Four Season Restaurant @ Kota Bharu

Makan-makan again. Now, I have no intention to make anyone hungry, nor spoiling someone's diet program by showing photos of good foods. It's just so happened that makan-makan is the most interesting 'activity' I'd experienced during my short stay at Kota Bharu.

We went to Four Season Restaurant for dinner, upon recommendation by some friends. This restaurant was also recommended and was featured in the TV program Jalan-jalan Cari Makan, just like the Sri Chiangmai we had the night before. This time, we didn't send any spy to check on the price. Look at the price list, cheap huh? (note: the 2~3 person set is enough for five)

This restaurant is cosy and comfortable. I prefer the setting here. We had seafood again. Tomyam seems to be the favourite for most of us, so we ordered the mix tomyam (salivating).

There were also (in sequence) butter prawns (great aroma), Thai style kerabu sotong (yummy), fried siakap with mango sauce (delicious, crispy outside and juicy inside, but can't really taste the mango), and stir fried brinjals sambal udang (I like, I like).




Oh ya, just like Dr. Syukur said, Nik Aziz was known to be a very humble and approachable man. He was there during the opening ceremony of the restaurant.

And another plus point, this restaurant is rated A. Hygiene guaranteed.

If you're interested to tryout the place, here's the address.

Sri Chiangmai @ Kota Bharu

Believe it or not, it took us almost an hour to hunt for the right place for dinner on our second day. Our KB friends who're not in KB at the moment recommended us the Restoren Syam. But searching for this place alone had already taken us more then 30 minutes. Loorrrr.... tutup pulak bila dah dapat cari restoran tu.... geram betuiii.. They close on Friday (it's weekend for Kelantan).

We called our friends again. One suggested Selera Cik Siti. Took us another 15 minutes to locate the place....and...and..... TUTUP JUGAK! Dua kali geram.

Finally, another friend recommended Sri Chiangmai Seafood Restaurant, or Payang Serai Restaurant. Both are halal Chinese restaurant. I opted for Sri Chiangmai.

Sekali pandang kedai tu macam mahal je. Fully air-cond, with well attired waiters and waitress. Kita hantar dua pengintip gi intip harga. We rushed into the restaurant after getting the ok sign from the pengintip.

These were what we had (in sequence): Mixed tomyam, chicken stir fried with dried chillies, bitter gourd stir fried with eggs, hot and sour steamed siakap, and also hot plate sizzling beancurds.





The dinner set includes 5 dishes, white rice, chinese tea, and complimentary fruits. Since some of us do not like chinese tea, we ordered a pitcher of syrup (RM3 per pitcher). The dinner for 6 person only costed us approximately 75. Super Duper Cheapy!

The restaurant was clean, comfortable and well organised. With the kind of service, environment and food we got, it's certainly value for money. In average, I rate this restaurant 8/10. The tomyam was superb. The fish was tender and mouth watering. The beancurd was appertizing.

First Dinner at Kota Bharu

The journey to Kota Bharu took us more then 10 hours, using the Gua Musang route. We were blocked by lorries, and slowed down by heavy down pour. Arrived KB at 9.40pm. Got the booth setup at the hall before heading for our dinner. Starved.

Since we're new here, no one actually familiar with KB. Thus searching for good food was a considerable task. We settled at a foodcourt nearby the Stadium. I ordered the nasi goreng kerabu (fried rice with raw shredded vegie) while another colleague ordered the daging masak merah (spicy red sauce stir fried beef).


The display of the nasi kerabu was interesting but the taste was somewhat disappointing. But, what the heck, it cost me only RM4. The stir fried beef was just so-so according to my colleague. The tomyam was.. erm.... disappointing as well.

There was this interesting 'misunderstanding' due to difference in dialect. I ordered my favourite drink the timun limau nipis, they gave me watermelon with lime. I told the kakak I wanted the cucumber drink with lime and she adviced, "lain kali adik mintak timun batang, bukan timun." Lorr.... mane Josh tau tembikai dipanggil timun kat sini.

We cleaned up our plate in no time.

