Zestful One

Its the season of TV Series. With some well loved TV Series ending (*sniff* House & Desperate Housewives *sniff*) while some getting cancelled *nooooo!* and renewed *yay!*, the good people at E!Online compiled this list of TV Series so that you’re up to date.

Text in BOLD are the series that are to be renewed.

Updated as of 11 May 2012

Have you seen some “clam shells” at Nando’s? I was invited to Nando’s (along with the other cluckers) and given a hot file and cute wooden clapper. Inside that hot file was a napkin announcing the cataplana grand opening with the cute design of a front jacket/shirt.

Firstly we were served with drinks. Nando’s also introduced their new drink  – Rosa Fresca – which is made of juice of pomogranate with mint syrup and topped with Sprite (red drink in pic above). Very refreshing and nice. I like it.

Of course there was the usual starters first – salads (caesar and something else) and peri starter (sausages and wedges).  I quite like Nando’s Caesar salad, compared to the other salad. The Peri Starter is also hit with the special perinaise in which you can dip the wedges or sausages in.

And finally, the STAR of the show – the Cataplana.

So what is a Cataplana? It is a traditional seafood-based Portuguese dish. According to google. the cataplana is also the name of the bronze “clam shell” that is used to cook it in. Nando’s has two versions – Cataplana Original (with grilled vege) and Cataplana Porto (with mushrooms and olives).  The one pictured about is the Original one with the veges.

It’s a rice cooked (steamed?) in the cataplana bowl/container thingy with Nandos chicken on top. The rice is very very flavourful and filled with spices and also the peri-peri sauce. The chicken used are chicken thighs which ensures a more succulent taste. Think of it like briyani (a lot of spices) with a peri-peri twist. Or like Spanish paella that’s spicy.

You can of course choose what flavour of chicken you want – Lemon & Herb, Mild, Hot & Extra Hot. However please be warned that they also pour the sauce into the rice to cook it with so the Extra Hot is seriously very pedas! Note the red faces of missyblurkit (not so red) and spinzer (!!).

I must admit that I’m not usually a rice eater at Nandos (I prefer the chips or corn– very westernized, I know), so this might not be something I will order often but it is still a yummy alternative when you’re bored of the usual 1/4-1/2 chicken with 2 sidelines.

During the event, we were also given these vouchers to have a taste of the new Cataplana. As I’ve gotten two, I’ve decided to keep one and give out the other.

All you need to do is follow Nando’s Malaysia on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/nandos.my) and Twitter (@nandosmalaysia) then comment below before Tuesday, 24 April 2012. Vouchers will be mailed via snail mail. The voucher only expires in Sept so you have plenty of time.

You may also play the Open Cataplana! game on Facebook for a chance to win a Cataplana for yourself just by answering 5 questions. Click the image below

Enjoy & good luck!

Sorry this is a little late but there has been a scheduled water disruption on 14 March announced by Puspel Syabas. It is expected to last for 36 hours from 8:00am 14 March (Wednesday) to 8.00pm 15 March (Thursday). Please take note of the affected locations as below.

The info below was obtained from their FACEBOOK PAGE Notes here - http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=382473158432566

Kuala Lumpur – Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (SYABAS) telah menerima  permohonan daripada pihak pengendali Loji Rawatan Air (LRA) Sg. Selangor Fasa 1 (SSP1), iaitu Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor (SPLASH) bagi pihaknya melaksanakan hentitugas sementara loji untuk memberi laluan kepada kerja-kerja penyenggaraan serta menukar aset-aset utama yang mengalami masalah teknikal pada 14 Mac 2012 bersamaan hari Rabu.

