Shrimp and More Shrimp @ Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, The Curve

if you haven’t watched ‘forrest gump’, where have you been? neptune? this popular seafood spot ‘bubba gump shrimp co.’ is inspired from that oscar-winning movie ‘forrest gump’ – where one scene is all about forrest listening to his soldier bff bubba’s listing out all kinds of shrimp there ever was.

welcome to ‘bubba gump shrimp co’! I went with abah, umi, my sisters and their family to the one at the curve, since we were staying at the royale bintang the curve for the weekend.

I don’t really like shrimp, so ‘bubba gump SHRIMP co’ was not always my choice of makan place. but the rest of my family loves it, so this was my first time at ‘bubba gump shrimp co’ and was anticipating delicious seafood!

 

this bucket was on the table. a bucket with tissue rolls. adorable!

 

we got a place outside. windy. breezy. and tak rimas sangat!

 

like in chillis or tgif, kids get coloring and activity paper which I always appreciate. fill their time! that ‘metal plate number’ next to khaleef is really interesting – if you need assistance or extra tissue or fork spoon from the waiter, you flip the sign to RED which says ‘stop forrest stop’, and when you’re fine and don’t need anything, flip it back to BLUE – ‘run forrest run’. cute!

 

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‘captain’s fish & chips – traditionally battered fillet’

 

since I’m not much of shrimp fan, I was looking forward to enjoy something else; like this delicious plate of fish and chips, ‘captain’s fish & chips – traditionally battered fillet’.

I really love battered fillet fish, rather than fish covered in bread crumbs. it’s nicely fried – crispy batter on the outside and soft fish flesh on the inside. I’m a big fan of coleslaw, and the coleslaw and tartar sauce here were delicious. I would order this again the next time I’m at ‘bubba gump shrimp co’.

the presentation is also very lepak!

 

‘shrimper’s heaven’

 

this uniquely presented little shrimp buffet is called ‘shrimper’s heaven’ because it consisted 4 different types of shrimp cooking – hand breaded coconut shrimp (the one on the left), garlic shrimp, fried shrimp and tempura shrimp. served with 4 dips – tangy asian, cajun, marmalade and zesty cocktail.

I tried the coconut shrimp and tempura. the tempura prawn was delicious and not too oily. the coconut shrimp is surprisingly tasty too and I really like the crispy crunchy texture.

also it’s awesome that the shrimps sit on these cones stand. truly a crazy platter for shrimp-freaks!

 

‘fish with lobster butter sauce’

 

this is delicious. the fish is tender, and the the lobster butter sauce is just wow. went perfectly salty with the fish. I LOVED it!

it’s actually ‘pan seared fish fillet laid over mashed potato and veggies, served with lobster butter sauce’. if I went on a second trip to bubba gump shrimp co, I would order this one again too!

 

bubba’s ‘after the storm’ bucket of boat trash

 

this dish has the cutest name! ‘bubba’s after the storm bucket of boat trash’ – hillarious! unfortunately this was my least-favorite dish for that day. it’s still good, but the other dishes were better.

it’s got ‘flash fried shrimp, lobster tail, and fish fillet with cajun spices’.

though I quite like the lobster tail (simply because it’s very very rare that I eat lobster) I find the other stuff on the plate too dry.

 

lobster linguini

 

this was a plate of ‘linguini, slipper lobster, and broccoli tossed in a special lobster butter sauce’. linguini is the thin pasta like spaghetti but much thinner closer to bihun kan. I enjoyed eating this along with the other fish that I took from other dishes. I love the contrast of the texture – soft mush of the linguini alongside crispy batter of fish from my fish & chips plate.

tasty!

 

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we actually ordered a couple of different dishes to be shared. I absolutely LOVED it because everyone gets to try many different types of dishes together. so basically all of us took a bite of every single stuff up there. haha. nyum.

alhamdulillah! my verdict is, from NOT-fan of shrimp, the food at bubba gump shrimp co. is delicious! a bit pricey, so share lah better kan!

 

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nways, enjoy this clip taken from the awesome movie ‘forrest gump’ – the part where forrest joins the army, meets bubba, and bubba starts listing out all kinds of shrimp in existance. hihi. love it.

 

Kidzania KL With Cousins

thanks to atok, my boys khaleef and kahfi get to have a day of fun at kidzania KL last july with their cousins haiqal, haqeem, cuya, nuna and ica. there were 2 sessions, and the kiddos went for the afternoon session. there were lots of drama, excitement and few surprises too like with kahfi and modelling!

my sister syimot and I accompanied the kids at kidzania, while azi took care of kazim. thanks azot!

