You Gotta Be Cool

Just like how Boo from masak-masak complained bout the weather, I am here to do so too. Luckily recently the weather is cooling down, but few days before it was like living in the middle of volcano. The sun was so scorching hot I sometimes believe my hair would sizzle if I stay any longer outside. The air was like the oven heat after a lovely muffin bake. The only think one can think of every time we are out, even in the car, is something really cool, better yet icy to drink. At times I would go for ais kacang, but for this time, we are attracted to another local icy drink, cendol.

Oh yes, cendol is actually a type of dessert, I believe from Indian origin, very popular and authentic to Malaysia culture. It usually consists shaved iced, with green cendol (this is the thin worm like pandan flavoured flour noodles) drown in coconut milk and drizzled with gula melaka (this pair seem to be in every local dessert). The usual fillings would be red beans, cincau, jellies, kacang and sometimes glutinous rice. Cendol is really unique in taste, the gula melaka (the most important ingredient here in my opinion) and coconut milk blends real well, along with the smooth worm-cendol and the rest of the fillings is great. The shaved ice completes this drink to be the ultimate thirst quencher and body cooler.

As for the one I’m talking about is the one at Taman Megah. We were just driving home on Sunday midday, cooking in our Proton oven (our national car) and we just had to stop by this stall to cool down before out insides boil over. The cendol here is really good, but I have yet to try the pasembor or rojak. Compared to the one in Taman Bahagia, this is more superior, but according to J, the rojak in the former is better. Oh well, you cannot get the best of everything at one go.

After our cendol fix, we head home with smiling faces, and paid no heed to the crazy weather.

A Day Without Food Blog

I had read this earlier on at Tigers and Strawberries and then at Chez Pim, which then dawn on me the severity of the matter. I remember vaguely that I had read about this issue before earlier this month (or last month, I’m not sure) on the newspaper at the Tech section, and had thought it was totally baseless. I thought it was just an issue that came across the service providers’ mind, but now it seems this crazy idea could actually be the next thing of the future.

For this matter, I would join in with the rest of the food-gang against this and make today a day without food blog!

Tagged with: Net Neutrality + Day Without Food Blogs

Two Girls on Food Hunt

L had came up to KL for her internship and so it only means two things, bad news is there would not be any Penang food reviews BUT the good news is there would be more PJ/KL food review, by us of course! Well today we manage to meet up for dinner and L had a sudden craving for pizza, yes this dear friend of mine always have cravings of some sorts at some time.

So we head on to Vivo at The Curve, which we had a celebration last month for one of the 1984, which got us to remember the pizza offerings there. Besides, we remembered the nice lady boss, who when learnt of my friend’s birthday, gave us a complimentary Blueberry Pizza served a dollop of vanilla ice-cream. It was really thoughtful of her, and very good customer relationship management I might say.

They had this set promotion for one person, which is a personal pizza with mushroom soup for RM 9.90. Seems like a good deal so L and I each ordered one, so that we can try two types of pizza.

L ordered the Bed of Mushrooms (on the left in the picture) which was really nice. It was topped with various mushrooms, some black herbs (we cannot seem to identify it but it was good), crumbled feta cheese, splashes of olive oil and a very surprising but wonderful addition which is almond flakes. We both agreed it was exotically good. As for me, I ordered Romeo and Juliet (right) which was pizza topped with turkey ham, tomatoes, pineapples and olives, not too bad but it was overshadowed by the earlier one. Overall, the pizza base was good, thin enough to be crunchy yet still with some chew.

As for the mushroom soup, it was good enough for us, slightly creamy and flavourful, certainly not like some other pizza outlets which are those like out of the can and watered down.

There is some collection of cakes at the dessert section, but I have yet to try that, but the earlier mentioned Blueberry Pizza was good. This picture was taken by the birthday girl during our last visit.

Do give it a try if once you are in The Curve and have nothing to eat. But to my humble opinion, other than the pizza, the other various foods were just so-so.

Vivo

The Curve

Mutiara Damansara

Satisfying a Craving

I wanted to post this up for the Jihva by Mahanandi, but I was off to Taiping, having fun and forgotten about it. But since this is a really cooling and refreshing dessert, that I sort of made up, with inspiration from sai mai lou that we have here in Malaysia, I decided to share it anyway.

