Local Cakes @ Kenyalang Park

Kenyalang Park is a very old neighbourhood. The evidence? Hmn ... I see a lot of old folks around this area - at the houses, at the shops, at the market. Everywhere!! ;p

Anyway, Mom makes me accompany her to the wet market every morning. So I do. It takes but a few minutes to reach the market, and during the short walk, Mom would regale me with the latest happenings at home.

Hmn. I haven't much interest in the vegetables, fish or meats as I leave the buying to Mom. I merely help her carry what she's bought.

But what I like to do is to stop by the kuih vendors to buy local cakes to eat.

Behind Lo Chuang Kee, a sundry shop, is a kuih auntie, and from her, I bought these :

  

 Deep-fried Radish Cake, RM0.60 each, Serimuka, RM0.40 each

Well, I liked the radish cake as they were tasty - crispy and fragrant. It was just a little oily and I had to dab the grease with a tissue before eating. The Serimuka was rather sweet, springy and lemak. Dad loved them.

On the second floor of the market are stalls selling local favourites like kolo mee, laksa, porridge, kueh chap and chicken rice. The kuih vendors converge at one side of the area, their carts arranged in a neat row. 

There is a particular stall that my family favours. Mom always refers to the lady vendor as "The Tall Lady". Lol. I suppose she did stand out from the rest of the vendors, with her tall frame and her fair skin and her carefully made-up face.

Purple "Gu", RM0.80 each

This "Gu" has got yam paste in its filling. Dad loved them too. 

 

3-Layer Cake, 3 pieces for RM1.00

Well, I haven't any idea what this cake is called. It's got grated tapioca at the base, topped with a layer of coconut milk custard, and finally a pandan-flavoured coconut milk custard. It does not look like much, but it is quite yum ... sweet, springy, lemak and fragrant with the taste of tapioca.

Yong Kwang is a very established coffee shop which has garnered its own group of faithful followers. Personally, I have never liked the Bao nor the Sio Bee nor the Kolo Mee. But outside of the coffee shop, an array of colourful kuih attracted my attention. 

"Self service," the auntie said. I bought ...

Sesame and peanut balls, RM0.60 each & Serimuka, RM0.50 each.

The ground sesame and peanut mixture were sweet and encased in a chewy dough. It was alright. Mom liked it. The serimuka, however, tasted weird to me. I think the ones sold by Tall Lady fared better. 

Good Old Days or 好日子 is relatively new food court here, and Kuching's favourite Sin Kwang Heng Sio Bee is available.

Sin Kwang Heng Sio Bee, RM0.60 each

Yum ... the taste is legendary ... 

Noodle Expert is located at a newer row of shops behind the old commercial centre, and it is very popular with the locals. When walking past the shop, one will catch the very enticing aroma of kolo mee coming from Ah Ming's stall. Outside of his stall are also many trays of kuihs. And I always like to buy these dumplings.

 3 types of dumplings are available, RM0.50 each - tangy and salty chopped preserved vegetable, chives and chopped beancurd, and jicama and carrot. They are all very yum. 

Well, it's very fun shopping for kuih here. There are really many types of kuih available and everyone has their own favourites.

Rice Peaches

Mom decided to make rice peaches today, and I helped out.

1) Rice flour is the main ingredient for the dough. 

2) A plastic mould. A long time ago, we used to have a wooden mould. I haven't any idea where it is now.

3) The filling is made up of savoury glutinous rice. Steamed glutinous rice is mixed with garlic, ginger, minced dried prawns, tofu bits, mushrooms, meat and preserved radish.

4) A filled dough is being shaped into a peach.

5) The rice peach, after being shaped.

6) Place the peaches on a tray and steam for 15 minutes.

7) A steamed rice peach, ready to eat.

8) A cross section of a rice peach. 

Well, the whole process was tedious to me. I was really impatient. I'd never be able to make these on my own. So, I must salute Mom and my Aunts who regularly make this Teochew favourite! 

Lui Cha @ Jalan Pisang Barat

I kept thinking of the Lui Cha which I had back in December. I had to have it again. Today, my parents and I headed there for lunch.

