Food/Travel

Persiaran Eye on Malaysia, Malacca

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Remember my road trip to Malacca? Well… I was actually backpacking with my entire family, including my cat. So all the time, Meow Meow was traveling with us too. Wherever we go, she’ll be there too, though she’s not allowed to walk by herself most of the time. LOL. Did I hear anyone say that it’s pitiful to confine her like that? Well, not that pitiful.

She did not want to walk herself, anyway. I let her out every now and then and told her to take a stroll with us, but she simply refused and went back into the carrier and only wants to peek for view thru the carrier’s window. (Yeah, she’ll complain rather vocally when we were blocking her view)

And being a smart cat she is, she refused to be out of the bag unless we put a leash on her. Even then, she is very reluctant to walk herself. Instead, she wants to be carried in her carrier.

Thank God the bag carrier was really discreet. It could easily pass as a backpack when the windows are closed. 😀 Very easy to bring her around when traveling, cuz like most toy breed dogs, she’s very discreet and quiet.

Apart from that, she’s also toilet trained. She would only do her small and big business in the toilet. So each time we go to toilet, we’ll bring her along, and she’ll pee and poo in there if she needs it. Unlike other cats… she hates to do business on the roadside. I’m not quite sure if that is a good thing or bad thing. LOL.

Neway… we went to the Persiaran Eye on Malaysia beach… the place where Eye on Melaka was before it was dismantled recently. The beach was rather secluded, and there’s not much people over there. I took off my shoes, and walked on the rocks by the beach…it reminds me so much of my schooling time. What I took for granted before… being able to walk on beach rocks every day of my life when I was in high school is a luxury that I can’t really afford now. 🙁

The tide was high when I was there, but I find it very relaxing to be there, and unlike many other beaches that I’m familiar with, Persiaran Eye on Malaysia Beach does not have the salty air quality. There’s only faint scent of salt in the sea breeze when I was there, I really wonder why…

It is interesting to note that the local government are using wind mills to harvest wind power to generate electricity for the lamp posts on the beach. Very power efficient and eco-friendly, no? 😀

I also notice that on the far east of the beach, there’s also ship docks where huge ships are being serviced.

The place was really peaceful, and it gives me a moment of serenity. 😀 Wish I could stay longer… but… my time in Malacca is limited. Next stop: Tanjung Kling.


Cleffairy: Time, you’re a thief!

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Down The Memory Lane, Food/Travel, Mythology/ History

Fortaleza de la Malacca -The Fortress of Malacca

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First and foremost, I think I should apologize to my readers for boring you with my post lately. I’m turning my blog into a somewhat history class… but then again, I can’t help it. I’ve always been fascinated with history, relics and monuments. And if I were to have my way and there’s someone out there who is willing to fund my travels… I would have backpack around the entire world to see the ancient wonders left by men of dead civilization.

Anyway, today, I’d like to talk about the Fortaleza de la Malacca… or in English… The Fortress of Malacca. (Did you know that the entire Malacca was actually huge fortress surrounding the the city? Well, yeah, now you know)

According to the writing of the Portuguese historian Emanuel Godinho de Erédia who lived in the middle of the 16th century, the site of the old city of Malacca was named after the Myrobalans, fruit-bearing trees along the banks of a river called Airlele (Ayer Leleh). The Airlele river was said to originate from Bukit Cina. Eredia dictated that the city was founded by Permicuri (Parameswara) the first King of Malacca in 1411.

Following the defeat of Malacca in 15 August 1511 in the Capture of Malacca (1511), Afonso de Albuquerque sought to erect a permanent form of fortification in anticipation of the counterattacks by Sultan Mahmud Shah to reclaim his land.

A fortress was designed and constructed encompassing a hill, lining the edge of the sea shore, on the south east of the river mouth, on the former site of the Sultan’s palace that was destroyed during the battle in order to conquer the city.

There are 4 gateways build for the city. They are: Porta de Santiago, (The Port of Santiago), The gateway of the Custom House Terrace, Porta de Santo António and Porta de São Domingos.

Among these four gateways, only two were in common use and open to traffic, the Gate of Santo António linking to the suburb of Yler (modern day Hilir) and the western gate at the Custom House Terrace, giving access to Tranqueira (modern day Tengkera) and its bazaar.

After almost 300 years of existence, in 1806, the British, unwilling to maintain the fortress and wary of letting other European powers taking control of it, ordered its slow destruction. The fort was almost totally demolished but for the timely intervention of Sir Stamford Raffles visiting Malacca in 1810. The only remnants of the earliest Portuguese fortress in Southeast Asia is the Porta de Santiago, now more commonly known as the A Famosa Fortress.

