Cafe Zazamazu

Salute

Coffee with cupcake

Monster maker

Making coffee with the new espresso machine

We recently redeemed our credit card point and treated ourselves with the Breville espresso machine. I love it very much and thought it was a great idea. The misses love the fact that she gets a the fresh made coffee with love whenever she wants (yup.. takde initiative nak belajar... nak order je tahu).

Not trying to sound like Melburnian snobs, but we really do love our coffee and some cafes aren't good enough. Although I'm still learning to make the perfect cup of coffee, i'd rather make it myself than pay $4-5 for somebody else to mess it up.

It takes a lot of trial and error especially with the coffee beans and milk choices vs. the flavours you want. Skill and understanding of the coffee making process is fascinating to me. It takes a while to learn but I'm enjoying it. The misses even enrolled me in a barista short course. Haven't gone to it yet but I'm getting her hint. She keeps complaining that my coffee is too weak.

So here's to life long affair to coffee addiction.... Salute!!

Yes OZ is expensive but not always

Although I'm determined that things in OZ is ridiculously overpriced. But on the rare sale occasion you can find the odd Gem or two.  A good example is Myer and Apple.  Myer is the main Retail store in OZ and known for being dearer (expensive) but maintains its quality. Apple rarely does discounts and are very strict on pricing towards its distributor. 

So comparing the 11inch 4GB ram 128GB Flash HDD Macbook Air is a very precise indicator.  Myer sells it for AUD1249, Apple OZ AUD1349 and Apple US ~ AUD1199. At first glance you might think the US Apple store is cheaper but do not forget to include its Sale Tax around 6-8% based on state. Which comes about AUD1290 roughly. While in Oz the final price is final. Dont worry the tax is still there, included in the price. No way your gonna run away from paying anything to the Government in OZ. 

So this is one of the very RAREEE occasion have I found something I WANT that is cheap here in OZ compare to US eventhough by just a few bucks. After all this research you think everybody in the house will welcome a new Mac Book Air?? 

Myers AUD1249 including tax @ myers online store

Apple OZ AUD1349 including tax @ OZ Apple store  

Apple US USD1199~AUD1199 @ US Apple Store 

Geng Botak

A month ago.....

Zareef: Ayaahhh.. bila nak potong rambut ni!!!!

We have been holding out on the haircuts. Somehow I still think its expensive to get a haircut (around $15 for kids and around $20 for myself). So we decided to get a hair trimmer machine instead costing about the same as haircuts for Zareef and me.

We have this tradition since Zareef was born: if either one of us goes botak, the other will go along with it. Hence our new look. It wasnt easy with Zareef moving every second saying it was ticklish. Cutting my own hair wasn't a walk in the park as well especially without a mirror . After a half hour in the shower I realized theres still a big patch on top that didnt get trimmed. Argghh I had to start the process all over again. Bottom line cleaning hair is not fun.

At the end of the day, I reconsidered if all the trouble was worth the money I saved but then I look back at the pics we took.... yeah it was worth it.... we just looked too bloody good!!!!

lol.. heres our pics for ur amusement.....

My new version of 'Pelita'

"Pelita malam ni kul 9.42pm jom!!!"

I used to love getting this sms. It means a good night out with friends to discuss whatever mundane things in our lives. We used to have this 'board meeting' at Pelita seksyen 9 Shah Alam with the same culprits. Typically once a week. I liked it a lot cause it can be therapeutic and we share thoughts and insights on what we are going through. More heads are better than one kinda thing.

The other day the same mates gave me an SMS and FB message kinda inviting me to the usual 'pelita' session. Made me jeles in a way. So instead I went to Brunetti's. Its a pretty famous cafe in Lygon St. Lots and lots of cakes and fantastic drinks. Heres a few pics. Check it out.So now instead of "Jom pelita" I will go "Jom Brunetti's". LAYANNN!!

To indulge or not?

