Happy Daddy's Day!

Silly things that my dad does

There's a Chinese saying that says there are 3 things in life that is destined-
1) The family you're born into;
2) The person you're going to marry; and
3) The day you die.

... or something to that effect.

For #1, there's no doubt it is pre-destined. Nobody can choose who or which family they want to born into, else the poor and less well to do will never have children.

I don't know about your daddies, but I know I have a GREAT one :-D I was sick yesterday and he took care of me, bringing me water and tucking me to bed. Ocassionally asking me if I'm feeling better (and asking if I had H1N1) and asking if I wanted food.


Making paper boats on a rainy day

I remember when we were younger, dad would also take great care of us when we fell sick... I remember him freezing towels and putting them on our forehead to absorb the heat. I remember how he used to throw in Tora and other junk food into the house and quickly drove away to let us know "Daddy is back!!!". I remember how he plays hide and seek with us when he's back from overseas and when we failed/can't be bothered to find him, he'll come out from his hiding sweating profusely and asked why we didn't look for him (actually we were busy ransacking his luggage). I remember his silly jokes and bedtime stories to put us to sleep (to E & Z: remember Mr Samy's long hands??? Hehehe). I remember him being very paranoid with us eating chillies and going to sleep late (the paranoid-ism still remains till today...). I remember how Z will cry when dad goes back to KL on Sunday night instead of the usual Mondays. Dad is the King of self-create acronyms too and they are all very lame ones!


And letting it go to sail away!

Dad taught us to be selfless and always be generous. He reminds us to be happy everyday. He taught us that learning is a never ending journey. He instills the 'family-first' value in us (To E & Z: You guys must say yes to whatever I ask ok?? I am your only youngest sister what...) and tells us that charity begins at home.

I'm going to just put it short and sweet to my daddy who I know is reading this.


My Daddy and Me :-)

Thanks for all that you've done for me. Love you Lim Baba!

Happy Daddy's Day to all Good Daddies in the world :-)

Mother's Day Dinner

Mom's cuppacakes

Yes I realized this is quite a backdated post, considering that Father's Day is tomorrow next Sunday and I am only writing on Mother's Day :-) Hehe, forgive me but I have been terribly busy and lazy as well. Much has happened over the past month, give me some time and I hope I'll be able to write more often again. I know it sucks to see an update once in 7 days or more.


Mom's homemade longevity buns

It was also Grandma's birthday. Kinda lost count of her age, but she should be 80+ now. We had the celebration dinner at Gold Dragon City Restaurant at Taman Paramount. Don't think I will go further to elaborate on the food... set dinner package, can't expect much huh. So here are the pictures...


Obligatory sharks fin soup


Steamed fish with spicy gravy


Everybody loves ze suckling pig


Steamed chicken with oyster sauce


Fried shrimps with mayo and sesame


Not my favourite vegetarian dish


The unnecessary fried meehoon


The effortless mochi


The interesting but no thanks soy bean with sea coconut

I guess my captions are self-explanatory.

Happy Father's Day tomorrow next Sunday :-)


Gold Dragon City Seafood Restaurant
No 14-16, Jalan 20/16A Paramount Garden,
Petaling Jaya 46300,
Selangor.
Tel: 03-7876 8633

[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.]

Headin' down South!

After the last trip to Bangkok which was about 2 months ago, I'm going to take another day off on Monday as this weekend, the co's sports club is organizing a treasure hunt! The final destination will be in Johor Bahru where we'll be staying a night at the awesome dutyfree place @ The Zon Hotel :-D

My team mates and I are also heading down south to our tiny but prosperous neighbour country, Singapore, as it is the.... *GREAT SINGAPORE SALES*!!!!!!

Ok must eat this too.




AHHHHHHHH... Unagi Rice Burger @ MOS Burger!

Ok got less than 5 hrs to sleep. Till I get back....

:-)

CTNF: Apple Chips

Sometimes having a sister who works in a junk snack food company means there'll always be plenty of snacks lying around at home. While this might seem like a fantasy home to all the kids, sometimes snacking too much on potato chips can be quite unhealthy. Hehe the above picture was taken when Eiling and I were trying to do a parody for the Chipster contest more than a year ago! Click here for a recap :-)


Green Tree Apple Chips

One of my favourite things to do would be doing grocery shopping and just walking past aisle and aisle of food stuff. My favourite would be at the confectionery and snacks sections as I like to see and know what are the latest products in the market. While I was looking for snacks in Jusco (I know why would I wanna buy snacks when I have loads at home right???) I came across this Apple Chips in a small canister. I remember coming across with apple chips while having those healthy muesli cereals with dried fruits and I always curi-curi eat all the apple chips and leaving the cereals behind heehee.


