Premiera Hotel launched its first Ramadan buffet spread

In the month of Ramadan, when it comes to buka puasa, you are spoilt for choice. You have numerous outlets to visit. There are many offers out there that will make you hungry just by reading the first few sentence on their promotional leaflets. However, you know the place is special when they are saying that Durian is part of the menu especially when it is a hotel. For the first time Premiera Hotel of Kuala Lumpur is opening its doors offering their Juadah Berbuka.

Starting at Rm98++ for adults and Rm48++ for children, they are offering over 180 types of dishes comprising of mostly local Malay cuisine with some mixture of Western and Japanese spread. Located at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman with a view of the city skyline and overlooking the KL twin towers, while enjoying your sumptuous food, you are also being entertained by a Negeri Sembilan music group that plays all the soothing and mesmerizing classical Malay music.

A big thank you to Exec. Chef Rashid and F&B Manager Jammaz for their great hospitality.

For more info, head on to Premiera's Official Website

Below is a short video that will give you an idea of the place. Enjoy!

  

About The Writer
KAY KASTUM
Born in Sabah with an interest in open water diving, wall climbing,music and video production and a passion for Android custom ROMS on his XT910 Motorola Razr Kay Kastum plans to make the world a better place by empowering people through his work. Whatever that means. You can follow his YouTube channel to see what he is up to during his free time

Masak di Malaysia, Makan di Australia 2014 Culinary Challenge Launch

It's quite obvious that everyone loves having a good meal. However this quote " “Everyone eats and drinks, but few appreciate taste.” by Confucius (551-479 BC) might contain some truth in it. I have been to Australia on a number of occasions and wine & dine is part of the Australian culture and they do know how to take time to appreciate life! According to a Forbes report based on the The Legatum Institute data, Australia is among the top 10 happiest countries in the world for 2013. Now we know why. More on that here

(L to R) Ms. Pilar Palma [Berjaya University], Ms. Elaine Leong [Tourism Australia], Ms. Rose Yong [Meat and Livestock Australia], Ms. Susan Kahwati [Senior Trade Commissioners of Australian Trade Commissioner], Mr. Adrian Ung [Euro Atlantic], Mr. Kanthan [Jaya Grocer]

Food Social Malaysia was part of the invited guests for the launching of the 'Masak di Malaysia, makan di Australia' Culinary Challenge for 2014. It is part of an ongoing initiative by the Austrade or Australian Trade Commission to showcase how Australian  produce and products can be used to devise unique, tasty and exciting dishes to meet demands of the increasingly discerning consumer in Malaysia. The venue for the launch was a perfect spot. Marble 8 Steakhouse has already gained some reputation for 'the place to be' when it comes to fine dining. Located somewhere around the Platinum Park area, the place has ample parking space with a panoramic view of the city similar to its sister restaurant Marini's on 57.

The event coordinator for the day was Joel Backwell who is the Assistant Trade Commissioner to Malaysia and Brunei. Appropriately dressed in a kitchen attire as a chef, he gave us an interesting visual idea on what sort of competition this is going to be. This competition is open to culinary schools and they can nominate their best candidate to enter this competition. All the candidates need to do is send in a 2 minute video via email before 15 August 2014. The video should contain  a footage of them cooking a dish while telling the audience about themselves and of course why the dish best reflects what Australia means to them. The winner will be given a chance of a lifetime by flying to Australia courtesy of Tourism Australia and the restaurant Australia campaign. There they will be given the privilege to discover and experience for themselves the devotion that Australians have towards their unique food and beverages. They will also learn about the high standards of health and safety when it comes to Australian produce.

Launched officially by Austrade Senior Trade Commissioner, Susan Kahwati, together with the distinguished participating sponsors, guests were invited to have a taste of the sumptuous meal that consists of quality Australian produce.

For more additional info on the competition, head over to this link

The video below is some of the highlights captured during the event.

About The Writer
KAY KASTUM
Born in Sabah with an interest in open water diving, wall climbing,music and video production and a passion for Android custom ROMS on his XT910 Motorola Razr Kay Kastum plans to make the world a better place by empowering people through his work. Whatever that means. You can follow his YouTube channel to see what he is up to during his free time

Common Coffee Types

5 Foodie Tips for Better Phone Photography

The creation of smartphones with internet connection has totally changed the world of food sharing today. Everything can be shared instantaneously over social media, with pictures along with your own two cent words. Yes, now every menu comes with a picture and its own description from the foodie. After reading so much food blog, looking at so much foodie's Instagram and trying out a few myself, I am ready to share 5 foodie tips for better phone photography so that you can make all your followers drool while looking at the pictures your shared. Let's start making them hungry now!

