Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Pak Abu's Birthday Dinner

Nawwar and June (in red) hamming it up for the camera. Note the Mardi Gras paintings on the wall.


Pak Abu and Ann looking apprehensive. Must be the oversized knife. Looks more like a machete! On the skewer is Picanha beef cut ready for serving.

Pak Abu with his solitary candle nestling amidst caramelised bananas and vanilla ice cream.

It has been quite a while since I consumed a lot of meat at one sitting (eating 'satay' morsels doesn't count). I am speaking a whole range of red and white meats; roasted, grilled and barbequed.

Frankly, I am not a meat person. I love all kinds of seafood, with the exception of fish. Give me lobster, prawn, squid, crab, oyster, calamari and abalone anytime, washed down with any mint-flavoured lemony lime thirst quenchers, and I'm all yours.

Pak Abu on the other hand is big on chicken and loves meat, so off to Carnaval Churrascaria in Damansara Jaya we trooped for dinner earlier this evening to give him a treat well deserved, it being his 57th birthday today.

A bit of trivia: A churrascaria is a Brazilian or Portuguese steakhouse. Churrasco is a cooking style; roughly translated, it is Portuguese for 'barbeque'. It owes its origins to the fireside roasts of the gauchos of Pampas.

In modern restaurants, the 'rodizio' service is typically offered, In this, 'passadors' (meat waiters) come to your table with knives and a skewer, on which are speared various kinds of meats, be it beef, fillet mignon, lamb, chicken, duck, turkey ham, sausages, fish, as well as grilled pineapple and bread smothered in sour cream.


Carnaval Churrascaria is one such Brazilian restaurant in Petaling Jaya. It is located at the endlot of a row of shophouses (next to Maybank) just metres away from The Atria in Damansara Jaya.

The eatery, decked out in Brazilian national colours of yellow and green, looked bright and cheerful. Two flags - Brazilian and Malaysian - shared space behind the bar while paintings of the Mardi Gras, in a riot of colours, adorned the walls.

Pak Abu had eaten there once before a couple of years ago, with a group of corporate head honchos and avid golfers, and had spoken highly of it. So I decided it would be nice to surprise him with another 'churrasco' dinner.

The salad bar was filled to the brim. There must have been about 20 varieties to choose from, ranging from Thai-style glass noodles to fusilli, cole-slaw, green salad, potato salad, kidney beans, diced tomatoes in garlic and basil, fried aubergine slices, wedges, boiled ladies fingers with sambal....

The meats, tender and juicy, kept coming every so often that we eventually had to tell them to halt the conveyor belt of skewer-bearing passadors.

My favourite meat (the real thing, not the Brazilian passador although he was quite a looker himself.. hehehe.. ) was the lamb slices, eaten with mint sauce prepared from scratch, with fresh mint leaves.

For the customary candle-blowing, we decided to stay away from a cake; it's far too rich for Pak Abu who is a recent diabetic. I had wanted to get him his favourite (and less calorie-laden) tiramisu cake, but they didn't have it at the bakery I went to earlier in the day.

The restaurant instead prepared its specialty, caramelised bananas with three humongous scoops of vanilla ice cream, and stuck a candle in the middle of the dish. Still indecently rich, but not as bad as a royal icing overload on a normal birthday cake.

All considered, it was good night out for the family, our 'last kopek' really, before Ramadhan...

38 comments:

Unknown said...

puteri Kama,

izinkan saya mengambil kesempatan ini mengucapkan "Happy Birthday and many happy returns" to Pak Abu yang amat saya hormati!
he is a rare jewel - a true malay gentleman.
he is serious and fun - all in one.
so hospitable, and lilin yang sebatang itu tentu nya tidak boleh tandingi pak abu's warmth!

SELAMAT MENYAMBUT RAMADAM juga.!

Unknown said...

errrmm...tersalah eja lah pulak. I know I know, it should be Ramadan!

....i take this second opportunity to convey my prayers for Puteri Kama and family to be protected from H1N1.

God bless.

Kak Teh said...

Happy birthay Pak Abu! You make such a swell couple!

Pak Tuo said...

