Masak - masak Melayu ~ Pucuk Manis masak lemak

 I assure you that this is one of the simplest, lazy bum cooking ever using coconut milk as a base gravy. At the market if you don't know how the plant looks like, just say as confidently as you can "kak, minta sayur manis satu" and the lady would pass you one bunch. As for my case, I remember how it looks like but I forget the name hence my idiotic question was "kak sayur apa ni?" @ "What vege is this?", much to their amusement as I hand over the vege, probably thinking that how on earth would I cook a vege of unknown name :p

Masak - masak Melayu ~ Gulai masak lemak cili padi ikan pekasam (sepat)

 I'm not a cook by nature, I cook only out of necessity i.e. when I feel like eating something that cannot be bought at the shop or something that I'm fussy of how it taste. This dish is my personal favourite because it's very homey dish that I learned by watching my mom made it and by mouth. And I love how pineapple soaks up the flavor of the gravy hence my recipe version is always overabundant with pineapple. Another thing about masak lemak cili padi is that its a very versatile base gravy, you can cook fish / chicken / egg with it.

Teh Tarik Place @ Empire - your upbeat Malay stall

What brought us into this place was this hanging rattan chair. We thought it would be cool to swing around while eating and chit chatting hehehe :D The concept of this place is what you'd call an upbeat, expensive Mamak / hawker stall.

Tea break @ Sri Hainan kopitiam, Shah Alam

It's not often that I eat out in my own hometown since I'm forever working somewhere else other than my own place, but I can say that Shah Alam has its own perks with good food and places to chill out. Until recently did I have the chance to visit this long established kopitiam, Sri Hainan in Section 9.

First thing that I noticed are the bird cages used as part of their deco in the ceiling, antique - looking fans aside. Rustic, eh? :D

Upbeat mamak food @ Uncle K Kopitiam, SACC Shah Alam

Uncle K @ SACC is a good chill - out  place if you are looking for air - conditioned mamak - cum - kopitiam kinda place. They serve nasi kandar, mamak food and the kinda food that you can find at a Malay stall, in a kopitiam setting i.e. the furnishing.

Masak - masak Melayu ~ Ikan kembung masak kicap berempah

This is a variant of masak kicap ikan kembung recipe, more spices and tamarind paste added in instead of just soy sauce. Has some sweet and sour taste to it, also spicier. I think this is the Southern states variant.

Hey ho Penang 01 ~ Pearl of Orient @ Penang trip again!

This is my... I lost count of my Penang trip. This trip was made at the end of the year near Christmas time so the air was rather festive, what with Bieber just releasing a Christmas CD making the girls go wild :D. Of course, along the way I must stop by at R&R Sungai Perak for lunch since they serve quite a large array of kampung food here, like the large and crispy fried anchovies.

Nasi Lemak @ Restoran Jayati Seksyen 17, Shah Alam

 Malaysians likes to eat. Malaysians likes nasi lemak. Can I safely say that nasi lemak is a form of 1Malaysia? Heck, there's even a 1Malaysia movie on nasi lemak ~ Ever heard of Nasi Lemak 2.0?

 

My Penang Solo Stumble 01 ~ The Road Across Perak

It was on one clear, blue sky day that made me restless and longed for adventure. The last time I took a trip to Penang was like years ago and suddenly I was itching to go there. Hence the journey began. This took place somewhere around Hari Raya where the roads going outside KL is smother than coming into KL.

 It was a very smooth journey under the clear blue sky with lots of nice music. I really stocked up on my favourite MP3 ^_^

My quick lunch @ Little Penang Cafe, The Curve

Alone and in a hurry, I managed to stop by Little Penang Cafe for clean hawker food that I'd so enjoyed during my visits to Penang.

 They all look pretty nice to me but I was extremely hungry to wait for the seafood char kuey teow which would take 15 - 20 min so picked something else.

 Initially I ordered the cold barley lime but the taste was not to my liking. The lime taste was not there so I chucked it for sirap bandung cincau, which was nicer and not too sweet.

 This is Acar Fish Set: fried fish in pickled vegetable sauce, lobak (chicken in tofu skin), ju hu char (turnip stir fried with shrimp and slices of squid), sambal belacan for umph, white rice. If you like your fish in sweet and sour sauce, this is for you. The ju hu char can be substituted for kerabu pucuk paku (a kind of fern salad)

 Dessert! Pulut hitam in santan. Found 2 longan. Lovely! Not too sweet, just nice and creamy.

The crowd was really huge and non stop. As you can see, it's a kedai kopi ambience. Everyone just slurp and burp here regardless tie or no tie. Though food is nowhere to compare to actual Penang food, it is still above par and acceptable, a bit pricey though.

Address: 6 Jalan PJU 7/3, G43 The Curve, Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Petaling, Kuala Lumpur

Tel: (603)77280215

Opening Hours Daily:10a.m–10p.m

My Perak Solo Stumble 03 - a day on Ipoh field

Traffic was still OK considering that it's still the early days of raya. After a while of aimless driving, I came across the Padang Ipoh or Ipoh Field is located on Jalan S.P. Seenivasagam. Behind it is the aristocratic club for royals, the Ipoh Club.