Dried apple chips

The chips retail for about RM4 plus. Not cheap for such a small canister though, even Pringles would come across as cheap compared to this. Anyway, who says healthy food are cheap anyway??! Look at those organic foodstuff for a start! The canister opens to reveal a aluminium pack and I pour the contents out into the canister for easier consumption. I had a great time munching into these chips and watching my dvd while feeling guilt free. I read the contents on the can and it says no added sugar, no artificial coloring, no fat and the only ingredients used is Fuji apples. What's further surprising is that this healthy product is from China!

Hahaha, to be scared or not to be...... but seeing that it has been some while I consumed this and still living to tell the story, the chips are cleared for consumption!

I would recommend this for people who likes to munch on snacks yet want to avoid the unhealthy effects of it :-)

Thursday Drama

I left office at about 7.30pm just now and just when I was along Jalan Semangat, Section 14 PJ I overheard the traffic report announcing people not to use Jalan Semangat and/or any where near to Section 14 as police have blocked the Jaya Supermarket area.

True enough, there was a massive jam along Jalan Semangat and the connecting roads.

It was pretty exciting though, I've never seen so many fire brigades, ambulances, police, MPPJ, bantuan kecemasan dan lain-lain in my life before! The sirens were like everywhere and they just keep flashing making you feel like as though you're part of a tv drama. I didn't know what was happening until dad was reading Star online just now.

I'm sure there's something to talk about in the office tomorrow!

Read here to find out more.

What An Ideal Saturday Is To Me

Yesterday is one of those days that felt as though life is great. I haven't had such a good day for a long long time.

Know that days like this only comes once in a blue moon, given the daily stress and distractions we're all facing.

The first half of the day was spent lying in bed, surfing the net, watching tonnes of YouTube videos of The Moffats and Boyzone (always a comfort, transporting myself back to the growing up days). In the afternoon, I headed back to office to catch up with some work. I prefer to work during the weekends where noone is in the office as much can be accomplished when there's no distractions that comes in the form of endless phone calls, having a new email every minute and frustrating ad-hoc problems.



Towards the evening, I headed back to Subang to E's place. E is a fellow colleague who is also a great friend and mentor and you wouldn't believe how the phrase "Six degrees of separation" is so true in this context. I got introduced to E during my first week in BAT, where I tagged along for lunch. He asked me what I was doing prior to this and I told him I was in the travel retail-dutyfree industry. Not long after that, we both realized we have the same acquintance- my ex-boss, ID. E handled the dutyfree account back then. Well all I can say is it's always a delight to know someone who also knows people that you know! Further into my stay in the company, I further discovered that the 6° of separation applies to most people I came to know. There're bound to be some connection from myself to the people I came to know and people I already know.


Ok haha this is not the real steak. Picture from google :p

Anyway, E and ID haven't met each other for over a decade and this is where I came to play- I asked ID out for a musical- Prince Siddhartha and got E to come along as well. It just turned out that all three of us are great fans of musicals. We headed to ID's place for a pre-drinks, dinner, and some decade-long worth of catching up before heading to Istana Budaya. ID, being such a gracious host treated us to a USD $200 bottle of Macallan and a home-cooked meal of medium rare steak with salad.



The musical was fantastic. At first I too was abit skeptical about it since it's about Buddhism, perhaps also one of the reasons why the musical is not heavily publicized? It is an all-Malaysian Chinese cast and I thought it'll be interesting at the same time to watch a Chinese musical. My first taste of Chinese musical was Butterfly Lovers and I enjoyed it tremendously. If there's anything I can describe Prince Siddhartha the Musical, it would be 'unbelievably good'. The cast is strong in vocals, dance, and acting. The props are just too awesome, if you thought Mamma Mia's props were awful, I'd say Prince Siddhartha gives you your money worth and the tickets aren't expensive. I really appreciate and am proud that our local production can come up with such amazing choreography, songs, and props. Most importantly, it's nothing religious but anyway Buddhism isn't a religion, it's a teaching :) And I am glad that both ID and E enjoyed the show as much as I did.

I would strongly recommend people to watch this. The show is still running till end of May. Click here for more details.

