Makan-Makan @ Mariuca

Dinner @ Shell Out *

2013-07-17T05:55:00.000+08:00

One night, B and I decided to dine at the newly-opened Shell Out seafood restaurant near our home. Actually, the restaurant was my suggestion since I read about their food on a random blog and I was kind of enticed. I was especially keen to taste the Sweet Potato fries and since B and I both love seafood, we figured why not give this new seafood place a try.

Shell Out KD

Parking is never easy in this particular area but we managed to find one spot after making two rounds. The place looked warm and inviting from the outside and we were greeted by a smiley server who explained to us what the restaurant was all about. I do like restaurants with servers who are able to answer questions I may have about the menu and our server seemed to be well-informed about their product. That was a good sign so I asked if they had a booth available and they did so we went inside.

Another server immediately came to our table to place brown paper, covering the entire table. The concept here is to eat your order of seafood on the brown paper. So I guess you can get down and dirty as much as you want without having to worry about keeping the table clean. Our server did a great job in explaining the menu to us and though we would have liked to taste the chef-recommended crawfish, we finally decided on prawns, calamari and the sweet potato fries.

Shell Out serves 4 different types of sauces with spicy levels of Mild, Medium and OMG. I had my mind set on Shell Bang OMG but B who is not much of a spicy eater, wanted something milder. I asked the server just how spicy is this OMG sauce and based on customer feedback, OMG ranges from somewhat spicy to not spicy at all.

What's your pick?

To keep both B and I happy, our server suggested we opt for 500g of prawns and the kitchen will prepare half the portion in Shell Bang Mild sauce and the other half in Shell Bang OMG, which I thought was an excellent idea!

Where's my dinner?

Our order of Sweet Potato fries arrived first and they were exactly how I imagined; crispy on the outside, not too thickly sliced and fried to a golden brown perfection.

Fried Sweet Potato

Next, came the Fried Calamari, which also arrived perfectly fried and after tasting one, we both agreed that it was tasty albeit a tad salty.

Fried Calamari

Finally, our main order of prawns arrived, wrapped in a plastic bag. You’re supposed to rip open the bag and dig into your prawns so we did. Of course B started ahead of me since I was busy snapping photographs on my iPhone.

I looked at B’s prawns and they looked pretty much the same (colour wise) like mine aside from the minimal bird’s eye chilli bits in my OMG sauce. Slightly daunted, I took a taste of the OMG sauce and my suspicions were confirmed - OMG was definitely not OMG spicy. The sauce may look fiery hot red but unlike the Pedas Giler sauce I was hooked on a while back, which was ultra spicy, this OMG sauce was more salty than anything else.

Prawns, Shell Bang OMG

I asked for a small bowl of rice to eat with my prawns. Otherwise, it would have been way too salty for my liking.

What’s cool about this restaurant is that you can scribble anything you want on their furniture or windows so halfway through dinner, we joined in the fun!

Art?

Naturally, I had to leave MMM’s URL here; this is a food blog after all and once I had MMM scribbled, there was no way I could leave out the rest so thanks Love for helping me scribble!

Mariuca's Food Blog

Scribbling away

Mariuca ♥ B

Wishing on a Falling Star

Love so True

Meow Diaries

Mariuca's Perfume Gallery

The bill arrived and we were informed that we could get one of our coconut juices FOC if we both Liked Shell Out’s page on Facebook, which we happily did for instant redemption.

Fresh and Free!

Overall, dining at Shell Out was pleasant with great friendly service and pretty tasty food and if we do return, I’d definitely order the Sweet Potato fries again!

Food:
Price:

MMM LOVES

Fat Aunty's Char Kuey Teow *

2013-07-05T11:11:00.000+08:00

Puffy eyes or not (thanks to a terrible sinus attack), there was no stopping me from having one of my delicious morning adventures with B a few weeks ago! We braved the morning rain and hungrily made our way to visit our favourite Fat Aunty in Kelana Jaya.

One rainy Sunday morning

Early morning breakfast crowd

After years of 'living without', B and I finally reunited with our long-lost Fat Aunty whose Char Kuey Teow (CKT) stall we’ve been frequenting for years until one fateful day when her stall closed down.

Well, that’s what we thought so we continued eating CKT at the new replacement stall, which though was pretty good, was always missing that something special to make it as yummy and moist as my adorable Fat Aunty’s!

Anyway last month, we finally discovered that Fat Aunty did not disappear! She simply moved location! From what I gathered, it seems that the owner of the restaurant where Fat Aunty’s rented stall was previously located, wanted to introduce their own CKT in the restaurant. Naturally this would pose a problem for the owner seeing that Fat Aunty’s CKT is so famous around town and many regulars have been frequenting her stall for years. The situation eventually led to a price increase of rent for poor Fat Aunty so she and her biz partner sister-in-law (who I fondly refer to as Small Aunty LOL) moved their stall to another restaurant, which was just around the corner from the first restaurant!

Small Aunty at work

I gotta say however that Fat Aunty is not always consistent in her CKT frying. Most of the time she cooks up a delicious plate of wet and SPICY CKT as per my order but once in a blue moon, my order arrives dry and definitely NOT SPICY. Having said that, I still love her CKT the best!

Fat Aunty taking a break

Extra spicy CKT

Another fave - Crispy Fried Wan Tan

B and I kicked ourselves silly for not finding this out earlier and we regretfully dwelled on the many years we’ve wasted missing and yearning for Fat Aunty’s CKT, all the while settling for second best with the new CKT stall in Aunty’s old spot!

What a delicious Sunday breakfast!

Well, no more settling for second best now. It’s back to the good old days with my favourite Fat Aunty!

MMM LOVES

Sweet & Crunchy Chicken Salad *

2013-02-24T04:14:00.000+08:00

I’ve been having a bad case of yummy chicken salad craving, which got stronger and stronger until I could not take it anymore. So this weekend, we did a massive grocery shopping spree and I brought home all the ingredients needed to make some delicious Sweet & Crunchy Chicken Salad.

