why i like to be a chinese...

all ready to welcome the new year, i think its quite nice

... because chinese new year is inarguably the BESTESTEST festival evarrrrr!!!!1111

but of course, im only speaking for myself. i also <3 christmas, hari raya, deepavali because of the public holidays galore and the mega sales associated with these festivals. and then there are the guilty sinful yet scrumptious spread of food... ahhh life is good.

for those deprived of this festive mood (yes, you people studying abroad) these chinese new year goodies are for your eyes to feast!

the unmistakable red cap bottles of goodies

i cant wait to open the cellotape seals on each of the bottles!! eh chinese new year faster come-lah!!

my mom's organic goodies (less oil, less fat, less sugar, no eggs)
erm that's not MY definition of goodies!!

this is MY definition of goodies! so oily, so fatty and so delicious...

chinese new year is 3 days away. im excited and happy, are you????

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a BIG birthday shoutout:

to Eiling, my eldest sis (2nd feb)- which also coincides with the cny 1st day. she always get extra ang pow, not fair.

to ah Chang (31st jan)- happy adulthood!!
to Kah Yee (4th feb)- happy quarter century old woman!!
to Kah Ling (4th feb)- happy joining the TWO-O club babe!!

Happy Birthday and Happy CNY to all!! here's wishing all of you healthy (despite the sinful goodies), wealthy, and a great year ahead.

ben & nick's diner

ben & nick's diner

tucked in a small little corner at the ground floor of a just completed service apartment in subang jaya is ben & nick's diner. i read of its existence from thestar metro about a week back. thus, when my classmates and i decided to have a little "reunion" lunch and i was put to task to find a place to eat, i suggested to try this place... knowing i need some new entries for my blog now ;-)

the interior is very very small... by the thought of it, smaller than my bedroom! hahah im serious!! the inside sits about 14 with a small kitchen and a small cashier/drinks corner. rest be assured though, there're a few tables outside as well.

lemon juice- rm2.90

ice lemon tea- rm3.50

latte cafe- rm6.90

the lemon juice comes in a reasonable price and is recommended for a refreshing start. i wanted to start off with the mushroom soup (rm6.90) and end with the apple crumble (rm6.90) as recommended by thestar review but both items were not available :(

cajun pasta- rm17.80

choice of pasta with spicy cajun sauce cooked with chicken strips and button mushrooms

lamb shank- rm27.90
braised then carefully baked for juicy and tender experience of enjoying a lamb meal with house gravy on a bed of mash potato. served with chef's veggies

chicken blanket- rm16.90
specially house marinated grilled cajun chicken with salsa and crispy romaine lettuce, cheddar and mozzarella chesse wrapped with grilled tortillas and served with a generous amount of ceaser salad

combo- rm18.90
combination of australian chilled sirloin and especially house marinade grilled cajun chicken smoked with beef bacon, onions, cheddar, mozzarella cheese wrapped with grilled tortillas and fresh white button mushroom. served witha generous amount of ceasar salad

i quite like my combo selection. the sirloin strips was really good though the description on the menu was a tad misleading. it didnt mention the meat being wrapped in tortillas and i thought they got the orders wrong. the owner thanked me for pointing out the mistake. anyway, as for the lamb shank, although it is a recommended item and requires advance booking (they serve limited servings per day), my friends who had it commented that the dish tasted bland and they didnt enjoy it. as for the pasta, it was not too bad but please note that its serve in a spicy sauce ;-)

overall, b&n diner has a very cozy setting albeit being very small. food portions are generous but may be slightly overpriced (imho) given that it resides at a space no bigger than my bedroom, i dunno... maybe the rental is expensive (??). another good point is there's no taxes charged and the service is commendable.

the downside however is its location is not too strategic at the moment, given that its situated in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the ongoing construction of the subang-kelana flyover and another service apartment beside it (read: noise and dust pollution). parking isn't a breeze as well with the ongoing constructions.

ben & nick's diner
lot g10, e-tiara service apartment,
persiaran kemajuan,
47500 subang jaya.
(beside carrefour subang)
tel: 016-2010189

open for lunch monday-fridays from noon to 2.30pm
open for dinner monday-saturdays from 6-10pm