 

khaleef sporting a kidzania dubai t-shirt

 

the kids did many fun jobs and awesome activities; but these are just a couple of interesting things that happened hihi :

1) kahfi CRIED on the first job

the first *job* that they applied for at kidzania KL was a pilot for air asia. (in kidzania dubai it’s emirates airline). kahfi started crying first for no apparent reason other than he simply doesn’t want to line up with other kids away from mommy, to be a pilot. arghh! I was like a crazy mom, “go be a pilot! be a pilot! later you can be the fireman! GO BE A PILOT!” haha. it didn’t work. he cried harder and I had to take him out of line.

and then berjangkit. the youngest of them all ica pulak cried like mad.

in the middle of it all, I applaud my eldest nephew haiqal for being a very responsible abang – he went out of his long line just to comfort kahfi, and then ica. luckily the ‘air asia officer’ let haiqal go back to his line. well done, haiqal!

 

while kahfi & ica went out of the line, the others happily waited to be an ‘air asia pilot’!

 

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2) the kids SEPARATE into 2 groups : the boys, and the girls. plus kahfi. haha.

since the older boys can do a lot more jobs and have more patience waiting in long lines than the younger girls (and kahfi! haha) so we decided it was better that we separate and let the boys do the older-kids-jobs while the girls do kiddy stuff like making ice-cream or biscuits.

 

‘the girls team’ plus kahfi huhu. kahfi, cuya, ica & nuna at the ‘vitagen factory’. seronok betul dapat tengok vitagen klua dari machine tu!

 

so haiqal, haqeem and khaleef went their way, while we brought cuya, nuna & ica to jobs or activities that did not need a lot of waiting around. and since kahfi was also restless, haha so he followed the girls.

we advised haiqal to watch the time and meet us back at such and such place at a certain time. alhamdulillah everything worked well and everyone had a great time in their own pace.

 

the kids at the ‘ice-cream factory’

 

3) let the kids DO their job!

I wasn’t too keen on this particular activity (ice-cream factory) simply because the staff there did EVERYTHING for the kids. the only thing the kids did were to wear the apron and hats, stand still and watch, and then eat the ice-cream. that’s it.

the staff did all the mixing and stirring. it’s ok to help, of course – but no DO everything for them.

I thought kidzania is all about hands-on experiece; to let the kids be independent and get a taste of what happens in that particular profession by doing things themselves. ape guna kalau orang tu buat semua benda. baik pegi kat baskin robbins kat luar sana sama jugak.

we saw jars of yummy chocolate rice, jelly beans and colorful sprinkles on a cupboard in the ‘factory’ and we thought that they could probably choose their toppings and sprinkle it themselves. but NOPE. nothing. so we paid for that particular activity simply to take pictures of our kids in apron, and for them to enjoy a small cup of ice-cream.

harap pihak kidzania KL take note ye. terima kasih!

 

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prisoner botak escaped from kidzania prison!

 

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4) most ‘delicious’ job – jadi minah and abang burger! but ica cried again!

in kidzania dubai, khaleef was able to be a pizza guy making pizza and then eat it hot and fresh from the oven. but here in kidzania KL, there’s burger making at marrybrown (which is a famous msia brand in dubai!)

I could see that the kids enjoyed this the most because it’s easy (clear steps of what to do first and next) and of course afterwards the got to enjoy the yummy burger. kahfi was seen hopping and jumpin at his spot – so excited with his burger!

and while waiting for his turn he said, “this is for you mak!” referring to the chicken burger. aww sweet!

 

ica was not in the picture coz she cried even before they prepared the burger. so we took her out but the nice friendly staff said he would make the burger for ica since we had already paid for hers.

 

my adorable cheeky nieces nuna & cuya

 

after making burgers, the girls and kahfi tried modelling! and while they were practicing their catwalk, my sis syimot stayed with the girls while I looked for the boys. incidentally they were right next door – it was their turn to make burgers! so I stayed with them taking pictures.

they had to sit through a documentary about marrybrown before they get to make them – and the staff use this time to fry the burgers so that it’ll be hot and fresh by the time the kids wrap ‘em. the burgers were not fried beforehand.

 

the boys khaleef, haqeem & haiqal enjoying their time flipping burgers at marrybrown

 

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5) what nuna & cuya REALLY wanted to do : FASHION SHOW! and kahfi enjoyed it too!

throughout our time at kidzania, nuna had always wanted to do fashion show. and we finally went as our final activity for the day before calling it a day. sempat jugak!

the activity is simply to be a model, and the works – pick an outfit, practice catwalk on the small runway, and the big show at the end where the kids do actual catwalk on a big stage!

