Epicure, Manicure

FAME NAILS

2014-11-26T20:52:00.000+07:00

Are you in Ho Chi Minh City and have no idea on where to get your nails done? Head over to Fame Nails, located at both No. 18 Pham Hong Thai, District 1, HCMC and 45, Mac Thi Buoi, District 1, HCMC. I've been frequenting this place for more than 3 years and am very happy with their variety of nail services which comes in reasonable prices. Not to mention their super friendly staffs.

From left: The very nice lady boss of Fame Nails, Kim and one of my favorite nail artist, Si Si!

18, Pham Hong Thai

45, Mac Thi Buoi

You can expect good quality products at Fame Nails as their nail polish vary from O.P.I, China Glaze, Orly and Gelish. And yes, they do offer Gelish manicure and pedicure if you would prefer a longer lasting, chip free nails. The least that you should worry about when you are at Fame Nails is about the color and nail art selections. They have tones of choices, that I always take forever to decide on what I want.

Its actually more than what you can see in the picture

My friend, Rathi, in dilemma on which design to go with

Besides nail services, Fame Nails also offer foot massage so the husbands can get their spa treatment as well while waiting for their wives to be done with theirs.

Looks like my husband is having a manicure session too. Did he? *wink wink*

Naah...he only agreed for a leg massage

Unlike most of the nail saloons, Fame Nails offer a comfy massage chair so you'll get to enjoy a full back massage while getting your nails done. They have a really cozy environment with very friendly staffs, which is why I always come back to this place.

This was done a few weeks earlier

Fame Nails is open daily from 9am till 10pm. They tend to be quite busy especially during the weeknights and weekends. If you are planning to go in a group, do call them up to make an appointment. You may check them out at their facebook pages, here and here.

Happy customers :D

Please be informed that there may be other shops operating with the name Fame Nails. They only have 2 shops at the moment as stated above, so please be aware.

* photography courtesy of Yogarajan Egambaram and Fame Nails

Indus Indian Restaurant: South & North Indian Cuisine

2012-08-07T13:56:00.002+07:00

I'm a Malaysian Indian and Indian food definitely makes me feel like home although I don't favor it that much. I still remember my trip to India a few years back where I actually got home sick because all I had for my everyday meals were curry and masala. Now that I'm living abroad in Ho Chi Minh City, Indian food has become one of the comfort food that I can find whenever I miss mummy's cooking.

I have to admit that I'm not that good in cooking Indian food because I usually enjoy cooking fusion Malaysian dishes. But whenever we are craving for Indian food, Indus Indian Restaurant would be our number one choice. The food here tastes authentic and its very much on the cheaper side compared to a few other Indian restaurants here in HCMC. It is located at 2G Thi Sach Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and they also offer delivery with no minimum order. You can call them at +84.8.3521.0326 to place in your orders.

Egg Rava Thosai

Tandoori Chicken

Mutton Kottu Parotha

My husbands favorite would be the egg rava thosai. Not many restaurants here serve rava thosai and the combination of egg just makes it more flavorful! The tandoori chicken here is definitely the best out of the rest that I've tasted so far. Its tender, juicy, flavorful and not oily at all. My all time favorite would be the mutton kottu parotha. So far, I could only find this dish at Indus and not elsewhere. Kottu parotha is actually stir fried parotha , something similar to fried noodles but using parotha instead.

Chettinaad Chicken Curry

Chicken Curry

Plain Thosai

There were 2 different types of chicken curry on the menu. One was chicken curry and the other was chettinaad chicken curry. The flavors were similar but the chettinaad was a bit more spicier and used boneless chicken instead of chicken leg. The plain thosai was nicely cooked and crispy, not too sour but that's about it.

If you happen to be in Ho Chi Minh City and craving for Indian food. Head over to Indus Indian Restaurant for a scrumptious hearty meal!

* photography courtesy of Yogarajan Egambaram and Epicure, Manicure

Spicy aglio e olio with slow roasted tomatoes

2012-07-20T22:47:00.001+07:00

Aglio e olio means "spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and chili peppers" in Italian. Its a traditional Italian pasta dish with a minimal amount of ingredients and of course, easy to make. When I first heard about it, I assumed it would be a bland tasting dish since the only key ingredients in it was olive oil and garlic. Only after trying it that I realised I was actually wrong.

