Wanderlust

Dinner at Wang Chiew Seafood Restaurant - 2nd visit

2010-03-02T11:59:00.000+08:00

As I've mentioned in my earlier post, Wang Chiew Seafood Restaurant is fast becoming a favourite. I've had a few dinners there after my first post and although I didn't manage to take photos of every dish we ordered, here's just a few.

The mantis prawn in cereal and salted egg is a firm favourite, as always.Stir-fried broccoli with prawns quite good too. The broccoli retains its crunch and the prawns are good-sized and fresh.We tried the Assam Fish Head curry and found it quite appetizing. The tart assam curry goes really well with steamed white rice. The curry comes with chunks of fish head, long beans, brinjals, ladies fingers and tofu puffs.I always try to order a tofu dish with every meal. Wang Chiew's specialty is actually an Indonesian curry tofu. I forgot to take photos of that dish but instead got this one which is soft tofu braised with loofah gourd, mushrooms, baby sweetcorn and carrots.

I will be posting more photos from Wang Chiew's menu later.

Dinner with friends at South Pacific Seafood Restaurant, PJ State

2010-02-28T11:30:00.000+08:00

I had dinner with several good friends recently to celebrate .... friendships, new year, new life, whatever! What better way to celebrate that to have a lobster fest? Great food plus good friends - it's the perfect combination! So we all converged at South Pacific Seafood Restaurant in PJ State to begin our yummy fest.

We ordered the lobster in two different styles - Steamed in Chinese herbs and wine and Marmite. The Marmite lobster was lip-smacking with the sweetish Marmite sauce clinging to the shells and huge chunks of lobster meat. We all agreed it was very good! The steamed lobster in Chinese herbs and wine was equally good as we can actually taste the sweetness of the lobster. It's very light and is quite a contrast to the Marmite lobster. The very popular satay comes in big sticks of chicken meat marinated in a special blend of spices. There is no peanut sauce to accompany the satay but that's fine because the satay is good enough on it's own.We also ordered the Stirfried frog legs with ginger and scallions. Unfortunately, this dish is disappointing. The frog legs are big enough although there seems to be something missing in the sauce. I'm not sure if it is because our expectations were raised to such dizzying levels after the lobster that we are not able to enjoy anything else after it. South Pacific Seafood Restaurant is located at PJ State, behind the former State cinema. It's open daily from 6pm until late.

Sorry!

2010-02-28T11:02:00.002+08:00

I apologize for the long absence. Admittedly, it's been months since I last updated my blog. I'm still trying to get my new responsibilities in order. The last couple of months have been such a whirlwind and I am really finding it hard to find little snatches of time to log onto the internet. That's no excuse of course, just because there are some changes doesn't mean I have to lose touch with the world. I promise I'll try to log on and write more often. Writing is strangely therapeutic for me and I suppose that's a good thing after a stressful day.

Lunch at Wang Chiew Seafood Restaurant, SS2

2009-12-15T07:08:00.002+08:00

We stumbled upon Wang Chiew Seafood Restaurant recently, much to our pleasant surprise. After years of living in PJ, I don't know how we could have missed it. It could be because it's hidden in this single row of shophouses smack in the middle of the SS2's residential area. Now that we've found this gem of a restaurant, we're sure to be visiting more often.

For our lazy weekend lunch, we ordered several dishes such as Deepfried mantis prawn with salted egg yolks and cereal, Claypot seafood, Crispy pig intestines with dried shrimps, Butter sotong and stir-fried vegetables.

The deepfried mantis prawn with salted egg yolks and cereal is a definite winner. Wang Chiew's version is coated with mashed salted egg yolk and Nestum. The slightly salty egg yolk and sweetness from the cereal makes this a very addictive dish. I can't stop popping this into my mouth.

Next up is the Fried pig's intestines with dried shrimps. I've never eaten this dish before and although I do like pig's intestines I thought this dish is too simple. The intestines were crunchy but otherwise tasteless although the dried shrimps did add a little saltiness to the dish.

My mom loves sea-cucumber and fish maw so the Claypot Seafood is her favourite must-order dish everytime we eat out. Wang Chiew's version is quite tasty and comes with big chunks of sea cucumber, fish maw, mushrooms, baby sweetcorn and brocolli.

We ordered the Butter Sotong because it seemed to be on every table on the day we ate at Wang Chiew. The reason is evident when I popped the first morsel into my mouth. The sweet creamy sauce enveloping the crispy sotong is a clear winner. Absolutely delicious!

Our bill came to about RM50+ including drinks for 3 adults and 1 child. Wang Chiew's address is 30, Jalan ss2/103, 47300 Petaling Jaya,Tel: 03-7223662. Business Hour: 11.30am-10.30pm

Humans vs Monsters

2009-12-14T07:57:00.002+08:00

I don't know where to start......

I am speechless. Horrified. Frightened. The source of this? The report in yesterday's papers about beggars in our midst. Not just any beggar, but beggars belonging to syndicates .... and highly disfigured with acid and missing limbs. I'm not afraid of the beggars, no. I'm horrified at the prospect that these might be victims of human trafficking.

These beggars were so badly disfigured that if their family members met them, they'll never recognize them. Beggars who lost their fingers to avoid detection by their authorities. No fingers means no fingerprints. It's the saddest thing. How did we, as humans, ever come to this stage?

I am horrified at the cruelty that my fellow human beings are capable of. Distraught for the family members of the victims who lose a loved one, never knowing where they are. Saddened for the lives of the victims who will now become slaves for a lifetime.

I wonder why we go on labelling mythical beings as monsters and fear ghouls when what we should really be doing is fear our human brothers and sisters for the cruelty that they are capable of. They are the real monsters in our midst.

Bookworms unite!

2009-12-02T08:00:00.000+08:00

I went to the Big Bad Wolf books warehouse sale last week with my daughter and had such an interesting time. If anything ever gets me excited, it's a book sale. Book sales are my retail therapy equivalent to shopping for clothes and other girly stuff. For a time I actually wondered if I'm the weird one out but last week's experience at the book sale put that thought to rest. I met many, many bookworms while waiting for the book people to open their doors to us into book heaven. You know who the bookworms are - we are the ones who are there right at the front of the gates excitedly straining our necks to see what's inside and planning all our strategies. Quite ridiculous, actually. We'd compare notes and share stories, and I was very pleased to find similar-minded people who actually thought nothing of spending huge amounts of money on books because we think it's worth it. Like they say, birds (or in this case, should it be worms?) of a feather flock together ... and there were many birds (worms?) that day. Not only that, we all practically had the same thoughts on lots of other topics too - shopping for clothes, for instance. To us, it seems that if a shirt fits - great! Now can we have all five colors of the same shirt and get this shopping over with! It's so different when we talk about books. The mood changes entirely - everyone gets excited and we're all suddenly talking like old friends. Someone commented that bookworms are not environmentally friendly since trees have to be cut down to feed our habit. That's true, but a bookworm will never give up the joy of holding the book in their hands. Oddly, we just don't find the same joy by reading a book over the computer screen. It somehow takes away a very substantial part of the fun of reading a book. We bought lots of books at the book sale but it just never seemed to be enough. We are eagerly waiting for the next sale again and next time I will be even more prepared! For the time being, I am eager and happy to just lose myself in the books that we purchased last week.

Living with dyslexia

2009-11-19T07:30:00.001+08:00

Dyslexia is often regarded as a developmental learning difficulty but I would like to think of it as learning difference.

If you’ve been reading my blog, I would never have come across as a dyslexic. The fact is I am. I’ve had to contend with learning difficulties in school because the traditional educational setting just do not recognize the possibility of children learning in a different way from their peers. It is especially so in the Malaysian educational setting where students learn by rote. It was exceptionally hard for me, thus I am almost always among the last in class during my school years. That’s not to say that I’m stupid. Far from it, actually. I won’t blow my own trumpet and say I’m exceptionally intelligent either. It is just that I do better at some subjects, languages and arts specifically, and just can’t understand other subjects. I was always the top scorer in school for English and Bahasa Malaysia so the teachers are always perplexed by the rest of my results. I have never had to sit down and study when it came to languages and arts. It all just came naturally. By the time I was in secondary school, I was helping some of my classmates with their homework. However, being good in languages is not enough to make it in life. My parents, worried for my future, sent me to tuition after tuition in the hope that my results would improve. That didn’t work, obviously, and I hated those after-school tuition sessions fervently. It was such a surprise to everyone that I even managed to scrape through my exams.

At that time, students were put into two categories, the smart ones and the not-so-smart ones. No one had any inkling about learning disabilities then. It’s a different world today, thank goodness because my daughter was recently diagnosed as a dyslexic too. I’m not too worried about her diagnostic because frankly, I don’t see dyslexia as a disability. I see it as more of a gift because dyslexics also happen to be very creative people. At a time when everyone wants to “think out of the box”, no one can do it better than dyslexics. Can you imagine what a boring world this would be without dyslexics? If dyslexic luminaries such as Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Walt Disney, Lee Kuan Yew, Richard Branson and countless others can achieve such great heights of success, dyslexia can only be described as a gift.

When I am confronted by mothers who revel in discussing the number of As their children got in their last exam, I am comforted by what Sir Jackie Stewart said, “You be nice to people with dyslexia because one day you might be working for them”. That just about makes my day.

Reasons for divorce

2009-11-10T07:10:00.003+08:00

Recently, it was reported in the local dailies that divorce rates were high in Terengganu. The reasons given for divorce borders on ridiculousness. How does boring sex, spouses in old pajamas and whose body odour smells like fish crackers even get into the equation for divorce these days? Boring sex life, maybe, but old pajamas and fish crackers? Call me old-fashioned, but whatever happened to simple old "irreconciliable differences" as reasons for divorce? If we're to believe such ludicruos reasons for divorce, then we'll all soon be expected to go to bed looking like Victoria's Secret models. Don't forget a spritz of a sexy perfume to raise the temperatures! Do we now have such unrealistic expectations for our spouses that a marriage can't work simply because the spouse concerned goes to bed donning old pajamas? The reasons are highly suspect, for it may seem like just an excuse to get rid of wife no. 1, to make way for wife no. 2, no. 3 and no. 4? What do you think?

Weekend buffet lunch @ Oriental Banquet

2009-11-03T07:22:00.001+08:00

We celebrated my mom's birthday recently at Oriental Banquet for a weekend lunch buffet. We had originally wanted to try the buffet at Noble House in KL but they are always fully booked, thus we were told to try our luck at Oriental Banquet.

We managed to book our table without fuss for lunch on Sunday. Our reservation was for 11:30am and when we arrived there were only a couple of tables of guests there. The buffet line was not completely set up yet so I managed to sneak in some photos while they set up. There's a decent amount of food there so I will just let the pictures speak for themselves.

Our menu for RM39.00++ per pax consists of a bowl of sharksfin soup with crabstick for each person. The soup was quite mediocre although for RM39.00++ it's decent with real sharksfin.

I liked the appetiser section where the food is served in dainty spoons and shooter glasses. My favourite is the pomelo salad with octopus. The tangy salad and the chewy octopus topped with crispy squid is quite addictive and I found myself going back for more. The crispy fish skin topped with salsa is also quite good.

For the hot mains, there were a wide selection of dishes to choose from such as spinach tofu with mushrooms, moneybags, steamed fish, braised chicken, glutinous rice, yong tau foo and noodles.

There's a section of hot soups too with bak-kut-teh, yellow wine chicken and carrot soup.The selection of dishes are rotated so there is actually a wide range if you stay for longer hours. There's peking duck which I had to queue up for and also suckling pig for which I had to wait for the 3rd round before I finally got a chance to get to it before it's all gone.

I managed to take some pictures of the process for the Peking duck.

There's just a small table for desserts like Chinese pancake, ice-cream, fruits and hot desserts such as gingko and soya.

Oriental Banquet is a part of the Oriental Restaurants Group and is located at 16 Jalan 19/1, Section 19, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel : 03-7957 8488.

Fear of .....?

2009-10-07T06:57:00.000+08:00

Fear. Now, that’s a word that many of us can relate to. Being human, it’s natural for us to fear the unknown. However, I do think that people go overboard sometimes. Like fearing a bespectacled boy like Harry Potter, for instance.

I am always amused at why books/movies like Harry Potter and Da Vinci Code even warrant a religious discussion. Because to me, these are purely entertainment. I very much doubt that watching a two-hour movie like Harry Potter is going to make people want to join the occult. Surely it takes more than just a movie (a PG-13 rated one at that!) to want to sell your soul to the devil? No doubt the invasion of the vampires will soon get some people’s knickers in a twist again.

How amusing it is that people fear books, movies, setting foot in other places of worship, yoga, sport anything that resembles a dragon or worse, participate in the funeral rites for one’s parent. Did these people honestly believe that by indulging or participating in any of the above their faith in their religion will diminish? Or wiped out? Is it that simple? If their faith can be so easily shaken by something as trivial as these then obviously they need to rethink their faith. And no, I did not just pluck these examples out of the air. It’s unfortunate but I do happen to know people who fear all the above. The last example is most upsetting. I think it's unbecoming for a child to refuse to perform funeral rites for his parent because it is against his religion. Surely God will not begrudge a person a final act of filial piety?

I’ve been to many places of worship, participated in the activities, have had Christian cell group meetings at my home and even pray alongside my children at night (to Jesus Christ!) but I’ve never been tempted to simply rush out and convert to Christianity. My faith in my religion has never been shaken and it will never be.

My point is, do we really need to be told that we can’t do this, can’t watch this, can’t do that? Are we incapable of making our own decisions? It is an inherent part of human nature to be curious about things and being restricted means added curiosity equals to mistakes. Anyway, we don’t need moral guardians, well, at least I don’t need them because they are an absolute insult to my intelligence. I just wish that people have a little more faith in themselves instead of feeling threatened by everything that comes along their path. Life is just not meant to be lived that way.

Best fish paste noodles @ Old Town

2009-10-06T07:03:00.001+08:00

Where do you go when you crave for some good old-fashioned noodle soup that's packed with goodness? Me? I go to a little stall at the back of a house in Old Town, PJ. This little stall has no name, hence no signboards and is only known through word-of-mouth. It can't be seen from the road either because it's hidden right at the back of a house. The word-of-mouth advertising must be serving them well because it's packed with customers and waiting time for a bowl of noodle soup can stretch from 30 minutes to 40 minutes.

So, what makes them so different that people are actually willing to wait that long for a bowl of noodle soup? It's the best I've ever had. I usually order the flat rice noodles (kuey teow) and my bowl of noodles come with a very generous amount of vegetables, 3 big pieces of very tasty fish paste (yee wat) and a piece of stuffed tofu skin in a very light sweet broth that doesn't taste of MSG. The amount of vegetables in that one bowl can easily match 3 bowls at any other stall.Of course, if that's not enough, you can also add sui kow (dumplings), stuffed tau pok, stuffed brinjals and stuffed bittergourd. Be warned though, the sui kow portion is huge and is very filling! I like to add the stuffed beancurd skin. It's really delicious.They also serve pork noodles with minced & sliced pork and liver. As you can see below, the ingredients are so much more than the ones served elsewhere. The best thing about this noodle stall is not because of the generous portions of ingredients that they serve. Instead it is the wholesome goodness of the noodle soups that taste like it's home-made that keeps me going back for more.

Restaurant Extra Super Tanker - 2nd visit

2009-10-05T07:26:00.002+08:00

This post is a couple of months overdue as I totally forgot about it. We had a farewell for a colleague and since most have not been to Restaurant Extra Super Tanker, we decided to have the farewell lunch there.

We actually ordered quite a lot of dishes but I won't put everything up here again because I've already reviewed those dishes on my first post.

We ordered a whole suckling pig which was delicious! The skin was crispy and although parts of the suckling pig were a bit fatty, it was still very good.

The Steamed Lucky Fish with BeancurdRoll & Bamboo Sheet were smooth and naturally sweet. We liked this dish very much. It's very light and is perfect to offset the cholesterol-laden suckling pig.We also had Fried HK Cabbage with yam in soup. This dish is surprisingly tasty although it looks simple. I didn't think yam and vegetables would mix very well, so I am surprised that it did. The vegetable were cooked with cubes of yam and dried shrimps in a very sweet stock.I'm not usually a fan of fried rice, but the recommended Special Yam Fried Rice was very tasty. It had bits of salted duck egg yolks, ham and yam and was delicious to the last grain. Very yummy indeed!

We were too full to order desserts by the time we were done, but it was a very satisfying meal.

Roasted Goose at Spring 99 Restaurant @ Glenmarie

2009-10-02T07:51:00.001+08:00

We were treated to a roasted goose dinner recently with a group of friends. I've never heard of Spring 99 before this, but I was told that it has very good char siew (barbequed pork). So obviously I jumped at the opportunity when we were invited to dinner at Restoran Spring 99.

