TO DO LIST

• I have tonnes of stuff I wanna bring over to Germany but have only 20kg luggage space - cookbooks, my collection of chic lit which I've not read, 30 pairs of shoes, cooking ingredients, cooking/bakeware, special gifts, photos, clothes, CDs, favourite magazine, his gifts, accessories, over 10 bottles of perfumes and more. Headache.
• I have yet to revisit some of my favourite makan joint, and if I don't do now, I won't be able to do so until 3 months down the road.
• Some of my friends have no idea I'm moving away soon. We should catch up before I leave.
• I voluntered to organise a July birthday party. It will be a simple do, but filled with gorgeous food, which means that, hunting for gorgeous supply is necessary. Headache.
• My german language proficiency is very low, still. I'm stressed over it coz its not an easy language to pick up. What's with du, der, das? Headache.
• REMEMBER to install and TEST out my webcam before leaving. Assign a day and time with Dad and Ashleen to log on and chat.
• Set up E-bay account to sell off unwanted item. Where shall I start? Headache.
• Look out for cheaper airticket. I paid RM3,400 to Amsterdam in April 2008 and its now over RM5,000 to Frankfurt? KLM/Armsterdam cost more than RM5,600 now! DAMN IT energy speculators!!!
• Find out the best and CHEAPEST way to transfer money over from Germany.
• Where can I get an official testiment to declare that I'm single? Need them for marriage registration in Germany. Info appreciated.
• Do I need to convert my driving license? My man wants me to drive to Dusseldorf for my classes in November IN our chunkyyyy Passat. *faint* Have you driven on the other side of road before? I have ones in Italy's highway and nearly got into accident. Serious.
• BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY ... what am I going to do with Allaboutyum? No more Malaysian food review. *sob sob*
• There's more but I'm jammed up. Thanks Cheng Yi for the Choya/Whisky/Sake/Siew Yoke for that lethal concoction! Didn't know you're such a drama queen *grin* Or was that due to the drink?

----> ATTEND FAREWELL GATHERING! Thanks WMW for reminding me *glad to have kinda headache*

Cest La Vie!

Stay calm as how my man tells me all the time. I shall distract myself a bit here with ... Fooddddd. The wonders of it.

Don't believe me? Wait till you try Precious Pea's Roast Duck! Had them during Christine's Farewell Party in NeWay 1 Utama and I am still salivating till today just thinking of it. Say, I have another list to add up there. What's the title of the book that has this recipe Ivy? *sweat* coz more things to do.

Looks good. Does it taste good Christine? Chris, stayyy calm and stop jumping on the couch!

Corn! Remind me of Camerons!

Was this mine or was this Nic's? Oops, I mean Hairy Berry.

I think this was mine. Taste were so-so lah.

Someone's pizza. Can't remember coz I'm not much of a multi-tasker. Means, listening to songs, eating and remembering who ate what.

This I remembered! It was mine!

I have to go do some stuff now. Keeping this short ... Ciaoooo! And oh, I must die, dieeee watch tonight's GERMANY versus Spain. Needless to say, you know who I'm supporting lah.

p/s : errr Christine, do you happen to have a checklist of what to do before leaving? If yes, can pinjam?

Kluang Station's Fish Curry Lunch

I'd usually head to either Kluang Station, Ketam Steamboat, or Kim Gary for something quick and simple whenever I'm at the outlet for work.

For the past two weeks, I've been popping over to Kluang Station a lot. One of the reason is its Fish Curry and Rice. I won't classify them as very good, but passable for restaurant chain standard lah. Also, getting tired of Uncle Lim place. Something about fish (didn't you notice I'm a fan?), fiery red curry, lots of fresh vegetables, sour side salad and a bowl of rice. What else can be more perfect lunch than this?

Infact, I've been frequenting all my regular joints, been eating lots of Nasi Lemak Bungkus, Assam Laksa, Curry Laksa, Nyonya Kuih and all the wonderful Malaysian delicacy coz ...

6 weeks more before leaving to land of beer and bread.

