Fernandes Steakhouse II - Newark, NJ

Kevin came home earlier than usual to take me out for dinner on my birthday. He said that he knew of this really nice Spanish/Portuguese churrascaria cum steakhouse in the Ironbound district and that we should totally go check it out. So, off we went to Ironbound for dinner!

Fernandes Steakhouse is not exactly smacked right in the heart of the Ironbound district. It is actually located in the outskirts, so if you don't have the address or a gps, you might just miss it. As we all know, the Ironbound is famous for it's Portuguese churrascaria and Fernandes is said to be one of the best around. Parking is also a breeze. There is a huge parking lot with valet service beside the restaurant.

From the moment we stepped into Fernandes, it felt like we left Newark for a bit and were transported to a Spanish winery in the countryside. With low lighting, exposed brick walls and really rustic decor, I felt that they did a good job with the decor. A perfect place to celebrate a special occasion. Also, there is a mariachi band that plays there during the weekends (too bad we missed out on that).

They have a pretty extensive ala carte menu but we knew that they were famous for their rodizio. So, we both went for the rodizio ($28.75 per person). For those of you who are not familiar with rodizio service churrascarias, this is how it works. You would pay a fixed price and the passadores (meat waiters) would come to your table with different types meat skewers and knives. It's a eat all you can and they would continue coming until you tell them that you had enough. We started off our dinner with a trip to the salad bar (which is also part of the rodizio). The salad bar wasn't all that big but it really doesn't matter. We were saving our stomachs for all the 'carne' that was coming!!! Oh and as usual, there were some pretty amazing bread served too.

After we were done with our salads, they cleared up our plates and started to set the table for our main course. They also brought out some complimentary sides and again, it is free flow. You can get them to top up the plates if you need more. We had a huge bowl of black beans, fries, rice, fried banana (they were good!), some sort of salsa and tapioca powder.

Ahhh at last. The passodores started bring out the meat on skewers and boy, did they bring out the meats! There were so many different kinds of meat and it was coming out non stop! Filet Mignon and turkey chunks wrapped in bacon, sirloin steak, prime rib, chorizo (some sort of spicy Iberian pork sausage), chicken wings and drumsticks, pork tenderloin, roast beef, short ribs, ham, cheese steak, garlic steak, chicken hearts, flank steak, beef kebabs....there were so many different types of meat, I can't really remember everything that they brought out!

Check out some of the meats that were part of the rodizio. The BBQ chefs were kind enough to allow me to step into their kitchen to take a picture of all the meats. Boy, they smelled so good and were soooo yummmy!

We initially ordered Iced Tea (which is actually Snapple - $3.75 each) to go with our dinner. However, mid way through our dinner, we noticed that almost every table had a pitcher of sangria. We thought that it was a good idea, since it goes really well with all that meat. So, we ordered a small pitcher ($15.50) too. Guess what? The sangria tasted amazing!!! Seriously, I have never tasted sangria that good before. I later found out that Fernandes is really famous for their sangria too! The two things that they are well known for is their rodizio and sangria. Looks like we hit a home run there :D

After we were done all the meats and told the passadores to stop, the captain came over and asked if we would like some dessert. We said no thanks, we were too full to eat anything else. He then said that we HAVE to try their grilled pineapples. It's part of the rodizio and truthfully, he has never eaten pineapples that sweet before. We have to try it. Well, if it's really that good, okay I guess. So, they brought out some pineapples on a skewer and yeah, they were good! I think they must have rubbed on some cinnamon on the outside of the pineapple before grilling. Also, the grilling really brought out the sweetness of the pineapple. It was juicy, super sweet, with a hint of cinnamon. Very good!

Overall, we had a great rodizio experience. The ambiance was really nice, the passadores were friendly and the food as well as the drinks were just awesome! Definitely a perfect place to go to when you are celebrating a special occasion. Judging from the almost empty pitcher of sangria and the goofy big smile plastered across my face, I must say that I did have a very happy birthday indeed! :P

Fernandes Steakhouse II - Newark, NJ
152-170 Fleming Avenue,
Newark, NJ 07105
Tel: (973) 465 4533/589 4066/589 4099 (reservations)
Fax: (973) 589 6312
Web: http://www.fernandessteakhouse.com/

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!

I had a great birthday today. Kevin came home early from work and brought me out for an amazing rodizio dinner. After we got home, we had some yummy birthday cake (which he bought, not made :P). I will blog more about the rodizio dinner in my next post.