We were served roasted goose, char siew, steamed chicken and a bevy of other dishes. I was very keen to try the roasted goose as it's not something that's easily available in Malaysia. Apparently the goose is imported from Shenzhen, just like those served in Hong Kong. I love roasted goose from Hong Kong, it's a can't miss dish whenever I visit. The roasted goose served at Spring 99 was very good. I liked the crispy skin and the meat was tender too. If you needed any indication on how good the roasted goose was, I ate a whole plate all by myself. We were also served the steamed chicken but I can't comment on it because I didn't try it. I was too busy eating the goose.The piece de resistance is of course, the char siew. The char siew served were "pun fei sao" and it was totally delectable. It sounds like a cholesterol-laden dish, in fact, it is, but all that caution will be thrown to the wind the moment you pop a piece into your mouth because the char siew melts in your mouth, literally! It was so good! I usually like my meats lean, but I'll make an exception for this one. The char siew were coated in a sweet sauce and were very addictive, especially the slightly charred bits that gave it a smoky edge.

To counter all the oily food, we were served blanched ladies fingers (okra) that were tossed in a lime-based sauce with bird's eye chilis. It's a very interesting way for eating ladies fingers. The ladies fingers were still crunchy and the lime-based sauce were appetizing and certainly helped us clean our palate after huge helpings of roasted goose and char siew.

I also liked their house specialty drink called Seaweed lime. It's a very refreshing drink made with seaweed that gave it some bite.

Restoran Spring 99 takes orders for the roast goose (3 days advance) and also does other dishes on weekend nights.

It is located at 3 Jalan Peniaga U1/35, Hicom Industrial Park, Glenmarie, 40150 Shah Alam, Selangor.

Tel : +6012-302 9698

Joe's Place, The Kopitiam @ Plaza Damas

2009-09-17T07:33:00.000+08:00

We stumbled onto this little kopitiam recently whilst shopping at Hartamas Shopping Centre. We were looking for a place for lunch and the shops inside the shopping centre did not appeal to us, so we decided to venture onto Plaza Damas and found ourselves at Joe's Place.

They were having a special that day for Mee Bandung Muar @ RM6.90 per set inclusive of a drink. I've never tried Mee Bandung before but my hubby seems to like it. The yellow noodles were drenched in a sweetish peanut-based sauce and served in a claypot.
I had Fish Head Noodles with a request for them to omit the milk. The thin rice vermicelli were served in a tangy soup made with salted vegetables, tomatores, coriander and deep fried fish head pieces. I quite like this dish. The tang in the soup makes it very appetising. At RM6.90 a bowl, it was quite affordable too.For drinks, we had Black Iced Coffee, Ribena Longan and Iced Barley. The Ais Kacang was nice too, with lots of sweetcorn, kidney beans, cendol strips, sago pearls, grass jelly and topped with gula melaka & rose syrup and milk.Joe's Place, The Kopitiam is at Unit No. 1 Block F, No. 6 Jalan Sri Hartamas, Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur. Tel : +603-62012389.

The most amazing thirst-quencher in Penang!

2009-09-14T07:52:00.002+08:00

There's this neat little place that my family have been going to for our thirst-quenchers while in Penang. It's been there for as long as I remember, so long in fact, the first time I was there I was but a little child. Apparently it was started in Penang in 1928 when the owner moved his business from Sri Lanka. The shop is hidden in a little nook on Tamil Street near the Chowrasta Market.
It's called "Ais Tingkap" (I think they came up with this name quite recently coz I don't ever remember it having a name at all!). It's a coconut drink, made with coconut water and topped with olibanum gum resin, coconut flesh, crushed ice and soaked basil seeds and a spritz of their special ingredient. That little spritz makes all the difference! The fragrance that it imparts makes this drink one of a kind. It's the perfect thirst quencher on a hot day.I haven't found anything remotely close to this in KL or any other parts of Penang for that matter. Every time I am in Penang I make it a habit to indulge in this drink.

The ais tingkap stall is closed on Sundays.

Adjacent to the ais tingkap stall is a stall selling hot-off-the-wok prawn fritters and fried tofu. The prawn fritters are to die-for. It's crispy outside, and so soft and chewy inside. The prawn fritters and tofu are served with a home-made peanut based sauce. Who says indulgences have to be expensive? The best food are sometimes found in the most unlikely of places, this being one of them.

A family of bookworms

2009-09-10T19:34:00.008+08:00

Books have always been an integral part of my life, partly stemmed from the fact that as a child, toys were a luxury my family could ill afford. My toys were almost always dismembered remnants of what it should have been so I had no other choice but to look elsewhere for entertainment. My fondest childhood memories centered around my favourite books, books that were everywhere in the house, brought home by my father who was then working for a publishing company. They were not only my source of entertainment, they were also very much a source of knowledge in my growing up years. I remembered reading for the first time the Pharoahs of Egypt and seeing Tutankhamun's gold sarcophagus in all its splendour. I was immediately hooked and my fixation with the ancient Egyptians has continued to this day.

As I grew, it was only right that my fondness for books grew too. I started buying books and soon, I had amassed quite a collection. I loved my books, old as they may be. Each one of them have given me so much joy. They were a form of escapism for me, to escape from the realities of life for a short while. My reality is not at all bad, of course, but I do believe it's healthy to just let go once in a while. You see, it's a little different for me when I read, for the characters from the stories come to life in my mind's eye and for a time even, I lived and breathed the stories that I read. I can see, hear and feel the characters so vividly they almost seemed real. It can be quite disorienting at times, but that just adds to the excitement. I loved books that are very descriptive because it just makes it so much more real for me. I've spent many a sleepless night for that reason.

I am not limited to just a few choices when it comes to books. I'll read anything - be it fiction or non-fiction. My choice of book depends very much on the mood I'm in although I draw the line at "trash". I read on a wide range of subjects - autobiographies by famous world leaders are a favourite. I also like thrillers and conspiracy theories that keep me on the edge. I have no qualms reading horror books either although I'm quite the scaredy-cat. I have always had such a morbid fascination with vampires and I've a collection from Bram Stoker's Dracula to Anne Rice's Lestat to my current favourite, Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga. I guess it wouldn't be very far off-mark to say I'm always well-read.

My love of reading have rubbed off quite positively on my eldest daughter. She was introduced to books at 5 months old and she's loved them ever since. She's 8 now, and not a day goes by without her reading at least a page a day. Obviously I've amassed quite a collection of children's books too. Our collection has many an award winner as well as encyclopedias and children classics. I've recently introduced books to my youngest, who's almost 6 months old. Hopefully, in time she'll enjoy reading with us too.

Recently I gave away boxes of my old books to my hubby's church library. I did it with a heavy heart because those books were such a huge part of my past. I will take comfort that instead of languishing in the store room packed into boxes, those books will now be a part of someone else's life. I hope it will bring immense joy to the reader, whoever that may be, just as it had for me.

Yam Abacus seeds at Seong Kee Hakka Yong Tau Foo

2009-08-06T07:50:00.000+08:00

We had lunch today at Seong Kee at the Old Town Taman Selera. A colleague told me that this stall was featured in a tv program. The first time I went there the yam abacus seeds were all sold out but today I got to try it.

I'm not going to write a glowing report because personally, I think it's an acquired taste. My colleague who's Hakka likes it. She thinks it's nice and tasty. The abacus seeds are expensive, at least by my standards. It's RM15 a plate and comes stir-fried with Chinese celery, tofu, wood fungus and minced pork.I know the yam abacus is supposed to be Seong Kee's popular dish, but I really liked their fried chicken wings instead. The wings were hot off the wok and are crispy and tasty. Each wing & drummet costs RM2.50, each order comes with 2 so that makes it RM5.00.

Seong Kee Yong Tow Foo Stall No. 35, Taman Selera, Jalan Othman, Petaling Jaya

Tel No: 03 - 7781 0946

A Slice of Heaven by Just Heavenly

2009-07-27T07:16:00.002+08:00

I was ecstatic to learn that the famed Just Heavenly recently opened a new outlet at Jaya One in Petaling Jaya. I've wanted to try their cakes for so long and since I was going shopping at Cold Storage, I was bent on killing two birds with one stone. I've since visited A Slice of Heaven a few times because the cakes are so good, we could never get enough of it.

A Slice of Heaven is a cozy little cake boutique painted in sky blue with clouds. So dreamy! There are no chairs or tables, just a take-away counter that showcases the most amazing cakes.

There's even a pretty cookie tree strung with cookies of all shapes and colours.
Did I mention the cakes? Oh.... they are glorious! We tried the Death by Chocolate, Chocolate Durian and also their 3ple Espresso Brownie. Of all the times we've been back, we just keep buying the same types over and over because it's just something we could never get enough of!

The 3ple Espresso Brownie was really good. There were chunks of chocolate pieces and nuts that our little girl really liked. The Chocolate Durian is simply out-of-this-world. Initially I thought the combination of chocolate and durian kind of weird, but all it takes is just one mouthful to win me over. It is by far, the most interesting and most delicious cake I've ever eaten! The explosion of flavours - the pungent durian and the bitter-sweet smoothness of the chocolate is incredible. It is the one cake that we fight over, would you believe?

We also liked the Banana Cream Pie which was filled with custard cream and topped with slices of caramelized bananas. Our little girl loved this so much she finished the whole pie.

A Slice of Heaven is located at Block E, Unit 23, Level B2, Phase 2 (next to Cold Storage).

Why?

2009-07-24T07:45:00.000+08:00

I had another one of those conversations recently with someone from the older generation and again, it affirms the wide generation gap that separates us.

Our discussion centred on the fate of women whose husbands-to-be died before their wedding. As with most of my discussions with members of the older generations, it seemed to me that all the blame is simply pinned onto the unfortunate women. And so, I've come to the conclusion that our sisters are suffering simply because it is us women who make it so. Yes, in the past the men might have set the double standards, but it is the women who ensured that such double standards are carried out religiously. How else do you explain that they label the unfortunate bride-to-be as "white foot soles" (a direct translation from Hokkein) which means bad luck? To me that just smacks of absolute insensitivity at a time when all we needed to do was to offer our condolences and where possible, our help.

This isn't the first time a woman is blamed for whatever bad luck that befalls her family. Sometimes, it isn't just women who gets the blame. Would you believe that even newborn babies are blamed? If a woman dies after childbirth, the newborn is deemed to have brought her mother bad luck. How is it that we can simply label an innocent newborn and have her grow up in a society with such a stigma hovering over her head? Could we not give a thought instead to how the poor baby had to grow up without a mother's love?

I'm not sure if those people who so easily label the innocent realize that one day, it just might be them at the other end of the stick. I wonder when it comes to that, would they have even liked it one bit?

I'm aware that the older generation will still steadfastly hold onto such "traditions" because it is a part of their culture. But surely, we don't necessarily have to keep cultures that condemn and hurt, especially when we can all make educated decisions. It is up to us, the younger generation, to effect that change by teaching our children that now is the time to stop the blame.

Rediscovering The King of Pop

2009-07-01T07:38:00.002+08:00

For the past few days I have been rediscovering Michael Jackson’s music and with it, revisiting my childhood memories. It is ironic that he missed out on his own childhood and yet enrich ours so much with his music. I realized that his music does indeed transcend time. Just as I grew up with his music, my 8 year old daughter discovered his music in pre-school when the kids performed to “Heal the World” in the school concert. Today she is rediscovering his music along with me, each one of us reminiscing about a part of our lives. The King of Pop may be gone but his music and legacy lives on.

RIP Michael Jackson

2009-06-26T20:03:00.003+08:00

What a bad dream today is. I heard the announcers on the radio paying tribute to Michael Jackson this morning and wondered why. Then came news that he has passed away. The rest of the day I spent reading about the hows and whens and why's ... and then it hit me. It's hard to imagine a world without Michael Jackson. I still remembered the first time I "discovered" pop music. The radio played Beat It and I was immediately hooked. Michael Jackson had just released Thriller and I remembered how enamoured I was with his music. I collected every single album he had, sang to his songs, followed his every move from the tabloids and magazines. Then came the weird years. Sure, after the music, everyone wanted to see the "freak" that he's become and I guess for a while people forgot about the great music and performer and instead just saw the freak. CNN is giving him lots of airtime today and it brought back memories of the consummate performer who had us all enthralled with his music and his life. The thing is, I've grown older and discovered more singers and different music along the way. But one thing that has not changed is how much Michael Jackson has been a part of my growing up years at one time and how I now realized that he is irreplaceable. I just can't imagine the world without Michael Jackson. I think a lot of people, especially those who grew up with his music, feels the same way. May you finally find peace, Michael.

Friday's, 1-Utama Old Wing

2009-06-25T07:47:00.000+08:00

Last Friday my hubby and I took a day off work to spend time with our elder daughter who has been sorely neglected ever since the baby arrived. It was a day that she got to dictate and decide what she wanted to do. And since it's a Friday, she wanted to have lunch at Friday's.

For drinks, I liked the Granny Smith Green Apple soda. It was very good!

Friday's always have such big servings which are just too much for Asian stomachs. So we took their offer of a 2-course meal for RM29.90. For the appetizer, we ordered boneless wings which are not actually wings, but are succulent chicken breasts coated with buffalo wing sauce. The chicken were quite delicious.

We ordered Fish & Chips for the main. We got 2 big pieces of fish atop french fries. The fish was very fresh and succulent! Yumm!

The Jack Daniels chicken strips was very nice. We love the sweet Jack Daniels-infused sauce and just kept dipping everything, including the fries, into it. Absolutely lovely!

Since Fridays' have the Kids Eat Free Everyday promotion, our daughter ordered Cheese Nachos served with tomato salsa. She really liked it, but then again, she likes everything with cheese.

And for the finale, we had the Mocha Mud Pie. I used to love this dessert with the chocolate ice-cream and gooey caramel sauce. It used to come topped with lots of cookie crumbs but this time it looks kind of different. So little cookie crumbs on top. Friday's is always a good place to go to when we hanker for good ol' fashioned Tex Mex cuisine. It's a fun place for the kids plus young and enthusiastic waiters/waitresses.

TGI Friday's : G203a/205/206, GF One Utama Bandar Utama Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Petaling Tel: (603) 77294822

Sushi Candy @ Shojikiya

2009-06-23T07:52:00.000+08:00

We came across this newly arrived candy from Japan whilst out shopping last weekend. I've got to give credit to the Japanese, they sure are innovative! My daughter, who loves sushi, was so eager to make her own sushi so we got her a box.

The powdered candy is packed into 6 parts, each with a different color. Unfortunately, the instructions were all in Japanese so we had to play a guessing game on how to use it. Hot water is added into the powder to make it into a paste, then pressed onto the mould. We waited for a few minutes and got ourselves a piece of tuna. We would have been able to make more sushi if not for my daughter's over-eagerness. There were spilt candy powder everywhere.The candy sushi is fairly easy to make and my daughter had great fun. The best part for her is to eat her own made sushi .... that just happens to be sweet! The sushi candy can be found at Shojikiya outlets.

Restoran Kong Sai, Sunway Mentari

2009-06-16T07:17:00.000+08:00

A colleague recently told us about how Kong Sai has been serving good food at reasonable prices. Since I'm always on the lookout for good food, the plus point of having it at reasonable prices is too irresistable!

Kong Sai has 3 outlets, the main branch is located in Paramount Garden whilst the 2nd branch is at Puchong. They have recently opened a third outlet at Sunway Mentari (opposite Tasty Pot Steamboat). We decided to try the new outlet since it is air-conditioned.

The steamed chicken is a house specialty at Kong Sai. The chicken was very tender and silky smooth. Drenched simply in soya sauce, this dish is a winner.

Another house specialty is the curry pork ribs. Kong Sai's version is very tasty with the somewhat thick curry enveloping the tender pork ribs. The curry goes very well with steamed white rice.

Another recommended dish is the Chicken Feet salad. At Kong Sai this appetising plate of sweet and sour flavours costs only RM5! This just about tops the cheapest Chicken Feet salad I've ever had anywhere!

The steamed lotus root soup is very sweet from the addition of sugar canes and cuttlefish. A bowl costs RM4.00 and comes packed with lotus roots and lots of peanuts!

Another type of steamed soup is the Pig Stomach with peppercorns. The soup is delicious and packs quite a punch with lots of peppercorns. This is the perfect soup for cold rainy days! This bowl of goodness costs RM9.00.

I also like Kong Sai's version of the perennial Malaysian favourite, the Kangkung Belacan. Their version has just a hint of spiciness which goes so well with the liberal addition of belacan. I actually found pieces of belacan in the vegetables. I like that everything is not completely blended. The pieces of belacan actually gives the simple vegetable dish quite a boost.

We also ordered the steamed egg which was very smooth. Our daughter likes this very much.A little miscommunication brought us this dish of fried egg omelette. Kong Sai is located at 25, Jalan PJS 8/17, Sunway Mentari, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Mobile: 012-3749913 (Alex Low), 019-3842922 (JB Lee), 019-9211686 (CCK)

Kinnaree Thai Restaurant, Jaya One

2009-06-12T08:00:00.001+08:00

My obsession with Thai food continues with our dinner at Kinnaree Thai Restaurant at Jaya One recently. Kinnaree at Jaya One is apparently a branch of the original restaurant in Bangkok so I was expecting good food.

The restaurant looks very posh and classy. I love the exquisite statues of the Kinnaree and the very beautiful frames of lotus leaves.

Now, about the food. We ordered the Yam Som O (Spicy pomelo salad with shrimps & chicken) and Som Tum Gung Sod (Spicy green papaya salad with fresh shrimps). The pomelo salad served here is an acquired taste due to the addition of thick coconut milk and toasted coconut flakes. The coconut milk made the salad very rich. It's very unlike the pomelo salads we've tried in other Thai or even Vietnamese restaurants. Needless to say, I don't like this salad at all.

