I am glad that musical is finally getting back into the trend. With cartoons from Disney veering away from the genre, it was hard to find a movie that can keep you entertain with a combination of plot, songs and dance. Luckily we are seeing the trend returning and Mamma Mia is a great musical made into a movie.

While the cast is not known for their singing, they managed to carry the tunes well enough. At least Abba will be proud that their songs are being sung to great justice. The plot is simple, a daughter wants to learn who her father is before her wedding. The only problem is that there are 3 candidates and even her mother doesn’t know who was her father.

So, begins the search for the father by inviting the three of them to her wedding in an island off Greece. The setting is wonderful, the songs felt right and the plot while thin, lends itself brilliantly to showcase many Abba classics.

I’ve never seen Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan in such roles but they did carry it well enough. However, the star of the show were in the supporting casts. Julie Walters and Christine Baranski played their roles to perfection and they made the show so much more enjoyable.

If you like Abba, and you like musicals, then Mamma Mia is one to catch. It is entertaining and you will find yourself singing softly along with the cast. I can’t wait for the musical when it arrives on stage in KL this December.

Final Verdict: Rotten Sambal gives this dose of Abba goodness 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Tags: abba, mamma mia, meryl streep, Movies, musical, pierce brosnan, review

In times of racial, economic and political tension in the country, you appreciate a little gesture to make it all seem better.

Thank you Malaysian artistes for giving that glimmer of hope that our country can still pull itself together.

Tags: here in my home, malaysian artistes for unity, malaysians, malaysians for unity

If one is looking for Japanese food in Kuala Lumpur, they are quite spoilt for choice actually. There are a couple of good Japanese restaurants in town and it fits different budget needs to. If you are looking to splurge slightly, then Yuzu located at Mid Valley Gardens is a pretty good choice.

It is a lovely place on the 3rd floor of the mall and it gives you a great ambience when you walk into the restaurant. Of course, you also immediately know that it won’t be cheap eating here but I don’t mind paying as long as the food is good. The staff are friendly and they are quick to serve you so thats another plus point for them.

Of course, a Japanese restaurant can be instantly graded the moment you order their Salmon sashimi. It has got to be fresh, else you can forget about everything else in the menu. Thankfully, Yuzu did not disappoint in this category and you are treated to fresh salmon served on ice. I was surprised to see it presented so nicely, so thats added bonus to the restaurant.

I saw oysters on the menu so I wouldn’t miss that out. That came next and again it is served on ice! Looks like all the fresh stuff are served on ice so that they can maintain some sense of freshness from the time of preparation to the time they put it on our table. The oysters were good but they gave some funky sauce which wasn’t really suitable. Luckily, they still have lemon and tabasco sauce to save the day

Then we ordered the soft shell crab salad and well, the soft shell crab were crushed and you couldn’t really taste it. The sauce was a bit on the sour side so it served as a good appetizer instead of the main. If you are looking to have this salad, be prepared to get even hungrier after eating it.

Then, came my favourite dish of the night. Toro sushi! Pickled chilli and some fish roe means these few toro sushis were absolutely perfect. The Special Toro Sushi from Yuzu gets my two thumbs up and whenever I go back there these days, this is the first thing on my order list.

Not contented with the standard stuff, we went for a bit of a fusion kinda dish. Foie Gras has always been a Western dish so imagine our surprise to see it on the menu in a Japanese restaurant. We ordered the highly recommended foie gras with dragonfruit and well, it was good but not great. The sweet dragonfruit plus the fried foie gras was interesting but nothing much to shout about.

Since we decided to hold off the sushi this time around, our next dish was garlic fried rice. Now, this is absolutely heavenly. I love it and I think anyone who loves garlic fried rice will love this as well. Served in a big claypot, they will sort of cook it in front of you. The smell is great and the taste? Even better!

Having satisfied our craving for Japanese food, we decided to order our dessert. Another Western creation in the menu was found and the sweet Tiramisu ended our dinner at Yuzu.

Overall, Yuzu is slightly on the higher end of the Japanese restaurants but they are certainly affordable. Just watch out for what you order. Some of the items not on the menu can be a bit pricey. The slightly fusion menu is interesting and should help differentiate Yuzu from the other Japanese restaurants around the area.

All in all, I recommend going to Yuzu if you are looking for Japanese food but do not want to go to the normal conveyor belts.

Yuzu Japanese Restaurant
T236, 3rd Floor
The Gardens
Mid Valley City
Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03 - 2284 7663

Final Verdict: Rotten Sambal gives Yuzu a 4.5 out of 5 sambal bowls.

Tags: Food, gardens, japanese, mid valley, restaurant, review, yuzu

Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor, Michelle Williams and Maggie Q sounds like a movie made with big bucks but somehow it fell below the radar screen of a lot of movie goers here in Malaysia. So, why are the big names not attracting people to the cinemas? Mainly because, this is quite an arty movie and definitely not one for the mainstream.

Deception is about a nerdy accountant (Ewan McGregor) who is introduced to a mysterious sex club where you get to shag beautiful, successful women although some can be quite old. There are no strings attached, you just do it and you go. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal right?

Well, as the title suggests, nothing is ever that simple. Hugh Jackman is the evil conman in this movie and his compatriot is S (Michelle Williams). It involves money, sex and people getting killed. Pretty much run of the mill thriller stuff.

