How to Shop In Peace

Drop the hubs and kid off at sand art area.

Choose and pay for the biggest and most complicated piece

 Guaranteed peaceful shopping for at least 1 hour !

Chun Kee Hakka Da Pu Mien

I was watching Axian's show one night and this particular episode on Chun Kee's Hakka Da Pu noodle caught my attention. I picked up some ideas on how to fry minced pork.. I precook a lot of minced pork at home for Amber's lunch of noodles, rice or porridge.

The secret to their ever tasty minced pork is adding some dried flounder fish powder and fish sauce to the minced pork. Hmmm.... another trick I pick up... dried flounder fish !!!

I thought the Chun Kee's noodle must be tucked somewhere in rural Malaysia. Nothing around KL is authentic anymore but I was wrong.  Chun Kee's is at Jalan Sayur off Jalan Pudu. I quickly noted down the address and bugged my roomate, a wantan mee fansee to check out the place.

Our trusty Garmin directed us to Jalan Sayur but it's a lane off Jalan Pudu. It's impossible to park at Jalan Sayur (aka  Pudu Wai Sek Kai). We took a turn to the left at the traffic light junction and found a car park and walked back to Jalan Sayur.

The stall was busy, very! and next to it is a shop with doors closed but that's where they make the noodles, by hand. Take a sneak peak and you'll see the sifu kneading flour and eggs by hand and using a long bamboo pole to knock down the mixture to a smooth dough.

 I ordered a small and roommate ordered large. He'll never miss and opportunity to top up his tummy on occasions like these :D

Verdict ?

TO DIE FOR !!!!

Authentic springy bitey egg noodles smothered with tasty minced pork. The noodle is QQ but not too Q and no taste of alkali. The minced pork sauce lends just sufficient flavour to the noodles. No dark soy sauce needed. I can't find similar noodles as such in KL and I think this is as close as you can get to kampua noodles. Annie, if you're reading this.. you must try Chun Kee!

Their pickled chilly is nice too. Very green, fresh and crunchy, unlike the other pickled green chillies from other wantan mee stalls.. Pickled to deadly yellow color !

The roommate literally licked his bowl clean ! LOL !

Chun Kee Hakka Da Pu Mien
446 Jalan Sayur, Off Jalan Pudu
Kuala Lumpur

Open from 6am till 10pm. Runs on three shifts by 3 brothers  - morning, afternoon and night. An elderly man who shared our table told me the night shift's tastes best :D

Along Jalan Bunga Raya

Last weekends trip to Malacca was an eye opener for me. We stayed at Renaissance Malacca, located at Jalan Bendahara and we spent some time walking around, discovering new places of interest makan interest around the hotel.
Adjacent to Jalan Bendahara is Jalan Bunga Raya. We walked via the side lane of Renaissance Hotel and crossed over to Jalan Bunga Raya.

There's lots to see at Jalan Bunga Raya, on one side is the riverfront and Majestic Hotel. This brings back memories of my first trip to Malacca back in the 80's. I kepoh-ed along with my sister and her colleagues to Malacca for a nights stay. We were looking for accomodation and walked in to the old Majestic Hotel. Back then, before YTL bought over the properties and the giant transformation, Majestic was very run down and managed by a couple of elderly Chinese staff. We had to swing through the cowboy doors to get into the hotel. They quoted us RM60 for a nights stay but it looks so ghostly, we left as quick as we can blink.

Today, Majestic Hotel stands grand and spells luxury. Too deep for my pockets ! Back to Jalan Bunga Raya, we came across many old sundry and household shops. I bought lots,  dulang- made of pleated bamboo for drying ikan bilis, mushroom and what nots.. foldable bamboo mats and classic can openers used by mamaks (the one where you puncture a hole in the middle of a condensed milk tin and swiftly and firmly turn the can around to produce and opening.).. Hubs bought a big kite and giganto pulley (with ball bearings, hubs claims it's really really canggih.. impossible to find in KL - now, let's just see when he takes us to 'main wau', LOL )... It was like a balik kampung shopping trip for me.

Walking down Jalan Bunga Raya, we came across a small but busy looking desert parlour and after a long walk, all we want is iced cendol. We found - Min Chong Hygienic Ice Cafe
at :

43, Jalan Bunga Raya, Melaka
Opens from 10am - 7pm.

Funny name ! The place is authentically run down and small. Only 3 or 4 tables available but there was a big family there digging in to their cendol and so I'd think it shouldn't be that bad.

We ordered a cendol for Amber.. currently her favourite desert. She loves the gula melaka , ice and santan and hates the slimy green cendols and kacang merah (just like me !)