Get more information by clicking on the spoiler >>  Click here to show spoiler

SYABAS ingin memaklumkan tempoh masa gangguan bekalan air tersebut dianggarkan selama 36 jam iaitu bermula pada jam 8.00 pagi, 14 Mac 2012 (Rabu) sehingga 8.00 malam, 15 Mac 2012 (Khamis). Senarai kawasan yang terlibat adalah seperti di Lampiran A.Sebagai persediaan, semua pengguna di kawasan tersenarai di lampiran A adalah dinasihatkan untuk menyimpan bekalan air secukupnya bagi menghadapi gangguan tersebut. Walau bagaimanapun, sebahagian kawasan daripada 7 wilayah terlibat khususnya kawasan rendah berkemungkinan akan terus mendapat bekalan air dalam tempoh tersebut tanpa sebarang gangguan bekalan air kerana mendapat sumber daripada loji-loji rawatan yang lain termasuk LRA SSP2, SSP3, Sungai Langat dan Sungai Semenyih serta simpanan dalam kolam-kolam air yang tersedia.

Get more information by clicking on the spoiler >>  Click here to show spoiler

Para pengguna di kawasan terlibat dinasihatkan agar menggunakan air secara berhemah sepanjang tempoh hentitugas LRA SSP1 tersebut. Mereka yang memerlukan bantuan bekalan air menerusi lori tangki ataupun ingin mendapat maklumat lanjut berhubung gangguan bekalan air tidak berjadual ini disaran agar menghubungi Pusat Perkhidmatan Pelanggan (PUSPEL) di talian bebas tol, 1-800-88-5252.

Bilangan Wilayah terlibat : 5 Wilayah

1. Wilayah Hulu Selangor

2. Wilayah Petaling

3. Wilayah Kuala Lumpur

4. Wilayah Klang/Shah Alam

5. Wilayah Kuala Langat

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I recently found out about this list of “Books You Must Read” after GeekSugar (a woman-centric tech site I LOVE) wrote about this new app to track the 1001 books. The app is $2 but I’m a cheapskate so I found this list over in booklit.

The list is taken from a book entitled 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (Buy from Amazon: UK | US). Its product description says : They’re called the classics for good reason. Whether they’re a work of wacky imagination, a piercing insight into social and cultural traditions at the time of writing, or simply a fantastically absorbing story, all the books featured in “1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die” have come about out of people’s desires to communicate a story, a message or a lesson.

I’ve decided to paste the list here and (hopefully) keep track of my progress as the years go by :)

As of 09March 2012, I have read 39 books (in bold). Click ‘Continue Reading’ to see the full list!

Read more…

Cut the Rope is one of my favourite games on the iPhone. Its a puzzle game where candy is tied on strings and you will have to manipulate and cut the strings to feed a green blob called "Om Nom". Apparently it has been downloaded over 60 MILLION times to date!

The great news today is that, instead of paying $0.99 (approx RM3~) at the AppStore (US link), you can now get it for FREE on PCs with Internet Explorer 9 installed.

Now I know that many people especially designers and web developers, may cringe at the mention of IE but as I wrote during the launch of IE9 beta back in Oct 2010, Microsoft has overhauled IE9 from the ground up and integrated it beautifully with Win 7.

Cut The Rope is playable directly from the web at www.cuttherope.ie, showcases the advanced and powerful HTML5 capabilities of Microsoft’s latest and most powerful web browser, Internet Explorer 9 (IE9).

ZeptoLab, the creators of Cut the Rope, collaborated with technology specialists at Pixel Lab and with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer Team, to deliver the game to online audiences with HTML5 technology and JavaScript. The developers discussed their technical approach to this project, and the challenges that they faced, in a short blog post including a video interview, which can be found at www.cuttherope.ie/dev/.

Eighteen (18) levels of the game are playable with most modern web browsers but seven (7) bonus levels are available exclusively to users who pin the game to their Windows taskbar with IE9.

Gamers that pin Cut the Rope to their Windows 7 taskbar, will find that IE9 takes on the look and feel of the game and unlocks unique levels not found in any previous versions of Cut the Rope. For further improvements, with the hardware acceleration enabled in IE9 and Windows 7, the game looks and feels just as rich and immersive as developers intended the game to be. This is the first of many games that Microsoft’s will be bringing to the web via IE9. Hot gaming titles such as Pirates Love Daisies, Disney’s Tron, and The World’s Biggest Pacman are all currently in the pipeline toward release with Windows 7 and IE9.

Microsoft’s IE9 can be downloaded at www.beautyoftheweb.com.