A Long Weekend

and so I sat down to blog, and nothing seem to come out. I wouldn’t say I got a writer’s block; I can only say I got a tham jiak block. Oh no! Not so tham jiak anymore? Don’t worry, not everywhere near there, ha-ha, just that J and I have less time to go out and try new food, as work had been quite exhausting for both of us. When lunch/dinner comes, all we want is just to go somewhere near or somewhere familiar to just sit down, relax and enjoy ourselves. Don’t even get me started on what about cooking. I am still very much waiting for my new apartment to become mine, legal matters that involves many parties can never be fast, I learnt this the hard way. So there, with not much of food exploration and none on cooking, what is there worthy to blog about?

Fortunately though, Chinese New Year is just around the corner and I am eagerly waiting in anticipation. Chinese New Year is the time where we are reunited with families and friends, enjoying good food together while catching up on the year that has passed. There would be non-stop feasting and munching as well as the gambling. Ah, these are typical traits of the Chinese, and we does it best and most during this time. I had been gambling with RM1 ever since high school, and it never went up even though judging from my increase spending power plus the inflation rates I should, but age has caught up with me and now gambling is more of just to pass time than to earn money. I still remember that my friends and I used to go house to house collecting ang pows and then sat right down to ‘earning money’. Some year I had huge profits, some losses but most years are neither, so I did quite enjoy this way of passing the time.

So as Chinese New Year is just next week, I will be sure to head home to my beloved home town Taiping. I can’t wait, seriously. So I thought it would be best to blog a little about my humble home town. I have mentioned about it several times, but have lacked terribly in blogging about the good food it possessed. I assure you, it is as good as you would expect from a place shield from urbanization thus still very much prepare food the way it does few generations ago.

There is this place in Taiping where it serves really good authentic Hainanese food. The restaurant still cooks and serves like how it used to way before I was born. The place still looked pretty much the same, except I remember it did some clean up once and built the cashier place bout 10 years ago.


One extra special thing about it is that it serves halal food. I did not notice this of my years in Taiping, until after I came here to study, where one day a friend mentioned she brought her Muslim friend to dine there, stating it is the only choice for Chinese food around Taiping which is halal. Since it is halal, we definitely would not be able to find the infamous Hainanese pork chop, but guess what, it did extremely well in subbing with chicken chop Hainanese style. Prepared the same way, just with different meat, and it is still real good. Definitely a must order at this shop.


The chicken is cooked to the right crispiness, and then doused with the thick deliciously salty sauce with peas, tomatoes and onions. The potatoes wedges are definitely worth mentioning too, for being so well fried, non greasy, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.


Then there is one special dish that I love to order when I am there, and have yet to find it anywhere else in Malaysia. It is called roti sayur (bread and vegetables). Whenever I call this in front of someone who have yet to try it, they would definitely raise an eyebrow. “You want to eat bread with vegetables???” must be going through their mind. That was how J reacted when I ordered it. Then it came, really different looking with sautéed vegetables lying over a thick toast bread with a sunny side up egg on top, bringing to whole dish to new heights, catching the eye of the raised eyebrow.


This dish certainly need some coaxing to people before they are wiling to try it, after all we Chinese/Asian are not that used to eating savoury vegetables with bread, but this one definitely converted many after just one try. J nodded in agreement to it when I passed it for him to try, while I devour his chicken chop. The vegetables were still pretty crunchy, yet soft enough along with the peas and onions are of great combinations. Mixed in with the slightly sweet yet savoury soft bread (from soaking the sauces), it wss certainly a good match. Not to forget smashing the egg yolks as you go, I don’t need to explain why, eh?


Lastly I finish off with my ever good ol’ cham(mixture of coffee and tea). The cham here is just as good as I can get as it is kau (thick) enough.

Alright, so now you know we have good Hainanese food in Taiping, so do drop by if you are ever in north Malaysia, maybe drive up a little from Ipoh, or make a pit-stop on the way to Penang. It is definitely not a bad place for good food.

