All In a Days Work: Homemade Ice-Age

When we first purchased a second hand industrial-sized refigerator for our stores, little did we know it had its quirks of its own. This fella built on ice on a daily basis thanks to some poor engineering design (Made in Malaysia - actually Kuching >.<).

For those in the know, a refigerator provides cooling via its cooling rods which channel coolant throughout. Interestingly, for this particular unit, it had only one motor (or condenser), which basically limited it to a one shot on/or off and similar cooling for both the chiller and freezer sections. Naturally, we would have some problems such as the chiller being too cold at times and such. Many household refigerators douse the problem by simply fitting in a fan called a blower which would eliminate the problem of ice forming in the chiller section while the freezer cools down. This works by distributing the heat or more accurate cold evenly to avoid ice-forming on the cooling rods that pass by the chiller section. Another side effect, we experience a literal flood every night thanks to the forming and melting of the ice.

Well, thanks to some genius who wanted to save a couple hundred of bucks, theres no blower, and the result a super thick ice-wall or what the crew calls the Ice-Age that occurs once every month. Annoying as it may be, it actually does generate some inhouse fun every month especially when the guys go around the machine literally 'breaking the ice'.

And yes, we actually need an ice-pick (small one la...) to break through the 6" or-so wall that forms over the course of a month. Clearing out the chiller is one thing, followed by about an hour of ice fun, and rearrangement right after. Honestly, I believe the guys have somehow managed to convert this annoyance into a good practice of management to keep the chiller maintained after all.

Another one of our little arcs that run around the cafe every month - Life can be fun and entertaining no matter where it is!

Introducing: Premiums!

Its been a while that we had the idea of premium dishes cooking, which are basically bigger, nicer and 'more fulfilling' dishes, drinks or desserts for our guests who have more than the capacity to 'appreciate' it (In the terms of cash, of course :D). Premiums are where you pay for the ingenuity, we feel. Of course, in the end it is up to the guest to decide if it is worth that standard - please feel free to leave behind feedback on our menu.

It certainly took quite a while to come up with innovative and fresh ideas for dishes and mocktails. While ramping up the serving size is certainly an easy way to introduce a premium, what is truly needed is the originality and energy which would drive its 'core' - which would then be reflected in the product itself, something fresh and unfounded in the food industry.

Similar to chefs, but without the 'top' or qualifications to go with it, we believe that good food rests merely on the heart and soul of those preparing them. It does not matter whether one has experience (though experience would certainly speed up the learning process), but a cook with the desire to, well.. fill the stomachs of guests to bring out a huge smile on their faces would certainly do his/her homework well to ensure that given the time. Here, we are all about originality and taste with just about any ingredient one could easily get his hands on - something we all could do and identify with rather than to think of truffles (Which in my opinion is exquisite, but well - kind of on a different genre of food I guess).

Without further ado, we are glad to present to our guests some of our latest creations - some which are in our Premiums, while others are on the standard menu (actually created sometime back):

1. Mixed Sauce Noodles (Or originally known as Fried Sauce Noodles - a Taiwanese dish)

When undergoing training for FnB, we were introduced to this somewhat simple yet intricate dish where noodles are boiled and covered with minced meat (originally pork) with a hot and spicy sauce, mixed with a variety of fresh vegetables to go with it. Surprisingly, the dish was quite appetizing in fact. While we were scouting around the kitchen, we wondered how well such a dish would go with our Black Pepper sauce with minced meat - and there you go. We now offer the same Taiwanese-FuZed dish without pork(!) but with the choice of chicken, lamb or beef in a blend of spicy black pepper sauce. Certainly a unique twist to the more common Fried Sauce Noodles.

2. Paninis-FuZed Style (Premiums)

The panini is basically an Italian flatbread sandwich. Well, thats all there is to it. And whatever you put in between is pretty much up to you. While there is an original recipe and preparation to it, were not exactly following the original after all, and thats something we would like to have as our signature in preparing dishes. Our paninis are filled with whole chicken slices with our Jolly Roger's sauce and a light mix of fresh vegetables, which bring together a taste many would (probably) long for.

What really makes these guys interesting is of course, their preparation style and presentation which truly makes it a novelty when you see someone taking a bite from a strange 'bread' or 'bun' few usually munch on.

3. The Submarine (Coming Soon)

In some cases, the only thing we innovate would be size - and as many times as this has been done before, well, it still works when you dish out an extremely huge serving. Our submarine does dish out a little uniqueness as its filled with mushroom sauce rather than the common blend of chili, tomato and mayonnaise. Be on the lookout for this fella sometime in the future.

4. Sambal Fried Rice (Premium)

Nothing much beats a spicy sambal fried rice for its fans. Nevertheless, there are still ways we could work on it and make it even more interesting. Our Sambal Fried Rice comes with a touch of curry and spices, and also a mixture of more than 11 herbs and spices (Supposedly :D) added with a touch of fresh pineapples and accompanied with a lamb side dish to make it a wholesome spicy experience. The coleslaw goes extremely well with this combination too as it somehow provides a soothing touch to wane the spiciness a little when needed. To top it off, were making it big so the average guy would be quite satisfied with its price.

Be on the lookout for more of our original premium dishes now that this range has been officially launched.