The Spicy green papaya salad is served the way I like it. The lime juice gave it the tartness and sweetness from the palm sugar balanced it well. This is one dish any decent Thai restaurant can't go wrong with.

The waiter recommended we try the clear soup for our Tom Yum Kung as apparently it's better. It was a recommendation that we eventually came to regret because it sure didn't taste like how Tom Yum should taste to me. I have to note here that my mom makes a meaner Tom Yum.

For a less spicy dish, we ordered Kai Ho Bai Toey (marinated chicken wrapped in pandan leaves served with ginger and sesame sauce). The chicken was "over-fried" (is there even such a word?) which made it hard. It would have tasted better if it was not over done.

The Poo Nim Sam Rod (stir-fred soft shell crab in sweet and spicy tamarind sauce) fared much better. I requested for the sauce to be served separately to accommodate our daughter who didn't like spicy food. The spicy tamarind sauce was a good accompaniment to the simply fried crab.

We were recommended the two version fish (I don't know the name of the dish) by the waiter coz we cannot make up our minds whether we wanted our fish fried or steamed. I liked the steamed fish in lime juice and fried fish with a sweetish sauce is not bad either. This is actually the best dish so far!

The Stir-fried Kailan with salted fish was not too bad either, but then this is an easy dish for ANY restaurant.

For dessert we had the Thab Thim Krob which is served with slivers of sweet jackfruit.

I am a little disappointed with the food here but perhaps I expected too much. The dinner cost us close to RM300.00 which is very expensive for a meal that did nothing to quell my cravings.

Kinnaree Thai Restaurant12-1 Palm Square, Jaya One, 72A Jalan University, 46200 Petaling Jaya Tel: 03-7957 3910

Hazy days are here again

2009-06-11T07:51:00.000+08:00

We are all breathing in air pollutants once again as the season for hazy days are upon us once more. It's especially worse where we live. My vision is blurry. There's nothing wrong with my eyes, it's just that the smog is so thick in our residential area I can hardly see what's at the end of the road. My daughter has had a persistent cough for days and my throat hurts.

Most people sit in front of the fireplace to keep warm but we sit in front of the air-cleaner in the hope of breathing in clean air. So you can imagine my frustruation when I read the papers this morning.

Close watch on farmers to check open burning
PETALING JAYA: Farmers in Kampung Johan Setia, Klang, are being kept under 24-hour surveillance to prevent them from conducting open burning of jungle waste.
The state government has also ordered the Klang Municipal Council to pay close attention to the farmers in view of the worsening haze situation, especially in Klang and Shah Alam, in recent days.
State environment committee chairman Elizabeth Wong said the government has declared Johan Setia a zero burning zone to check the haze.
“The situation is under control with the council, Department of Environment and the Fire and Rescue Department monitoring the farmers,” she said.
Wong said the authorities were also prepared to face peat fires in the area as Johan Setia was prone to such fires during a drought.

The situation is very obviously NOT UNDER CONTROL as of this morning. This happens just about every few months. Is it not time to slap the farmers with a very heavy fine so that they don't conduct open burning again?

Restoran Thai Khuntai

2009-06-10T07:29:00.002+08:00

This review has been sitting in my blog post for months awaiting editing. We stumbled on Khuntai on a whim. I read about Khuntai in the morning papers and decided we should try it out for lunch.

We had a hard time looking for Khuntai. It's located in a very quiet part of town, hidden from view near Jalan Gasing. Coincidentally, it's located just across the road from my elder daughter's former kindergarten although hidden from view.

Khuntai isn't fancy. In fact, the restaurant is bare save for the tables and chairs and is not air-conditioned either.

A pre-requisite for all our meals in Thai restaurants are the salads. I love my Thai salads so we ordered the Chicken feet salad and Som tam. The chicken feet salad is simple with deboned chicken feet tossed in lime juice. It's quite standard fare in Thai restaurants here, but unfortunately Khuntai's version don't quite live up to the mark.

The somtam (young papaya salad) fared better although it was too spicy even for me. The spiciness practically burned my tongue and you know how it is when that happens, the tongue gets numbed and I can't taste anything. If you must order the salads at Khuntai, be sure to tell them to go easy on the chillies!

We ordered the Fried Squid to counter the spiciness from the salads. The squid was coated in a crispy batter and was quite good on its own.

We also ordered soft-shelled crabs that came coated in a sweet sauce. I would have preferred the crabs plain because that would bring out its naturally sweet taste better.

The last dish is a vegetable that's simply called Thai Vegetable which came highly recommended by the waiter. Apparently this vegetable is imported from Thailand. We've never had this vegetable before but it has quickly become my daughter's favourite. This from a girl who doesn't eat her greens! The vegetable is stir-fried with scrambled egg. Again, the combination didn't quite work for me. I liked the vegetable for its sweetness and would have liked it even more if it's stir-fried plain. The egg just sort of added a richness to the vegetable.

We didn't manage to try their Tom Yam soup that day. However the other diners did and it does smell heavenly whenever the waiters pass our table with pots of tomyam. We would have to try that on our next visit. I like my Thai food intense and Khuntai don't exactly deliver. That doesn't mean I won't visit again though. I would for the tomyam.

Khuntai Restaurant is at 6 Jalan 5/44, Petaling Garden, Off Jalan Gasing, 46000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel : 012-470 8872 & 012-470 7136.

Is this turning into a food blog?

2009-06-09T08:00:00.000+08:00

I just realized that my recent posts have been all about food. Hmm .... I didn't exactly set out to blog about food but look where I've veered towards. I started this blog mainly to write about my travels but unfortunately I am effectively grounded for the time being due to the baby. Hopefully I'll be able to travel again soon. I do miss travelling so much!

Little Taiwan 1-Utama

2009-06-09T07:23:00.001+08:00

Months after we last ventured into 1-Utama, we found many new restaurants have opened on the Lower Ground floor of the new wing. One of those new restaurants is Little Taiwan. We were attracted to this restaurant mainly due to the bubble tea which my elder daughter loves.

Like many of the Taiwanese restaurants here, Little Taiwan serves mainly one plate rice & noodle dishes, and bubble tea, of course!

We ordered our favourite passion fruit & red plum tea to quench our thirst. We requested that they add the sago pearls & crystal jellies into our iced tea. The teas arrived in quick succession and in no time, we're sipping our refreshing iced fruit teas.

I've always loved the Salted Chicken served at Taiwanese restaurants so for my main course, I ordered the Salted Chicken rice which came with a side of Taiwanese kimchi. The cubed chicken were crispy and adequately spiced with salt and pepper. It came with crisp basil leaves (I think) that I totally enjoyed. I liked the Salted Chicken so much we ordered an extra serving.

Our next order was the Braised beef noodle which had tender slices of beef, huge cuts of carrot and radish in a flavourful sweet broth.I liked the Little Taiwan Claypot Loh-Shi Fun which came topped with slices of Chinese sausage, minced chicken, fresh beansprouts and chives topped with a raw egg. I liked the thick gravy that enveloped the smooth noodles although I don't care for raw beansprouts. In all, this dish is quite tasty.We also ordered the Taiwanese version of a sandwich. Unfortunately I can't quite remember what it is called although I think it's called coffin bread elsewhere. The thick slice of bread came with the "insides" dug out and filled with creamy chicken and mushrooms. Don't be fooled by appearances though, as the bread was only partly dug out, thus what you get is more bread than chicken & mushrooms.

The fried mushrooms were very addictive. The Enoki mushrooms were deep-fried till crispy and sprinkled with salt & pepper (same as the Salted Chicken). However, the 2nd time we were there the mushrooms were soggy. I guess this is a hit or miss kind of dish although I wouldn't mind ordering it again coz when they got it right, it's quite addictive.

The food at Little Taiwan does not come cheap though. The rice and noodles starts at RM11.00.

Little Taiwan is at LG325/326, 1 Utama Shopping Centre, Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.Tel: +603-7729 5582

Sigh .... !!

2009-06-08T07:26:00.001+08:00

I read this very scary piece of news in The Star today.

The sky’s the limit for Malacca’s Mat Rempit
By MARTIN CARVALHO
MALACCA: The state has issued a challenge to youth nationwide especially Mat Rempit to take to the skies in a micro-light aircraft.
To make good the challenge, the state via Tabung Yayasan Melaka, is offering RM6,000 loans to those interested in obtaining their micro-light aircraft pilot licence here with the 4B Youth Movement flying club based in Sungai Rambai, Jasin.
“I hope the Mat Rempit will take up the offer and learn how to fly an aircraft instead of racing illegally on the roads and getting themselves killed,” Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said when opening the Malacca Air Carnival yesterday.

If it's not bad enough that they terrorize the roads, now we are encouraging them to terrorize the skies. Soon there'll be a new catchphrase - It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a Mat Rempit!!! Run for your lives!!!!

Mother's Day dinner at Mei Chi Xuan Restaurant, Dataran Sunway

2009-06-03T07:01:00.001+08:00

Our Mother’s day celebration this year took us to Mei Chixuan Restaurant at Dataran Sunway.

The interior of the restaurant is simple but then again, we didn’t come for the ambience. We were there for the food and I’m happy to say that they didn’t disappoint.

We ordered 5 dishes which included Roasted Pork Trotter, Butter Prawns, Soft-shelled crab with salted egg yolk, Stir-fried Kailan, Shark lips and their house specialty, Braised tofu with needle mushrooms.

The braised tofu with needle mushrooms was the first dish to arrive. The mushrooms complemented the smooth tofu very well. We really liked this dish.

The stir-fried kailan was fresh and crunchy albeit a little bland. A more liberal sprinkling of salt would lift this dish. The pork trotter was really good. The meat separates easily from the bone with fat that literally melts in your mouth. The cucumber and mango chilli dip that came with the dish complements it very well. Very tasty!The butter prawns was a disappointment though. The prawns were big and fresh but I didn’t like the accompanying egg floss that seemed to be lacking something.I like the soft-shelled crab with salted egg yolk though. It was seriously addictive although a little oily. The best part was I didn’t have to get my hands dirty!The star of the show was the braised shark lips. We've never tried shark lips before and was recommended this dish by the restaurant. The shark lips is soft and gelatin-like and went really well with the gravy which was very much like sharks fin soup, except that it's without the fins. It was delicious and we mopped the whole dish clean. On my second visit recently with my colleagues, the restaurant recommended Eight Treasures Duck. I’m not a fan of gamey duck meat although this dish was pretty good. The duck was tender and stuffed with various ingredients such as mushrooms, roasted pork, chestnuts and a few other ingredients that I couldn’t make out. We also had the Lala in Superior soup. It’s not my favourite dish because I thought the ginger in the soup was too overpowering.
The steamed assam fish was a disappointment. The fish was a little tough, maybe due to its size and the assam gravy it came in lacked that special kick. I liked F4's version much much better.The house specialty of Prawn curry in coconut was good though. The curry was sweet and thick and went very well with steamed white rice. We also ordered the fish paste with asparagus and mushroom. The fish paste was springy, contrasting nicely with the crunchy sticks of asparagus and carrots.

My family really likes the food served at this restaurant and would definitely visit again.

Mei Chixuan is at No. 32A Jalan PJU5/10, PJU5, Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel : 03-61416122, 016-2783089.

Cupcakes for Teachers

2009-06-02T07:30:00.002+08:00

It was Teacher's Day celebration at my daughter's school last Friday. I made cupcakes for her favourite teachers as a thank-you gesture to the teachers for their dedication and guidance. I thought it was more personalized to give them home-made cupcakes than just buying something off the shelves. The cupcakes were packed 6-in-a-box. I used royal icing flowers to top the cupcakes. Don't they look pretty?

Menace on our streets

2009-05-21T07:45:00.001+08:00

The road thugs are at it again. In recent months, they have attacked both local and foreigners, male and female, young and old, able and disabled. It seems the authorities are finally coming to terms that this menace is now spinning out of control. According to the authorities the reason these youths have turned to a life of crime (call it what you will, as far as I am concerned, it’s crime) because they are bored. I don’t understand why we are even validating them by accepting such ridiculous excuses. I am sure most youths have their moments of boredom but they don’t exactly go on rampage on the streets, do they? Our authorities and politicians have for far too long treated these thugs with kid gloves. From suggestions that these thugs be turned into role models (go figure!) to sending them off to rehab and national service (please, not the same place our kids go to!), the only thing they have not really done is to throw these thugs into jail. As far as I am concerned, if they are not too young to hurt and maim, they are not too young to be severely punished. The authorities must stop glamorizing their actions and just jail them instead of slapping them on their wrists. It’s time the citizens regain our safety on the streets. We deserve as much.

Dim Sum at Tai Zi Heen, Prince Hotel Kuala Lumpur

2009-05-20T07:32:00.002+08:00

We celebrated dad’s birthday recently at Prince Hotel & Residences’ Tai Zi Heen Chinese Restaurant. Tai Zi Heen is currently running a promotion for halal All-You-Can-Eat dim sum for lunch at RM45.00++ per person on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

We were among the first ones to arrive at 11:30am and were promptly greeted by the wait staff and led to our table. At the table were the dim sum menu and card to indicate our selections. Service was fast, probably because there were not many diners then.

The dim sum menu is divided into several sections, i.e., Chef specialty, Fried, Steamed, Rice & Noodles, Vegetables and Desserts. We tried a variety of the dim sum items listed in the menu such as siew mai, har kau (prawn dumpling), crispy prawn with mayonnaise, cod fingers with mango and oats, rice roll with prawns, shitake mushroom dumpling, Thai fish paste dumpling, stir-fried carrot cake, spring roll with duck, bean curd skin with abalone sauce, prawn pancake, wu kok (yam dumpling), prawn dumpling with jackfruit and steamed salted egg custard bun. There are three stir-fried vegetable dishes on the menu. The first vegetable dish we ordered was Hong Kong vegetables with magnolia petals and kei chi. I didn't quite like this dish.

Instead I preferred the stir-fried long beans with pickled vegetables that came topped with chicken floss.

The dim sum were delicious and not too oily unlike the non-halal version served at other restaurants. Of all the dim sum items, our favourites were the stir-fried carrot cake, cod fingers with mango and oats, wu kok and prawn dumplings with jackfruit. We had many servings of those! The cod fingers is a winner simply because the smooth cod goes really well with the sweet mango slices.My dad really liked the stir-fried carrot cake which was very flavourful.The prawn dumplings with jackfruit is a big surprise. The thought of eating jackfruit combined with prawns is not exactly appealing to me, but surprisingly it was actually quite nice.

To end our lunch, we ordered the Aloe Vera jelly with lime sorbet, Sea coconut & longan with ginseng, glutinous rice balls and Chinese herbal jelly (kwai ling gao). The aloe vera jelly was a nice change from the usual desserts served for dim sum. The lime sorbet definitely cleanses the palate very well! The kwai ling gao was served with sea coconut slices, sago and white fungus. It’s a tad bitter but I’ve no complains because I’ve always liked my kwai ling gao bitter. The sea coconut and longan is a bit of a disappointment. I counted more longans than sea coconut. The sweet soup has a tinge of ginseng which took a bit of getting used to.

The other desserts in the menu are mango pudding and sago honey dew.Tai Zi Heen is located on the 1st floor of Prince Hotel and Residences Kuala Lumpur at No. 4 Jalan Conlay, 50450 Kuala Lumpur. Tel : 03-2170 8888

Kedai Ikan Talapia Lan Je

2009-05-19T07:09:00.001+08:00

We had dinner at this homey restaurant more than a month back but I was too busy to blog about it. Lan Je is located in a new block of shoplots and on the day we were there, it seemed like the only shop opened. This is no deterrent to the hordes of diners who faithfully made their way there to savour Lan Je's specialty, the steamed fish. For those in the know, Lan Je has quite a following. The original Lan Je is located in Rawang and this shop in Kota Damansara is a branch.

At Lan Je, the steamed fish is ordered per person, in short, that means each person gets one fish. I've read about Lan Je in a few blogs and when we found out that they have branched out to Kota Damansara which is nearer where we live, we thought we'd give it a try.

We ordered 2 steamed fish to share. One was simply steamed in soya sauce, and the other, steamed in soya sauce with the addition of bird's eye chillis. The fishes were fresh, obviously, but this being the only way it is served at Lan Je's, I can't quite understand why it is THAT popular.

We also ordered Sweet and Sour chicken balls, stirfried angle bean in belacan (shrimp paste) and tofu with meat. The sweet and sour chicken balls are nothing to shout about, the sauce is not as good as I expected it to be. Same goes for the tofu with meat and vegetables. Nothing spectacular, really.

The only saving grace is the prawns in cili padi sauce. I liked the sauce which goes really well with rice. It's sweet and spicy at the same time and coats the prawns well.

The address for Kedai Ikan Talapia Lan Je is F-50G, Jalan Teknologi 3/9, Bistari "DE" Kota, Kota Damansara, PJU5, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel : 012-6699919, 016-6189919.

Generation Gap

2009-04-20T12:25:00.008+08:00

We hear about the generation gap all the time. I won't speak for others, but it's especially true for me. As I was growing up I found the gap between my mother's generation and mine so wide we were as different as night and day.

