Food

Sup Pedas Kajang, Puchong

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 11:52:00 +0000

December, December, December!
So much to do, to rush for before the year ends!
And with all the hustle and bustle, I had, inevitably neglected my blog ;p

Finally managed to squeeze in time for an update, and it shall be a continuation of the rainy day series..

We were in Bandar Puteri and heard there's a new shop in town..
Up for something spicy, we made our way there in hope for some great grubs.
Ordering was prompt, we wanted to try their 'sup pedas', ie, their hot and spicy soup..

If you were thinking it's somewhat like the peppery pig stomach soup, then you'll be sorely disappointed. This pot of soup is thick with pepper, slices of ginger and loads of choy poh (preserved vegetables). There's slices of pork, pork stomach and chicken to sweeten the soup, but it's just not my cup of tea. I find the soup chokingly sweet and saltish, I'd go for simple pepperish pig stomach soup anytime.

We tried the 18K Hot Hot Pork, which sounds menacingly fiery..

Turns out very similar to the dry style bak kut teh, sans the lady's fingers. The thick sauce was perfect with rice, the pork slices itself was less impressive as it was rather tough. Better than the soup though.

Got some Houliao seafood roll..

Mediocre seafood rolled in beancurd.

The spinach that we ordered was too old..
Way too fibrous.
Overall a less than stellar experience, doubt I'll pop over again, unless I had no other option.

Sup Pedas Kajang is located at 16G, Jalan Puteri 2/4, Bandar Puteri, 47100 Puchong.

Xin Chun Seafood Steamboat, Kota Damansara

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 11:27:00 +0000

The rain has been relentless for the past few weeks..
It's cold, wet and dull, I guess it's a tropical country's version of 'winter'?

Though there's many who would lament about the rain, I for one, secretly enjoy the rain. I love the smell of rain, the sound of it pelting against my window pane and magnificent lightning that strikes just before a storm begins. That is, if I'm nice and dry indoors..hahaha.

And when it rains, most of us would seek some sort of comfort food..

In my case, steamboat tops the list to warm me up on a rainy day :).

I first heard of Xin Chun from SL. We were on our way to try it but a most unfortunate incident happened and we had to cancel. Year end came and most of us were busy going for hols and clearing last minute work, we just didn't thought of Xin Chun again.

When WF was hanging out at my place recently, it was another wet evening and we were both craving for something to warm us up. Xin Chun came to my mind.

It was freakishly packed when we arrive, but luck was with us, we got a table soon after.

Like any typical steamboat joint, Xin Chun offers 'ching thong' (clear soup base) or 'yin yiong" (mixed of 2 soup, the other being tim yam). Since it's our first try, we opted for yin yiong.

There were 2 sets to choose from - Ketam set (RM13.50) and Seafood set(RM24.50).

It was a minimum order or 2 pax per set, so we could only try one type. We went for the Ketam set. Quite substantial serving for 2, we decided not to order extra ingredients. The set also comes with the typical yee mee and vermicelli, with eggs.

I assumed that their ching thong was basically herb based, to my surprise, it was not. I cant tell what's the ingredients for the clear soup, it was a very familiar, seafood taste. WF said it might be shark bones, which may be the case as the soup was murky, and usually boiling fish/ fish bones brings such effect. I was actually enjoying this soup very much, it's rather satisfying slurping it down. Yums. The ingredients for the steamboat was very fresh too, which added to the sweetness of the soup.

As for the tom yam, both of us didn't like it. It was very spicy yet sweet. Just didn't enjoy it.

Xinchun serves dishes other than steamboat too. Dishes such as lala vermicelli, crabs (in different sauces) and pork ribs, to fill us up while waiting for the food to cook.

Xin Chun Seafood Steamboat is located at No 15, Jln PJU 5/3, Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara , 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Vivo American Pizza & Panini, Tropicana City Mall

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 01:00:00 +0000

I can be very bias sometimes..

I tend to make a hasty decision for not dining at a place with it's outlook. That does not mean that the restaurant is dirty, smelly etc..its just a 'feel' that I get. No chemistry I guess, hah. Weird, eh?

Sadly, Vivo was one of such restaurant. When I saw it opening its doors at The Curve a couple of years back, I never had the urge to want to try it.

But recently, Vivo opened a branch at Tropicana City. I was there to catch a movie and while cracking my head on what to have for dinner, I recalled Ms. D persistent effort to convince me to try the food in Vivo some time ago.

Hmmm, why so insistent?

Curiosity got the best of me, we went to Vivo without much hesitation..

Power juices seemed to be popular..

We tried a couple..

Cant remember the names of these, but one was thirst quenching while another was a tad too sour..

The Green Tea latte was a nice way to warm the belly in preparation of the food..The slightly bitter green tea (powder) was balanced by the tame milk.

Ms D said the baked seafood pasta was worth trying..

And so I did.