The original dish doesn't include any meat but there are a few versions out there which includes either shrimp, pepperoni, sliced ham or pancetta. My version has slow roasted tomatoes and sliced chicken sausages in it.

Who needs sun dried tomatoes when you can slow roast them in your oven right? All you have to do is slice the baby tomatoes into half, arrange them onto the baking tray lined with either baking paper or foil paper, drizzle some olive oil, and roast them at 100°C / 212°F for 2 hours. The taste is almost similar to the store bought sun dried tomatoes and is definitely much cheaper to make them on your own.

To make this delicious pasta dish, lightly fry minced garlic, shallots and some chili flakes in a bit of olive oil until fragrant. Add in the sliced chicken sausages and continue frying for about one minute. Then add in the spaghetti and some salt to taste. Finally add in the roasted tomatoes and toss it to evenly distribute the ingredients with the pasta. If its too dry, drizzle some olive oil. Make sure to boil the spaghetti in water with enough salt for the flavor and some oil to avoid them from sticking onto each other after cooked.

Its really a lazy person's dish as it requires very little ingredients and skills to make it. This would definitely be a perfect dinner on a lazy worknite!

Nasi lemak

2012-07-16T20:59:00.000+07:00

Steamed coconut rice, sweet and spicy anchovy sambal sauce, fried anchovies, roasted peanuts, fried or boiled egg, and some sliced cucumbers. These are the basics for a plate of Nasi Lemak, Malaysian's national dish. 'Fatty Rice' is what it literally means and the fat is referred to the coconut milk cooked with the rice making it rich, fragrant and yummy. This dish is also usually served with beef / chicken rendang and stir-fried kangkung (water spinach).

The basic ingredients to prepare a good anchovy sambal sauce are ikan bilis (anchovies), shallots, onions, garlic, ginger, dried chili paste, belacan (shrimp paste), lemongrass, tomatoes and some salt and sugar to balance up the flavor. The key to cooking the perfect tasting sambal is to fry the chili paste in generous amount of oil until the oil separates from the paste and turn to a slightly darker color.

On the other hand, cooking the coconut rice is actually really simple. For 2 cups of rice, add 1 ½ cups of water and 1 ½ cups of coconut milk. Also add in some sliced ginger for the aroma and some salt to taste. Yes, its that easy.

Cooked this for dinner a few days back and the husband loved it. In fact he declared this, the best Nasi Lemak he had ever tasted, even better than his mum's! I also served this for brunch when my friends from Malaysia was over and it was a hit. Will definitely make this dish again when more friends and family are over!

Quiche

2012-07-11T12:37:00.001+07:00

Quiche is a savory open-faced pastry crust dish with a filling of savory custard with cheese, meat or vegetables. I learnt about its existence when I took up a short baking course back in Malaysia. Loved how it tasted and so I decided to make it for dinner a few days back.

It was my first time making it on my own and this time I tried another recipe for the pastry crust which turned out just the way I wanted it to be. This recipe calls for 1 cold egg instead of using cold water. The dough was much easier to handle compared to how it was when I made my first pie.

Most recipes requires blind baking so I did a lot of reading on it and came to a conclusion that it is not necessary to blind bake unless your tart / pie filling requires light baking like a meringue pie or no baking at all. For quiche, the trick is to bake it at 220°C / 425°F for the first 15 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 160°C / 325°C and bake it for another 35 minutes. Another way is to cover up the top with foil paper to prevent browning and bake it at 205°C / 400°F for 30-40 minutes and another 10-15 minutes without the foil paper. How to know if your quiche is done? The filling should appear only slightly jiggly and not be totally firm and set.

Its really not that hard to make your own quiche, pie or tart. If I can make, so can you!

