Airing Our Laundry - What A Riot!

With UnkaLeong being in town for two weeks, we got in touch and met up together with some other blogger friends of his and flogger friends too. First meet up was at Laundry Bar, The Curve. Was asked to join him and Sze of Jade(d) Poetry for drinks and he mentioned that Nigel might drop by. However, I was with another group of friends and decided to give it a miss.

Later, while I was at SS2 Pasar Malam I realised I had a couple of missed calls. Called back Nigel (asking me to go) and Lemongrass (telling me that she was going). So, about half hour later, there I was at Laundry Bar. It turned out to be some sort of a mini bloggers gathering. We talked about everything under the sky...and covered basically the essentials....love, food, health and sex, in a general way. Lemongrass and Nigel left earlier, leaving the rest of us to chat the night away. Check out Lemongrass and Nigel's blog for their take on that night. Especially so if you want to see a gorgeous pic of someone's six pack abs!

New friends made that night : -

Sze, of Jade(d) Poetry, is the envy of many. A Malaysian working in Bangkok at the moment for about two months, she is well traveled and actually stays in Budapest, Hungary. That night, we shared a bit with the guys on what women want! ;o) Sze mentioned to me that she doesn't really put pics of herself on her blog, so I shall refrain from posting her pics (but somehow, her pic is on the other blogs. Hee hee...).

Listening attentively apart from UnkaLeong, were (R to L) : Mervyn (charming young guy, the youngest around), Hengster (one who eats anything and everything with no questions asked!) and CatsnDogs (hard to imagine him calling himself AP - Attitude Problem as he was truly a gentleman).

We called it a night around 12 plus midnight and said our goodbyes. We had a blast and as we left, we said that we must get together again for more laughter!

The next day, UnkaLeong and I chatted online for awhile and for certain reasons, decided to meet up again with Nigel, Teckiee and myself for dinner. We ended up in Ang Kee, Cheow Yang and it turned out to be the first time for the three of them.

After the usual food dish photo taking session, they got a taste of some good tasty food from Ang Kee; La La Mee Hoon (Vermicelli with Clams), Lai Yau Har Ko (Butter Mantis Prawn), Homemade Steam Tofu with Egg and a vege dish. I guess they will be blogging about it at some point in time. Here's a previous post of mine on Ang Kee with pics of some of the dishes.

Since Nigel came bearing a box of Just Heavenly Pleasures (JHP) goodies, we adjourned to Nasi Kayu a few shoplots away for drinks and JHP desserts after we left Ang Kee. Teckiee's big round eyes lit up at the thought of being able to order Roti Tissue and we had an additional star on the table. Just look at the height of the Roti Tissue! Oh, we made another new friend, Adrian (pictured below), a friend of Nigel's who just so happened to be there. He had his first experience of seeing floggers at work and he was very amused.

UnkaLeong had asked Precious Pea along earlier, but she couldn't join us for dinner as she had dinner waiting at home. When she heard that Nigel had brought some goodies, she was ecstatic and she arrived half an hour later to meet up with us.

JHP's goodies

I have decided to be a more responsible citizen and not cause a frenzy amongst women (and men alike!) and post a photo of UnkaLeong taking a bite, rather than one of his abs! Ha ha ha.....Now, now, I know some of you out there wish you were the profiterole! LOL...

The REAL profiterole :o)

The chocolate eclair

Petite Trifle

We talked about everything again while enjoying the yummylicious goodies, punctuated with Nigel's thunderous laughter most of the time! LOL....We ate, drank, talked and laughed the night away which ended memorably for Teckiee, Precious Pea and I. What? Let's just say, it's a touchy subject ;o)

Friends are those rare people who ask how you are and then wait for the answer.
~ Author Unknown

Seremban - Prologue to Malacca

Had recently gone for a trip to Malacca with TML and YSF after YSF lamented about work and said that she needed a break from it. So, off we went over a weekend last month after making some quick arrangements. Since it was my first road trip with them, we will either come out of it as better friends or enemies for life! LOL....We'll just have to wait and see. Ha ha ha....Anyway, one thing that we truly have in common for sure is the love of food. That gave us a good start to our trip when we decided that we must make a stopover at the Seremban Market for Beef Noodles along the way.

