Tim Tam's and Tea with Sumi

My good friend Sumi Henry stays in Perth, Australia and she came back here for a short and HOT holiday. Sumi loved the heat she says (GILA!) Of course we were all excited at the thought of seeing here again. We had organised tea last week but only a few of us could make it.

Back row from left: My BFF Nazlin, SISTAs Sherie, Oleen and Suzana. Seated is me, Sumi and Sophie.

We met at Grand City in PJ and had a nice spread of tosai, karipap, vadir and roti tissue. Most drinks had ice in them due to the heat.

The best part about this tea was the surprise Sumi brought out from her bag. It was was Tim Tam's and mind you, the one from Australia tastes very different from the one in Indonesia. Sumi showed us how to eat it the Aussie way and let me tell you, try it once and you are hooked!

All you need is a hot drink, coffee is best it seems, and the Tim Tam. Sumi liked the double coated one as it adds to the yumminess. Now this is how you do it. You have to bite off one corner at each end. So the bitten corners are across each other. Then you dip one bitten corner in the hot drink (just dunk the corner in, not the whole biscuit) and suck the hot drink through the other bitten corner. Then you enjoy the Tim Tam. The hot drink will melt the insides of the Tim Tam ... and its all gooey and suckles in your mouth. I can taste it as I speak.

See how satisfied we all look after the food and Tim Tam's. Good to see you again Sumi!

Roti Paun

Have you ever heard of roti paun? No? Well ... this is what it looks like.

It is not that bad actually. It is really soft, yea ... like the dinner roll you see at the back there. It melts in your mouth. It is supposed to have butter and sugar but I didn't see the butter and sugar. I did get litlle whifs of it though but not much lah.

My friends who were covering the recent by-election in Kuala Terengganu were raving on and on about this roti paun in their Facebook status. Of course being the kepoh that I am I asked what it was and they raved more about it. So much so that Sajahan actually brought back like 20 loaves for his friends. Yours truly included lah.

I followed his instructions to a tee. Popped it in the oven and enjoyed it. It was good although I could imagine what it would taste like fresh from the oven. I added more butter on it. And dipped it in oxtail soup. It was delicious ....!

Too bad there is no by-election in Perak as expected. God knows what my friends would have discovered then!

Ice Cream Delicious

ICE CREAM. Yummy. Generally everyone loves ice cream. There are not many people I know who don't like ice cream but there are some who don't. And they do not know what they are missing.

Just look at the lovely luscious colours of ice cream. Doesn't that look just so enticing! My kids love the colours especially Nadiah. She is a abit more adventurous and would go for flavours like baby blue and bubble gum and rainbow.

Ice cream cones with sprinkles is another temptation for the kids too. It must be the cuteness of it all!

What is it about ice cream that makes your heart skip a beat and your taste buds shudder in excitement and aniticipation. I myself love ice cream. Of course these days I have to really control my cravings due to obvious reasons but if I could, I would eat just that and that everyday. My kids are the same. They could just eat ice cream and be happy!

This is a classic that one just cannot resist! A traditional ice cream chocolate sundae. Would never fail to comfort you anytime. When depressed, don't sulk and wallow in self pity. Go get some ice cream. I bet you will feel much better. Which is why I always have ice cream in the house no matter how small it is. Even a mini cornetto can save the day! *wink*

Nadiah has been experiencing some stomach pains lately and the doctor has asked to eliminate some food items for us to determine what is the cause. First off the list are dairy products. OUCH! She can do without cheese and milk for a week but ice cream....hmmmm...quite a challenge.

This is another classic meal that may people like. Waffles and ice cream. I personally prefer ice cream with just maple syrup but ice cream on top is a treat for many.

Ahhhh ... the star of all ice cream sundaes. The sundae that inspired this blog for me. Delicious' chocolicious sundae which my friends and I so fondly call Sundaelicious. A treat for anytime! Trust me ...

Of course if you were to ask me my favourite flavour is chocolate. Belgian chocolate from Haagan Daaz. Baskin Robbins' chocolate mousse is not so bad either. I now keep a tub of belgian chocolate in the fridge most of the time. And yes, it costs me RM30 for a small pint. But it is so worth it! Just dip in your spoon and taste it. Smooth and creamy and oh so satisfying.

Najihah and Nadiah enjoying an ice cream cone. They enjoy any form of ice cream for that matter. Even the Nestle vendor's ice cream can make them smile.

The soft swirl is another classic. The best would be Ikea's and McDonald's for me. In London, the ice cream vendors at the side of the road always catch my eye. Stick a chocolate flake in ... oooo....yummy! I remember when I used to spend my holidays in London, that would be the highlight of the day for me. It would probably still be!

Go ahead. Make your day. Have an ice cream ...