We checked in to Grand Riverview Hotel at approximately 11.20pm. Dropped dead on bed till the next day.

Away for 4 Days

I'll be away for 4 days from tomorrow till this Sunday. Duty at Kota Bahru. I'll update if I got time, and internet service.

Kak Ja Tagged Me

Here are the four rules:

1.Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
My tagger Kak Ja the loving mother.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
(I'd shared many things about myself. So for this entry, I'll write only those that I think I'd not shared with my blog readers.)

FACT 1:
I started keeping my facial hair 7 years ago, marking the beginning of my courtship with my wife (my girlfriend by then). The reason was simple. I want to have the mature look, while my wife like my new look.

FACT 2:
Playing Tarzan was my brothers' and mine's favourite 'game' while we were kids. We can spend the whole day in the jungle nearby our house swinging from tree to tree. The only thing that force us to go home was a cane. Ouch. But then, the cane was only served as 'gimmick'. We never really got beaten.

FACT 3:
Bitter gourd is one of my favourite vegie. Believe it or not, my mum told me that I picked an unripe bitter gourd from my mum's garden when I was only 3 years old, and ate it raw. Yummy.

FACT 4:
I was a quiet and introvert boy during my school days. I spent lots of time drawing (pencil colour, water colour), wood carving and making 3D cards. I love art. But my personality changed as I entered university. Now, I'm known to be one of the 'kuat membebel dan suka bercakap' person in my office. Just ask the burung-burung to testify.

FACT 5:
I fall down from a ladder while picking some fruits for my grandmother. My right arm suffered dislocation and was hospitalised for two weeks. Stopped schooling for a month. Did an operation to attach a piece of metal to keep my right arm in good position, and took it out 3 months later. I can't carry heavy load with my right hand until today. Here's the 'souvenir' of the fall, a long and beautiful 'centipede' on my right arm. (Kurang macho jugak kalo banding ngan scar Dr. Shah tu, kan Shah?)


FACT 6:
I love nature (I guess many of my reader knew this already), and there's one thing that I always wanted to do, but yet to be done. I want to get a scuba diving license. I did snorkeling, but snorkeling alone does not satisfy my desire to explore the sea. However, my wife had stopped me from doing it. She's very concern over the safety issue. We got friends who died from scuba diving. My desire of scuba diving is still strong. Let see if my wife's perception will change in the future.

FACT 7:
I enjoy spending time with people older then me (Funny huh?). . The reason is, you can gain lots of knowledge and wisdom from their life experiences. But this does not mean that I don't mix with younger people. Young people are energetic and fun to be with too. Hm... wait.... this fact seems to be contradictory. Oh well, I guess I enjoy meeting people.

3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog.
This one is difficult, for sure I'll be cursed. Oh well, I'll do the 'who want to volunteer?' way. Siapa minat?? I had Inah, Shahril Aley, Beruang Madu, Dr. Shah and Ain-ain the other pink lady in mind though. Takde paksa-paksa ye.

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Considered done.

Rainbow in the Morning

Note: Photos taken with my old handphone. Didn't bring along my camera.

Seeing rainbow earlier this morning was a good kick-start to my day. But I was just unable to capture good photos of the rainbow using my old handphone camera. Naper lah time saya x bawak kemre dia keluar lawa-lawa kat langit tu? ish.... geram.


I wonder if there's any mystical belief on seeing rainbow early in the morning? But I was certainly very happy this morning.

p/s Kalo ada siapa-siapa yang tak nampak rainbow tu dan complaint gambar x jelas, silalah belikan Josh satu handphone baru ngan camera canggih. Sila lah. hehee...

Weekend @ Country Villa

The English Language Ministry (ministry for English speaking congregation) committee members of our church had this retreat at Country Villa over last weekend. The purposes were to have fellowship and to discuss on some issues related to the ministry. The retreat was fruitful, with some resolutions and planning for the second half of the year.



The unit we stayed in was just next to a water-lily-infested lake. It's very peaceful and quiet in the morning. I managed to snap these photos from the balcony of our unit.


The retreat was from Friday till Saturday. And I was on duty at an event organised by our institution on Sunday. In other words, I was fully occupied on last weekend, hence no update on my blog.

