First Sundowner 2009

Date: 21 August 2009, Friday
Time: 5:30p.m. - 9:30p.m.
Venue: Company's west wing lobby & Business Center
Occasion: Employees Appreciation Sundowner 2009

Agenda:
5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. – Pre-dinner Cocktail at West Wing Lobby
6:00 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. – Proceed to be seated for dinner
6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. – Dinner starts
7:30 p.m. onwards – DHL Band at West Wing Lobby (and more drinks)


Every year, the organization will organize several Sundowners/get-together dinners. This time, it was slightly grander than the past Sundowners. I reckon it was intended as a mini annual dinner since we don't have any annual dinners now.

The event was pretty nicely planned. There was free-flow of fizzy drinks & beer, plus cracker sticks for cocktail, & a sit-down table dinner as well.

Drinks & bread/cracker-sticks

The crowd at the cocktail

We opened up our largest meeting room for the event & it could house 50 tables :) I was quite surprised to see waiters & waitresses at the dinner. By the looks of it, it seems like the waiters for the night were from the Equatorial Hotel - even the menu's from the hotel...oooo...

Menu for the night's dinner

Each table was nicely decorated & all the dishes were actually served already. Quite disappointing...hahaha...I was wishing for some hot, served food! :P

The dinner table

Cutlery

We were served creamy & quite delicious mushroom soup as starters. I kinda enjoyed the soup (and I really love this photo as well!!)

Thick & creamy mushroom soup

All the dishes were served in a 'tray'. I thought that the dishes were VERY Malaysian...mostly Malay/Indian-style. It really makes me wonder how the 'mat sallehs' actually enjoy the dinner *shrugs* Erm, taste-wise, it was fantastic, but oh well, it's free food after all...

The dishes
Clockwise from top right: Lamb Kurma with Potatoes, Malay BBQ Chicken (Ayam Percik), Sauteed French Beans with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Beef Goulash, Fried Fish Fillet with Spice Sweet Sauce, Vegetable Dalcha

Dessert was actually quite good :) It was served warm, & the pastry was just nice. The apple filling was tasty as well, with cinnamon in the right measurement to taste.

Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce

The interesting decoration

After the dinner, we moved on outside for a time of fellowship & music by the band :) They're pretty good....I left the company around 9:30pm for home. Oh, it was not too bad for a start of the weekend ;)



- Ruth

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Kikyo Japanese Restaurant

Date: 21 August 2009, Friday
Venue: Kikyo Japanese Restaurant, Bandar Puteri Puchong
Occasion: LK's birthday celebration
Overall comment: A place with nice ambiance & fairly delicious food. I wasn't too impressed with the bento set. I heard that their noodles are not too bad though. Price-wise, it's actually reasonable, but the quality just didn't make the mark in my opinion.

The Menu

Neat set
"Love at first bite"? Nope, I beg to differ...

Friday's Promotion: Rm2.00 (usual price RM7.00/roll) for a California Roll Temaki

Soft Shell Crab Temaki (RM8.00/roll)

Inari Sushi/Sweet Beancurd Roll (RM6.00/serving)
LK said it was quite nice.

Unagi Temaki (RM14.00/serving)
Looks very impressive. Not too sure if it tastes excellent, but from the look on LK's face, it passed la...not a "heavenly experience"...

Koebi Karaage/Deep Fried Shrimps (RM8.00/serving)
Everyone was excited for this dish, I've no idea why. To me, after trying it out, I felt that it was nothing that interesting...it's crispy & light, but there isn't any "umph" to it...

Gekikara Ramen (RM15.00/bowl)
KK calls this the "kikilala" noodles cos he just can't seem to remember its actual name *lol* Nothing spectacular...

"Ki" Bento Set (RM18.00/set) - soft shell crabs + teriyaki chicken
This "Ki" bento promotion comprises of 2 main dishes in the bento, 1 bowl of rice, & 1 bowl of miso soup. The portion was moderately generous for the price paid, but the soft shell crab was a total disappointment. It wasn't crispy enough & the crabs were soaked in oil *bleagh* I reckon the oil wasn't hot enough, plus we all agreed that the batter wasn't sufficient to coat the crabs for frying.