Sai mai lou is actually sort of like ais kacang in Malaysia. Ais kacang is actually shaved ice swirled with sweet syrup (sometimes Gula Melaka) and evaporated milk then topped with various stuff, like mini jellies, red beans, peanuts, sweet corn and lots more. As for sai mai lou, the similarity is that it also has shaved ice, swirled with evaporated milk and fruit juice then topped with the cubed fruits and sago pearls. Of all the varieties, I always like the Mango sai mai lou best, as it is rich in taste and goes really well with the light milky ice and sago. The best one I ever had, which was the first, that got me hooked to sai mai lou is the one at Petaling Street (Malaysia's Chinatown). I’m not sure of the location but I remember is at one end of the street opposite a bank, and with a bookstore nearby. This roadside stall is manned by a lady, which has all sorts of sai mai lou, from honeydew, strawberries to of course, Mango.

As for my own version, I was craving for something alike, but of course I have to do away with the shaved ice, which needs a machine-like-device to shave a huge block of ice, and poor me as my blender could not take ice (yea a cheap one), and so came about this dessert that I call

Mango Sago Lou

1 mango:
1 cup cubed mangoes
1 cup chopped mangoes

1 cup milk
¼ cup sago pearls

Method:
Boil the sago pearls to translucent (a tip is to only put in the sago pearls when the water is boiling hot, in order to get clear looking sago in the end, stir once a while as the sago will stick to the bottom)
Once done, pour the sago into a colander and quickly run through with cold water to stop the cooking.
Scoop the sago into a bowl
Blend the chopped mango and milk together
Pour onto the sago, and then top with cubed mangoes
Chill for about an hour or a while in the freezer (like the lazy me) then devour cold

Satisfies 1

Note: I forgot to mention that my mangoes was really sweet and if yours are not so, do add some syrup (sugar water) to taste. Bon apetit!

In Search of Good Eats

I am back in my hometown, Taiping with J! Yes, finally everything is over, I am now graduated, or can be said unemployed. Since I’m now in Taiping, you can be sure to look forward to lots of food review. But for that, you got to wait. I have something up my sleeves, and well, you will know soon enough.

As for now, J and I went up north to Penang yesterday, in a half day trip, big part of the reason is for food hunting. So, J had stayed there before during his internship, and so he know a few places, though that time he only cycled to work, oh yes, to skip the crazy Penang traffic, he did not get to go out much, especially to town. But yesterday, base on his male direction instinct, he took me to the best part in town for good eats that is Air Itam.

We went in hunt for laksa, a peranakan spicy dish, richly blend with best of Chinese and Malay Cuisine. J took me to a reputable laksa stall in Penang, located along the street in front of Kek Lok Si Temple (the famous Buddhist temple in Penang). One bite into the laksa, and I am sold.

So many years in Malaysia, I though I had ate all types of laksa (curry laksa, assam laksa, bias to Chinese or Malay laksa, with all level of tastes. But now I have reopened my taste buds to a whole new experience with this Penang assam laksa. I ate it and drank the soup till the very last droplet, well nearly. The mee has a good springy texture, and it was served with good swirled of He Kor (prawn paste), thus the sweet taste. The soup is full of fish flakes (my favourites) and the broth is rich yet not overpowering.

The stall is manned by an old man and an old lady, who worked at lightning speed to serve up a bowl. One look and you know they had been selling for years. The table has a gigantic of laksa mee with two huge pots bowling hot broth. Though seemingly unbelievable, but I’m sure they can sell it all by night. There is also a stall beside which sells freshly squeezed sugar cane.

I was really too full to completely lick the bowl clean because, right before laksa, we went to line our growling stomach with char kuey teow first. You wouldn’t want to eat laksa in an empty stomach, or you are sure to suffer burn. Laksa is really tart with although I’m not too sure of the scientific components, we all know it’s really acidic and can cut through your tummy. Besides, who can go to Penang and not to eat char kuey teow?

This char kuey teow stall is located just across the road from the laksa stall, in a true old style restaurant. The kuey teow was really tender, with loads of flavour infused in it. The prawns and cockles are fresh, and as an authentic Penang style, it was added with sliced lap cheong (Chinese stuffed pork, sausage style).

Though this might not be the best char kuey teow in Penang, but I am darn sure I ate the best laksa in town! Ah, I am satisfied that I have ate two of Penang’s most famous food, the indisputable char kuey teow and the bowl licking laksa.

Taiping-like Chee Cheong Fun in PJ

Due to popularity of the chee cheong fun thread, and the ever so interested people in PJ/KL who wanted to try the sort-of-like-Taiping-taste chee cheong fun in Seapark (that I mentioned in the comment). I managed to dig up the old pictures of when I ate there, though bad in quality as it is taken in haste and not for blog quality. But still, I’m sure those interested will go seek out the ‘real’ look and of course 'taste' themselves.

