Assalaam aleykom WBT :) Me and the wife (and the kid had to folo, even tho dia tak la minat sangat :P) went on a two day briyani fiesta. Well, ok... I went on a 2-day briyani fiesta... whereas she only had briyani for one day... The briyani I am talking about here is the Kapitan Restaurant briyani :) I don't know why, but it seems like Kapitan's briyani is a lot tastier compared to other mamak shop's briyanis. They not only have more color, but also more flavor and also better side dishes... But then again, I've only like eaten at 3-4 mamak restaurants in Penang... So I guess my evaluation might be a bit misinformed here... hehehe.

Anywayz... I took pictures of two dishes. The normal briyani set (with a slight alteration in chicken choice... took tandoori chicken instead of the normal grilled chicken)... and the Claypot Briyani set. Let's start with the claypot set. Actually, this is supposed to be the 'special' brand of briyani served at Kapitan (so I was told). Before the set came, I was given an empty plate and also a small bowl of gravy (I think it was chick peas gravy or something...). Being an outsider to the art of briyani-dining... I just thought it was for my daughter, cuz I did mention not ordering for my daughter, sebab takut banyak sangat. LOL! So, when the set actually did come... I sort'a ate directly out of the claypot... which to my astonishment was not even made of of clay! Maybe orang ni salah hantar kot? Anywayz... This is how it looked like:

After I belasah-ed the whole steel-pot... then I saw an Indian guy from the next table 'showing' me the proper way to eat. You gotta actually take the rice and put it onto the empty plate provided... Oooooo.... and then eat it! Hahahaha! Walaaweh... how to know? Didn't come with a manual what... Anwyayz... Full jugak at the end of the meal.

My wife's pulak... was the normal briyani set, with Tandoori chicken :) I have to say, the chicken was quite a 'plate-full'. Very2 the big one!!! Ok. The 'normal' set looks like this:

Hmmm... of course my wife didn't finish the whole thing. Banyak siot! Alfian to the rescue as always :) Tu pasal balik tu boncit je perot. Hahahaha! Anywayz... This one was also sedap one. As a matter of fact, I think this one is better 'equipped' as a briyani set as compared to my 'special' claypot (steel-pan) briyani. I mean, just look at it. It has some onions, chick-peas gravy, yogurt sauce, and the red + green thing is chili sauce with mint sauce. A bonus of condiments and side dishes! Why was my special briyani lacking in all of this!... And from what I tasted... the two rices (ada ke rices?) tasted almost the same... Hmmmmm.... But of course, even though tasting similar, both were very2 good :)

Anywayz... despite the rather disappointing nature of the 'special' claypot briyani... we had a fulfilling... and not to mention filling time at Kapitan's. These pictures were taken from the restaurant near Queensbay Mall, Penang Island. The next night, I had a sudden craving for the briyani again, and went to buy it at Kapitan Restaurant Bandar Perda, near to Jusco Perda Penang (main land).

The price? I think it was around RM7.00... or was it RM7.50? Quite ok for so much rice and a big piece of a bird :D In all, I think I would recommend Kapitan's to anyone visiting Penang. U can eat until lick fingers and also plate. Okes. Sakian.

Assalaam aleykom WBT... and 'ave a good eatin out experience...

The men's ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) rankings has recently changed. The reign of Roger Federer has come to and end (and I am slowly coming to accept that... sob sob)... and somehow, I see the resurrection being very difficult. It is now the time of dominance for the never-tiring Spaniard... Rafael Nadal :D He has shown great improvement in his game... after playing second fiddle for so long, he is now (finally) on top of the world. And with those crazy forehands and backhands of his (which from my point of view, would be very difficult to be hit out-of-play due to the amount of spin applied),  I see his dominance lasting for many more good years.

Anywayz... I think we all know that Nadal is now No.1 :) The reason for this post is  to share something interesting I just found out about our champ :) He is naturally a right-hander! I mean, he basically does everything using his right hand. Activities such as brushing teeth, writing, drawing, eating, catching, throwing etc... All he does with his right. But for tennis? A leftie?

I don't quite know the history (but am quite eager to investigate)... but I believe he started tennis with his right hand. But then he shifted to the left... and the rest is history. I mean, look where he is now? A right-handed guy... who apprently chooses to play tennis with his left hand... and now, somehow ends up as World No. 1. Hehehehe... Menarik dan Interesting :)

Anywayz... I just thought of putting this YouTube video about Nadal's story... Rafa: From Right to Left :D Tres interresant, non?... Enjoy :)

Oraite.... Back to work :D

I was introduced to this bread by Puan Noridayu Manshor, my lab mate at the Computer Vision Lab, School of Computer Sciences, USM (Penang). From afar, I could see that she was munching on something. And from afar also, I saw that she was holding something... which texture seemed a bit raisin-y! Crap... I do not like raisins on bread, nor in rice. I like raisin as raisin. That is all. No raisin on bread, no raisin in rice. Only raisin raisin!

