Groceries Hunting

The morning ward round finished quite early actually even though I started later than usual since I decided to enjoy the breakfast before leaving. So, it was well before midday when I returned home.

Anita was about to leave the house then to do the groceries. It wasn't the usual load. It was quadruple the usual as we were planning to leave for the apartment for the rest of the school holidays, and the kitchen there was rather bare.

Fresh ....We went to a couple of places, a warehouse then the usual supermarket. Others almost 3 pm before we returned as soon it was time to pack and shift the stuffs to the apartment. A mini nightmare if you ask me.

As part of the plan, we would be moving the MPV and my C200 along. It would be a couple of trips with me sending the driver back after unpacking. And there was an admission at the hospital. Guess, that would have to wait.

U-Cafe Wangsa Walk

Anita and her friends had been harping about it for the last month or so. During one of their get together, the had tea at U-Cafe at Wangsa Walk Mall in Wangsa Maju. It was a revelation to them. And after having a sample of the place yesterday evening, I couldn't agree more.

It was a simple cafe which was built as an annex at the the main entrance to the mall. You couldn't miss it if you enter from the main car park although the sign to the restaurant was rather obscured. Once you were in, you would've to negotiate a flight of stairs onto the main deck, but the place was secluded and cosy.
With a nice jazz music in the background, I studied the menu. It was fusion food, Oriental meets the West. I soon settled into a seafood platter, salad to share with Anita and Nasi Ayam for my main. I couldn't fault any of them, although the portion for my rice was on the small side, even for me.

I had some mint lychee for drinks, and it was a real thirst quencher. The salad was heavenly, fresh and topped with some form of cheese dressing. The seafood platter was Anita's favourite, serving sample of skewered prawns, soft-shell crabs and squids. It was also the most expensive order on the table.

The seafood platterMy sumptuous RM10.90 nasi ayamAll done!For RM10.90, the Chicken Rice was definitely well worth the order. And I could've had a couple of them with the small portion and all. The price was very reasonable.

Highly recommended. I would like to sample other sites in their on my next visit. Make sure you look for signs for U-Cafe the next time you visit Wangsa Walk Mall .....

Iftar at Sri Ayuttahaya

It was work last night, but tonight iftar was with family. Destination, Sri Ayutthaya in Wangsa Maju, one of the more upmarket-looking Thai restaurant around where I live.

I couldn't pretend that I like the place, but for the family, it was about the go-to place as far as Thai food restaurant if we were planning a family do. Good ambiance, clean environment, not bad food, but with a good efficient service - if the place was not packed that was.

The upper floor was kept empty for the evening.So, for fear of the place being crowded and full car park, we set off early. We were there well before 7, and we later found out that the restaurant was only half full. Instead of having a buffet spread, the restaurant offered a Ramadhan set menu for Iftar, making selection easy and food preparation straight forward. We know exactly what to expect, and the food came in early as well as they were pre-prepared.

It was my brother-in-law's treat this time and he was the one doing the ordering. We had the usual selection of tomyam soup, soft-shell crabs, vegetables and fish as part of the set. Food quality was pretty OK, but for the amount you paid, you would really expect something special in the meal. In the scheme of things, it was just about fine.

The food came thick and fastWe ordered separately for the boys. They had some fried rice. As you can see, the tomyam just looked too menacing for them.The fish was definitely the best dish of the night. And it didn't take long to finish it off .....The boys had to cool down after the sweet dessert.Time to go .....You couldn't fault the ambiance and service though, but bear in mind that the place was only half full. A couple of years back, we came here for a usual dinner and the service was rather poor. It was better tonight, but the food remained the same. I would recommend the sister outlet in Damansara if food quality was the one you were looking for.

For dessert, we had the firm favourite, water chestnut. On the whole, we quite enjoyed the dinner tonight. We ordered separately for the boys as the food were too spicy for them to stomach. 

Tax deadline

My colleague, Edmund always joked; there were only two things certain in life, death and taxes. And he was not wrong.

Just in case you guys were unaware, the deadline for last year's tax return filing would be the evening o the 31st of April 30th of April. Yes, you were quite welcomed to wait until then, but I prefer to get gongs over and done with. Since I was relatively well and free earlier today, I filed mine and submitted to my local Tax Office just opposite Jaya Jusco in Wangsa Maju.

There were hardly anybody there today, but I can imagine the place turning rowdy by the end of the month, judging from past experience. The office used to open till midnight on the final few nights, although now, a lot more people used the online e-filing service. Why didn't I do the same? Well I prefer to be old-fashioned when it comes to taxes. So, as they say, the rush was on .....

Update on Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 9:08PM by Haris Abdul Rahman

Thanks Ervan for spotting the messed up date!

Ayers Rock Grill

During the Earth Hour yesterday, instead of staying in the dark, I attended a birthday party for Idlan's classmate. The lights at the restaurant was rather dimmed, so I can say that I celebrated Earth Hour, at least, the spirit of it.

Unfortunately, after our afternoon outing to the Pavilion, Irfan developed a fever and Idlan was not feeling too brilliant either. We ended up not taking the boys to the party. And as the parents of the birthday boy was a rather close friend, we just went there to enjoy the celebration, pass on the presents and enjoy the food. The party was held at the Ayers Rock Butcher and Grill at Wangsa Maju, and it was quite a surprise.

The place was rather too small for an indoor party.As the shop was at a corned lot, there were plenty of space on the sides for the game and other fun stuff. About 20 children turned up, they a couple of clowns plus a magician for the games and shows. They also had a live band indoors.

The place was run by a young Malay gentleman, and the premise do not serve any alcohol. As my Dad were always keen on Western Food, I might bring him along one of these evenings. They have other branches opened, in Kota Damansara and Shah Alam, but I do not have their details. The branch in Wangsa Maju was on these GPS coordinates - 3.196585,101.74122