Simple Joys! My Food! Come Wine and Dine!

Signature Dish.

2025-04-20T05:07:00.000-07:00

Some mornings, breakfast would be wonton noodles with a cup of tea. Wonton noodles can be lunch or dinner too, depending on the mood. The noodles, I suppose is a versatile dish and pretty delicious too! One morning in Ipoh, almost everyone had had a bowl of wanton noodles. Then of course the eating shop we went to has wanton noodles as its signature dish. It was not the best wanton noodles though; passable but maybe a little salty.

2025

Kebab in a Restaurant

2025-03-26T03:25:00.000-07:00

When in a Chinese restaurant, something that didn't look quite Chinese was served. Pieces of meat were skewered on a stick, reminding me of kebab, something that originated in the Middle East. Kebab has spread around the world and it said that in China, it has become a popular street food.

See anything not Chinese here?

For more things Chinese, click Dragon Descendants!

2024

Another Helping of Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup.

2025-02-25T21:09:00.000-08:00

Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup, I first had when I visited Busan. Then, I remember a friend saying that it didn't taste good. In Seoul, I had my second taste of the soup. While I didn't complain about the one in Busan, the same could not be said about the chicken soup in Seoul. I found it rather tasteless, not salty at all and not fragrant which was expected of ginseng soup. It didn't help that the restaurant was crowded and the fear of Covid-19 was still there.

Sweet Desserts

2025-01-07T00:22:00.000-08:00

You could say I was served my sweet desserts that day. I was just getting into my car, getting ready to go home. Ah Heng asked if I would join him for lunch. I thought that would be a great idea. Then, when we reached the food court, he ordered some sweet desserts. I had that for lunch instead. Just had a little bowl of noodles but lots of sweet desserts.

Japanese Rice for Lunch

2024-12-25T19:02:00.000-08:00

One day, for lunch the boiled rice was rather unusual. They were all round like balls, reminding of chicken rice balls served in Malacca. The rice balls were not made from the normal rice though but Japanese rice. Could not remember seeing rice balls being served in Japanese restaurants. Suspect that they were used to make sushi. Had the rice balls eaten with curry and other normal dishes.

2024

Sweet Potato Dragon Again

2024-10-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

Breakfast one day, was just some homemade buns called Huang Chu Leng literally meaning sweet potato dragon. I think. We had it with homemade curry. Dip the Huang Chu Leng into the curry and feel the drenched buns melt further in your mouth. They tasted like heaven!

Have another helping!

7.8.24

Kuala Lumpur's Dimsum

2024-10-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

Many times, I heard Ipoh's dimsum is the best. Kuala Lumpur's dimsum, I think, isn't that bad either. When in Kuala Lumpur visiting my nephew, sometimes he would treat me to a breakfast of dimsum. Maybe the only complaint I had about the dimsum restaurant in Cheras is it is not air-conditioned. In a hot and humid country like Malaysia, it is always a pleasure to eat in a cool place, cool as in cold; that's it.

Forget Ipoh's dimsum. Enjoy Kuala Lumpur's dimsum!

Indian Creations

2024-10-04T19:13:00.000-07:00

Someone asked me if I would go breakfast with him but I just had had breakfast. I went with him anyway. We went to a Malay coffee shop. My friend had roti canai but I opted for just a drink, teh tarik. Teh Tarik, a beverage common in Southeast Asia, is prepared by repeatedly pouring a strong brew of black tea and condensed back and forth from one container into another until the tea become frothy. Roti canai is a flatbread usually served with dal or other types of curry. Both teh tarik and roti canai were created by Indian immigrants.

Enjoy them, won't you?

2.8.24

On a Hot Afternoon

2024-09-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

On a hot day, sometimes I crave for ais kacang , the brightly coloured, sweet Malaysian dessert made of shaved ice, red beans and an assortment of other ingredients. The dessert has been around for a long time. Said to have existed around the time before and after the First World War, it originally contained only shaved ice and red bean: hence its name, ais kacang which mean bean ice. Today. With different ingredients like grass jelly, agar-agar, peanuts etc added, it is conveniently called ABC, acronym for air batu campur, meaning mixed ice. I had this with fried rice for lunch one hot afternoon:

2024

Not Quite Seafood

2024-08-09T21:01:00.001-07:00

A shop selling Chaochow cakes...

Lunch in a restaurant in Bagan Sungai Burong in Bagan Datoh, Perak maybe wasn't up to par. To begin with, even though it was a seafood restaurant near to the sea, not much seafood was served. Except for maybe a dish of deep fried cuttlefish, the rest were cheap ordinary dishes; tofu, omelette, fried vegetable and fishball soup. Perhaps, it was to be expected as that would cut cost to make a larger profit for the organiser of the trip. About the only consolation was the organizer treating us to some traditional Chaochow cakes, specialty of an old shop there.

Look out for the Chaochow cakes!

14.12.23

Sunday Feast : A Western Lunch

2024-06-08T22:31:00.000-07:00

It was just after twelve; still a bit early for lunch but my niece had come up with her version of Western dish. She called me over to savour her homemade ice kacang and I thought I might as well have lunch too. She had used some lemongrass in her marinated chicken, something one would not find in an authentic Western dish.

Check this out! Can you spot the lemon grass?

More Sunday Feasts!

9.6.24

A Retirement Dinner

2024-06-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

A special 8-course dinner was organised when a friend retired. It was in a Chinese restaurant in town. The dishes, I thought didn't look good and didn't taste good either which was a surprise since the restaurant was rather a popular one. The restaurant must have a different chef, I guess but never mind, the company was good!