Here lies an explanation about the fortress. It says: The only remains of the ancient fortress of Malacca build by Alfonso D’ Albuqueque and by him named Famosa. 1511. Near this stood the Bastion of Santiago.

This is Porta de La Santiago… locally known as The Fortress of Santiago/Fort of Santiago.

While below, the fort on the hill is the famous and once majestic A Famosa.

And nearby, there was remains of Bastion de Santiago.

Another part of the Bastion of Santiago

Seeing all of these remains makes me think… that human are so fragile… their civilization could be easily destroyed in time… and only those who emerge victory would write the history of humankind, which is often biased, and only half truth.


Cleffairy: Consider this…nobody is great as Him up above. Everything could be erased in the history of mankind, but the knowledge about He shall remain.

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Down The Memory Lane, Food/Travel

Chicken Rice Balls vs BBQ Chicken Rice

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Thanks to nasty event in Skudai earlier on, where I got so mad at the organizer for Linux Varsity Skudai 2010 and even madder at the Rose Cottage Skudai Hotel, I get to visit Malacca after that cuz my husband thought it’ll do me good to visit Malacca to soothe my anger a bit.

When we finally arrived in Malacca, I tried this Malaccan specialty Chicken Rice Ball somewhere in Mahkota Food Court, in the town of Malacca…and I have to say, it’s VERY, VERY disappointing despite the appearance looking rather appetizing.

The chicken rice balls were not fragrant enough and it tasted like normal rice balls instead of chicken rice balls, though the portion is rather generous.

The complimentary soup was very diluted and I could only taste the msg instead of the chicken soup. Apart from that, it has a very strange, nasty smell. Disgusting! Wouldn’t want to waste money on this stuff ever again!

I’d trade it for the BBQ Chicken rice  that my husband had from the same stall any day, however…it’s way better than the so called famous chicken rice balls!

Umm… sorry about the picture…lol… my husband was too hungry to wait for me to snap the picture. LOL.

Cleffairy: Famous does not necessarily means nice or good!

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A Penny For Your Thoughts, Down The Memory Lane, Food/Travel

Terrorized by ‘Terrorists’ in Rose Cottage Skudai, Johor

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My trip to Skudai is nothing but horror, and pain in the arse, and many other places on my body. Even the bloody hotel does not agree with me. I’ll tell you why. This is not a pretty blog entry. If you fancy pretty, sweet things that is full of fluff and praise, kindly navigate away. This is a yet another backdated entry. And like Linux Varsity UTM Skudai 2010, the incident that occurred in Rose Cottage, Skudai is not something I can easily forgive or forget.

You see, I like to plan things ahead for my journeys, especially if they are long distance journeys. I prefer to minimize the discomfort and possible unpleasant incident as much as possible, and make the journey as memorable as possible. Despite having a screwed up life, I like to plan things, and have things in order. (Good grief, I started to sound like my father!)

But of course… sometimes things goes bonkers, and most of the time, it is not even my fault. I’ll tell you what happened during my stay in Rose Cottage, Skudai on 8th and 9th October 2010.

Deciding that the service in Rose Cottage, Skudai in 2009 was really pleasant, my husband and I decided to stay there again this year during our trip to UTM- for the Linux Varsity 2010 event, considering that accommodation that’s provided by the organizers is not suitable for speakers with families.

Why do I say this? You see… they practice sexual segregation. Which means, they separate the male and the female. The male in one hostel apartment, and the female in another hostel apartment. And since we’re family, we can’t possibly sleep or share room with strangers.

A young lady who was also attending Linux Varsity asked me why I refuse to stay with the rest of the speakers and the organizer last year. Well, my answer is this: It is definitely not appropriate, and it does not exactly give you privacy either. Call me a recluse, but I don’t appreciate being reduced from an adult into some university student who needs to comply with the university rules and regulation while I am clearly not.

The idea of curfew and whatnot does not sit too well with me. Plus…my husband and I have commitments to our work and our business. UTM doesn’t exactly provide free WIFI or stable Internet connection for it’s guests in their hostel apartment either. Without Internet, we can’t stay connected.

Hence, the decision to stay in Rose Cottage, Skudai again this year, since that’s the nearest to UTM, and the location is really convenient for everything. (Actually, it’s not just because of that. I hate to be subjected to the university rules and regulation and being reduced into some teenagers when I’m already a family woman. My husband agrees with me on this. As family, we need privacy.)

But to our horror, Rose Cottage was not the same like before. It goes from a hotel that I would recommend to people to stay when they need accommodation to a hotel that I blacklist, and never, ever recommend to anyone to stay when they need an accommodation in Skudai. Why? Read below:

1. We made booking for a room one week before our arrival to ensure that we won’t end up on the street when we’re in Skudai. And 24 hours before our arrival, we called up the hotel again to reconfirm our ETA with them. We’re told that the room that we booked was available, and we were assured that it will be available when we arrived.