Good food and entertainment, Teppanyaki style

2012-07-09T21:21:00.002+07:00

How often do you get both good food and entertainment in one place? Vicki's Teppanyaki & BBQ is the place to be if you fancy live cooking experience. Not only do they serve mouth watering dishes, but the chefs here also have a very good sense of humor and never fail to entertain their customers while whipping up dishes at the same time.

This restaurant is a perfect place if you would like to entertain your guests, clients or even have a small party as they offer a private dining experience. Their menu varies from chicken to lobster, all cooked on the iron griddle with special skills. It was my second time here and I enjoyed it as much as I did the first time.

salted fish fried rice

squid cooked in sambal belacan

Chicken cooked in special sambal sauce

lamb cooked in spicy sauce

mixed vegetable with mushroom and tofu

our very funny chef who made us laugh with his tricks

Muslims can also enjoy this experience as this restaurant is certified halal. Vicki's Teppanyaki & BBQ is currently having a lunch promotion where diners would get 50% off their bill when you dine-in at their restaurant from 11am-3pm daily. (not applicable for drinks).

Below are videos of some of the tricks shown to us during our dining experience at Vicki's Teppanyaki & BBQ.

the salt and pepper trick

tossing the eggs

the art of frying egg

the funny chef posing for me

Tempted to try? Their restaurant is located at Le Anh Xuan St. 42., Ben Thanh Ward, Dist. 1, HCMC. Go ahead and experience it for yourself!

Alone and abroad

2012-07-06T02:05:00.000+07:00

part of Ho Chi Minh City, taken a year ago

I'm used to the husband being away for work, meetings and offshore trips. But being away from loved ones in a foreign country can drive me nuts especially when I am alone with no friends. At one point, I used to refuse going out anywhere on my own as I was not used to the country. But after almost a year living here, I have slowly gained the courage to move around on my own.

I somehow managed to make a few friends so I usually try to hang out with them whenever they are free. I've also learnt to watch movies and have meals alone at cafes/restaurants which is kinda weird for me as I'm a person who hates to hang out alone unless it involves shopping. Speaking about shopping, the malls here are not as extravagant as the ones back in Malaysia so I can't really spend much time walking around window shopping in a mall for more than half an hour. It can be pretty boring here if you are on your own.

spent almost half a day playing with this cutie, my friend's daughter

It has been a month since we've moved into our new place at Sherwood Residence and I would say that I now enjoy staying in much more often than I had used to. It's also much easier to stay alone while Ram is away since I can now hang out with his friend's wife and kids. It's a luxury serviced apartment but the environment is more like a 5-star hotel to me -- daily housekeeping services, room service, swimming pool, gym, sauna and steam room, complimentary high tea and the list goes on. The pictures below are taken from my Instagram but I've yet to snap more proper pictures using my Canon G12.

part of our new place

the awesome pool

I'll definitely have a post on Sherwood Residence soon so you guys can experience my leisure life via pictures!

Malee Thai: An authentic experience

2012-07-03T12:02:00.001+07:00

Weekends can only mean one thing. Relaxing and hanging out with the husband. Well, its not that I don't relax during the weekdays, but it is just totally different when the husband is around. I was thinking about making Tom Yam soup with noodles during the weekend, but Ram insisted that we should have a proper Thai meal since he was craving for Thai cuisine. We headed out to Malee Thai, which is by far our favorite authentic Thai restaurant, situated at 37 Đông Du, District 1, Saigon.

The one thing that I love about eating at a restaurant besides the good food is the pretty interior. The amount of effort taken in decorating the place makes a lot of difference, and one would not mind paying a little bit extra just for the cozy experience. Malee Thai has done just that by bringing Thailand closer to you with their authentic and traditional settings.

first floor

a more traditional look on the second floor

We ordered our usual which was white rice with green curry chicken, Tom Yam Goong, stir fried mixed vegetables and fried omelette. We were very impressed with the service as the food came out quite fast despite the lunch hour crowd.

fragrant Thai white rice

green curry chicken

Tom Yam Goong

stir fried mixed vegetables

fried omelette

The food here is definitely worth the price. The green curry chicken is rich, creamy and yummy compared to a few other places that I've tried. As for the Tom Yam Goong, you may choose the level of spiciness. So, for those who don't prefer spicy food may opt for a non spicy version. The stir fried mixed vegetables includes a variety of vegetables in it, including cauliflower, baby corn, snow peas, carrot, cabbage, button mushroom, onion and spinach. You may also add minced pork or chicken into the fried omelette if you wish to add more flavor to it.

