Food Blog #33: There's something about Sailors

Ever since I visited Melbourne exactly last year, I always have a thing with anything Australian. And so a few days back I had my ostrich burger fix at Sailors Cafe at Millennium with Kim. The first time I got here I was introduced by Ina (boy she sure knows where to find good eat than I do in KK now) and the urge to come back and dine here has been growing ever since!

I didn't mind having ostrich burger again for the second time (because it was so good, healthy and orgasmic) but we did order other dishes, and on our table we had:

In all its glory, the FIX ( = ostrich burger that is) :D
am lovin' and feelin' every bite!
RM15.



Their signature simple salad medley was so good that I forgot I was in KK for awhile; definitely something that I would have eaten back in Melbourne.
RM9.



Kim ordered chicken mushroom and I loved how the mashed potato, the mushroom and the gravy went so well together. The chicken was already awesome in the beginning; tender, yummy, delish!
RM 14.



Lovin' the words on the wall. Talking about being expressive. Australian restaurant with great Sabahan touch :)

Do drop by this place if you want good food with affordable price:

Sailors Cafe
Lot 36, 1st Floor, Plaza Grand Millennium, Penampang Bypass, KK.



My name is Maxwell Tommie Lajawai and I approve this post.

Max in Melbourne Part 4: I will come back & Hotel Maya Kuala Lumpur

And I truly had a blast in Melbourne that I need to divide my trip there into four different posts! Plus the wonderful 2 day/1 night stay at Hotel Maya which I crazily enjoyed all for MYR 0. Like seriously.

Alongside the Great Ocean Road and the city itself, I also went to Mt Dandenong which took me and my friends about an hour to get there. This place is like what Kundasang is to Sabah, only brutally colder, slightly easier to go about and very Australian. You can see the bird eye's view of the city here:

Optical illusion? Think again.

I will feel empty if I don't talk about food as we had lunch here before we headed back to the city, prior to our road trip we surfed the net and decided to give Cuckoo Restaurant for a try:

Pictures!

Yes yes yes! :D

The overview of the restaurant. It's a German restaurant and the waitress was thick with her German accent when she served us.





It was all-you-can-eat buffet and damn, when it comes to buffet, you just want to try everything, and I did just that.

We had these on our table:

Oh yes, our stomachs did explode the other day. Literally. Probably the best buffet I've ever had outside of Malaysia. If you are in Melbourne and ready to eat like a king, do drop by at this restaurant. According to their website the address is:

508 Mount Dandenong Tourist Road
Olinda VIC 3788, Australia

Oh and it's A$39.90 but it's worth it! The 5 kilos I gained were worth it :D

With this, I conclude my story on my fabulous trip in Melbourne. I was so inspired that I wrote to NST for their weekly Savvy Traveller column every Thursday and I was in the newspaper on 9th September 2010 :) Definitely icing on the cake & perfect birthday present for me, which I only redeemed in March. Bliss!

The trip to Land Down Under + The win + The bed + The shower/bath room + The hydrotherapy pool + The view = AWESOME

"When you are inspired to do something, you are bound to enjoy & cherish great moments" -Maxwell T Lajawai :D

Pictures are meant to be immortalized.

So I did a sunset photoshoot with a good friend of mine, Steffy last Sunday and the outcome was simply remarkable:

It was quite cloudy on the horizon so we didn't really see the sunset, literally.



Spotted a group people practicing for the upcoming dragon boat race competition this weekend. I believe.





Yours truly and his best friend. No pun intended.

I ♥ Sabah and it will stay that way forever. :)

Location: Sutera Harbour
Camera: SONY DSLR-A200 :)

Max in Melbourne Part 3: The Great Ocean Road

Finally I am unofficially done with my course! for the last few months I was so caught up with my final year projects and only now that I have plenty of time to update this blog of mine :)

So I'm not really finished talking about my wonderful trip to Melbourne last year.

I have to say, visiting Melbourne ain't complete if you don't experience the Great Ocean Road. Let me quote from my winning entry which I sent to NST last year and won a 2D/1N stay in a Studio room with breakfast for two and a 50-minute healing stone massage at the elegant Hotel Maya Kuala Lumpur:

"The Great Ocean Road will definitely be the pinnacle of your trip. You will see the beautiful side of Australia as you drive, overlooking the ocean and the hillside. once you have reached the Twelve Apostles, though numerically not 12 anymore, the view will definitely take your breath away. This journey takes about three to four hours from the city"

Get ready to be blown away readers! :)

I actually asked my friend to stop by the road side as I was soooooooooo captivated with what I saw. The ocean was on my left side; the beautiful hills and green pastures on my right side. I could not ask for more. Like the late Steve Irwin would always say,

"That's a beauty!"

We stopped by at Apollo Bay for a quick lunch and we had these:

Chicken Schnitzel. Crumbed chicken breast served with chips, salad and sweet chili on the side. Yummeh.



Mongolian beef. Generous tender strips of beef tossed in mongolian sauce with hokkien noodles and asian vegetables. Finally Something Asian! :)



Throughout the journey, I kept saying Australian this and that. Now that's Australian sheep! Epic man.

So when we arrived at Port Campbell National Park for the 12 Apostles, I was left speechless. Scroll further down please and you will know why :)

The winning photo :)
Obviously I had a blast in Melbourne. What more The Great Ocean Road. Simply magnificent.

Literally speechless eh?

