PRECIOUS PEA

THE MAKING OF LUXURIOUS XO SAUCE!!

2009-11-24T12:56:00.000+11:00

When I first heard of XO sauce many many years ago, I thought it was a highly intoxicated concoction specially used for cooking. During my first visit to Melbourne in year 1992, I finally had the chance to try this luxurious sauce at a Chinese restaurant. Immediately I fell in love with this spicy sauce. I didn't end up drunk because there is absolutely no alcohol in it at all. My brother-in-law told me that XO sauce is actually created in Hong Kong and according to Wikipedia, this spicy seafood sauce consisting of roughly chopped dried seafood was introduced in the 1980s which is part of the Cantonese cuisine.

Fast forward to year 2004, just a day before my wedding, my bro-in-law who is in charged of cooking up a storm for my guests during my tea ceremony decided to share his trade secret with me. Back then, I didn't really pay attention to what he taught me. Who could anyway especially when it was a day before your own wedding? I was more concerned if my tulip bouquet could last till the next day or if there would be any acne breakout on my face. What I do remember was his constant reminder that I should never ever share this recipe with anyone else. For the next few years, he was constantly being mentioned by my group of 'Ji Muis' (sisters) who came for my tea ceremony. They just couldn't stop raving about the tasty XO sauce he served together with his special nasi goreng and fried noodles.

Yesterday, my bro-in-law taught me once again his recipe for this sauce. He didn't warn me about sharing the recipe this time but the moment I took out my camera, I assured him that I would not leak out his trade secret by listing the exact amount of ingredients used. Anyway, as an experienced chef, he doesn't even need to weigh or measure his ingredients. The recipe is right inside his head! Don't mistaken him as being selfish, the ability of a chef to make good cooking sauces is the key to survival over here.

The recipe that I am going to list out here is just an approximate because we didn't measure or weigh our ingredients at all. Firstly, we need about 5 big onions and a handful of shallots, roughly chopped. Also finely dice a clove of garlic (not in the picture).

Soak to soften about 200 grams of dried shrimp. Drain well and using a food processor, blend it until it is finely shredded. DO NOT PUT any water into the food processor!

I found this nice cut of salted Ikan Kurau or Threadfin at the Chinese grocery shop. Came all the way from my home country!! I am so gonna buy more this weekend to have it steamed with pork. Yum Yum!! Soak to soften and roughly chop it as well.

If you wanna make really luxurious XO sauce, you can opt to use Jinhua ham; expensive but very tasty. Otherwise, you can substitute with ham or bacon. Of course I vote for bacon especially when there is not much price difference from the bland tasting ham. Most importantly, the flavour from the bacon fats further enhance the taste of the XO sauce. Remove the skin (if any) and finely dice it too.

Most expensive ingredient would be the dried scallop. Soak to soften the dried scallop, steam until soft and drain well. We used about a bowl of soften dried scallop.

My bro-in-law used a red capsicum mainly to achieve a bright red colour. For those who love a spicy kick to it, I thought using red chilies would be a great substitute too. He said if capsicum and fresh chilies not available, substitute with sweet chili powder. Blend the capsicum and drain off excess liquid from the paste from time to time.

I didn't manage to see how much oil he put into the wok but I guess about 2 - 3 cups or enough to cover all the chopped onions, shallots and garlic. Keep stirring over low to medium fire. By the way, the whole process of cooking the sauce (excluding the chopping and grounding) took us about an hour.

Ingredients are added in stages, starting from those with high water content to those with the least. A great tip I learnt yesterday was the way to judge when to put in the next ingredient. When you put the onions into the oil, you will notice big bubbles bubbling away. When the onions start drying up, you will see lots of frothy foam forming on the surface. This is the perfect time to put in the next ingredient!

Capsicum paste went in next. The moment you put in the paste, the big bubbles return. Keep stirring until the frothy foam reappears.

Next to go in....Bacon! Again, continue to stir until frothy foam reappears. MMmm....at this stage, you could smell a wonderful aroma from the sizzling bacon fats.

Put in the salted fish next, followed by dried shrimp.

Lastly, put in the dried scallop.

For seasoning, put in some sugar, salt, oyster sauce and chicken granules (optional). For a darker reddish colour, put in a dash of dark soy sauce. It tastes much better with added chopped chilies. Allow the sauce to cool completely before storing in DRY containers. Remember to use a DRY spoon to scoop the sauce, otherwise it could get spoiled easily. You can serve the sauce as condiment or add some to your stir fry dishes.

On those days when you are eating alone or have absolutely no idea of what to cook for dinner, just put a generous spoonful of XO sauce onto a bowl of hot steaming rice....I can be assured that you will be running back to the kitchen for another bowl of rice! That is what I am gonna do now......yum yum yum!!!

LOQUAT WITH DRIED APRICOT KERNEL TONG SUI

2009-11-17T16:55:00.001+11:00

It's HARVESTING time!!!

No! No! I am not referring to my bountiful crops in Farm Town or Country Story or Farmville or the endless farms I owned in Facebook. Goodness, do you know how much time I actually spent in Facebook everyday tending my farms and restaurants? More than a full-time job! If I could convert all these virtual games into the real world, I am a rich woman now.

Anyway, Loquat is in season!! As mentioned in my previous post, Loquat is also known as 'Pipa' in Cantonese because the pear-shaped fruits resemble the Chinese musical instrument Pipa. Most probably heard of Pipa because of the well-known traditional Chinese cough mixture "King To Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa" or fondly known as "Ubat Batuk Cap Ibu dan Anak" in Malaysia.

Best eaten only when it is ripe as it could be really sour when it is not ready. It sent my nephew running around the yard screaming when he took a bite of the unripe loquat few weeks ago. Did a bit of 'googling' on loquat and found out that it could be used to make jam, chutney, pie and even wine too.

Since the weather is getting warmer over here, I thought it would be a brilliant idea to boil the loquat with rock sugar and stock it up inside the fridge. Preparing the loquat was not as easy as I thought it would be. Similar to apple, it goes brown very fast. I ran out of lemon so I sprinkled a bit of salt into the pot of water to prevent oxidation. Oh, be prepared to end up with brownish finger nails too!

I added some dried apricot kernels into the drink as they are good for throat and dry cough. Although the two packets below looked the same, they are actually different. One is called Nam Hanh (south apricot kernel?), the other is Bac Hanh (north apricot kernel?). I really could not tell the difference as they tasted and looked the same! I tried to google for an answer but couldn't find any. Anyone could enlighten me on the difference between the north and the south thingy?? Anyway, the apricot kernel is similar to almond taste but at a much milder level, a level that I could still tolerate. But if you really dislike almond taste, omit it altogether.

To make approximately 5 cups of the drink, I used about one bowl of loquat flesh, 1 tablespoon of both the north and south apricot kernels, rock sugar and 2 liters of water and boil it over low fire for about an hour. I love the drink as it is so refreshing and soothing to the throat! I prefer to have it icy cold. Ahhh...time to boil more to prepare myself to this Thursday, a crazy maximum of 36 degree Celcius!!!

So, it's back to harvesting time...well...I mean in Facebook this time..hehehe.

DEAR HUBBY......

2009-11-09T11:10:00.001+11:00

My Dearest Hubby,

Remember I told you the other day that bro-in-law cooked a big yummy pot of stewed brisket, tripe and tendon?? Bro-in-law asked me to snap a photo to show you, so here you are, our lunch we had few days ago. It was even more flavourful after leaving it overnight..yummy!