Yut Sun Restoran
Jalan Pasar
Taiping
Perak, Malaysia

Accidentally In Love

Still posting of last year’s (long, long ago) eat, on the way back from the urban escape at Port Dickson, we stopped by Seremban for lunch. Before, I was having a real bad time, as our dear friend’s car air-condition had decided to break down during our trip, and I am not kidding you when I say driving in Malaysia during mid-day is like being slow roasted in an oven for a really mushy lamb stew. Come to think of it, I should have brought a pot of stew along; maybe we would have a nice stew when we got home. So when we finally turn into Seremban, we took a few rounds circling nearby the market, following another friend’s car and unable to find parking. I was already cursing inside and ready to kill the nearby lambs beside me if we do not stop anytime soon. Finally, my friend parked at the next available space; he had to do a sudden park as there were lambs screaming “park there, someone coming out, THERE!”

So we all stumbled out of the car breathing for fresh air and the hot breeze of our Equator’s neighbouring country. Alright, with head a little clear, we decided to walk to find the other friend’s car, who managed to park by the market, but as we walked down the street, we realized it was impossible to reach (possible, but not at this heat with our half-cooked bodies), so we decided to fall back to a shop we just passed by. We called to ditch our the other group of friends and settled down at Kedai Kopi Saudara (brothers and sisters coffee shop).

As I was just happy to eat anything at that time, still pretty full from the morning’s Nasi Lemak at Port Dickson, I decided to just order my trusty kaya toast with half-boiled eggs. Then J’s chicken rice came, and I instantly regret again I did not order it! Why? Because this one came with seriously juicy looking steamed chicken and to top it off, the rice is the infamous rice ball, a specialty very much sought after in Melaka.

I stared at it showing my tham jiak face, so much so, J ordered another portion of chicken with two more rice balls, such a sweet understanding tham jiak partner. So greedily I eat the perfect rice ball with the sweet juicy and flavourful chicken. To say it was delicious seemed like the understatement of the year, or maybe last year, eh don’t kill me for that overused term. The rice was really fragrant of chicken stock and spices, and then nicely rolled into a ball, not too sticky yet just sticky enough to be able to nestle as mini bites at the brink of chopsticks. Ah, perfect! Although I have never been an avid fan of chicken rice, and had a bad experience with the Melaka’s version of chicken rice ball before, I felt that I had accidentally found the one! I must also mention that the accompanying chili sauce was also really good, the real authentic sour, spicy and gingery sauce that goes so well with steamed chicken. I guess J’s and my tham jiak face truly shone as my friend was attracted into ordering as well, on top of his finished noodles.

The owner, seeing us as true blue tham jiak kaki (gang), after all we ordered one after another from J’s first one portion; decided to drop by our table for some chat. He introduced himself as Kevin, much to our surprised, in fluent English. Then he mentioned nonchalantly that his rice balls and steamed chickens were authentic Hainanese fare; the best in town, claiming that people from all over came here purposefully just for his carefully prepared meal. Judging from our face, he knew we would return, which we definitely would, thus he also mentioned that he had another branch just around the next street, and on some days he might close here but we can find him over there instead. We were feeling bit kiasu (fear of losing), that we might miss him if we ever drop by again, so we asked him to please write down his address, which he did along with his hand phone number, how’s that for good marketing?

So there we ended our meal, I did not take enough pictures as I was first too excited in ordering and then too busy in enjoying the food. Oh, I nearly forgot I had ordered toast bread and eggs, when it came a little later after we devoured our Hainanese meal, so I shared the bread and gulped down the eggs like a good kid. In a dimmer light, but for the benefit of the cook, I must say the bread was well toasted, egg half-boiled to just right (I hate it when it was uncooked or too well cooked) and the white coffee was just the right drink to end a wonderful meal. Ah, bliss. In fact, we lambs were even smiling blithely as we boarded the oven again.

