3D Cakes from Patisserie Cake Shop

Ya, I know I haven't been posting photos of 3D cakes from Patisserie Cake Shop for a long time and so here I am with seven of the latest creations which I "shot" recently. Patisserie Cake Shop received a lot of enquiries on Facebook for quotes but as each cake is different and unique in design, shape, size, weight, etc, it is advisable to come to the shop to consult the pastry chefs who will personally attend to your individual request. For more information, call Belinda at +673 2425618.

Maojie (毛家) Restaurant @ Shekou

This morning, we arrived in Sekou, Shenzhen to meet a supplier and the meeting lasted for about two hours! After the meeting, we took a taxi to "hunt" for a restaurant for lunch and that's when we came across this restaurant.  Maojie (毛家 or Mao Family) Restaurant is named after Chairman Mao ZeDong (who was born in Hunan on 26 December 1893) and naturally this restaurant is renown for its Hunan cuisine. It has branches all over China but this is the first time I've patronized this one in Shekou. If you haven't experienced Hunan cuisine before, look for Maojie Restaurant the next time you visit China! 

Chef Mauri's Restaurant

Last night was the third time I dined at Chef Mauri's Restaurant (Grazie Mauri Restaurant) located at Block A, Abdul Razak Complex, Gadong. This shop was originally occupied by Sushi Tei Japanese Restaurant which I must admit, I've never patronized before! The chef at Mauri's is said to be the former chef at Fratinni's Italian Restaurant but came out to set up his own group of restaurants. Two other outlets are at Kuala Belait (Swiss Hotel) and Spg. 369, Jalan Muara. The prices are quite reasonable (after discount) so do apply for their discount cards @ B$2.50 per application which offers 10% discount for dinner, 20% discount for lunch and 30% discount between 2pm to 6pm. As for the food, it's fantastic!

Selamat Berpuasa!

Today, Brunei Darussalam celebrates the first day of Ramadhan (Muslim fasting month) and as usual Patisserie Cake Shop (located at Unit 10, Ground Floor, Traders Inn) has come up with an assortment of "Hari Raya" hampers and cookies which are suitable as gifts for this coming Hari Raya. Above are some photos of the hampers and cookies (in decorative jars) and if you want more information, please call 2425618. For a small fee, delivery services can be arranged. Photos courtesy of Patisserie Cake Shop.

The Empire Select Membership

Not many people have heard of the "Empire Select" loyalty programme as there are no promotions or advertisements concerning it. I only came to know about it from a friend who then recommended me for membership. The annual fee is B$298-00 and it comes with a host of privileges and discounts including a one night complimentary stay, free buffet lunch and high tea for two persons, etc. Included in the deal is a "Promark Global Privilege" card  which "brings you 5311 partner hotels, restaurants, spas, golf clubs and other lifestyle partners and the network is growing daily". It is more or less similar to the "Starwood Privilege" card which I discontinued since Sheraton no longer has a presence in Brunei. I think this is a fantastic deal if you happen to have lots of people to entertain!

Proposed Room Refurbishing @ Traders Inn

Ya, I know I've not been updating my blog for quite sometime now as I have not been very active recently (and getting lazy too!) Anyway, our interior designer, Mr. Chia, came up with a revised sketch of the proposed interior design for Traders Inn which I'm posting here for all to see. The design is simple yet the colour scheme is appealing with a new 32" LCD television (a norm in most hotels these days). When all the preliminary drawings and quantities are determined, we'll be setting out to China to source for materials and suppliers next month. By then I should have more materials to post here!

AirAsia, Truly an Airline Other Airlines Envy!

Last Thursday (15th April), I took a flight from Miri to Johor Bahru on AirAsia and came back on Saturday (17th April). I'm actually quite impressed by all the new technologies that AirAsia has implemented (to be honest, I haven't flown on AirAsia for a long time!). The first thing was the web check-in that I did before travelling to Miri; this saves me time as I would not have to rush to the airport but must still be there one hour before flight time. The menu has improved with quite a lot of selections and on my way back, I used the only check-in kiosk available at Senai Airport (or is it Sultan Ismail International Airport?) and as not many people were using it, the process takes less than ten seconds! There were a lot of passengers queueing (with baggages) even before the counters were opened! The check-in kiosk is a definite plus and it would be great if more are installed as we will definitely see more people using it in the future. And who said AirAsia is always not on time? On both trips they were spot on and in fact we arrived 20 minutes early on the flight to Johor Bahru! Keep it up, AirAsia!

April 2010 Promotions @ Rizqun International Hotel

Received this e-mail from my good buddy, Jacob Lee, the Sales and Marketing Manager of Rizqun International Hotel in Gadong so I'm helping him to spread the word around! Anyway, I don't think there's a conflict of interest here as both our properties cater to different market segments and at a rate of B$145.00 (I supposed it's nett) per night, you can stay for almost three nights at Traders Inn! For more info on these promotions, click here.

Traders Inn's New Uniform

The staff of Traders Inn have moved from the norm and are now dressed more casually in T-shirts; creating a more friendly and relax environment for its guests. By using T-shirts, it is also more economical to replenish once stocks are low and there are no worries about staff resigning and not returning their uniforms (we used to have tailor-made uniforms which were expensive to replace). Anyway, the staff (especially the bell boys) look neat now with the new T-shirts as there are no more roll-up sleeves and missing bow-ties! The T-shirts were supplied by Aewon Garment & Embroidery Sdn Bhd, a company that started in 2002 and is now one of the biggest player in the garment industry in Brunei. The thing I like about this company is that they will accept any orders big or small. Besides T-shirts, they also supply ties, aprons, caps, souvenirs, bags, etc....