Rice, topped with long beans, minced preserved radish, tofu bits, scrambled egg bits, chopped leeks, cangkuk manis and roasted peanuts. 

The rice was really yum, with the combination of textures and flavours from seven different types of ingredients.

Green herbal broth to go with the rice ... 

Rich and sweet, with just a hint of bitterness. It was served boiling hot so it really warmed and soothed my empty tummy ...

Clean :))

Mine was a small order, and it was priced only at RM4.00. I ordered also a coconut pudding.

Coconut pudding, RM2.00

Cold, sweet, soft and yum ... 

It is made from pure coconut juice and has a slice of the coconut flesh floating atop, a very refreshing end to the entire meal.

Highly recommended if you are a fan of Lui Cha.

Details : 
海南村擂茶 / Hai Nan Village Lei Cha
Address　: 149, Jalan Pisang Barat, 93400 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Business Hours：1000-1400
Closed on Sundays

Hielo Frozen Yogurt

It specialises in premium frozen yogurt, so I had to have one. I knew it'd recently opened at The Spring, so I headed there.  It is located next to Old Town White Coffee outside Ta Kiong supermarket.

Hielo. Apparently it is pronounced as "yellow" and it means "ice" in Spanish. It is, however, a Taiwanese brand of confectionery.

 The outlet

Hmn. No queue here. No one eating a fro-yo within the vicinity. I suppose it is not so affordable for many people. If you will just walk to Sugar Bun and the food court area at The Spring, you will people licking soft serve ice cream as they stroll about. Sometimes, there is even a queue at Sugar Bun to purchase the RM1.50 ice cream. Actually, I liked the ice cream too!!

Anyway, I approached the Hielo counter and was told that there were only 2 flavours available on that day. I had a choice of Original or Green Tea. I opted for Original. The smallest serving is 4oz and cost RM7.50. I could have fancy toppings with my fro-yo too. But to cut back calories, I chose to have mine plain.

 Yum ... I thoroughly enjoy the yogurt. It is smooth and creamy. It tastes very natural - a little sweet, and a little sour. Most importantly, it is a guilt-free treat as it is low in fat, low in calories and packed with teeny weeny bacteria that is good for my digestive system.  Recommended, if you don't mind the price. As far as I know, frozen yogurts are expensive EVERYWHERE!

Besides fro-yo, smoothies are also available at Hielo.

Traditional Buns

 S**** told me of this bakery at 4 1/2 mile Kuching which sells delicious buns. It's a norm for people queue up to buy at this corner no frills bakery.  At the front of the shop, there is a display rack, but according to S****, the rack is perpetually empty. There is never enough buns to fill up the rack as the buns are sold out as soon as they come out of the oven!! Ok. That sounded interesting. I made up my mind to queue up for some buns when in Kuching.

We reached there before noon to look for the shop, and managed to find it.
 

(Source : http://22.com.my/tradisionalbuns/)

There wasn't any queue! Yippee. In the rack, I saw some Tau Sar (Red Bean Paste) Buns, Char Siu (BBQ meat) Buns. Meanwhile, the vendor lady was busy removing Butter Buns from a tray.

  Near empty ...

But I managed to buy some ...

BBQ Meat Bun, RM1.20

Red Bean Paste Bun, RM1.00 each

 Butter Bun, RM1.00 each

The buns were hot to touch, obviously fresh from the oven! While I was buying, a queue started to form behind me. 

People standing in line for some hot buns

I pried open each of the buns ... 

Generous with BBQ Meat, the filling is tasty ...

The red bean paste is not too sweet ...

But the butter milk filling is not rich and buttery enough for me ...

The buns were SUPER fresh, and therefore, tasted good. But most of all, I enjoyed the density and the texture of the bread. A wonderful treat with a hot cup of coffee. :))

I'm Lovin' It : Grilled Chicken Foldover

I'd been wanting to eat the Grilled Chicken Foldover. I remembered being quite impressed with it the first time I ate it. The garlic sauce had a very distinctive taste which I enjoyed. Of course, I'd always loved toasted flatbreads.