This stall had so many different types of biscuits! (It goes round the corner on the bottom left too!)

I was looking forward to the detour here as I have had a bowl of the famous Seremban Beef Noodles since the family trip there last year in June. It's been awhile indeed and this time, we went to stall no. 748 (we had gone to stall 742 earlier).

The difference is that the sauce in 748 is not as thick as 742 (I ordered the dry version) but apart from that, there isn't much difference. Well, at least not to me - I'm just glad to be in Seremban, eating it! :o). Once again, the peanuts and the sesame seeds really gave this noodle an extra edge over it's Klang Valley competitors (namely Ngau Kee, though it's a different version). The noodles, covered with the gravy slipped into my mouth easily and was cooked al dente! The beef balls were firm; served in a bowl of delicious broth with spring onions, they were delightful.

This time round, we also ordered an additional plate of Sotong Mee Hoon (Cuttlefish Vermicelli) to share. Very much like its Cantonese Mee Hoon counterpart, there are differences. Firstly, this mee hoon's gravy doesn't have egg swirls. It's also more peppery and of course, the main difference is the meat. Cooked with slices of char siew like meat (BBQ pork)and sotong, it was a nice change from the usual Cantonese style. I didn't care much for the slices of pork though. The char siew like meat tasted bland (I say char siew like as it didn't taste like char siew at all!); eating it together with the noodles and some chilli helped. If I were to ever order this again, it'll be plain sotong for me.

After our breakfast, we continued our journey to Malacca....


To be continued ....

Lily Cenario Cafe, Petaling Jaya

I have posted on this cafe before and have not been there for a while. So, when we were looking for a place to eat near my housing area and one that would still be opened past 3 pm, Lily Cenario Cafe came to mind. Lily Cenario is actually more than just a cafe, it has an art gallery on the 1st Floor and has meditation sessions too there. On the ground floor, you have the cafe with its simple yet cosy decor. Check out the earlier review and the photo of the interior HERE.

Well as usual, I must order the yummy Crispy Salad Maki; a temptation I can't resist. It still taste as good as before. Love the yummy tempura bits, tuna, mayonnaise and lettuce with a garlicky taste to it.

For my main meal, I decided to try the day's special (changes everyday). Black Pepper Chicken Chop Rice with Otak-otak Spring Roll. It came with a dollop of their sambal which is thick and hot - I love the sambal too. For those who love spicy food, try eating the Maki with this sambal, it's even more delicious!

I like the chicken chop as it was thinner than usual, hence more flavour to the bite. The two small otak-otak rolls were tasty too. However, it would have been better if it was slightly bigger as it was a tad small to have any oomph when I bit into it.

We then had the Golden Pau for dessert. The 3 deep fried wanton was lovely to look at and was yummy too. With a thick sweet corn custard like filling, we enjoyed the unique mixture of the slightly salty wanton skin and the sweetness of the filling.

Lily Cenario Cafe is opened from 11 am till 10 pm (closed on Mondays) and is located at No. 1, Jalan 19/29, 46300 Petaling Jaya (Tel : 03-7960 3148). It's the corner shop lot facing the open car park area; behind New Paris Restaurant.

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.
~ Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891

Tagged - Favourite Food

Was tagged by Firehorse....(I think I still owe some other bloggers, can't remember! Favourite Fragrance to Lyrical Lemongrass, anymore? Can't remember seriously!) But since this one is on Favourite Food, should be easy peasy, right? Wrong, I have so many favourite food, where to start!?

But if I really have to pick one, it will be my favourite Kuih Tutu. But choosing this as my fave food, I will have to re-tell a story about the man who sold it and not just post a picture of Kuih Tutu. It's hard to find kuih like this nowadays. These kuih are made of rice flour with grated coconut cooked in brown sugar or gula melaka as filling. They are steamed and the pieces of pandan stuck to the back of each piece makes the kuih more fragrant! Cheap and nice, only RM1 for 3 pieces (from an earlier post of mine). It's not only my fave food but I will always remember the man who sold it. He's no longer around and his daughters have taken over. I have written this post before and will repost it here for this tag. For those who I have tagged (see list at the bottom), you don't have to write a long story like mine unless you want to :o)


Originally posted on November 27, 2006

Mr Wong & His Kuih Tutu

I've a story to tell behind the post and pictures today. On Nov 4, I had posted a short farewell message to an uncle who passed away in an accident. He used to sell kuih tutu in the weekly night market in SS2 and in Taman Cheras (Yulek) too.