Healthy Food Anyone?

How many of you have sworn to eat healthier for this year? Wow, so many hands? How many of you have eat healthier, eat lesser, exercise more, lose weight, get fitter or something of its like in one or all of your new year resolution(s)? Wow, even more hands? Especially with the Christmas and New Year holiday just passed us by, many of us are still carrying the excesses in our bodies. For us Chinese, we are dreading (or secretly rejoicing) for the coming Chinese New Year which meant more indulgences, snacks and extravagant meals to come. I bet we are already imagining the scale needle moving towards the right.

So let’s all try to eat a little healthier for this month, to shed the excess of last year’s indulgence while for us Chinese to prepare for the upcoming unavoidable feasting just around the corner. Just thinking of the tuin nim fan (reunion dinner) on the night before the Chinese New Year, I can already visualize a table kept filling with rich dishes one after another like where can only have it in special occasions.

Last year (I am still enjoying using that reference of as if long, long ago which could also just mean few weeks ago), Q and I went for a late lunch due to some unexpected circumstances, I would not want to mention here what it was as she might give me a knock on the head again. So, after the unexpected occurrence, I was feeling hungry as I haven’t had my lunch yet and since it is on the way back home, we dropped by Sri Hartamas for some healthy Korean jook (congee) at Bonjuk.


I read about this place once at KY (I seem to have read about many places there or have KY eats at all the places that could be eaten already?), since then I had always wanted to drop by to try it out. I am the type who are always in for some healthy food, the type who is eager to check out the organic shop and the type who would hop over to see what the fuss is all about some new healthier version of an old classic. I am also the type who would be attracted to a tweaked healthier version of a recipe, the type who would sneak in healthier alternative when she cooks or the type who would not resist having any healthy desserts (there are actually such foods). I usually would not bring J for such healthy options as for a big ravenous guy like him jook would not fill him enough, what more healthy jook? Luckily this time, I have Q to bring along to indulge (pun intended) that healthy part of me.


Bonjuk’s interior was simple and clean, and since it was at weird hour, neither lunch nor dinner, so it was pretty quiet with just another table of a mother and her son. We sat down and were served the menu immediately. We were spoiled many choices of healthy jook to choose from and if you are interested on it, do hop over at their website and read through all the choices and its nutritious benefits. Note: I have just checked, their website is currently down, do check back next time.


I ordered octopus and kim chi jook, as I have always been a fan of Korean kim chi (Korean fermented vegetable). It came in a striking orange hue, which had Q looking at it wide eyed; I was already salivating by then. It had a pretty unique taste, slightly spicy, slightly salty with hint of kim chi and sweet with the generous chewy octopuses. It was also mixed in with sesame seeds and seaweeds. It seemed to be made up of all the food that I like, healthy too I might say.


Q ordered shrimp jook, which was generous with prawns and chopped carrots and vegetables. It was also sweet and salty, with the right blend of tastes. The jook here are cooked with small grain rice that still have some bite to them, yet already in the form of stickiness. It was certainly a well cooked jook.


The nice thing is that each jook came with a set of side dishes, which can be refilled to one's heart content; I did a few times! There were kim chi, though not the best I have tasted but for kim chi I am all for no matter how. Then there were the salted meat slices which were dangerously addictive and go really well with the jook. There was also a paste which I am not sure what of, but it was a bit spicy with hints of garlic. The final side dish was a bowl of soup which Q found really odd as it was more on the sweet side, yet it was suppose to be a savoury version as it had daikon and and chili in it, the most special part is that it was served chilled, with crushed ice. I found it quite a palate cleanser thus enjoyed it pretty well but Q stayed away from it. I guess indeed it was an acquired taste, and I believe I do have trained my tham jiak tongue to acquire many tastes, textures and temperatures in this case.


We washed it all down with green teas; mine the Korean rice green tea while Q, not such a fan of ‘ricey' green tea ordered the plain one. I guess it was an acquired taste too?