Saw one of this poster in a 'fish and chaips' shop around Beacie depot. Still contemplating/considering going there this Monday to indulge in this sinful pleasure. Last time I had one of this was nearly 20 years ago back in Glasgow and I remembered how I loved it. Even had it with a snickers bar.

That does it!! Its happening this Monday. I'll tell you how it tastes.

Stats of Paul der Krake aka Paul Oktopus/Octupus

The world cup is at its peak (finals) now and apparently all sorts of predictions were proven wrong ala Shabby Singh. Recently the hype about an octopus called paul predictions is the talk of the footballing world. People talk about it more than Carlos Puyol rare goal headers, Anelka's manners or ronaldo's hairstyle. Well if you can get the stats the octopus gets, you might get a Tan Sri-ship in Malaysia not mentioning making a lot of people filthy richhh. Those who are really involve in the betting market are also paying close attention not to mention the Spain PM offering protection for the poor thing after several on dish threat. Even Argentine Chef celebs are posting recipes on facebook. If he was human... he could own Apple, Coke Ikea etc etc...

So here are his stats I took from Wiki. Amazing innit!!!

Opponent	Tournament	Stage	Date	Prediction	Result	Outcome
Poland	Euro 2008	group stage	8 June 2008	Germany	2–0	Correct
Croatia	Euro 2008	group stage	12 June 2008	Germany[3][8]	1–2	Incorrect
Austria	Euro 2008	group stage	16 June 2008	Germany	1–0	Correct
Portugal	Euro 2008	quarter-finals	19 June 2008	Germany	3–2	Correct
Turkey	Euro 2008	semi-finals	25 June 2008	Germany	3–2	Correct
Spain	Euro 2008	final	29 June 2008	Germany[3]	0–1	Incorrect
Australia	World Cup 2010	group stage	13 June 2010	Germany[25]	4–0	Correct
Serbia	World Cup 2010	group stage	18 June 2010	Serbia[25]	0–1	Correct
Ghana	World Cup 2010	group stage	23 June 2010	Germany[25]	1–0	Correct
England	World Cup 2010	round of 16	27 June 2010	Germany[26]	4–1	Correct
Argentina	World Cup 2010	quarter-finals	3 July 2010	Germany[17]	4–0	Correct
Spain	World Cup 2010	semi-finals	7 July 2010	Spain[27]	0–1	Correct
Uruguay	World Cup 2010	3rd place play-off	10 July 2010	Germany	3–2	Correct

First separation - Waja tersayang

Yes, i used to kutuk my old waja a lot (especially realizing the cost vs performance of our car industry - car tax is the biggest fraud in malaysia) but without a doubt it has done me and the family a great deal of service. From the first ride of our new borns, to the sleeping comfort in the hot midday sun , the muntah/sheeshee/popoo incidents even our dates before marriage.... it sure has done a lot. Apart the occasional small parts that keep coming off (literally and frequently) it never had any big problems (engine and so not). Proves the proton engineers are doing a good job but not so with its purchase of vendor parts (croniii.. but lets not get into that).

Being nearly 7 years old this august (yes we got it before we were married and a month after coming back from our studied).. our loan balance was really small but we still decided to let go cause we need the money to bring to oz. Got a friend in the office that helped me tolak to a car dealer.. which i believe we got a really good price with the minimal of hassle. To tell you the truth the business transaction (checking loan balance, condition of the car, paperworks) took less than 15 minutes.. we were talking longer about migrating issues of mesia. Bada boom bada bing.. the check was handed to us there and then after signing some papers. Really loved the convenience - kalau kenal org memang senang (mesia style). Being paranoid and eager.. we banked in the check the first chance we got. Done and dusted, just hope no summons creep up.

So heres to the waja.. still cant get used to not seeing it in the driveway. Miss you mate!!