Look at this chunky piece of tendon! It was braised to perfection...the texture was just right...bouncy and gelatinous. Just the way you like it! Don't worry, bro-in-law promised to cook you a big pot when you are here.

Weather is getting so much warmer nowadays. Gonna be 35 degree Celcius today and it is not even summer yet. I wonder how I could survive till end January. Good news is...all the fruit trees are full of fruits! The row of loquat trees are full of loquats now! I counted, there are 5 trees altogether!!

Whenever I see the loquat tree, I will think of you. Remember this photo I took back in year 2006?? This was the first thing you did when you arrived at sis's place!

Am waiting for a few more days before picking these loquat, known as 'pipa' in Chinese. This is the one they use to make the Chinese cough mixture so I guess should be good for throat. Perfect for the hot weather now.

I have been eating lots of it and they are very sweet and juicy. Bro-in-law told me that I could double-boil it with rock sugar. Sounds good to me, maybe I should boil a big pot and put it in the fridge.

Ooooo...the nectarine tree opposite sis's house is also fruiting! Lots and lots of it too! I think it should be ready by mid December...hehe..just can't wait to harvest them.

By the way, Nathan want to show you this.....a picture of him all powered-up. He said he just couldn't wait to battle you in March! Ggggrrgggrrrr!!!

I just can't wait to see you in January next year. Don't worry, I will definitely be back, you don't have to blackmail me by forbidding Pea and Pumpkin from webcam-ing with me, yah?

Ok lah...I got to sign off now. Be good and take good good care of my two boys. I know you have been doing a good job.

Bye!!

Love,
Wifey

I CAN BAKE TOO!!! Raspberry & White Choc Muffins!

2009-10-27T17:41:00.001+11:00

For those who have been following my blog or know me in person should know that I can't bake. Not that I didn't try, but somehow the end result always ended up in the rubbish bin. A classic example was my big-time failure Meat Floss Swissroll that is inedible at all! But today, I am so excited because I finally baked something that is not only edible, but very tasty as well.

And here, presenting my gorgeous-looking Raspberry & White Choc Muffins!!

Err.....I have a confession to make. The credit to my success actually goes to this premix that I got from Coles supermarket. Yes yes yes...stop rolling eyes there. I know I cheated!!! Well, for big-time failure like me, I need something like this to boost up my confidence (excuse excuse). Anyway, I was strolling down the aisle today when I saw this Coles housebrand muffin mix on sale. The instructions were pretty easy to me, so I bought it and decided to bake it today to surprise my sis when she get home from work.

The box came with a packet of cake mix and a packet of raspberry sauce. It only requires butter, an egg and some milk. SO EASY! I don't even need to dig out the weighing scale and no heavy washing too!

The whole process took me less than 5 minutes!

I found out that I don't even know how to swirl!!! Look at the mess I made.

I am very happy with the end result. The gorgeous muffins turned out really moist and soft. Surprisingly, not as sweet as I thought it would be. Now I am so looking forward to see what other flavours they have as well. Hmmm...maybe I should get a few boxes to bring home next year so that I could bake some for Chinese New Year!! Anyway, got to go make myself a nice cup of English tea to go with my muffins now...ciao!!

LUNCH @ SEK YUEN, JALAN PUDU, K.L.

2009-10-16T18:27:00.002+11:00

While my pot of soup consisting of pork stomach, pork ribs, beancurd sheets, gingko nuts and dried scallops is bubbling away nicely on the stove, I have a sudden urge to do a food post. With the nice aroma of pork stomach and ribs filling every inches of the house (Oppss!! Excuse me, I need to close all the bedroom doors!), I suddenly recalled a very satisfying lunch I had with my Makan Gang before I left for Melbourne.

Our lunch at Sek Yuen Restaurant located at Jalan Pudu was one of the many many meals we had that day. My first visit to this famous old Chinese restaurant two years back was memorable for a good reason. It was the first time I had "Stuffed Duck with Shark's Fin", a very luxurious dish that came with a hefty price tag. You can read all about my first visit to Sek Yuen here.

Being the 2nd stop of the day (we had 2 set lunches at Max iHaus earlier), we decided to go 'light'! Wong told me earlier that I should give their Pork Stomach with Pepper soup a try....and he was right, it was absolutely awesome! The soup was sweet and flavourful with just the right amount of peppery to it. Lots of soft chicken feet to munch on and of course not forgetting the soft yet chewy chunks of pork stomach. Never had such good soup elsewhere before.

The Stir-fry Beef with Chives was good too. Full of 'wok hei' and I just love the taste of chives. I am not so into 'soda-marinated' meat though but I could imagine how lovely this dish would be if crunchy chicken giblets were used instead. I wouldn't even mind a plate of plain stir-fry chives!

Crispy on the outside, the flesh of this Deep Fried Grass Carp Belly was soft and juicy. Drizzled with light soya sauce, a bowl of white rice is a must!

Their Deep Fried Chinese Spring Rolls reminded me of my late mum as she used to make this only during special Chinese festivals. A very time consuming dish and what makes it tasty was the pig's caul she used to roll the pork meat paste together. Pig's caul are thin, transparent piece of fat that looks almost like a net, hence we call it "Jue Moong Yau" or directly translate as "Pig's Net Oil" in Cantonese. Hard to find from the butcher nowadays so the last time my mum made this, I was still a very little girl. Coming back to this dish, Sek Yuen did it well too although I still find my mum's the best. The pork paste was tasty and I enjoyed biting into the savoury crispy skin.

Sitting right in front of the kitchen entrance does have its advantages. Wong saw this dish of Cold Chicken being whisked pass our table. Available in either small or large serving, we were told that they were only left with the large portion. Do order in advance if you intend to try this dish, as ample time is required to thaw this dish. Taken out from the freezer, this cold dish consisting of deboned whole chicken and jellyfish were drizzled with thick thousand island lookalike sauce. Luckily weather was scorching hot the day we went, the dish thawed pretty fast. Looking back at my first post on Sek Yuen, it turned out that we had this before in our 4 - Season Platter! Not too bad but I do find the sauce a bit too rich and thick, perhaps should ask them to serve that aside instead.

Once again, Sek Yuen didn't fail to disappoint. It was a good lunch and memorable too as the taste of the Pork Stomach soup is still lingering in my mind. Speaking of soup, mine should be ready by now. Time to go and grab myself a bowl to warm myself up!

Sek Yuen is located at:
313-1, Jalan Pudu, KL (non airconditioned)
315, Jalan Pudu KL (airconditioned)
Tel: 03-92220903

Tesselaar Tulip Festival 2009

2009-10-12T19:51:00.001+11:00

After the disappointed weekend spent seeking shelter from the rain at the Warratina Lavender Farm, we made a trip back to the Dandenong Ranges the following Sunday and this time round, the weather was perfect! We finally made it to the 2009 Tesselaar Tulip Festival which is an annual event held at the Tesselaar Farm in Silvan, Victoria.

According to their information booklet, there are more than a million spring flowers on show including over 100 different varieties of tulips! Not surprising at all when we were greeted by the amazing colourful tulip field as we entered the farm. We were practically drown in the sea of tulips!! Armed with my camera, I excitedly hopping from one row of tulips to the next, happily snapping away. Imagine my misery when I came home with more than 250 photos and I have to crack my head to select only a fraction of the pics to post up here!!