The food was indeed good, filling and most of all healthy. Bonjuk claimed that their foods are made to order and as fresh as can be. After the meal I was still satiated late into the night, not feeling quesy(yes I have a sensitive stomach) or hungry easily. Instead I felt fresh! So thumbs up for a filling yet healthy meal and I would certainly go again whenever I have a chance out with girl-friends that are also the type who join in the healthy hype.

Bonjuk
18, Grd Flr, Jln 25/70A,
Desa Sri Hartamas
50480 Kuala Lumpur
03-2300 2302

Of Black Sea and Fatty Rice

I mentioned that I had a weekend getaway last month, taking advantage of the long weekend where everyone seems to be on holidays which are from Christmas to New Year’s day. I took two days off in between and voila, I have a break of 6 days consecutively (including weekends). So a bunch of us took the opportunity and brave the traffic and the crowd to Port Dickson, down south in Negeri Sembilan, not for the beach but just for the sake of getting out of the city.

Why not the beach? Oh well Port Dickson is a famous beach side stop for most locals in KL and its neighbouring towns, so much so that now it is to the brink of I-would-not-swim-in-it-for-the-life-of-me level. Anyhow, as it is just an hour drive from the city, many still return there for a short urban escape. There are still some preserved beaches by resorts that are still beautiful; I had a team building once from my previous company at one of the posh resorts where the sands are still soft and the sea is still blue. For most of the other commercial hotels though, the sands are black and the sea is of deep murky all-sorts-of-color, and that is when I have not even talk about the common beach yet. Let’s not go there, literary or not. So if you ever plan to come to Malaysia and her beach, try Pulau Redang instead; I went there for a holiday once and I felt that I had been to a place where people featured in postcards. Its difference with Port Dickson was like heaven and hell. It does no justice to Malaysia tourism if you come to Port Dickson for the beach. Let Port Dickson stay as our locals’ desperate getaways or just lazy holidays.

Since it is non-touristy like, there are still many locals that are still around, who should be smart enough to stay out of the beach. So early in the morning, J and I walked out of our Glory Beach Resort, down the street to the nearby shop houses in search for food. Beside the main road, before the shop houses, we found a stall selling our Malaysian most famous breakfast, Nasi Lemak (fatty rice), which is actually rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaves and usually served with sambal! The stall was run by a little family of grandmother, daughter and son. I was so excited to have this food find, as it is rare for us to eat at these kinds of stalls, where the food is home made by a grandmother through her years of well experienced cooking. The food would be true Negeri Sembilan (the state) style, untainted by advancement or fusion of any kind. This would be just the way I like it.

I ordered Nasi Lemak with something very similar to Ayam Masak Merah (red cooked chicken) which is actually chicken cooked with chilli and tomato. The rice is fluffy, not superbly lemak (fatty from the coconut milk) yet still very aromatic of coconut and pandan leaves. The sambal was really spicy; a great kick for a chili lover like me and the chicken was fantastic. I am not kidding you here. It had been such a long time since I get to eat good home cooked Malay food.

As for J, he ordered the same as mine with extra of Beef Rendang. Oh wow, a taste at his rendang and I instantly regretted not ordering it as well. It was thick, full of spices and with that something extra I could not seem to identify. So I stole a few more spoonfuls and then I bit into it, cockles! Yes, this rendang is cooked with cockles and I was surprised it went so well with the rendang as well as the chicken. Whether this is the Negeri Sembilan style, or south style, I wouldn’t care less now as I know where to find it the next time. Or maybe I can use this idea if I ever cook up another beef rendang.

Finally we finished off with a nice kopi tarik, prepared the same was as the ubiquitous teh tarik, where the hot drink is poured from cup to cup, pulling (tarik) it really high each time, to cool the hot drink to the right temperature while creating a frothy drink. We had this courtesy from the ‘son’. Certainly different from the usual Chinese coffee shop taste, but still gives a good kick and a nice variety to my usual coffee regime.

