I found out that the food there were more expensive compared to the nearest pasar ramadhan to our home.

For example for lauk pauk, the minimum you have to buy is RM3, compared to RM2. Even the kuih muih were sold for 50sen per piece compared to 3 pieces for RM1 here.

Taste wise, most of the food we bought were not that delicious. We bought rojak singapore, ikan bakar, plain rice, masak lemak cili api pucuk paku, tempe sira, some kuih muih like karipap pusing (from one very kerek seller..huhu), fried mee sanggul, mee goreng basah for supper, Hubby bought nasi lemak ayam pedas which he said was tasteless. And for all that, I spent almost RM50.

Oh, I also bought putu mayam. Luckily I paid first while waiting for the putu to be ready because by the time I came back to the stall, there were many people queuing up to buy. Thus the reason I still haven’t got the chance to buy any murtabak till today since I don’t have the energy and patience to wait in line for some murtabak which I am not sure whether worth it my wait or not.

Overall eventhough there are many stalls selling all kind of food in Putrajaya, for us there’s nothing special to look there. We might as well go to other pasar ramadhan with less people but surely have good food.

But if you feel inclined to see rows and rows of pasar ramadhan stalls, perhaps a visit to Putrajaya will be worth a visit. Who knows you might find something you like there.

Pasar Ramadhan Putrajaya originally appeared on CintaRasa on August 19, 2010.

At first we thought it could be OK since they have the Middle Eastern culinary feast. I was imagining whole lamb BBQ…yumm!

Since they also have Pan Asia menu, I thought I will try wantan noodle first. But till the end I couldn’t get my wantan noodle since the chef was busy running from the kitchen to the front counter, he told me the noodle will be ready in 5 minutes but after 10 minutes the noodle was never ready.

So fine, I’ll eat something else which doesn’t require a chef to prepare. By that time I already minus 1 point from my expectation.

I saw someone else taking a lot of udang galah, so I thought just try one piece with rice. Yucks, the prawn was not properly cleaned, there was one big black lump of tahi inside its head. Is this a normal standard for a 4-star hotel kitchen?

Then I tried their sushi selection. When I took my choice, they have not refilled the unagi, so I just took a few that I usually will eat in Sushi King. And boy, those sushi I chose tasted worse than those cheapo one sold in Carrefour. Very disappointing!

Not giving up, next I went to the Middle Eastern Culinary Feast counter and asked the chef for the roasted lamb. And he was like very “kerek” with me. Eh, I pay for my meal you know, not that I am eating for free. The roasted lamb was like so-so, not as good as I expected, unlike the one we had in Marriott Putrajaya last year.

Still on the issue of the sombong chef, as I was waiting for my lamb to be carved, one Mat Saleh came to the counter taking some fried nugget, and the guy suddenly changed his tone and cheerfully asked the Westerner whether he’ll be interested with the roasted lamb. Later when a family of Arabs came and sat next to our table, the same chef came and gave a plate of hash brown, saying this is for you, sir!

Hello! We will be celebrating 53 years of Independence and yet there are still Malaysians who are so willlingly kissing ass of foreigners. If you are practising courtesy and sikap ramah tamah, then you should practise it to all patrons, not limited to foreigners.

Since the Atrium cafe is not so spacious, they have this creative ideas of putting all the desserts and appetizers on shelves like in the picture.

What I found as funny is the placement of cencalok, budu and sambal belacan there. Those condiments are not appetizers, they should be placed somewhere near to all the Malay lauk pauk and nasi putih. I wonder who is in charge of their Malay Kitchen..sigh!

See, that untouched sambal belacan…next to the plate of Chinese kuih…hemm.

They also have cheese platter to be eaten on crackers. They are serving Pan-Asia menu, so must have cheese..heh!

And gado gado as part of their Malay appetizer. Hubby took a plate but I found the gado gado gravy not so tasty.

I was hoping that they have all kind of jelly and pudding, but they only have these.

On the outside stalls, they have lok lok, yee mee and roti jala with chicken curry. The roti jala was too thick but the chicken curry was nice.

The Yee Mee chef was preparing my order. And he was also “kerek” when Hubby went to take my order. Not the kind of attitude they should have when working in service and customer oriented environment.