I am so glad that my nephew is just not into electronic games and boys' stuff. He was as excited as his crazy yiyi (me!).

My favourite colour of all....PURPLE! I kept telling myself to behave...no itchy finger! And I was a very very good girl that day... *proud proud*

Isn't this deep purple tulip beautiful? If not mistaken, this is called Queen of the Night. It has got such a mysterious feel to it, don't you think?

I love these bunches in a mixture of pink and white too. I was surprised when my nephew told me that the pink tulips were the nicest among the rest. Cos to him, pink is always for girls and big NO-NO for boys!

So pretty, I should have chosen this for my wedding bouquet! Speaking of wedding, I saw a couple taking their wedding shots at the farm. Am sure it would turn out really awesome. Sigh...if only I could turn back time, I will surely take my wedding shots here too!

Light yellow with pink combo.....sweet!

Red with white combo...also very nice!!!!

In full bloom....not exactly my kind of colour but wouldn't mind to have a bunch of these in my garden.

Last chance to show off its beauty before it wither away....

Apart from the common variety, I was amazed to find lots of amazing hybrid tulips such as these Angelique Tulip. Full of gorgeous baby-pink petals and it resembles Peony! Really beautiful!

Don't really fancy pink?? What about this?? Dark red with white stripes?? Equally as beautiful!
Or these??? Yellow-Orangey bloom??

Dunno the name for this variety but I find it very beautiful too!

Ever seen tulip petals with fringe before?? These are called Fringed Tulips!
Red Fringed Tulips...

I find these Spring Green Tulips so classical and elegant. I can imagine how lovely it would be in a wedding bouquet!

Rose? Nope...this is just a Rose-Lookalike-Tulip!

Enough of tulips for now....time for lunch!! There are picnic area's in the farm as well as various food stalls offering delicious goodies. But what could be better than to enjoy a tasty meal of homecooked fried rice overloaded with 'char siu'??

My nephew said that the highlight of the trip was his packet of blue candy floss!

My sis said these are prettier than the tulips! Tried googling to see what they are called but I couldn't find anything, anyone any idea??
Daffodils!!!

Love these too but no idea what they are called. Are they wild flowers?
Lastly, the Azalea!

On the way out, we spotted this stall selling bright colourful garden decorative windmill. I would have checked out the prices if Obama didn't distract my attention...Obama who??

Meet Obama....a 5-month old Labrador. Lots of 'Seeing Eye Dog' were brought to the farm for a walk, probably to train them before they become a full-time guide dog. Sis asked if I am keen to volunteer by becoming a puppy carer, but knowing with my low EQ, it would be too heartbreaking when the time comes for me to return the pup back to the foundation.

Started drizzling by the time we were about to leave the farm and that was also the time when the crowd started coming in. Everyone was drenching in the rain waiting to get into the farm!!

The queue was at least half a kilometer long..no kidding!!

On the way out, the rain was getting heavier, just like the traffic heading towards the Tulip Festival!! I guess everyone is rushing to the festival cos it is going to end tomorrow.

For more information on the Tessalaar Tulip Festival, check out there website here.

CROCS ATTACK!!

2009-10-06T15:47:00.002+11:00

CROCS at AUD 9.99 (~RM30) per pair; all designs, all colours, all sizes!!! And yes, it's ORIGINAL!!

We were so lucky to have walked into Dimmeys Retail Store last weekend, a place where we only go once in a blue moon. Imagine our excitement when we saw the 'mountains' of Crocs greeting us as we entered the store. We joined in the busy crowd (all women), searching and digging for our sizes....grabbing whatever we could. My first basket of Crocs. Well, at least mine was a small basket, I spotted a women filling up her big trolley with Crocs!!

Also managed to grab some for Hubby, my dad and in-laws!

Bought this on Saturday!

We went back the next day (Sunday) and the day after (Monday) to grab more!

I love these Mary Jane the most...aren't they sweet looking?? I have checked, these are selling at RM129 per pair in Malaysia and I got them for RM30 per pair!!

My awesome Brinjal Purple and Violet Mary Jane. Swapped the straps and it look sooo COOL! I could even go out like this!!!!

Went to the Tulip Festival last Sunday wearing my Brinjal Purple Croc and I blended in with this photo!! Hahaha!!

With so many Crocs now, it's time to beautify them...next mission??? Ebay for jibbitz!!

For Crocs fans in Ozzieland, quickly go to Dimmeys store NOW!!!

WARRATINA LAVENDER FARM

2009-10-01T21:49:00.000+10:00

We are officially into the second month of Spring now...and I have been looking forward to visit the Tesselaar Tulip Festival which has started since mid-September. I was really excited as I always love tulips. Did you know I actually ordered fresh tulips imported all the way from Australia for my wedding bouquet? It was a lovely combination of orangey yellow tulips with beige roses...ahh, if only I have the picture with me now. Anyway, we were all set to visit the tulip farm last Sunday despite the gloomy cloud warning us not to go. Armed with out picnic bag filled with containers of my awesome homecooked nasi lemak and sinful snacks, we decided to try our luck.

Unfortunately, it was raining...err...let me rephrase...it was POURING!! We ended up parking our car overlooking the tulip farm and had a scrumptous picnic inside instead. I was a little bit disappointed, but it turned out that my nephew is even more disappointed.

After the picnic lunch inside the car, we decided to head home since the dark sky is not going to stop pouring anytime soon. On way back, we saw a signboard leading to a nearby lavendar farm. Lavendar is my favourite flower too!!! The lavender farm we visited is called Warratina which is located at the foothill of Dandenong Ranges. Not much to see though as most of the lavendar bushes were pruned to almost bald. Just one row is left with the fragrant purplish bloom. Just googled and found out that the best time to visit lavendar farm is between early Summer to late Summer..*I must jot this down somewhere*

The Blooming and the Bald (behind).

We headed straight to the Lavender Cottage Tea Rooms...what could be better than to have a cup of hot tea on a cold rainy day?

I was totally in love with the cosy tea room. Lavenders were everywhere! There is also a small gift store next to the tea room offering a variety of products made from lavender. Saw a thick cookbook on using lavender in your cooking....I was tempted till I saw the price..gulp!

Initially I thought of having tea but I need my coffee fix so I opted for Latte instead. It is almost impossible to find a bad cup of Latte in Melbourne (homemade doesn't count!).

We ordered a set of two scones to share; one original flavour and the other?? Lavender of course!

Served with cream and homemade raspberry jam, the scones were fanta-bulous! Crisp crust with buttery fluffly texture, good enough a reason to revisit when I am around that area next time.

Saving my favourite picture of all for the last, don't they look so so so so pretty?? As for the tulips...well well, we are going again this Sunday and hopefully it will be bright and sunny *keeping my fingers crossed*!

Warrantina Lavender Farm is located at:
105 Quayle Road,
Wandin Yallock, Victoria (Melways Ref 121 F1)
Open Wednesday to Sunday; 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Website: http://warrantinalavender.com.au

I WON THE 2009 BEST CHEF AWARD!!

2009-09-22T16:09:00.002+10:00

A few days ago, my nephew came home from school with a very mysterious grin on his face. With his hand covered with a jacket, he obviously was up to something. He told me he got a surprise for me and who could have guessed...he presented me with The Best Chef Award Year 2009!! The 'award' was made of clay and it was one of his project in Art Class. Quite unexpected as I would expect he would do something for his mum or dad....obviously I am so touched with his sweet gesture.