Choose Love

It's not the kind of choices that you have to made to decide which one you love, it's otherwise. Pilih kasih is the phrase in Bahasa Malaysia, 'favouritism' in English. It's the kind of situation where you'd decided which one u like and you'll love, protect and even defend even when the person you'd chosen is nothing compare to others. Sound normal? I don't know.

I guess it's quite common in Malaysian culture. This 'choose-love' issue arises when we did the SWOT analysis for our work place. It was listed among our weaknesses. But the top people brushed it aside, trying to cover that no such thing had happened. But then it's the staff's feedback, obviously some (read 'some' obviously it's more then one person) had been victimized. No matter how good you are and how hard working you are, you won't get the praises. But someone who did minimal alteration on other peoples hard work get all the credits.

Why people like to 'choose-love' and in the end failed to appreciate the brilliant works of some parties? Some would say it's 'gatal', so would say it's 'miang', or they have 'something' in between. But I'm clueless. By the way, you might be asking if I'm one of the victim. Well, to certain degree, I felt I was. And I felt I am. For one thing, my gender is not to their taste (luckily), and I don't wear pretty dresses and sweet scent to please them.

I would like to describe further on my situation (and situations of other victims) but doing this will disclose the identity of the person(s).That's not my intention. My colleagues read my blog.

Yes, I have some grudges over this issue, but I'm glad I'm not one of their 'choose-love'. I don't have any hatred towards any party either, for I think it's a norm in Malaysian culture. I'll just have to work much harder. Not to please them but to prove that I'm capable even without their pilih kasih.

Carlos - simply mamamia!

I stepped my feet into Pavilion in KL for the first time last night. Usually this type of mall in the KL concrete jungle does not attract my attention, nor I need them to survive. But I was invited to a dinner at Carlos, an Italian style restaurant.

I thought of using my navigator to lead me there, but since Budlee offered to show me the way, I was more then happy to have him as the 'co-pilot'. Believe me, he's much more functional then the navigator. He can even drive me home after dinner. hehehe

Free and yummy oysters are among the menu. I had half dozen. Someone in the dinner had gulped a dozen before me and Bud's arrival. Chen, what would happen to that guy?

This crackers thingy was yummy, goes well with the salsa sauce. Other food includes pizza (very nice), salad, sweet potatoes with minced beef, and more (sorry i can't recall any of the food;s name, they're just too alien to me).

Of course, this dinner was fully sponsored. I was privileged to be treated by Arel, for no apparent occasion. Thanks brother.

Of course, Hairie was there too. He'd been lifted from the ban and can now appear in blogs. Hehe.. Bud is on the right.

I had a pot of pepermint tea to help wash down the food and to help my digestion. I was stuffed to the max last night. Almost to the state of 'kenyang sampai terkentut'.

Alas, I didn't bring along my DSLR camera, hence the absence of the quality photos and review of the food. I don't want to show u guys the food photos taken with my handphone camera, it'll puzzle u on what type of food I'm be showing.

Asiari Restaurant

We had lunch at Asiari Restaurant with the tag line "Home of Asia's Best". We had been shying away from this restaurant since it's opening quite some times ago, thinking that this place must be damn expensive. But somehow on that particular day, we decided to give it a try. It's a day after payday. Tiba-tiba rasa kaya dan nak pamper sendiri.



The ambience of the restaurant is compelling. I love the way they decorate the place with lights and shapes. For the first time, we realised that it's not as expensive as we thought. Although the price listed on the menu seems abit expensive, but it's quite reasonable. A glass of mango frappe costed RM4.90, while a bowl of beef noodle costed RM11.90. I ordered just that. A total of RM18 for lunch (include tax). The ladies ordered chicken rice.


I like the beef noodle. They stewed the beef until they're soft and tender while retaining the fragrant. I love the soup. Basically, I'm a soup lover. I like soupy food.

However, the two burung kakak tua thought the food was a bit too sweet, you'll get 'muak' after awhile. If you like to give this place a try, just go to SACC Shah Alam. Ground floor, at the right of main entrance.