The pasta was tongue scorching hot when it was served. The top layer of cheese was wonderfully burnt and melted, clinging on to the spaghetti underneath. The tomato cream sauce, - rich and gooey complemented the mild flavour dory fish slices and pasta. A rather satisfying dish, you should give it a try if you prefer creamy based pasta.

The pizza, on the other hand, came with some quirky flavours..

SH wanted to try the Funghi (Mushroom) pizza, and so we ordered one.

You get to choose to have it thin crust or the normal pizza base. Ours was thin.

I was surprised that Vivo was very generous with their ingredients. Loads of mushrooms accompanied with a scattering of feta cheese and almond slices. So far, it sounds normal right? The quirkiness came with the sauce used for the base of the pizza. Rather than the usual tomato base, they opted for pesto. Not that it's bad (the worst base I've tried was caramelised ginger sauce base for a duck pizza..ewww), it's just acquired taste. So this pizza got a mixed vote, some of us enjoyed it, while others don't.

Amy opted for a more norm pizza..

Topped with salami, chicken slices and lots of vegetables. Pretty decent, I liked the fact that the capsicums are bursting with juices when I bit into it.

I've tried their chicken tenders too (which I didn't take a picture of, sorry!), which is great to snack on. It's like a cross between A&W fried chicken batter with Chilli's chicken crisper.

I must admit, there were some items in Vivo that I did enjoy. Vivo is has almost similar clientele akin to Pizza hut's. But if I had to choose between these 2, I'd rather do Vivo.

Vivo American Pizza & Panini is located at Tropicana City Mall, L1-55, First Floor, Tropicana City Mall, No. 3, Jln SS 20/27, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Icing

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 07:38:00 +0000

Made these cupcakes last Night. Nakaka adik pala mag bake! Kinuha ko lang yung recipe sa likod ng lalagyan nung binili ko na Hershey's na unsweeted Cocoa. Pati icing dun din. Ultimate Chocolate cake na nilagay ko sa cupcake molds at yung icing na pinipe ko lang using an end of a plastic zip lock container.

Assorted icing designs na napagkatuwaan ko lang gawin kagabi. Na tawag na nga ko ng asawa ko at akala kung ano na nangyari sa kin. Im tired from work at nag luto pa ng dinner pagdating ko ng bahay tapos di talaga ko pumayag na di makapag bake na kahit yung recipe sa lalagyan ng cocoa ay di ko pinatawad.

Nag enjoy naman ako kaya may smiley dyan! haha

Had this piece this morning. Masarap! hehe
At dahil sobrang nag enjoy ako kakalagay ng icing, bibili na ko ng pipe bukas.....

Next project ko? Red velvet cupcakes naman :-)

Fun Taipei Tea Cafe, Kota Damansara

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 03:38:00 +0000

We were on our way to another destination, but it was lunch time, we were famished and Fun Taipei had just opened it's doors at Kota Damansara. Parking was relatively easy, we decided to give it a try..

The restaurant was decorated with large wall posters of famed taiwan tourist attractions and snack street pictures, clearly indicating their main food focus. There were quite a number of set meals to choose from (other than ala carte), with very decent prices.

Choosing our meals didnt take that long..

WF had oyster mee sua..

I was rather surprise with her order, since she had just returned from Taipei a couple of weeks ago and I assumed she ate this many,many times when she was there. It's was a mediocre dish though, the sauce tasted rather quirky, not like the norm oyster mee sua. The accompanying deep fried tofu was quite nice, if eaten together with the pickled cucumber.

I had the san bei (3 cups) chicken..

Was a decent version, not too bad. Sadly, the chicken was not well marinated and did not absorb much of the sauces flavours. The mince pork rice (lu rou farn) had too much star anise aroma in it, which I didnt like. Also, insufficient gelatine in the sauce to

Amy decided to have the braised set..

So her's looks the plainest of the lot :p. Braised egg and tofu served with braised mince pork rice. The base sauce was the same for all the dishes, so everything tasted rather similar. Average tasting set..

We all agreed that Elaine's set was the best..

Her chicken chop set..

Humongous deep fried chicken chop, lightly dusted with chilli powder. The batter was crunchy while the chicken fillet remained juicy and well marinated. Very yummy indeed.

Overall, we find the food average, but all of us really enjoyed their bubble tea (which I didnt take any picture of :p). I guess I will come back for the bubble tea and maybe to try some of the snacks..

Fun Taipei Tea Cafe is located at No. 16-1, Jalan PJU 5/15, Dataran Sunway, Kota Damansara, Selangor. There are a few other branches located around Klang Valley.

Evolving popiah?

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 14:22:00 +0000

I guess I've not taken popiah (spring rolls) for a while now, so to my surprise, it has evolved to a new range of popiah when I was not even noticing..

When I was at Sun Yin Loong recently, I saw someone ordering a plate of 'sushi'. But sushi at a kopitiam just dont seem to fit well- I looked around and noted that there's a stall selling popiah with a twist..literally twisted and rolled with seaweed.

Curiosity got the best of me, I ordered a portion.