Selamat Menyambut Ulang Tahun Pak,
on a lighter note I still owes you a game of golf.Seems the Old Boy commitee still have set a date yet on the proposal tournement.Will torch base once it organise.
Apa kabar Mak Aji?

Pak Tuo

Naz in Norway said...

Happy Birthday, Pak Abu!
What a lovely family you have :)

Anonymous said...

Madam,

With best wishes to Pak Abu.

Wah, still so young one huh!

And selamat menyambut bulan Ramadhan.

Derebar

tireless mom said...

Happy birthday Pak Abu. Semoga panjang umur dan murah rezki, plus bahagia with Kak Puteri berkekalan.

MrsNordin said...

Happy Birthday Pak Abu! This restaurant seems like a great place to take my husband to, after he recovers from his sakit gigi!

Pi Bani said...

Bananas for the birthday boy? :)

Happy birthday Pak Abu!

Ida Hariati Hashim said...

Salam Kak Hajah,

Allah selamatkan kamu,
Allah selamatkan kamu,
Allah selamatkan Pak Abu yang budiman,
Allah selamatkan kamu...yeah clap clap..

I pray for you and your family to be in excellent health and murah rezeki..

ummisara said...

Kak Puteri,

Sampaikan ucapan Selamat Hari Lahir, Semoga Panjang Umoq, Murah Rezeki, Dikurniakan Kesihatan yang baik & Kebahagian yang berpanjangan.

:)

Pokku said...

Happy Birthday Pak Abu!
I have been to that restaurant a few times (birthdays too) and it is a refreshing change for anyone.

amish said...

Happy Birthday Pak Abu. Ais krim tu boleh naik glucose sampai 12.

Nasib baik x baca your restaurant@food review di siang hari, di bulan ramadhan. Mampu mencabar keimanan.

Is the place @piccaddilly? Hmm, tea dance in the late 80s.

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Hi Puteri & Pak Abu,

Happy 57th Birthday, Pak Abu.

Here’s wishing u all the very best in health, wealth & especially the ultimate dream of having that elusive ‘hole in one’ in your next golfing outing. Make sure there are many people there to witness your feat.

Wow that Picanha beef looks really juicy good medium rare, don’t go spoil it (I’m guilty) by asking for HP, Worcester Sauce or any Tabasco or worst still the good old tomato ketchup, the chef won’t like that….hahaha..

Salam,
Tommy

P/S – Hey Puteri, I don’t know whether it’s just me alone but do u ever feel ‘frisky’ after having too many raw oysters for dinner?

Fadhil said...

Salam Kak Kama,

Best wishes to Pak Abu on his 57th birthday. Hope for many more happier days ahead. Just take care of the sugar intake, and the diabetes will not be too much of a problem.

Meat lover, eh.... that's my pal. I'll have to search for this place next time I'm in PJ.

Awang Goneng said...

Happy birthday Pak Abu.
Happiness to the lady behind you.
God Bless all you good people!

mekyam said...

many happy returns to pak abu! :D

i love churrascaria. but if you're not a big meat-eater, the surfeit can leave you off redmeat for a couple of weeks.

Zendra said...

Wishing you many more happy birthdays in the years to come Pak Abu

Anonymous said...

Thank you for all the wishes and the doas. Amin.

Pak Abu

NanaDJ said...

Happy Birthday Pak Abu!!! Masih muda lagi rupanya.
Didn't know you were there (just a stone throw from my house) otherwise kena gatecrash you all. Believe it or not, I have never been there although its my no 1 offspring favourite place.
Semoga Pak Abu dipanjangkan umur, dimurahkan rezeki dan diberkati Allah.
Salam dan selamat menyambut ramadhan.

لف توف™ said...

Saya dok imagine Makcik Kama & the geng dok menyanyi time dinner tu.
"Allah selamatkan Pak Abu,
Allah selamatkan Pak Abu,
Allah selamatkan kami semua,
Allah selamatkan Pak Abu"

57.... a nice number
5 + 7 = 12
1 + 2 = 3.... Three is not a crowd.

(Dah lama tak selebret BD)

mamasita said...

Happy Birthday Pak Abu..kalau Puteri yang bawak you keluar celebrate birthday, for sure its an unforgettable one.