The night ended with another short chat back at ID's house. E and I adjourned to Subang and grabbed a bite of mamak before calling it a night. It was during the mamak session that I further discovered that E also knew my neighbour, Uncle Peter who passed away last year. Till this day, it still pains me that we have lost one good man.

The power of having a great day is immense, the happy feeling is still overflowing to today and I hope there's enough spillover to last me through the week before another weekend comes.

How was your weekend?

CTNF: Cold Cha Soba

Cold Cha Soba- RM7.90

Cheap Thrills No Frills section is back! I'm introducing a new section for these product reviews which will also come under the CTNF label. It is actually peculiar/unique items I get off from supermarket shelves and I will attempt to do a review on it.

Today's review is on the pre-packed cook-it-yourself Cold Soba from Jusco. I have been craving for soba for the past 2 weeks and came across these convenient pre-packs in Jusco supermarket. I bought 3 packs- 1 cold Cha Soba, 1 cold Wheat Soba, 1 hot Wheat Soba. These can be found at the section that sells all things Japanese in Jusco Mid Valley.


What's in every pack

Each pack comes with 2 packs of sauce and 2 bundles of soba noodles. Cooking instruction is as simple as eating it, boil water and let noodles cook. Strain cooked noodles with cold water and put it on a bed of ice. Pour cold sauces to a bowl, add a raw quail egg and *voila*!


Instant Cold Cha Soba

The end result is a cold cha soba in front of you without the exorbitant price and hassle of dressing up and driving out to the nearest Japanese restaurant. As with most instant and pre-packed food, the taste is not as great as real authentic fresh ones but it's enough to satisfy that craving and also save on the pockets. At RM7.90 per pack of 2 bundles of noodles, it is only about RM4 for a serving VS RM15+ outside.

Penny saved, tummy filled, cravings satisfied :D

Little Ben Cafe

Herbaline Beauty Square

In trouble times like this, every penny counts. So when a cafe offers a RM4.90 set lunch deal, what do you do?


Little Ben Cafe

Jump at the offer and drive straight to the cafe for a RM4.90 lunch of course! Don't worry about forgetting to bring your wallet/purse, I'm sure you can find RM4.90 under your car seats even though there're in coins!


Tick Tick Tick

The ordering process is fairly simple. Just browse through the menu and tick your orders ala HK char chan teng style! Walk over to the cashier and hand her your order, pay, get back to your seat and wait for the food to arrive!


Sailor Mee Set Lunch- RM4.90

Little Ben Cafe offers a special every day. For ie. Sundays are Sailor Mee days. It was a Sunday, and we had the Sailor Mee, which in actual fact is Pan Mee but served in a sailor hat shaped bowl. The set lunch includes a drink and a slice of watermelon. For less than RM5 (which is true, no unnecessary taxes), this is a pretty good lunch deal. The noodles came in bite pieces and in quite a big bowl too.


Red Wine Mee Suah- RM9.90

I was a little torn between the cute Nasi Dagang which Ziling claimed was pretty good according to her colleague and the Red Wine Mee Suah as it looks pretty tempting from the menu. I chose the latter. I have not had many Red Wine Mee Suah in my life, so I can't really judge but it was palatable plus still a good lunch deal with the accompanying lemongrass drink and fruit.


Lemongrass tea + A slice of watermelon

To sum it up, tastewise, Little Ben may just be another average joe among the many many eateries out there or even in Kota Kemuning itself but I must commend the proprietors for coming up with such a great concept and offering meals at less than RM10. I'm not kidding, nothing in the menu is above RM10! It has a great ambience though- modern contemporary furnitures, free wifi and even computers for you to surf the net, long tables for family dine-outs... etc.

I heard this place is especially packed on weekday lunch hours, and even when we were there on a Sunday, it was packed too!

The cafe is located within the Herbaline Beauty Square in Kota Kemuning, a rather interesting concept of a huge premise which houses a spa, yoga center, knowledge center, hair saloon, and a cafe with lush green surrounding and easy parking.


Little Ben Cafe
Herbaline Beauty Square,
28, Jalan Anggerik Mokara 31/47,
Kota Kemuning,
40460 Shah Alam.
Tel: 03-5121 5055
Business hour: Tues-Sun, 8am-5pm. Closed on Mondays.

[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.]

Snowflake Taiwanese Dessert Secrets

Snowflake Taiwanese Dessert Secrets

Dessert places are mushrooming everywhere but I have never really been to one proper dessert place except the overrated KTZ. My friends recommended this humble little shop in Subang which specializes in Taiwanese desserts.