Amber walloped with no complains.. She shared it with hubs with her taking the ice+gula melaka+santan and hubs finishing up the cendols, nuts and beans.

I personally think the cendol is just average. Nothing to shout about and with so many cendol stalls around Malacca, we're spoilt for choice. I wouldn't purposely make a trip here for the cendol but my rojak, was different.

It's less sweet compared to the KL rojaks and heavier on the 'hae koh' - prawn paste. Really yummy. I almost wanted to order a second plate until the hubs reminded me we have a long food trail ahead.

Would I come here again ? Definitely but just for the rojak and only if I'm around Jalan Bunga Raya. :)

Malacca - 1 Oct 2011

My colleague, the moderator for  Persatuan Peranakan Cina Malaysia's facebook page, invited us to the associations anniversary celebration, held at the association's premise at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock.

We took the opportunity to go for a short break at Malacca as it's been some times since we last went for a short getaway.

Getting ready, all set for fun and sun (and makan) at Malacca

 We stayed at Renaissance Malacca, a break from the bustling Jonker Street. The hotel's clean and fuss free and allowed us early check in. Very nice frontliners, unlike some hotel who'll turn you down flat.. no rooms till 2pm ! We had the pool to ourselves (LOVELY!!), dipped and dunked with Amber whilst the hubs was busy playing PvZ  (aitelyu, he's addicted, !!)

I anticipated a lot of walking and sightseeing at Malacca and obviously Amber will complain with too much walking. I made out short getaway sound interesting by promising her a swim in the pool. Throughout the car ride to Malacca, she kept asking .. when can I go swimming ? can I go swimming now ? please ? can I go swimming now ?...  aiyer.. I wished I had earplugs :(

My ex colleague and her family drove up from Singapore to join us and Amber was looking forward to meet her friends too.

No trip to Malacca is complete without stepping foot at Jonker Street. Did our mandatory shopping of iced coffee from San Shu Gong for our friends, some timber stools for home. Very good deal and I shall blog about it later and some souvenirs and snacks.

The hubs gotta be kerbau for the day. Amber the lazy fart is a lazy walker and will complain till no end of leg pain, body pain and tired, hoping the big kerbau will piggy back her and doting big kerbau will never refuse.

The little fart is almost 19kg now and I'll never risk breaking my bones or back to carry her and not to mention piggy back. Well, a kerbau dad's gotta do what a kerbau dad's gotta do

We walked to the night market (with fart on the kerbau) at Pasar Kota Laksama to get a taste of local Malaccan pasar malam. Apart from the usual Angry Bird stuff which is all over Malaysia pasar malams, we found Baba Charlie and feasted on their angku kueh and packed some kaya home. Unlike our KL pasar malams, this pasar malam wraps up by 7pm and timing was just nice for us to walk over the the association. I know my way better around Malacca after this trip and there's actually a lot of parking space around Kota Laksamana, a walking distance to Jonker's Walk ;)

We're (me and my friends) were the only non-Pernanakans at the association. I felt a bit out of place until some of friendly association members started talking to us. I have always been intrigued by Peranakan culture apart from their food and witnessing the anniversary celebration is certainly eye opening. The members prepared a feast and we're truly blessed to be able to taste Peranakan food prepared by Peranakans.

 

Chap chye

 Rojak and acar timun

 Ayam pongteh

 Ikan Asam

 Sambal udang petai (moi's favourite)

 Sambal bendi (another all time favourite .. I love ladies finger)

 Lorbak

 Babi pongteh

The Association members working hard to ensure we had a welcoming feast.

Amber and her friend Renee, my colleagues 6 yr old daughter)

We had to make a quick dash after dinner, the kids were tired and restless and missed the later celebrations of singing and dancing. 

On the way back to the hotel, I saw a familiar place, I've seen in many blogs, the famous or-chien (oyster omelet) of Jalan Bunga Raya
We dropped our friends off and went back to pack some or-chien. The queue was long and we had to wait for 30 minutes

Mr Omelet doing his works and I enjoyed watching him kung-fu up a big wok of or-chien that serves up to 7 plates. RM6 per plate. One portion only and you can choose plain or spicy (chilly).

He'll fry a wok full with chilly and then another without. If you order both chilly and non-chilly packs, then  you have to wait for him to kung-fu up 2 woks to delivery your order. I also noticed he used lotsa fish sauce (secret ingredient??).

Somehow the or chien didn't taste as good as it looks when we had it in the hotel room. I think it taste better served on a plate, dining in house (there's a coffeeshop adjacent to the or chien stall where you can sit and eat). I forgot to take a photo, as always when I'm too engrossed with eating but I'll try again on my next trip to Malacca but it has to be dine in. I think takeaways tastes somewhat different. I still prefer my regular big fat juicy oysters from Thye-Hong's at Pavilion's Food Republic.

