Domino's & the Hut: A Cheesy Review

Tomato, cheese and mushroom. Life feels complicated, colourless and unfulfilled without at least one of them in my daily life. It made perfect sense that I love Ayam Masak Merah (Chicken in spicy tomato base), Nasi Goreng Cendawan (Fried rice with mushrooms) and….erm….cheese. But, the best kind of food is the one with all three combined.

I simply adore Italian dishes due to harmonization of the three ingredients in their diverse food selections. I love the parmesan-decorated minestrone soup, mushroom and cheese-layered lasagna, and cheese-topped beef spaghetti. But, my personal chart topper is the obscenely-delicious, mouth-watering, insanely-addictive pizza. A virgin bite will turn you into a believer, while you slowly cherish its heavenly unity with your taste buds, and out of nowhere you’ll say “Deliziosissima!” (while doing the fingertips-kiss).

Last December, we were totally nuts about pizza. It was the time when Pizza Hut and Domino’s Pizza; the two giants of the pizza industry in Malaysia, were promoting their extreme cheese-loaded pizzas. We were divided…it was either the Ultimate Cheesy 7 or the Cheese Burst Double Decker. I put a status update on FB to get opinions, searched online forums, listened to Adele’s, and meditate…in order to get the righteous truth. In the end, we bought both.

We chose the Ultimate Cheesy 7 as the first pizza for the night’s dinner. I called the Pizza Hut Delivery number at 1-300-88-2525. After about 10 minutes worth of phone commercials, my call was attended to by a young girl. She struggled with my order, but after awhile said I should have called another number (in order to cater home delivery around Kota Damansara). So I called 1-300-82-2020. The ordeal was the same as before, but in the end the lady on the phone said the Ultimate Cheesy 7 is available for dine-in only. Wifey cooked dinner that night.

The next day, we went to the nearest Pizza Hut at Dataran Sunway. We were frustrated when told the pizza wasn’t available in their branch. That night, we called Domino’s.

Beauty in a box

The nearest Domino’s Pizza to our place was the one at Riana Green. It took about 35 minutes for the delivery. From their 22 types of specialty pizzas, I ordered the Classic Chicken for the Cheese Burst. There were 8 slices; 3 slices for each wifey and me, and another 2 for Irtiza (The rations are susceptible to change…err, usually in my favour…).

From the top, the pizza looked average, but the first bite changed everything. The toppings were extremely nice (which was not a big surprise, as we’re used to Domino’s). But the cheddar cheese sauce between the layers was a real joy. The choice of cheese was perfect, and in sauce form made the pizza an amazing creation. An added bonus was that they were not stingy with the amount.

Classic Chicken Cheese Burst Double Decker

Beautiful, ain't it?

Irtiza approves this slice of pizza

Three days later, I bought the Ultimate Cheesy 7 (with chicken toppings) at Pizza Hut TTDI. It was an exciting day ‘coz it’s been years since we last ate Pizza Hut’s pizza (as of late, it was either Domino’s or Canadian Pizza for dinner).

Please open me

The pizza was exactly as advertised when we opened the box. Shaped like a blunt 24-point star, the pizza was distinctly unique compared to other pizza types. The primary attraction was the 7 types of cheese in extravagant quantity, which may satisfy cheese lovers a great deal. But, personally speaking, the cheese bites were kind of dull. I prefer it if they introduced back the cheddar dip to complement the pizza.

I’ve no complaints about the rest of the pizza…the bread was soft and nice (a Pizza Hut trademark) and enjoyable to bite. The various kinds of cheese in the middle were very nice, all except the Philadelphia cream cheese (the cheese balls). The cheese feels out of place and unneeded….it’s like siblings rivalry; even though you have the same origin, but there are times that you shouldn’t be together or there’ll be conflicts. I think I prefer the cream cheese in Secret Recipe cakes, rather than on my pizza.

Tasty+very unique design...nice :)

"I'm melting...I'm melting!" said the wicked pizza of the south

In conclusion, I can say that Domino’s Cheese Burst is the best among the two. Even without the extra-added cheese, Domino’s Pizza stays ahead, leaving Pizza Hut trailing close behind its tail.

Anyway, we fell in love with the Cheese Burst so much that we ordered not one, but two large pizzas last month, plus a free regular pizza (using the ‘Sorry we’re late’ voucher that we got from the last delivery).

"Mana pizza?"

Pics first before unboxing

The free regular-sized Prawn Sensation

Chicken Perfection Cheese Burst

I think this is the Extravaganzza Cheese Burst

Gosh, I'm hungry now :)

Complete Weekenders :)

The title itself could depict two things; 1) a complete group of people celebrating the weekends, and 2) a group of weekenders celebrating the weekends in its entirety. In our case, it was both.

We were mostly at home throughout the recent 4-day break. It wasn’t at all dull, unbeneficial, or a waste of opportunity. It was the time when we took the rare chance of a lifetime to take a deep breath, and recharge our batteries for a change. It was a period filled with quality time and family bonding. We took everything slow and steady…glimpsing at the little things that we used to miss during our busy, packed weekdays and weekends. There were no rushed journeys to either the north or the south, or made visit to different houses and stuffs. It was just the three of us…appreciating each other’s company...

Three's company at Khalifah for breakfast

With wifey and son at the playground

To my family: We should do this again in the near future at a different location...a sunny beach perhaps? :)

P.S. As wifey was very particular with her morning appearance yesterday, her face is not available in this entry (She's like Wilson; the partially-hidden neighbour in Home Improvement) :)

The One about Irtiza, Smart Soleh, and the January Birthday Party

Last Tuesday was Smart Soleh KD’s January birthday party. As one of the January babies, Irtiza and friends were celebrated through fun-filled activities organized by the Muallimahs.

It was Irtiza’s second birthday party with Smart Soleh KD. We were pleasantly surprised when wifey and I got to know about the first one last year. I guess we were used to the previous nursery’s way of doing things; cater his basic needs throughout his stay and nothing extra in between. You could liken it to a very basic burger; it wasn’t fantastic or amazing, but it was enough to sustain you for a short while.

Anyway, it was an unsound tradition for parents to bring something extra for their celebrated child’s birthday party. Last year it was an impromptu-bought Disney-themed birthday cake from a bakery at The Curve. This year, we wanted it to be a little bit special. So, we prepared party gifts together with a cake.

A day before the party, we went to Giant KD. We planned to do hamper-like mini gifts for the kids. But then we came across some plastic wraps that were easier and less time-consuming to prepare. We then bought 4 to 5 different food treats for the individual gifts. Then the birthday cake-hunting began.

We visited several bakery shops before we came across the one called Berry’s at Dataran Sunway, KD. The place was at the second row of shops behind the UOB Bank. The bakery was basic but with good selection of birthday cake for kids, plus the big Jakim logo at the main door was a big comfort tp Muslim parents.

 

Irtiza noticed the Angry Bird cake at the display counter and got excited. We bought it, together with a small cupcake as precautionary measure for Irtiza (in order for the cake to ‘survive’ the night before the party).

An Angry Bird in view

 

 Full close-up

 The contingency plan

At home, the packaging process was long and tiring. Together with the small printed gift cards, we separated the food treats to 50 individual gifts. It was a little bit after midnight when everything ended. We then put everything into a big box to be delivered the next day.

 The gift

 The printed gift card

 Ready for delivery

The birthday party went well, according to the Muallimahs when we fetched Irtiza the next day. We were just grateful that the cake and gifts were enough for everyone. Added smiles were put to our face when Irtiza enthusiastically described the whole event in his own way on the way home.

Another 11 more months to go before your next birthday, Irtiza :)