My Perak Solo Stumble 01 - A night in Ipoh

Exploring Ipoh took me only one day to navigate through this old historical mining city.  A capital of Perak, it is the fourth largest city in Malaysia with it’s own collection of historical attractions. Since the map promised easy navigation, it took me only 5 minutes to decide to visit this city on a whim on one fine day. It was a city that I frequented often last time when I was studying in Perak.

By the time I reached Ipoh, it was already night time and had to check in to my hotel, Tower Residence. Not a very popular choice, but in the heart of the city nevertheless, which was my main reason of selection. It’s a 3 star hotel, just for basic so nothing to shout about. But my stay was pleasant and comfortable, the room is clean and neat, the staffs friendly.

 My Superior room.

Masak - masak Melayu ~ Sup petola

Easy vegetable recipe for lazy people, fast and cheap, no need to think too much. Goes along with anything, increase or decrease water content to your liking and season with salt to taste.

More than 3 stars... UiTM Hotel Shah Alam

A nice and quiet birthday dinner at UiTM Hotel, Shah Alam, Selangor.

The interior.

Masak - masak Melayu ~ Stir-fry kailan in oyster sauce @ Kailan sos tiram

This is an easy vegetable recipe using oyster sauce, and using a cheap vegetable to boot. I omitted the use of salted fish here since my dad has high blood pressure. Some people like to add chopped beef and dried anchovy.

Masak - masak Melayu ~ Sambal kupang (Mussels in Chili)

I’m a big fan of mussels cooked with chili paste (sambal) but I’m not too fond of spicy things. So if you want the dish to be more spicy, just add more chili to it than the amount described below.

Masak - masak Melayu ~ Ikan tenggiri masak sambal (Fried Mackerel in Chili Paste)

Ok... I admit, this recipe is a bit oily as the fish require deep - frying first and later the ingredients are stir-fried with some oil. But the result is a spicy - sour fish in chili paste, my favourite accompaniment with steamed rice.

Bad fish day...

This is a picture of the fish that I fried yesterday, a fish called ikan tauhu (tofu fish? I dunno...). Generously slathered up in tumeric powder, a dash of chili powder and salt, and left to dry and for marinating for half hour for some effect.

The effects being, supposedly, a drier and tastier fish.

Coconut juice with... SUGAR?

Ok, I was pissed with this shop in Shah Alam, Ani Sup Utara at Section 9. If you ever come here and order a coconut juice, tell them you want it WITHOUT sugar.

But in the first place, it's already absurd to serve coconut juice in the fruit with sugar. I almost sputter it out due to the shock of finding sugar grains in my mouth after a sip. When I called the waiter over, he said it's the way they serve coconut juice in their shop.



And when I demand to change with a non - sugar-added one, it was refused. Hello, it was not stated in your menu there, it was absurd, and what if I have diabetes? Since they totally refused to changed it, I have to order a new one since I badly wanted to drink coconut juice, minus the sugar.

The only good thing was that they serve it as a whole fruit.

I'm saying this again, it is freaking absurd to add sugar into a fresh coconut juice.

Lumut, the seaside town of Perak

Recently I went to Lumut, Perak for some conference that I managed to sleep through most of the time to wake up later with an amazing appetite. But the resort I stayed at sucked real time so I won't make it a mention here.

Anyway, compared to the last 10 years when I first visited, Lumut town had changed way big! Being the gateway to one of Malaysia's most beautiful island, Pankor Island, the beautification and upgrade of the town infrastructure is indeed worth a hearty round of applause. And much to my surprise, which was a pleasant one, the town has become very clean and well - maintained; not a single litter on the road of this quaint town.

Nobody can see it, but I positively think that that white arch thing is an abstract replica of a fish.

Another angle of the "fish" arch.

The seaside resting area.

The weather on that particular day was amazingly... Ok, I'll rephrase that. It was sunny, and freaking hot!!! But still, I bought myself a hat from the craft center and was soon snapping photos around more comfortably.

Anyway, the sky was simply amazing that day! These were taken near the jetty.

Such vibrant colours at the souvenir shops.

After a long walk on such a freaking hot day, we stopped for my favourite Malay dessert called cendol pulut, a dessert prepared from glutinous rice, cendol, coconut milk, gula melaka and shaved ice. It was amazing!



We bought it from this mamak, near the mulyi - storey parking complex. He was selling in front of a warong (small restaurant by roadside). For RM2.50, he loaded your bowl generously and you can opt to sit in the warong or just stand there and eat. FOr take - aways, he'll pack it in a cup but there's no thrill in that compared to slurping off the bowl.



Besides all this, many eateries in Lumut boast to serve the freshest seafood, and there are MANY eateries to suit your taste, and most of them are Malay restaurants and nasi kandar restaurants. I ate way too much fried squids that day, all fat with their eggs.

Other than these, there are many shops selling seafood products too, though mostly are dried stuffs. I bought my stuffs at a shop called Jamilah, where I found a delicious keropok ikan @ fish crackers.

Anyway, for those more interested with Pangkor Island, there are many agents here that can assign and arrange for accommodation, and also car parks with certain price for those who drive to Lumut.

As for me, after shopping for seafood products and souvenirs, I simple drove home. It's just too hot to go to the island in this dry season, I'd be ROASTED!