My Favourite Sunday Morning Breakfast

I love mine from the coffeeshop next to the famous Wantan Mee in Section 17 which I'd earlier blogged about. Can't remember the name of this coffeeshop though, sorry. One thing for sure, this stall is pretty popular and I'd usually have to wait up to about 15 - 20 minutes for my bowl of Pork Noodle.

SLURRRRPILICIOUS like a blended drink!

My First King Crab Experience ...

And this was what we (Mr + Mrs Precious Pea, WMW + a friend and me) ate ...

LOTSSSS of peanuts ... no kidding. The organisers of the recent King Crab Charity Dinner for Sichuan Earthquake Victim program decided to wait for some VIPs to arrive before serving us hungry diners food! *grumble, grumble*

Peanut were pretty tasty, or was it that we're hungry?



When the Four Hot Dish Combination finally arrive, WE ALL DIVED IN! I don't remember the distinct taste of each but all I remembered was, it was tasty and yummy! Jeez .. I'm drolling while typing this coz I'm hungry at this moment too!



The Steamed Patin Fish were not as memorable comparing to the first dish. But since I'm a huge fish fan, I had WMW's share for she's not a fan. Thanks!



I was pretty glad that no sharks were killed for this dinner. Good cause + another good cause = applaudable, caring effort from King Crab's team! The alternative magical, tasty and yummy soup concoction came in form of Seafood Soup. There's strands of crab meat in it along with other unidentifiable strands. Scallops perhaps? Not sure but no sweat lah .. it was good nonetheless.



A hardshell prawn variety came next, cooked ala Fried Prawns with Nestum style. The coating and nestum bites were a bit of sweet side.



Mediocre Roast Chicken, which were good as tummy fillers.



Next dish, like any chinese style banquet order is Vegetables. Their Brocolli and Abalone Mushroom were pretty alright. It was fresh and tasty.


I had 3 small bowls. Hungry still and it was good!



Lin Chi Kang already? That was fast. The whole dinner speed thru like Maseratti on Autobahn, or was it that we all got distracted by certain VIP doing "ahem ahem* to someone someone next to our table? And food suddenly, were just fuel to energize our sharp eyes?

Drama King Crab Ini ...



Our last ordeal was Two Variety Pao. Some like them steam, some like them baked. I like both of them equally for I'm a foodie! Anything that taste good, will earn its fair recognition *grin*



Thanks Ivy for the invite! It was really strange that I had just a week earlier wished for a food related charity event to pop up and you suddenly sent your invite over.

Coincidence? Yes!

Now ... what shall I wish for?

AHA! A crab feasting session in King Crab! What else!

1 Kang and 2 Kong's Lunch & Tea Date

I had to mark this down. 1 Kang and 1 Kong met up for lunch and another Kong decided to join in! How often do you get 3 individual person with the same but RARE surname sit down together for a meal? And the 3 are not related to each other at all. SLIM CHANCE, I tell you.

2 Kong's - Same English sounding surname
1 Kang and 1 Kong - Same Chinese surname

Lunch spot was at Le Gourmet, The Curve. It is a cosy Mediterranean inspired restaurant which serves up pretty good to excellet, value for money set-lunches.

This is my order of Mediterranean Chicken, huge pieces of chicken drumstick cooked in tomato broth with slices of zucchini, chunks of carrot and pineapple. Taste were utterly delicious and chicken pieces were well flavoured and moist. You can have them on its own, or with rice which came with it. The RM15.80 set lunch came with a choice of Ice Lemon Tea, Peach Tea, Orange Juice or Carrot Juice.

Who ordered them ; Ms. Kang (me!) and Ms. Kong (supplier)


Their tender, flavourful and pretty good value for money Braised Beef. Received thumbs up for another RM15.80 set lunch which came with the same drink option as the earlier.

Who ordered them; Ms. Kong (Ruby)


The two Kong's and one Kang shared a slice of Vanilla Cheesecake (RM8.80) which tasted un-cheesy and un-vanilla. Chocolate sauce were a bit off too. The only thing I like were its texture.


One of the Ms. Kong left and now left a Ms. Kang and Ms. Kong. Ms Kong asked Ms. Kang if she's keen to go Kota Damansara for tea. Sure will do, for this Ms. Kang never say no to new food establishments.