1. Get the seat with the best lighting

Always try to get the seat with the best natural lighting for your photo. Nothing is worse than looking at photo of a food that you can't really tell what it really is. If you are going out to dine at night, make sure you and your buddies’ phones has a flash or else you will need to bring your own small little flash light to light up your food. They key is to make sure people can actually see what your food is.

 2. Stick with one or two setting/filter

You don’t want your food to get cold by the time you finished snapping those photos. So stick with one or two setting or filter that can make your food look good. Make it your trademark setting/filter so that your followers can identify the photos posted to you. Avoid black and white (often food looks boring in B&W), HDR (too much color enhancement) and color toned base filter that can make your food look too bluish, greenish or yellowish.

3. Double take for Instagram

Instagram as we know it can only fit a square photo. Your normal food photo might needed to be crop when trying to upload to Instagram, and it could look very different from what you prefer from the beginning. Thus, if you are planning to post it in your Instagram, take another photo of your food and preferably zoom out a bit from the first shot in order to make it fit into Instagram like you want it to, or put everything closer to each other so that it would fit into square, or you can just use the Instagram camera and adjust the position of your food from there.

4. Up close and juicy

Don’t be afraid to go up close and juicy with your food. Take a close shot of your food with its juice oozing out of the meat or the dripping honey coat on top of the pancake. It’ll make your followers swallowing their saliva just by looking at it. Don't be afraid to cut open your food just to get that juice going. Your food might look boring as a whole. Unless you applied the next tip with a zest!

5. Be stylish

When it comes to food, often a meat is just a piece of meat, a veges are just some greenish vegetable and a dessert is just a fancy looking dessert. So how do you want to separate your photo of a same dish with the rest? Be freaking stylish about it! Use the elements around as props for your dish or you can always bring some of your own signature props to make it more personal.

All photos credits : Kay Kastum using a Motorola Razr XT910
Location: Grand Bluewave Hotel, Shah Alam

About The Writer
Daniel Chiam
He loves browsing around food blogs and look at peoples Instagram just to make himself craving for more food. During his free time he wished he can cook at home instead of going out for food hunt using his smartphone as his guide. He also knows someone that love Snowflake's green tea red bean. You can follow him on Instagram @room8five

Ramadhan Buffet at Grand Bluewave Hotel 2014

For the non-Muslim Malaysians, Ramadan Al-Mubarak means there will be plenty of food variety to choose from at the local 'Pasar Ramadan'. We have to admit, me (included) that we may spend more than what we can eat just because everything looks delicious especially when you are buying while you are hungry! If a comfy and a different eating experience is what you are looking for, then going for a Ramadan buffet at a hotel may be just something that you might want to try.

Food Social recently attended the Grand Bluewave Hotel's Ramadan Buffet Media Food Review. The purpose is to showcase their upcoming buffet spread. Based on the news release and the brief by their friendly and bubbly Public relations manager Achiek Sidek, the menu consists of a mixture of fusion between local and international dishes mainly Arabic and North African dishes (Morocco).

There will be over 250 different dishes laid out everyday during 'Iftar' or 'buka puasa' and the MUST TRY dishes mentioned includes Kambing Golek Sumbat Kebbeh eaten with Kabees Al Qarnabeet & Nasi Oozy Morocco, Ikan Panggang ala Portugis, Asparagus Bebola Ketam just to name a few! If that has made your mouth to start watering, wait till you hear the dessert names. Strawberry Mousse, Mango Pudding, Malay Kuih & Walnut Pie is just some of the desserts that will greet you happily. To wash down all that beautiful food, you are spoilt with choices of Sarsi Selasih, Sugarcan juice, Soy Milk, Mango Juice and the good old Coffee & Tea.

As for the pricing, it depends on which dining location you are heading. Restoran Royale Songket's (Barakah al Mubarak) package price starts at RM127.60 for adults and RM69.60 for children (Nett). Whereas Aras 1 (Fitrah al Mubarak) package price starts at RM103.25 for adults and RM58.00 for children (Nett). Special rates applies for weekends and during public holidays. For a more unique buka puasa experience, you can also try the restoran Jepun Agehan (Iftar Bufet Jepun) with the same price package as Aras 1.

For more detailed info and reservations on this promotion, the number to call is +603 5511 8811 ext 2001 / 2004. If email is your style then sent your inquiries to dosm@bluewavehotels.com. You could also try their Facebook page

Overall we love almost all the dishes. My personal favorite just had to be the Kambing Golek Sumbat Kebbeh. They are just fabulous. Now for some pictures to make you go hungry.