Yellow Bell Pepper & Onion

Green Onion

B was curious to see how my salad would turn out especially since it was my first attempt and I decided to modify the basic recipe I found online with my own substitutes.

Cashew

Walnut

I did not have any leftover chicken to use so we bought a whole roast chicken, juicy and ready to be shredded/diced.

Roast Chicken

Shredded

I took my time to prepare my salad, making sure everything was nicely chopped, shredded and diced to perfection. I could already imagine the taste of my yummy chicken salad but I still had to taste the finished dish to ensure that what I was tasting inside my head translated to what I was making for real!

A little Blackcurrant

Add in vege

Crushed nuts

After carefully going through the steps, I was done and gingerly had my first taste. I gotta say my first attempt at this Sweet & Crunchy Chicken Salad was a success and YUM! Even B was impressed with his first bite, exclaiming in delight at the different flavours and textures of the chicken salad, which made me one happy chef wannabe! For that, I shall continue watching my favourite cooking shows on TV to get more cooking inspiration!

Evenly mixed Chicken Salad

I then let my chicken salad stand inside the refrigerator for a few hours (minimum 1 hour) before making Sweet & Crunchy Chicken Salad on croissant for supper. It was delicious according to B and now, he no longer has to visit Subway when he gets a sandwich craving! Oh and he gave me a 4.9 / 5. I’m never gonna get that perfect 5 am I?!

Sweet & Crunchy Supper

Here is the basic recipe. I omitted a few items for my own alternatives so you can do the same too. Happy cooking!


Recipe

MMM LOVES

Sweet & Sour Prawns with Pineapple *

2012-12-12T23:59:00.000+08:00

Happy 12-12-12! I’m not really sure what’s written in the stars for this date but 12-12-12 sure looks cool to me and to mark its uniqueness, I decided to cook Sweet and Sour Prawns with Pineapple for dinner.

Truth be told, I’ve been craving for Sweet and Sour Prawns for quite some time and so far, the ones we have sampled when dining out is nowhere near my high expectation when it comes to good prawn cooking. So I took matters into my own hands and attempted to cook this dish for the very first time.

Here are the ingredients. Besides pineapple, I also added shallots to my recipe and though the recipe did not call for water, I did add just a bit to balance the sweet with the sour.

Ingredients

Pineapple and the prepared sauce

Shallow fry the prawns (marinated lightly with salt) until they are lightly cooked. Remove from pan and put aside while you cook the sauce. Sauté the shallots, garlic, ginger and red peppers on medium to low heat until fragrant. Pour in the sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Add in the fried prawns and stir well. Remove from pan and serve hot.

Frying prawns

Cooking the sauce

What’s the verdict? Well, my recipe and first-attempt at cooking Sweet and Sour Prawns was a success … to me and to B at least! My dish was definitely not way runny as served in most restaurants we’ve tried in our area. I also like that the sweetness of this dish was not overwhelming so we could taste both the sour and the sweet equally well. To put it in a nutshell … YUM and next time, I want to try cooking Sweet and Sour Fish!

Sweet and Sour Prawns with Pineapple

By the way, B gave my dish 4.5 out of 5. Everything was yummy and perfect taste-wise but the prawns were not enough so he was left wanting more!

MMM LOVES

Quick Lunch @ Italiannies!

2012-09-23T10:33:00.000+08:00

I have to say, both B and I thoroughly enjoyed our Italiannies lunch @ The Curve recently!

Itallianies, The Curve

We’ve not eaten here in ages and since I love Italian food, I was more than happy to oblige when B suggested we check out the Quick Lunch promotion. We always steal glances at this promo sign while driving about town but now that we were actually seated and ready to order, we took our time to see what was available.

Quick Lunch

Choice of Appetizer, Main Course, Dessert & Pepsi

Icy Cold Pepsi

Lunch al fresco

Warm from the oven

Delightful Dip

I was not disappointed with the selection and appetizer was an easy choice. I am not a big soup fan so opted for the Caesar salad. It was a wonderful choice and possibly one of the best Caesar salads I’ve ever tasted. The salad dressing was light but generously coated over greens and the toasted focaccia croutons plus the generous shaving of grated cheese complimented the light Italian dressing to delicious perfection.

Caesar Salad

Main course was a tougher decision. I was debating between Classic Carbonara and the Parmesan Crusted Fish. Both sounded tantalizing to me but I was in the mood for pasta that day so Carbonara it was! My pasta dish was creamy and deliciously cheesy of course. I liked that the sauce was not overly thick it ends up drying too early into the meal so that was good. Flavour-wise, Classic Carbonara at Italiannies was definitely up to my expectation and all I had to do was add a dash of pepper for a gastronomic buzz of creamy parmesan fettuccine with smoked beef bacon and fresh button mushrooms!

Creamy, Cheesy Carbonara

B went for Grilled Chicken Milanese, which consisted of grilled chicken breast over cream spinach, topped with chilled tomato caper relish. I had a bite of course and as much as I enjoyed my Carbonara, there was a small part of me that wished I had ordered his dish. Yes, it was that yummy!

Equally delicious chicken for B

As you can imagine, I was already stuffed by then but dessert was next and when my chocolate brownie arrived, I could not wait to take a bite!

Sticky Chewy Delight

Yum Yum!

Even B who was waiting for his Raisin Bread Pudding looked enticed!

Divine

What a sinfully scrumptious sweet ending to our afternoon lunch at Italiannies, adding another reason to lure me back when I have my next craving for delicious Italian cuisine!

Lunch with B

Food:
Price:

MMM LOVES

Project Meatloaf *

2012-06-20T06:49:00.003+08:00

Like I mentioned at my main blog, I have been cooking up a storm thanks to this sudden inspiration to cook something really yummy while watching Masterchef US every week night. So far, I’ve made creamy potato salad with bacon bits I made myself using beef streaks, sweet and spicy spaghetti Bolognese simmered for at least two hours and my latest dish of delicious Glazed Meatloaf with Sautéed Mushroom.

