Cat Abuse @ Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House, Taman Connaught, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur

I haven't blogged in almost a year now.......not that I have stopped eating great food, but only that those great meals have not found their way into the digital realm. Well I am blogging today on an incident that occured yesterday morning that made me incensed and permanently put me off a restaurant that I had erstwhile been loyally patronising.

It was 10 on a Sunday morning (24th April 2011). Hubby and I brought hubby's Aussie cousin to Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House at Taman Connaught Cheras to try its exquisite, eggy chilli pan mee, or springy noodles, as we call it. As I entered the restaurant, there was a ginger cat sprawled on the treshold just outside the restaurant, reminiscent of Garfield, except much, much skinnier. It was resting the way cats do - all languid and stretched out on its belly with its little chin on its paws, just watching the world go by, contemplating the lazy Sunday morning in its little kitty imaginings. Such bliss, I thought, as I bent down to say hello to the little sweetheart. Having dispensed with the greetings, I proceeded inside the restaurant to enjoy my breakfast.

I sat facing the entrance of the restaurant, a few tables away from the main door. Barely had I sat down to tuck into the noodles, when I was horrified to see the ginger kitty I had just greeted sent literally flying by an employee of the restaurant, a boy in his teens with a darker skin tone (not sure if he was Chinese or of some other ethnicity). The boy either kicked or physically lifted and flung the cat - end result was, I saw the cat flying above the table level and landing on the road. The boy then just went about his work with nary a concern for the cat - it was as if he had merely casually discarded a piece of used tissue paper, instead of a living, breathing cat that was just minding its own business. I was livid!

I rushed out to the restaurant entrance and there was the poor ginger kitty mewing on the road. It did not appear to have been hurt (at least no wounds that I could detect visually), it must have landed right despite the manhandling by the animal abuser. I patted it and touched it to examine for broken bones, just to reconfirm that it was alright. I then fed it with kitty biscuits that I usually carry around in the car, luring it away from the entrance of Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House to ensure the proprietor would not have any more excuses to abuse and fling the cat at whim.

I was absolutely enraged and wanted to confront the proprietor there and then, but hubby advised that I finished the meal first, to pause and think before taking action. Managed to choke down the meal, but while once loved, the springy noodles have lost their shine in the face of such blatant animal cruelty. I contemplated as I ate.....there were signs pasted everywhere on the restaurant walls  stating "No Pets Allowed". I had previously thought that the proprietor must be very concerned about cleanliness - on hindsight it has become clear that the proprietor was, in reality, an animal hater. Who was going to protect the ginger kitty (or any other kitty for that matter) in future? Who was going to defend these harmless, voiceless, timid sweethearts? They can't report their abuse to the police on their own. They can't physically retaliate against people who fling them on the roads. I could not remain silent about the barbaric act that I had just witnessed.

After completing the meal, I spoke to a middle-aged Chinese guy taking food orders, who appeared to be one of the seniors in the restaurant. I described to him what I saw and pointed out the culprit to him. I wasn't sure if he understood me, I spoke English mixed with my mangled Cantonese. An elderly woman whom I assumed was Madam Chiam and the teenage boy (perpetrator) joined in the conversation. The perpetrator pointed his finger at Madam Chiam and told me to go talk to Madam Chiam  about his actions.  Madam Chiam told me in Cantonese that she had asked the boy to go get rid of the cat. I was indignant and explained that the boy could have just gently shooed the cat away, he did not need to fling and send it flying into the road. She was not apologetic, she tried justifying his actions instead, and gave me the old brush off by turning away to attend to another customer while I was in the midst of talking to her. I decided there was no point in continuing the conversation....I ended it by letting her know that I was going to publish this experience on the internet to bring awareness to all the foodies and animal lovers out there about the atrocious behaviour of Madam Chiam  and her employees.  

So if you love food, but love animals more, you would join me to spread the word to all netizens that animal lovers the world over should refrain from dining at Madam Chiam Curry Noodle House at Taman Connaught Cheras because the proprietor believes in and actively encourages animal cruelty. I have seen it with my own eyes.

If you are curious to know how the shop and the elderly lady boss I spoke to (presumably Madam Chiam) look like, visit this blogger's website : http://kwongfeimind.blogspot.com/2010/01/mei-yee-pan-mee-madam-chiam-curry.html

Good food turns rancid in the face of ugly souls.

Why is BN so f***ed up? (pardon my French)

Well, maybe because it (and all the people in it) possesses not even one miniscule iota of any such beliefs, ideals and integrity to speak of....