The movie is no means fantastic. The actors and actresses were great in their roles but I thought it went a bit too slow at times. You would have figured the plot out way before they show it so I guess they could have up the pacing a little bit more.

For a movie called Deception, they certainly didn’t deceive the audience enough. It is kinda obvious that Hugh Jackman was out to con Ewan McGregor and you wonder how he didn’t connect the dots earlier. So much for a smart accountant. I guess sex covers everything up.

In conclusion, if you want something a lil different, then you can give this a try. If not, don’t bother.

Final Verdict: Rotten Sambal gives this deceptively average movie 2.5 out of 5 sambal bowls.

Tags: deception, ewan mcgregor, hugh jackman, michelle williams, movie, review

Recently, I’ve been getting stuck in traffic jam a lot. And recently, I’ve been hearing a lot of radio ads. And recently, I’ve discovered that QC is not the strong point of some of these ad campaigns.

I don’t speak or write perfect English but at least I don’t go public with them. Not so for this French/ France soup/soap company. First of all, the advertisement was already conceptually wrong. It is on radio and you can hear the lady asking “Don’t you think my skin is fair and glowing?”

Come on! Radio = for the ear. If I can see, it wouldn’t be on radio. So how will I know if her skin is fair or glowing? That is not all, her England was so powderful that I can’t figure out if she was saying French soap or soup.

I pity the brand since it has got to suck if no one knows what the brand or product is at the end of the commercial. So much for 30 seconds of effective advertising.

Oh, the picture is not as bad as the radio ad. I just couldn’t find one picture that I have that could match what I heard.

Tags: english, General, radio, rant

If you are not an Adam Sandler fan, stay away. If you are an Adam Sandler fan, stay away. That pretty much sums up the latest movie by Adam Sandler, an ambitious project about a Jewish soldier who went on to become a hair stylist and later fell in love with his Palestinian boss.

The jokes were unfortunately old, the humour very forced and overall, this is one of, if not THE, most horrible show by Adam Sandler to date. Luckily, rather than trying to tear your eyes out throughout the movie, you will attempt to keep them on just to see the beautiful Emmanuelle Chriqui. And you will also be saved by a funny performance from the usual cameo star, Rob Schneider.

If you are in the mood for a comedy, then you are out of luck with Zohan. The premise was promising and Adam Sandler seldom fails to deliver. Too bad, he finally managed to make a movie that sucks even to his fans.

Final Verdict: 1 out of 5 sambal bowls for you, Mr Sandler.

Tags: adam sandler, emmanuelle chirqui, Movies, Reviews, rob schneider, zohan

I am back from Hanoi. Normal service will resume on Rotten Sambal shortly.

I actually caught a movie before I went to Hanoi so that review will be up very very soon indeed. It won’t be good though.

Tags: General

I just want to inform all my readers (wherever and whoever you are), that I will be going on a break and will only be back on Wednesday, September 3rd.

Have a great weekend!

I have tried the game and well, it is nothing to shout about. On the surface, it plays like Gears of War, it is a shooter, you got a cover system but somehow the game just falls short of being Gears with a difference.

Dark Sector feels a bit rushed. The visuals isn’t exactly as beautiful and while it is fun to throw a glaive around, you begin to wonder how come your primary weapon isn’t killing people as easily as it should. It is quite funny to see a guy still standing and shooting at you when a huge knife just flew at him, hit him and possibly chopped him into half.

Then again, the game has its good points. It is quite an interesting story and well, a glaive is still kinda cool as a weapon. Since it is in the bargain bin, why not pick up Dark Sector? It will certainly entertain you for a while.

Dark Sector is now going for US$24.90 on Play-Asia which is a discount of US$20. Couple with free shipping to certain areas, this is a worthwhile bargain piece.

Tags: game, Play-Asia, PlayStation3, PS3, sale, Sony

I have a tendency to watch “coming of age” movies recently and after Superbad, I decided to go with the slightly more emotive Juno. This is certainly not a comedy but there are certainly moments to make you smile as Juno is a quirky and funny character herself. But if you are looking at a movie that deals with a host of sensitive issues, then this is one for you.

Juno is about a 16-year old girl who got herself pregnant (deals with teen pregnancy) and her decision not to abort the child. She then decides to give the child away to a lovely couple (deals with adoption) and among all that it deals with complicated human relationships. So, for sure, you can brace yourself for a very emo trip as every character has their own emotional baggage.

However, rather than present a crying trip from start to finish, this movie was different because Juno is well, different. Although she does break down now and then, she generally goes through the process without a care in the world. Her breaking down is a moment of weakness and it shows the humane side of her. She is after all, only 16 years old.

The whole cast was superb in their roles. Ellen Page is brilliant in her role and Michael Cera is well, typical Michael Cera, the typical awkward male teen. Ellen Page of course has the best lines and she delivers them to perfection. It is no wonder this movie was nominated for 4 awards with Ellen Page nominated as the Best Actress at the 80th Academy Awards. It won the Best Original Screenplay so that is a good example of how good Juno actually is.

I have to say I was surprised that I enjoyed the movie as much as I did. It definitely went past my radar screen when it first came out but at least I got to enjoy the Bluray version.

Final Verdict: I give Juno all the credit it deserves. 5 out of 5 sambal bowls!

As usual, you can buy the Bluray over at Play-Asia by clicking here or buy it from Amazon.com:

Tags: bluray, ellen page, juno, michael cera, Movies, review