Dine With Coupon, Food, Friends, Hotels, Japanese, Kuala Lumpur

Lunch @ Tenjin Japanese Cuisine, Grand Millennium KL

October 24, 2011 thammelissa 12 Comments

Each day I received daily feeds from Everyday, Groupon and much more, sent to our mailbox offering discounts and great deals. I am so spoiled with choices. Especially on food. Nevertheless, to ensure I’m picking on the right choice, I must think wisely before I click on the ‘BUY’ tab. I wouldn’t say every voucher I purchased, guarantees me a good meal too…

This round, together with my girlfriends, Ashley & Wanyi, we decided to buy this deal offered by Groupon. A 4-course Japanese Bento Set Lunch + Free-flow of Green Tea at Tenjin Japanese Cuisine, Grand Millennium, Kuala Lumpur for RM29. Japanese food in a 5-star hotel? Sounds good rite? Therefore we made plans and redeemed our coupon last Saturday.

Ashley, redeeming her coupon for 2nd time for this round, gave a solid thumb up to the Japanese food.

There were 5 choices of bento for us to choose.

Chirashi Sushi Zen (RM56 value)
Assorted Seafood on Sushi Rice
Gindara Teriyaki Zen (RM58 value)
Grilled Cod Fish with Teriyaki Sauce
Sushi & Tempura Zen (RM52 value)
Assorted Sushi and Tempura Set
Sashimi & Tori Teriyaki Zen (RM48 value)
Sashimi & Grilled Chicken with Teriyaki Sauce
Makunouchi Bento (RM48 value)
Sashimi, Yakimono, Tempura

Tenjin Japanese Cuisine recently opened in Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur on Jun 3, 2011.

A medium size restaurant serving authentic Japanese cuisine.

An open kitchen where we able to witness the skillful chefs at work.

This young chef has his 100% concentration on the radish. Hmm…he must be preparing our food.

Started off with Tuna Salad

Gindara Teriyaki Zen
Grilled Cod Fish with Teriyaki Sauce

Check out this beautiful piece of grilled cod fish. This piece of cod fish is generally thick and its perfectly grilled. Tasty with some light and sweet teriyaki sauce.

Sashimi & Tori Teriyaki Zen
Sashimi & Grilled Chicken with Teriyaki Sauce

A closer look of the thick slices Sashimi and Grilled Chicken Teriyaki Sauce. I must say that the sashimi is very fresh, I couldn’t complain more. While for the grilled chicken I felt its abit bland to me.

Makunouchi Bento
Sashimi, Yakimono, Tempura

The nicely grilled fish has crisp skin while meat is tender and juicy. While for tempura, what else can you critic when its nicely battered and crispy.

Green Tea Ice Cream as dessert was refreshing. Hmm…this could be the best green tea ice cream I ever had. Its creamy while the taste of green tea wasn’t too strong. I like it this way.

Well, I guessed we’ve made a right choice! Though it was a discounted deal, I would say the service was good. Refilling your cup of green tea without a constant reminder and a phone call reminder to the guest 2 days before the reservation date.

Tenjin Japanese Cuisine

Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur, 160 Jalan Bukit Bintang,
Kuala Lumpur 55100

Tel : 03-2143 9399

Business Hours: Lunch 1130am – 300pm / Dinner 600pm – 1030pm

**PORK FREE**

Friends, Weddings

The Chinese Wedding – Guan Han & Sok Kuan

October 21, 2011 thammelissa 9 Comments

On a dewy morning, we were all forced to wake up before the sun appears. Ooppss…did I say force?? Hehe….Everyone of us got ready by 7am to reach Han’s house as early as we could. Han (the groom), marked 25th September 2011 as an important and memorable date – THE WEDDING DAY!

The well decorated bridal car together with a pair of wedding bear.

The ‘seluar pendek’ gang/heng tai/brothers are all ready to fetch the bride.

We were so punctual. Somehow, nobody dare to enter…. afraid? shy?…..

“Han : Guys…you all can go in oledi wan….” Despite been ‘ordered’ by the groom, yet no one bothers…hahaha….