2. But much to our dismay, when we arrived, we’re told that our room was no longer available as it was given to other guest. We were told to take another room, which was not the one that we booked, or wanted. Okay, fine, I can deal with that though my husband was absolutely boiling with the bloody mix up done by the receptionist on duty (Or was this on purpose? Knowing that we’re from outstation?).My husband was asking me if I wanted to go elsewhere, but I told him that I can deal with this nonsense, and it won’t be so practical to look for other hotel at that time. Plus, everyone was tired and rather cranky, so it made more sense to just stay and get a good rest instead of fussing over other people’s inefficiency. (Which I come to regret later on, for many reasons)

3. Last year, when we were staying in Rose Cottage, everything was working fine and well. But this year, not even their free WIFI is accessible. Why? Don’t ask me why. You got to ask The Rose Cottage people why their free  WIFI service is inaccessible. I was informed that it has been that way since God knows when by the receptionist. So, ladies and gentlemen, if you need to access to Internet during your stay in Skudai, kindly go elsewhere, cuz Rose Cottage will irk you to death.

4. Another reason why you should never stay in Rose Cottage is that the security is absolutely…nonexistent, despite of having CCTV and password door installed. Do you want to know why? Well, during my bloody stay in Rose Cottage Skudai… on 9th October 2010 at about 4.15pm GMT+8, my door was banged extremely hard that I could have sworn that it will break down. I was really alarmed, because I was alone with my son in the room at that particular moment. So I peep on the peephole, and to my horror, there was at least 4 big sized men in front of my room. (They’re 6 of them, actually… according to the hotel CCTV recording. )

5. I keep quiet, refusing to open the door, but the knocking gets louder and louder, and the men from outside of the door demanded that I opened them. I yelled then, asking who they are. They said they’re police and they wanted to search my room. But through the peephole, none of them were wearing uniform. So I yelled again, asking them if they have a warrant to search my room, and if they have an authorization card to prove that they’re indeed police. I also asked if they have hotel staff  accompanying them. But instead of answering me, they keep banging the door, and threatened to kick it down when I refused to open the door.Their exact words was “Bukak pintu… aku tendang pintu ni kang!” (Open the door… or I’ll kick it down!)

6. Thank God I am not the kind of person who panicked easily. Therefore, instead of crying and peeing in my pants out of fear, I took my phone, called up my husband and informed him that there’s people knocking the door and told him to come back as soon as possible. And I hung up soon after, and I called the receptionist for assistance, asking for verification if there’s indeed a search, raid and whatnot. I also demanded the MALE receptionist on duty known as Mr. Ejam to come up to my room, and observe the so called police. But much to my annoyance… Mr. Ejam’s answer was ” You bukak aje pintu… diorang polis”. Bloody hell, how the hell do I know they’re real police or not when they are not in uniform and behaving pretty much like a bunch of terrorist? If they’re really police, they would have said “We’re police, open the door’, and they would be accompanied by an Inspector rank police during the raid or search. Plus, why didn’t you come up to observe what they did to ensure the safety of your hotel guests? What’s the matter? Too chicken to do so, Mr. Ejam? Tsk tsk tsk! It is your duty as a Rose Cottage staff to ensure the safety and the comfort of your guests!

7. I refused to open the door when Mr. Ejam told me to open the door through the phone. The loud banging ensues. I informed this cowardly Mr. Ejam that if he didn’t come up to observe those people who claimed to be police, I will just let them kick down the door. (*smirk* Who would be in trouble then? I won’t… cuz you allow them to kick the door… not me… you did not observe those bloody shits. If your superior asked me why the door was damaged, I’d be sure to give a very long winded and extremely detailed explanation.)

8. So, reluctantly, this Mr. Ejam came up after 2-3 minutes…and when I saw him through the peephole only I opened the door.

9. As soon as I opened the the door those brute of men bombarded me with stupid questions. And they demanded me to let them in and search my room and attempt to corner me. I was absolutely boiling and felt violated. I felt as if someone poured oil on me and lit up fire on me. I wasn’t intimidated, despite of the situation. Strange. God must have been with me… beside me, giving me courage, and I have nothing to fear.

10. So instead of answering their questions, I stood in front of the door, and I demanded them to show me their warrant and authorization card. Those people were actually taken aback, especially the ‘Chinese Police’ whom I assume was the head of this ‘Operation’. He said he’s a police. But he did not inform me properly whether he is a CID, Inspector or whatever, and he refused to let me see the ‘card’ that he flashed to me when he barked at me that he wanted to search my room. Do note that none of them are donning uniform, and there’s absolutely no visible card hanging around their neck to prove that they are indeed police doing some sort of raid or operation.