Our next stop were Kopitiam something, something - the one that fronts Starbucks Dataran Sunway. The place were done up in a combo of kopitiam cum kampung style. Cool!

Ms. Kang here got captivated by their tea-break sets priced at RM5.00 only. You get to choose to have popiah, yamcake, toast bread, curry + bread and one more ... hmm, can't remember! Anyway, Ms. Kang choose this coz feeling guilthy for eating so much! Popiah will do and its not so heavy lah. Taste were not bad. They have in it lots of fried onions, but it would have been better if they don't stinge so much on the filling. Inflation???


Ms. Kong had their toast bread set which its photo were not captured by Ms. Kang. It looked pathetic and skimpy. Ms. Kong had to scrap away the overly laden margerine too. Hmmm, why not butter? Cheaper? Skip their toast at all cost.

Both Ms. Kang and Ms. Kong's still game for more. Here's what we topped up! A proper set lunch which were priced at RM8.00 only! Not bad, and it came with dessert choice of Ais Kacang or Cendol, of which the latter were not available :-( boo.

Assam Laksa's broth were good! Sweet, sour, spicy and tangy .. all roll into one. The noodle could have been heated up beforehand for better texture.


The mountain fuji wannabe Ice Kacang, slacked in volume but made up in taste and texture! Not too bad at all.


Both Ms. Kang and Ms. Kong skipped dinner after that. Burp.

WHAT A KANGKONG DAY!!!

Sushi Zanmai Revisit

It was a sudden crave one day while window shopping-ing in Midvalley. I can't seem to recall any good Japanese restaurant around this area. Oh yes! There's Ninja Jones hor .. adoi, now only I remember. Totally forgotten about it lol, sign of aging *sob sob*

Anyway, this was what I ate for instant gratification! I always come here for this ...

Localised Salmon Sushi with Slices of Japanese Onion (damn sweet and fragrant) with mayo drizzle. Still as good as I remembered them to be.


Another localized Tamago Sushi but charred, and topped with sprinkle of herb and drizzled with mayo. Definately a winner in presentation and taste. I loved the charred taste so much that I had another plate.


I picked up a plate of local Unagi Sushi. Bad choice. AVOID it at all cost coz the local unagi tasted fishy and had bones. YUCKS!


Okay, those were starters and this was the reason why I went in to Sushi Zanmai. For its Japanese Curry Rice. It was definately not Japanese style curry for its not sweet at all. The authentic one's suppose to be slightly sweet for its cooked using apples. Irregardless, it was tasty and good.


The bill came to about RM27.00 which was not bad. Sushi Zanmai is still consistent and prove to be the best conveyor belt chain in Malaysia still.

Mr. Ho's Fine Food

The place was almost empty when I walk in. It was close to lunch time and that puzzled me because it use to be so packed. That was before they had their cooking station smack in the middle of the dining area, before they did up the place. Now that the place is able to accomocate more people, its empty.

Anyway, I'm willing to give it a try. Be it that they had remove the prized "feng shui" piece in the middle or simple, their food is not on par anymore ... I guess the only way to tell is by trying the food again, no?

They were running a value-for-money set lunch on their best sellers. Items like Asian Pesto with Grilled Tiger Prawns, Roasted Pork Knuckle, their famous Siew Yoke were all in.

I was in the mood for some wholesome Pork Knuckle. As I remembered it last time, it was awesome! Crunchy skin, with glutinous texture underneath and slabs of moist, succulent meat in it.

The set came with a soup, the main itself and a cup of either coffee or tea. I settled for tea.

The set came with Vegetable Soup with Siew Yoke. It was a very, very peppery soup and I loved it! The siew yoke in the soup were heavenly fat and soft! Not bad, brownie point on the soup ...


The deciding factor on why is Mr. Ho so quiet lately ... main course. The skin, well ... still crunchy as ever. The glutinous texture underneath is still there and was abundant till the point of jelak (hehe), and the meat were still moist and flavourful. Overall, I still like it a lot but something is lacking ... something. The meat were not tender enough and not served hot.

Yup. Actually, I can't remember if it was formerly served like that, but if they improve on that area, it would be great.


With that, I paid RM18.00++ for my set lunch and did some shopping soon after.