Minutes later………

The girls (bride’s friends) were all ‘waiting’ at the front door. Prepared with all the tasks/’game’ for groom & his fellow heng tais. Those days, groom brings gifts of cash, wrapped in red packet, to give to his bride’s friends, in exchange for ‘letting her go’. These days, its getting tougher. The groom and his heng tais gotto complete all ‘wedding door games’ planned by the bride’s friend in order to get the green light to fetch the bride – so that the groom will appreciate the bride wor…..

Haha…looks like the guys were having big headache.

Jimmy, the best man was busy instructing the rest.

Started with the 1st task.

Hmm….1st task has to do with egg.

What are they doing?? They were told to get a partner, then roll the egg under the pant and you are not suppose to break the egg.

Hmm…looks like they were enjoying it…not torturing rite? =p

continued with 2nd task before these guys are allowed to enter the “1st door”.

Earlier we got egg…and now with bananas….a mini one..Wahahah…still ok la…not too disgusting

They were told to work in pair. Peel and eat your partner’s banana using mouth!

After some questionnaire and singing session…Han finally fetched his beautiful bride, Sok Kuan.

In Chinese wedding, tea set is a meaningful keepsake of the wedding. The bride will use it again when her own daughter gets married in the future. (Not many people will actually keep it for the next generation).

Lotus seeds and two red dates are used in the tea for two reasons. First, the words “lotus” and “year,” “seed” and “child,” and “date” and “early,” are homophones, i.e. they have the same sound but different meanings in Chinese. Secondly, the ancient Chinese believed that putting these items in the tea would help the newlyweds produce children early in their marriage and every year, which would ensure many grandchildren for their parents. Also, the sweetness of the special tea is a wish for sweet relations between the bride and her new family.

Its a tradition that bride & groom serves tea to their beloved parents. In order to show their respect.

The people being served will sit in chairs, while the bride and groom kneel. For example, when the newlyweds serve tea to the groom’s parents, the bride would kneel in front of her father-in-law, while the groom would kneels in front of his mother.

The newlyweds serve tea in order, starting with the groom’s parents then proceeding from the oldest family members to the youngest, e.g. the groom’s parents, then his paternal grandparents, then his maternal grandparents, then his oldest uncles and aunts, and all the way to his older brother.

In return, the newlyweds receive lucky red envelopes (“lai see,” which means “lucky”) stuffed with money or jewelry.

The younger ones get to serve tea to both bride & groom. In return, she will receive a red packet.

Fed each other with ‘tong yuen’. Eating ‘tong yuen’ during wedding meant to signify the start of a new wholesome, complete family.

A group photo with the heng tais…

Not forgetting myself too ^^

Bride leaving to groom’s house…shed with a red umbrella. Why uses a red umbrella? red umbrella over her head, meaning “raise the bark, spread the leaves.” While Other relatives will scatter rice, red bean and green bean on her. The red umbrella protects the bride from evil spirit, and the rice and beans are to attract the attention of the gold chicken.

A beautiful smile from the bride.

Off to Wedding Banquet……..

The beautifully decorated hall…

The joyous moment of a wedding couple is walking down the aisle.

Lets yum seng!!! A toast to the newly wed. Wish them a blissful marriage.

The common food served in a Chinese Wedding banquet, usually up to 8 or 9 dishes in total. Every dish has a good meaning. But for one thing, I noticed that wedding lunch/dinner in Batu Pahat, they don’t serve rice. Besides that, I was surprised that this is the first wedding lunch I had which do not serve ‘shark fins‘. Guess many restaurants are now trying to cut down the intake of shark fin, which I think its a good thing. Right?? 😉

Once again, CONGRATULATIONS to Guan Han & Sok Kuan. CHEERS!!!!!!!!!

Food, Muar

Detour to Muar Town

October 17, 2011 thammelissa 2 Comments

We were on our way to Batu Pahat to attend Guan Han & Sook Kuan’s wedding which falls on the following day. While making our road journey to Batu Pahat, we decided to make a detour to Muar town. A distance of about 50km from Batu Pahat. So, to Muar for what?? When someone mentioned about Muar, one will quickly relate it to ‘Muar Otak-Otak’. That’s why want to go try lor…. Since it was a last minute thingy, therefore wasn’t any homework done before hand. We went round round, merry go round in Eric’s proud Perodua Myvi, hunting for Otak-Otak. More like driving aimlessly.

