last day in April 2010

Ya Allah....cepatnya masa berlalu...tup tap dah akhir April...esok dah masuk bulan baru...alhamdulillah...syukur kepada Allah s.w.t kerana dengan kuasaNya kita masih lagi berada dimuka bumi ini untuk menikmati segala keindahan dan keajaiban ciptaan Yang Maha Esa...amin....

Pantas betul masa berlalu....even aku sendiri have a lot unsettled thing....hope everything goes well...planned before this year Ramadhan, all settled...and raya at my new house...can't wait...aku bersyukur kepada Allah s.w.t atas rezeki yang diberikan ini...

Sab Nyer...

saja nak posting

dah lama tak mencoret dan mengarut kat sini. mana tak nya....since Jan sampai la ni, tak habis2 bz nyer...huhuhuhu as at today pun masih kebzan ...mcm tsunami...tak surut2 lagi nih..hmmm. k lah..APril is coming and leaving..soon May will come...with unexpected thing and thing and...thing that we also dont know what will happen....hmmm sebenarnya dah ada something besar yang diplan nak buat dalam bulan june ni...related to my works...detaill..?? hmmm still dalam question mark...dun know...yet to get detail briefing from the bosses....good or bad?? hmmm un expected...as detail not yet being announce to us...overall yes, gud news to everyone, but who affected, who's not....again tbc...work??? hmmm dah boleh agak ...quite disaster..as to complete certain task within short period...comment?? hope everything goes well..and endswell..

This month seriously very stressful for me...a lot of issues need to be solved..and a lot of thing still pending...how i gonna to solve all this thing?? tired thinking of all this thing...fed up gak...layan benda2 nih...but its part of my job...hmmm layan jelah...huhuhu
Sab Nyer...

new recipies...

Just found out an article relates to my dad....juz want to share :)

Special Steamed Cod
40g cod fillet
1 teaspoon each Chinese wine,
sesame oil, s
oya sauce
(A) 20g each Shitake mushroom,
red pepper,
carrots,
mango,
young coconut
meat
(B),
sliced 10g red onion,
chopped 5g garlic,
chopped Coriander leaves
Salt to taste
200ml corn oil
250ml olive oil
60g squid ink &
egg pasta
1 fresh corn-on-cob with leaf
2 tablespoons margarine
1 teaspoon
Wasabi caviar
Foil Fillet cod into 70g each.

Season with (A). Saute mushrooms with onions and garlic, season to taste. Toss with other ingredients. Brush some corn oil on corn leaves and put fish in, top with fried ingredients. Cover with another piece of leaf. Tie one end with butcher’s string. Use a piece of corn leaf to tie the other end, wrap with foil. Steam for eight minutes. Blanch pasta, drain, then sauté with margarine and fresh corn kernels. Place on plate and serve with cod, Wasabi caviar and soya sauce.

Coming up trumps

Story and pictures by HELEN ONG

It was by chance that he landed a job with a restaurant, but once Chef Zakaria Abdul Ghani found that he could use the cooking skills he picked up as a boy, he decided to make it his career. sundaymetro@thestar.com.my HE may be an executive chef at work but when he is at home, Chef Zakaria Abdul Ghani, 55, prefers to let his wife do all the cooking. Affectionately known as Chef Zak, he learnt to cook when he was a teenager but back then he never thought cooking would be his career one day.

Chef Zak, who is well-known for his enticing Malay dishes, says he learnt traditional Malay cooking from his Malaccan maternal grandmother, with whom he lived from a young age. After his formal education, while waiting for his Form 5 results, he joined the Hilton Hotel in KL as a laundry boy, but decided this wasn’t where he wanted to spend his life. “It was too hot!” he laughs. That was when he chanced upon a job, one of several stints over the next couple of decades, with the Yazmin Restaurant in Ampang Park. “It was the first Malay restaurant there,” he reminisces, “opened by Raja Nor Jasmin from the Perak royal family, who was a very good cook.” During his time there, he learnt to cook Malay food from the other states during their annual state food promotions.

