Mountain Views News          Saturday, August 21, 2010

7

Food & Drink


Ask jai……

 Mountain Views News Saturday, August 21, 2010

Ask jai is a weekly column that will strive to honestly answer your job search 
questions relating to job searching techniques, networking skills, resume 
writing and interviewing. The employment situation is getting better, however, 
it is still a challenge finding were the jobs are located and how to get pass the 
“gate-keepers”. As an Executive Recruiter I was privy to working directly 
with Corporate Recruiters and understanding their process in selecting which 
candidates to interview and hire. I will candidly answer your questions, 
possibly bluntly answering you questions, but I will be totally honest. My 
objective is to help you achieve your employment goal. 

 I have been house hunting, the process having taken a little longer than 
I thought it would. What can I say? I’m overly picky. I knew it was bad, 
when I started to become uneasy in turning my back on the realtor. He was 
making these crazy eyes at me. Finally he said, “Look, Peter, if we can find 
seven out of the ten items you are looking for, let’s make an offer.” Hmmm, 
very astute, and reasonable. What if I was to use that same formula in reviewing our restaurant this 
week? Let’s make it eleven if they give me a free meal, which would be a bonus point. Just to keep 
the review on the up and up, we paid full freight at the President Thai Restaurant this last weekend.

 Even though I am not the one being graded here, I think I must deduct one point for a misfire. 
Why on earth did I order a Heineken Beer at a Thai restaurant? Habit of course, but I should have 
had the Thai beer. I am docking myself one point and hope I can earn it back somewhere in this 
article.

 President Thai Restaurant has been remodeled since I was last there a few years ago. It is just 
up from Huntington Drive on Rosemead Blvd. Rosemead Blvd. is an under-construction obstacle 
course at the moment, so even though I drive by this restaurant at least 
three or four times a week, I just hadn’t gone in and sat down lately. 
Maybe because it looks busy enough so I am satisfied it will still be 
there when I make up my mind to return. The restaurant is spacious 
enough, and on the weekend, crowded. However that did not stop 
us from being seated immediately on the covered patio outside. It is 
a very quiet annex structure attached to the building and decorated 
with an assortment of wall sculptures of Thai princesses and princes 
and a small fountain for ambiance. In fact, I caught the owner out 
there making sure the fans were operating just right. 

 We had only sat for a few seconds when water arrived and a girl, who 
could easily have stood in for one of those aforementioned princesses, 
greeted us with a request for beverages. I love the Thai Tea at other 
Thai Restaurants and the couple next to us ordered it, but I ordered 
the green Heineken instead. Service was stellar; we never waited for 
more than a few minutes without someone coming by. Overkill? 
Maybe. Many people like to chitchat and need space, but we were in the eating mood and it was 
obvious they were giving us their finest effort. My suggestion for you is to order an appetizer first, 
and then (if you still have room) order your entrée. On our evening, since we ordered everything 
at the same time, all the food raced out to us. Be smart and take my tip, space out your orders and 
enjoy your time eating your meal. 

 I have to say, to this point, I couldn’t give them any deductions. 

 There are a number of tempting dishes here. From previous experience, I know their soups are 
excellent, but I decided to get the night in gear with the Crab Rolls ($8.95). Generous portions of 
shredded crab, with water chestnuts wrapped in a blanket of tofu, come with a side of plum sauce; 
the portion is big enough for an entrée. My dining companion ordered the Satay Chicken, also 
($8.95). The Satay chicken arrives on several wooden skewers with a delightful cup of peanut sauce. 
The dish was acceptable, but not adventurous enough for an explorer like me.

 Our bellies were filling up fast but we soldiered on to the entrées. I order the Pad Thai Chicken, 
knowing this plate was going to be great. The plate is Pan-fried Rice Noodles with crushed peanuts 
and just enough spices to make this a house favorite, and earn it a Peter Dills thumbs up!! Their Beef 
Curry in a yellow coconut cream sauce was hit for both noses and lips. You may take a spoon to that 
delicious curry-filled dish and sip it like a soup. Well done. It was at that point in the evening that 
our chairs began squeaking under our weight. The owner came by and offered us dessert. Are you 
kidding? The slightest pinprick and we would explode. I have my eyes on the Duck Curry when I 
return. I have been to a few of the local Thai restaurants and I don’t remember a Duck Curry on any 
menu. Something Interesting to look forward to!

 Fair Warning: As of this writing, they are tearing up Rosemead, but parking wasn’t a problem, 
just exercise a little patience. 

 My final score, with 10 being best ... 8 ••• for President Thai Restaurant.

 As always, you, the reader, will issue my final score.

 President Thai, 498 S.Rosemead Blvd. Pasadena, (626) 578-9814

 Save The Date: Join me for the Taste of Sierra Madre coming September 11 and join me this 
Sunday at 5 PM on KABC Talk Radio KABC

TABLE FOR TWO 

By Peter Dills

President Thai

Q: Is it a good idea to attend networking events that are designed for 
people who are unemployed? I am unemployed, an introvert and very 
uncomfortable meeting new people. What should I do to prepare? T. J.

