The ‘Auntie’ That Cooks

Ever since I own a house…I became like ‘auntie’. Checking out the supermarket deals, to know whether the price is worth buying or not. Gotto be a wise consumer too. I used to do my grocery shopping over the weekend at Jusco supermarket because the place is convenient to me, the vege are quite clean and at the same time I can collect points. Hahaha…

Today, I’ve just checked what is on offer for this weekend.

Hmm..not much of offer. Ohh…Dettol shower foam quite cheap. Duno Alex want to buy or not.

On weekdays, I will usually cook at home. May be 2 to 3 times a week. Most of the time I can only prepare those simple, easy and quick dishes. Forget about those time consuming ones. Else Alex will die of hunger! Wahahahha….

Therefore I must zoom and prepare the dinner within 1 hour or sometimes a lil extra time. That’s inclusive of washing, cutting, cooking & cleaning. (Multitasking in kitchen). Luckily my kitchen is still in good condition…not burned. :-p

Even the fish also making SOS call. But it was too late…

Last week when Alex’s younger brothers came over for dinner..I prepared this 3 dish 1 soup after I came home from work. Ya…I was working like a sotong…(multitasking….) *phew….but feel satisfied when I see these dishes cleared up!

When East meets West…it can be good too.

A compilation of what I’ve cooked so far. (of course I only choose those nice ones to put here lah..) My home cooked meal usually cost around RM10-RM20. I often cook extra so that I can keep a portion for my lunch box the following day. Can save money and time ma…. 😉

The so-called ‘food marathon’ to celebrate my birthday!

Our initial plan was to eat, window shop and watch a movie.

I was suppose to wake up at 9.30am. And as usual I will wake up earlier then Alex…because I very ‘MO’. We also planned to go out at around 10.30am.

Unfortunately….I missed the alarm, I overslept and suddenly awake, realized it was already 11.30am!! OMG!! We’ve missed our breakfast session!!

I got up quickly, groom myself (apply ICI paint, etc..). By the time we arrived Pavilion, KL already noon. Haihh…Therefore Alex and I decided not to watch movie, instead we had a so-called food marathon. But only began from lunch. 😀

I brought along my copy of Worthy Book and decided to utilize it.

1) Café Takahashi, Tokyo Street Pavilion KL

Café Takahashi is a Japanese ala Italian restaurant.

(From Worthy Book-page 76)

Enjoy a Birthday treat. 30% off Total Bill. (7 days before and after birthday)

Mango Soda – RM7.90

Ordinary soda drink with mango flavor puree.

Apple Mojito – RM9.90

The Mojito is not as good as the one I had from Bumbu Bali.

Kimuchi Soup – RM7.90

Creamy Salmon Spinach Spaghetti – RM26.90

Not a memorable pasta I had. Unlike the one I had from The Vanilla Place.

‘Thin Crust’ BBQ Smoked Duck Pizza – RM26.90

I reckon the slices of smoked duck was good. Nothing more. The thin crust not as good as the one I had from WATAMI Japanese Casual Restaurant.

Overall Rating : 5/10

Cafe Takahashi
Level 6, Tokyo Street
No 6.24.1B Pavilion KL Shopping Mall,
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 2163 6454
Fax: 03 2143 9454
(Halal)

2) Hui Lau Shan, Pavilion KL

I reserved some space for my after meal dessert. I heard many people commenting about Hui Lau Shan when it first opened at 1 Utama. HLS is Hong Kong’s popular dessert chain. HLS Pavilion is their 4th outlet in Malaysia.

Too bad that I’ve not tried the original ones in Hong Kong. Therefore I can’t make the comparison.

Good lighting. Perfect for photographs. Ya…I am a dreamer! kekeke…

Talk to the food first…. ^_^

Mango Feast – RM12.90

ideal for 2 eaters and mango fans.

(From Left): Vanilla ice cream bar with mango cubes coated on biscuit crumbs, Mango ice cream and mango cubes on coconut flavor jelly strips (like chee cheong fun), Mango Cubes and glutinous rice balls in mango puree .