So if you are down in Ho Chi Minh City craving for an authentic Thai cuisine, head on over to Malee Thai for a scrumptious meal.

Chicken pot pie

2012-06-29T10:23:00.000+07:00

I've never made any pie before so this was my first time making one. I wasn't too sure if it was going to turn out right, so I warned my husband before hand that he might not have any food for dinner that night. Knowing him, he had way more confident in me than I had in myself.

Since I didn't have any vegetable shortening, I decided to make butter pie crust. I was extremely worried about the crust not turning out well as it is the foundation of a great pie. Despite the worry, I was still having high hopes for it to at least look pretty at the end of the day. Well, I guess I didn't expect my dough to turn out dryer than I had expected it to be. It was kinda breaking as I rolled it out which is why my pie ended up looking like this.

Although my first pie looked ugly, it turned out pretty well. The crust was flaky and and not too dry or soggy but I think I overfilled my pie which resulted in the filling to overflow while it was being baked. The next time I bake a pie, I'll just have to make it look more presentable and of course avoid over filling the pie.

The recipe for this chicken pot pie was taken from landolakes.com. I shall post my version of the recipe once I've managed to get it to look perfect and pretty.

Honey teriyaki roasted chicken leg quarters

2012-06-26T20:17:00.000+07:00

It's been a while since I roasted any other part of the chicken besides the breast. Roasting or baking chicken breasts can be tricky. If you leave it in the oven for too long, the meat turns out dry and chewy. Last night I decided to roast chicken leg quarters and it was the best roasted chicken meal I've had in months. The meat was juicy and tender unlike the roasted chicken breast I use to have before this.

Its actually really simple to make this roasted chicken. All you have to do is marinate the meat in some teriyaki sauce, oyster sauce, a little mixture of chili-tomato sauce and some honey. I can't give a specific measurement but all I can say is, taste the mixture and if the flavors are balanced and tastes right for you then its done! If possible, let your chicken marinate for an hour or longer before you roast it. Set your oven to 190ºC / 375ºF and roast your chicken for 40 minutes or more (depending on the size of the chicken).

Roasting chicken can get your oven messy, so here's a tip. Line the oven's baking tray with foil paper and place it in the lowest part of the oven. The chicken parts should be on the oven's wire rack shelf placed in the center of the oven. While roasting the chicken, the juices/fats will fall onto the foil paper instead of the tray, making it easier to clean up after.

Back at home, when my mum makes roasted chicken, she usually serves it with some french fries and coleslaw. I decided to make a healthier version by making some roasted pumpkin instead. Its easier to make as well. Just slice the pumpkin into wedges, coat the sliced pumpkin wedges with some olive oil, sprinkle some black pepper on it and pop them into the oven at 180ºC / 356ºF for 20-30 minutes (depending on the size of the wedges). Simple isn't it?

Try it for yourself!

A taste of home

2012-06-25T13:29:00.002+07:00

I was craving for Malaysian food last night, so me and my husband decided to head out for dinner at one of the Malaysian restaurant, D'Nyonya. They serve authentic Malaysian cuisine and you can find almost any food you want here. D'Nyonya restaurant currently has 3 branches located in Ho Chi Minh City, Pnom Penh and in Perth. According to their website, they'll be opening another branch in Perth soon. They used to have a branch back in Malaysia located in Ara Damansara but I'm not too sure if they are still in business since they have removed it from their website.

The interior of this restaurant pretty much reminds me of home. Huge posters of the Baba & Nyonya family and the olden days of Penang pretty much creates a cozy atmosphere.