 

supermodel nuna strutting her stuff on the runway during practice

 

I’m not surprised how enjoyable this would be for the girls – dressing up, parading on a stage while looking cute and people around you clapping – but I didn’t expect kahfi to enjoy it very much too! it was too funny that this was the same boy who cried so hard because he didn’t want to be a pilot!

can you spot him in the picture below. yah he’s the only boy there…

 

 

and we’re glad that ica enjoyed it too. no more crying. no more restless. during the actual catwalk on the big stage, the kiddos showed all sorts of different *styles* :

• cuya followed the exact line while walking, but she was really robotic hihi
• nuna walked like a true gedik supermodel haha, but line ntah kemana 
• ica walked a little bit and then stopped not knowing what to do – the sweetest thing was the whole hall was cheering for her, just as we cheered for their sons and daughters. really nice atmosphere
• kahfi lagi la ke laut – he was not even walking; when the mc called his name, he was hopping plus jumping plus dancing weirdly – everyone in the hall was laughing. aiyo! anak sape la tu!

final note, I would really like to applaud the kidzania KL staff handling the poney fashion show that day (I wish I had gotten her name, but at least I got her picture kat atas tu hihi) who was really enthusiastic, keeping the kids hyped-up too. all kidzania staff should have that same energy because it’s a kids place – should be upbeat, energetic and exciting. kudos to you, young lady!

kalau muka macam baru gaduh dengan boipren budak-budak pun takde mood!

 

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6) oreo-making is for 8yr plus? how about the 4yr – 7yr old fans of oreos!

I was frustrated to see that there’s an age requirement to make oreos – that deliciously sinful choc biscuit with sweet white filling that every kid loves! kesian kahfi and the girls were not ‘qualified’ to make oreos. susah sangat ke…

 

 

anyways, the boys had a great time making those delicious biscuits as their final activity for the day. I absolutely LOVE their dark blue chef hats. comel sangat!

 

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and so it was the cousins’ eventful day of fun at kidzania KL, courtesy of atok! thanks so much atok! next year belanja lagi ye kih kih. and thanks mak su and uncle faiz for babysittin little kazim!

click here for khaleef’s experience at kidzania dubai for his birthday.

Big Family Gathering @ Little Penang Kafé The Curve

it was the final weekend before ramadhan starts, and my whole family (abah, umi, my sisters & husbands plus kiddos) stayed at the royale bintang the curve for the weekend just to lepak satu family. and also because my abah wants to belanja his cucu-cucu for a day of fun at kidzania the next day.

for dinner we gathered together at ‘little penang kafe’ for a taste of penang hawker food at the curve damansara.

 

‘little penang kafé’ described itself as being “the first restaurant to offer authentic penang hawker food in a shopping mall”. the interior certainly sets the mood, taking us back in time. and the menu suggests the same – filled with penang hawker food and baba nyonya delicacies like char kuey teow, kuey teow soup, mee udang, curry mee, assam laksa and many more.

 

it’s not often do we get to dine out ramai-ramai like this. most of the time atok prefers to just tapau and eat ramai-ramai at home. tak pening atok dengan cucu-cucu yang bising! hihi. so this was considered a HUGE outing for us. we were just missing azi’s husband faiz (working) and my mr khairul who was still in dubai at the time. syida’s hubby nash was taking the picture.

 

obviously I can’t help NOT ordering my favorite kuey teow. penang fried kuey teow has always been my favorite and would never miss getting kuey teow sani or kuey teow gagak whenever I’m in penang. the kuey teow at ‘little penang kafe’ is as good as it gets – well-seasoned, dry just the way I like it. I would order this again.

 

abah with his choice ‘penang curry mee’

 

‘penang curry mee’ for abah. said to be ‘the most sought after hawker dish in penang’. judging from the empty bowl at the end and hoq quiet abah eats – the curry mee must be dead good.

 

this was umi’s pick of the day : ‘penang jawa mee’ – a nyonya style mee rebus. the gravy looks deliciously thick and the portion is huge. you can share this one if you’re not too hungry!

 

abah & umi with their delicious penang dishes at ‘little penang kafe’.

 

my eldest nephew haiqal with his dinner : fried rice with egg sunny side up. simple yet satisfying. haiqal next time order something else ok. nasi goreng ni mama pun bole buat! haha

 

BFF & cousins : my nephew haqeem & my eldest son khaleef ordered the same food – ‘fish ball noodle’ simply noodle in clear fish ball soup. not spicy, hot from the pot. delicious.

 

the boys’ ‘fish ball noodle’. you can even choose your noodle – bihun, mee kuning or kuey teow.

 

cousins & BFF! haiqal, haqeem & khaleef in their football jerseys

 

 

love the interior : the ceiling, the walls that look like it’s made from papan in kampung house and the grill looks authentic too – like eating in those old chinese coffee shop in penang. ‘little penang kafe’ is my new favorite place to makan!

‘little penang kafe’ is on ground floor at the curve. forget marche. go hawker style next time!