KNYR + Kelah Sanctuary Day 3 of 3

The final day started off a little late. Breakfast at 930am. It wasnt as bad as before with the nasi minyak. Yep in Terengganu they have nasi minyak for breakfast compared to weddings in KL. After being full we packed up and checked out. Before leaving KT we definitely had to stop in Pasar Payang to buy souvenirs and stuff.. nanti org rumah kata lupakan diorang lak.

Loved the Pasar. Food and wet market stuff downstairs while the clothes on the upper levels. It was pretty big and had dozens and dozens of shops. But what interested me the most was its liveliness and variety of colors. The wife ordered some kain batik for herself, but i just couldnt decide which on to buy (you know women.. they will always find fault in your choice, but kalau dia pilih tu lah yg tercantik dalam dunia takde kecuali). So in the end decided to buy simple stuff like baju kelawar and baju budak2. Haaa... naturally being men, all 3 of us shopped at just only one of the many many stores because the tauke (addressed herself as Mak) was really nice. Malas nak usha tempat lain gak. By the time we were nearly finished the girls barely bought anything.

After the kain2 frenzy, we headed down to the wet market. Bought the ever delicious keropok lekor Seberang Takir (terbaik gilersz.. better than loso). I personally bought RM20 of it. Tu pun rasa tak cukup giving most of it away to family and neighbors. Sweets and cheeka-dees pun beli as not to forget the kids. After sending everything into the cars, Farah was still nowhere to be found (dah janji nak tolak at 12pm). I realized women watches never work while they shop. Its like being in the bermuda triangle.

After 30 minutes of waiting we headed home. We didnt stop until we reached Kerteh. Happening gilerss. It was so happening we had to stop at Mesra Mall and to see for ourselves. To be honest, it was pretty impressive. They had nice shops ranging from starbucks to burger king even a spa at that. Bowling, futsal, soon to open TGV was at the other half of the mall. Go check it out if you pass by cause its really convenient (just like american malls) and 5 minutes from the Petronas quarters. The mall is a great idea cause i believe the ppl there have money but just dont have the place to spend it. We had lunch and headed off again not looking at kerteh the same way. *Amad told me out off all the thing his wife asked was about the Mall - so i'll try to include as many pics ok or suruh amad bawak lain kali*

Another pit stop was a small restaurant by the seaside. Farah tak lunch/minum ribena yg tertinggal @ bk so dia tapau nasi padprik. This was also a great oppurtunity to take pics of the sea but unfortunately there was a river (that couldnt be seen when we decided to stop) in the way. Dapatlah sikit2 gambar, but i took a pic of this tanah bulat2 (see pic) to ask what it really was. Mael cakap dia from the crabs korek2. We also goats running around, it might be the same ones yg Mael nearly hit a few days before.

So continuing on, we headed back. This time kinda fast. Mael knew the way so he sped off >140km/h. I tried to follow tapi defeated. Waja 7 tahun ku sudah uzur sikit compare with his 2 month old myvi sport. The road was clear all the way but once we got into KL .. seperti biasa jam tak ingat dunia. Sampai we splitted up and Mael made the wrong turn. Tapi lepas tu pandai2 lah masing. I sent Amad home not before dia belanja minum kat Secret Recipe while consulting Kira with her love life. After Amad arrived safely at his home in Bukit Damansara (very peaceful.. surprisingly cause its smack in the middle of KL), I had to send Kira home. Aduuhh the jam lagi. Rumah dia 2-3km je tu NPE but it took me 20 minutes. Nasib baik Kira bagi pinjam touch'n'go.

After making sure everybody arrived safely, I reached home to the lovely welcome party of the kids. Ayah!!! Ayahh!!! they shouted with much enthusiasm and love. Exactly what i needed from a very long and tiring drive. The wife on the other hand was "hi sayang, dah sampai.. baguslah" and doze back off again 2 seconds later.

Ps.. Would like to thank the KNYR people for being such great hosts, the friends that came along, the boss that let us go gladly and the Ketengah ppl for making my dreams/mission to Kenyir come through.