Ah, then with our empty tummy filled, and having our fast broken, we walked back cheerily to our resort.

The stall by the road side,
Before the Glory Beach Resort
Batu 2, Jalan Seremban
Tanjung Gemok
7100 Port Dickson
Negeri Sembilan
West Malaysia

Gypsies Seafood Fare

Finally, my guest blogger is back in action! Some of you might still remember her from reviews from up north in Penang, as well as the few food hunts I had with her. So as we know that now she is in KL, it seems this time she brought a food review all the way from East Malaysia. Let’s see what she brings for us:

I was in East Malaysia for my wonderful year end holidays. As shocking as I am trying to comprehend it myself, it was my third time there this year. 2007 had certainly been an eventful year for me – to graduate, start working and learning to live on my own while assuming bigger responsibilities.

Anyway, it’s about time I write this post for Tham Jiak as it has certainly been awhile. I owe this post to my good friend, rokh, whom I constantly recount my interesting eating experiences with, but never blog about, because of the absence of my camera. Now that it is back with me, I hope to get back to the active blogging cycle again.

If you have been to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, you would probably have trawled the Filipino market, also known as Kota Kinabalu Handicraft Market. Located along Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens, right across Sinsuran Complex, it is renowned for fresh, baked seafood. Anyone whose palate waters up upon the sight of fresh and baked, humongous seafood will be an instant convert when you are here.

This is probably my favourite place to have dinner whenever I am in KK. The Filipino market sells everything from handicraft to food, and by sundown, locals and tourists will have a variety of food to have for dinner.

Locals usually come here for the cheap seafood fanfare if compared to Chinese seafood restaurants. Walk further into the market and you will see make shift stalls lined up with tables and stools at the side for dine-in patrons. Inspect closer and you will notice that each stall serves an almost homogenous menu. Though that may be the situation, some stalls may have an extra item compared to the next, so do observe. A seafood fan will go berserk to see the variety of fishes, prawn, crab and squid that are lightly baked and marinated with sambal because I do whenever I am there!

All you have to do is choose the seafood that tempts you well and the vendors will proceed to re-bake them before serving them to you. Opt to have your seafood with white rice or on their own, either way, it’s an experience to savour.

My dining experience at the Filipino market stretched an extra mile when I was with my company. Like they say, eat like the locals when you are with the locals. My company who has ¼ Filipino blood in him explained that, he comes from a family lineage of sea gypsies. Living in the sea fine-tuned seafarer resourcefulness. Thus, anything edible is a gem.

It is the original sea gypsies’ recipe to have rumpai laut with baked seafood. He shows me plastic containers stacked on the tables containing ingredients I have never seen in my life. There are slimy seaweeds, one type, yellowish, the other, dark green seaweed on stalks with round buds for leaves. Both are known only as rumpai laut (seaweed), the locals treat them like vegetables to their meal but not before, a little D-I-Y mixing.

So how should you do it?

Squeeze one or two limes, shred some cili padi and pour some soy sauce in accordance to your preference, and this will be the add-ons to your concoction of seaweed. You can also choose to add on fresh/uncooked ikan bilis marinated with lime.

The baked seafood, though garnished with an aromatic blend of chilli, onions and garlic, may not necessarily exude enough taste like how it looks. So, you have them alongside your D-I-Y concoction for extra flavouring!

My weakness for seafood, particularly squid is satisfied here but most of the time, the serving is so incredibly huge, I can never finish them. Nevertheless, I find myself, wanting to go back, whenever I want to have seafood.

So, don’t miss out the Filipino market when you are in KK and do try to eat like the gypsies!