Subsequently, however, I'd been disappointed as I remembered being served with a soggy and sweaty Foldover which had sat in the warmer for too long. That experience put me off the Foldover for a long time.

Hence, I really did not know what to expect this time, even though I'd actually anticipated the meal. My friend and I headed to McDonald's Bintang Plaza Megamall on 13 May but we were both disappointed that the Foldover was not available. I had to settle for a Big Mac instead.

Today, I finally had my Foldover at the Drive Through at Jalan Bulan Sabit.

Well, the taste of the garlic sauce was just as I remembered it. But my enjoyment of Foldover was not heightened. I wanted more vegetables, i,e, lettuce shreds which would give the wrap a contrasting crunch in texture and an added refreshing taste to every bite.

 Source : http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151572981760023&set=a.354401130022.351428.142518590022&type=1&theater

See the difference? I had expected my bread to be stuffed plumply with vegetables alongside the chicken patties, but it was not. In fact the pitiful amount of shredded lettuce were all clumped together in the middle instead of being evenly spreaded out. What a pity.

I am not sure whether this is peculiar to this outlet, or do you experience the same thing too, wherever you are in Malaysia? That's why the pictures always come with a disclaimer : products shown for illustration purposes only. ;p

ANGST

"Wah, so hardworking!" My colleague commented. We had just finished sports day at the field, and by 1.00 p.m., I was at the school office. He, on the other hand, was at school to return all the equipment that we had used for sports activities at the field.

"I hate the department!" I snapped, feeling rather vindictive. I'd bite somebody's head off if I could!

The Education Department has got great timing. The school is about to close tomorrow, and NOW they DEMAND data. 10 long weeks we were in school, and they never thought about collecting ANY data. But hey, school is closing for 2 weeks, and they thought they'd better get some information NOW because they cannot wait till after 2 weeks.

And YES! Just send the templates to school, get the teachers to fill in the information. Yes, they only need 2 days to get all the information done because well, they have all the information at their fingertips. Besides, it's easy to do. All they need to do is to key-in this and type in that using a fixed format. And oh yeah, there's also no need to tell them what "M" stands for and what "TB" stands for. They are smart people, after all. They know AUTOMATICALLY that M = MEMANGKU and TB = TIME-BASED. Duh! Only dumbos like ME wouldn't know.

To get accurate information done, I've had to ask my clerk to check the teachers' files. Flip, flip, flip. My clerk and I flipped though thick files just to locate the reference number of a designated letter. It's tedious! To fill in the information for students' exam analysis, I've got to secure some documents and sat down for some time to TRANSFER those information into the stipulated format. By the time I'd finished, it was already 3 hours later.

Just blame me for being a slow worker. Just blame my school for not having an accessible database for all these information. But I was pretty pissed with the whole episode. I wonder if my efforts would all be in vain? I wonder if the big shots up there really utilise the information that I had painstakingly put together?

Whatever it is, I'm OFF for 2 weeks. DON'T FIND ME WHEN I DON'T WISH TO BE FOUND.

Baked Rice @ Citrus

We both wanted baked rice.

Seafood Baked Rice, RM11.90

Fried Rice, fish, squid, prawns, cream sauce topped with generous sprinkle of cheese to whet your appetite.

Devil's Peak, RM11.90

Chunks of spiced curry chicken topped on delicious fried rice, oven baked to reach its yummiest peak.

Well, the Seafood Baked Rice was a major disappointment. Firstly, the rice was not well-cooked. It seemed a bit hard to the bite. The rice was stir-fried with minced button mushrooms and eggs, and tasted very bland. The cream sauce, though creamy, had not much of taste. The sprinkle of cheese did not appear generous to me. Truthfully, only those parts covered with cheese were tasty. I asked for black pepper and chilli sauce, but even with those extra flavouring, the whole dish did not whet my appetite.

My friend, however, liked the curry baked rice. It was not spicy but the heavy use of rempah made the dish appetising. My friend said that it compelled her to finish her rice. My friend gave it a grade B. Her complaints? Lol. First, use of chicken breast meat. Hmn, well, I agree that chicken thigh meat will be juicier and tastier. Second, too little potatoes. Lol, I dislike potatoes, so I won't agree with her on that. ;p

Marina Sea Horse Bistro II Again

Okie, we enjoyed the food so much that we returned for another pig out session within a few days. On top of the must orders, i.e. Top Shell With Onions, Chicken Wings and Marinara Pizza, we got to order other items off the menu.