I can assure you that the food here is awesome and almost anything you order would taste delicious. I've tried their Nasi Goreng Kampung, Char Kueh Teow, Nasi Lemak, Curry Laksa and Prawn Mee. I would consider myself a difficult customer when it comes to food, but I approve all of the dishes above. I decided to go with Prawn Mee this time but Ram felt like eating rice so he ordered white rice, with fried tofu telur (egg tofu) and stir fried kailan (Chinese Broccoli / Mustard Orchid) with garlic. The fried tofu telur was amazing. It was deep fried and served in a special sweet and sour sauce. As for the stir fried kailan, it was nothing much to be screamed about.

Prawn Mee

Fried Tofu Telur (Egg Tofu)

Stir fried Kailan (Chinese Broccoli / Mustard Orchid) with garlic

Sirap Bandung (Sugar syrup with milk)

The drinks here can be a little too sweet, but you may choose to reduce the sugar level. They also offer a variety of Malaysian desserts. I've tried their Ais Kacang / ABC once and I liked it.

Char Kueh Teow (Picture taken a while ago)

Ais Kacang / ABC (Picture taken a while ago)

Overall, I would rate D'Nyonya as the best Malaysia restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City and I would highly recommend this place if you want a taste of authentic halal Malaysian cuisine.

Hungry but lazy?

2012-06-24T21:44:00.001+07:00

Have you ever felt hungry but lazy at the same time? Too lazy to cook or to get out of the comfort of your home? I'm sure most of us have felt this way. And at that point, we most definitely would have hoped that most of the eateries could deliver the food we want to us. Back in KL, it is possible, but the food delivery services are very much limited to only a certain fast food joints and restaurants.

Here in Ho Chi Minh City, almost all the eateries/restaurants/cafes offer delivery services to home, hotels and offices. When I first got to know about this, I was definitely surprised and excited. I'm a person who absolutely hate going out during the peak hours of the day just for a simple take away. Recently, I found a few websites that actually has a list of all the restaurants that delivers with their complete menu online.

Vietnammm was the first online food delivery website which I came across while browsing. This website can be viewed in 4 different languages, English, Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean. These options makes it so much easier for most expats to place an order. Customers who are not confident enough to speak English or Vietnamese may place their orders online and pay upon delivery. Online support is available if customers have any inquiries or problems while placing an order.

Homepage for www.vietnammm.com

List of restaurants in the selected location

Information of the selected restaurant and their menu

Eat.vn is another food delivery website which can be viewed in 2 different languages, English and Vietnamese.Its pretty much similar to Vietnammm where you just have to select the restaurant available in your location, place an order and pay upon delivery. Online support is also available for inquiries purposes.

Homepage for www.eat.vn

List of restaurants in the selected location

Information of the selected restaurant and their menu

And last but not least would be hungrypanda! This website offers food delivery for 5 other countries as well. But in Malaysia, Singapore, India, Indonesia and Thailand, its called foodpanda. Again, the process is almost the same. Specify your location, select your restaurant, place an order and pay upon delivery. Online support is not available but customers may call the number given on the site if they have any inquiries.

Homepage for hungrypanda

List of restaurants in the selected location

Information of the selected restaurant and their menu

There's also another site called hungry.vn which is fully in Vietnamese language which I think the locals might be interested in. Not all restaurants are available in all these websites. So do browse through and see which of these four carries your favorite restaurant. If its not in any of these websites, do let them know and they might add it for you in the future!

So remember, if you're feeling hungry but lazy at the same time, your food is just a click away!

Ministry of Food

2012-06-23T21:54:00.001+07:00

Ministry of Food Pte Ltd (MOF) is a Singapore brand restaurant chain specialising in Japanese food. MOF Japanese Sweets & Coffee is one of it and they currently have 6 branches in Ho Chi Minh City. We usually frequent the Crescent Mall branch for their desserts, especially the soft ice cream and their variety of sushi. But this time, we've decided to try out the one at Kumho Asian Plaza as it was a nearer option for us.

To my surprise, not all of their branches here carry the full menu. And as far as I know, the restaurant in Vincom and Kumho does not have sushi and also some other dishes such as Ebi Tempura on their menu. It would be pretty much disappointing for customers to walk into one of these branches only to find out that they don't serve a certain dish that you want. I hope that they will do something about this in the future.