They all turned out great, well according to my expectation at least even though the dishes are nowhere near Masterchef standard of course! Let’s take a look at my yummy meatloaf today!

I was especially excited to make the glazed meatloaf because it’s a microwave recipe! Being oven-less and all, this was indeed a superb find for yours truly.

After searching online, I decided to combine two different meatloaf recipes to come up with one of my own. I left out some ingredients that I didn’t think was necessary and added a few items I thought would give my meatloaf that extra zing!

Chopped green pepper

Crumbled crackers

Glaze

It sure looks like an actual meatloaf to me!

I was a little worried about the cooking time because the success of my meatloaf also depends on my microwave power so I monitored the cooking process closely. Meanwhile, I cooked a batch of sautéed mushroom using butter and my 'secret recipe' ingredient! The mushroom turned out delicious by the way.

Sautéed Mushroom

It was time to check on my meatloaf and I think it was a teeny-weeny overcooked on top. So, next time I am going to put LESS glaze on top and I will leave my meatloaf in the microwave oven for ten minutes before taking it out to be glazed instead of five minutes as per the recipe.

I allowed my meatloaf to stand in the microwave oven for another 20 minutes after cooking time, just to make sure the meat and everything else was fully cooked before slicing my meatloaf.

Microwave Meatloaf

Meatloaf & Mushroom

I gotta say we really enjoyed our late dinner of Glazed Meatloaf and Sautéed Mushroom. B gave my first-time-ever meatloaf 4 out of 5. Why? The glaze was a tad too thick. Other than that, the texture and taste of the meatloaf was absolutely perfect so YAY!

I wonder what I’ll be in the mood to cook next!

MMM LOVES

Baskin Robbins Treat! *

2012-04-08T04:04:00.003+08:00

What a sweet surprise from an even sweeter BFF!

Delightful gift indeed!

Last night, B and I finally got around to redeeming the Baskin Robbins voucher I got from my blog buddy Monica and we visited the branch @ The Curve.

We asked the ice-cream scooper if we could have half and half and apparently it was not a problem. So B and I took our time to choose one flavour each. I’ve already made up my mind to have something choc but sadly, my favourite Chocolate Mousse Royale and the delightful Maui Brownie Madness were not available.

Cool and Colourful

So many flavours!

In the end, I decided on Very Berry Strawberry (strawberry ice cream filled with real strawberries) and B chose the chocolaty Gold Medal Ribbon (vanilla and chocolate with a caramel ribbon), which is weird because he’s the fruity type while I’m the choc and caramel lover!

Gold Medal Ribbon for B

Very Berry Strawberry for me

Thank you very much Monica! We love super sweet surprises and this one was extra special because it came from you!

Thanks from B!

Thanks from your Pinky Buddy!

MMM LOVES

Luscious Lobster @ Lobsterman! *

2012-02-20T21:29:00.011+08:00

I am still seriously stuffed after devouring a scrumptious dinner of lobster with B last night!

The last time B and I feasted on a proper lobster meal was ages ago. Even then, the meal was not enjoyed together but separately instead seeing that we were not a couple at that time. You can imagine how long ago that was so the seafood lover in us could not wait to enjoy an exquisite King of Seafood meal together at last!

B did a little research online and discovered The Lobsterman in SS2, PJ. Apparently, it is the only restaurant in Malaysia serving specialty lobster dishes. I read reviews online and saw photographs, which made my mouth water at the thought of sinking my teeth into luscious lobster meat.

Excited and drooling with anticipation, I could not wait for the next day to arrive and even though I had yet to sleep since the previous night, I was eagerly looking forward to my lobster meal with B.

We arrived at Lobsterman a little after 8pm. The restaurant was easy to locate and parking was a breeze too. I wanted to snap some pictures of the restaurant from the outside and this was the best I could do before B hurriedly ushered me inside.

Cosy and comfy, Lobsterman is beautifully decorated with lots of pictures and romantic dim lights. Our waiter initially led us to a small table for two but we opted for a bigger, table for four instead. Seriously, the tiny couple table would not have been able to hold all our dishes at once and I wanted space and comfort while taking photographs of the meal we were about to devour.

Super cosy

Romantic

The Lobsterman, PJ

Dine in style and comfort

The night before, B and I had already decided on the Lobster Special, which is a dinner set for two at RM128 (exclusive of government tax and service charge of course)!

While waiting, B spent some time brushing up on the 7 steps to eating lobster and I spent mine browsing through the menu.

Lobster cracking utensils

With a wide array of delicious delights to choose from, I was glad that we had already decided on our order prior to coming here. Imagine how indecisive I'd be otherwise!

A server arrived shortly, bringing with him a huge LIVE Atlantic Lobster for us to inspect. By the way, all lobsters are air-flown LIVE from the icy waters of the North Atlantic so freshness is guaranteed. We had to opt for a 700gm lobster (RM20 extra) as the kitchen had run out of the 550gm lobster and while B gave our lobster a quick once-over; I snapped as many pictures as I could!

Lobster Prices

Our Baked Escargot arrived first and they were simply lovely. Soft, tender and oozing with creamy delicious goodness, this delightful delicacy of snails made for a delicious appetizer.

Baked escargot

Creamy tasty goodness

More than anything else, my Virgin Colada was just pretty. It lacked thickness and was not sweet enough. I would have definitely enjoyed it more with an extra splash of pineapple juice.

Virgin Colada

Soup of the Day was Creamy Mushroom, which was a little sweet but tasty nonetheless.

Creamy Mushroom soup

Our delicious platter of luscious lobster arrived next, looking every bit the King of Seafood that it is!

The lobster was cut down the middle, which made it easier for us to break off a claw on each side.

Huge Claw

Juicy

Succulent

I was having difficulties using the nutcracker to pry loose the flesh inside so B had to do the dirty work of cracking open my lobster claw like he always does whenever we dine in Fatty Crab. Thanks for your help Love!