Pics slow lah upload.. I upload ni dulu

KNYR + Kelah Sanctuary Day 2 of 3

Day 2 started of with the buffet breakfast. Once again it was a let down. Nothing special and worst still the pastry tasted like it was baked last week. The others was just so-so. 5 out of 10 score from Amad. Later on Faidi (KNYR driver) joined us while waiting to send us to the station. It took around an hour from the hotel door to the station with the station Naza Ria. Really loved that van.

On the arrival, everyone was amazed by the beauty of the station. From the security post you can see the huge dam and spillway while enjoying the fresh jungel air. Kabus2 lagi.. tengah2 hutan lah katakan, really tengah2 hutan. I was secretly a little worried... kalau dam pecah, we are the first to go. Thats why they are one of the Sasaran Keselamat kategori 1. Faidi drove us straight to the door of the station. About 10 steps away from the meeting room where Yuzeiry (Mat Yi) was waiting and welcomed us.

Mat Yi gave us the routine visitor talk. The GM, Nasron (Wak: satu batch) and Wan joined us a little later. It was very informative. We also took this oppurtunity to clarify certain issues. Everybody has issue with us (NLDC). Later on Mat Yi took us on a station visit from underground level -5 (Draft tube level) to the top of the Dam about 145M higher. There were a lot of technical things but lets not bore everyone but here are some pics where people can appreciate better.

Ohh yaa.. one of things when we were going around, people were surprised to see Mahes to be indian. They taught his name was Mael (permanent nickname from then on) due to his flawless Bahasa... tu belum cakap utara lagi - he is from Alor Star. The shift charge even mailed this to his co-workers "Tuan2, selama ini yg kita ingatkan encik Mail sebenarynya adalah en Mahes.. sila betulkan document selepas ini - while attaching a pic of us".

After the site visit, we had lunch. They treated us with ikan baung masak tempoyak and others. Great and abundance of food. They knew 5 of us coming but naturally being TNB ordered for 10. Orang lain boleh tumpang.

After lunch we were ahead of schedule. meaning more time for going into the lake.. the main attraction - ikan kelah sanctuary. The boat was ready by 2. The most powerful/fastest boat on the lake - 2x250hp V6 engine. We were extremely lucky to visit the kelah sanctuary. Zahari a clerk in KNYR who is very well known around the lake being local and an extreme fishing man (masuk ceruk2 tasik malam2 sorang2) had contacts with Ketengah (authority of the tasik). With his cable we were able to go in. Its very well guarded. Another issue was because the Menteri Besar was coming the day after... thats why the bosses of Ketengah were there. At first one of the Ketengah ppl didnt let us in. So we waited at the guard post (about 45 minutes while enjoying their fishing farm: huge ikan toman >6kg, baung etc) for the boss Razi if he will let us in (looks like the Malaysian crocodile dundee). He looked sympathetic at us and brought us in. Mat Yi's ufti (buah and cenderamata) was also an icing.

A little on the boat ride and journey, it was really far inside the lake (more than 1 hour boat ride)but the natural landscape was breath taking. We even passed Petang Island Resort/Camp (our first choice stay - tapi bagus jugak tak dapat [need>10ppl] cause memang betul2 tengah tasik). We were wondering why the boat was going zig-zagging. Later we found out they were following the alur sungai to elak the tunggul. During low lake level boats cant go in and the trekking inside would take 1.5 hours instead of our 40 minutes. During the trekking, several incidents happen including putus selipar and insect bites. Brader guide siap ejek "macam tak pernah kena gigit je". Pacat semua cukup lah. We had to go through denai and wooden bridges which brings back memories to the good old OBS days. To keep encouraging us, they kept saying another 5 minutes. The longest 5 minutes in our trekking lives... diorang pakai jam matahari kot. Another frustrating thing, some guides took the shallow sampan so they had a shortcut while waving us as they go by.