Overall Rating : 8/10

Hui Lau Shan
Lot 6.43.00, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur,
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
(Halal)

3) Gelatomio Lounge

(From Worthy Book-page 44)

Purchase 1 Regular Cup, Free 1 scoop.

Gelatomio is located in front of FOREVER 21

I got 3+1 scoops of creamy and dense gelato for RM10.90.

If you can’t take milk, they have soy based ice cream too.

Gelatomio Lounge
Lot No. : P4.17.00, Level 4
Website : www.gelatomio.com
(Halal)

4) Lot 10 Hutong

I’ve blogged about Lot 10 Hutong sometime ago. I thought it would be a great place for dinner with good choices of food from varies states. Especially the Hokkien mee from Petaling Street. I don’t need to go all the way to Petaling Street to eat that. I can get it here. Though the price is slightly higher..but I can eat comfortably arr…

(Petaling Street Kim Liam Kee) Hokkien Mee – RM8.90

Glossy and cukup hitam is my choice of hokkien mee. And of course with the sufficient ‘wok hei’.

Penang Char Kuey Teow with Duck Egg (Ho Weng Kee) – RM9.80

A plate of char kuey teow consist of Chinese sausages, plump juicy cockles, fat bean sprout and 2 pcs of average size prawn.

Meat Ball Soup (Imbi Road Original Pork Noodle) – RM7.90

Overall Rating – 9/10

Lot 10 Hutong
Lower Ground Floor, Lot 10, Jalan Bukit Bintang, 
Kuala Lumpur

(Non-Halal)

5) Snowflake

To call off a day, we went to Snowflake, Taiwanese dessert. Its one of my favorite pick here.

Snowflake Bestseller – RM6.90

Grass jelly shaved ice topped with Taro balls and a layer of grass jelly.

Snowflake
Level 4, Pavilion KL (outside Padini Concept Store)
(Halal)

My Big 3……

Yesterday was my birthday. I’ve just step into the age 30s! Wow…I couldn’t believe it lor…The Big 3! HB said…3 jiong yeh* mou dak chau. (if you could understand canto).

No grand parties…No grand celebration..But celebrated it with family and also HB, that’s more than enough.

These cakes are from ‘Just Heavenly’. I got to know about their cakes through Cherry@Monkey and Baby Sumo.  They mentioned that their cakes are good. I told HB much earlier that I wanted these cakes for my birthday. I did not choose whole cake because I wanted to try more flavors. Too bad the ‘red velvet’ was all sold out.

(From left to right) :- Death by Choc, Black Forest, Choc & Cheese.

All of them tasted so goooood….Fine, light and moist. Moreover its not too sweet. Ya..you do notice or curious why are all chocolate? Reason is that, I am a chocolate lover. I was seriously drown with ‘Death by Choc’!

When I was in mid 20s….so young! & oso slim….

Now…in early 30s! Older and fatter T_T

sequel of me blowing candle! ^_^

HB and I….

Happy Birthday to me. If you ask me did I had a good one. Yes..I did!

HB got me my favorite hello kitty character birthday card with an ugly but lovely sketch and also a smart phone. He knew I wanted a phone for quite sometime. He surprised me with it. I cried seeing the content. Oppss..*paiseh. Too happy and unexpected ma… =p

Lazy People Made Lazy Jelly

20120819-221425.jpg

Today is one HOT day. So I decided to go to shopping mall for lunch together with mummy. At the same time can enjoy some free aircond. Before we went home, we decided to drop by the supermarket. I remembered I still have some leftover canned fruits in the refrigerator. Therefore I decided to buy a packet of ready mix Konnyaku Jelly. I can make them as an after meal dessert tonight.

20120819-222102.jpg
A packet of ready mix Konnyaku jelly for RM4.50. And my leftover canned fruits.

