Life is Great & It Keeps Getting Better - Continuation

It's Monday .... now that we are kinda back in the swing of things from all that celebration, chances are some of us are probably feeling pretty bummed out as we sit in the office.  Maybe all one needs to be happy on a Monday is to look for a reason to be?  Hahaha....Life goes on ... and yes, it keeps getting better.  So for those having the Monday Blues, it'll be Tuesday in no time :o)

Here's more pics to thank the gracious host/hostesses for all the great invites into their homes and for the warm hospitality extended ... (Once again, my apologies to those that I did not cover here and in the past as some photos are missing and I might not have taken any photos in the first place).  Well, after this - it's back to work.  Thanks for dropping by and here's wishing you a productive week ahead.

A big THANK YOU to the WONGs for I have quite a number of sumptuous meals in your abode.  I always enjoy the delicious meals lovingly prepared - steaks, lamb rack, roast pork!  My wish for you all is that there will always be an abundance of  good things (which includes good food of course!).

Life is Great & It Keeps Getting Better

As I was going through my photos, I realised how blessed I have been to be in the midst of friends, not only in times of celebration, merry making moments but to have such folks in my life as I travel on this journey - not alone but in the company of friends.  Some has come and gone, some new arrivals, old friends whom I might not see that often but definitely know for sure that they are HERE for me.  I have written posts on some friends  who have invited me into their homes (to those that I didn't, sorry that I couldn't cover all who did! But nevertheless, thank you for being a gracious host/hostess).  I figured before another batch goes "missing", I better blog on them.  Of course, food and friends do go together as we all know and here are some food shots (and some furry ones too, you'll see what I mean later) that were taken during our celebration of friendships together. 








PureGlutton - This was a first, she invited us bunch of strangers for nasi lemak at her house.  We had then only exchanged comments on each other blogs and her bravery led us to some delicious food in her home.  


Of course, we got the eat other goodies brought by the rest of the bloggers and enjoyed playing with Kikko!  Thank you once again!

Crabbing @ R & G Lounge, San Francisco

This is one place I keep going back to, each and everytime I visit San Francisco .... without fail! What keeps me coming back here?

R & G Signature Dish - Salt & Pepper Crab

With that said....that's it! Just come here for the Salt & Pepper Crab 'cos R & G dishes up such a wicked style of it and you probably won't be able to find that "yum" anywhere else. It's so good that it deserves your whole hearted attention!

Battered and deep fried - I have never tasted such a delicious crustacean before. The mix of Salt & Pepper seasoning makes me want to devour it entirely (yes, shell and all!) if I could. This dish definitely delivers a 10 finger licking and lip smacking goodness (I can go on and on...hahaha). I actually sit here for a couple of hours as I slowly enjoy every single moment of it .... from cracking the shells, digging into the fresh plump flesh and licking the shells clean till it's almost devoid of the fried batter.

How plump? Check out the size of the shell! Take note that as with most crab dishes, there is no fix price on the menu as it follows market price. One crab is between USD30-40. It's oh...so worth it!

R & G Lounge
631 Kearny Street
(between Clay St & Commercial St)
San Francisco, CA 94108

Daily 11.30 am - 9.30pm
Tel : (415) 982 7877

Scream for more iscream @ Tropicana City Mall, Petaling Jaya

Here's to another new kid in town (since Sept 8), iscream! What is iscream? Off their Facebook Page - "We are a scoop shop that provide the balance of pleasure and health by selling premium ice cream and healthy fruit juice". Located next to Hang Ten on Ground Floor, iscream has given a new delight to folks with dessert treats especially with an opening promo of 20% discount till 30 Sept 2010.  Do note that they aren't serving fruit juices at the moment, so ice-cream (and complimentary plain water) is all one can get from here for now. Not that I'm complaining :o)  It's a simple set up with a limited seating area; about three tables and a two seat sofa set in a corner.  Anyway, I was informed that the ice cream is locally made with imported ingredients, hence priced attractively.  How does it measure up then?

I've been here twice and seemed to have zoomed in onto two flavours that I had on both occasions.  There aren't a lot of flavours to begin with, I didn't do a physical count but I would roughly say about 15 or so (I could be wrong).  There were a lot with chocolate in it and I have always prefer non chocolate ice cream.


So that narrowed down the flavours to just a handful for me to choose from.  So what are my two picks (for now)?

Strawberry Bites - I love strawberries, this is great and have rather big bits (oxymoron?) of strawberries in it.  It's creamy and its sweetness level was spot on, not too sweet!

Next was Delightfruit - on first bite, the vanilla flavour came across a bit strong.  Didn't know what to make of it, artificial or simply my taste buds reacting differently.  However, as I dug further into this Vanilla with raisins ice cream - I decided that it was actually nice as I loved the taste of the raisins as I bit into them (a rather generous amount of them too) and the juices mixed well with the creamy vanilla turning this into a surprise hit with me with its subtle taste.  It was one that is sweet (from the ice-cream) and yet with a slight hint of sourness (from the raisins).