Enough of merry go round. We decided to get our car parked and walk!

The ‘heart’ of Muar Town. The Clock Tower cum huge roundabout.

We parked our car near the clock tower. Then we walked across 2 streets and reached a busy street. Walked further…… I happily telling Alex & Eric; “Wey….there got many food leh”!! Am so delighted…it was like a hidden gem to us.

Jalan Haji Abu Hawker Centre.

Apparently this is a famous street in Muar. (wow…glad we found it). “Jalan Haji Abu”, known as “T’am Cjia Kueh” 贪呷街 in Hokkien [which literally means “the gluttoning eating street”

Beautiful & Colorful heritage building. Well preserved.

Was built since 1952?? Wow…before Merdeka and its now 59 years old.

It was a sunny day. The weather was extremely hot too. Therefore the guys decided to have ‘liong cha’ (cooling drinks).

Apparently ‘liong cha’ uncle said, this stall selling nice otak otak. (a stall just next to a stall selling ‘lo han kuo’ drinks). Uhhh…uncle has saved us!

**worry not, this street do sells frozen otak-otak. You can get a pack home and heat it up yourself. Either steam or bake it. So convenient rite? And also nice to give as souvenir** ^^

The otak otak is grill upon order. So, we decided to try the fish & prawn otak-otak. Otak-otak is made by mixing fish paste (usually mackerel) with a mixture of spices including chillies, garlic, shallots, turmeric, lemon grass and coconut milk. The mixture is then wrapped in a banana leaf that has been softened by steaming, then grilled or steamed. While fish otak-otak is most common, otak-otak is also commonly made with prawns, often resulting in a more textured variety.

pan-fried kuih… top 2 are nice..but bottom 2 are not nice….

Yeah…our tea break!

Check out the color of otak-otak that we’ve bought. Glossy orange, rich fish flavor. Texture wasn’t too mushy. Not overdone or dry either. I preferred fish over prawn.

Thumbs up from Alex, while Eric was too busy handling the otak-otak. Hehe…

A teaser photo of me having otak-otak. Sorry it may look gross…..

‘Pisang Goreng’ & ‘Ubi Kayu Goreng’ were so good. Till Alex misses it so much.

A glass of icy cold ‘calamansi juice’ was perfect under the hot & sunny noon. Very refreshing and gives you the boost! Because its quite sour! Haha…

“Õ chien” (Fried Oyster Omelette) 蚝煎 – quite bland…not nice

Fried Carrot Cake – not enough of seasonings…not nice oso

Pork Satay

Intestine Satay & Cockle Satay, which I find it quite special.

Okie…upload a ‘yeng cai’ photo of Alex to end this post. Ahem ahem…..

Life

Can Ice Cream Make You Feel Happy?

October 12, 2011 thammelissa 15 Comments

As usual, my weekday’s morning routine would be a cup of coffee and a copy of The Star newspaper before I leave home. I must admit that most of the time I’m reading on headlines rather than content. To be precise, I’m sort of ‘laser-ing the newspaper’. If the headline is interesting, I’ll continue to read on the content. Else….skip skip…(bad habit) Ya…but that enables me to save time and get a quick news. Am I right? *raise eye brow*

Every Wednesday, there’s a page on StarMetro, story written by Xandria Ooi (TV Host, Writer & also a Producer). I must say her articles kinda attracts me to read from beginning to end. Most of the time, her article is interesting and quite true. Today’s article was about “The secret to happiness-It cannot be derived from pleasures alone”.

Well; I’m not going to elaborate the whole story here. You gotto read it yourself. She said; “One of my favourite things in the world is ice-cream, and I’ve always said that ice-cream makes me extremely happy.” which I couldn’t deny. Ice cream is one of the dessert that makes me feel happy and stress free. Do you agree? Somehow because of the ‘fat factors’, it made me hold back many times. Like what was said by Xandria too…. “I would feel very good as I consume a pint of ice-cream, but after the pint is gone, I would feel guilty. What’s worse, I would feel fat.”

—But I still pamper myself once in awhile la…..

Why ice cream can make you feel happy? Unilever scientists says “Ice cream has an immediate effect on parts of the brain that previous research shows responds to pleasurable tastes, including the orbitofrontal cortex (the ‘processing’ area of the brain)

MAGNUM’s Chocolate Truffle is so heaven!