My friend in Cheras told his daughters (who have been carrying on with the business since the demise of their dad) what I did and they were grateful that someone else remembered their dad too. One of them passed a contact number through her, so that I can email her the link. I smsed her and asked for her email and two days later, I received a call from the uncle's wife.

I never knew my short post would lead to this encounter. It was heartbreaking indeed to have learnt more about the uncle, Mr Wong. Me, being a real softie, tried hard to fight back the tears as Mrs Wong spoke to me. Apparently, it was quite a big blow to Mrs Wong and the rest of the family as Mrs Wong had also lost her son to lung cancer 5 months before the accident claimed Mr. Wong's life. It seems that Mr Wong was feeling tired but had promised a friend to help out with some errands. He was the sort of man who kept his promises. His friend was supposed to pick him up from a designated place but was running really late. As Mr Wong got restless, he decided to drive off to meet some of his other friends first. It was then the accident happened - he drove up the kerb, over the drain and crashed into some trees. Mrs Wong believed that he must have fallen asleep at the wheel for a split second and that cost him his life. He wasn't one to drive fast, and he came across to me as an alert elderly man for someone who's in his 70s, not one who has slow reflexes, I mean.

Mrs Wong tells me it has been hard dealing with the loss and she still looks at his photo every night before she sleeps. He is dearly missed by the family. Only time will help ease the pain and I told her what helped me go through the loss of my dad was to think of all the happy times I had with him. Maybe it would help if she thinks of the happy times she had with Mr Wong too. She had called to thank me for writing about him in my blog and said that if Mr Wong knew, he would have indeed been very happy too that someone thought about him enough to write about him. I then asked if she would send me a pic of him so that I can put in on my blog. I received it last Thursday from her daughter. He must have been in his 50s in the pic. So, today's post is dedicated to Mr Wong and his kuih tutu.

The daughters are doing a great job , the Kuih Tutu still tastes great. Not too much flour and tasty filling. They said they are still doing the business as a way of remembering their Dad. Mr Wong, you would be proud of your daughters. Here's to you Mr. Wong. Have a great new life! And to you, Mrs Wong and family, may your tears be dried, souls be soothed and clouds be lifted, all in good time. Live well...

May you have warm words on a cool evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road all the way to your door. ~ Irish Toast

***Start Copy***

Proposition: What is your favorite food in your state or country? Requirements: Find some info about the food and show delicious pictures of it. Quantity: FIVE PEOPLE. Tag Mode: You leave their blog and post link and add to the list below.

Mybabybay loves Asam Laksa from Penang, Malaysia

JustMyThoughts loves Penang Char Koay Teow

My Lil Venture loves Laksa Sarawak

Monterssorimum loves Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun

Chinnee loves Melaka Wan Tan Mee

PeimunLeah loves Hakka Lei Cha

Hui Sia

Jonamum

Karen loves Pan Mee

Something about Lai loves Crispy duck skin from China

Simple American loves Cheese Enchiladas

Nicole Tan loves Char Tau Kueh

Velverse loves Otak-otak

Kenny Ng loves Jawa Mee

Fatty Poh loves Nasi Dagang Kelantan

wmw loves Kuih Tutu.

Now I would like to tag the following 5 bloggers : -

Lyrical Lemongrass

Precious Pea

Jackson Kah

Jason Ipoh Mali

Nigel of KampungKayell

Hola Spain! Part 4

It's back to Spain for a break from food. I had thought that I had lost my photos for good when my external hard disk died before I uploaded the pics elsewhere(thank goodness I manage to salvage most of my Spain photos from my friend who has copied it from me earlier!).

After a short bus ride, we arrived in Segovia and at The Alcazar. I think I have raved enough about the beauty of Spain and its structures/buildings. I'm blogging my trip as a form of record of the places I've been to. So, I shan't elaborate further (I've provided links for those who would like to know more, so click on those highlighted words if you're keen).