Outer layer was crisp seaweed, the second layer was popiah skin and the filling was mostly raw vegetables ( a mix of turnips, carrots, bean sprouts and cucumber), the center was filled with mayo, chicken floss and some fried crunchy bits of flavoured flour.

The taste? Funnily enough, this combo works- tasted like sushi (those crabstick mayo flavour), without the rice and wasabi. The only hint that it was ever a popiah was the skin.

I was told that some pasar malams are also selling this 'popiah' as hand roll versions, sans popiah skin and includes other combo of vegetables like cabbage and sweet corn bits.

Brilliant Beijing!

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 01:26:00 +0000

My dear, dear readers!

First and foremost, a thousand apologies for not updating my blog for the longest time!

Hope you guys didnt get the impression that I've stopped blogging for good :p

I've been busy for almost a month and when it was time for updates, well, I decided to procrastinate instead..hehehe.

Well, the title of my blog post gave it all away.. yes, I was off for a nice holiday in Beijing (and Xi'an) recently, to pay homage to mother of all walls :p, the Great Wall..There were 3 main gates to the Great Wall, we went to the JuYongGuan Wall, in which our driver declared, was the nicest of the 3 gates (I cant verify since this was the only one we went for :p). We were blessed with wonderful weather and beautiful autumn colours during our time there, I was so pleasantly surprise! The climb was ardous, but we defintely had loads of fun :D.

The grand Forbidden City was too humongous for me to absorb all it's rich history..

Overview of the Forbidden City from Jingshan Park

The calm moat surrounding the walls of Forbidden City

Sadly, this place was my least favourite..

And being so near Forbidden City, how can we miss Tiananmen (and Tiananmen Square)..

Zhengyang Gate at the front, leading us to Tiananmen Square and Chairman Mao Masoleum

Crowded with locals and tourists (on a weekday! dont the locals work??), forming a long queue to visit Chairman Mao.

The Temple of Heaven was lovely though..

It was packed with activities, there were lots (and I do mean freaking truck loads of them!) of locals exercising, dancing and singing in the rose garden and cyprus park. Ironically for me, it still feels tranquil amongst all the bustling.

Summer Palace was a hit among us..

We love the slow stroll, the cooling weather, the breathtaking scenery, the lush greeneries...Time really did seem to slow down there.

And for a structure build during our time, we popped by to the Olympic Park..

The Birdnest was the most popular landmark here. We were told that the oblong shape stadium represents the Heaven (and Yang and male element) while the Rectangle shaped stadium(The Cube) across the Birdnest represents the Earth (and Ying and female element). It's all about Fengshui, baby!

There were plenty of parks in Beijing, we dropped by to Beihai Park..

I had an awesome time there, it was relaxing to stroll under autumn trees, watching the sun set..

We popped by to Yonghe Temple..

It's the largest Llama Temple in Beijing and the structure seems very similar to chinese temples. I guess the only tell tale sign that it's llama temple was the scattering of spinning prayer wheels around the temple.

And how can we miss the infamous Wangfujing Street where there's a stretch of street (fear factor) food for everyone to indulge in?

There's other places that we've visited (Beijing is way too huge), but I wont wanna bored all of you, would I? Overall an extremely tiring trip (I've never walked so much daily for a long while now), but thanks to the fantastic company, I had plenty of fun! :)

Yanna's School ID

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 08:26:00 +0000

This had me laughing this afternoon at work today.

I was in the middle of reconciling an account when hubby sent me this picture of Marianna's ID

I cried laughing for quite a while.

Ang gara naman kasi ng itsura ng anak ko. Parang naging kulot. Kulot na gulat! haha.
Nagulo siguro yung ipit nya. Pati yung ribbon pilipit. Tapos kita pa yung kapraso nung bag nyang pink.

I love you anak. You always make mommy happy.

I'll keep this ID of yours to taunt you in the future, hehe.

Chocolate Crinkles

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 00:21:00 +0000

From making chocolate oatmeal cookies, here is

another cookie recipe that I tried in the Yummy Bake, Give & Sell recipe collection

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

1/2 cup dark cocoa powder (I used hersheys)

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar (sifted)

PROCEDURES:

1. In a bowl, combine oil, sugar and vanilla. Mix together. Add eggs, one at a time.

2. Sift together cocoa, flour and baking powder. Add the creamed mixture and blend well.

3. Chill dough for at least 4 hours.

4. Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Line a baking tray with wax paper. Set aside.

5. Scoop the dough then roll in sifted confectioners' sugar.

6. Place on the baking tray at least two inches apart.

7. Bake for at least 12 minutes then cool.

sifted flour, cocoa and baking powder mixture

dough mixture before chilling

crinkles taken off the oven to cool

chocolate crinkles close up

crinkles stored for future snacking

This was my first try and have baked a few more batches after it. I even brought some at the office to sell but i did came out differently from my first try. There are batches that were too thick and the others a little dry. After this, I just hope that my next batch would came out as I would want them to be after a few adjustments from my previous tries.