"Kyo" Bento Set (RM25.00/set) - Unagi, Soft Shell Crabs, & Fried Dumplings
The "Kyo" bento promotion comes with 3 main dishes in the bento, 1 bowl of rice, & 1 bowl of miso soup. For an additional RM3.00, you can get a bowl of chawamushi (Japanese steamed egg custard)

Chawanmushi (RM3.00 with the bento set)

Fried Rice
For the bento sets, you can actually opt for white rice or fried rice. Sadly, we felt that the rice wasn't the type of Japanese rice that we usually get at Japanese restaurants. I reckon due to the economy crisis, this restaurant has mixed their rice with local rice. PerutBesi pulls a long face for the rice quality!

"Kyo" Bento Set (RM25.00/set) - Soft Shell Crabs, Beancurd, & Deep-fried Salmon in batter

"Ki" Bento Set (18.00/set) - Soft Shell Crab & Unagi
This was what I ordered. I wasn't very satisfied with the overall of this bento. Perhaps this is what you get for the price you pay...?

Promotion: Ice Cream (RM1.00/scoop)
The ice cream wasn't fantastic. I reckon in terms of Japanese ice cream, nothing could beat Genji's (PJ Hilton)...for now ;) But the gang still said it's good...so you need to try it out for yourself :D

Ongoing Promotions: (click on photo to enlarge)

Since our lunch hour was just 2 hours, & we were rushing for time, we had the cake cutting back in office after work :) The cake was very cute & just nice in size.

LK's birthday cake (RM40.00 - Bread Story Confectionary)

The lunch gang ;)

Map to Kikyo Japanese Restaurant

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Kikyo Japanese Restaurant
10, Jalan Puteri 2/2
Bandar Puteri Puchong
47100 Puchong
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia.
Tel: (+603) 8060 1766
Fax: (+603) 8060 6766
Business Hours: Tue-Sun 12pm-3pm Lunch, 6pm-10.30pm Dinner, Mon Closed
* near Bumbu Bali Restaurant


Ratings:
Presentation: * * *
Price: * * *
Environment: * * *
Taste: * * 1/2
Service: * * *


Overall

- Ruth

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Trip to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (Day 4)

Date: 15 August 2009, Saturday

Venue: Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Last day! :( I wish my holiday could be extended to more days...

Our last day was spent at the Kota Kinabalu Park in Kundasang. It took us almost 2 hours to get to Kundasang from 1Borneo, & my dear brother, Melvin, was so very nice to take leave from his work in the hospital & chauffer us around. All we wanted to see was the Mount Kinabalu.

On the way there, we were thrilled by the peaceful sight of highlands, mountains, & the lovely view of greeneries. Such sights are extremely recommended for better eye-sight. I enjoyed the drive up the hill to KK Park, where there's an observatory deck to catch the view of the majestic Mount Kinabalu. *melts*

The lovely view on the way up to KK Park

Pretty purple flower at KK Park

KK Park's Lodge

KK Park's Souvenir Shop

View of the hills out of KK Park, on the way to Ranau

It was rather unfortunate that the clouds were covering Mount Kinabalu when we arrived at KK Park. It was at sight on the way up! :( Super disappointing. Not giving up, we left KK Park for Ranau & Poring Hot Springs first.

We walked around the Ranau's morning market & went around the small town of Ranau - nothing much, really. The only thing that fascinated the city girl in me were the cute little ducklings & chicks *lol*

Itik Lelong (RM2.00/duckling)

Ayam Kambing (RM3.00/chick)
I really wonder what is an "ayam kambing". Literally translated, it will be goat chicken! *rofl*

Right after that, we left for the Poring Hot Springs, only to be disappointed. I was expecting the natural hot springs like the ones I've experienced in Ipoh! All I saw were pools with warm water. Cis. Just like my own bathroom kinda experience. Cheap thrill!