I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.

I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that government is the servant of the people and not their master.

I believe in the Dignity of labour, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living.

I believe that thrift is essential to well ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs.

I believe that truth and justice are fundamental to an enduring social order.

I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man's word should be as good as his bond; that character not wealth or power or position - is of supreme worth.

I believe that the rendering of useful service is the common duty of mankind and that only in the purifying fire of sacrifice is the dross of selfishness consumed and the greatness of the human soul set free.

I believe in an all-wise and all-loving God, named by whatever name, and that the individual's highest fulfilment, greatest happiness, and widest usefulness are to be found in living in harmony with His Will.

I believe that love is the greatest thing in the world; that it alone can overcome hate; that right can and will triumph over might.

- John D Rockefeller Jnr.

Prayer inscribed in the Rockefeller Centre, New York

 

God Bless America!

Another Bimbo Alert

This company seems to be coming up with a series of bimbo adverts in The Star. Here's another one I spotted from the same company.

The usual bimbo with the big boobs peddling her wares.

This time the "read sad story" was about Lynn Cheng who had male (so-called) "friends" sexually harass her about her less-than-endowed chest and how she felt inferior and embarrased by her natural state and decided to jack up her breasts from size A to size B. (Way to go, Lynn! - I bet that solved your self-esteem issues overnight!). Women like these should just grow some brains instead of boobs. 'Nuff said.

Bimbo Alert

As far as bimbotic adverts go, this one takes the cake. I was flipping through the pages of The Star this Tuesday (13th April 2010) when I chanced upon this advert somewhere in the Metro pages. Staring at me was a bimbotic spokeswoman smiling vacuously and proudly displaying her "assets" as if she were nothing but a walking piece of billboard for breasts. Any woman with an IQ shallow enough to agree to being a spokesperson for such a tacky, trashy and tasteless advert....must surely not be doing herself many favours in the brains department huh?   

Check out the "real sad story" that bears testimony to some women's unfathomable imbecility...

You know what's "real sad" about Janet Lim? That she allowed her breasts be the sum of her entire self worth, self-esteem and confidence. That she could only feel "complete" with 2 newly-enhanced pieces of lipid-filled flesh protruding out of her chest. Pathetic. She needed a therapist more than she needed new breasts. Personally, if anyone had the audacity to comment about my physique (washboard?), I'd like to see him in court with a sexual harassment lawsuit up his behind. Unlike Janet Lim, I would not bend over backwards and spend money to jack up my boobs just to stimulate the excitement of some crude, sociopathic trash. Probably the same kind of trash who wolf-whistles and makes those disgusting sucking noises at women walking by.

It irritates me to no end that society (and yes that includes women too!) places so much premium on women's looks and mammary glands! Enough already with all this push-up bra cleavage nonsense! Women (except maybe for the occasional bimbo) are sentient, intelligent human beings with talents and abilities not even remotely related to how we look. A woman is not the sum of 2 breasts on legs for men/women to ogle at! Get that through to your thick, bimbotic skulls, Janet Lim and Ms Spokeswoman Bimbo of the Year!

Me 1, Rat 0

Today I ended a mammal's life.....I've been putting this off for as long as I could, opting instead to try out more humane preventive measures, but in the end, it had to be done. The rat was putting a screeching halt to all my gardening ventures.....my newly-sprouted chilli plants were all consumed by the ravenous little critter.....the tender shoots of baby kangkung.........all gnawed without the slightest inhibition. Garlic didn't work, sulphur powder failed to deter visits, lemongrass spray failed. So last night, I set up a glue trap (a wooden plank with industrial-strength glue, bought from a hypermarket somewhere), with jicama (sengkuang) and honeydew as bait. This morning, the gullible rat was all stuck to the plank, it looked like it had been roiling around in the glue. Its grey fur was all gooey and wet with glue. It was not a pretty sight.

It was still struggling when I found it gripped in the jaws of glue this morning. Still valiantly attempting to escape. Suffice to say, I had to put it to sleep through a concoction of noxious gases made from household cleaning agents. Again, it was not a pretty sight.

Hubby had the unenviable task of getting rid of the body......after much hemming and hawing, and feet dragging, he finally lifted and chucked the entire mess into the bin. He is squeamish that way. I hope the little cretin does not have any relatives, I certainly do not look forward to repeating this rodent homicide. For now, may my kangkung grow abundantly and may Stuart Little RIP (I hope!).

Modern Beauty Salon @ Mid Valley Mall - Avoid at all costs!