Dear T. J.

 Attending networking events is a great way to find job leads, expand your network of contacts and 
hopefully find a position. Think of networking events as a group interviewing session and not just as a 
social event. Dress professionally or business casual. Hand out networking cards instead of your resume. 
Networking cards are similar to business cards. Networking cards should include your name, contact 
information and any thing that you feel would be relevant. Networking cards should be inexpensive and 
can be printed in black and white. Hand out networking cards to people that you meet and be sure to ask 
them for their card or contact information. You can drink alcohol at these events but don’t get drunk. 
Networking events are not a party. You are there to find job leads and increase your referrals. 

 Develop an “elevator speech” to introduce yourself at networking events. The speech should be short 
enough (about 2 minutes) to say your full name, your experiences and accomplishments. This should 
help open up dialogue and began discussions. Prepare and practice your elevator speech with family 
members or friends until you are comfortable. 

 

 Good manners, eye contact and a firm hand shake are important at networking events. Show honest 
interest in the person you are meeting. This is the right time to ask a person “What do you do?” Show 
genuine interest in the person you are meeting and hopefully they can assist you or you might be able to 
assist them in their job search. Everyone should be there to network so spend enough quality time with 
each person, eventually excuse yourself and then move to the next person or group of people. 

 Always follow-up and stay in contact with people you meet at networking events. Ask them to let you 
know about any positions that they may come across that fits your profile and that you will be more than 
happy to do the same for them. Keep in touch with them by e-mail, social internet sites or telephone at 
least once a month. You should attend at least two networking events a month. Enjoy yourself but do 
not let them turn into social events for you. Networking events can result in a position if you have an 
objective, stay focus, smile, shake hands, give and take information, and follow-up. 

 
A report released this week by 
the FCC revealed that, almost 
across the board, broadband 
users typically only see about 
half of the “up to” speeds 
advertised by Internet Service 
Providers. This revelation 
comes as no big surprise to 
the subset of online users who 
actually monitor connection 
speeds and transfer rates, 
whether out of personal curiosity or professional duties. 

 In my particular case, I currently support an organization that traffics in a fairly large 
amount of data uploaded to and downloaded from our facilities on a 24/7 basis, and from 
time to time the issues of connection quality and speeds are raised, either internally by my 
department or externally by one of our remote users. 

 Over the course of the last month I’ve been conducting a working survey that consisted 
of having all our remote users upload and download pre-configured test files to an FTP (File 
Transfer Protocol) server located on a reserved segment of the network. Users were instructed 
to upload and download the test files at various times during the day and night on a schedule 
created by my department to ensure randomness and to simulate high-traffic patterns among 
multiple users accessing a single server simultaneously. 

 The production network itself is outfitted with a Business Class Internet connection that is 
tested “good” for Gigabit connect speed under a CIR (Committed Information Rate) clause 
with our Internet Service Provider. If that sounds expensive, it’s because it is expensive. That 
extra cost goes towards ensuring that our connection speed from our ISP to the termination 
device onsite at our location never falls below 1 Gigabit per Second. For testing purposes 
300Mb\s was provisioned off to the test FTP segment of the network and the first part of the 
test ran for a period of 2 weeks, with the results then collected and entered into a spreadsheet. 
The second part of the test consisted of a written survey collecting information about the 
connection details of our remote users to include connection type, rated speed, service 
provider and daily data transfer statistics to cover the month prior to the testing period. The 
results showed that users of Residential Class internet connection services (without CIR 
clause, primarily for residential use and most commonly advertised featuring the “up to” 
phrase) rarely, if ever, connected to our test server at the top-rated speed for their particular 
service provider connection and typically hovered around 60% of maximum rated capacity 
across the board. Users of true Business Class Internet connection services (with CIR clause, 
primarily for business or industrial use) typically connected at 92% or better of their rated 
connection speed. While this small sampling can hardly be called indicative of connection 
speed and quality currently available net-wide, it does raise an interesting point, especially 
when taking into account the current ongoing “debate” surrounding the Net Neutrality issue. 
If ISP’s currently can and do ensure stable, high-quality internet connections and access for 
customers paying a premium for the service what will be the eventual state of affairs when 
Pay-for-Play is the rule and not the exception for everybody? 

 What possible incentive could ISP’s have to ensure that business entities and private users 
- who can’t afford to pay premium prices - still have equal access to the electronic commons 
known as the Internet?

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise


SIERRA MADRE’S FARMERS MARKET

Wednesdays - 4-7pm

Fresh vegetables and seasonal fruits from California family farms. 

Specialty foods, vegetarian and vegan dishes, ethnic foods and hot food - Everything you’ll 
find at the farmers market has been made or picked fresh, is pesticide-free and preservative-
free. Free public parking on Mariposa.