See if you like the dishes.

26.4.24

Whatshaps! : New Look

2024-05-23T23:09:00.000-07:00

Sport a new look!

Cuba gaya yang baru!

More Whatshaps!

28.10.23

Ipoh's Dimsum

2024-05-20T04:36:00.000-07:00

It seems like a habit; my nephew would buy dimsum from Ipoh when he comes home to visit. Coming from Kuala Lumpur , he has to pass Ipoh, a place renowned for food, dimsum included. Dimsum restaurants are usually packed there and patrons would come from out of town too. This time round , there's a cute little dimsum that looks like a pear. See if you can spot it!

15.5.24

Nyonya Otak-otak

2024-05-12T23:22:00.000-07:00

The town of Muar in Johor, Malaysia is renowned for otak-otak. My nephew loved them, I suppose. Remember him treating me to some when visiting him in Kuala Lumpur many years ago. Otak-otak is an Indonesian dish, said to have originated in Palembang, Sumatra, It is made of fish and a variety of spices. The ones I was treated to seemed devoid of fish. They were rather dry, probably grilled; and not very fragrant too. not as good as the ones I had at home, the Nyonya steamed otak-otak.

Another Nasi Lemak Letdown

2024-05-08T00:13:00.000-07:00

Had breakfast already but jumped at the chance to savour the nasi lemak ikan bilis Ah Heng bought from a vendor operating at a roadside. Had preferred the one with anchovies and had picked it over the one with prawns. That was a mistake perhaps. The rice was not fragrant, a bit damp and there was no anchovy in the red blob of gravy. That was another nasi lemak letdown.

17.4.24

A Sumptuos Seafood Lunch

2024-04-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

Remember once a group of friends came over to visit Kuala Sangga. After the trip, we had gone to a seafood restaurant in Kuala Sepetang. Of course, we would have a seafood lunch there but you'd not have guessed that we had ordered all sorts of sea life available; from cockles, shellfish, prawns, fish to crabs. The sumptuous lunch cost slightly over RM 500 which some thought was expensive. What do you think?

Seafood lunch for 9:

9.9.23

Sunday Feast : Snow Flower

2024-04-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

It was not even half past ten in the morning and I have had ais kacang, a Malaysian dessert of ice shaving and an assortment of ingredients such as corns and red beans too, of course. Ice kacang afterall, means ice bean and it ought to have at least ice and red beans in it like the original version. My niece had been excited, I suppose with a new ice shaving machine she had bought online and had prepared a bowl of ice kacang just for me. Instead of using the sweet sugary syrup and coconut milk, she had used instead some kind of coffee; so it was not sweet but a bit bitter and was not very fragrant too. The canned red beans were fresh from the fridge and was a bit hard but the ice shaving was unusually smooth. My niece said it was actually called 雪花 xue hua or literally snow flower and I recalled it being sold in a shopping mall somewhere.

More Sunday Feasts!

21.4.24

Whatshap!: Scaredy Cat

2024-04-16T02:19:00.000-07:00

Some cats are just scared!

Ada kucing yang takut!

More Whatshaps!

A Birthday Dinner

2024-04-10T17:37:00.000-07:00

Once, someone organised a special dinner for a pretty lady who was celebrating her birthday. The organiser asked if I was interested in going and despite just knowing the lady, I answered Why not? A dinner is just a place to enjoy food and some human company.

Would you enjoy this?

1.10.23

Korean Sweet and Sour Pork

2024-03-30T00:22:00.000-07:00

Sweet and sour pork Malaysian-styled seemed to me to be more reddish when compared to sweet and sour pork Korean-styled. In Incheon Chinatown where I had my first bite of Jajiang noodles, another tasty Korean influenced Chinese dish was served. Tangsuyuk, otherwise known as Korean sweet and sour pork, is a popular dish among Koreans. The sauce in tangsuyuk is a concoction of pineapple juice, soy sauce, vinegar, water and sugar. Soy sauce would make the dish dark or brownish but tomato sauce or chilli sauce would make it reddish. I suspect there is tomato ketchup in Malaysian sweet sour dishes. What do you think?

Which is Korean, which is Malaysian?

27.10.23
30.11.23

An Unexpected Treat

2024-03-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

Once in a blue moon, one probably would get treated to something nice. Just like during last year's Mooncake festival; just before the sky turned dark, someone invited several of us for dinner. It was not a planned event but pleasant nevertheless. Especially when you don't have to pay the bill!

Dinner Treat!

6.10.23

Japanese Fever

2024-03-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

Don't know whether it's bonafide Japanese fare. The news is it's going to be sakura season in Japan and what better way to indulge in the Japanese fever than by devouring some Japanese instant noodles, Nissin ramen. Read that Nissin Foods founder Momofuku Ando invented the world's first instant noodles. The company is one of Japan's most revered brands.

7.3.24

Food at a Class Party

2024-03-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

A class party I went to served so much food that it was impossible to eat all the different food there. There were curry puffs, noodles, nasi lemak, modern cakes and traditional cakes; many I wasn't sure what their names were. Probably, they were creations of the person who made them, fusions of some modern and traditional fares. The assam laksa wasn't sourish, the gravy thick and a dull brown in colour. It was a Malay styled assam laksa, different from the usual assam laksa I had had.

See if there's anything you like!

7.2.24

Whatshapp! : Friends Day Out

2024-03-04T23:47:00.001-08:00

Good friends play together!

Kawan baik bersuka ria bersama!

More Whatshapps!