OK so this post veers off from the food theme somewhat, but I really need to write this to warn all ladies out there to never ever patronise Modern Beauty Salon. The location and setup of the place is nice and convenient, but the substandard, unprofessional service here really leaves a lot to be desired.

Coming from a Corporate background which emphasises trust, personal responsibility and dedication to meeting clients' needs, Modern Beauty's lackadaisical, "tidak apa" attitude towards fulfilling customer expectations and ensuring client satisfaction was a whole new ball game to me. I could not fathom why a people- and service-oriented business would treat their clients so shoddily, virtually guaranteeing for a fact that their clients WILL leave and they WILL gain a bad reputation in the market. It's almost as if they were either blissfully ignorant of their shortcomings, or just don't give a damn how they fare in the customer satisfaction stakes.

DISSATISFACTION #1: Confirming a facial/spa appointment

I paid for a package consisting of 15 facials and 2 spas. Booking an appointment with them, each and every time, has been like pulling teeth. I like to plan ahead, block my calendar and book facials every month to be repeated at the same time in subsequent months (OK so this again is a quirk I inherited from work), and the staff at Modern Beauty flat out told me that they were not able to help me plan ahead. A simple, fundamental thing such as booking an appointment becomes a chore and a nightmare. Apparently, their system only allows them to book client appointments for a couple of weeks ahead (less than a month), and nothing more. Long term bookings are not possible.

I've experienced cases whereby I've placed bookings more than 2 weeks ahead, and having had the receptionist take down my booking, was all satisfied that it was all settled and done. Little did I know at first, the lack of professionalism and customer-UNfriendly process that they follow here, meant that they would refuse to confirm that the date and time that I have booked is definitely mine no matter how EARLY I booked it. I've had instances where they've called me up a day before my facial apointment to tell me that there was no vacancy left and that I would have to rebook another day in the (distant) future. Hello? I just wasted 2 whole weeks anticipating my facial for which I have paid in full, and they chose to arbitrarily cancel it at the last minute with some pathetic, flimsy excuse that the entire day's schedule had been filled up. The fact that I booked 2 weeks ago and THEY NEVER SAID IT WAS FULL THEN somehow never registered in their insipid brains!! And so I wasted 2 weeks just to have them confirm that my appointment wasn't even taken seriously to begin with! You will never have complete control and assurance over your own schedule because they refuse to confirm your appointment until a few days before said appointment.

DISSATISFACTION #2: Spa

Just last weekend, I was booked for a spa and upon arriving all bright and early, ready for my spa session, I was made to wait 15 minutes, then told that the spa room was occupied by somebody else and that I would have to do it another time. I tried to reschedule it to coincide with my next facial appointment and was given a brusque brush off by the receptionist who told me she would get someone to book it for me (why couldn't SHE attend to it personally, there and then?)....nobody did. I had to call back and rebook. And, by the way, a spa here merely consists of a 15-minute soak in a jet bath and nothing more. No flower bath, no massage, no bath salts or bath foam even. It's sheer ripoff.

DISSATISFACTION #3: Pushy sales tactics

Don't you just hate it when you are attempting to have a relaxing, calming facial session and your beautician is relentlessly pressuring you to buy extra masks and treatments ("Your basic facial will not solve your problems, you need to add this and that") to add on to your already fully-paid-for facial, despite your firm "No". The first 10 facials I went to, I had to bear this nuisance, this irritating assault on my senses, feeling decidedly uncomfortable having to keep rejecting their unwelcomed overtures. After about 10 sessions or so, they wisened up to the futility of their pushy sales technique versus my (by now) notorious obstinacy. They have since ceased trying their sales pitch on me and usually leave me in peace now. In fact, they barely even greet me when I show up at their doorsteps for my appointment these days.

In general, the staff here are not fluent in English and for clients with a Chinese-language impediment like yours truly, it is indeed a challenge to communicate with them to sufficiently explain my exasperation with their lack of professionalism. In general, staff here are not too friendly to a client once she has signed up on their package, paid up, and hence becomes "downgraded" to the status of a regular "non-paying" client. A client ends up feeling unvalued and put through a guilt trip and subtle hostility for refusing to spend anything more than what she has already paid up-front. I would NOT recommend this beauty salon to anyone, and would strongly discourage anyone from even considering a trial facial at this place. I can barely wait for my package to finish up, I am SO DONE with this subpar hack of a beauty salon.

Modern Beauty Salon is to be avoid at all costs!