The "hot spring" (more like warm water pool)

Thank goodness there's more to "hot springs" at Poring; there were some waterfalls, the bat cave, canopy walk, & also a moth farm. Melvin, Aaron, & I hiked up to the waterfalls (I nearly fainted. I really lack exercise & stamina), & after that to the Bat Caves, which was like SOOO not caves & there weren't bats! *pah!*

Hiking up those steep hills, through the "jungle/forest paths" weren't very fun, especially when I'm just wearing slippers!!! I was not prepared for any hiking at all! *faints* All said, I had fun laughing at my low-stamina & the jokes that both the guys cracked throughout the journey to keep me going :) Thanks, guys!

Aaron, trying to motivate me as we hiked up the hill

Melvin & I at the Kipungit Waterfalls
This is the smaller waterfall, which is a 30 minutes hike from "base" *wergh* It was rather refreshing to just sit there, rest, & relax. All 3 of us were kinda punctured after hiking up all the way to the so-called Bat Caves...

Aaron & I at the Poring Hot Springs' Pool Area

Enjoying an ice lolly on our way out of Poring

After spending a few hours at the Poring Hot Springs area, we left for KK Park again. We were SO not giving up & were dying to catch a glimpse of Mount Kinabalu from the observatory deck. After praying & waiting for around 45 minutes, munching on chips & chit-chatting while waiting, the sight of the tallest peak in Southeast Asia finally appeared!!

We managed to catch not just one shot of the peak, but several shots!! Woohoo!! The waiting paid-off :D

Peak-a-boo!
Can you see the peak of the mount peeking through the clouds?? :D

Best shot with Mount Kinabalu as the background :)

Satisfied with what we saw & totally excited on the inside, we left KK Park to satisfy our next desire - last seafood meal at Salut Seafood Restaurant!! *woots!!*

Farewell, Mount Kinabalu & KK Park...

Salut Seafood Restaurant, here we come! *tummy rumbles*

The road into the restaurant
It's best if you have a 4-wheel drive. The road was really bumpy & rocky!! *free massage*

Prawn/Fish Cultivation Pool

Hello, Salut!

The biggest 'si ham' I've ever seen in my life! *eeek!!*

Salut is located at a mangrove area

Appetizers - preserved veggie/fruits

Fresh Oysters (RM3.00/shell)
The oysters were really fresh & delicious :P

Steamed Prawns (RM24.00/half kg)
It's slightly more expensive than Gayang, but its freshness made it worth paying the price difference :) Who needs seasoning when the prawns itself is so sweet? :D

Deep-fried Squid Rings (RM30.00/serving)
Crispy, golden brown squid rings - yums! This was our 2nd squid dish in our KK trip :P At Salut, seafood with different cooking styles will have different prices.

Stir-fried Bamboo Clams with Ginger & Spring Onions (RM14.00/serving)
The clams were a little too small. By the time it was cooked, the clams shrunk & fell out of the shells! It was quite a challenge to hunt for the clams...hahaha..

Stir-fried Sabah Veggie with Garlic (around RM8.00)
We ordered the veggie to be stir-fried with sambal, but somehow the dish came out wrongly. We didn't have much time to bother as we needed to catch our flight back to KL, so we just enjoyed the simplicity of the dish ;)

Melvin in the Giant Clam Shell
There is a row of giant clam shells in front of the restaurant. The shells were hard enough to support our weight! The restaurant workers told us that we could even sit in it :D

Me Pearl! *lol*
The one in the clam is the pearl...kekeke...

The verdict: Excellent food, great fun, pocket-friendly too! Total bill inclusive of rice & tea = RM99.00 only *waaaaahhh*

Map to Salut Seafood Restaurant

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Salut Seafood Restaurant
Kampung Salut
Jalan Sulaman
88300 Tuaran
Kota Kinabalu.
Tel: (+6088) 228 301
Business Hours: 10:30a.m. - 09:30p.m.(Tuesday - Sunday & Public Holiday)
Halal: Yes


Ratings:
Presentation: * * * 1/2
Price: * * * *
Environment: * * * 1/2
Taste: * * * *
Service: * * * *


Overall:

- Ruth

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