Who's Watching Your Back?

Snoopy is cautiously watching out for Rusty...

Things have been pretty hectic lately ever since the team came up to speed implementing the proper methodology towards the solutioning exercise for the project.

Anyway, we got news that one of the systems is to Go-LIVE earlier than expected and as such, we try to help each other out.

Although things are hectic and stressful, the one thing I like about the team I'm working with is how we watch out for each other. Some of the members often go rushing out to meet with clients or vendors and so, we have to share our information when they come back to the "war room".

The context of the photo I've posted is in the wrong context but what I can say is that when we need support, I can count on my team members.

I've always felt that the success of a team depends on how well we work with one another, not against one another...

Getting Together @ Canton-i

A couple of weeks back, my friends and I celebrated 1 leng lui's birthday. Well, she's rather shy about her age but I have to say that she's keeping well. :-)

Anyway, upon her request, we ended up at Canton-i @ Sunway Pyramid.

I've been to this outlet a few times and I'm a big fan of their porridge as it is done in the proper Cantonese style - i.e. smooth and thick unlike the Teo Chew style which is like rice in water. The porridge was much to the Hong Kong and Guang Zhou style which I had some many years back.

However, for this round, we did not go for the porridge but had more substantial stuff.

Canton-i serves killer prawn wantans! The prawns are fresh and large. It is really worth every single penny... The wantan skins were brilliant too. Not too thick or thin but just right. The wantans were not overcooked unlike some other places where the skins just burst and the filling seeps out.

We ordered other prawn-related dishes and it did not disappoint too.

With the roasted pork and honey-glazed pork hanging by the window, we can't resist but to order a plate to try it out. I've tried this dish a few times and this time, I would say that the honey-glazed pork had a good amount of fat. At some outlets under the same franchise, the honey-glazed pork was a little dry. So far, the best place for this has got to be Canton-i @ Gardens, MidValley.

With all that meat and seafood, we had to balance things out with some carbohydrates. This was the Fried Beef Noodles with XO Sauce, a very common dish in Hong Kong. It's not bad as the beef was marinated quite well.

We did order some other food such as vegetables and some wantan noodles but I didn't want to post those pictures up. Kekeke..

When my two friends were holidaying in Melbourne, they tried some whitefish which is very popular there. Well, looking at the menu, they ordered a similar type of fish and this was yummy!! Savoury and sweet at the same time, I think it goes well with porridge too!

As for dessert, my friends ordered about 5 different types of dessert but I'll only showcase two as I felt that these two were just out of this world! The simple egg custard tart is a common dessert or dim sum item in most restaurants but to make the perfect custard requires the hands of a master. The egg custard has to be sweet, smooth and warm while the pastry holding the custard has to be flaky and light. Superb... Please order this...

This other dessert can be a nightmare for some folks but for those who love the taste of durian, this dessert is unique to Hong Kong food. Most Malaysians take their durian from the fruit, i.e. fresh in all its "smelly" glory. The durian pancake was so-so, only difference is that it was deep-fried. The fruit wasn't very ripe which meant that the taste and smell of durian lingered but the sweetness wasn't there. :-(

All in all, we had a great time stuffing ourselves. Anyway, Canton-i can be a bit pricey but it is worthwhile a try. Portions are quite large too.

Meanwhile, I'll try to update another blog post later about my Father's Day lunch @... Canton-i... AGAIN!! LOL!!!!

Have I Run Out Of Things to Say?

I had thought a bit about my next post.

I have some photos to put up... Yes, it's mainly about food as this time round, I had gone out with my friends for a good makan to celebrate someone's thirt####### birthday. Kekeke...

Not that I ran out of things to say.

Just that I need to find time to write it. LOL!!

After today's meeting, I realized that from the spreadsheet of documents to deliver, I have quite a number on my plate. Eep!

Not only that, after this morning's meeting with the vendor; I realized that although my team members said that they have 3-4yrs working experience, the questions they posed really showed that they did not do their homework. Arrrgghhh... That means, more filtering work for me. *sigh*

I've already told them to eat, sleep, breathe and sh*t the technical proposal as that would be part of our job. Looks like the message didn't get through yet. *sob*

Aside from that, after this afternoon's project management meeting, they seem quite confused between phase deliverables and project closure deliverables. Hmmm... Not only that, they have NEVER estimated their work before, as they asked me how to put in start and end dates in the plan.

When I did see the dates, I noticed that they planned to start the work in July.... when the work should begin tomorrow... When I asked why, they thought that the side-task was what they need to concentrate on this week.......... In fact, the side-task was already mentioned to be a side-task where we will use around 10-20hours per week and it is on-going...

Looks like I have a lot of work ahead. I have to treat these folks as "freshies" and train them up to speed or else... I may have to vomit out all the documents by myself....

Another thing I have to do is to see what motivates them and bring that out. Besides that, I think I need to bring my old naggy self back to nag and lecture these folks too. :P

Otherwise, they are pretty ok; just that being new, I believe they are afraid to step up to the plate... which is not good, in the organization where I'm at.