This also serves as my entry for FOOD FRIDAY for this week

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Burger Project

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 05:37:00 +0000

After seeing this Burger store at a blog site and watching it in one of the episodes of Where you at in MYX, i have been bugging my brother to visit the place.

Last Saturday, we did had the chance to go here.The place was not that big. I was a little deceived by the pictures .... Never the less , the place was cozy enough for a burger joint

List where you can customize your BRGR ...

Designer BRGR Board

My filled up Order sheet ...

Order sheets are then submitted at the counter

Vanilla Milk Shake - Php 145.00

Their other milk shakes variants are strawberry, blueberry, choco peanut and good ol choc'lit all for Php 145.00 each

I'm a sucker for anything sweet and their milk shake did not disappoint

Marky Mark BRGR (hubby's Burger creation)

Beef burger, Blue cheese, Mango salsa, Jalapeno peppers, tomato in Poppy seed bun

Hubby did like his burger but claims he liked the burgers more in Wham Burgers.

I think its all in the combination ....

Fries - Php 60.00

This was supposed to be for my niece Ria

We should have told them not to put chili powder

Sweet Potato Fries - Php 60.00

This one was better than the fries. The natural sweetness of the sweet potato compliments the light kick from the chili powder

TOFURIFIC BURGER

Tofu BRGR, mozzarella cheese, Mango salsa, lettuce and tomato in an Oatmeal bun.

I did go for the lighter choice and it all tasted well together.

BUNGAL BRGR

This one was Kuya's Friend Burger.

Beef burger, cheddar cheese, pineapple slice, onion rings, egg and bacon in a Poppy seed bun.

An odd combination. But a very good and filling one according to him.

Funny name. He may turn out BUNGAL if he had this burger all in one bite, hehe.

BUNGO BRGR

My Kuya's burger.

Chicken burger, cheddar cheese, canadian bacon. tomato and lettuce in a poppy seed bun.

They had this sliced in half since he's claiming he's on a diet and shared this with his wife.

Having my first bite on my TOFURIFIC BURGER

The burger was really huge and I wasn't able to finish mine and had more than half of it to go.

Hubby looking satisfied with his BRGR

Me and My Niece Ria

I just can't resist having our picture taken at the wall with their logo inside the store

Glass wall at the entrace of the store with drawings of the steps on ordering your BRGR

The Burger Project is a different burger experience that is worth the visit ....

THE BURGER PROJECT

122 Maginhawa, Teahers Vill, QC
351-74-74
theburgerproject.com
theburgerproject@yahoo.com
Open daily 11 am - 12 mn

Sunday Lunch at Tokyo Tokyo

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 08:54:00 +0000

After going to Mama for a visit and to bring some of my baked cookies, we ended up having lunch at Tokyo Tokyo at Victory Mall here in Caloocan

4 pcs California Maki

Eto lang ang sushi na nakakain ko. Ni hindi namin nagalaw yung wasabe. Not a big fan of it. Para kasing nagagagat yung anghang.

Signature red Iced tea

Although masarap Iced tea nila, parang mas masarap dati. Lately kasi madalas natatabangan ako every time we get to order this.

Marianna having as sip from Daddy's Iced Tea

Ang anak ko, pawis na pawis. Napaka mainitin kasi nya at ang kapal ng buhok. Bukod pa dun, nag tatalon sya sa kama dun kila mama habang pabalik balik na nakikipag laro ng peak a boo sa lola nya.

Sumo Remix : Beef Misono with Prawn and Vegie Tempura

I rarely eat beef. But if i do i really dont eat much. Gulay at yung tempura ang kinain ko dito. Si yanna gusto nya yung beef kaya yun sinusubo ko sa kanya.

Hubby getting a Prawn Tempura

It was his place of choice and already had this in mind when we came in. He really loves prawns/shrimps.

We left full and had a short walk from here to Pure Gold to buy some stuff .

Parang medyo matatagalan na ulit before we come back to Tokyo Tokyo again to dine out. Wala na kasi sila masyadong bago to choose from. Tapos nawala pa yung Tuna Misono na fave ko. I hope they'll bring it back again.

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 13:00:00 +0000

I was excited when hubby bought me an oven because I have been wanting to try baking for the longest time. My first baking project would be these Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. I used a recipe on Yummy's Bake, Give, Sell cook book (hmmmm, i like the idea of selling my baked goods as soon as I get the hang of baking)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup chocolate chips

PROCEDURES:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F ( 180 deg C ) and grease baking tray
2. In a bowl, combine flour, oats and baking powder
3. In a separate bowl, cream butter with the white and brown sugars until light (use a mixer or a wire whisk). Then add egg and vanilla extract.
4. Stir in the flour mixture and Fold in the chocolate chips in the mixture
5. Drop batter by tablespoons on the baking tray leaving enough space between the cookies
6. Bake until the edges are lightly browned for about 15 mins then cool cookies before storing

Mixture approximately makes 30 cookies but mine only made 12 cookies since i made bigger ones

Cookies while baking inside the oven

Cookies removed to cool ...

close up look at my chewy chocolate chip cookies ...

cookies ready for storing

( only 6 cookies were left upon completing this entry of mine. i have been munching on them from the moment they cooled off, hehe )

Not bad for my first try. Hubby did liked it. I even missed out the salt and the cinnamon in the recipe, good thing they still came out well :-)

Next on line ..... CHOCOLATE CRINKLES

This also serves as my FOOD FRIDAY entry for the week

Lunch Date at Sbarro

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 08:50:00 +0000

Last thursday, Hubby accompanied me when I renewed my passport.

