A Wholesome Dinner @ Imbi Palace

Prawn Salad on Crackers; Honey Glazed Char Siew; Transluscent Century Eggs

I'm a sucker when it comes to free food (of course with certain standards haha) and parasiting over lavish (and unlavish) dinners. Last 2 weekends, my sister Eiling invited me for dinner with her other friends at Imbi Palace.

I love Chinese food, to begin with- regardless whether it's home cooked, 5-star restaurant, or streetside tai chow. The thing with Chinese cuisines is the versatility of the cooking and preparation, the myriad of ingredients and sauces and there are one million and one drinks you can pair your dinner with.

We had quite a few appetizers but the one that really captured my tastebuds was the century egg. Although it looks and seems simple, I think it takes skills to prepared one which has a semi runny yolk that is so creamy. The prawn salad was nothing out of the ordinary but the char siew was pretty good too though Eiling said she has tasted better.


Double Boiled Chicken & Abalone Soup

I'm a HUGE fan of soups, in fact if I were to be on diet, I will go for a liquid soup diet! This Double Boiled Chicken & Abalone Soup fares high on my rating scale. The soup is rich with the natural sweetness of the abalone, scallops, chicken and other herbal ingredients used. Can I have another bowl pleaseeeeeeee??


Cheese Baked Tiger Prawns

Now, on to something more sinful and artery clogging but I love it- the Cheese Baked Tiger Prawns. There were 1/2 a dozen of huge succulent Tiger prawns in the pot covered with mozarella cheeeeeese and baked to perfect golden brown perfection. The prawns were tangy and rich in golden roe, the melted cheese complimented the whole dish perfectly and the golden orangy sauce would have made a great accompaniment to white rice. Such a perfect east meets west dish.


Crispy Fried Frog; Stir Fried Vege with Pork Liver

Still on the sinful note is the Crispy Fried Frog. Now, not everyone is a fan of this amphibian but it just takes one to try it once to instantly fall in love with it. Then imagine this, smooth muscled meat batter fried... This would have been a wonderful snack with a chilled beer. After all the sinful dishes, it's time for the first vege dish to arrive- Stir Fried Kau Choi with Pork Liver.


Porridge Goodness; Abalone and Fried Crullers

Just when you think the dinner is coming to an end, the waitress brought in a big claypot complete with a portable stove. Another pot of treasure awaits and it's a pot of porridge! But this is no ordinary porridge, just look at the amount of ingredients and accompaniments in it to make the broth sweet- crabs, frogs, scallops and abalone. Now, I wouldn't mind getting sick everyday just to have this............


Different glasses for different drinks; Stir Fried Tau Miu; Birds Nest

The second vege arrived and soon the final 'dish' for the night appeared and it was a pot of birds nest- the best possible ending for the night :)


Hermitage; Opus One; Krug; Dom Perignon

We also tried quite a few selection of white, red and champagnes that night and this is what I really mean by "there are one million and one drinks you can pair your dinner with" when it comes to Chinese dining and here are just a few examples.

Cheers to Chinese food!


Imbi Palace
8, Jalan Barat,
Off Jalan Imbi,
55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2145 4822

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

CTNF: Cheese Baked Seafood Pasta

Cheese Baked Seafood Pasta (before going into the oven); Refreshing ice cold lemonade

It's another one of those days when I had nothing to eat at home and decided to whip something up. Took a trip to the supermarket with nothing concrete in mind what I wanted to cook.


Tadah!

Inspired by all things cheesy and baked, this is what I did. Baked the tomato based angel hair pasta with assorted accompaniments in it- salmon, shrimps, french beans, squid, potatoes and melted mozarella. It was pretty filling actually, and complimented by a glass of very refreshing lemonade......... cheers!

Another cheap thrills, no frills meal for the day :)

Salero Negori @ TTDI

Nasi Padang

I'm usually not an avid fan of Malay-style food but I do take it once in awhile to give a bit of spice to the sometimes routine lunch hours. My colleague recommended Salero Negori for its Nasi Padang. It works something similar like the Economy Rice or Nasi Campur where you choose your picks from the spread and have them served to you later on. Best to go in a group so you can sample a little bit of everything.

We ordered the Ayam Kampung Goreng which comes with those fried bits that everybody loves. There were also some chicken curry, fried fish, sambal brinjal, long beans, and tempe.


Tapai; Sago Milk

For drinks, I had the Jus Apukat (Avocado Juice with Chocolate Syrup) which is my favourite drink when I have my Indon food but unfortunately the avocado that day was too bitter! Another famous Indon drink would be the Teh Botol (also unfortunately not cheap). We tried two desserts- Tapai with Vanilla Ice Cream and Sago Milk. The Tapai (fermented rice) is quite strong on alcohol, for the acquired taste only.