How the award came about? Well, my bro-in-law has been bedridden for more than a month now due to severe back problem. To help out, I volunteer to do what I know best..COOKING!! Probably with a new cook in the household, everyone seems to enjoy my cooking. So much so, my nephew insist of bringing rice to school everyday. Everyone said he has put on a bit of weight especially on his puffy cheeks.

I am smitten to the fact that he actually thought of me when he did the clay sculpture. He told me that it is actually a bowl of noodle (the sweet potatoes look-a-like) with meatballs (the potatoes look-a-like). So cute eh??

I took some photos of Nathan last weekend when we took him to watch UP. Just one word...ADORABLE!! Thank you Nathan....Yiyi really appreciates your sweet gesture. MUACKS!!!

Awesome Sambal Ikan Bilis!

2009-09-16T13:11:00.000+10:00

Bro-in-law's buddy came over for a visit on Monday and he brought along a big container of fiery red cili padi a.k.a bird's eye chili for me. All chopped up for convenience purpose and frozen up so that it could last longer in the freezer. I love the cili padi here as it way MUCH MUCH spicier and has got more chili flavour to it as compared to those in Malaysia.

I have been craving for nasi lemak for a long long time and I didn't quite like my own recipe for sambal ikan bilis (dried anchovies). There are some Malaysian restaurants around my area but I didn't want to disappoint myself either. As always, I know exactly who to consult, Boolicious! She forwarded a recipe for Nasi Lemak Bungkus which was featured in past issue of Flavours magazine. No wonder my recipe sucks...there is no garlic needed in this dish!! Anyway, here is the recipe, very easy to cook with very simple ingredients:

Sambal Ikan Bilis (taken from Flavours Magazine)
1 ½ big onions, peeled and finely ground
100ml cooking oil
400ml cili boh (I blended the bird's eye chili into paste..super duper HOTT!!)
1 tsp shrimp paste (belacan)
3 big onions, peeled and sliced
80g brown sugar (I put in more as my chili paste was too hot)
Tamarind juice, extracted from 15g tamarind pulp mixed with 200ml water
80g ikan bilis, deep-fried

Heat oil in wok or a large pot. Saute ground onions, cili boh and shrimp paste until fragrant. Stir continuously. Add sliced onions, brown sugar, tamarind juice and simmer for 5 minutes. Lastly add the deep-fried ikan bilis and turn off heat. Set aside and serve with nasi lemak (coconut rice).

The end result was PERFECT!!! Initially I find the belacan taste a bit too strong as I think I put a little too much but after leaving it overnight, it was even tastier and more flavourful.

I love it so much that I had it for dinner and supper yesterday, as well as breakfast this morning and washed it down with a cup of coffee laden with condensed and evaporated milk. I have been having toast and cereal for breakfast for the past 2 months, I was the happiest woman on Earth this morning!

Bro-in-law immediately called his buddy a.k.a my chili supplier over this morning for lunch. From a small bowl of rice, he ended up having one large plate of rice.....feel so flattered when he said my sambal is of restaurant standard...hehehe. He assured me, more supply of cili padi coming up this weekend...WOOooo HOooo!!!

TIAMO 2 @ Lygon St, Carlton

2009-09-11T15:05:00.000+10:00

When it comes to Italian cuisine, Lygon St is the place to be! Lygon St which is located in Carlton is synonymous with Italian restaurants and cafes offering both indoor and alfresco dining. There are just too many Italian eateries here to choose from, thanks to all the early migration of Italian migrants to Carlton.

Just a day before my Hubby and Dad flew back to Malaysia, bro-in-law suggested to have Italian food for dinner at my nephew's favourite restaurant, Tiamo 2!

Upon seated, I was given two menus; one from Tiamo and the other Tiamo 2. My sister told me that Tiamo 2 serves better quality food at slightly higher price but we could still order from both menus.

My nephew's buddy who followed us to dinner requested for Margherita pizza with an extra egg on top. Simple and delicious BUT I am a meatasaurus, I want meat!!!!!

And so we ordered another pizza to share. Capricciosa with leg ham, olives and mushrooms on thin crust base. Thumbs up! It was a cold rainy night and I yearned for something rich, cheesy and filling....and a glance at the menu, my eyes were fixed on Carbonara with my all-time favourite Penne. Definitely a good choice made that night as I totally enjoyed it very much. Serving too big though. For moderate eater, this serving is enough to feed two pax.

My bro-in-law had the Spaghetti Bolognaise...should be good too cos I didn't hear him complain.

Spaghetti Marinara from Tiamo's menu....came with generous portion of mussels, calamaris and prawns. Hubby and Dad had these and they loved it.

My sis had the maccheroni pasta served with mini meatballs, eggplant, napoli sauce & basil from Tiamo 2 menu. She finished off the whole plate on her own, so shall I say more?

This is my nephew's favourite pasta dish from Tiamo 2.....Spaghetti with Clams and Mussels. Now this is really really really good!! The gravy was bursting with flavour. Suddenly, Hubby's spaghetti marinara from Tiamo tasted bland. We ended up scooping gravy from his plate to eat with the complimentary bread. Now I understand why Tiamo 2 is different from Tiamo. Please note...this is a highly recommended dish if you love clams and mussels.

I was taking a picture of the dish when my nephew started posing for me. Isn't he adorable??

He loves mussels and this is what he did after he finished off with the pasta:
Slurpsss...drink the remaining gravy from the shells...

Suck it.....

Next, lick it clean!

Finally, end it with a bottle of white wine. Nah, just kidding. It was just a bottle of water.

Tiamo 2 is located at:
305 Lygon St
Carlton 3053, Victoria
Opens Monday to Saturday; 9.30 a.m. - 10.30 p.m.
Tel: 03 - 9347 0911

I LOVE KOBE!!!!

2009-09-06T11:47:00.000+10:00

Nope! Am not talking about the sixth largest city in Japan. Nope! Am not referring to those melt-in-your-mouth marbled beef either. I am referring to my first furry friend in Melbourne, Kobe!

Kobe's mummy is a close family friend and I was so excited to be invited to her house to visit her precious baby. Kobe is about Pumpkin's age and he is a mix of Shih Tzu, Maltese and Bichon...I guess he has got the best attributes from all the three breeds, Kobe is really handsome plus a very strong character too.

After a few rounds of chasing one another, Kobe warmed up to me. He loves a good tummy rub just like my precious Pea.

He got such a gorgeous smile, doesn't he??

Kobe's mummy brought me to the kitchen to show me Kobe's food storage. Goodness....it war breaks out now, his supply could last him for half a year!!! Ahem, Kobe is really lucky cos his mummy cooks him beef stew with vegetables (fit for human consumption when salt is added) for dinner.

Furry kiddos in Ozzieland are really lucky. They have so many variety of treats here. Spot the Wings??

How about this 100% baked low fat garlic flavoured rawhide chips?????

Fries from McD for doggies???

Sandals...obviously a gift from last Christmas.

Really a big salute to Kobe's mummy as she even make her own treats from pork liver. I am gonna make this for Pea and Pumpkin next time. Pretty easy, just boil the sliced pork liver and put into the oven for an hour under low temperature.

Kobe's daddy sent me home and Kobe came along too. He kept looking back at me...I think he really likes me! *GRIN*

He obviously enjoys going for car ride! When I got down from the car, Kobe excitedly wanted to follow as well and gave a loud growl. Awww...am missing him already. I do wish Pea and Pumpkin will join me here soon, as I can already imagine the three of them running around the park while we enjoying a BBQ picnic!