Why do I name my post as Lazy People Made Lazy Jelly? Because the steps are very easy….ngam for lazy people like me. Kekeke……

20120819-222729.jpg
Look….aren’t they easy? Everything is complete in that mixture. All you need to do is just boil and stir it. Simple as ABC 😁

20120819-223023.jpg
I saw this edible coloring BLUE in the kitchen, is pretty interesting. So I decided to use it. Simply put a drop or 2 is sufficient!

20120819-223338.jpg
Pour the cooked jelly liquid into Konnyaku Jelly moulds just like above. Let it cool down before you chill it in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

20120819-223556.jpg
Ta Daahhhh….the outcome of my “Lazy People Made Lazy Jelly”. Preparation time was less than 30minutes ☺

Lunch @ Pasta Zanmai, Midvalley Megamall

Last month we had a complete 5 jimui gathering. Myself, Ashley, Wanyi, Nic & Vivi. Nic suggested Pasta Zanmai which is located at 1st floor of Midvalley Megamall. Pasta Zanmai is the sister of Sushi Zanmai. It was my first time dining here, same goes to most of them. Therefore we went ahead with the plan. The name comes with the word ‘pasta’, true enough the menu mostly consist of pastas!

It was 12pm and its already lunch time. I see the restaurant is quite full. But no problem in getting a table for 5 of us.

These chopsticks come in a handy way. Since its a wooden chopstick, I assume it will be thrown after usage. ^^

After reading the menu and place our orders, then we would like to order Green Tea for our drink. *sweat* Didn’t know order green tea also can be so much of hassle. Here’s the conversation….

We : Would like to order a jug of green tea with 5 empty glass pls. Bcos there are 5 of us.

Waitress A : Sorry, we can only give 3 glasses for a jug of green tea. But the green tea is refillable.

We : But there are 5 of us! So, if a jug is for 3 person, how about we order a jug of green tea and another additional 2 cups of green tea?

Waitress A : Sorry, we don’t serve green tea in cup.

We : *started to get benggang already* Fine! Then just 1 jug of green tea.

Then we asked from another waiter who brought us the jug of tea, whether can he bring us another 2 empty cups. He then answered “I can’t do that. But I can bring 2 cups of plain water for you”. Well….at least he gave us a better option! Thank you.

Agedashi Tofu (sorry, forgot the price). Tofu was smooth but the gravy was quite salty!

The beautiful runny egg + teriyaki chicken + rice, stir well…it result was quite good.

The food above comes in a set of 2 items (serving size – average). There are several sets for you to choose. We chose 3 different sets to be shared among us. So sorry that I’ve forgotten the names. And I forgotten to keep the receipt. (Duno busy doing what oso @_@). But I do remember each set are price at RM25. The overall taste was not too bad la…but I minus marks due to the inconsistency spaghetti. Not well cooked. Some were still hard! Their pizza is the only thing I like. Thin and crispy crust. 😉

Time to feast! :-p

From left; Wanyi , Ashley , Vivi , Nic and Myself.

 
 
PASTA ZANMAI (Mid Valley Megamall)
(near Toys R Us)
Lot F-051, First Floor,
Mid Valley Megamall,
Mid Valley City,
Lingkaran Syed Putra,
59200 KL.

TEL : 03 – 2283 2160
FAX : 03 – 2282 6448

Website
 
 

Vivi and Nic left earlier. Ashley, Wanyi and I felt thirsty later. So, we thought why not drop by Snowflake for a bowl of dessert and a drink. *As usual…the place was crowded! Need to grab a seat 😦

We tried Ocha’Ryo (RM7.90), new in their menu. The shaved ice (bottom) is made of green tea. It was quite smooth, feels as though I was having green tea ice cream. Topped with red beans, baby pearls and black sesame balls.

I also ordered a cup of Lime Jade Jelly Green Tea (RM5.50) for myself.

*why my face looks so tired here huh??*

Yeah…TGIF and long weekend! A toast to everyone! 😉

Off Topic: Understand that its going to be a long Raya break for most of the Malaysians…wish everyone Happy Holidays and Selamat Hari Raya. These few days while driving to and from work, I noticed there’s many road accidents on highway. Please remember to drive safely on road.