Happy cracking!

Thanks Love!

There are several lobster cooking styles to choose from including Simmered (North America), Charbroiled (North America), Tarragon Butter Baked (France), Lobster Sashimi (Japan) and Lobster Thermidor (Italy).

After much debate, B agreed to go with me on Stuffed Lobster (USA) - succulent lobster meat sautéed with mushrooms and white cream, baked with bread crumbs to lobster perfection! It was delicious and though eating the lobster meat on its own was delightful, having tasty mushroom cream sauce mixed within was even more divine!

Lobster drenched in creamy mushroom sauce

Topped with delicious bread crumbs

Since I selected the cooking style for our lobster, B was left to decide on our side dish. We went with Baked Seafood Rice instead of Spaghetti, which was truly satisfying with a generous amount of creamy seafood baked to a nice texture and aromatic seafood flavour.

For dessert, we had mixed fruit with a dab of sweet whipped cream. It was simple yet delightfully tasty and it went really well with our coffee.

Dessert

Me and my coffee

We took our time dining and got a little creative on the white drawing paper tablecloth while waiting for the bill. What do you think of my lobster drawing?

Makan-Makan @Mariuca was here!

I for one, think that 'my' lobster looks great but truth be told, it was B who so skilfully sketched it out within minutes! I bet it would have taken me an hour to draw a lobster and even then, I doubt it would have turned out looking like a real lobster!

Last to leave, we finally left Lobsterman slightly before 10pm and were bid farewell by the remaining staff; busy closing up for the night. I arrived home, filled to the brim and hardly able to walk or move after our scrumptious diner. Truly lobster-licious, our dinner at Lobsterman will definitely leave us with a lasting impression of love, comfort and simply delicious dining with the very mighty King of Seafood!

The location

Food:
Price:

MMM LOVES

Morning Adventure @ Village Park, D.U. *

2012-01-19T07:11:00.005+08:00

Early last Sunday, B and I had a sudden crave for Nasi Lemak (Coconut Rice), which is also one of my favourites! I cook Nasi Lemak sometimes, which really goes well with prawn sambal or the plain sambal (chilli) that comes on the side. For me, the rice is equally important and it remains a factor when deciding if a particular Nasi Lemak has passed my high standard of deliciousness or not!

It was a little after 8 in the morning when we headed to Village Park Damansara Utama, PJ for breakfast. Apparently, this restaurant serves the best Nasi Lemak in PJ and after the raving reviews we’ve read and heard about this place, it was time to judge the food ourselves.

Relaxing and yummy Sunday breakfast

The restaurant was easy to locate and when we arrived, plenty of patrons were already hanging around inside and outside the premise, enjoying a delightful Sunday breakfast with family and friends.

I looked at the choices and exclaimed in delight at seeing so many yummy choices. The menu not only had Nasi Lemak (with a wide variety of side dishes including sambal prawns, begedil, clams and crispy fried chicken) but this place also serves Lontong and Nasi Dagang, both I love!

I want Nasi Dagang!

What's your choice?

I was torn between Nasi Dagang and Nasi Lemak and after much thinking, I opted for the latter. It was a delightful choice indeed. The rice was fluffy and heavenly fragrant and my choice of sambal prawns was delicious too. Though spicy, the prawn sambal was nowhere near as spicy as the plain sambal.

Simply scrumptious!

B whose tolerance level for spicy stuff is definitely lower than mine was all teary and had to order two drinks as he puffed and huffed away eating the super spicy sambal. If you love spicy sambal, this one would be a delight to savour. Otherwise, order two drinks prior to eating.

Refreshing Teh Ais

I love my morning adventures with B and since he is on leave this entire week, I am hoping for another one soon. Next time, I’m definitely gonna order Lontong, yum!

The Location

Food:
Price:

MMM LOVES

Dinner for Two @ Fatty Crab *

2011-11-23T10:45:00.005+08:00

I was feeling blue yesterday so B tried cheering me up by bringing me to our favourite restaurant Fatty Crab in Taman Megah. I’m supposed to be on a diet in order to fit into my snug outfit for a wedding in two weeks but depression makes me hungry and I love Fatty Crab so off we went!

No smile for the moody!

It was raining when we left our home but fortunately traffic was pretty good and we arrived in less than 20 minutes. As usual, there was a long queue and we had to wait for about 15 minutes before we were seated right at the entrance. It’s not the best seat in the house but I didn’t want to wait much longer to start devouring the yummy chilli crabs this place is renowned for so we said yes to Aunty when she beckoned us to the table.

Always full house

Long queue

Waiting for our food

Our standard order whenever we dine here consists of chilli crabs, garlic prawns, fried rice, toasted bread plus a bowl of the delicious crab gravy to dip our bread sticks in. I didn’t fill up on crabs since I don’t really know how to eat them. Usually B will crack open the shell for me and only then will I bite into the soft delicious flesh inside. Otherwise, I won’t bother with the crabs and will just suck on the sauce coating the shell.

Sugar Cane & Chrysanthemum Tea

Delicious Chilli Crabs

Tasty Garlic Prawns

Fried Rice

Toasted Bread

Sweet & Spicy chilli gravy

Delicious Dip

The Garlic Prawns served last night were huge by the way and after eating two, I was full. Seriously, the prawns were big and fat and oh so yummy of course. In fact, this is my favourite dish when dining at Fatty Crab.

Succulent tasty prawn

Crab with chilli gravy

Fried rice topped with crab and gravy

I do believe it’s been months since we had dinner here so everything we ordered tasted extra yummy somehow. By the end of the meal, I was bursting out of my jeans and I kid you not so I stopped eating and waited for B to finish the crabs!

Thanks Love for cheering me up with a delightfully delicious meal last night. So what are we having for dinner tonight?

