The Spring Nando's Opening and Media Gathering

The Spring Kuching finally has its own Nando's. This is the second Nando's restaurant in Kuching and the first one was in Vivacity Megamall and I was lucky enough to get invited once again to their newest restaurant. It was a media gathering session, a pretty laid back kind of gathering where we were introduced with both the new restaurant and new menu as well.

The newest addition to the family! 

1. Sweet potato chips - I absolutely adore this one. Sweet potato as fries- genius. Especially if you have a sweet tooth just like me. And I couldnt get enough of this. Highly recommended and be prepare to order more because we did. 

 2. Red skin mashed potato - This particular mashed potato was really good. I would come back for more of this mashed potatoes. 

3. Spinach - On the other hand, I dont really like this new side. It taste rather bland and boring for me. Nevertheless, if you're trying to stay healthy or you opt for healthier option this is the perfect option. 

How brave are you for your chicken? Time to take it to the next level. I usually do mild with hot sauce but this time around, I choose hot instead. And I insist all of you to step up your game. The caramel cheese cake is not something new and I had it quite some time already at Nando's. If you're a sweet tooth person just like me, this is the dessert you should beg your friends or parents to get you some.

I had a blast at the gathering and really looking forward for more in the future. Till then.

p.s: I have exam this weekend yet I choose to procrastinate my revision to blog this instead. 

Making Bento with Ayam Brand

Ayam Brand is known for their canned products was here in Kuching on Monday (1st August 2016) and they are here on a mission! It has been 9th consecutive years Ayam Brand organized a charity campaign has benefit more than 16,100 people from 362 charity organizations.

And this time around in Kuching, Ayam Brand pitch in to help 50 charity homes across Malaysia and also Brunei with their wide range of healthy and convenient, preservative - free canned products that are adequate enough for the needs of daily needs of residents for two month. 

The Community Care 2016 held a fun hands - on  activities for the participating charity homes here in Kuching at The Coffee Factory. Participating charity homes are: Pertubuhan Kebajikan Anak-anak Yatim Sarawak, Sarawak Children’s Cancer Society, The Green Ribbon Association, Rumah Amal Nur Murni and Salvation Army Girl’s Home. 

Children participating in this year’s campaign were introduced to Bento, a single-portion home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine that traditionally holds rice, fish, meat with pickled or cooked vegetables with fruit or other sweet item. It is usually beautifully packed in a box-shaped container and is well balanced nutritionally. Japanese people spend time and energy on a carefully prepared bento box for their spouse, child, or themselves.

Chef Loke sowing us and guiding during the bento making process.

The children learnt how to prepare four Ayam Brand™ dishes in a fun and interactive session that was specially developed to suit people of different ages and abilities; namely Mixed Fruit Salad, Baked Bean, Heart Shaped Sardine Sandwich and Tuna Onigiri under the guidance of celebrity Chef Loke from T-Garden Cooking School. 

I had the opportunity to do the bento myself and it was indeed a fun experience. It felt like I was in an art class and the chef helped me to create my very own masterpiece expect mine was tasty and edible. The kids had their share of fun as well. Everyone was smiling and us the media was having a blast. Off the record, it is such a fun way to help the community especially the participating charity homes residents. Seeing the children smile and play around is a golden moment. 

Food Review; Nando's Kuching

Sighting of giant egg around Kuching has been reported ever since 4th of December 2015. With the #KuchingHatching and a matching font Nando’s been using for year, it is safe to say that Nando’s is finally coming to Kuching.

12th December 2015, the giant egg finally hatched after a round of chicken dance and an egg cracking by Daniel, the Chief Operating Officer of Nando’s. I was lucky enough to be invited by MilkPR and Nando’s for their special grand opening in Vivacity Megamall. As we all know, Nando’s used to be the restaurant that most Sarawakian would fly over to Peninsular or even KK to satisfy their PERi-PERi craving. Nando’s is for sure very welcome here in Sarawak.

Now, let’s get back to the opening shall we? The decoration and interior of Nando’s is very warm and cozy. Definitely suitable for all occasion, be it hanging out with friends or having family over for a meal. I was really in love with the walls. The details is pretty amazing.

