Mobile phone ad I'd like to see

fictional phone advertisement:

Motola CRZY
Features:
Save up to 20% of your call charges!

So how would you react to such an ad? You can save money by using this phone. How is it possible?

By reducing the talk-time! Instead of having mobile phones that let you talk for hours, you can save money if you get a mobile phone that only lets you talk for 10 minutes on a single charge. Faced with rising prices and expenses, I think there would be people interested in such a phone. Judging from the amount of hoo-ha over the new high tech toilets in KL, such a phone could be a runaway success.

I can't take credit for this revolutionary idea. Zin mentioned this in passing while we were on our lunch break.

And in case you're wondering what I'm rambling about, it's just my lame attempt at making a joke. Erm... anyone laughing?

Paddington's House of Pancakes

More Queensbay gastronomic delights. This time at Paddington's House of Pancakes.

The place didn't have much of an ambience - simple decor. But it makes up for it with its extensive menu and comfortable environment. Their menu consists of pancakes from Russia, Holland, America and maybe Germany, if I'm not mistaken. A whirlwind of pancakes (and pies, lasagna, pasta) for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.

Anyways, speaking of their extensive menus... they don't serve all of the selection. And to make matters worse, their grill was not working that day. So we were limited to the 12-inch Dutch pancakes, the pannekoek.

The pannekoek is 12-inches of thin pancake that's crispy at the edges. Then toppings are added and an array of complements like mashed potatoes, baked tomatoes and in some dishes, spicy wasabi mayo!

My parents accompanied us to Paddington's, and we have a trip around the world! We had the Amsterdam, Seattle, Tokyo, Capri and Venice pannekoeks. Delicious!

A cat's life

A little more to the left...

Pannekoek and Moleskine

I remember -
of family's delight
at Paddington's

Old Town Experience

Queensbay, the largest and longest (why longest when it's already the largest?) shopping mall in Penang. A long, long time ago I thought to myself, would I still be around should the building ever be completed?

7 years later and I found myself walking with SP along the lower floor of the shopping mall. Who would have thunk.

We had dinner at Old Town, a quaint little coffee shop with old style chairs and tables. The ambience would have been really nice had there been walls. Instead the coffee shop is in the middle of the floor, under/beside the escalator.



SP had their famous white coffee. I can't help but suspect they used the same instant 3-in-1 coffee packs that we find in supermarkets. I was not impressed. We also ordered their "famous" kaya and butter toast. Again we were left wanting. The toast was cold with thick chunks of butter and a layer of kaya.

For the main course I had the curry laksa. It looked good but didn't taste as good. It was much too oily and lacked the creamy curry sensation. The yellow noodles were undercooked.

SP had the rendang chicken rice which was basically nasi lemak. It was ok, but nothing exciting.

Our high level of expectation may be because we have another "old town" coffee shop to compare. It's located in Amcorp Mall, KL and their toast and coffee are exceptional.

Would we visit Old Town again? Maybe for some toast and coffee... maybe.

Cute Mr Posey

My tortoise in shining shell

- sp

Bakerzin, a haiku

Night's cloak unfurls -
unable to resist
sweet delicacies' beckon

Little Cottage in the City

SP have been telling me about this restaurant along Burmah Road, and we finally decided (actually she decided) to visit the place.

It's called Little Cottage, and it sure is little. But don't be fooled by the size of the place when you enter because there are more tables upstairs. Little Cottage takes up 1 lot downstairs, but takes up 3 whole lots upstairs.



We had our lunch upstairs. The decor is decidedly cozy. Lots of knick knacks, an almost country-like decor.



How can anyone not like turtles greeting you at the stairway?



There are lots of waiters in Little Cottage, and they are very attentive. There's a lunch set menu with a considerable selection to choose from. Then the waiters will bring each course as you finish them, unlike other places where everything is dumped onto your table.



First there's the mushroom soup. Thick and yummy. The soup comes with a bun and butter. Then the main course. I chose the Grilled Fish with the Little Cottage special sauce. Accompanying the dish are mashed potatoes and a few selection of vegetables. I enjoyed the fish. It was moist and tasty by itself. I hardly needed the special sauce or the dollop of tartare sauce to enhance the taste.

SP chose the Chicken Chop. This is quite a normal dish, so I didn't choose it. But SP let me have a bit and I was surprised. It actually tastes good! The chicken chop had the right crispiness, together with the sauce, made for a very delicous bite.

Then there's dessert and a choice of coffee or tea. If you wish, you could add-on to the lunch set. Only the tiramisu caught my attention. We didn't have the tiramisu because the lunch set was quite substantial.



Little Cottage, a diamond in the rough, along Burmah Road. Parking may be difficult, but the food and the ambience is worth it. Oh... and the prices are very reasonable.

A respite

The past few weeks I have been drowning in a torrent of "we have to meet the deadline!", "stay on schedule!", "this has to be done before the week is over!". What little personal time I had was used for my "cave time" where I would tune out from reality and spend an hour or so in front of the idiot box.

Then, a respite.

I can now allow calm personal thoughts to percolate in my mind.

Just last night, we sat on the sofa and had some quality time together with Amy Grant singing Christmas carols in the background. Our Christmas tree was set up in the living room sans the blinking decorative lights. We'll have to get a set this weekend. The tree just isn't complete without those lights.

This respite also meant I could catch up with my reading. I'm halfway through Michael Crichton's State of Fear. A blurb on the back cover states, "... In the jungles of Malaysia, a mysterious buyer purchases deadly cavitation technology, built to his specifications. ..." How could I resist?

How could I not stop laughing? Why? This deadly hypersonic cavitation generator is made in a factory in Pudu Raya, and is located "just a few kilometers" from "the ultra-modern airport designed by Kurokawa" (read: KLIA). A factory in Pudu Raya? Just a few kilometers from KLIA?

This one factual error aside, I found the book rather interesting. I don't know where facts become fiction, but perhaps that's why I like some of Michael Crichton's books. He takes an idea, and pushes it to the extreme.