Malaysia Flogger #5: Kampung Boy City Gal

Wow, time sure flies especially when you are having fun, and even more so when you are in a routine. Am I making sense here? Anyway, what have I been doing every since my last post of year 2007, saying goodbye to so many good eats, and now saying hello (hopefully) to even more good eats? Well I had been trying to upgrade this little blog of mine, nothing big, did not have my own domain yet, but I have just upgraded the blogger template to the new version (yes, finally!) and the only reason is because I found that the old one had limitations to only 20 posts per label and with no ‘older posts’ link to see more. So there I prayed, I clicked and then I swore (pardon me); I had to do some major repair after that to have back all the links and so forth that I had coded in HTML one by one (yes, I am a geek) and then phew, it looked pretty much the same again now. One thing though, I am in the midst of getting a new layout, new look, new feel, after all my blog is now in its 3rd year, and like kids where 3rd year is their ripe age of discoveries and tantrums (no, I do not have kids and don’t ask me how I know about this), where usually a change is inevitable. So look out for it, I can’t say when knowing my crazy work schedules and my ever procrastinating self.

Speaking of new look, new feel and new domain, Malaysia's very own sweet couple, Kampung Boy and City Gal had just shifted to their own ‘home’, so it is the best time for the Malaysia Floggers interview again! Since the time they started up till now, 2 years later I am still very much in awe with their sweetness and love. They are practically the best food blogging couple, or maybe in every other category as well, for their dedication to each other as well as their passion for food, of course. Just by their name, explaining the boy from the ‘kampung’ (village) and the girl from the city, two really different people, enjoying the same passion for food and now sharing it with the world. Nearly everyone in the Malaysia food blogging scene, bloggers and readers alike, know this amicable couple well and look forward to more of their drool-worthy posts. Oh, I also had to mention that their frequent posts on Ipoh dim sum had me hankering to try it ever since their first introduction two years ago, where it had me every time ‘plan’ to leave Taiping early before going back to KL to stop by Ipoh for dim sum, though it had yet to happen, but I guess maybe the next trip? Anyway, not to wait any longer, read on for the interview I did with City Gal and then right after, head on to their new blog site to enjoy the new stuffs, I personally love their dramatized ‘about us’ page:

1. Tell us a bit bout yourself - name, background, born and bred, work/study, dreams or plans

Citygal is an Ipoh girl in her early 20s that loves to eat, think, dream, crave and devour food, has an infinite wish list with wishes such as more money, bigger boobs, latest gadgets, etc. She is also the one who does the writting and reply to every single comments of you faithful readers.

Kampungboy is an “Anak Kampung”from Kuala Terengganu, in his early 20s, living by the motto of “sek dai hei fook” (eating is a true blessing). With the artsy gene in him, he is the person behind these great shots that makes one drool.

2. Age old question, what got you into blogging, besides the love of food of course
Exactly two years ago, our very first post on Kuala Terengganu steamed keropok lekor was born.....Till now, the passion of blogging is still growing strong. We believe that our passion shines through our posts and pictures.

3. How long have you been food blogging?

We have been doing this for two years and apparently we are celebrating the second anniversary of KampungboyCitygal on the 30th of December (two days later) in our new home http://kampungboycitygal.com/

4. What has food blogging bring/done to you?

We made a lot of new friends along the way. Makan outing with the floggers and readers is simply awesome and carefree.

5. Who/what got you obsess with food/cooking?

My parents are very adventurous in scouring food around that I have developed the love for food since a very young age. I love to have the more adventurous accompaniments, like sheep’s stomach or pork blood to be in my bowl of noodles and rice too.