MY OZZIE FARM

2009-08-26T12:22:00.000+10:00

There is a small plot of land at the side of my sister's house where my bro-in-law used to plant herbs such as rosemary and thyme. Somehow, this sad plot of land has been abandoned for years and the only thing growing were weeds and grasses. While browsing at the $2 shop with my sis couple of weeks ago, I came across a variety of vegetable seedlings for sale. Since I am so free at home, why not?

And so, one very cold and windy evening with several layers of thick clothing on, I went to clear up the plot of land. My nephew who excitedly told me that he gonna help me decided to stay in to watch his favourite cartoon, Bakugan! I thought the work gonna take me less than 15 minutes but I ended up spending more than an hour clearing the weeds, filling it up with fresh new soil and cleaning up the place (which I dreaded most).

And finally, SOWING time!!! I have planted zucchini, tomato, leek and rocket according to its instruction. I would be very happy if at least one of them grow. I wonder if Asian vegetable seedlings are available here.

5 more days to go and Spring will be here!!! Flowers flowers blooming everywhere. Magnolias! Tulips! Daffodils! Ahhh...am gonna plant those next year.

Anyway, just to share a video that I took last week while I was drying my laundry when the sunny weather suddenly turned into a storm. I was so scared that the trees might fall onto the garage!

ARTICHOKE SOUP

2009-08-21T17:01:00.001+10:00

Honestly speaking, I don't know much about artichoke except for a few occasions where I had it on my pizza and pasta. Artichokes are expensive in Malaysia and not knowing how to cook it, I never bother to explore further. We were doing our weekend grocery shopping at Woolworths and came across a whole bin of artichokes for less than a dollar each! Brother-in-law told me that artichokes can lower cholesterol level and is very high with nutritional values. And hence, we grabbed some home.

When bro-in-law suggested artichoke soup, I was expecting thick creamy Western-style soup. But surprise surprise, it turned out to be the clear Chinese-style soup that I always love. As he was away at work, I was given the task to prepare the soup for dinner. For about 3 liters of water, I used 2 florets of artichoke. Cut off the stem and divide the artichoke bud into half.

Give it a good rinse to discard any dirt in the center of the bud.

As for the meat to go with the soup, it is entirely up to you. I have tried using both chicken and pork on separate occasion. Personally I always prefer chicken soup for the sweet chic aroma. On my next attempt, I shall throw in some dried scallops, dried octopus or even dried oysters. I can already imagine how good the soup will turn out to be. Yumzz! Anyway, the picture below was the meat I used for the artichoke soup on my second attempt. Why I put this picture up instead of the chicken?? Well...spot that dark maroon colour piece of liver-lookalike thingy? Try guessing which part of a pig it belongs to???

I was horrified when I saw it. It looked like a long long piece of tongue!!! Bro-in-law told me it was some sort of a pig's internal organ. I was not convinced! I guess he didn't want to scare me off but I am pretty sure it was a piece of pig's tongue. The smell when cooked was exactly like pig's liver. I didn't dare to eat it and I was told the texture is like spongey loofah.

Simmer the artichokes and meat in a pot of boiling water on low fire for 2 hours. Season with a little bit of salt and tada....a very nutritionous bowl of clear and sweet artichoke soup. Absolutely perfect on cold rainy days.

While I was googling for artichoke recipe, I came across some really interesting photos. I have never heard of artichoke flowers before...aren't they beautiful???

Picture taken from HERE

Picture taken from Wikipedia.

Now now..back to googling to see how I can plant this in my farm....not Pea Farm in Malaysia but my new farm in Melbourne which I am going to share with you soon.

Have a good weekend!!!!

Phở Dzung @ Richmond, Melbourne

2009-08-17T15:09:00.000+10:00

I was checking my calendar for some possible dates for a short holiday and found out that today is exactly one month since I stepped foot into Melbourne. I can still recall just a month ago, I was crying badly at this very moment as I leave my house to the airport. But hey, today am very happy as life is great and I really love it here very much. Except of course, the constant longing for my two boys and Hubby makes me sad. They are doing great back home and here are some shots I took of my boys while we were 'Skype-ing' the other day.

During a lunch with WMW before I left, she asked me "What is the first thing you gonna eat when you reach Melbourne?" and without a need to think, "Phở" of course! Melbourne offers great Phở or Vietnamese Flat Rice Noodle with Beef and Chicken Soup, thanks to the large Vietnamese community here. There are so many Vietnamese restaurant in Melbourne offering Phở and other Vietnamese delicacies but my all-time favourite is still Phở Dzung also known as Yung Kee which is located at Victoria Street in Richmond, Melbourne. This is also the place where I had my first bowl of Phở back in year 1992. Despite everyone that I know telling me the quality here has deteriorated, I find it still as good as before. Even my sis and bro-in-law insisted that another restaurant just a few shops away is much better but I tried, nah...I still insist this place is much better.

For the Phở, three sizes are available; small (AUD7), regular (AUD8) and large (AUD9) and you can have the rice noodle with your choice of either beef or chicken as well as brisket, tendon, tripe, coagulated ox blood or etc. Trust me, for a Malaysian's standard, a small portion is more than enough. Also available, Vietnamese spring rolls, grilled chicken or pork chop on rice and assorted beverages.

Beansprouts, basil, mint and lemon wedges....a MUST to go with the Phở.

And of course, red hot fiery chilies to spice thing up! I love the chilies here as they are spicier and has got more chili flavour than those in Malaysia. Anyone want me to bring some seeds back to Malaysia to try growing it??

My dad had his noodle with chicken meat, a choice that I would never make cos I feel that Phở must have beef in it, unless of course if you cannot take beef. The broth is not as sweet as those with beef too. Told him that but he still insist, well, his choice.

I had my all-time favourite rare beef with chicken. With the piping hot broth poured over the noodle, the thinly sliced rare beef was cooked to perfection! Yummy!! The beefy broth is really tasty and usually I will finish it off till the last drop!

Hubby had rare beef with tripe. Am surprised that he didn't go for beef combination.

Look at the generous portion of pinkish sliced rare beef ....this was my sis's order. Her broth is much richer in taste, thanks to the essence of the rare beef.

This place remains my favourite till I can find a better one, will let you know once I do!

Phở Dzung is located at:
Richmond - 208 Victoria St, 3121 Victoria
Melbourne City - 234 Russel St, 3000 Victoria
Operating Hours - 7 days a week
8.30 a.m - 10.00 p.m. (City)
8.00 a.m. - 9.00 p.m. (Richmond)

Also check out KY's recent ravings about this place HERE.

MURES @ Hobart Waterfront, Tasmania

2009-08-12T16:10:00.001+10:00

We were told that dining at Mures is a must as it is well-known for superb seafood (caught by their own fishing boats) with spectacular Hobart waterfront view. Mures lower deck offers cheaper dishes such as the usual deep fried/grilled fish and chips as well as fresh seafood for takeaway at reasonable price. There is also a sushi bar at the lower deck which we didn't get to try. Of course, Mures Upper Deck offers a much better view, really good food (as we were told..) and ahem, very much pricier too. Booking is a MUST too as the place is always packed.

At the side of Mures, there are many tiny floating boats? shops? or whatever they call it selling fresh as well as cooked seafood.