One glaring instance are our personalities. She's a pessimist whilst I'm an optimist. I don't ever believe there's nothing that I can't do.

At a time when I was a teenager, my mother was afflicted with breast cancer. Her thought was to find me a boy so that I would have someone to care for me. That issue has always been a bone of contention for me. Although her intentions were good, it is still beyond me that I should simply be "handed over" to someone, anyone. That's another glaring difference between my mother and I. Her generation of pre-arranged marriages has always thought it normal for a woman to play the role of a long-suffering wife who is expected to kow-tow to iron-fisted in-laws' whims and fancies. A woman needs a man to be complete. It's unfortunate, but for her generation, a woman takes all the blame for everything a man does. If a man's business doesn't take off after marriage, it's his wife's fault because she's brought him bad luck. It never crosses their minds that it is probably the man's fault because he's not good in business? Why, there's even a Hokkein nursery rhyme that exhorts the goodness a boy brings to the family, while a girl is frowned upon! It is not something that you'll hear me singing to my daughters, enough said!

That's what differentiates my mother's generation and mine, for me at least. There's much more to what I expect out of life than to live under anyone's thumb . A man must complement me, not complete me. I'm ever unwilling to follow just about anything anyone says, it has to first make complete sense to me. That said, I am lucky to be happily married, but even if I weren't married, I suspect I will just happily be single.

So how do we even bridge the gap? I don't think that's even possible considering our opinions differ so greatly. That's not to say we don't have our "agree" moments. We do, it's just not that often.

Responsible Parenting

2009-03-19T07:10:00.000+08:00

Parenting is the toughest job in the world. We ask ourselves each day if we are nurturing our kids the right way and worry ourselves silly about their future. I don't pretend that I'm a perfect parent, the fact is that I'm not. I make mistakes because I'm human after all but I try my best to instill values in my children and steer them in the right direction.

The moment I was entrusted with the responsibility to care for and nurture a child, my sole goal was to ensure her survival in this world when I am no longer around. I believe that at some time or another, our children need to be independent from us, as although we would all love to live forever, the fact remains that we will not. That's why I have a beef with some parents whom I feel is just plain irresponsible.

These are parents who love their children so much they fail to see that they are spoiling them. How, you ask? By blaming their mistakes on fate and others because their children could do no wrong. They may think that they are doing that out of extreme love for their children but the fact is, their children are unable to fend for themselves because they were never taught how to. How long do they suppose they can molly-coddle their children? We all have to go back to our Maker some time or another, so what happens to these children, or adults who are so used to having someone cover for their mistakes?

It's irresponsible parenting when the parents claim that they've done all they can while they are alive and can't care for what happens to the children after they are long gone. I could only think that they are selfish because after they are dead, the kids will be left to fend for themselves, something of which they were never taught in the first place. That's not being entirely fair to them. Strangely some folks seem to feel this way. Certainly, that's akin to throwing the kids into the far end of the pool, so to speak, without first teaching them how to swim. As parents, it is our responsibility to nurture our children and ensure that they are fully equipped to survive on their own.

I make no apologies for how I feel about such parents. It matters not to me either whether these are young inexperienced parents or old folks who should have known better. The fact remains that they had a hand in how their children turned out, and fate has got nothing to do with it.

Restoran Meaty House (USJ Taipan)

2009-03-16T07:13:00.000+08:00

Every once in a while, I do love tucking into a good pork knuckle. When I do get the cravings for pork knuckle, I'll make a beeline for Restoran Meaty House at USJ Taipan.

The restaurant deco is simple but it is not the ambience that attracts me. It is the crispy pork knuckle, served with a side of coleslaw that I love. The pork knuckle comes in a huge serving so if you're not a big eater it is a good dish to share. The skin is perfectly crispy, combine that with the deliciously flavourful meat that falls off the bone and what you have is absolutely heavenly.

For those who are not keen on the pork knuckle, there is the grilled baby ribs. The ribs were slathered with a deliciously sweet sauce and grilled to perfection, resulting in baby ribs that were finger-licking good. The baby ribs are served with coleslaw and pickled pineapples with cucumber. Kids will enjoy the crispy sausage which is cocktail sausages fried till crispy and served on a bed of lettuce and carrots.
Meaty House also serves ham and bacon steaks which are very flavoursome. Restoran Meaty House's address is No. 37-G Jalan USJ10/1D, UEP Subang Jaya, 47620 Selangor, Malaysia. Tel : 03-5633 5634.

Wise advice for women

2009-03-11T07:11:00.003+08:00

I received another email from a friend and have decided to share it here because it's so true. Read it and remember it ladies, because you have to respect yourselves before others can respect you. Nothing upsets me more than women who still choose to ignore the signs and yet make excuses for men's misbehaviour, hoping against hope that they will change. If women in some countries are fighting tooth and nail for their rights to make their choices, why do women like us, women who are privileged enough to be able to make our own choices, choose to throw that privilege away? More often than not, many women are afraid they'll end up alone, grow old alone. But is that any excuse to settle for just about any man who mistreats or disrespect you? Just so you have a companion? What use is a companion who strips you of your dignity? Keep your dignity ladies, teach your daughters. If a man can't accept you as his equal, then he doesn't deserve you.

If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away.
If he doesn't want you, nothing can make him stay.
Stop making excuses for a man and his behaviour.
Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache.
Stop trying to change yourself for a relationship that's not meant to be.

Slower is better.
Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.

If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you as you deserve then heck no, you can't 'be friends'. A friend wouldn't mistreat a friend.
Don't settle.

If you feel like he is stringing you along, then he probably is
Don't stay because you think 'it will get better'
You'll be mad at yourself a year later for staying when things are not better.
The only person you can control in a relationship is you.

Avoid men who've got a bunch of children by a bunch of different women.
He didn't marry them when he got them pregnant, why would he treat you any differently?

Always have your own set of friends separate from his.
Maintain boundaries in how a guy treats you. If something bothers you, speak up.

Never let a man know everything.* He will use it against you later.

You cannot change a man's behaviour.* Change comes from within.

Don't EVER make him feel he is more important than you are...
Even if he has more education or in a better job.

Do not make him into a quasi-god.
He is a man, nothing more nothing less.
Never let a man define who you are.
Never borrow someone else's man.
A man will only treat you the way you ALLOW him to treat you.

All men are NOT dogs.

You should not be the one doing all the bending...
Compromise is two way street.

You need time to heal between relationships...
There is nothing cute about baggage...
Deal with your issues before pursuing a new relationship

You should never look for someone to COMPLETE you...
A relationship consists of two WHOLE individuals...
Look for someone complimentary...not supplementary.

Dating is fun...even if he doesn't turn out to be Mr. Right.

Make him miss you sometimes...when a man always know where you are, and you're always readily available to him - he takes it for granted

Never move into his mother's house. Never co-sign for a man.

Don't fully commit to a man who doesn't give you everything that you need.*
Keep him in your radar but get to know others.

Scared of being alone is what makes a lot of women stay in relationships that are abusive or hurtful: Dr. Phil

You should know that:
You're the best thing that could ever happen to anyone and if a man mistreats you, he'll miss out on a good thing. If he was attracted to you in the 1st place, just know that he's not the only one.

They're all watching you, so you have a lot of choices..
Make the right one.

Churros

2009-03-10T07:56:00.000+08:00

I finally made my own churros and they are utterly delicious coated in cinnamon sugar. This being the first time I've made it, it doesn't look very pretty but then again, appearances can be deceiving. The kids and adults loved it and they were gone in no time. It's really easy to make and cheap too!

Post-natal depression

2009-03-10T07:35:00.000+08:00

I'm due to deliver our 2nd baby anytime now. I'm excited at the prospect of meeting the little life that I've been carrying within me for the past 10 months. What I'm really afraid of is post-natal depression. I've had a mild case when I delivered our first child. For weeks after delivery, I would suddenly burst into tears for no apparent reason and felt like the whole world is crashing down around me. The uncontrollable sadness that enveloped me each day scares me to this day. It's the worst feeling in the world because I felt like I'm losing control of myself. For someone who prides myself for always being in control of situations, that is one scary feeling. I wonder if it will happen again this time? Perhaps the first time around I was overwhelmed with being a first-time mother. Perhaps it's trying to adhere to all those nitty-gritty traditions of keeping a certain type of diet, keeping warm etc. I've spoken to my family so that they can keep me in check, just in case. I'm not ashamed of admitting to post-natal depression, if we need help, then we need help. It's just a matter of awareness so that we keep ourselves and those around us, safe.

What a woman wants

2009-03-05T14:49:00.003+08:00

I received the following email from a friend and I'd like to share it because I think that it's true for modern women.

In a brief conversation, a man asked a woman he was pursuing the question......

'What kind of man are you looking for?'

She sat quietly for a moment before looking him in the eye and asking..

'Do you really want to know?'
Reluctantly, he said, 'Yes.'

She began to expound... As a woman in this day and age, I am in a position to ask a man what he can do for me that I can't do for myself. I pay my own bills. I take care of my household without the help of any man. I am in the position to ask, 'What can you bring to the table?'

The man looked at her. Clearly he thought that she was referring to money. She quickly corrected his thought and stated, 'I am not referring to money. I need something more.' I need a man who is striving for perfection in every aspect of life.'
He sat back in his chair, folded his arms, and asked her to explain.

She said, 'I am looking for someone who is striving for perfection mentallybecause I need conversation and mental stimulation. I don't need a simple-minded man or one who is solely about sexual desires.' I am looking for someone who is striving for perfection spiritually because I don't need to be unequally yoked... believers mixed with unbelievers is a recipe for disaster. I need a man who is striving for perfection financially because I don't need a financial burden. I am looking for someone who is sensitive enough to understand what I go through as a woman, but strong enough to keep me grounded. I am looking for someone whom I can respect. In order to be submissive, I must respect him. I cannot be submissive to a man who isn't taking care of his business. I have no problem being submissive....he just has to be worthy. God made woman to be a helpmate for man. I can't help a man if he can't help himself.

When she finished her spill, she looked at him. He sat there with a puzzled look on his face. He said, 'You're asking a lot.'

She replied, 'I'm worth a lot.'

Abuse

2009-03-05T07:46:00.001+08:00

It’s been barely a couple of weeks ago that Chris Brown made headlines by battering Rihanna and now comes news that they’ve apparently made up and even married.

This is actually devastating news, considering Rihanna is also a role-model for many young fans. I’d hate to think that young girls who look up to her will now think that it is acceptable to be battered and that things will get better and lovey-dovey after a few apologies.

A man should never be allowed to raise his hand on a woman, period. It does not matter if he thinks he is justified to hit her for whatever reason. It is simply not acceptable behaviour. Once the beating starts, it never really stops. It’s a vicious cycle. Many women believe that their man will not beat them anymore after making heartfelt apologies, but you’d only have to look at the Women Aid centres to see that this is not the case.

Girls and women need to be made aware of their rights to be treated with dignity and respect. It is indeed sad that some willingly allow themselves to be abused all in the name of love. Is it really worth it in the end?

Damn people!

2009-03-02T13:51:00.010+08:00

This post is just a rant to let off steam and may I add, have no resemblance to anyone, living or dead. Any resemblance is purely coincidental.

Has anyone ever met the kind of people who thinks the whole world owes them a living? That nothing they ever do is wrong, but it is the rest of the world who is at fault instead?

How can anyone make their own decisions, then when it doesn't work out, try and pin the blame on fate and others? Oh, life is not what I expected, life is not treating me well enough. I hate my job. Oh, did I mention someone forgot to roll out the red carpet for me? I demand that life treat me better or else! It's just not my fault, it's someone else's.

When a relationship is not going well, what do they do? Stick with the wrong person until they find a new one. A wrong person is better than no person, no? And when that doesn't work, what do they do? Oh, why oh why am I in such a rotten life? A blind person can "see" where they went wrong, but no, they themselves don't see it. It's not their fault by the way, didn't you realize?

How about finally taking responsibility for their own actions? How about finally admitting that they are the ones responsible for their own predicament and not others? How about realizing that once you make a decision you have to stick with it and not expect others to dig you out of the hole? Because no matter how stinky the hole is, you went in there yourself so you better dig yourself out of it. Of course it doesn't help that there are actually people supporting such thinking so of course these people believe it is still not their fault. I think that's just letting them fall deeper into the abyss and not really throwing them a lifeline. But then again, I'm not sure if what they wanted is a lifeline. Perhaps all they wanted is help to push them into freefall into the abyss. Well if that is what they want, then I will play no part in it.

So there they go again, blaming others, dead or alive, for their own predicament. They want people to forgive and forget, and yet they themselves hold on tightly to their warped sense of what is right and wrong. Do they care about being fair to others? Have they actually given a thought to others instead of thinking about themselves? It's all about me, me and me. No, they only care about what makes THEM happy. But then again, everything they do is right. Silly me.

Isn't it about time for people such as these to look themselves in the mirror? As far as I am concerned, our problems are our own. If you have a problem, solve it. Stop that pity party, stop blaming others and start getting on with your life. Life is no bed of roses, and if it took them that long to finally realize that, what a pitiful life they must lead.

Pappa Rich's Kopitiam @ USJ Taipan & Sunway Pyramid

2009-02-16T07:17:00.001+08:00

We ventured into Pappa Rich's Kopitiam (coffee shop) for dinner during the long Chinese New Year holidays as it's a hassle to cook when we've been visiting friends all day. It's apparent that we're not the only ones who feel this way, as the kopitiam was packed to the brim.

Our orders were quickly taken by the efficient staff and before long, our drinks were served. We liked the Milo Dinosaur which is iced Milo topped with a large scoop of Milo. The chocolatey drink was a delight to drink, especially with the powdered chocolate on top.
I couldn't resist the Cendol (I know it's supposed to be dessert but with the anticipated long wait for our food I might as well eat my dessert first!). The strips of green cendol were smooth and fragrant with pandan. The finely shaved ice drizzled with fresh coconut milk and thick gula melaka is refreshing after a long hot day of visiting friends. This one's a winner because of the fresh coconut milk used.After a waiting for 30 minutes, our meals finally arrived. I had the Nasi Lemak with rendang chicken. The fluffy steamed rice scented with pandanus leaves and coconut milk was very appetising with the rendang chicken. I really liked the rendang gravy that I thought was a great accompaniment to the rice. It's absolutely delicious! Definitely something that I'll order again.Char Kuey Teow (fried rice noodles) arrived next. Although Pappa Rich's version is not bad, it is nowhere near the versions served at the stalls. Something seems to be missing from the Char Kuey Teow, possibly the crispy fried lard. The char kuey teow comes with cockles, beansprouts and large prawns and is served on a plate lined with banana leaf. The banana leaf does impart a nice fragrance to the noodles.The Hainanese Chicken Rice came with separate plates of steamed chicken and blanched beansprouts. The rice was fragrant and went well with the steamed chicken. The steamed chicken was very smooth.
Curry Laksa (curry noodles) was the next dish to arrive. I liked Pappa Rich's version of curry laksa. The laksa gravy was thick and spicy and good enough to slurp down! The laksa came topped with generous slices of chicken, beansprouts, soya bean sheets and tofu puffs. The serving is quite large.For something less spicy, we ordered the Ipoh Kuey Teow Soup which was thin rice noodles in prawn stock. The prawn stock is very flavourful, albeit a little murky. It came topped with slices of chicken, prawns and chives.The last dish we ordered is a kopitiam favourite, the Nissin noodle with sausage and egg. Again, Pappa Rich's version is a winner. The chewy noodles came topped with a generous serving of sausages and fried egg and was indeed very tasty. I imagine this will be a kiddie's favourite.

Although I am not a fan of the usual franchised-kopitiams, I'll have to say I really do like Pappa Rich. The food served is good and tasty and costs about the same with the other kopitiams.

Pappa Rich has a few outlets, one of which is located at No. 1 USJ10/1D, Taipan USJ, Subang Jaya. The other outlets can be found at their website http://www.pappakopitiam.com.my/.

Celebrating "Human's Birthday" at Restaurant Extra Super Tanker

2009-02-11T07:20:00.001+08:00

The 7th day of the Chinese New Year is regarded as "Human's birthday" or Yan Yat in Cantonese. This occasion is often celebrated with a big feast with family members. My family and I celebrated this occasion at Restaurant Extra Super Tanker at The Club in Bukit Utama.

I've read some blog posts about the great food at this restaurant and how some of their signature dishes must be ordered in advance, so that I did, 1 week ahead of our dinner, in fact.

The restaurant at The Club was just recently opened. We arrived promptly at 6pm for our dinner (reservations were made for 6pm) and was shown to our table. The highly anticipated dinner did not have a good start unfortunately. After being seated we were given our menu and so begin our wait .... it was a good hour before our dinner was served! In between that time I had spoken to at least 4 restaurant captains to enquire about our dinner. Every diner at the restaurant suffered the same fate. The diner at the table next to ours had to resort to waving both his hands to get attention from the waiters!

However, once the first dish arrived, all was forgiven for if the first dish was this good, it could only get better. Our jellyfish Yee Sang arrived at 7pm and we proceeded to toss it for good luck.