The location

Food:
Price:

MMM LOVES

MM - Wherever You Will Go by The Calling *

2011-11-09T06:49:00.003+08:00

I am on a roll it seems and this one here makes three posts tonight! Finally, I am back with a new selection after a long time of not being musical here at my food blog LOL! Love this song and the music video and the lyrics too so take a listen, happy viewing and have a beautiful Music Monday!

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

MMM LOVES

Welcome Home! *

2011-10-01T07:11:00.003+08:00

So my younger sis is back from UK! She got home a few weeks ago and I’ve only been to see her, Issy and my BIL once since they arrived.

Me and my sisters

Intan and Mariuca

Isabella celebrated her 4th birthday on the 14th of September and it was only yesterday that I finally got around to buying my niece her gift. Apparently she’s into dinosaurs right now. Dinos first, then comes Barbie so B and I got her both! I’ll be seeing Issy this weekend so it’s time for me to play Santa and give out pressies to her and of course to my twin nephews as well. Can’t leave out the boys now can I?

B and Ritz

Anyway, here are some pictures taken two weeks back when we celebrated Issy’s birthday. We were also expecting relatives from Singapore who arrived much later in the evening. By then, I was too exhausted from entertaining the kids and helping with the food so no photos of our guests from Singapore here!

Kids Table

Party Guest

Ritz and Issy

Happy Birthday Issy!

Issy's Birthday Cake

My mom had cooked up a storm for this occasion and the spread that Friday afternoon was totally delicious. Either I was plain hungry or I was just being greedy for I tried almost everything served. And those I didn’t get around to tasting, I packed in Tupperware to bring home for later!

Pulut Kuning

Cakes

Steamed Fruit Cake, my mom's specialty

Marble Cake

Brownies

Ayam Masak Merah (Chicken in Spicy Tomato Sauce), Beef Rendang

I hope you like my photos. The ones with the kids are mostly blurry because they couldn’t keep still so I did the best I could. Welcome home Issy and family and to the rest of you, happy weekend!

My niece and nephews

Wakey wakey Issy!

All in the Family, minus bro Omi

MMM LOVES

Sloppy Joes for Supper! *

2011-09-11T02:05:00.004+08:00

I made Sloppy Joes for the first time tonight and they turned out great! Thanks to Shemah for guiding me to the right recipe for Sloppy Joes!

The recipe is really easy and anyone can make this delicious American dish of ground beef, onions, ketchup and other seasonings. I’ve never made Sloppy Joes before so I was excited the moment I found out how easy it was to cook this yummy dish.

Anyway, I read through the recipe and the many reviews there and from the reviews of other foodies, I decided to change it up a bit. I used all the ingredients mentioned but substituted the brown sugar with BBQ sauce. I also cut down the simmering time by 5 minutes. Other than that, I followed the recipe to the letter. Now for some pics!

Seasonings

Chopped Onion

Chopped Green Pepper

Browning meat, onion and pepper

Add in sauce and seasonings

Simmer for 25 minutes

A big fat Sloppy Joe!

MMM LOVES

Ramadan Bazaar @ TTDI *

2011-08-20T07:11:00.003+08:00

Never ever go to a Ramadan Bazaar on a wet rainy afternoon! Otherwise, you’ll end up like me - drenched and laden with yummy delights you probably can’t finish in just one night!

Food overload!

It is raining and you’re hungry. Seeing all the delicious display of wondrous spread in front of your eyes gives more than just a bounce in your step. You want to buy whatever looks yummy at first sight and you want to buy them all whilst shielding yourself from the pitter-patter of the falling rain! End result? You buy more than you really need or want just so you can get out of the rain ASAP!

On the way to TTDI

B and I decided to check out the Ramadan Bazaar in TTDI last weekend. We’ve been to the ones in SS18 and USJ 4, Subang Jaya but not the one in TTDI. I was actually looking for just putu bambu but of course that was not the case and we came home with loads of other scrumptious food for our breaking of fast!

Braving the rain to get to the food!

Green Putu Bambu Stall

We got home and I set the table for dinner. The first thing I was dying to taste was my mom’s yummy acar kurma (pickled dates), which she sells and is also one her specialties. Did I tell you that my mom makes the best food during Ramadan so there’s no dieting this whole month?

Scrumptious Spread!

Anyway, this is the acar and let me assure you that it was totally delicious! I gotta say her acar this time around was divine, even yummier than I’ve ever tasted it before!

Yummy Acar

We certainly enjoyed our delicious spread last weekend but next time, we really have to practise a little more control when visiting a Ramadan Bazaar! There was plenty of leftover, which we didn't eat in the end.

Lin Chee Kang

Cucur Udang / Prawn Fritters

Chilli Fish

Pucuk Paku (Fern Leaftop) Lemak

Chilli Paru (Beef Lungs)

Ayam (Chicken) Percik

Tomato Rice

Chilli Chicken

Green Putu Bambu

Otak-Otak and Satar

Sweet Corn

Tapai - my fave!

Kuih Cara & Crème Caramel

MMM LOVES

Delightful Dining @ Little Taiwan *

2011-08-07T02:40:00.004+08:00

My first time dining @ Little Taiwan was pure pleasure. Firstly, the entire establishment is decked in shades of lime green and white; wonderful eye-pleasing combination, don't you think?

Cosy dining outside

Equally inviting inside

Secondly, the menu is extensive, which I love and every item we ordered was yummy. Take that as simply smart ordering on our part or plain good cooking on Little Taiwan's end!

Currently, there are two special promos, which we ordered and received two thumbs up from both B and yours truly. I especially enjoyed the Special Stewed Rice. The portion was perfect, not too much and not too little; leaving ample room to taste and indulge in other side dishes.

If you prefer something else, pore over the wide range of dishes available here.

And last but not least, service was prompt (perhaps there was no dinner crowd the time we were there) and our total bill came up to less than RM40! Put the pieces together and you have the perfect recipe for yummy relaxed dining in a cosy pretty ambience.

Let's take a look at what we ordered that night. I was feeling a little greedy so everything on the menu sounded and looked tempting!