It was cold, I was hungry and it was way too early for our booking at Mures Upper Deck, hence Hubby went to grab some food to soothe my growling tummy.

Calamaris and chips!!!!! I was too cold and hungry so I got to say that it was one of the yummiest calamaris and chips I ever had. Only vinegar provided and I hate soaking my chips in vinegar. Tips tips: bring a bottle of chili/tomato sauce with you wherever you go!!

My nephew loved the chips too!

After the light snack, we went to check out the Mures Lower Deck and discovered we should save our money on the chips and indulge on fresh seafood instead. Fresh oysters at AUD13 per dozen, slightly more expensive than Barilla Bay but equally as good!

We spotted fresh swordfish and had it sashimi-style. Soooo rich, buttery and sweet.

After the second round of light refreshment, we went for dinner at Mures Upper Deck. Very nice and classy settings and the items on the menu, ahem impressively pricy too! I opted for the Prawn Fest menu that came with an appetizer and a main dish for slightly under than AUD35. Hubby had the same set too and this is his Caesar salad as appetizer.

I had the BLAND chowder instead and I didn't like the fishy smell that came from the bits and pieces of fish. In the end, I finished off Hubby's Caesar salad instead.

For the main, Hubby ordered a disastrous dish....Honey Soy Tiger Prawns served with Steamed Rice. It was utterly SWEET, more like dessert than a savoury dish. Hubby seldom complain about his food and no matter how awful, he would still finish his food instead of wasting it. This, he couldn't even take a second bite. I was grinning cheekily cos I almost ordered this dish as well but when I saw the word steamed rice I knew it was a risky bet.

My TASTELESS pasta with scallops and smoked salmon was another disappointment but at least it was still edible after putting some salt and pepper into it.

I didn't take picture of the other disaster dishes the rest had that night but as I recalled Ben's fish was raw inside (it was sent back to the kitchen and it came back still dry outside and raw inside, eventually the order was cancelled), my dad's medium-rare steak was fully cooked and burnt at one side, my nephew's mussel was cooked in SALT water. Nothing was good except for the Caesar salad. We were wondering maybe the food is cater more to the Aussie's tastebud (no way cos Aussies love their food)? Or maybe the chef is on leave? But but but how could it go so bad for every dishes we ordered?? Anyway, we left the place with half empty stomach, just as sick-looking as the octopus here coloured by my nephew at the restaurant.

Feeling so disappointed for the expensive lousy dinner, we went to Woolworths to grab some groceries and headed home to cook a feast.

Great chef at work.....

Bacon & corn salad and assorted greens prepared by Ben, another great chef.

Ahhhh.....fine dining at home...delicious tender lamb shank cooked by my brother in law. I feel so proud and lucky to have such a wonderful cook as my brother in law...hehehe.

If you wanna give Mures Upper Deck a try (hope you have better luck with their food), just check out their website here. Mures Lower Deck is worth a visit!

OYSTERS!! OYSTERS!! @ Barilla Bay, Tasmania

2009-08-03T20:12:00.000+10:00

This is Barilla Bay Tasmania - heaven to all oyster lovers! Barilla Bay (as in the real bay) is located right behind this building. Dining at the upper deck offers spectacular view of the bay but for those who opt for takeaway, the gourmet deli offering an extensive range of Tasmanian produce is located at the lower level. Oyster farm tour is available too and booking is necessary. Since we were too early for the tour, we decided to head off to some wineries before returning to Barilla Bay in the afternoon.

But but but, we just couldn't resist the temptation of having a dozen or two or three right at that moment...and in the end, we ended up having 5 dozens! Takeaway oysters are way much cheaper than having it right at their deli. If I remember correctly, a dozen only cost less than AUD11.00 and even cheaper for unopened oysters. And so here we are, feasting at our car.

My bro-in-law actually packed a bottle of his homemade sauce specially to go with the oysters. It was GOOD!!! But I enjoyed having it with a squeeze of lemon juice to enjoy its natural sweetness. Nothing beats having fresh oysters at its source!! Ooolala...I so love Barilla!!!

The shore-based farm tour took about 45 minutes and we were shown on ways to breed oyster, the process flow and right till we put it into our mouth. At the end of the tour, each of us were offered an oyster each, opened right on the spot. Eh?? Only 1??

A basket loaded with fresh harvested oysters. Yummy yum yum...if only I can have it all.

A shot before I glided it down my throat. Sooo full of sea flavour...salty and sweet!

After the tour, we were asked to return back to the gourmet deli area and guess what?? We were greeted by more oysters!!!! Ooolala....

We ended up buying 10 more dozens to bring home for dinner.

For those who doesn't fancy raw oysters like my dad and nephew (he said it tasted ugly!), oyster omelet is just as yummy too!

Barilla Bay Tasmania is located at:
1388 Tasman Highway
Cambridge, Hobart
Tel: 03-6248.5454
Email: info@barillabay.com.au

For further information on the farm tour and booking, check out there website HERE.

MY FIRST TRIP TO HOBART, TASMANIA

2009-07-27T22:33:00.007+10:00

Yay! Finally am back to the blogging world. Sorted out all my photos yesterday, phew, not an easy task but am glad that it's finally done. Gonna post about my Tasmania trip first before I start talking about all the good food I had in Melbourne for the past one week.

Being my first trip to Tasmania, I was pretty excited as I always wanted to visit this beautiful place, in particular the Cadbury's factory and of course, the Tasmanian Devil. Within hours after we arrived from Kuala Lumpur, we were back to the airport again to catch our flight to Launceston.

We had quite an unpleasant encounter with our initial car rental company and we spent almost 2 hours at the airport to sort things out. Finally, we got our Tarago from Avis.

From Launceston, we drove to Hobart where we rented our holiday house. The journey took more than 2 hours but the scenic view along the way was spectacular.

The clear blue sky, the sparkling blue sea, baa-baa white woolly sheeps, moo-moo cows, wineries .....ahhh....such a relaxing sight.

I love this shot so much. So 'poster' feel! My model was very very cooperative that day...haha!

We drove pass a number of historical towns with very old Victorian sandstone buildings. This photo below was taken at a town called Ross on a mid-Sunday afternoon. Funny, where is everyone? Actually, I find it spooky and I don't think I want to spend a night here.

Doesn't it look like a scene from a horror movie?

We had lunch at Richmond, another heritage town which is about 30 mins drive from Hobart city. Hubby was very satisfied with his order.

My cottage pie was good too with lots of bacon bits on top of the mashed potatoes.

Sis and Christy shared the scones...heard it was pretty good.

I can't recall what this is called, spinach pie I think. The rice with spinach fillings were wrapped with filo pastry and then baked. I didn't like it but my sis and nephew loved it.

Wine tasting at wineries, a must when you visit Tasmania. Lots of wineries around and bro in law took the opportunity to stock up his collection. Free delivery too if you live within Australia. By the way, his order should be arriving soon.

I love this boutique winery the best. It's called Puddle Duck Winery.

Bottoms up!!!!

Why I like this winery?? Well...because of him. Meet Bazil Brown, he is famous you know.

He was featured in a book on Wine Dogs - working and relaxing dog in the winery.

But I like her more....Bazil's wife I assume. Much gentler and friendlier. She was checking me all over, must be the smell of Pea and Pumpkin.

There you go, just a short summary of my Tasmania trip and more to come. Calling out to all oyster lovers, check out my next post cos I am gonna make you drool!