Overall, it was a great lunch but would have been better if the avocado was sweeter :-(


Salero Negori
42, Lorong Rahim Kajai 14,
Taman Tun Dr Ismail,
60000 KL.

* Also available @ Amcorp Mall.

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

Pradi Prada @ Kota Kemuning

A hearty dinner; Fried Chicken with Kunyit; Fu Yong Omelette; Kedondong Juice

Pradi Prada has been around longer than I had expected it to survive. Back in those days when the Kota Kemuning township was ready, the financial crisis hit and the commercial area became dead. Anyone shops/businesses that opened rarely lasted more than half a year. Those who survived and thrived on were a handful- Pradi Prada was one of them.

Specializing in Penang style Nyonya food, it is a neighbourhood favourite for a casual weekend dine out. The dishes are simple fare, tasted very homely and affordable too. My family dined here a month back and had Fish Head Curry, Assam Prawns, Paku Pakis Belacan, Fu Yong Omelette and Fried Chicken with Kunyit.


Fish Head Curry; Assam Prawns

It was indeed a hearty and satisfying meal followed by a very refreshing Kedondong Juice. The whole bill came to about RM60. There is also a complimentary hot dessert of the day- ours was Sweet Potato tong sui.


Pradi Prada
4, Jalan Anggerik Vanilla Y/31Y,
Kota Kemuning,
Shah Alam.

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

CTNF: Smoked Salmon & Co

Smoked Salmon & Co; Cookbook inspiration

I have recently found my motivation to cook and it was during a visit to the bookstore that I stumbled upon this enticing mouth watering recipe which was at the 'breakfast' recipe section of this cookbook. I bought it immediately seeing that it wasn't too expensive (oh yes, bought a cookbook just for one recipe) and turned the recipe to a heavier one for dinner!


Smoked Salmon & Co- not really like what's shown in the cookbook

Conveniently, I then made a trip to Cold Storage and bought what I needed. Actually I bought more than what I needed- ha haha, the potatoes, bacon, shrimps and beef sausage were not even in the recipe! Anyway it was a pretty simple but expensive meal- the smoked salmon and smoked beef are expensive.

Taiwan Noodle House @ SS2

Beef Noodles with Pork Chop- RM5.50

My colleague introduced this eatery place to me awhile back when we were faced with "The Most Difficult Question of All Times"... which is "Where to eat???"

Located next to The Cave Restaurant, which has now closed down and turned into something else, hopefully not another themed restaurant with bad food, I am impressed that this kopitiam lookalike has quite a number of Taiwanese noodles and rice on their menu. My normal item on the menu (actually it is the only thing I've eaten so far ha haha), is the Beef Noodles with Pork Chop.

If you're craving for Taiwanese Noodles or Rice next time when you're in SS2 area, do give this a try!



Taiwan Noodle House
20, Jalan SS2/61,
Petaling Jaya.


[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

Avillion Port Dickson

Breathtaking night scene of lights and water

Nothing beats a good getaway. But how do you define 'good'? To me, 'good' is a combination of wonderful company, relaxing setting and an awesome room to stay. I didn't have to go far for it- I had it all at Avillion, Port Dickson.


The cosy room- Water Chalets

There are a few types of accommodation- Garden Chalets, Water Chalets, Premium Water Chalets and Beach Studios. Then there are Water Villas too- 1 bedroom or 2 bedrooms. I think the cheapest would be the Garden Chalets but Avillion in general caters to the premium segment of holidaymakers.


Open air shower

As with everyone else, my favourite part of the room would be the bathroom. It is spacious and well segmented- an open air shower area (there is an opening on the roof and opening showcasing the sea next to the shower area), a bathtub which I bet nobody uses, a closed area for the 'usual' business and a wash up area. The bathroom is bigger than the sleeping area!


Cochin Pool- For Adults Only

There are 3 types of pool for guests to enjoy- catering to both kids and adults. The Cochin pool is specially dedicated for adults only- perhaps it's deeper and also bigger for morning laps.


Village pool and kids pool

The village pool is for sharing with jacuzzi as well and there's also a kids pool for the kids to have some splashing fun! This area is also popular amongst guests for sunbathing and afternoon cat nap.


Main building that houses everything else

There is also a spa building which I will blog about it later, but for everything else- karaoke, bar, restaurant, souvenir shop, buffet line etc, it is all in this building which lights up perfectly at night. For animal lovers and pet loving kids, there is also a pet farm which is very well maintained with assorted pet animals such as tortoises, rabbits, chickens, peacocks and pigeons to name a few. There is a feeding session daily which kids love it!

I wish everyday is a getaway.


Avillion Port Dickson
3rd Mile, Jalan Pantai,
71000 Port Dickson,
Negeri Sembilan, M'sia.
Tel: 06-647 6688
www.avillionportdickson.com