Dinner @ South Sea Seafood Restaurant ,Kampung Baru Subang

On one fine Sunday, Alex and I decided to make arrangements with Alan and Yau for dinner. So I told Alex to discuss with Alan on the venue. My goodness…this 2 guys can really drag! So ‘po mah’… For 1 whole afternoon, still not decided yet. *pengsan*

Luckily Yau gave a suggestion and there goes our yummy seafood dinner at South Sea Seafood Restaurant ,Kampung Baru Subang. However she did warn us that its a lil pricey to dine here. No doubt the food is good la…

South Sea Seafood Restaurant is located near the Subang airport (can watch aeroplane while eating crabs). Moreover the food here is Halal. It would be good for the Muslim diners to enjoy nice Chinese Seafood with the Halal sign ya.

South Sea Seafood Restaurant started its business since year 1989 with just a simple building. Besides that, we did not face any parking problem here. There’s an open air car park space just across the rood, opposite of South Sea. Parking is free.

It was quite crowded. But we still manage to get a table for 4. The environment here is not bad. And its clean too!

Yeahhh…a trip to Aquaria!! hehehe….You can see there are many fresh seafood in those tanks.

Types of crabs and lobsters.

Anybody fancy the Geoduck? But they are quite expensive T_T

These Razor Clams are so fat!! Well…I think I still prefer the moderate size.

So, this is the famous ‘Empurau’ – RM70/kg! Have you tried it? How it taste like? Is it really nice?

Alan recommended this Barbecue Squid – RM18.00. Crunchy and tasty squid. Love the tentacles.

I then ordered a ‘Xiong Tong Lala’ – RM28. The lala is not big. But they are plump and juicy. Nevertheless I love the soup very much. Finished till the last drop. haha…The soup was flavorful and abit spicy (red cili padi and ginger).

Garlic & Pepper Mantis Prawn – RM28

Crispy batter mantis prawn flesh.

A vege dish to balance our diet. We chose Yin Yong Kailan – RM16. The leaves were deep fried till crisp. While the stem were stir fry.

Presenting you, star of the night! Deng Deng Deng Deng…….. Butter Crab – RM47/ piece. The gravy is best to consume when it hot. Woot Woot. This plate of crab was finger licking good!! The not too big crab was fresh and the flesh is sweet and firm.

I like eating crabs. Any cooking style will be fine for me. Guess as long as the crabs are fresh..no matter how you cook them it definitely taste good too. I usually eat the ‘kaki’ first then only I’ll go for the claw. Save the best to the last ma….

These fried buns are ideal for dipping into the crab’s gravy. 6 piece of bun is price at RM4.20.

We enjoyed our dinner here. Thank Yau for recommending this place. Would love to return for more food! 🙂

South Sea Seafood Restaurant
No 229, Jalan 2A,
Kampung Baru Subang,
40000 Subang, Selangor

GPS: 3.140688,101.54691
Tel: 03-7846 1401
WEBSITE

Yummy Spaghetti @ The Vanilla Place, Empire Shopping Gallery

Spaghetti / Sandwich + Ice Cream + Drinks at The Vanilla Place, Empire Shopping Gallery for 2 (RM29)

Yea..I redeemed another deal from Groupon.

I almost forgot that I have not redeem this coupon, which was about to expire. hehe….Therefore, I was kinda last minute lor. It was so difficult for me to make a reservation even it is for just 2 person. (weekday also full, dinner also full, lunch full jugak..) Finally manage to get a vacant slot for us on the last day of redemption. *Phew…

photo by The Vanilla Place

This is the section for Groupon users. I sat where you can see the guy in red is. (I can peek at what’s cooking at the stove which is just next to me). I saw their spaghetti comes in individual packs. ^^

We were able to choose either sandwich or spaghetti. So, Alex and I chose spaghetti. The menu is quite simple. But the choice of spaghetti is quite many too.

Alex chose Spaghetti Carbonara. Nicely cooked spaghetti with creamy sauce topped with slices of mushrooms and turkey.