Atuk Holiday With Cucu @ Royale Bintang The Curve

Atuk Sharifuddin had planned to treat his grandkids for a day of fun at kidzania. to add to the fun, he got each of us rooms at ‘royale bintang the curve’ hotel for to hang out during that weekend. it was such fun (and SO much noise) when the kids go in and out and run along the corridor as our rooms are right next to each other on the same floor.

chaotic! thanks atuk!

also, since aunty gim was by herself with her kiddos in her hotel room (uncle khairul was still in dubai at that time) my room was the headquarter to lepak, makan donuts and make more noise. great!

 

atok at royale bintang the curve lobby with all his 9 grandkids (excluding youngest one baby miqail) that’s two eldest cucu haqeem and haiqal at the back, little adam in green sweater and lil kazim right next to atok. then atok’s only three granddaughters cuya, ica & nuna. and dubai boys kahfi & khaleef. alhamdulillah dah 10 cucu atok sharifuddin!

 

the complete picture of 10 members of Kelab Cucu Atok Podin including baby Miqail in black ed hardy bib

 

compulsory activity : pool time at royale bintang the curve. more chaos!

 

atok buying tickets for cucu’s fun time at kidzania. for haiqal, haqeem, khaleef, kahfi, cuya, ica & nuna. thanks so much atok! they had an awesome time!

 

abah, umi, anak menantu dan cucu-cucu. one of our BIG family dinners while we’re staying at royale bintang the curve. little penang café the curve (review soon!). it’s been awhile since we gathered this many together at the same time, dining out! the only ones not around were faiz (working) and mr khairul who was still in dubai.

 

comot time at aunty gim’s room. they’re munching j co donut and I’m addicted to their nestum-topped donut!

 

see what I told you about them hanging out and buat bising at aunty gim’s hotel room?

 

us sisters with kiddos and abah & umi. thanks so much abah for such wonderful weekend!

 

it was one awesome weekend hanging out with abah umi, my sisters and nephews nieces at royale bintang the curve while jalan-jalan makan-makan at the shopping mall, knowing that we don’t need to face the crazy traffic and mad dash to find parking space at the curve. hihi. the hotel is practically part of the curve building!

we had dinner with abah, went up to our room, and could still find time later that night to run down to have supper with my sisters. such awesome time.

lets repeat this, tapi kat dubai pulak, amacam abah? kih kih.

Iftar @ Italiannies : So Good So Share!

two great things about eating at italiannies :

1) yummy italian dishes AND 2) its HUGE portion. no wonder its tagline is ‘so good, so share’ – because the portion is definitely enough to be shared with 3-4 of you. so last weekend we went to italiannies at the curve to SHARE few dishes for iftar.

in fact, last few years we had iftar right here at italiannies the curve to with abah and umi. click here for my full review of the place.

 

thanks to my baby sis and her fiance faiz for the terrific treat! yum!

 

for starters, we ordered this tasty treat – our favorite, super-crispy fried calamari that’s arguably one of the best i’ve eaten. really. rugi takde nasik putih dengan air asam!

 

for my *italian* boys, this plate of spaghetti bolognese with two huge meatballs (meatballs that we CANNOT finish – tapau!) this plate of spaghetti will satisfy any spaghetti-lover. delicious as a good spaghetti should be, sweet-sour tomato-rich bolognese sauce without being too sour or not thick enough. highly recommended. my boys absolutely LOVE this.

 

what i came here for – beef lasagna at italiannies. i must say, quite disappointed with the texture AND taste. the texture is too thick and compact, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but personally i like my lasagna to be soft and melts in the mouth with all the richness of the cheesy bechamel sauce cross with tomato-ish bolognese sauce. yum. this one doesn’t really do that –

plus, i think there’s TOO MUCH CHEESE (yes, i’m actually complaining about TOO MUCH CHEESE eventhough i LOVE CHEESE) because this makes the lasagna so salty! we ended up not finishing this, and tapau it for sahur!

 

this is also my all-time favorite – fresh crunchy salad with all sorts of thingamajig that go with it. delicious. it’s got everything – veggies, meat AND fruits! green lettuce tossed with yummy grilled chicken and crispy croutons – and, get this : cut-up grapes AND mangoes! and they all danced so well together in the special italiannies salad dressing. i’d order this everytime!

 

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my cheeky boys : being their usual self. hihi.

 

thanks again azi and faiz for the scrumptuous italian iftar at italiannies!

oh, and did i mention that with every main course that you order, you’ll get a kid’s meal for free. so we got the boys an extra plate of spaghetti carbonara white sauce (which their ‘mak su’ so conveniently finished, hihi) and a plate of freshly fried chicken fingers. i’d highly recommend you guys get the spaghetti carbonara white sauce because the portion is huge for a kid’s meal, and is oh-so-rich-and-thick-and cheesy!

yay! so where to next?