Beeping UFO

The first time I saw this beeping device was in Perth. This is especially useful for self-service places, where you order, pay and then wait for your food/drinks to be ready for collection. Yes, it beeps and vibrates to let you know your desserts are ready!


Snowflake Bestseller- RM5.50
Grass jelly + Grass jelly ice + Taroballs + Creamer


Grass Jelly Ice Series- RM4.90
Barley + Pearl

My friends recommended the Snowflake Bestseller. After a hot steamboat dinner, the dessert was a delightful, refreshing end to a meal.



This is the first time I had Taiwanese desserts. I know it's weird to see creamer being added into such desserts but actually it was pretty good.



I especially love the taro balls as they are chewy and provided me some jaw exercise, much similar to eating glutinous rice balls.

I would recommend Snowflake and the Bestseller dessert to anyone :)


Snowflake
No.61A, First Floor,
Jalan SS15/8A,
47500 Subang Jaya,
Selangor.
Tel: 017-623 8966

[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.]

Pommes Frites

Pommes Frites sounds like a really atasan/foreign name for a food outlet, but before you jump into conclusion thinking this is another one of those expensive eateries that I am going to review, you are so wrong!

I first read about Pommes Frites through The Star's daily food column in the Metro section (I read that religiously, apart from the daily comic strips of course). It then slipped off my mind until I had to make a trip to Sunway Pyramid a week ago to meet up with Yi Fang and Khian. Pommes Frites popped up in my mind again and I took them to try out the food with me.


Belgian Fries with Chocolate Dipping- RM4.50

It has a pretty small space in the Asian Avenue section, you'll probably missed it if you've not been there before. We had the Belgian Fries with Chocolate Dipping to share. We find the fries with chocolate combination an amazing discovery as it tastes something out of the ordinary yet tasty. This place is actually famous for its fries and the variety of dippings, from cheese, bbq to wasabi to the usual suspects of ketchup and chilli, and the more exotic chocolate, roasted eggplant, rosemary aioli, for those who prefer exotic and healthy, there's a choice of fruity dips such as mango, strawberry and cinnamon. They claim to have over 30 kinds of dips!

Belgian fries are not your usual McDonalds fries, from frozen to fried. In fact, Pommes Frites claim to peel, cut and fry the sinful snack right at their kitchen, so no frozen or defrozing involved here, and hence the freshness. I do not doubt this claim as the fries has a layer of crispy skin but soft and fluffy inside. The regular serving is priced at RM4.50 with a choice of a dip and large at RM6.90. For those who want to try a few sauces/dips at one go, each additional dip cost RM2.50.


Beef Bacon Fettucine- RM10.90


Spaghetti Marinara- RM10.90

For our mains, we had a serving of Beef Bacon Fettucine and Spaghetti Marinara from the pasta menu. All the pastas are priced at RM10.90 which is quite a steal after seeing the portion and in all honesty, they taste pretty good too. Of course, don't expect it to bloody fantastic but hey it's better than paying close to RM20 for a pasta at Resipi Rahsia!


Mussels + Clam Provencal with White Wine- RM17.90

While mussels and clams are regulars at steamboat places, it is quite rare to see any eateries brave enough to offer this dish on its own (dai chow doesn't count). The first time I had a pot of mussels was sometime last year when I was in Singapore at Brussels Sprout. The second time was probably in Perth, chilli mussels at Nero's. This would be my third I guess.

Diners can have the option of choosing a pot of mussels or clams or a mix of both at the same price, RM14.90 per pot and RM17.90 if you want to add white wine. I chose the latter. There are also other shellfishes such as oysters and scallops done au gratin. Every pot of mussels/clams comes with a bowl of belgian fries with mayo too, very similar to Brussels Sprout's concept.


Huge mussels

Give credits when it is due and credits I must give. While the bowl is not spectacularly big, I must say the size of the shellfishes are not too small and stingy either. I appreciate the big mussels, though not alot, about 5 pieces and the generous amount of clams. For RM14.90, one cannot expect the serving to be as big as your grandmother's prized pot eh?


Belgian Fries with Mayo

More fries for you and I to linger around longer....... though there's no free ice water :(

But definitely deserves a comeback for the fries and other dippings, their variety of pasta and perhaps the oysters!

p/s: I think Pommes Frites is inspired by the same name eatery in New York specializing in Belgian Fries and the variety of dippings. Click here to see more.



Pommes Frites
F1 AV196 Asian Avenue
Sunway Pyramid (New Wing).

[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.]