I promised to treat him for lunch to any resto of his choice ...

We ended up eating at Sbarro

Deep-Dish pizza and Cream Dory in Lemon Sauce

The meat lovers deep dish pizza was soaked in tomato sauce and most of what I can taste from it was bell pepper. I prefer their white deep dish pizza.

The cream dory in Lemon sauce was nice and light.

Egg plant parmegana & a slice of cheesecake (toppings: blueberry, mango & cherry)

The eggplant parmegana tasted like the deep dish pizza except with the eggplant. Probably because of the same tomato based sauce in it.

The cheesecake was really good. I would order a slice of this again when we dine out at Sbarro.

We always order Raspberry Iced tea when we go here ...

After lunch, hubby and I did some HHWW at the mall as we scout for an oven range ....

Then we head on Dairy queen to rest our feets and have something sweet and refreshing sa well

Citrus Cooler for Hubby (Php 79.00)

Small Green Tea Moolate for me (Php 39.00)

My green tea moolate was relatively small but it was all the satisfying bulk that I really needed. It was tasty too. I could compare it to the Green tea smoothies in some fro-yo stores.

I love eating out. Specially with hubby. While he's here on leave for work, im looking forward for more eating out dates with him and Marianna.

Yogood crunchy muesli

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 14:51:00 +0000

Last year, when I was contacted by the people from Pristine to try their gourmet muesli, I got a pleasant surprise on how good their muesli was.

Since then, they have been passing me their other products to sample- their chocolate coated muesli bars, breakfast toppings etc. But I was not obliged to write about their products, they were just appreciative of comments to improve on their products.

So, when Pristine contacted me recently to sample some of their new launches, I was so enticed by it's packaging and deliciousness of the muesli that I just had to share ;)

Pristine gave 2 new products to me-

Yogood Fruit & Nut Crunchy muesli and Yogood Chocolate & Nut Crunchy Muesli..

One look at the packaging and I've already made up my mind that the chocolate version would taste way better than the other flavour :p

Tried the chocolate crunchy muesli first..I've always preferred crunchy muesli- the crunchiness would mask the slightly card-board texture of the muesli :p. Give the package a good shake- all the nuts were at the bottom of the pack. The chocolate flavour was just perfect-not too sweet with a slight tinge of bitterness. The milk gets cloudy and chocolaty after a while, I felt like I was eating an adult (albeit a healthier) version of Kokocrunch. Loved the assortment of nuts- hazel, almond, brazil and pecan- all fresh and paired wonderfully with this muesli.

I had my reservations to try the second pack of Yogood crunchy muesli..Why? I dislike dry/ dessicated coconut in my food. And the packaging describes that it has coconut. Ermmm. Anyways, I have to try it and I got such a good surprise. I think the ratio of raisins, dried banana, apple, coconut and nuts were the same as the muesli. Look at the amount of ingredients..yums yums.. I didn't even feel that I was eating muesli.Hehehe. And yes, I could hardly taste the coconut- so all is good. So good that I have a hard choice of deciding which is my favourite....the chocolate or fruit&nut???

I still cant decide..though I'm happily munching away..:p

Yogood Crunchy muesli range is available in all leading supermarkets/ hypermarkets.

RIA'S UNITED NATIONS DAY ACTIVITY

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 09:07:00 +0000

Last friday was my niece's Ria UN activity at school. She was Ms. Africa and above is a shot of her before leaving the house ...

Sayang at di ko to nasaksihan personally but still Im very proud of Ria kasi she was very cooperative.

Smile for the cameria Ria. She loves her picture being taken. Laging camera ready ang smile nyan ...

Pa demure pose ... Kamukha sya ni Mama, hehe

She won best costume.

And why not? bongga naman talaga ang costume nya.

Her mom rented this from a costume shop.

School Girl Marianna

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 08:23:00 +0000

We enrolled Marianna in a trial Toddler School sa FUNSTART sa may Malabon.

She just completed two weeks of attending there. 3 x a week yung class nya. From 12-2 pm. Naaawa kasi ako sa anak at sila lang ng yaya nya naiiwan sa bahay pag pumapasok ako sa office at wala naman Daddy nya dito sa Pinas when he'll be off to work on board again. I'm hoping she'll learn more there at mag enjoy na din at the same time.

Pa cute pose at Daddy ...