The Taiwanese Special Toast was a must-try simply because it looked so interesting and delicious on the menu so I was immediately enticed. It turned out to be a wonderful choice. The crispness of the hollowed out toast filled with fairly thick seafood, mushroom and vegetable broth blended really well and it almost felt like devouring a warm hearty seafood pie!

We'll definitely be returning to Little Taiwan soon, especially when we're in the mood for tasty affordable dining! You should pay a visit too!

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MMM LOVES

Super Spicy Lunch @ Thai Express! *

2011-08-01T19:15:00.002+08:00

We’ve not been to Thai Express in ages so last Friday while staying in Bintang Royale during our very short getaway, B and I took a nice stroll down to the Curve to have spicy late lunch there. As always, dining al fresco is so much intriguing than being cooped indoors and the pink seats sure do look inviting. Plus, it was almost 6pm so the sun was going down and believe it or not, there was a slight breeze; made perfect for dining outside.

Outdoor dining

The menu has several new additions to the list since our last visit but my mind was already made up even before sitting down. Fire Noodles was what I was craving for and this is the only dish I have when dining here actually. I don’t mind trying out new starters or a new drink but my main meal will almost always be the super spicy Fire Noodles!

Where are you Fire Noodles?

Thai Noodles

Rice Dishes

Drinks

The Fire Noodles has slightly changed since the very first time I tasted it. Spicy and tasty as ever, this dish is now served slightly differently and the chilli on the side also differs from what it used to be. I know this because I'm a big Fire Noodles fan and the observant Virgo that I am noticed the change immediately.

Having said that, it's just as tasty but I requested for chilli flakes on the side, which was how it was originally served. A little chilli flakes to my plate for good measure, which though made the dish extra spicy, also made it yummier!

Extra chilli for me please!

ILT

B ordered his usual Pineapple Fried Rice, which was previously served in a hollowed out pineapple but those days are over I guess. Fortunately, the rice still tasted great and B enjoyed his late lunch with wifey very much.

Hungry Hippo!

Chilli for the Pineapple Fried Rice

So when was your last visit to Thai Express and what was your favourite item on the menu? Bon Appétit and Selamat Berbuka Puasa to all my Muslim friends celebrating the beginning of Ramadan today!

Sweet & Spicy, just the way I like it!

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MMM LOVES

Seafood Galore @ Tepian Tebrau, JB *

2011-07-22T18:51:00.003+08:00

Our visit to JB would not be complete if we didn't visit the Tepian Tebrau Hawker Centre, selling mainly seafood plus home-cooked dishes. B and I actually came here twice on two different nights so it was a seafood galore in JB last weekend!

Located along Johor Straits, this stretch of food stalls is nearby Lido Beach, now popular as Danga Bay.

Lido Beach

Street musicians will perform while you eat and though they don't actually scream superstars, it is still nice to listen to familiar English tunes while dining. The second night we came here, the street musicians performed right behind my table. I snapped some pictures of them but the moment they saw my iphone4, they immediately turned shy and tried shielding their faces! I thought that was cute but how to enter GIG 2011 if shy like this? Ha ha!

Singing an Oasis song it seems!

Anyway, who doesn't like seafood right? And though seafood is not actually encouraged for those with sinusitis problems (seafood triggers off a sinus-sneeze attack for me), this place is a must-visit so off we went! Prices are great by the way and here are the dishes we enjoyed on our first night here.

Gerai Tepian Tebrau Day 1

Steamed Fish

Otak-Otak

Yum Yum!

Buttered Prawns

Sambal Lala (Clams)

Our last night in JB saw us heading to the same Gerai Tepian Tebrau but we picked another stall, which is supposedly renowned for their lobsters! Unfortunately, they were out of lobsters that night so I settled for fish.

Gerai Tepian Tebrau Day 3

Grilled Fish

Sotong Kangkung

Steamed Cockles

For dessert, B ordered Ice Jelly, which is an interesting specialty in JB. There are of course several versions of this dessert but basically, it's something like the more familiar ABC except that this one is topped off with fruits like pineapple, custard apple (buah Nona) sea coconut and lime.

Ice Jelly

If you're ever in JB, don't forget to drop by this popular eating spot. It is almost always packed with locals and tourists alike, so grab your seats early!

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MMM LOVES

Blogging from JB & Breakfast in Bed! *

2011-07-16T13:29:00.005+08:00

First time ever blogging outside my comfort zone of PJ (hey Monica!). So far the hotel's service has been quite good and this is actually my first time staying in Puteri Pacific Hotel, JB.

I have not been to JB for more than 10 years and I used to live here actually. My mom hails from JB and I went to school here for two years during my high school days. It sure brings back a lot of fond memories just by being here in this friendly, food haven known as Johor Bahru.

Anyway, I decided to order room service this morning! I was torn between the Fluffy Omelette or one of the Breakfast sets. Since Fluffy Omelette does not come with coffee, I decided to go for the latter!

Fluffy Omelette

Or American?

This is what I had for breakfast today, in true morning breakfast hour instead of my usual 'brunch' at night!

Toast

Scrambled Eggs with Streaky Beef Bacon, Hash Brown Potatoes and Grilled Tomato

Orange Juice

Coffee

So I had breakfast in bed today and I truly enjoyed every bite. Food always seems tastier when eaten in a comfy hotel room! Anyway, of course I could not finish the entire tray; serving is huge so there's still plenty left for later!

Leftover

I'm going to luxuriate in a scent-sational bubble bath after this. Then go down to Persada to catch B and gang at the Upin Ipin Carnival, JB (16-17 July, 2011). See ya!

MMM LOVES

Japanese Dinner @ Sen Tsuru *

2011-07-15T05:42:00.002+08:00

The last time we went to our neighbourhood Japanese restaurant, it was under a totally different name and that was years back. Seeing that Sen Tsuru is really near to home, we decided to have dinner here last week. Japanese food is always a pleasure and I was definitely in the mood for some yummy Chuka Lidako!