Pappa Premium Ice Cream – from Papparich

This classic sundaes from famous fast food chain which never fail to tempt you.

Delicious and creamy ice cream from New Zealand Natural

The ‘teppanyaki’ style ice cream from The Cream & Fudge Factory…share the happiness among your girlfriends.

The superb ice cream from ColdStone. Which made me fall in love!

OK…these photos brightened up my day! WEEEeeeeeee….. 😉

Food

Mini Crab Fork

October 10, 2011 thammelissa 7 Comments

Mini Crab Fork….

What is that? Its a lil small utensil that you use when you are having a crab feast.

How it works? This mini crab fork is pretty interesting and handy. The size is specially designed for extracting flesh from a crab or lobster .

Where to buy? You can get a pair(2x) of this mini crab for RM5 at DAISO

With this crab fork, it will be easier to extract the flesh especially on edges of the claw. (which hardly reach by fingers)

there you go…the tough part.. narrow edge.

A short, sharp and narrow two-pronged fork designed to easily extract meat when consuming cooked crab.

Life, Memories

Everybody Talking About “Steve Jobs”

October 6, 2011 thammelissa Leave a comment

The moment I log in to my Yahoo page, the front news was about ‘Death of Steve Jobs’. Then I log in to my Facebook page, and again everyone was sharing about the news of ‘Steve Job – The APPLE Founder is dead’. iPhone 4s was announced yesterday, (people were criticizing about the not so outstand features) and today people are hearing the bad news about Steve. Guess, its a shocking news to everyone.

Therefore, I also want to kepoh and blog about the news while showing my greatest gratitude towards ‘Steve Job – The APPLE Founder’!! Whom has great passion and inspiration. Though I do not own any of your i fons or whatever Macs or Pods, but I did go crazy about your iPad2 and proudly owning 1 since the 1st day it was launched in Malaysia. (count me in as 1 of your fans too)

R.I.P. Mr. Steve. *sobs*

The important man behind the successful APPLE. Successfully made everyone chasing the numbers. (from 1, 2, …. and 3, 4, and hopefully there is 5)

Thank you so much for your contribution.

Memories, Photography

The Charms of Tokyo Street Photography Exhibition

October 4, 2011 thammelissa 16 Comments

Just about 2 months ago, during the opening of Tokyo Street, Pavilion, I spared a day to visit Despite the crowd, I managed to take several shots on the environment and facade. (TOKYO STREET IN KL)

I came home, only realized there’s this photo contest, The Click Shop x Tokyo Street Photo Contest! held in Tokyo Street. I grabbed chance while trying my luck as well. Therefore I return to Pavilion on another weekend to submit my entry.

Then, a week ago Tracy rang me up asking me about this photo she saw at Pavilion. Apparently she spotted my name printed on 1 of the photo published for ‘The Charms of Tokyo Street Photography Exhibition’. I was quite surprised! I thought am in the winning to own a Diana F+. Unfortunately NO…. a mixed feeling, between upset and also overjoyed. A friend of mine said, ” its strange they didn’t even notify you that they’re publishing yr pic.” Hmmm….quite true also. May be I’ve missed some tiny words upon filling up my particulars, that the photos will be use for XX & XX purpose?? But at least a notification would be better hor?? If not because it was spotted by Tracy, guess….I wouldn’t know anything about it.

Alex, busy admiring all the photos.

Photos of Top 3 Winners. CONGRATS to them.

Able to spot mine??

*Jeng Jeng Jeng* am honored that 1 of my photo was chosen for the exhibition with the title “Sakura Beauty”. As beauty as me?? Wuek wuek wuek wuek…

Well…its ok. I’m still feeling proud of myself too….Am loving my workpiece!!