About The Writer
KAY KASTUM
Born in Sabah with an interest in open water diving, wall climbing,music and video production and a passion for Android custom ROMS on his XT910 Motorola Razr Kay Kastum plans to make the world a better place by empowering people through his work. Whatever that means. You can follow his YouTube channel to see what he is up to during his free time

How To Have Lunch for RM 3 For 1 Week At Work

With the current economic situation, gone are the days when our parents were telling us stories of how they used to have meals for the whole family for 3 Ringgit. What if we were to tell you that you can still have lunch not for a whole family but for yourself at only RM 3? Well sort of. Sometimes in desperation people will get creative.

We hooked up with a guy named Albert Chia who shared with us some pretty interesting and sometimes weird tips on how to have lunch during these difficult times with a 3 Ringgit budget for the whole week at work.

Day 1 Nasi Lemak Kosong

Rice is a staple diet for most Malaysians. Some even vouch that they can't even live for a day without rice. Especially during 'tengah bulan' when you are short on cash but still in dire need of that rice carb hit.

According to Albert, at times like these he can just go for nasi lemak kosong. Nearby where he worked, there's a shop that sells nasi lemak kosong placed on the table by a supplier and it cost RM 1.50. With a 3 Ringgit budget you can get two of those yummy thing. It's not luxurious but at least it could get you through the day until 5:30 pm unless you are working in a highly laborious job then you might faint before the end of the day.

What about drinks you say? Just be strong and drink some water once you get back to the office pantry. You can also have it as take away anyways.

Day 2 Nasi Campur

Also known as mixed rice or 'chap fan' in Chinese. The only catch is if you are a meat lover, you have to abstain from it for this one or else you will blow your budget of 3 Ringgit. How? Just take a bowl of rice, a portion of veges and splash some 'kuah kari' or any other gravy to your liking. Be sure to not scoop up some chickens or you will get charged extra. This rice and veges combo will probably set you around 2.80 to 3.00 Ringgit. Just perfect.

As usual try not to choke on the food or you can always bring it back to the comfy office and sit in front of your computer and wash it down with free water from the office pantry. Albert was right. We tried this at work today and I think it's not a bad thing having lunch without the usual meat stuff.

Day 3 Roti Canai + Teh Tarik

Enough of rice. Time to cut down a little. After two days of rice for lunch maybe we can tone it down a little bit on Roti Canai and some Teh Tarik. Besides you deserved it. A total of 6 Ringgit spent for two days of lunch is no small feat. Order a small glass of teh tarik (this is important) and a regular ol' Roti Canai. You will not walk out of the shop with a filled belly but at least you will not feel so hungry that your tummy starts growling in front of everyone during the 3 o'clock meeting. Or maybe not. Anyways,  depending on where you are, teh tarik may be around RM 1.80 per glass. Roti Canai is around RM 1.40. I know it bust your budget a little but I'm sure you have some 20 sen in your pocket or around the office somewhere

Day 4 Kuih-muih / Pisang Goreng

It's close to the weekend and your mood may have started picking up. But make sure you don't go around splashing money buying fancy lunch stuff just yet, oh no. Let's declare today as supporting our local kuih day. Do you know that pisang goreng has about 170 calories compared to a typical burger at 354 calories? Better than eating a burger right? Besides, you are actually helping the local community. Sometimes it's all about doing what's right. Drink lots of water (from the office pantry again to). Chances are the pantry will also have coffee or tea. Now everything is perfect. Enjoy your meal.

Day 5 Boss Belanja (Boss Treats)

This doesn't always work and it all depends whether your boss is around and if he or she actually invited you to lunch. By inviting you to lunch it is pretty safe to say that your bills are very much covered. But what if your boss went out for lunch without inviting you? Well according to Albert, you could always 'just happened' to walk the same path he is going and happened to meet him in the same restaurant. Try to invite yourself to sit at the same table with your boss and the rest is up to you.

When the bill comes, take out your wallet 3-4 seconds slower than your boss. Offer (very unconvincingly) that you would like to pay your own lunch and let your boss pay everything in the end.

Final Words

Just like the date of our last day on earth, there is no guarantee that you will definitely know if everything recommended here will work for you. Having more than 3 Ringgit with you during these quests will save you not only from humiliation but also from harm. Have you eaten lunch for only 3 Ringgit? Share us your experiences.

About The Writer
KAY KASTUM
Born in Sabah with an interest in open water diving, wall climbing,music and video production and a passion for Android custom ROMS on his XT910 Motorola Razr Kay Kastum plans to make the world a better place by empowering people through his work. Whatever that means. You can follow his YouTube channel to see what he is up to during his free time

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