Restaurant D.U Cafe, Dataran Sunway

My brother is a typical chinaman whom favours anything good, and cheap. When it comes to food, there's no exception to it too, therefor, when my aunt decided to bring me here for dinner one evening, I know I'm in good hands for my brother had been raving about this coffeeshop to the whole family for months.

There's only two of us hence we limited the order to the following only. But trust me, the portions are hugeeee enough for three! We could hardly keep it in after finishing off with a cold glass of Sugar Cane Juice!

First, we attacked the Oyster Omelette / Or Chien. Two words. THE BEST. Just look at those juicy, plump oysters resting amongst the omelette! So huge isn't it?


Next, another super yummy, lard laden, sinful Carrot Cake / Char Kueh Kark! Look how moist the carrot cake is. The beansprouts were fat, juicy and crunchy still and when eaten together ... oh yummmm, you get a burst of flavour with soft, goey and crunchy texture.



I was kinda full for I'd earlier eaten something but my aunt wanted to try their Popiah again. She said it was good and I could not agree more! If you like Taiping style popiah, which sweet, reddish sauce, this one's for you. There's one more thing that's very unique about this popiah which was, it contains dried shrimp, I think.



Thanks Auntie Kim Moi for the yummy dinner!

Work Place Makan Makan Session

One of the thing I look forward too at my current workplace is the makan makan session held every three months, held in conjunction with Sales Award Presentation to reward good performance from the sales team. I would go check out what's underneath the lid without fail first thing when I arrive at the store for I know there would be something yummy and delicious concocted by our caterer - Zuup of 1Utama.



I particularly loved their Fried Meehoon aka Chow Mai Fun which our OM would order every time for it is so good. This is the first to finish, usually.

Omelette ... fluffy and fresh. Not bad.


Their Curry Chicken Rendang is to die for! Have them with the fried meehoon and you'll be in food heaven!


The only dissapointment this time round was its Fried Chicken. Not fresh at all and flour were too chunky.


Fried Fishball ... tasty but cold. Well, that's because I nicked them before the official makan session *sshhhhhhhhh* Actually, not bad lah.


My colleagues love packing back some of the food for lunch after the makan session for we usually won't be able to finish them. In the past, we would hunt around for containers but our OM came out with Chicken Burger as a solution this time round. Smart eh ...


And lots of Sambal to go with the yummy Meehoon. I usually skip this for its too spicy for my tummy early in the morning.


All this yummy food being washed down with pure orange and apple juice which I'd forgotten to capture. What about you? How's your company's makan makan session like?

One Night in Alisan Mamak ...

We came, we conquored and ATE like there's no tomorrow. The occassion was to let Daphne and Armand taste Alisan Mamak's fame Mee Diao and for a change, instead of having a makan session in an airconditioned place, we'll have them the Malaysian way - roadside stall.

Thanks Teckie for the wonderful suggestion and quick action. The meet up was materialised right after our meeting just from two nights ago in Pick & Brew and was graced by not less than 10 food bloggers! Needless to say, the table were FULL of food, glorious food.

Here's what we ate.

Kuang Chiang or Kau Chang Kueh as how Teckie calls it. My grandmother from Penang makes them every chinese new year for prayer offering. But unlike Alisan Mamak's version which contains dried shrimp, my grandma's version has just a few notable ingredients such as yam paste, boiled peanuts, beancurd skin and seasoning of five spice powder. Alisan Mamak's version came with steam (white) or fried (brown). Both were delicious and addictive!


Mee Jawa, which essentially is a spiced potato based gravy with noodle. I packed a packet for dad (its vegetarian if you have them without its sambal chilli) BUT I accidently left it in Jennifer's car. Thanks Jen for the ride home :-)


Chai Kueh, or Steamed Rice Noodle Dumpling with Turnip Filling. It was not too bad. Skin was not too thick and filling were delicious and fragrant. I whacked two pieces.

Behind the Chai Kueh were the legendary, simple and very delicious Teochew style Economy Noodle called Mee Diao! It had simple ingredient such as noodle (not sure what type it is, sorta like a cross between Mee Sua and Yellow Noodle), carrot slices, green leafy vege, and beansprout.