Once he decided that cooking was indeed his forte, he went to stay with an aunt in Switzerland in 1980, where he started as an apprentice in the kitchens of the famous Moven Pick Restaurant in Egerkingen, and learnt Western cuisine. On his return to Malaysia in 1981, he joined various establishments and hotels, working his way up to executive chef at Putra World Trade Centre.

From 1994 to 1999, Chef Zak worked in Brunei, including a few years as the Sultan of Brunei’s chef in his private kitchens. He is now the executive chef of the Hydro Hotel in Batu Ferringhi, Penang.

Especially for you: Special Steamed Cod from Chef Zakaria Abdul Ghani

> Do you have any childhood memories of food?
As my grandmother was not physically very strong, I had to help her cook, so she taught me a lot in the kitchen.

> Do you like hawker food? Where are your favourite hawker food stalls?
I love any type of noodles. My favourite is the Mee Mamak in Gurney Drive.

> What’s your favourite ingredient?
Lemongrass: It’s such a versatile ingredient with a distinct aroma. I use it for many things, from marinades to sauces for fish, or I just throw it into fusion dishes.

> When you are at home, do you cook?
No! Only for special occasions. I love my wife’s cooking, so she usually does it. I’m not fussy, so whatever she makes is great.

> Have you had any unpleasant experience in the kitchen?
When I was working in the Revolving Restaurant at the Sabah Foundation in Kota Kinabalu, we had to prepare a dinner for 200 guests with VVIPs including the Yang Di-Pertuan of Negri Sembilan. Unfortunately, Purchasing forgot to order gas, so we had to resort to using firewood, and every one of us was fanning like mad to get the fires going. After that, we dared not even go out to meet them because we all stank of smoke!

> If you weren’t a chef, what would you be doing?
I never thought I would end up a chef, because I always liked teaching and wanted to become a teacher. However, I started working in a hotel doing odd jobs, and worked my way up to F&B Manager and then a chef after.

> What do you always have in your fridge?
Butter – it’s very useful for everything from sautéing to toast; even butter rice.

> Have you eaten anything unusual?
When I was in Sabah, I was invited to the house of a fellow staff member and we were served tapai (drink). It had little wriggling white grubs and I bit on one. I nearly threw up!

> Who would you call if you wanted to invite someone for a meal?
Definitely the Sultan of Brunei, because I know his likes and dislikes. I really enjoyed cooking for him before. He’s not a fussy eater.

> What/where would be your dream posting as a chef?
The Dorchester Hotel in London, because that’s where we stayed when the Sultan of Brunei was in town. We cooked in the kitchens and the food was sent to his mansion in Kensington.

> Who’s your favourite chef?
Chef Rutth from the Dorchester. He was very unselfish and taught me a lot about kitchen operations and recipes. >

Can you share a favourite recipe with us? Special Steamed Cod: This is something Chef Kwong, my Chinese Chef de Cuisine, and I created for the hotel’s Mother’s Day dinner.

Sab Nyer...

Welcome New Financial Year 2010

Orang lain sibuk dah 3 bulan mengadap tahun baru, we all baru started our Financial Year 2010..yeah..welcome babe.. new hope,new initiatives, and new target...hahahah...yolah tu kan...planned macam2 tapi mampu ke aku buat... well as 1 April we all start, aku secara rasminya akan memegang portfolio Payroll Domestic which my main task is monitoring all local payroll activities, and in the same time aku dah dapat new collegues which will handle Payroll International and Sazyla will monitor both. Eventhough as per system my position still yet to be updated - the reason is that my name tercicir for last EDC...Ok fine what ever lah...what important is that, e personally think that there's alot need to be improve in my department so apa lagi sab....initiatives lah.....

oklah...memandagkan FY2009 belum officially closed, and i might think that will be a period 13, me dah already pandang depan, no turning back lah...malas nak amik tahu last year punyer criter...target kali ni...to improve my payroll skill and also to implement as many inititatives as i need to finished i up and also to improve on Payroll staff capability. sekarang ni i have sikit problem with my staff which aku rasa need to change their mentality to accept any changes and adopt new work environment.
Sab Nyer...