Chicken Rice

This is an all time favourite dish of many of us. Am I correct? I for one am a great lover of chicken rice. There are several places that serve good chikcen rice. I know the Bukit Bintang stall is a favourite of many of us. There is also a shop near Atria in Damansara Jaya. That shop has been there for donkeys years and the rice is still yummy.

They say the artiste Linda Onn has a chicken rice stall somewhere near Ampang and it's pretty good but I have never tried it myself. The chicken rice at Lake Club is pretty good too. I remember Shangri-La's coffee house serves pretty good chicken rice too.

Where else eh??? Oh ya...I remember when I was studying in the USA, a friend's parents came to visit. Vincent Ang. And his mom made us chicken rice. It was delicious, wanna know why??? She chops all the fat from the chikcen in little dices, fries it and cooks it with the rice. Talk about healthy but it was yummylicious! Never attempted to try it again.

Since I love chicken rice so much, I learnt to cook it when I was studying in the USA. Only because you can't find it there and you want to eat it right! Over the years I have perfected the recipe, or at least I hope so.

Here it is:

CHICKEN RICE

boil chicken to get stock in water

water must be enough to use to cook the rice

in the water put in pounded garlic, shallots and ginger

add salt

once chicken boiled, take out

marinade chicken in oyster sauce which has been diluted with the soup

cook rice with the soup

add salt, for yellow colour, add kunyit

in soup add vegies u want

when ready to eat fry the chicken or cook in oven

use the oyster sauce to drizzle over the chicken when ready to serve

add sesame oil first in oyster sauce before serving if desired

for the chili, blend chili merah/masak

once blended, put on stove, add vinegar or limau nipis juice, sugar and salt to taste

if too thick, dilute chili with the soup

also add sesame oil if desired

of course you have the option of not frying the chicken and steaming it....

I forgot! The chicken rice fast food shops are not bad too if you want a quick and filling meal. Although they use MSG which makes you feel "pening" after. We should go on a quest for the best chicken rice dish!

Ikan Masak 3 Rasa

This is a favourite dish of many people I know and my friend Oleen shared her recipe with us:

ikan kerapu or bawal goreng with tepung

For the gravy:

bawang besar hiris

cili api, hijau and merah hiris halus (pakai chopper lagi senang)

oyster sauce

kicap pekat

kicap lemak manis

sos tomato

and the most important ingredient is daun ketumbar banyak-banyak

gula secukup rasa

taburkan ke atas ikan yang telah digoreng

Sekian.....

Selamat Berbuka!

Milo Ais

Remember the Milo van that never fails to turn up at our sports days? Well, that are more or less extinct aren't they. Miss that milo van. No one could make Milo like they did. The ones at the mamak stalls are good too but not quite the same.

When I was at the Malaysia Intertanational Halal Showcase over the past few years, the Nestle stall served Milo. Yup, that exact same Milo. So of course my friend and colleague, Zalina and I, never stopped going to that stall.

This is a recipe for Milo ais from my FB buddy Shaik Rizal:

serbuk milo 3 sudu besar

susu pekat satu sudu besar

quarter mug air panas

kacau hingga sebati and campur air sejuk and then crush ais

All this talk of food so early in the morning already. Not good at all. Not good at all....

Bubur Lambuk Extraordinaire...

Yesterday my good friend Adeen sent me some bubur lambuk. It was delicious. The kids especially loved it. Except for Nadiah. She said it was too spicy but she generally doesn't like pedas pedas stuff. Ali loved it too.

Here is the recipe courtesy of Adeen. Don't know if I will ever get around to doing it. Or can't I just ask Adeen to make some? :))

Bubur Lambuk

beras

air daging

the 4 spices (kulit kayu manis, buah pelaga, bunga cengkih and bunga lawang)

shallots (blended)

a little bit ginger

all the above mix & boil till become congee

next step

add dried shrimps ( blended)

add daging which has been boiled till tender
add santan (if 1 cup rice use 2 packets santan)

add salt & pepper.

last sekali add prawns (peeled)

Garnish with bawang gorengdaun sup/daun bawang

Waiting....

I want this for buka today......


But this also looks good....

Choices, choices.....!

Oh Yes ... This One Too!!

My good friend went to London recently and you know what I told her to eat for me? The soft serve ice cream they sell at the sidewalks. The one where you can put a flake in it. It was cold but she had it for me anyway. She said it was delicious. Sigh......

This is mengidam big time rite! The closest I can find here to it is at Ikea. McDonald's soft serve is ok when desperate but a poor comparison. I remember the one in London is soft and creamy and oh so milky....