Laman ng bag nya? 1 Feeding Bottle, 1 powdered milk dispenser, 1 bottle with water and straw, biscuits (sky flakes o kaya bread sticks), a small pack of duchmill yogurt drink, one set of clothes for changing (in case of emergency), 2 diapers, baby wipes at lampin na pamunas. Iniiwan kasi dun sa school yung mga crayons and other school things nila.

Posing with hand on the side and bag at the front

Naiinip na yan sa service nya na tricycle ....

Close up paawa effect look at Daddy

Excited na pumasok anak?

Sa school, we were told that there are 3 rooms. One where they sing and dance, one where they color and do other paper doodling and one where they play with the other students regardless of age. Hangang kinder lang naman dun sa Funstart (6 years old) and the youngest batch would be yun ngang toddlers (1.6-2.5 yrs old).

Hay anak .... ang bilis talaga ng panahon. Ngayon school girl ka na. We want all the best for you baby. Kahit lumaki at tumanda ka na, you'll always be mommy and daddy's baby. Wag ka mag sasawa sa pag hahalik namin sa yo ni Daddy ha? Don't you stop being sweet and lovable. Kasi kami ni Daddy di mag sasawa sa pag mamahal sa yo no matter what.

Balsa sa Niugan

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 03:47:00 +0000

Last monday nag dinner kami ni Hubby sa balsa sa niugan sa malabon with kuya and his friends.

It was my first time to go there and I specifically asked my kuya to tag us along kung mapupunta man sila dun.

Sinigang na Hipon

(favorite ni Hubby)

Buttered Chicken

Ayoko nito. Masyado mamantika. Yung breading lasang hotcake. Binigay ko kay kitty cat sa ilalim ng lamesa namin yung harina, hehe.

Pansit na Bihon

Masarap kasi madaming sahog lalo na vegies. Eto kinain ko di ako nag rice.

Lumpiang Shanghai

Pork Sisig

Eto masarap. Naka dalawang order kami.

Yun natira inuwi namin kinain pa ni Mark as almusal nung umaga.

Medyo naumay ako kaya inaya ko si Mark na bumili ng cake sa kapihan nila ...

Di ako nag order ng coffee kasi gabi na at baka di ako makatulog.

Pero I'll definitely try some pag balik namin.

Assorted cookies and teas ...

Coffee cup sizes ...

Assorted cake slices

I took home a slice of blueberry cheesecake and chocolate dome cake and a peppermint brownie.

Lahat masarap!

We'll go here again, probably with friends naman :-)

2 Great Lunch Treats from Starbucks

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 03:45:00 +0000

Had this one day for lunch. Simple yet satisfying and very filling. For Php 95.00 its worth it, healty pa.

They also have this in focaccia bread which I prefer more than the bagel.

This pasta salad has roasted vegies ... mushrooms, carrots and zucchini.

Sulit na din at nakakabusog. Not to mention healthy pa, no mayo and nothing anything fatty except for the healthy fat dun sa pesto sauce (oil), hehe. Madami din yung pesto na kasama in a separate container kaya mareregulate mo gano kadami gusto mo mailagay.

Saw this in Crunchy Munchie's blog kaya I tried some. No regrets naman. Masarap e :-)

The Uma Balinese Restaurant, Kota Damansara

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:23:00 +0000

When we speak of Balinese cuisine, many of us (especially those in Klang Valley) would think of Ole Ole Bali, Bumbu Bali or Waterlily. But there's more than just that famous chain, right?

A few months ago, we decided to pop over to Uma, which serves non halal Balinese cuisine.

I thought we could finally have babi guling, alas, when I checked with the owners, it was not in their plan to serve babi guling. Nonetheless, there's still lots of porky selection to satisfy our porcine cravings..

The menu's quite extensive, but was told that it will be expanded further with more pork dishes (by now, with my delayed posting, am rather certain that the new menu is ready)..

We started with some pork satay..

Juicy pork satay which was very well marinated. Smoky in flavour, the meat had a slight chewiness to it, but was still nice.

The rest of the pictures will look the same as all of us ordered the rice set- with the same side dishes, but a different main (meat)..

The side dishes served in Uma were way better compared to Ole ole/Waterlily..

There were deep fried potato bits- spicy and very good, the vegetables were crunchy and fresh, the shredded chicken was well-spiced and goes wonderfully with the rice while the condiments- onion/ shallot sauce and the chilli sauce was excellent.

Here's my order..

Deep fried duck..

Yummy, reminds me of the bebek (duck) I had in Bali (only that this was larger in size). The duck was juicy, the skin was crisp and aromatic. My only small gripe was the slightly salty skin.

The curry lamb and curry pork dish looks the same..

The only difference was that one was served in yellow rice while the other was white. Was told that different flavours of rice enhances the overall taste of the dish. Both curries were delicious, but if I had to choose, I'd take the lamb.

Jem decided to have the Babi masak kicap (pork cook in soy)
Melt in mouth pork served in a rather chinese tasting sauce. Tasty nonetheless.