Apart from the delicious dinner, birthday cake and the awesome presents that I received, I was also overwhelmed by the amount of emails, e-cards, text messages as well as Facebook shout outs, wishes and personal messages that I got. I think there were close to over 80 messages on Facebook itself. As I read thru the messages (from my family, church friends, primary school friends, high school friends, college friends, uni friends to friends that I only recently met), I am really grateful that I have so many friends and family that loves me. So, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to say 'Thank you'! You guys really made my day! I truly treasure all the friends that I have made in my 31 years of life and the long lasting friendships that have grown over the years. To my family, I would like to thank you for putting up with all my nonsense and for all the love and support you have shown me all these years. May there be many more good years to come! :D

Woohoo! It's raining gifts!

Boy, what a great week it has been. We've been getting all kinds of stuff being sent to us. From small tubs of yogurt (part of a taste test for a survey I am participating in) to an early birthday present! The UPS guy has been delivering stuff to my door almost everyday, if this continues, I bet we will be best friends! :P

Remember me blogging about winning some cool gifts from Marlboro? Well, Kevin's headphones came the other day. Check it out. It's Sony's MDR-NC40 Lightweight Noise Cancelling Headphones. They are pretty cool actually. It even comes with a travelling case and an adapter jack to use in the plane. Really lightweight too...not too bad at all. Hmmm, wonder when my gift will be arriving.

A couple of days after that, the UPS guy brought this to my door! Yay! Looks like my gift from Marlboro is here at last.

A Samsung HMX-U10 Compact Full HD Camcorder! It's even in my favorite color, red! Well, what am I thinking, of course it's gonna be in red. It's from Marlboro...most of the stuff that I get from Marlboro is in red. I haven't really had a chance to read through the manual to see what all it can do but I'm pretty sure we'll be using it lots in the near future. Maybe we'll pretend that we work for the Travel Channel or Food Network and make our own documentaries!

Out of all the stuff that we received this past week, this is by far the best! I have been using the same computer monitor since I first came to America a little over eight years ago. It has moved with me from my dorm room in IUP to my off campus apartments in Indiana, PA. It was then in storage for a bit in Kevin's parents house in Pittsburgh while we were in Malaysia. From there, it has travelled with us all the way to NJ. So yeah, I have been using it for quite a while now. Anyways, it started to get all grainy and dark not too long ago and I needed a new monitor pretty bad. Look what the UPS guy brought me a few days ago!

My parents got me a new LCD monitor as an early birthday present!! Woohooo! I used to think that my eyes were failing me whenever I used the computer for too long. Now I know that it's not my eyes that's giving me problems but it's just that my old monitor suxs big time. It feels so good to have a brand new monitor that's bright with a crisp and clear display. Thanks mom and dad for the birthday present. I love it lots! :D

T.G.I. Friday's - Clifton, NJ

We couldn't decide where to go for Kevin's birthday last night. He was really tired from work and didn't feel like going anywhere far. I remembered T.G.I. Fridays sent me a "Buy One Entree, Get One Free" a while back, and since the outlet in Clifton is only about 15 minutes or so away from us, we ended up going there.

By then time we arrived, it was already packed with people. I was pretty surprised actually, with it being a weekday and all. We were pretty fortunate to get a table at the back, without having to wait. I think if we were to arrive just a little bit later, we might have to wait for a table.

Since we knew that the portions will be big, we decided to share an appetizer. We couldn't decide between the Pick Three For All or the Jack Daniels Sampler. In the end, we went with the Jack Daniels Sampler ($13.99). The sampler is made up of Crispy Cajun Spiced Shrimps, Sesame Jack Chicken Strips and some super tender Baby Back Pork Ribs. It also came with a small tub of Jack Daniels glaze. The glaze was so good, I even used it on my steak later on :P

For my main, I ordered the Sirloin Steak and Lobster Tail ($18.99). It comes with a side of Baked Potato and Steamed Broccoli. Since I am not really a big fan of Baked Potatoes, I swapped my Baked Potato for some Sweet Potato Fries. My steak was a little bit overcooked (I ordered medium well and it came almost well done) but it was still good. It was even better after I poured on some of the Jack Daniels glaze from the appetizer. The lobster tail was great, really fresh and yummy!

Kevin ordered the Petite Sirloin and Half a Rack of Ribs ($18.99). He had a choice of two sides and he chose Baked Potato with Sour Cream & Butter and Coleslaw. He said both his steak as well as the ribs were really good. I guess nothing is yummier than slow cooked baby back ribs with the oh so yummy Jack Daniels glaze.

Overall, it was a good dinner. What's even better is, we got one of the entrees for free! Yup, that's right. With my coupon, I got the Steak and Lobster tail for free! The whole dinner, including a refillable Raspberry Ice Tea and Coke for only $38.56 (before tax and tip). Not too bad, not too bad at all :D

T.G.I. Friday's - Clifton, NJ
826 State Route 3
Clifton, NJ 07012
Tel: (973) 778-1828
Web: http://www.tgifridays.com/

Kevin's Birthday Cake

Today is Kevin's birthday (yes, his birthday is on the 31st and my Dad's is on the 30th). This year, I decided to try something a little different. Instead of going out to buy him a birthday cake, I will make one myself! Now, this can be a little bit tricky, since I have never baked a birthday cake, let alone work with fondant before. However, with some research on the Internet about working with fondant, a trip to Michaels to pick up all the stuff and inspiration from one of my favorite shows, Cake Boss, I started working on the cake 2 days ago.