Next to arrive was the Sharksfin soup with crabmeat. The soup was excellent! It was full of flavour and packed with sharksfin and crabmeat. We've had this soup many times at different restaurants and I'll have to say this is the best we've had.Next, the Roasted Suckling Pig was served. We had ordered a quarter pig and thus our portion came with a tiny pig knuckle. The suckling pig's skin was crispy with melt-in-your-mouth fat (although just a thin layer). It was quite a sensation biting into such sinful deliciousness.To offset the fat we ordered a plate of stirfried vegetables with Chinese bacon. The vegetables came in a very flavourful stock that was so good! The Chinese bacon added a smoky flavour to the crunchy vegetables. Excellente!

The next dish was the Fried Crabmeat with Eggs and Pine Nuts. This looks like a simple enough dish, served with lettuce on the side. Big chunks of crabmeat are visible in this dish. The eggs gave it a rich flavour but the pine nuts complemented it very well. The crunch from the fresh lettuce and beansprouts combined with the soft rich crabmeat,eggs and pine nuts was a very potent combination!

The next dish to arrive is the Chef's specialty, the Thousand Layer Crispy Beancurd. The soft smooth beancurd came layered in something that tasted like ham although I am not quite sure what it is. It came bathed in soya sauce and sprinkled with fried onions. I love the contrast of the smooth beancurd layer and the "ham" layer. Quite a unique dish.

Next up was the Butter Tiger Prawns with rice cracker. Butter prawns are our absolute favourite and is a sure order at any restaurant we go to. Extra Super Tanker's version is unique in that the prawns came in rice krispies instead of egg floss. The rice krispies added a nice crunch to the extra large prawns which were sweet and fresh. I quite like this version of the butter prawns.

Our final dish for the dinner was another specialty, the Roasted Duck in "Chinese Sandwich Style". This is the restaurant's version of the Peking Duck. A portion of roasted duck was placed in the middle of the serving plate, while deboned roasted duck meat were wrapped in Chinese soft pancakes with crispy pancakes in between. It was certainly a unique way of eating Peking Duck. The duck was very nice too.

We didn't order dessert because our stomachs were already filled to the brim by then. This is definitely a restaurant that we'll come back to, although I hope they will buck-up on their service.

Restaurant Extra Super Tanker (Bandar Utama) is located at No. 11 Persiaran Bukit Utama, 47800 Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel : 03-7726 8877.

Their main branch is at 48 Jalan SS20/10 Damansara Kim, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel : 03-7726 7768.

Churros @ Molten Lava 1-Utama

2009-02-11T07:14:00.000+08:00

We stumbled upon this little shop serving churros at 1-Utama last week. Might I say that I was deliriously happy to have even spotted it? I LURVE churros and as anyone in Malaysia will tell you, it is hard to find here. We had our first taste of churros at Tokyo Disneyland and have loved it ever since.

We ordered the Churros with Cinnamon Sugar and Chocolate Dip. The churros with cinnamon sugar was very nice, not too sweet, just perfect.The churros went very well with the chocolate dip too. Although the churros at Molten Lava are delicious, I thought them to be a tad pricey. The cinnamon sugar churros cost RM4.80 for 4 pieces and the one with the chocolate dip cost RM5.80 for 4 pieces. 4 pieces of churros is never enough so to indulge in this frequently is quite expensive. Perhaps I should go learn and make my own?

Molten Lava is located at Lot LG312B, Lower Ground Floor Oval, 1-Utama Shopping Centre (near the Cold Storage Supermarket).

Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen @ Taman Tun Dr Ismail

2009-02-09T07:39:00.000+08:00

Another fast food outlet opened (re-opened?) recently in Malaysia. This time it's Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen which is located at Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Since most food outlets are closed during Chinese New Year, we took the opportunity to try out Popeye's.

We ordered a variety of their meals to share amongst us. The fried chicken was crispy and sufficiently juicy inside but I felt it lacked flavour, possibly due to less spices? But then again, we ordered the non-spicy version so maybe we should try the spicy version next time.The fish and shrimp set came with 2 slices of battered fish fillets which were very juicy and fresh. The shrimp was fresh too. We liked this set the best.For our little girl, we ordered Chicken fingers. It tasted like the fried chicken, except that it came without bones which is perfect for children. The set meals came with two side dishes of coleslaw (which had added pickles in it) and mashed potatoes. Now, mashed potatoes is practically a simple dish, but at Popeye's, the mashed potatoes is brought to a new level with their special gravy. The gravy had specks of meat and chillies in it and Popeye's mashed potatoes was absolutely the best I've ever had! The gravy is seriously addictive! Although there are chillies in the gravy it is not spicy so our little girl loved it too.We ordered also some Cajun Fries to try. Unfortunately, I don't quite like it. The fries seemed to have been fried in some sort of batter, yet it didn't taste like anything unique. I'd very much prefer Nando's Peri Chips. Now, that's fries with kick!
Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen is located at Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 1 (right opposite KFC) in Taman Tun Dr Ismail. Give it a try if you're looking for something other than burgers and fried chicken! Don't forget the mashed potatoes!

Prawn Noodles @ Restoran Yon Len Taman Tun Dr Ismail

2009-02-06T07:29:00.000+08:00

I've heard so much about the prawn noodles at Restoran Yon Len at Taman Tun Dr Ismail that I just had to try it. We managed to do just that recently, but unfortunately, I was disappointed that the noodles did not lived up to all the hype surrounding it.

The coffee shop was packed when we arrived with nary an empty table in sight. We had to resort to standing next to the diners whilst they finish their food, just like the other diners who arrived before and after us. Unfortunately this resulted in upping my expectations. Heck, if the coffee shop is THIS POPULAR the food must be very good.

My immediate response after finally getting a table was to order the prawn noodles. I waited in quiet anticipation for it to finally arrive, which by the way, took longer than the rest of the food we ordered. The soup was ok, the noodles were too much but the accompaniments on the noodles were so little I had to practically dig for the few slices of shrimp and strands of beansprouts. Not to mention that the soup only so much as covered the noodles and before I even had a sip, the noodles had soaked up all the soup and I had to ask for a refill. I was plenty disappointed with the quality. It was unfortunately nowhere as good as the ones I had in Penang. I don't know if it was just my bad luck that on that one day I finally tried it, it didn't turn out as good as it was supposed to be.However, the saving grace came in the form of the fried kuey teow. It was excellent! Smooth rice noodles that practically slid down my throat. The noodles were fried with enough "wok hei" (that X factor for fried kuey teow!) and was so good we had 3 plates between 2 of us. Service was fast too!

We also tried the otak-otak that was sold at the little kueh stall at the entrance of the coffee shop. It was quite nice. The otak-otak is the Penang Nyonya version which is a soft custard with fish slices, quite unlike the Muar version. This is the otak-otak I grew up on, and it's how I like it. It's still not on par with the real version in Penang, but then again, I suppose beggars can't be choosers.We ordered a plate of Chinese sausages and roasted pork from the chicken rice stall and found it quite good too. Quite delicious!Restoran Yon Len is located at Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 1 (at the end of the same row with Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen).

Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner @ King Crab Restaurant

2009-02-04T07:57:00.002+08:00

For every Chinese family, the Chinese New Year reunion dinner is one of the most important dinners we'll have in the whole year. It is a time where families near and far get together for a meal together and catch up with each other. The reunion dinners are always a grand affair with abundant food that signifies good luck and prosperity for the family.

Ever since I got married, I've taken over the responsibility of cooking for my family our reunion dinner that takes me a whole day of slaving over the stove. This year we've decided that I should take a break due to my delicate condition so we had our dinner at a restaurant. The dinner reservation at King Crab was done a month ahead!

For our first dish, we had a specialty that is unique to Malaysia, the Yee Sang which is essentially a raw fish salad. The Yee Sang came with colorful shredded vegetables, crackers and jelly fish drizzled with maltose, roasted peanuts and sesame seeds before being topped with raw salmon that has been tossed in lime juice and spices. Family members toss the yee sang as high as possible while reciting good wishes in the hope that the new year brings newfound prosperity. Personally, I think this is a fun dish that brings families together.

Next was the Buttered Prawns. In the Cantonese dialect, the word for prawns sounds very much like laughter which means there will be much joy in the home. As you can well imagine the Chinese love word play. The prawns were fried then tossed with egg floss and curry leaves. It's delicious!We also had Oysters with black moss, broccoli and mushrooms. The oysters are supposed to mean good tidings coming our way. This is my favourite dish for the dinner. The broccoli was lightly blanched to retain its crunchiness and was such a contrast to the smooth mushrooms accompanying it. The dried oysters gave it such an intense flavour.

Fish was next on the menu. For the Chinese, fish means abundance so a fish dish will undoubtedly make it to the dining table for every reunion dinner.

We also ordered scallops with broccoli although I can't remember what it means. The sweet scallops were a hit with our little girl. Again the flavours contrasted nicely.Our final dish was claypot tofu. I don't think this dish signifies anything. It was just something we ordered to add variety.

The Chinese places a lot of emphasis on family relationships and the reunion dinner is just one of the many great ways to keep relationships close. It is a tradition that goes back centuries and one which I hope to pass on to our children.

Mask-changing performance by Sichuan Troupe @ 1-Utama

2009-02-02T07:05:00.000+08:00

It was by chance last week that we caught the mask-changing performance by the Sichuan dance troupe. We were going grocery shopping and when we arrived the performers were halfway through their routine. We managed to catch the last performance nevertheless, and what a performance it was. The performers were dressed in their traditional finery with various masks. The mask-changing technique is an age-old tradition in Chinese performances and takes years of training to accomplish. The performers were very quick with their hands, that much I can deduce because it takes them just a split second to change their masks. Just a sleight of the hand and a mask is changed. Incredible!

Lion Dance performance by Kun Seng Keng

2009-01-31T07:32:00.000+08:00

Here's another stunning lion dance performance that we caught in the shopping mall on Chinese New Year. This time the lion dance was performed by the Lion Dance World Champion, the Kun Seng Keng Lion Dance troupe. It isn't the first time we've watched a performance by Kun Seng Keng but they have never failed to entrall us each time.

The performance was stunning, even jaw-dropping at times. At such performances you can almost hear the crowd hold their breaths, then letting out a collective "phew" when it's over. The lion dancers were extremely agile with their footwork and jumps.As with tradition, at the end of the lion dance, mandarin oranges are placed on a tray for the lions to "peel" then handed over to the Manager of the shopping mall to signify prosperity to the mall. As you can see from the photos below, the mall is packed with spectators during the performance. Lion dances are so very much a part of Chinese New Year and people throng malls (or any place actually) with such performances.

High School Musical-themed cupcakes

2009-01-30T07:17:00.000+08:00

These are the High School Musical-themed cupcakes that I made for a friend's daughter's birthday recently. The little girl was a great fan of High School Musical (which kid isn't, huh?) so I thought this would be a fitting theme for her birthday cake.

24 Seasons Drums performance at Midvalley Megamall

2009-01-28T07:02:00.001+08:00

More Chinese New Year posts .... we finally caught the 24 Seasons Drums performance at Midvalley Megamall. I've wanted to watch this very energetic drums performance for such a long time and when I found out that they are performing at Midvalley, I just had to bring my family along for the experience. It's a performance to be seen to believe.
I love the vision of the drums against the backdrop of the stage. Doesn't the gold and black drums look absolutely grand? I'm told the drums signify the different seasons and festivals for the Chinese (to my absolute regret, I can't read them).
The performance was absolutely stunning! I love the colour, the sounds and the atmosphere that verberates through the crowd! What a great start to the new year!

More Chinese New Year cookies!

2009-01-27T11:47:00.002+08:00

I figured since I have leftover ingredients I might as well use them all up instead of leaving them to waste. Thus began my last minute scramble to make the cookies on Chinese New Year eve, no less!

The nestum cookies with chocolate coating was deliciously crispy and is my daughter's current favourite.

The orange cookies are also nice with the nonpareils sprinkled on top.

All in now I've made 6 types of cookies this Chinese New Year.

Nyonya Delight @ Rock Cafe Food Court, Dataran Sunway

2009-01-22T07:30:00.000+08:00

Anyone who's from Penang will at some point or another hanker for some good Nyonya dishes. Although KL is a melting (or is it cooking?) pot of flavours, nothing beats some good food just like how Mom used to make them.

It is for this reason that we decided to try Nyonya Delight at the newly opened Rock Cafe Food Court at Dataran Sunway. My parents were away on holiday and being so used to eating home-cooked food everyday, it is quite a challenge deciding on what to eat for a week.

I won't dare say that Nyonya Delight's dishes are anywhere close to my mom's for that would be risking incurring her wrath. ;) But the dishes there are not too bad either.

We tried the Nyonya fish head curry which was creamy curry in coconut milk. We were given a sizeable portion of fish head that was more than enough for 3 persons. The curry came in a claypot with brinjals, ladies fingers (okra), sliced tomatoes and mint leaves. The fish head curry was quite good indeed especially with a plate of steaming white rice.

For vegetables, we ordered the Jiu Hu Char which was essentially julienned jicama and carrots with dried cuttlefish strips. It looks like an easy enough dish to make but as any true-blue Nyonya will tell you, it is not that easy to replicate. My hubby liked this dish enough to polish off the plate.I love Perut Ikan which is a sourish curry made with preserved fish stomaches. I know it doesn't sound quite right, in fact it sounds offending even to some people, but this dish is a delicacy found only in the best Nyonya homes. Lots of shredded herbs are also added to this dish that imbues it with a delicate herbal fragrance. I could usually eat a whole bowl of this all by myself. Nyonya Delight serves this curry, but sadly it doesn't quite lived up to my standards. I'm used to the Perut Ikan served by Nyonyas in Penang and unfortunately something seems to be missing here. I suspect they must have added a little bit of coconut milk to the curry. I didn't like this dish at all.The stall owner has graciously offered us a free plate of sambal petai prawns which were excellent! The prawns were deliciously smothered in thick sambal paste with the perfect balance of spiciness. Nyonya Delight @ Rock Cafe Food Court is located at Dataran Sunway. They provide food catering as well and can be contacted at 017-3144942 (Lawrence).

Acrobatic lion dance at Midvalley Megamall KL

2009-01-20T07:00:00.001+08:00

With Chinese New Year a week away, many shopping malls around KL are already gaily-decorated to welcome the year of the Ox. It's a great time to be visiting the malls right now as the malls all seemed to be trying to outdo each other in their decorations. It's also a great time to catch the Lion Dance performances by award-winning Lion Dance troupes.

My family and I had the privilege of catching one such dance over the weekend. It's been sort of a family tradition for us to visit the malls to watch the lion dances. The kids love it for all the colour and noise. It's a great way for them to learn the Chinese culture too. Chinese New Year is just not complete without the lion dances!

The acrobatic lion dance we caught over the weekend at Midvalley Megamall was performed by the award-winning Kwong Ngai troupe. It was quite a sight with 2 silver lions prancing on stage and then on metal poles and even a high-wire. The lions were very energetic. Comic relief was even provided at a time when the lion practically shook with fear whilst on the high-wire.At the end of the performance the lions distributed mandarin oranges to the crowd to signify good fortune. If you haven't caught your first lion dance of the year, make your way to the various shopping centres this week and next. There will be many lion dances to make your Chinese New Year an exciting one!

Home-made Chinese New Year cookies

2009-01-19T06:54:00.001+08:00

Chinese New Year is a week away and as with tradition, I bake all our cookies myself. I'm sure there are lots of cookies being sold everywhere right now but I can't bring myself to buy them because by making the cookies myself, at the very least I can ensure the quality of the cookies I bake. I finally baked my last batch of Chinese New Year cookies yesterday and is now able to pack my utensils away .... at least for the time being.

I made only 4 types of cookies this year, for obvious reasons because standing too long makes my feet swell.

Always a favourite, pineapple tarts : Also made Chocolate Almond cookies although they don't look too pretty, just so long as they taste good!I tried Almond cookies this year too. The cookies are made with ground almonds and topped with sliced almonds. I love almonds because they impart such a rich flavour to the cookies & cakes.And finally, the kiddies' favourite - cornflakes & raisins cookies :The photos don't quite do the cookies justice, I'm afraid. I was in a hurry hence the bad photography!

Pigging out at Tenji Japanese Buffet, Solaris Mont Kiara

2009-01-14T08:51:00.001+08:00

It seems that everyone's been either raving or complaining about Tenji's Japanese buffet promotion at Solaris Mont Kiara so here's my two-cents worth about the buffet.

We've been there twice although it isn't easy getting through the phone line to make a reservation. I got lucky only after endless tries that took 2 days!

The restaurant area is quite large with indoor and outdoor seating areas. Apparently large groups are seated indoors and smaller groups outdoors.

The buffet spread areas are large with well-stocked food counters (at least for the first time we were there). At a corner was the drinks counter with free-flow sweet young coconuts which was quite popular with diners. Other fruit juices and herbal/flower teas are also available although I suspect the coconuts are the most popular.

The sashimi and sushi counters were well-stocked the first time we were there. Both sashimi and sushi were fresh but beware, there's always a long queue at these counters. However, I am disappointed to relate that for our second visit, the sashimi & sushi ran out quite fast and the staff were slow in replenishing the items.