First up is the appetizer. The PERi- PERi drizzle definitely compliments the hummus and the pita bread as well. It was my first time having hummus wrap with pita and I enjoy it. It was also my first time having real olives and it wasnt that bad after all. Might come back for more olives. Hew hew.

One word to describe the main dish: Mouthful. I couldnt believe my eyes seeing all of those chickens in one plate along with the side dishes. The PERi chips, PERi wedges, coleslaw, grilled veg, corn-on-the go and as well as mediterranean rice. Everything was cooked to perfection. Thumbs up to the chefs! I was in love with the hot PERi - PERi chicken. It has some kick in it to kick start a good meal.

I was so full and then the dessert comes out. I was definitely happy knowing that Chocolate Crunch Roll was being served.

I had fun during the opening, MilkPR definitely knows how to throw a good opening party indeed. And guess what, I won a prize for answering one of the quiz! Currently I am obssesed with my goodie bag! And thank you once again MilkPR and Nando’s for the invitation!

Dont forget to head over to Nando’s for your PERi-PERi fix at Vivacity Megamall.

Food Review; Aurora Court Saturday Buffet

Don’t know where to eat on a Saturday night? Head over to Merdeka Palace Hotel and Suites!

On the 17th of October, I was invited over for a food tasting again at Merdeka Palace Hotel and Suites, but this time is for their Aurora Saturday Dinner Buffet. The name says it all, every Saturday until further notice at the Aurora Court (Ground Floor) of Merdeka Palace Hotel and Suites is where the buffet is. This is the second time I was invited over and I was pretty much excited since the food never disappoint me.

The Aurora Court has a very laid back French restaurant feel to it. The ambiance is exquisite I must say. Here’s a few picture of the court that I fell in love with.

Now back to the buffet! The western and local delights are available for your choosing. Let’s start with the appetizers. If you’re feeling a little bit western, you can choose by making your own salad with the dressing of your choice. Or, if you’re feeling a local, try some of the rojak or even ulam with sambal belacan. Yes they have sambal belacan in a hotel buffet!

Proceed over to the Mongolian BBQ station (YOU SHOULD/MUST TRY THIS) , they basically do live cooking station as well, where you can choose your own ingredients (chicken, squid,fish fillet,beef,chicken frank, cocktail sausage and a wide variety of vegetables) and ask them to cook it for you. Mongolian style of course. I cant get enough of the taugeh tho. I am basically a taugeh-addict. Not forgetting the grill station, I love how they grilled the fish and chicken that I had. It was well cooked, just the beef is a bit over cooked but I’m loving the chewey-ness of it.

Moving on to some of the heavy dishes, they have nasi ayam station. Well, who doesnt love nasi ayam? I tried the fried rice with a bit of every lauk. First up, the Wok Fried Chicken Kung Po - my favourite! I love the taste of the sauce and the chicken. It was really good. Even recommended a blogger to try it! The Ikan Goreng Masak Kicap taste a bit familiar, like duh its a local dish so I have no comment on it since I had a lot of Ikan Goreng Masak Kicap at home as well. The fish are firm so it is a good sign shows that the fishes are fresh. Next on the plate is the Braised Mutton with Massalla Spice and Tomato. This one taste so good. But too bad I cant get more of it since I have high blood pressure or else I might end up with a headache.

As for the carving station, this time around they served Hickory Smoked Lamb Shoulder, Rotisserie Chicken and Duck. Which are the highlight of this buffet. It’s in middle of the Aurora court alongside with the Ais Kacang, Fruits and Ice-Cream station. One of my favourite is the variety of desserts available. It taste so good, that I pick almost everything they served. Can’t help my sweet tooth cravings!

For your information, Aurora Saturday Dinner Buffet is available only on every Saturday from 6.30pm to 10.30pm. The price is RM86 per adult and 50% off for child (5-12 years old).

For more inquiries and details do contact 082-258000 ext 8061 (Aurora Court) or F&B Office ext 8004 (8.30 a.m. till 5.00 p.m.)