Anyway, this shop, judging from the picture, I guess it’s called ‘Kedai Kopi (coffee shop) Khoong’, or there could be a word behind. Yes, you can see that it is written Kampar fish ball below, which is actually the specialty there (Kampar is well known for its fish ball noodle). But now, the main attraction for us would be the chee cheong fun! Yeah, I heard resounding cheers from you guys ;)

Alright, I should stop being long winded. Here is how this chee cheong fun of sweet sauce looked like:

First of all, I must warn that it is not totally the same as the one from Taiping, tastewise and also look, judging from the previous post look. But it is the sweet sauce type, with very good sauce too I might say, and it does taste with high similarity to the one in Taiping, less red visually, but still good eats (I’ve been a fan of Alton Brown lately) and of course, different from the one in PJ/KL.

Here is the couple that sells the chee cheong fun, don’t miss them as their stall is just a long table, located at the back of the shop. I have a feeling they have been selling here for years!

Of course, since I’m reviewing on this shop too, I might as well mention the Kampar fish ball noodle, which is also very good. It tastes just like the small-town-kind-of-food, if you know what I mean. Like in Taiping, the chicken broth is simple, not laden with MSG or spices, just nice and a little bland (my accustomed taste) to go with the homemade fish balls and noodles.

Here’s the stall:

When I come here for breakfast, all these is only available in the morning, if I’m not wrong as I have only been here twice and in the morning, it always makes me feel I’m back at home, with the simple home cooked style kind of food. Now I miss home!

Kedai Kopi Khoong on Wikimapia

Chee Cheong Fun: The Breakdown

My friend L has once again came up with new findings. This time she outdid herself by going all over Malaysia (almost) in search of all types of chee cheong fun. I had talked about this particular special noodle before, and the one I showed was the fried style. This one is the true way chee cheong fun is served, but of course in also its many varieties. Let’s see what L had come up with, after a series of searching, tasting, analyzing and documenting (now I sound like I studied too much).

Chee Cheong Fun: The Breakdown

When I was growing up, ‘chee cheong fun’ was one of the foods I grew up eating. It is basically steamed flat rice noodles (about a finger’s diameter), cut up into little pieces and then served with a dash of sesame seed and sauce. Now, I can’t tell you what kind of sauce in particular because as the years go by, and when I began to venture out of my humble old town, I realized to my delight, that ‘chee cheong fun’ comes in different variations in different regions.

In my old town Taiping, ‘chee cheong fun’ comes with a rich dose of sesame and fried onions and a type of red sauce which is pretty sweet. The makers would usually add some chilli sauce alongside, to enrich its taste. Sweet is pretty blunt for a Chinese cuisine, you see.

There’s another type of ‘chee cheong fun’ found here and pretty much everywhere else, called the Hong Kong ‘chee cheong fun’. Steam flour noodles, with shelled prawns and pork embedded in between. It usually comes with soy sauce as its gravy, topped with fried onions and again, sesame seed.

Then, found in central Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur’s ‘chee cheong fun’ is actually my favorite among all. Again, the signature steam flour noodles and sesame seed, the version here allows you to choose from a choice or steam or fried ‘yong tau fu’ to accompany your noodles. Garnished with fried onions as well, it is a great alternative to rice.

Way up north in the gourmet island of Penang, the ‘chee cheong fun’ here, is of sweet taste. Thanks to its sauce which is made up of chilli, rojak paste and peanut paste. Again, it comes served with sesame seed.

I hope you enjoy my ‘chee cheong fun’ review found here in Malaysia. If I missed out any version, please drop your comments and till then, happy eating!

*Food, glorious food* - Ice Age 2

Comfort Food from Home

Alright, what is this naughty girl doing here when she is supposed to be studying? Well, she just misses her blogging life and intended to at least post something. I have just tackled the first paper this morning, and hopefully I’ve done well, I wrote till my hand got sore. That should be good news right?

Anyway, mum had just bought a yummy biscuit made in my home town, Taiping, which she had dad brought up to KL for me. My dad works here and he travels back fortnightly. I’ve tried biscuit before, and had an almost addictive liking to it, which I “naturally” mentioned to mum, and so, she bought 2 boxes for me this time! Thank you mum!

It is just what I needed, a non-homemade-as-I-do-not-have-the-time comfort food to fight the exam blues.

Gula Melaka Biscuits

It's a sort of biscuit, with thick floury and buttery skin, wrapped around gula melaka, which is already all chewy and sweet. It has good combination of texture and taste which just have your hands keep crawling back into the box for more! By the way, the box is really cool, it has the picture of the Taiping lake garden at the top.

Now, I have to stop ranting or I’ll start to sound like a girl gone mad from studying, back to where I belong now, the books!