Andrew, who seemed to crave for pork satay had his rice served with pork satay. What can I say? I think he OD on porkiness..

Hmm, seems like everything sounds good and scrumptious? Not really actually. I didnt like the satay lilit here, find it too mushy. Some of my friends did mentioned that its rather pricy for its portion.

But these are small flaws that I'm willing to overlook- will definitely return when I feel like having Balinese food again :)

The Uma Balinese Restaurant is located at The Strand, Kota Damansara, 7-G & 7-1 Jalan PJU5/21, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor - Tel 03-6142-2771.

Marianna's 2nd Birthday Party

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 05:12:00 +0000

Last Saturday, Oct 2, 2010, we celebrated Marianna's 2nd Birthday at Jollibee A. Mabini Branch.

Her original birthday was last tuesday, Sept 28 and Oct 2 is the closest saturday to her actual Birthdate kaya ito na yung date na pinili namin to schedule her Jollibee party. Medyo ninenerbyos na nga ko nung Friday kasi umuulan ulan. Maswerte at maganda ang panahon nung Sabado.

Good mood ang anak ko that day. Mabuti na lang talaga at naka nap sya bago kami pumunta kaya wala syang "s". Nakatulong din na malamig yung party area kaya di sya balisa. Sayaw sya ng sayaw pag dating palang at sinasalubong yung mga guest nya habang paparating. At nung nahawakan na yung mike, di na nya binitawan at kumanta kanta na.

Games for the kids and the adults.

Sa mga kids hanapan ng pares ng sapatos nila (may ganito palang game, hehe)

and bring me
Sa mga adults naman, balloon relay. Group ni Mommy and Daddy. Syempre group ni Mommy nanalo.

Ang parusa ng group ni Daddy? I-Spell pangalan ni Marianna, sa pag kembot, hehe.

Syempre nandun si Peachy, Ykaie, Laarnie and Leighna to celebrate with Marianna.

Parang si Pia lang ang kulang sa picture na ito. Sayang lang at nung sabado din flight nila pauwi ng Japan kaya di sila naka attend.

Madami din naging visitors. From my officemates, former classmates, relatives and other friends.

Thank you very much sa lahat ng naki celebrate sa amin.

Anak, mahal na mahal ka namin ng Daddy mo.

Nandito lang kami para sa yo.

We pray that you'll be the best that you can be and with God's grace and mercy we know you'll be a good, healthy, smart, sweet & respectful child.

We love you Anak.

Ultimo, Solaris Mont' Kiara

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 01:55:00 +0000

We were there for MC's birthday dinner- WS suggested to try Ultimo for dinner..

Ultimo's a cosy restaurant, the warm coloured furniture and dim lights gave it a relaxing environment.

I was told that it's fine dining, but one look at the menu got me puzzled- it's not fine dining, it's a mixed selection of European food- tapas, Italian, fusion. Then I recalled that ground floor serves a less formal cuisine, while fine dining was held at the first floor. Seems like someone read my mind, before I could check with the waiter, another patron asked to move to first floor and the waiter mentioned that it's closed. Hmmm, fine dining no more?

So we settled for the meal, ordered some tapas..

Some prawn and mango spring roll..

Seems like what we can get in dim sum, this was mediocre.

A localised tapas, the pork satay..

This was a big hit- the well marinated pork was tender and succulent, the peanut sauce was thick and went perfectly with the skewered pork..

Deep fried risotto mushroom balls..

I had my reservations when we ordered that. I've tried deep fried spaghetti balls in Milan before and it was pretty bad. Fingers crossed, I took a bite. And it was delicious :). The exterior was wonderfully crisp while the risotto inside remains creamy, soft and piping hot. The mushroom bits gave further texture to this tasty tapas.

WS's pasta was served first..

He ordered the tuna and bacon angel hair pasta. The portion was surprising large, given that the price was only RM12. And we thought that the pasta tasted fantastic. The sauce tasted slightly different from the usual tomato based pasta, i wonder what's the secret.

Jacq's risotto with peas and ham..

Just mediocre as the risotto's too mushy.

MC had the seared salmon with gazpacho..

Ok, this was one dish I didn't like at all. The seared salmon was slightly over cooked- it was a tad dry. And the gazpacho was way too sweet. It's not natural sweetness from the vegetables stock- it was sugar sweet. Icky.

And me, who's forever behaving like I'm deprived of pork dishes, decided to order the braised pork belly..

This was a weird fusion combo for me. The pork belly, though served in a western looking presentation, tasted very similar to chinese braised pork. The first 2 layers of the pork were nice and tender, but the bottom layer of meat (the darker coloured one), was dry and chewy. The mash was good with the mushrooms while the vegetables- tasted akin to chinese stir fry vegetables with garlic.

Amy's Prosciutto wrapped pork too the longest to arrive...

Thick slab of pork served atop a bed of vegetables and potatoes. I find this dish way too porky, there were different types of pork rolled into one and the flavours just didn't work for me.