11. I told them off, saying that without a warrant, I will not cooperate with them, because they absolutely have no rights to search my room without warrant or authorization card. They were really surprised with my lack of cooperation. I forced myself to be composed, and put up a brave front like a lioness, thinking that if these people are gangsters who are pretending to be police in order to attempt robbery, I need to stay calm and protect my son and stall them as long as I can until my husband came back. And at the moment, I thought the worst, I thought if I was going to be murdered, I want to die courageously and with honour and dignity intact. I want witness to my murder… and I want to know who murdered me, so that I can come back from the dead and haunt them and their entire 7 generation and beyond!

12. I only gave them my MyKad for identification purposes, and seeing my refusal to let them into my room, a few Malay men behind this Chinese feller attempted to intimidate me again by asking me questions in an extremely rude and loud tone and tried to make me let them search my room. Their questions that actually tickled me, despite of the scary situation. I practically had to stifle my laughter. So you want to know what their questions are? They’re these:

  • Where are your parents? (In which I answered: What the hell?I am 26 years old, why the #!@#!$!@# do I need my parents with me when I’m staying in a hotel? (Can’t you bloody see that I am already in my twenties, and I’m already with a child? Good Lord. Am I supposed to be flattered that they thought I was some underage brat? Geez… I am so pretty and young that they mistook me for a teenager who ran away from home… awww… I’m so touched, they say the nicest things!)
  • Where are you from? (In which I answered: I’m from KL. Why do you asked?)
  • Why are you here? (In response, I said: I’m here for business in UTM)
  • What are you working as (In which I glared at them and gave them a very eerie smile that they won’t soon forget: I am a freelance journalist from Kuala Lumpur. I came here to do coverage on events going on in UTM Skudai. Would you like to see my Press Card?)

13. It seems that I kinda hit a jackpot after telling them that I am a journalist. (I wasn’t fibbing. It is true, I am a freelance journalist.) They stopped asking me question and backs off to one corner to discuss God knows what and I tapped my feet impatiently on the floor before slamming the damn door in their face.

14. A few minutes later after my little slamming antic, the Chinese feller came to knock my door asked me in BM cuz he couldn’t speak English, and I couldn’t speak any Chinese dialect *roll eyes*” You tak mau ambil IC balik ke?”  (Don’t you want to take back your IC?) in which I sweetly and sarcastically responded ” Oh…I tak kisah, kalau IC I hilang, I report polis aje. Pas tu I ambik replacement kat Jabatan Pendaftaran ajelah pas bayar denda. Rm150 aje. I malas tunggulah. You all discuss lama sangat.” (Oh, I don’t mind. If my IC is lost, I can always report to the police and get a replacement from the National Registration Department. It’s just Rm150. I’m too lazy to wait. You’re discussing too long.)

15. Strange enough, after telling them that I’m a journalist and I don’t exactly mind loosing my IC cuz I can always report it to the police that I’ve lost them and get replacement, they hussle and left… WITHOUT even knocking on other doors. STRANGE, isn’t it? I know they haven’t knock the rooms beside mine. And those rooms are occupied. I was kicked into my investigative journalist mode, and a few questions came to my mind:

  • If they are really police, and they are conducting search or a raid, at least one of them would have to be in uniform, and all of them would be able to provide proper identification, saying that they are indeed police on duty. And they would also have warrant and a card that indicate their power of authorization for the operation they are conducting.
  • There should also have hotel staff accompanying them while they’re doing the search and whatnot.
  • Is there some sort of police fashion in the season that I don’t know of? Does police these days have the habit to wear only sandals and slippers during their duty. Oh gee, that is so casual! I wanna be police too!
  • Does police make a habit of judging people on how they look and demand where their parents are? Uh… darlings, I am in my 20s. I just turned 26, not in my teenage years. You say the nicest and sweetest things… I can’t believe I actually look very young. Thank you very much for the compliments.
  • If they are police conducting a search or raid for whatever reasons, why didn’t they knock the entire hotel?
  • I wonder why the hotel people allowed police without proper identification into the hotel?
  • Why didn’t the male receptionist cum security guard on duty accompany those ‘police’ during the search?
  • It occurred to me 4 hours later that the manager for Rose Cottage Skudai, Ms. Junaidah was not informed of these ‘regular’ search by the ‘police’ by the staff in charge. When we directly called up her cell phone to inform her about the horrifying incident, she told us that this was the first time she heard that the hotel under her charge was… searched by police. Such thing never occur when she was on duty. Oh, wow. You didn’t know. That was the first time for you. I wonder… why? I mean… if they’re really police, you would have been informed by the staff on duty during the search, wouldn’t you? Why do you think your staff didn’t inform you? Do you think that they are in cahoot with these ‘police’ to terrorize the guests in the hotel? Why do these police conduct ‘search’ and ‘raid’ only when you’re not there? You see, Ms. Junaidah, these days, there’s a lot of syndicate that pretends to be police. They pretended to be police so that they could intimidate people, and so that they could extort money from people and attempt robbery, and so that nobody would report them, thinking that they are real police. Oh, my! Ms. Junaidah, you better investigate this issue. Rose Cottage reputation is at stake. Nobody wants to stay in a place where search by police who are not in uniform is conducted regularly… and the staff on duty never bothered to ensure the guests’ safety by just letting any Tom, Dick and Harry into the hotel!