Website: www.merdekapalace.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MPHSKuching

Thanks for the warm welcome! Will come back again soon!

Food Review; Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites Ramadhan Buffet Dinner.

Ramadhan is here once again folks and how fasting has been treating you guys so far? I tried to fast as well and it is not going well for me. I restrain myself from eating but not drinking. I guess I can call it as semi-fasting? If there is such term exist. Maybe in a parallel universe it does.

Anyway, last Saturday I was lucky enough to attend Merdeka Palace Ramadhan’s Buffet. It is an annual activity for Merdeka Palace Hotel and Suites to host its Ramadan Buffet Dinner. This time around, they have decided to do it at Balai Merdeka and it has started ever since 18th of June 2015 until 16th July 2015 from 6.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m.

This was my first time ever at Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites, so I did not expect much. But when Irene brought us over to this dining hall, I was speechless. Foods are everywhere, literally every corner of the room. I felt like I was dead and was revived around this food heaven. Over reacting Bryan. Now let’s get back to food reviewing shall we?

 The Ramadan Buffet Dinner offers variety dishes, from local to international cuisine that are both mouthwatering and delicious. Even taking the photos of the foods around makes me so hungry and I gave up on taking every photo of the foods cause I really need to taste it right away. The highlight of the buffet was the Merdeka Palace’s Spit-Roasted Whole Lamb which attract everyone’s attention.

The good thing about this buffet is it is very well organized. I’ve been to buffet which were quite not well organized and it is quite hard to walk around, especially with my super cute size. Okay, so first things first, The Appetizers & Salads corner where you can get ulam-ulaman, jeruk, acar, umai and also some of the typical salads which you can choose by your own with the dressings you desire. 

Moving on, the 5-star buffet also serves some must have hot local dishes that are Bubur Pedas, Nasi Bukhari dengan Kambing, Umbat Kelapa Masak Lemak, Ayam Masak Merah, Kuzi Kambing and Deep Fried Telapia with Sweet Chili Sauce. I personally like the nasi kerabu and some ayam masak merah madu as well. Unfortunately, the fried telapia which I cannot resist, I love fish by the way, was in hot demand. I see no fish left there :’( The fish must be really good.

 What I really love about buffets are the live-cooking station and live kitchen stalls and for this Ramadhan, the buffet provides on the spot cooking of Laksa Sarawak, Lok Lok, Roti Jala & Roti John, pastas with carbonara, bolognese & napolitana sauce and as well as the sotong kangkong (where they cook the kangkong for you). And my personal favourite was the wood-oven pizzas. I am such a sucker for pizza, even my tote has a picture of pizza on it. The pizza was so so so so so so good. Muehehe. I wouldn’t mind having some more right now.

The Do-It-Yourself counter provided is where you can make your own ais kacang and sotong kankong to your likings. And I tried making one yesterday but my skills arent as good as any ice kacang or cendol vendors out there. So respect to you guys that make some delicious ice kacang for us. Last but not least, the Desserts counter. Where all sweet tooth lovers assemble and have some scrumptious desserts from French pastries bubur kacang hijau, pengat pisang, bubur cha cha, fresh home made kuih, cakes and puddings. I personally had three cakes and my favourite is ofcourse the pandan cake. I am not keen of the chocolate cake since I dont really like chocolate cake and that is my personal opinion on any chocolate cake. Oh the ice-cream are homemade by the way and taste so good. The texture is much firmer than some ice cream they make in a factory.

 The Ramadhan Buffet Dinner is priced at RM78 nett per adult while children (4-12 years old and senior citizens (60 years old and above) will enjoy 50% off, so it will cost them around RM 39 per person. Quite expensive but the varieties of food are endless.

 So if you dont know what you wanna eat for sungkai/iftar/fast breaking, head over to Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites this Ramadhan.

 For more inquiries and details do contact 082-258000 ext 8061 (Aurora Court) or F&B Office ext 8004 (8.30 a.m. till 5.00 p.m.)
 Website: www.merdekapalace.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MPHSKuching