[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.]

manuka honey chicken wings

sorry for the lack of food updates. i havent been eating out often except the usual hawker fares around college for lunch.

the saturday before mom came back from her 2 month holidays in dubai, we hosted our very first steamboat party and invited a handful of friends over- it was a memorable one as it was our first party without adults-above-30 supervision and also officially marked the end of our 2 months 'no-curfew-mom's-not-home-yahoo...!!-freedom'.

i made chicken wings after realizing there's a pack of 'em in the freezer. i used the recipe posted by fellow flogger precious pea. ingredients are simple and the photo posted did look pretty damn good.

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Step 1: Prepare ingredients and marination! Marinate overnight for better garlicky taste :)

dark soy sauce
chinese shaoxing wine
a dash of fish sauce
oyster sauce
lightly smashed whole garlic

Step 2: Transfer wonderfully marinated chicken wings to a baking tray lined with aluminium foil. Brush manuka honey generously on chicken wings skin and roast 'em under 250 celcius for about 20 minutes till cook and brown.

Step 3: Wash hands and attack!!

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it's finger lickin' good :)

... ONE more week to cny holidays! yippeeeee!!

yu ai bak kut teh

just another ordinary lunch with friends. but this time instead of eating in ss15, we walked across to ss14 for bak kut teh on a hot sunny afternoon.

nothing spectacular and fancy about this bak kut teh. we had a pot of bkt with '5 flower meat' (mm fah yuk- meat with fats in between), pig stomachs, fu chuk, golden mushrooms and button mushrooms. we also had our greens, the onion oil yau mak and fried crullers (yau char kuai) to go with our bak kut teh soup.

total bill was rm43.50 for 4 of us.

havent been trying new places as mom is back. the cook is back, geddit?

yu ai bak kut teh
jalan ss14/1,
subang jaya.

(corner shop of an intermediate row of shops, near connecting pedestrian bridge)

[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.]

carl's jr

the massivity of carl's jr burger

my first visit to carl's jr was few weeks back when a bunch of us just went to sunway pyramid after our classes for lunch. correct me if im wrong but compared to the other burger giants like mcdonalds, kfc and burger king, carl's jr outlets are typically small.

iced lemon tea with real lemon!

the layout is similar but different altogether. there's a corner for refillable drinks (from DIY iced lemon tea to soft drinks to coffee and tea. dont be shy to feel homey and help yourself) and the typical order counter with bright big burgers on the signboards.

collect six of this and buy toto jackpot. carl's jr supply for life if you strike!

small-medium-large

true to its promotional taglines that the burgersa are big, the chairs and cupsize already assured us that they will deliver what they promise. trust me, dont even bother to order anything larger than small because small is large and large is just... LARGE.

plus, its refillable anyway!

charbroiled chicken salad
sliced charbroiled chicken breast, crisp iceberg and romaine lettuce, carrots, red cabbage, shredded cheddar and jack cheeses, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, croutons and choice of dressing

bacon swiss crispy chicken sandwich
a crispy chicken fillet with melted swiss cheese, crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato and ranch sauce on a seeded bun

western bacon cheeseburger
charbroiled all-beef patty, two strips of bacon, melted american cheese, two crispy onion rings and tangy bbq sauce on a toasted sesame bun

the guacamole bacon burger
charbroiled 100% angus beef patty, guacamole, two strips of bacon, two slices of melted pepperjack cheese, lettuce, two slices of tomato, red onions and santa fe sauce on a toasted sesame bun

chili cheese beef fries
crisp shoestring fries, hearted chili, grated cheese

chicken breast strips
battered tender chicken breast strips and a choice of dipping sauce

i'll say... yes, the burgers are huge, compared to the likes of mcd, kfc, bk. but for that kinda price of between rm15++ (just ala carte mind you!) to rm20++ (combo meals), i think burgers at chilli's are better options. of cos, this caters to two entirely different target market. carl's jr is more to fast food takeaway kinda dining while chilli's and tgif are the american dine-ins.