Sen Tsuru

Inside really felt like an authentic Japanese restaurant somewhere in the heart of Tokyo. I was happy with the ambience and spent the first five minutes snapping photographs using my Sony Cyber-shot before settling down to browse through the extensive menu. I love restaurants with extensive menus but the downside is that it's hard to choose what I want.

Front Interior

We've tried dining in one of the private rooms before, which offers patrons the traditional way of dining in a Japanese setting complete with slippers to slip into as you sit on the cushion provided. Cosy right? Anyway, the rooms were apparently reserved although I did not see any patrons using them while we were there!

Private Dining

Japanese Art

Sen Tsuru

For starters, we ordered our favourite baby octopus! Thinly-sliced cool cucumber laced between the sweet, succulent marinated baby octopus equals to heaven in your mouth!

Lidako Kyuli

After much thinking and changing of mind, I settled on the Unagi Gozen set, which is eel served in 3 different ways, WOW! I was enticed by the menu description so eel it was! The set came with fruit for dessert, miso soup, baby octopus and sticky soft Japanese rice.

Tasty

B is no Unagi fan and he tried this first eel dish with much hesitation. In the end, he surprised himself by liking it more than me! I enjoyed this one too but my favourite is the one that's coming up next!

Out of the three eel dishes served, this one takes the cake! The eel was perfectly grilled, juicy and tender; spiced and slightly sweetened to utter perfection!

Last but not least was the grilled eel sushi with seaweed string. It was yummy but it was my least favourite among the three.

Miso Soup

I was curious to try the Japanese Pepper, which turned out to be a big mistake; it was not good at all! The Chilli Pepper was delightful though ... as usual!

For a little Spice

I like that the Sen Tsuru placed priority on customer's comfort, as seen from the extensively-decorated room, made to produce a cosy Japanese setting and feel. It worked beautifully and can you spot the Japanese doll in this picture below?

More private rooms

B ordered the Hotate Karayaki & Tori Teriyaki or Simmered Scallop & Chicken Teriyaki set. We both agreed that my set was undoubtedly tastier!

B enjoying his dinner

Chicken Teriyaki

Simmered Scallop served in a shell-shaped bowl

Chawan Mushi, savoury Japanese custard, Yum!

Japanese tea

The bill came up to almost RM100. It's a little pricey to dine here so it won't be a weekly affair for us but when we do visit Sen Tsuru again, I'm definitely gonna order the Unagi Gozen set. Truly yummy, two thumbs up!

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MMM LOVES

Dining with Dinos! *

2011-07-09T03:07:00.011+08:00

Words could not express my disappointment when served with a plate of so-called Ayam Penyet in Discovery Food Court, Universal Studios Singapore! We were in Jurassic Park then and it was time for a late lunch.

Jurassic Park, USS

I was angry, extremely indignant and sad that this dish could even be categorized as Ayam Penyet! Yes, the chicken was huge and nicely fried and the fried tofu was pleasant but where were the crispy bits and what was up with serving Ayam Penyet with chicken rice instead of plain white rice? Plus, check out the amount of sambal (chilli) included! Tell me, how can you possibly finish an entire plate of rice with Ayam Penyet if the sambal is this scarce? I was shocked!

Ayam Penyet? Sure or noooooot?

This is what I mean by crispy bits by the way, which is the main thing (aside from the must-have sambal) that actually makes any Ayam/Prawn Penyet dish unique and yummy. Sorely missing from the version I had in Discovery Food Court.

Crispy Delight

The worst part was that if you order a-la-carte, there will be NO SAMBAL and acar (pickled vege) on the side! What the .... I didn't care about the acar but did you really expect me to eat Ayam Penyet dry without sambal? My hands were tied so I had no choice but to pay extra for the set only to get this miserable 'kuchi-rat' amount of sambal? Again, I was shocked!

Teeny-weeny sambal serving

Anyway, I forced myself to eat a few spoonfuls simply because I didn't want to waste the money spent on this dish. B had chicken rice and according to him, it was really very plain and bland. Even B's chilli for his chicken rice was more generous than mine!

Chicken Rice

The only thing we actually liked about the food court was the ambience. Inside is very cosy with a huge T-Rex display right in the middle of the food court. And I mean an enormous one, which calls for a gawk no matter how exhausted you are upon entering!

T-Rex wah so huge!

Dinos on the wall

Roar?

Eeeek?

B's new pet!

Dinosaurs everywhere

A miserable SGD24.50 for this make-me-angry-only lunch. Oh well!

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MMM LOVES

MM - Restless Heart by Peter Cetera *

2011-06-06T06:33:00.003+08:00

I am going for the big 4 this week! For the first time, all my four blogs are featuring Music Monday on the same day!

Peter Cetera is my fourth MM selection for this week and if you noticed, all four songs I featured at my blogs belong to the good old 90s. What an awesome Music Monday!

MMM LOVES

Happy Birthday Omi! *

2011-06-05T17:29:00.003+08:00

Lately, all I seem to do is eat and eat some more! It did not help that there were so many birthdays to attend these last few weeks. First it was my Dad's birthday and then yesterday it was my bro Omi's turn to usher in his 29th birthday!

The cake was simply delicious by the way!

Happy Birthday Omi!

My brother is camera shy but here's wishing him a wonderful 29th Birthday filled with lots of love and good moments with family and friends! He chose to have his birthday dinner at Big Brother, which was great for me since BB is in our area. The food was yummy and I seriously don't think I can eat another bite after our huge meal yesterday!

Cheezy Herb & Garlic Bruschetta

Mashed Potatoes

Cheesy Chicken Chop

Happy Birthday Omie from all of us here!