I chose Spaghetti Seafood Pesto. I have no complain on my spaghetti. Love the flavorful sauce that they use to cook it. Moreover the seafood is quite fresh too! Yuummmm….(highly recommended!)

For drinks, we were served wit Ice Lemon Tea. Then after meal, each of us got a scope of vanilla ice cream. My friend said  their salad is good. But I hardly order salad outside ^_^

Anyway there’s still some unfilled space in my stomach that I wish to eat cake. 😀

Then, I head over to Whisk. Whisk is popular for its coffee and also cakes.

Photo by Whisk

A Classic Look  cafe!

It was at night, so I dare not try coffee. Because if I would to take coffee at night..then for sure I will stay up and wide awake like ‘owl’!  hahaha….

Though there wasn’t much choice of cakes left…but I would love to try their Red Velvet cake.

Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting for RM11.90/ slice. The cake texture is quite moist with a lil crumbles. But its okay..no problem. Not over-sweetened but I would prefer if it has thicker layer of  cream cheese frosting.  (Rating 7/10)

The Vanilla Place
FK01, 1st Floor, Empire Shopping Gallery,
Selangor, Malaysia
603-50222198
 
—————————————————————————————————
 
Whisk Espresso Bar & Bake Shop
Empire Shopping Gallery Subang
LG 03A (near Jaya Grocer)

Lunch @ Coffee Chemistry Signature, First Subang Mall

2-Course Western Meal: Grilled Salmon Steak, Classic Roasted Lamb Shoulder, OR More + Dessert at Coffee Chemistry Signature, First Subang Mall for 2 (RM39).

Managed to grab this deal from Groupon.

Alex and I decided to redeem the coupon to settle our lunch.

Coffee Chemistry Signature is available at First Subang Mall since January 2011. If I’m not mistaken, before this..they were located at Sunway Giza.

Since their name come with the word ‘Coffee’, so I assume they served good quality coffee. And I also read several positive reviews about their coffee.

This deal does not come with drinks. Therefore we browse through the menu serving varieties of fusion food and drinks, we ordered a drink for ourselves.

At the entrance of Coffee Chemistry Signature.

Its quite obvious as you come up from the escalator. Its on your right hand side.

Counter where barristers prepares the drinks.

I noticed that their ceiling is quite nice, with decorative lights.

♥ with love

Alex ordered Ice Lemon Tea. The ice lemon tea that I usually order has strong tea taste but lack of lemon taste. Eventually, over here its the other way round. Not much of tea taste, but strong flavors of lemon. Which I think its not bad also la…

I ordered a cuppa Cafe’ Mocha – RM8.50 for myself. Rich and aromatic drink with nice coffee art.

Happily admiring my drink. But feel so ‘sayang’ to damage the art…. @_@

For the main course, there were total of 5 choices applicable for Groupon user.

I chose Grilled Salmon Steak, served with mashed potato and vegetables. The yellow gravy that you saw on plate is not oil but its maltaise sauce. Good match with the salmon. Unfortunately I felt that my salmon is slightly overcooked. But I do like their mashed potato. Very smooth and buttery.

Alex chose Grilled Chicken Chop served with homemade mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes and vegetables. I like the mushroom sauce but not the chicken. I find it slightly overcooked as well. Because the meat is abit dry.

For dessert, it comes with Brownie in ice cream. The brownie is warm and moist. It tasted great together with vanilla ice cream.

And Affogato. Espresso topped with vanilla ice cream. This is absolutely good for coffee lovers. Rich flavors which gives you the ‘umhhppp’!!

Verdict : I would love to return for their coffee! ^_^

Coffee Chemistry Signature
First Subang Mall, 
Jalan SS15/4G,
47500 Subang Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel No: +603-5612 2299 / +6012-667 7512
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday (10am – 11pm)
GPS Coordinates: 3.077759, 101.586562

Dinner @ Rakuzen Japanese Restaurant, Empire Shopping Gallery

Last month, during our Anniversary, Alex and I decided to have some Japanese food as a simple dinner celebration. We chose Rakuzen because my 1st experience at Rakuzen, GTower was good. Unfortunately the other day, Ashley was telling me her recent visits to Rakuzen, GTower, the food were lousy. Food arrived cold and service was poor. *Sigh* Why can’t something good maintain its quality and whatsoever?