Overall, was an ok experience, I'll come back to try more of it's tapas (there's quite an extensive range of tapas) over a glass of sangria..

Ultimo is located at 13A, Jalan Solaris 4, Solaris Mont' Kiara, KL.

If at first you don't succeed.... My Project Food Blog Journey

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 01:42:00 +0000

Well, my journey with Foodbuzz's Project Food Blog is over- I am not advancing to round 3 of the competition. Besides the thrill of competing against other foodbloggers, what did I gain from competing? After all, there was the pressure of developing and writing posts on a tight timescale, the time spent planning, preparing, photographing, writing and editing. And for what?

I became familiar with so many new bloggers whom I hope to continue to follow. I have read so many posts with different styles, and voices and perspectives. I learned about new dishes and cuisines and ingredients. I had a great time being primped and posed like America's Next Top Model by my daughters who helped with the concept and the taking of my PFB profile picture. I enjoyed support from family and friends and readers.

Am I disappointed? Yes of course. Competing successfully and having your blog assessed by judges whom you respect as worthy is very validating, and as a Type A personality, I keep second guessing, "What could I or should I have done differently?" What can I do to make my blog better? How can I connect with more readers, increase my appeal? I will have to experiment, and stretch, and polish.

So now that my time as a competitor is over what will I do? First I will support my friends who are still competing in PFB ! I will turn my immediate focus on getting ready for my son's wedding on October 16 and the rehearsal dinner that I am hosting at our home. I will make new dishes and work to share the stories that go with them. I will share with my readers new restaurants, new ingredients, new experiences and I hope that these shared experiences will make my food and my life richer and full of flavor!

Mini 2nd Birthday Celebration for Marianna

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 04:53:00 +0000

Last 28 September 2010 was my Marianna's 2nd birthday. Pinaghanda lang namin sya ng konti sa bahay. Above are two mini cakes for her. Chocolate fudge cake and White forest bought at Red Ribbon.

Pansit palabok (fave ni Yanna), puto & roasted chicken

Handa ni Yanna ....

Picture with daddy na huling huli si Marianna na inaabot yung Coke at naawat, hehe.

Inaabot pa din nya yung softdrinks kaya ko hawak hawak yung kamay nya, hehe.

Let-let (My cousin) with daughter Leila, Tita Josie, Yanna, Jack, Enzo and Mama Wena (Hubby's Mom)

Ate Ria, Raine & Mama Wena

Mama Wena andYanna

Tita Rio (Hubby's Sis)

Konti lang din bisita nya. A few of my relatives and hubby's mom and sister. We'll expect more well wishers sa party ni Yanna sa saturday sa Jollibee....

Happy Happy Birthday Anak. Daddy and Mommy loves you so much. We hope and pray that you'll grow up to the best that you can be and we want you to know that Mommy and Daddy will always be here for you. God bless.

My Buss up puff up - Vote for my Project Food Blog Challenge 2

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 02:17:00 +0000

Only a short while left to sign up on Foodbuzz and vote in the search for the next Food Blog Star. Check out my post and watch this video of my Buss Up Shut, a roti from Trinidad rising on my cast iron griddle!! Looks delish, huh?!!

Welcome Party for Masaki

noreply@blogger.com (indonesia food) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 07:36:00 +0000

Last sunday, September 26, we attended Masaki's Welcome Party at Jollibee Cherry Fooderama Branch.

Masaki is Pia's son. Pia is a highschool classmate of mine at La Consolacion College Caloocan.

Mommy and Baby wearing our terno. Picture picture muna before leaving the house.

Daddy kisses Marianna first bago kami umalis, di kasi sya sumama ....

Mini Stage set up for Masaki at Jollibee

Masaki's picture collage at the wall. It was his christening and 1 year 4 months birthday celebration at the same time

Nag roam na agad ang anak ko checking out some party hats and paper mats ....

The host and jollibee welcoming the celebrant and his family

Isa ako sa tinawag ni Pia to participate in one of the games, hip hip hurray. Kasama ko si bff Peachy and Jack na naging kaklase din ni Pia like me. Sinabihan ko nga si Peachy na wag syang tatawa kasi matatangal ako agad. Mahina kasi ako sa mga bagay na dapat may koordinasyon. Sinuwerte lang ako ng bahagya kaya 1st runner up ako, hehe. Ang prize ko? maliit na brats na coin bank para kay Marianna.

Papa, Mommy and Masaki Hoshi

HS Mates with kids. (from left to right) Pia and Masaki, Me and Marianna, Laarnie and Leighna and Peachy and Ykaie.

Enjoy kami ni Marianna. Umiyak lang si Marianna nung lumapit si Jollibee sa kanya. Naku pano kaya to sa sabado e sa Jollibee din party nya.....

Masaya kasi nagkita kita kaming mag kakaklase with our kids.

Thank you Pia for inviting me and Marianna. Hope to see you again soon pag nagbakasyon ulit kayo dito sa Pinas.