Breakfast at David's Diner, Greentown Ipoh, Perak

As usual, my activity when I finished my night call, is to look for breakfast before going home to sleep. So when I saw the banner at David's Diner announcing breakfast, of course I'd swerve in :D

The breakfast is buffet style, priced at RM14.90 and starts at 8 - 11 am. You get either juice or coffee or tea for drink. To start, I sampled the burrito, double - decker sandwich of chicken ham and cheese, and the scrambled egg. Not bad, but I wish they put more cheese on the burrito.

Breakfast at Old Andersonian Club & Cafeteria @ Jalan Hospital, Ipoh

 For me, I like to go to Anderson for breakkie on weekend because at 7 am, the place is totally deserted and quiet. I can sit there till 9 am undisturbed with my tablet and surf while sipping hot tea. No, I'm not an early bird, I only go there after I finish my night call at the hospital. There was a month where I frequently had on calls over weekends that uncle simply got used to me stuffing myself and self - serving myself with tosai and idli hahaha :D

Tea break at The Deli, Impiana Hotel, Ipoh, Perak

 Well, it happens that some conference was going on in Impiana Hotel in Ipoh, Perak. Or else I wouldn't happen to chance upon this deli for a cuppa. Pretty cozy, tucked at a corner near the lobby, Wifi available for leisurely surfing over a cuppa. Nothing to shout about, just your regular deli, convenient to drop by while waiting for the conference to start.

Lunch promotion @ David's Diner, Greentown Ipoh

Not a bad place to get a Western food lunch when we have the extra bucks to splurge because at a price of RM18.90 you can get a set lunch of a main, 2 sides, soup and a drink (lemonade). Portion wise they are not stingy with it.

I am making ~ Roasted vegetable salad

Another version of roasted vegetable salad, more sourish this time too as I use balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Technically you can use any vegetable you like, most veges are nice when grilled. Using pepper of 3 different colours brighten up the salad wonderfully.

I am making ~ Roasted tomato with mozarella cheese and basil

I love tomato, it's an easy vege that can be eaten on it's own, baked, made into soup, pureed, used in pasta sauce etc. This super - easy recipe is prepared with minimal ingredients and is used as an accompaniment to my roast chicken.

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

I am making ~ Homemade beef burger

We screwed up our diet majorly when we decided to make burgers for iftar @ breaking the fast. Instead of the original healthy version, our calorie count was totally out when everyone started piling up ideas and toppings on the burgers. So the end product was a combo of 2 pieces of homemade beef burger patties with toppings of turkey ham, cheese, sauteed onions and enoki, lettuce, pickled cucumber, loads of tomato ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard, all piled between the buttered - and - grilled burger buns.

Masak - masak pencuci mulut ~ Len Chee Kang

 Don't ask me to classify this dessert because I don't know my recipe falls under which category as I make it to my own preference i.e. putting in whatever that I like. Some may say that I'm over - influenced by the Chinese but I think it has a Malay touch to it too. If you Google "len chee kang", "lai chi kang", "lai chee kang" or whatever spelling version, you'll find both Malay and Chinese recipe versions but heck, this is Malaysia so anything goes as long as it's food and it's good. Both versions can be served hot or cold, and ingredients are usually similar so don't fret too much over it.

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.

Tea break @ The Teapot Deli, SACC, Shah Alam

 After a round of shopping and before the next one, we had a break to let our poor legs rest. Looking for a nice baju kurung is not an easy job, mind you. SACC is a good place to look for nice and fancy frills, though price can be on the high side. It's known that some celebrities and mak datin come here to shop at the boutiques. But at least you know that not everyone in Shah Alam will be wearing the same thing as yours.

And so we end up in the Teapot Deli.

Simple grub @ Gino, Ara Damansara

It's one of those days when we crave for simple Italian grubs for lunch where nothing is too complicated and everything feels familiar... Again, Gino at Ara Damansara. And goodness me, now the waiters have known all of our faces :D

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.

Olio Olio delight @ Gino's Recipe, Ara Damansara

It seems that we can never get tired of this place :D From time to time when we are looking for great, non - syubhah halal pork - free Italian food, Gino here in Ara Damansara is where we head to. Of course, there's one in Kepong Village too but that is when we catch up with the latest movie.

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

A taste of Middle East @ Sahara Tent, Shah Alam Mall

 Who would have thought that this Middle East diner actually originated from New Zealand??? Voted as one of the best of such diner in Malaysia by Tourism Malaysia itself, the diner first give our KL -  ites a taste of its Bedouin ambiance and of course, Arabic food.

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 08 ~ Nasi kandar Khaleel @ Gurney Drive!!!

Now, some people recommend Nasi Kandar Line Clear but to me I'm more comfy at a non crowded place. So we picked Khaleel Nasi Kandar along Gurney Drive for our lunch of nasi kandar.

Hey ho Penang 07 ~ Durian @ Balik Pulau!!!

I am not promoting. This is the first stall on the road and we simply stopped there, pure coincidence and spontaneous decision. What we're looking for along the road of Balik Pulau was of course, the king of fruit. Du ~ ri ~ an!!! And oh, mangosteen too since it's there.