Ok... over emotional pulak pasal kismis iye? :P Anywayz...

It was not raisin... well at least that's what I thought. It was some psuedo polka dot like sweet stuff, spread over what happened to be one of the yummiest slices of bread I have ever tasted! Yavol!!! Sedap! :D Gardenia has the chocolate version of this series... but don't like the chocolate one. Both the chocolaty and bread-y tastes seem to have gone in all the confusion of flavours. But this Gardenia Butterscotch! Wallaweh.... So delicious one :) Sampai one day tu... I bought one loaf, and finished more than 3/4 of it on my own! Hahahaha! Talk about 'culture shock'... (can be related... in a bread-like-way that is).

Anywayz... just thought I'd blog about my delicious experience with Gardenia Butterscotch :) I know that many have already tasted it ages ago... tapi tak kisah lah :D Janji I oso got to makan this bread... which is again... sedap! Alhamdulillaah.

Okes. Back to PhD... but accompanied by de bread that is :D Kena pegi beli first tapi......

Selamaat...

I took this pic from (http://chefmel.blogspot.com/2009/02/gardenias-butterscotch-bread.html)

If many of you have followed my previous blog posts... they have been about halal haram stuff relating to health and fitness supplements, such as the GNC Protein Powder, and also the halal certified Ultimate Nutrition Prostar Whey Protein.

Today, I would still  like to talk a bit more about some halal and haram related issues... but this time... a more localized version of the problem. A few weeks back, I went to TESCO Penang (the one in Gelugor... not the Sungai Dua one) and was delighted to see an IFANCA sign on one of the Baskin 31 Robbins stalls. Great... even B31R have the awareness of halal and haram :D Good for them. But to my dismay, after careful inspection of the scanned and (color) printed certificate... it was not certification for the B31R booth that displayed it. The certificate was for branches in CANADA!

I think there were two branches named on that certificate saying that they were certified halal. It was definitely NOT for the Baskin 31 Robbins at TESCO Gelugor, Penang!

Some may argue... "Ok, Canada has already issued a halal statement for the Canadian branch. Then why should the Tesco Penang booth be doubtful?"...

For me... I would eat the ice cream served at those Canadian branches without an ounce of a doubt! :) That's because... IFANCA has already given the green light for those branches to be halal. And, when you think about it... why has IFANCA only given halal certs. to only those two named branches? Why wasn't it for the whole range of Baskin 31 Robbins throughout the world?

This, I strongly believe is because of the locality issue  :) I mean, even if you're a big franchise, you still get some of your ingredients locally (relatively near to where the branches are located). You won't import eggs, or gelatin from the States right? So, end up, you must buy some raw ingredients locally. As for the case of these Canadian branches, I believe that IFANCA has already inspected the raw materials as well as how all the stuffs has been prepared THERE... once satisfied and according to strict Islamic rules, the Halal certification is awarded.

So, how is it... that a branch of Baskin 31 Robbins, in TESCO Penang Malaysia... owns a halal certification for two Canadian branches... and not one for itself? Why has  the branch not asked for certification saying that they are halal, too? Certainly gets you doubting doesn't it.... Or... maybe the whole process is  too leceh?... so an easy way out is to scan a cert. obtained from Canada... :-? Hmmmmm.... If anyone knows why, please do share the info... 

Anywayz... just some info I thought I'd share :D

Oh... and just got off the phone with one Ustazah Maznah from Jabatan Hal Ehwal Agama Islam Pulau Pinang. According to her... for a booth/food court stall etc. to be halal... one of the requirements is for at least TWO of the workers be Muslims... and not just that... LOCAL Muslims. This is one of the less-strong requirements la... I say less strong, because who are they to ask their employers to buy halal-greade raw materials rite :P E.g.:

Tukang Masak: Boss aa.. lu make sure lu beli itu kicap ada cop halal, itu ayam ada cop halal, itu oyster sos ada cop halal ...

Boss: Who are you ha to tell me all this? (In Donald Trump fashion)... You're fired!

To me... hmmmm.... who ever came up with this idea. Kind'a pelik pon ada :( To be 'spies' ok la. But to enforce? Kalau hantar ketua pengawas Hendry Gurney pon tak jalan I think...

And... from my observation... Can't find that many (not even 2 :P) Malaysian Muslims working at the stalls at hypermarket food courts... Mostly I see foreigners...

Now I am just wondering... what the other requirements are.... Hopefully better and de BEST la :) For the sake of halal thoiyyiba food :D

Okes. Mari buat PhD. Man... Now I'm starting to think I'm in the wrong field! Should have done research relating to Halal Haram in Malaysia. Hahahaha!!!
Okes.. Selamaat