Oh, it took me some real effort and waiting time when asking for refill for the plain water. And I wonder why, because there were not that many people at the area that we were seated. And for a buffet price of RM65++, they don’t even have any other drinks, be it hot or cold. And we were not even asked whether we want to order separate drinks.

Well, that’s it Atrium. This will be the last time I’m going to eat at your place. Go kiss some foreign ass if that’s what going to bring you more money. For those thinking of going there for Ramadhan buffet, think twice, you have been warned!

Atrium Cafe, Pyramid Tower originally appeared on CintaRasa on August 13, 2010.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Crowdtap. All opinions are 100% mine.

On Crowdtap you earn rewards for gift cards and a charity of your choice for taking polls, participating in discussions with brands, sharing online content, sampling products and throwing house parties with leading brands.

I have tried to Tap In at Crowdtap.com. However as it is now in beta in the US only, I am unable to participate further. But I did get the first $1 and points for signing up.

Only US Residents During Beta

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Since I can’t do much, I look around.

When you have more than $10.00 in cash available, you can redeem your earnings here. 5% will automatically go to the charity you selected which Crowdtap will match. You can choose to donate the rest for your charity or get an Amazon gift card e-mailed to you.

Oh, signing up is easy. For those with Facebook account, you can do so by logging in. For those with great ideas and critical mind when it comes to consumer products and brands, this is a great chance for you to share your thoughts.

Check out Crowdtap.com. View opportunities and complete one that you like. You’ll earn status and rewards. And at the same time, you get to give to the charity of your choice. So hurry up people, signup for Crowdtap and get your first $1 to charity or gift cards just for signing up.

Tap In At Crowdtap originally appeared on CintaRasa on August 10, 2010.

However at The Aryani their room service is only available up to 11pm.

This is what I ordered for lunch after we checked in. I think it was ayam percik with plain white rice. Very delicious even though the portion was small..huhu!

While waiting for the process of checking in and getting the villa ready (we didn’t have any reservation, it was kind of last minute decision after a hard night getting to sleep in a guest house), we were served their trademark lemongrass drinks and freshly fried keropok lekor.

What a nice way to welcome patrons, heh!

No wonder they were chosen as the best beach resort in 2007 by the Expatriate Lifestyle. I will not hesitate to come here again for a vacation anytime!

The Aryani is located in Merang, Setiu, Terengganu.

The Room Service At The Aryani originally appeared on CintaRasa on August 10, 2010.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of NMEDA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you ever heard about NMEDA? I haven’t until I get the opportunity to write this post.

I used to think how come there are so many empty disabled parking spaces in the mall (especially now when the festival season is coming soon and I have to go out and do some shopping) and how hard could it be for the disabled to go out and live life as normal people do. But reading through the website makes me realize that it IS hard.

The disabled or the caretaker of the disabled will need special vehicle with adaptive equipment customized to their needs. Remember the part in Glee whereby Arthur can’t take the school bus because it doesn’t have ramp for his wheelchair, tough, huh!

Oh, coming back to the main subject, the NMEDA is an Association of Mobility Dealers, Manufacturers and Rehabilitation Professionals that advocates providing safe, reliable vehicles and modifications to enhance accessibility for all people.

I am not sure whether Malaysia has this kind of association and I have no one close with disability experience to ask. But I am certainly glad that there are options for disabled people to go on with life, still be able to go out on family outing, take a ride to the shopping mall, in essence still be able to live life to the fullest despite the change of fate.

I hope if it is ever to happen to me, I will still be able to eat out, go shopping and enjoy my time with my beloved.

Ride For Disabled originally appeared on CintaRasa on August 10, 2010.

I have to wake up early in the morning (you have to be there before 11am) and stand up in line while waiting for my order to be packed just to try this famous Nasi Dagang Mak Ngah in Chendering, Terengganu.

I hope to elaborate more about her makan place later once I have managed to get all the pictures. For now you can read about this Mak Ngah Nasi Dagang here : Nasi Dagang Chendering.

Hubby said it’s the best nasi dagang he had ever tasted. But I don’t really find any difference except this one is spicier. Or maybe because I hate waking up in the morning just to get some breakfast..haha!

Nasi Dagang originally appeared on CintaRasa on August 8, 2010.

Hubby put the plastic full of rebung in a pot and put the pot in the drying area at the back of our kitchen..haha!