I haven't tried the rest yet but on the other hand I'm a creature of habit....I might just stick to these two flavours of mine for awhile.  Of course, at RM5.90 for a regular scoop and RM3.50 for a Junior scoop (two for RM6.50, which is what I usually go for), it definitely gives the other premium ice cream brands a run for their money.  But of course, one gets what one pays for :o).  Go and give it a try and decide for yourself.  Remember...the 20% discount is on till 30 September.


iscream
Tropicana City mall
Lot G-11, Ground Floor
No. 3, Jalan SS20/27
47400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor

Tel : 603-7724 1904

The Making of Gimbap

After shopping for the essential ingredients from Desa Sri Hartamas, I went over to Korean Princess's home and got our hands busy, rolling up some Gimbap (well, Korean Princess did way more than me as I was busy taking photos and had to keep my hands as clean as I can, gloves or no gloves).

Sprinkle sesame seeds onto rice and pour some sesame seed oil into the rice, then mix them well.


Place a large seaweed sheet on the bamboo mat, shiny side down and spread the rice evenly over the seaweed.  Start from the bottom with a margin of about half inch and work your way up with 1 1/2 inches at the top of the seaweed . 


Then lay out the cucumber, eggs, crabstick and pickled radish across.


Roll the bamboo mat slowly and carefully.  Remember to apply even pressure on the bamboo mat.


Unroll the mat and you can then apply some sesame seed oil onto the roll for added aroma like we did.  Make sure you have a sharp and wet knife (once again, we coated the knife with sesame seed oil and it worked well) and slice the roll. Remember not to saw but to cut firmly down so that the Gimbap will retain its round shape.

맛있게 드세요

Enjoy Your Meal!

Spicing it up at Waroeng Penyet, The Curve

Now, Waroeng Penyet @ The Curve needs no further intro as it's been around for more than a couple of years now. However sometimes, it's the old stuff that's worth mentioning again - especially when it's also good stuff! It's just that I do eat here off and on and I usually do so if I'm in the mood for something spicy. When I say spicy, things can really get spicy HOT here at Waroeng Penyet.

Place your order at counter and take a number...a big number :o)

And what do I usually order?

Wings Penyet (Flattened Fried Chicken Wings) I just love these wings, they are tasty tender and aromatic - but notice the emphasis of the pic is more on the sambal?! Hahaha...Apart from the one that comes with the chicken, I usually add on more. There are two types; mild and hot spicy sambal and they are placed at a corner for everyone to help themselves to it (in my case, repeatedly).

Though having a cold drink means an increase in the "burning" intensity of the tongue from all that fiery sambal, I always end up ordering the Es Milo Dinosaur here. It the perfect combo meal for me..1,2, Knockout! Hahaha...Well, Waroeng Penyet never fails to "spice things up" for me, hahaha...I guess that's why most of us enjoy coming back for the "torture" time and time again :o) Spicy Satisfaction Guaranteed (SSG)!

On a final note, I would like to wish my Muslim readers "Selamat Hari Raya & Maaf Zahir Batin". To all those travelling back to their hometown for celebrations or simply enjoying the holiday break - Safe Journey and God Bless.


Waroeng Penyet
Lot 132, 1st Floor
The Curve
Mutiara Damansara
Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Tel : 03-7710 6761

Weekend View

Ahh...the weekend has come and going...and will soon be gone. It's been another busy week for me and here are some random pics that I took in San Francisco.

Beautiful houses ...

New Additions - California Pizza Kitchen, Suria KLCC

I have always enjoyed food at California Pizza Kitchen and it's one of the restaurants I don't mind eating at whenever I'm in KLCC. I have previously written a blog post on California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) for Foodstreet.com (not for my blog though) when they had a new lineup to their menu. Two years later, CPK has yet again added more items and I was invited for the launch of their new menu along with other bloggers.

This time around, we had the pleasure of having Shentley Tan, Director of Operations of Golden Pillars (S) Pte Ltd, to personally introduced each of the items as they were served. CPK constantly comes up with a creative menu line up and I suppose this is due to the fact that it has to cater to "international" taste buds as not only does it have more than 260 outlets across the states of America but is also located in 10 other countries like China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and the latest addition to CPK's family - India.

Moroccan Chicken Salad Full portion: RM32.00, Half: 26.00
Moroccan-spiced chicken breast with crisp Romaine lettuce, roasted butternut squash, dates, fresh avocado, toasted almonds, fresh beets, chopped egg, carrots, dried cranberries & red bell peppers. Tossed with Honey-Dijon vinaigrette.

I thoroughly enjoyed this refreshing salad that has so much of goodness in it.

Sonora Egg Rolls RM25.00 - Grilled lime chicken, roasted corn black bean salsa, Cheddar & Monterey Jack cheeses, fire-roasted mild chilies, green onions and cilantro, handwrapped in a crispy wonton roll. Served with tomatillo salsa ranchito sauce.

This tasted average to me. I was expecting this to be exploding with the richness of the cheeses but somehow the taste was mild to me.