking about Tenji...Tenji...Tenji. Was a hit when they just started business, a replica of Jogoya style buffet.

Promo was on once they started, so, i heard like always fully booked..have to book like weeks in advance and so on...Wah..so good meh?

So me and hubby decided to give it a try...since Jogoya is rather disspointing already, maybe this would turn out to be our next good buffet place. Their promo, keeps extending itself...keke- so its like RM49.90++ for lunch.

How was it? Let's just say - you most probably won't see me there again. The spread isnt very impressing, and not many also. From normal sashimi, fresh oysters to sushi - then normal cooked chinese dishes and chinese soups (bad), dim sum - we didnt take any of those maybe not tempting, western food like 4-5 selections, tempura (not good - tempura mixture too saltish), tepanyaki - ok, and hot pot soup - just miso soup. And dun even get me started on the deserts...haha. Cakes are hard like rocks! Well....they serve Haagen Dazs ice cream - so one point for tat.

I get to enjoy the chocolate fondue....something i will remember. They have fresh coconuts for drinks - every table sure will drink like 3-4 of it. I guess coz the rest of the drinks is not nice. HEHe...they have fruits and flower teas brewed in pots, which looked like some tea being brewed over a month. Taste horrid. I had green tea which have the slight aroma of peach.

There, my experience at Tenji.....

April already....

Yep, i'm back..... Tick tock tick tok, April already.

I spent the whole of March getting back in perspective. Took my time to digest and come in terms of what had happened....Alot of people i know are still puzzled on what came on me, well, I've lost my second child to thalassemia, a inherited blood disorder which me and hubby have so we have to face the challenge of 25% having our next generation that is incompetent to life.
So, friends, if you are reading my blog, you now know lo.

This is the biggest challenge that I have faced so far in this journey of mine. Funny how fate bring humans together, and to have arranged both of us, hubby and me to have the same blood disorder....Anyway, it's the past, and I have to learn to look ahead.

My birthday just passed, and this year, a quiet and nice one. My company implemented four days work week starting this month due to recession, so, I took half day leave on my day, April's Fools day.

Had lunch with hubby and then I had a chance to do a quiet shopping around new IOI Mall....I stumblled upon the newly opened DAISHO - japanese shop and all RM 5 per item. Cool......Bought some "USEFUL" stuffs la....and also a pair of new shoes for myself....You see, I've got this RM30 voucher from Padini which will be expiring...and would be such a waste if i dun use it rite.....(yea la...excuses excuses...!)

Well, for dinner, hubby brought us to Bubba Gump in Sunway Pyramid for my mini celebration. Nice food, but becoz they are new....some waiter abit blur la. A supervisor asked if any of their staff asked us question on Forrest Gump....when we say NO, he say he will get someone to "entertain" us....- BUT didnt happen la. Alot of times, experienced staff will be talking and teaching the new ones on thier job....so we hear alot of YOU should....YOU like this..YOu like tat.... Anyway, I had a great nite with my darlings and of coz.... favourite margarita....hahah


~my precious

OOoo.....Margarita for MUA!