6. What is one food you always wanted to try/cook/bake but have yet to do so and why

100% homemade fish ball without salicylic acid added to increase its palatability. KampungBoy’s mum can make impeccable bouncy and springy fish ball but it requires a lot of hard work. We were so determined to get some fresh fishes from the market, scrap the flesh off, and throw the fleshes against a hard surface to work it into glue with a strong forearm. Hmmm maybe one fine day we’ll do it, one fine day……

7. List some food blogs that inspires you or got you hooked

I used to be a big fan of http://masak-masak.blogspot.com and http://foodcrazee.blogspot.com/ before I started my own blog. I still check on their blog regularly but my latest addictions would be http://awhiffoflemongrass.blogspot.com/ and http://ugwug.blogspot.com/


8. What would be your one comfort food that will sure brighten the day?

A good plate of nasi lemak with the usual condiments like sambal, fried ikan bilis, chicken, cucumber slices and egg. The rice has to be aggregated loosely together, instead of wet and clumpy. Of course the killer factor would be the fiery red and thick sambal sauce!

9. Sweet or savoury?

Both!! Citygal is a sucker for sweet stuff where all her meals need to be ended with a cup of good ol’ coffee or sinful desserts. Kampungboy loves all thing savoury, especially soupy dishes.

10. Name one food addiction and tell us how you go about it (avoiding/indulging/making/sharing).

Ipoh Dim Sum it is. We would make a trip back to Ipoh to satisfy our dim sum cravings every now and then.

11. One Malaysian dish you can't do without and why

Nasi Lemak. Can you imagine life without nasi lemak? The triangle shaped delight that we can have it for breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner and supper.

12. Name one cuisine you love and would need a fix for now and then

Tom Yam with its unique sour and spicy taste, pronounced chilli flavor and fragrant herbs is simple irresistible. It is a great cure whenever one of us is down with flu.

13. Tell us your favourite post of all time - favourite recipe/food review

My first attempt on curry fish head - http://kampungboycitygal.blogspot.com/2007/04/my-first-attempt-on-curry-fish-head.html. It is so not me because I find it hard to drag myself into whipping up a dish that requires a lot of work. Eventually I did it and I’m fairly happy with the outcome.

14. Some advices for the budding or new food bloggers in Malaysian scene

I would like to reiterate my appreciation for the effort you all are doing on behalf of those of all the food lovers out there. Keep up the good work. Enjoy eating as much as we do and be passionate about it.

15. Drop a message for your readers and the food fans out there

Thanks for dropping by and leaving comments. You guys are the main factor that keeps us going on. Our passion for food blogging is continuously fueled by you guys.

16. Share with us a must make recipe/a must eat place (send along a picture if available)

Do try out the sinful butter crabs at Wong Poh Aman Suria - http://kampungboycitygal.com/?p=240 and not to forget our all time favourite Foh San Dim Sum, Ipoh - http://kampungboycitygal.com/?p=305

Best of 2007

When I first read this event from One Hot Stove, I was like “wow, what a great idea!” Ecstatically I click to my own blog to review it for the year 2007. To my own disappointment though, I found Ithat I was actually a bad blogger of 2007, for the first half of the year I was practically missing in action, with just an occasional post as if to revive a dying blog. Then I started to pick up the momentum again for the last half year, with me resoluting recently to be once again active in the food blogging scene. Anyway with just the half year efforts of postings, and very little cooking, I will try to give you the bests of my blog in 2007, with more to look forward to in the New Year to come.

Best Recipe attempted in 2007

Banana Fro-yo
A delightful healthy treat that I have churned out many times every since my first try, taking advantage of our local sweet bananas that are crazily cheap when they are at the ripest blackened time, which also meant the sweetest and softest time, best for churning to make Banana Frozen Yoghurt.

Best Restaurant discovered in 2007

Grandma’s Kitchen
J and I have been back there for numerous times when we hanker for some authentic home cooking fares. Never failed with many of the dishes we tried, maybe time for a second review when I had tried more new dishes.

Best Dish encountered in 2007

Som Tum
I have nearly expressed all my love for this dish in my love letter, what more can I say about this sweet yet tangy delectable salad that had me looking out for it every time I am in Bangkok.