GREETINGS FROM MELBOURNE!!

2009-07-23T21:44:00.003+10:00

Hello everyone!!! This gonna be a short post as my sis's pc and internet access is pretty slow. Will sort it out next week and then I will be back to the blogging world!

Just to let everyone know that am settling well here in Melbourne. I have got so much to tell, so much to share on my Tasmania trip, and of course the wonderful yummy food I had for the past few days. Thanks to all the well wishes in my previous post, am sure I will settle well here.

Hubby will be flying off tomorrow night...sigh...gonna miss him a lot a lot alot. But well, I need him to be back in Malaysia, otherwise how do I webcam everynight with my precious Pea and Pumpkin? Hehe!

Anyway..hope i will be able to put up my first food post in Melbourne next week. Till then...ta!

Farewell Malaysia; G'day Melbourne!

2009-07-17T04:02:00.001+10:00

I could not sleep...in just another 12 hours, I will be sitting on the plane ready to take off. Yes, today is the day that I am flying off to Melbourne to fulfill my 2-year permanent residency requirement. As some of you are already aware, I will be doing the 2-year thingy alone, whereas Hubby and my dad will not be joining me so soon. Not that bad considering I have my sister and her family there to take care of me.

I could not sleep because I feel a terrible pain in my heart. The pain of knowing that I will not be able to see my two beloved boys for quite some time. I know Pea will be really depress for the next few days as he is extremely attached to me. Just couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face whenever I think of bidding them goodbye when I leave the house to the airport. I know I will miss them terribly.

Pea and Pumpkin, once Jie Jie find a job and get a house, Jie Jie and Gor Gor will bring you to Ozzieland to be an Ozzie Dog yeah??? Jie Jie promise!

And of course, my Hubby too. Although he is accompanying me to Melbourne for a week, I know the following week will be tough for me. Gosh...am sure going to create an emotional scene at the airport when I send him off.

Anyway, I would like to thank all my dear friends who gave me many kind wishes, encouragement and support as well as themany many wonderful farewell lunches and dinners. Do keep in touch and I know we will.

Tears aside, I am very excited too cos living in Melbourne is something that I always wish for. For sure, I will update on my new life and of course....yummy discoveries too! I won't have any internet access for the next 3 days cos we will be heading to Tasmania for a short family holiday so do pop by soon yah???

BYE BYE for now!!! *wiping away my tears*

A Wonderful Day @ The Pet World Malaysia 2009

2009-07-06T02:49:00.004+10:00

Anyone went to the Pet World Malaysia 2009: The 2nd Malaysian International Pets and Aquatics Exhibition held last weekend? I sure did, on the first day itself too. Together with WMW, we spent more than 7 hours at Mid Valley, of course that includes a long lunch session at a Korean restaurant. We were there at 10.00 a.m. on Friday, 3 July 2009, maybe a bit too early as some exhibitors were still busy stacking their products on the shelves. But we were just in time for the Dogs Grooming Competition.

The Poodle must be thinking "My hair!!! My hair!!!". If I knew earlier, I would have volunteered my two boys to these contestents.

I like her creation the best! A Mohawk Schnauzer!!

This poodle attracted a lot of attention too. Just look at the right and left side of her body. So cool isn't it? It was done by a student of a grooming school.

A really huge black poodle...look at her puffy pom pom head and the pom poms on her back and leg. So elegant looking. Very difficult getting a nice shot of her as she is so black, most of my pictures turned out one black patch! Very friendly owner too as she asked me to pose with her dog and volunteered to help me snap a few photos.

Many people brought their pets too and I had a great time taking pictures of the dogs but trust me, it is a challenge to get a good shot as they couldn't seem to stand still. Here are some of the more presentable photos:

A miniature Schnauzer...used to be my dream dog and always thought of owning one. In fact, before I got Pea, I was torn between choosing Pea, a Shih Tzu against a Schnauzer puppy. Am glad I chose Pea and he is the most wonderful dog ever.

A Pekingnese!! A very obedient girl, unlike my bratty Pumpkin who couldn't even sit still for 5 seconds.

Is this a toy dog or a real dog?? Very sweet looking fella.

Meet Whitey...a Maltese from Subang Jaya (there is a MPSJ dog licence on its collar). I was complimenting how pretty she was until the lady owner politely corrected me it should be how handsome he is. Opps!!!

Whitey is pampered to the max with lots of beautiful doggie clothes his mummy bought for him. His mummy couldn't decide to transform Whitey into a ladybird or a bumblebee...so WMW and I kept persuading her to buy the Bumblebee...

and I think Whitey agreed too! She ended up buying more than 3 pieces @ RM40 each!!

I have friends and relatives used to comment how dog-crazy I am but they should see this.

Another sweetie!!! For my next dog, I wanna get a poodle. (HUB!! Are you reading this?)

Went to the NutriEdge booth to grab some doggie biscuits for my boys since they were giving 20% discount. Bumped into the owner of NutriEdge Malaysia with his Siberian Husky. See the husky at the background poster?? Yes, it's the same dog.

Such a beautiful dog. He has got very soft fur. After taking a picture with him, I gave him a gentle hug and I can imagine how comfortable it would be to have him on the bed on a cold winter night. (HUB, I also want this as my next next dog, can?)

SPCA and a few other doggie shelter homes where there to offer puppies for free adoption. Sadly I can't bring anymore home.

There were even puppies for sale. This fella is worth RM1,000.

Moving on from dogs, there were lots of beautiful cats too. Although am not a cat person, I love cats with long thick fur, just like this kitty below. If I ever keep a cat as pet, I wanna have a kitty like this.

Or this one is fine with me too...BUT...

keep me away from the Tiger!!!!

or the leopard!!

Wanna see some magic act??

Hahaha...this bird certainly in need of a good bath!!!

Hello?? Say something...Hello?? Harlooww??? Helllllllooooooooo!!!!?????? This bird must be thinking why a mad woman kept 'helloing' to him.

New movie screening soon.......THE ATTACK OF THE YABBIE!!!

From the fun cuddly pets, we move on to display pets. Strictly for viewing pleasure and not to be cuddled. Phyton anyone??

A few youngsters from the Malaysian Tarantula Society were manning the booth and happily enlighten us on the characteristic of these creepy crawlies. They were trying to convince us that tarantula could be a good pet. Of course, I was not convinced and am sure the first thing Hubby will do is to grab the nearest can of Ridsect!!

This tarantula is all black in colour but when taken with flash on, you can see that the leg is in blue.

Freebies!!! Got some for myself too. Past issues of Petster. Read a couple of issues before and quite informative.

Freebies for my boys!!

Bought the NutriEdge doggie biscuit for my boys..and guess what I got from the lucky draw? A toy dog!! I was thinking of getting another bag of biscuit so that I can get two toys. Otherwise, they will be fighting over it. But in the end, I didn't. Because it wouldn't make a difference as Pumpkin will end up having both, as usual.

The fighting began the moment I brought the toy dog home..

Watch this video to see how fierce Pumpkin is and the warning sound he made at Pea.

As expected, Pumpkin always get what he wanted. BRAT!!!

PET WORLD MALAYSIA 2009; 3 - 5 July 2009

2009-07-02T11:53:00.000+10:00

Calling for all animal lovers! The 2nd Malaysian International Pets and Aquatics Exhibition will be held from tomorrow, 3 July 2009 till this Sunday, 5 July 2009 at Mid Valley Exhibition Centre from 10.00 a.m. - 9.00 p.m. Entrance fee is only RM5 for adults and RM2 for kids!