the burgers taste great nonetheless. after having one of these, mcd's cheeseburger taste like crap! BUT, mcd's fries still rules the shoestring fries world! the chili cheese beef fries is ok... nothing much to shout about but if you hadnt had this before, go on, try it and see if you like it!


crap... monday again :(


carl's jr
sunway pyramid (new wing)
situated at the marakesh alley, ground floor.
(quite secluded and hard to find if not familiar)

[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.]

restoran sri murni

one of the most patronized, famous, well known mamaks amongst youngsters and young adults besides william's (owned by the brother of murni) and steven's corner, and guess what... i havent been there. what a joke!

so yes, here goes another "first" of my visits to famous places like this where ALMOST everyone has been there before but me. now its my turn to laugh at you if you havent been there. hah!

so anyway, true to what people said... it's packed to the brim with people! its so famous that the mamak itself occupies a whole ground floor of the shoplot AND the five foot way from one end of the row of shops to the other end. i only managed to count till the 18th table at the sidewalks and that also it wasnt even half the line of tables. there's bout at least 35-40 tables along the kaki lima!

ribena longan nata de coco- rm5

lychee longan nata de coco- rm5

mango special longan nata de coco- rm5

now, whats so special about murni and william's is that the array of food they offer is not the same as your usual roti-canai-teh-tarik mamaks. these 2 places (especially) are famous for their non-mamak fares! you want chinese? check! western? check! indian? check! malay? check! ice blended? check! fusion? CHECK!!

see? mamak to a whole new definition. we had their special ice blended drinks. comes in big jars filled to the brim, ice blended fruit juices with generous amount of nata de cocos, longans and even honeydews in it at a reasonable pricetag. definitely puts a smile to your face :)

claypot loh she fun- rm5

claypot loh she fun. one of their specialties or so i heard. generous portion of noodles, minced meat and a perfect 1/2 boiled (sometimes 3/4) egg. the first thing you have to do is to poke the egg yolk. gives a sense of satisfaction guaranteed to put another smile on your face :) taste wise, it was ok but like i said portion is huge for a person...

nasi goreng chicken maryland

ok maybe i take back my words because the portion is BIGGER for this one! enough to feed some people 3 meals maybe. looks good for a mamak doesn't it?

spaghetti marinara

their pastas are at HUGE portions as well. looks pretty good too, eh?

i'd say you have to come here, see it to believe it. the place may look abit shabby (lack of light especially if you're seated at the kaki lima), but food presentation, taste and price wise, i'd give it a B+.

do i need to tell you why you should love Malaysia's ... food?

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ive been crying everyday... life's just so sad... so many people dying... so many people with cancer... so many unjustifications in life...

... especially when im watching grey's anatomy. sorry, but i just caught the GA bug after hearing so many people talk about it years ago. i thought it was a comedy series, but ended up crying every single episode!

the weekend is coming to an end :(

restoran sri murni
jalan ss2/75,
47300 p.j,
selangor.

[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.]

restoran makan makan

another food tryout around the kota kemuning neighborhood. located just opposite restoran mee papan, this shop is one of the surviving ones opened for about a year or so. this is actually my second visit as the first one i did not take any pictures.

gingko barley- rm2.50

leng chi kang- rm2.50

the gingko barley was so much better than the one i had in restoran mee papan. at least this time the color looks right. it is still not the best but acceptable given that i can hardly find this tong shui anywhere.

wu tau gow (yam cake)- rm3.50

this wu tau gow was horrible. it has anything but wu tau inside! the taste is floury without any yam taste or bits... absolutely not recommended!

gung fu cantonese yee mee- rm5.60

siam laksa- rm5.80

while the yee mee looks like an interesting dish, it doesnt taste as good as it looks. to be frank i like the squids because they were tangy but the gravy is just... not right and not good. it looks and taste gluey too... urgh.

the siam laksa received a bad review by my sister. it lacked taste. the broth may look appealing and all but we've been deceived...

:(


restoran makan makan
gf5, jalan anggerik vanilla m31/m,
kota kemuning,
40460 shah alam.
tel: 012-2727862


[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.]