Saturday, June 7, 2008

My KB days: Kelantan (or more specifically, Tumpat), I’m back…

This time I was able to snap some pics of my visit to Tumpat. My relatives decided to go on a picnic and brought me along. On the way to Pantai Sri Tujuh, we dropped by Tumpat t get our supply of food and bait for fishing.

So this is the aunty that we always get our nasi berlauk and other rice from. She’s been here for quite some time already.


Kopes @ leftover parts of chicken (neck, liver, feet etc) to be served with rice. Pretty nice actually.



The usual scene in Tumpat market, upstairs, where folks tuck in for breakfast.
Same level, behind are the shops selling garments at unbelievably cheap prices which can still be bargained down.

Then we went down to look for my uncle. While waiting for him, the sweet smell of apam balik got better of me.
Always like this aunty’s one.

The usual scenery at downstairs of Tumpat market. Here you can find many local produces and products such as sos pencicah, keropok, budu, spices etc.




Beca! Nearly extinct. The one who man these are all into their old age.

Fav Sites: Local Recipe Sites


Suddenly... I realized that... I miss my mom's cooking...

Here I am... In Kubang Kerian... Without cinema... Nothing else to occupy my time aside from blogging, reading, living and sleeping... So i took to surfing up the sites I previously perused for recipes prior to exile, er, I mean, district posting (well, it does feel like one once in a while without all those entertainment and limited activities and no Internet. Sigh, I really am a spoilt city - gal...).

Below are all the sites that provide me with lots of experiments, er, recipes which I consider easy to prepare for my amateur level. Some are sites that I like to browse through and drool ^_^



Riezanie's Recipe Collections (Language: Indonesian / Malay)
http://riezanie2u.blogspot.com/

Wha… the first recipe that greeted me was “Sup buntut”… Which perked my interest to browse through as the authress claims to have “Koleksi Resepi dari pelbagai sumber / World famous recipe collections”. Seems like an Indonesian site to me, gathering form all the slang. But not bad, after you managed to figure out the language, this site provide a nice variety of Indon recipes with accompanying pics to give you an idea what you’re concocting for dinner.







Resipi Puan Raidah (Language: Malay)
http://resepiraidah.blogspot.com/

A recipe blog from a loving mother and wife with tons of lovely recipes ranging from daily Malay dishes to Indian cuisine to Arabian cuisine to desserts. Nice pics, easy and simple to prepare recipes, with side notes of suggestions on accompanying fares.

Mommy…








Resipi & Recipes (Language: Malay & English)
http://www.iresepi.com/

The heading boasted of Malay, Indonesian and Chinese cooking among the many recipes they have. The only thing lacking are pictures. The recipes covered are daily dishes, Western dishes, snacks and desserts, among others.







My Resipi: Jom Kongsi Resipi (Language: Malay)
http://www.myresipi.com/

Wowee! I like this one, it has many recipes plus a lot of variety. She even has recipe for ice cream, laksa, pencicah (dips) and snacks! Many contributors have helped expand this site with recipes and comments. To contribute, registration is required but free of charge.







Mesra.net (Language: Malay)
http://resepi.mesra.net/

Boasting over 6000+ recipes thanks to various contributors, this is one of the largest recipe portals. Since sources vary, look for recipes with high ranking to ensure that, er, what you pick is edible. From complicated to simple recipes of wide range, take your pick.







Koleksi Resipi Pilihan Diana (Language: Malay)
http://resipidiana.blogspot.com/

This is one of my personal favourites since it’s one of the first recipe sites I found and yes, the recipes are excellent and easy to prepare, to boot. In fact, many of my friends gushed over the recipes from this site.

The authress collects various recipes from many sources and tested them herself prior publishing. The recipes ranged from daily Malay dishes to special desserts and baked goods. She even has the recipe for takoyaki! (Cheers!!) She also includes some videos and cooking tips on her site.






CARI Makan & Resipi (Language: Malay)
http://makan.cari.com.my/

I positively drooled when the first page greeted me. Gorgeous, saliva – inducing pics graced the first page and many others as I went through the site.

This site covers wide range of recipe, from daily dishes of tofu, chicken and beef to desserts and traditional kueh and even bread. Lovely!!!




1001 Resipi (Language: Malay & English. Some recipes can be found in English)
http://1001resepi.com/

I like this site for the wide range of recipe provided plus cooking demo video. This site has many Malay recipes as well as desserts and Western cuisine. The authress also wrote many articles on kitchen tips and interesting places for eating out around KL and other parts of Malaysia. Nice pics to make you drool.

I like the glossary section as this is very helpful. Here she took care to translate the ingredients and even provided pictures which I find quite useful since I always managed to get mixed up with herbs ^_^.



1 Borneo Hypermall


I was awaken this morning by one excited friend with a message from Sabah. Tomorrow is the opening of 1 Borneo! The official one after the soft opening few weeks ago.

The thing is, I’m still in Kelantan… Hic… hic… Boo… Gah!! I really wanna fly back to Sabah now.

Comforting myself, I decided to search around and found the much sought after info on Sabahbah.com. And yes!! Just what I want! The largest hypermall in Borneo which happen to be my neighbour next to UMS has all that I want!! Here I come baby! I’m reserving my ticket already!!

This is what I got from Sabahbah.com:

0. Ground Floor
Body Shop
Coffee Bean
Fish & Co. (Oh baby… you’ve come… so I have no need to drive out to KK Warisan Square and save petrol instead…)
Lazo Diamonds
Munchy Donuts (What’s this? I sure gonna have a look!)
Old Town White Coffee
San Francisco Coffee
Selangor Pewter (Huh? So far from where I come from ^_^)
Secret Recipe (Please… bring back my Raspberry Cheese and Amaricano…)
Starbucks Coffee
Times Book Store (Cool, I can sit browsing all day here!)
Watson (Yay, my fav!)