Baby Ross

Baby Ritz with Aunty M & Uncle B

Uncle B and Ritz

Smile

Grandpa talking to Ritz

Twins with Mel and Mom

Ritz & Ross

Mel and Ritz

MMM LOVES

Dad's Birthday @ d'Tandoor *

2011-06-04T00:12:00.003+08:00

At long last, I got to satisfy my craving for delicious authentic Indian food @ d'tandoor! I have been looking forward to dining here for the longest time. B doesn't favour Indian food and I too hardly eat Indian food unless I'm in the mood for it. Having said that, I do LOVE Authentic Indian dishes and d'Tandoor serves really good Indian cuisine.

d'Tandoor, Subang Jaya

The occasion? My Dad's birthday, which fell on a Monday (May 23rd) this year so we had dinner earlier on Sunday night. Of course I would like to take this post to wish a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Dad. May you be blessed with only happiness, health and wealth this year and for many more years to come!

Mom & Dad

We got my Dad a yummy birthday cake from Secret Recipe. Pecan Butterscotch cream cake, which I have to say, is by far the least sweet cake I've tried from SR! It is rich and creamy and oh so delicious but surprisingly it is not as sweet as my other favourites like Strawberry Marshmallow Cheesecake or the Choc Banana or the Chocolate Indulgence. Truly a wonderful choice for those looking for dessert that is not overly sweet but just as delish!

Pecan Butterscotch

Strawberry Marshmallow Cheesecake

The menu was extensive and we took our time deciding what to eat at d'Tandoor that night.

d'tandoor also serves local cuisine but of course we didn't order anything from that section. We were there for the best authentic Indian food and I already knew what I wanted ... Seafood Biryani!

Starters were Pappadam with Mint Sauce and they were absolutely divine! I could not get enough of these crispy crackers and the tasty dip!

In the end, we had Seafood Biryani, Chicken Biryani and Mutton Biryani. I'm like my Dad; we don't eat mutton but gave it a taste that night. I still prefer my choice of Seafood Biryani however, which was perfectly cooked to a tasty level of fluffiness with just the right amount of spices. Even B who's not a fan of Indian food admitted that it was the best Biryani he'd ever tasted!

Waiting for mah food!

We were seated facing the window of the cooking area; purposely designed to allow customers to view the chefs at work. One chef in particular was friendly and happily posed for pictures without me having to ask!

From experience, we didn't want to overdo this dinner by ordering excessively so I took charge and ordered the dishes to go along with our Biryani rice.

Me and Mel

For dessert, we had Gulab Jamun, which apparently was too sweet for everyone at the table. That means most of dessert went home with me!

All in all, I definitely enjoyed having my Dad's birthday dinner here at d'Tandoor and I can't wait to dine here again. Gotta wait for B to be in the mood for Indian food again I guess!

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MMM LOVES

Special Sambal Prawns *

2011-05-03T22:25:00.003+08:00

It's been ages since I cooked something yummy for B so after our massive grocery shopping yesterday, I made my special sambal prawns for dinner tonight. I made sure I used only one tablespoon of chilli paste this time because B doesn't really like spicy food and the last time I made my sambal prawns for him, it was still too spicy it seems.

Unfortunately, he is out running an emergency errand right now and though I am ravenous from not eating all day, I will wait for my baby to come home so we can dine together. Eating alone is no fun. I hope he comes home soon!

Sambal Prawns

MMM LOVES

Morning Adventure @ Gerai Mak Yah! *

2011-05-01T04:49:00.005+08:00

We left home at 7.30am. Usually in bed at this ungodly hour when everyone else goes off to work, I was in search of a morning adventure. Frankly, it felt great to be out in the world when the air was crisp and fresh and traffic practically non-existent.

Where are we heading?

Passing by Laman Impian

Drive-thru newspaper vendor, Star and Metro please!

Hungry, we wanted to reach our destination as soon as possible and enjoy a yummy breakfast outside, which hardly happens for us since B sleeps in late on weekends.

Up and about at 7.37AM!

Almost there!

Turning the corner

Digital Mall still closed

1st Floor, Pusat Penjaja Sect. 14, PJ

We arrived at Gerai Mak Yah and there were already many people enjoying breakfast there. As expected, there was a queue for the Lontong, which was what we came for. After ordering our drinks, B immediately queued up behind the last person waiting in the lontong line. The last time B came here to buy some yummy lontong, he was in line for 40 minutes but that's because he arrived a little after 9am, which is the peak selling hour.

Busy Breakfast Crowd

I was ravenous and everything looked divine. While B was lining-up, I checked out the Nasi Lemak stall next to Gerai Mak Yah. There were so many different types of sambal and all my favourite things too like begedil, sambal sotong (squid), paru (lung), kerang (cockle), chicken and sambal prawns. I chose kerang for B and paru for me; take-away of course since we were here for something else!

Nasi Lemak Stall

Back to our lontong, the stall owner Mak Yah, was born in Johor Bahru (which is where my mom hails from and which explains my love for Southern recipes too). She lived in Singapore prior to moving here in KL back in 1972. I wasn't even born in 1972 and Mak Yah has been selling lontong at a car park outside the wet market in Section 14, PJ since then! This stall also serves Nasi Lemak but apparently, Lontong is her speciality.

B at the head of the queue!

This time around, it took B about 10 minutes to bring two plates of delicious Lontong Johor to our table. I was in heaven!

According to B, the food server had a very systematic way of preparing the lontong. First, he placed the nasi impit (compressed rice cake) inside your bowl. This was followed by the kuah lodeh (gravy) with bits of fried tofu, tempe (bean cake) and long beans for extra crunch and taste. Add to that half an egg, sambal sotong (squid) and kuah kacang (peanut sauce) before the finishing touch of very yummy serunding kelapa (delicious coconut floss) right on top. B asked for extra coconut floss and the server was very generous!

Delicious Lontong Johor RM4.50

The coconut sprinkle is what makes this entire dish perfect. For me, lontong without the serunding kelapa is less authentic so Mak Yah really made my morning with her ultra yummy recipe! Thank you Mak Yah, your lontong is delicious and your stall will now be a frequent visit for us! Next time, I want to try Mak Yah's Nasi Lemak!

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MMM LOVES