Friday, April 26, 2013

@myburgerlab

You cannot pay me to come to a place to do a food review. If I write about it, it has to be very good or very bad. This has been ongoing for nearly a year and at the urgings of many friends, I finally made it. Its located at the edges of Paramount Garden, imagine going from SS2 to Paramount Garden, its about 50-100m from the wet market.

Closed on Mondays, opens from 5pm-10.30pm ... you cannot miss it if you come around 5 or 6 cause the queue snakes all the way to about 20-30 people. Best time to go is around 9.30pm as parking is easy.



Mine smelled so good, I had to eat it while driving back. Average age of patrons is below 25 for sure. Loved the concept and considering they do not use pork, these are exceptional burgers. 

Charcoal bun: 9.5/10, not doughy, light and yummy
Beef patty: 9.5/10, juicy and well seasoned, seared well on the outside
Choices: mind boggling but almost everything is very good, the portobello plus melted cheese are to die for
Secret menu: the Elvis, peanut butter with jam, heavenly ... even though Elvis had his with crispy bacon as well
Chip: 8/10, a bit too much seasoning but still very good

Do not takeaway the burgers as its not so good after 20 minutes, too soggy and you really want a freshly grilled warm burger. Now, please have a decent coffee machine please....



I think many angel investors will be talking to the owners, and I hope they are well advised because you should not see this inside a mall. It will be fantastic as a suburban outlet, should keep it that way as there is an important collegian feel to the place, long benches and simple yet artistic elegance. Open near student colleges, thats your bread and butter. Its a cooler hangout place as more younger people prefer not to hang out at mamaks anymore.

Do not do franchise, it will kill the product. They also did one thing well, the staffing, for a small place, you will see 8 people cramped inside a well oiled kitchen, plus another 6-8 staff hanging around the place as server, more like GROs really, they will explain the menu and advise accordingly should you need that.

Best burger ever ... for just around RM20, it sure is by a mile. Do something, and do it really well, don't be tempted to offer too many other stuff. If only Ninja Joe pork burger outlets had the same management - replace the bun, hold the lettuce (it wets the burger too much), and stay away from the malls.

They can serve 400-600 burgers a day. On a napkin I can calculate that they will make between RM35,000-45,000 net a month. But if you go to a mall, you will end up paying your margins to the mall owners and lose much of the "essence of the place". Go for low hanging fruit first, try not to take any money from angel investors first - go and open at Subang SS15 area and another around Solaris Mont Kiara as Publika is way too crowded.

Do that well, then only go bigger because by then you would have room to have "sourcing power", "central kitchen for distribution of ingredients and sauces", and critical mass for staff training and culture immersion. Grow organically, involve loyal staff who represents your brand, plant them to grow much like Christians plant churches.

If you go overseas, I can suggest a side by side concept, one that serves pork burgers as well.


No.14, Jalan 21/22 Seapark 
46300 PJ Selangor
Business hours: 5pm - 10.30pm (Closed on Monday)

Saturday, April 13, 2013

2 Year Old Brilliant Artist


He is quite brilliant, look at some of his paintings, its not just some kid doodling paint .... there is a clarity of composition, there is structure in colour scheme selection. What is art? It is art, when it speaks to you. 
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His work is described as art in its purest form, untouched by life's pollutants and representative of what is important and beautiful. What makes it particularly special is it was created by a two-year-old … and it's been sold for $12,000.

Vinnie Marcis, who has high functioning autism, was 14-months-old when his mother Summa Shing first realised he had a gift.

child artist Vinnie Macris and his work. 11/4/13
Colouring his world: Two-year-old Vinnie Marcis at work. Photo: Supplied
"My grandfather, who is an art teacher, commented on how wonderful the works were," she said.

It was not only the family who were amazed by his talent, little Vinnie caught the attention of local art gallery owner and curator Troy Williams.
Mr Williams said he discovered Vinnie's ability when a friend told him to look at his paintings on Facebook.

"I didn't realise Vinnie was only two-years-old when I was looking at his works," said Mr Williams, who has seen the toddler in action.
"I liked what I saw and basically decided that I would like to represent the artist and do a show.''
He exhibited his work at C Gallery in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley last week, a show Mr Williams said was very successful.

"He's only got nine paintings left out of 30," he said.

"Also there was a little extra money made from donations at the bar, which was donated to the AEIOU Foundation [for children with autism]. People were astounded that the works were done by a two-year-old because they have so much maturity, composition and fluidity throughout."

Ms Shing has since provided an update on the show, reporting the works sold for about $12,000 in total, with 10 per cent of the profits donated to the AEIOU Foundation.
She said she felt Vinnie was aware of his achievement.

"He seemed to really turn it on that night and has been painting more than usual since," she said.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/toddler-young-at-art-but-showing-a-maturity-to-turn-a-profit-20130411-2hog6.html#ixzz2QAibDlwL


Child artist Vinnie Marcis, his works are described as art in its purest form untouched from life's pollutants.

Child artist Vinnie Marcis, his works are described as art in its purest form untouched from life's pollutants.


















Tuesday, April 09, 2013

Thatcherism

Why was Margaret Thatcher relevant or important to us? For many younger Brits, they may not realise it but the jobs and opportunities they have now are largely due to Thatcher. Why do I say that? Did you know what Britain was like in the 70s-80s... the unions had the rule of the day ... many were led by similar union leaders who wreaked havoc in Australia in the early 70s. It was getting to the stage where almost every week there was a new union striking for higher wages.


In her infinite wisdom and courage, she had the balls to not be part of the European Union, and stayed with the British pound. In her heart she probably knew the E.U. was a recipe for disaster ... and she was very right ... Funny how seemingly no one seems to be willing to attribute her achievements. Somehow I think it would be so different if Margaret was a man ... I think the accolades would have been enormous. Let us all check our biases .....

It was very difficult for any politician to deal with such threats and ransom-like tactics by the unions. It was her inner belief in having free markets that led her to be thorough in her reforms. She had the political integrity and political will to push things through even though knowing there will be bouts of resentment and adjustment for the real economy. But Thatcher, did, she told the people that she will get rid of them, and that the people would need to suffer for a while. They whacked the unreasonable unions out and had to endure some disruption in services but things just went skyrocketing after that.

That paved the way for the financial liberalisation for London to be the new financial center. The policies of Thatcher were smart and strategic to get UK where it is now. The young people now take their jobs for granted, not knowing how much hardship Thatcher had to go through, not to mention the male-egocentric naysayers in House of Commons and the street.

It was a job that would have taken a woman twice the might to get it done, buit she did it and she did it because she is a woman. Our Mahathir took a huge license from her political strategy to make it his own in the 90s - don't lie Dr. M, it was blatant and for all to see.

She deregulated the financial sector, privatised many state-owned companies, and took on the then-powerful trade unions. The resulting spike in unemployment accompanied by protests and inner-city riots tested her early leadership, but the 1982 Falklands war cemented her popularity, and she won two more general elections before her ‘poll tax’ proved a bridge too far.

Lady Thatcher also played a key role in the end of the Cold War, leading the West’s embrace of reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

If you followed her pursuits, she was an incredible debater, an excellent speech maker, a remarkable political strategist ... a person who can govern with a strong sense of capitalism and pragmatism. Many on the socialistic bent may disagree with her policies, and I do at times, but overall she was magnificent as a person and a politician.

Sometimes it takes a woman to do a man's job.

 RIP, Mrs Thatcher.