Tuesday, September 21, 2010

My Race is 1Malaysian

Hahahahha - I was looking for some reviews on the new Empire Shopping Gallery in Subang and found Kenny Sia's blog where he said he completed a form requesting his Race and Religion with 1Malaysian and 2Religion respectively. Not sure how to spin the latter but love the former. That's what I will do from now on too! :)

Monday, September 20, 2010

Tony Roma's - Of Cod and Surveys

We recently went back to Tony Roma's (at the Curve) to give them another chance. I haven't been to Tony Roma's in like years cos the last time I had them, during a girl's night out at Sunway Pyramid - the food was bland and tough and a complete waste of money! The first time I tried them was in Singapore where I had the baby back ribs (pork of course) and when they were first opening up in Malaysia I was extremely excited but lo and behold, no porky here.

So, anyway, like last week, we decided to try them again and wowee! were we glad we did! I had the Pacific Cod (with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce) and a Strawberry Lemonade (recommended by the waitress - who by the way, always recommends this! as proven by my second visit with the same waitress) and JH had the ummmm....ok, I can't remember what he had. But we were both in rapturous delight with our food - a FINE FIRST for Tony Roma's in Malaysia! The cod was so sweet and juicy and it was extremely flaky, kinda like lobster! Knowing that cod was a flavourful fish on its own, I ordered the Sweet Thai Chili Sauce to go with it - didn't want to drown it.....and it was YUM-MEE!!!! The sauce comes separate so you can just try anyone you like. The second time around I tried the Kicking Sauce which was basically like butter oil which JH loved and I didn't, so we asked fo rmore chili sauce for me! Hahahahhaa.... The bread basket was good too but the butter, which looked like garlic butter and gave me that expectation didn't taste like garlic butter and I was let down. But the bread was good and warm and soft and fluffy.

I am also not one to go for strawberries but the Strawberry Lemonade was good. The second time around I had a Shirley Temple which was very cherry like and I didn't like that quite as much. (I'm used to a more orangey Shirley Temple.....) Also, the second time, my cod was rather fibrous and there looked like tiny red bits that weren't cooked so JH ate those bits....he said they tasted fishy - as compared to the rest of my cod which was still good but not as good as the first time.....expectation management huh?

Also, the point of my posting is that the second time we went, JH noticed that we could get a RM10 discount off our next visit with a minimum transaction of RM30! IF we went online to http://www.tonyromasurvey.com/ and told them how they were doing. (We're supposed to get a validation code and all that after finishing the survey). Well, today I went in and....ummmm...I don't freaking know how to complete the survey, there wasn't any particular TONY ROMA link to click on and when I entered the store code in the 'Find' section, it didn't bring me back anything so I am a bit flummoxed. Hmmmm.....what is this? The site definitely looked like where Tony Roma's just subscribed to one of those companies who made up surveys for businesses and compiled the results. I just didn't get it. I don't know how to work it, I didn't work it and I most definitely, DID NOT get any validation code for RM10 off on my next visit. Boo Hoo!!!!!

Free Range Chickens for Sale!

For those of you who want to find out where to buy Kampung Chicken or Free-Range Chickens, fret no more! I thought it was a matter of typing on a few keys and there would be people talking about where to buy genuine Kampung Chicken but no.......- don't believe me? Google it! I couldn't find anything anywhere that told me where I could buy these pure free-range chickens that when double-boiled, would give me real goodness and not a cocktail of hormones and chemicals! Yup! Trying to make my own Essence of Chicken!!!

So finally, I chanced on Allo Expat and found DQ Clean Chicken. I was so happy I went screaming down the stairs to my MIL that I had found allegedly pure grass-fed chickens! in KL! AND they DELIVER!!!!! Just sms or call them or email them and get an order for yourself! (I haven't tried it out yet so not sure if their process or customer service is as good as their website).

So, it's RM3 per delivery regardless of number of chickens ordered and DQ actually suggests that you pool your neighbourhood chicken orders to save on delivery cost! I'd prefer if they were free but what to do right? Everyone needs to make a buck. Maybe they should say that if I buy above a certain amount or an accumulation of a certain amount, then they provide free delivery for a couple of times....... :)

So, anyway, for those of you who are looking for clean chicken and convenience, then check out DQ Clean Chicken! However, caveat emptor! I haven't tried them and and I don't promise anything so don't complain to me if service/quality is not up to your expectation!

Yippee! I'm going to be able to double boil my own essence of chicken - they even provide the technique and some recipes!!!! Good good! Sets my mind at ease abit with the fact that I haven't been fortifying my body with herbal goodness......

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Banking Industry Gives 3 Months Maternity Leave

Yeah! Not entirely accurate though and I am surprised The Star who wrote an article on this a couple of days ago didn't get their facts right.

Yes the banking industry is giving its employees 3 months maternity leave BUT only for the Unionised Workers. So on top of everything else like extra holidays, contractual bonuses every year, increments that are backdated to like January 2009.....I tell you, if I was a bank clerk, I'd probably be earning more in terms of the entire employement package than I do now!

So, just to clear things up - the Banking Industry has followed the lead of many more Third World countries (think Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Zimbabwe) than Malaysia but only for the Unionised Workers (NUBE - National Union of Bank Employees) and those amount to approximately more than 30,000 employees out there.

For comparison sake, Maybank, Malaysia's largest banking group, boasts a staff force of more than 40,000. And that is just the one bank.

And even worse, recently there have been thoughts (if I can even call them that!!!!! I mean what the TOOT???) that the existing maternity leave of 60 days should be shared with fathers whose wives have just given birth! So they too, could share in the joy of bonding and raising and taking care of baby. This is just typical of Malaysian mentality - when there is an issue, a problem, a concern, shift the spotlight somewhere else and some smart alec suddenly starts questioning this and that and coming up with so called solutions that weren't in question in the first place!!!!!!!!