Maggi Mee Goreng, RM5.50
Hmn, the noodles were moist, and yet not overcooked so it was great. It tasted of the Maggi Mee Curry flavour, and the mustard greens and beansprouts provided some crunch. Other ingredients were sausage and fish cake slices and egg. A squeeze of lime added zest to the whole dish. We enjoyed the noodles, though we agreed that they were a tad too salty.

BBQ Squid in Sambal, RM12.00

The squid rings were rather succulent, and I did love the taste of the piquant and spicy sambal.

Vegetable Salad, RM6.00
It's more like a coleslaw, with shredded cabbage and carrot sticks in a sweet and creamy dressing. We liked it as it was really refreshing.

Hawaiana Pizza, RM10.00
A chicken, ham, pineapple, cheese and tomato sauce on a thin crust base. Absolutely enjoyable.

Great place to eat this is. I know my friends and I will be back! 

Cocktail Misadventure

My friend and I walked through the door, and the manager said to me, "Help yourselves, it's still not too late." I was puzzled as I did not know what he was talking about.

Apparently, Grand Palace Hotel invited "acquaintances" to its 17th Anniversary Cocktail. Well, I was not invited. I was just passing by ...

But these were the food that caught my keen foodie eyes ..

 

Pastries of various kinds in an artistic arrangement, among which are Deep-fried Milk Fritters

Mussel Rica Rica

Baby Octopus Cocktail

Smoked Salmon Bruschetta

Baba Ganoush

Braised Lamb With Duck

Black Pepper Meatballs

Roast Chicken 

It's to be used for ...

Roast Chicken Salad

Salad dressing

Well, we stayed around and took photographs and enjoyed the live music performance ... Of all the array of food, I sampled the mussels which I found to be very yum - plump, and flavoured with tomatoes and herbs. I sampled too the bruschetta. The taste was nice, but I did not like the chewy French bread. I wanted my bread to be crispy and crunchy. My friend liked the duck and lamb combo, but I did not try that.

Very quickly, the managers realised that we were not "invited" guests, and kept a wary eye at us ...

Dinner @ Grand Palace Hotel

It's nice to get together with colleagues outside of school, when there is time to talk about the lighter things in life. In school, we really do not have the luxury to indulge in this sort of camaraderie. Thus, some would say that it's not so much the food in events like these that is important, but the opportunity to fellowship among colleagues.

With that, I'd have to say that the food disappointed at Grand Palace Hotel. Let me begin with the starters.

 Mushroom Soup

It tasted of raw flour. Dislike.

 

 Dinner rolls

Dry and tasteless.

Waldorf Salad

At least I enjoyed the salad, with the sweet crunchy apple and pineapple cubes, and the refreshing celery dices in a creamy dressing. I had 2 helpings. :))

Chicken Toast Roll in Vegetable Pickles

This also I enjoyed. The salty chicken toast rolls were wrapped in sweet pickled cucumber acar - a good combination of sweet and salty. Furthermore, the cucumbers were crunchy and added bite to the rolls.

The mains included buttered rice, but I did not take a photo of it and ...

Stir-fried rice vermicelli
This was not bad. There were shredded egg omelette, mustard grens and prawns in there.
 

The chicken was bland


The fish was too heavy on the salt

The beef stew was also pretty much forgettable. I only remembered that the meat was kind of tough and my jaw ached from chewing the one or two chunks of meat which I had.

The mixed vegetablese were alright.

The desserts ... 

Creme Caramel

It was sweet but I enjoyed it more than any of the mains. The custard was soft and the syrup was kind of fragrant and before I knew it, I had finished my portion.

 

Pineapples

   

 Watermelon

 

Honey Dew

 Well, the food was not enjoyable at all, but I suppose sometimes, food takes second place. But that night, I had a misadventure ... more to tell next ....... stay tuned.