It took about four hours to get there. Good thing I had a friend who had a friend who was willing to drive me there that time. Probably the best road trip I have ever had outside of Malaysia. Last week I was in a bookstore and came across a book on 1000 places to see before you die. The Great Ocean Road is in it!

1 down, 999 to go I believe :)

Delay no more: A special tribute to PCSB-SBO

It was 2 years ago that I was so skeptical about undergoing my internship in this company. I was so worried that I would not be able to learn as much as I can; we're talking about a period of six months here people, and at that time I told myself I cannot waste six months for doing nothing. I gotta learn something. I even quarreled with my dad that I would be wasting my time doing nothing in the office because everyone will be so busy minding their own businesses.

In the end, I 'reluctantly' agreed.

And I was WRONG, and surprised at the same time.

It turned out to be something like a life-changing experience for me, and therefore I want to pay tribute to the people who have made this possible to me and for me and also for proving to me that interning in an oil and gas company can be really fun, exciting and a real experience not to be missed.

Kak Raja; goodness I learned a lot from her. She was the one responsible for guiding, developing and molding me into who I am today :) I remembered when I told her that I wanted more challenging assignments, she really did give me challenging assignments! Boy I had hard time doing them, but I enjoyed it at the same time. I really admire her for her courage, strength and determination, I mean, a lady engineer with a lot of testosterones around? I really miss having breakfast and chit-chatting with you kak!



Joy. Real name Nirwana Nurdin :) Sorry I didn't manage to attend your wedding last year :( I learn a lot from her too; she was the one responsible for assisting and helping me finishing the works I was assigned to. The one responsible for providing me those production data which I have to compile and interpret, and boy, those updated songs! She's the one!



Steffy & Wendy. Actually the first person I met in SRE was Steffy and little did I realize that we are going to be good buddies throughout! Who would have thought yeah. Ging-karas bah ini, jangan ko. Another lady engineer that I truly admire. The one responsible for getting me so interested on cameras (DSLRs especially, the recent pictures of me in Melbourne imply) and FYI, the DSLR that I am currently using now was used to be hers! I bought from her of course. And who does not know Wendy? Perhaps the most well known girl in SBO, you will always have a good time when you are with her. Bubbly, friendly and cheerful. Outing with these two girls is always a lot of fun!

Bah ging, seperti biasa kalau saya balik KK, misti jumpa ah! Seperti biasa orang bilang...





Shakir Nawi, probably my long lost brother in SBO. A fresh graduate from UTP, again I learned a lot from him. We pretty much did the assignments together and he was the one making me to realize that production chemistry is actually related to chemical engineering! I really miss you going to my workstation every morning asking me stuffs or just checking me out ;) Oh, and those discussions about those test reports, you really made me feel like an engineer yo!

And thank you so much for taking care of me when we were in Labuan the other day!



Sir Martin Huan. Really nice knowing you chap! The one responsible for giving me a lot of tips on where to go and what to do in Melbourne. Remember you accompanied me sending Wendy home and two days after that we all went to Kiansom waterfall? And the friend of mine in Melbourne you were dying to see on Facebook? Good times man. If we ever meet again, don't forget to spend me :P



Sonia Boy. I love your new haircut! Bahaha... The one who always made hot milo with me in the pantry. I always have great conversation with her, and we always have our special handshake every time we meet up! :D Next time when I'm back in KK Sweet Home, make yourself available bah ging... jarang-jarang kita jumpa ni tau, bukan macam dulu lagi...



Amilin aka Teddy Bear. The first one to approach me for lunch, and I turned it down :( I have to thank you because you sent me home the other day! I will never forget your kindness bro. We should definitely meet up again next time!

Jasamu dikenang.



Derrick and Kimi. Nice dudes to hang out with :) Kimi, I thank you for bringing me out in KL the other day. I had a lot of fun! Especially the day where we went to two open houses during the Raya break, and played bowling after that. Wow you really are getting a lot better than I do! I should catch up with you man haha XD



Ina. Same league with Kimi, I always have a great time with this girl. Too bad la I only got to know you 2 months before I said au revoir to SBO :( One of my bowling buddies, I always love our conversation over the dinner table! Because we always meet up for dinner! Haha!



Ezramian Jamian! Wendy's cousin. How can I not mention him? The first person I have spoken to and met in SBO. Practical student coordinator. I should give credits to him as he was the one to put me in SRE in the first place. Funny and cheerful. I will never forget your advice you gave me on my last day in SBO! This picture was taken when all the twelve practical students went to Pulau Manukan together with him, Shakir & Derrick in March 2010. Good times man, good times. Period!



KJ. Again another great chap to be with :) How can I not be thankful for you have fetched me at the airport the other day? ;)



Joshua Thomas! Another bowling buddy of mine! I was the one he always looked for when he wanted to play bowling. Goodness that is what friends are for. We didn't have our proper goodbye because he was in offshore when I was on my last day in SBO! :( Going to miss those bowling and pork-eating sessions with you ging ;)

So these people have proven me so wrong that I never had any dull moment in SBO. In fact, that 6-month period was probably the best times I have ever had in my life. Actually there are still a few people that I have yet to pay tribute here but I did say thank you to them in the email I sent to the whole department which I still keep. (TQ Steffy!)

I guess I have to thank my dad right now for pushing me so hard so that I did not turn down the offer to do my practical in SBO.

I was wrong after all..

...and I had helova good time!

As much as I want to go to offshore; I hope I can go there one day. :)