Observe the common problem-solving technique used in Malaysia:
  1. Problem is identified
  2. Lots of people make a hoo-ha and the press gets wind of it and publishes about it
  3. Gomen gets involved
  4. Some senior official tries to think out-of-the-box (benefit of the doubt) OR tries to shift the spotlight (some doubt) OR being their normal dumb self (no doubt), comes up with some harebrained mind map that leads to unheard of/new problems which are neither as critical nor timely as what was originally put on the table
  5. Everyone starts talking about the new problem and potential solutions, arguments go back and forth
  6. Some senior official decides to keep situations status quo - no change needed
  7. Furore dies down
  8. Original problem continues to exist and perpetuate
  9. Perhaps 5 years down the line, No. 1 pops up again!
  10. Repeat.
TA-DA!!!!!!!

Alternate scenario:
  1. Steps No. 1-5 are played out
  2. Some senior official decides change is required and proceeds to implement change as prescribed in step no. 4. Some lip service is paid to the fact that 'studies need to be implemented, analysed, blah blah'
  3. Solution implemented in 3 years plan
  4. People start realising that original problem not solved and HEY! the solution implemented by senior officials actually aggravate the original problem
  5. Some senior official retracts and changes the whole situation again - revert to status quo. 3 year plan.
HHAhahahhhahaah - I kill myself! :)

In this particular situation - paternity leave gets increased from 3 days to 14 days with the extra 11 taken from the mother's maternity leave leaving mums with 49 days. Which leaves us (read: me) all worse off!!!!!! HAhahahhahahah!!!!!!

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Bonjour Nak Makan Apa at Delifrance

Today I grabbed a quick healthy lunch at Delifrance in One Utama. I was pleasantly greeted with merry greetings of 'Bonjour!' when I first entered and reacted accordingly - smiled at them. Then I had my order taken - when I was in the midst of ordering orange juice and asking if the RM7.90 price was for freshly squeezed juice, the server told me 'Botol'. I had to gather myself for a minute cos I am sure you guys out there know it's not easy to swivel from French to English to Bahasa Malaysia. I genuinely thought though at that point that, 'Ok, he just doesn't pronounce properly'.

My juice came first - in a little plastic glass 2.5 inches high - yup for RM7.90 orange juice from a bottle - and it ain't even the WHOLE bottle! Fine, I then asked the guy if I could still get the Free Soda with any order of a Main Course or Pasta between 12 noon to 2pm.  He gestured for me to wait. Another server came. I asked him the same question, while pointing to the section that mentioned the offer. He nodded.

Yeay - so for basically RM7.90, I get 2 drinks lah, ok lah. Whatever.

Then another couple came and sat down close to me, and my waiter took their order too. To my utmost surprise, the poor guy didn't speak a word of English! After several failed attempts to order and ask questions in English, the couple had to resort to BM to match the server's language responses. Following that, I hear several snippets of workers' conversations that took place in BM.  I was just flabbergasted - here I am in a French restaurant (haha), was appropriately greeted in French and no one at the place could speak English! There were only 2 servers on duty and only 1 who could understand English and speak BM. The other one, when faced with a request for ketchup - just walked away scratching his head and asked his one and only other colleague to serve the customer!

Now I know there are lots of Malaysians nowadays who complain about the recruitment of foreign workers - thinking them difficult to manage, untrustworthy, difficult to communicate with. Well, what do you say when 2 Chinese youths, who look like they just graduated Form 5 or Form 6, working part time in Delifrance cannot speak English? This is our future!

Thursday, September 02, 2010

I support Namewee

Yeah! I do! I also support UMNO Youth and MIC Youth chiefs when they say that anybody who has made racist comments should be dealt with and if the feelings of other races have been hurt, then punitive action should be taken.

Now if a school principal had indeed addressed some of her Chinese students as 'penumpang' and asked them to go back to 'their own original country', I would deem this remark as incendiary and punitive action should be taken, if the principal did indeed utter such heinous words in our civilised country of 1Malaysia.

The below excerpt is taken from The Star newspaper

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/16/nation/6860583&sec=nation

School head under probe over racist remarks
By MOHD FARHAAN SHAH

KULAIJAYA: Police are investigating a school principal who allegedly used racist remarks against non-Malay students during a Merdeka celebration at the school here recently.

Kulaijaya deputy OCPD Asst Supt Mohd Kamil said police had received 12 reports against the principal since Saturday and that the case was being investigated under Section 504 of the Penal Code.

Over 50 parents and students had lodged the reports against the principal, who allegedly described the non-Malays as “penumpang” (passengers) in the country during her speech at the start of the celebration on Aug 12.

“I was shocked that my principal had used such a word against non-Malay students in our school.

“This is not the first time that she had made racist comments against Chinese and Indian students in our school,” said 17-year-old student Brevia Pan.

She added that the principal, who joined the school early this year, would only target Chinese and Indian students.

“During the Merdeka celebration, she had told non-Malay students to go study in a Chinese school or go back to China,” she told reporters in a press conference organised by Senai assemblyman Ong Kow Meng.

Another student, Ashvini Thi-na­karan, 17, said many Malay students were influenced by the principal’s remarks and made similar comments and called them names.

“Before she came to my school, all the students got along well,” she said. Her father R. Thinakaran, 47, said this was a serious matter and that principals should not behave like this.

“This principal has caused racial disharmony at the school,” he said, adding that if no action was taken, he would take his daughter out of the school.

Ong called for stern action against the principal, adding that such school heads and educators would affect the minds of students.