My cousin (who is a pretty good in baking and stuff) told me that I should make the decorative pieces earlier, to give it enough time to harden. So, I made the ribbon, alphabets and stars two days before. I was a little afraid of working with fondant, but I found it to be pretty fun actually. Feels like playing with Play Doh! :P

The following night, I started to bake the cakes. I just baked some yellow cakes, nothing fancy at all. It turned out pretty good, nice and moist. So phew, that part turned out alright.

After letting it cool for a bit, I then chilled the cakes in the refrigerator overnight.

The following day, I took out the cakes and tried to shape and trim them. I have never done this before but I tried my best to get them as even as possible. It was a lame attempt, in my opinion, but oh well, that's the best I could do :P

Next was frosting the cake. Kevin wanted strawberry frosting, so strawberry frosting he got! No, I didn't make it from scratch. I just bought a tub of ready made whipped strawberry frosting and slapped it on. That was easy. I then proceeded to frost the outside of the cake and then started to work on rolling out of the fondant (to cover the cake). I find this to be the most difficult part. It's not really that easy to roll out the fondant and then to cover the cake with it. At that point, I was already preparing myself to run out to the local bakery to get a backup cake if this doesn't work out :P

Now the decorating. If you noticed, there is no photo in between the initial frosting and the decorating part. That's cause I was trying to get it right with the fondant and stuff, I totally forgot to take pictures! Powdered sugar was flying everywhere...boy, it was chaotic! I love the decorating part the best though, it's fun.

Here it is, the final product!! I guess it isn't the best and might look a little 'amateurish', but I'm just glad it worked out and I didn't have to run out to buy a last minute ready made cake...hahaha! As long as the birthday boy likes it, I'm happy!

Kevin cut his cake at around midnight last night. We will go out later tonight for dinner to celebrate his birthday. Havn't really decided where to yet though. I will blog about that later on. Now, anybody wants a slice of cake? :D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KEVIN!!!

Happy 60th Birthday, Dad!!

My dad is turning 60 today! Join us as we celebrate six decades of God's faithfulness in my Dad's life. Indeed, God has been good, even right from the very start. I have put together a little photo/video montage of my Dad's life, through the ages. Come along with us as we take a stroll down memory lane. Dad, this is your life!

Once again, we would like to wish my Dad a very

HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY!!

May He continue to shower your with His blessing for many many more years to come.

Happy Sweet Sixteen Ashley!!!

My baby sister turns 16 today! Boy, how time flies...I suddenly feel so old! It felt like only yesterday when I followed my parents around to deliver nasi kunyit, curry chicken and red eggs for her full moon celebration. In a blink of an eye, she is now 16! When did she turn from a cute bubbly baby to a responsible pretty young lady? I better not blink again. Who knows, the next time I realize it, I will be seating in church, watching her walk down the aisle in her beautiful wedding dress.

We decided to do something special for her birthday, so we have put together (in secret) a short video clip with wishes and greetings we collected from her church friends, school friends and family. Check it out!

Now, a little message for Ashley:

Ashley, we just want to tell you that we love you lots. May you continue to be a joy and blessing to everyone you come in contact with. Also, may you find favor with both God and men and continue grow up to be the woman God intended you to be.

HAPPY SWEET SIXTEEN!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

I find myself wondering...

Did I give you your due..

For all that you've done for me

Did I ever thank you?

For all of my childhood memories

For helping me deal with life's stresses

For helping me accept my defeats

And celebrate my successes?

Or for teaching me the value of hard work,

Good judgement, courage, and being true

The laughter, smiles, and quiet times we've shared

Did I ever thank you?

If I have forgotten,

I'm thanking you now

You taught me right from wrong....

I hope you know how much you're loved and appreciated

I hope you, instinctively, knew all along.

Happy 54th Birthday Mom!!

xoxo

The Big 3-0!!

It's here at last...May 10, 2009. Boy, do I feel old :P So, what's it like being 30? I don't know, pretty much the same as being 29..haha. My birthday didn't start out too well I guess. I ate some bad pasta carbonara the night before and I was down with food poisoning the whole night. Didn't get to sleep much at all. I THINK I finally feel asleep around 6 in the morning. I woke up at around 9 to find this waiting for me in the living room. Thanks Kevin! :D

I was still feeling really sick, it was so bad until I had to go back into the bedroom when I smelled the bacon ( I guess it reminded me of the carbonara)that Kevin was cooking up for breakfast. Poor Kevin, he made breakfast but I was kinda woozy from all that food poisoning to really enjoy it. I was so tired ( from not sleeping all night and running to the toilet every 15 minutes or so) that I went back to sleep until mid afternoon. We went out for a quick dinner later in the day and Kevin brought this out after we got home.