Main Entrance

Interior

They also have some pretty nice cakes

Since I was starving, I decided to order their Teriyaki Chicken Bento set lunch while the husband decided to go with Tori Karaage (fried chicken). The only reason he ordered this is because they didn't have Ebi Tempura or any sushi dishes on their menu. Oh well...

Teriyaki Chicken Bento Set

A healthy portion of japanese rice with some salad and kimchi

Juicy teriyaki chicken garnished with some fried garlic

And 2 fried potato balls

The husband's Tori Karaage (Fried Chicken)

My Iced Tea and his 'Orange Plus' (tasted like orange lassi to me)

And finally for some desserts! I ordered my usual Mango Kakigori while Ram went for the simple Hokkaido soft ice cream with mango sauce.

Hokkaido Soft Ice Cream with Mango Sauce

Mango Kakigori

Overall, we find the food at MOF satisfying and would definitely come back to try other dishes. We'll just have to find a proper MOF restaurant that carries a full menu first in order to avoid further disappointment.

Baked Lemon-Mayo Basa Fish with herbs

2012-06-20T22:19:00.002+07:00

Baked Lemon-Mayo Basa Fish with herbs and roasted carrots

Back in KL, Dory fish would be the usual choice if we wanted to make a certain dish that requires white fish. But over here in HCMC, I use Basa fish, a local river fish which is similar to Dory. I usually pan fry the fish but this time around I've decided to try baking it.

Below are the ingredients that you need to make this very simple dish:

2 Basa or other white fish fillets
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/3 teaspoon crushed black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

And now for the step-by-step on how to get this simple dish done.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC / 390ºF

Marinate the fish fillets with a little lemon juice and let it sit for 5 minutes

Combine the remaining lemon juice, mayonnaise, black pepper, dried oregano and parsley in a bowl

Place the marinated fish in a baking dish coated with olive oil and generously spread the combined mayonnaise paste over the fish. Bake at 200ºC / 390ºF for 20 minutes or until fish flakes when tested with a fork

As for the roasted carrots its pretty simple. Just slice a carrot into sticks or it would be even easier if you can find baby carrots. Just drizzle them in olive oil and sprinkle on some black pepper. That's all!

Pop this babies into the oven at 180ºC / 356ºF for 40 minutes or until they get tender

WALLAAAA! Dinner is served....

Now isn't that simple? Anyone can make this dish. It only takes about 20 minutes to prepare and less than an hour for it to be cooked. I hope this post would inspire some of you working peeps out there to cook your own dinner instead of spending money on unhealthy food.

Enjoy....

What have I been up to?

2012-06-20T00:30:00.000+07:00

I was a Creative Designer for 4 years and I thought I would remain as one for the rest of my life until my husband got transferred. I was definitely excited when I knew that I had to resign my full time job as I never fancied an 8-5 job in the first place. But the thing is, he got transferred to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I had mixed feelings about moving away from my family, friends and home of 26 years into a country which is so different.

Moving away from the comfort of home only meant one thing to me... that I'll need to start cooking. The thing is, I never cooked before. Not even after getting married as I was staying with my in-laws. So learning how to cook was my first priority before moving to HCMC. My mum is and will always be the best cook I've ever known! No one can beat your own mum's cooking, right? So I made her teach me all the basics of cooking and guess what? Once I moved into our new home in HCMC, I surprised myself. Sorry if I'm bragging but for a beginner, I was whipping out quite a variety of dishes. I've attempted cooking Indian, Malay, Chinese and Western cuisine. So far, it all turned out fairly good. This was when I realised that I actually had passion for cooking.

It has been almost a year since I've moved and I would love to share some of the dishes/desserts that I've cooked/baked. Sorry if the pictures are not clear since all of them were snapped using my iPhone camera.

I have always been wanting to blog about food and the fun leisure stuff that I get to do here as a housewife. But as usual, procrastination got the best of me. I will have to thank my friends, Nora, Craig and Putri for pushing me into making this happen sooner than I thought it would. Looking forward to blog more often and I'll definitely try to make it more interesting by posting more pictures yeah!

Till then....