Along the same counter as the sushi is the cold dish selection. There's quite a varied selection there on our first visit which included abalone strips, crab claws, poached prawns and lobster salad. Again, unfortunately, on our second visit, all the above were sorely missing.My favourite sections at Tenji remains the teppanyaki and tempura counters. There is a variety of items at the teppanyaki counters which you can order by dropping your table no. tags onto the plate. We ordered the tiger prawns, salmon and mixed mushrooms teppanyaki. The tiger prawns were large and succulent, absolutely delectable. It was so good we had three helpings!
The teppanyaki salmon was good too. The salmon was fresh and was a hit with our daughter. Our only gripe was that the serving was a little too small, even for a child.Unfortunately, the mixed mushroom teppanyaki didn't fare too well in the taste section. It looked good on the plate but we thought it was rather bland. We ended up dousing the mushrooms with soya sauce to give it a little flavour and still, something seems to be missing.The tempura comes in a variety of prawns, soft-shelled crabs and crystal fish. The tempura batter coating the seafood was very light and crispy and was quite good. However, the tempura were fried in small batches so the plates are almost always empty. I've had to resort to waiting for the chefs to fry the tempura to ensure a share.I also liked the noodles section where we could pick the items in a metal basket and hand over to the chef to cook them in either miso or spicy soup. I chose the miso soup which I thought to be a little bland. The soup was sent to our table in a cute little paper bowl. There is also a Chinese counter where dim sum, soups, stir-fried vegetables and steamed fish can be ordered. We tried the stir-fried Hong Kong kai-lan which we thought to be rather good. The kai-lan was crunchy and fresh. I also tried the Chinese herbal soup which was not bad either. The steamed fish was steamed a little too long however.

We also tried the teriyaki section where a selection of grilled items can be ordered. I tried the grilled shitake mushrooms which took almost 20 minutes to arrive. I don't mind the wait, but the 3 mushrooms were so small, they were not worth the long wait.There's also a Western section where soups, grilled lamb/roasted chicken, pasta, fish & chips etc are served. We didn't try those as after almost 2 hours into our meal we're almost filled to the brim.

Finally, to end our meal, we made a bee-line for the desserts section - the Haagen Dazs ice-cream counter to be exact. It's not everyday we come across eat-all-you-can Haagen Dazs ice-cream so this one definitely made our day. The other desserts are worth a mention too although we didn't try the cakes. We did try the sesame, strawberry and melon mochi which were pretty good. We spent a total of 2 hours at Tenji where we ate to our hearts' content. And the price? RM29.90 for the first hour and an additional RM10.00 for the next hour. So all in we paid RM39.90 per person. For all that food, it's well worth the price we paid!

Note : Tenji is running a new promo from 16 Jan where for RM49.90 there is no time limit. If any of you plan on going, I'd say go early. The buffet starts at 11.30am and that's when you get the best stuff before the crowd starts streaming in.

Schoolkids and politics

2009-01-13T15:47:00.004+08:00

I came across this article from NST and I’ll have to say I’m stumped that our Education Ministry is even actually considering such a plan. One would have thought that they should instead concentrate on improving the education standards in our schools (which is what they are supposed to do!) instead of organizing such protests involving schoolchildren to gain political mileage. For one thing, I firmly believe that politics and/or religion have no place in education and should never be mixed. What kind of morals are we instilling in our children when our Education Ministry is encouraging our children to take to the streets in protest? More so when application for protests are usually rejected and deemed illegal assemblies anyway. So on one hand we will be telling our children to go protest and on the other hand we tell them it will also be illegal. Such contrasts!

Honestly, I resent the fact that our children are being used in such a blatant manner for political mileage. Instead of wasting manpower, time and money in such a hare-brained plan, I think it would do more good for the ministry to simply focus on ensuring that our schools churn out better educated students with common sense. God knows we will need such leaders in future.

Gaza Under Siege: Ministry plans huge protest by schoolkids

By Regina Lee
2009/01/09

PUTRAJAYA: Nearly all schoolchildren in the country will be mobilised to protest against the Gaza offensive by Israeli forces. Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said about five million pupils and 360,765 teachers from more than 10,000 schools would be involved.
“This is to create a wave of pressure for the Israelis to stop their violence and oppression of Palestinian civilians.”
He said the ministry would be working with the Information, Foreign, and Youth and Sports Ministries, as well as Peace Malaysia, to expand the campaign to a mega scale.
“When we protested against the US invasion in Iraq, we managed to get 200,000 people into Putra Stadium, Bukit Jalil.
“We are confident that youth leaders from political parties, including those in Pakatan Rakyat will join us in this fight against the Zionist regime,” he said after his ministry’s New Year gathering at Putrajaya International Convention Centre here yesterday.
Hishammuddin said the directive was passed in the cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Asked on the danger of exposing children to such atrocities, the minister said: “When they grow up, they will have to face global issue like peace, environment and the economic crisis.”
He said he would be using the Unesco platform, of which he is an executive board member, to voice out Malaysia’s concern over the Gaza crisis.

Lunching at Canton-I, Midvalley Gardens

2009-01-13T07:19:00.000+08:00

It has been a 2 long years since we've had authentic Hong Kong wanton noodles. Although the wanton noodles in Malaysia are not at all bad, I still hanker for good wanton noodles every now and then. On a recent visit to Midvalley Gardens, we chanced upon the newly-opened Canton-I (they have another outlet at 1-Utama Old Wing) and decided that it's about time we satisfy our craving for good ol' Hong Kong-styled wanton noodles.

There was a long queue at the counter when we arrived and we promptly got ourselves a number before taking a seat outside the restaurant. It wasn't long before our number was called and we got ourselves settled at a nice table.

Who could have missed the roasted meats and pastry on the way in?

For starters, we ordered the absurbly cute piggy buns with red bean filling. Our daughter was very amused to be eating piggy-shaped buns. I would have thought they were way too cute to be eaten! The red bean filling was smooth and not overly sweet, just the way I liked it.

The second order was for Custard Egg buns that came in a purplish-swirl. Dizzying to look at, but oh-so-yummy! Just look at the egg custard oozing out of the bun!

With our tummies partially satiated by the little sweet treats, our orders for wanton noodles finally arrived. We had the wanton noodles in soup with honey-barbecued meat (char siu) that came in a separate plate. The wanton noodles were thin and springy, just how it tasted like in Hong Kong. The char siu was sinfully sweet and succulent!
We also ordered wanton noodles with Japanese-styled spareribs and roasted pork belly. The Japanese-styled spareribs were surprising melt-in-the-mouth. I've never thought that is quite possible for spareribs. The meat separated easily from the soft bone and the meat was quite flavourful. I loved the slightly fatty roasted pork belly which contrasted nicely with the crackling rind. I've always liked my roasted pork belly slightly salty and this one fits the bill perfectly.

Next to arrive was the Roasted Goose wanton noodles. Goose is not widely available in Malaysia and can be quite expensive but I'd gladly pay the RM18 a pop at Canton-I, if only to satisfy my cravings. The goose was roasted to perfection with a gleamingly crispy skin. It's so good I forgot to take pictures!

I would love to have my wanton noodles in Hong Kong again, but until then, Canton-I is certainly top of my list for Hong Kong-styled wanton noodles. At least it's cheaper considering I don't have to pay for an airticket to have wanton noodles.

Restoran Foong Foong - Ampang Yong Tau Foo

2008-12-30T07:50:00.000+08:00

Restoran Foong Foong has been in existence for as long as I can remember. Lunching there brings back fond memories of my childhood. A treat for me then was to go for lunch at Foong Foong's. I love the Yong Tau Foo there. It was simply delicious as far as my young impressionable mind is concerned. The piece de resistance for me has always been the fried sui kow.

When my hubby suggested lunch there on Christmas day after church service, I was more than happy to indulge! As it was then as it is now, getting a table at Foong Foong is no mean feat. There is nary an empty table when we arrived, so we had to resort to standing next to the diners to finish their food. We ordered a plate (that ended with an extra order) of the fried sui kow that I loved so much. It tastes just like how it used to be, with the perfect crispy sui kow skin and bouncy fish filling with bits of jicama and carrots that gave it an extra bite. As with how I used to love this, my daughter now loves this too.

We also ordered an assortment of soft tofu, fishballs, soya beancurd skins, brinjals and ladies fingers. The yong tau foo came stuffed with sufficient fish paste that were nice. The only downside was they must have added a lot of MSG into the food coz I was so thirsty after lunch. Be as it may, Foong Foong is still my favourite yong tau foo haunt.

Foong Foong is located at 621-A Jalan Merdeka, 68000 Ampang.

Christmas Treats

2008-12-30T07:43:00.000+08:00

We attended a Christmas potluck dinner on Christmas eve. I'd take any excuse to bake so I baked an assortment of cupcakes and cookies for the party. It's the first time I've ever baked and iced cookies and I thought they turned out pretty good. Needless to say, the cupcakes and cookies were a hit with the guests, especially kids both young and old!

These are chocolate cupcakes with Christmas sugar decorations. Gets the festive mood going, don't you think?

For the adults, I made a batch of carrot cupcakes.

For children (and adults) of all ages, individually packed iced Christmas cookies.

Orange Marble Cake

2008-12-18T07:42:00.001+08:00

It was Friday and I am having one of my cravings again. I want so much to eat some marble cake, and no, a slice from the cake shop just will not do.

I have so many cravings with this pregnancy and because of that, I've been whipping up lots of stuff in my kitchen. Last Friday I made some orange marble cake with cocoa and fresh orange juice and rind.

The orange juice and rind gave the cake such an intense flavour. I'm never one who likes to flavour my cakes with artificial flavourings. The smells emanating from the oven is heavenly and sometimes I wonder what my neighbours must go through every time I bake a cake! Free smells abound in my neighbourhood and when there's extra the neighbours get to share some too. It will be Christmas soon and no doubt my neighbourhood will be filled with free smells yet again!

Creating a gingerbread house

2008-12-15T07:30:00.003+08:00

My daughter joined the Gingerbreadhouse decorating competition at the Bangsar Village Shopping Centre yesterday. She's never done something like this before so I thought it will be a lot of fun for her to get her creative juices flowing.

We were given a cardboard box (Bummer! Not a real gingerbread house) in the shape of a house, then a bowl of icing and lots of colored rice, cereals, candies to decorate it. My little girl had such fun decorating the gingerbread house! See how intense she looked!

The end result is a pretty house that is now placed at the shopping centre for judging later, along with the houses made by the other participants. It wasn't so much joining the competition as much as having fun as a family. This little activity really made her day. Another priceless experience to add to her growing list of fun activities!

Steamboat at Tasty Pot Sunway Mentari

2008-12-05T07:49:00.004+08:00

The Chinese people have an affinity for steamboat. It’s comfort food at its best and is one of the most popular choices for Chinese New Year reunion dinners.

It’s been a long time since we had steamboat (since our Chinese New Year reunion dinner!) so when I got a flyer from a colleague about Tasty Pot, it just about piqued my curiosity! So off we went for a feast at Tasty Pot on Sunday.

The selection of food at the buffet counter is enormous. There’s the fresh seafood section (large meaty crabs, flower crabs, prawns, shellfish of all kinds including green mussels, scallops, clams, bamboo clams, etc). The fish ball section has enough items for a feeding frenzy. Then there’s also the vegetables section where you get all types of vegetables and noodles. Tasty Pot has an additional section for BBQ (salmon fish head, fish, prawns, sausages, potatoes and lamb). Finally, there’s a section for the usual fried noodles and fried rice for those who can’t live without their carbs. For RM23.90 per adult and RM11.90 per child it’s great value for money!

The crabs were very meaty, quite unlike those teeny little things we normally get at buffet lines. However, take note that the claws are as hard as rocks. It takes tremendous effort to crack them open! The crabs are very popular at the buffet line so they run out fast. However, the staff does replenish the food, although there’s some waiting time. There’s a selection of 2 soups per table, of which you can choose from a variety of herbal chicken, Thai tomyam, curry soya bean, soya bean and porridge. We selected the herbal chicken and Thai tomyam. We really liked the herbal chicken soup. The soups were quite tasty and sweet especially after cooking all that crabs and prawns! After dinner, there’s the desserts counter where ice-cream and fruits are served.

Tasty Pot is located at No. 9 Jalan PJS8/18 Dataran Mentari, Bandar Sunway, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel : 03-5630 1282.

Our gastronomic journey through Hanoi

2008-12-02T07:21:00.000+08:00

Our gastronomic journey in Hanoi continues! With the huge selection of street food at every corner of Hanoi, one never goes hungry!

The Old Quarter is a haven for street food. Walk along its streets and you’re bound to find something to soothe your hungry tummies! On our many walks around the Old Quarter, we found street stalls selling Vietnamese noodles, grilled cuttlefish, fried calamari and fresh-cut fries, snails, salads, banh mi pate, fried rice and local dishes, grilled chicken/pork on sticks and lots more! It is a never-ending discovery … our only complain being not enough time to savour them all.

On weekends where a section of the Old Quarter houses the weekly night market, even more food stalls are set up. A walk through the night market reveals two stalls selling freshly made bread and pastries which looks and smells delicious. Then there’s steamed sweetcorn, ice-cream, lollipops of every size and color, grilled chicken (much like satay), cuttlefish, desserts and of course, the Banh Mi Pate! In the day, virtually every corner of Hanoi has at least one food stall. We had delicious pho for breakfast at the cost of USD1. I’m sure it could have been cheaper and that we’re actually paying tourist prices, but USD1 is a small price to pay for such delicious comfort food.

At a street corner at Van Mieu we found a nifty little shop selling Bun Cha and Nem Cua Be (fried spring rolls). The smells emanating from the little charcoal grill is enough to make me swoon!

Who can resist the thick Vietnamese drip coffee? I like mine black with sugar. The coffee is robust and oh-so-good! It’s the perfect wake-me-up drink. As a matter of fact, we loved the coffee so much we packed some home along with the stainless steel drip.

For desserts there are little shops along the Old Quarter that sells cut fruits drizzled with condensed milk and of course, countless sweet soups. It’s enough to give one a sugar high! One thing about the Vietnamese is they all love their sugar.

If you're looking for something healthier, fresh fruits are a great option. We found some big custard apples for VND50,000 for 3 fruits. It's a little pricey, but still much cheaper than what we'll have to pay for in Malaysia. The fruits were so sweet! Their apples are crisper than the ones back home too.

We had a great time scouring the streets of Hanoi for good food. Our daughter had such a great time there that she's asked us when we'll be back in Hanoi.

Life is not a textbook!

2008-11-21T07:10:00.000+08:00

Lately I’ve seen quite a few letters in the newspapers on the standard of education in Malaysia with some readers suggesting that the Education Ministry bring back English-medium schools and some steadfastly holding on to their belief that BM-medium national schools are the way forward.

Mostly the arguments are centered on how disadvantaged our graduates are in the job market after spending more than 12 of their growing years in BM-medium schools as they are unable to converse adequately in the English language, thus making them non-employable especially in big multinational corporations. Nevermind that some of these graduates have national exam scores of 10As and above. The fact is that many, if not most, of them can hardly muster up enough courage to string a sentence in English, let alone hold a conversation with the interviewer. Their command of English is certainly cringe-worthy. However, I do not think that this problem is prevalent only in the BM-medium national schools, as a matter of fact, I think students from Chinese schools face the same problem.

English is not a language that can be learned by the textbook and I think this is where part of the problem lies. Our education system tries to cram in as many subjects in an average school day as possible, which is about 6 hours. As most of the subjects were either taught in only BM or Chinese, that effectively leaves about 30 to 45 minutes each day for English lessons if they’re lucky. On top of that, many of the teachers in the national schools are not well-versed in English either.

In part our educational culture is also to blame. It is no secret that our education system is one that encourages memorizing of texts. I spent 12 years in the national schools and I can attest that we were encouraged to memorize the textbooks. I was lucky in the sense that I had access to a wide range of encyclopedias at home and was encouraged to read. I’ve heard from many people that these days, their children are taught to memorize whole essay samples in school so that they can reproduce them in exams, word for word. I was horrified to say the least and I am even more horrified that some parents seem to think this is perfectly acceptable. Shouldn’t creative writing be encouraged instead? This is but one example of our system. We hear all the time that we should “think out of the box” and yet we encourage our children to “think within the box” by curtailing their creativity. Has anyone ever thought how difficult it must be to “think out of the box” when you spent almost your entire growing years on “thinking within the box”? Do we just expect our children to suddenly start being creative? Unfortunately, after years of going through the grind, it is not surprising that the children forget what creativity means.

What good is it to churn out straight-A students year after year when these students are lacking in so many areas? It is hard to find someone to have an intellectually-stimulating conversation with because many of them do not have the general knowledge required to even start a conversation with! Life is not a textbook. I fear for the children who will eventually discover this fact when they finally leave school.

KOTO (Know One, Teach One) Restaurant, Hanoi

2008-11-19T07:14:00.004+08:00

I've read about KOTO in some websites whilst searching for information on Hanoi and thought that it is quite like Jamie Oliver's 15 where street kids are taught hospitality skills to enable them to have a better chance in life. KOTO Hanoi is supported by KOTO International which is an Australian-based non-profit organization. KOTO graduates are highly sought after by the hospitality industry and many now work in top hotels and restaurants in Hanoi.