FYI, readers… if such thing ever happen to you, make sure you did what I did. Demand for warrant if people claim that they are police and wanted to search your hotel room or your home. You have the rights. And remember, nobody have the rights to confiscate your IC. If they did, be sure to report it to the police and get a replacement for it.

I will be making a trip to Bar Council pretty soon to get some information and seek advices on citizen’s rights when being search or being stopped by police. So stay tune. There will be a little bit about law and citizen’s rights soon, cuz I come to realize that people are quite in the dark about their rights when it comes to these sort of issues.

Anyway, I think my title for this entry is justified. Why? If people claiming that they are police but failed to prove that they are police using proper identification, to me, that is not police, but terrorists. And the act of threatening, intimidating, and cornering a helpless woman with a child is called terrorism.

And remember, folks, when you sense something is amiss, like someone or a group of people pretending to be police to threaten you or police misusing their power, kindly head to the police station to lodge a report. Never, ever give in to terrorism.

Cleffairy: Praise the Lord, for He is always with me, shielding me, and giving me courage when I needed it most. And thank you Lord for being with me always, and for giving me talent for words. I shall use it for the greater good of the mankind.

ps: Like Lois Lane, trouble seems to come and look for me even when I’m not looking for them. Is this a sign that I should go back in action in the newsroom again?

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Food/Travel

The Highway Food

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Sometimes, I really do hate traveling…I hate the highway food…most of them tastes like ash while the rest costs a bomb.

I was traveling south to Skudai, Johor last week…and all I had in the car was only these…

Sandwich and cottage fries…

And more sandwich. *sigh* Didn’t mind the sandwich so much, but did you know how much the bloody sandwich costs? It’s Rm4.90. So… There was 2 sandwiches and cottage fries as well as a bottle of large mineral water… it’s Rm4.90+Rm4.90+Rm3.90+Rm2.90=? Well, you do the maths. I’m not going to count that. I’ll get really pissed, cuz it’s not worth the money, especially when they tasted awful.

Cleffairy: BEWARE: MORE HORROR STORIES IN SKUDAI TO COME NEXT.

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A Penny For Your Thoughts, Food/Travel

Thim Kee Seafood

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Those who knew me personally would be aware that I’ve been MIA for almost a week now. Well, I have a good reason to be MIA. Real life gave me reason to be away from the keyboard and the screen, and from now on til December 2010… I’ll probably be away on and off too, and most of my entries would be scheduled. I’ll be online on and off to check and to keep in touch with all of you of course, but I definitely won’t be glued to the screen.

I’ve been MIA these few days because I wasn’t around, and I was quite busy preparing for this year’s NaNoWriMo as well as busy traveling. I have a lot to complain about the traveling part, and I will definitely do so in due time, but for now…I just want to say that sometimes, when you take wrong turns in life… things can actually be pleasant if you know how to enjoy this.

Take this for an example. My husband and I took a few wrong turns the other day, and ended up in this restaurant somewhere in Cheras. I don’t know the exact address, but it’s somewhere in Jalan Jejaka,Taman Maluri,Cheras,KL. Located near Jusco.

Restoran Thim Kee Seafood. It was rather late. We were there at about 10.30pm. The rest of the restaurants around there are already closing. This was the only restaurant left. I noted another peculiar thing.

While this restaurant is a Chinese restaurant… where the waiter and waitresses and are Chinese, the people who patronized that restaurants are not Chinese. Majority of them are Indians… until my family and I stepped into the restaurant, none of the patrons are Chinese… which is rather strange to me, because I had expected at least one table being patronized by Chinese family and whatnot, considering that this restaurant is a completely Chinese restaurant, serving Chinese delicacies. Even the menu is written in Chinese. Initially, I thought people would have problems ordering food if they don’t speak any Chinese dialect.

But apparently, nobody have problems ordering over here, even if they don’t speak any Chinese dialect.

I was practically starving so I just ordered some simple stuff to eat.