Pisang caramel and vanilla ice-cream? Nice..hopefully it wasn't pisang abu? hehe

Pak Zawi said...

Kama,
Pls allow me to wish Adik Pak Abu a happy belated 57th birthday.
Abang Pak Zawi

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday brother Ash.....I mean Pak Abu.

mudaam

jaflam said...

Happy 57th Birthday Pak Abu
May God bless you and family with good health, happiness and prosperity always.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Nanadj - kalau u gatecrash aritu, we would have terima dengan tangan terbuka.. the more the merrier!

laptop - come to kl, i organise for you. selebret sakan..

Pok Zawi - bday boy tak sabar nak gi pase mah.. hopefully lepas raya.

mamasita - pisang abu? sah betul! hahahaha..

mudaam - sapa ni ya.. ex-mbsc for sure..

jaflam - aaamiiinn...

MIA said...

Many happy returns. BTW is the place halal? Thanks.

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Mohd Ismail - yes it is. The owner is a Malay and someone we know.

Anjer said...

(((((Bang Mael))))))
You makan daging ke?
Ingatkan you makan 'sifud' ajerrr.
Lenkali kita makan togeder-geder iyer Bangggg..
Anjer nak makan kat situ tau.
Puan blog ni katerrr tempat tu HALAL !! DEPA NI KELUARGA ISLAM. DAH PI MEKAH PUN. TAU HALAL HARAM. Lenkali Bang Mael jangan tanya soklan macam tu tau. Tak bek.
Nanti kita makan setik iyer Bangg.
Eeeyyyy behhhhnyerr makan ngan Banggg Maelll !!!

kay_leeda said...

Kak Puteri,

Happy Belated Birthday to Pak Abu. 57 huh? Muda lagi tuh!!! And the lilin sebatang will go a longggggg way :)

Semoga panjang umur, murah rezeki, diberikan kesihatan yg baik, "lomantik" and ceria selalu disamping Kak Puteri tersayang!! (Awwwuuuu..ader bunyi macam ucapan kat radio tak??)

ray said...

Komen Pak Malim, kucing ray yg alim.

Selamat Hari Jadi, Pak Abu, kata Pak Malim sambil bermain kekabu. Kama, boleh tolong hulurkan salmon steak utk saya? kata Pak Malim sambil menyapu kaya.

CN said...

Ya Allah ya tuhanku,
Kau panjangkanlah umor akak dan abang.
Kau murahkan rezeki mereka.
Kau sihatkan mereka.
Kau permudahkan urusan mereka.
Kau lindungi dan berkati keluarga mereka.
Kau percepatkan jodoh anak-anak mereka, agar mereka dapat menimang cucu.
Amin.

Selamat hari jadi.
Selamat menyambut Ramadhan. :)

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Anjer - am sure bang mael meant no harm. he's a seafood fan too? btw, who's anjer and bang mael? ingin jugak nak tau..

Kay - in the pre-TV days, this would have sounded perfect on air.. hehehe

Ray - salmon steak is one of pak abu's fav food too.

Cikgu - amin, amin, amin. tq for the doa. let's home the kids terbukak hati nak kawin..hehehe

Unknown said...

salam kak puteri and pak abu...

maaf terlambat ketapi... harap diterima ucapan selamat ulangthn ye Pak Abu...

it's a blessed to have known such a wonderful man like you... semoga Allah memelihara Pak Abu dan melimpahkan rahmatNya sentiasa... amiin.

selamat menjalani ibadah puasa juga kakputeri and pak abu sekeluarga...

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

salam kak and abg,
hapi belated belated besday to abg ash and selamat berpuasa to kak cage n family, next time i blk kajang, leh la belanja the two of u makan satay :D
serene123

Matt Kopikarat said...

Salam..Happy Birthday to Pak Abu. Walaupun tidak mengenali Pak Abu, sy mendoakan kebahagian Kak Puteri sekeluarga. Yang baik datang dari Allah s.w.t dan yang buruk datangnya dari manusia. Send my regards to Pak Abu.

Deen

Kama At-Tarawis said...

Raden, Jash, Deen - terima kasih daun keladi, kata pak abu... :-)