A little history on the ikan kelah sanctuary. Ikan kelah as told by local ppl are the most expensive fresh water fish. RM100 per kg and RM300 for a live one. So due to this, fisherman used to go fish bombing at the area we went to. This had a negetive effect. So the people of Ketengah, Crocodile Dundee included sanctuared the place and tried to rejuvenate the fishes. They feed the fish biji sawit once in 2 days. After a while the ikan kelah came back and became very jinak but now they feed it pallets or locally known as 'meh'. I doubt theres a lot of other places like this around the world. Wak said ikan kelah if deep fried you can eat even the bones - ranggup.

So once we got there, most of the guys were already in. We were a little held behind because of the girls (lawak sexist sikit). Wak was already in his corner. He didnt move anywhere else - tak pandai berenang. Mat Yi, Zahari and kaki Mael (takde baju konon- takut kot) dah basah dah and fish all over. They kept calling for us to dive in. I took pics and amad took videos while holding on to our excitement. Everybody wanted their picture/video taken and what wonderful pics. Took nearly 200 of them - thanks Kira for being our part time cameraman. Thanks also Amad for the videos.

But suddenly I hear people shouting "Pegang Tali!!! Pegang TAllii!!!". I turned around and see Farah trying to catch air in the water - unsuccessful at that and drowning. A second later, just like in the movies ABANG HERO came running from the back jumped into the water and pushed her up. A real life hero in action. Mael was there to pull her up and console her. Surprising apart from choking on the water, Farah seemed undisturbed by the incident and resumed her cheerful self. One thing good is that she didnt panic and maintained composure.. siap senyum lebar lagi. She just lost it a little when she realized her iphone and money fell in as well. Amad knew she couldnt swim and asked " Asal kau lompat tak pakai life jacket??!!". She replied "MANNNAAa ada I lompat, i jatuh sebab terkejut ikan gigit kaki i" looking very slack at amad. ooohh that explains it, i thought she jumped too. Crocodile Dundee said "sepanjang masa saya jaga tempat ni, dia lah orang pertama tenggelam"

Yup the fishes were really biting. Mula2 manja2 cause plenty of meh but later on they got really violent biting hard (going up your pants and trying to swallow your whole finger) cause no more food. Kirah can attest to it cause she screamed the loudest and came in later than everybody. Realizing the meh was finished, we threw banana skins... tu pun diorang telan terus.

So after a very eventful evening. We trekked back (well the girls took the sampan) to the boat which seemed a lot closer without the girls. We took the boat ride back to the Sanctury entrance and took pictures with the guides especially with Abang Hero and Crocodile Dundee. One for the facebook bak kata Abang Hero. So afterwards we headed back to the Station Jetty. Tukar baju and Faidi drove us back to the hotel.

Tired and all, we took our shower while i bought some mee goreng as pre meal for us to eat while waiting for Wak to take us out for dinner. We went to First Station near the hotel joined by Shamil and Azizul (kawan Mael). The food was great especially my french toast ice cream but its like the normal Kopitiam you get here in KL. I was looking forward to a more local taste. Being deprived of culture, we decided to continue our yam-cha at a restaurant near the masjid terapung. Gives a chance for me to take pics of the masjid.

The funny thing about the restaurant was that the names of the stalls. See the pics. Another embarrassing moment for me was when i wanted to order some drinks. I got to tell you, this terrengganu accent is so foreign to me - they might as well be talking swazili.

Me: Abg.. air ape sedap?!

Brader kerja air: somo dap blako (semua sedap belaka)

Me: Haaa.. yg tu satu! (confident order power)

*everybody laughed while looking at me

Wak: Tu lagi kelakar dari Farah tenggelam.

So after catching up with wak and changing notes especially kutuk2 boss and tnb, we went back to the hotel. After another round or two of monopoly card we hit the sack. And the opera started once again. This time according to Amad, was rather out of tune compared to yesterday.

ps.. I'm posting this first cause tunggu pics upload takes too long. Will update with more pics.