So, in a sense, my next post.. should be less ranty and err... more colourful with some photos too. (^.^)

Transformers 2!!!!

I'm getting a wee bit excited as the date for Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen is coming soon.

"Megatron, you do know that we have a date to keep, right?"

I'd guess that there would be a very long queue as everyone will flock to the cinemas when the movie is out. Hmmmm... I wonder if I should splurge a little to go for the Premier class? After all, it's Megatron and Optimus Prime!!!!!

7:02am

Damn it!

Ok, I shouldn't start my post with a curse.... But.... No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to get my mandatory 8 hours of sleep. =_=

I went to bed at around 12:30am and woke up... lo and behold at.... 6:15am. I was supposed to be awake by 7:00am. Where did that 45minutes of sleep go?? Oh yeah, I remembered... Nature's call woke me up. Grrr...

7:05am - Some random thoughts before I feed the dogs and prepare to go to work. I've got to get the routine right as by next week, the school holidays would be over and the mad traffic return to the streets. *sigh*

Anyway, something cool to share - my sis and bro-in-law have given names to the twins. They are very certain that both are girls. So, we're currently praying that Charlotte and Olivia would safely arrive at the end of August.

Wouldn't it be cool if they arrive on 31st August 2009 and share the same birthday as Snoopy? But then, the cost of delivering that day would be double or triple...

Some Home Cooked Korean

Its been a frustrating day - nursing a lower back pain after sitting in the soft sofa chairs at the office for this week. Although the place is comfortable, it is not ergonomic for us.

I'm currently waiting to get a proper seat, even inquiring everyday yielded no results as arranging a seating area is a sensitive issue... :-)

Last week, while hanging around MidValley Gardens, I had a craving for some Korean food. I remembered that there was a review some time back about a small store at the Lower Ground floor of Gardens which had Korean food.

Getting a seat at Ko Hyang was a hassle as the stall has limited seating, next to the Juiceworks stall. Anyway, it was worth the wait.

One of my favourite Korean dishes is Beef Bulgogi. Typically, some of the places I've eaten had the beef cooked on a hot-plate but this was stir-fried with lots of vegetables and onions. The taste was really home-style and rustic. The beef wasn't cooked very long which was fantastic.

Rice accompanied the dish and it was yummy! Not your typical sticky rice, the rice used is akin to the obi-mueh used in desserts.

I was tempted to order the glass noodles as the noodles is quite unique. It is thicker than our usual Chinese variety and was brilliant with carrots, onions, spring onions and cabbage. The dish is sweetish which is what I like.

As an additional dish, we ordered the seafood pancake or pajeon. It was pretty good - light and crispy but I think EV wanted more seafood variety other than octopus. Kekeke...

This stall is worth a try and I would return again for the other dishes. One gripe is that the kimchi side dishes were not enough.

I'm suddenly thinking about the old Korean restaurant run by an old Korean couple in Melbourne... I can't recall if it was in North Caufield or Carnegie...

Inner Peace

Friday is here!! Well, sort of... It is past midnight anyway.

Snoopy is the master of Zen...

I've mentioned in my last few posts that things have been hectic at work. Well, it can't be helped as I'm in the midst of a project.

There are some ups and downs but the important thing is, the entire team is in it together.

As such, within all the "madness" going around, I strive to search for that inner peace by just taking a deep breath from time to time. It is so easy to be overwhelmed.

One colleague practices deep breathing techniques in the morning before he comes into the office so that he can face the madness. It's actually a pretty good technique. I've neglected it for a while and now that the stress is starting to build up, it's time to get back to those exercises!

Besides that, spending a little time with God each day will help alleviate the stress too...

Perfect Sunday Brunch

After a hectic week, it is often a good idea to unwind with some activities. For me, a good meal with my parents is a definite must for me.

No matter how busy, we all must make time for family; be it a meal or just to meet up for a drink.

My Dad is a big fan of spicy food. So, last weekend, he insisted on having some banana leaf rice at one of the restaurants in PJ.

Banana leaf rice is pretty popular in Malaysia as the "set" comes with a default set of vegetables side dishes, some yummy curry or dal sauce and as an optional dish - meat or fish.

We typically eat Banana Leaf rice with our "natural fork-and-spoon", i.e. our fingers. It can be messy for first-timers but once you get the hang of it, you'll enjoy every finger-licking moment. :-)

There is something definitely satisfying when you eat with your bare hands. Of course, PLEASE do remember to wash your hands before you eat. (^.^)

I was craving for some fried chicken - no thanks to EV who showed me her b'day vouchers from Jusco; where one of it was for KFC... Damn...

Mom ordered her fried fish, Dad some curry chicken while I had my fried chicken. All 3 dishes were delicious!! The chicken was deep-fried to perfection - not too greasy and the chicken is still moist inside.

Dad really enjoyed his meal as he asked for extra rice - with no charge.

However, like everything else, the banana leaf rice set is now RM4.50, where it was previously RM3. The fried chicken is about RM6 when it used to be RM4.50... :-(

Oh well, it wasn't too bad. At least we had the rasem and payasam for free...

After this HUGE meal - we all went back to our carbohydrate coma... Bliss...