My friends left early for Singapore. Renee had to attend her concert rehearsal.We had little time left too but did squeeze some time to go Jonker's Walk for our cendol dose at Donald & Lily. I bumped into Linda, my dear Malaccan friend who helped me lots in dealing with Amber's allergy. That, was a sweet end to our trip :D

A Weekday Treat

 

Weekday dinners are a simple fare for us.  Rice with meat and vege and a soup. I wouldn't go overboard with anything fancy. It's gotta be quick and easy to swallow so Amber can finish her dinner on time. She has music and mental arithmetic class twice a week in the evenings. So, it's' got to be easy peasy and quick.

I wanted a to give my family a treat yesterday and whipped up a meal we all love. Roasted drumsticks with preboiled roast potatoes, panfried portobellos, honey baked ham and a side dish of capsicum / cherry tomatoes with blue cheese dressing ?

Nice ? Not blowing my own horns.. but it was YUMZZZ !!!

Got Bitten By The Wolf

I got bitten by the Big Bad Wolf !!! I'm not into books and it's been ages since I last read a paperback but I couldn't resist the offers when FB friends posted about their purchase.

Since I had an afternoon to spare, I took leave and found my way to UPM Serdang, giddy with excitement, especially when I saw loads of people walking up the event hall with grocery trolleys and big IKEA bags.
I was a bit worried on handling and carrying those heavy books but Irene assured the event is very well organized and it was. There's boxes for me to drop my selection and a customer service where I can drop by boxes at, instead of lugging around the hall. Then there are those leng-chai customer service boys who helped me trolley the boxes to cashier and then I'm on my own.. oh.. wait.. there's also a shuttle bus to send me back to my car .. Lovely eh ? 

My purchases.. All 23 books and cost me only RM229. The Nigella Lawson and Jamie Olivers alone cost at least RM200, retail price.
I was giddy and greedy.. wanted almost every book in sight but I really shouldn't because there'll always be a next BBW.
I didn't buy many books for Amber as she already has too many books, 'untouched'. I did get her some classics with cd and stickers and Mr Men series - Little Miss Bossy (no prize for guessing why :D)

She weren't even excited with my loot but she insisted on taking a picture with them.
I'm shifting the books to my room, stacked on the floor, next to my reading chair.
The ipad2 gotta take a break now while I dig into the books :D

I already feasted on Nigella Lawson's Christmas last night. What's next ? Jamie Oliver ? or.. should I start of Sophie Kinsella's ???





Too spoilt for choice.. all for a very small price.. RM229.. As Irene said.. going for book sale is more 'SYIOK' than buying baju at Isetan presale.. LOL

Chupa Chups

I was paying at a cashier check out and the Chupa Chups caught her attention. I overheard her saying softly to herself :

Ooooooohhhhhhh  Wow !!!!!! Lollipops !!

Poor little kiddo ! She's been off candies and chocolates for  more than a year. Apart from an occasional Mentos mint and chewing gum (only recently too), I do not allow her candies. She's allergic to dairy and certain food colorings and sugar is not good for her as she has candida and we have to limit her sugar intake.

We offered her one and her expression ? Priceless !!!

I chose a cola flavoured Chupa Chups for her. Non-dairy and less coloring. She's just as happy :

She didn't finish the Chupa Chups and I was very happy to chuck it away. Although she likes candies and all kinds of lollies, she's never addicted to candies and I think it's ok to allow her a little luxury once in a while.

Healthy Breakfast

I go to work with a little devil.. The little devil who's seated next to me. The little devil who drives me to work. The little devil named 'HUBS'... 

He'll tempt me with invitations for  Nasi Lemak at Dang Wangi, every other day !

Politely turned him down thrice and yesterday, he 'tak boleh tahan' and parked his car aside and asked me to get a take away pack for him. I politely did and packed '1 bungkus nasi lemak tapau, tambah telur'

The little devil named hubs even offered to share a pack with him.

'no' ...No cravings .. I'd rather have wholemeal crackers or toast with coffee and here's what I had this morning :

 

Wholemeal toast with passionfruit preserve and freshly brewed Americano.

I heart the Passion-ate preserve from Australia.  My kind dear friend from Perth gave us a jar. Bursting with passionfruit tanginess, it's a perfect pick-me-up in a rainy morning.

I hope I don't succumb to the nasi lemak temptation anytime again.

