EOC

I can understand tat certain companies hav their own rules of employment but sadly, i couldn't bring myself to agree with the way the co where i work for, work.

The contract staff r on a 5-year contract basis, n with the co tat r owned by the government (mine is a semi-gov co), it is mostly automatically renewed, if not it would be done with 'not much difficulty'.

In the co tat i work for, the employment turnover is alarmingly high n staff were naturally absorbed as permanent employees once the 5 years r up. Those who r not interested would hav gotten off the ship long before the contract ended. Recruitment then was constantly on n new faces come n go (or rather, came n went).

However in the recent years, the company tat i m working for is not doing well. Actually, it had been tortured n drained off for a long time, but it only succumbed to its injuries abt 2 years back. And becos of tis, those deserving contract staff r short-changed n r dismissed. The contract just ended without any EOC (end of contract interview) or any review at all. It was only after being pressured by the union some time back tat they hold the eoc interviews again. But even so, the co is still under trauma. It needs more time to recover. And so, the number of staff being let go r still higher than those who r absorbed. Now, the co sets beforehand the percentage tat it wants to retain n not base on individual's conduct n performance. Tis is the fate of one of my senior colleague. It's js disgusting, especially considering another fact tat the crew working on the ship now is gradually lesser tat wat's essential. Tis is becos recruitment had been freezed more than 1 year ago n the ppl resigning/let go meanwhile was still ongoing.

The more disgusting part is tat the co prefer to train new ppl (rumors has it tat they're hiring again soon) than to retain the experienced ones. In my line of duty, i truly believe tat experience count especially during crucial moments.
The co should hav a guideline to retain its staff base on their record. On whether to accept the offer to stay, it is purely up to the employee.

Xiao Long Bao

My first encounter with tis lil Shanghainese specialty was in Singapore in 2002. It was like tasting heaven. I was so captivated by it tat i use its name as my password for e-mails n work accounts. I was tat into it.
Now tat it has blossomed into an established status among the food connoisseur here, tot of doing a lil survey, eventho there is already a few avail. The list starts with my fav.

1) Din Tai Fung, The Gardens
The skin is fab. It is the only 1 tat is so soft n springy. The thickness is perfect too, tho why wouldn't it? should be nimbly made considering the fact tat it is so tiny comparing to its rivals. Prob also becos of its size, u wouldn't feel so stuffed with meat ("zhei") tat u could hav more helpings. But reali, the broth tastes delicate n the amount of flavour is wonderful. Not soupy enough tho. Served on a piece of cloth, I find it a very good idea.
Price: RM11 for 5



2) Shanghai 10 Grand, Avenue K
It was a struggle to decide btw DTF n Grand as Grand has been my fav eversince i discovered it while bringing my Japanese fren out for dinner. She tot tat d la-mian was good, which i gather is an encouragement. The xlb is very soupy n the skin was just the perfect thickness n resilient to provide enough support for the proportionate dumplings. A tad flavorful, which was the only minus point. (I must mention here tat they serve a wonderfully amazing BonFire Kailan dish)
Price: RM8 for 4


3) Dragon-i, Cititel Lobby (an impressive 6 branches so far in kl)
I hav to admit the pleatings look nicer than Grand's. But it taste too flavorful. Think DTF's mild taste. It is soupy n d shape is good. I luv d meat along with its very scarce n tiny spring onions.
Price: RM8 for 4


4) Crystal Jade, Lot 10 (none avail at the ones in mid-val n pavilion)
I find the skin rather thick, broth is slightly salty while not enough. A little plus point is tat the texture of the meat is springy - n so r all the above.
(the ones at CJ in HK taste the same, except tat the skin is thinner, which is good, but not resilient. it costs more expensive than in kl. reali good business!! had to wait for abt 30mins outside of CJ on a monday nite. there r 12 diff types of CJ outlets in hk)
Price: RM8 for 4

(thick skin)

(thin skin)

5) Tu-Long, mid-val
Eventho the skin thickness is js nice, it is not soupy, taste lil salty, which still can be tolerated but worse of all - it has fatty pork parts in the mince. I find it disturbing considering tat they pride their xlb.
Price: RM8 for 4

6) Chef Loong, SS 2
Almost a tie btw TL n Loong. I hav to blame the soy sauce for it's fall. The broth was clearly soy-colored. The skin is thin but resilient - provide enough support. Very soupy, bursting with it ;-P They offer 2 types of xlb - the drunken xlb taste the same like the normal ones.
Price: RM6 for 3


7) Chuai Heng, 231 jln bt bintang (4 branches in kl)
Tis marks the starting of bad xlb. Look at the flat xlb. Pork quite hard. It's flat. Skin is too thin n not resilient. It's flat. No flavor. It's flat. A dissapointment. It's flat. Is it becos we order them at the last flat order time? (their har kao is recomm)
Price: RM6 for 3


8) Kum Lum Tai, Sri Petaling
I could excuse them for their bad xlb as it is totally not their specialty. The surprsing plus point is tat the skin is js thin n resilient enough so picking it up was good. Not soupy, eventho the broth tastes alrite. Pork contains lots of fatty parts (still lesser than Esquire's). The shocking news is tat they use flat-leaf parsley (which i loathe) in the mince! I mean, wtf??
(hav to add tat i love their egg tart, i think better than Tong Kee, seriously)
Price: RM6 for 3


9) Nanxiang Mantou Dian, The Curve
Dun even get me started with the fact tat it was founded in Shanghai, in the year 1900 (DTF only around 1972). It was HORRIBLE. The meat was hard as stone n there was literally no taste. The only 2 plus point was tat it's huge - but somehow becomes a minus point becos u hav to endure it more; the other being tat they offer a variety of xlb, but i think tat if it's good food, lesser choices will still boost business. The skin is very thick, but of course, for it's huge chunk of meat. The ones with crab meat in its mince is actually more tolerable than the orig xlb - damn pathetic. (The infamous crab roe soup - served with a straw - is alrite)
Price: RM8 for 4


10) Esquire Kitchen (anywhere)
No further description needed.

There is tis dim sum cum steamboat place in KK called the Four Seasons, located at Asia City. I believe I was too excited only to be dissapointed upon trying their xlb. It's huge but not tasty. There's lots of fat n hard parts in it, with thin but so not resilient skin. In fact, the skin is rather poorly made. Well, at least the flavour is ok n it's soupy.. (I must recommend tis lao sa pao, thx to MC, which i think is absolutely great. It's a dull-looking cupcake-sized bun with custard-plus-egg yolk. Amazing, even when it's cooled. Was told tat tis is avail in kl too, will keep u posted once I track down the place) Price: RM7.5 for 5

If I've missed out any good xlb places, pls tell me. Tho, can't seem to find any xlb eateries in Kuching..........?