So, that brings me to our lunch at KOTO on the first day of our holiday. KOTO is located right across the Van Mieu pagoda on Van Mieu Street. The facade of the restaurant is simple but once you enter it, you'll find that the restaurant is spread over four floors. We were brought to our table on the 3rd floor where photos of past graduates now working in top hotels and restaurants are hung on the walls.On the way up the winding stairs, bricks with names of sponsors and friends of KOTO line the walls.

Our menus were brought to us immediately by a pleasant young lady. After ordering our drinks - sweet fragrant passionfruit juice and mango juice, we ordered an eggplant dip which came on crispy rice crackers.

My hubby ordered Bun Bo (beef vermicelli noodle) because he loves beef. The Bun Bo came in two separate bowls. One bowl with the beef and another with the thin rice vermicelli. We were asked to pour the beef into the rice vermicelli and add the fresh herbs and the fish sauce. After a quick stir, the Bun Bo is ready. The verdict, as expected, was very good! It is unbelievable that such a simple dish can be so immensely satisfying!

I ordered a Bun Cha (grilled pork vermicelli) and Chao Tom (minced prawn with sugar cane) to share. The Bun Cha is quite similar to the Bun Bo with the exception of the grilled pork replacing the beef. The grilled pork is heavenly! It's so delicious and fragrant and the minced pork balls accompanying it is wonderful! I could barely stop popping the grilled pork and pork balls into my mouth.

The Chao Tom is decidedly different from the Thai version. The Vietnamese version came in a bamboo tray filled with condiments such as fresh herbs, sugar cane, rice paper, vermicelli and of course, the minced prawn. We're supposed to wrap all these into the rice paper, roll it up and dip it into the fish sauce. Surprisingly our little girl loves it. The novelty of playing with her food certainly appealed to her and having it taste delicious afterwards was obviously a bonus.

Admittedly, dining at KOTO costs a little more than usual but it's all for a good cause so I'd certainly recommend it. KOTO's address is 59 Van Mieu Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi, Vietnam. Tel : (84-4) 747 0337 or email customerservice_koto@netnam.vn.

Food Adventures in Hanoi - Quan An Ngon

2008-11-17T07:30:00.002+08:00

If there’s one thing that I enjoyed most about our holiday in Hanoi, it’s eating all that delicious food! There’s so much to try it’s almost like an adventure in itself!

As I’ve written about in my previous posts on Hanoi, the Quan An Ngon restaurant is my absolute favourite so of course it’s high on my list of places to eat. My family which includes one very picky little girl, were absolutely delighted at the diverse choices available at Quan An Ngon.

We ordered chicken pho (chicken noodle soup), bun bo (beef vermicelli soup), bun cha (grilled pork and vermicelli), nem cua be (fried spring rolls), prawn fritters, young papaya salad, squid salad, mango salad with prawn crackers, fried tofu with fermented shrimp dip, fresh spring rolls, bbq squid, and che (sweet dessert) to share. The food were absolutely sumptious and although they cost more than what I would expect to pay at the street stalls, it’s great to have so many choices at one place. The salad stalls serve some pretty interesting salads. I caught sight of a tray filled with something that looked like bugs, but was told it’s actually baby sparrows. Although I’m keen on trying a lot of different food, I’m drawing a line at this because I’m pregnant and the last thing I want to do is eat babies (although they’re baby birds)! We loved the ambience … it was packed both days we were there. Although I would expect a more touristy-clientele, I was pleasantly surprised to see many locals eating there as well. One downside is the Vietnamese-speaking staff, they are not very well-versed in English. The menus are written in Vietnamese and English but I would really recommend walking around the many stalls to choose your food. If you find something that you like, just ask the staff to write it down on a piece of paper so that you can pass it to the waiter when you return to your table. This way you’ll be able to see what you are ordering. Quan An Ngon is really THE place to go if you want to have a wide variety of Vietnamese street food in one place.

Obama wins!

2008-11-05T15:01:00.004+08:00

What a historic day today is! Today a black man is elected President of the United States of America, something that I think not many people believed they will witness in their lifetime. I'm as excited for America as are the rest of the world.

Obama's victory speech I think transcends every country and culture in the world. It's not just for America. Don't we all hope for the same? For we are all one no matter where we are from.

"This is our moment. This is our time -- to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth -- that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can,"

Obama Fever

2008-11-05T07:53:00.001+08:00

Today is a defining moment in history. I'm rooting for Obama. I really hope he wins. God knows we need someone like him to change the course of history. A win for him will signal the change the world needs so much. At the very least we will have a black man as President, something that our forefathers will never imagine is possible. So much hope placed on one man, isn't it?

I wonder when we will see such changes in our own country?

Revisiting Hanoi - The Sheraton Hanoi @ Westlake

2008-10-31T07:33:00.006+08:00

My family and I were in Hanoi last weekend for our last holiday before I deliver our newest family member. I must say that this is a highly anticipated holiday because I love the hustle and bustle of Hanoi and besides, I’ve long wanted to show my family what surprises Hanoi has to offer.

Our flight arrived at Hanoi at 8:50am, long after the denizens of Hanoi has woken up and had their first bowl of hot steaming pho. After about 40 minutes by car, we arrived at our hotel, the Sheraton Hanoi. Amidst the hustle and bustle and the endless honking of cars, Sheraton Hanoi stood out like a welcomed oasis by the West Lake. Being in this location has its advantages and I think it is a perfect getaway after being in the city with its endless honking.

I had earlier emailed Ms. Kim Lien from Customer Service that my husband and I will be celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary and had gotten a confirmation right away that they will surprise us. What a surprise it turned out to be! We had a room with a view of the beautiful West Lake and our bed is decorated with rose petals and a lovely cake as well as a congratulatory letter from the hotel. There were candles on the night stand as well as rose petals in the bath. Truly romantic! Like all Starwood properties, The Sheraton has the requisite amenities to keep guests comfortable. It has a very welcoming pool with a pagoda and a very unique dragon shower. Take a little walk to the other side and you’ll be greeted with a moongate and a tranquil courtyard and lush gardens. I would have been perfectly happy here just sipping a cup of strong Vietnamese coffee. There’s also a gym and tennis court in the hotel grounds. What makes the Sheraton Hanoi truly stand out is its staff. They were all genuinely warm and friendly and were more than happy to accommodate us (me especially with my endless enquiries and requests). We’ve stayed at many hotels in many countries and I must say, the staff at Sheraton Hanoi is top-notch. This is exactly what 5-star service should be.

Bosses from Hell

2008-10-24T07:21:00.001+08:00

I’ve spent a good part of my life working and I must say, I’ve met all sorts of colorful characters. My job requires me to have a close working relationship with my superiors and unfortunately that means I’m privy to what makes them tick.

I’ve been fortunate to have worked with very nice bosses but also unfortunate enough to work with eccentric and extremely inconsiderate ones (at least in my opinion). Some are there because of hard work, but most are there because of their skills in apple-polishing their superiors.

Here are some examples of my superiors – thankfully all long gone.

1. The Yes-Man
You’ll know if he’s on the phone with the boss coz the only words coming out of his mouth is “Yes, Sir!”.
2. The Inconsiderate Boss
I’ve worked with a superior who had the audacity to tell a colleague to ask his sister to postpone her wedding because it falls on the company’s accounts closing date. His reasoning is that if the wedding is postponed to another date, then he can have the day off. If this is not highly inconsiderate, I don’t know what is.
3. The Back-Stabber
You wouldn’t know what hit you because he’ll smile while stabbing you in the back.
4. The Indecisive Boss
Another one of my pet peeves. He’ll change his mind so much you’ll spent 10 days finishing the work that really only takes a day.

5. The Slave Driver

This is the type of boss who'll expect you to work late even when your work for the day is done. He'd rather you sit there and wait until 10pm then tell you, "Actually, you can do the work tomorrow", by which time you've wasted hours away from your family.

The only consolation I have is that what goes around comes around. I hope they'll get their just rewards when their time comes!

Final Exams

2008-10-17T07:51:00.000+08:00

It's exam time again. Although our daughter is only 7 years old, you wouldn't believe how difficult the syllabus is these days. It's so tough (at least I think it is) that we have been revising and revising to ensure that she is at least confident enough to sit for the exam. I'm not hoping she'll score As, don't get me wrong. It doesn't matter to me what she scores because after all, she is only 7.

I read in the papers yesterday that the Education Ministry is thinking of adding History into the syllabus for Primary schools. The one thing that came to my mind was, "What? Another subject?". The kids can barely cope with the subjects in Primary right now. They barely have time to breathe coz all the time they have is spent either in school or at home doing their endless homework. And then there is the "do-we-or-don't-we" decision to either change Maths and Science back to Bahasa Malaysia or keep it in English. It's so stressful being a kid these days (also for the parents!) and I wonder if this is the right approach in getting the kids to love going to school.

The stork is visiting

2008-10-15T07:13:00.000+08:00

It's confirmed .... we're expecting a visit from the stork early next year. After 7 long years, we're finally adding a new member to our little family. We're waiting with bated breath and in the meantime, enjoying our new experience. It's a different pregnancy altogether compared to when I was pregnant with our little girl. The little girl is now a healthy 7 year old who officially declared herself big sister in anticipation of the new arrival. She's been reading to the baby and kissing it goodbye before she leaves for school. I think she's going to be a great big sister.

I'm also enjoying the time to shop for baby stuff (every woman enjoys a little shopping). We have most of the items we need but the piece de resistance for me is the Quinny Zapp. Although I'm aware that the Quinny Zapp can only be used for babies 6 months and above, I still just love it for the very cool look and the fact that it can be folded up into a small bag. This will come in handy when we travel! If only someone would sponsor .....!

In the meantime, we're preparing for our world to be turned upside down again. It's going to be tough, but it's going to be so worth it.

Sushi & Grilled Salmon at Sushi Zen Midvalley Gardens

2008-10-13T07:15:00.001+08:00

My family's favourite restaurant in Midvalley Gardens has got to be Sushi Zen. Whenever we crave for fresh feel-good food, Sushi Zen has never disappointed us.

We love the salmon heads (sold at Shojikiya) that are grilled either in teriyaki sauce or with plain salt. The grilled teriyaki salmon head is perfect in my opinion. The salmon head is grilled just right, with the flesh separating at the poke of our chopsticks and as you can see from the picture below, it's also very juicy! The skin is wonderfully crisp due to a kitchen blowtorch! Couple that with sweet teriyaki sauce and what you get is something that's finger licking good!

I also love the salt grilled salmon head which I like with a sprinkle of lemon juice. I think the lemon juice does complement the fats in the salmon flesh so it's not that rich. I like the crispy skin, just nicely salted.

For fleshier grilled salmon, I opted for the salt grilled salmon belly. I love the fatty belly because I thought the fats around the salmon flesh makes it really moist. Again, a sprinkling of lemon juice and the flavour is perfect.

Our little girl loves sushi and her favourite is the ikura sushi.

Sushi Zen's address is LG-K02, Lower Ground Floor, The Gardens, Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur. Tel : 03-2282 6160.

Hawker Delights @ Jalan Peel, Kuala Lumpur

2008-10-10T07:22:00.001+08:00

One of my favourite places to eat is at the Peel Road hawker stalls in Kuala Lumpur. My family and I have been eating here for years. After a long hiatus, we decided to check out Peel Road again. I was very happy to see that all the old stalls were still there after all these years. We ordered a variety of hawker food and realized that they taste the same too!

First to arrive at our table is the mix pork soup which usually comes with pork offal, pork slices, clotted pig's blood and salted vegetables. I loved the chewy intestines and clotted blood! The soup is as delicious as I remembered it. Next is the beef ball noodle soup. The noodles came in a thick minced beef sauce and a separate bowl of beef balls. For added measure, hubby ordered also beef soup which came with more beef balls and beef slices.

How could we resist ordering the very popular grilled chicken wings? The chicken wings were coated in a sweet honey sauce that was caramelized in a charcoal grill. Yummy!My dad being a lover of Char Kuey Teow naturally had to order his plate of noodles. The kuey teow came on a plate lined with banana leaves which imparted a natural fragrance to the noodles.We also ordered the fresh spring rolls to share. The spring rolls were served in a thin rice flour skin (like a lighter version of tortilla) filled with sweet jicama, beansprouts and tofu. The sauce lining the rice flour skin was just sweet enough.For dessert, we had the all-time favourite Leng Chee Kang which is a sweet broth scented with pandanus leaves and dried longans, served with jelly cubes, hard-boiled quail egg, sago balls, candied melon, dried longan and boiled lotus seeds. It's the perfect ending for a deeply satisfying meal!

Apple puffs

2008-10-08T07:29:00.000+08:00

I had a sudden craving for apple pies over the weekend and what else to do but to make some myself? I'm not adept at making shortbread crusts so I decided to make apple puffs instead. I like my apples cooked soft over a hot stove - the old-fashioned apple pie. When the apples were ready, I filled them into puff pastry and popped them into the oven and voila! Home-made apple puffs oozing with soft apples! They are absolutely scrumptious!

Fish noodle @ Hainanese Taste

2008-10-07T07:10:00.000+08:00

A friend recently treated me to lunch at Hainanese Taste Restaurant in Sea Park. She was singing praises about the delicious fish noodles.

Hainanese Taste serves handmade fish noodles. I thought the noodles were tasty so I brought my family over for breakfast over a weekend.

Hubby ordered a Fried Cheong Fun with fish noodle which he liked. It was not oily unlike other fried noodles and the fish noodle in the dish gave it an extra bite. The smooth cheong fun (rice noodles) contrasted nicely with the fish noodles.Our little girl opted for Fish Noodle Soup. The thick strands of fish noodle came in a bowl of flavourful broth with fish cake and fish balls. It’s the first time she’s eaten fish noodles and she thought it was interesting. She had fun slurping up the noodles strand by strand. If it's any indication, she finished the whole bowl.I decided to order my usual ... rice noodles in soup. The flat rice noodles were smooth and came topped with vegetables, fish balls and fish cake. I like the fish balls which were very springy. I also ordered extra fried pork rind to add to the noodles. It gave the noodles a nice crunch.Hainanese Taste also serves the usual toasted bread with kaya and of course, thick Hainanese coffee.

The address for Hainanese Taste is No. 12 & 14 Jalan 21/19 Ground Floor, Sea Park, 46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Tel : 7876 5461.

Margaret's Yong Tau Foo

2008-10-06T07:16:00.000+08:00

One of our favourite food haunts is Margaret Yong Tau Foo at USJ, Subang. It’s located on the ground floor of an apartment block unlike the usual shoplots. Although it’s location is not necessary good, it’s been enjoying good patronage from customers.

We ordered a variety of Yong Tau Foo for lunch. There’s ladies finger, soft tofu, tofu puffs, beancurd skin (tau kan) and chillies. The fish/meat paste stuffing is really good whilst the ladies finger remains crisp. My favourite item here is the soft tofu. It’s delightfully silken and contrasts nicely with the fish/meat stuffing. My daughter loves the beancurd skin (tau kan) which also happens to be a best-seller here. The tau kan is deepfried, thus leaving the outer layer crispy whilst the inner layer is stuffed with fish paste. The fish paste for the tau kan is chewy so you get a perfect combination of crispiness and chewiness!The Yong Tau Foo is served with a good serving of gravy. I really like the gravy here, it’s the perfect accompaniment for the Yong Tau Foo.

We also ordered the brinjals which were just nicely softened. I was really looking forward to the Assam Fish which we had on a previous visit. The fish was slathered with thick assam gravy which was absolutely delicious! Unfortunately today the fish used was kembong which I avoid due to allergies so we didn’t order it today.

Instead, we ordered the Paper Wrapped Chicken. The chicken was well-marinated in a thick ginger-based dark soya sauce which made it very flavourful. However, it is a little dry. I would have liked it better with more gravy like the one served at Balakong.Margaret Yong Tau Foo is located at V1-00-06 Subang Perdana Court 9, Persiaran Mulia, 47610 Subang Jaya, Selangor. Tel : 012-691 6576.

Claypot goodness at The Claypot Station

2008-10-03T07:38:00.000+08:00

We had lunch at The Claypot Station at Dataran Sunway last week. The Claypot Station serves a wide variety of dishes in claypots.

Since we had just finished a spot of shopping, we needed something to fill our growling tummies. The Claypot Station seemed like a good idea!

We ordered 4 dishes to go with white steamed rice. We were recommended the Fa Tiu Frog which was paddy frogs cooked in dark soya sauce and Chinese rice wine. I really liked the thick gravy that smothered the frogs. It was finger-licking good!

The next dish we ordered was the Chicken in herbal soup. The soup was robust with the herbs, especially licorice. I liked the soup although I can’t say the same for the chicken. Somehow I didn’t think the chicken absorbed the flavour of the herbs well enough.

To counter all the meats we also ordered a plate of tofu with dried shrimps. The tofu was very soft and came topped with dried shrimps and oyster sauce.

For vegetables, we ordered the Sour & Spicy Vegetables. I’ve always loved this dish as the sourness and spiciness of the vegetables are so appetizing. The Claypot Station’s version is not too sour which I liked although it lacks the usual “kick” that the sour and spicy vegetables provides. I would have liked it a little more spicier.

The Claypot House is located at No. 23-1 Jalan PJU5/12, Dataran Sunway, PJU5, Kota Damansara, Selangor. Tel : 017-3936 352.