Hari Malaysia and what we did

Am so glad today's a Public Holiday. The city's celebrating Hari Malaysia with Dataran Merdeka and Jalan Raja closed for celebrations and Chinatown, aka "Petaling Street" is abuzz with Mid Autumn celebrations. There'll be cultural performances, photo exhibition and such.

We did none of those. I had my heart set on Isetan Foodmarket's reopening at KLCC concourse floor. Jaclyn already ajak-ed me couple of days ago, she knows I'm a diehard presale kaki (and that's about the only time I find worth shopping, for kids clothes, food, sundries and my personal stuff). Our usual routine is to have breakfast at the Old Racecourse Kopitiam at Level 4 foodcourt. The best breakfast set you can get around KLCC, RM5.90 for a nasi lemak and coffee/tea set.

Was so afraid of missing my breakfast and I had to rush my 2 roommates. One was taking his time doing his stuff, the other was taking my time doing her stuff. I spent a good whole hour cleaning the wound on her knee. She fell in the kindie playground 2 days ago. Her knees scraped and bled. I cleaned and dressed the wound but it fell off and her teacher put on a plaster over her still bleeding knees but she used the cloth plaster, very icky and sticky type. Her graze is a lot bigger than the plaster and I can imagine the pain of having your wound taped with icky sticky plaster and nothing could be worst than tearing off the plaster before infection sets on the wound, not even waxing a hairy leg with melting wax ! 

So, it was an hour of 'crying - please don't touch but please help me- please don't touch but  please help me' from her and threats from me : ' don't take off the plaster - your knee will be scarred - we'll have to take you to clinic - we'll have to take you to HOSPITAL'.. Gawd... the whole episode lasted one hour until hubs had the quick mind of asking me to run cold water down her knee to help the plaster unglue.  She even said 'Papa quite clever hor.. can think about using water to rinse away the plaster glue'..
I hate handling dressings.. aiyer.. very painful to see the little kid in pain but a moms gotta do the dirty job.

Once done.. I shooed both of them with warnings that we gotta leave soon coz I must have my nasi lemak at KLCC or else ........... jeng jeng jeng jeng...

Anyway.. made it in time to meet Jaclyn for breakfast. She was alone, enjoying her 'me' time away from her 4 men !!

We went to Isetan Foodmarket and was shocked by the crowd. Trolleys were taken up and a lot of best buys were also snapped up but we managed to get what we wanted.  I queued for the honey baked ham and Jaclyn queued to pay. It's a bonus having  a friend to shop with. :D :D

I like the Foodmarket for it's service and quality food. For a slight premium, I'm getting my money worth. Some other supermart (for I shan't name), charges premium but does not deliver the service or quality we are paying for.

Amber was a little naughty, she helped herself to samples of Japanese grapes. My eyeballs popped when I saw the price. RM145 for a punnet   :(  but they're darn nice, aitelyu.

Once done, I shooed hubs and her off, I didn't want to stay at KLCC any longer, couldn't stand the crowd. We went home, unload our stuff and went for lunch and then for a haircut for 3 of us.

My helper cooked tau yew bak. Must applaud her for her effort, hubs said ichiban. I was all smiles not only because the tau yew bak was good but ' I trained well ' kinda feeling.

We all watched Ong Bak - a muay thai flick and that was our day today.  A happy day and I feel elated knowing I can sleep in for 2 days more. Tomorrow's only Saturday :D

Gifts from Sibu

Annie Q came back from Sibu recently and came back with these goodies.

Dabai (sibu olives) pickled in soy sauce and sugar. I like the nutty and buttery taste of the dabai. Annie did give me some dabai from her previous trip. I pickled those myself but somehow it didn't taste as nice as these, pickled by Annie :

 

Tasty, buttery fresh olives. I chomped down the dabai on the same night, didn't save any for dinner the following day although Annie did say pickled dabai goes well with rice. 

Annie also passed me some goodies from Arthur (aka suituapui), the famous Sibu godfather. I've never met him but I like to read his food posts a lot.

 These mooncakes are Sibu populars and hubs like it. Simple and unassuming delicious mooncakes. Hubs couldn't wait to chomp these delicious golden pastries and we finished it way before the mooncake festival.

 

Non-halal biscuits from Sibu (read : **mengandungi lemak babi**)

These cookies contain pork lard, butter, flour and peanuts and the pork lard gives this crumbly cookie an aromatic flavour. I brought these cookies to a company gathering along with some local mooncakes and everyone snapped up the lemak babi cookies instead. :D 

Thanks Annie and Arthur. I must make it a point to visit Annie whenever she returns from Sibu.  Surely a lot of goodies to share.. :D :D :D :D