I was told visitors can bring their pets along to enjoy the many activities lined up such as games, grooming competition, 1st national rabbit show and etc. Nah, I won't be bringing my Pea and Pumpkin as they are too much to handle especially Pumpkin who goes crazy whenever he is out.

Latest photo on the lil'monster...Pumpkin!

Oooo...based on my past experience at such exhibition, there might be some freebies for your furry kids at home too! I am very excited and definitely going tomorrow..anyone interested to come along?

GUAN HWAT RESTAURANT @ SEKINCHAN

2009-07-01T01:40:00.001+10:00

My Makan Gang wanted to make a trip to Kuala Selangor for some grocery shopping and instead of stopping at our favourite seafood restaurant in Bagan Pasir for lunch, this trip we made an exception. We went further up and made a stop for lunch at Sekinchan instead. Apart from being a fishing village, Sekinchan is also famous for producing rice! Oh..and on the way to this town, you will also see lots of roadside stalls offering local produce such as mangoes, corns, salted fish and at times live clams too.

There are quite a number of seafood restaurants in Sekinchan. Our pick was Guan Hwat Restaurant, a blue wooden shop which is rather difficult to miss once you make a turn into the fishing village.

This restaurant was listed in the 'Northern Selangor" good food guide featured by Flavours magazine too.

The moment I stepped into the restaurant, I was shocked. Pieces after pieces of tissue were scattered all over the place by previous diners. It was such an eyesore. We were there at 11 a.m. and it could be possible those tissues were from the night before, but Wong said it could be from the breakfast crowd. He reminded that this village produces rice and many paddy farmers have their meals early. How true. According to the guide book, this place opens from 7 a.m. till 2 p.m.!

Wiping away the tissues from my thought, let's focus on food now. Our first order was a little out of expectation. We were asking for prawns and we were given a choice of either oyster sauce or chili. Now, the thought of having prawns cooked with oyster sauce seems weird to me. Never had it cooked that way before so we thought the chili was a better option. We were expecting big whole prawns, shelled with heads. And this was what we were served instead.......

It was shrimps (I won't call it prawns) all chopped up and cooked with chili paste. A little out of expectation once again, it was quite yummy! Spicy and aromatic, goes well with rice! Priced at RM11.

We were told they had fresh white snapper that day, so we opted to have it steamed. Not exactly Thai style but it came with lots of sliced onions and lime to zest up the dish. At only RM15, cheap. Tastewise, it was just okay, no wow factor.

With so many variety of clams out there, I still find this version the best. I remember growing up eating only this kind of 'lala'. It has got much sweeter and firmer flesh. This dish (RM10) was wonderfully cooked with spicy soy bean paste, in fact, I love this dish the most out of all other dishes we ordered.

Their Crispy Sole with Taucheo (fermented soy bean) was also recommended in the food guide. . Honestly, I was too contented with the Lala dish, so I didn't quite pay attention to this.

Baby Shark meat soup (RM8) is their specialty here. Basically, the soup tasted exactly like salted vegetable soup and it came with shark's fillet, fishballs, tofu, tomatoes and of course salted vegetables!

I expected the shark meat to be tough but surprisingly it was soft. No fishy smell too. Being a soup lover, I enjoyed every drop of the sweet and tangy broth.

Restoran Guan Huat is located at
Lot 2942 Jalan Bagan,
Sekinchan, Selangor
Tel: 012-292.8986
Open from 7.00 a.m. - 2.oo p.m.
Closed on Tuesdays

Also attached, the location map taken from the food guide...hope it helps!

LIVE FROM KRABI

2009-06-29T14:22:00.003+10:00

Yes! Am at Krabi airport now. With 2 hours to spare, there is nothing much one can do at this small airport. So here I am, spending 2 Baht per minute on internet access just to kill time. This would be the most expensive blog post ever.

The weekend spent at Krabi was fantastic...lots of food and a great fishing trip too. More pictures next post! I will tell you about how my biggest catch fell right on my feet! Ouch!

Till then....ciao!!

STEAMING HOT DISHES @ K.T.L Restaurant, Cheras

2009-06-23T23:04:00.001+10:00

Another gem discovered recently, thanks to my Makan Gang members who are ever ready to bring me around for good food. This time round, they brought me to a place in Taman Segar, Cheras that offers only steamed dishes. I wouldn't call K.T.L restaurant a restaurant, it's more like a stall or shack located on a divider between the mainroad and a row of shophouses. But hey, this is exactly the kind of place to expect great yet cheap food!

Spot the roof covered with blue plastic? K.T.L is located right in the middle of Jalan Manis.

With probably around 10 tables, do try to beat the lunch/dinner crowd if you wanna dine with comfort without having hungry diners standing behind you with the 'hurry up' glance. This place is crowded both weekdays and weekends, regardless of lunch or dinner time. Do follow FoodforThot's advice too: Order your fish while waiting for your seat to avoid disappointment!

So, what does K.T.L stands for? Kong Tau Lou or directly translated as Bald Man. It probably refers to the shy owner who is also the chef of this place.

Fresh fishes are delivered daily. Three choices to choose from; red tilapia, snakehead (sang yue) & carp head (soong yue tao) and you can have the fish steamed in any style that you like such as ginger paste, spicy soy bean paste, clear soya sauce based with optional chopped red cili padi.

On my first visit, it was a foodcrawl session and usually that means to avoid rice if possible. However, the moment I put a spoonful of the Spicy Soy Bean gravy into my mouth, I immediately requested for a plate of rice. Personally I like it a lot and one of the best I ever had. The gravy was thick and rich with soy bean (taucu) flavour with just the right amount of sweetness. Very very spicy too! Just the way I like it! Yumz...and since then, I returned twice just for this dish!

Steamed Herbal Chicken...well, it could be a great dish on its own but sadly overshadowed by the wonderful steamed fish.

I was looking forward to this dish on my 2nd visit; Steamed Pork with Salted Fish. Such a homely dish but it was a big disappointment. The pork was a bit tough due to oversteaming and probably low grade salted fish was use. Lack of the 'salted fish' pungent aroma.

Another favourite dish of mine here is their Steamed Egg Custard. Done silky smooth! Simple dish but yet hard to achieve such consistency, well, at least for me. I find it so comforting gliding the egg custard down my throat to ease the spiciness of the steamed spicy tilapia. This is a MUST order dish!

No stir fry veggies here so try having it blanched for a change. Healtier way to eat your greens too!

All the above dishes only cost us RM55.50 for 5 adults including a pot of tea and 2 plates of rice to share. Such an auspicious number since the 5 of us went on a Friday in the month of May, seated at table 5, ordered 5 dishes and the bill came up to RM55.50! With Magnum right across the road, needless to tell you what we did next right? No, we didn't win anything! Haha!

I was still craving for the steamed fish so we returned the following week, this time we ordered Snakehead aka Sang Yue drizzled with soya sauce and sprinkled generously with chopped red cili padi. Another winner dish too!! I couldn't decide now which I like more...how?? Easy, just order both on my next visit!

To get there, do refer to the map below here.

Restoran K.T.L is located at:
Gerai No.3A, Jalan Manis
Taman Segar
56100 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 017-8727567, 012-3087311,014-3223613
Closes every Tuesday