Family vs Career

2008-09-30T07:19:00.000+08:00

How important is your career to you? If I had been asked this question when I was younger my answer then and now would have been as different as day and night.

I’m posing this question because these days many new parents are more than happy to leave their children at the baby-sitters’ full-time on weekdays, taking them home only on weekends. Often, their reasoning is they need enough sleep because they are a working couple but don’t we all? Somehow I sympathize with the children because home for them probably means the baby-sitters’.

I’ve relatives and friends who’d rather leave decision-making concerning their children to their parents or in-laws, almost always telling me that they felt their parents or in-laws know better, and besides, they are too busy with work. I’m sure they do but surely that’s no way to relinquish our responsibilities on them. If our mothers and their mothers before them were able to take care of our needs, surely we are able to do the same for our children.

Why do some women think it’s justifiable for them to place their responsibility on someone else instead? Is it because women these days have no confidence in themselves in caring for their family or is it because they feel that they are inadequate compared to their parents/in-laws? I find it hard to believe that successful businesswomen are unable to handle childcare and thus depend on someone else to do it for them. Certainly some will argue that career is important to them. I have a career too but I will as soon give it all up for my family. After being in the rat race for so many years, I’ve realized that career is not all that important anymore. I’ve learned to set my priorities straight because although it might be good for a while, my career will not last forever. At the end of the day, it is our families we return to and it is our families who will be there for us.

It’s too big a sacrifice to put our careers above our family. I’m not sure if it’s really worth the sacrifice. Do you?

Ramadan market @ Bangsar

2008-09-29T07:15:00.000+08:00

In a couple more days, the Muslims around the world will be celebrating the Eid-al-Fitri. This post about the delights of Ramadan sold in Malaysia is long overdue, I know.

Although I’m not a Muslim, I always looked forward to Ramadan as it is the month where stalls selling all types of food are set up daily for the Muslims to break fast. In Malaysia these afternoon food markets are everywhere and this is where you’ll find Malaysians of all races patronizing the stalls.

For the past month, we have been going to these food markets on a weekly basis to check out the variety of food offered.

There’s the Singapore Pasembor which is an Indian-Muslim salad with julienne vegetables and crunchy crisps in a sweet peanut sauce.

There’s also the popular Ayam Percik (roasted spiced chicken).

Don’t forget also the Murtabak (roti prata with chicken/beef fillings). I love the smell and sound of murtabak sizzling on a hot grill plate!

My daughter loves roti jala (lacy pancake). The roti jala now also comes wrapped around minced chicken/beef fillings like the murtabak. There’s also many rice stalls selling briyani, nasi lemak, curries, rendang, grilled fish and squid and kebabs.

Everyone’s favourite, without doubt, are the kuih stalls. These stalls sells all types of colourful kuih (traditional cakes) that we all have a really hard time deciding which to buy!

The Ramadan markets are a great place to see Malaysians united by our common love for food.

Children of Cambodia

2008-09-26T07:42:00.001+08:00

I've travelled to many countries, each one leaving me with distinct memories. One country that I could not forget is Cambodia. The Angkor Wat is beautiful of course, but it is the people, or more accurately, the street children of Cambodia who left the most lasting impressions on me.

Most of us have no idea how lucky we are to have all that we have now. It is the same with me, unfortunately, that is, until I went to Siem Reap. My sole intention of going to Siem Reap was to visit the world famous Angkor Wat, a wholly selfish reason. I got my wish of course, but I also gained something else. I gained an insight on how tough life is for the street children who had to work to ensure their survival. Most times, it is not just their survival, but that of their families as well. Such heavy burdens on such small shoulders.

The street children of Siem Reap do not go to schools, a luxury unknown to them. Instead, children no taller than 3 feet are out on the streets daily, cajoling tourists like me to buy their wares. "One dollar, you buy?" is but a popular phrase. If the tourists do not understand English, no problem, there's Japanese, French, Spanish, German, Korean, Mandarin that they are able to converse in, just take your pick. I am amazed by their will to survive and adaptability, to make that extra dollar that will make such a huge difference to their families. An extra dollar that means practically nothing to us who are so used to our lifestyles. Certainly, their willingness and ease in learning a new language puts some of our local graduates who gripe about learning English to shame.

It's a sad sight to see street children who wait outside the many restaurants and ice-cream parlours in Siem Reap catering to tourists because such luxury is out-of-reach to them. Do we not feel guilty indulging in such luxury, bubble-wrapped in our worldly comforts while the children outside have barely enough to eat daily? How do you even begin to comfort a small child waiting outside with such hope in his eyes? How do you feel seeing a child without legs propping himself on a makeshift trolley begging for your spare change? I am ashamed that on the first day of my visit, I haggled with the lady selling books that are already so cheap. That feeling of shame never left me, so long after I left. How I could have thought that I got myself a good deal, when I am actually depriving them of money that they so needed? Money that is just spare change to me. I actually looked for her on the subsequent days, hoping to redeem myself, but sadly I never found her.

The children showed me so much more than the beauty of Angkor. They showed me that in order to survive, we need to be resilient and driven in the midst of adversity. It is not self-pity they wallow in, it is hope. They have shown me that in times when things look bleak, there is a glimmer of hope. The children have given me much more than I could ever asked for and I am forever grateful to them.

Parenting advices

2008-09-25T07:33:00.000+08:00

When we first started on our journey to parenthood, my hubby and I had many well-meaning (depending on how you looked at it) relatives and friends who were very eager to share with us tips on childcare. The advices we got were mostly useful, save for some that were completely devoid of common sense.

One of the most ridiculous advices we received was that it’s ok for kids to partake alcohol, as long as it’s done right under our watchful eyes. How anyone in their right frame of mind could have thought of such a thing is really beyond my comprehension. Needless to say, I was completely horrified although I could not fault the person for not leading by example.

Then, there are also some who openly rebuke us for many of our choices for our daughter.

Is it not our responsibility as parents to provide the best we can for our kids, be it in attention, love or care? Although at that time we were first-time parents, we’re well-read and luckily, have the advice of many people who are experienced parents. Our daughter is now a happy 7 year old who is bright and kind. If anything, I think we’ve done a pretty good job at being parents.

I guess we can’t stop people from giving us advices, but I think the key for new parents is to listen to the ones who make the most sense and go with your instincts. In case instincts don't kick in, there's always lots of useful information on the internet that could be relied on. Whatever it is, the journey to parenthood is one of the greatest gifts of all. It's the gift of self-discovery.

Milk powder scare again

2008-09-24T07:02:00.000+08:00

Recent news reports about contaminated milk powder in China again made headlines around the world, especially after 4 babies have died and thousands more made sick. This is the 2nd time problems relating to milk powder has happened in China, the first being "fake milk powder" that caused malnutrition to the babies.

It's so frightening these days that driven by greed, companies no longer cared about the consequences of their actions. Greed could be the only way to explain how they could prey on defenceless babies although I am sure it affects other users too. Whatever happened to integrity? How do the people who owned such companies close their eyes to sleep at night, knowing that their actions have caused harm to many?

How do we ensure that this will not happen again? How do we protect the users? I'm not sure if stricter food safety regulations is enough to change this mindset of greed. The truth is, we never know now if we're giving nutrition to our children or poisoning them.

Penang food at Simply Penang

2008-09-23T07:10:00.003+08:00

We were out shopping at 1-Utama over the weekend and dropped by Simply Penang for dinner, partly because it’s been so long since I had Assam Laksa.

My order of the Assam Laksa came with the rice noodles topped with thick fish gravy, very much like the authentic ones in Penang. My quest for the Penang styled Assam Laksa has caused me to endure endless imitations, none of which were any good. I still haven’t found the best Penang Assam Laksa in KL, but I guess the one at Simply Penang is close enough.

We also ordered a Chicken Porridge for hubby who wanted something light. The porridge came topped with shredded chicken meat, ginger, salted duck egg and lightly drizzled with sesame oil. Hubby thought it needed a dash of soya sauce to liven it up a bit more.

For our kid, we ordered Fried Chicken with fries. She really liked the sweet chicken wings and proceeded to polish off everything. Guess it must be really good!

For drinks, we ordered the “Sar Lei Juice”. I liked the Sar Lei Juice at Simply Penang. It’s not the watered-down version I usually get at the coffeeshops. It sweet and tart at the same time. Really quite good!

Simply Penang is located at F237, 1st Floor, Promenade, One Utama Shopping Centre, 47800 Bandar Utama, Selangor. Tel : 03-77290026.

The loss of innocence

2008-09-22T07:20:00.001+08:00

Last week a pretty 16 year old girl was brutally murdered and her body burned by her murderers. It turns out that her murderer is a young man who is known to her. This is not the first case of young children being assaulted, raped or murdered. Who could forget Nurin Jazlin? Unfortunately, I doubt it will be the last.

What is becoming of our world, of humanity? How is it that young people are so reckless in their lives that they now think nothing of killing another?

It is so hard to read about young promising lives brutally cut short. How do we even comfort parents who lose their children this way?

The truth is, we are no longer safe no matter where we are. We have iron grilles in our house, but it does not stop the robbers from coming in. We tell our kids not to speak to strangers, but it is people known to them who do unspeakable things to them. As parents, we fear for our children more than ourselves. But what do we do? What can we do? Who should our children trust? How do we tell them that behind the mask of someone close to them, is a monster lurking within? We want so much to let our children be kids, but the reality is, childhood is no longer a time without worries.

I think back to the time when I was a child and knew that my parents never had to worry about my whereabouts. I had the freedom to live my childhood as only a child should. We could go out and play with our friends, coming home only for meals before dashing off to play again. These days, our children have no such luxury. They are under our watchful eyes at all times because we fear for their safety. In the process, they have lost so much more than their independence. They have lost their childhood, the most precious time of their lives.

To teach or not to teach

2008-09-19T07:10:00.001+08:00

Our Education Ministry is once again deciding whether to continue teaching Science and Mathematics in English. And once again, our children are the ones who’ll have to pay the price for their decisions.

My humble opinion is that they should continue teaching these subjects (and if possible the other subjects as well) in English. The reason is a no-brainer. English is the lingua franca so it makes sense to equip our children with the communication skills they will require to make it in the business world when the time comes.

I’ve always worked in an MNC (since my first job) and my job requires me to converse in English with our counterparts elsewhere in the world. I’ve seen job applications completely written in Bahasa Melayu and applicants who can barely understand a word of English, let alone write in English. Again, this is a no-brainer. Would the MNC hire someone who is unable to communicate in English? The answer is a resounding no for the reasons listed above.

I had an interesting conversation with an old Malay lady I met at my daughter’s school. She speaks excellent English and as she proudly told me, she has lived in many countries around the world. She is able to proudly hold her head up high wherever she is in the world because she is able to speak English, as well as, if not better, than the native speakers. The best thing is, she was a product of our National schools, when English was the main medium of instruction.

We’ve been given the excuse too many times that the reason Science and Maths should be taught in the national language is because many children from non-English speaking backgrounds are unable to grasp the subjects taught. Let me ask this … if a foreign worker from Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan etc is able to master the Chinese language in a matter of months, surely our children can do better? If the powers-that-be think that for some reason, our children are unable to absorb new languages, I would certainly take that as an insult. The fact is, learning is central to our progress as human beings. It’s whether or not we choose to learn. And I think it is no secret that many are choosing not to learn.

Is it any wonder that many of our graduates are unable to find a job? With globalization, the world is getting smaller and people are getting more competitive. However, it does seem to me that the powers-that-be and our graduates are still sitting comfortably in their shells, oblivious to the fact that if they do not make an attempt to buck-up, they will be left behind. When they do finally come to their senses, it will be too late. And when that happens, who will they blame for this?

If we want to compete with the rest of the world and hold our heads up high, proper education is the way to go. It is not about having the biggest roti canai or the longest stretch of satay in the Guinness Book of Records. We are only competitive when we are able to communicate with the rest of the world in a language they understand.

Grilled chicken wings

2008-09-18T07:31:00.001+08:00

Last Sunday I decided to grill some chicken wings for dinner. The wings were marinated in a special secret sauce, then grilled in the oven for about 20 minutes.

The result? Sweet sticky grilled chicken wings! I love the way the marinate caramelizes over the skin.

Hoong Kee Seafood Noodle House, Dataran Sunway

2008-09-16T07:26:00.000+08:00

A couple of weeks ago we stumbled upon Hoong Kee Seafood Noodle House in Dataran Sunway. I’ve always loved seafood and besides, my parents had just returned from a week in Norway, so noodles seemed like a good way to get their system back to normal!

We ordered a variety of noodles to share. First up was the Seafood noodles in Tom Yam soup. The noodles came in a bowl filled with big prawns, tofu puffs, fish balls, lala (small clams), fish cake and Chinese cabbage. That’s a lot of stuff in one bowl! The tom yam broth was not too sour or spicy which I quite like.

The fish cake came next. Crispy outside and springy inside.

I absolutely loved the fish balls! They were very springy, yet at the same time I could taste its freshness! We also ordered the oyster soup with vegetables. The oysters were smaller but they’re just as fresh. Next to arrive was the Seafood flat rice noodles with ma-yau fish. Slices of fish fillet were added to the noodles together with seaweed. The fish slices were very fresh and the soup delicious. The fishball noodle soup also came with added seaweed, fishballs and fish cake. The noodle broth was sweet and light. The last to arrive was the seafood noodle soup. It has the same ingredients as the seafood tomyam noodles except that it has a lighter seafood broth. Hoong Kee also serves a seafood steamboat.

I thought the seafood served at Hoong Kee were very fresh and value for money. The noodles cost around RM3.80 per bowl, depending on your choice of seafood to be added.

Hoong Kee is located at No. 3-1 Jalan PJU5/12, Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. They open daily from 9:30am to 4pm, 5pm to 11pm and are closed on Mondays.

Jelly mania!

2008-09-15T07:29:00.002+08:00

It's been awhile since I made jellies so a couple of weeks ago, I took out my jelly moulds and got down to work! Jellies are always a favourite coz they are light and best of all, colorful so it's always a hit with the kids.

I found the rainbow jelly recipe on the internet and decided to give it a try but alas, it didn't quite come out right. The bottom part was too watery so it didn't hold while the top part was perfect. I separated the parts and the top part was delicious. Too bad it didn't turn out as I expected it to.

I also made the cocoa and corn jelly which I brought to the office for our pot-luck. Chocolate is a favourite of mine and I do love sweetcorn too. So this jelly is the perfect combination of my two favourites. Luckily this jelly turned out perfectly!

Finally, these colourful konyakku jelly are flavoured with apple and grape flavours and filled with fruits and nata-de-coco.

Don't they make a great treat for a hot day?

An Asian Chinese upbringing

2008-09-12T07:20:00.000+08:00

I am currently reading Hillary Rodham Clinton’s autobiography and I must say I admire her for her tenacity and her passion. I’ve always found strong women like her fascinating. It is women like her who leaves their mark in the world.

My mom grew up in an essentially traditional Chinese household where girls are taught to be respectful to their elders. They are not allowed to speak out as that would be contrived as rudeness to your elders. They are not allowed freedom to mix with their friends. Their role simply belongs in the kitchen.

Growing up, I had a mixture of the modern and traditional Chinese upbringing. My mom understands the importance of education of which she was denied, but she didn’t understand the need for the young to speak out and be heard because all her life, she has been taught that the very act of speaking out is of extreme rudeness to your elders.

I, on the other hand, having been exposed to books when I was young, do not understand why I have to do something simply because I was told to. I guess it’s something that’s inherently in my personality. Like any child these days, I am inquisitive. To make matters worse, I do not like to be told that there is something that I cannot do. Needless to say, our personality clashes do not make things easy, either for her or me.

It took me a long time to finally find my footing and to finally be strong enough to stand up for myself and what I believe in. We are still trying to come to grips with our differing roles as women of different generations. I certainly hope that the generation gap between my daughter and I will not be this great. As it is, I am already encouraging her to find her own voice. Her opinions are always welcomed, not frowned upon. She knows that there are no limits to what she can do. Like Hillary said, there are millions of cracks now in the glass ceiling.

As time passes, my mom is beginning to understand that women don’t just belong in the kitchen. They belong everywhere. And it is alright to speak out and be heard.

Bersatu

2008-09-11T07:07:00.001+08:00

By now most people would have read about the local politician who stirred up a hornet’s nest last week by uttering racist remarks. It’s a pity really that after all these years of living together peacefully we all seem to be more divided than ever. Or at least that’s what our politicians will have us believe.

My daughter came back from school excitedly last week, declaring that she’s just learned a great song where children from all races sing together in unity. That title of the song, coincidentally, is “Bersatu” which in English means united. I can’t help but feel the irony of this, because it was just last week that the act of an irresponsible politician threatened the very fabric of unity in this country.

Parenting is no walk-in-the-park. It’s hard enough as it is and our politicians are not making things easier with all the remarks they make. I wish they would just make up their minds on what they really want for the country and its people because on one hand the kids are being taught to stand united together, and on the other we have politicians ripping apart the fabric of our unity.

How do I explain to my daughter the actions of the irresponsible politician especially when she’s been taught at home and at school that we should respect one and all irrespective of their skin colour and religion? Or perhaps it will be easier to just send the politicians back to Standard One to re-learn everything they have obviously forgot.