The way I cook masak lemak rebung (bamboo shoot) is the same like I cook ayam masak lemak cili api. The fiery cili padi were pounded smoothly with fresh turmeric (kunyit hidup), garam kasar and serai (lemongrass) was added later. You need to titik the serai, not pounded it together with the rest of the paste.

Since I didn’t put beef in the main dish of gulai rebung (I just use dried anchovies as perencah), I fried chicken pieces as the source of protein. Sometimes having simple ayam goreng like this is enough to whet the appetite.

Masak Lemak Rebung originally appeared on CintaRasa on August 4, 2010.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Ramblers Way. All opinions are 100% mine.

We took a road trip recently to the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia to attend a friend’s wedding. Living in a big city with its hustle and bustle of busy life, such trip is really an eye opener. People in small towns certainly live in slower lane. They even drive slower..haha!

As we passed one small town to another, I noticed each village and its locals have their own business. As the East Coast people are mainly fishermen, most of the local products are fish based - keropok lekor, satar, otak-otak just to name a few common local delicacies we bought along the way.

It is amusing to see those locals are true to their spirit in term of running their family business. Children as young as 8-9 years old are being taught the basics of customer service and helping their parents at the stalls.

We also passed by many local handicraft like batik and songket. But I think we can’t really call those handicraft as 100% Made In Malaysia as the cloth and the yarn used are imported from overseas. I hope there will be time when the locals could be proud to say that their handicraft products are 100% domestically resourced the way like Ramblers Way Farm do.

Personally if you ask me, the label Made in America they put on their worsted wool apparel is genuine as they grow the Rambouillet wool on their own sheep farms in Maine and on ranches such as in Colorado, Montana and many more.

The worsted wool garments are then designed, created, and manufactured in their partners’ factories in the Carolinas and New England, by people whose families have been operating for generations.

Their way of business has changed the way the usual big conglomerate business is done. By sourcing, growing, and producing their fine woolen apparel using 100% domestic resources, they have brought manufacturing facilities into distressed small towns and are helping to revitalize the communities.

Even their corporate office is a fully refurbished building. It was originally built in 1792 and is located in downtown Kennebunk, Maine. The building has been restored to its original condition, while being modernized to meet today’s environmental standards.

I really hope that Malaysia’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism will look into such matter and see the positive aspects of historical preservation and supporting the business districts of downtown
areas rather than building more bigger malls in big city and demolishing national heritage in the process.

Let’s Support 100% Domestic Resources! originally appeared on CintaRasa on July 30, 2010.

I chose to take their bruschetta as appertizer and this shrimp linguine as the main course. I think we have tried most of their main course such as pan fried fish with angel hair and a few more which I can’t recall now in that RM27.90 offer but none was satisfying enough for me. I still like their classic carbonara the best.

As expected I didn’t finish the shrimp linguine, packed them home and it ended up being thrown in the dustbin 2 days later..huhu! So much for trying to save some money. Next time I should have ordered the bruschetta for RM14.90 and classic carbonara lunch size for RM20.90.

At least nothing would be wasted.

Shrimp Linguine, Italiannies originally appeared on CintaRasa on July 28, 2010.

There are many version of mee kari recipes, both online and offline. I don’t have chicken in stock so I decided to use udang (prawn), kerang (cockles) and fishball instead.

For the paste, I blended the thinly sliced lemongrass (serai), ginger and galangal (lengkuas). I also put in red onion and garlic. For this particular mee kari, I used rempah kari daging/ayam Adabi. Maybe next time I will use Baba’s curry powder just to see whether it makes any difference to the spicy-ness level..heh!

Oh, I also added in a ladle full of blended dried chili when frying the spice paste. As usual I use santan kotak MS brand…the small packet (200ml) will do because I don’t want the gravy to be too thick with coconut milk.

For the additional liquid, I used stock I made by boiling the shells and head of the prawns I de-shelled the night before. I kept those prawn shells in freezer and boiled them for about 20 minutes to make air rebusan udang.

I put in tauhu pok (the fried dried tofu) as it is a must ingredient found in mee kari. You can also add in fish cake as it is more salty compared to normal white fishball and give more oommph to the gravy taste.

After many years of not cooking mee kari, I would say it was not that bad. After a tweak here and there (Hubby prefers it to be more spicy), we managed to finish the 3/4 pot of kuah mee kari..haha!

Mee Kari Kerang originally appeared on CintaRasa on July 8, 2010.