Mummy's Cooking

Mummy Cooked ‘Mee Rebus’

September 30, 2011 thammelissa 6 Comments

During Ramadhan month, we’ve tried Mee Rebus from several stalls. Mee rebus is one of the popular noodles dishes in Malaysia. This mee rebus recipe womes with yellow egg noodles in a rich sweet spicy potato-based gravy and sometimes prawn fritters. Knowing that the preparation time is rather long, Mummy still go ahead with the idea to try and cook from scratch. (She extract the recipe from Her World Cookbook)

1kg yellow noodles, scalded (or 1 pkt spaghetti cooked according to instruction)
300g bean sprout, cleaned & trimmed
6pcs soft beancurd, deep fried & sliced
8 hard boiled eggs, halved

Garnishing

1 cup crispy fried shallot
1 cup daun sup, finely chopped
1 cup daun bawang, finely chopped
1 cup calamansi (local lime) – halved

Gravy

2 kg chicken ribs
8 cups of water for stock
1/2 cup cooking Oil
8 shallots, 4 cloves garlic – pounded
4 tbsp chili boh & 2sq. inches belacan, roasted(mix together both)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. assam jawa or tamarind paste mixed with 1/2 cup water, seeds discarded
2 tsp. salt
8 tomato, cut into wedges
2 liter store-bought tomato juice
2 tsp salt
1/2 kg medium-sized fresh prawn, clean and shelled
4 potatoes – boiled, drained & mashed
2 sweet potato – boiled, drained & mashed

Method

In a pot, boil the chicken ribs in 8 cups water for at least 2-3 hours until the stock is reduced by half and the meat is soft. Remove the bones, trim off the fat from the meat and set aside the stock.
Heat oil & fry pounded ingredients till golden. Add cili boh mixture and tamarind paste, cook over medium heat till chili paste is cooked. Add 2 tsp. of salt then pour in chicken stock. Cover and allow to boil for 10 minutes.
Add tomato wedges and let it boil again for another 10 minutes. Next, pour tomato juice and 2 tsp. salt and stir gently, let gravy simmer for 5 minutes. Add in prawn.
Finally add in mashed potato and sweet potato to thicken the gravy. Let it simmer for 2 to 3 minutes then check the taste.

Ready to serve and eat

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 5 hours

Serves : 6-8

Food, Sarawak, Sarikei, Sarikei, Travel

Yummy Food I Had in Sarikei

September 20, 2011 thammelissa 10 Comments

Earlier I shared some photos on Sarikei, Sarawak. Now I would like to share some yummy food I had there. Never miss a chance to savor the local cuisine. Some West Malaysians may find that the food here do not suit their taste bud. But to me, I find it no problem at all. Hence I enjoyed tasting different types of food from different places. Apart from admiring scenery, best part about traveling is on FOOD!

Sarikei is popular for “Kam Pua noodles” (干拌面). There are 2 version. It can be either white or black. Black means addition of black soy sauce. The black version is commonly seen in Sarikei. You may say it looks like wantan mee. However the taste is different. Major ingredients are fried onions, shallots, lard, and red yeast wine that make it so unique. (Kampua from Full Tien Cafe, Jln Masjid Lama)

Kolok Mee; another noodle which I never fail to have one. Love visiting the same eatery for this kolok mee. You may be wondering what is the difference between the above 2 noodles. A blogger once explained to me that; “Kam pua noodles are also thicker and less curly than kolo mee. Kam pua’s ingredients are quite standard but kolo mee’s toppings varies from stall to stall.” (Kolok Mee from New Elfa, Bank Road)

Dabai Fruit, is a seasonal fruit. I’ve never seen it here in West Malaysia. The Sarawakian likes it very much. Unfortunately not really my liking.

Look here for more info:- DABAI FRUIT

Wild fern called “Midin” can easily get it here. It is grow wild in swamps or forests. Each bunch are price at from RM1-2. Its crunchy and best cooking method would be stir fry with belacan & dried shrimp or a simpler method with just chopped garlic and ginger with drench of red rice wine. I was told that it turn black pretty fast. Best consume on the same day after purchase. However I managed to bring a few bunch back here to KL.

Know more about Midin HERE

Stir Fried Midin with Red Rice Wine – my favorite!

“Bien Nuik”(扁肉): The local version of the “wan tan” or dumpling stuffed with minced meat. (from Chin San Cafe, Jalan Masjib Lama)

Fried Kuey Teow with Tomato. Similar to “Wat Tan Hor” but taste slightly different.