Pics of The Alcazar, looking in and looking out

Stalls around the Segovia Cathedral
Roman Aqueduct
The only shot I took of this beautiful structure, was distracted by my quest at this point to look for some ice-cream! Would have love to have taken more shots of the Roman Aqueduct but we had to leave this place shortly for lunch.

To be continued ...

P.S. Decided to add this after I was asked. Note there are two changes to my main page. Namely the photo above my blog title. Past Post Photo Pick shows a photo from one of my past post. Click on the image and you will be directed to that particular post. Secondly, I have decided to have the blog links done up as drop down menus. The list seems to be growing and growing...LOL. Wanted to tidy it up a bit.

Chinese Traditional Herbal Soup, Cheow Yang

Feeling a bit under the weather, Lyn and I drove around Petaling Jaya looking for some soupy stuff to make me feel better. Only when we drove into Cheow Yang area did I recall a friend of mine telling me that she had tried this great soup at the Lim Mee Yoke Coffeeshop, formerly the old Cheow Yang Coffeeshop (157 Jalan SS2/6, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor). I have not been eating here for awhile and didn't know about this stall till she told me. She asked me to look out for two huge claypots and I'll find the stall which is right in front of the shop. I didn't really know how huge the claypots were till I saw them!
With quite a variety of Chinese Traditional Herbal Soups available (RM12-18), we could only order one type as a pot is good enough for 2-3 people! We opted for the Spare Ribs, Octopus, Lotus Root and Peanut Soup (RM12).
We then saw the girl climbed onto a raised metal platform which supported the two huge claypots and reached in to take a pot of soup out with a some sort of a long contraption. As you can see from the photo, the two claypots were huge!
A much tinier claypot arrived at our table with a generous amount of soup and ingredients inside. Piping hot, both Lyn and I enjoyed drinking up the tasty soup and finished all the lotus root and all the other stuff (sharing a bowl of rice which was included with the order).
The meat was tender, the peanuts and lotus root were nice, "cooked just right, great to bite", The empty pot was a testament to how nice it was (or maybe we were both just hungry? ha ha ha....). We'll be back to try the other varieties soon....

"Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living. For soup can do more to lift the spirits and stimulate the appetite than any other one dish."
- Louis P. DeGouy, The Soup Book

Just Heavenly Pleasures, Damansara Heights

I received an sms from Nigel on Friday saying that Just Heavenly Pleasures is now open for business. Since I was free in the later part of the afternoon, I decided to drop by his shop together with Lyn. I was not prepared and didn't have my camera with me at that time; luckily Nigel had his Canon camera which I was able to use.

Nigel, his first day on the job!

The "I've Died and Gone To Heaven" Chocolate Durian which we tried. For durian lovers, this is really really good. How good? You all have got to try this for yourselves for that heavenly experience! You can't smell the durian till you cut into it...and the smell will then hit you right between the eyes! Ha ha ha....

Baked Lemon Cheese with Passion Fruit Coulis. Not too sour and just the right size for a great and quick cheese attack.

I took photos of some (not all of them though) of the other bistro cakes (muffin size) available. I wished we still had the stomach space to try more but I guess this means that we'll just have to come back again to do that ;o)

Moist Banana Cheese

Butter Buttercup

Death By Chocolate

Sticky Toffee Pudding, this has to be eaten warm. Pop it into the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds and let the toffee melt over the cake! A must for toffee lovers!

Banana Cream Pie

6" Death By Chocolate (also available in 9" size). One of their best sellers!

Here's a map of Just Heavenly Pleasures location which is opposite Chef & Brew in the relatively new building call "Epicure" (which means "a person devoted to refined sensous enjoyment, especially good food and drink"). For your info, Southern Bank is now CIMB Bank. Click for a larger image of the map. Please do take note, it's a shop where you're supposed to pack the desserts and go (there is no sitting area). One can also order the desserts while having food /drinks across at Chef & Brew.

Just Heavenly Pleasures
Lot 1.05 & 1.06, Ground Floor (opposite Chef & Brew)
Epicure, No. 1 Jalan Medan Setia 1,
Damansara Heights,
50490 Kuala Lumpur
Contact No : 03-22879866 (Off. number in Bangsar)

Operating Hours : 11am -6 pm
From June onwards 11 am - 9 pm
(Closed on Sundays)

Read Nigel's post on pre-Just Heavenly Pleasures here. Here's wishing Nigel & Allan, "Great Success and Endless Heavenly Pleasures". Thoughts Become Things! ;o)

Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first. ~ Ernestine Ulmer

Mom...Happy Mother's Day!