Crunchy fried sotong, coated with perfect batter. The sotong is out of the world. The curry batter was really crunchy and nice. It was served with crunchy lettuce leaves along with huge sliced cucumber.

Fu Yong eggs with  generous fillings of various meat, seafood and veggies inside.

And the kangkung goreng belacan (fried water convulvulous fried with fermented prawn paste). This one is to die for. The kangkung was really fresh and young, and the belacan was really strong in this dish.

Total damage to the poket was Rm25, including drinks and rice. Expensive? Well… you’d say it’s expensive if you didn’t see the portion of the dishes. The portion of the dishes was really, really, huge, and I can safely say that it could feed 4-5 person rather than just 2! I was really surprised, actually, when the food arrived. It’s really, really huge portion, and we had to takeaway the fried sotong, as it was too much for us to finish.

The service in this restaurant is really fast too. We just need to wait around 10 minutes and the food came piping hot to our table. Overall, I was really satisfied with the restaurant, and should my husband and I were to accidentally wander to this place again, we’d definitely patronize the place again.

Cleffairy: Life is full of surprises.

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A Penny For Your Thoughts, Event coverage, Food/Travel, Frugal Recipe

Bloggers meet up& fried rice…

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I attended a…secret blogger meet-up cum ice breaking session yesterday, and I have to say, it’s really refreshing to be able to hear bloggers talk about something that really matters and could probably saves the world from mass destruction and how to make the world a better place for the next generation instead of the usual annoying camwhoring session, stupid nuffnang stuff or even how to attract traffic to one’s bloody blog.

I enjoyed it very much, and I would like to thank the organizer for inviting me for the blogger meeting. The meeting was rather intellectual and one of the kind, and this is going to sound very weird coming from me, but I enjoyed everyone’s intellectual view and the intense debate. It was so much fun. I have forgotten when was the last time a blogger’s meeting was as interesting as this, and I’m actually looking forward for more.

There was many familiar faces, and everyone has so many things to say and time passed by so fast.

The organizer provides dinner, of course, but no one were actually so keen on touching it, cuz perhaps the topic of our conversation was too interesting that we neglect to feed our tummy.

Anyway, below is what the organizer prepared for us talkative chaps.

Apple pies and pineapple pies. I didn’t have a go at these, so I don’t know whether it’s good or not.

Curry puffs and cinnamon rolls. The curry puffs are very spicy, and I had two of these. Not bad at all.

Chocolate danish and some sort of custard puff. The chocolate danish is something to die for. I like it a lot though I thought that it wouldn’t suit my taste buds when I first saw it.

The organizer also prepared some fried rice for us, and most of the bloggers who attended the meet up didn’t even bother to touch it or even eat it.

Most of them claimed that they were on a diet while some others says it doesn’t look appetizing enough, but do you know what I did though I agree with them that it doesn’t look really appetizing?

I brought the container containing the simple fried rice back. To be honest, it doesn’t look appetizing, but hey…why waste food when I could actually improvise it?

I decided to improvise the fried rice by cutting the chicken to bite sized pieces, add some chopped garlic,soya sauce and salt as well as fried eggs. Now, doesn’t it look much better?

The moral of the story here is, never ever let good material goes to waste. If you actually make some effort to improvise, the outcome would have been fantastic, and in this case, yummy and edible. All it takes is just some creativity, passion and patience. Don’t you agree with me, dear readers? It’s such a shame if you let good material goes to waste when it can actually be a yummylicious gourmet.

Cleffairy: Patience, creativity and thinking out of the box is what it takes to make things turn out better than before.

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A Penny For Your Thoughts, Current Issue, Food/Travel

McDonalds KL Central- The Worst McDonald Franchise

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McDonalds KL Central-Provides horrible service and worst food quality control. The crew came with an attitude too.

It almost killed me to write this article and publish it in my blog. I hate writing about something that will cause trouble or disciplinary action to others as a result of my writing, however, this time, I ought to make exception for this, as it would kill me more if I don’t write about a subject that I felt so strongly about. It concern my blood pressure as well as the image of my country, considering which McDonalds franchise that’s been giving poor service to the consumer all this while.

Which McDonalds franchise gives bad service and poor impression to the customers, you ask me? Why, it’s McDonalds KL Central-one stop place for people around Malaysia and across the globe to perch on and have a good meal or two before they ride their trains to their destination. Most patrons are locals, but do keep in mind that there are good numbers of foreigners and tourist too, as KL Central is also a station that provide commuting service to Kuala Lumpur International Airport(KLIA). It’s such a shame that a franchise that cater most local and foreign diners provides the poorest service in comparison to other McDonalds franchise in Malaysia. McDonalds KL Central is the worst I’ve ever patronize before. The crew are not well trained and have the manners that would put a swearing sailor to shame.