Mee Goreng with Beef (from Aik Seng Cafe, Wharf Road)

Pig’s Liver Soup. Best accompanied with a bowl of noodle. The pig’s liver were not overcooked. Therefore it has a nice texture. (from Full Tien Cafe, Jln Masjid Lama)

“Zhou Cai Hung Ngan” (糟菜粉干): Preserved mustard cooked with rice noodles soup.

Sarawak Laksa. Usually uses rice vermicelli noodle. It has a base of Sambal belacan, sour tamarind, garlic, galangal, lemon grass and coconut milk, topped with omelette strips, chicken strips, prawns, fresh coriander and local lime. Ingredients such as bean sprouts, (sliced) fried tofu or other seafood are sometimes added.(from Aik Seng Cafe, Wharf Road)

Sarawak Laksa (from another shop) – (near JPJ)

Roti Kahwin. A charcoal grilled bun sandwiched with creamy peanut butter, a slice of butter & spread of fragrant coconut jam(kaya). (from Aik Seng, Wharf Road)

Stir Fried Rice Cakes with minced pork and leek (from Lucky Restaurant, Jalan Nyelong, opposite Nyelong River market)

“Tian Miang Ngu”(鼎边糊): The rice slices soup, cooks cooked around the rim of the wok. Added with mu er (black fungus), minced pork balls and cuttlefish (octopus)slices. Best served with pepper, similar as Taiwan’s 鼎邊銼. The soup stock is made using pork bones and dried squid.(kinda look like min fun kou) – (near JPJ)

Prawn Mee (from Peking Restaurant, Jakar Town). Priced at RM20/bowl. A very expensive prawn mee. However it was very delicious. Using yellow egg noodle, with tasty and fres big head prawn makes a superb soup.

Famous Rojak from Bintangor.

Last but not least, Mother in Law’s yummy Red Rice Wine Mee Suah. Mee Suah or they called as longevity noodle(due to the long strand), commonly eaten here during auspicious day. Example; Chinese New Year, Wedding, Birthday. Its usually practiced by Hokkiens and Fuzhounese.

Photography, Sarawak, Sarikei

Back from Sarikei, Sarawak

September 19, 2011 thammelissa 14 Comments

I was away the past whole week. Together with Alex, we returned to Sarikei, Sarawak – Alex’s hometown. To reach Sarikei, we took 2 hours flight from KL and reaches Sibu Airport. From there, we traveled on road for 1 hour only to reach Sarikei town. I understand that many of you may not familiar with this place. Majority of the Chinese in Sarikei are Foochow dialect. If you ask me, can I speak Foochow language? Hmm…I would say a little. hehe….. It took me quite sometime to grasp part of it.

“Sarikei Division is one of the eleven administrative divisions in Sarawak, east Malaysia, located on the island of Borneo. Formerly part of the Third Division, which included Sibu and Kapit, Sarikei Division has a total area of 4,332.4 square kilometers, and is the second smallest of the administrative divisions of Sarawak.

Sarikei Division contains four administrative districts: Sarikei, Meradong, Julau and Pakan. The total population is 116,290. The population is ethnically mixed, with mostly Iban, Melanau, Malay and Chinese predominating.

The economy of the division is mostly agricultural. Sarikei Division produces more pepper than any other divisions in Sarawak. It is also famous for fruits, especially pineapples and oranges. The timber industry, as elsewhere in Sarawak, is also a major component of the local economy.“ (source from Wikipedia)

Would love to share some photos on landscape, buildings and people.

The first Pineapple Statue in Sarikei town located at Repok Road

Sarikei, better known as the Pineapple town that produces juicy and sweet pineapples.

Pepper plantation

Oranges

Traders selling local fruits along the road. It was season of Durian & Langsat.

An old couple selling Dabai Fruit

Bus Terminal at Bank Road

An old bicycle shop

An old hut located at former Nyelong River ferry jetty, operated for decades.

Sarikei Mosque located at Jalan Masjib Baru. Was told that it was completed since 1979.

St Anthony’s Church at Repok Road

Methodish Town Church at Repok Road

Majority of the resident here are Christians. Therefore you can see many churches.

The government quarters

Wooden Houses

Iban Longhouse at Sungei Minus, Jakar. The Ibans dwell in longhouses, stilted structures with a large number of rooms housing a whole community of families.