There are total of 7 Rakuzen outlets over Klang Valley.

This time we went to the Rakuzen located at Empire Shopping Gallery. We were there at around 8+pm. To my surprise the place is already quite crowded. I never expect it could be so many people even on weekdays.  We did not make any reservation, therefore no nice feng sui seats T_T

How can Japanese food go without wasabi??

Ebi Tempura – RM26

Crispy battered tempura prawn. Prawns were fresh and crunchy.

Uhhh…my favorite dish of all!! Plate of fresh sashimi at RM60

Couldn’t find any fault on this plate of Stamina Maki – RM38. Sushi roll with thick slices of tasty unagi.

Wanna share some sushi? 😀

Collagen Nabe (S) – RM30

Hot pot using miso soup base. Fresh ingredients are vegetables, enoki mushroom, tofu, udon and oysters. The oysters were good and soup was tasty as well.

Alex is quite a rice person. So we ordered a bowl of Garlic Rice – RM9. This garlic rice is quite normal.

Alex said Shishamo at Rakuzen is good. So we ordered a plate of Shishamo which comes in 3pcs for RM10.

I then conclude my meal with a cuppa Yuzu Sherbet – RM6. The icy cold dessert is refreshing to have after meal. Moreover yuzu is citrus..it helps to digest my food so that I can eat another round ^_^

RAKUZEN JAPANESE RESTAURANT @ EMPIRE SHOPPING GALLERY
Lot UG 17, Upper Ground Floor,

Empire Shopping Gallery,
Jln SS16/1,
47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor.

TEL : 03 5635 0100 / 012 460 2320
FAX : 03 5635 8840
EMAIL : feedback@superdining.com.my

BUSINESS HOURS
Daily 12.00pm – 3.00 & 6.00pm – 11.00pm

WEBSITE

KFC Flaming Crunch….Not bad at all wor…

CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH….

Its crispier…and its crunchier compared to the usual Hot & Spicy.

Have you tried the new recipe from KFC called Flaming Crunch?

Ever since the “Kung Fu Chicken” incident…many people started to boikot KFC. But I didn’t bother…erm..I think I did boikot for 1 month. hehe..

Hence, I only choose selective KFC. Because not every KFC serve the same quality of chicken. Some outlet serves lousy chicken. What I meant by lousy is tough chicken (as though its re-fried), bad service (as in super slow) – fast food became slow food!

I made my first try when it was newly launched. Coated with crunchy cornflakes, Flaming Crunch is crunchier and spicier. SEDAP!!

Some people may find it addictive too…..hehe…

I like the way my friend, Andy commented on his KFC lunch. “Finger licking good and ‘healthy’ coz chicken is coated with cornflakes”. hahaha…

Then yesterday Wan Yi and Yew Kong bought KFC over to my house for a feast. They bought the KFC Limited Edition The Amazing Spider-Man Bucket Combo. Which consists of 9 pcs chicken, 1 Large Coleslaw, 1 Large Whipped Potato, 1 Regular Cheezy Wedges, 1 Twister Burst (1.5L) and 2 sets of TGV discount voucher (RM4x2 off movie voucher) for RM50.10.

Now, the Spider-Man plastic bucket is laying in my kitchen. What should I fill the bucket le? ^_^

Next, we complete our dinner with ice cream!

I bought a cheap ice cream from Tesco under the brand of First Choice. A tub of 1.7L ice cream for just RM7.90, I never expect that its quite good. I bought the Mango + Vanilla flavor (which I find it special, because I love Mango). The ice cream texture is quite smooth and fine..and it doesn’t melt so quick like Walls or Nestle. Conclusion…cheap thing can be good too, rite? ^^

to live to love to learn