1. First Floor
Factory Outlet Store (F.O.S)
Juice Junction
Kamdar
Laksa Shack (Whoa we have this too?! Laksa Sarawak for me!!!)
Living Culture
Starbucks Coffee
Tasty Food Court
Urban & Co.
Wagamama


2. Second Floor
Amusement World (I want to see this!)
McDonalds (likely a dessert counter? Oh well, we have Shell drive – thru nearby so it’s OK)
Starbucks Coffee


3. Concourse Floor
Aquirium & Ocean Science Discovery Centre (I want to see!!!! Er, where in the world can I get an instant boyfriend? I’ve always wanted to go with guy and see whether it’s really like the anime kinda thing ^_^ Stupid fantasy… Hehe)
Ayamas (Yes!! Squawk squawk!!)
Big Apple Donuts & Coffee (YESSSS!!!! Duren duren!!)
Burger King (Double Swiss Mushroom… glazy eyes…)
Deli France (I wonder if this one offers breakfast… Deli France breakfast is one of the best!)
Giant (I heard it’s the huge giant Giant!! Yay!!! )
Guardian
Kenny Rogers (Chicken!!!! Potato salad!!! Macaroni & cheese!!!)
KFC
Manhattan Fish Market (Really?! Really?! Oh my GOD!!!)
Michi Japanese Restaurant (Ah, a new Japanese place. Irashaimase!!!!)
Old Station Kopitiam
Pizza Hut
Sushi King (Irashaimase!!!!! I’m gonna weep soon with happiness ^_^)
The Chicken Rice Shop
Vedablu
Yogur Berry (Ah… My favourite lunch when I’m on diet…)


Uuu… I wanna fly back already… Err, the list above are not confirmed yet but I hope it’s a confirmed one. Nevertheless I’m happy if some made it… See Sabahbah.com for more info. They have been doing quite an extensive and excellent coverage on 1 Borneo.

I also realized that most above are food related ^_^. Rest assured that there are more but I’m just being selective.

Sabah, I'm coming back soon!

Friday, June 6, 2008

Fav Sites: Baking sites

It’s one of those days where I’ll be seized to type away and browse through some blogs for something to drool at and here I found some interesting ones on BlogCatalog.

Due to space consideration, I decided to cover then by – and – by so that my blog wont be even more clutter –up then it already is… so here goes.



Sweet!! Is my impression on this local baking site. It provide delightful step – by – step pictures and baking tips as well as recipes fro pretty and delicious looking treats. The site authress even offer classes for those interested in learning the craft (located in Taman Cheras Indah, Kuala Lumpur, by the way).


Baking911.com

http://www.baking911.com/



I was reading through an interesting article on this site entitled “Healthy baking – gluten free.” when I decided to cover it on my blog. The article offer pointers on baking gluten – free bread.

The site also features baking tips for us out there who despair over floppy cakes and stony cookies. Easy navigation, simple interface, registration required for special features such as recipes ect. Nonetheless, a worthwhile stop – by.


Gigi Cakes

http://gigicakes.blogspot.com/


So pretty!! (I really said that while alone in my room ^_^)

As implied by the name, this blog provides baking recipes. It’s simple, sweet interface with lovely pictures of pastries will make you ooh-ed and ahh-ed over them as you browse through. On the sidebar are many sites featured by the blog which are equally exellent.

Really, it’s such a pretty blog.


Daring Bakers Blogroll
http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/


Oh my… there actually exist such society that gathers baking blogs. Well then, it’s pretty much self – explanatory, plus they also have members that feature “gluten-free, lactose intolerant, allergy, vegetarians, vegans and bakers who use alternate ingredients due to other health concerns or life styles.” Or so as they say and I quote.

They often have this Daring Baker challenge where members will bake accordingly to the challenge and post up their results.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Petrol price hike… RM 2.70?!! Just lamenting…

“Petrol to cost RM2.70 from midnight.

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Wednesday announced price hikes for petrol, diesel and electricity.

He said the new price for petrol is RM2.70 a litre, effective midnight tonight. The price goes up by 78sen from the current RM1.92, a hike of 40%.

Abdullah also announced that the price of diesel would be increased by RM1 from RM1.58 to RM2.58.

He also said that Tenaga Nasional Bhd would be raising electricity rates by 18% for homes and 26% for business users.” (
The Star Online excerpt)


As I stared in disbelief at the screen this evening, the cars were honking their way through as they made a beeline to the nearest petrol station. The jam had continued since 16.30 pm (local time/Malaysia).

My first thought was “My God, my God…” as I thought of my car left in Sabah (I’m currently in Kelantan by the way). Classes are starting in July 08 in Queen Hospital (a hell of 30 minutes travel costing RM7 return trip previously). Now with the 40% increase, it’ll be… a whopping RM9.80… Oh my God… I think I better start taking the school bus more now…

Then my thoughts drifted elsewhere… To Sabah… OH MY GOD!!! The prices of goods are certainly gonna hike even higher there!!! My experience last time was good enough for this dreaded situation, it was prior to election day the prices of goods started rising back there thanks to some stupid rumor of petrol price rising by RM0.60 (which was untrue back then). I remember the fruit stalls I frequented on my way to Papar selling their fruits RM1 more expensive after the SMS circulate.

Next pit… the food price… with petrol and diesel hikes PLUS electricity rate increase… currently a plate of rice with 1 dish of meat and vege would cost RM3.50. I have a feeling that when return back, the price would have gone up by RM0.50 – 1.00… If I’m lucky enough… Gah… Maybe I should start looking for other source of income…