Ladies and gentleman, this is not an advertorial, mind you. I would love to do advertorial for McDonalds if I’m given a chance to do so, as I truly love the product and I definitely support the cause of charity that comes along with it when you buy their food. I myself have been a supporter of Gift of Smile all these while. I love to eat the food and do charity at the same time.

But unfortunately, this is purely criticism and complain. Yes, I am complaining here, on the service and the food provided by McDonalds KL Central. I would not complain if it’s my first time being unsatisfied and angered by McDonalds KL Central crews’ service, but this is the third time the crews on duty made my blood boil. This is it, my patience finally wears off.

I’m lovin it’, is a slogan used by McDonalds Restaurants to attract consumers to buy their product. Yes, yours truly has come to love their fast food products, and McDonalds has always been my favourite place to get some fast food while commuting from KL Central to KLIA, but I’m not sure if I would want to stop by McDonalds KL Central anymore after this. It’s not only frustrating, but completely waste of time and money to eat at McDonalds KL Central. The service are unsatisfactory, and their attitude disgust me. What’s worst, the food have no quality control as well too.

My first horrifying experience in KL Central was last year, somewhere in March, around 10.30pm. I just arrived from KLIA, and after a long and tiring flight, I saw McDonalds is still open, and I was hoping to get a good rest and fast food. But I was wrong, this is where the crew on duty took wrong orders from me, and refused to acknowledge the mistake.

I still remember that I ordered a set of large Chicken Foldover. Instead of giving me the product that I ordered, the crew on duty gave me Big Mac instead. I do not even eat meat to begin with, and I’m more than sure that I did not tell her that I wanted a Big Mac. Why would I order a Big Mac when I do not take meat? When the food is served, I told her that she took the wrong order. But instead of apologizing, she insisted that I ordered what she brought to me. She shouted at me and demanded that I was the wrong. My, my, such manners. Is this the way you’re supposed to treat your customers? In food service industry, it is basic knowledge that you do not shout and go berserk at your customer. Besides, I cannot comprehend how she could take my order wrongly when the restaurant is almost empty? I would understand if she heard wrongly if there are crowds and loud noises, but it was not crowded and definitely not noisy at that moment.

And so, I took a complain form, and complain about it. But it seems that no one acknowledge my complaints at all, as there’s no feedback for my complaints. Fine, I let it off that time. No point in making mountain out of molehill. I’m sure that I’m not the only one who experience the same thing in that franchise. I made no further complaints after that, hoping that they would improvise on their service and attitude.

But I was wrong about them improvising their service, as again, somewhere during the end of February this year, again,tired and hungry, I went to McDonalds KL Central after commuting from KLIA to get some Spicy Chicken McDeluxe. This time, they did not take the wrong order, and I thought it’s safe to applaud them for their service, but no, they found better way to anger me again. This time, they made me wait for almost 45 minutes for the bloody Spicy Chicken McDeluxe burger while I amuse myself STANDING at the counter, watching the crew chatting and joking around with each other. (It was night again, and there are not much patrons at that time as well)

My goodness, I thought the crew are paid to work, not to chat with one another to their heart content. And as far as I’m concern, McDonalds restaurant nationwide had set the standard that food should be served to the customer within 60 seconds, and if the food is still in preparation process, the crew in charge is supposed to politely inform the customer to wait and take a seat while waiting for the order. I was rudely ignored when I was waiting for my orders, and the crew in charge had no courtesy to even tell me to have a seat while waiting for my order while she flirt with a handsome foreign patron and treat him like a God with her broken English. He was given a small paper cup containing beverage and was courteously told to have a seat while waiting for his order. I was aghast to see that different treatment was given to the handsome foreign chap. So I thought, perhaps it’s because I am a local, so she did not give me the same treatment. What’s more, I’m probably not attractive enough to receive the same treatment.

Angry, I stood aside by the counter and watched the crews’ attitude and bahaviour towards the customer. I had initially thought that they only treat locals like the local customers are no importance, but again, I was wrong. Enter a dark middle east man. He was also made to stand at the counter while waiting for his orders, and was rudely told off when he gets rather impatient while waiting for the order. He must be not appealing enough to be treated like the handsome white man, I suppose. I came to realize that McDonalds KL Central treats the customer based on the way they’re dressed and their skin colour. Isn’t this a form of gender and racial discrimination?

When I thought nothing else could go wrong during this particular visit, the order came in after a long wait, and to my chagrin, my Spicy Chicken McDeluxe was overly done. It was definitely more than crispy. It’s hard rock and hard to bite, and the patty had lost it’s juicy and tender texture. And to my disgust, the lettuce that was used for the Spicy Chicken McDeluxe was not fresh and has already darken. My fries, needless to say, does not have the standard French fries quality at all. The fries was also hard, as a result of over frying it. Where is the quality control? These McDonalds’ crews are not doing justice to the brand!