Ohh a special yummy ice cream cake!! Want a slice? :P

Even though I was really feeling sick on my birthday ( I only started to feel better today), I had a great time. I would like to thank all of you for the gifts, cards and birthday greetings here, through email and also on Facebook. Thanks for making my day special!!

It's Kevin's Birthday!

Since my gums are still a little bit swollen and somewhat painful (I am still not able to eat regular food), we didn't go out to celebrate Kevin's birthday today. I hope to get better by Saturday since the stitches come out on Thursday. We will most probably have a belated birthday celebration for Kevin this weekend.

I was a little bit bummed out that poor Kevin is not going to do anything special for his birthday this year. I found out online that there is actually a Cuban bakery not too far down the street from us. They are supposed to be the best in the whole of Newark. It's a family run bakery and it has handed down from generation to generation. So, I went down there to see if they had any birthday cakes. It's located in a somewhat shady part of town and there were just a lot of Hispanic guys (most of them are really tough looking but I have learnt that they can be nice people) loitering outside the bakery. The bakery was just filled with all kinds of pastries, breads and cakes. Most of the people working there only spoke Spanish and it took me a while to explain to them that I was looking for a birthday cake. I later found out there were only two choices, blue or pink. Errr blue I guess?? Hahaha.

Here is Kevin with his Hispanic birthday cake!

Soooo, did the cake taste as good as it's supposed to be? Was it worth it to go down to that part of town to get the cake? Helll yeeah! When I bought the cake, I thought that it was just regular yellow cake. I didn't know that it's actually filled with pineapple and strawberry! The cake was really moist and the filling had really big chunks of fruits in it. I don't know if you notice...but the cream from American birthday cakes are different from the Malaysian ones. The American ones are really heavy and can be pretty 'jelek' sometimes. This cake was different. It had really nice and light cream..very very yuummmmy! The cake might look funny but it sure tasted good!!

Anyway, Kevin loved his Cuban Birthday Cake and that's all that matters! I will update you guys about his belated birthday celebration next week!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY!!

Happy 59th Birthday, Dad!!

It's here again! I just looooove the end of March. This is when the two guys in my life will celebrate their birthdays!! My dad's birthday is on the 30th and Kevin's is on the 31st (different years, of course :P). I just realized I don't have a photo of just my dad and Kevin, so here is a family photo taken early last year.

It really sucks that my dad is half away across the globe from us, so we cannot really celebrate his birthday with him. We would usually just buy him a birthday cake online and have it delivered to him. Being so far away from home really cuts down on the choices that we have when it comes to buying a gift for my parents...it's either order a cake, order flowers (that's for my mom) or something that the florist would deliver.

This year however, we managed to get something a little bit different. I remember how my dad used to say that a good present is not something that a person needs but something that a person would like but would not have bought it for himself/herself. I read about this online shop in Malaysia called RedRibbon Days a few months ago. The unique thing about this online shop is, they do not sell actual 'gifts' but they sell 'experiences' that you can buy for special occasions. You can choose from a list of experiences that they already have or you can work with the team to tailor an experience that suits your budget and taste. This was just perfect!! We spent quite a lot of time browsing thru the website and even emailed the Pleasure Team from RedRibbon Days to ask a few questions. They were really helpful and professional, I was really impressed with the way they suggested various 'experiences' to suit the budget and occasion.

At last we chose an experience that we thought that my dad will enjoy and decided to get it hand delivered with balloons to my dad on his birthday. We even got to choose the time we wanted it to be delivered and true enough, a lady in a black Aveo arrived at our house at 9:30AM with this for my dad! My dad did say that he was truly impressed with the packaging of the 'experience'.

A red box with three red balloons! Inside the red box was a black envelope sealed with red wax.

My dad opened the envelope to find a voucher with the 'experience' that we bought him. A Traditional English Tea for Two at Carcosa Seri Negara.

We figured that my parents would enjoy some fine English tea and scones with clotted cream at Carcosa (once the official residence of the highest British rep of the Malay states), away from the hustle and bustle of the city on a Saturday afternoon. It might not be an over the top experience but I trust that it will be a pleasant experience for my dad. I hope that he will have a great time, enjoying an elegant but pleasant afternoon with my mom as they soak in some timeless colonial charm.

Dad, may you have a great birthday and we are really sorry that we could not be there to celebrate it with you this year. May God continue to bless you richly and may you also be a blessing to others at home, work and your ministry!

HAPPY 59th BIRTHDAY, DAD!!

WE LOVE YOU!!