I Suddenly Remembered

Just before Ramadhan me and my BFF's went to have Dim Sum at a new haunt that we found, China Treasures at Sime Darby Convention Centre. We go there quite regularly lah and we have our favourite dishes already. Recently they started offering buffet at RM35++ I think. But the food is good. Their dishes are a bit limited compared to Mei San at Quality Hotel but the quality is a top notch higher.

Our favourite there is the egg tarts, they serve it hot cause they cook to order. The egg is really soft and the pastry just melts in your mouth. Seriously, if you are an egg tart fan, this is a must there.

Nazlin all smiles after the meal. We were so hungry I forgot to take pictures of all the food lah!

Another dish I like is the egg's nest shrimp stuff. It looks like kuih karas. It is all crunchy on the outside and so soft inside. The chicken feet is another favourite of mine. Fara and Nazlin don't like chicken feet but I got Fara hooked on them too. It ain't that bad. It is sweet and soft and the "lemak" is yummy. The fried carrot cake with special sauce is really good too. The yam cake is also delicious. As I said the best thing about this place is all is served hot.

Service tends to be a bit slow because of the hot food delivery but its worth it. I haven't tried their other dishes other than the dim sum but from what I reckon, they are doing pretty well.

Dessert is nit bad either. My personal favourite is the pamelo with mango sauce. The mango sauce is hot and creamy and you get bits of biji selasih and sweet/bitter pamelo in it. Nazlin likes the dragon fruit with ice cream. This is really a fantastic creation. They mix the dragon fruit with bubur hitam and put a dollop of vanilla on top. Fara ordered this pudding dessert and it was horrible. Actually when the waitress was taking our order she was on the phone with a supplier I think so she simply pointed at the menu. Her dessert really sucked that day....

Nazlin tried it and tried hard not to spit it out! She said it tasted worst than ubat!!

So early on a Ramadhan morning and I am thinking of Dim Sum already. Oh well ... I can just imagine the tastes!!

Sundaelicious

I know many people are asking what is Sundaelicious. It is one of the best desserts ever created and founded by the GGG which made it their signature dessert.

What?

It is vanilla ice cream topped with and layered with strawberries, meringue and lotsa chocolate fudge sauce.

Origin?

Can't tell you cause then you will know....

Official name?

It is officially called the chocolicious sundae but the GGG named it Sundaelicious

Why?

Why I chose this name for my blog. Simple enough cause it and the founders of Sundaelicious make me happy :))))

Hai Peng Kedai Kopi

I was in Cherating over the weekend with the family. It was hubby's company's family day and all had a good time. But what we enjoyed the most was the infamous Hai Peng Coffee Shop in Chukai which is about 15 mins from Cherating. I think that place has been there for ages. It is a stop we never miss and if you have been there you would know why.

The place is always full and the food is simple, yet satisfying. I am not a coffee drinker but everyone who is swears by the coffee there.

What we really like there is .... hmmm, let me see. The round buns with kaya and butter, the french toast is also yummy, the nasi dagang wrapped up in daun pisang in little triangles and the nasi lemak which comes in two versions that is with or without anchovies.

Even the milo there tastes different. They have ice blended's too, very nice. Can beat Starbucks anytime! This time I tried the teh susu and it was not that bad. Bob (my hubby) had different types of coffee on both days we were there for breakfast. All was satisfying, he says.

Kemaman Coffee Shop opened here in Section 14 Petaling Jaya but it was a let down. The food selection was not the same at all as they did not have the nasi nasi stuff, they stuck to the kopitiam food. And the flavour was just not there! Anyways, the shop didnt last. It closed down after a short stint after I am sure many complaints especially from people who knew about the original shop in Chukai.

Another thing I observed was that the workers in Chukai were all locals, not one single foreign worker. Hmmmm....something to ponder about and to address in later post yes!

We were so busy enjoying the food I forgot to take pictures for you!

A Dish I Suddenly Remember!

I used to hang out a lot in Bangsar when I was in Sunway College. No need to know why lah! Not part of this story. At hat time, there were still stalls infront of McDonald's and it was famous for its big rats. Malay Mail always carried these stories, remember?

Well, there was a stall there the first stall to be exact, run by these group of young men. I used to eat lunch and tea a lot at this stall cause the food was really yummy. Either that or that time I didn't know any better. To give a time frame to this story, it would be around 1989 to 1991.

My favourite dish there was the nasi goreng ayam. It was spicy, yet not so, it was tasty, no ajinomoto used, and the chicken was just rite. I used to have it with chilli sauce and a nice oily telur dadar.

YUMMY!! I kinda miss it now...dunno where to find them!

Of course I order this dish once in awhile when we go to mamak stalls and all but it is never quite the same. Then again, I haven't eaten at a roadside stall in awhile, have I!!! Hmmmm, thought to ponder about.