Do I need to say that the poor food quality is as a result of the crews’ carelessness and their unprofessional attitude while working? So this time, I asked for the manager so that I could complain, but the staff told me off rudely when I said I want to make complains, and informed me that their manager has went back home. Again, I lodge my complain using the complain form provided, and of course, I get no feedback from their PR personnel again. I’m not surprised, they probably threw away every single complain forms submitted to them, anyway.

Now, let’s talk about my recent visit to McDonalds KL Central. I should have known better to find somewhere else to eat after all that I have been put through by this franchise’s crew. It was two days ago, 9th December 2008, approximately at 10.00pm and at counter two. A Malay lady donning a black colour headscarf was in charge of taking my other half’s order. I was too tired to order the food this time, half expecting that they will make me angry with either their attitude, or poor service again. I took a seat, and watched them taking my husband’s order wryly.

My husband was made to wait very long for the orders, and was not told to have a seat while waiting. The crew rudely ignored him when he asked when the order food will be done. Fine, nothing new in that. I experienced the same thing earlier this year. Nothing changed or improved in that department. After watching him wait for the food for about 20 minutes, he paid for the food, and the crew in charge, the young Malay girl in headscarf gave him the wrong amount of balance, insisting that she has return the correct amount of money, and refused to even check the cash registry records when she was requested to do so.

We would have just let her off if she acknowledge her mistake and apologize, but no, she insisted that she was right. Not only that, she rudely told him off and called him a cheater and a liar. Wow, who she think she is to behave that way to a customer? She’s supposed to apologize when yshe’se in the wrong, but no, she not only refused to apologize, but she scolded the customer loudly and humiliate the customer, in public, no less. Talk about mood and attitude!

Angry beyond words, we requested the Manager on Duty to come ask the crew in question to apologize to us for her mistake and for raising her voice to my husband. The Manager on Duty came out after a while and attend to us. However, he did not comply with our request, and only thought we’re concern about the money. Excuse me, I wouldn’t care if they do not return the correct balance.

All I want is some respect from the crew, and I want them to apologize and acknowledge their mistake when they made one. But no, he only offered us a drink halfheartedly to compensate for our troubles. Excuse me, sir, are customers so cheap that you could cool down their anger and dissatisfaction with a glass of coke? Things doesn’t work that way for us. All we want is respect and proper conduct by the crew. Knowing that there’s no use talking to people who do not care for the customers, we left.

I would have jot down the crew and the Manager on duty’s name, however, the name tag was not properly worn to be seen by people. I suppose they purposely wear it that way so that no one could lodge any complains against them. Knowing that there must be a frame that hold up ‘crew of the month’ pictures and name somewhere, I went to search for it. I manage to find it hung up in a small corner of the restaurant, only to notice that there’s only pictures of the crew, and no names whatsoever were on display. So I decided, if I couldn’t make them apologize for their mistake or even improvise, I ought to let my readers know what to expect when they patronize McDonalds KL Central.

I even took the picture of the rude lady in question so that you would know that this is the one who will probably give you the same treatment as she did my husband. Below is the picture of her from different angle, trying as hard as she could to avoid my camera lense, but failed.

Above is the picture of the crew in question. The girl who donned the black headscarf.

Side view of the crew in question.

Another side view of the crew in question. I notice that she was trying to hide from my lenses. Even then she did not come to her senses to apologize to us. She should have known better. Does rude behaviour and attitude brings you benefit, anyway?

It’s such a shame that a McDonald that’s situated in a place where the daily patrons are not only locals, but loads of international patrons as well have the worst crew with nasty attitudes. Not to mention that there’s lack quality control while preparing for food. Such thing not only would spoil the brand, but also tarnish Malaysian good image in the eyes of foreigners and tourist. What would tourists and foreigners say when they encounter such thing in KL Central, their second stop in Malaysia after their flight from KLIA? They would definitely have the impression that the rest of us Malaysians are impolite, rude, unethical and comes with nasty attitudes. People like these are tarnishing the good image of our country. Please put a stop to this.

Cleffairy: I’m lovin’ it? Other McDonalds restaurants, yes, I love em, but definitely not McDonalds KL Central. I loathe and despise it.

Do note that I’ll be carbon copying this article to The Star, The Sun as well as the McDonalds email as well. If the editors find poor service in renowned fast food restaurant is an issue, they are free to edit and publish this as they saw fit. I do not mind, as long as my complaints are heard. Put a stop to poor service, please. Dear readers, please feel free to share your experience with any McDonalds that gives you similar experience. Hopefully, they would improvise.

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