Best Idea thought of in 2007
Malaysian Floggers Interviews
The idea struck me one day out of nowhere that it would be great fun for me to interview the bloggers behind the scene of various great Malaysian food blogs out there. There are many more to come in 2008, as now Malaysian food bloggers are popping up like mushrooms after the rain, therefore they would certainly be interested in so many of our seasoned food bloggers that had been around for years.

Best Place traveled in 2007

Bangkok
Alright, this one seem to be a bit cheating as it seems to be the only place I traveled that I blogged about but what who am I to resist, it was certainly a land of good food, great affordable massages and cheap yet trendy clothes. It was also testified by many food bloggers out there.

Best Celebration and Gift for a tham jiak in 2007

My Birthday
It has to be definitely my birthday celebration where J had brought me to a buffet of delectable spread of food, food and more food. I wish it is my birthday again, but then again, we all do not need a reason to splurge once a while on food right (hinting to J)?

Cooking and eating resolutions for 2008
These resolutions would seem like the most overused and over committed resolutions of this blog, just like the resolution to lose weight by so many people of this world, year after year. But somehow, we can’t run away from our unfulfilled resolutions, it will haunt us till we finally make it, therefore along with the crowd of just-human, I resolute to once again do more cooking and baking; try to eat in more often on my own home cook fares, make more delicious and healthy desserts for breakfasts or munchies, bake cakes for my family, 1984 and friends for their birthdays, start again on my abandoned ‘Exploring My Origin' project, venture out to try more of the food that Malaysia have to offer, travel to more places to eat what the locals eat and most of all, to put it all into this humble tham jiak blog of mine to share with everyone in the food blogosphere, where without you all, I would not have learn so much on cooking, baking and enjoying food to its fullest! In other words, I am aiming to be more tham jiak in the coming year, he-he.

Till then, see you next year and I wish you a very Happy New Year!

Winter in Malaysia

So it is end of the year again. December always seem to be the special month of the year, something like a black sheep of the family. Technically it is no different of any other month in the year, but somehow it is special. To some it would mean Christmas but to the Chinese it would mean Dongzhi Festival, for the school goers it would mean holiday and for many others it would just mean the end of year, the time to reflect, to pay gratitude and settle personal debts if there are.

As a Malaysian Chinese, even though I have never been to my origin of country before, China, where my grandparents and great-grandparents came from, I was like the rest here who had never forgetten their culture. We are still tied very much to our roots, calling ourselves Chinese, proudly claiming which clan we are from – Hokkien, Cantonese, Hakka, Teo Chew, and Hainan and so on. It is so natural, where one Chinese would ask another their surname (to judge) or just asking straight out which clan they are from.

So even though we have long (or always) been living in Malaysia, and even with the ever predictable weather of either rain or shine, we still carried on the tradition of celebrating Dongzhi (Winter Solstice) Festival, where in Cantonese we call it Kor Tong, loosely translated as 'passing through the winter'. So in order to kor tong, the tradition is to eat Tong Yuen (glutinous rice dumplings), along with various hot sweet soup, my Ah Ma usually make the sweet ginger soup version. It seems that we like to celebrate with glutinous rice, reminded me of my Bak Chang for Duan Wu festival.

As I said before, after coming up to KL, away from family, I seldom have the chance to enjoy all these festivals anymore, what more to have the chance to eat Ah Ma’s tong yuen. I wish I would have the chance to once again make these with her, rolling of colorful balls, making them round this time. Fortunately though, I had a chance to eat home made tong yuen this ‘winter’ as J’s mum made some for the family. J and I only had it today, late from the real date because we had been away for a weekend escapade with friends (food adventure to follow soon). I was so happy when I found that J’s mum had made the sweet ginger soup version, this one sweeten with my favourite gula Melaka. J’s mum made small plain tong yuen in pinks and also big white ones with crushed peanuts filling. It was absolutely delicious! So I guess now I have officially kor tong, what bout you?


By the way to everyone who is celebrating, Merry Christmas, and to the Chinese of the world, Happy Dongzhi and I wish you all abundant with family and friends reunions.