We pigged out further by ordering three bowls of Curry Laksa from the nearby stall. I spotted some fried pork skin, hence asked the auntie to kar liew aka add in extra ingredient. The curry were light and fragrant. Not bad.


BBO brought us some delicious Apple Cheese Cake! Fresh from the oven! Yum!


Also, their legendary Macaron too. Yum yumm ...


We yakked till quite late but alas, some had to make a move. Till than fellow bloggers, hope to catch up before I leave for Germany! See ya soon!

Are you ready for change?

Today, Malaysian woke up to a big shock. Our petrol and diesel price had increased to a dramatic 40% higher than last night!

And my immediate reaction was, our oil prices are the highest amongst the oil producing nation of the world now! Bravo!!! Malaysia Boleh!

Why is this happening? WHY!!!!!

Our car's are already being taxed heavily when we purchase them, hence isn't that enough revenue for the government?

Now that our petrol had increased, what's gonna happen to our public transportation? Will they increase their prices along? Otherwise, how they gonna survive? Will there be better transportation infrastructure? If yes, how fast? What's gonna happen now?

The question is, how bad will this impact our lifestyle from now on? Will you be driving to work with an empty car from now on? Will you seek alternative transportation? Will you cut down on your lifestyle? How will it impact you as a fellow food blogger? Will you be cutting down on your dining experiences?

I have been a bit cautious after experiencing higher food prices lately, but its only a temporary thing for I'll be moving to Germany soon. Thankfully, dining and grocery is not as steep as here but of course, that's to compare a dollar to a dollar. But since I'm here still, I can't help feeling the pinch and the disappointment everyone is feeling right now. Couple with the recent disaster in Myanmar and China which saw so many people homeless and without food overnight - a bit chunk of me felt really bad and guilthy for taking pleasure in food now.

Are you feeling the same as me?

The question is, with the rise of fuel everywhere around the world and the disaster which is striking every corner's of the earth ... how will this change food blogging content? How is it going to change my food blog content from now on too, I ponder ...

Riverside Cafe, PWTC

Last week's been totally hectic for me.

In addition to the numerous weekly campaign my work front had embarked on, I volunteered to base myself in Interior 2008 exhibition - which my company participated in with a business partner and guess what! The booth WON 1st prize in Best Booth Design Category!!! Yup. Although my company contributed a small fraction of the whole interior fitting, I can help feeling sooo proud.

The booth is really awesome isn't it? So colourful and striking, and needless to say I was swooning all over the wallpapers and thinking hard to bring some rolls over to Ahaus for me and J's little project :-)

Its four whole days of networking, networking and networking and, I over-estimated my physical ability. Not only was I physically exhausted, I was mentally drained as well but phewwww ... it had been a success from start to finish so thankfully, all effort is not wasted.

The only problem I encounter is, I'm so clueless when it comes to what to eat during lunch time. Our business partner's staff - a team of more than 10 threw the same question too when lunch time came. Some made their way all to The Mall for foodcourt food where else I decided to settle for Riverside Cafe located at the 2nd floor. Yeah, I was kinda snooty ... hehehe, nahhhh ... I was mentally drained really and all I wanted to do during my break was fuel myself with food and bury my soul with a book at hand. My tired feet refuse to carry me all the way to The Mall too ... hence ...

Riverside's food ... hmmm. It was really not too bad!

Their Chicken Rice (RM11.00) came highly recommended. Although it was halal, its comparable to many good ones out there. Its steam chicken were perfectly steamed and when eaten with the accompanying vinegered chilli and dark sauce, it was really tasty. Rice can be improved though.


The other dish I'd tried were its Curry Chicken Rice (RM11.00) which again was really good. The curry were creamy, flavourful and chicken pieces were fresh and generous. It wasn't too spicy too.


Fiery red chicken curry ...


Their ala carte menu priced its Brownie and Ice Cream at RM9.50 which I though were pricey! The trick to enjoy the same Brownie, minus the ice cream but at only RM4.00 is get them from the cafe located right at the entrance. And oh, you have to bring them inside the restaurant youself. The brownie however were a bit too dry.


So glad to be back in office as I still fancy the Chap Fun stall anytime for lunch.