That's my mom doing one of her routine chores...clearing dead leaves. The creepers are no longer there now and mom has one less thing to keep her occupied. She wakes up early in the morning and joins her batch of elderly friends at the park for her daily lesson of Qi Qong. That and a walk in the evening after dinner is how she stays active.

I remember when I was younger, I wished I was like my mom. Having to go to work and be out of the house. I couldn't recall that she had to tend to housework too at that time, as everything seem to be fun and games for me. She really didn't have a easy life, coming from a family of 7 other siblings. She is a filial daughter, being the eldest, my grandma relied on her the most. As kids, they had to do odd jobs like sewing just to earn that bit of extra income and somehow that bit went a long way. In primary school, she was blessed as she had a group of lovely dear friends who insisted that she ate with them and took turns to buy her meals, as she couldn't even afford a simple bowl of noodles which was just a mere 5 sen in those days.

I love listening to her stories of yesteryear as that is my way of getting to know my mom as a friend and not just as my mother. She has been through quite a lot; surviving Japanese occupation when she was a kid, contributing more than her fair share with her odd jobs to improve the welfare of her siblings...and perhaps the only event I was physically around to see her deal with; the passing of my Dad. My mom is a strong woman but most of all, she's a woman who knows that LIFE goes on ... Some things are better; we all get better, when we learn to let go.

And now, in her grey years (her hair is darker than mine actually!), she has taken it easier and she is learning to enjoy her life. Relax Mom, it's now YOUR turn and YOUR time to enjoy LIFE! This post may be 2 days early (but better early than late or never!)...Here's wishing you, from the bottom of my heart, a very

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~ Tenneva Jordan

P.S. To my blog readers who are MOTHERs, this warm greeting goes out to you all too! You all have my respect for who you are and what you do in this special role of yours!

Sunfish Restaurant, Batu Caves

When I found out that I was going to be sent for training in Selayang, I wasn't too thrilled. However, the thought of lunchtime in an area that I normally don't go to gave me some added happiness. Ha ha ha....

Came lunchtime, we wondered and actually had a semi serious discussion on what and where to eat! The group of us not really knowing where to eat, followed another car (ferrying other participants and the trainer) blindly and ended up at some industrial area. Before we alighted, we were thinking what sort of food can be found here. Between workshops, there it was, Sunfish Restaurant, looking blue and definitely more welcoming compared to its surrounding shops.

Selling a variety of stuff and being our first time there, the 5 of us decided to try something different each. Have a look at their menu (pork free), loads of stuff! It's fully air conditioned inside, looking very much like a fast food joint and was packed during lunchtime.

Salmon Noodle Soup (RM7.00) - Enjoyable, a change from the usual Fish Head Noodle. My friend enjoyed the clear soup, the fried piece of salmon and the pickled vegetables.

Loh Mee (RM5.20) was ordinary according to the feedback.

Looking the most plain of all, the Fish Porridge (RM4.80) was another normal dish with friend saying that it was not thick enough.

Claypot Finger Vermicelli (Lo Shee Fun actually) at RM7.00 fared better with it's minced chicken and gravy.

The winner of the day, New Zealand Beef Kuay Teow (flat noodles) at RM9.90. Its gravy was tasty with egg swirls and the noodles has a nice bite to them. The star of this dish was definitely the NZ Beef. With about 7 to 8 slices of it, I enjoyed chomping on them akin to eating steak. It was tender but yet had enough "ooomph" to it and went surprisingly well with the noodles. For desserts, Lyn and I shared a bowl of Sesame Rice Ball with Soya Bean (RM3.30). The skin was nice and thin and we enjoyed it very much. The sweetness of the sesame was offset by the non-sweetened soya bean which made it almost perfect.

I can't give you directions to this place, sorry (I have to get my associate to take me back there again!), but I can give you their contact (Sunfish's website) :-
22, Lorong Perusahaan 4, Taman Perusahaan Kimpal, Batu Caves, 68100 Selangor.
Contact No : 03-61855688

"Lunchtime - the highlight of my training" - wmw